#feel free to ask for an explaination if anythings unclear

[alicenthighstower]

TILE TRANSITION TUTORIAL

a couple of people have asked me for a tutorial on how I did the penultimate gif in this set, so here goes! this is my first tutorial, so please feel free to reach out with further questions if anything's unclear.

note: this tutorial assumes you know the basics of gifmaking, can create the base gifs, and are familiar with timeline mode.

STEP ONE: create the base gifs! I'd recommend staying between 25-40 frames for each gif, since the transitions we'll use later tend to increase gif sizes. these are the ones I'll be using for this tutorial:

STEP TWO: create the guide layouts for both base gifs. for this panel, I chose a 4x4 grid — I would recommend keeping the number of "tiles" low because it can get tedious, but have a minimum of 9 (3x3 grid).

now your canvas should look like this:

STEP THREE: create the tiles. this is where the going gets rough; there might be easier ways to do this that I couldn't think of 😭 if there are any please send me an ask!

essentially, in this step we'll cut up the base gifs into smaller squares so that each tile can be manipulated separately when we put both gifs together. to do this, first create a square using the rectangle tool and the guides. then duplicate the base gif, move it above the square, apply a clipping mask, and then convert the clipped gif and square (selected in the image below) into one smart object.

ALTERNATELY: you could duplicate the original base gif and use layer masks to isolate tiles. create a layer mask for the duplicated gif layer and, with the layer mask selected, drag your mouse over a square (using the guide layout) and press delete. then press ctrl/cmd + i to invert the layer mask so that the gif only shows in the square of your choosing.

now repeat until you've got the entire gif in tiles, and do the same for the other gif!

since the transition effect is achieved by staggering the crossfades for each tile of the final gif, you can cheat by having multiple tiles "flip" at a time, ideally no more than four. this means you need to cut the base gif up into fewer pieces. to do this, simply draw multiple squares instead of one and then merge the shapes, before duplicating and clipping the gif onto them.

if you do this, it's essential to remember that you have to divide both gifs up in the exact same way. each piece of the b/w gif has to correspond to a piece of the purple gif!

this is what the layers look like for each gif once I'm done:

I have them lettered so that it'll be easier to match them up in the next step.

STEP FOUR: this is the complicated bit that took me two days to figure out. I'll do my best to explain but don't hesitate to reach out if something isn't clear!

to begin, open up a new psd and import both base gifs into it. (remember to click "create video timeline" and ensure that your gifs are all in order before proceeding.)

now, the trickiest part about this transition is ensuring that all the little tiles sync up so that the larger gif is coherent. so first we'll create some markers (just empty layers) to ensure that everything lines up as it should. — marker 1: at about halfway through the first gif (b/w in this case) — marker 2: at about a quarter of the gif length — marker 3: close to the end of the gifs

at this point we're ready to start bringing in the tiles. I'm going to delete the base gifs from this new psd just to keep things cleaner!

first thing to do is import my b/w tile. move the timeline slider over to marker 1 and split the first gif. (if it helps, rename the split gifs and add (start) and (end) to the two halves.) then, move the (end) half to the beginning of the timeline, and the (start) half to line up with marker 3.

the purple tile is easier to manage. simply import it into the psd and line it up with marker 2.

your timeline should now look like this:

notice the overlap between the gifs at their beginnings and ends — this is where you'll be able to cascade the tiles flipping, so it helps to have a significant amount of overlap.

crop the three gifs for this tile as you see fit! since this is the first tile I want to flip from b/w to purple, I'll crop gif 1a (end) all the way to the current position of the timeline slider (red line with blue tip) and leave the beginning of gif 2a uncropped. for the flip from purple to b/w, I'll crop both gifs a bit.

once that's done, drag all three gifs onto the same level in timeline so they form a video group. your timeline should look something like this:

now you just repeat the process for all the other tiles! as long as you made sure that all the tiles in one gif correspond with tiles in the other gif in step three, this should be a fairly painless process. make sure to crop the starts/ends of the gifs separately so that they don't all flip together.

this is what my layers look once I've done all the tiles:

and the gif!

STEP FIVE: transitions! click on the half-white square (top right of the left column in the timeline, beside the scissors) and select the crossfade transition, then drag it between two gifs in a video group. it should create a two-triangle symbol and shorten the overall length of the video group.

apply the transition to all the tile flips, ensuring that the duration of all transitions is constant. this can sometimes be tricky because ps likes to change the duration of each transition, so right click on the transition symbol and manually change all your transition durations to be the same.

your layers should now look something like this:

STEP SIX: draw the grid. bring back the guide layout from step two and using the line tool (I like 2px thickness), trace the grid. adjust opacity as you see fit (50-80% is usually a good idea), so that the canvas looks like this:

STEP SEVEN: export and celebrate! you're done!

I hope this tutorial made sense and was easy to follow, and happy giffing! my inbox is always open for any questions <3

[brotherconstant]

GIFMAKING TUTORIAL: PHOTOPEA (for Windows)

Screencapping

Gif Width/Size Limit/Ezgif

Loading Frames

Cropping and Resizing

Rasterize/Make Frames

Sharpening

Coloring (not detailed. Links to other tutorials included)

Exporting

Obligatory Mentions: @photopeablr ; @miwtual ; @benoitblanc ; @ashleysolsen Definitely check out these blogs for tips, tutorials and resources, they're a gold mine. Finally I recommend browsing the PHOTOPEA TUTORIAL / PHOTOPEA TUTORIAL GIF tags. DISCLAIMER: English is not my first language and I'm not an expert on what I'm going to discuss, so if anything's unclear feel free to drop another ask.

1. SCREENCAPPING -> PotPlayer (the one I use) or MVP or KMPlayer

INSTALL PotPlayer (tutorial)

Play your movie/episode and press Ctrl + G. The Consecutive Image Capturer window will pop up. Click Start to capture consecutive frames, Stop when you got what you needed.

Where it says "Image Type -> Format" I recommend picking PNG, for higher quality screencaps.

To access the folder where the screencaps are stored, type %appdata% in windows search, open the PotPlayerMini64 folder (or 32, depending on your system) and then the Capture folder. That's where you'll find your screencaps.

Admittedly MVP is a lot faster but I prefer Potplayer because it generates (at least in my case) higher quality screencaps. MVP kind of alters the hue and it made it harder for me to color my gifs. Still, if you're interested in how to use it, I recommend this tutorial.

As for KMPlayer, every tutorial out there is outdated and I couldn't figure out the new version of the software.

2. GIF WIDTH/HEIGHT, SIZE LIMIT, EZGIF OPTMIZER

At this point you should already know how big your gifs are going to be. Remember the ideal gif width(s) on tumblr are 540 px / 268 px / 177 px. These specific numbers take into account the 4 px space between the gifs. No restrictions on height. Here are some examples:

You can play around with the height (177x400, 177x540, 268x200, 268x268, 268x350, 268x400, 540x440, 540x500, 540x540 etc) but if you go over the 10 MB limit you'll either have to make your gifs smaller/delete some frames.

OR you can go on ezgif and optimize your gif, which is usually what I do. The quality might suffer a little, but I'm not really (that) obsessed with how crispy my gifs look, or I'd download photoshop.

Depending on the gif size, you can decrease the compression level. I've never had to go over 35. It's better to start at 5 (minimum) and then go from there until you reach your desired ( <10mb) gif size. Now that I think about it I should have included this passage at the end of the tutorial, I guess I'll just mention it again.

3. LOAD YOUR FRAMES

File -> Open... -> Pick one of your screencaps. The first one, the last one, a random one. Doesn't matter. That's your Background.

File -> Open & Place -> Select all the frames (including the one you already loaded in the previous passage) you need for your gif and load them.

(I recommend creating a specific folder for the screencaps of each gif you're going to make.)

WARNING: When you Place your screencaps make sure the Crop tool is NOT selected, especially if you've already used it and the width/height values have been entered. It will mess things up - I don't know why, could be a bug.

You can either select them all with Ctrl+A or with the method I explained in the ask: "when you want to select more than one frame or all frames at once select the first one, then scroll to the bottom and, while pressing Shift, select the last one. this way ALL your frames will be selected".

WARNING: Depending on how fast your computer is / on your RAM, this process may take a while. My old computer was old and slow af, while my new one can load even a 100 frames relatively fast, all things considered. Even so, I recommend ALWAYS saving your work before loading new frames for a new gif, because photopea might crash unexpectedly. Just save your work as often as you can, even while coloring or before exporting. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Now you can go ahead and delete the Background at the bottom, you won't need it anymore.

4. CROPPING AND RESIZING

Right now your screencaps are still smart objects. Before rasterizing and converting to frames, you need to crop your gif.

Technically you can rasterize/convert to frames and then crop, BUT if you do it in that order photopea will automatically delete the cropped pixels, even if you don't select the "Delete Cropped Pixels" Option. Might be another bug, unclear. Basically, if you crop your gif and then realize you cropped a little too much to the left or the right, you can go ahead, select the Move Tool (shortcut: V) and, after selecting ALL YOUR FRAMES, move them around on your canvas until you are satisfied. You won't be able to do this if you rasterize first and then crop, the excess pixels will be deleted. I don't know why, I found out by accident lol.

CROPPING

(Cropped pixels: the gray/opaque area outside of the selected area. That area disappears once you press enter and crop, but the pixels are retained, so you can move the frames around and reposition them as you like. In this case I could move the frames to the left and include Silver's figure [curly guy in the foreground] in the crop)

After deleting the Background, you will need to select all your frames (using the Shift key), use the C shortcut on your keyboard to choose the Crop tool. Or you can click on it, whatever's more convenient. Once you do that, a dropdown menu is going to appear. You need to select the "FIXED SIZE" option, as shown in the following screencap.

Once you do that, you can type in your desired width and height. Do not immediately press enter.

Your work area should now look like this. Now you can click on one of the white squares and enlarge the selected area until the edges are lined up. You can then move it around until it covers the area you wish to gif.

WARNING: to move the big rectangle around, you're gonna have to click on a random point of the work area, PREFERABLY not to close to the rectangle itself, or you might accidentally rotate it.

See? When your cursor is close to the selected area it turns into this rotating tool. Move it away until it reverts to your usual cursor, then you can start moving the rectangle. Press Enter when you're satisfied with the area you selected.

RESIZE

This isn't always necessary (pretty much never in my case) - and it's a passage I often forget myself - but it's mentioned in most of the tutorials I came across over the years, so I'd be remiss if I didn't include it in mine. After cropping, you'll want to resize your image.

IMAGE -> Image Size...

This window will pop up. Now, should the values in the Width and Height space be anything other than 540 and 400 (or the values you entered yourself, whatever they might be) you need to correct that. They've always been correct in my case, but again. Had to mention it.

5. RASTERIZE & MAKE FRAMES

Now that your screencaps are cropped, you can go ahead and convert them.

LAYER -> Rasterize (if you skip this passage you won't be able to Sharpen (or use any filter) on your frames at once. You'll have to Sharpen your frames one by one.

Photopea doesn't feature a timeline and it's not a video editor, which makes this passage crucial. When you select all your smart objects and try to apply a filter, the filter will only by applied to ONE frame. Once you rasterize your smart objects and make them into frames, you can select them all and sharpen them at once. Unfortunately this also means that you won't be able to - I don't know how to explain this properly so bear with me - use all smart filters/use them in the same way a photoshop user can. For example, you can sharpen / remove noise / add noise / unsharp mask... but you can't act on those filters in the same way a photoshop user can. When you work on smart objects you can change the blend mode - which is critical if you decide to use a filter like High Pass. If you simply apply a high pass filter on photopea you won't be able to change the blend mode and your gif will look like this (following screencaps). Or rather, you will be able to change the blend mode by clicking on the little wheel next to "High pass" (circled in green in the 2nd screencap), but you'll have to apply the filter to each frame manually, one by one.

Then you can rasterize/make into frames, but it's extremely time consuming. I did it once or twice when I first started making gifs and it got old pretty soon haha.

Layer -> Animation -> Make frames. This passage will add "_a_" at the beginning of all your frames and it's what allows you to make a (moving) gif. As I said in the ask, if you skip this passage your gif will not move.

6. SHARPENING

Some people prefer to color first and sharpen later, but I found that sharpening filters (more or less) dramatically alter the aspect of your gif and already brighten it a bit (depending on your settings) and you may end up with an excessively bright gif.

Now, sharpening settings are not necessarily set in stone. The most popular ones are 500/0.4 + 10/10, which I use sometimes. But you may also need to take into account the quality of the files you're working with + the specific tv show you're giffing. I've been using different settings for pretty much every tv show I gif, especially in the last couple months. Some examples:

followed by

OR

AMOUNT: 500% RADIUS 0.3px followed by AMOUNT: 20% (or 10%) RADIUS 10px

You'll just need to experiment and see what works best for your gifs.

Some gifmakers use the UNSHARP MASK filter as well (I think it's pretty popular among photopea users?) but it makes my gifs look extra grainy, makes the borders look super bright and it clashes with my coloring method(s), so I use it rarely and with very moderate settings. Something like this:

Again, depends on the gif and on what you like. I've seen it used with great results by other gifmakers!

REDUCE NOISE

Sometimes - and this is especially the case for dark scenes - your gif may look excessively grainy, depending on how bright you want to make it. Reducing noise can help. Keep it mind, it can also make it worse and mess up the quality. BUT it also reduces the size of your gif. Obviously, the higher the settings, the more quality will suffer.

These are my standard settings (either 2/70% or 2/80%). It's almost imperceptible, but it helps with some of the trickier scenes.

ADDING NOISE

Adding noise (1% or 2% max) can sometimes help with quality (or make it worse, just like reduce noise) but it will make your gif so so so much bigger, and occasionally damage the frames, which means you won't be able to load your gif on tumblr, so I rarely use it.

You'll also want to create ACTIONS which will allow you to sharpen your gifs much faster.

HOW TO CREATE AN ACTION ON PHOTOPEA

The Action Button (shaped like a Play button as you can see in the following screencaps) may not be there if you're using photopea for the first time. If that's the case click on the magnifiying glass next to "Account" (in red) and type "actions". Press Enter and the button should immediately show up.

Once you do that, click on the Folder (circled in yellow)

and rename it however you like.

now click on New Action (circled in red). now you can press the Recording button (circled in green)

Now

FILTERS -> Smart Sharpen

and you can enter your values. Then you repeat this passage (WITHOUT pressing rec, WITHOUT pressing new action or anything else, you just open the smart shapen window again) and, if you want, you can sharpen your gif some more (10%, 10px, or anything you want.)

Maybe, before creating an action, experiment with the settings first and see what works best.

When you're satisfied, you can PRESS STOP (it's the rec button, which is now a square) and you can DOWNLOAD your action (downwards facing arrow, the last button next to the bin. Sorry, forgot to circle it) .

You need to download your action and then upload it on your photopea. When you do, a window will pop up and photopea will ask you whether you wish to load the action every time you open the program. You choose "Okay" and the action will be loaded in the storage.

When you want to sharpen your gif, you select all your frames, then you click on the Play button, and select the Action, NOT the folder, or it won't work.

Actions can also be created to more rapidly crop and convert your frames, but it doesn't always work on photopea (for me at least). The process is exactly the same, except once you start recording you 1) crop your gif as explained in step 4, 2) convert into frames. Then you stop the recording and download the action and upload it. This won't work for the Rasterize step by the way. Just the Animation -> Make Frame step.

7. COLORING

Now you can color your gif. I won't include a coloring tutorial simply because I use a different method for every tv show I gif for. You normally want to begin with a brightness or a curve layer, but sometimes I start with a Channel Mixer layer to immediately get rid of yellow/green filters (there's a tutorial for this particular tool which you will find in the list I mention in the link below)

[Plus I'm not really an authority on this matter as my method is generally... fuck around and find out. Two years of coloring and I still have no idea what I'm doing. 70% of the time.]

Simple Gif Coloring for Beginners -> very detailed + it includes a pretty handy list of tutorials at the bottom.

8. EXPORTING

Now you can export your gif. Some gifmakers export their (sharpened) gifs BEFORE coloring and then load the gifs on photopea to color them. I'm not sure it makes any difference.

FILE -> EXPORT AS -> GIF

(not colored, just sharpened)

As you can see, unlike photoshop the exporting settings are pretty thread bare. The only option available is dither - it sometimes help with color banding - which, and I'm quoting from google for maximum clarity:

"refers to the method of simulating colors not available in the color display system of your computer. A higher dithering percentage creates the appearance of more colors and more detail in an image, but can also increase the file size."

SPEED

When you export your gif, it will play at a very decreased speed (100%). I usually set it at 180/190%, but as for every other tool, you might want to play around a little bit.

GIF SIZE/EZGIF OPTIMIZER (See Step 2)

And that's it.

P.S.: worth repeating

Save your work as often as you can, even while coloring or before exporting.

[starryluminary]

♪ Dirty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects

Do you remember when I said a while ago that a playlist with 6 songs didn’t sit well with me, so I had a way to add more? This is that way. I’ve put too much though into this universe where every kiss is Noco, so I’m making sketch pages for the comics respective episode, starting with Greeces Pieces!

No one even kisses in this episode, but the reveal plot point was WAY too important and WAY too interesting to ignore. The reveal comic will come eventually, but for now here’s the rest of the episode!!

For funsies here’s my notes about this portion, directly copy pasted from my notes app:

* Noah death glares Tyler, threatening him into silence. Alejandro notices.

* When Heather and Alejandro bicker before landing, Noah shoots Cody a look, saying “they’re crazy” with his eyes. Cody giggles back at him. Sierra notices.

* She questions him about it, not knowing Noah and Cody were friends. Cody awkwardly reaffirms yeah they’re just friends!! Sierra accepts this answer despite Cody stumbling through it. Oopsies I ended up changing this one. I’ll explain why later.

* Noah competes in the one on one turned 3v3 duel, Owen using him as a weapon. Well intentioned, of course. They end up winning, and they share the two medals Owen won in the original.

* Noah ends up flying across the arena, landing on Cody by accident. They pause for two seconds maximum, and stutter and stumble standing up. Alejandro notices and starts putting the pieces together of what might of happened.

* (By the end of the episode he’s positive he knows, so he’s not really shocked when Tyler actually says it.)

* The song of the episode is sung by Courtney and Duncan, about what don’t ask me. Courtney wins that challenge for the Amazons.

* Heather and Alejandro still compete in the hurdles challenge and Heather still wins, leading to the tiebreaker.

If anything is confusing or unclear, please feel free to ask about it! You wanna ask me about it soooo bad actually

[whitewitchqueen]

Marika and Radagon inmediately sensing Reader's presence once they return to the world is so ominous in a way. They know you're back but I wonder if they know where exactly. I have always found Ranni to be such an interesting character too, the way she desperately doesn't want to become a puppet of the Greater Will and goes to a such long extent to break free from it and start her Age of Stars. That part of Malenia saying Miquella will be back soon and that he must be very happy that Reader has returned has a little kick to it 😭 I wonder if Malenia says this just to reassure Reader, while at the same time feeling guilty that she wasn't there to protect Miquella when he was taken away (and it just makes her even more overbearing, because she doesn't know where Miquella is and you're one of the few people she has left and doesn't want to repeat the same thing again - this might be wrong during the first part though, I've read that maybe it isn't that Malenia didn't know where Miquella was, but rather the fact she's been comatose after her fight agaisnt Radahn and woke up only when the player encounters her, so since she was slumbering there wasn't anything she could've done. It's just super unclear). Miquella within the coocoon is currently unconscious and unresponsive - but imagine that for a second, he's able to tell that Reader has returned too. You described Miquella as the most terrifying yandere in Elden Ring not because of greed or possession, but because of his unbridled love and that stuck to me.

I love Elden Ring so much :( Can't wait to see what the DLC brings us. THIS IS SO LONG TOO. I'M SORRY. I went a little crazy there!

Please don't feel bad for sending in long asks, I prefer them actually, it gives me more to work with.

Marika/Radagon don't know exactly where you are, but they know that you're In the lands between. I feel as though this has to do with the Erd Tree and how it spreads over all of the lands. And since they're connect to it, they can feel when something changes or shifts, at leasts that's how I interpret it.

My interpretation of Malenia is that she isn't aware that he brother is missing, which I feel makes her story a lot more tragic, however I get what you're saying, there are a lot of theories about Malenia and the whole game in general that make a lot of things super confusing. But either way, Malenia finally having something that makes her feel normal is so tragic, especially if you take into account how she really just wants her family back together. Imagine explaining to her that Miquella is gone and watching as she's incapable of crying because of the rot covering her eyes.

I also love your suggestion of Miquella also being able to tell that reader is back within the Lands Between even while in his cocoon. Like imagine Mogh finally thinking Miquella responded to him only for Miquella to call out for reader. I do think Miquella is one of the most terrifying yanderes because of how much he loves reader, even while comatose and trapped within Moghwyn Palace, he still longs for them.

Anyway keep sending in your ideas please!!

[witch-hazels-musings]

holding you

warning: sfw - fluff: hugs: pre-relationship - mostly (Albedo’s is questionable lol), character perspective | present tense

includes: Albdeo (hugging from behind), Dainsleif, Diluc (crying, non-specific reason), Kaeya (teasing), Xiao

character x gn reader | anthology  

Albedo

At first he doesn’t notice. He’s distracted like he always is by his research, his curiosities, his long evenings of spiraling thought that keep him awake at night; but, as his back warms and the pressure around his waist increases, he takes it in - acknowledges it. 

“Hello there,” Albedo hums, a gentle chuckle vibrating through him. Its comforting as it bounces against your chest, so you press your cheek against him even more. 

“Hi,” you reply, a bit muffled. 

“Is this a, ‘I need something from you,’ or an ‘autonomic nervous system reset’?” 

You laugh, a puff of air passing through your nose, “Just a hug,” you explain by adjusting your arms so you could hold him a bit tighter. 

“Alright.” Albedo returns to his work shortly after. You can feel his arms move as he scribbles notes, adjusts the equipment sprawled across the desk. You figure it would be best to release him. You also have work to do, and if you were in his position, it would be hard to get much done with someone clinging to you like this. 

Sighing, you loosen your grip, but before you can pull away, Albedo’s hand slides over yours, gripping you gently. For a moment you aren't sure what to do, so you wait - wait to hear him speak or explain that he needs something in return, but the only thing that makes any noise is the ticking clock nestled securely against the wall. 

You move. Your cheek presses against his back again and you bite back a smile while his thumb moves over the edge of your palm and he continues to work with his free hand. 

--

Dainsleif

It takes him by surprise. He’s frozen, unsure how to respond. He takes a step back but that only makes you fall into him even more; his hands now hover over your back, uncertain if he should put them anywhere, if he should touch you at all. He’s lost.

You’re holding him so tightly that its hard for him to breath. He’s not sure how to respond, or if he even should, but you’re overwhelming him with each passing second, and he’s struggling to think straight. The way your warmth seeps into his cold skin, the wave after unbelievable wave of your scent he breaths with shaky breaths, you hum and it sends an unfamiliar shiver up his spine. 

He hesitates, but finds a way, “Is everything alright?” he asks, head tilting, hand hovering as he examines you as best he can. His voice may be steady, but he’s anything but. 

“I’ll be done in a moment, sorry.” There is a shake in your normally calm voice that makes him alert. Instinctually, he glances around the room, eyes narrowing each time they reach a shaded corner. His hand moves closer to you and he positions himself to quickly respond if anything were to through the door. When he looks at you, your face is hidden against his chest. Your trembling, and he scolds himself for not noticing it earlier. 

“No need,” he replies as he slowly moves his hand to your back, his fingers brushing against you, igniting in heat before, reluctantly, hovering above you once again. 

Whatever has made you worry, whatever is causing you distress, he will cut through it. So, even though he is uncertain, even though his heart strains in a way he hasn’t felt in years, hold onto him. As unworthy as he is, a small part of him hopes you’ll be the one he can finally find the courage to hold back.

--

Diluc

He’s hesitant, worried he’ll let his wants over power his control. Its not easy when it comes to you; things get cloudy, unclear, complicated - but he’s learned that problem's always have a solution. He just has to keep searching 

He’s keeping a look-out from inside the small storage closet while his arm rests around your shoulders. There is a soft tug on his coat as you adjust against his side and hide more against him, a muffled sob leaks out from behind your right hand so he tries to repositions himself to shield you further. The noise from the tavern floods the hallway, it spills over the second floor and crashes into the jovial cheers below. The bar is crowded tonight; there are so many eyes that could see. Diluc shifts again and you pull away. 

“I’m sorry,” you sniffle, wiping away the tears rolling down your cheek. “I’m just ... having a day,” you try to explain but the fake smile you show to reassure him gets hidden when you bite your trembling lip and shake your head. “I’m okay,” you lie, and he knows it. 

“Take a step back,” Diluc requests. It’s the first thing he’s said since he found you tucked away in the closet on the verge of tears, back pressed against the stocked shelves, breaths unsteady; alone. 

“Oh, right. Yeah.” You stumble further into the closet but when he steps in you straighten. With furrowed brows you look at him confused, “Did you -?” 

Diluc cuts you off as he blocks the entrance. From this position, no one should be able to see past him, and that’s exactly what he wants. “You’re not okay,” he corrects, voice barely audible over the loud tavern behind him. You look at him and his heart strains at the sight of you. Slowly, he opens his arms. His right hand pulls you toward him until it slides down to rest in the curve of your back. “You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone,” - especially not me, he thinks. He can feel your tension but as soon as he takes a step toward you, your restraint waivers, “Have your day,” he reassures you, breathing you in. 

You nod, with every rise and fall more and more of your resolve falls until you cover your face with your hands to hid the returning tears. Your forehead rests against his chest, Diluc holds you close, hugs you, and lets you have your moment until you’re truly ready to let go. 

--

Kaeya

He’s over-the-moon. Its not the first time he’s put his arm around you, nor will it be the last - but this time you initiated it and, shocking even him, you don’t seem to be letting go  

“Well, well,” Kaeya hums, arms sliding happily over your shoulders, his fingers dangling above your back, itching to touch you. 

“Shut it,” you bite back, clearly embarrassed. 

Kaeya laughs, unable to contain himself, “Am I not allowed to be impressed by how much your manhandling me?” You pull away but he pulls you back in, “Hey. No running now,” the feeling of your back pressing against his hand, the warmth of you against his chest - he isn’t ready to give that up yet. 

“I-I’m not running,” you mumble. Should he let you talk more or should he beg you to stop? It’s tearing him up because he desperately wants to hear you, but its so difficult to hold himself together when he does. 

Kaeya bends his neck to look at your face but you’re expertly hiding it from him; he’s annoyed because the expression on your face is tantalizing, and he knows it; yet, here you are, keeping it from him. He smirks, and opens his mouth to speak but you beat him to it. 

“Mmhm,” he replies because its the only thing he can convince his brain to do. 

“Anyway,” you begin and wiggle against his wandering hand, “I just wanted to --” bouncing your forehead against him you pause, as if the small knock on his chest will help get the words out, “... this is a thank you for - for helping me the other day.” 

“Don’t let this go to your head,” you huff, squeezing his body. 

“Too late,” he replies and pulls you closer, even as you protest. 

Kaeya smile as never strained his face so intensely in all his life.

Man - the things you do to him. 

--

Xiao

He’s at a loss and desperately wants to fight it. Wants to run away; poof into the protective smoke he doesn't question, but, somehow, this feels so whole, so comforting. This isn’t what he expected to happen when you asked if you could make him feel better. He expected food, maybe medicine, but this ... he can’t comprehend it

Xiao can feel his whole body. Like a ridged piece of wood not ready to be shaped. His hands hover, his body is stiff, arms tense; he’s afraid to relax and has a very good reason to be. What if this prolonged contact hurt you? What if the vile that plagued him tarnished you? What if, out of all the things in this world, he was the thing that did you harm -- 

“Mm ... this is ...” 

“Hm?” You look at him, pulling your head back slightly so you can hear what he has to say, but when your arms loosen and your warmth evaporates, the words on the tip of his tongue fall like stones to the ground. He may not enjoy the contact, but the absence of you he hated even more. “Is this not helping?” 

Xiao stalls at the question, at the worry in your eyes. So, with a sigh, he submits to his fate, “If you insist.” You smile and return to the position you were in moments again but this time your hand presses against his back, this time you hum and the feeling reverberates into this chest, this time you smile before your face his hidden from him and he leans into all of it. 

His once uncertain mind feels more stable as he drops an arm to his side while the other curls around your body so his hand can find the small of your back. Your fingers press against him, he steps closer. Your head rests on him, his whole body feels so warm. You giggle and he feels better. 

How childish, he thinks to himself as he succumbs to your touch and holds you even closer. 

[twompweek]

Hello all and welcome to the twomp week blog! I don’t think this will end up being a big thing, but with a few other people showing interest in participating it will still hopefully be a bit of fun.

I figured I’d put together this introductory post to explain a few things for those unsure, and later include any links to relevant other posts for ease of finding information. Of course, if there’s anything you find unclear or any follow up questions you might have, feel free to drop an ask or dm this blog.

So let’s get into things!

What is twomp week?

Twomp week is a week long, low pressure event for creatives within the twomp fandom. For each day the event runs there will be a list of prompts to help inspire those participating. Don’t feel like using those prompts? No worries! You can create anything you’d like for this event, regardless of the prompts for the day. And, of course, there is no pressure to post one thing for each day. Create as much or as little as you want! This event is only for a bit of fun so do whatever makes you happy :)

Who is running the event?

Me! Hello, I go by Squid. My mainblog is @thatgirlwithasquid but, while I do not enforce an 18+ following because I frankly don’t care enough to investigate who follows me, I do reblog and very rarely post more explicit content within my other fandoms on there. If you are under 18 or that content will bother you, I’d suggest going on my main blog with caution (though the #twomp tags on my blog should be perfectly minor friendly)

I love twomp but don’t create as much for it as I’d like, so I’m putting together this event both as a way to motivate myself and to share in some fun.

Is twomp week minor-friendly?

Hell yeah! I’m aware that there’s plenty of minors within this fandom so I want this event to be open to you to participate too. That means that I won’t be reblogging any nsfw content to this blog and politely ask that participants respect this and help to create an event that is safe and welcoming to all.

What can I make for the event?

Anything! Art, fanfic, music, edits, animation, gifs, character analysis… Anything that you like doing as a way to participate in this fandom is welcome. This isn’t an event tailored towards writers or artists or anyone else in specific. It’s for everyone.

I also intend for this event to be inclusive for all things twomp related. Want to create for a background character? A rare pair? Argos and Mr Plant? The plants? One specific episode? An OC? The voids themself? Our lord and saviour Argos’ Pet Rock? All perfectly acceptable and encouraged. As long as it’s linked to twomp its perfect for twomp week!

When will twomp week be?

Twomp week will take place on the week beginning with the 5th of August and run for 7 days. Prompts will be released ahead of this on July 15th so that anyone who may need/desire time to prepare their work beforehand has the opportunity to do so.

How can I find out more about the event?

I’ll be updating about the plans for twomp week as I work them out and posting about it on this blog, so following the @twompweek blog is the best way to stay updated as I figure things out. You can also just keep an eye on the #twomp and #the world of mr plant tags for anything I post about it, or the #twomp week tag itself which I will also start using.

You can also send an ask to the event blog or send me a dm here and I’ll do my best to get back to you about whatever you want to know!

How do I take part in twomp week?

There’s no sign up process! This is an open event that anyone can join in, no need to ask or feel worried about just jumping on. When the event rolls around, all you need to do is post your work here on tumblr with the #twomp week tag or @ this blog so that I can find and reblog your creations onto the event blog as well.

It would also be nice if you followed the event blog or the #twomp week tag so that you can enjoy and support other participants and all their hard work, but that’s optional and up to your preference.

[frootloopscos]

2) Crowley, Never Meet My Grandma.

Welcome back to my story! If you enjoy please like, and comment! Reblogs are appreciated and feel free to send me anything in my ask box!

Chapter 2) Ramshackle Dorm

PREVIOUSLY

The male, now known to Yuu as Dire Crowley, explained to them that they are the headmage of the school that they are apparently at now. Yuu had to calm themself and real themself in. 'I'm not in Galar anymore, and not in any other region that I know of. This, this is another world.' They took a deep breath after coming to this realization, it was rare in Galar, but they must have fallen though an Ultra Wormhole and ended up here. Yuu ended up tuning out Crowley until they realized that the two of them were now back in the room with coffins....

NOW...

Yuu silently looked around, there were other people now, several of them speaking to groups gathered in front of them. Yuu flinched back slightly when Crowley suddenly yelled making their presences known. "I most certainly did not!" He yelled making Yuu confused, 'not what?' They asked themself as a red head crossed his arms looking at Crowley, "speak of the devil." Crowley gave a small glare to the boy, "if you must know, I was searching for the new student who failed to show for orientation. You are the only one who had yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel." He said to Yuu giving them a slight push towards the mirror.

Yuu just sighed knowing Crowley wouldn't listen to them, 'he reminds me of Rose.' They thought to themself with distain as they walked up to the mirror. "State your name." It spoke, Yuu's eyes widened before shaking their head. "My name is Yuu." They said to the mirror, "Yuu. . . The nature of your soul is. . ." The mirror was silent for several minutes before speaking again, "unclear to me." "What did you just say?" Crowley asked crossing his arms, "I sense no magical power from this one, aside from the capsules at their disposal. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant. Therefore, no form would be appropriate.

Chaos began to ensue in the mirror chamber as the students began to whisper to one another. "Magicless?" "How are they here then?" "Did the Dark Mirror get it wrong?" Crowley tried to intervene but the Meowth had other ideas, finally getting out of Crowley's grasp and yelling. "ME! Let ME have this worthless human's seat!" It yelled in defiance, Crowley scowled "not so fast, you hyperactive weasel!" The Meowth smirked, "unlike that worthless human, I can actually use magic! So let me be a student here! Look, I'll show you! My spells are the cat's meow!"

Yuu's eyes widen as they and the red head from before yelled "Everyone, get down!" At the same time, the Meowth let out strings of fire from his mouth across the room. The students began to panic as the flames began to spread, one student with red eyes yelled out that his butt was on fire, Yuu quickly grabbed a pokeball at their side. Crowley yelled for someone to catch the rampaging Meowth.

As two students ran after Grim, Yuu grabbed another pokeball and threw the two spheres into the air "Agent use Snipe Shot, Mimi use Phantom Force!" They said as the dark blue bipedal lizard and the rag doll-esque creature emerged from white light and begin to follow their trainer's orders. Agent making a finger gun and shooting streams of water onto the blue flames around the room, making sure to douse the fire on the red eyed student's butt. Mimi using a dark shadowy hand from under the costume and attacking the Meowth to stop it in its tracks.

The Meowth struggled unable to move as the red head pointed his pen at it "Off With Your Head!" He yelled as red magic came from the writing utensil hitting Meowth a black and red heart shaped collar appeared on his neck. "MYAH?! What are you doing?!" The Meowth asked as it tried to pull off the collar. Yuu walked over patting Mimi on her stuffed head. "Great job girl," they said before picking up the Mimikyu. "Agent nice job, come back." The lizard obediently walked over to Yuu, "Inteleon." He said with a smile as they gave him head scritches. 

"Yuu!" Crowley declared staring at them, "was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar! Now discipline yo-" Yuu interrupted him this time, "it's not mine!" They yelled with a glare, "my Pokemon know better than to lash out unreasonably. I can try to catch the Meowth, but I don't even know if I have any empty pokeballs. Arceus I just want to go home..." they mumbled to themself. Crowley cleared his throat and decided to send the Meowth off campus.

Yuu glared at Crowley as they held Mimi in their arms, the bird didn't seem to notice as he sent all the students away. Turning to Yuu he spoke with a soft smile, "well Yuu, this is a most unfortunate turn of events. I'm afraid that you will not be attending Night Raven College after all. Dudley you realize that I cannot very well admit a student with no magical ability into my academy. But worry not! The Dark Mirror will see you safely home. Now, step into a gate, and visualize the place from whence you came."

Yuu sighed, returning Agent to his pokeball and stepped into one of the coffins. Closing their eyes they thought of their home region, Galar, spending time with their twin brother, being betrayed by ex-chairman Rose, being adopted by Grandma Opal... "Oh Dark Mirror!" Crowley called out, "return this soul to where it belongs!" The Dark Mirror was silent, Crowley awkwardly cleared his throat and spoke again. "Oh Dark Mirror! Return this soul-" the mirror interrupted him, "there is no such place." Yuu frowned, "I thought so. . ." They said sadly as they stepped out of the coffin.

Crowley turned back to Yuu, "what do you mean?" He asked the trainer, "I'm from another world, I came to this conclusion earlier. . . In my world there's a lot of research on other worlds and different universes. Though that's mainly researched in Alola, I must have fallen though an Ultra Wormhole and ended up here." Crowley looked at the crestfallen child and asked if they had any identification on them. Yuu hummed, "I think..." they set Mimi on their head and felt around their pockets. "Oh, my Rotom Phone! Ro can you help us?" They asked as their phone flew out of a pocket in the robes they wore.

Hovering in front of the two the phone attempted to turn on. "Ah, great, looks like I can only access my pokedex and pokebox. I can't even contact my brother." They said now holding the device in their hand. Crowley set a hand on their shoulder, "I can't allow you to attempt the academy, but I cannot allow you roam the streets. There is a vacant building on campus that you may stay in! I am so kind and generous, with a little cleaning it would be more than habitable for you and your creatures. . . How many more creatures do you own?" He asked as he began to lead Yuu outside of the school and down a path. Yuu just smirked, "I have well over thirty." They said crossing their arms.

.

.

.

.

"Are you shitting me right now Crowley?" They asked looking at the decrepit building in front of the two of them. "Kyu," the creature on their head said in agreement, Crowley chuckled nervously. "Isn't it delightful? Right then, scoot inside now. There you go." Upon entering the building they were greeted with dust in the air, cobwebs hanging just about anywhere you can think of, broken furniture, and holes in places you don't want. "Don't let me catch you wandering around the campus! Farewell!" Crowley said before quickly making his own retreat.

Yuu sighed in annoyance and took out Agent's pokeball again, letting him out as they set Mimi on the broken couch. "Alright you two, let me see who else I have with me, we'll be staying here for a bit. We need to clean this place up." They said as they took out the other pokeballs on their belt. "Hm, well, better than nothing." Throwing the pokeballs into the air "come on out everyone!" White light shines as the four other pokemon were released.

Four pokemon looked around confused, speaking their name or a version of their name. "Hattrem" "Tox" "Pon?" "Snom." Yuu smiled sadly, "hey everyone, we're kinda stuck here in a different world and this is where we'll have to stay for a while. Let's make the best of this and clean up as much as we can." They said trying to encourage their team.

The group of seven began to clean up the entry way, living room, and a bedroom upstairs as much as they could before it began to rain outside. It began to leak and Yuu returned most of their current team to their pokeballs to avoid them getting wet, leaving out Agent, Mimi, and Snom. It wasn't long before the stowaway Meowth snuck in and their small group had to deal with the ghost problem and Crowley entered with food.

The male was angry at first, declaring that the Meowth wasn't supposed to be on campus. Yuu explained the story of what happened as Agent took the supper that Crowley had brought for Yuu. With a bit of convincing Crowley decided that Yuu and Grim would officially have to work to earn their living situation as janitors of the academy. Yuu had to fight every urge inside of them to not wring the males neck, instead allowing Agent to fire a Snipe Shot at his face to get him to leave.

After supper was ate, yuu left to the bedroom they and their Pokemon cleaned up, opening the closet they were greeted by their usual attire they wore while traveling. They smiled taking off the robe they had been wearing and hung it inside before releasing their pokemon once more. "Sorry it's not much guys, but it's what we have for now." They said picking up Grumpy and hugging him close. "Let's get some sleep."

TO BE CONTINUED

———————

Well here is chapter two! Let me know what y'all think!

Word Count: 1737

Published to Wattpad: April 24th, 2024

Published to Tumblr: April 24th, 2024

Edited: n/a

[jmdbjk]

Baby Stud Candy

JK still sounded very nasally. I hate it when they have to fight a cold while performing live. Yoongi had to do that too while on his tour.

JK said he felt worse the day of the One Show performance than he felt the day before and he was a little stressed about it but then all of that disappeared once he got in front of Army.

He said promotions were over and some of it didn't go as planned. It felt really limited but he was grateful.

He goes on for a few minutes about singing off key a little and messing up a little during the performance. He knows he can't be perfect all the time but he still had fun even if he made mistakes.

JK wants to have an ease and openness with us. He wants to just be himself and say whatever is on his mind... honesty. That's all he wants with us. Honestly, he's been that way for a while now.

He said if he didn't have that heart, he would just be done with work and just have fun getting drunk. But here he is telling us what he truly wants.

Mr. Unserious.

He apologizes if the sculpture has some sort of cultural significance...

I'm afraid someone in the hotel's housekeeping staff got fired yesterday...

the unseriousness...

He reiterates what every member has said... that after solo activities, when BTS comes back together as a group...

He contemplated again, why do Army love him so much? He said he would try harder to live up to our love that he feels.

He doesn't care. Think what you want. He just wants to be comfortable being himself when he is with us like this.

He reads a comment about growing a beard and he says he has very little facial hair... a true baby face. Which adds to his Giant Baby Villain label.

And now we get to the nitty gritty...

His reply? "Tell me why is that a dirty version? Explain yourself." And he looks a little perturbed at that question. Like about to throw hands or something. Then he says people have different attitudes about what the explicit version means and there's nothing he can do about that.

He went on to say he's been in this business for ten years, please respect his age, and that unless he shows us something new using his own free will to do so, he knows he won't be acknowledged. It's only something HE can do. He has to be the one to set things straight because AS WE'VE SEEN when things are not said clearly and in detail, people will run with whatever narrative suits their know-it-all-glass-half-empty view of life.

He goes on to say he's had the image as "youngest" and he knows we've loved that. But he is not the youngest amongst idols anymore. He admits he lived up to his maknae image but now he wants to break free of that. It's HIS life that HE needs to change.

HOW. MANY. TIMES. HAS. HE. ASKED. TO. NOT. BE. BABIED?

He questioned if he and us could be happy until the end if nothing changed. Realistically, no. But there are those out there who don't want anything to ever change. I've heard people say they wish BTS would make music like they used to do in the first few years... which is antithetical to everything they've been telling us this past year. Things change, people change, everything changes.

JK says he was fearful of trying new things/changing but he decided to stay true to himself. It is unclear to me if he meant we created this circumstance or we created the motivation for him to change.

He says his choices may make some of us uncomfortable and he will try to keep that in mind. He is using his lives as a way to listen to what we want, how we feel, our reactions. He wants us to be honest, to give honest words back at him. He is trying to tell us to grow up and mature along with him. He has said this before.

He wants to feel like he can collaborate with us in some things. That would be cool except for the people who think they can run his life better than he can. But he does have an idealistic way of wanting to relate and communicate with us. This desire of his is sweet and authentic.

He pretty much admits he is just rambling his stream of thoughts to us at that moment.

We should all know that everything is not always a one-sided proposition. That some people might get "hurt" and he never wants that to happen but he has to balance what he wants and what we want. And surely we understand that. I can't get over how frank he is. I love it. I want Jimin to come here and speak to us like this.

He says he is just a 25 year old man speaking his thoughts and though it might not be "broad-minded" (I disagree, he's been very broadminded this live) he wishes us to "get" where he's coming from... to understand his point of view on these things. He's been very tolerant and patient with us.

He mentions why he stopped using Instagram. What he says is that Instragram has its usefulness but it's not as real and authentic as he wants to be. Its true, IG is great for communicating and its strength is visual but sometimes the images or video clips are not really showing authenticity in its whole. It is a very skewed way of presenting things, which is why companies love it for touting their products.

He read a comment for him to just do whatever he wants, but he says he wishes he could, however in reality, who can really do everything they want? He refers to what he's doing as his job. I think people forget that this is his job. And he can't do EVERYTHING he wants, that would also be unrealistic and we should know better.

And apparently he answered a comment that asked if he was drunk... and he said yes and that's why he was saying all this though even if he wasn't he would be saying it anyway because:

He doesn't want to worry about what we think or what the company thinks he just wants everyone to be comfortable with being real.

He says those who don't approve, thanks for being here while you were here but he's going to continue being himself whether anyone likes it or not. In other words, there's the door, don't let it hit your ass on the way out.

He became interested in the bad lighting in the room and all of a sudden turned on the light on the device he was using...

Does this mean he is done sitting in his dark house with only his Mikrokosmos lamp on and the light from the television screen the only illumination in the room? Please?

Right before stepping away to use the restroom he looks at some notes he wrote...

He made talking point notes which is very endearing and also shows he has a purpose when he comes to visit us

... again, he sings while he pees...

Still keeping it real in replying to a comment about how soft his skin looks...

He expressed his desire to meet up with Army, have a drink, shoot the shit... someone says "would you be able to handle Army?" ... ... ... was that a challenge? Thou shalt not challenge thee Jeon Jungkook to a drinking contest me thinks. The man could probably drink anyone under the table. Except maybe Jimin.

He suggests he make a program in which he can converse comfortably with Army ... and he says the company is going "wtf JK"... a JK version of Suchwita but with Army... could be like Jin on Young Ji's Youtube show except JK with Army... see who passes out first:

TMI: Vodka gets JK drunk fast... (files that away in my fun facts)

He goes on to say maybe one day we can get together and talk about it all like the adults we are... he'll just continue being himself even though...

He had other stuff he wanted to say, he thinks he is bad at saying what he wants to get across. He'll say it again next time. lol.

He continued on as if we were saying our good byes ... "tell your parents I said hello (lmao)" and for us to call him, or wait, he'll call us first... let's have a meal next time (I've heard this is a common idiom in casual Korean conversation and doesn't really mean let's go have a meal, its just polite conversation)... but it appears he'll be hard to contact because:

Don't know how anyone could hate him...

Though he'll always be the baby of the BTS family, we now have this bonified Stud Candy walking the bora streets.

So does this mean I can't call him Kookie-pookie anymore? The Bun? Giant Baby Villain?

He came to this live with a purpose. He has seen the feedback over the song, of course he has, he said he was wondering whether to release both versions and then decided to just go for it so of course he was going to monitor the results. He will certainly keep moving in this direction of a more motivated, more forthright and authentic Jungkook in the future. And he's told y'all if you don't like it, it's ok, just step aside while he and the rest of us come on through.

[mydemonsdrivealimo]

COMMISSIONS!!!

its time!!!! i am so excited about these and i hope you all are too!! heres some more info :)

more payment info will be available after the initial request/discussion, but all payments WILL be through venmo (at least for now :) all payment will be due after the sketch is finalized

currently, I am opening TWO slots. i will keep this updated both on this post and in my blog bio for easy-access

please ask any questions you have!! ive never done full official comm sheets before, just pieces upon request, so if anything is unclear feel free to ask about it!!

I WILL BE KEEPING MY BASE DESIGNS FOR ESTABLISHED CHARACTERS (ex: bryce lahela). there are cases where i will to compromise/change, but, as a baseline, i will be using my "version" of them (NOT every individual quirk and hc i have for their designs, but literally just the base of the character). please ask for further information on this if you want. this is a hard concept to explain, but primarily it is a safe guard against whitewashing, making fat characters thinner than they are, making openly queer characters less queer, etc.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

ermmie wormiee....can you explain how light dependant reactions work I'm genuinely kinda lost on that part of AP Bio like everything else makes sense but unit 3 (enzymes photosynthesis and cellular resp) is genuinely my OP

Ok, so I don’t know how much you have to know so let’s just get into it. It’s not that hard once you get it.

Also please keep in mind that I studied all of this in German so I’m sorry if some things are worded weirdly.

So, there are two photosystems (PSII and PSI) in plants. As you can see in this pic, the whole reaction starts with PSII, not PSI — that’s because PSI was discovered first. (But that’s not really important.)

Photosystems are able to absorb photons (that come from the light) and produce a high energy electron! As you can see in this pic, PSII absorbs the photon, creates a high energy electron and sends it through an electron transport chain (Plastoquinone - that’s a molecule btw) to the Cytochrome b6f complex and from there to PSI.

PSII uses water as an electron donor! That is very important because that’s how oxygen gets created as a by-product.

(sciencefacts.net)

PSI absorbs the photon again and produces another high energy electron which converts NADP+ to NADPH.

The big question is: how does the plant create ATP now?

That happens through non-cyclic photophosphorylation. See all those H+ protons? Whereas there is a bunch inside the thylakoid lumen, there isn’t much in the stroma.

That leads to a concentration compensation. So all those little protons that have been produced during the reaction actually go through the ATP-synthase into the stroma. Thus, the ATP-synthase creates ATP!

I also had to remember this, I don’t know if you do but if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask:

(istudy.pk)

All you need to know is basically:

Light hits PSII. Light = energy. PSII needs energy to turn electron (water = electron donor) into a high energy electron. High energy electron travels. H+ protons get produced during reactions. PSI needs energy. High energy electron converts NADP+ to NADPH (we need that for our Calvin cycle later). Bunch of protons travel through ATP-synthase —> we have ATP now!!!

I hope this makes somewhat sense. As I’ve mentioned, I had to remember all of this in German so yeah it might be a bit messy. If there’s anything unclear, feel free to send another ask!

[sailtomarina]

The Truth of Us

Hermione x Sirius | @hp-yuletide-bliss Day 16: I gave you my heart | WC 2103 | Rating: M

A sob strangled Hermione’s throat as she shut herself in her room and pressed her back up against the surface. Each breath was a struggle, the inhales loud and desperate for reassurance, the exhales strained. She shoved the heels of each hand into her eyes and willed the tears to stay back. They always made her feel weak and juvenile, affirmations of her stupidity for caring so much about a man who would never see her as nothing more than a girl not even worth consideration.

Nevermind that she was approaching her 30s and knew exactly what and who she wanted in her life.

“Kitten, please, just talk to me.”

Sirius’ voice was muffled from beyond the door. His door, because this was Grimmauld Place and she had overstayed her welcome between flats like she was. She needed to hurry up her search and get out.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Kitten”, “love”, “little girl”—they were all variations of the way he saw her. At one point, they’d seemed signs of his affection. She leaned into them and imagined they meant something…more.

How stupid she’d been.

“Hermione. Can you open the door? I’m pretty sure this is all a misunderstanding.”

Her stomach roiled and heat flowed into her chest. A misunderstanding, was it? Turning swiftly, she yanked open the door and glared up into the dark eyes of Sirius Black.

“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing unclear about what I just saw, Sirius.” 

She’d walked out of the Floo into the drawing room, her hand frozen in the motion of brushing off soot as she scrambled to make sense of the scene in front of her. Sirius leaning against her favorite armchair, where she often curled up at night reading, and a woman standing far too close to him with her hand resting on his chest and a coy smile on her face, the twinkling red and green lights of the Christmas tree playing in patterns across their forms.

The loud thunk of her bag hitting the floor alerted them to her presence, Sirius’ head snapping up and eyes focusing on her. The woman merely looked over with a frown, one perfect eyebrow raised in confusion. 

“Kitten, I–”

Whatever he’d been about to say was lost as she pushed past him and the shite Christmas tree, and up the stairs.

Now he looked at her, one hand buried in his hair at the nape of his neck, the other leaning against the doorframe as if to trap her in. His mouth opened, then closed without saying anything.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Look, it’s none of my business, anyway. You’re free to do whatever with whomever you wish.”

Nevermind the fact that he’d certainly lead her to believe otherwise in the recent weeks. Lingering looks, a touch here and there. She let him borrow her books!

Her attempt to close the door was met with the loud smack of his palm against the surface.

“It’s not what you think it is. Don’t jump to conclusions.” His eyes were wide, almost desperate. But no, that couldn’t be right, could it? She was just seeing what she wanted to see.

Hearing him say that to her, like Hermione had a habit of misunderstanding what she saw with her very own eyes, pissed her off beyond measure. Where did he get off telling her what to think?

His hand slid across the door and curled around the edge, knuckles whitened with how hard he gripped it. It was like he meant to force her into believing his version of events and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Her traitorous heart ratcheted up in beat as he leaned further into her space. It was then that she flicked her eyes up and noticed the mistletoe he’d affixed there with a wink just yesterday.

She took one step back.

He stepped forward.

She could give him the benefit of the doubt and ask him to explain. A part of her loudly demanded this.

The other part? It had her tightening her hold on her wand and shifting her weight to one side. He followed, like the observant wizard he was, and she pivoted immediately to the opposite foot and made a dash for the gaping hole he’d left. If she could just make it out the door and down to the Floo, she could disappear and take the time she needed to come up with a plan of action.

“Oh, no, you don’t!”

Faster than she could believe him capable, he flung an arm out and caught her around the waist. He tossed her back onto her bed in the next movement.

“Expelliarmus!”

Just like that, he had her wand.

“Sirius! You can’t just trap me in here!”

“Watch me,” he growled, stalking forward and waving both wands in his hand to slam her door shut with an ominous click. Rather than pin her to the bed like in one of her many fantasies, he pulled out her desk chair, spun it around, and straddled it with arms folded over the back as he glared at her. “Gina is an estate agent.”

Even though Hermione’s brain begged her to shut up and let the man speak, she couldn’t help herself. “She must be real successful if she touches all her clients like that.”

She sounded petty and jealous and exactly the type of witch she’d never wanted to be. There was a time, when she was younger and thought herself mad about Ron, that she’d indulged in those kinds of feelings. Even now, without her wand, she itched to sic her birds on him and watch as they attacked his salt-and-pepper hair. It would serve him right to show up at the Burrow Christmas Day with peck marks all over his face.

Still, that had been her past, and she’d thought herself beyond such acts. Looking at their predicament now, Hermione was forced to accept that maybe she hadn’t changed so much as she hadn’t felt this strongly about someone else in far too long a time.

Sirius sighed in exasperation, hand tugging again at his bun. “Yeah, she is touchy, but I’ve made it clear I’m not interested in her like that and that I never will be. If you had stayed downstairs just a bit longer, you would’ve seen me push her away.”

She inched up the mattress to press herself back into the cushions seeking some sort of consolation. She bit her lip as she looked at him, taking in the way he stared directly at her with those eyes that always seemed to strip her to the core.

In truth, he’d been really, really good to her these past few months. He always had been, even before she came asking for help. He opened his home to her without any deadline mentioned, just his firm reassurance that Hermione was welcome to stay as long as needed. He’d even gone so far as to suggest she move in permanently since he had plenty of space and could use the company. At the time, she’d waved off the suggestion as the obligatory offer it likely was. She’d assured him she’d be out of his hair as soon as she could find a suitable place.

As the weeks passed and they spent more and more time together, her search had slowed to a crawl. What was the rush, anyway? She didn’t want to hastily pick a place that didn’t fulfill every single one of her needs and Sirius was the perfect housemate. She’d intended to spend the holiday with him and think about relocating in the new year.

Estate agent?

Shame expanded, branching out through her limbs and crawling to the surface of her skin.

“If you wanted me to hurry up and get out, you could have just referred me directly to the witch.”

His scowl deepened and he thrust himself up from the chair to finally prowl forward onto the edge of the bed.

“When will you stop thinking the worst of me?”

The springs creaked underneath his weight as he crawled towards her. It might have been amusing in any other scenario–shouldn’t magic make such things, such Muggle-like inconveniences, nonexistent?

So wrapped up in the random thought was she, that, by the time Sirius bracketed her between his arms, it was too late to dart away. Scents of bergamot and tobacco engulfed her and she breathed in deep.

“Sirius…” The name came out as a quiet plea.

“Yes, I reached out to her on your behalf,” Hermione’s eyes widened, but he continued, “and for mine, as well.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I wanted to see what options were even available before talking with you, but I see now that I had it all backwards. I should have consulted you first, then gone with someone else, anyone else.”

What was he trying to say? Was he dressing up the entire act of getting her out of Grimmauld Place?

“I assure you, Sirius, I can stay with Luna, or with the twins. There’s no need for you to go through all the effort–”

She trailed off when he brought his face close, his forehead pressing against her own and each puff of air a kiss of air against her lips. 

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Nothing he said made any sense, but she could feel the heat of his body as it hovered above hers and wanted to pull him flush against her like doing so would erase her doubts. The only other sound in the room was the ticking of her desk clock.

“What was Gina here for, Sirius?” Maybe saying the witch’s name would help clear her head.

She flinched in surprise at the hand that cupped her jaw and slightly tilted her face closer to him.

“I asked her to look for a smaller place where you and I might both live together.” The hand on her cheek slid down to rest palm-side down against the center of her chest. “I’ve felt more for you than any man my age should for far longer than was appropriate, and you being here has only affirmed everything I already knew to be true.”

Hermione couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. She could barely take deep enough breaths to keep up with the galloping of her heart and mind.

“What truth is that?”

The smile that stretched across his face made her ache in want, the lines at the corners of his mouth filling in deeply. It wasn’t difficult for Hermione to imagine the many years of laughter that had formed those creases and informed the devastating man that he was.

“That I gave my heart to you and intend for you to keep it. I was going to tell you tonight.”

Christmas Eve. He remembered her family tradition of opening one gift a night early.

She pinched herself hard, then yelped as pain bloomed across her arm.

Sirius threw his head back and laughed loudly, before dropping his forehead back down to hers. “This isn’t a dream, kitten.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Now that you’ve heard my explanation, what’s yours?” His eyes searched hers for an answer.

A myriad of thoughts crowded to the front, but one in particular shoved its way into the light.

“You want me?” Her voice sounded small even to her own ears.

A twinkle appeared in his eyes, the start of another smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I want you so bad.”

“But you already have me.” The words had barely left her lips before he met them in a kiss, his eager warmth enveloping her in undiluted, overwhelming Sirius Black. He lowered himself to lie against her, pressing down with his delicious weight and giving her the undeniable proof of his want hard against her thigh.

By the time they broke for air, he’d worked her into a panting mess, hands clenched so tight into the fabric of his Henley she was surprised she hadn’t torn straight through it.

“I’ll find a different agent.”

“I didn’t give a fuck about the estate agent, Sirius.”

And she didn’t. Not anymore. Gina might as well be a footnote to the love story of Hermione Granger and Sirius Black. Dramatics and misunderstandings aside, Hermione now held zero doubts about the future that lay before them. They had their work cut out for them, talks to be had and truths to be brought to light.

Right this second, though?

She arched her hips and grinned at the muffled groan he made into the crook of her neck. 

Cross-posted on Tumblr and AO3.

I have WritexAboutxMe to thank for my mind being stuck on this duo ever since I read Yuletide Beginnings earlier this week. Now all I can think about are tattoos, a salt-and-pepper man bun, and a wizard who knows exactly what he wants for Christmas this year. If that strikes your fancy, too, then go and read her work this instant!

This story actually started with a far worse premise of Hermione stumbling across Sirius getting a blowjob. It didn’t take me long to realize that I couldn’t really write any sort of recovery from that within my self-imposed limits on length, so I ended up softening the act and turning it all into something else entirely.

[starfellforyou]

– 𝕘𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕖. ✭

tags: genshin boys x fem!reader

premise: in which you ask them out on a date for the first time

characters: thoma, kazuha, albedo, diluc, zhongli

genre: fluff

“a-a date?” thoma looks flustered by the sudden question, ears going pink and hands falling to his sides. he stops dusting the shelf he was working on and turns to face you, one hand placed on the back of his neck. “i—uh, should be free any day this week,” he stammers out, but the corners of his mouth begin to curve upwards into a warm smile - one of anticipation and, undoubtedly, love.

naturally, kazuha doesn’t hear you at first. his mind seems to be busy racing off into some picturesque daydream, and it’s unclear whether or not he’s in the mood for a conversation in the first place. persisting, you repeat yourself, finally getting his attention. “ah—well, i don’t seem to have any plans tonight. how about then?” how he manages to reflect the question onto you with such ease sends a mild frustration running down your spine, but you seem to be too in love with the boy before you to do anything else but beam like and idiot.

“what exactly do you mean by a… date?” albedo seems confused. you thought that with his extensive knowledge of the people of mondstadt that he’d know what a date was, but clearly, as he loves to remind you, you were wrong. he never ceases to surprise you. you explain the term using phrases like “casual outing” and “with someone you like”, satisfied when he finally gets it - a realization you can pick out right away based on the way his cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. “um… sure. anything for you.” he smiles confidently, a look of determination on his face. archons, i love him.

diluc initially turns down the offer due to his “piling schedule”, but the look of disappointment on your face sends him into an endless spiral of “wait, wait, wait, actually…” when you insist that he focus on his existing duties instead, he grabs you by the arm and brings his gaze up to meet yours, an expression of pure regret and hopelessness crossing his sharp features. “i-i’m sorry. i’m new—to the whole… romance arrangement. i hope you’ll consider attending this date with me tonight.” “what about your work?” you ask, heart spilling over with love. “work can wait.”

“why, i never would’ve expected the esteemed traveler to possess such bold promiscuity,” zhongli smirks, his composed disposition unfaltering. you glare at him (again), but somehow already know his answer. “tomorrow night, before the sun sets. meet me at our usual spot. perhaps, after all the formalities and dishes are done, we could head elsewhere, for… other things.” the seductive tone in his voice sends shivers down your spine, but you mysteriously feel an immense comfort in his presence. could this be love? you’re about to find out.

a/n: please send me a message or an ask (or reply to this post) if you'd like to be added to my taglist! you're free to specify the genre(s) of posts you'd like to be tagged in.

✧ starfellforyou

[qqueenofhades]

Spooky prompts 14 and/or 22 for Dreamling, please

The first day of autumn term, to put it mildly, is always something of an adventure. The Powers That Be have scheduled "Introduction to the Medieval World, 500-1500" at nine o'clock AM sharp, which is always a great way to get students to turn up on the first day (or indeed, at all) and when Hob reaches the classroom at quarter till nine, it turns out that this happy event has failed to be passed along to Facilities, as it is locked and dark. He then has to ring them up, wait for them to send someone along to unlock it, and when he gets inside, discovers that the A/V emphatically refuses to communicate with the projector. Hob sighs deeply, logs in with his faculty ID, fiddles with the input source, and finally gets the GOLDSMITHS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON logo to appear on the screen. By this time, students are starting to trickle in, yawning and clutching large cups from Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero. Hob has advised them all to print out the module handbook from Blackboard beforehand, but as sustained exposure to undergraduates has dented his confidence in their ability to follow simple instructions, he has brought plenty of extra copies. He hands them around, along with the attendance sheet. Only three names missing. For an early class on Day 1, that's not bad.

Hob introduces himself, explains what they'll be covering in the course (pretty much what it says on the tin), and offers them a few helpful tips to not actually have to purchase anything from the bookstore. Teaching the medieval survey is always an exercise in seeing just how high his blood pressure can go and/or how many Game of Thrones-related inanities he will have to firmly dispel, but he does enjoy it. (A few semesters ago, a student wrote in their evaluation that "Dr. Gadling teaches history like he was really there," a comment which gratified Hob immensely.) The fifty minutes of the introductory lecture fly by, which is mostly just names, dates, terms, and PowerPoints, and everyone dutifully starts packing up to go. Hob has a few hours until he has to teach Empire and the Atlantic World this afternoon, and he absently stuffs his things back into his bag. His phone buzzes, which is undoubtedly one of the three missing students emailing to apologize for their absence and asking a question that is answered on page 3 of the handbook. (That or they accidentally gave themselves food poisoning -- truly, who let these infants live alone?) Hob resolves to check it later, steps out into the hallway, and --

"Good morning, Hob."

Hob skids to a halt, extremely startled, before he spots the tall dark figure standing in the middle of the busy corridor like an extremely emo, extremely goth roadblock. The students veer around him, not without a few who's-that-guy sidelong looks, and Hob desperately tries to make sure that his own are not among them before he moves closer. "Good morning... Morpheus." The name still tastes odd on his tongue, pleasant but unusual, needing a bit of comfortable wear to feel just right. "And can I ask, what are you doing here?"

The Lord of Dreams shrugs. "Isn't it the first day of school?"

"As if that matters to you." Hob raises an eyebrow. "Well, as it so happens, I do have a few free hours until my next class. You know. If you possibly felt the need to grab a coffee."

It's unclear whether Dream has ever just grabbed a coffee in his entire eternal life, but he considers that studiously, then nods once, shoving his hands into the pockets of his long black coat and falling into step next to Hob. They emerge from the history building and into the soggy, mild London morning, a fine drizzle still sifting down from the low grey clouds. They head to the campus cafe, as Hob glances shiftily around again to make sure nobody spots Dr. Gadling in company of this... person. (Not that he's ashamed of Dream, not at all, but students do gossip like fiends, and this is all so new. He has to be extremely careful not to accidentally spook the bastard and send him running away for another hundred and thirty-three years.)

"Small latte, please," Hob says to the barista. "Blueberry muffin. Oh, and whatever he wants."

Dream looks startled. He stares at the menu as if he has never contemplated an overpriced espresso beverage in his life (almost five quid for Hob's latte alone, they are having a laugh -- why is London not a real city where real people can still afford to live?) Then he says uncertainly, "Coffee, I suppose."

The barista looks expectant.

"Uh." Hob clears his throat. "What sort of coffee, love?"

Dream looks deeply startled, and Hob is briefly afraid that he is in fact about to throw up his hands and rush out of this establishment in a fit of pique. He didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out, and well, they are seeing a lot more of each other these days (in, ah, all sorts of ways). Dream thinks about it a moment more, as there is an audible sound of impatient throat-clearing and shuffling from the queue behind them. Hob says hastily, "Just a small brew of the day, please. No cream, no sugar. Black. Like his soul."

The barista stifles a snort. Dream looks at Hob accusingly. Hob shrugs -- a bite me sort of shrug that makes Dream likewise muffle a smile -- and opens his wallet. It is, of course, far more than two small drinks and a pastry product should cost in any reasonable epoch of the world, but damn if he isn't so happy to pay it, to be here with his no-longer-stranger, to sip their drinks as Hob laments the dismal standard of essays to which he will undoubtedly be subjected and Dream listens with quiet, patient adoration, that he can hardly stand it.

[thesquidkid]

Who says science isn't exciting?

4x08 Missing my baby

I know that it has been a while since I last updated my science meta, life happened and I wasn't really in the mood to write. I also did a thesis in between, so I suppose I now have proper experience in writing a scientific paper.

Disclaimer: I am still not a biologist and it's been quite some time since I last watched the show, so please feel free to correct me if you see anything inaccurate. I also really like talking about science so if anything is unclear I will happily explain it in more details.

The first mention of science is Liz talking to Maria in the Wild Pony:

Liz: "There has to be a scientific explanation for how Alex is reaching out to you."

She then proceeds to explain her scientific theory:

"At first, I thought this was a resurgence of your powers, like a vision of Alex manifesting itself. But your brain scans match up with your last checkup, post-cure, which means this is not a vision. Alex is alive. And he's figuring out a way to communicate with you. We've seen versions of this before. You did it in the coma. Max talked to Rosa in the pod."

I should probably go ahead and say that this falls in the realm of science-fiction. Well, mostly. In reality, people in a coma can `communicate' with the outside world. More or less. Studies have shown that when talking to people in a vegetative state, asking them to perform certain tasks, the brain reacts in the same way it would for someone that is not in vegetative state. For example, when doctors asked a few yes-no questions to a patient in vegetative state, they found out that he knew where he was, what kind of program he enjoyed on TV, etc [x]. This was done by monitoring the brain activity of the patient and looking at the pattern in his brain activity.

This kind of research [x] allowed scientists to conclude that some comatose patients were conscious.

Going back to our lovely little alien show, we can argue that Maria communicating with Liz while in her coma is scientifically possible. However, Alex being in another dimension and communicating through with Maria is fiction.

(As a side note, Liz mentions a few time in that scene that it's all science, except it's not.)

Next, Liz and Shivani are doing science in Shivani's lab:

Liz: "The regenerative enzymes in the blood sample we brought back from New York... Isn't healing the diseased cells in our subject." Liz: "The fluid stimulates the proteins momentarily, but it isn't potent enough to sustain their viability."

As defined in my meta for 1x08 [x, x], an enzyme is a protein that accelerates a chemical reaction. Here, regenerative enzymes refers to enzymes that have the ability to regenerate their cofactors.

A cofactor (in biology) is a non-proteinic chemical compound that is required for enzymes to act as catalyst (i.e. to accelerate a chemical reaction) [x].

Now, from what I read on the internet, enzymes are used in cellular apoptosis, which is a programmed cell death (happening naturally in our body, I talked about it more in my meta for 2x02 [x]), and the regenerative aspect of enzymes comes into play with regards to their cofactors. Furthermore, I have found a few sources about regenerating dead cells (namely after injuries) that mention enzymes as `executioner' rather than reconstructive. In other words, it appears that enzymes (regenerative or not) are present when it comes to killing cells, but not resuscitating them [x, x].

So, really, it's not that surprising that Liz's enzymes aren't healing the deceased cells...

The next bit of science happening in Shivani's lab is purely fictive as it revolves around the cracked pod that Shivani has:

Shivani: "The viscous liquid we developed was formulated using the fluid from within [the pod]. It contains restorative properties identical to the ones that you've been researching." Liz: "In gene-sequencing your work, I found micromolecular inconsistencies, and this crack explains why. Oxygen is changing the fluid's chemical composition. In order to continue testing, we need a pod that's in working condition."

As Michael points out in 2x03, the pods keep the person inside in stasis by regenerating the cells at the rate they decay. He also says "this current will speed up the regeneration". So, by regenerating the cells at the rate they decay, the pod would also (slowly) regenerate the cells that are already dead. Namely, it would regenerate the dead cells at the rate that the alive cells are decaying, since the pod wouldn't select which cells to regenerate, and which to not.

Personally, I am not a big fan of the pods being the answer the everything, namely here providing a regenerative cure, especially when we saw Liz figure it all out using science before, and since her research is about vascular regeneration.

The part on oxygen altering the fluid's chemical composition is accurate to what we saw before, with Noah's pod. Hence, this would fall into the realm of science within the fiction, since at least the results are consistent.

We then see Rosa and Maria trying to communicate with Alex at the Wild Pony. This is once again clearly fiction, but they use science words that I thus will look into. We start with (another) mention of frequencies:

Rosa: "I can hear the frequency of Alex's DNA in the hair, but... nowhere else."

At first, the mention of frequencies in the show was very nice and (mostly) accurate. Then, it became too much (as @angrycowboy pointed out about 4x13)

DNA does have frequency, and it particular it generates a wave that propagates in the direction of the magnetic field vector [x]. Magnetic field vector refers to the direction and the dimension of the magnetic field. These magnetic waves are what allow the cells to communicate with each other.

It is also possible to detect the frequency of DNA, namely it is around 20 GHz. Note that 20 GHz falls into the domain of super high electromagnetic frequency, which is the same frequency range as satellite communication and microwave ovens. Suppose Rosa can hear the frequency of Alex's DNA in his hair. This would mean that she is able to hear satellite communication happening nearby, and considering there is a military base not too far away (I don't know anything about actual Roswell geography, but the show does mention the base a few times), she would be able to pick up on those conversations. Useful espionnage tool.

Rosa does mention something about Isobel teaching her how to listen:

Rosa: "Isobel taught me that in order to silence all the noise, you have to find a place inside yourself where you feel safe and calm."

And in real life, radios can tune to a particular frequency (hence how you only hear a single radio channel and not everything at once). However, a radio is also able to detect other frequencies, hence how you can switch channel. The reason why you do not hear the other radio channels when you switch on your radio is that radio emitters in a region have an agreement to distinguish each frequency. This means that the frequency of each channel has to be sufficiently distinct.

DNA is different for everyone, hence it's frequency differs. Since Alex, Maria, Rosa, and any one else who came to the Wild Pony are not twins, Rosa would be able to distinguish Alex from the other DNA frequencies.

However, there are three things I find strange. First, I am assuming Alex was at the Pony before disappearing, so there should be traces of his DNA left, hence Rosa would hear somewhere else. Secondly, the choice of detecting DNA at the Wild Pony is weird, in my opinion, since there are many more frequencies that Rosa has to tune out, as it is presented to be a popular bar.

Thirdly, as much as DNA can be extracted from hair, there is no guarantee that DNA is always available in a hair sample. Namely, the DNA is present at the root of the hair [x]. Without the root of the hair, the procedure to get DNA is much more complex. So, for the sake of the argument, I am assuming that Rosa has the root of Alex's hair.

But, even having the root of the hair, typical DNA testing that is done in forensics requires an electron microscope (which uses a beam of electron as a light source, and thus has a better resolution than a typical light microscope [x]), since it is the only way to visualise the small bits of DNA. The second test is through mitochondrial DNA, but such a test will not distinguish between siblings, as they share the same mitochondrial DNA profile [x]. DNA testing from hair also requires more than 1 hair to have an accurate test [x].

To conclude on the topic of hair DNA and frequency, despite DNA having a frequency, and hair having DNA, I doubt the accuracy of Rosa's test, since too little DNA is present in a single strand of hair.

The next bit of science is also said by Rosa:

Rosa: "Energy rises from the ground into your feet, and since consciousness is a tangible form of energy connecting us to all matter, astrophysicists believe that... meditation could open you up to speaking over universes, even dimensions."

I am not going to touch on this topic, other than say that Rosa probably meant astrologists and not astrophysicists. Astrology is the field of divinatory practices, recognised as a pseudo-science (it used to be a science until a more scientific theory came along), while astrophysics is the study of astronomical objects using physics and chemistry. Meditation falls into the category of astrology, not astronomy.

The next two pieces of science (the last ones for this episode) are all between Liz and Shivani, during different scenes.

Shivani: "Why atomize the fluid into a mist?" Liz: "I made slight genetic modifications to accelerate enzyme inhibitors for swift cell regeneration. Molecules, they travel faster in a gaseous state than in liquid form." Shivani: "If this cure eradicates the alien virus, could it be repurposed to fight off human illness?" Liz: "Like a universal vaccine? Interspecies scaling at this level would be a huge leap."

So. Liz's first sentence is already hurting my brain.

An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that attaches itself to an enzyme and stops its activity [x].

Since enzymes are used in process of cell death, inhibiting its activity would then slow this process. In fact, inhibitors can be used to start the process of cell regeneration (in some circumstances, although I am not sure I understood what those circumstances were precisely) [x]. So, if Liz accelerates the inhibitors, it could lead to an acceleration of the regeneration process (or at least, make it begin faster).

It is true that molecules travel faster as gas than liquid. In fact, molecules are always moving, but in a solid they are moving so slow that it can be considered static. In a liquid, the molecules glide past each other, and hence are faster in movement than in a sold. In a gas the molecules are further apart from each other, and move faster [x].

Shivani then asks if a vaccine to cure all human illnesses is possible. Liz is right with her response, that interspecies vaccines are tricky to work with.

We first need to note that interspecies contamination is possible (coronaviruses are example of this). However, interspecies vaccination is not as simple; consider the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in poultry, for which different vaccines have to be created for the different species of poultry. Even species which are similar (poultry for instance) would reach very differently to the same vaccine, and would not be offered the same protection [x]. So, despite humans and oasians being similar, a vaccine that would protect both is also unlikely.

Furthermore, a universal vaccine in the sense of a single vaccine that would protect against everything in scientifically improbably. The point of a vaccine is to inject into the human body a small dose of a virus to teach the body how to defend itself against it. Therefore, a universal vaccine would have to consist of a small dose of every virus known to mankind, which would very likely kill the patient. Imagine having your body fight against all the viruses ever.

So what Shivani is suggesting is rather improbable.

The final bit of science is later in the episode, still in Shivani's lab:

Shivani: "What if we altered the protein receptors to perform some, not all, of their functions? If we folded the principle alpha helices and stabilized the covalent bonds between the amino acids..."

(I won't go into the rest of that scene, since it's mostly about ethics)

If I am being honest, the sentence "altered the protein receptors to perform some, not all, of their functions" confuses me. So I am ignoring it for the sake of my mental health (also because I don't understand what the `their' is referring to).

The next bit of science that Shivani mentions is "principle alpha helices".

An alpha helix is a sequence of amino acids in a protein that are twisted in a helix shape [x]. This structure is the most common type of secondary structure in proteins.

In everything that I've read online about alpha helices, there isn't really a notion of principle alpha helix. So, I don't really know why this is specified by Shivani here (probably to make the sentence sound science-y...).

Folding in chemistry is the process by which a molecule assumes its shape. Protein folding refers to the shape that is assumed by a specific sequence of amino acids in a protein [x].

So, from what I understand, folding the protein would give it its alpha helix structure, but folding the alpha helix structure doesn't really mean anything...

A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involved sharing electrons to form electron pairs between atoms [x].

The different structures in a protein are attached via covalent bonds [x], so indeed, there are covalent bonds between some amino acids (the ones that are found in two different structures). Alpha helices are considered to be the stabler structure of a protein, but their stability, from what I've read, is not quite due to the covalent bonds. So, again, despite the different elements of the sentence making sense, they are quite confusing and lack proper meaning when being put together.

Liz and Shivani share another scene together in Shivani's lab, at the end of the episode where Liz breathes the mist. However, this scene does not contain much science in it, so I'm stopping my analysis here.

[distortedkilling]

Friendly reminder that this is a roleplay blog. I can't respond to asks that don't keep that in mind. Usually I have no limit on how many asks people send me, because I don't really get overwhelmed by that stuff. I know to take my time.

Problem here is that it gets to be a little tedious deleting asks that have no thought or consideration behind them. I like silly shit, but only if I can write Mahito mostly in character for it. I write Mahito from the angle of being A Problem (dangerous, threat, etc) and not the 'silly lil' guy that's quirky' angle. While the latter is certainly part of the former, I get bombarded (and I mean BOMBARDED) with asks from mostly personals treating him like some silly lil' guy that will go along with nonsense. When he won't. Especially with humans (unless you've earned your fun badge with him).

If I can't answer in character or explain something about him out of character, then those asks aren't for this blog. I'm open to engaging with anyone, I just ask for folks to be mindful so we both can have fun.

This is a boundary post. Not throwing shade. Personals (and roleplayers for the most part) that have been following/mutuals with me for a bit now should know this isn't about them - or have already been told. But if you're worried, just let me know. Usually I handle this stuff privately but the issue is a lot of them have been anons, and while I suspect the blog(s) involved I don't want to accuse anyone in case I'm mistaken. So unfortunately, I gotta make a public post at this point to try and scoop all the known ones and unknown ones together. Sorry about that!

If anyone is unclear feel free to just ask. I don't want anything to be unclear. <3

[all-the-things-2020]

Finding His Way - Chapter Six

Summary: Things heat up between our protagonists.

Rating: PG-13 ( I prefer to give my characters a bit of privacy, but feel free to imagine as much or as little as you like!)

They resumed their normal routine once they were back in space, but something felt different to Mariana. Maybe she was just hyper aware of Din now, but it seemed like he spent less time in the cockpit and more time down in the hold area with her and the kid. He’d also started touching her now and then. Just a hand on her shoulder if he leaned in to look at something she showed him on her data pad, or a light touch on the back as he went by in a narrow passageway. She wouldn’t have thought anything of it before Yavin 4, but now she found herself wasting time analyzing every interaction instead of concentrating on her research.

And the research was paying off. None of the older documents had held much of interest, but now she was skimming through recent Senate files and had found several references to requests for funding for a new Jedi academy or temple (the two terms were used almost interchangeably). Two names kept popping up: Skywalker and Organa. Senator Leia Organa was the one who either introduced the motions or seconded them. Mariana did some research on her and discovered that it was her brother, Luke Skywalker, who had been instrumental in the Rebel Alliance’s victory over the Empire, who was spearheading the Jedi project. It was unclear if he was a Jedi himself, or just a scholar who was researching the Order. Still, it was the best lead she’d found.

Mariana spent the better part of a day drafting a letter to Senator Organa’s office. She didn’t want to say too much, in case the message was intercepted by Gideon’s spies, but she wanted to make it clear to the senator that this was a serious inquiry. Even if Skywalker could just give her access to some of the research he’d conducted, it would be a great help.

When she finished the letter and sent it winging on its way through the HoloNet, she put the pad away and went in search of Din and the kid. They were in the cockpit, and as she climbed the ladder she heard Din speaking softly. “Sounds good. I’ll be there in about … 8 hours.”

She peeked into the cockpit. The kid was curled up asleep in the co-pilot’s seat, which explained why Din was talking quietly. “Who was that?” she asked.

Din turned, glancing first to make sure the kid wasn’t being disturbed. “I got a job. Just some bodyguard work for a local warlord who has a meeting with his chief rival and doesn’t quite trust her. Thinks having a Mandalorian present will give her and her crew second thoughts about pulling anything.” He shrugged. “It’s not Guild work, but it’ll pay for fuel.”

Mariana settled into the third seat. “Do you miss it? Bounty hunting?”

“Yes. And no. I miss the simplicity of it: get a puck, find the asset, deliver it, get paid. But it was lonely work. Ever since he came along,” he gestured at the sleeping child, “I’ve gotten used to having something else to think about, someone else to put first. My life would be a hell of a lot easier if I’d never found him, but I don’t regret a thing.”

She leaned forward and squeezed his hand. “Good. I’d hate to think about what would have happened to him if you hadn’t come along.”

Din looked down at their hands. Mariana started to pull away, but he held on. “Yeah, about that … I didn’t tell you the whole story.” He took a deep breath. “I turned him in. I gave him over to the client in exchange for a bunch of beskar.” He tapped his free hand against his armor. When he continued to speak, his voice was ragged. “I sold him. I sold him and took the beskar and got a shiny new suit of armor … like a good Mandalorian. But I couldn’t leave him there. I just couldn’t. I know what it’s like to be young and all alone in the world …”

Mariana got up from her chair and kneeled in front of him, still clutching his hand. “And that’s why he’s lucky. You could have walked away, but you didn’t. You saved him, just like you saved me.”

“Thank you,” Din said. He gave her hand an extra squeeze, then sat up straight. “Well, I’d better give the arsenal a once over before we arrive. Not sure what I’ll need, so it’s better to be prepared for anything.” He stood up and gestured at the pilot’s chair. “Can you watch him while I work?”

“Of course,” she said. Once he had left the cockpit, she settled gingerly in the seat. It was still warm and she let herself lean back into it. She’d never been in the pilot’s seat of a spacecraft before, and she felt out of place. Then she looked over at the

sleeping child and realized this was exactly where she wanted to be.

*********************

Din stumbled up the ramp, gritting his teeth against the pain. The client had left out the part where he was just an aspiring local warlord, and that he and Din would be facing a crew of more than a dozen mercenaries, many of them quite large and lethal.

“What happened?” Mariana cried out as she caught sight of him. The kid squawked and dropped Froggy, running toward him. “Da!”

Din waved them away, shutting the ramp behind him. “Nothing. Just … the job was a little more complicated than I was led to believe. I got paid, though, and that’s what matters.” He lowered himself onto a crate, trying not to hiss out in pain. He didn’t think any ribs were broken, but he’d have some lovely bruises in a day or two. Mostly, it was his hand that was the problem.

One of the mercs had surprised him with a wickedly long vibroknife and managed to slash a sizable gash into his left hand. The glove was soaked with blood and the hand throbbed with pain.

“That’s not nothing,” Mariana scolded. “You’re bleeding! Let me get the medkit.”

The kid crawled up into Din’s lap, reaching for his injured hand. “It’s okay, ad’ika, you don’t need to do that. Mariana will patch me up just fine.” The kid looked up with somber eyes, but pulled back his hand. Din snuggled him close with his right arm. He didn’t want the kid to waste precious energy on a minor wound.

Mariana came back with an array of medical supplies in her arms. She spilled them out on the floor as she went down on her knees in front of him. “Let’s get that glove off first so I can see how bad it is.” She peeled the tight leather off his hand, exposing the bloody slash across his palm. His hand trembled a little as she took it in hers. He told himself it was just the pain, but he was lying. Just that small bit of exposed skin left him feeling naked and raw.

“I don’t think it cut any tendons or anything,” she said, “but it’s a nasty cut. I’d better cauterize it after I clean it.”

“Do what you have to do,” he said.

The kid nodded solemnly. “Ma.”

Din watched with a feeling of detachment as Mariana washed the blood from his hand, poured on disinfectant, then picked up the cauterizer. She was shaking as she ran the instrument along the wound, but he hardly felt it as the laser beam sealed the edges of raw flesh. When she was done, she covered the wound with fresh gauze and wound more gauze around his hand to hold it in place.

“There,” she said. She looked up at him, her face pale with worry.

“Thank you,” he said. A strand of her hair had fallen in her face, as usual, and without thinking he reached out with his bandaged hand and tucked it behind her ears. Stars, I’ve been wanting to do that for ages.

As he started to pull back, she reached up and held his hand in place so he was lightly cupping her face. She turned her head slightly and pressed a kiss against his wrist. “Just don’t do that again,” she said softly. “You scared the crap out of me, running in here with blood all over.”

“I’ll try not to,” he managed to say. As her lips touched the skin of his wrist, he’d stopped breathing for a long moment and it was hard to talk around the tightening in his throat. It terrified him, but he wanted more.

She brought his hand down and patted the bandage. “You go relax with Ad’ika while I clean up this mess,” she said, gesturing at the aftermath of their first aid session.

“Yes, ma’am.”

******************

Did that just happen? she thought as she nervously put the medical supplies away in the cabinet. She ran a little water in the sink and splashed some on her face. It was cold and helped calm her down a bit. It had been an impulse, just a natural thing to do when his hand caressed her face. I hope I didn’t ruin whatever it is we have going on. She pulled out the little mirror and looked at her face, hoping her emotions didn’t show. Oh, who are you trying to fool? You want this so badly, even the kid can probably see it. She sighed, rubbed her hand over her eyes and tried to shove the thoughts away.

Din was in his bunk with the kid when she came out of the ‘fresher, which she was glad of. She puttered around a bit until it was time to fix some supper. When the food was ready, she knocked on the bunk door. There was no answer, so she pressed the lock to open the door. Din was sprawled out on the bed, with Ad’ika curled up on his breastplate. They were both asleep and she didn’t have the heart to wake them.

She ate her own meal in the galley for a change, and set their portions aside for later. She was curled up in bed reading when Din finally emerged from his room, sounding adorably sleepy. “What time is it? Why didn’t you wake us for supper?” Ad’ika was yawning against his boot.

“You didn’t answer my knock, so I figured you needed the sleep. I fixed you both a plate; just heat it up for a few minutes in the cooker.”

“Thanks,” he said, shuffling off with the kid in tow. He stopped and turned back. “For everything.” He fiddled with the bandage on his hand and she realized he’d removed the right glove as well.

“What are friends for?” she replied. As he continued toward the galley, she turned her attention back to her pad but she found it hard to concentrate. What the hell, she thought, typing in a new search: Mandalorian AND romantic customs.

*******************

Din had finished supper, but he was reluctant to put his helmet back on. He was used to going without it at meal times now, and he knew the kid enjoyed seeing his face, especially when Din made silly faces at him to get him to finish his meal. It still felt good to slip it back on, though, but not tonight. He looked down at his ungloved hands, one bandaged and the other not. He knew what his hands looked like; he saw them every day when he washed up. Now he wondered what Mariana thought of them. There were no strictures in the creed about letting anyone see your bare hands, but Din had always felt more comfortable being covered from head to toe. He felt stronger, less vulnerable. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but he felt like he’d bared a piece of his soul when she kissed his hand. And you want to kiss her back, he realized. That’s why you don’t want to put the helmet back on. He sighed. It wasn’t possible. This is the Way, he told himself as he put the helmet back on.

He washed up the dishes and then knocked on her door, as usual. “I’ll be out in a minute,” she called. He was still deciding whether to go up to the cockpit or start cleaning his rifle so he wouldn’t have to talk to her when she emerged from her bunk, data pad in hand.

“So, I’ve been reading some … interesting things this evening.” She sat down at the table and Din reluctantly joined her.

“About what?”

“Have you ever heard of a story called ‘The Yamika’?”

“The Chamber? No.” He wondered why she was reading Mando’a stories.

“Well, the translation I found calls it ‘The Bedchamber.’” She shifted in her chair, leaning forward and taking his uninjured hand in hers. Her thumb rubbed lazy circles across his palm as she talked. “It’s basically Mandalorian smut, which I didn’t realize at first, but it’s got an intriguing premise. There’s this very devout couple who create a room with no windows, no lights.” Her hand drifted up to his wrist. “They can take off their helmets without violating the creed. And I was thinking … when the shutter’s down, my bunk gets really, really dark.”

She patted his hand and slid the data pad across the table. “Just an idea,” she said, standing up. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed.”

Din let out the breath he'd been holding. He stared down at his hand. “What do you think, ad’ika?”

The kid offered him Froggy. Din sighed. “You’re no help.”

*******************

Mariana buried her head under her pillow. It had been well over an hour since she’d left Din sitting at the table and she was starting to regret her actions. Maybe she’d misread him. Maybe his devotion to his creed was too strong, or maybe he was tempted but didn’t think she was worth it.

She was just about to open the shutter a bit so she could look out at the stars when she heard the door slide open. Din always knocked first, so it startled her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said. She froze; his voice was unmodulated. “I … I thought … “

“You thought right,” she blurted out.

The door slid shut behind him as he crossed the room. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was right there next to the bed. She sat up and reached out for him. Her hands found his face and pulled it close. “You have a mustache!” she said.

He laughed. “Yes.” And then he kissed her.

When they came up for air, his face was wet. “Are you crying?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “I think … I think I’m happy.”

So she kissed him again.

**********************

Din knew he should go back to his own bunk, but he didn’t want to move. Mariana was asleep, her head nestled against his shoulder and her arm draped across his chest. It felt wonderful and frightening to be so close to her. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much skin to skin contact and it was intoxicating. Actually, he’d never had this much; he’d been with women before, but they had always been hurried affairs, usually after the heat of battle and of course the helmet had stayed on. This was something entirely different.

He stroked her hair and she snuggled closer. I could get used to this, he thought. Still, he should get back to his own bunk before the kid woke up. Maybe just a little bit longer.

*********************

When Mariana woke up in the morning, Din was gone. She’d expected as much, but she was still a bit disappointed. The door to her room was open and she heard him talking quietly to the kid. She stretched, fished her pajamas off the floor and pulled them back on.

Din and Ad’ika were in the galley, the remains of their breakfast still on the table. The helmet was back on. A bowl of porridge waited for her, along with the last piece of fresh fruit. “Ma!” the kid cried out when he saw her.

“Good morning,” Din said, shyly.

“Good morning.” She slid into the chair across from him and reached out to take his hand. He laced his fingers through hers and they held hands in silence while she ate. The kid looked from one of them to the other, with an oddly satisfied look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Din said eventually.

“For what? Last night was amazing.”

He gestured at his helmet with his bandaged hand. “I’m just … not ready …”

She stopped him with an upraised hand. “Don’t apologize for being you. I understand. Really, I do. Besides...,” she reached out to stroke Ad’ika’s ear. “I don’t mind if you’re the only one who gets to see Daddy’s face, as long as I get the rest of him.” She winked at Din.

“Sounds like a good deal to me,” he said.