#round 545

[cai-tan]

MY FIRST HACKUSATION IN CALL OF DUTY LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO

[thehoneybeestings]

𝐯𝐢 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐯𝐢 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Word Count: 545

Content/Warnings: sfw, gn reader (no pronouns used), a little bit of angst just bc poor Vi has never caught a break in her life

A/N: so while i finish up the dancer!vi x dancer! reader smut... i wrote this up super quick last night in bed while my girlfriend was genuinely sprawled on top of me pushing me off of it but awwww my shayla ANYWAY, here is a short headcanon about what I think it's like to share a bed with Vi! enjoy!

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐁𝐞𝐞 ୨ৎ

୨ৎ Vi, who feels the safest when she's as small as she can get while she sleeps

୨ৎ Before you two began sleeping in the same bed, she'd try to go to sleep with her limbs outstretched- be it on her side, her back, or her stomach- but every morning, without fail, she'd wake up with her knees tucked into her chest and her arms wrapped around her own waist

୨ৎ After the two of you began sharing a bed, she'd start out curled into herself, cradled in your arms, and wake up starfished across the entire fucking bed

୨ৎ Vi, who I fully and wholeheartedly believe sucks at being the big spoon

୨ৎ As much as she'd like to feign that she's all big and tough- that she's supposed to be the one holding you- she sleeps the best tucked against your back, covers pulled up to her nose

୨ৎ (When she does try to big spoon, she burrows her head so far into your back that you end up turning around to hold her anyway)

୨ৎ Vi, who-despite pulling it right up to her nose before she falls asleep- always manages to kick the damn comforter off the bed in the middle of the night

୨ৎ She runs so hot at night that it doesn't matter; anything more than the top sheet and you'd sweat through your pajamas

୨ৎ Vi, who sleeps naked apart from her underwear (plain cotton hipsters; there's no way boxers are fitting underneath the tight ass jeans she wears like i’m sorry)

୨ৎ Vi, who hates waking up alone; in fact, she's terrified of it

୨ৎ You learned your lesson about leaving bed unannounced when one morning, you woke up before she did and decided to sneak off to the kitchen to make her a surprise breakfast

୨ৎ You're busy scrambling eggs when you hear her call your name from the hallway leading to your bedroom 

୨ৎ She rounds the corner to the kitchen, eyes wide and wild until they land on you, and she finally exhales

୨ৎ “Hey baby! I thought I’d surprise you with breakfast in bed; you like your eggs scrambled, right?”

୨ৎ “Yeah,” she'd breathe out. She still looked like she'd seen a ghost. 

୨ৎ You'd furrow your brow, worry creeping up on you. “You okay?” 

୨ৎ “Y-yeah, sorry. I’m good,” she'd reply, unconvincingly.

୨ৎ Your eyes wouldn't leave her as you moved the eggs off of the heat and made your way to where she stood with a hand on the wall to support herself

୨ৎ “Baby,” you'd coax, reaching out to tame a stray tendril of fuchsia; and she'd envelop you in her arms, holding on like you'd disappear if she let go

୨ৎ “Please don't leave without waking me first, okay?” She’d plead, her voice breaking.

୨ৎ And your heart would shatter as you realized just how terrified she was of losing someone else

୨ৎ From that point on, you'd never leave bed without a gentle shake to her shoulder and a quick kiss on her forehead as you alerted her that you were leaving, but that you'd be back

୨ৎ Vi, who still has a hard time comprehending that she has a soft bed to sleep in at night, a fluffy comforter to abandon when she gets too hot, full nights of sleep without nightmares, and most of all, you to share it with

𝐄𝐍𝐃 ୨ৎ

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

What song did you personally like the best out of this round? Did a song make an impact right away or did it require the full version? Did the artist/series reveal change your opinion for better or for worse? Tell me in a reblog! :D

(note: this is not a popularity contest or to vote for a favourite animated series out of loyalty 💖 it's still about the song.)

541 here 542 here 543 here 544 here 545 here 546 here 547 here 548 here 549 here 550 here

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: ocean sunfish

Everybody knows ocean sunfish, right? Those giant, slow, silly-looking, parasite-ridden morons that eat jellyfish and can't defend themselves from predators really are the worst fish right?

(GIF: Lex Luthor screaming "WRONG!" from the movie Superman Returns)

First of all there's no such thing as a "best" or "worst" animal and judging animals by human standards of what is cool or successful is silly because our standards are not even universal among humans, let along other species. Secondly, the closest thing we have to a way to judge a species is how successful it is in its niche and sunfish are doing pretty good, thank you very much. Today I'll be talking about sunfish and how they are not bad fish at all.

(Image: a Mola mola located near the surface of the ocean, with the tip of its dorsal fin and part of its head breaching the surface. It is a round fish with no tail, only a wrinkly region of its body. Its dorsal and anal fins are long and slender The eyes and mouth are proportionately small. It is a pale white with light grey spots. A SCUBA diver is visible in the background. End ID)

Ocean sunfish, or molas, are members of the family Molidae, which is divided into five known species across three genuses. Im mostly going to be talking about members of the genus Mola, but I'll mention the other two as well. Molas are known for their size and odd appearances, looking like someone chopped a fish in half and the front half went swimming off on its own. They are members of the order Tetraodontiformes, making them cousins to pufferfish, triggerfish, boxfish, and others. While many members of that order are known to be highly poisonous, molas are not. They also lack several other common traits. Despite being bony fish, most of the mola skeleton is made of cartilage and they do not have swim bladders, forcing them to actively swim to maintain their position in the water column. Instead of a tail and caudal fin, sunfish have a structure called the clavus. The clavus is formed mostly from connective tissue and is used as a rudder. Because the clavus is mostly made of connective tissue, damage to it is not particularly harmful to the fish. There have been molas found alive and well that have had portions of their clavus eaten by predators. Because of their shortened stature, molas have the fewest vertebrae of all fish. The dorsal and anal fins are elongated and are used to provide propulsion by flapping back and fourth similarly to how birds wings move, albeit slower. Minute alterations in the angle each fin moves through the water help with steering, while more sharp turns are aided with jets of water ejected through the mouth and gills. Like their other Tetraodintid relatives, mola teeth are fused together into a beak-like structure that prevents them from closing their mouths. They also have some more regular pharyngeal teeth in the backs of their mouths. Some reports say that the fish can make noises by grinding the pharyngeal teeth together. Mola skin is thick and rough, described as being similar to sandpaper in texture. Like most fish, the skin is covered in a layer of protective mucus.

(Image: a mola sunbathing. It is positioned with one side of its body facing the surface. Its body is just under the water's surface. End ID)

The three species in the genus Mola are Mola mola, the ocean sunfish and most well-known of the molas, Mola alexandrini, the giant, southern, or bumphead mola, and Mola tecta, the hoodwinker sunfish. Mola mola has an average weight of 247 to 1000 kg (545 to 2205 lbs), mouth to clavus length of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and dorsal to anal fin length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft), though some individuals can get much large. The largest individual on record had a length of 3.3 m (10.8 ft), height of 3.2 m (10.5 ft) and weighed 2300 kg (5100 lbs). M. alexandrini is the largest of the species. The largest known southern sunfish measured in at 2744 kg (6049 lbs) and 3.25 m (10.66 ft) from mouth to clavus, making it the largest known bony fish in the world. They can be distinguished from M. mola by the presence of bumps on the forehead and chin, a more rounded clavus, and differently-shaped scales. M. tecta is known as the hoodwinker sunfish because it was long mistaken for one of the other two species and was only identified as a separate species in 2015 after the body of one washed up in Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand and was examined by scientists. Because it has only recently been discovered, little is known about this species. They appear to have the same range of sizes and weights of the other two species and can be distinguished by a slimmer body shape and a smooth clavus. All three species are found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide, though M. alexandrini and M. tecta are more commonly found in the southern hemisphere.

(Image: a Mola alexandrini underwater. It is distinguishable from Mola mola by the two bumps above and below its facial region, making it look lumpy. It is surrounded by striped cleaner fish. A SCUBA diver is in the background. End ID)

(Image: a Mola tecta seen from the side. It is smoother than the other two species. More of its body is grey with white spots. End ID)

Molas are open-ocean dwellers that live life in the slow lane. For a long time, it was believed they were moved around by ocean currents they could not swim against, making them plankton. We now know they not only can swim against the current, they are capable of bursts of speed fast enough to breach the water's surface and briefly go airborne. Sunfish are named for their habit of basking at the surface of the water. It was formerly believed they spent most of their time at the surface, but thanks to tagging, we know they make frequent dives into the deep ocean. They likely bask at the surface to warm up between dives. You may not expect something as slow as a sunfish to be a predator, but they are. Much of their diet consists of gelatinous animals including jellyfish, siphonophores, ctenophores, and salps, though they will also eat small fish, fish larvae, squids, crustaceans, and even seagrass. Because they can't chew, sunfish move prey into and out of their mouth by rapidly switching between sucking water in and spitting it out in order to shred the prey into pieces small enough to swallow. Special mucus lining the digestive system may protect the molas from the stinging tentacles of their prey. Molas and other jellyfish-eaters like the leatherback sea turtle play an important role in the ecosystem by keeping jellyfish populations down. Jellyfish are not particularly nutritious, so the sunfish need to eat a lot of them to survive, something they seem to be pretty good at. Being slow and having a very low-energy lifestyle helps the fish survive on a less-nutritious diet, making them very energy efficient. One thing molas get a lot of flack for online is having lots of parasites (with up to 40 known species). This doesn't really make sense. Every species has parasites. An animal in the wild that doesn't have parasites is vanishingly rare. Having parasites doesn't make an animal suck, it makes them ordinary. Because of their parasite load, molas are frequent visitors to cleaner fish, who will eat their parasites. Molas will also let seabirds land on them and eat their parasites while they rest on the surface. The molas attract birds by splashing at the surface. Adult molas have few natural predators, but are hunted by sharks, sea lions, and orcas. Interestingly, sea lions have been known to kill molas apparently for sport, ripping off the fins and then leaving the mola to die.

(Image: a mola seen from the front. Multiple smaller fish are picking parasites off of its skin. End ID)

Molas are broadcast spawners who release their gametes into the water alongside each other. A female mola can release 300 million eggs at a time, more than any other vertebrate. Newly hatched sunfish are 2.5 millimeters long and are often cited as having the largest discrepancy in size between juvenile and adult of any vertebrate. An adult mola can be 60 millions times the weight of a larva. The larvae look very different than adult, lacking their dorsal and anal fins but having pufferfish-like spines. Juveniles school together for protection and become solitary as they age. The diet of the fish varies as they age, with younger fish feeding more on squid, worms, crustaceans, and fish but becoming more reliant on jellyfish and other gelatinous prey as they age. We don't know the growth rate of molas, but a juvenile in the Monterey Bay Aquarium grew from 26 to 339 kg (57 to 880 lbs) in 15 months, suggesting they grow rapidly. The maximum age of molas is unknown, though individuals in captivity have lives for up to 10 years.

(Image: a mola larva. It is a brown ball with large, black eyes and no visible fins. It is covered in transparent, conical spines. End ID)

The two non-Mola sunfish are Ranzania laevis, the slender sunfish and Masturus lanceolatus, the sharptail sunfish. Both are alone in the genuses, but other species are suspected. I also found references to other species in Masturus, but could find literally no information about them other than that Masturus oxyuropterus is listed in some records. The sharptail sunfish looks very similar to Mola mola and reaches similar sizes, but its clavus has an extension that looks like a short tail. They were initially believed to be deformed molas before being recognized as a separate species. Unlike molas, sharptail sunfish are rarely seen at the surface, preferring to stay in deeper water. The slender sunfish is the smallest of the family, reaching up to a meter long. While we don't know much about them, we know their diet includes a lot of fast-moving squid, indicating they can move faster than their much larger relatives.

(Image: a sharptail sunfish lying on a blue tarp. It looks similar to a Mola mola , but with black clavus and fins. At the back of the clavus is a triangular extension. End ID)

(Image: a person holding a slender sunfish. The fish is small enough to be held and has a longer and skinnier body than other sunfish. Its body is a shiny silver with blue lines. End ID)

Mola mola is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN while the other species are classed as either data deficient or least concern. Molas are vulnerable to strikes by boats and bycatch. Another danger to them is plastic bags, which can easily be ingested after being mistaken for a jellyfish. The bags can suffocate the fish or block their digestive tracts. Despite their size, molas are docile and not dangerous to humans. I found one example of a mola harming a human and it happened when the fish jumped out of the water and landed on a boat. Allegedly, some fish have learned to recognize and approach SCUBA divers. Molas are difficult to keep in captivity due to their size, the amount of space the need, and special feeding needs, so only a few aquariums have them. Molas are captured for food, with the biggest markets being in Taiwan and Japan, where they are often called mambos.

(Image: a SCUBA diver attempting to hand feed a small mola. End ID)

[whencyclopedia]

A Roman Trail in the Moselle Valley

The Moselle Valley is Germany's oldest winegrowing region. The Romans brought viticulture to this area and planted vines along the Moselle River 2000 years ago. After settling the region c. 50 BCE and establishing the city of Trier (Augusta Treverorum) in 17 BCE, a Gallo-Roman culture developed in the territory of the Belgic Treveri tribe that inhabited the valley in what is now Luxembourg, southeastern Belgium, and southwestern Germany.

Between Trier and the junction with the Rhine at Koblenz, archaeologists have found remains of Roman estates, temples, mausolea, and wine presses. They constitute the largest concentration of Roman ruins north of the Alps.

The Moselle River owes its name to the Romans, who called it Mosella or 'little Meuse'. It is one of the longest of the Rhine's tributaries at 545 kilometres (339 mi). The extensive cultivation of vines on its slopes is well-attested in the poem Mosella written by the 4th-century CE Gallo-Roman poet Ausonius (310-395 CE). Ausonius praises the Moselle for its clear waters, fish, quality vineyards, and people. He dwells on its beauty, which is impressive in the glow of the setting sun.

Here one sees the sky without branches twined together, green and dark, buried in fog, here the brightness of daylight never hides. I saw this land of well-tended fields and estates set on hills and cliffs green with vines and hedges running across the slopes like schoolboys at play and murmuring below in the valley, the Moselle, my new-found river hurried along. The pleasant scene recalled to me my distant home, Bordeaux. May I pay my respects to the river praised by every man working in his field? You bring the honour of empire to Trier.

Ausonius, Mosella (Translation by Harold Isbell, 1965 CE)

The Moselle Valley in the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland regions of Germany has majestic landscape, hilltop castles, picturesque villages, vineyards, and savoury wines to draw visitors. The region is also a testament to the Gallo-Roman era north of the Alps, with 100 Roman sights showing aspects of Roman life.

The cross-border cultural route "Straßen der Römer" (Roads of the Romans) connects these sights thanks to well-developed archaeological hiking trails and paths. Impressive reconstructions and excavated sites are waiting to be discovered. Descriptions of archaeological monuments provide walkers with access to a thousand-year-old cultural landscape.

Find the best places to visit in this region with our list of the top Roman attractions in the Moselle Valley. For lesser-known Roman sights and museums, including those in Luxembourg, check our map below.

Roman Villa Borg

The Villa Borg is a reconstructed Roman villa rustica located in the village of Borg in Saarland. The complex illustrates how pleasant life was for the Roman elite 2,000 years ago. Visitors can wander the 7.5-hectare (18-acre) estate and learn about Roman daily life while visiting the fully functional baths, recreated gardens and kitchen, and archaeological museum.

Only the pars dominica, the residential area exclusive to the master (dominus) and his family, has been excavated. Excavation work is being carried out in the area of the pars rustica - the space reserved for servants and workers of the farm - and can be visited during the opening hours of the Villa Borg.

The Villa Borg has a year-round programme of events and festivals, including 'Exclusive bathing evening,' 'Roman wine tasting with the slave Jatros', and 'Cooking like the Romans'.

Opening times: Every day except Monday. February-March: 11:00-16:00, April to October: 10:00-18:00, November 11:00-16:00. December, January closed.

Continue reading...

[faeriichaii]

It’s so cold and I’m already over it and crave summer! Could you do lotr/hobbit boys (specifically fili but I’m open to others) with a mermaid!reader who’s just so curious about the land above like Ariel and loves to share her collection of land walker trinkets she found? Thanks muah 🫶

Part of Your World ~ Line of Durin x Mermaid!Reader

A/N: Honestly same, I miss spring and summer :( It just started snowing again and I'm like hello?? It's too cold?? I really really love that idea omg and I'm so happy to get a request for Fili <33!! I just think I will do like the line of Durin kinda thing so each of them get a short story with a mermaid!reader~ Ngl I really struggled to come up with things that the reader could find and what she thinks it could be used for- But in the end I think it turned alright :) I hope you will like the story! Also I'm sorry that Thorins and Kilis are a little bit shorter😔😔

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Warnings: Fluff, fluff and fluff :) ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Words: 1.8k (Thorin: 472, Fili: 843, Kili: 545) ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Request: Yes (Thank you <33) ࿐ྂ

⇢ ˗ˏˋAmrâlimé ~ My Love ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ‘lbinê ~ My Jewel ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋHalw Kurdu ~ Sweet Heart ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋGaihith ~ Little Dove ࿐ྂ

Summary: Little mermaid you finds various little trinkets and things in the waters around Erebor and you can't wait to share them with your s/o.

Thorin:

You waved at Balin with a wide smile on your face, as you were walking through the palace to find your soon-to-be-husband. You just came back from a wonderful swim by the riverbank, where you found a little trinket that you can’t wait to show him. You have been enjoying yourself earlier, splashing around and swimming with various different fish, as something very shiny caught your interest. You swam down towards it and carefully pulled it out of the sand. It was a big round silver band, that almost looked like an enormous ring. You smiled down at your find as you returned to the riverbank and let yourself dry off. While waiting for you to completely dry and get your fish tail exchanged for your legs, your eyes focused on the intricate thing in your hands.

The big round thing was formed with immaculate detail, various different flourishes made up the entire silver ring. In the middle of all the silver designs, was a white jewel. The same jewels were also placed a little more on the left, as well as on the right side. A smile spread across your face at the beauty of the item you found. Now you were walking through the castle, mysterious item in hand and trying to find Thorin. You opened the door of the library. Thorins back was facing you, as he looked through several scrolls that were scattered around the table. “Amrâlimé, I have found a new treasure! It is the most beautiful thing I have ever found, but I don’t know what it is used for.” The endearment that passed your lips was the first word Thorin ever taught you. And ever since then, you have been calling him by that. The king stopped working his hands through the scrolls and instead focused all of his attention on you. “What did you find my Queen?”

He approached you, giving you a gentle smile. You put the item in your hands in his outstretched one. Letting one of his thumbs run over the details, he slowly placed it on top of your head. His finger ran over one of the braids he did, until they laid softly against your cheek. “Do you know what it is?” Shaking your head no, you leaned into the touch of his warm palm on your face. “It is a tiara Amrâlimé. It is very similar to the crown I am wearing. And the one you will be wearing very soon.” A smile spread across your lips. Leaning in towards Thorin you gave him a kiss, which he quickly reciprocated. “I think this is one of the most beautiful treasures I have found yet.” At that, the king shook his head, still holding you close to him. “You are the greatest treasure to walk this earth ‘lbinê.”

Fili:

Water dripped down your tail, as you sat on a stone in the middle of the lake. It has been days since you had the chance to take a quick dive into the waters, craving to feel the waves and ripples all over your body as you take a dive. Plus, the constant walking on your newly attained feet and legs was exhausting. You begged and pleaded with Fili to talk his uncle into finding a stream and taking a break close by. After around the tenth time of Fili approaching Thorin, the king had enough and took upon searching for some kind of water source. It didn’t take long until they found a river and decided to put up camp close by. The first thing you did of course was take a swim and now you are perched on top of a stone, combing through your hair with your hands. Letting out a few soft tunes of a song you have learned long ago, your eyes locked onto something that was glistening in the water. Tilting your head, you squinted your eyes at it to take a better look.

Not being able to figure out what it was you decided to jump off of the stone and into the water. Gently flicking your tail around, you quickly approached the unidentified item. Your hair was floating around you as your fingers gently took a hold of the long gold string that was stuck between some stones. Pushing them aside, you freed the item. Tilting your head in curiosity, you gave the item you freed a quick look before breaking through the water and sitting down on the riverbank. Your fingers softly brushed against it. It felt cold and smooth beneath the pads of your fingers. Footsteps approached you, as you sat there with your tail still pacing from side to side in the water, creating some tiny waves.

“I see, I need to redo your braid once you’re out of the water.” Fili said as he sat down beside you, letting his feet also dangle into the water. “Fili look what I have found!” You exclaimed with glee, shoving the string with a gold heart attached to it into his face. His gaze flickered from your capturing eyes to the item in your hand that you proudly held out for him to look at. “Ah, do you know what it is Halw Kurdu?” He asked you with a smile on his lips. “Mhh not yet… I’m still trying to figure it out.” A design of a flower with swirls was etched into the golden heart that hung loose on the chain. “Is it maybe… something for the braids you teach me all the time?” You smile at him while trying to weave the item into your semi dry hair.  A chuckle left Filis lips. “No, it definitely does not belong into your hair. What else could it be?” You pondered for a moment after Fili revealed to you that you were wrong. Seconds pass as you look at the shiny thing in your hand. “Ah! It could be a weapon! Like the slingshot you once showed me!” Taking a pebble that was laying by your side, you put it on the heart and tried to shoot Fili, however the small stone just fell out of your hand and into the water with a little 'plop'.

Laughing heartedly, the man beside you clung onto his stomach, making you pout sadly. After a few seconds he composed himself and stood up. “Don’t worry Amrâlimê, I will show you what this is.” He took the thing from your hands and kneeled behind you. “Lift your hair up for me.” You did what he asked for. His hands snaked to the front of your neck, laying down the golden heart you fished out. “All done.” Fili sat down once more, looking at the golden heart that shone in the sun. You put your fingers over it softly. “It is a necklace. And it really looks beautiful on you.” His gentle smiled made your heart fill with warmth. “I think you can even…” He grabbed onto the locket and opened it. A soft gasp escaped you. “I can store things in this tiny necklace?” You asked him excitedly. Fili put a hand atop of your head, before letting it travel to the back of your neck. “I mean you could store like a drawing of me in there. Or maybe even a tiny drawing of the both of us together.” A smile graced your lips as you wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “I love that idea. And I love you Fili. Thank you for showing me another new thing from your world.” A chuckle left his lips as he gave you a soft peck on the top of your head, his beard tickling you gently. “It’s not just my world anymore. It is our world now Amrâlimê.”

Kili:

Awful sounds were coming from your shared room within the palace. A hollow wooden item was laying on your lap. Four thick silver strings were attached from the bottom of the wood, over to the top of it. Silver round nubs were securely screwed into the strangely formed top, keeping the strings in place. The middle of the wooden box had two flourishes, one on each side. You pulled on one of the strings, realizing that a strange sound came from the item. A bright smile spread over your face, as you pulled on the string once more. Turning the nubs, you noticed that the strings suddenly produced a different sound. You softly giggled as you continued to run your fingers over the strings.

“Gaihith, what is this awful melody?” Kili asks, as he walks into the room, his hands covering his ears. His gaze was locked onto your mesmerizing eyes until he heard that he apparently got closer to the source of his disdain. “So, you are the source for the awful music? And I thought mermaids were supposed to be exceptional when it comes to singing.” You pouted at his words as you lifted the wooden item from your lap. “I went for a swim earlier this morning and I found this in the waters. I thought that maybe if I pull on the strings it opens up or something.” Kili sat down beside you on the bed and gently took the item from your hand. “You really don’t have a clue what this is?” “Well, if I would know what it is, I would probably know how to properly use it now, wouldn’t I?” He chuckled at your snippy remark, laying his hand on your thigh.

“Should I show you what it is?”  You nodded softly, as you got lost in his loving gaze. Kili pulled the item towards his shoulder and lay his head somewhat on top of it. “Did you perhaps also find something else with the violin?” “Violin?” You asked, tilting your head to the side at the strange word. “This is a violin Amrâlimê. Normally you would use a violin bow to properly play any tunes on it.” A soft ‘ah’ escaped your lips. “No, I just found the violin.” Kili nodded at that, stood up and got the violin bow from his own instrument. He once pulled the bow over the silver strings and shuddered at the god-awful sound he just produced. Strumming the instrument, he played a few wonderful sounds.

Your smile widened at the beautiful melodies as you softly hummed to the tune. “Wow this sounds so beautiful Kili! I really love it!” You hugged him tightly, after he finished his little ministration with the instrument. He put the item beside you on the bed and reciprocated the loving embrace. A soft kiss was placed on the top of your head, that made you look up. You returned the gesture by giving him a quick peck on the lips. “We could start performing together. You play the violin and I will sing my mermaid songs to the people of Erebor.” A chuckle left his lips as he put a hand on your cheek and kissed you once more. “I think that is a wonderful idea.”

[tls12lessthan3]

chapter 545 of orv as always making me want to tear my heart out of my chest. it really has everything. yoo joonghyuk abandoning his resolve to stay in one round and stop being a regressor. han sooyoung trying so desperately to take that first step towards moving on and being dragged back. her guilt at trying to drag yoo joonghyuk forward with her, the betrayal of kim dokja it exhibits - doesn't everyone want at least one person to mourn and miss them with everything they have, dont you selfishly wish your death would inflict pain on those who care, dont you want someone to always care? yoo joonghyuk trying to make his friend kill him with little regard for how she feels about it (the parallels oouuggghhh). the hands that created him....ending him....han sooyoung crawling on the floor just to give him one more good smack on the head. han sooyoung deciding to give it all one more try. what if we all dreamed the same dream....what if just for one moment han sooyoung could make every piece of kim dokja want to come home....

[drcomttheo]

Regulus Black x YN

summary: Regulus is a Death Eater with a task.

warnings: Dark, Angst

words: 545

a/n: Excerpt from my fic "Inordinate love" or find it on my ML that's pinned.

Slytherin Boy oneshots—ML

Slytherin Boy oneshots—AO3

𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫

I rushed to the astronomy tower, excited for what he could possibly need.

I hadn't seen him in a week; he had been busy.

We both loved that spot.

The stars—he loved the stars.

As I made my way up the spiraling staircase, I started to feel as if something was wrong.

I heard unfamiliar voices that I hadn't heard before. "Reggie?" I said it almost in a whisper.

I rounded the corner, and my heart dropped.

There he was on his knees in front of me.

A death eater had his arms behind his back and was holding his head down. One I knew and have seen many times on many different occasions. Her face was posted on just about every wall in Hogsmeade.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Ahh, hello, pretty/handsome. It was nice of you to finally show up. Grab her/him!" The death eater spoke.

Before I could get any words out in a reaction, I was being grabbed and held down too.

I hadn't known the reasoning.

More thoughts start to penetrate my mind; I push them away.

I was unable to move and could hardly breathe because a frightening blond-headed Deatheater was holding me down.

Regulus was being forced to his feet.

His eyes were not meeting mine; instead, they were focused on the ground.

I wished so badly to run over there and hug him and tell him everything would be okay, but I can't and I know it probably won't be.

"Well, well, no time to waste! Come on, Regulus, do it." Bellatrix said, whispering closely in his ear. "Kill her.." She continued.

He didn't move. His eyes are fixated on the cracks in the ground.

My heart sank.

Kill me?

Was that his 'plan' all along to get me to love him and then kill me?

My mind was swimming with thoughts

"Regulus. Do it." Dolohov interrupted them and added.

Regulus then moved his eyes to Dolohov and then to me; they were dark and cold.

"What did they do to you?" I began to mouth while looking at him, my eyes pleading and begging for an explanation as they began to fill up with tears.

"I can't," The dark-haired boy spoke back, failing to meet my gaze once more.

Bellatrix stepped back, letting him go and knocking him onto the ground.

She then whispers something that I can only imagine is sinister.

I can hear the quiet chatter of their voices, but I can't make anything out. "Crucio!" The evil blackhead witch shouted happily as she let out a maniacal laugh. "No! Stop! Please don't hurt him!" I insisted.

I needed answers! I didn't understand.

I began to struggle and try to wiggle out of the grip of Yaxley, but I can't.

"I think I deserve an explanation! Please." I exclaimed and I watched as both Bellatrix and Dolohov looked at each other. "Reggie has to kill you...

What?

The Dark Lord has ordered it so he must follow through. I am very sorry, young lady; you seemed as though you had such a bright future ahead."

Regulus has to kill me?

The Dark Lord wants him to kill me?

They answered my question, but I feel as though I have a million more.

[haletostilinski]

Best Teen Wolf Character: The Ranking Part 2

Hey all! To round out the best teen wolf character tournament, I'm going to give the rankings of how every character placed of the 64 characters included in this competition. How I'm ranking them is going by the rounds. So the characters that didn't make it past the first round are the lowest, then second, third round etc - within each round, they're ranked by how many or few votes they got.

So if a character made it past the first round, I'll put their total votes just to see how many they got throughout the whole competition, and just for those who might be curious - but total votes don't have any bearing on their placements. So one character might have gotten a lot one round and very few the next round, but have more total votes than the character ranked above them because that character got more votes the second round.

I know this ranking isn't full proof, but I'm just doing this for fun, so again let's not take it too seriously. This way just made the most sense for how each character should be ranked. Also I will highlight a character's vote count red to indicate that it was eliminated that round.

So, without further ado, the rankings! Part 2 😁 (Part 1)

#40-#21 -

40. Marin Morell - 134 votes

(Round 1: 134 votes | Total Votes: 134)

39. Gerard Argent - 138 votes

(Round 1: 138 votes | Total Votes: 138)

38. Heather - 144 votes

(Round 1: 144 votes | Total Votes: 144)

37. Hayden Romero - 193 votes

(Round 1: 193 votes | Total Votes: 193)

36. Claudia Stilinski - 210 votes

(Round 1: 210 votes | Total Votes: 210)

35. Tamora Monroe - 216 votes

(Round 1: 216 votes | Total Votes: 216)

34. Deucalion - 287 votes

(Round 1: 287 votes | Total Votes: 287)

33. Scott McCall - 355 votes

(Round 1: 355 votes | Total Votes: 355)

32. Kate Argent - 24 votes

(Round 1: 310 votes | Round 2: 24 votes | Total Votes: 334)

31. Malia Tate - 33 votes

(Round 1: 467 votes | Round 2: 33 votes | Total Votes: 500)

30. Talia Hale - 71 votes

(Round 1: 558 votes | Round 2: 71 votes | Total Votes: 629)

29. Erica Reyes - 90 votes

(Round 1: 587 votes | Round 2: 90 votes | Total Votes: 677)

28. Satomi Ito - 92 votes

(Round 1: 508 votes | Round 2: 92 votes | Total Votes: 600)

27. Liam Dunbar - 106 votes

(Round 1: 367 votes | Round 2: 106 votes | Total Votes: 473)

26. Ken Yukimura - 128 votes

(Round 1: 315 votes | Round 2: 128 votes | Total Votes: 443)

25. Matt Daehler - 131 votes

(Round 1: 368 votes | Round 2: 131 votes | Total Votes: 499)

24. Chris Argent - 137 votes

(Round 1: 559 votes | Round 2: 137 votes | Total Votes: 696)

23. Braeden - 140 votes

(Round 1: 450 votes | Round 2: 140 votes | Total Votes: 590)

22. Eli Hale - 155 votes

(Round 1: 390 votes | Round 2: 155 votes | Total Votes: 545)

21. Cora Hale - 204 votes

(Round 1: 501 votes | Round 2: 204 votes | Total Votes: 705)

[dndhistory]

545. Various Authors - Polyhedron #35 (May 1987)

In this 35th issue of the RPGA newsletter we get the usual stuff: reports from tournaments, announcements for conventions and all the stuff that can be of interest to competitive TTRPG players, particularly if they play AD&D.

Most of the space in this short issue (only about 30 pages long) is dedicated to reporting on Rounds Four and Five of the GenCon 19 AD&D Open Tournament, even if this is a bit of a niche subject, it's still kind of fun to read the breakdown of an adventure for AD&D played at high level.

Other entries in the magazine include a nice little Rogues Gallery which gives us the NPC descriptions for the characters featured on the magazine cover,  as well as a full page review of the new Ghostbusters TTRPG.

[mariacallous]

The price of bitcoin went over $100,000 for a few hours on Dec. 5, peaking at $103,400. The financial press can’t resist constructing a hand-waving story of market forces, so bitcoin going past $100,000 has been attributed to a market reaction to President-elect Donald Trump’s lining up a slate of pro-cryptocurrency cabinet, advisory, and regulatory picks after the crypto industry put more money into funding Republican candidates in this last election cycle than anyone had previously put into an election in history.

But crypto trading is thin and almost entirely unregulated—perfect conditions for commodity market manipulation. The public image of cryptocurrency is still shaped by the 2023 trial of Sam Bankman-Fried of the failed FTX crypto exchange, culminating in his conviction—and not to mention the hangover from the NFT fiasco. Crypto is seen as the domain of cheap scammers. Ordinary people are not flocking into crypto.

Coincident with the bitcoin price news was the collapse of the Hawk Tuah crypto token. Haliey Welch, who told an oral sex joke that went viral on YouTube, leveraged her momentary fame into a career as an influencer and podcaster. This culminated in the meme-coin cryptocurrency $HAWK, marketed entirely on amusement value, which crashed on launch in what looked very like a pump-and-dump—tokens were dumped on ordinary buyers soon after launch, crashing the price.

Welch denied that insiders had dumped her token and blamed automated snipers who bought the token the moment it was released, then dumped immediately. The Hawk Tuah-token fiasco only strengthened crypto’s image as a place where fools lose their money being foolish.

The price of bitcoin has recovered since the November 2021 peak of the last bubble—but actual-dollar retail trading volumes have not. Coinbase’s retail trading volumes are $127 billion so far in 2024—much better than 2023’s $75 billion, but nothing like the 2021 bubble’s $545 billion.

Bitcoin remains a strangely useless asset that doesn’t do anything. All you can do with it is buy, sell, or hold. The only use for cryptocurrency other than pure zero-sum speculation is bitcoin’s original use case: evading regulations, most often for illegal purchases, money laundering, or dodging sanctions. One might be justified in evading some regulations in some cases—but most are there for good reason.

The largest actual-U.S.-dollar crypto exchange is Coinbase. But price discovery takes place at the venue with the largest trading volume: the offshore exchange Binance. This exchange admitted a string of money laundering offenses in 2023, was fined over $4 billion, and was placed under stringent compliance monitoring by the U.S. Department of Justice and FinCEN.

But the Binance trading floor itself remains an unregulated free-for-all as long as U.S. entities are not caught trading there. Every market manipulation that would be illegal in the United States happens at Binance and similar unregulated, offshore floating crypto casinos—wash trading, flash crashes, delayed settlements, spoofing, and the exchange trading against its own customers.

Bitcoin trading volume is substantially against two dubious U.S.-dollar stablecoins: tether and FDUSD. These are minted in round billions at a time. It is frankly not plausible that anyone put billions of U.S. dollars into tethers or FDUSD to buy bitcoins on an offshore exchange with above-board intentions. They could have just used the money to buy bitcoins directly at a U.S.-dollar crypto exchange or, safest of all, to buy bitcoin ETF shares from any securities broker. The purpose of buying billions of tethers is to manipulate the price of bitcoin.

Each stablecoin is supposedly backed by a U.S. dollar held in a bank account—except when it isn’t. Tether Inc. has long created tethers out of thin air as loans, with the listed backing asset being the loan itself. Banks do this, too, but banks are regulated. Eighteen billion tethers have been created just since Trump’s election on Nov. 5, bringing the total issuance to 135 billion. How far could you pump the price of bitcoin with 18 billion instant pseudo-dollars?

The other use case for tethers is crime. Zeke Faux’s Number Go Up details the value of tethers as a dollar substitute for those too crooked to get dollars—it’s the favored currency for “pig-butchering” romance scams run by human traffickers. The U.K. National Crime Authority and the U.S. Treasury recently cracked an international money-laundering ring that used tethers to serve drug dealers, ransomware groups, Russian espionage operations, and sanctioned entities; the NCA called tether, not bitcoin, the “cryptocurrency du jour.” The news of the bust came out just before bitcoin hit $100,000. Tether-fueled bitcoin pumps seem to coincide with bad news mentioning tethers.

Tether Inc. is sensitive to the criminal use case for its coin and frequently freezes tainted tethers on the requests of the Office of Foreign Assets Control and FinCEN—but only after the fact. This requires Tether Inc.’s operations to be much more organized than they have been previously—such as during the years when the reserve was tracked, not in proper accounts but in a shared spreadsheet that was often out of date. Despite its compliance efforts, Tether Inc. is the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation by the Manhattan office of the Southern District of New York into possible anti-money-laundering and sanctions failures.

Tether Inc. has worked to mend its reputation in the corridors of power. The company does not operate in the United States, but it does keep much of the cash portion of its reserve in U.S. Treasury bills. These are custodied by Cantor Fitzgerald, whose CEO, Howard Lutnick, wanted to become Trump’s new Treasury secretary and will be brought in for commerce. Cantor Fitzgerald recently bought a share in Tether Inc.

After the crypto industry’s success with directing unheard-of quantities of campaign funding to the cause of electing Trump, we should anticipate further such attempts to curry favor. The Trump family’s own crypto project, World Liberty Financial, was set to fail until crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, proprietor of offshore crypto exchange HTX, dived in and bought $30 million of its WLFI coin—taking World Liberty over the threshold so Trump would get a $15 million payout from the project.

Sun is given to flashy stunts, like purchasing Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana artwork Comedian (with cryptocurrency) and then eating the banana on stage. These give the media something to talk about other than Sun’s legal and regulatory issues, most recently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s ongoing suit against Sun for securities violations. Sun looks forward to a more “friendly” U.S. crypto market under the new administration, with the pro-crypto Paul Atkins as Trump’s planned SEC chair.

One of the greatest channels for payback to his crypto allies may be Trump’s proposal at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in June for a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, apparently on the basis that the nation needs a store of this speculative commodity largely used for crime. Trump originally proposed that the government hold onto bitcoins that had been seized as proceeds of crime, rather than sell them off.

The current proposal to bolster crypto is Senator Cynthia Lummis’ Bitcoin Act of 2024, in which the Treasury and the Federal Reserve would buy 200,000 bitcoins each year for five years. The U.S. government would become the bitcoin holder of last resort, and the beneficiaries would be the crypto industry—and not ordinary Americans.

The incoming U.S. administration wants to clear “experts” from the bureaucracy. If the incoming executive branch wants crypto to operate freely, it will do its best to force crypto through and remove all possible impediments. Crypto’s perennial issues with fraud and impoverishing retail investors, and regulator’s fears of the risk of contagion from crypto to the wider economy, are likely to be glossed over so as to ensure market opportunities for administration insiders.

But in the end, gravity still works, and a balloon can be inflated only so much. The bitcoin bubble is an artifact of market manipulation and has no more economic substance than the Hawk Tuah coin does. The U.S. government may be ripe for plunder, but other nations need to take steps to shield themselves from the impact of rug-pulling on a global scale.

[the-babygirl-polls]

Ultimate Babygirl Tournament!!!

Hello everybody! Happy anniversary to this blog! Through the struggles and strifes we have managed to make it a whole year! Yippee!!!

This will be a longer post with all the information regarding it underneath the cut.

tl;dr--all characters, lineup, submission form for images and propaganda, Round 1a with start 12/16

As you voted for the ultimate babygirl tournament where the babygirls with the highest votes fought each other, here is the top 20 that will participate in this tournament:

Tianlang Jun - Scum Villain's Self Saving System (1,326 votes)

Edward Teach - Our Flag Means Death (1,160 votes)

Nona - Nona the Ninth (1,076 votes)

Ballister Boldheart - Nimona (1,030 votes)

Eddie Diaz - 9-1-1 (1,009 votes)

Jean Pierre Polnareff - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (751 votes)

Harry du Bois - Disco Elysium (705 votes)

Vash Stampede - Trigun (656 votes)

Rand al'Thor - Wheel of Time (623 votes)

Miles Edgeworth - Ace Attorney (603 votes)

Tomura Shigaraki - My Hero Academia (545 votes)

Sanji - One Piece (520 votes)

Bruce Wayne/Batman - DC Universe (480 votes)

Xue Yang - The Untamed (472 votes)

Uchiha Madara - Naruto (471 votes)

Jean Descole - Professor Layton (467 votes)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus - The Locked Tomb (461 votes)

Trafalgar Law - One Piece (452 votes)

Ianto Jones - Torchwood (444 votes)

Buggy the Clown - One Piece (442 votes)

With those 20, here is the bracket for each round! Underneath will be the description since this is kinda hard to read lol

Round 1a

Buggy the Clown vs Harry du Bois

Rand al'Thor vs Uchiha Madara

Sanji vs Bruce Wayne/Batman

Harrowhark Nonagesimus vs Miles Edgeworth

Jean Descole vs Vash Stampede

Xue Yang vs Jean Pierre Polnareff

Eddie Diaz vs Ianto Jones

Tomura Shigaraki vs Trafalgar Law

Round 1b

Tianlang Jun vs (winner of Buggy v Harry)

Nona vs (winner of Sanji v Bruce)

Edward Teach vs (winner of Jean v Vash)

Ballister Boldheart vs (winner of Eddie v Ianto)

Here is the submission form for propaganda and images:

Round 1a will go live on 12/16 to give myself time to make all the polls! Thank you all so much for being on this silly little babygirl journey with me for a whole year, and I can't wait to see how this turns out!

[pokemonbattletournament]

[deathmoth-blog]

The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It is the type species of the genus Mola, and one of five extant species in the family Molidae. It was once misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different and closely related species of sunfish, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545 and 2,205 lb). It is native to tropical and temperate waters around the world. It resembles a fish head without a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

Its common English name, sunfish, refers to the animal's habit of sunbathing at the surface of the sea.[citation needed] Its common names in Dutch, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Russian, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, and German (maanvis, peixe lua, Poisson lune, pez luna, peix lluna, Pesce luna, рыба-луна, φεγγαρόψαρο, holdhal, månefisk and Mondfisch, respectively) mean "moon fish", in reference to its rounded shape. In German, the fish is also known as Schwimmender Kopf, or "swimming head". In Polish, it is named samogłów, meaning "head alone" or "only head", because it has no true tail. In Swedish and Danish it is known as klumpfisk, in Dutch klompvis, in Finnish möhkökala, all of which mean "lump fish". The Chinese translation of its academic name is 翻車魚; fān chē yú, meaning "toppled wheel fish". Many of the sunfish's various names allude to its flattened shape.

It was originally classified in the pufferfish family as Tetraodon mola, its epithet mola is Latin for "millstone", which the fish resembles because of its gray color, rough texture, and rounded body. It is now placed in its own genus Mola and family name Molidae as the type species with two other species: Mola tecta and M. alexandrini (previously known as Mola ramsayi). Extinct relatives of Mola mola lived in the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. However, the earliest known fossil remains of Mola mola itself were found in archaeological middens dating to the Holocene epoch.

The common name "sunfish" without qualifier is used to describe the marine family Molidae and the freshwater sunfish in the family Centrarchidae, which is unrelated to Molidae. On the other hand, the name "ocean sunfish" and "mola" refer only to the family Molidae.

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode illustrée, no. 35, 27 août 1882, Paris. Ustensiles de table, modèles de chez Testevuide, Maison de l'Aluminium, boulevard Poissonnière, 21. Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque Forney

Le no. 187 est une pince à sucre en bronze d'aluminium (aluminum bronze sugar tongs), du prix de 6 fr. 50 c.

No. 526. Cuillère à confiture et fruits à l'eau-de-vie (Spoon for jam and fruit brandy): 3 fr.

No. 530. Cuillère à thé (forme russe) (Teaspoon (Russian form)): 2 fr. 25 c.

No. 171. Cuillère à sucre repercée à jours (Sugar spoon pierced with holes): 7 fr. 50 c.

No. 560. Ciseau à raisin (Grape scissors): 10 fr.

No. 214. Cuillère à punch avec manche d'ébène (Punch ladle with ebony handle): 7 fr.

No. 402. Couteau à fruits, avec manche japonais et lame en bronze d'aluminium (Fruit knife, with Japanese handle and aluminum bronze blade): 3 fr. 75 c.

No. 159. Même couteau entièrement en bronze d'aluminium (Fruit knife entirely in aluminum bronze): 3 fr. 75 c.

No. 158. Couvert à dessert en même métal (Dessert cutlery in in aluminum bronze): 5 fr.

No. 186. Pelle à tartre repercée à jours (Spatula pierced with holes): 15 fr. 55 c.

No. 173. Cuillère à verre d'eau (Glass of water spoon): 3 fr. 75 c.

No. 525. Cuillère à fraises (Strawberry spoon): 12 fr.

No. 399. Couteau à fromage avec manche d'ivoire (Cheese knife with ivory handle): 10 fr.

No. 170. Cuillère à compote (Compote spoon): 7 fr.

No. 192. Casse-noix simple ou double (Single or double nutcracker): 9 fr.

No. 185. Pelle à glace (Ice shovel): 10 fr.

No. 164. Cuillère à café grand modèle uni (Coffee spoon, large plain model): 1 fr. 50 c.

No. 676. Cuillère, à glace (Ice cream spoon): 1 fr. 75.

No. 520. Cuillère à café de forme russe (Coffee spoon, Russian form): 2 fr.

No. 720. Compotier guilloché à perle et cristal gravé (Guilloche dish with pearl and engraved crystal): 30 fr.

No. 545. Passe-thé repercé à jours (Perforated tea strainer): 3 fr.

No. 424. Surtout de table argenté avec cornet en cristal taillé (Silver table centerpiece with cut crystal cornet): 75 fr.

Nos. 410 à 413. Service à bonbons (Candy service): 15 fr.

No. 675. Sucrier de table, à pied rond avec cuillère repercée (Table sugar bowl, round foot with pierced spoon): 37 fr. 75 c.

No. 561. Pince à sucre en forme d'oiseau (très-commodé) (Bird-shaped sugar tongs (very convenient)): 7 à 9 fr.

No. 735. Cafetière Louis XVI guillochée avec deux écussons (Louis XVI guilloché coffee pot with two escutcheons): 55 à 60 fr.

No. 478. Tasse à café avec soucoupe (Coffee cup with saucer): 20 fr.

Corbeille pour milieu de table (Basket for middle of table): 200 fr.

—

Le luxe et l'élégance dans le service de la table ont marché d'un pas égal avec le luxe de la toilette et de l'habillement. Il serait choquant, en effet, de voir des maîtresses de maison vêtues de beaux atours, assises devant une table dressée avec incurie ou négligence. Quand on ne peut posséder des services en argent très-complet, on y supplée en employant des métaux moins coûteux. Ce que l'on recherche avant tout, c'est l'aspect soigné de la table, c'est aussi l'emploi d'objets spéciaux pour chaque usage: servir du thé ou du café dans une théière ou dans une cafetière de porcelaine est une hérésie en matière de confort élégant. On a porté cette recherche dans tous les détails. Pour les fruits à l'eau-de-vie et pour les confitures, on a fabriqué des petites louches microscopiques, cuillères rondes pareilles à celles que l'on emploie pour servir le potage. On a des cuillères à compotes, des pelles à tartes, des cuillères à sucre, à punch, à verre d'eau, etc., et beaucoup d'etc., ainsi que nos abonnées pourront s'en convaincre en examinant la collection d'ustensiles de table que nous plaçons sous leurs yeux. Les numéros du catalogue de la Maison de l'Aluminium accompagnent chaque objet, ce qui abrège les recherches et résout les doutes quant aux prix.

—

Luxury and elegance in the service of the table have gone hand in hand with the luxury of toilet and clothing. It would indeed be shocking to see hostesses dressed in finery, seated before a table set carelessly or negligently. When one cannot possess very complete silver services, one makes up for it by employing less costly metals. What we are looking for above all is the neat appearance of the table, it is also the use of special objects for each use: serving tea or coffee in a teapot or in a porcelain coffee maker is heresy when it comes to stylish comfort. We carried out this research in all the details. For fruits in eau-de-vie and for jams, small microscopic ladles were made, round spoons similar to those used to serve soup. We have compote spoons, pie scoops, sugar spoons, punch spoons, glass of water spoons, etc., and a lot of etc., as our subscribers will be able to convince themselves of by examining the collection of utensils that we place before their eyes. The catalog numbers of the Maison de l'Aluminium accompany each object, which shortens searches and resolves doubts about prices.

[whencyclopedia]

A Roman Trail in the Moselle Valley

The Moselle Valley is Germany's oldest winegrowing region. The Romans brought viticulture to this area and planted vines along the Moselle River 2000 years ago. After settling the region c. 50 BCE and establishing the city of Trier (Augusta Treverorum) in 17 BCE, a Gallo-Roman culture developed in the territory of the Belgic Treveri tribe that inhabited the valley in what is now Luxembourg, southeastern Belgium, and southwestern Germany.

Between Trier and the junction with the Rhine at Koblenz, archaeologists have found remains of Roman estates, temples, mausolea, and wine presses. They constitute the largest concentration of Roman ruins north of the Alps.

The Moselle River owes its name to the Romans, who called it Mosella or 'little Meuse'. It is one of the longest of the Rhine's tributaries at 545 kilometres (339 mi). The extensive cultivation of vines on its slopes is well-attested in the poem Mosella written by the 4th-century CE Gallo-Roman poet Ausonius (310-395 CE). Ausonius praises the Moselle for its clear waters, fish, quality vineyards, and people. He dwells on its beauty, which is impressive in the glow of the setting sun.

Here one sees the sky without branches twined together, green and dark, buried in fog, here the brightness of daylight never hides. I saw this land of well-tended fields and estates set on hills and cliffs green with vines and hedges running across the slopes like schoolboys at play and murmuring below in the valley, the Moselle, my new-found river hurried along. The pleasant scene recalled to me my distant home, Bordeaux. May I pay my respects to the river praised by every man working in his field? You bring the honour of empire to Trier.

Ausonius, Mosella (Translation by Harold Isbell, 1965 CE)

The Moselle Valley in the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland regions of Germany has majestic landscape, hilltop castles, picturesque villages, vineyards, and savoury wines to draw visitors. The region is also a testament to the Gallo-Roman era north of the Alps, with 100 Roman sights showing aspects of Roman life.

The cross-border cultural route "Straßen der Römer" (Roads of the Romans) connects these sights thanks to well-developed archaeological hiking trails and paths. Impressive reconstructions and excavated sites are waiting to be discovered. Descriptions of archaeological monuments provide walkers with access to a thousand-year-old cultural landscape.

Find the best places to visit in this region with our list of the top Roman attractions in the Moselle Valley. For lesser-known Roman sights and museums, including those in Luxembourg, check our map below.

Roman Villa Borg

The Villa Borg is a reconstructed Roman villa rustica located in the village of Borg in Saarland. The complex illustrates how pleasant life was for the Roman elite 2,000 years ago. Visitors can wander the 7.5-hectare (18-acre) estate and learn about Roman daily life while visiting the fully functional baths, recreated gardens and kitchen, and archaeological museum.

Only the pars dominica, the residential area exclusive to the master (dominus) and his family, has been excavated. Excavation work is being carried out in the area of the pars rustica - the space reserved for servants and workers of the farm - and can be visited during the opening hours of the Villa Borg.

The Villa Borg has a year-round programme of events and festivals, including 'Exclusive bathing evening,' 'Roman wine tasting with the slave Jatros', and 'Cooking like the Romans'.

Opening times: Every day except Monday. February-March: 11:00-16:00, April to October: 10:00-18:00, November 11:00-16:00. December, January closed.

Continue reading...