#throw some particles our way

[notwordsspoken]

Missing Creek like a mf

[worldoshaking]

I find Y’shtola so interesting; I think she exemplifies some very fascinating dilemmas, but what’s unique about her is that they’re externalised as ways of seeing the world rather than internal emotional states. Her perspective is also a really important aspect of the story and the world.

The most fundamental thing about her is that she’s a scientist. It’s not just what she does, it’s who she is. It represents her strengths, her ambitions, her temperament, and the way she interacts with the world.

Unlike the other scions, she’s a scientist who grew up outside of Sharlayan’s academic structure, and is unbounded by its strictures and politics. She represents unbounded theoretical curiosity, independent of institutions and all their dampening considerations. It’s a beautiful, idealised vision of what science could be, if unbound by considerations like institutional approval and funding. It’s something Y’shtola learned in part from Matoya, who rejected the confines of Sharlayan academia and accomplished stupendous things in her cave.

I think this complements G’raha Tia, who represents an idealised vision of what academia could be: he explores the limits of what people can achieve together if they can throw aside clout-chasing, nepotism, petty politicking, biases, and the other things that cloud the idealism of academic institutions. G’raha is someone who fell in love with what Sharlayan represented, and came back to point out how they fell short of their own ideals. G’raha is someone who works to reform institutions; Y’shtola simply works independently of them, pushing the limits of what one person can accomplish.

Another very scientific characteristic of Y’shtola is her refusal to acknowledge limits: when she finds a thing that can’t be done, she hammers at it until it budges. She is convinced that there are answers to everything, and that science can find them. This is really something that’s fundamental to the scientific method: the idea that there’s always an answer to the question of ’why,’ and that that answer is something we can find and comprehend. What are atoms made of? Why are there only so many fundamental particles? Why do voidgates form? What is the fate of the universe? There is an answer, and she’ll find it. This is part of her initial clash with G’raha; she is insistent on the truth, and doesn’t like his keeping secrets.

She is also committed to seeing the science through, no matter what she’ll learn from it. She was ready to hear the Ea’s answer about the fate of the universe, no matter how terrible it was. And when she finds it, she’ll greet the unknown with delight; when she meets Zero, she looks the void in the face and smiles.

She’s also just a little remote, in the way of one who has spent too long staring into the heart of things. This doesn’t change the fact that she is a brave, steadfast, loyal companion to her friends, and a staunch champion of what’s right in the world. It’s something very personal; she sees things beyond the others’ sight, and her heart is preoccupied with things that are very removed from the considerations of everyday.

The Sharlayans’ performance of scientific objectivity is shown to be rooted in their very human prejudices, something that’s very true of institutional science in our world too. Y’shtola’s objectivity isn’t that sort of cold, inhumane objectivity; it isn’t a pretext for bigotry, or an abdication of responsibility. It’s something much more remote and whimsical, a commitment to a way of approaching things rather than a badge of superiority.

These are all, in a way, things that characterise the WoL, and I think they underlie the curious solidarity that builds between them post-Endwalker. The WoL, in a different way, is someone who doesn’t acknowledge the limitations of common sense, someone who looks truth in the face without flinching.

It’s also a delightful contrast, because the WoL is someone who repeatedly defies the limits of possibility, and that makes it even more interesting that they’re drawn together. Y’shtola is someone dancing at those very limits; the point where the preposterous becomes fact is where scientific discovery is born.

It’s also a very fun way of seeing science. Science as an institution is actually preoccupied with a kind of individualism - with the performance of individual merit, with the idea of the lone genius. (As we see in post-ARR, Alphinaud is misled by the accolades of the Studium to disastrous hubris.) Y’shtola might be fiercely independent, but she also isn’t that lone genius. She is utterly preoccupied with finding the answers, and not at all with any idea of personal success. The thing that lets her transcend her limits, the thing that lets her accomplish more than Matoya could, is friendship. When she works with the Scions, or Nidhana, or Zero, she can accomplish more than she ever could on her own.

I also think it’s very relevant that she’s a woman; in both our world and theirs, academia is largely male-dominated, and a lot of its flaws have to do with upholding that hegemony and not being open to more diverse perspectives. The ideal of the lone genius is overwhelmingly associated with men.

I think there’s something deeply idealistic and joyous about this unfettered spirit of scientific curiosity persisting through and after the events of Endwalker. We met the god of everything and defeated her in a duel; that doesn’t mean we know all the answers, or even all the questions. We cross paths with a far more technologically advanced civilisation, and Y’shtola is still able to have interesting scientific conversations with them. Even if many things about our world are arbitrary and uncaring, Y’shtola holds to her belief in the scientific method, and is still wholly, exuberantly committed to seeking out truths.

[webbedmirror]

High King Phantom looked at his surroundings with narrowed eyes. He rarely responded to summonings, however, this one came with offerings—sacrifices—. It perked his interest, and not necessarily in a good way. The summoning circle was sloppy, the summoners were dressed in cheap matching cloaks, they seemingly were in a random abandoned apartment, and most importantly, he was surrounded by bodies.

Seven bodies surrounded the king, seven bodies sacrificed to Danny.

"Your majesty," a person—seemingly the leader— greeted with a bowed head, "It is an honor to be in your glorious presence." Glowing green eyes stared them down, but they did not receive a response. Ever arrogant, the mortal continued talking, "We have used three sacrifices to summon you, and we hope to use the other four to strike a deal with me."

Phantom could not help but sneer. "You want to use the other four for a deal? You lot already seemed to be idiotic and somehow manage to anger me further." The summoners flinched, some preparing to flee. The king would not allow that to happen, a light tap of his foot and the floor was covered in frost, freezing the summoners in place.

"These people are dead, they are under my domain, they are my subjects. You want to give me something that is already mine?" Phantom yelled. "Even if you offered them to me when they were alive, what use would I have for them? I have trillions if not quadrillions of undead under my rule. Do you understand what that means? That is over a thousand times more people living on your planet. What do four or fuck— seven lives mean to me? Your sacrifices mean nothing to me, all you've done is needlessly kill your own kind!"

His words left the summoners speechless; it seemed they underestimated the king's power. They couldn't help but cower, a chilling, heart-pounding fear now embedded in them.

"Where is the tome you used?" Phantom was met with silence. "Do not make me repeat myself!"

"It- it's over there, your- your majesty," someone spoke up, shakily pointing a finger to a bag in the back of the room.

Phantom telekinetically brought the bag towards him, carelessly throwing things out the bag before finding the tome. He flipped through the book, quickly scanning it before freezing it solid. He raised the book high and then threw it onto the floor. Both the ice and book shattered like glass, becoming such small particles that one couldn't even hope to recover and put back together the tome.

"Now then, what should I do with you all?"

"I can take care of the rest," a new voice spoke. Phantom looked at the knight—or perhaps, hero, but the lingering of Lady Gotham on the man made Phantom prioritize the fact that he was a knight— dressed in black and blue.

"This is my issue, knight. I have the right to deal with in any way I'd like."

The knight walked closer to him, steps confident despite the icy floor. "You may be right, but you are on human land, you aren't judge, jury, or executioner."

[]

Nightwing was late-late again, too slow, too sloppy, too careless, and people died, again and it was his fault. Bludhaven was his territory, his city, and he couldn't even properly defend it.

The vigilante forced himself to not look at the dead bodies, faces crumbled in pain, tear tracks still on their faces, and instead looked the king of the dead in the eye.

"What do the rules of humans mean to me, when I am more powerful than a human could even wish to be?" A seemingly light tap of the foot resulted in the tile beneath him to crumble and the room filled with the screams of the summoners.

He'd made a blunder; sleep deprivation was not helping him speak to high-ranking alien entities. "That doesn't make us any less significant, nor does that mean you need to invalidate our culture and government. I hope if you are a just ruler, that you would respect our planet and the way it governs."

The king frowned, glowing green eyes stared at him intensely. "Get them out of my sight and we'll see how I feel."

Nightwing nodded, putting the criminals in handcuffs under the king's scrutiny. Once the king had evaporated the frost, he tied them up and put them in another room whilst talking to a police operative. While the vigilante took care of the criminals, the ghost took care of the sacrifices. A wave of magic surrounded the bodies, one by one, and their faces changed into a peaceful look. Seven orbs surrounded the king, and he looked at them with a soft sadness that surprised Nightwing.

The king's eyes focused back on Nightwing. "You will make sure those people are prosecuted properly?"

Nightwing nodded, "Of course."

"Then it's time for me to leave. Thank you for your help."

"Wait!" the hero bowed his head. "I know this is probably not the best time, but you're the king of the dead right?"

[]

The knight looked back at him, full of desperation. "My baby brother died not long ago, I just need to know. . ."

Phantom softened, "If he's a knight like you, he should be fine in my realm."

"He was." the knight clenched his fists, "I just. . . I need to know for sure that he's okay, that he's going to stay okay, and that I'm sorry."

"I can keep an eye on him, ensure his safety, and pass along information so long as you are alive in exchange of you passing along the final messages of these seven and ensuring that they receive a funeral of their liking." Unfortunately, as much as he sympathized with the knight, so long as he was within the summoning circle he could not do things for free. Whilst he could break out of it, it would be a waste of energy and he was sure the knight would agree to the terms.

"Thank you."

"We have a deal, Sir . . ?"

"Nightwing. It's a deal, King. . ."

"Phantom. We have a deal."

For the first time in a while, Nightwing smiled-soft and watery, nonetheless, a smile.

"Then, goodbye, Nightwing. And do take care of yourself, you look like shit and I don't want you to become my subject before you complete your end of the deal."

[End.]

Wahoo! It's been a while since I've written something original-ish like this so do forgive any inconsistencies or mistakes. This is a oneshot and I most likely won't add onto it so I'm just going to spill some of the background/ideas/would-be-plans for this :]

This is set while Jason is dead but before Tim meets with Dick

Speaking of Tim, I feel like Dick would be nicer and not so guilty for pushing him to become Robin

Shortly after he comes back to the realms, Danny goes to find Jason and passes on Dick's sorry as well as receives the message Jason wants to give to Dick

If this were a multichapter fic it would be slow burn friends to lovers Death Defying

I'd imagine that Danny & Jason get a brotherly bond

Clockwork essentially tosses Danny at Jason's grave when it's time for Jason to resurrect

Jason won't (initially) have his memories of being dead, but like post resurrection he doesn't have a lot of memories in the first place sooo

Whilst Jason is dead, he is located in Infinite Realm!Gotham under the care of Lady Gotham so Danny doesn't have to monitor him 24/7 and only visits him every 2 weeks or to pass along messages

Danny and Dick bond in a weird fucked up way of Dick "It took me a month to learn about Jason's death because I was off-planet and Bruce didn't tell me anything" and Danny "It took months for my sister to learn I was dead and years for my parents to learn about it and we lived under the same roof so you're off to a better start."

Oh, Nightwing isn't thinking straight because of Jason's death and his lack of coping mechanisms. I don't think I did a great job of showing that but that's why he's making a deal without hesitation

[woniiez]

ᴛɪʟʟ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ᴇɴᴅꜱ | ₗ.ₕₛ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢꜱ. brothers bestfriend! heeseung x fem!reader

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ. You were sleeping when jay started banging on your door “y/n heeseung is gonna stay with us for the summer”. Lee heesung, your brothers best friend and the boy you’ve had a crush on since you saw him 5 years ago in your living room.

|| ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ. 4-6k (wrote this on my phone so i have no idea, tried to check it but it kept giving me different word counts)

ɢᴇɴʀᴇ. smut, brothers bestfriend.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ. nsfw! smut lmk if there’s anything else.

(hii this is the first fic I’ve ever written, I obviously have a long way to go lmao but I hope you like it. This was written with really less detail and not too many complications something simple I guess. There might be a few spelling mistakes or the paragraph formation is messed up so bear with me on that 🙏🏻. Since this is the first time I’ve written it’s not really fully “fic coded” you could say Ig but I’ll learn in time, it could be different writing wise from a proper fic.Anyways I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions regarding this or anything else lmk.)

————————————————————

You’ve never really talked to Heeseung much. He comes over a lot but jay doesn’t let you hang out with them much, it doesn’t really bother you much but what did bother you was when jay started banging on your door to wake you up on a weekend at 8am to tell you “ Y/N!! Heeseung is gonna stay with us for the summer”

You couldn’t wait for summer break to come but now you’re grateful there’s still a week left.

you RAN to karina’s house which thankfully was next door. She was obviously still asleep.

“Karinaaa!! WAKE UPPP” you say while pulling the blinds up, “y/n it’s 8am please I haven’t slept all night” karina said while pulling the blanket over her face

“I need to tell you something. ” you looked at her with a very serious face waiting for her to sit up “yes y/n goodmorning to you too” you smiled at her and murmured goodmorning back “ok get this jay said Lee heeseung is gonna stay at ours for the summer..the WHOLE summer!” You let out a sigh you didn’t know you were holding. You waited for her to say something She looked at you like you ate her cat or something, she really is cranky in the morning “can you say something why are you looking at me like that” she took a breath in and out. Oh no u hate when she does that, it feels like she’s going to pounce on you “y/n..is this what you wanted to tell me so badly to wake me up at 8am on a Sunday?” She said in a calm and low tone. You just looked at her as u blinked slowly and nodded slowly, she wasn’t having any of it “y/n it’s not a big deal it’s just heesung and jay is best friends with him you literally see him everyday” well that was true but she didn’t know about the crush you had on him, you just couldn’t bring yourself to tell her.“This is gonna be a looongg summer” you thought to yourself.

It was the first day of summer.

As you woke up the golden sunlight peeked though your blinds, casting stripes across the room. Making you think “it’s finally summer” you smile to yourself. You yawn as you watch the dust particles flying around the window.

You threw your blanket away from you and went to freshen up exited for the summer. You tie your bikini around your hips and back, then throw on an oversized shirt and some jean shorts.

You walked down the stairs each step filled with excitement, thinking about everything you were gonna do this summer with karina, going to places we’ve never been or just hanging out in your backyard. You took a deep sniff smelling waffles from the kitchen. The smell of the batter, the sound of the waffle maker, and fresh maple. You ran to the kitchen to see jay cooking. You love your brothers cooking especially his waffles it’s something he only makes it in the summer. “Jayy you’re making waffles?!!!!???!” You said giggling

and grinning, doing a silly dance “when I met you in the summerrrrr~~” you sang as a smile spreads on jays face. He hums with you.

“Sit down y/n 5 minutes more” he said looking back at you raising his eyebrows. You were walking around the wall to sit on the counter and suddenly you saw heesung sitting on the chair “WHA-“ you were totally surprised and feeling like an idiot since you just sang and danced and HEESEUNG SAW YOU. You completely forgot he was supposed to be here.

You feel your cheeks heat up as you try to laugh the embarrassment off. You looked up at heeseung who was already looking at you up and down. With a slight smirk on his face he tilted his head to the side. “What’s up?”

he said. His tone is relaxed and raspy. You feel so small in his presence , you feel your cheeks burn and u look up at him “hey I heard you’re staying here for the summer”you say trying to relax your voice, you sit down on the chair next to him and look up at him waiting for an answer “mhm” that’s all he says. You think if you’re going see him the whole summer you need to get to know him better atleast. You tilt your head and ask,“Can I ask why?” Your eyebrows raise in curiosity and a gentle smile forms on your lips showing you’re genuinely interested, before he said anything jay came up to the counter and sets the waffles in front of you with a light frown he glances at you and says “y/n don’t bother him” his eyes meet yours and he slightly smiles. Heeseung takes a waffles and puts it on his plate, jay walks away to get the ice cream he looks over at you but you were already looking at him, you look away “im moving to New York after the summer cause of my dads work” he says,his tone relaxed. He shrugs, his eyes glancing away for a moment. “he’s already there so I’m staying here till I leave” he lets out a light laugh and takes a bite of the waffle. You look at him, your heart skipping a beat at the news. A mix of surprise and a touch of sadness washes over your face. “New York, huh? That’s a big change,” you say, trying to keep your tone light despite the flutter of emotions inside. You bite your lip, thinking about why you feel sad you barely know him?!. “Are you excited about it?” you ask, your eyes searching his, hoping to catch a glimpse of his feelings. He shrugs a bit. “I’m not really worried” he says nonchalantly. Not wanting to show too much emotion you take a bite of the waffle “oh okay” you said kind of sad but you think jay might be really sad since they’ve been best friends since they were 10.

It’s been about 2 weeks since you talked to heeseung. Even though you’re living together there’s not much interaction between you too, well there are moments when you’re going out in your prettiest clothes and he undresses you with his eyes. You try to ignore it as much as you can, you can’t betray jay like that no matter how much you want to right?

Eventually you decide invite Karina over and take a swim in the pool. The cool water feels refreshing, and the familiar scent of chlorine surrounds you, bringing a sense of comfort. As you float on your back, Karina asks you a shocking question “do you like heesung”she says looking at you with her eye brows raised and crossed arms. “Karin-“ you pause cause heesung is standing at the backyard door by the pool. Did he hear what she said? You’re just looking at him with a confused expression. Karina looks back and smirks to herself. You can’t help but say something,it’s getting awkward “hey Heeseung do u wanna swim?” You ask, Karina noticed how your voice sounds way different from when you both talk. He scratches the back of his neck and says “yea can I?” Looking between Karina and you. You try to communicate with Karina through your eyes “ofc you can” she says with a smirk on her face as she looks at you, you look at her with a confused face as you raise your eye brow asking what she was doing. Heeseung walks towards the pool and slowly with a confidence smirk he pulled off his shirt, his toned body revealing itself to you. You flinched at the sight, you thought how it would feel if he was on top of you and you touch his toned abs..

Suddenly water hit you and you fell of your floaty into the water “what the hell!” You looked at Karina thinking she did that but you heard deep chuckles coming from the side, it was Heeseung “sorry didn’t mean to do that, just diving” he shrugs and looks you up and down like he’s ready to undress you “oh yeah btw there’s a party here tonight” he said. You looked at him in confusion since your parents are home. He continues “oh um jay told me to tell you, your parents have to go to a wedding” you tell him you’re going inside to talk to your mom and jay. You get up and wrap yourself in a towel, by now you think heesung has a staring problem.

You take a shower, change and head down with Karina.

You see jay helping your mom pack you walk into the room “mom where are you going” you ask since everyone knows except you.

“Y/n honey me and your dad have a wedding to attend it’s in the next town so we’ll be back in the morning” you tell her to be safe, you look at Karina and smile looking forward to the party. “Jay take care of y/n and don’t do anything stupid” she looks between you and jay, you put your hands up.

As soon as your parents leave jay picks up his phone and starts calling people over. Since it is your last year why not have a party.

You walk up to jay as he’s wearing his watch he looks over at you “soo who did you invite” you ask out of curiosity since he didn’t tell you about the party which is in YOUR house. He looks at you smiling “anyone and everyone” he winks. You wonder what’s gonna happen tonight your head already hurts. You weren’t really into parties, just going if your friends invited you or when you need to get your mind off something. But tonight it’s someone. Jay looks at you thinking to yourself and says “y/n I’ll keep an eye out for you tonight” you already know what that means. Jay isn’t much of an over protective brother but when it comes to his friends or guys in general getting involved with you, he hates it. Since they’re not someone he fully trusts.

As you get ready in your room, the sounds of the party downstairs filter through the door. Muffled laughter and music. Making your heart race with anticipation. You can hear the clinking of glasses and the cheerful chatter. As you finish your final touches, someone knocks on your door “come in!”

You look at the door as it opens and it’s heeseung hes wearing a black Prada button up with black pants he looks. Your heart skips a beat you blink, he stands there effortlessly attractive. You can’t help but admire his face shape the way his body fits in his clothes, how his jawline is shaped perfectly his eyes are captivating.

Closing the door behind him he walks towards you with a knowing smirk leans down to your ear and whispers “baby you’re staring”. You’re taken aback, you take a step back but he still walk towards you. “I think you’re the one with a staring problem hee” you say fixing the collar of his shirt, he’s chuckles shocked by the sudden nickname and confidence. He presses you again your closet behind you and he slowly puts his thumb over your lips. Before he can do anything else the door opens and you push him away.

It’s jay he looks between both of you “uhm Lee let’s go Jake’s calling you” he says while looking at you. You feel trapped not knowing what to do. Heeseung winks at you secretly and heads back down. Jay raises his eye brow “y/n what the fuck don’t you remember what I told you” he says in a low and angry voice though you can tell he’s hurt. You try to say something with your heart racing, you try to scan jays face but he just walks away.

You walk down after fixing your lipstick. You spot Karina with some of your old classmates and join them.

The party is in full swing when you find yourself in the kitchen, pouring drinks for your friends. Suddenly, Heeseung appears beside you, leaning against the counter with that trademark smirk. “Need any help?” he asks, his voice low and teasing. You nod, trying to ignore the way your stomach flips at his proximity.

As the night progresses, the atmosphere becomes more charged. Laughter and music fill the air, but you can’t shake the feeling that something is about to change. You catch Heesung watching you from across the room, his gaze intense, and you feel a pull toward him that you can’t resist.

Later, as the party continues, you find yourself in a quieter corner of the house, away from the noise. Heeseung follows you, the tension between you crazy. “It’s crazy how we’re both here together,” he says, stepping closer. The air feels thick with unspoken words, and before you know it, he puts his hand on your waist leaning in, his lips brushing against yours in a soft, tentative kiss.

Your heart races as you kiss him back, the kiss getting deeper. The world around you fading away. You know you shouldn’t be doing this, but it feels too right to stop. Just as the kiss deepens, you hear your brother laughing, pulling you back to reality.

You break apart, breathless, and heesung looks at you with a mix of desire and uncertainty. “We can’t do this baby,” he whispers, but the way he looks at you says otherwise. The party goes on, but in that moment, everything changes. You kiss him again and deepen the kiss.

As you pull away from the kiss, your heart races,his forehead on yours. You glance toward the living room where the party is still in full swing. You can hear your brother laughing with friends, completely unaware of the moment that just unfolded between you and heesung.

“Maybe we should go back,” you say, your voice barely above a whisper, still feeling the warmth of his lips on yours. Heeseung nods, but there’s still hesitation in his eyes.

“Are you sure?” he asks, searching your face for confirmation. His hands go up and down your waist. The last thing you both want to do is betray jay, but you can’t help it after liking him for so long.

“I don’t know,” you admit, biting your lip. “But we can’t let anyone see us like this.” You take a step back, trying to regain some composure, but heesung reaches out, gently pulling you back toward him.

“Then let’s keep it our little secret for now,” he suggests, a mischievous glint in his eyes. His hands back on your waist moving upwards. You nod, the thrill of secrecy making your heart race even faster. You both go back into the party agreeing on keeping this a secret.

As the night progresses, you and heeseung have moments together, glances across the room, whispered conversations in corners, and the occasional touch that sends sparks through your body. The chemistry between you is undeniable, but you’re also acutely aware of your brother’s presence, and the potential consequences of your actions.

At one point, you find yourselves outside on the patio, where the sounds of the party fade into the background. The night sky is dotted with stars, and the cool breeze contrasts with the heat radiating between you.

“Do you think he’d be mad?” you ask, your voice barely above a whisper. Heeseungs expression softens as he considers your question.

“I don’t know,” he replies honestly. “But I don’t want to hide this if it means something.” His words send a thrill through you, you’ve wanted heesung for such a long time but the thought of your brother’s reaction hangs in the back of your mind.

As everyone starts leaving it’s already 2am and jay is extremely drunk. You ask heesung to put him to bed.

You’re sitting in on your bed still wearing your black mini dress when the door opens and closes with a bang. It’s heesung he’s charging towards you suddenly he gets on top of you. You’re just looking into his eyes looking for something but they’re just filled with desire. As you’re about to say something he puts his lips on yours capturing them into a kiss.

It starts of slow, he sits against the headboard and you climb on top of him, your knees on the sides of his thighs. He pulls you in again for a deep kiss, he puts his hands on your waist tightening them. They way yours and his lips are moving next to each other feels unreal, he pulls you even closer towards him, you release low moans now needing him as close as possible. As the kiss gets heated you feel his tongue licking your self asking to go in, you let his tongue enter and explore your mouth he groans. He puts his hand on your zipper, you look at him and nod.

He quickly takes it off and looks at your perky boobs “so fucking sexy baby” he looks like he wants to eat you. You gasp when he takes one of your nipples in his mouth “hee-“ and swirls his tongue around,he gives the other one attention aswell taking it in his hands god. His hand goes down to your clothed core as he starts rubbing over it. “Hee please” you cried out, “please what pretty, say it” he whispered

You moaned and squirmed against his hard cock, making him hiss “baby u need to stop moving”.

He laid you against your back and started placing kisses all over your neck and breasts making you breathe heavily. As he placed kisses all over your body he reached your wet core. He took his shirt off revealing his toned body you started kissing him everywhere until It all went too fast when you suddenly felt a hot wet sensation licking your pussy slow. Your eyes rolled back, feeling hee’s tongue going deep in your pussy and sucking on your bud. Your moans could no longer be held back, letting them out freely for everyone to hear.

“H-hee ah- wait!” You cried out feeling your orgasm coming faster than you thought since it’s been 2 minutes. Heeseung didn’t stop, feeling your pussy tighten and open and before he knew it too, his tongue was getting covered by your juices. He licked his lips while looking at you, you thought you could look at him like this forever.

As he takes his pants off with his underwear you look at him surprised at how big he is. You gulped.

Heeseung notices your expression and smirks “you ready baby?” You nod aggressively not wanting to wait another second.

He kissed you everywhere complimenting every little thing, he leaned over and positioned his dick at your whole and slowly pushed it in. “HEE! Fuck” you moan, he thought you looked so pretty with your mascara running down your face because of him.

“Fuck baby you’re so tight” he groaned

You let out a ragged breath feeling him in you. He felt so big and you felt so full. Heesung looked at you asking if he could move “u-h you can move” heeseung nodded and moved slowly watching your face as you roll your eyes back in pleasure.

That’s when he started moving faster, you both were a moaing mess. Panting against each other.

Heeseung groaned feeling you squeeze against him, he could feel his orgasm coming.

You felt your orgasm coming as he went in and out “f-uck hee im cu-ming” you moaned and closed your eyes as it came over.

Heeseung thrusting in deeper while you got off your high. He let out a raspy laugh.

You both were breathing heavily after he came and laid down with you. “that was-“ you said panting

“great. “ heeseung looked at you and kissed you once more before he got up and got a towel from the bathrooms and cleaned you up before laying back down.

“Hee?” You said laying down on his arm. “Yeah baby?” He pulled you closer under the blanket “when will you leave for New York?” You said. Your voice not above a whisper, he looked at your sad expression and put a strand of hair behind your ear “I told my dad already im not leaving”he said. You sat up holding the blanket to your chest, “wait really?!” You said smiling so big it hurt. “Yea. “ he said. Hugging you tightly. “I love you hee” you said looking into his sparkly eyes as u pecked him on the cheek “I love you too baby”. He kissed you back.

The sun was out ask you opened your eyes, you rubbed your eyes the memories of last night came flooding back into your mind and you couldn’t believe that actually happened. A smile crept onto your face.

You felt heeseung holding you tightly by the waist. You shifted to look at him, he looked so pretty while sleeping as well. You started tracing his lips and his nose even his eyes. He started blinking and smiled “goodmorning” he said, his morning voice so raspy and attractive. “Morning” you giggled and put your face into his neck.

You suddenly pulled back hearing your door open. “y/n wake uppp!” It was jay.

He stood there looking at both of you naked under the blanket.

He started blinking in disbelief.

Heeseung tried to cover you with his body which made you laugh.

You totally forgot you were in the same house as jay through all that.

Jay just walked out. You looked at heeseung confused why jay didn’t punch anyone. You and heesung got dressed and went down to the kitchen to talk to jay.

You both sat on the chairs in front of the counter where jay was making breakfast.

You started “jay uh.. can we talk” you felt like you’ve betrayed your brother big time, your mind had a lot of things to say but you need to tell him the truth first.

Jay looked back at you with his eye brows furrowed he nodded letting you know to go on but before you could heeseung started talking “look man im sorry it happened this way, I never wanted to hurt you or y/n” he lets out heavy breathing.

You could see how hard this is for heeseung because this is his only one friendship he cares about.

Jay looks at him very angrily “if you didn’t want to hurt me you shouldn’t have done this” he said in a higher voice as he crossed his arms. You felt bad for heeseung for getting the blame “jay it’s not his fault I also wanted too” you say searching jays eyes for something but they were just empty “y/n I know and that’s what I hate more, I told you so many times not t-“

You didn’t let him finish and told him the truth. “I love him” you say.

Heesung hold your hand and jay looks at heesung for an answer. “I love her aswell” Heeseung says in a very straightforward and sincere tome. Jay turns his back, you both give him some time to think. He turns back and sets breakfast up he glances over to both of you “Heeseung you better treat her right or she’ll have to witness your funeral” jay said while smiling as he hugged heesung. You looked at Jay with a smile “im sorry and thank you” you hugged him back.

In the evening you invited Karina over for a barbecue your dad was hosting. You told her everything.

She was really happy for you.

After the barbecue ended all of you jumped into the pool.

Heeseung pulled you to him and gave you a peck on your lips he whispered “I love you” you giggled and splashed water on him.

————————————————————

© won!!ez , 2024. do not copy, steal my stories

[lovesodakid]

shadows of the dark

matt sturniolo x reader

2 3 4 5

summary : growing up in the ‘middle of nowhere’ small town in lochcliff, colorado, stories were heard of multiple strange disappearances, murders, animal attacks, and more. when you were younger, you never paid attention to that stuff. now at the age of 17 it’s all you ever hear about. what happens when you realize those ‘stories’ you heard growing up, may not just be scary fairytales people tell their kids.

warning ⚠️ : contains mature themes, smut, gore (nothing insane), angst, etc. this warning is for all chapters.

(this does take some inspiration from tvd !)

chapter 1 : new beginning’s.

“y/n! breakfast!”

my eyes flutter open, my sleepy state slowly exiting my body as my consciousness floods through my mind. i take in a deep breath as i sit up in my bed. the sunlight from the early morning hours poking through my curtains, painting a beautiful blue and orange hue on my walls as i watch dust particles float along my room.

i look over to my wooden dresser across from me, my reflection staring back at me through the mirror above it. my pile of clothes i had chosen to wear for today the night before, picking out my outfit for my first day of my junior year.

when i was a kid, i was so excited to finally be a teenager. thinking of all the possibilities i could get. but ever since the day after i turned 16, i realized that being a teenager and growing up would be nothing but a disappointment and the little girl inside’s dreams and life was crushed that day.

“y/n! i’m not gonna yell for you again!” my mothers voice cuts through the silence of my thoughts.

“i’m coming!” i shout back as my feet make contact with the cold floor below me.

i shuffle myself to my bedroom door to shut it as i get dressed, the creepy creaking of the door making me shudder. the fact that this house is over 150 years old will never not cross my mind when i watch paranormal movies like the conjurings.

i quickly change into a tight fitted brown long sleeve shirt and a pair of baggy blue jeans, given it’s the end of august now, the early mornings and late nights are becoming a little chillier compared to the june and july nights from the beginning of summer. lastly, throwing on some black converse and grabbing my backpack filled with untouched supplies for the new school year ahead. before i leave my room i decide on throwing on just a small silver necklace with my first initial of my name on it.

i exit my room and make my way down the squeaky wooden stairs. the squeaks and creaks acting as a calling to my mom to let her know i’m coming down.

“glad to see you finally grace us with your presence.” my mother states as she flips a pancake onto a grey glass plate, holding it up for me as i enter the kitchen.

i push my lips into a thin line as i nod and take the plate from her, uttering a small thank you as i sit at the kitchen island, placing my bag on the floor beside the black stood i sit on.

“corbin, are you taking your sister to school?” i hear her ask my older brother who sits beside me.

corbin, who’s a year and a half older than me, is now a senior. he’s the most typical semi-popular guy in our school. his fluffy brown hair and dark eyes is what pulls most of the girls’s attention. he’s a jock, but he says he doesn’t “fit in” with the rest of the football team so he stays more to himself. people know him but he doesn’t boast about his athleticism or his popularity.

he takes a sip of his orange juice before answering, “yeah i can. you ready?” he questions me.

i take one last bite of my pancake as i nod, standing up to grab my backpack. i swing it over my shoulder and walk over to the front door. “bye mom, love you.” i yell as i head out the door. i hear my brother telling her his goodbyes as i stroll to his car, opening the passenger seat door.

i watch him climb into the driver’s seat before he turns the radio on, immediately connecting it to his phone playing ‘tunnel vision’ by kodak black.

he turns his head to look both ways before pulling out of our rocky driveway. i turn to look at our house as i watch it fade into the distance. “so, you ready for junior year?”

“uh, yeah. what about you? are you ready for senior year?” i ask him in response.

he nods his head almost immediately. “oh yeah. i’m so ready to graduate and finally get out of this dumbass town.”

“agreed.” i speak as i lean back into seat.

silence takes over us as we continue the ride with the songs of my brothers choice fading to the back of my mind. the morning sky now being covered in a gloomy grey cast. the dead leaves ascending from the trees creating an orange blanket across the roads and sidewalks.

the car comes to a halt as we sit at a red light, i look around taking in notice of the beautiful scenery around us. historic buildings and parks flooding my eye-line, kids and teenagers on their way to the start of their new school years.

once the red light turns to green, we begin on our way again. i look back to my right, looking out the window, watching the trees and buildings pass by in a blur. i take notice of a guy walking with his headphones in, and his back turned to us, seemingly on the same route as we are. once we get closer to him to the point i can see his side profile coming into view, i watch him turn his head to look at the car coming beside him. the second he turns his view to the car, we lock eyes.

it’s almost as if time itself has changed, slowed down. i question myself on if i’ve ever seen him before but his face doesn’t ring any bells. he’s pale with icy blue eyes. a jaw that’s so sharp it looks like it could slice your finger open with even the softest and lightest touch. a stare so prominent and hypnotizing i almost forget my whole existence until he fades out of view.

i quickly turn myself to face in front of me. my eyebrows furrow as i try to understand what just happened to me and if it even happened. it felt like i entered a dream-like state while being fully awake.

“we’re here.” i hear corbin’s voice cut through the voice in my head as i feel the car come to a complete standstill.

i rapidly blinked my eyes as i see the high school building standing before me. not even realizing we were already at the school.

“you gonna get out or what?”

i quickly nod my head as i unbuckle my seatbelt and climb out of the car. i make my way towards the school alongside my brother. the sounds of students chattering among themselves as they walk into the building all around us.

“hey, junior year isn’t that bad. just keep your head up and you’ll be fine. i’ll see you after school.” corbin speaks to me as he parts from me to find his group of friends whom always meet up in the gym every morning, it’s been a routine of theirs since 7th grade.

i make my way to my locker, putting in the combination i wrote down on my notes app from the school’s letter they mail every student at the end of summer. the piece of paper giving them their class schedule, locker number and combination, etc.

“y/n!” i hear my best friend jayde’s voice through the loud obnoxious students at 8 am.

i turn around, flashing her a smile as i watch her come up to me. “hey jayde!”

“hey! i’m sorry we couldn’t hang out any this summer. what’s your schedule? maybe we have some classes together!” she says as she wraps me in a warm embrace.

jayde is very passionate about music and all of that. so the second our school announced that there would be a music and arts camp, she was the first to have her signature on the sign up sheet.

“no it’s okay and let me check.” i grab my class schedule out of my back pocket before i read off my classes, “first period is language arts, then history, math, then my free period, reading, gym, and science.”

she takes out her own schedule as she tries to match up any classes we may have together.

“ooo! okay! we have history, gym and our free period together!” she say enthusiastically.

as soon as i’m about to respond, the school bell cuts me off. the loud blaring shooting a pain through my mind reminding me of how much i despise school.

“okay well i’ll see you second period!” she struts off into the crowd of people, her long black hair bouncing with every step she takes.

i begin my own way to the room i’ll be entering at 8:10am every day on the dot for the next 9 months of my life.

the second i enter the classroom, my already present headache worsens with how painfully loud everyone is. different conversations and pencils being tapped on the wooden desks.

i walk to a free desk in the second row of the seat’s layout. the placement being in pretty much the middle of the classroom where i’m fully submerged by the persistent voices of students. as i sit down i stare off into the distance i wish i was back in my bed already.

a/n : i’m so excited to start this series! i started watching tvd again and it brought me inspiration to write this. plus vampire!matt is so fucking hot. anyways lmk if i should make a taglist or anything or if yall fw this and want me to keep going ! :)

[stellanix]

i have once again made the mistake of wading into public discourse about mars and i have lengthy opinions i must express about some of the common sentiments i see or else i will Explode:

mars is not radioactive (at least no more so than earth is). it does get more galactic cosmic radiation than earth because its thin atmosphere doesn't block them nearly as effectively - and there's more solar radiation too, but the atmosphere blocks those a lot better because solar particles are much lower energy than cosmic rays

the main radiation hazard of a human mission to mars is not actually on the surface of mars itself, but during the interplanetary flight between earth and mars. on mars, the bulk of the planet itself blocks half the sky, and by extension half the cosmic rays. the atmosphere and even local topography can also help a bit. the radiation dose rate on the surface of mars is similar to what astronauts on the ISS get, which humans have been exposed to for as long as a year without significant adverse affects so far. and you can get that lower by using the abundant dirt and rocks on mars to build radiation shielding

humans living on mars would not need to live in caves or underground bunkers. i think this idea became a bit of a trope after the concept of using lava tube caves on mars for human habitation entered the public consciousness, and in many people's minds it became the way humans would HAVE to live on mars. but there are plenty of other ideas for human habitation on mars that don't involve living underground, and it's perfectly feasible to build surface habitats that are protected from radiation but also have plenty of windows and natural light and views of the landscape. also, honestly, in my opinion the idea of living in martian caves is a bit silly and introduces more problems than it solves

mars having a magnetic field would make little difference in whether or not it could hold onto an atmosphere or support life. mars lost most of its atmosphere because it's small and so it's easier for gas particles to escape its gravity. nor is a magnetic field necessary to protect from radiation - lots of cosmic rays get through earth's magnetosphere but our atmosphere blocks the vast majority of them. and again, while mars lacks such a protective atmosphere, there are other feasible methods of radiation protection

mars has lower gravity than earth (0.38g, to be precise), but we don't know yet how it would affect the human body. we know plenty about the health effects of weightlessness thanks to the ISS, but next to nothing about the health effects of partial gravity. there could be a lot of negative health effects at 0.38g, or that level of gravity might eliminate most of the negative effects we see in weightlessness. we just don't know. but in any case, it's almost certainly not as bad as weightlessness, which humans have been able to manage for up to about a year. and martian gravity would probably be pretty fun tbh

and before anyone assumes i'm being nice to the techbro colonization crowd:

terraforming is not feasible, and even if it was, it would require destroying an entire planet's unique natural environment, which is ethically questionable to put it generously. why make earth 2 when we have a perfectly good earth right here? why not protect and preserve the things that make both earth and mars unique?

the problems involved in sending humans to mars probably aren't unsolveable, but they're still big challenges that won't be solved for a while. nobody is sending himans to mars in 2028 or whatever elon musk's latest hyperbolic estimate is. and tech billionaires won't solve these problems, they don't care. if they send people to mars, it will suck and those people will die. either NASA gets actually well-funded and throws a lot of money at these problems for decades, or nobody is going to mars

the best reason to send humans to mars is science. sending humans to mars to live there permanently and making that the goal and the immediate priority of mars exploration is getting WAY ahead of ourselves. maybe someday if we have scientific bases on mars and some people end up liking it there and wanna live there, then we can talk about it. but that won't be for a long time if at all, and people will have to WANT to live there. none of that "glorious future of mankind spreading the light of consciousness" bullshit. if people someday want to live on mars and can do it safely? why not! and if not, that's fine too

i see a lot of people (rightfully!) arguing against the tech billionaire hype of mars colonization, but i get frustrated when a lot of that criticism is along the lines of "mars sucks and is awful and if you wanna go there you're stupid because it's impossible". i don't think that just because there are a lot of bad ideas about space exploration that necessarily means that space exploration itself is a bad idea. there are better ways to so it than what those rich fucks propose. there is still a place for curiosity and wonder and human ingenuity and dreams, however improbable those dreams may be

unfortunately, because the government capacity for space exploration is being gutted and given away to private companies, the people with the power to launch things in space overwhelmingly have shitty ideas about what our future in space should be. but i don't think that should stop us from imagining something better. because reaching the wonders of the wider universe is difficult, but not impossible

anyway here's some pictures of pretty martian clouds (pictures taken from here):

[mysticstronomy]

CAN TWO SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES MERGE??

Blog#440

Saturday, September 28th, 2024.

Welcome back,

A team of astrophysicists that includes the University of Toronto’s Gonzalo Alonso-Álvarez has shown that pairs of supermassive black holes can merge together into a single, larger black hole – a major breakthrough in addressing what is known as the "final parsec problem."

longstanding astrophysics problem refers to a discrepancy between the detection of gravitational signals permeating the universe – which astrophysicists previously hypothesized had emanated from millions of merging pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) – and theoretical simulations which showed that the approach of SMBHs stalls when they’re roughly one parsec (about three light years) apart.

Not only did the final parsec problem conflict with the theory that merging SMBHs were the source of the gravitational wave background, it was also at odds with the theory that SMBHs – each billions of times more massive than our Sun – grow from the merger of less massive black holes.

The new research, published in Physical Review Letters, has shown that pairs of SMBHs can indeed break through the one-parsec barrier and merge into a single black hole. This is demonstrated by calculations showing that SMBHs continue to draw closer because of previously overlooked interactions with particles within the vast cloud of dark matter surrounding them.

“We show that including the previously overlooked effect of dark matter can help supermassive black holes overcome this final parsec of separation and coalesce,” says Alonso-Álvarez, a post-doctoral fellow in the department of physics at U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science and the department of physics and Trottier Space Institute at McGill University, who is first author on the paper. “Our calculations explain how that can occur, in contrast to what was previously thought.”

SMBHs are thought to lie in the centres of most galaxies. When two galaxies collide, the SMBHs fall into orbit around each other; as they revolve around each other, the gravitational pull of nearby stars tugs at them and slows them down, causing them to spiral inward toward a merger.

Previous merger models showed that when the SMBHs approached to within roughly a parsec, they begin to interact with the dark matter cloud or halo in which they are embedded. These models indicated that the gravity of spiraling SMBHs throws dark matter particles clear of the system.

The new model introduced by Alonso-Álvarez and co-authors James Cline, a professor at McGill University and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, and Caitlyn Dewar, a graduate student at McGill, reveals that dark matter particles interact with each other in such a way that they are not dispersed. The density of the dark matter halo remains high enough that interactions between the particles and the SMBHs continue to degrade the SMBH’s orbits – clearing a path to a merger.

“The possibility that dark matter particles interact with each other is an assumption that we made, an extra ingredient that not all dark matter models contain,” says Alonso-Álvarez. “Our argument is that only models with that ingredient can solve the final parsec problem.”

The background hum generated by these colossal cosmic collisions is made up of gravitational waves of much longer wavelength than those first detected in 2015 by astrophysicists operating the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

Those gravitational waves were generated by the merger of two black holes, both some 30 times the mass of the Sun.

The background hum has been detected in recent years by scientists operating the Pulsar Timing Array. The array reveals gravitational waves by measuring minute variations in signals from pulsars, rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit strong radio pulses.

Originally published on https://www.utoronto.ca

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024)

"WHERE DID MARS' ATMOSPHERE GO??"

[caldera1000-7]

Quite a different way to go about dying in the BEAST universe and our mainline manga.

Emptiness vs Peace (and the many other things me must of felt here). The way it was described as not a single particle of light being able to make its way inside his consciousness in that moment...

We know in BEAST Akutagawa wears gray, and forever between the dark and light or just someone apparently born in darkness who seeks to live in the light - almost like how Kouyou described Kyouka except that had flower analogies. In the mainline manga we could get a similar situation. And the Akutagawa and Atsushi in our mainline manga are definitely much less...broken than they have been in BEAST. The mainline manga Akutagawa will throw his life away for his goal or just so easily the same way BEAST Akutagawa would. Yet, still we always see him fight to live until that end. It is not entirely related but the scene where the last person on the list for Akutagawa in BEAST to kill was himself... We can be grateful our mainline Akutagawa will hopefully not be doing this. But it made me think back how some themes and parts of RASHOMON and THE MOON OVER THE MOUNTAIN were switched between the mainline manga and the BEAST universe... Anyway, Akutagawa ramble over. For now.

[jennelikejennay]

Canonical Vulcan

Time for Paramount’s version of Vulcan.

That’s what I’m calling it, because in most cases, we don’t know who made up these words or where they got them. Some of it was written by Marc Okrand: the material for the second and third movies definitely, and allegedly also some in Enterprise.

We’ve established that Gardner’s Vulcan was made out of these texts, primarily from the first three movies. But the makers of that language made some choices which I would have made differently. What if I dug into it myself to try to see what I can make of it? If we assume that Okrand, being a linguist, wasn’t just throwing words on the page but meant to do something specific, hopefully I could figure out what that thing is.

Well, that was the plan. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough, not all of it is translated, and some of it is definitely not consistent with other parts.

To which I say: oh well. I did what I could.

Sourced from here. I’m leaving out TMP because we know the language in that was gibberish. No point in trying to parse that (unless I’m trying to derive exciting new grammar).

Star Trek II

Gishen worla ihk-banut.

He's never what I expect.

The VLD gives gish- for expect and worla for never. Ihk-banut is not included. But what if I ignore that and parse it the way that seems likely to me? Personally, I would gloss it like this:

Gishen worla   ihk-     banut

he-is  never  what I-expect

That would give us -en for a third person singular ending, and -ut for a first person one—if we assume we have declined endings. Which I would, because I see no word in here that looks like a pronoun. Fitting all we say in English into four Vulcan words simply doesn’t leave room for any, unless one of the other words can somehow be omitted or tucked into something else.

Wakli ak'wikman – ot-lan?

What surprises you, lieutenant?

The VLD has nothing for wakli or ak’wikam. Ot-lan is lieutenant, which I would agree with.

I would gloss it like this:

Wakli   ak’   wikman

What   you   surprises

This allows -an to be a third person singular ending like -en, which seems close enough. We could also say that “you” is not really included in the Vulcan at all, that it would be more literally translated “what surprises?” But I like the idea of putting the object pronoun up front with an apostrophe. It’s cool.

Ish-veh ni… komihn.

He's so… Human.

If we ignore the VLD on this, which at this point I must, given how little of the vocabulary so far has been in there, I’m going to say ish-veh was not originally meant to be “he” but “he is.” Impossible to say which half is which. And yet, why is it different here than previously, when it was gishen?

Komihn for human is obviously just changing our name into Vulcan sounds. The VLD for human is terrasu.

Ish-veh ni komihn.

He-is so human

Kling akhlami buhfik – Saavik-kam.

Nobody's perfect, Saavik.

I don’t like this one much. “Buhfik” sounds like perfect, like they’re just trying to match up with the English (though I know they aren’t, Nimoy definitely delivered those lines himself, having been taught them directly by Okrand).

The VLD gives kling as “no one,” akhlami as “among us,” and buhfik as “perfect.” So this line they did incorporate into the VLD. I rather like the choice of akhlami as “among us,” thus departing a bit from the subtitle but giving each word something plausible to be doing in the sentence. However, the VLD’s word for “us” is etek, which seems entirely unrelated.

Kling akhlami buhfik Saavik-kam

No-one among-us perfect li'l-Saavik

Star Trek III

Saavik wimish. Kup-stariben?

I am Saavik. Can you speak?

Finally the repeat of a particle! If ish-veh means “he is,” then wimish must mean “I am,” meaning we now have he, I, and is: veh for he, wim for I, and ish for am, is. This isn’t at all what the VLD has—it glosses wimish as “called”—but I’m comfortable with that. It’s clearly an entirely different language.

Kup as a particle before a verb is used in Gardner’s grammar lessons as the way to say “can” or “able.” And I see no argument with that. Kup has kind of got to mean “can.” Stariben is the headword in the VLD for speak. But I see that -en ending again and think hmmm. I think the verbs are conjugating here.

Saavik  wimish.  Kup-   stariben?

Saavik   I-am.   Can    you-speak?

Dom – ki'sarlah

So, it has come

This is good Gardnerian Vulcan: ki’ is how you make the perfect tense in his grammar, and sarlah is come. And no surprise really—the length of this sentence and the exact translation in the subtitle gives no other way it could go. 

Dungi tu sahrafel?

Will you trust me?

This doesn’t follow any pattern we’ve had so far. By Gardner’s grammar it’s easy. Dungi is will, tu is you, sahrafel is trust. But I’m confused because “you” appeared in the subtitle two lines ago without having a word dedicated to it in the Vulcan. So why does it get a separate word now, when it’s still the subject of the verb? So I’m going to break with Gardner here and say tu is actually “me.”

I’m a little puzzled about why you-speak is stariben but you-trust is sahrafel. I’d expect you-speak to be staribel, if we were following a pattern. But hey not everything is regular. (Though why Okrand would invent irregular verbs for under 100 words of dialogue is beyond me. Maybe it just sounded better.)

Dungi   tu    sahrafel?

Will    me    you-trust?

Star Trek V

Qual se tu?

Is it you?

This is actually Italian or perhaps Portuguese. It's not Vulcan at all, so I'm going to ignore it.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Chaya t'not

Expression of gratitude; equivalent to English "Thank you". This is not translated on screen, but inferred from Hoshi's reply, "You're welcome".

I got nothin.

Ponfo miran

Go to hell. 

This was not translated on-screen, but Michael Sussman provided the translation from his production notes.

I think this is just made up.  I have a much cooler meaning and etymology for this but for now let’s just say—I don’t think it’s Okrand so I’m not going to worry about it.

There are a few texts in Enterprise which are either untranslated or too short to get much out of. Some of these might simply be invented by the scriptwriter.

Ishtaya kulah. Vestal ma etak J'Kah.

A traditional Vulcan litany. 

This is untranslated so there’s not a whole lot I can do. I do see that interesting ish particle though! If it does mean “is,” it’s not surprising to have it show up a lot of places.

Shanshot tulara komosh.

Untranslated.

T'nar pahk sarat y'rani

A greeting spoken by T'Pol to Ambassador V'Lar.

T'nar jaral.

Ambassador V'Lar's response.

Untranslated.

Pash tah.

Good night. 

Tiar merra.

This was not translated on-screen, but Michael Sussman suggested it may have been intended to be an offensive comment.

Finally, a big chunk of dialogue which I have seen attributed to Okrand. But did he really write it?

Ghishun tanfi bosh dwener?

Why is he here?

Now this is exciting. In the first example from WOK, I translated gishen as “he is.” Now we have gishun and it might also mean “he is”! (The difference could be a matter of spelling, or it could be a mood change or something.) It's really my only sign that Okrand was in fact involved with this piece of text.

That does leave me at a loss for what any of the other words mean. We have three words to say two English words, “why” and “here,” and no real clue how they should be distributed. Is “here” literally “at this place”? Is “why” literally “for what reason”? But to say gishun is not “he is,” and each English word is translated by one Vulcan word, would leave no little short words that I’d want to call “he” or “is.”

Pod Tucker avalde keru… Vulkanfi tozhi dawru.

Commander Tucker is my colleague… he wanted to visit Vulcan.

Disappointing. We have “is” but no ish this time. We have verbs that don’t end with -n. We have two words that end with -ru but I can’t find a connection between the two of them. If they’re verbs, one is present and one is past, but I honestly think “is” is omitted in this sentence, because if it were included it would have repeated a word from the last one. In short we have nothing that really connects with what we’ve had so far. I’d gloss it like this:

Pod    Tucker   avalde   keru.

Commander Tucker colleague my [is].

Vulkanfi      tozhi        dawru.

Vulcan  to-visit  he-wanted.

But really, that’s no better than a guess.

Falu nenvikh valdewizh sukfi lorun.

This is the first time you've brought a colleague home with you.

Again, not much in the way of clues. I do think the -fi suffix on Vulkan above and suk here is meaningful, showing a place you are going to. No word is repeated that might mean “colleague.” I don’t see that as proof that the sentence doesn’t mean anything; it might just mean the other speaker is using a different word with a different connotation that still means colleague.

I’m going to say lorun is the verb because it ends with an -n. Kind of thinking -u- might have to do with it being past tense.

Falu nenvikh    valdewizh   sukfi        lorun.

First with-you  colleague  to-home  you-have-brought

Status: wildly speculative. I want to connect “keru” in the last with “falu” in this one, but I’m unsure how.

Tulek tu.

You are the vessel.

In this, tu does mean you. That does mess with my ideas from earlier while confirming Gardner’s version. Dangit.

Vokau.

Remember.

Gardner’s Vulcan has a regular verb conjugation ending in -au. At this point, though, I feel like it must be coincidence, because this was created after his language, yet I am fairly certain the creators never looked at it.

FAK-saith pahn-ak-TORR … dzoh shin-AH. pon-aht PLAK-toe-fahl … KAH-trah kah-NESH.

A Vulcan incantation spoken during attempted transfer of a katra from another person to the speaker of the incantation. In the script of "Awakening", this statement was only notated phonetically and was the only entry in an addendum to the script.

Not much I can do with this.

Star Trek: Discovery

Nehn glomahk uskahfu sivusi.

You're tending a plant that is dead.

Now that we’re into Discovery I have no idea who made this. I see no connection with anything we’ve seen before except perhaps nehn, if nen really did mean “your” in that Enterprise dialogue. None of the other words suggest anything to me.

Nenlohk dwon zeesh…Michael.

I love you, Michael. 

Maybe we have “you” in here too? Possibly? This is assuming that “I love you, Michael” is even what he said. Michael said “I love you too” but like, this is Spock. What if he said “be careful” and Michael just knew that was Spock’s way of saying he loved her?

In any event: none of these words are seen anywhere else with any meaning that could make any possible sense here. I have tried. The most obvious Gardner translation for nen-lok is “fundamental penis.” So. No.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Finally, we have these words in the ritual in Strange New Worlds, s1e5, Spock Amok. They aren’t translated or even transcribed anywhere. I listened to it a bunch of times and made my best guess.

T’Pring, sol dia volkh du rokh du.

Spokh, sonyu sikh paro du

Sol dolkh du zhen nen kompush

Sol khau du zhen nen falfesh

Sol nin, sol nazh, el sol valu

None of this, whatsoever, has any meaning that can be derived from any other version of Vulcan. I tried very hard with Gardner’s but it just isn’t that. It also doesn’t seem to have any similarity with the other texts I’ve analyzed, except perhaps the word nen, which is short enough it could be sheer coincidence.

I have a nasty little suspicion though. They are coming down really hard on those aspirants, making them downright guttural at times. And this season had a Klingon consultant, although I don’t remember any Klingon appearing.

Did they just. put Klingon in there. and think nobody would notice??

Klingon speakers, please confirm. I tried to do some searching, but I have no idea how these words would be spelled in Klingon, and without knowing what the ritual is supposed to say, I have nowhere to begin. I hope it’s not true, I would honestly prefer they use gibberish than just plug in a different language like it doesn’t even matter.

So, that’s all my analysis of the Vulcan used in the show. It wasn’t very enlightening. I can’t find any conclusive proof that at any point any of this necessarily meant anything. However, I can pull some interesting grammatical possibilities from the parts that were supposed to have been written by Marc Okrand. I can also tell that most of the texts clearly aren’t continuous with anything he made up.

I would really love it if somebody from Paramount would tell us all how the Vulcan for the show is created. But, absent that information, I suspect they aren’t putting effort into it. They had Okrand do a little bit, allegedly, but the rest may well be just noises meant to sound similar to the Vulcan that had already been created. I feel like if they were creating a real conlang for this, they would share that information.

Where does that leave us, as conlang-loving fans?

Using Gardner’s Vulcan, as I have been. It isn’t canon, but it includes some canon words, and it’s made for this purpose. I can put Vulcan in my fics and be understood by other fans. And that’s just going to have to be good enough!

[dresshistorynerd]

i saw your post on greenwashing and one thing that stood out was the talk abt polyester. im trying to not buy fabric for sewing (im just resizing clothes) but im wondering if its worth using any old polyester clothing item? i dont like the idea of throwing them out or donating a garment thats not going to last long to ppl who need long lasting clothes

I'm so sorry I had completely forgotten this (and multiple other) asks into my very full drafts! (I'm trying to go through them at the moment to make it a little more manageable.) At this point I'm sure my answer won't matter much to you, but perhaps someone else has a similar thought!

I definitely agree that it's worth using all clothing till the end! Polyester and other synthetic fibers have the issue of spreading micro-plastics which are devastating to environment and likely cause long term health problems in humans too. I don't really know what's the best option to deal with them since when in use (especially when washed) they shed microplastics and when thrown in the end of their life into a landfill, they also shed microplastics, in both cases they will end up in nature to cause multitude of issues, and to our food eventually. Perhaps the best would be to burn them in some controlled facility, where maybe the particles and likely toxins too they release could be somewhat controlled. Obviously that's not the ideal solution either though. But when the options are using synthetic fabrics longer or throwing them to landfill (or putting them to recycling where they might go faster to landfill (the more there's clothes in recycling, the more of them will end up never recycled actually)), I definitely think using them longer is a better option. At least that way you have to get less new things and you're putting less textiles to the cycle. I also have some old clothes from synthetic fibers I'm trying to use till the end.

I honestly think we should ban synthetic fibers (though there could be some exceptions, and maybe even transitional period, when there's more exceptions, but I'm getting into the weeds here). We already have a devastating amount of synthetic textiles in use and in landfills that are turning into a microplastics every second, and dealing with them won't be easy or simple, so the least we can do is not to add to that amount. To be clear, I don't won't hold it against anyone who buys clothes with synthetic fibers. It's practically impossible at the moment to get underwear, outdoor wear or sports wear without any synthetic fibers, which is precisely why I think there should be legislation to do something about it.

For more details on the effects of microplastics and synthetic fibers in general, I made a post on the effects of the fashion industry, where a lot of it is unsurprisingly related to synthetic fibers. There's also like sources and numbers and stuff.

[hollow-lime-green]

okay! for the director's cut:

anything you want to share about string theory? 👀 i can definitely ask about specific sections, but i'm more excited to know which ones are important to you

ask me about specific sections after this, because string theory has a lot going on!

ok so first, the title - string theory. this one is not as clean lmao. so, something something, theory of the multiverse - string theory slightly relates to that, but also there's a lot of multiverse theories that reject string theory. but that is the basis of this piece - alternate universes.

string theory is a bit outside of my domain of engineering, and it's not something i pretend to understand particularly well. baby mode: in quantum physics, we treat things as both particles (solid ball thing) and waves (just energy). these two things are fundamentally different, and one thing should not be able to be both at once. but based on science, we know that they are both at once (light, electrons, etc.).

string theory is another 'unifying theory', which essentially means that it's trying to take a lot of things we know separately about physics and smush them together into one model. string theory specifically is a contender for the theory of everything, meaning that it unifies not just a few things (like wave/particle behavior), but everything. houston, we have a literary theme.

i suppose string theory is mostly about smushing everything together into my characterization of gojo satoru, especially his contradictions.

some of those contradictions/self-delusions:

1. Very very smart and very very dumb

satoru is thinking about a lot of complicated, poetic shit all the time, and what comes out of his mouth is the worst 2010s memery you can imagine

this is one of my favorite things about writing satoru. there's a lot of moments in FIYM when satoru's dialogue can give you whiplash, like the period joke in suguru's bloody curse recovery scene. he's thinking about so much all the time, but his brain is filtering his words into whatever will keep it light and funny, because he's spent so long repressing the deep, intense thoughts that he just instinctually dodges around saying anything real out loud (most of the time).

this happens to work well with suguru. with suguru's traumatic past, internally, he needs someone to tell him 'hey, it's not a big deal. you're okay, you're normal, you're fine, you are not crazy'. and satoru instinctively does that by being chronically unserious.

2. Moving goalposts at light speed

satoru knows suguru isn't homophobic, but is convinced that suguru would make an exception and hate him if he knew satoru was gay. bonus: satoru would give up anything for suguru, but doesn't think suguru should give up anything for him.

this is one of my favorite bits of string theory, actually. it's a very concise encapsulation of that. we've all heard one of our friends go "no, that's different" and been like, "no, my guy, it really isn't". and that's what shoko gets to deal with here.

3. Balls-deep internalized homophobia

he is a boy, and he is desperately trying to fit himself into the girl box for suguru

ohhhhh boy okay so obviously this one is my favorite. we're doing a lot with girl-boy satoru. i've already mentioned that this is why satoru keeps on trying to throw himself at suguru (sexually). he feels like he needs to fit the role of hot, physically-available girlfriend. and, as you see with relativity, this is also why he is determined to make himself bottom. we are not done with that arc, by the way.

that's also why he says shit like this:

which - the stutter here is a very slight signal that he's not actually 100% ready for that. he's not prepared for anything (no one is), but he's trying to convince himself that he is, because in his mind, he has to be, or suguru will leave. (stupidcore)

and this (one of my fave bits of FIYM period):

and it's why he has such an intense reaction to be called pretty, rather than handsome:

(and that's also why suguru immediately backpedals and thinks he's fucked up. satoru wants suguru to see him as a pseudo girl because he's internally homophobic. suguru wants to reassure satoru that he's not a girl because he's internally antihomophobic. boys. please.)

and (i won't put a bunch of pics in), you'll notice that he's always assigning himself the girl role in his AU fantasies (including most recently with his my immortal self-insert).

behaviorally, this can look like it overlaps with his sub role in the dom/sub dynamic they have, but it's actually not the main driver of that. if you take out all of the internalized homophobia, satoru is still a sub (in this verse) for other reasons related to jujutsu, status, and power. he's an internalized homophobe, not an internalized misogynist lmfao. we'll get into that more later, probably.

anyway, those are just some of my thoughts on the themes of string theory and some of satoru's characterization. definitely send me more specific sections if you want to hear more @detta-pica, I'd love to continue yapping :)

one other thing i could talk about is some of the writing style/syntax i use for satoru. i feel like that's something i've mentioned here and there but haven't necessarily covered explicitly. i'd have to narrow in on a section for that, though, probably. and maybe it would be interesting to compare string theory to fellas stylistically. (string theory is Intense Satoru, whereas I know I can't realistically write all of fellas with the same level of atmosphere/detail and keep the plot moving at a reasonable pace, so fellas is a bit lighter).

anyway, i hope this was a fun read! i'm always happy to talk more about characterization, too. i hope the text always gets across what i am trying to say implicitly, but it's nice to talk about it explicitly too.

[kayawolfhorse]

Day 16 — The Anatomy of the House

—☾—

“Frankly, this one’s on you for giving it legs.”

“I needed to move it somehow—I just would’ve preferred it to stay in the spot I moved it to.”

Pearl levels Grian an incredulous look from where she perches cross-legged on the edge of the workbench. She’d nabbed his favorite spot before he could get to it; resigned, he’d made use of the single chair in his starter base and propped his feet up on the other side of the bench.

“You could’ve rebuilt it where you needed it to be, nice and limbless,” she says.

“Some of us aren’t willing to tear down and remake an entire base because it faced the wrong way.” Grian flicks a pen at Pearl, who catches it and shoves it into her pocket. “Hey, I need that!”

“Should’ve thought about that before throwing it at me.” Pearl sticks her tongue out and adjusts her tied-back hair. “So, just to get this straight, you’ve given the rock the ability to move on its own.”

“Yep.”

“And a heart.”

“Used to have multiple, technically.”

“And the ability to abduct people.”

“Adds to the shopping experience.”

“You really should’ve expected this,” Pearl says, tracing the wood grains of the table beneath her. “What is it with you and making sentient builds, anyway? Does abducting people count as sacrificing them? What’s your deal with sacrificing our friends to things?”

“The Entity does not abduct people.” Grian waves a hand. “Levitation just seemed like the coolest way to get in.”

“It is cool,” Pearl admits, “but now there’s a giant, dubiously alive rock wandering around the server that can suck people up into itself. Why’d you have to give it such bloody insides?”

Grian shrugs. Afternoon sunlight streams through the narrow windows and catches against the particles in the air. It’s a perfectly lovely, suspiciously Entity-less day.

“I think you just have something against it,” Grian says. “You have no leg to stand on here—isn’t your entire base alive?”

“Yeah, but plants are supposed to be alive,” Pearl points out.

“Didn’t you lure Scar over to see if your suspiciously people-eater-looking plant actually eats people?”

Pearl hides her giggle behind her hand.

“Exactly!” Grian gestures at her with a second pen. “Point is, I could use some help. Up for some boulder wrangling?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

[jameswebb-discoveries]

Webb Telescope Just Blew the Doors Wide Open on Dark Energy!

In a new finding released on March 11, 2024, Webb Telescope Just Blew the Doors Wide Open on Dark Energy!

Remember the Hubble Tension? That whole thing where Hubble said the universe was expanding way faster than how fast it should be based on the Big Bang afterglow? Well, Webb just came in like a cosmic plot twist and confirmed Hubble's measurements!

This basically throws a giant wrench into our current understanding of dark energy, the mysterious force causing the expansion to speed up. Here's the lowdown:

Hubble Said "Whoa, This is Fast!" For 30 years, Hubble's been meticulously measuring the universe's expansion rate.

Planck Said "Hold Up, Not That Fast!" ESA's Planck mission looked at the Big Bang's afterglow and came up with a different expansion rate.

Webb Confirmed Hubble, Not Planck! Webb's sharp infrared vision can see through dust and precisely measure distant stars, confirming Hubble's data.

So, what does this mean? It means our understanding of dark energy might be WAY off! Here are some mind-blowing possibilities:

Dark Energy's Got Clumps? Maybe dark energy isn't evenly spread out, causing pockets of the universe to expand faster than others.

New Physics Alert! The universe might hold forces or particles we haven't even discovered yet, influencing expansion!

Gravity Needs a Tune-Up? Einstein's theory of gravity might need some tweaks to explain dark energy's behavior on a large scale.

This is HUGE news! Read more here - Webb Telescope Deepens Universe's Expansion Paradox, Points to New Physics

#WebbTelescope #cosmology #science

[erbiumspectrum]

Actually, you know what @onewigglyworm I will tell you all about quantum things - from a spectroscopist's point of view, of course.

Let me introduce you guys to

✨ the quantum numbers ✨

which describe the state of an electron in an atom. This will be long. Ready? Let's go!

I’m not going to begin with how the quantum theory came to be – it’s a genuinely fascinating story and I suppose it would fit in here nicely, but let’s be realistic: with my inability to shut the hell up this post is already going to be way too long as it is. So, let us find ourselves in the year of 1913 when the standard model of the atom was still Rutherford’s model: a dense clump of positive charge in the center and tiny particles of negative charge (electrons) orbiting it – a microscopic analogy of the Solar System with its large star in the middle and the planets orbiting it.

Rutherford wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t pulling things out of his ass (his scattering experiment? A thing of beauty!), but that model simply couldn’t be real. A moving charge creates an electromagnetic wave and therefore radiates energy which means our electron should begin spiraling towards the nucleus, making the atom an unstable system.

If Rutherford’s model was true, we wouldn’t be here to learn about the crazy wonders of our world, so let’s say THANK YOU!! to Niels Bohr who enters our story at the moment and flips Rutherford’s shit upside down.

Bohr made the following suggestion: “Hey, what if the macroscopic electrodynamics and microscopic electrodynamics were two totally different things?” He figured out that the energy of an atom is quantized – meaning it can’t have any possible value you can think of, but rather those values are discreet, they come in lil packets, and the energy of an electron depends on which orbit it occupies = how far from the nucleus it is.

This is where our first quantum number comes onto the stage: the principal quantum number n. The principal quantum number tells us which orbit our electron is on and therefore what energy it has. Let’s take a look at the periodic table and pick some element, any element – potassium, maybe? It’s in the fourth period which means its valence electron (the one that’s the farthest from the nucleus) occupies the fourth orbit which in turn means its principal quantum number equals 4 (n = 4). Easy, isn’t it!

That’s all cool and dandy but doesn’t solve all of our problems. Bohr’s model described the hydrogen atom perfectly, but failed to explain some of the phenomena related to… well. All the other elements (stop booing! Bohr’s model was a huge achievement at the time and it’s still a handy simplification to this day, even if it isn’t exactly correct).

Enter Sommerfeld. Sommerfeld thought, “Well, Bohr’s model isn’t bad, but what if the orbits of the electrons aren’t circular but actually elliptical?” That gave rise to the second quantum number: the azimuthal (or orbital angular momentum) quantum number l. You know those balloon-like models of the orbitals of an atom? I mean those:

[via]

This is where they come from! The shape of an orbital is determined by the quantum number l.

If we have a quantum number, then something should be quantized, right? In this case, that “something” is, predictably, orbital angular momentum (in very simple words: if a moving object has mass, then it has momentum, AKA how much will it hurt if someone throws an orange at you vs a watermelon. If said object is moving in a circle instead of a straight line, it has angular momentum). The quantum number l allows us to determine the angular momentum of an electron.

But Sommerfeld went further than that, because why come up with one quantum number when you can come up with two? He knew of what we call the Zeeman effect in which the emission spectrum of an element looks different in the presence of a magnetic field (more spectral lines appear than there are without a magnetic field) and he concluded that there has to be another quantized parameter – the orientation of the angular momentum. Come to think about it, it’s pretty crazy. Electrons don’t orbit the nucleus of their atom only “in two dimensions”, in a flat manner, like planets around their star; but their orbits aren’t scattered randomly all around the nucleus either – their positions are quantized. We describe those positions with the third quantum number – the magnetic quantum number m.

Obviously, this is a pretty big simplification – perhaps my physicist friends here will scoff at this explanation – but I think it’s good enough for the layperson who doesn’t necessarily want a lecture on vectors, dipoles, and precession.

Okay, so far so good. We have three quantum numbers, great job! We can now describe the state of an electron pretty well and all that’s left for us to do is to prove experimentally that we’re right and that the orientation of angular momentum is in fact quantized, and then we can all go home.

That’s exactly what Stern and Gerlach attempted to do. Again, I’m going to skip the details of the experiment (although I do encourage you to look into it yourself!), but the shortened version is as follows: Stern and Gerlach passed a beam of silver atoms through a non-uniform magnetic field, then observed the results on a screen on the other side. If the quantum theory was wrong and the orientation of angular momentum wasn’t quantized, then the screen should show a smooth projection of all possible orientations. If the quantum theory was right, the screen should show several lines corresponding to the quantized orientations of angular momentum.

So, we switch on the magnetic field, we fire the silver atoms, we take a good look at the screen… and we get two lines. Not a smooth distribution and not a handful of lines either but only two lines. What? Looks like there is some spatial quantization, but “regular” angular momentum isn’t what we’re looking at here.

The mystery was solved a couple of years later by Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit who suggested that, “Guys, what if electrons have some sort of inherent angular momentum that’s separate from their motion around the nucleus? We should call it ‘spin’, let’s call it ‘spin’, can we call it ‘spin’?” And so, we arrive at the fourth and final (wellll… final for this post) quantum number: the spin quantum number s.

If you've made it this far: whoa, congratulations! I had fun writing this, I hope you had fun reading it too.

I tried to make it as understandable to the random non-scientist as possible which naturally called for many simplifications and glossing over some details - I hope the quantum pros here will forgive me.

[faytelumos]

Some history/worldbuilding stuff I stopped to consider today:

The ancient Egyptians did not preserve the brain with the rest of the body.

To us — to me — it's unthinkable to take the one, single organ that is so completely and totally us, that contains all of our memories and emotions and experiences, and just… throw it away. When you put so much work into preserving the body for the ever after, for life beyond death, that is something you'd surely want to have!

Come to find, they don't even preserve the heart!

They preserved the stomach, the liver, the intestines, and the lungs.

The Egyptians weren't stupid, okay, and there's no way they existed for over 3,000 years or however long and never saw somebody take a blow to the head and suffer a TBI. I straight-up do not buy into the idea that they thought the brain's function was to make snot. That's ox crap.

But. But.

From a western perspective, the heart and brain are the most important organs. And what do they have in common? Well, a lot of things, but importantly, the ability to make electrical impulses. Western science and technology is deeply connected with electricity — electrons, waves, magnetism, particles, our microscopes, the way we share information, even our entertainment, so much of it is connected to our use of electricity.

But ancient Egyptians didn't use electricity. They famously describe impressive feats involving light and water. And, if I'm not mistaken, alchemy.

What do the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines have in common? A couple things, but especially, the ability of transmutation.

Egyptians threw out the heart and brain because, yes, sure, they were part of the body, but they weren't the part they cared about. No, they preserved the forge and crucible of the body, because those were the vital bits. Those were what you couldn't go through your afterlife without. Those were the parts of our body that related us to their understanding of the greater world.

And I think that is so cool. From a worldbuilding perspective, that is such an interesting thing to notice. To see how two different cultures, thanks to the differences in their science and technology, see things so differently! Even when those things are the bodies that they share!

It's just really awesome. Reminds me not to take my viewpoint for granted, and also shows a little bit all the fun ways cultural differences influence us.

[feeshies]

Fuck it. 1k word wip of my Seonag/Davrin fic bc I keep getting stuck lol

Seonag stood as close to the edge as she could before her legs started shaking, looking to where the solid pathway gave out and turned into an endless void of swirling clouds and particles surrounding this strange pocket dimension she decided to call home, apparently.

This damn Lighthouse. This was the first time she had a semi-reliable home in years, and of course it still involved freaky Fade shit.

Taking a deep breath, Seonag reached into her pocket and pulled out her amulet. Despite having it on her person for her entire Warden career, she never bothered to take a close look at it until now. She didn’t remember the blood in the vial looking so vibrant, even after all these years. As she turned the amulet around in her hands, she could feel her stomach clenching as if she was still drinking from that goblet.

She squeezed the amulet tighter, tight enough that part of her worried that the glass would shatter under her grip. Then, she pulled her arm back and threw the amulet as hard as she could, as if doing so would finally free her from this burden.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

At the sound of Davrin’s voice, Seonag stumbled away from the edge before she could lose her balance. 

“Maker’s fuckin’ breath!” 

“Oh, sorry.”  Davrin moved to her left, where he would no longer be hidden by her limited peripheral vision.  “Anyway, I’d be careful throwing stuff over the edge here.”

Seonag took a beat to catch her breath and wait for her spiked heart rate to settle down before responding.

“Why’s that?”

“Just…”

Before she could ask again, the amulet came flying from the other side of the Lighthouse, pelting Seonag in the forehead.

“Ow!”

If Davrin was trying not to smile, he was doing a piss poor job at it.

“At least you didn’t find out after trying to clean up after Assan.”

Davrin knelt down where the amulet had landed on the path by their feet.

“Wait, this is…”

Seonag tried to snatch the amulet from the ground, but Davrin got to it first.  He stood back up, holding it out in his hand.

“This is the amulet they give us after The Joining.”

“Uh-huh,” Seonag mumbled weakly, grabbing the amulet and shoving it back into her pocket.

Davrin wanted to say something to her, she could tell.  Probably something about how being a Warden was an honor and she should be more grateful for her opportunity.  It was the same lecture she received from countless wardens before, usually newcomers to the order who would find themselves skewered on a darkspawn blade by the end of the week.  She knew Davrin was much more competent than those rookies, considering that he was still alive, which would only make his response all the more frustrating.

But instead, he didn’t say anything.  For some reason, Seonag almost felt disappointed.

Davrin moved closer to her so they were both looking over the edge of the path.

“It’s hard not to get dizzy all the way up here.  I wonder if this is how Assan sees the world.”

Seonag scoffed.

“At least he has wings.”

Davrin chuckled.

“Even he’s careful not to stray from the paths here.  At least we know we won’t fall endlessly through the fade if we lose our balance here.”

“I’m not going to test that.”

“I hear you.” Davrin sighed, folding his arms over his chest as he looked out over the endless landscape (if that was the right term) of the Fade. “If you would like to be on some more solid ground for a change, I was going to take Assan out again.  Thought you might want to come along.”

“Are we hunting darkspawn or truffles?”

“Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find a new kind of darkspawn that throws truffles at its enemies.”

…

Seonag sat down on a log, letting the sole of her boot rock back and forth against the autumn leaves.  She wondered if Arlathan Forest always looked this vibrant.  The mine where she was stationed looked drab all year long, with the only color from the scenery coming from the blood of wardens and darkspawn.  But sitting in Arlathan Forest, it was hard to imagine there was even a world beyond the sea of trees, like she could fall into them as easily as she could fall into the Fade.

Davrin took a seat next to her on a log, making sure to sit on her left this time, and pulled an apple from his pack.

“You hungry?” He asked as he began to peel it with a small knife.

Seonag watched his hands as his fingers pressed the edge of the knife under the skin of the apple, removing it from the flesh in a thin spiral.

“Not a fan of the peel?”

Davrin gave a small laugh.

“Oh this?  Just a habit.  Started doing it to impress the other wardens.”

“Other Grey Wardens were impressed by your apple peeling?”

“Why?  Aren’t you impressed?”

Seonag tightened her lips to suppress her growing smile.

“I’ll take the peel.”

“Just the peel?”

“Just the peel.”

Davrin handed her the apple peel, which he was able to remove cleanly in a single spiral.

“I’ll be damned,” she murmured as she held it by one end, testing the bounciness of the spiral. “That is impressive.”

Davrin chuckled as he began cutting the rest of the apple.

“Told you.”

Seonag shoved the peel into her mouth as she watched Assan devour a cluster of truffles he picked out.  Horrifyingly, Seonag realized they must look the same while eating.

“It’s nice out,” Davrin finally said, although it sounded more like he was trying to fill the silence than anything. “Easy to forget the world’s ending, sitting out here.”

“The world’s always ending.  Isn’t that the first thing they teach you before the Joining?”

“You got me there.”  Davrin shaved off a slice of apple.  “You never told me how you became a warden.”

Seonag shrugged, grinding a leaf under the sole of her boot.

“My story isn’t very inspiring.”

“I’m not looking to be inspired; I want to get to know you better.” He smiled at her. “But if you don’t want to share, that’s alright.”

Seonag chewed on the inside of her cheek, watching as Assan dove face-first into a nearby bush.  If she were to tell anyone, it might as well be another warden.