#case 2.4

[krokusplays]

I'm rewatching some cutscenes from 2.4 and...

Oh Jiaoqiu...

[lwieserce]

i think this is just speculation but literally no matter what theyll do i'm going to be fucked

[munsonson]

𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏『••✎••』

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴.

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯/𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯/𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.4

This shouldn’t hurt as much as it does. 

Things could’ve ended far worse than they actually did. Hell, most of the couples in their school tended to make breakups as dramatic as possible, normally painting one half of the relationship as some kind if irredeemable monster, if not to paint them as this sympathetic martyr, than just to save face that it actually hurt. 

In her case, Eddie Munson told her they just weren’t a good match and he wanted to be friends again instead. That was as healthy as they could possibly get. And in the best case scenario, too, she’d still be able to have him be a part of her life. She didn’t think she could stand the thought of seeing him in the halls and not being able to acknowledge him. 

She’d fallen hard and fast for Eddie, embarrassingly so. 

Given the heavy duty of designated driver for the little hooligans she’d somehow decided to adopt with Steve Harrington, she’d gotten accustomed to waiting in the high school parking lot, her nose pressed into the creases of her current novel while she waited for them to finish their important campaigns, all procured from the brilliant mind of Eddie Munson. 

She’d known him before then, too, but only in passing. He’d often make a big spectacle of himself in the cafeteria just to bug the other students, and he held the record as super senior. But she’d never even talked to him until she saw him walk the boys out after a seemingly successful campaign, his arms wrapped tightly around Dustin and Lucas’ shoulders as he praised them.

He’d acknowledged her when he got to her car. 

“My fair maiden,” he’d said, “I apologize for the delay.”

She’d blubbered out some kind of half-hearted response, good enough to make him laugh, and that made her heart go a million miles a minute. 

It didn’t take long before she’d gotten the courage to ask him out, even if it was just for coffee. He was surprised, but he agreed. 

It had been nice, he even drove her home after. She probably should’ve seen the signs then because he didn’t suggest a second meet up, she had instead. And he’d agreed.

It was about a month before they made themselves official, in Hawkins High language, practically married. But it really just meant she got to hold his hand between classes and get quick kisses goodbye when it was time to separate, somehow always on her cheek than her lips. 

She’d thought their dates were fun; it was a lot of pressure since he always left it up to her, never having any other idea than lounging about her home and just watching TV. But she was the one who thought of renting movies for horror marathons, figuring it was up his alley. She thought of bowling and drive-in theaters and picnicking near the quarry for its desolate atmosphere, another thing she figured was right up his alley. 

But things came to an underwhelming end when Eddie approached her at her locker on some random Thursday to tell her things just weren’t working out and he wanted to stay as friends. Despite how much even that had hurt, she agreed. She didn’t want to make him do anything he regretted. 

She could still be friends with him, happily so. That meant she could still sit with him at lunch, hear his outlandish tales, and be able to admire him from afar, even if she was no longer able to touch him and hold his hand. 

“Be honest,” she’d heard Gareth say as she approached with her tray, “what really happened? You know, most guys woulda killed to be able to take her out, the fact she stuck around for months is surprising enough.”

Eddie shrugs, chewing absentmindedly on a pretzel he’d brought. She would pack him lunches when they were together since he always forgot and resorted to eating prepackaged things instead. Since they broke up, it seemed like old habits really did die hard. 

“To tell you the truth,” he starts rather dramatically, “no substance. Pretty face, nice voice, real sweet, but God, boring as all hell.” He runs a hand down his face. The other boys seemed surprised. Dustin and Mike share a look, but say nothing, clearly waiting to hear more. Because there was no way it could be just that. There had to be more. They knew her better than anyone, had been through so much with her. What could be the real reason Eddie broke things off?

“And?” Dustin coaxes.

“And what?”

“Dude, seriously?” Mike scoffs. “She wasn’t interesting enough for you?”

Eddie shakes his head. “Look, she’s a great gal. And I know you guys are super close, which is awesome, but we just weren’t the best match. And I felt like shit that she was putting in all of the effort when I wasn’t interested. Now she’s free to...I dunno...find someone boring, too.” He sniggers, elbowing Jeff beside him trying to get him to laugh, too, but he could see how upset Dustin and Mike were. 

Luckily, for her sake, they didn’t notice her standing there, having overheard everything. Spinning right back around, she’d ditched her tray onto one of the trash bins before leaving the cafeteria completely before there was a chance anyone could see her tears. 

God, it shouldn’t hurt as much as it does, she thinks again. He was more than welcome to have his own opinion, but why did it have to be something like that? 

He was right, she wasn’t exactly Chrissy Cunningham or Heather Holloway, being this huge spectacle that made every new day more exciting than the last. All things considered, sometimes too much excitement frightened her. Having risked her life at least once a year for nearly four years now made her yearn for the more simple things. It was stupid of her to think Eddie would want the same. Eddie Munson, who liked to make scenes in the cafeteria and rock out in a bar with his band. He didn’t crave the simplicity of life like she did.

She didn’t go back into that cafeteria for the remaining of the lunch period. In fact, she’d decided to skip the rest of the day completely, knowing she shared three periods with Eddie and right now she really didn’t want to see him. She just wanted to get away, leave herself to her own thoughts to try to calm down. 

Well, that really only lasted for ten minutes because she found herself pulling into the small parking lot into Family Video. She spots Steve’s car at the far end and knows he’s inside. It was childish of her to go running and crying to Steve Harrington, who she knew would take her side and say all the cruel things about Eddie that she couldn’t bring herself to because she really just needed someone on her side right now. Aside from Dustin and Mike, of course. She wouldn’t forget how they jumped to her defense. 

The little bell rings at the top of the door as she walks in, startling Steve into consciousness, who seemed to be snoozing on the edge of the counter, drool pooled across his forearm. He wipes feverishly at his face and blinks unfocused in her direction, trying to situate himself quickly into his customer service face.

“Welcome to Fam-Jesus, you scared me,” he cuts himself off when he at last realizes it’s her. Confused, he turns to glance at the clock hung up on the wall. “Don’t tell me school’s out already? You beat Robin here.”

“No, I’m playing hooky,” she shakes her head, unsteadily moving towards the counter. 

“What? You? I’m sorry, am I still dreaming?” Steve asks dramatically. “Since when do you, of all people, ever skip class? I’d sooner believe Nancy doing it than you.”

“Just...needed a break s’all,” she says with a shrug, looking around. “Keith not here?”

“Nah, he’s off today. Something about a new graphic novel he’s been dying to get. Says he’d have to wait overnight just to get one of the first editions. I don’t know, I don’t really listen to him unless he’s handing over my check,” Steve said. She leans up against the counter, trying to act casual. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t things be okay?”

“Well, for one, having to clarify that things are supposed to be okay when asked if everything’s okay is a pretty big indicator that things aren’t, in fact, okay.” Steve says with a laugh. “So everything’s not okay, then?”

“Everything’s okay,” she lies. “I just...can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

She isn’t sure how to come out and say it without sounding stupid. Better, she can’t figure out a way to come out and say it without sounding completely pathetic. But this was Steve, he was the king of asking her embarrassing things. He even called her once at three in the morning to ask how long you were supposed to leave cookies in the oven for. The follow up question was how to get the burnt smell out before his mom came home. 

“Am I boring?”

Steve tilts his head. “Huh?”

“Am I boring, Steve? Am I boring?”

“No? Who gave you that idea?” Steve snorts, like he thinks it was a foolish thing to ask. “Whoever it is clearly hasn’t seen you handle a crowbar.” He was referencing when she’d nabbed a crowbar from the junkyard lot to fend off the demodogs with him, all to protect the little ones in the bus. She doesn’t want to remember that right now, not when it makes her feel cold inside. 

“Nobody, I just...I dunno, I just think that maybe I’m not as exciting as, like...you o-or Rob or Nancy or, hell, even Jonathan.” 

“Nonsense, you’re a badass! True story, you know I wouldn’t say that about just any...” Steve trails off, finally really looking at her. “Hey...hey, why are you really askin’ me that? Something happen? Someone say something to you?”

“No, Steve, I was just asking.”

“You’re lying,” he accuses. “Who was it, was it Byers? Nancy? Not Robin...”

“No! No, Steve, they didn’t say anything, please just drop it. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Steve’s face eventually relaxes, having realized he knew exactly who she was talking about.

“Munson.”

She shakes her head. “Stop it, Steve.”

“What did he say? I thought he just wanted to be friends, where’s all this coming from?” he asked. There were too many questions being thrown at her. She doesn’t want to cry, especially not in front of him, but as soon as she feels her cheek dampen that was it. Soon she was burying her face in her hands and trying to stop the little whimpers from coming out.

She doesn’t notice Steve leap easily over the counter. He pulls her close, shushing her quietly. 

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset,” he says. She sniffles, wrapping her arms around him. He’s petting her hair, kissing the crown of her head, trying his damndest to get her to calm down and talk to him. He was the perfect person to come to, she now realizes. Her subconscious knew Steve was the answer.

When she finally stopped crying, he at last let her go, giving her some space.

She rubs the tears from her eyes and wipes the tears on her jeans.

“Want me to kill him?” he asks jokingly. She laughs. He smiles again. “What happened? Can you tell me now?”

She told him what Eddie had said, the real reason he’d broken up with her and how she ran from the cafeteria and came here. Steve was reasonably upset, but he didn’t want to make it all about pounding Eddie into a pulp, he knew she needed her friend right now and he was prepared to be just that.

“Hey, screw him,” Steve scoffs, throwing an arm over her shoulders and pulling her back into his chest. “You’re far from boring, believe me, and honestly if you ask me you could do so much better than Eddie Munson. The guy picks his nose. I saw him once. It was gnarly.”

She’s laughing again, playfully hitting him. 

“Thank you, Steve,” she says, “I’m sorry to dump all this on you, I just needed someone to talk to, you know?” 

“Well, you came to the right guy. I can’t tell you it gets much better from public humiliation, but I can tell you that you find much better shit to focus on. Like this obviously stellar job. Robin. My new stereo I saved up for. And...well, you.” He playfully flicks her nose. She wrinkles her nose and swats his hand away. “Eddie doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about. But I know he’s gonna kick himself in the ass when he realizes he lost a girl like you.”

“Yeah, you’re just saying that ‘cause you’re my friend.” 

“Not true, I also wanna bug you for your famous cookies.” Steve winks.

“I can bring them to you tonight, then.” she said, patting his arm. “I should get going. Um...you clearly are very busy and I don’t wanna keep you from doing your job.”

“I know, such a bad influence. The gateway rebellion was skipping class. Now it’s job defiance,” Steve chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, um...if you want, when you come by tonight, maybe you could stick around? Was gonna rifle through the back, borrow some flicks to waste my evening away. Free to join me if you want? Robin flaked out on me, says she’s doing some band practice with Vicky. Didn’t ask for details.”

She thinks about it and smiles. “Sounds like fun. Girls’ night.”

“Invitation rescinded!” Steve shouts, turning away. 

“No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding, stop!” she protests, giggling. “I’ll bring cookies and pizza, Steve. I’ll be there.”

“Alright, then,” Steve said. “Um...hey, don’t worry about Eddie, alright? He’s just being a dick. And honestly, apart from his relationship with the rugrats, he’s still gonna be a dick. He missed out on a girl like you. Clearly he’s a martian.”

“Doesn’t mean much when I’m from Hawkins. But thank you, Steve. I’ll see you tonight,” she says, squeezing his hand and finally leaving the store back to her car. She left feeling much lighter than she had going in. He was right. Forget Eddie. If he thought she was so boring he clearly didn’t need her around him. She had other friends, friends like Steve.

Smiling to herself, she climbs into the driver’s seat and turns the key into the ignition, hearing the engine roar to life.

Things would be just fine. 

[lunarian-anarchist]

Why is it that even today when you look up "three major religions" Judaism is in the top three on most of the search results?

Seriously y'all....why? Hinduism and Buddhism outnumber us by the hundreds of millions.

Hell even if you counted monotheistic faiths, we're still not top 3. Sikhism also outnumbers us.

We're 0.2% of the global population and 2.4% of the USA's population.

The only way this makes sense is if you're talking about the three major "Abrahamic" religions. But if that's the case maybe specifying that is important?

Btw there's also Bábism, Druzism, Samaritanism (Jewish kin), and the Baháʼí for "Abrahamic" religions.

[muslims-matters]

Israel's genocidal war on the besieged Palestinians of Gaza has entered its 400th day.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 43,500 Palestinians, 70 percent of them women and children, and wounded over 102,700 others, according to local health authorities.

According to a report published by the UN Human Rights Office on November 8, about 80 percent of the victims were killed in residential buildings or similar housing. The most represented of verified fatalities were children aged 5 to 9, between ages 10 to 14, and babies and children from 0 to 4 years old.

Analysts say the estimate is conservative and the actual death toll could be around or beyond 200,000, as thousands of Palestinians remain missing or buried under debris of bombed homes and shops. Another 10,000 have been abducted and jailed at Israeli torture sites.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its military campaign in Gaza, where its has uprooted almost all 2.4 million people and continues to starve tens of thousands by blocking crucial aid.

[csuitebitches]

Book Review- The Wealth Elite: A Groundbreaking Study of the Psychology of the Super Rich, by Rainer Zitelmann Notes

I came across this book because I was looking for psychology books. I found the first of the book rather boring and too textbook-y. The second part is much better.

The author interviewed like 45 millionaire - billionaires. These were his findings.

—

48% stated that real estate was an ‘important’ source of their wealth, and one in ten described real estate as the ‘most important’ aspect of their personal wealth-building. And a total of 20% described stock market gains as an ‘important’ factor in wealth-building, although in this case only 2.4% stated that this was the ‘most important’ factor in building their wealth.

‘Creative intelligence’ is key to financial success. The following is a comparison between the percentage of entrepreneurs (and in brackets the percentage of attorneys) who agreed that the following factors played a decisive role in their financial success: seeing opportunities others do not see: 42 (19); finding a profitable niche: 35 (14).

The role of habitus

* Intimate knowledge of required codes of dress and etiquette

* Broad-based general education

* An entrepreneurial attitude, including an optimistic outlook on life

* Supreme self-assurance in appearance and manner.

He identifies a key quality that is essential for any prospective appointee to the executive board or senior management of a major company: habitual similarities to those who already occupy such positions.

Skillset of Entrepreneurs

* The ‘conqueror’. The entrepreneur has to have the ability to make plans and a strong will to carry them out.

* The ‘organizer’. The entrepreneur has to have the ability to bring large numbers of people together into a happy, successful creative force.

* The ‘trader’. What Sombart describes as a ‘trader’, we would more likely call a talented salesperson today. The entrepreneur has to “confer with another, and, by making the best of your own case and demonstrating the weakness of his, get him to adopt what you propose. Negotiation is but an intellectual sparring match.”

Entrepreneurial success personality traits

* Commitment

* Creativity

* A high degree of extroversion

* Low levels of agreeableness

Entrepreneurial success personality traits

* Orientation towards action after suffering disappointments (the entrepreneur remains able to act, even after failure)

* Internal locus of control (the conviction “I hold my destiny in my own two hands”)

* Optimism (the expectation that the future holds positive things in store)

* Self-efficacy (the expectation that tasks can be performed successfully, even in difficult circumstances).

constant power struggles with their teachers in order to ascertain who would emerge the stronger from such confrontations.

Secret of selling

* Empathy

* Didactics

* Expert knowledge

* Networking.

Conscientiousness is the dominant personality trait. Extroversion is also very common among the interviewees. Openness to Experience is very common

A high tolerance to frustration is one of the most characteristic personality traits of this group.

exceptionally high levels of mental stability.

primarily characterize entrepreneurs as being prepared to swim against the current and make their decisions irrespective of majority opinion.

“No, I never did that (lost my temper). I never get loud. But I can be resolute and say: “That is unacceptable.” And then you either have to go your separate ways or make a decision that the other party might not like. It’s the same in negotiations. I was always described by other people as a bit of a toughie.”

Having the courage to stand against majority opinion is probably a prerequisite for making successful investments, as this is what makes it possible to buy cheap and sell high.

Many of the interviewees spoke about their ability to switch off and direct their focus, even in the event of major problems. The interviewees consistently referred to their ability to focus on solutions, rather than torturing themselves with problems.

At least in the initial phases of wealth creation, most of the interviewees rated their own risk profiles as very high. This changes during the stabilization phase, when risk profiles decrease. In this phase, the hypothesis of moderate risk does apply.

Conscientiousness was the interviewees’ most dominant personality trait. It is important to remember that the Big Five theory’s definition of conscientiousness does not just include qualities such as duty, precision, and thoroughness, but also emphasizes diligence, discipline, ambition, and stamina.

[bloofinntoona]

Operation Saving Sallow

Word Count: 2.4 k

Themes: fluffy fluff fluff, Sebastian Sallow x f!reader, featuring the lovely friends you made along the HL games

Summary: A girl gave Seb candies laced with love potion. You were rightfully jealous. Your friends were there to help you solve the case.

A splash of water hit your face, small drops of water dripped down onto the sink, echoing through the empty bathroom. The old cloudy mirror in front you showed the absolute sorry state that you were currently in – hair tied up in a messy ponytail, lips chapped from the lack of hydration, the ends of your school robe muddy from being dragged through your journey around the highland. You smacked your cheeks a couple times, causing the skin to break into a rose-colored hue. It was a trick you read in a beauty book your mom owned back in London. Biting your lips, you wished it would somewhat create a red tint, hoping it would make your face appear livelier. Two students barged through the door, pulling you away from your thoughts. Shaking your head, you made your way to the Divination class.

You didn’t care about your appearance before, to be quite honest. Often times you ran around the school with gears that you found in a treasure chest somewhere deep in caves. There were nobody to impress anyway, you found prioritizing about your defensive capabilities benefited you more anyways. Things did slowly change when you took an interest to the infamous Sebastian Sallow. You thought of him as friends at first. He was an outgoing person and a notorious flirt, so you didn’t think much about the brunette. However, the constant owls you receive -- noting invitations to explore the forest and mines, Sebastian showing you the Undercroft where no one else other than Ominis knew, and going so far as introducing you to Anne, you couldn’t help but think that there were something quite special between the two of you. “I like when you put your hair up,” he said once during your study period in the library. From that point onward, you took a little bit of time in a morning to tie your hair, either in a ponytail or a bun.

Sitting down on one of the chairs in the Divination Classroom, you stared at the circular glass in front of you. A slew of students shuffled into the classroom, one of them is the popular Ravenclaw student, Emma Ainsley. Emma was probably the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen in the school, soft long blonde hair naturally swayed behind her, cute button nose, and a pair of beautiful deep-blue eyes. She was holding a boy’s hand, and it was none other than Sebastian. They were giggling about something, the students stared at them, whispering gossips and snickering to each other. You blankly stared at the orb in front of you, wishing that the glass would absorb you in and let you disappear.

“Well, that is not a sight you expect.” Natty took the seat next to you, setting her books down.

“Y/N, you look pale. Are you alright?” said Poppy, also taking her seat on the other side. Natty stared at the Hufflepuff, widening her eyes. Poppy shrugged and offered you a Chocolate Frog. “Do you want one?”

You flashed a weak smile before glancing at Sebastian again, now sitting together next to Emma. Merlin, You were convinced someone switched places with the boy overnight. The first thing that he would do before class started was to greet you, teasing you about missing assignments. You swore you never saw him talk to Emma before. It’s obvious that a boy his age most likely would develop a crush on someone, but you rightfully were taken aback when he confessed his infatuation with the Ravenclaw. Maybe, deep down, you wished you were in her position instead.

You let out a huge sigh, cueing Poppy to give you a tender pat on your back.

Lunchtime was not particularly appetizing that day. You toyed with the food on your plate, occasionally picking the grilled chicken and popping a bite in your mouth.

“That is it, I will press even if you don’t want to talk about it.” Natty faced you, arms crossed in front of her, “I cannot stand seeing you mope around the entire day.”

“We all know it’s Sebastian, right?” Poppy chimed in, taking a swing of pumpkin juice.

You covered your face with your hands, not wanting to see your friends concerned gaze. You sighed, again. You admitted, “Yes, it is Sebastian. I am at my wit’s end, I have no idea what happened and out of nowhere he is head over heal in love with Emma!” You quickly added, “It’s not like I’m jealous or anything… I just wished he would tell me before making a move on someone. I thought I’m one of his closest friend!”

“Oh, trust me, I’m lost too.” You heard a male voice behind you. Quickly, you whipped your head around to find Ominis looming over. The point of his wand glowing red.

“Ominis!” you exclaimed, “I thought you’d know something about this!” You scootched over, guiding the blonde boy to sit down next to you.

“Honestly, he woke up and all he talks about is Emma this, Emma that. I swear I was this close from pushing him out from the window.” He huffed.

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Natty’s eyebrows twisted in confusion, “You can’t just love someone out of nowhere.”

The group was startled when they heard footsteps closing in in front of them. It was the man of the hour, Sebastian, with Emma clutching his arm. “Hey, this a good day, isn’t it? Shall we take a walk to Hogsmead later?” He grins. “But Sebbie, you promised that we would go together!” Emma pursued her lips and clinged on him harder. You had to muster your whole strength to not cringe from the scene in front of you, while Ominis visibly gagged from the scene. “Sorry mates, we’ll hang out later, yeah? I need to accompany my dear Em-em.” He cheered as they took a spot at the far side of the room.

“I think I ought to be sick.” You banged your head to the table.

“Count me in too. Just tell me when and I will gladly smack them both with my broom.” Imelda Reyes chimed in. Imelda and Samantha Dale popped in and joined the table. Samantha added, “But I think I know what happened.”

The group hurdled together, lowering their voices.

“Poppy and Ominis, do you remember what we brew during the potion class couple days ago?” Samantha questioned, eyeing her two classmates.

You could sense a lightbulb turned on in Ominis’ mind, “Amortentia!” he shouted, immediately being shushed by Natty, “The love potion! That’s it! I remember I saw chocolate candy wrappings on his bedside table last night.”

“Ohoho, seems like our own so-called Slytherin finest is getting the poisoned!” Imelda cracked out a cheeky snicker.

You let out a relived sigh. By this point, your feelings had beaten your rational thoughts. Yes, you were beyond jealous to see another girl putting her hands all over Sebastian. And yes, you had taken a keen interest in Sebastian Sallow. You’d hate to admit it, but you can feel the whole group knew about it already – judging by the way they immediately shot you coy smiles.

“Now you don’t have to worry again, my friend.” Natty giggled, wrapping her arm around your shoulder, hugging you close.

“W-worry about what?” You blinked, a nervous smile plastered on your face.

“All right now, we’ll deal with this together.” uttered Samantha, “We got your back, Y/N.”

“Okay team, the rundown of Operation Saving Sebastian as follows,” Imelda proudly proclaimed as Ominis groaned, earning a smack from the girl, “Ominis and I will find the candy wrapper and report it to Professor Sharp. Samantha and Poppy will distract Emma away from Sebastian. Natty and Y/N, you will ask Sebastian for a duel and knock him out.”

“Do we really need to knock him out?” you questioned.

“Well, it does say on my notes that a good night sleep is the best way to significantly reduce the potion’s effects…” Samantha shrugged, followed by the team. You felt bad, it’s like the group collectively agreed that Sebastian’s a bit of a knobhead.

You heard Samantha and Poppy were able to convince Emma that they need to tend the mooncalves after the Magical Beast Class. Poppy did earlier rambled on about how one of thee female mooncalves was pregnant and need extra care.

Both you and Natty found Sebastian sitting in front of the fountain at the Transfiguration courtyard, smiling while looking at the sun. You heard him muttering about how the sky was as bright as Emma’s eyes. “Hey there, Sebastian.” You approached the love-stricken boy, “I’d thought it’s been a while since we went on a duel. Care to indulge me and Natty?”

“Well, I was waiting for Emma, but a duel does sound enticing.” He nodded as he followed the two girls. You mentally facepalmed – even a love potion didn’t stop this boy from his obsession with duelling challenges. Natty also gave you a look, this is the boy you have a crush on?

Lucan, as usual, was elated that Sebastian, Natty, and you were up for a duel. After all, the three students were the top of the club. It didn’t take long until a small crowd of students gathered around the duelling courtyard. You stood next to Natty, as Sebastian took his stance at the opposite side.

“Too scared to face me alone, eh?” He taunted, starting the duel with a basic cast aimed to you. You rolled your eyes and casted Protego and Stupefy followed after. Sebastian dodged the spell before being lifted up by Natty’s Levioso. You casted another rounds of basic casts before he dropped down, immediately casting a Depulso to Natty, pushing her back.

“I wished Emma can see me win!” Sebastian shouted.

That was it, the nail on the coffin. You swore you would take this lightly, “Just knock him out a bit.” You heard Samantha’s voice in your head. Yet, this whole day was frustrating enough for you. Using your ancient magic prowess, you lifted a small box and hurled it to Sebastian, hitting it against his head. The crowd went oooh! as Sebastian was rendered unconscious, comically slamming his body down on the floor, limbs sprawled everywhere.

Lucan immediately rushed to the Slytherin boy, “The winners are Natty and Y/N!” he shouted, “… and somebody should bring Seb to the hospital wing!”

“We’ll do it, Lucan, thank you.” You shuffled closer to the body on the floor, hoisting him on your shoulder. Natty joined you in a jiffy, grabbing Sebastian’s other arm around her shoulders.

“You didn’t need to go that far!” Natty whispered, although you saw her fighting a smile.

“That’s what he get for breaking my heart.” You both laughed as you travelled to the hospital wing.

You laid down Sebastian on an empty cot, explaining to the nurse that it was a duelling mishap. The nurse shook her head and mumbled about getting us a detention. You couldn’t care less, at least now the plan is almost done.

“Sebbie! What have these two brutes done to you?” You and Natty tensed as you heard Emma burst through the doors, running towards Sebastian, “Oh my dear, I am here for you!”

Emma looked at you. If looks could kill, you’d be dead by now. “Why are you here? Move aside, I’m his girlfriend!”

You stuttered, “W-well, I’m his… friend.” You felt very stupid right now.

Just before Emma could utter other word, you heard several footsteps approaching the cot. Professor Sharp stood over the cot, presenting the candy wrapper to Emma. “Care to explain what this is?” He questioned. Ominis, Imelda, Samantha, and Poppy followed after, curious about how the story unfolded, you’d wager.

“I-it’s, uh.. I-“ Emma jumbled her words, trying to salvage the situation she was in.

“Save it, Ms. Ainsley, I shall see you in detention this evening. I shall also deduct some points from Ravenclaw.” Professor Sharp shook his head, “I’m very disappointed in you.” Emma ran out of the hospital, wailing.

Suddenly, you felt a hand squeezed yours. Sebastian groaned loudly, blinking a few times in confusion. “Why is everyone here?” He looked around, “Why am I in the hospital wing? Did something happen? Ouch!” The boy yelped as he felt a tender spot on his forehead. You shrugged and gave him an apologetic look.

“Mr. Sallow, do you recognize this?” Professor Sharp placed the candy wrapper on Sebastian hands. The brunette inspected it and muttered, “Yes, Emma Ainsley gave some candies. Said she got extra from Hogsmead. I remember they tasted weird though…”

Everybody was silent as Sebastian glanced over the candy, and then to Professor Sharp. “Oh,” the wires in his head were now connected, “was it laced with Amortentia?”

“Ten points for Slytherin.” Professor Sharp said sarcastically, “ I can’t believe I should tell you fifth years to not eat candies from strangers,” he sighed, “although, I suppose getting one unconscious is the best way to minimize the effects, yet I don’t see the need to bruise the person.”

“Sorry…” you squeezed Sebastian’s hand back.

“Well, I shall leave you all to it.” said the Professor as he walked away from the room.

“You owe us!” Imelda laughed -- The group collectively nodded.

“I think the true lovebirds need some time alone, I’d say.” Natty voiced her friends’ thoughts. They giggled, leaving Sebastian and you alone. You flashed a smile to the group, making a mental note to treat them butterbeer sometime in the future.

You grabbed a hot towel next to the cot, pressing it against Sebastian’s forehead. He winced, “Care to explain this?”

“Natty and I bested you on a duel and… I accidentally used my ancient magic, hitting you with a box?” you grinned, “I’m sorry, I was taken over by my emotions.”

“Emotions?” Sebastian smirked, “What do you mean?”

Your face was as red as a tomato at this point, “Nothing, forget about it!” you were about to get up before he held onto your robes.

“You injured me, I think you owe me an explanation still.” He smiled widely, probably enjoyed seeing you flustered like this.

You bit your lower lip, murmuring, “Do you actually have special feelings for Emma?”

Sebastian faked a gasp, “Perhaps I sense a jealousy?” You glared at him, earning a laugh from the boy, “No, I do not have feelings for her.”

You looked away, lips forming a huge smile. The two sat there for a while, hands intertwined. Sebastian’s thumb stroking your fingers. “So..” he broke the silence, “I believe a compensation is in order for bruising my head.”

You sighed as you leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss on the red spot. You guess Sebastian wasn’t expecting it, seeing how red his face became.

Maybe the days ahead wouldn’t be so bad after all.

[cal-kestis]

HOW TO: Make an iPhone Layout + Downloadable Template

Hi! I've gotten a few messages asking for a tutorial on my iPhone gifsets — but instead of only doing a tutorial (that would probably be triple the length this one already is), I decided to turn my layout into a template with all the bits and bobs! In the "tutorial" under the cut, I'll share everything you'll need, a free template download, and quickly go over how to use this template. :)

Disclaimer: This template uses Video Timeline and this tutorial assumes you have a basic to intermediate understanding of Photoshop.

PHASE 1: THE ASSETS

1.1 – Download fonts. These are the fonts used for all assets I've included in my template: – SF Pro or SF Pro Display (Regular, Medium, Bold): Either version works, they look nearly identical. You can download directly from https://developer.apple.com/fonts/ or easily find it via Google – Bebas Neue: Free on Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, and dafont – Times New Roman (Bold): Should be a default font in Photoshop

Make sure to download and install any of the fonts you don't already have before opening my template. That way, once you open the template file, all the settings (font size, weight, spacing, color, opacity, etc.) are as intended.

1.2 – Download my template. Before you use my template, all I ask is that you don't claim or redistribute it as your own and that you give me proper credit in the caption of your post. Making these iPhone gifsets takes me a longgg time and turning this layout into a template took several hours too.

DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE VIA KO-FI ← This template is completely free to download (just enter $0), but if you feel inclined to tip me, I appreciate you! 💖

BTW this template also includes some of my frequently used icons!

NOTE: If, for some reason, you open the template and see the pop-up shown below, click "NO" — otherwise, the fonts will be all messed up:

And if you see this triangle with an exclamation point by a text layer, don't double-click it — it'll mess up the font as well:

PHASE 2: THE GIFS

I'm just going to briefly go over gif sizes and my recommendations. Also, keep in mind when grabbing your scenes, you'll want all of these gifs to be the same amount of frames.

2.1 – Background Gif: 540 x 540 px. I recommend this size so you have a good amount of visibility for the gif behind the iPhone wallpaper. I also recommend making this black and white (or in my case, black and white with a slight blue tint — idk I just like the way it looks) so the wallpaper coloring can stand out.

2.2 – Wallpaper Gif: 230 (w) x 500 (h) px. Keep in mind the very narrow dimensions of the wallpaper! And also keep in mind that you'll have a bunch of apps and widgets covering the image. I try to use wide shots (or layer my clips into looking like wide shots). Also, keep in mind your color scheme for your set and your character's aesthetic! I tend to focus on one or two colors for the wallpaper.

I usually position the wallpaper to the side with 20px bumpers, so there's lots of space to see the background:

2.3 – Large Photo Widget Gif: 201 (w) x 96 (h) px.

2.4 – Small Photo Widget Gif: 94 x 94 px.

PHASE 3: THE TEMPLATE – "IPHONE" FOLDER

In this section, I'll try to quickly walk you through how to use this template and some bits that may require extra instructions. I'll be going through each folder from top to bottom.

3.1 – Status Bar. Time, Service, and WiFi are pretty self-explanatory. In the Battery folder, you can use the shape tool to adjust the shape layers labeled "Fill (Adjustable Shape!)" to customize the battery level.

3.2 – Message Notification. Again, these are pretty self-explanatory. I've already masked the circle for the contact photo, so you can simply import any photo and use the transform tool to shrink it down. The circle is 24x24 px. If you don't want to use a photo, there's another folder called Default Initials.

If your message text can't fit the text box, the message should end with ellipses which is how iOS caps off long texts.

3.3 – Blurred Banner (IMPORTANT) This folder is easy to miss because there's only one placeholder layer in there. On iPhones, the area behind a banner notification and the dock get blurred (including the wallpaper and any apps).

What to do: Make a duplicate of the apps in Row 1 and/or widgets that intersect the message banner, convert them all into one smart object, apply a Gaussian Blur filter (Radius: 3.0 pixels) on the smart object, and move the smart object into this masked folder!

(There's another masked folder in the Wallpaper folder for the dock which I'll go over in that section.)

3.4 – Apps Turn off the yellow guide if you don't need it to keep things aligned and turn off layers you don't need by clicking the eye icon. Replace the "App" placeholder text with your app name, change the color or gradient of the square to compliment your color scheme, and add your custom app icon overlay!

If you can't find an app icon you need from the ones I provided, flaticon.com is a great resource. Also, if you can only find the filled version of an icon, check out this tutorial for how to make any text or shape into an outline.

Also, each app folder has 4 notification bubble options (1-4 digits). Again, you can toggle these on and off as you need!

3.5 – Big Widgets I like using these when my wallpaper has A LOT of negative space to fill. I included the Photos and Books widgets in my template, but there are lots of widgets available on iPhones. You can check some of the other ones I've done here, or if you have an iPhone, simply try adding some widgets to your phone!

There are also widgets bigger than these, but they would take up half of the phone screen which is why I don't use them for these edits.

3.6 – Small Widgets The only thing I'll say about these — because they're pretty straight forward — is there are a lot more weather themes than I included in my template. Also, if you set your character's phone to evening, the weather widget will show a dark background (sometimes with stars), so keep that in mind.

Speaking of, I've included Light Modes and Dark Modes for, I think, every applicable widget.

3.7 – Page Dots These barely perceptible dots indicate that your character has more pages of apps than shown in your gifset (so if an anon tries to come at you, you can just say "it's on the next page of apps" /j /lh)

3.8 – Dock Again, the dock has notification bubble options and I've included the default app designs, custom filled designs, and custom outlined designs for iMessage, Phone, Email, and Safari (there's also a FaceTime alternative if that's how your character rolls). These are usually the apps people keep in their Dock, but this is fully customizable too. So, if your character is, like, super obsessed with Candy Crush or something and needs it in thumb's reach — you can put it in the dock.

3.9 – Wallpaper This whole folder is masked already to a 230x500 px rounded rectangle.

Inside, you'll find another "Blurred Portion" folder for the area behind the message banner notification and the dock.

What to do: Duplicate your gif layer and place it in this folder, remove any sharpening filters, and apply a Gaussian Blur filter (Radius: 3.0 px). Be sure to add any coloring/adjustment layers ABOVE this folder and your original sharpened gif layer.

PHASE 4: EXPORT

We made it!

I hope this template makes it super easy for you to recreate this layout! If you decide to try it out, feel free to tag me with #usernik.

If you notice anything wonky about the template, kindly let me know so I can fix it! And if you have any questions about how to use this template, please don't hesitate to send me a message! I just ask that you try to be specific in your question so I'm able to answer you the best I can!

[mingtinys]

lee sangyeon's (almost) villain origin story

pairing : lee sangyeon x gn!reader

fluff , humor , slice of life , university!au

warnings : language , one suggestive scene

word count : 2.4 k

requested ? no

a/n : this is just pure self-indulgent sangyeon brain rot ,,, you've been warned ( aka. the epitome of "i write what i want to read and then toss it into the void" )

Lee Sangyeon is a patient man. He babysits his young nephews, tutors underclassmen on weekends, and keeps his ten gremlins wonderful friends out of trouble. But his sanity is slipping. Granted, being president of the TBZ fraternity is hard work, but it's starting to feel more like running a daycare.

Though, with all its chaos over the years, rarely has he felt the need to wring anyone's neck out over a few minor inconveniences. Lately, however... well, his fingers start to twitch at the sight of his housemates.

And it's exactly that familiar feeling that begins to tingle at his fingertips when the infuriating voice of Kim Sunwoo follows the slamming of the frat house door. It startles Sangyeon from his dozed state and you as well. Flinching so hard your fingers that were previously twirling a lock of his hair pull painfully at his scalp. "Shit– oh! Sorry, babe." You hiss, petting his hair back down once you realize.

Sangyeon lifts his head from your lap solely to glare at the obtuse boy. His hands and arms adorned with multiple paper grocery bags and beer cases. "A little help would be nice," he jabs, mid-struggle to pile them onto the kitchen island before his strength gives out.

"A little peace and quiet would be nice." Sangyeon cuts, rolling back over to face the television. He stirs, stretching out his tired muscles before sinking back into the couch and your warmth. Desperately chasing the cozy feeling he'd been robbed of too soon.

"Is all that for the party tonight?" You ask Sunwoo. An innocent question for the sake of being polite that the boy somehow takes as an invitation.

"Almost all of it, Changmin is grabbing a few more bottles from the liquor store– is that Love Island?" He points, creeping up behind the sofa.

Whatever merciful God is listening. Please. No. Sangyeon begs.

"Yeah, it's the most recent–"

"I love Love Island– scoot!"

Sangyeon pulls his knees up just in time as Sunwoo jumps the couch, swinging his legs dangerously close to the glass coffee table, causing Sangyeon's fingers to twitch once more.

"Don't you have other things to be doing?" Sangyeon's voice is low in a silent warning. One Sunwoo purposely remains blissfully ignorant to.

"You know I personally like the British version better." He rambles on. Your boyfriend shoots you a pleading look. Whether he's begging you to do something or finding the strength to keep his cool, you aren't sure.

You give a pitiful shrug in return. Sangyeon just sighs, dropping his head to your shoulder. Perhaps the living room wasn't the best place for alone time.

Surely, he couldn't be bothered in his room. He even added a "do not disturb" sign for good measure. Sure, Juyeon's music was a tad loud and he could hear tidbits of the show playing downstairs, but he could tune that out. Just a few more sentences and he'd be done with his paper and finally free to spend time with you.

"How much longer?" you ask, peaking over to where Sangyeon sits hunched over his laptop on his bed.

"Maybe like five minutes." He doesn't bother looking up from the word document. "I just need to figure out the phrasing on this, it's been driving me mad."

"You've been figuring it out four nearly two hours," you step over to the end of Sangyeon's bed. "Maybe you need to take a break and come back with fresh eyes."

He stubbornly shakes his head, running his fingers through his already messy locks. "I need to get it over with." At this point, you're standing right over him. Yet still, it's like you're not even there. Though you must admit, the focused scowl on his face is quite adorable.

"Sangyeon."

Nothing. Not even as you tilt down to his level does he pause his typing.

"Sangyeon." You call a little sweeter this time.

Again, nothing.

Having finally waited long enough, you tip his chin back with a single finger. He looks slightly miffed at first, but then his eyes land on your wardrobe. "Is that my shirt?" He whispers. Jaw slack as his eyes not so subtly roam every inch of the fabric, admiring how it hangs from your figure.

"It is." Matter of fact, it's not just his shirt, but a pair of his boxers as well. A detail that short-circuits his brain for a solid five seconds. It feels like he's been knocked in the chest, unable to say anything. His eyes flit from your outfit, to your lips, and back down.

"Sangyeon?" You purr.

"Yeah?"

"Click save."

You've never seen him move so fast. Throwing his laptop with such force it nearly flies off the bed. Sangyeon effortlessly pulls you over to straddle his lap, grinning so hard it makes you giggle.

"When did you even change into these?" His hands rest at your waist under the thin cotton tee, letting his pinky dip into the waistband of your, really his, boxers.

"I got bored and raided your closet while you had your nose buried in Microsoft Word." Your hands clasp behind his neck. "You don't mind, right?"

"Definitely not." Sangyeon's fingers dig into your skin as he sloppily attaches his lips to your own. He's greedy, like a prisoner starved for water on a hot summer day, but that doesn't seem to bother you.

"I'm gonna need this back though, you know?" He teases against your lips, pulling at the hem of the cotton covering your torso.

"You'll have to offer something in exchange."

"Now that," Sangyeon's eyes light up, "I can do–"

The door to his room flies open with a force so great Sangyeon half expects the Hulk to be standing in his door frame. The resounding bang of it ricocheting off the wall accidentally making Sangyeon dig his fingers a little too deep into your skin. It earns a yelp from you and you're shuffling off his lap in an attempt to escape his iron grip.

"Hyung–!" Eric exclaims, but takes a pause in his panicked state to greet you. "Oh, hi Y/N!"  

"Hi, Eric," you wave awkwardly.

Sangyeon is scrambling to cover you with his comforter as fast as possible. Not that you're wearing anything particularly revealing, but it's still nothing Eric needs to see. Not that it matters, Eric doesn't seem too concerned with you or the state you and your boyfriend were previously in.

"Hyung, I need your help!"

This is Sangyeon's absolute last resort.

Does he necessarily want to spend his only free period of the day with you in a noisy, crowded, cafe? No. He'd much rather be in his room with you curled up in his arms, completely and utterly alone. But so long as he lives with ten men who have never known the concept of privacy, he'll have to settle.

At least you seem happy with the lunch date he planned. Animatedly talking on and on about how you've been wanting to try this cafe. And if you're happy, then Sangyeon is happy. He'd count today as a success even if all he does is admire the beautiful pair of eyes across from him while you ramble.

"—Everything just looks so good, I don't know if I should go for a coffee or a fruity tea."

"Get both if you want." He offers, but you scrunch your nose up.

"That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"Then why don't you get a coffee, I'll get a tea, and whichever you like better you can have." A smile breaks out on your face at that idea.

"See, this is why I love you."

Yeah, Sangyeon thinks, this was a success.

Well. Almost.

"Sangyeon? Y/N?" Comes an unfortunately familiar voice. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, you've got to be fucking joking," Sangyeon pinches the bridge of his nose as Kevin Moon and his impeccable timing make an appearance.

"We're on a date." He cuts, hoping the boy will get the hint to leave. But of course, he doesn't. Instead, Kevin pulls up an empty chair and plops down at the end.

"Have you guys been here before? It's my first time and I can't figure out if I want a coffee or a tea."

Sangyeon gives up. They win. The ten little demons infesting his home win.

"Jail can't be that bad, right?" He ponders aloud as the two of you lay sprawled out on his bed. Even you've begun to notice your boyfriend's slow descent into insanity. And while you do feel bad, it is a little comical. "What's a few murder charges... or ten."

You listen to him rant, his head in your lap and arms encircling your hips. You continue to brush your fingers through his hair, hoping the action will induce some sort of calming effect.

He props his chin up on your stomach to look at you pouty lips and puppy eyes. "It's so unfair," he whines like a toddler.

"I think you'll live," you chuckle.

"I literally won't."

Like clockwork, there's a knock on his door. Sangyeon groans, exasperated. "Ohh my God, seriously?" He faceplants into your stomach. "You deal with them. If I do it I'm leaving in handcuffs."

"Come in," you call.

Haknyeon peaks in, frowning when he sees Sangyeon's state. "What's wrong with him?" He points.

"Everything."

"Nothing," you both answer. "He's just being dramatic. What did you need, Haknyeon?"

"Uh, well I was wondering if you could help me with a dilemma?" He asks shyly, tip-toeing the rest of the way in.

"What's the dilemma?"

He pulls two shirts from behind his back. "So, I finally asked out that girl in my class—"

"Aw, Hak, congrats!" You coo.

"—Thanks," he beams. "We're supposed to meet for coffee in an hour. Which shirt should I wear?"

"Whichever gets you out of my room the fastest," Sangyeon grumbles, voice muffled.

"Shush!" You slap the back of his head in warning. "I think blue would go well with your eyes, Hak." You smile and Haknyeon lights up.

"Okay, perfect! That's the one Younghoon and Jacob picked as well. Thanks, Y/N, thanks Hyung!" The boy is already turning on his heels as he calls out his thanks. Sangyeon lifts his hand in a half-hearted wave as the door slams shut.

"Be nice to him, he's excited," you chastise. "He's been ogling over that girl for months. This is a big deal for him."

Sangyeon sighs, propping his head back up. "I know it is, who do you think helped him pick out and iron his pants this morning?"

"They really look up to you, you know? That's why they're always bothering you for stuff."

Your warm palm comes to rest against his cheek. It's frustrating for him, always feeling responsible for everyone around him, you know this. And while his willingness to take on that challenge is something you've always admired, you do fear him getting burnt out.

Sangyeon frowns. "I know, I just wish I could have a few moments to be selfish. Is this how parents feel?"

You laugh at his remark. "I think even parents get more of a break than you do."

"Told you we should've used protection." He grins with his gummy smile at his own joke. Making you playfully flick his forehead.

"Getting all of us out of the house at once is a big ask, Y/N." Jacob grimaces as takes a sip of his of his cold brew.

What was originally supposed to be an intense study session for your upcoming physics test quickly turned into you debriefing Jacob on Sangyeon's declining sanity. Which you're eighty percent sure Jacob only entertained as an excuse to procrastinate. Because it's been two hours and neither of you has so much as opened a single textbook despite his multitude of complaints about being unprepared.

"I know, but you're their vice president, isn't there something you can do? You could organize a charity event or something." You pout. "I'm suffering too here!"

"Even if I could find a way to convince ten—" he holds up both hands with fingers spread for emphasis. "—ten, that's one-zero, men to all clear out, I don't want to be the one babysitting them."

"You'd have Chanhee there to help."

"The odds of getting Chanhee to do anything outside of his job description are about as good as me passing this test." Jacob snorts, and all hopes of getting TBZ's treasurer involved are squashed then and there.

Jacob is your only hope, so you're going to have to lay it on thick.

"Come on, Jacob, please. Sangyeon really needs the break."

"Don't give me that look." He jabs a finger at you.

"Please, Jacob."

"No."

You sink back into your seat, letting out a long and dramatic sigh. Attempting to look as pitiful as possible. And judging by the way Jacob's leg won't stop anxiously bouncing beneath the table, it's working.

"Don't do that," Jacob whines.

Silence.

"Okay, fine, I'll figure it out." He throws his hands up in surrender. "Just quit pouting and help me study."

"Thank you, Jacob," You perk up. "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah."

The excited call you get from Sangyeon telling you to come over immediately comes sooner than expected. You're not usually one to question miracles, but you are curious as to how Jacob managed to drag everyone out of the house on a Tuesday night.

"Where is everyone?" You ask as Sangyeon tugs you through the front door.

"Don't know. Don't care." He smiles brightly. "What I do know, is I'm not touching a single textbook, laptop, or phone."

You aren't sure when the last time you saw your boyfriend this happy was.

Sangyeon plops down onto the couch, pulling you into his lap as he does so. "It's gonna be just me, you, some take-out, this couch, and the last season of Love Island Australia."

You snort. "You say that, but I'm betting twenty on you being knocked out by the end of the first episode."

"That's actually the plan," he grins smugly before pulling a blanket over his legs and letting his head fall into your lap. He's not even facing the screen. You're starting to think he just invited you over to be his personal pillow.

But you let him, because it's well deserved.

[wilwheaton]

In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a remote corner of Alaska. The Supreme Court justice was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge that charged more than $1,000 a day, and after catching a king salmon nearly the size of his leg, Alito posed for a picture. To his left, a man stood beaming: Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire who has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to rule in his favor in high-stakes business disputes. Singer was more than a fellow angler. He flew Alito to Alaska on a private jet. If the justice chartered the plane himself, the cost could have exceeded $100,000 one way. In the years that followed, Singer’s hedge fund came before the court at least 10 times in cases where his role was often covered by the legal press and mainstream media. In 2014, the court agreed to resolve a key issue in a decade-long battle between Singer’s hedge fund and the nation of Argentina. Alito did not recuse himself from the case and voted with the 7-1 majority in Singer’s favor. The hedge fund was ultimately paid $2.4 billion. Alito did not report the 2008 fishing trip on his annual financial disclosures. By failing to disclose the private jet flight Singer provided, Alito appears to have violated a federal law that requires justices to disclose most gifts, according to ethics law experts. Experts said they could not identify an instance of a justice ruling on a case after receiving an expensive gift paid for by one of the parties.

Alito Took Unreported Luxury Trip With GOP Donor Paul Singer — ProPublica

So Harlan Crow owns Thomas, Singer owns Alito. Who owns Kavanaugh and Gorsuch? We know the Handmaid’s Association Of We Are Totally Not Fundamentalist Fanatics owns Coney Barret. And all of them invent law to get the result their owners want.

Our Constitution establishes a Supreme Court to uphold the principle that all are equal under the law, not a Star Chamber where a six person cabal create law to support the always white supremacist and christian nationalist goals of its secretive, billionaire owners. 

The current SCOTUS majority, these six, unelected political operatives who wrap themselves in the cloak of justice are corrupt, undemocratic, illegitimate, and must be nullified by expanding the court and impeaching these plainly corrupted so-called Justices.

[waterfae]

A Good Pillow [Part 1]

Summary: A glimpse of your budding friendship with Ominis and your growing feelings after the events in the Scriptorium.

Pairings: Ominis Gaunt x Reader, Sebastian Sallow x Reader

Warnings: canon-typical violence, mild language, angst, comfort, fluff, friends-to-lovers, unhinged Slytherins, complicated relationships, house-neutral reader, no use of Y/N, no beta

Word Count: 2.4+ K

Part: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

“Sleep on now I heard that a knee makes a good pillow when you’re down” - Meg and Dia

Calloused fingers lightly trailed down the Slytherin’s face, making their way down from the top of his forehead to his ears, past the beauty marks, towards his jaw and finally back up again to his lips. How? You wondered, pausing your ministrations. How did this young man manage to capture your heart so quickly? Almost as quickly as the rise of his temper upon catching you step out from the Undercroft for the first time. He had scolded, threatened you even with his family’s connections...over some secret room?

You let out a soft laugh and gently shook your head at the memory. Of course, you found out later that it was much more than a simple secret hideaway and it held greater sentimental value than you initially thought; something Sebastian had warned you of, but never paid mind to the actual profundity of it. In defeat, you closed your eyes and tilted your head back as Ominis continued to sleep – his head still resting upon your lap.

Deep down you knew the answer to your question; you had always known and had it not been for certain insecurities, you may have admitted it much sooner. You were an unknown, late-bloomer just starting out on your journey, still trying to figure things out and find your place in this new world that was thrust upon you. He was a pure-blood of the very much established House of Gaunt, descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, and had already been honing his skills his entire life. Yet, despite your unfortunate first interaction and the rumors whispered among the other students, you found him to be of a kind heart and an ever loyal friend – albeit ill-tempered. His good looks only further helped his case. It was difficult to not be attracted. And it wasn’t until your adventure in the Scriptorium that you finally permitted these intruding thoughts. After numerous attempts to reach out and assure him that you were a genuine friend and that you too cared for Sebastian deeply – he finally folded.

“Are you alright?” Ominis suddenly asked one day after History of Magic.

“What do you mean?” You questioned, continuing the task of placing all your belongings into your book bag. You were surprised he even acknowledged you, “It’s Binn’s class. You know how difficult it is to stay fo-”

“That’s not what I meant.” He replied sternly.

You paused, grip tightening around the books still in your hands, and it dawned on you what he was referring to, “Oh.”

Several days had passed since the incident and not a word was spoken between either of you, regardless of all the classes you had together. It was simply something you could not – should not – discuss, especially out in the open. Nor did you think it appropriate to speak with him of such things. Yes, he aided with the search, but had your relationship with Ominis even reached that level? Sebastian was usually the one you went to, but he was currently preoccupied with Slytherin’s spellbook and you weren’t sure if you were ready to face the person who had cast the Cruciatus Curse on you, even if you had volunteered. At least, not yet.

“Are you alright?” He asked again more softly, “I should have inquired about your well-being sooner, but I was never quite sure of how appropriate it may be.”

It appeared that Ominis had been having the same thoughts. You didn’t realize he cared enough to even consider it and it warmed your heart.

“Ah, well I…” Your voice trailed, the memory of the curse hitting you flashed through your mind, causing you to wince. You were aware of what the curse was suppose to do, but actually experiencing it was on another level; an experience you were not keen on repeating.

You inhaled deeply, finished packing up the rest of your things, and decided to reply with the same sentiment you had upon opening the door to that study, “I survived.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“What do you want me to say, Ominis?” Your voice was low and hurried as your eyes scanned the classroom. You wanted to be sure there was no one else around listening, “This is hardly the place to be having this conversation.”

“The Undercroft then-”

“No.” You noticed Ominis cock an eyebrow at your terse response. Before he could voice the question, you preemptively explained, “I just don’t know how to face Sebastian right now, okay? Especially with what’s happened...what keeps happening.” You looked up with pleading eyes, though he could not see them, “The Undercroft is going to be the most likely place he will be and I’d rather not risk it.”

“Hm...well, that certainly explains why you’ve been acting so odd lately, especially in the classes you have with him. He won’t shut up about it.” He contemplated your reasoning, pacing for a few moments before finally uttering, “Very well.”

“I do know of another place we could go, if you’d like to continue.” You stepped forward and gently reached out to place a hand on his arm, “I can take you, but you mustn't tell a soul.”

He responded with a curt nod and you proceeded to take his hand, leading him out of the classroom and toward the seventh floor of the Astronomy Tower.

The trek was a long and silent one as you pulled him along. You didn’t think he would have allowed it for as long as he did and suspected that at some point, he would simply let go and brandish his wand – allow the pulsing red light to lead him the rest of the way. But his wand remained tucked within his robes and his hand in yours. There were moments of awkwardness as you neared your destination; marked by the whispers of your fellow students (and even some ghosts) who could not help but notice as the pair of you walked past hand-in-hand.

“With the Gaunt boy?” You heard one say while the other tsked.

Leander didn’t help matters as he hollered across the corridor, “Sallow finally fall out of favor, eh new fifth year!”

You let out a groan and hastened yours steps.

“Where have you taken me?” Ominis asked, when you finally came to halt.

“Astronomy Tower. Seventh floor.” You replied. You lightly tugged him to follow you once more and led him through the door, “It’s called the Room of Requirement.” You scanned the room upon passing through the threshold and found yourself thankful that Deek was nowhere in sight; running errands for Professor Weasley, you presumed, “You think the Undercroft was the only place I’ve been able to practice and catch up with the rest of you lot?”

“No, not at all.” Ominis finally let go of your hand and whipped out his wand wanting to get a better sense of the room, “I’ve heard you did all that whilst gallivanting across the Scottish Highlands, raiding poacher camps, and running errands for our dear Duncan Hobhouse.” He turned to you with a smirk.

Your face warmed, reddened no doubt, as he called you out for your extracurricular activities. Word certainly traveled fast around this school. You chose not to reply. Instead, you plopped down on one of the plush couches and busied yourself with the hem of your skirt. He followed suit and sat down beside you, pocketing his wand once more.

“You still haven’t given me a proper answer.” He stated after a few moments of silence. You turned your head to face him. He was looking in your general direction, though not quite looking at you. “You have become an important person to Sebastian, just as he is to me.” He reached out searching air until his hands finally came down upon your own, “Now, I don’t know if you’d call this – what we have right now – a friendship quite yet, but you have proven yourself and I believe it to be a budding one.”

“I’d like for it to be.”

“Then be honest with me!” He gave your hand a hard squeeze. His voice had risen slightly, but the expression on his features was not of anger – it was of concern, “Difficult as it may be to believe, but I do care. Why do you think I’m so cross with you two?”

You stared at Ominis, his hands still tightly grasping your own. You were returning the gesture just as tightly and finally took notice of the feeling that had been welling up inside of you: longing. To be heard. To be comforted. And for once, not be asked of another favor. Even for just a small moment. His gesture gave you the permission to do that which the rest of the world and even yourself seemed to prohibit.

“I haven’t been able to sleep.” You finally whispered shakily, allowing for your truth to flow, “The evenings come, but rest does not. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is that look on Sebastian’s face. You said so yourself, in order to use those curses you have to mean it. And I don’t want to think that he meant me harm, but -” You paused, thinking of the words you had just spewed, then quickly shook your head, “Oh Ominis, please don’t get me wrong. I’m not scared of Sebastian. If anything, I’m scared for him. He doesn’t know when to stop!”

“This is precisely why I told you both to not even start!” He retorted, harshly at first before taking a deep breath and willing himself to reign it back; you were clearly already distraught, “Why keep delving into this madness?”

“I know, Ominis! I know!” You cried in exasperation, “I was only trying to be a supportive friend; just as he has always been supportive of me. I feel for him; thought we were kindred spirits, but now...now I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried to dissuade him, show him that perhaps there’s another way to help Anne. But he just continues on and on about that damned book! He knows that if I could just-” You gasped, quickly realizing that you had almost spoken about the ancient magic.

Something inside you snapped then. In the end, you couldn’t be completely honest with him and it was maddening. The tears began to well up along with the frustration and your body trembled from trying to keep it at bay. But it was of no use. That tiny crack that you had allowed was enough for the pressure to completely break through.

“Why is this happening?!” You wailed as the sobs finally wracked through your body. “There’s so much going on! Why is there so much going on?! And why must it be me?” The shrill of your voice was deafening. “I’m only fifteen. This was not what I thought it was going to be. This was not how I pictured my time at Hogwarts!”

The tears flowed freely and you continued to wail incoherently as a child would. Ominis was taken aback by your sudden outburst and had a sneaking suspicion that you were no longer only talking about Sebastian. Not knowing what else to do in your current state, he opted to pull you towards him and wrap his arms around you. He held your body tightly against his and you instinctively buried your face into his chest, your sobs muffled by his cloak. He whispered reassurances softly into your ear through all your crying and gently rubbed your back in an effort to soothe you.

You didn’t know how long you stayed with him like this, but somehow in the midst of it, you had fallen asleep. When you woke, your head was resting upon Ominis’s lap and it was already dark; the moon above being your only light source. He too had fallen asleep with one arm lazily draped across your waist and his other hand entangled in your hair.

You shifted and pushed yourself into a sitting position while you rubbed the sleep from your eyes. This in turn caused Ominis to stir from his own rest and adjust his position.

“Sleep well?” He asked groggily.

Rather than answer his question, you replied with embarrassment, “I apologize. For my behavior earlier.”

“Don’t. It was clearly something you needed.” He turned towards you, “Do you feel better?”

You gave a small smile and nodded, “A little. Yes.”

“Good.” He scooted closer, his knee brushing up against yours, “Sometimes a good cry is all you need. And a good pillow.” He sensed your questioning gaze and added, “I heard a knee can make a rather good pillow when one feels down.”

You let out a small laugh and gently bumped your shoulder into his.

“Thank you, Ominis.”

What to do now? You silently asked yourself. Some time had passed since that day. You had managed to patch things up with Sebastian for the time being and your friendship with Ominis only grew. Enough so that even Sebastian had taken notice and inquired why his best friend kept asking about you lately.

You agonized during that time over your predicament once you realized that perhaps what you desired was a little more than friendship. Should you tell him of your revelation? But if you did, what would that entail? Would you have to tell Ominis of your abilities? What of your mission? The keepers? You were relieved to have finally gained his trust and acceptance, but would it be too much to pull him into that fray? Things were difficult enough as they were and it was a breath of fresh air to have someone that never asked much from you. Should you even be allowing yourself to indulge in such things with everything happening around you?

Ominis stirred, tearing you away from your spiraling thoughts and causing you to look back down at him. He shifted his weight ever so slightly, giving you a better view of his lovely features. He then let out a small cough before nuzzling back into your lap. The positioning grew more uncomfortable and you wondered how he had managed to do the same for you that memorable afternoon. As the minutes passed, you could feel your legs going numb, but you dared not wake him, not when he looked so at ease. You had grown accustomed to the stern looks and judging glances he so often gave you and Sebastian. That look of peacefulness did not come often and you wanted to cherish it. And so, you decided to keep that peace; bottle up those worries for yourself and hopefully, one day, the answers would come. But for now, Ominis continued with his slumber and you with your silent admiration before you too nodded off to sleep.

a/n: As stated in an earlier post, I'll be cross-posting this fic from my AO3 account, so please bear with me as I reformat and attempt to catch you all up without overwhelming the feed. I hope you enjoy it as much as my AO3 readers have. Likes, comments, and reblogs are always greatly appreciated and my askbox is always open. ♡

The quote is actually a lyric from "How Much" by Meg & Dia which is what initially inspired me to write about her and Ominis sleeping on each others' laps. 🤭

[sunderingstars]

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ CHARACTER LINES ⌝

sampo analysis m.list

— what the stars reveal: interpretative analysis, somewhat a character study, elation!sampo

— word count: 4.6k (oh my god i am insane. he makes me insane)

— overview: (as of 2.4) an analysis of sampo’s character dialogue outside of quests!

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ INTRO ⌝

I’m putting this here because I wasn’t sure where else to put it, I just wanted to point out that his character intro describes him as someone who “travels freely” between two places (in this case, the Overworld and Underworld, but could also apply to multiple states of being) as well as saying he “acts” like he is everyone’s friend (performance) and is “enthusiastically humorous” (very similar to “infectious enthusiasm”). Being good at bantering also seems very Elation-aligned. That’s all!

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ FIRST MEETING ⌝

Each character’s “first meeting” line is arguably one of their most important lines. Not only does it give you a baseline introduction to them and their personality, but it shows you how they present themselves to others (i.e. the aspects of themselves they choose to consciously, or unconsciously, emphasize when meeting someone). For Sampo, this includes all of the “perks” that come with knowing him. Business, chaperoning, conversation — these are all part of a “deal” to him, a transaction of knowing and being known.

I haven’t talked about this much in my previous analyses, but Sampo has a very specific mindset of viewing friendship as a commodity. This could easily be chalked up to his idea of business and transaction rubbing off on other parts of his life, but given the strange emphasis he places on “being friends” throughout his dialogue, I’m suspicious it might be more than that. It seems he either isn’t willing to or isn’t capable of seeing genuine human connection as any more than another deal, another façade to do business with. It may be his way of keeping people at arm’s length, or perhaps the Elation won’t let him view people as anything more than another joke, another transaction of language and Laughter to make at another’s expense. Whatever the case, he seems dead-set on including “friendship” in his package deal when doing business.

I also find it interesting how he isn’t wrong. For someone who has a penchant for distorting the truth on a whim, Sampo is, in fact, a “chaperone” and “problem-solving conversationalist.” (“Businessman” is a given, we all know how well that’s going for him given that he literally has an idle where he counts his big stacks of money.) Despite not really having to, Sampo goes out of his way on Penacony to take the Trailblazer around and show us the dream bubble — even if it’s not a “traditional” chaperone role, it’s clear he was trying to look out for us in his own way (same thing on Belobog with the smoke bombs). Additionally, he’s very adept at solving problems by sheer virtue of talking, as shown by being the archetype that’s able to talk himself out of a myriad of situations. So at the end of the day, I guess I’d have to agree with him: it is a pretty sweet deal.

However, arguably the most intriguing thing about this line is the meta aspect of it — the big picture of his selling point being multiple things “rolled into one.” I don’t want to read too much into it, but I can’t help but wonder if this “three-in-one” phrase refers to more than just his skills. After all, if a running theme of his character is being a businessman and a chaperone and a problem-solving conversationalist, who’s to say it doesn’t apply to him being a Masked Fool and an Emanator and an Aeon (or a part of one, or a creation of one, or an avatar of one — honestly, at this point I feel like we can mix and match). At the very least, it would match up with the rule of three. Food for thought!

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ GREETING & PARTING ⌝

The greeting here seems pretty standard — going into it assuming he’ll get paid, then waffling and thinking about backing out when he realizes he won’t. What’s notable here, however, is that he covers it up by stumbling out a “Not a problem!” and continuing on with us. I feel like this partially shows how much he values friendship (despite clearly still wanting a payout) while also not quite having enough spine to straight up say “no” to us. The only thing I’m not sure about is if the Trailblazer is special in this regard, or if Sampo would keep going with anyone else.

The parting is a bit more notable, especially the idea of “I’m not going anywhere.” It seems half-comforting, half-threat, like he’ll always be a constant in our lives, for better or for worse. In a way, he may be like a never-ending joke we just can’t get rid of no matter how hard we try. (Don’t worry Sampo, I would never think of getting rid of you 😌.)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT SELF ⌝

This line, despite at first seeming like a joke, feels more personal the longer it goes on. The first “I’m an easygoing fella” seems like exactly the kind of thing a shady businessman would say when trying to drum up clients: “I’m personable,” “I look out for people,” “I’m a community man,” etc. However, by the time the line ends, it very much sounds like he’s referring to something specific. The idea of getting “pulled into everyone else’s business with nothing to show for it” sounds like a passive aggressive dig at something or someone we don’t have the specifics for. Especially with the “tsk” at the end and the repetition of “easygoing,” it almost seems like he’s trying to vent his frustration about being constantly pulled into things he doesn’t want to be a part of.

Now that we know he’s an “old timer” within the Masked Fools, this line of thinking makes sense — he’s left behind his mask, meaning he may have gotten tired and fed up with getting roped into the Fools’ shenanigans. With how exasperated he sounds in much of his Penacony dialogue, I’m not surprised he said something like this.

Going a step further, this could even apply to an Emanator being burnt out at having to deal with the Elation, or even Aha Themself feeling the constraints of a compulsory existence. I feel like Emanator or Silhouette theories would work better for this particular line, although it’s possible that Aha could achieve this level of genuine exasperation through split/dual/separate consciousness.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ CHAT: INTEL ⌝

Once again, Sampo shows how smart he is. He may be shady, yes, but he does know how to “maximize profit.” After hearing of Boothill’s run in with an Elation Emanator in 2.2, I can’t help but wonder if it was Sampo playing into this idea of selling information to multiple people — I definitely don’t think Boothill learning of the Emanator’s status was a coincidence, even if he says it was because he got it drunk. To me, this definitely reads as Sampo parceling out information in the right doses to the right people, “packaging” it in such a way that that person is none the wiser.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ HOBBIES, ANNOYANCES, & SOMETHING TO SHARE ⌝

Despite only being one line, “hobbies” sticks out to me as a potential revelation. First, there’s no mention of the passion or creativity often associated with hobbies, it’s just him stating what he believes — there’s no indication he actually enjoys it deep down (compulsory existence mayhaps). Secondly, “small talk brings big clients” shows how he focuses on the details and minutiae of the larger picture; he may not be one for flashy entrances like Sparkle (hell, his big entrance in Belobog was when he was literally surrounded by smoke) but he does know how to manipulate the odds to be in his favor. I also find “big clients” interesting. While it could just be a reference to his dealings on Belobog, I can’t help but wonder just how far this might extend. What kind of “big clients” has he brought in? Is he neglecting to mention that he’s a “big client” himself? Is he used to shmoozing in the big leagues? Only time will tell.

In comparison, the annoyance line is fairly standard. It’s a link to his shady side, the idea that he’s just a poor businessman, *sniffle,* and how could someone be so mean to such a nice fella? He’s operating in technicalities here, full well knowing why he’s considered a con-man but intentionally being obtuse about it. It is very endearing to me.

“Something to share” almost seems Robin-Hood-esque. At first, I thought he was talking about more “business” stuff, the idea of “sharing is caring, so you should share your money with me,” but the more I re-read the more I realized he’s probably getting at the wealth inequality in Belobog. He’s technically affiliated with the Underworld, after all, and his closest friends seem to be there too. Behind the fixation on profit and only doing things if it benefits him materially, there seems to also be a genuine want to share himself, to “make up the shortfall.” Even if the “sharing” isn’t coming from his own possessions, he still wants to get the Underworld the supplies and means to live comfortably, which is a surprisingly sweet sentiment. He has a heart in there, I swear.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ KNOWLEDGE ⌝

I feel like this line speaks for itself — the man is omniscient and he is toying with us. He knows way more than he’s letting on, even referencing the Astral Express as a “train” for shits and giggles. Your Elation is showing, king.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT SVAROG & CLARA ⌝

I don’t know what’s funnier: the implication that Sampo has tried to strike a deal with Svarog before, or the implication that he, Sampo “I can talk my way into and out of anything” Koski, failed. He was probably aware his conversationalism wouldn’t work on a machine like Svarog, but damn if he didn’t want to try anyways. I would pay good money to see that go down. Too bad Sampo exists in another universe and can’t haggle it out of me.

Alternatively, his line about Clara is pretty sweet. Referring to her as “our little girl” shows how he views himself as part of the Underworld — even if he came from beyond the sky, even if he integrated himself into Belobog for a larger purpose, he still cares. He sees himself as one of them. Behind the gaud and the glamor, we can begin to see that silhouette, that want for connection in the periphery, staying in the shadows because it’s afraid to step into the light. Yet, despite him even realizing it, he’s begun to integrate himself. Begun to see himself as more than just a means to an end, an instigator or a jokester or a clown. He has, in a sense, become part of the collective — a healthy collective, one big found family, and Clara is just one part of it. Beyond his knowing, he’s gone from “I” and “them” to “us.” To “we.” To “our.” (And he is also still eternally confused over how the hell to communicate with Svarog.)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT NATASHA ⌝

I like how naturally he describes the progression of their relationship here. While it may not be entirely truthful or accurate (who knows with Sampo), it at least seems like he views his and Natasha’s friendship as an easy progression from one stage to the next. Despite it being transactional, it doesn’t really feel like a transaction, just an evolution of something whose seeds were already planted. It’s also notable that he started with medicine — not intel, not materialistic wealth like relics or Shield, but medicine. His first establishing relationship with Natasha was literally bringing her life-saving medicine. It really reminds me of how he saved the Trailblazer’s life in The Moles’ hide-and-seek daily mission; it’s the things he does in the shadows that really count, really show that he does, in fact, care. Despite what he tells you, he still wants to help. “You know how these things work” is also so funny because it’s like… no, no the Trailbalzer does not know how these things work. (Also, “arrived” in the Underworld? Interesting word choice, bestie.)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT SEELE ⌝

I just think it’s really funny to imagine Sampo, either an Emanator or an Aeon or both, being constantly told off by some resistance fighter on a random snow planet. Like, Seele is really out here doing what 99% of beings can’t. (With Doll Theory, however, this is a bit… heartbreaking, especially “Can someone explain what I did to deserve her?” potentially hiding the deeper, more agonizing question of “Can someone explain what I did to deserve this?”. But I am choosing not to think about that right now for my own sanity.)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT BRONYA ⌝

He really has no self-preservation when it comes to scoring big, does he? Despite how carefully methodical his endgame plans seem to be, his omniscience doesn’t stop him from throwing himself out there when he feels there’s something to be gained. It’s okay, Sampo, she’s nice. You don’t need to risk getting beat up just to talk to her, I’m sure you can arrange a meeting. (Also, I feel like this mirrors his “painful introduction” to the Trailbalzer at the beginning of the Belobog storyline — sure, Sampo had to put up with Dan Heng’s prodding and Gepard’s arrival, but he made the biggest score of all: getting to meet us. So, maybe it’s not just “throwing himself out there.” Maybe it’s all one big calculation on his part.)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT THE LANDAUS ⌝

Gepard potentially triggering Sampo’s Elation instincts is hilarious to me. I’ll expand on it in a dedicated Sampard post, but it’s so in line with the Elation for Sampo, most likely a god in his own right, to find such catharsis in, what? Being chased around in the snow by a hot blonde guard? In terms of the wider universe, Gepard is literally just some guy. And yet here Sampo is, doing a little heehee haha and having the time of his life. It’s the little things, you know?

(On a more serious note, if we’re dealing with a Sampo who’s constantly felt like he has no control over his “enjoyment” of Elation — even a Silhouette or Doll Theory Sampo who is actively being harmed by “the joke” — then him gradually warming up to Gepard is surprisingly wholesome. Here he is, someone who has always found himself subject to Elation rather than naturally falling into it, finding a way to reclaim that enjoyment and find a genuine place for it within himself. Some sort of reconciliation, perhaps, a bit of happiness that’s his own and no one else’s, some part of a situation that he can control. The elation he feels here is not Elation, but rather a genuine feeling of connection, one not brought on suddenly by the punchline of a joke, but one that has gradually grown over time, matured, blossomed into something warm and real and comforting. Gepard has no idea, but he’s slowly mellowing out the “compulsory” of compulsory existence until it becomes nothing but a fading whisper. Anyways can you tell I love Sampard?)

I’m also interested in how Serval and Sampo used to be “good pals.” While Sampo’s idea of a “good pal” could be wildly off-base from what Serval experienced — with the likelihood that Sampo’s “we were besties” was Serval’s “he was an annoying guy who kept asking me for deals” — it makes sense to me that they might’ve gotten along at some point. Serval is a fairly casual and accepting person, so I could see her and Sampo being friends (although I don’t think she would have fallen for many of his scams). However, I definitely don’t think she’d agree with Sampo’s shady business dealings, so finding out from Gepard just how much of a criminal he is would definitely sour things. She would believe in giving the Underworlders the resources they need, for sure, but definitely not Sampo pocketing money for himself or scamming random people who’ve done nothing wrong. “Gepard’s bad word” probably wasn’t even that malicious, just a statement of fact.

(I, however, like to think that Gepard opened up about his crush on Sampo to Serval and her protective older sister genes kicked in. What Sampo is really registering is the change from “oh, you’re a chill guy” to “if you hurt my baby brother so help me god I will end your entire existence.” It is canon in my heart.)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT LUKA ⌝

This one is another tie-in to Sampo’s fixation on business and profit. I do wonder why and how Sampo missed out on making money here, though. Perhaps the timing was off, or he had bigger things to deal with, or Luka just didn’t want to work with him for whatever reason. Either way, it’s kinda funny that he knows Luka as “that kid I could’ve made money off of but didn’t”. I can just see him hanging his head dejectedly in my mind. It’s okay, Sampo, you’ll get ‘em next time.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ABOUT SPARKLE ⌝

Sparkle is a unique case, being the only other playable Masked Fool and having a direct connection with Sampo through the organization. He seems to have a pretty good read on her, which would make sense if his status as an “old timer” includes having a lot of experience dealing with specific members of the Fools. He’s basically reading her like a book, saying: She’s all over the place, and you never have anything truly figured out. There’s also the meta commentary of “outwit herself,” referencing the events of Black Swan’s companion quest and an Inception-like folding in of all her personas. It also seems like it might be a bit of a projection: “Think you’ve got her all figured out, don’t you?” I didn’t say anything Sampo, but if this “you” is in the room with us right now, it’s okay, you can just say it. Perhaps he tried to understand her at some point in the past and it fucked him over. (Just speculation!)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ASCENSION & ACTIVATION ⌝

Whoo boy, this eidolon activation. It’s definitely suspicious, to say the least. There’s a reason I chose it as my quote for my Elation!Sampo masterlist, and that’s because it encapsulates so much about his potential identity. There’s the fact he’s not being direct about it, phrasing it as a question where he speaks in second person, trailing off at the end; even now, he seems unwilling or unable to face the truth with his full chest. There’s also the phrase “colorful past,” which just makes me ask: How much of a colorful past are we talking? This could range anywhere from Masked Fools shenanigans to “oh yeah, I used to be an Aeon.” The fact he’s so indirect about it makes me more suspicious — it’s an extremely leading question, very smug and taunting, which makes my mind just go up and up and up the power scale list, much like “old timer” caused me to do the same. There’s just a quality to this line that basically screams, “There is something large and powerful and dormant inside of him! Be careful!”.

The ascension once again links back to money, and his trace activation is about the transactional “business” of friendship. The last notable thing here is his “max level reached,” where he expresses disappointment over… hitting max level? “That’s it? *sigh* I was just getting started,” is not the kind of thing even a regular Masked Fool would say. Again, we’re given a hint of almost incomprehensible power, the idea that the limit of the game, of the universe, isn’t enough for him. In a strikingly eldritch way, our “max” is simply a small drop in his bucket, an ant he barely even notices. He really isn’t beating the Elation allegations, is he?

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ TEAMS ⌝

Since there’s five different ones here, I’ll go through them fairly quickly:

Natasha — Reminds me of Natasha’s own voiceline where she says Sampo doesn’t like owing people things. It shows that he really does try to pay favors back as soon as possible, keeping them present in his mind so they don’t go unresolved for too long.

Hook — It’s interesting how he reacts to her in a similar way he does the Masked Fools: exasperation, but still a little fond. There’s some care, some nostalgia mixed in there, but at the end of the day he still knows that something is getting blown to smithereens.

Seele — On his best behavior. He really doesn’t want her to get angry at him, does he? 

Trailblazer — Interesting how he laughs at the beginning here. Interesting how he says, “Ha!” Interesting how this is only with the Trailblazer. Hm. That is all.

Sparkle — “Same rule as always” establishes a long-form relationship; it’s likely they’ve known each other for a long time, or at least long enough to have established “rules” for each time they fight or work together. The fact that the rule is “no backstabbing” is also fitting, seeing as Sparkle (and by proxy, the Masked Fools) are definitely the type to backstab at any given moment. The real question is: Is this rule simply a surface-level attempt by Sampo to stop from getting messed with, or does Sparkle actually listen to him?

It also sets up Sampo as at least pretending to be on the same power level as Sparkle — he’s in a position where he feels the need to be wary and on-guard around her despite occupying a potentially higher status.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ COMBAT & MISC. ⌝

Reading through these, I just felt like I was getting smacked over the head with theories. It’s like he was repeatedly hitting me on the back of the head with a baseball bat or something. Having each line side by side really makes certain patterns become apparent. Since there’s so many, I’ll go through them fairly quickly (feel free to ask me to expand on any of these if you want!):

Battle Begins: Weakness Break: “Fun” links to Elation. “Just” is downplaying the severity of a Weakness Break, reducing pain/danger to yet another joke. A somewhat callous view of life, similar to the Worm Fiasco.

Battle Begins: Danger Alert: Endless pursuit of entertainment and Elation — “the stronger the better.” Like Aha, it’s less about winning or losing, but rather the challenge and thrill of the fight itself.

Turn Begins: Line 1 — The idea of “friends” again, showing physical protection and aid to be part of the “transaction”; however “takes care of” seems less transactional and more genuine. Line 2 — More transactional with the idea of “business”; perhaps refers to violence as “doing business” with enemies, or helping the trailblazer as “doing business.”

Turn Idling: “Bring out” and “big guns” links to hidden or increased power, something that needs to be revealed. Since this is his turn idle, it gives the implication that he is “waiting” to bring out this power until the right time (though he is impatient about it).

Skill: Argument One — Silly goofy behavior. Argument Two (Delusional) — “Size” alludes to the physical changing of size between mortal and Emanator/Aeonic form.

Hit by Light Attack: Seems somewhat performative.

Hit by Heavy Attack: Seems to be overly protective of his “face” — or rather, the potential physical facade he puts up to hide his true identity from others. Doll Sampo may be overly concerned with “breaking,” while other theories may be worried about something being “revealed” if too much of his physical form is chipped away. (In a way, the avatar of “Sampo Koski” may be a mask in and of itself, able to be broken.)

Ultimate: Activate: Again with the idea of “waiting,” man is impatient.

Ultimate: Unleash: If we’re going with an Elation!Sampo theory, it seems like he may almost be alluding to Aha as “king” here, which would center themes of betrayal and switching sides. It doesn’t seem personal in this case, but rather a power/money/profit-oriented standpoint.

Downed: *Puts on tinfoil hat* Sampo could actually be referencing a “loophole payment” here; as shown in the Curio Hacker Occurrence, one of the curios given to us by the blue-haired man is “Organic Heart,” a curio that removes the golden (powerful) dice face for four turns, destroys itself, then grants two cheat attempts — if we take this as an allegory for Sampo’s existence, then he may be paying a “price” as an Emanator or Aeon to escape an unfortunate fate later on (or accomplish something impossible). In this way, “This price was too steep…” may refer to Sampo being trapped in mortal form (a more vulnerable state) and realizing the “price” he paid upfront for those cheat attempts isn’t worth it if he never gets to see the fruits of his labor.

Return to Battle: This may also link to the Curio Hacker dice faces, as a combat “turn” could also stand-in for a dice “roll” — he has been brought back to fight, and so he will continue to participate in the cycle until his cheat attempts are granted. (Also, it links to the cyclical nature of the snakes, going from one turn to the next, never able to truly die.)

Health Recovery: Another mention of transactions, debt, and “owing” — according to Natasha’s voice line about him, this is not a phrase he says lightly.

Technique: Laughter, plan and simple. The Laugher, even, if we’re feeling frisky.

Battle Won: Probably one of the biggest clues in his voicelines. “How’re you gonna win if you don’t take any risks?” directly implies a “risk” at the core of his being, some dangerous change he is making to make sure he gets what he wants. May somewhat detract from Aha theories in that Aha doesn’t seem to care about “winning,” however who knows if that mindset has changed or if Sampo simply thinks that because he is currently in mortal form. Either way, it once again links to him paying a “cost” for those later cheat attempts.

Treasure Opening 1: Good old cash reference.

Treasure Opening 2: Kinda sweet that he lets us keep it, even though it’s only because he doesn’t have any use for it.

Precious Treasure Opening: … And of course he immediately shoves us aside when it’s something he’s actually interested in.

Successful Puzzle-Solving: 1: Pretty generic.

Successful Puzzle-Solving 2: Reference to his businessman persona and how he’s made a career out of “solving others’ problems.” It may be that he’s trying to solve a problem for either himself or Aha as an outside entity (or perhaps even a different Aeon of Emanator, who knows).

Enemy Target Found: Sounds almost taunting; there’s no vocal recording in this post, but if you listen to his English voice acting it sounds goading, almost like he’s daring you to start the fight. “I dunno” is a bit more reserved, like he’s hesitating a bit, but I’m definitely on the side of “he can handle this, he’s just fucking with us.”

Returning to Town: Another third person reference! Obligatory business reference.

And whew, that’s all of it! Every single Sampo character screen voice line as of 2.4! My main takeaways are definitely the third-person references, as well as the fixation on business and profit. The lines linking to Curio Hacker especially stand out to me — “risks” and “prices” remind me a lot of Organic Heart. But I’ll save that for its own analysis! As for now, I hope this was a comprehensive-enough coverage of Sampo’s voicelines. In my opinion, this man definitely has some Elation-related shenanigans going on.

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ જ⁀➴ thank you for reading to the end!

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

© analysis by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

On the left, the Giff are 8 ft (2.4 m) tall hippofolk with surprising dexterity and grace. And of course are good at knocking people over, as if you needed me to say that. While they do love a good tussle, they're surprisingly calm overall. They always keep thier word, they love travelling and explosions, and despite the outfit they actually don't want to be an empire. They believe everything has a place and theirs is to follow orders, which is why they work as mercenaries. They don't even care about money. Thier ideal setup is just being given food, thier own room, and clear instructions in line with their interests (explosives, tussling, travelling).

Shadar Kai are shadow elves, normal human height. They specialize in teleportation and invisibility, with casters throwing in confusion and fear and illusion. Be careful though, as any trained in combat start making non-elves slower and worse while within 10 feet. From depression, from the sound of it. Their angst attaches to you like a parasite, slowing you down. Good if you enjoy concepts like-

Thier shadows being DARKER than shadow, and lash out when they're moody

looking beautiful unless in shadow, in which case they're corpselike

they ignore pointless things like "comfort" and "morals" and "rules"

being the chosen of the Raven Queen, and on her behalf collecting dark tragedy, sorrow, and feelings of loss.

[emmyspov]

Four times he wasn't sure + 1 time he was (Aragorn x Reader)

author's note: ahh, this is finally done! i started it last year but then uni and work got in the way so it took me until now to finish it. i'm super excited about this honestly, and i hope some of you will feel just as happy reading it. if enough people are interested, i have thought about writing a part two already, like "four times reader wasn't sure + 1 time they were" - what do you think? as always, i tried to keep reader's looks etc. really vague, if there is something you think can be adjusted to make it even more inclusive, please let me know!

warnings: english isn't my first language, mentions of blood, war, death, canon lotr fights, let me know if i forgot something :)

word count: 2.4 k (I think that's the longest fic i've written!)

gif by @dunderklumpen

The first time

"What were you thinking, Strider?", you hissed as the man sat down next to you at the campfire.

"Going out there all by yourself, with no backup. What if a herd of orcs had found you, huh? What then?"

Aragorn could tell you were mad.

"You could have been killed!"

He wasn't even sure if that alone was enough to describe the intense emotions you were displaying right now.

"Darling, I-"

You cut him off. "I don't want to hear it, Aragron. This was dangerous. Something bad could have happened to you."

He hated this. He hated how your voice wavered, either with anger or fear or both. He wanted to see that pretty smile back on your face.

"I can take care of myself."

You took a deep breath. You knew he was right. After all, he was a Ranger from the north who's been riding through the wild all by himself for years, keeping others and himself safe.

Aragorn could tell that something had changed in your demeanor. The wild gesturing of your hands slowed down and your eyes had softened again.

"I know you can", you started as you fumbled around with your hands. "But... What I've been trying to say is that I worry. All the time, about everyone and everything. And when I realised that you were the only one gone from the group and out there without anyone who could help you in case of an attack, something inside me flipped. My worry for you was clouding any rational judgement."

You fell silent for a moment.

"You have the weight of the world on your shoulders, Aragorn. I'm sorry I raised my voice at you. I am just asking, begging you, please don't shut me out. Let me help you carry this weight. You don't have to be the lone ranger any longer. Allow me to take care of you. Let me in."

The crownless king was, quite literally, speechless. Your words had knocked the air out of his lungs.

Would your reaction have been the same if had been Legolas or Boromir who strayed away from the group? He wasn't sure. But then again, it didn't really matter. You cared about him. So much that you became sick with worry when the possibility of something bad happening to him arose.

The thought alone brought a smile to his face, making the skin crinkle around his eyes.

You would never get enough of that sight.

"I promise, I will try my very best to do exactly that", Aragon answered before he paused, thinking about whether he should make you an offer or not. He decided to take the risk. "Maybe, next time, you could accompany me."

Your eyes lit up and he knew he made the right decision. "I would love to."

His chest felt light.

The second time

You've always been someone who gave people their privacy. After all, you didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable around you, but the way you saw Aragorn struggle right this moment made you second guess that decision.

He could feel your eyes on him. He knew you were watching him and yet, he didn't want to take the first step. He hated to be a burden which was exactly the reason why he wasn't going to ask you for help.

Maybe Legolas would assist him with applying the ointment on his back, or maybe- his train of thoughts came to a halt.

He promised you.

He promised he'd do his best to let you in, let you take care of him.

Instead of calling out your name, his eyes locked with yours and he silently pleaded you'd understand.

You did. Of course you did.

With just a few steps, you were standing next to the man, resulting in him letting out a sigh of relief.

His hair was wet from bathing in the lake closeby and the dirt that was usually decorating his face had also been washed away.

"Do you need any help?"

He's sure that he never heard a voice as sweet as yours, basically dripping with kindness.

He nodded. "If you don't mind."

A smile graced your features. "Not when it comes to you, my king."

You took the small container from Aragon's hand which was filled with ointment, made by Elrond to help heal wounds and relieve some pain.

You gestured for the ranger to sit down in front of you and he dropped to his knees without hesitation, his bare back to you.

You scooped up a bit of the tincture. "I apologise for my cold hands", you whispered before gently applying it to the ranger's skin.

He shuddered as soon as your fingers touched him and he tried to convince himself the goosebumps that arose on his skin were caused by the cold, not you.

You could feel Aragorn melt into your touch. His breath evened out and for a second, you even thought he had fallen asleep which was, truly, the only reason you started to trace over some old scars on his back, careful not to cause the ranger any pain.

"They don't hurt", he suddenly spoke and you flinched.

"I- My apologies, I didn’t... think, know- I-" You let out a huff of embarrassment, causing the crownless king to chuckle slightly.

A peaceful silence fell over you while you continued to rub the balm into Aragorn's shoulders and down his back, making sure to not only treat his more recent wounds.

"Where did you get this one", you carefully asked as you caressed a scar on his upper back.

And so, the ranger started to tell you the first story of many about life in the wilderness while you took care of him.

Both of you pretended not to notice when your lips brushed his skin every time he finished an anecdote of his life.

Even if that had been his last evening in middle earth, Aragorn would have been content. He got to spend it with you.

The third time

He didn't know how you did it. How you, despite of all the running, fighting and extreme weather conditions, managed to look absolutely breathtaking.

It was unfair, really.

Not that something as simple as one's looks impressed Aragorn, no.

It was just you he liked to look at because all he could think about were your beautiful brain and warm heart whenever his eyes fell on you.

It was his turn to stay up and keep watch of the fellowship's campsite, making sure they'd get through the night without an incident.

It was a calm night, there was no danger to be seen and although the crownless king stayed alert of their surroundings, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift to you every once in a while.

He was glad you were finally getting some well deserved rest after everything that has happened so far.

As if you could feel somebody watching you, you woke up. Keeping still, you checked the area around you without a single turn of your head.

Aragorn was keeping the night watch and you immediately felt a wave of calm wash over you. If he was sitting around so comfortably, you knew you could feel safe.

But then again, you also felt sorry for the ranger. Although he was running from his destiny, he had made it his mission to keep the whole fellowship safe and alive which was quite the heavy burden to carry.

You could see it, too. His tired eyes or the way at least one part of his body was always tense, ready to fight.

You let out a soft sigh and got up from your sleeping mat, quietly walking over to the man as you tried not to disturb the others.

"Y/N", he spoke softly, "Go back to sleep. You will need the rest."

Instead of answering, you plopped down next to him, his arm brushing yours.

"I can't lay down, pretending not to see you doubt yourself, even at night when everyone else entrusts you with everything they have. You think too much, Aragorn. Let that head of yours come to a rest."

Maybe it was the intimacy of the dark, but when you gestured for him to lay his head in your lap, he didn't fight it. Not for too long, anyway. There was some hesitation, but you looked too warm and too comfortable for him to miss out on this opportunity.

A sigh of relief left his lips as his head made contact with your thighs, the rest of his body turning into a ball.

A rare moment of vulnerability.

You were fighting your own urges for a while before finally letting your heart take over and bringing your fingers up to his head.

Carefully, you started to brush through the ranger's dark curls, removing any small knots along the way.

After a moment of fear that you might have overstepped his boundaries, your heart immediately felt lighter when you noticed him practically melting into your touch while he let out a relaxed groan.

"Does that feel good?"

Aragorn hummed and you smiled to yourself, deciding to go all in.

Your hands moved up his head, gently scratching his scalp for quite some time before massaging his temples.

You've never seen the ranger so blissed out.

Aragorn, on the other hand, couldn't remember the last time he felt so at peace. Your hands were like heaven in his hair and he wondered how they would feel holding his own hands in times of difficulty or against his cheeks while leaning in for a kiss.

He let himself indulge in those fantasies, not putting an end to them, despite the fact you weren't his.

When all this was over, he decided, he would ask you to stay with him.

The fourth time

The next time, there wasn't even hesitation. When you reunited with the man after the battle of Helm's Deep and saw him covered in blood - which wasn't his own, he assured you - you immediately pulled him aside, your hands cupping his face.

"Aragorn", you breathed and leaned your forehead against his.

"It is not over yet, Y/N", he replied as he took your hands, gently squeezing them.

"I feared for that, but let us celebrate this win. For now, let us take pride in the fact that evil did not win. There is still hope."

He grinned. "You are using my words against me, my darling."

"Someone has to", you mused, "otherwise you will never realise the power behind your words. And now sit down and let me clean your face before the blood dries completely."

He followed your instructions without any complaints.

You grabbed a bowl of water and a clean enough cloth and kneeled down in front of the king.

If it had been anyone else, you might have felt vulnerable or disrespected, but not in this situation.

You dipped the piece of fabric into the warm water before bringing it up to the king's face, gently wiping the blood off of his cheek.

His eyes were fixed on you. He wasn't sure how anyone could look so beautiful while being so focused. The urge to ease the tension between your eyebrows bubbled up in his chest and he desperately wanted to kiss that exact spot. But he couldn't. You weren't his and he still wasn't sure if you wanted to be.

Your voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Stop me if this is inappropriate, my king", you murmured after you had stood up and were now mere inches away from his face, brushing his hair back to clean his forehead.

He gulped, trying to ignore how nice you smelt, even during times of war and blood and how the use of his title didn't make him uncomfortable when you said it.

"No, this is nice", Aragorn finally replied and mentally scolded himself for sounding so unsure.

When you were done cleaning his face, you put the bowl down and turned back around to him.

"I can get you some more water if you wish to remove the blood from your chest."

He didn't want you to leave, but it would be selfish to ask you to stay when there were others who might need your assistance, so he shook his head.

"I am well enough, thank you for your help."

You tilted your head, eyes locking with his.

"You are too stubborn for your own good", you sighed. "Go and prepare what you have to, let us help the others, but tonight", you pointed at his chest, "tonight, we'll take a look at your torso."

Aragorn tried to surpress his smirk, failing miserably. "Yes, your majesty."

You rolled your eyes, a fond smile on your lips.

+1

The fight was over.

Aragorn wasn't sure how to feel when all he's ever really known was blood and war and his own swords clashing against the enemys' weapons.

But it was over.

The ring had been destroyed and by some miracle, most of the good ones had made it out alive, you included.

His heart felt suddenly very heavy as his eyes landed on your form, not knowing how you envisioned your future now that the quest had been completed.

Your eyes found his and without thinking, you ran over to the king, throwing your arms around his neck.

"We won, Aragorn", you whispered into his ear and hugged the man even tighter.

It was hard to ignore the happiness bubbling up in his chest as he felt your body against his and the joy in your voice in his ears.

"My darling", he whispered and your heart skipped a beat, "stay with me. Stay by my side and let us, together, create a world of peace for the people now and the generations that will follow."

You stared at him, not believing your own ears.

Aragorn understood your silence as reluctance and took a step back.

"It seems I have misunderstood the situation when I believed you wanted to be mine as well, I apologise for the-"

Your lips crashed against his.

"No, my king." You let out a breath of relief. "It was me who did not believe your heart could want me in that way. For as long as you want me, you will have me. I'm eternally yours."

This time it was Aragorn who pressed his lips against yours, making you lose your mind with a single gesture.

"Aye, took the lad long enough to make his move", Gimli said and looked up at the elf who eyed his new-found friend.

"I told you though. They would end up together eventually."

Just like destiny intended.

[talonabraxas]

The Sirius Star Constellation & Astronomy The Astronomy of the Sirius Star System Located behind the Sun when viewed from our planet during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, Sirius rises in the east, before the Sun begins to rise. It was this pre-dawn path that led the astronomers of early civilizations to assume that the star somehow brought about the intense heat and droughts that were common in the middle of summer. In addition to this, Sirius goes by a different name: Alpha Canis Majoris, or the Dog Star. Sirius earned its canine-inspired moniker due to its position on the Canis Major constellation, otherwise known as the Big Dog. It actually traces its name back to its Greek roots — “Seirios,” which means “sparking” or “scorching.” According to modern-day estimates, the Sirius star system is approximately 8.6 light years away from Earth. Despite being so far away, astronomers are still able to gauge just how bright Sirius is, thanks to its stellar magnitude. The stellar magnitude system used by astronomers is simple: the lower the number, the brighter the star is. In the case of the Sirius star system, its visual magnitude clocks in at -1.44, which means that when viewed from our vantage point in the cosmos, it is brighter than any other visible star. Note: this does not mean that Sirius is the brightest star in the entire galaxy. Sirius does not produce the most amount of energy, nor does it radiate the most intense light; however, other stars are farther away from Earth, and thus don’t shine as brightly as Sirius does. One doesn’t even need to use a telescope just to see Sirius. There are only six celestial bodies within the Solar System that outshine Sirius: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury (which isn’t even the case most of the time), Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. Binary Star Sirius A & B Why is Sirius so bright despite its massive distance from our planet? Sirius is a binary star system. In addition to the main sequence star (known as Sirius A), the system also features a smaller companion star (Sirius B). Sirius A is twice the mass is twice that of Sirius B, which in turn is almost the same as our Sun’s. Sirius A Diameter of roughly 2.4 million kilometers (or 1.5 million miles). Sirius A is close to twice as large as our Sun. It is a main-sequence star (spectral type A1V). That means Sirius A’s energy is a direct result of the fusion of hydrogen atoms deep within its core. This gives Sirius A a luminosity that is easily 25 times that of our Sun, as well as a surface temperature of around 10,000 degrees Celsius (or 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit). Sirius B A diameter of approximately 11,800 km (7,300 miles). As a white dwarf star, Sirius B has a density 92 000 times our own sun. One cubic inch of material at that density would weigh over two tons at the surface of the Earth. It has a gravitational force that is about 350,000 times stronger than Earth’s. Meanwhile, Sirius B travels around Sirius A following a highly elliptical orbit. Its luminosity is roughly 3% that of the Sun. However, it’s easily five times as hot as the sun, registering surface temperatures of close to 25,000 degrees Celsius (45,000 degrees Fahrenheit). Relative to Earth, Sirius B is the closest known white dwarf star. That is a star that is so old that it has completely depleted its energy source and lost its outer layer. ~Anatomy of a Star~

[nurse-floyd]

F1 and Biometrics

Biometric gloves came into play in F1 in 2018 to give medical teams immediate access to important information regarding driver conditions after an incident. It allows for vitals to be measured before, at the time of an incident and after the crash until they are rescued and more advanced monitoring is able to be applied. It is also a big help if a driver is involved in a crash that means they are not accessible straight away or cannot be visualized for monitoring so this allows teams to get immediate access to this information.

According to the FIA website, this was a difficulty by medical teams when Carlos Sainz crashed in the 2015 Russian GP where he hit the barrier head-on at 153km/h (roughly 95mph). The first row of the barrier was resting on top of him, so medical teams had to wait for this to be removed before they had access to him. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt during this crash, but medical teams didn’t know this initially as this technology wasn’t available and being used.

The sensors were basically made custom to F1 drivers. Regular sensors had not been fire tested and were not comfortable enough for the drivers to wear for long races. They use Bluetooth technology and can send data within a 500m and are powered by a small battery that drivers charge before races.

Drivers gloves have a 3mm sensor that is stitched into the palm of the fabric and monitors their vital signs during races. They measure pulse oximetry which measures the amount of oxygen being carried in the blood as well as drivers pulse rates. Obviously if a driver has an injury that is affecting their breathing, this will show in the saturations that would decline rapidly. Having this technology allows physiological readings and biometrics to be continuously monitored throughout the race from start to finish. Data from the sensor transmits to an iPhone app and gives medical crews remote and advance information on the driver’s condition. The small biometric readers are flexible and fire resistant up to 1,800 degrees Celsius (3,272 degrees Fahrenheit) for 22 seconds.

In the future there are even plans to implement sensors for respiratory rate and temperature to further monitor drivers which will not only enhance safety features but allow teams and drivers to monitor performance better.

OMP, an equipment supplier, has been developing wearable biometric monitoring systems since the introduction of the biometric sensors in 2019. An undershirt equipped with sensors and a measurement unit would transmit and record biometric data allowing for real-time monitoring of health through ECG and thoracic expansion. This would allow monitoring of drivers heart rhythms and breathing rate which would not only benefit medical teams in the case of an incident but also help identify stress, fatigue and any alteration in conditions. This would be useful considering the amount of stress drivers have been put through in the past in hot countries for example Saudi Arabia GP 2023 when many drivers retired, had to be taken to medical, threw up in their helmets or passed out after the race.

TV crews can also display biometric data during broadcasts to show the physical condition of a driver as they battle on track. However, there have been questions about the ethics and use of biometrics and why can’t we as an audience see drivers heart rates etc on screen if this data is being constantly collected. The FIA has strict guidelines about the use of raw biometric data. Section 2.4 of the FIA Guidelines for the Collection and Usage of Biometric Data in Motorsport, states that the use of biometric data can be used for more than just medical and performance monitoring and can be used for entertainment and marketing purposes but only if it is changed from raw data into a variable to protect the private health information of the driver. The FIA won’t allow the use of biometric data to be publicly available in the original form/ measurement unless the driver provides informed consent.

Essentially, driver onboard vitals are likely not to be available live due to strict laws on data protection and sharing health related information about drivers as it is protected health information. In the case of an accident or emergency, data is not allowed to be used even if the information is changed to protect the driver unless it is for medical and rescue use and post-accident information.

Sources: (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

This also led me down a rabbit hole and found another study (it was anonymous but if you’re a sleuth you can probably take a guess at what F1 driver it was) where they monitored his heart rate during qualifying to see what his average was throughout the race to test the cardiovascular strain F1 drivers are put under!