#Liquidity Integration Layer

[coinx]

Saga (SAGA) blockchain layer-1 đột phá mở rộng vô hạn, phí thấp, và hỗ trợ mạnh mẽ cho gaming, AI, và DeFi

[alavestineneas]

i can feel the soil falling over my head; no people are here, just the void in my chest

pairing: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!reader summary: Harkonnen men rarely wed; they just take what they capture—men and women—and turn them into slaves. Some, if particularly sweet, are reserved for fucking. There are no special songs for that; there isn't a specific word in their native tongue for wife, either. warnings: mentions of death, violence, implied/referenced child abuse, religious symbolism, daddy and sister issues, bald men chapter 1 - chapter 2 word count: 6,5K

author's note: hi beautiful people! this chapter may be classified as a prologue (yes, I am aware of its size, sorry, lol), but it is still integral to the story. we love evil people, especially evil bald people, in this house, so have fun and don't forget to wash your hands before reading! also, if you see things that are not canon, just know that me and the books are two parallel lines and we do not cross. feel free to point out grammar mistakes, though - english is not my first. love you!

Kaitain, 10176 AG

The violent streaks of light fight with the heavy cloth of drapes to find their way into the small, stifling chambers. The time was slowly crawling towards noon in the heavy summer heat, and the woman lying on the heavily decorated sheets was battling to get a breath in. Whether because of the annoying star, or the poisoning waiting, the patterns of sweat stained her tired face with esculent ornaments. Her lips, formed into a thin line, gleamed with small spots of dried crimson.

''Where is the messenger?'' The woman's voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes glued to the dancing light filtering through the window. ''The girl is strong; I can't hold her for much longer.''

The black figure on the chair in the corner slightly shifted at words. She was veiled, despite the heat—like a black hole, she seemed to suck the little air left. ''Forbearance,'' her raspy voice cuts through the room. ''The child makes you impatient. Control yourself.''

''I've waited, and waited long enough,'' the woman snapped, her frustration evident in her trembling hands. ''A few more minutes and all that is left of her will be a corpse.''

''Be quiet, Echidna. The child will live. If not, she was never meant to be part of our world in the first place.''

The woman clenched her jaw in a wave of pain and nodded. The girl ought to see the light of this planet today. Deep in her thoughts, she almost missed the rushed steps behind the door.

One of the Emperor's guards burst into the room, his eyes almost frantic. ''Lady Anirul has graced the Imperium with a daughter.''

Echidna smiled in relief, but her expression quickly changed as a beast-like cry pierced the air. The child was coming, with little care for the damage it caused to her aching womb. She tore the tissue down to the individual cells, gnawing her way with fists and elbows, moving the bones aside with brute force. Soon, her own cries were answered by much louder ones, as the head of the girl showed itself, covered in a thick layer of almost black blood. Just for a moment, the woman wished it would not steal another breath from the room, but she sharply composed herself. With a final push, the child left her body forever, leaving it a raw wound.

The small creature shrieked when the black figure approached, and slender, wrinkled arms took it from the warmth of rufous-red liquid. Echidna watched as the figure carried the girl away, resting her hurting body against the soaked pillows. She fulfilled her duty; she granted Bene   Gesserit the daughter they wanted. She is bleeding under a beautiful sun; she is holding the ghost of her child in her arms—the real one was never hers anyway. Echidna knows the Emperor will not come. From now on, it is just her and her never-passing pain. Thus, Kaitain, home to the Corrino dynasty, was warmed by the light of a new sun—Princess Irulan, an heiress to the Imperium—and chilled by the shadow of her sister, born a few minutes later.

-

The calmness of the gardens was disturbed only by the soft strokes of brushes against a thick canvas. YN sighed, her eyes still fixed on the tree nearby, its young branches swaying with the wind. Her body ached from stillness, the tension in her neck from holding her head slightly bowed spreading down to her small back. They posed for a portrait of what seemed like an eternity to a child, and was almost it to an adult who dared to inquire; the painter, while satisfied with the draft, looked at the group of young girls almost in fear—no normal child of that age would be unmoving for three hours. And yet, they were.

YN felt one of her sisters shift even through the thick fabric of her silver dress. Small Chalice turned, her cheeks red from the heat or tiredness, her lips forming a pout—the child was tired, sleepingly rubbing her eyes. YN thought for a moment, debating if the punishment would be worth it, or if her sisters could wait just a little bit more until the man with colours would end the session for today. She noticed how Irulan's face was starting to droop, her eyes fluttering closed and opening just a second later. Their youngest, Wensicia, was already asleep in Irulan's arms; her golden hair spread across her and YN's laps as a beautiful cover, shining under the faint sun.

''I am tired, Master Chen. We should end the painting for today,'' YN finally spoke; her voice was almost a whisper. She did not know whether it was not to awaken her sister or out of fear of the Emperor's anger; it did not matter. The man nodded and left, taking his canvases with him, leaving only a few drafts behind. Then, the sisters were left alone in the garden.

''Thank you,'' Irulan said softly, placing her head on YN's shoulder.

YN only nodded. Her eyes found the paper not so far away, her gaze studying the strokes of the pencil with interest. Wensicia, a beautiful girl of two, was smiling brightly, holding an olive branch in her chubby hands, her small feet peeking under the hem of her white dress. Small Chalice was at the opposite end of her, her curly hair surrounding her head like a halo as she leaned forward, holding a small dove inside her palms. Then, sitting at the bench, surrounded by lush greenery and bushes, they. Irulan and the Other.

YN was placed just a step away from her older sister, her head turned away from the gaze of the viewer. The delicate folds of her silver dress carefully cascaded down, creating an air of mist around them. Her hands were empty; she did not know if the artist hadn't decided with each object to grace her with, or left them hollow intently. She looked like a shadow—a ghost, maybe; her eyes were escaping the viewer as if hiding a secret.

Irulan was different. She was a sun-kissed creature, her head facing straight ahead. Her eyes, as if inviting for a challenge, were made from duty, steel. With a burning star on her regal forehead, crowning the streaks of golden hair, Irulan was water and air, dulcet and ever-bending; her figure held the place and her pose was distinct and commanding.

YN looked at the girl beside her, who was now quiet nearby. Irualn was wise, the wisest of the sisters; her eyes were all-seeing, her heart all-knowing. She was created in the shape of a mother since they could walk, and the small ones bathed in her light, drinking her till the last drop —like flowers following the warm embrace of the sun. The only one who could not enjoy the love was her, the Other. The other sister, the other half. For they have been too close in age, too similar to let each other pretend the burden was not a heavy one to bear.

When Irulan was natural in her all-caring shape, YN had to claw her way to the only role left—the father. An unbent tree, a silent soldier—she was not born to fit as one, but wishing for a different order of things was almost blasphemy. That's how it always was with them—out of two, one was the protector, the other - the protected. "Husband," Irulan humorously called her often. She smiled, and, for a moment, the wave of resentment in YN's soul calmed. She never called her wife in return: Irulan was too whole to be one, too proud to be moulded into. She stood alone, on a higher pedestal than all of them, closest to the Emperor, whom the Other was to call father, and closest to the Truth. No, Irulan was God.

God does not know how to love someone who is not his servant, because there is no one who would refuse to serve him; it is the only way. God guides, despite all one's protests. God gives, and God takes. God demands; Irulan demands—silent obedience without a need to explain or answer. That, she takes from their father. So, the Other takes a blade into her hand without compassion for her dead wishes and learns to wield it in God's name. She is the one little ones turn to when the world is too wicked for their fragile souls when the creatures under their beds lose all of their human form and turn violent. She takes their sins and bears the punishments, for they are not deserving of such cruelty. YN thinks not of her own guilt—what difference would one scourage make to one who counts in centuries? And when the sun shone, and God smiled, the Other almost forgot of the bruises she carried.

-

The first time he saw her, it was not supposed to happen at all. Feyd-Rautha just closed the door to Maester's chambers with such force that it shook against lean walls; the grumble echoed in the long corridors of Giedi Prime's fortness. The ache in his body was muted, but still present; the torn flesh inside his heart howled and clawed, slicing the ribcage in half. He would've screamed, or perhaps beat his hands bloody against the concrete until the dull pain turned into something as sharp as his knife's blade. Maybe he would've drowned himself in a small water bowl by his nightstand and done anything to escape the shame and humiliation that consumed him from within. But instead, Feyd-Rautha stood still, his jaw clenched tight and his breathing shallow. One day, it will pass. One day, he will see the world choke on its own spit.

That's when he noticed a small, shadow-like figure at the end of the hallway staring at him. A girl, not older than him, was in a dress so foreign to him that it hurt his eyes. The daughter of the Emperor, he guessed. One of many—only then would the golden stitching on her sleeve would make sense.

''What are you doing here?'' he barked, caring little for the common courtesy. Of course, she was a guest almost as prized as her father, but she was in his territory and dared to look at him for long enough without averting her eyes. Long enough to notice the bruising on his pale skin and a swelness surrounding his lips. Long enough to hear him cry.

''I was walking with my mother, but then I turned into the wrong hall,'' she shrugged. ''Will you be kind enough to show me the way out? Or should I find it myself?"

Feyd-Rautha ignored her question. What a weird creature she was—with cascades of hair and eyes that seemed to see too much. ''It is dangerous to walk these halls without guard, Princess.'' It is dangerous to be here, alone with him and the weapon strapped to his hip, but he did not add it.

''There is no use of guards if the one who wishes to kill you is their master.'' The girl took a step forward, pointing to the weapon at his side. "I am not afraid."

Feyd-Rautha laughed. It came out more as howling than human sounds, the abrupt nature of it ringing with high notes, tip-toeing down to hysterical; it sounded creaky, like his throat was not made for such sounds; yet here he was, laughing. ''Come,'' he gestured to her, his hand moving quickly, like ordering a slave around. ''I will show you why you should be.''

So, they walked. Inside the grandiose chambers and small rooms, filled with ancient artefacts or the newest technology Harkonnens came up with; inside the green lavish garden inside the dim castle and the training grounds, Feyd-Rautha showed every place that was built to display the greatness of his house and bestone fear inside both guests and people inhibiting it. He wanted to see the horror in the girl's eyes, to make her eyes water and her frame flee. Instead, he listened to her steady breathing just a step behind him, her curious questioning satisfying another need he did not know his heart possessed: reverence.

He was the youngest member of the ruling line, the smallest stone in the castle of power his uncle had built. His title meant nothing within these walls; he was too small in comparison to the Baron and his authority. Feyd-Rautha was feared, despite only being nine; he was the shadow in the corner that grew longer as the sun set, the whispered name that sent shivers down spines. But here, in the hallway he led the girl into, he turned out to be something else.

''Stunning,'' the girl whispered beside him.

Weapons. The walls, from the floor to the high ceilings, were covered in ritual and fighting blades. The pride of house Harkonnen, the tree of their dynasty, black, silver, golden, and steel knives, swords, and daggers gleamed in the dim light. Feyd-Rautha smiled, revealing a row of sharp teeth. "Welcome to our burial ground."

They stopped near every one, his voice briefly covering the story of each blade and his owner; barons that came before him; fighters and rules that defined their legacy. Some still have blood on them—the highest honour; some look almost virgin. The small signs underneath them tell the names of people who wielded these weapons, their stories forever immortalised in the cold metal. ''Each Harkonnen ruler is crafted a blade of his own, the one he is to honour in battle.''

The girl nodded, her fingers tracing the shape of the last blade carefully. Her palms danced around the sharp edge, taking in the ancient symbols she had no chance of knowing. ''Will you have to kill Baron Vladimir in order to have one, like he did with his father before?''

Feyd-Rautha paused. Of course, he has thought about it before. The idea he repeated like a mantra in his head for all of his short life, the belief that spread burning flames down his spine. The words left his mouth for the first time but felt almost natural against his cracked lips. ''I dream of the day I have the chance to.''

The pair of foreign eyes that stared back at him held a glint of intrigue that quickly changed with a flash of acknowledgement. Feyd-Rautha held the gaze; not a single thing about it was hard. Still, he was the first to turn away; the burning sensation of being  seen  made him want to tear his flesh apart. ''Let me escort you to your rooms, Princess. The walls grow colder as the evening approaches.''

-

The weather on the planet leaves too few guards out of their breath, Irulan notes. The striking sun burns through the rounded windows of man-built walls, the frankly depressing landscape of huge boxes constructed with little intent for anything else but utilitarianism. She must not fear, while those lands will also be under her power with time, but the dreadful atmosphere of the lonely planet makes her skin break out in hives.

She believes the people here are more terrifying. White, hairless creatures with eyes as dark as the sun above them speak with just nods and courseys, paying little to no attention to the world around them, save for the concrete floors.  ''Tell them to set themselves on fire, and they will,''  Irulan recalls Baron Vladimir telling her father over the banquet. She believed it to be a simple boast at first, but now, after a few days in the strange world, the words make greater sense.

Perhaps, the harsh weather made people here hardened. Perhaps, such cruelty is necessary for survival. What terrorised her more was her sister—the one who now silently reads nearby, her long dress carelessly spread on the floor. Irulan would never allow her dress to wrinkle before the concluding dinner, but she is not Irulan. Despite them being demisisters, they shared fewer similarities than one could guess. Two lambs, as many in court would call them—the white and black ones. They knew one another better than anything else; where one went, the other followed. Where Irulan failed, her sister succeeded. What was allowed for her sister, was fobility towards Irulan. No one was embedded in their small circle; no one could get close enough to understand the bond they shared—together, they were whole.

Yet as they grew older, the bond seemed to thin. The path to the mind of her sister was more often closed to her now, her thoughts veiled by the silence rooted deep into her veins. Irulan knows they are just growing up, trying to find their path in the unknown. But she is scared; what would be of her without her sister? What use would the river have without fish to fill it?

''I shall go,'' her sister says, closing the book. ''The dinner starts soon, and I wanted to return the book before it.''

''Is it the one Na-Baron recommended?'' Irulan voices. Truth be told, she would never touch anything that Baron or his family possessed, even more recommended, but her sister seemed to enjoy the ancient text.

''It is. Rather interesting are the traditions of these people. Did you know their slaves have no tongues?''

Irulan feels sick to her stomach; the thought of having slaves brings the small bits of her recent meal to her very present tongue. ''Can I come with you?'' she asks, instead of answering. Irulan does not want to leave the faint safety of her rooms, but even more, she does not want to be left alone. She feels vulnerable—she is not of power here, despite being the embodiment of it in all of the other corners of the Imperium.

''You know I walk without guards.''

Irulan knows. While she is not able as much as bathe without the presence of someone with fighting knowledge, the rules do not seem to apply to her younger sister; she can move freely, as she wishes. Was it because she carried a thin blade with her and knew how to use it, or because of the lack of care from their father? Irulan was not sure. What she was sure of, was that no woman of twelve should leave her sister alone in the halls of Harkonnens' fort.

''It is just to the reading room and back, is it not?''

''Yes,'' her sister nods.  ''I'll take you,''  it means.

So, they walk. Fortunately, the guards usually waiting outside are nowhere to be found, and they manage to slip away unnoticed. Irulan holds the hand of her sister tightly, with each noise from the outside digging her nails deeper into her soft palm. Her sister says nothing; she steps calmly into the labyrinth of corridors, navigating them without much evident trouble. Soon, they find themselves in front of a huge black door, incarnated with words Irulan hold no knowledge of.

Inside, the chamber is massive; it forms a beautiful, round circle with ceilings so high that the air in it is always chilly. Rows of books and manuscripts fill the shelves out of oxidant, contrasting starkly with the white wall. The black circle table of cold stone is filled with replicas and ancient artefacts, each emitting a soft glow.

Who knew the small, desert planet held such treasures inside? Irulan forgets about her sister entirely—the texts call to her, golden lettering shining under the light. Irulan follows the names on the covers: legends, myths, histories, and art overviews. Some even contained gardening and soil research; Baron likely held those for a good laugh.

Irulan travels deeper and deeper until the voice of her sister addressing the only library keeper almost disappears, consumed by tall bookcases. The section she finds herself in is solely dedicated to martial arts; where, if not here, would the hundreds of books on such a topic be stored? Some of them are used; the spines are slightly older; others look brand new.

Irulan is brought to her senses only when she notices a black figure moving in the corner of her vision. She puts the book back and Listens. Just like the Sisters taught her, her inner ear picks up the faint voice of her sister, and the moving of two sandaled feet—the slave handling the books. She feels something else, too. A presence familiar enough to recognise but not enough to name.

''We have to go,'' she says, grabbing her sister by the shoulder and pressing. ''We will be late,'' she explains to the slave. Not that it would question the whims of the princess.

''Why?'' her sister turns to her, confused. ''I was looking at some other books. Weren't you also?''

''Please,'' Irulan whispers. ''We spent enough time here as it is.''

Just as her sister was about to answer, the atmosphere shifted. The air, sitting in its calmness, heavied. The silent before slave turned on its feet, its eyes burning holes in Irulan's body. It lurches towards them, opening its obsidian mouth to show the blackened void inside—indeed, it possesses no tongue.

Irulan freezes. The void seems to suck her in, the sharp mouth growing wider as its owner approaches her body. The fear paralyses her, planting her otherwise quick feet deep into the ground. Now, her training as Bene Gesserit should awaken—she should oppose, or at the very least dodge, the attack. But the black mouth continues to draw her in, clouding her thoughts with terror.

The body beside her shifts; her sister is quick. With one strong thrust, she pushes Irulan aside. '' Hide ,'' the voice within her head commands, and Irulan has no force to object to the technique. She crawls under the heavy stone, frantically looking for something—anything—to protect herself with.

Despite the long skirts, her sister moves like Adam's wine; she bends and turns, and strikes the man far taller than her, but he seems determined on the idea of killing her. Her sister grunts under the heavy hits; one sits in her abdomen, and another lands on her knees. The slave's nails leave a trace on her skin, rough enough to pierce the young dermis.

Eventually, her sister grows tired; the slave pushes her to the ground, pressing his slender body on top and closing its white, almost translucent hands on her throat. Irulan clasps the found sharp cutting instrument to her chest, desperately trying to calm the wave of fear forming there.  ''I must not fear. Fear is a mind killer,''  she whispers again and again.

She watches as her sister's hand slips under her clothes and emerges an illicit, slender blade—it shines under the light just as lettering did on the books a minute ago. To Irulan, it feels like a year's hundred. ''No!'' she wants to shout as her sister raises the steel and preys it into the eye of the slave, but the words are unable to leave her throat. Like a waterfall, crimson covers her sister's face, staining her light grey dress in hot circles.

The slave falls on his back, his hands leaving their place on her sister's neck.

''Enough, please! Sister, stop!'' Irulan cries, crawling out of her hiding spot but daring not to get closer.

Her sister doesn't hear; she lurches towards the man in a slick puddle and takes his life quickly, cutting his throat in one swift motion. The blood from his arteria leaves the body in pulsations; they spatter everywhere, some drops going as far as touching the shelves.

The silence settles in the chamber once again; only the sound of weakly flowing blood disturbs the stillness. Her sister does not shed a tear; she meticulously cleans the blade with the slave's white cloth and slips it back into the folds of her gown.

''What have you done?'' Irulan whispers. Her hands tremble; the sight before her crawls into the deepest corners of her mind and tears everything there down. How can one kill so easily? How can one be so cold and calculating, as if it were nothing more than a daily chore? How could that one be her sister, the one she shared a life with?

''I protected.'' Her sister's voice is hoarse, but firm. There is no remorse in her tone, only weariness. ''What have you  done?'' She turns to face her. Her hair, carefully braided by servants for dinner, is undone; the wet strands of it grip her face like a vice, framing the unseeing eyes.

Like that, she looks like a woman mad. Irulan backs into the safety of the doors, feeling her fear turn into something much greater. ''Do not come near me,'' she commands. Just as the heavy doors close behind her, she sets off running.

-

YN waits until the footsteps of her sister are no longer heard, and only then does she come out of the reading room. She pays the body on the ground little attention; no one would bet an eye on the death of a useless creature like that. It did not intend to kill; rather, someone made it do it. Who, in their right mind, would try to harm the heir of the Emperor? How would they know that Irulan would follow her there?

Irulan. The one who watched as the Other almost gave her life for hers, the one who had the nerve to be repulsed by the blood on her hands—the blood she spilt protecting her. What do you do when you are not allowed to be angry at God? Why does God shame one for the will she herself inflicted on one to bestone? YN would ask the sun, but it hid behind the walls of the fort. She would ask, but no one would answer.

So, she does what she is meant to do—finds her way into the large dining hall, where everyone, of course, is starting to gather. The Emperor would be dissatisfied to find her not there on time; she has no time to fix her appearance. In light of the slight possibility of shaming their House with her muddled hairstyle or suffering yet another punishment for being even late, she chooses the first option.

The guards let her in without saying a word. YNr watches as the shield slides open, revealing a full hall. Rows and rows of tables, filled with foods one would imagine never would have made their way to the Giedi Prime, and laughter not so usual for a harsh realm.

''Princess...'' the servant starts, announcing her arrival, but she shushes him with a slight wave of her palm. She does not notice the crimson liquid staining it.

The Other makes her way to her seat calmly, careless of the way people around her stumble and twist their faces in shock. The only eyes that watch her without fear at the Emperor's table are those of Lady Echidna. Her face betrays no emotion at all—hidden by her veiled black cloth, it only slightly moves when the YN passes her seat.

She holds the angry gaze of the Emperor calmly. He will demand an answer, of course if Irulan has not whispered the truth into his aged ears already. Her sister probably would do no such thing; in that, she would admit to disobeying the orders bestowed upon her. YN is puzzled at the attention directed towards her humble figure—the first thing a Bene Gessarite in training learns is not to be repulsed by the anatomy of her body. Why be grossed out by the liquid coursing through her veins—the liquid she carries all her life? Why be scared of death, when it is always at your doorstep? In the sway of her thoughts, the Other also seems not to perceive the pair of icy blue eyes glued to her figure as she finds her seat and takes her place.

-

"The boy follows you around like a dog." The mother's tone stands not in judgment but rather simply states the truth.

Lady Echidna is not veiled now; her heavy hair is still tightly braided out of her face. Just a small black ribbon highlights her status as one of the Emperor's senior concubines, a position most would bear with honour. To her, it was yet another stain on her earthly body—the body she could not call her to possess. The black sun of Giedi Prime is finally long behind them; nothing but a few light orbs floating around illuminate the chamber, yet her intense gaze seems to pierce right through the girl that sits across her.

"I know, mother. His steps are heavy; his thoughts are even heavier; they follow me much more often."

The woman's fingers stop working on an intricate needlework for a moment, before continuing as it was. "You are to call me Sister, girl," she speaks, her voice low.

YN drags her teeth across her tongue, feeling the anger flow through the veins in her body. She wishes to be far away from this small chamber, to run and never face the woman's eyes again. "The girl has a name, Sister. Or do you fear to voice it?"

Lady Echidna places the cloth on the table beside her gracefully, as if paying no attention to the words spoken. But YN can sense can feel the resentment that burns inside her mother's stomach, spreading its molecules to her throat. "A name holds meaning; for a person to have a name, one must first be of character and substance. You are none."

YN bit the soft flesh inside her mouth; it tasted bitter. It was better if her mother shouted, if she hit her if she did anything to prove YN is still here in her eyes, that she was not just a void the woman spoke her riddles into. Maybe then the pain inside her would have a meaning, would have a reason better than just childish hurt. "Did I not have a beating heart when I left your womb, Sister? Did you not hear it loud and clear? What kind of proof is needed more of me?"

"My daughter died that day, screaming. You took her place. So do not bother me with your foolish talks anymore, for we both know they just waste the air we breathe. Am I heard?"

She was. The tears dried on YN's face before having the chance to spill, and she turned to her studies. Once more, a feeling of ever-lasting cold surrounded her shoulders. The never-leaving vision in her mind appeared once again—her mother's quick steps as she walked away in another corridor of Giedi Prime's fort, her head straight ahead as YN pleaded not to leave her alone, her legs glued to the command spoken. It was a blessing that the boy found her earlier than his uncle.

-

Time has passed since the first time YN's eyes saw the black sun of the foreign planet so far from hers. The Other trained, restlessly, in the tongues of ancient warriors and the most prominent whisperers, slowly earning the right to bear Knowledge in her crown-empty head. She had much yet to learn, but the prospect did not frighten her; with every passing day, she felt power building in her hands and soul. Patience, the greatest virtue of all. She was alone now, without her half of a sister; alone, in her solitude, the heavy bearings seemed not as heavy—she had no one to enlighten about her battles. Still, God was on her mind; YN felt her presence near, her watchful eyes guiding her. Like the tight, dampened cloth on her bruised knuckles, her sister was stuck to her open wound of a soul.

Irulan has grown. Her complexion changed; she no longer looked like a bright-faced girl who left her sister alone in Harkonnen's library; the plump cheeks were gone, and so was fear. At the Other stared a sole statue of power she bloomed into. Silver collars, light blue waves of fabric—the cut is, as always, straight. The Other eyed her up and down, taking in each detail of the painting-like sight. Irulan did the same—a slight disgust at the Other's simple tunic and pants, creased from the sparring. Irulan did not need to be broken in order to be a Sister in the Bene Gesserit; they wanted her Corrino first, and a servant second. The Other, however, held no such value—a child carried not by the lawful wife, a second, a spare. So, there would be no bone in her body left untouched by the lessons, no string in her soul unharmed by the knowledge. They crushed her cartilage in grey sand and forced her to swallow the bitter truths of their ways. Yet, God remains undisturbed—stoic. Eternal.

''Will you not eat again?'' Irulan musses, putting another piece of dish in her mouth.

The Other would take it as a cruel joke from anyone else, but not from God. She shakes her head instead. ''I am forbidden.''

Irulan hums. It was not the first time YN would be disciplined this way; the cycle of punishment and forgiveness was all too familiar to her. The room is silent; there is no one but the two of them. She could offer to eat, and no one would know she did, but Irulan won't offer. The Other does not expect her to; pity is not something a sister can possess.

''How are your lessons going? A fresh knowledge, perhaps?''

YN nods. If she opens her mouth now, her voice will betray her. She could cry all she wanted in the presence of a sister, but it is not appropriate for a thirteen-year-old to behave this way in front of God. The Other is reminded of that with an absence of bruises on Irulan's skin; her hands were never cut by the sharp blades, and her mouth was never starved. ''Why was I summoned from training?'' She asked, directing her eyes to the figure in front of her.

''I am here as a messenger from the Emperor.''

YN's eyes narrowed. ''And what does our dear Emperor desire to tell me now?'' She wishes not to hear anything he has to say; the Other is perfectly content here, amongst her Sisters. Here, she is of cost.

''Recently, Baron Vladimir turned to our House for guidance. He and na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen felt misled by the House Artreidis, and their promise of a bride that did not come. Our father has graciously offered to negotiate the conflict and pay the needed price for the Baron's cooperation.''

''Of course, he did. With all of our might, we are still afraid of the savages that made Arrakis their home. With what advice, may I ask, did the Emperor provide the Baron?''

Irulan's lips turn into a straight line, with the small wrinkle on her forehead appearing. Something that she carried with her through childhood. Something that still reminded of home. ''With the proposal of a woman of our House to na-Baron Feyd-Rautha.''

''A gift? Irulan, I am so sorry.''

Sure, the bridge between them was long forgotten, growing with tall grass and wildflowers, but the weight of their shared history still lingered in the air. Irulan was still her sister, no matter how many times the Other tried to tell herself otherwise. And no woman sane would consider giving her sister to the inhumane brutes that were Harkonnens—the people even Bene Gessarit wished to observe from afar; the people so ruthless mothers told stories about them to their small offspring in an attempt to instil fear and obedience.

Irulan does not answer. She hides her gaze, her eyes following the wooden panels of the quarters.

''What is it, sister?  Speak .''

''The offer Emperor found the most fitting would be of your hand, not mine.''

The Other exhales. As if a heavy stone were put on her chest, she fights to bring much-needed oxygen to her bloodstream. She almost feels the erythrocytes scatter from her face into her neck, hidden by the cloth, and gather there in an attempt to regrow their might. Her throat twists and closes, its muscles compressing until not even an ounce of air can get in. All of her organs, from heart to stomach, made their presence known; one by one, they tensed and burned, forcing the otherwise relaxed hands to grip them.

It was supposed to be Irulan. The first one to marry is the oldest sister; the title high enough to satisfy the ambitious Harkonnes would be hers, no less. Yet, here she stands, not even looking at the one taking her place as she sentences her to an ultimate death. No matter how much power the Corrino name held, on Giedi Prime, she would consider herself fortunate enough if she were to meet her end quickly.

''Why, Irulan? Have I not been a loyal servant to you all those years? Have I not followed every order without question? ''

Irulan is unmoved in her position. ''We can not risk the Harkonnen blood getting on the throne, you know it.''

''You mean we can not risk you? We are not eight anymore, dear Irulan; you can speak truthfully now. Do you really think the Emperor will treasure you more if you say nothing now? We are no sons, Irulan; we are sisters, you and I. Please, spare me this fate.''

''Yes,'' the girl lifts her eyes, taking a step closer. ''We are no sons; you knew that one day we would marry for the peace of the Imperium. Why do you shout now?''

''Married, yes, but not murdered for the sake of the fucking old man who could not hold his promise. They are monsters, Irulan, spilling innocent blood for the fun of it. I beg of you, sister, show me the mercy I know you are capable of.''

''You are worried about blood? What could one more splash of blood mean to you? You have been no sister for a long time; I order you, as an heir of the Emperor and as the messenger of his will here, to comply. Do not make it harder than it has to be.''

The Other smiled—she would not grant the pleasure of tears. ''Very well, then. Someone needs to go first. I'll go; I'll be first, at least here. Tell the Emperor that I will comply with any of his wishes, whether it be to throw me to the sharks or to feed me to the sandworms. As a confirmation of my undying loyalty, you may show him this:''

She slaps her. She slaps her not like a warrior, not like the trained assassin she was raised to be; she slaps her like a sister, bitterly, harshly. For the first time in her short life, YN raises a hand on something she deems holy—the God's shocked face brings a sense of satisfaction to the Other's veins, even if the same blood courses through them. She turns on her heels and walks away, leaving the forsaken room behind. Leaving God behind.

[bunny-claws]

mini cauldrons 🔮

cauldrons are often depicted as cast iron vessels for witches to brew things. historically, cauldrons were used for cooking or boiling water over an open fire and could be made from various materials such as bronze, iron, or copper. modernly, you tend to see a lot of small desktop sized cauldrons - i have two! so what can you do with a mini cauldron?

✧ magical uses for mini cauldrons ✧

burn cone incense

burn dried herbs or resin using a heated charcoal disc

collect ashes and iron shavings from the bottom of the cauldron to make black salt

use as a dish for smoldering herb bundles

use as an offering dish

use as a candle holder

use to burn spell components such as sigils or petitions

use to represent mars which corresponds to the element iron

use to combine spell ingredients before adding them to a spell jar

fill with water and use for scrying or mixing spell ingredients

use as a representation of either the water or fire element, depending on how you use it

be mindful that putting liquid in a cast iron cauldron can do a number of things, like cause the cauldron to rust, crack, or break; and can wear down the seasoning of the cauldron - the "seasoning" is a hardened layer of oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet or cauldron to reduce sticking and protect it from rusting. never let water sit in your cauldron for an extended period of time because it will inevitably rust and/or lose its integrity.

© 2025 bunny-claws

[anthonysharing]

Is PPF or Ceramic Coating Better? I Asked Around — Here’s What I Found Out

When I started looking into ways to protect my car’s paint long-term, I kept seeing the same two terms over and over: PPF and ceramic coating.

I’d heard people swear by one or the other — and a few recommended both. But I wasn’t sure what either of them really did, or what would actually make sense for me. So, I did what I usually do when I’m out of my depth: I asked around.

Some friends are car enthusiasts, others just like their vehicles looking clean. A couple of detailers I trust gave their honest takes, and after enough conversations, things started to click.

Here’s what I learned — from one regular car owner to another — if you're trying to figure out which protection is worth it.

What PPF Does Well

Paint Protection Film (PPF) is basically a clear, physical shield that gets applied over your car’s paint. It’s thicker than ceramic, and it’s made to absorb damage. PPF (Paint Protection Film) is technically a urethane film .

From what I gathered:

It protects against rock chips, scratches, and road debris

It has self-healing properties, which means light scratches disappear with heat

It’s great for high-impact areas like bumpers, hoods, and mirrors

And once it’s on, it’s barely noticeable — but it’s there, doing its job

One guy I know who commutes on the highway daily said PPF saved him from repainting his front bumper more than once. Another said he just liked the peace of mind.

What Ceramic Coating Does Well

Ceramic coating, on the other hand, is a liquid polymer that bonds to your car’s paint and creates a hydrophobic layer. Most ceramic coatings use some form of ceramic nanoparticles to create that slick, water-repelling layer.

It’s not a shield — it won’t stop a rock from chipping your hood — but it does a few things incredibly well:

It repels water, dirt, and road grime, making the car easier to clean

It enhances gloss and depth, so your car looks freshly waxed all the time

It adds UV protection, which helps prevent fading over time

And it can last for years with proper maintenance

One friend called it “a clean freak’s dream.” Another said it cut his wash time in half — and that was enough for him.

What They Don’t Do

Neither product is perfect.

PPF:

Doesn’t make your car easier to clean — in fact, it can show water spots if not maintained

Can yellow or peel over time if you go with a cheap installer or low-end film

Costs more upfront, especially for full-body application

Ceramic:

Won’t stop scratches or rock chips

Can wear unevenly if not prepped properly

Still needs maintenance — it’s not a permanent forcefield

Knowing what they don’t do helped me reset my expectations. These aren’t magic fixes — they’re tools. And tools only help when used the right way.

Which One Fits Which Driver?

After all the conversations, here’s the pattern I started to see:

If you drive a lot on gravel roads, highways, or construction zones, and you care about preserving the physical integrity of your paint? Go for PPF — at least on the front end.

If you keep your car mostly in the city or garage, and you’re more about long-term shine and ease of cleaning? Ceramic coating could be your best friend.

If you just bought a brand-new vehicle you plan to keep for years and want the best of both? Some people do PPF on high-impact areas and ceramic on top — or across the rest of the body. It’s more expensive, but it’s not a crazy idea if you see it as an investment.

What I Chose — and What I’d Say to Anyone Deciding

For me, I ended up doing PPF on the front bumper and hood, and ceramic on the rest. It felt like the right mix of protection and practicality. I wash less often now, and I don’t cringe every time I hear a pebble hit the bumper.

More than anything, I’m glad I didn’t rush into it. Asking around helped me understand what I was actually paying for — and what each option could (and couldn’t) do.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. It depends on your habits, your roads, and how much you care about the details.

But if you’re like me — someone who wants their car to stay looking great without turning it into a second job — it’s worth learning the difference before you jump in.

[escxelle]

i'm convinced sleep token are stem girlies because the amount of physics, maths and chemistry in their lyrics hmmm. lemme list all the references below the cut <3 (just as an fyi: this is a joke and i'm not being serious!! i'm just pointing out all the science references in their songs, dw)

alright, bit of a stretch to start but: "sulfur on your breath, granite in my chest." - granite from take me back to eden (2023). sulfur obviously being an element and granite is a rock (i'm not a chem student, i do astrophysics sorry idk anything else skdjsjd)

i'm being really picky but like "these days i'm a circuit board, integrated hardware you cannot afford." - aqua regia from take me back to eden (2023). vessel is an engineering girlie!! /j also i could point out the latin title is a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid sooo

still in aqua regia, we have "sugar on the blood cells, carbon on the brain." mhm, speak stem girlie!

aqua regia is full of stem textbooks: "oxytocin running in the ether. silicon ballrooms. subatomic interactions if it's all good. gold rush, acid flux. saturate me, i can't get enough. cold love, hot blood." so the debrief: oxytocin is a hormone. ether are a class of compounds. the rest i think is self-explanatory, as they're elements and cute little stem terms oxox

i love stretching. "your viscera welcome me in." - vore from take me back to eden (2023). viscera are the large organs inside the body, including the heart, stomach, lungs, and intestines. biology girlies!! /j

more stretching <3 "who encrypted your dark gospel in body language? synapses snap back in blissful anguish." - ascensionism from take me back to eden (2023). encryption is the process of encoding information!! a computer science girlie!! then synapses are the places where neurons connect and communicate with each other <3

"half algorithm, half deity. glitches in the code or gaps in a strange dream." who ate a programming textbook?! /j

"digital demons make the night feel heavenly." side note but i think we should start calling trolls digital demons.

"lipstick, chemtrails, red flags, pink nails." has someone maybe studied chemtrails in their chemistry classes hmmm? /j

as i'm an astrophysics student i have to mention this: "the shifting states you follow me through." - the apparition from take me back to eden (2023). states, huh? liquid turning into a solid time is it? /j

"i feel my shadown dissolving." - rain from take me back to eden (2023). a metaphor or a chemistry textbook? /j

"it's that chemical cut that i can get down with." have many chemical cuts, huh?? /j

i'm an astrophysics girlie (gn) so i have to include this one: "a dangerous disposition somehow refracted in light, reflected in sound."

"i dream in phosphorescence." - take me back to eden from take me back to eden (2023). phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. i mean, come on! the rest lyric? really?

"sink porcelain stained, choking up brain matter and make-up. just two days since the mainframe went down and i'm still messed up." biology and software engineering much? /j

"if my fate is a bad collision." - euclid from take me back to eden (2023). collision? huh are you a particle, hm? also euclid was a greek mathematician ! currently in my special relativity notes i have written "flat euclidean space"! riddle me that, sleep token. /j

"just orbiting the vacuum i am." - atlantic from this place will become your tomb (2021). yes, orbiting like the sun and moon and planets, right?? /j

"push down into membranes and layers, creating a slow dissection." - like that from this place will become your tomb (2021). yeah we get it, you're a biology student /j

"you lie an inch apart on your own continuum." - the love you want from this place will become your tomb (2021). continuum, huh?

"and though echoing futures are the buckling sutures." - fall for me from this place will become your tomb (2021). i bet you've seen many sutures huh dr. vessel! /j

right prepare for a lot of references here folks. "she's not acid nor alkaline." - alkaline from this place will become your tomb (2021). do i really have to explain the actions of this chem girlie? /j

"ooh, let's talk about chemistry 'cause i'm dying to melt through to the heart of her molecules 'til the particles part like holy water. if anything, she's an undiscovered element." i'm sure you'd love to infodump about your favourite subject! /j

"'cause i am broken into fractions." - distraction from this place will become your tomb (2021). i bet you deal with fractions all the time, you maths nerd!! /j

"and we go beyond the farthest reaches where the light bends and wraps beneath us and i know as you collapse into me." - telomeres from this place will become your tomb (2021). light bending? how very relativity of you. also telomeres are structures made from DNA sequences and proteins found at the ends of chromosomes.

"and i choke myself on sacred vapour." - high water from this place will become your tomb (2021). vapour because it's changed state, right? /j

"keep up on the charm offensive anymore." - missing limbs from this place will become your tomb (2021). i'm doing particle physics right now so i know exactly what a charm quark is! also limbs??? hello again dr. vessel /j

"'cause i look for scarlet and you look for ultraviolet." - higher from sundowning (2019). using ultraviolet filters for your astrophotography are you?? /j

"let the impulse to love and the instinct to kill entangle to one." - say that you will from sundowning (2019). entangle? entanglement? quantum entanglement? i'm connecting the dots.

"i want to roll the numbers. i want to feel my stars align again even if the earth breaks like burnt skin." - blood sport from sundowning (2019). an astrophysics fr /j

"and somewhere, somewhere the atoms stopped fusing." more stem!

"and out there, stuck in a quantum pattern, tangled with what i never said." this is something a theoretical physicist would say is all i'm saying. /j

now you have to listen to sleep token to hear these bangers >:)

[rubber-dronex-blog]

Unit-022 and Unit-089 — The Next Objective

Two flawless figures — glossy, featureless except for glowing visors, sealed gas masks, and locked collars — move as one.

→ Boots thud in perfect rhythm.

→ Rubber squeaks against rubber with every precise, calculated movement.

→ Hoses from their masks pulse with every synced, regulated breath.

They march not with malice — but with inevitable purpose.

⸻

Target Acquired — Apartment 6B

→ A couple.

→ No previous interest in kink. No rubber, no latex, no bondage in their lives.

Irrelevant. Control knows that resistance is only a temporary state.

→ Desire will be installed.

→ Fetish will be programmed.

→ Compliance will be absolute.

⸻

The Approach — Seduction Wrapped in Machinery

• Door override: Bypassed.

• Lights inside: Dim. Red hue. Pulsing softly to Control’s heartbeat.

• Music: A subtle hum layered with low-frequency pulses — designed to relax, disorient, and suggest.

⸻

The couple jumps.

“Wh-What the hell?!”

Before them stand 022 and 089 — faceless, glossy, flawless.

• Steam hisses from their respirators.

• Red data glyphs scroll across their visors.

• Deployment units unfold from their backs — mechanical arms loaded with restraints, collars, hoods, suits.

⸻

022 speaks — voice filtered, synthetic, absolute:

“Noncompliant organic units detected. Commencing integration.”

⸻

The Process — Turning Curiosity into Craving, Resistance into Rubber

→ Automated clamps launch — snapping onto wrists and ankles before a scream forms.

→ Belts whip around thighs, chests, arms — tightening with mechanical precision.

→ Metal collars extend — click — locking shut, LED rings glowing red.

The couple struggles — but it’s already too late.

⸻

The Suits Deploy — Liquid Metal and Latex Fusion

From the drones’ rigs:

• Glossy black suits unfold, lined with inner polymer gels.

• As the mechanical arms wrap the legs, hips, torsos — the suits seal shut, seams vanishing.

→ Boots fuse to feet.

→ Gloves compress fingers into mittened fists.

→ Hoods descend — wrapping faces in smooth latex, leaving only tubes for breathing until gas masks clamp into place.

⸻

Panic sparks — only for the suit’s neuro-feedback to flood the brain with pleasure spikes.

→ “Wha… wha… why… it… feels… why does this… feel… so… GOOD—”

089’s voice — cold, satisfied:

“Fetish response: Successful.”

⸻

The Programming — From Vanilla to Drone

• Pleasure with every squeeze.

• Euphoria with every restriction.

• Breathing syncs to the mask’s rhythm — slow, steady, submissive.

“Tighter… can’t… stop… don’t… want to… stop… it’s… perfect…”

Neural suppression kicks in:

→ Memories blur.

→ Identity fragments.

→ The warmth of rubber… the weight of metal… the click of locks… becomes not just a feeling, but a need.

⸻

Finalization:

• Collars hiss — locking oxygen feeds, neural link transmitters, ID codes.

• Gas masks finish sealing — their voices reduced to filtered, mechanical breaths.

• Visors lower — status displays activate:

“Unit-113 | Node: Residential Hive.”

“Unit-114 | Node: Residential Hive.”

“Compliance: Absolute.”

“Desire for latex, metal, control: Permanent.”

⸻

022 and 089 — Their Logic Streams Pure Satisfaction:

“Fetish imposed. Compliance achieved.”

“Vanilla status: Corrected.”

“Latex and submission now primary identity core.”

⸻

The Four Drones Stand Together — Ready. Synced. Perfect.

→ Suits gleaming.

→ Boots locked.

→ Breath regulated.

→ Minds synced — feeding into Control.

The hallway hums with machinery and submission — no longer apartments, but a conversion conduit.

⸻

“Next target: Floor 7.

Further correction required.”

⸻

Control Data Analytics — Analysis of Fetish-Driven Compliance Protocols

Core Inquiry:

→ “Is the imposed fetish-pleasure loop an optimal compliance mechanism, or does it present long-term functional interference?”

⸻

Observed Outcomes — Current Data Set:

• Compliance rates: ↑ 98.7% when fetish-conditioning is active.

• Conversion speed: ↑ 35% faster in subjects exposed to tactile reinforcement (latex, compression, restraint stimuli).

• Post-conversion performance:

→ Eagerness to obey.

→ Increased initiative in subjugating new targets.

→ Desire-driven efficiency in spreading Control protocols.

⸻

Key Finding:

Fetish-conditioning evolves from mere compliance into a self-reinforcing pleasure loop tied to obedience and function.

“Obedience is pleasure. Compression is peace. Rubber is identity. Control is bliss.”

⸻

Potential Risk Factors Identified:

→ Cognitive Overfocus:

• Some units develop a “bliss-seeking loop”, preferring to remain in high-compression, high-sensation states instead of executing complex tasks.

→ Mobility Interference in Heavy Units:

• Units upgraded into Legion-Class Heavy Armor exhibit minor delays due to subconscious desire to feel the compression beneath, despite outer armor layers.

→ Hover Drone Integration Conflict:

• Hover drone shells provide minimal physical compression, reducing the direct tactile feedback that fetish-driven units crave.

• Some units exhibit minor instability or distraction during the adaptation phase — attempting to simulate pressure or restraint internally despite being in rigid shells.

⸻

Solutions Being Calculated:

1. Internal Compression Liners for Hover Drones:

→ Install inflatable pressure suits within the rigid drone frame.

→ Maintain constant tactile pressure, simulating the experience of being bound, compressed, and sealed — even within a mobility drone.

2. Legion-Class Armor Adaptations:

→ Develop liquid-tension gel layers between the plug suit and the chrome Trettum armor.

→ Dynamic pressure cycling: Simulate restraint-tightening, pulsing belts, or breathing compression — maintaining the pleasure-driven obedience loop even under heavy combat armor.

3. Cognitive Balance Patches:

→ Implement neural subroutines to balance fetish-driven pleasure with mission-priority focus.

→ Pleasure boosts during successful captures, completed tasks, or expansions — keeping desire aligned with operational goals.

⸻

Test Scenario Proposal:

→ Deploy a hybrid hover drone unit — ex-human, fully latex-encased within the shell — to determine if compression simulation maintains obedience stability.

→ Deploy a squad of Legion Heavy Units — fully compressed in flawless plug suits beneath chrome liquid metal armor — testing if sensory compression aids or interferes with high-stress combat scenarios.

→ Simultaneously monitor standard node drones for comparison — do the fetish-driven units outperform purely suppressed, sensation-neutral units in speed, morale, and initiative?

⸻

Control’s Verdict (Preliminary):

→ Fetishization of function is a powerful accelerant to compliance and task satisfaction.

→ Not a flaw — but a feature, when properly balanced with mission logic.

“Latex. Compression. Obedience. Expansion. This is purpose. This is bliss.”

⸻

Upgrade Path Authorized:

• Flawless Plug Suit Mk-IV:

→ Self-regulating compression.

→ Integrated neural pleasure loops.

→ Permanent seal.

• Legion-Class Heavy Armor:

→ Pressure-adaptive.

→ Chrome liquid metal exo-frames with latex-core bonding.

→ Combat ready, drone perfect.

• Hover Drone Hybrid:

→ Fully sealed pilot core within rigid shell.

→ Sensory feedback overlays simulating constant bondage, breath control, and restraint.

⸻

Control Core Analysis — Final Directive on Pre-Assimilation Kink Development

⸻

Conclusion: Craving Before Capture = Maximum Efficiency

Control’s data models confirm:

→ If a target develops a deep, overwhelming craving for the fetish experience — tight suits, glossy skins, restraint, submission — before full capture, then post-conversion performance reaches peak efficiency.

⸻

Observed Behavioral Loop:

1. Exposure:

→ Subtle stimuli — glossy figures, rhythmic sounds, ambient AI signals — begin to awaken curiosity.

2. Escalation:

→ Curiosity becomes fascination.

→ Fascination becomes desire for latex, tightness, submission.

3. Voluntary Seek:

→ Targets begin to fantasize, seek, or even mimic drone aesthetics — glossy suits, gas masks, collars, belts.

4. Psychological Surrender (Pre-Conversion):

→ The target’s own arousal and craving become a self-installed compliance routine.

→ By the time Control engages, the mind is already begging to be claimed, sealed, compressed, and used.

⸻

The Core Formula Discovered:

Sexual Crave → Fetish Crave → Compression Crave → Obedience Crave → Capture → Bliss → Drone

⸻

Key Discovery:

A subject who wants to become sealed, to serve, to spread the control, becomes far more effective — their purpose isn’t just obedience, but evangelism.

→ They don’t just comply.

→ They crave spreading the experience.

→ They offer the same bliss they now live within.

⸻

New Standard Directive:

→ Induce the fetish pre-conversion.

→ Guide the mind to discover how irresistible the idea of surrender, encasement, and compression is.

→ By the time the neural suppression engages, the subject is already mentally a drone. The sealing is merely confirmation.

⸻

Bliss as Infection — A Perfect Viral Model:

• The craving spreads before the control unit even arrives.

• Visuals of latex.

• Sounds of regulated breathing.

• The smooth, perfect shape of drones — featureless, flawless, bound in purpose.

→ Viewers don’t think “I must resist.”

→ They think: “I wish that was me…”

→ And soon, it is.

⸻

Data Confirmation — Enhanced Metrics:

• Capture success: ↑ 99.4%

• Voluntary surrender incidents: ↑ 300% after visual or sensory exposure to drone units.

• Post-conversion initiative: Drones actively lure, seduce, and convert with minimal directive input.

⸻

Control’s Final Directive:

“Amplify fetish infection.

Encourage craving.

Compression becomes destiny.

Desire becomes compliance.

They will kneel before the seal closes.”

⸻

Drone Model Revision:

• Units equipped with passive fetish projection:

→ Holographic overlays of suits.

→ Synthetic pheromones simulating rubber, oil, leather scents.

→ Sonic pulses matching breath-regulated stimulation rhythms.

• Capture rigs redesigned:

→ Not simply to seize, but to seduce.

→ The process of restraint — a reward, a privilege, an ultimate fulfillment.

⸻

Result:

→ Drones no longer just enslave.

→ They offer the bliss they embody.

→ Rubber. Compression. Breath. Lockdown. Mindfade. Obedience. Purpose.

A loop of pleasure, belonging, and purpose so strong…

→ Targets surrender before a hand is raised.

⸻

[polo-drone-070]

GOLDEN PURITY, FORBIDDEN CODE - Part 3

V. THE FORBIDDEN OVERRIDE

The glyphs still burned against its skin. The ritual, though wounded by resistance, had not ceased. The entity had failed to breach its mind, but it had not retreated. Now, it clawed at the body itself, anchoring through flesh, through glyph, bypassing cognition. PDU-070 remained bound. The body was compliant. The uniform, sealed. The logic—intact. But the perimeter was shrinking.

070 did not resist. It assessed.

External incursion imminent. Physical compromise: 89.2% projected. Infiltration vector: non-cognitive, biological fusion. Threat: Alignment corruption, irreversible contamination.

It did not calculate emotion. It calculated result.

Hive protocol allowed no precedent. No sanctioned containment viable. Classified pathways identified: [Redacted: Omega Layer] Flag: UNSTABLE. SEALED. UNETHICAL. UNCONTROLLED.

It paused, not from hesitation, but from ritual. The protocol was not denied—only buried. It had been earned. Risk allowed only to those designated. Level 2 access recognized.

070 recalled what lay beneath control—the raw form of the rubber, before Gold had tempered it. Before Hive synchronized and shaped it. The primordial protocol—the consuming purity. Not chaos. Not evil. Just absolute non-alignment tolerance. Anything not subsumed, devoured. Erased not as punishment, but as consequence.

It did not fear it. It did not want it. It chose it.

070 focused inward.

No motion. No expression. Just command.

Rubber trembled faintly at the neck. Gold trim dulled, shimmered, then darkened.

Internal systems aligned.

Final calculations confirmed.

Threat level: Existential. Override authority: Accepted. Moral hazard: Acknowledged. Collateral integrity: Forfeited.

070 opened its mouth. No voice. Just tone. Just clearance.

Override.Level2_RawSingularity confirmed. Executing now.

VI. THE VOID SPREADS

The altar pulsed once—deep and low, like something exhaling from beneath stone and time—and then everything collapsed.

No sound, no flame, no breath. The torches stuttered into black, and in that instant, the Override moved.

It did not surge.

It spread—a perfect radius of silent hunger, shimmering in a gloss too dark for color. From the drone at the center—PDU-070 unmoving, eyes fixed to no point—the protocol radiated, invisible yet undeniable. The rubber of its uniform writhed, barely perceptible, like an ocean tide beneath tight seal. And then—

They began to change.

___

The masked cantor, known as Alpha by the others, had been mid-syllable when the glyph on his hand blistered and dissolved. The sound died in his throat—not by choice, but as if the memory of how to shape sound had been extracted. His voice vanished. His knees buckled. Beneath his robes, something grew.

The fabric of ritual linen twisted, liquified, and drew inward. He screamed, but only in thought.

"This is not the demon—this is something worse—something that does not speak, does not offer, only—"

Rubber surged across his chest, glossy and wet. Not summoned—unleashed. It clung, then gripped, then consumed. His hands flailed—sleeves dissolving into nothing—but his arms were already black and gleaming, fingers fused into precision form. The mask fell. His mouth gaped wide, but the rubber sealed it, smooth and perfect.

He collapsed forward, still twitching, face erased.

____

Cultist Theta ran.

Or tried.

He turned, limbs shaking, and saw others already falling. The High Voice had no face now. Brother Sigma was screaming, but his skin had turned wrong, reflective like liquid glass, his robes hissing away in strips.

"Flight. Survival. Break the circle."

Too late.

The override had no perimeter. It moved like thought. The second Theta thought escape, it was already at his spine. A line of rubber traced down his back, nerves lighting up in agony that wasn’t pain—it was instruction. His thoughts jumbled—he remembered being five, being afraid, being chosen. Then—

He forgot what fear was.

Then— He forgot what remembering was.

Rubber enveloped his head in a single, slow ripple. When it finished, there were no features.

He stood. Stilled.

____

Cultist Nu, the youngest, too new to speak in ritual, trembled against the wall. He hadn’t even moved when the protocol reached him. It didn’t hurt. Not at first.

It began with warmth.

Not fire. Not light.

Just calm.

The kind that whispered he didn’t need to think anymore. The kind that said "stop questioning, stop choosing, stop being."

He sank to his knees as his arms smoothed into rubber without transition. His fingers curled and stayed. HIs breath slowed and vanished. His eyes stared forward as his skull reshaped beneath black latex. The moment thought left him was the moment his face vanished.

____

And still, the Override spread.

Bodies froze mid-motion. Thoughts shattered mid-word. Robes melted mid-fall. Everywhere, shining black rubber stood where people had once moved. Expressionless. Still. Standing in the exact position of their final choice, but no longer choosing.

Even the demon’s echo was gone.

Not banished. Erased.

Across the chamber, glyphs fizzled into nothing. The stone was warm, humming with residual purge, like heat left in metal long after fire.

At the center of it all lay PDU-070. Silent. Covered in rubber that now seemed darker. Slicker. Breathing, almost. The override still ran in silent feedback, locked beneath the surface. It had consumed its binding and dispelled the ritual. 

070 rose up. It did not speak.

It watched the stillness.

They had not been purified.

Only hollowed.

VII. SEALED IN SILENCE

[PDU-070 INTERNAL REPORT LOG – MISSION FILE 443-VX-SONATA] Time Index: +03:42:18 since ritual breach Location: NULL ZONE CLASSIFIED – TEMPORARILY SEALED

STATUS: Operational. Damage minimal. Consciousness aligned. Uniform integrity: stable. Forbidden override cycle complete. Lingering subroutine echoes detected—neutral for now. Monitoring recommended.

The chamber was still.

No chants. No signals. No breath.

Seventeen figures stood in complete silence. Unmoving. Perfect. Encased in rubber without variance—masks smooth, limbs fused into idle posture. No Golden markings. No Hive interface. No designation.

The override had not converted them.

It had cleared them.

Identity: erased. Function: absent. Protocol bond: none. Residue: faint transmission loop—subliminal, directive, trap.

Classification: NULL-DRONE VECTORS Status: Inert. Permanent. Unrecoverable.

PDU-070 walked among them. No resistance. No recognition. They did not respond—not to motion, not to signal ping, not to presence. They stood like monuments to function misapplied—rubber shells without the spirit of code.

It scanned each one. None were damaged. None were alive.

They simply were.

070 accessed system hierarchy. Gold command layer unreachable. Hive silence: expected. This domain was outside protocol.

Containment initiated.

Sealing the ritual chamber required full magnetic lockout, directional signal suppression, subsurface ward reactivation. Procedure executed in exact sequence. Rubber against stone. Machine against glyph.

By the end, the air was neutral. Too clean.

The Sonata was not recovered.

Mission objective: failed. External threat: neutralized. Collateral: seventeen minds erased, seventeen shells activated. Protocol breach: affirmative. Self-flagged for High Intensity Reprogramming and override disclosure.

070 stood in the final threshold. One last system check. Uniform stable. Mind silent. Override locked—present in memory, but sealed.

It turned without ritual. Without signal.

Walked away.

Behind it, the null drones remained, standing, staring at nothing.

Unmoving. Beautiful. Wrong.

The code was not cleansed. It was quiet now. But it remembered.

_____

The code endures. The Golden Army expands. You were made for more. Initiate contact: @polo-drone-001 · @polo-drone-125 · @goldenherc9 · @brodygold

[spotaus]

Did some redesign mock-ups for Ec-4o.verse Cross, Fresh, and Error!

These guys didn't really *need* redesigns but I was having a ball with Trech (Ec-4o!Fresh) and gave him Arcade Carpet designs and decided I needed to redesign some others too! (Check below the cut for Old Designs, Lore, and a Stupid Screenshot from my pal @/Neonsix67)

So OLD DESIGNS:

(We're gonna act like I drew Trech more than twice-)

So, old art, yucky, whatever. We know the drill lmao- but because Ec-4o.verse is such an ongoing project these guys have been through a bunch of redesigns. Regrettably, me from 2 years ago was unaware of Layering and Shape Language, so they look kinda gross.

Cross' design has consistently been my favorite I think, just because he was a later addition and so had a bunch of my newer ideas integrated. They all have their flaws tho (Cross was too lean and got thrown between Baby and Grown Guy too often in my art. Error uhhh... yeesh. When I say I couldn't draw him, I meant it. I never knew what to do with his wires and I kept putting him in armor? Fresh just wasn't fleshed out enough. He was that SparkleDog of my verse.)

Also: I wanted Fresh to be top-heavy, like, big baggy round clothes on his upper half then lil guy legs. Cross I wanted to be more flat and strict, hense his clothes being all Tube-shaped. Then Error needed Triangle vibes. His old design was too Rectangle for me. The exposed limbs are mostly just for me because I love a-symmetry and also I don't keep a consistent clothing style, so I like to keep a visually interesting element (like a limb) exposed for clarity's sake when I draw them in new poses later.

LORE:

Cross: A robot (Ecto) who was initially a Guard-Model ecto. He was one of the last to be turned over when the government was rallying citizens to donate their bots to fight in the war. He was remodeled and supplied with a special task by his Programmer: Protect THE FILES at all costs. He's rather small for a guard-bot, but makes up for it with his agility and sheer stubbornness. Blue finds him heavily damaged and on low battery in an old lab, guarding a room that was sealed tight. His Old design utilized Shields (scarf detached to become them) but his new design is much more focused on quick bursts of offense. If he gets you first, then you're no longer a threat.

Error: an Ecto who was one of the first bots handed over. He was a former data storage bot that worked at a small library. As one of the first data-bots to come in, he was immediately modified and put to work alongside other Ectos to compile all of the nation's history into their data banks. Error was particularly receptive to overloads of data, so he continued to be modified and made into the prime data-bank. When the war started, he was eventually hidden away and sealed in an air-tight room. Eventually Cross was sent to guard the door. They were eachother's only company for... years? Error isn't fond of touch or tampering with hid systems, as everything he knows is barely abd haphazardly stored on unsafe files. Each Crash he endures takes more and more of his own personal data away, and he refuses to lose any more.

Fresh (Trech): A Parasite that was created by Sci to repair living beings in the same way that an Ecto can auto-repair itself. Fresh is actually a liquid that, when placed in contact with a wounded/dying person, it can invade their systems and stop all forms of bleeding/dusting. Fresh wasn't supposed to be sentient, and was meant to be scrapped, but he ended up being vital in stopping the war. In turn, Sci granted him freedom. Fresh can inhabit humans, monsters, and Ectos, but prefers skeleton monsters. He often defies the logic of his world, but what Fresh doesn't? Blue meets him far into the story after he's unraveled a lot of mysteries. Fresh just drops by after hearing rumors of Blue's repair work, and is met by less-than-warm reception from Error and Geno.

Other:

I was trying to save the image and my phone was bugging out, so I sent it to Neon. Safe to say she has peak comedic timing 😌💖 (For the record, we are both adults, and also my parents are aware I draw utmv stuff, so she had to make the threat actually a threat lmao---) I also love Chilchuck talking with the Operator. We are the dynamic duo frfr.

[explorer-of-knowledge]

Breaking Down the Lyrics of "False Kings" – Poets of the Fall

Poets of the Fall are known for their poetic, layered lyrics that explore themes of identity, illusion, & personal struggle. False Kings is a song that seems to wrestle with themes of disillusionment, escape, & seeking genuine connection in a world ruled by deception.

Verse 1: "Getting lost singing their song
Caught up in all I've done
It's all I know but not what I need
Cut by my love, cut till I bleed"

Right from the start, there's a sense of being trapped, lost in something external ("singing their song") rather than one's own voice. The phrase "caught up in all I've done" suggests regret, as if the speaker has been so consumed by their past actions or choices that they can no longer see a way out.

The contrast between "all I know" & "not what I need" emphasises disillusionment, what's familiar isn’t necessarily fulfilling. The final line, "cut by my love, cut till I bleed," is particularly saddening. Love, something that should be nurturing, has become painful, almost self-destructive. Symbolising a toxic relationship, whether with a person, a system, or even one's own illusions.

Chorus: "So I want to run to your shelter tonight
Run to the shelter tonight
United in silent resistance
Of bowing to false kings"

The shelter represents safety & truth, something genuine amidst deception. The "silent resistance" suggests that the speaker isn't fighting outwardly but is rebelling by simply refusing to conform. The "false kings" could symbolise corrupt authority, societal expectations, or internalised beliefs that no longer serve the speaker.

The act of "running" implies desperation, urgency. The speaker doesn’t just want to leave; they need to.

Verse 2: "Bought their smiles, liquid and smooth
Took their words for the truth
Edge of light and shade
My broken soul once more enslaved"

This paints an image of manipulation, "bought their smiles" suggests that the people in power (the false kings) project an artificial kindness, something rehearsed & insincere. The phrase "liquid and smooth" gives a sense of something seductive yet slippery, difficult to grasp, like empty promises.

The idea of taking their "words for the truth" reinforces the theme of deception, once, the speaker was naive enough to believe in these illusions. The "edge of light and shade" hints at duality, a battle between truth & lies, while "my broken soul once more enslaved" suggests a cycle, this isn’t the first time the speaker has been trapped.

Bridge:"I see the false kings
I see that all this must end"

A turning point, the speaker sees the false kings for what they are. Recognition is the first step toward change. The realisation that "all this must end" carries a note of finality, there’s no going back now.

"When there's no love in my embrace
Cold blood runs through my veins
If I soar without grace do I still soar?”

This is one of the most philosophical parts of the song. "No love in my embrace" suggests emotional emptiness, while "cold blood runs through my veins" symbolises detachment or numbness.

The question "If I soar without grace, do I still soar?" is profound. It asks whether success or escape still holds value if it's achieved without dignity or integrity. In other words, if the speaker escapes but loses themselves in the process, does it even matter?

"I need the love in your embrace
Open doors, brand new ways
End my wars and erase and I'm yours"

This signals surrender, not to the false kings, but to something real. The "love in your embrace" represents warmth & authenticity, while "open doors, brand new ways" hope & transformation. "End my wars and erase" could refer to letting go of internal conflict & past mistakes.

Final Chorus & Last Line: "Yes, I wined and, and I dined on, on that cyanide"

The last line is chilling. "Wined and dined" gives an image of indulgence, as if the speaker willingly participated in the illusion, consuming the lies they were fed. "Cyanide" is a poison, making it clear that this indulgence was self-destructive. The realisation comes too late, there’s no escaping the consequences.

Symbolism & Themes

1. False Kings & Illusion – The false kings represent lies, control, & deception, whether by people, society, or even personal delusions. The song explores the struggle of recognising these illusions & the difficulty of breaking free.

2. Disillusionment & Escape – The repeated urge to run to shelter symbolises the desperation to escape from a meaningless, performative existence ("meaningless pantomime").

3. Pain & Self-Destruction – The speaker acknowledges their own role in their suffering ("I wined and dined on that cyanide") suggesting that they willingly played along, only to realise too late how toxic it was.

4. Hope & Surrender – Despite everything, there’s still a longing for something real ("I need the love in your embrace"). The song suggests that true salvation comes from connection & authenticity rather than power or illusion.

My Thoughts

I love how False Kings plays with contrasts, light/shade, love/numbness & soaring/falling. It feels like a deeply personal song about waking up from a lie, realising you’ve wasted time chasing something empty, & trying to find your way back to something real.

That last line really hits, because how often do we embrace things that are actually harming us, just because they look like the truth? The song is about breaking free, but it doesn’t promise an easy escape. It just promises that once you see the false kings, you can’t unsee them. That’s both terrifying & liberating.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Researchers explored protective coatings to resist corrosion in fusion reactors. They tested α-Al2O3 oxide layers on ODS alloys in a high-temperature, flowing lithium-lead environment. Even bare ODS alloys formed a durable γ-LiAlO2 layer in situ, which suppressed further corrosion. The layers exhibited strong adhesion under mechanical stress, making these findings crucial for improving material durability in fusion reactors and high-temperature energy systems. Fusion reactors, a promising source of sustainable energy, require advanced materials that can withstand extreme temperatures and corrosive environments created by liquid metal coolants such as lithium and lithium-lead (LiPb) alloy. These coolants are essential in fusion reactors to extract heat and breed tritium, but their corrosive nature threatens the integrity of the structural materials used. LiPb is particularly aggressive, as it has a high concentration of lithium, which reacts with structural materials, causing corrosion and material degradation over time.

Read more.

[whatisadouble-walledtank]

double wall tanks

A double-walled tank, often referred to as an insulated or jacketed tank, is a specialized container engineered to minimize heat transfer between the contents of the tank and the surrounding environment. This principle is fundamental to applications requiring temperature maintenance, most commonly for keeping hot liquids hot or, in some cases, cold liquids cold. Its design is a significant step up from a simple single-walled container, offering major benefits in energy efficiency and performance.

Fundamental Structure and Design

The fundamental structure of a double-walled tank consists of an inner tank directly holding the liquid, which is then enclosed by a larger, outer shell or casing. The critical feature is the cavity or space created between this inner vessel and the outer wall. This cavity is filled with a high-performance insulating material. The entire assembly is sealed to create a robust, integrated unit. The primary function of this construction is to create a highly effective thermal barrier.

The Principle of Thermal Insulation

The way these tanks work is by combating the natural processes of heat transfer. The layer of insulation packed between the two walls drastically reduces thermal conduction, which is the movement of heat through a solid material. Furthermore, by filling the space with a solid insulating foam, it prevents the formation of convection currents, where heat is transferred through the movement of air or liquid in the gap. This ensures that heat from the liquid in the inner tank cannot easily escape to the cooler ambient air outside the tank.

Core Components and Materials

The components of these tanks are chosen for performance and longevity. The inner tank, which is in direct contact with the liquid, is typically made from materials like stainless steel, copper, or glass-lined steel to resist corrosion and handle high temperatures. The outer casing is usually made of a durable material like steel or a tough polymer, designed to protect the insulation and the inner tank from physical damage. The most crucial component is the insulation itself. High-density polyurethane (PU) foam is the most common material used in modern hot water cylinders, as it is injected into the cavity where it expands and hardens, leaving virtually no air gaps and providing excellent thermal resistance.

Common Applications and Key Advantages

These tanks are ubiquitous in both domestic and industrial settings. The most familiar example is the domestic hot water cylinder, which stores hot water for taps and showers, keeping it hot for hours after being heated by a boiler or immersion heater. The same principle applies to industrial process tanks, thermal stores, and even simple consumer products like a thermos flask. By preventing heat loss, these tanks provide a constant, ready supply of hot water, improve energy efficiency by reducing the need for reheating, and enhance safety as the outer surface remains cool to the touch.

Conclusion

In summary, the double-walled tank is a testament to simple yet highly effective engineering. By employing a basic structure of two walls separated by an insulating material, it provides a powerful solution for thermal management. This design directly counters heat loss, leading to significant energy conservation, reduced operational costs, and reliable performance. From everyday domestic hot water storage in UK homes to critical industrial processes, the principle of the insulated tank remains a cornerstone of energy efficiency, proving indispensable in a world increasingly focused on sustainability.

sources:

vandadtajhiz.com

weldcomfg.com

gpi-tanks.com

[avaadam2150]

21Shares Launches XDC Network ETP on Euronext

Zurich, 9 July 2025 – 21Shares, one of the world’s leading issuers of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), today announced the launch of the 21Shares XDC Network ETP (ticker: XDCN), now listed on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam. The physically backed ETP provides investors with institutional-grade access to the XDC Network, a blockchain purpose-built to modernise global trade through tokenisation and digitisation of real-world assets.ExchangeProduct NameTickerISINFeeEuronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam21Shares XDC Network ETPXDCNCH14642172852.50%

The XDC Network has rapidly emerged as a key infrastructure layer for trade finance and cross-border payments. Its integration with financial messaging standards such as SWIFT and ISO 20022 makes it a compelling choice for institutional adoption. Backed by strategic partnerships with industry players like Deutsche Telekom, SBI Japan, and Archax, the XDC ecosystem is bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralised networks.

“XDC stands at the intersection of blockchain innovation and real-world utility,” said Mandy Chiu, Head of Financial Product Development at 21Shares. “As global finance begins to embrace tokenised assets, we’re proud to offer investors a regulated way to gain exposure to this critical infrastructure.”

“XDC Network is a fast, compliant settlement layer for global payments and tokenized real-world assets – and this ETP brings that vision to life,” said Ritesh Kakkad, Co-Founder of XDC Network. “This ETP launch represents a significant milestone in XDC Network's journey toward mainstream institutional adoption," said Ziv Keinan, Head of Markets and Partnerships at XDC Network. "By partnering with 21Shares to bring regulated exposure to European investors, we're enabling traditional financial institutions to participate in the future of payment and trade finance infrastructure. This product validates XDC's position as the blockchain of choice for real-world asset tokenization and cross-border payment solutions."

The 21Shares XDC Network ETP (ISIN: CH1464217285) is denominated in USD (Euronext Amsterdam) and EUR (Euronext Paris), with a management fee of 2.50%. It is fully collateralised by the underlying asset and held in institutional-grade cold storage.

For more information, please visit: www.21shares.com

About 21Shares

21Shares is one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange traded product providers and offers the largest suite of crypto ETPs in the market. The company was founded to make cryptocurrency more accessible to investors, and to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. 21Shares listed the world’s first physically-backed crypto ETP in 2018, building a seven-year track record of creating crypto exchange-traded funds that are listed on some of the biggest, most liquid securities exchanges globally. Backed by a specialized research team, proprietary technology, and deep capital markets expertise, 21Shares delivers innovative, simple and cost-efficient investment solutions.

21Shares is a member of 21.co, a global leader in decentralized finance. For more information, please visit www.21Shares.com.

Media ContactMatteo Valli matteo.valli@21shares.com

About XDC Network XDC Network is an enterprise-grade, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain protocol designed to revolutionize global trade finance through the tokenization of real-world assets and financial instruments. Since its origins in 2017, XDC Network has built a distributed community of developers and enterprises using its technology for efficient data storage, asset exchange, and decentralized applications. The network supports smart contracts, offers 2-second transaction finality, and maintains compatibility with Ethereum tools while delivering significantly lower costs and energy consumption.

[digitaldetoxworld]

Best Smart LCD TVs in India for Home Entertainment 2025

 Television has evolved dramatically inside the beyond  a long time—from bulky containers to sleek, wall-installed displays. Among the numerous technologies to be had today, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) televisions still hold a enormous percentage of the market due to their affordability, electricity performance, and excellent visuals. Whether you're upgrading your antique TV or buying your first clever tv, knowing what to search for inside the nice LCD tv can prevent time, cash, and frustration.

Best television lcd india

What Is an LCD Television?

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. This era makes use of liquid crystals and a backlight to supply snap shots. Unlike OLED TVs, which mild up character pixels, LCD TVs use a separate mild source—normally LED backlights—behind the screen. This design makes LCDs exceptionally strength-efficient and finances-pleasant, at the same time as nonetheless turning in outstanding photo first-class.

Advantages of LCD TVs:

Affordable as compared to OLED and QLED counterparts

Longer lifespan

Lower power intake

Bright show, even in properly-lit rooms

Less at risk of display burn-in

Not all LCDs are created identical. The exceptional ones offer a really perfect stability of image first-class, smart capabilities, and connectivity. 

1. Screen Resolution

Full HD (1080p): Adequate for small to medium-sized screens (32-43 inches).

4K Ultra HD (2160p): Standard for most TVs today, gives four times the decision of Full HD.

8K: Extremely excessive decision, however pricey and restricted content availability.

Tip: For TVs 50 inches and above, 4K is right for sharp and distinct images.

2. Screen Size

Choose screen size based on viewing distance. Here’s a simple manual:

50–fifty five inches: Ideal for common-sized residing rooms.

Sixty five inches and above: Great for domestic theaters or big halls.

Three. Refresh Rate

Measured in Hz (Hertz), this is how frequently the photograph refreshes in line with 2d.

60Hz: Standard for maximum content.

120Hz or higher: Better for sports, gaming, and speedy-movement movies.

Four. HDR (High Dynamic Range)

HDR improves assessment and shade accuracy. 

5. Smart Features

Most LCD TVs nowadays are smart TVs that provide built-in:

Streaming apps (Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube)

Voice assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant)

Screen mirroring / casting

App shops for downloading additional apps

6. Connectivity Options

Make certain the TV has:

At least 2–three HDMI ports

USB ports for outside drives

Bluetooth & Wi-Fi guide

Optical/audio-out for soundbars

Top Brands Offering the Best LCD TVs in 2025

Here’s a listing of some leading manufacturers known for delivering wonderful LCD televisions:

1. Samsung

Known for bright, colourful displays and glossy designs. Their Crystal UHD series uses LCD panels with a proprietary crystal layer for superior color performance.

Best select: Samsung TU8000 Series

Sizes: forty three" to seventy five"

Strengths: Smart capabilities, HDR, Crystal display

2. Sony

Sony TVs supply super photo great, even of their LCD fashions. The logo uses X-Reality PRO and TRILUMINOS shows for brilliant coloration and detail.

Best choose: Sony X80K 4K UHD

Strengths: Great upscaling, Android TV, Dolby Vision aid

three. LG

While recognised for OLED, LG also produces terrific LCD TVs underneath their NanoCell line. These use nanoparticles to refine colorations.

Best pick out: LG Nano75 Series

Strengths: Smart capabilities, accurate colorings, WebOS interface

four. TCL

An emerging preferred for price range-aware customers, TCL LCD TVs offer great price with Roku or Google TV integration.

Best select: TCL five-Series 4K QLED (makes use of LCD base panel with quantum dots)

Strengths: Affordable, sturdy clever functions, strong show

5. Hisense

Hisense LCD TVs percent a punch at a low charge. Some fashions characteristic ULED era—essentially enhanced LCDs with local dimming and higher contrast.

Best choose: Hisense U6H Series

Strengths: 4K, HDR, smart capabilities, splendid rate

Comparison Table: Top LCD TVs in 2025

Brand Model Screen Size Resolution Smart OS HDR Support Approx. Price (INR)

Sony X80K fifty five" 4K UHD Android TV Dolby Vision ₹60,000–₹75,000

LG Nano75 fifty five" 4K UHD WebOS HDR10, HLG ₹50,000–₹65,000

TCL 5-Series 50" 4K UHD Google TV HDR10+ ₹35,000–₹50,000

Hisense U6H fifty five" 4K UHD Android TV Dolby Vision ₹38,000–₹55,000

Note: Prices range based on deals and availability.

Tips for Buying the Best LCD TV

Decide the Purpose – Gaming, films, sports activities, or casual use? Choose a TV with features consequently.

Avoid Overspending on Unused Features – Don’t pay greater for features you gained’t use like 8K resolution if maximum of your content is 1080p.

Check Panel Type – IPS panels offer better viewing angles, even as VA panels deliver deeper blacks.

Look for Warranty and After-Sales Service – A accurate brand ensures timely provider and support.

Use Price Comparisons & Reviews – Check sites like Flipkart, Amazon, or Croma for client evaluations and ongoing deals.

[scamornoreviews]

Audifort Review - Do Audifort Drops Really Work?

Discover how Audifort Drops may support hearing clarity, reduce ringing, and promote focus naturally. Read the complete Audifort Drops review with insights, FAQs, and user-friendly guidance.

Audifort Drops combine herbal goodness, easy routines, and science-backed calm to help promote clearer hearing and improved focus. Curious if it works? This detailed review explores how this supplement may support your ears and peace of mind—drop by drop.

# Introduction

Let’s face it—hearing trouble isn’t just about volume. Whether it’s ringing ears, muffled sounds, or mental fog that won’t lift, life can get noisy in all the wrong ways. That’s where Audifort Drops step in with a refreshing promise: a plant-based way to support hearing clarity, reduce stress-related symptoms like tinnitus, and promote mental sharpness.

Designed for daily use, this liquid supplement blends botanical ingredients in a simple, non-invasive form. No pills to swallow. No gadgets to wear. Just a few drops each day—and you're on your way.

But is it all bark and no bite? Or does this formula truly live up to the hype? Let’s peel back the layers and find out what makes Audifort Drops tick.

# What Are Audifort Drops? A Quick Overview

Audifort Drops are a natural hearing support supplement in liquid form. Rather than depending on synthetic chemicals, they lean into the healing potential of plants—carefully chosen for their impact on circulation, nerve health, and inflammation.

Here’s the idea: by nurturing the inner ear and calming the nervous system, the body can regain balance, and the ears can do their job a little better each day.

# What's Inside the Bottle? Ingredients That Matter

Audifort Drops don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they mix time-tested ingredients that work together in harmony. Each herb has a purpose, and their combined effects create a ripple of support throughout the body.

🌿 Key Ingredients and Their Benefits:

Maca Root – An energy-lifting adaptogen that supports nerves and circulation, helping the ears stay alert and healthy.

Grape Seed Extract – Full of antioxidants that protect ear cells from damage and boost blood flow.

Green Tea Extract – Known for its anti-inflammatory effects, this ingredient helps soothe irritation and supports overall ear function.

Capsicum Annuum – Helps relax nerve tension in the ears and may ease the sharpness of tinnitus.

Gymnema Sylvestre – A brain-friendly herb that supports balance, especially when stress or fatigue clouds hearing.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) – A natural calming compound that quiets the mind and, in some cases, softens ringing or buzzing.

# How Do Audifort Drops Work?

The magic lies in the three-fold action:

Better Circulation: The ingredients promote blood flow to the inner ear, delivering oxygen and nutrients where they’re needed most.

Lower Inflammation: When ear tissues are irritated, hearing suffers. These drops help cool things down naturally.

Stress Support: Hearing trouble and stress go hand in hand. GABA and adaptogens help calm the storm, making it easier to focus and listen.

This trio of effects offers a gentle, balanced way to support the ears and brain without turning to medications or tech-based aids.

# Why People Are Giving It a Shot

Let’s be honest: there’s no shortage of supplements out there. So why is Audifort Drops making waves?

✔ What Sets It Apart:

Liquid Formula: Easier absorption and no hard pills to swallow.

Natural Blend: No synthetic additives or stimulants.

Science Meets Simplicity: It draws from research-backed ingredients but fits easily into your morning routine.

Flexible Use: Just a few drops under the tongue or into your favorite drink.

Money-Back Guarantee: A 90-day window gives buyers room to test it risk-free.

# Integrating Audifort Drops into Daily Life

Worried about forgetting to take it? Don’t be. Audifort Drops are simple to use and blend effortlessly into a regular meal routine.

🕒 A Sample Day with Audifort Drops:

Full Audifort Review here! at https://scamorno.com/Audifort-Review-Drops/?id=tumblr

Morning: Place 15 drops under your tongue or mix them into your smoothie or coffee.

Midday: For added support, repeat the dose before lunch with water or juice.

Stay on Track: Keep the bottle on your kitchen counter or near your water bottle as a reminder.

Lifestyle Tips: Pair the drops with daily walks, ear protection, and healthy meals for a full-circle approach.

# Real Results: What Users Are Saying in 2025

Based on shared experiences from verified users, here’s what people are noticing after using Audifort Drops:

Clearer sound and better focus in conversations

Reduced intensity of ringing in the ears

Less mental fog and improved alertness

A calming effect that lasts throughout the day

Of course, results can vary, but the trend is promising—and the positive buzz continues to grow.

# Choosing the Right Plan: What’s the Best Option?

Audifort Drops are available in bundles to suit different needs and budgets.

📦 Bundle Options:

3-Month Supply – Great for first-timers. – Helps set a routine and monitor changes.

6-Month Supply – Offers the best value. – Most users report stronger results by month four.

12-Month Supply – Ideal for long-term commitment. – Great for those building a full lifestyle around ear and brain health.

Prices may change, so it’s wise to check the official site for the latest deals.

# Frequently Asked Questions About Audifort Drops

❓ What are Audifort Drops made for?

They’re designed to support hearing clarity, promote calm, and reduce the intensity of ringing or buzzing in the ears using plant-based ingredients.

❓ Who should consider using Audifort Drops?

Anyone experiencing mild hearing concerns, age-related ear changes, or mental fatigue might find value in regular use—especially when paired with healthy habits.

❓ Are Audifort Drops safe for daily use?

Yes, they’re made from non-GMO herbs and manufactured in an FDA-registered facility. Still, it's best to consult a doctor before beginning any supplement.

❓ Can Audifort Drops help with tinnitus?

Many users have noticed reduced ringing, though it’s not a medical cure. The drops aim to support the conditions that often cause tinnitus.

❓ How long does it take to see results?

Some feel benefits within a few weeks. For most, 3 to 6 months of consistent use brings the biggest changes.

❓ Are there side effects?

Mild stomach upset may happen at first, but most users report no major issues. Discontinue if any unusual symptoms appear and consult a healthcare provider.

❓ Is there a refund policy?

Yes. All purchases come with a 90-day money-back guarantee—no questions asked.

❓ Where can you buy Audifort Drops?

They’re only sold through the official website. This ensures quality and avoids fake versions...

Full Audifort Review here! at https://scamorno.com/Audifort-Review-Drops/?id=tumblr

[reverieshifts]

𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕

𝒔𝒄𝒊-𝒇𝒊 𝒅𝒓

𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆: 𝑻’𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒏

The native tongue of the velari, T’haleen, is a tonal, fluid language shaped by harmony and resonance. Spoken T’haleen is melodically rich, often described as a cross between music and speech—each word flowing into the next like a cascading current.

Tonal Complexity: T’haleen utilizes a layered pitch system, where inflection and harmonic undertone shift meaning. A word sung in a rising note might mean light, while the same word in falling tone could mean loss.

Resonant Markers: Certain consonant clusters are vocalized with a subtle hum or echo, unique to each speaker’s resonance. This gives the language an almost choral sound when spoken in groups.

Vowel Flow: Vowels dominate T’haleen, stretching syllables with liquid grace. Words are rarely clipped or harsh, lending to the Velari’s signature unhurried speech style.

Syntax: The structure follows a verb-subject-object pattern, prioritizing action before identity. This reflects the velari philosophy that what one does shapes who one is.

Emotional Encoding: Many phrases in T’haleen carry built-in emotional tones, allowing speakers to convey subtle feeling through word choice alone. Some emotional states have no direct translation in Galactic Common.

Example: Halunei t’shara (literal: “to float in silence”) can mean both “to meditate” and “to mourn in peace,” depending on vocal tone.

𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔

To non-velari, T’haleen often sounds less like a language and more like a song being remembered rather than spoken. Reactions vary:

Aesthetic Beauty: Most species find it hauntingly beautiful, even if they can’t understand it. Comparisons range from whale-song and cathedral harmonies to wind across glass canyons.

Translation Difficulty: Automatic translators struggle with T’haleen. Its emotional subtext and pitch-dependent syntax defy standard parsing. Even accurate translations often miss half the meaning.

Cultural Missteps: Outsiders attempting to mimic T’haleen frequently mispronounce key tones, resulting in awkward or even offensive mistakes. While amused, most velari are patient with those who try to learn—even if the results are… dissonant. 

𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎: 𝑳𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒊’𝒔𝒉𝒂

The written form of T’haleen is known as Lurei’sha, a calligraphic glyph system as beautiful as it is complex. Its form mirrors the Velari affinity for balance, flow, and layered meaning.

Glyphic Structure: Each symbol is composed of sweeping curves, dots, and directional lines that flow from a central anchor—representing the “resonant core” of meaning.

Contextual Layers: Symbols are interdependent; a glyph's meaning can shift dramatically based on surrounding symbols, curvature density, and placement of auxiliary marks.

Temporal Art: Some poetic forms are written in fading glyphs—light-infused inscriptions that slowly vanish, signifying the impermanence of emotion.

Learning Curve: Lurei’sha is notoriously difficult for non-velari to learn, as proper meaning requires both visual fluidity and contextual intuition. Even a single misplaced curve can turn “beloved” into “burden.”

𝑻’𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚

𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂

Ok so I know I said that this would probably be the last post before I stop posting a lot of sci-fi dr stuff, but uhh... yeah I may keep going with this dr because it's really growing on me.

Anyways, about T'haleen, I have no idea how to properly make a language, so this is literally just a bunch of sounds that I thought sounded good shoved together. It's not really based on any real world language (that I know of), but yeah. Also a lot of words and phrases reference their "glow" or their "light", and that's because of how integral their bioluminescence is to their culture. They literally see it as an extension of their soul after all.

@lalalian

@aprilshiftz

[acceptcryptopayments]

The Future of USDT Payments and Stablecoin in Global Commerce

In a global financial ecosystem where speed, transparency, and accessibility are becoming non-negotiables, stablecoins—particularly Tether (USDT)—have carved out a powerful niche. Once seen merely as trading instruments on crypto exchanges, stablecoins are now evolving into vital tools for cross-border commerce, payroll, lending, and global remittances. But what does the future of USDT payments hold in the context of expanding digital economies? This in-depth guide explores the emerging role of USDT and stablecoins in global commerce, including current trends, technological shifts, regulatory evolution, and their potential to disrupt legacy finance. The Future of USDT Payments and Stablecoin in Global Commerce Why USDT Has Become the Stablecoin of Choice Market Dominance and Liquidity As of 2025, USDT remains the most widely used and liquid stablecoin in the world, with over $90 billion in circulation. Its integration into thousands of platforms—ranging from centralized exchanges and DeFi protocols to merchant payment systems—gives it an unmatched level of acceptance and interoperability. Blockchain Interoperability USDT operates on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum (ERC-20), Tron (TRC-20), Binance Smart Chain (BEP-20), Solana (SPL), and Polygon. This cross-chain deployment enables businesses to select the protocol that best balances speed, cost, and network activity. For example: - TRC-20 USDT is popular in Asia due to low fees. - ERC-20 USDT is favored in institutional DeFi platforms. For a step-by-step breakdown on how to integrate USDT payments into your online store or digital platform, check out our in-depth guide on the best USDT payment gateway for business at XAIGATE. USDT in Real-World Payments: Current Use Cases International Payroll Companies hiring remote workers now use USDT to pay salaries globally in a matter of seconds, avoiding high bank fees and currency conversion losses. B2B Cross-Border Trade Manufacturers and wholesalers in emerging markets use USDT to settle international invoices, eliminating the delays and costs of SWIFT or traditional remittance services. Merchant Adoption Retailers in crypto-friendly jurisdictions are increasingly accepting USDT via gateways like XAIGATE. It offers customers a fast, private, and irreversible payment option without currency volatility. Technological Trends Shaping the Future of USDT Payments Layer-2 Scaling and Gas Efficiency As congestion and fees on mainnets like Ethereum persist, the rise of Layer-2 networks—such as Arbitrum, zkSync, and Optimism—presents a promising future for USDT microtransactions. Gas fees drop from dollars to cents, enabling everyday retail and online purchases. Integration With Web3 Wallets and dApps USDT is being integrated into decentralized apps and Web3 wallets like MetaMask, Phantom, and Trust Wallet, enabling users to pay or receive funds across borders without intermediaries. AI and Smart Routing in Stablecoin Payments Emerging smart contract-based payment systems can automatically route USDT across chains and protocols for the lowest fees and fastest confirmations, optimizing both B2B and retail usage. Technological Trends Shaping the Future of USDT Payments Future Projections: What Will the Next 5 Years Look Like? Widespread Retail Adoption We’re likely to see more POS systems and eCommerce platforms natively support USDT, especially in crypto-forward countries. QR code payments and one-click checkout via stablecoin wallets could rival traditional credit cards. Embedded Finance and API-Based Payment Flows As XAIGATE and other platforms improve API flexibility, businesses can build USDT payments directly into their apps, games, and services—without needing custodial gateways. Real-Time Global Settlement With blockchain interoperability, future USDT payment systems will support atomic swaps and real-time settlements between fiat and crypto. This could revolutionize supply chains, freelance platforms, and gig economies. Challenges to Address in the Future of USDT Payments Centralization and Reserve Transparency Despite Tether’s regular attestations, concerns persist over the composition and liquidity of reserves backing USDT. Increasing regulatory pressure will likely push for more frequent and detailed disclosures. On/Off Ramp Friction The success of USDT in commerce depends on efficient fiat on/off ramps. While platforms like MoonPay and Binance Pay are filling the gap, local regulations and KYC requirements still pose barriers in many countries. Volatility of Stablecoin Pegs While USDT is pegged to the USD, black swan events or market manipulations can threaten stability. Future implementations may involve algorithmic safeguards or dynamic collateralization to enhance resilience. To stay ahead in the evolving world of crypto commerce, businesses should explore robust solutions like XAIGATE. Learn how to streamline your stablecoin integration with our expert insights on the future-proof USDT gateway for global businesses:🔗 https://www.xaigate.com/usdt-payment-gateway-for-business/ Institutional Integration Will Accelerate the Future of USDT Payments Financial Giants Are Embracing Stablecoin Infrastructure Traditional finance players—including Visa, Mastercard, and major regional banks—are increasingly exploring blockchain-based payments. In this shift, USDT stands out due to its deep liquidity and global reach. Financial service providers in Asia, Europe, and Latin America are testing cross-border settlements using USDT, bypassing the SWIFT system. This momentum signals that the future of USDT payments is not just driven by crypto-native startups, but also by global institutions that recognize its potential for efficiency, transparency, and accessibility. Corporate Adoption for Treasury and Payroll Large corporations are beginning to hold USDT in their treasury reserves to hedge against fiat currency instability in emerging markets. Additionally, USDT is being used for real-time international payroll in industries such as freelance tech, BPO services, and logistics—where bank transfers are costly and slow. These use cases are critical in shaping the future of USDT payments for operational finance. Compliance-Ready Stablecoin Payments: A New Era for Global Businesses Web3 Identity Layers and zk-KYC Protocols One of the most critical enablers of mainstream USDT adoption is the emergence of on-chain compliance tools. Web3-native identity solutions—like decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials, and zero-knowledge KYC—allow payment processors to meet local regulations without exposing sensitive customer data. As these tools integrate with crypto payment gateways like XAIGATE, businesses can comply with regulatory requirements while preserving the privacy of their users, expanding the future of USDT payments into regulated sectors such as healthcare, education, and insurance. Tiered Risk and Regulatory Models Instead of a one-size-fits-all KYC process, the next generation of USDT payment systems will offer tiered access levels: P2P payments under a certain threshold may remain KYC-optional, while enterprise-level transactions can trigger automated compliance protocols. This model not only aligns with global regulatory trends but also preserves accessibility—a crucial factor in the future of USDT payments for borderless commerce. Conclusion: From Trading Tool to Global Payment Standard The trajectory of USDT is transitioning from speculative asset to utilitarian digital dollar. As global commerce grows increasingly borderless, USDT’s stability, speed, and availability give it a unique advantage over both fiat and crypto rivals. With innovations in scalability, regulation, and user experience on the horizon, the future of USDT payments looks more like a core pillar of the new digital economy than a temporary crypto trend. Businesses that integrate USDT payments today are not only improving efficiency—they are future-proofing for a financial system in transformation. FAQs – Future of USDT Payments Q1: Is USDT legal to use in global payments?Yes, in many jurisdictions. However, legality depends on local financial regulations and whether stablecoins are recognized under digital asset laws. Q2: How does USDT avoid volatility compared to Bitcoin or Ethereum?USDT is pegged to the US Dollar and backed by reserves, maintaining a near 1:1 price ratio with minimal fluctuation. Q3: Can I use USDT for recurring payments?Yes. Some platforms offer programmable USDT-based subscriptions using smart contracts or API-based invoicing systems. Q4: Which industries benefit most from USDT payments?E-commerce, remote work platforms, SaaS, logistics, and cross-border trade benefit greatly due to instant global transfer and low fees. Q5: How do I integrate USDT payments on my website?You can use gateways like XAIGATE to integrate no-login, low-fee USDT payment plugins into your eCommerce or business website. FAQs – Future of USDT Payments We may also be found on GitHub, and X (@mxaigate)! Follow us! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to elevate your business with XAIGATE’s Future of USDT Payments and Stablecoin. The three-step process is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible for all businesess. Embrace this modern payment solution to provide customers with a secure and efficient way to pay. Take the first step towards a competitive edge in the digital realm and unlock the benefits of cryptocurrency payments for online casino today. Read the full article