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letorip · 1 year ago

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i heard your name [ii]

“i want you so, i can hardly let you go, please be mine for a time, now and forever”

===+++===

pairing: cairo sweet x reader

summary: after several weeks of trying to run in the opposite direction, you find you can no longer evade the magnetic pull yanking you towards her

warnings: explicit but gender neutral sexual content, being used both physically and emotionally, 'lover boy' is used ironic and is still considered gender neutral, implied teacher-student relationships

word count: 6.4k

A/N: definitely making another already because it’s kind of getting juicy. again inspired by pale fire and hot summer nights.

===+++===

You had always heard that people looked like their pets, but it had never occurred to you that someone could look like their house. Standing in front of Lovell Hill, it was impossible anyone else but Cairo Sweet lived there.

The building stood tall, with white towering ionic columns that reached to hold up the dark clay tile roofing like soft angelic hands lifted to the sky. Everything about the house was big, with a giant, wide cedar porch and a towering balcony that looked out over the small garden in front of its door.

You had figured Cairo was well off from her clothes and general overabundance of education, but this screamed a wealth so extreme it almost wasn’t computing in your brain. Not with your own tawdry house that had only been built two years ago and was about the size of Cairo’s home if you sliced it by a quarter.

You had seen homes like these in movies or on the home improvement channels. Most motels had the home improvement channels on the TV, and you had watched with a sense of awe, sitting on the mouldy carpet late at night with your mom asleep behind you, looking at the muted tours of the homes with a private envy.

Such grandeur was incomprehensible and didn’t exist beyond the screen and TV magic. Or, that’s what you thought until you stood at the end of her garden, with all its greenery and a few lines of flowers, looking up at the front door.

It was quite the dilemma, to knock or not to knock. You could turn around right now, save yourself a whole bunch of sleepless nights and half a brain if you just told her you felt sick and had to cancel. She’d be annoyed, sure, but maybe Cairo being angry was better than Cairo being hungry.

You weren’t all too sure you wouldn’t try to satiate her hunger, and that was a dangerous game to play. Since she had sat down beside you in class, fleeting had been slowly drifting away, and you found yourself clutching onto what little of it you had left, rebuking the witchcraft that seemed to tug you to her.

You were about to do that, walk away, but then the door to the balcony swung open, and out Cairo came, leaning over the railing with a smile, and you felt your own heart clutch to your ribs. She propped her head up on her palm, peering down at you.

“Are you coming in?” She asked, laughing. “You’ve been standing there for ten minutes.”

“I’m just looking. At the landscaping,” you called up to her, and it was mostly true, though Cairo laughed like you were being funny. You felt a blush rising to your cheeks. Fleeting, you idiot.

“It’s my parents’ house. I know it’s a bit much,” said Cairo, standing up straighter.

“A bit?” you said, the sarcasm worming its way into your voice. It was a lot much.

“Yeah,” she replied, smiling at you again all bright. “A bit.” You smiled back, holding a hand up to cover your eyes so you could continue to stare at her on the balcony in the sun, like your own Juliet.

“Can I come inside?” You asked, taking a few steps forward into the shadow the roof of her house casted over the ground. Cairo seemed to find a playfulness with the question, and you were left there like a moron, wondering why she was laughing again.

“No, actually,” she said. “I invited you here to make you walk over here and then walk home.”

“Did you."

“I did,” she nodded, having fun. “I’ll be down in a minute when I’m done with something; the front door is unlocked."

"That seems unsafe," you said.

She raised her eyebrows at you. "Why, are you worried for my safety?"

You shrugged, deciding neutrality was the best policy. There wasn't anything wrong with saying you were worried about her as a friend, but you knew she would draw some strange entendre. "I would worry about random people wandering in, to be honest."

Cairo shook her head. "Not here in Tennessee. Now go inside. The longer you stall me the longer it takes me to finish what I'm doing." With that, she disappeared back inside, leaving you on her porch. You swallowed the lump in your throat and went inside.

Cairo Sweet's house was much like her soul, in grandeur and in wealth. Even in the foyer, which was where you found yourself, the walls seemed to reach up much like the pillars, raised towards the covered sky. A grand staircase led up to the second floor, and with the soft closing of the door behind you, Cairo called out from up the stairs.

"You can go into the kitchen, I left some wine out on the counter."

You blinked. "Wine?" You said back, making sure you were hearing correctly. Cairo's laugh floated down from the second floor.

"Yes, 'wine.'" You had never had anything like wine before, though the way she threw it out so casually made you think she was no stranger to the concept.

The kitchen was the room right off to the left of the foyer, with a large bay window and some checkered ceramic tiling on the floor. In the centre sat an old gas range stove, a similar shade of green as the walls. The brass handle curved down to the drawer on the bottom, and it looked like a droll little mouth underneath the knobs.

On the white marbled countertop that boxed the stove in was a set of two glasses and a bottle of reddish wine that was three quarters full. The entire room was immaculately clean, with the perfectly angled chairs sitting around the nook table in the corner and the utterly spotless surfaces, both floor and table.

It looked just like those staged houses on the home improvement channels, and you wandered over to peer into the glass hutch, which was piled up with books in stacks around it. The top cabinet held an array of glassware, some of them gathering dust. They were pretty, and you leaned in to the ceramic ones with antique designs etched into the sides. You wanted to own dishes like those, someday.

"The plates are pretty, aren't they? It’s a real shame about the led.” You spun around to find Cairo behind you. Your heart immediately started doing a backflip in your chest. Cairo was no longer in the soft shirt and shorts she had been wearing on her balcony— no. Instead, she was now in a silky cream-coloured dress, one that clung to the curves of her body and hung elegantly from her shoulders in a way that made the tips of your ears warm.

She walked right up to you as if there was no difference, staring at the plate you had been looking at with what couldn't possibly be a genuine curiosity. Up close it was clear she had put on some makeup, her lips glossy and pink and her eyes dark. She had to know she was playing you like a fiddle.

You watched her in laser focus as she nodded at the plate. "My parents bought that one from a village in the Swiss Alps."

"What?" you mumbled, clever as always.

"The plate," she said, like it was obvious. "Most of the plates in there are from Switzerland or China."

"Oh...cool."

Cairo brushed past it, gesturing back to the bottle that sat on the counter. "Would you like some?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

"But what would your parents say?" you asked. Mostly you were looking for any excuse not to, but you were also filled with curiosity. Cairo Sweet hadn't just fallen out of a coconut tree— she was the product of whatever her parents were like and you desired to put two and two together, and for that to make it make sense.

"They're not here right now," she replied, walking right over to the bottle and pulling the cork straight out. You swallowed but followed her over, and Cairo grabbed a glass to pour it into.

"So you live here?" It was a genuine question, and part of you was still struggling to understand that this was just someone's everyday lifestyle. Cairo nodded.

"That's what Winnie asked me too, when she first saw it. People say my house is haunted."

"They do?"

"Yeah," she said. "Lovell Hill. It's famous, or at least around here it is."

"Well... is it true?"

Cairo shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint. Only thing that lives here is me."

"And your parents?"

Her mouth thinned into a line at the question, but she spoke quickly. "Yes, them too." Then Cairo held up a glass. "Would you like some?"

"Uh, no thanks. We should probably start on the assignment...," you trailed off. Cairo was staring you down with a certain glint in her eye. “What?”

"You've never drank before," she said. It wasn't a question, and you could feel heat going back to your face. To any other person, you'd have no problem saying no, but to her you felt your breath catch in your throat.

"Uh, I have, I just don't want any right now," you lied. And Cairo knew you were lying, judging from the smile she watched you with. But she only shrugged.

"You can have some of mine later, then," she said, straightening up and walking out of the kitchen. You followed her like a proper guest, like she was a tour guide helping you through the jungle. You warily tailed her out of there and up the stairs.

On the landing there were even more books, in large, towering stacks near the railing, ended on each side by potted plants and small floor decorations. You stopped, taking a thick paperback from off the top of one stack and turning it over to read the back. “Have you really read all of these?” You asked. Cairo turned.

“Not all of them, no. Most of them belong to my parents, so they’re cheesy spy thrillers and soapy romances.”

You nodded. “My mom reads those ones too.”

“Anyways, what do you read?” Cairo asked, walking over to you and taking the book from your hands to look at it herself. You shrugged.

“For a while there, anything I could get my hands on.”

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Uh, just that my mother didn't take me to bookstores a lot," you said, having gotten comfortable with lying. In reality, you had mostly read travel books and magazines from gas stations, since those were really the only places you and your mother stopped often. You didn't start actually reading book-books until you were about ten, and your mom bought you a kindle for your birthday.

But giving Cairo the truth would mean telling her you were on the road a lot, which would mean telling her about why it was you moved so often, which would mean telling her you would probably be leaving soon, so you lied. It was typically a better idea to vanish without warning one day, off to another state like you had been one giant bad dream.

"Mm," she hummed it agreement, putting the book back down and leading the way into a door that stood at the far end of the hall. "My parents didn't either, when they realised I bought like ten or twelve at a time," she said, tugging you into her bedroom.

It was exactly like you could have imagined it, with a darker shade of green and ebony wainscoting that matched the grand bed in the middle of the room with fluffy, lush bedding and a near mountain of pillows in the centre.

"Well then," Cairo drawled. "Shall we?"

The smirk she was staring at you with sent a shiver down your spine. You gave her a cautious nod and pulled your backpack off of your back.

===+++===

You had your paper almost completely done within an hour of laying down on Cairo's bed to write it, though in the corner where Cairo sat typing hers, she seemed incredibly frustrated. You had only been observing her a little, watching her type what could've maybe been a few words and then immediately holding down the delete key until they were all gone.

You understood to a certain extent— windows were so unbelievably symbolic it was possible to go in millions of directions when writing your story. But you were almost done, and inspiration had hit you from the moment you knew what your symbol was meant to be.

You put the final finishing sentences in where they were meant to go, and put down your pen, sitting up to crack your fingers and stretch your back. Cairo looked up at you, eyes glaring.

"You're finished?" Her tone was sharp, and you looked around the room in surprise.

"Yeah?" You replied. Cairo narrowed her eyes at you.

"How," she demanded sitting up in her chair and slamming her laptop shut.

You shrugged. "I don't know, I kind of rushed it anyhow."

"Let me read it, (Y/n)," Cairo said, holding her hand out. You leaned forwards and tossed the paper to her, rolling over onto your back to stare up at the ceiling while she read it. She had one of those popcorn roofs, with bumps all over it, and you found yourself tracing a little path in your mind.

"This is..." she said after a few minutes. You turned your head to look at her sideways. "This is really good," said Cairo, but in a way that made your eyebrows furrow.

"Why'd you say it like that?" you asked, sitting up from where you had been laying.

"Like what?" She asked standing up from her chair and walking towards you, to lean on one of the bedposts. You swallowed.

"I... don't know," you muttered.

"Hm," she hummed. "I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"The astronaut. The one who goes crazy in outer space from looking out the window on his solo mission. Is that supposed to be you?"

"Oh. No, he isn't. He's just a character I thought of," you shook your head. Cairo raised an eyebrow at you.

"But he is a lot like you, isn't he? Alone, I mean. That's why you lied to Winnie about lunch." She got you with that line. You stared at her, frowning. Your mind screamed LIE over and over, but you knew there was no point. Not when she was reading you like a book. She took another step towards you, until she was standing in between your legs where you sat. You hadn't realised there was any connection with the astronaut when you thought of him, but maybe he was?

"Are you lonely, (Y/n)?"

"No? I mean, I don't think I am." It came out in a whisper; you didn't need to speak loudly when Cairo was so close. You could feel her hot breath on your cheeks like a fan.

"I've been thinking of you, since you arrived," Cairo murmured. Her fingers crawled up your knee slowly, the pads of her fingers brushing the hem of your shorts. She looked down at the small space between you.

"Yeah?" You asked.

"You're captivating," she said. "It's annoying. Shrouded in mystery and answering to no one."

"Yeah?" Pink was flushing towards your cheeks.

She smiled, looking up at your face again. "Yeah. It would be less distracting if you didn't come with such nice eyes."

You swallowed. It felt like everywhere her fingers went she left behind a trail of pure fire, churning up your insides. Your mind was screaming at you to not be an idiot. You'd probably regret this in a month or two when your mom told you you would be leaving again. Stop, right now and save yourself so much sleep, you idiot. That would've been the smart thing to do.

Her hands came up slowly, skimming gently up your neck until they landed at the nape, and you were reminded of the lollipop she had plucked from your lips to place in her own for a moment.

"Cairo, what're we doing?" you managed. Cairo shrugged.

"You ask me that but I'm not entirely sure. I just know it feels nice," she whispered to you. "So shut up and let me feel nice," she said with a smile.

Within an instant, her lips pressed hard into your own. You pulled your head back in surprise but Cairo's soft palms held you firmly where you sat, and you found yourself melting at the feeling. It was messy and it wasn't graceful, but it spoke of the passion that bubbled under Cairo's removed exterior. She started to move against you then, and you against her.

You found yourself entranced at the sensation, and pulled away just to get a look at her face. She was breathing heavily, lips red and eyes wild, and you only came back wanting more, reconnecting the both of you, your hands moving to her waist and then up her back.

"Cairo..." you mumbled, her lips moving to your jaw and then hastily to your ear.

"Mm," she hummed.

"Cairo, I can't," you managed, trying to pull away but finding her still on you. Your mind was yelling at you horrible, horrible things, not only about yourself but about what you wanted to do to her.

"Mm," she sounded again, moving down your neck in a way that left you tingly.

"Really, I just—"

"Take my hands off of you, then," she challenged, in between peppering kisses and sucking on a spot directly over your pulse. You shivered.

"I can't."

"Well, I guess we're at a crossroads," she said. Her right hand slid down your chest to the hem of your shirt, sliding gently underneath and laying itself flat against your stomach. She smirked when she reconnected your lips, knowing she was winning.

"This is a really bad idea."

"You talk too much."

"No, because this is really a conflict of interest. We're supposed to uh..." you stammered, getting distracted by he hand on your stomach slowly getting lower and lower, creeping towards the top of your shorts. "We're supposed read each other's stuff and be honest."

Cairo stopped, pulling away, raising her eyebrows at you. "Are you serious? You don't want to have sex with me —when you've been practically eye-fucking me since we met— so that you can be an honest peer grader???"

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds stupid."

"That's because it is stupid."

"I— I just can't do that with someone."

She scoffed. "Are you waiting until marriage or something?"

"No."

"Are you asexual?"

"No."

"Is it Winnie?"

"No."

"Do you like boys?"

"No!"

"Then why? I mean, come on. We both knew this would end one of two ways."

"We're better off as just classmates, trust me."

Cairo blinked at you for a moment, like you were the most confusing person she had ever met. Then she got up off of you. Your lap felt lighter, but also emptier, and you wanted to scream up at the stars for not being able to just indulge this one little desire.

"Fine," she said, and her tone caught you off guard. Most people would probably be upset or angry, but it just seemed like Cairo was challenged and endeared. Like she was going to work out your problem and get right back to this situation, only this time she'd get exactly as she wanted.

She wouldn't, you promised yourself. Never ever. The heartbreak wasn't worth it. Cairo checked her watch. "Could you come over tomorrow too? I'm not done with my story yet, and I want you to read it."

"Uh," you thought out loud. You didn't see why not. Maybe you wouldn't be lovers, but just innocent friends? You weren't so much a monster that you wouldn't be able to stop yourself if you hung out with her. Innocent friends were much easier to forget anyways. "Sure," you said, unknowingly giving her exactly what she wanted.

===+++===

You had gone to her house almost every night for the past week, laying on her bed while she sat in the corner in the same familiar chair, typing the same bloody story that she refused to be satisfied with. It was becoming a pattern, even an unconscious one. The next day had been entirely as awkward as expected, with you trying to act as unbothered as possible.

The friendship was going better than you had anticipated, and you were very pleased with your own self restraint. Winnie had come over too, once or twice, and you enjoyed existing within the context but still on the periphery of a friendship.

Cairo Sweet would hunt you down as her friend or as her whatever-you-were, so you figured giving into one would be the path of least resistance anyhow.

She must have been an insanely picky writer. She wrote every word with an overabundant caution, like she was trying so hard to craft perfection. It was like she wanted her keyboard to drip liquid gold onto the page, and the critics to all collectively clap when she finished a sentence.

"You're like George R. R. Martin with how slow you finish a story," you had said once, out of the blue. Cairo looked up at you, offended, and thrown a pillow in your direction that connected with your face.

"I'm trying to cultivate perfection of the written word," she said, and you rolled your eyes.

"God, writers are so pretentious," you wrinkled your nose. "The only people who like to read annoying writers' books are annoying people."

Cairo scoffed. "Yeah, what, you want to be surrounded by James Bond fans? Stephen King fanboys?"

"That's cool, though," you shrugged. "Gets the point across, isn't badly written, and makes a sometimes beautiful passage along the way."

"Oh, so your writing," she joked, smiling at you. It was an innocent smile, and one that so starkly contrasted the lustful one she had looked at you with only a few days ago. Even in memory, her eyes sent a shiver up your spine.

"Yeah, well, people seem to like it. I guess I’m doing something right," you said. Cairo frowned.

"I don't get it," she shook her head. "And you still won't let me read that first one you wrote."

"It's not exactly something I want to talk about to you."

"Why? Is it bad?" she asked, sitting up straight. You knew she meant 'tell me your dirty secrets' by that.

"I just don't want to."

"Hm," she grumbled, laying back in the chair. "And anyways, if what you say about that thing is true, I don't know why Miller liked it. His book is full of the flowery stuff you complain about."

"He wrote a book???" You were incredulous.

Cairo nodded. "A while ago. Apostrophes and Ampersands."

"Never heard of it."

Cairo shrugged. "It didn't exactly make massive waves. It was ingenious though. Grand and tragic."

"You read it then?" You asked, sitting up and turning towards her.

"Yes, I did," she replied nonchalantly. "I enjoyed it."

You looked out the window for a moment, then back to her. Friends should be friends. "Can I borrow your copy?"

===+++===

"God," you groaned, reading Mr. Miller's book with it held over your head, laying on your back. Cairo had given it to you two days ago and now you were slogging through it, waiting for it to get interesting. "'Human ruins of a madman's love,'" you mocked.

"It's gorgeous," Cairo said. She wasn't in her usual chair, she was sitting by the window with it cracked open, a cigarette in her hand.

"It's not— wait, are you smoking?" You asked, sitting up. Cairo rolled her eyes, grinning at you.

"No, I'm just sitting here with a cigarette lit in my fingers."

"God. Wine and a cigarette, what are you, thirty-four."

"Shut up," she said, putting the cigarette in between her lips and puffing out the window. "And anyways that quote is beautiful."

"Maybe," you challenged. "But what is it actually saying?"

"She means everything to him and he's going crazy for her," Cairo said, like it was obvious. You nodded.

"That's the thought and THAT'S what's good there. That's universal. He's losing the plot— getting lost in the sauce— of trying to sound like he's saying something, to the point where he's losing the entire meat of the message."

"Maybe," said Cairo. "But you said one of your books was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Not exactly the height of literature."

"And I stand by that," You said. "That's actually enjoyable. You don't enjoy reading this, you enjoy being clever enough to read this, when it's saying something you've heard a million times in a million more decipherable ways. And those ways end up being more beautiful, too.”

"Perhaps," she said. "Or maybe I think the writing is beautiful."

"Well then, I think you're crazy."

"You're welcome to do that," Cairo replied, smile still wide. "You probably will."

===+++===

You managed not to cave until a warmer day, about a week after that. Cairo Sweet had previously been a sweet exterior with absolutely nothing on the inside for you to feel a deep pull towards. Only now, after slowly becoming comfortable, was the magnetic pull becoming physically painful.

Winnie had been absolutely beside herself, miffed at Cairo coming down and swiping you for herself. For a friend or for something more, it didn't matter. You were indisputably hers. And after a life of belonging to no one, you thought maybe Cairo took some sort of glee over making you belong to her.

Class was boring, Mr. Miller was fine, your mom seemed to be doing better, and school seemed to drone on. So when you came back to Cairo's house like normal, you were entirely unaware of how quickly you would fail your mission.

You were barely in door before she was running down the stairs, and the look of worry and surprise in your face only worsened when she got so up close to you, just for a second, and then just as hungry and hurriedly as before, kissed you with a brutal ferocity.

You were taken aback. Something was off. You pulled your head away and Cairo's palms pressed to your cheeks, thumbs brushing against the side of your face. She pulled you back and you had to turn your head away. "Cairo, what—"

"Shut up for once, please. Just kiss me the way a girl wants to be kissed."

You could feel every neuron telling you to get away from her. This was exactly what you had said you didn't want. And then there was the other side of you. The one that wanted to take her right then and then. You swallowed.

"I can't do these kinds of connections, Cairo. I told you."

"That's fine," Cairo rushed, her hand resting on your shoulder blade now. "I need one thing from you, and that's it. I don't ask for much, but I really need this."

Your eyebrows furrowed at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You've said you don't want anything, and okay, that’s fine. At least give me your body for the night. No strings attached.”

You blinked. “What?”

“I don’t owe you anything, you don’t owe me. We just do whatever this is. You make me feel good, and that’s it.” Her fingers had slithered back up to your hair, scratching gently at your scalp in a way that pulled your focus.

It just took a final glance at her face, for the dam to break. Her cheeks were a dusty red, eyes dilated and staring at you, and though you cursed yourself and your idiot Cro-Magnon mind, your palms went to her legs, tugging her up harshly and wrapping her legs around your waist.

“Shit,” you muttered, highly aware this was probably a bad idea. Cairo wrapped her arms around your neck, kissing you with a smile, and then once that broke, a passionate fervour. It was so much but it was so good. You carried her like that, up the stairs to her room, throwing her down on the bed.

She flipped you over, sitting on your lap like she had been back when the both of you first tried this, and it was all too intoxicating. Cairo’s hands went to your shoulders, pushing you back against the mattress before she leaned over, kissing you softly for a moment until it grew into more.

“Wait—” You said, and Cairo sat up, glaring at you.

“You did not get me all the way up here just to back out now,” said Cairo, annoyed beyond belief. You shook your head, tugging her back onto you. Her hair fell around you like a shield to your little private moment.

“I’m not backing out,” you promised, whispering because you felt like you didn’t want to be too loud. “I mean I’ve never … before.”

Cairo smiled at you, looking into your eyes for a moment. “Me neither,” she whispered back.

“Really?” you asked. Cairo raised her eyebrows.

“Fuck you.”

“No,” you shook your head, hand reaching up to move some of her hair out of her face. That wasn’t how you meant it. “…Really?”

She paused, eyes boring into yours. Then she gently nodded, and lowered herself down onto you, placing her lips on yours for another divine moment. It was all too hot in there. She let out a gasp when you tugged down her skirt.

===+++===

It was about five weeks after you had arrived, and you had gone to Cairo's house almost every week day, to continue exactly what had latched around your throat and tugged you harshly towards her.

There, in the milky white lighting of Cairo's table lamp, with her body snugly laying back against you and her book out in front of her, you fell in love for the first time. Really, fell in love.

Not the kind of "love" that swirls around your head as a child and wraps around the leg of the pretty girl in your class who has shiny hair. That kind of “love” where you can't get out a real sentence while talking to her. In comparison to the heavy feeling growing in your chest like a tumour, that was a mild liking.

No, this was the real thing. Adults had always said cryptic things about love, like "when you know, you'll know," and it hadn't ever really made sense, until it did.

As you looked down to watch her nose scrunch from the Nabokov, those three little words took on a whole new meaning. Her dark hair tickled the bare skin of your chest where she laid. Unlike her you still hadn't put your shirt back on, and you shivered a bit, even from under her blanket and her body heat. Her eyes, dark and focused, scanned across the paper, before elegantly flipping past the page with her thumb.

It was one of those renaissance paintings people cried for, in the Louvre, only it was playing out right in front of your eyes. And with that sudden rush of messy emotion, came the dastardly realisation that you were truly fucked.

"You're staring," she said, pulling you from your thoughts. She looked up at you, curious eyes focusing on your own. "What're you staring for?"

You shrugged, the movement shaking her against you. "What's the book you're reading?" You asked. "You seem mad at it."

She hummed, leaving her finger as a bookmark and flipping the cover towards you. The cover read Pale Fire. "That's because it's mostly incoherent rambling," she said. "Makes no sense."

You raised your eyebrows at her. "You don't understand Pale Fire?"

She tilted her head back, challenging you. “And you do?" You nodded. You had written a report during the two months you were in Maine. "Of course you do,” Cairo groaned, rolling her eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked.

Cairo shook her head, patting the side of your leg with her free hand. “Nothing.”

You sat up. “No, seriously. What do you mean?”

She sighed, closing the book around her index finger to hold her page. Cairo shut her eyes for a second, choosing her words carefully. “I mean... you’re annoyingly clever at something you don’t really care about.”

You laughed. "Careful, Sweet. If I didn't know any better I'd say you're jealous."

"Well, I am," said Cairo. "I care about writing so much, and here you come along with literally no passion for it, and you're out-writing me."

"Uh, sorry?" You said with a smile. But the frown you saw on her face told you she wasn't really joking. Cairo scoffed, sitting up and turning towards you.

"No, I'm serious. You barely even try and you spill some amazing few paragraphs, and Mr. Miller loves you like you're his favourite student," she lamented, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"I promise," you sighed, "that I really don't mean to. I don't get it either, so—"

"—See, but that's what's so frustrating!" She cut you off. "You don't mean to. You don't mean to get in my way, but you do because you're so unbelievably perfect at everything, and Mr. Miller loves you so much."

"Okay, wait a minute," you said. "That's not fair."

"What's 'not fair' is me working my ass off until senior year to get to do what I've ALWAYS wanted to do, WRITE, and then you come along and pull all the praise and probably the recommendation letter too!"

You sat there for a moment, taking her words in, your mouth open in surprise. There had always been an inkling that Cairo was unhappy with having you in her class, but you had drowned the thought out with her lips on yours and treasuring every moment you made her smile with something stupid you said.

You cleared your throat and Cairo was already apologising. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she said, reaching towards you. "It's just so important to me, I get really worked up..."

"It's fine," you rushed. You knew people screamed and said nasty stuff when they were mad. It's just how people were, and it made sense to you. Your mom was like that too, with the yelling and stuff. "Do you..." you mumbled, trying to figure out how to solve her problem. "Do you want me to stop trying?" You asked.

Cairo's eyes lit up within an instant at the idea. "That would be amazing," she breathed. "Thank you so much." She reached across the space between you, kissing with a softness that hadn't previously been there. It was sweet, just like she was, and you breathed a sigh of relief, with the confrontation being over.

You nodded. "Sure." Then your gaze went out the window, realising the sun was starting to set and rain clouds were starting to form. Your hand flew to your leg, having forgotten you were only in your underwear.

"You left it downstairs, remember?" Cairo said, almost playful. When the two of you had gotten to her house, her lips had been so firmly ravaging your neck that your pants hadn't even made it up the stairs before she tugged them off and flung them to the marble bust that stood nearby. You sighed.

"Do you know what time it is?" You asked, getting up from the bed and around to the other side to pick your shirt up off the floor. Cairo also got up, throwing the sheets off herself and walking right over to her closet.

"No, I left my phone at school on accident," she replied, opening the door and flicking through the hangers. You pulled the shirt on over your head and fixed the soft collar. On the opposite side of the room, Cairo pulled out the same cream-coloured dress she had been wearing when you first came to study with her. You paused.

"You're getting all fancy?" You asked, turning to her floor mirror and attempting to fix your absolutely messy hair in a way that it wouldn't be clear Cairo had run her hands through it and gripped on tight.

"Mhm," Cairo said. "Having a guest over tonight."

"Oh. They work with your parents or something?" You said, turning to watch her with curiosity over her answer. Cairo pulled off her shirt so that she was now completely naked. She turned back to you with a smile.

"Do you like what you see?" said Cairo, and it made you blush a bit. You nodded.

"You're absolutely beautiful," you said. If you weren't worried about getting home before dinner, you would have walked right over to her and tugged her back into her bed. Cairo waved you off.

"You're too kind," she said. "Now run on home, lover boy." Cairo disappeared into the bathroom with the dress in her hand, and you heard her rustling around with the sink, probably doing her makeup.

"I... I guess I'll see you, then," you said, left alone in the room.

"Mhm," she called from the bathroom. You frowned, but did a final scan for anything you needed to take before heading out her bedroom door and down the stairs, to where your jeans were clumsily thrown over the Roman statue's head. You tugged your phone and keys from the pocket.

"Fuck," you cursed. Only around thirty minutes to get the whole way across town to your house before your mom started worrying. You walked right over to the door... only to find it was also pouring down rain, now. Dammit. You tugged on your jacket from where it had been hanging on a steel coatrack by the door, pulling the hood up.

You walked out onto the porch, shut the door behind you, and took off running, going as fast as you could down the garden and then up the street into the woods. You got about a hundred metres from her house, that was, until you stopped.

Driving right past you, barely able to see him in the storm, was Mr. Miller. Driving right to Cairo's house in his little sedan. You froze, stopping dead in the rain to watch him go. Even after his license plate retreated in the distance, you felt a sickening sense of dread begin to pool in your gut, one that was already tarnishing your prior bliss.

===+++===

part three perhaps? i also have a tara carpenter one in the works and a lorraine day that's mostly done so hopefully i'll be updating more frequently

#jenna ortega #jenna ortega x reader #cairo sweet x reader #cairo sweet #miller's girl #letorip #jenna #jenna ortega imagine

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iamthepulta · 8 months ago

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Differences between pyrite and chalcopyrite? (With pictures?) 👀👀

Okay! Initial differences! Pyrite is FeS2. Chalcopyrite (creatively named) is CuFeS2. Pyrite is an almost silvery yellow on a fresh surface; chalcopyrite is more of a bronzy yellow. The difference is subtle, but once your eye is tuned, you can almost always pick out bits of chalcopyrite in a sea of pyrite.

Pyrite is a little harder when scratched and the cleavage of the minerals helps too: pyrite almost always breaks with glittering sharp edges unless it's pretty oxidized or weathered. chalcopyrite is rough, almost like a smear. I think it's much closer to looking like gold, than real fool's gold, tbh.

It's really hard for a camera to properly catch that glint, but I gave it a shot:

This sample is a good 50/50 Py-Cpy, and I think the portions that look smoother are simply weathering from the sample being passed around. But you can still see Py is almost... brighter. And on the left, there's a very clear crystal of straight yellow Cpy that stands out.

This is more typical copper ore material. I think this sample was nearly all disseminated Cpy. Not great for differentiating the Py-Cpy color, but you'll see this all the time.

I just really wanted to talk about this one, lol. LOOK IT'S SO COOL IF BLURRY. I think it's an IOCG (iron oxide copper gold deposit type) massive sulfide sample. The bronze in the far lower left is Cpy, but the red in the middle is specular hematite (hematite that formed from hydrothermal solution rather than oxidized at the surface). The majority of the rock is magnetite, and I think some of the brassy-silver color in the center is pyrrhotite.

Pyrrhotite is pyrite one step to the left: Fex-1S. Because there's less iron, the Fe2+ has a very slight positive charge, just like magnetite where the Fe2+ offsets the charge balance of the other Fe3+ and S ions.

ANYWAY, this rock is nuts and I can't wait to cut it open and stick it under the microprobe~

BEST FOR LAST~

This is massive disseminated chalcopyrite, but it's been sitting in the drawer for 20 years, I think. Pyrite and chalcopyrite really pop when weathered. So the gold-brown is Cpy, and the silver 'clast' on the edge is Py.

Additional unnecessary but fun rambling about ore mineralogy:

Like, mineralogically I think the biggest difference is that Fe2+ is cubic and Cu1+Fe3+ is tetragonal so it can fit weirder stuff in. If you start thinking about the minerals as part of the whole, 1+/3+ ionic bonded and 2+ ionic bonded Things are the most stable position for metals to be in.

I love these minerals but whenever I want to describe them, the word that pops into my mind first is Evil. Pyrite and Chalcopyrite are fucking evil. xD

They're stable under a huge range of pressures, temperatures, and oxdiation/sulfidation states. Iron is 2+ in pyrite and 3+ in chalcopyrite, so you can substitute pretty much any 2+ or 1+ metallic ion in the Fe and Cu sites, and sulfur will happily substitute for any non-metal or metalloid.

This means you can have pyrite in your deposit, but it's pyrite with an abnormal amount of... idk, tellurium. And that will change the properties of your pyrite, but not pyrite itself. This is an 'abnormal impurity' until you form frohbergite, which is FeTe2. And BOTH do this. Both cpy and py are sliding scales for almost every single ion that fits.

So if you're trying to process chalcopyrite but you have a large silver impurity in the copper site, it might react poorly with the flotation chemicals we use to separate it from pyrite. Or maybe be harder to grind to the proper size, which will take up more energy. (This is gauged experimentally before they set up the processing circuit because that's a lot of money, and to some degree I'm exaggerating the effects. But a friend is also texting me right now asking how tellurium in pyrite will change oxidation rate, so impurities are a non-negligible factor.)

ANYWAY. Pyrite and chalcopyrite are fucking myths that should be abolished except they're fucking everywhere, so they never will be. Lol.

Chalcopyrite is more yellow. xD

(as the thermodynamic pressure of oxygen in the system increases, ((not oxygen content)), you'll have greater minerals of oxidation. i.e. Magnetite Fe2+Fe3+O4 has an Fe2+ where Hematite has Fe3+O3, its 3+ is at a higher oxidation state. Pyrrhotite is low enough that it's just Fe2+.)

#BUT BACK ON TRACK. Chalcopyrite is yellower and less pointy when you look at it. xD TLDR.#Have a thermodynamic diagram too tho because right now I'm dwelling on all the forms that FeS2 takes and it's asklghafkjgh.#Don't start down the sulfide rabbit hole. I'm warning you now. There are like five different forms of pyrite that I know of.#And you know my brain damage about chalcopyrite. xDD #geology #mineralogy #asks answered #EVIL ASK BUT THANK YOU XDDDDDDDD

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simstorian-blog · 1 year ago

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New York City: ONE

(CC List + Links)

World Map: San Myshuno

Area: Spice Market – Old Salt House

Lot Size: 30 x 30

Capacity:

4 Apartments: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, washer/dryer per unit

1 Townhouse: 4 Bedroom Suites, 6 Baths, 2 Half Baths, A Sauna, Indoor Pool, Gym, Office Space, Entertainment/Hosting Floor

Shared Areas: Café, Game Room, Laundromat (non-functional), Press Conference Room, Security Booth

Gallery ID: Simstorian-ish

Packs Needed

Expansion Packs

City Living

Discover University

Eco Lifestyle

For Rent

Get Famous

Get Together

Get To Work

Growing Together

High School Years

Horse Ranch

Snowy Escape

Game Packs

Dine Out

Jungle Adventures

Spa Day

Strangerville

Vampires

Stuff Packs

Laundry Day

Kits

Cozy Bistro

Desert Luxe

Recommended Gameplay Mods

(Please read through what each mod has to offer before deciding if it fits your gameplay style or not.)

City Vibes Lot Traits

Lock/Unlock Doors for Any Lot

Use Residential Rentals shared areas as Community Lots

Build Mode

Felixandre

Berlin Pt. 2 (Doors, Ionic Column)

Chateau Pt. 2 (Marble Tiles, Stone Stairs)

Colonial Pt. 3 (Column 1, Fence 2, Railing 2, Spandrel 1)

Georgian (Arches, Doors)

Gothic Revival (Pilaster 4m, Socket, Trim 1)

Paris Pt. 2 (Bar, Bistro Table, Counter, Espresso Bar, Glass Display, Island, Paneling 3 Tiles, Stone Wall, Window Decal)

Soho Pt. 2

Soho Pt. 3

Soho Pt. 4

Versailles

Harlix

Kichen (Fresco Wall)

Tiny Twavellers (Trim Wall)

Harrie

Brownstone Pt. 2 (Traditional Items, Stone Wall)

Brownstone Pt. 3 (Wallpapers)

Klean Pt. 2

Klean Pt. 3 (Plaster Window Frame Large)

Hey Brine

Indonis Bathroom (Penny Floor & Wall Tiles)

Joyce

Summer Garden (Floor Tiles)

Lili’s Palace

Folklore (Smoky Kitchen Wall)

Intarsia (Polished Marble Floor + Florence Fresco Add-ons)

Lijoue

A Louer Collection (Apt Mailboxes, Door, Intercom, Iron Fence, Railing, Stone Stairs)

Peacemaker

Multi-Level Carpet

Pierisim

Combles (Module Medium 2, Paneling Middle)

Sooky88

Victorian Tiled Flooring

Syboubou

Industrial Elevators (This Mesh Needed)

Buy Mode

AroundTheSims4

Laundromat (Chariot, Folding Table - Metallic, Seating x3, Laundromat Sign, Soap Machine)

CharlyPancakes

Lavish (Wardrobe Pieces)

Lighthouse Collection (3-Seater Sofa)

Felixandre

Chateau Pt. 4 (Fridge, Cabinets, Counters, Sink)

Chateau Pt. 5 (Bookshelf V2 – Medium)

Grove Pt. 2 (Timber Shelves)

Flirtyghoul

Lavanderia (Note: Non-functional)

Harlix

Bafroom (All Wall Mirrors)

Baysic Bathroom (Shower Wall, Toilet Roll)

Orjanic Pt. 2 (Medium Curtain + Rod)

Harrie

Brutalist Bathroom

Coastal Pt. 3 (Marble Kitchen Sink)

Coastal Pt. 6 (Bathtub, Landscape Mirror, Shower, Toilet)

Spoons Pt. 2 (Cake Boards, Pastry Display Platter)

Meinkatz

Light Fixture (DL on Patreon)

Thermostat

Pierisim

Coldbrew Pt. 2 (Books, Menu, Napkins)

Coldbrew Pt. 3

Oak House Pt. 4 (Bathtub, Shower, Towel Holder, Wall Hanging Light)

Woodland Ranch (Dining Chair 1 + 2)

Ravasheen

Thermostat

Tuds

SHKR

DO NOT REUPLOAD MY LOTS.

DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

DO NOT PLACE BEHIND A PAYWALL.

Tray Files: DOWNLOAD

#simstorian #the sims 4 #sims 4 #ts4 #cc #sims 4 build #build #san myshuno #new york city #new york #nyc #manhattan #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 community #blacksimmer

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texasthrillbilly · 3 months ago

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Due to a reversal in his ionic flow, Robot B-9 has grown to gigantic size (again). Jet Jaguar arrives on the scene to deal with the massive machine, but will he be friend or foe?

#lost in space #jet jaguar #robot b9 #giant mech #kaiju #science fiction #fantasy

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s10127470 · 2 months ago

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DisneySea: (Part 5) Mythical Marina

youtube

For our fifth stop, we've come to Mythical Marina!

Here, guests find themselves flung back in time to Ancient Greece, when the country was still split into city-states and the mighty gods of Mount Olympus were still worshipped.

Making up the port of call is a seaside city-state on the coast of The Mediterranean Sea (drawing heavy inspiration from real-life city-states like Athens, Corinth and Sparta)

Travel along stone-paved pathways accompanied by olive and cypress trees, marble statues, and classic architecture of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders.

The centerpiece of this land is The Temple of Poseidon, a slightly-sized down replica of the real-life temple of the same name found in Cape Sounion.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rc64vfugnxrfwc9n0345u/odysseus_by_montjart-daqibnn.jpg?rlkey=otcuas0hjfl4m15w5bc6atz9f&raw=1

This land offers two attractions for guests to experience, both of which based off the expansive lore of Greek mythology.

The first one is The Odyssey.

On this Audio-Animatronic ride, guests get the chance to experience the legendary poem by Homer.

Just like in the poem, the story sees the war hero Odysseus embarking on a voyage just after The Trojan War to his home Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and their son Telemachus are awaiting his return.

But little did he know that his voyage would be easier said than done.

As through his journey, Odysseus finds himself having to endure the wrath of the god of the sea himself, Poseidon, and facing the many hardships he's placed on his path.

This includes getting captured by Calypso (who wanted to make him her lover), braving through a massive storm casted by Poseidon himself, being tempted by the food of The Lotus Eaters, battling the cyclops Polyphemus, escaping the cannibal-like Laestrygonians, avoiding Circe and her army of pig-men, navigating through the depths of the underworld to meet with the blind prophet Tiresias, ignoring the luring song of the sirens, and fighting the sea monster and living whirlpool Scylla and Charybdis.

The second attraction is Journey of the Hippocampus.

On this indoor rollercoaster ride, guests can hope aboard cars modeled after the legendary sea creature the ride is named after.

Soon enough, guests find themselves zooming through the underwater world of The Mediterranean, encountering coral reefs, sunken ruins, shipwrecks, and even volcanic chasms.

In terms of dining, this land has one restaurant: The Olive Tree.

Set in a replica of an ancient Greek courtyard with a massive olive tree at the center of it, this restaurant serves dishes dating back to the days of Ancient Greece such as wine-dipped barley bread, teganites, Greek salad (made with lettuce, asparagus, cucumber, onion, olives, olive oil and vinegar), a cheese and olive platter (consisting of feta, kasseri, kefalograviera, manouri, graviera, and kefalotyri), figs, a nut mix (consisting of pistachios, walnuts, almonds, sesame and chestnuts), a Greek fruit salad (made with figs, pomegranates, apples, pears, cherries and grapes), roasted fish, fried fish skewers, roasted octopus, fried squid, lentil soups, pastilli, a choice of either honey-drizzled cheese, figs or olives, and a wide selection of wine to choose from.

For shopping, we have The Agora.

Named after and set in a replica of the ancient Greek marketplace of the same name, this establishment sells items such as Greek dolls, Greek Orthodox Iconography, leather goods, and evil eye charms.

There's also two smaller shops within this massive shop.

First there's Θησαυροί της Ελλάδας (“Treasures of Greece”), which sells Greek masks, carvings, statuettes, paintings, pottery, miniature mosaics and stories on scrolls, and Νέκταρ των Θεών (“Nectar of the Gods”), which sells food items, like Kalamata olives, olive oil, and traditional Greek spices.

As for entertainment, there's The Players of Dionysus.

Based in a replica of an ancient Greek theater, this group performs somewhat condensed versions of classic Greek theater productions such as Medea, Oedipus Rex, The Frogs, and even Disney's very own adaptation of Hercules.

And finally for character greetings, we have Hercules, Pegasus, Philoctetes, Megara, Hades, Zeus and Hermes.

#theme park idea #theme park ideas #theme park concept #theme park design #tokyo disneysea #disneysea #walt disney imagineering #disney parks #greece #ancient greece #greek mythology #the odyssey #hippocampus #hercules

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aftapati · 2 months ago

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&& Las Noches.

( exterior & interior appearance )

Las Noches, translated as ' The Nights ' is the fortress located in the realm of Hueco Mundo, and acts as the base of operations for Sōsuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen, before and after their resultant treachery. It is also where the army of Espada and Arrancars have taken residence in, provided with their own space of comfort,medical facilities and extraordinary laboratories with resplendent and rather contemporary apparatus implemented.

This castle was once belonged to Baraggan Louisenbairn, but lost ownership and consequent commandship once Sōsuke had encountered him and overwhelmed him with his strength. Therefore, once obtained absolute possession of the stronghold, he took the liberty to make significant alterations regarding its appearance, both on the exterior and in the interior. Sōsuke firmly believed that, albeit not being a permanent residence, he still deserved and ought to live in a place befitting of a God. However, claiming that he made all these changes for the sake of the appearance aspect would be an imbecilic contemplation to have, as someone as calculative as he is, there was de facto, more than meets the eye.

With that being said, the castle's exterior and interior has taken a lot of inspiration from cultures subsisting within the world of the living. It's gargantuan size, its ample space was ideal to construct it in accordance of his own vision. Therefore, one of the most prominent things anyone could behold is the size and designs of the columns. Enormous, steady, with a miscellany of engravings that separates them. A notable contradiction is how traditional and even ancient in some aspects the interior looks in comparison to the highly contemporary laboratories.

The columns would most likely resemble ancient Greek architecture; the most simplistic ones with the least amount of details are Doric and you would most likely see them at the early entrances of the stronghold, the ones with more details plastered but still retaining a sophisticated yet traditional look are Ionic that are most likely seeing ornamenting his army's personal spaces, and the ones with the utmost details that stand out, and usually those are the columns anyone would see in proximity to the ruler's private headquarters are Corinthian. There is also a big number of Roman columns. As mentioned before, Sōsuke is very fascinated with architecture of various cultures in the world of the living, henceforth the entirety of the castle is heavily influenced of such.

Aside from columns, Las Noches contains a sizeable amount of architectural construction, resembling premises of great significance within the human world, with traditions imprinted as well. A paradigm would be the way the ceilings are constructed with engravings --- some of them resembling old cathedrals, others are in similitude of palaces and monuments in various countries. There are also a lot of well crafted statues positioned meticulously, after all --- everything that Sōsuke does or says is of high regardance, so even details that are considerably unimportant to someone, to him they wield their importance.

The exterior is definitely far more simple than the interior. There's definitely a noticeable amount of alterations but nothing in comparison to the inside of the Castle. One could argue that the purpose was to not grab any unwanted attention, but its in utter disregardance as Sōsuke has nothing to fear.

Overall, Sōsuke is well aware that this is nothing but temporary. Perhaps this could act as foreshadowing of how his ' Kingdom ' would look like once he reaches his goal of becoming the Soul King. ( But topic is a whole other can of worms )

Important note: this does not have to apply to every single muse that I interact with, regarding Las Noches, unless upon further discussion. So, the majority of the interactions will be vague of the setting unless mutually agreed on this. This is mostly for my own lore, as I understand this is canon divergent.

#❛ ● █ HEADCANON: THE STORYTELLING BEGINS. IS THIS WHAT YOU WISH TO KNOW? ❜#this is definitely a headcanon that will be updated from time to time!

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deepspaceboytoy · 4 months ago

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The Siege of Tremaine, Part 6

“I am the Lord High Admiral Herius Iolanthus Victus, crowned Prince of the Imperium, commander of the warship Invictus. This system is now under my protection. Flee now and I will let you run. Stay, and I will gun you down where you stand. I will scour this system clean of you and your allies. Do not expect mercy. Do not expect kindness. Admiral Victus, out.”

-Warning broadcast from the Invictus as it broke Tremaine’s atmosphere. Message was broadcast in 1,157 different Igorian and Aberinian languages. The message was broadcast only one time. Exactly 60 seconds after broadcast, the Invictus began firing on any ship still under combat footing.

July 10th, 2677. It is the beginning of the end. The Siege has a reached a fever pitch. Tremaine is bruised and palsied, caught in the throes of world-death. The atmosphere is on fire, ionic supercells breaching the firestorm as battleships fall to the surface like rain. The air is ash and dust, the ground scabbed and diseased.

Tremaine is dying, one artillery shell at a time, wracked by superstorms and firewalls and the megaton rain of orbital bombardment. Sixty million boots stomp the life out from it, the battles never ending now, one skirmish or assault bleeding into the next. Time is measured in rounds fired, bombardments calculated, bodies exploded. Nothing else matters now. The system will be won or lost on Tremaine, and the Imperium and Igorian Republic alike know this.

Domask Fayatan commits his forces utterly, abandoning the concept of reserves as he tries to drown the Imperial forces in a tide of amphibian bodies. For the first time since the Siege began, the core of legion territory on Tremaine begins to buckle and sunder under the sheer weight of enemy numbers. The last days have begun. Five million legionaries put aside any thought of retreat, and set about selling their lives to the last. Fort Zama, Point Rain, Port Voltun. The last walls are finally under assault. Corvus Nino, son of the late Legatus Primus Nino who had led the defense long past when anyone else would have failed, stands atop the walls of Fort Zama, ready to carry on where his father fell. There is no step back for either side. The commitment must be made, the resolve must be found. Victory will only come after full and total dedication.

The first move comes from the Legion lines. As one, the 1st Legio Stella Draconum rises from their fixed positions, draws combat blades, and charges the Igorians. One hundred thousand of the finest soldiers in Imperial history, a legion that has existed since before humanity left earth, flowing like a tide into the serried ranks of Igorian militia. Legionaries simply run through the waiting Igorians, power armor boosting them clean through bodies and barricades. The 1st Legion drives into the heart of the forces assembled in front of Fort Zama, and they reap a grim toll in those first few moments, speed and fury carrying them hundreds of meters into Igorian lines. And then they die. First by ones and twos, and then tens and twenties, hundreds and thousands. Cohorts vaporize instantly, entire maniples disintegrating at once.

But the Legion accomplishes what it chose to die for: the opening is made. The Igorian lines are dissolved, fortifications blown open. And the wall guns of Fort Zama speak; tens of thousands of guns, roaring a barrage a million shells strong in just the first few seconds. New suns bloom in the center of the enemy, plasma annihlators and hyperfusion rockets releasing millions of degrees of heat into packed and disoriented Igorian troopers. Macrobombs and thermobaric eradicators, tankbusters the size of city blocks. Every weapon the Imperium can wield has been brought to bear, and as the artillery of Fort Zama speaks, the Igorians watch a million of their comrades die in a second. The radwaves and heat blooms melt another half a million where they stand. And then the killing begins in earnest.

The wall is breached ten minutes later, and then it is breached again, and again, and again and on until there are more breaches than standing sections, and the Igorians are in among the Legions, and guns and strategy have been cast aside for blades and fists and sheer animal instinct. Fighting flows like a river through the city-sized fort, each street host to combats that would be legends if not for how many played out simultaneously. Heroes bleed and die in scores, and the unremembered dead commit feats of bravery that entire mythologies could be spun out from. No one will know. No one will remember. No one will witness.

Up the Center Trackway, the 91st Siege Legion fights its last day. The Legion-Master Tarrius Vane stands along his men, even as they are brought down by the Skilax Rangers of the Igorian Army. At the Seraph Barricades, 11th Legio Ferrata Dux counts the last magazines, smokes the last cigarettes, exchanges the last meaningful look. The last six hundred Legionaries know what is coming. Anastasia Abbas, who had only just taken command in the days before the Siege, gives the order. The charge begins, the last of the Legion dying to buy time. Just a little more time.

A day passes. As dawn breaks on the 11th, half the fort is gone. Communications have broken down completely, and word has been lost from both Point Rain and Port Voltun. Zama is alone. Corvus Nino fights in the heart of the battle, coordinating the defense of Battery 8-11, a cluster of hyperfusion rocket launchers that vomit a tide of rockets into the captured sections of the fort. 3 whole legions stand here at this one junction, the core of legionary resistance. Three times, the Igorians have tested the defenses, and three times they’ve been thrown back. A fourth will push the legions. A fifth could break them. By days end there will be forty-seven. The streets and buildings around the battery will be rad-blackened and incendiary scorched, but the line will not break until the order to retreat is given. All throughout the fort, similar battles are waged, casualties an afterthought in the feverish fighting.

The sun sets. Central Command is all that remains, five legions drawing their line in the sand. This is it, the final position, the last wall. The end. Outside the fortified square, the Igorians gather strength. There is nothing left on the planet to stop them, and their commanders know it.

And so night falls, both sides readying for the sword-fall of morning’s light.

It is heralded with rain. Not the greasy, sick rain that has plagued Tremaine for over a year, thick with chemicals and the smog of apocalypse; no, it is clear rain, and it is pouring.

It is the third day.

At 07:23 Terran Adjusted Time, July 12, 2677, the Invictus breaches Tremaine’s bruised and atrophied atmosphere. The ship has burst from Realm-space inside the atmosphere, and the rain falls from the melting Realm-frost of translation into realspace. A primordial leviathan, Invictus hangs in the sky, blocking the sun. Her black hull is silhouetted by the distorted rays of sunlight peering through around her. She is singular. She is infinity. Her size and scale defies reason, defies perception, defies good sense and nature. She is a mountain of alien hypermetals and exotic energies. She is a hulk of battle-steel encrusted in guns and hangars and close defense weapons. She is a god of old, a war totem of the heavens. She is strength and deep, cold, senseless violence. She is an icon, a graven image of incalculable damage and unknowable fury.

Her shields are lowered, arrogant in her own supremacy, even as megaton rain falls from the Igorian fleet. Solar beamers and volcanic lances gouge into her armored skin, skyscraper sized backbreaker missiles burying into her to unleash massive payload detonations. She does not flinch. And in the silence of the forgotten Siege, she fires.

Domask Curaxis Hrota Fayatan served the Igorian Federal Republic for 72 illustrious years. His record of service outstripped any other domask in Republic history. His victory roll rivaled that of any commander in the galaxy. One moment, he stands on the bridge of the carrier Ulkas’Ronta, and the next, his atoms join those of a million Igorian sailors in orbit over Tremaine. The Fleet is no more.

From the belly of Invictus falls a numberless tide of Drop Assault legionaries. So many fall from her embarkation decks that it appears as if towers of blackened earth have risen to greet the void leviathan now abusing Tremaine’s atmosphere. Black-armored legionaries land among the Igorians, and set about driving them from the fort. Nino leads his own troops out from the square, and a rushing wave of legionaries flows out into the streets and barracks blocks, stopping only when it reaches the walls, driving what’s left of the Igorian army out into Tremaine’s wastes. Invictus’ soldiers do not stop.

Similar miracles happen at Point Rain and Port Voltun. The Invictus has broken the Siege.

On the 13th, Crown Prince-in-Exile Lord High Admiral Herius Iolanthus Victus accepts domask Ioltun’s unconditional surrender. Later that day, he accepts one from Fayatan’s successor. The last remaining civilians in the Tremaine System are starlifted to other worlds in other systems, and the Imperium begins recovering what it can. One of the last items recovered from the world is the standard of the 1st Legion.

By January of 2678, the Tremaine System is declared recovered, though it means little in the long run. Tremaine, once a verdant and prosperous sector capital, is no more than broken rock, finally shattered in the days after the Siege from the unending tectonic abuse. It will take decades to restore the sundered orbital ring of the Tremaine Military Staryards, and the surface is a stormwracked hellscape. Some of the original population will resettle on titanic stations in orbit, or on Cygnus, Suebi, and Cyprii, but in the ashes of the aftermath, the Tremaine System will never recover.

Neither will the Igorian Federal Republic. Staggering numbers of troops and ships were committed, and with the failure of the Siege and the success of the Imperial counterattack, the war will swiftly deteriorate. On August 9th, 2679, the Unity Wars will officially end, the IFR dissolved only 114 years after its formation from out of the First Igorian Civil War. Clans Berakth and Ferathtz will suffer similar fates, both being absorbed by the Clan Kilaurus, newfound allies of the Imperium. In the aftermath of the war, the Igorians will fall into a second civil war, before forming the Igorian People’s Republic in the years to come.

The war will change the face of galactic politics in its wake. The Imperium Humanum, long in ascendancy, takes its place as the premier galactic power, its position unchallenged after the devastation. Imperial allies, primarily the Benden Military States and Zentilluss System-states, will recover quickly, dividing the galaxy between the Imperium and its associates, and the Horagint Confederacy and its network of client states.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of the Siege, however, is how it will cement Herius Victus’ reputation on the galactic stage. No longer just a legend inside the Imperium, his actions in singularly lifting the Siege, and in his conquest of the Igorian capital Ava’cumish, will make him a specter to the rest of the galaxy.

#the victusverse #I’m going to do a broader macroscale thing on the Unity Wars as a whole after this #the Igorians too #since they feature in Imperial history so often

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vijay34 · 3 months ago

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Ionic Liquids Market Trends: Key Drivers, Challenges, and Opportunities

Rising Demand for Green Solvents and High-Performance Industrial Applications Drives Growth in the Ionic Liquids Market

The Ionic Liquids Market size was valued at USD 50.8 Million in 2023. It is expected to grow to USD 110.5 Million by 2032 and grow at a CAGR of 9.00% over the forecast period of 2024-2032.

The Ionic Liquids Market is gaining significant momentum due to its growing adoption in green chemistry, catalysis, energy storage, and industrial applications. Ionic liquids are salts in a liquid state at or near room temperature, offering unique properties such as low volatility, high thermal stability, and excellent solvating capabilities. These properties make them highly desirable for use in pharmaceuticals, chemical processing, electrochemistry, and biorefineries.

Key Players in the Ionic Liquids Market

BASF SE (Basionic BC01, Basionic ST80)

Solvay S.A. (Cyphos IL 101, Cyphos IL 104)

Merck KGaA (EMIM BF4, BMIM PF6)

Ionic Liquids Technologies GmbH (IoLiTec) (IoLiLyte 101, IoLiLyte 110)

Proionic GmbH (Trihexyltetradecylphosphonium chloride, Ethylammonium nitrate)

Evonik Industries AG (TEGO IL X-101, TEGO IL K-102)

Strem Chemicals, Inc. (1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate)

The Chemours Company (Ionicool LTM-210, Ionicool LTM-300)

Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem Pvt. Ltd. (1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate)

Reinste Nano Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate)

Future Scope of the Market

The Ionic Liquids Market is expected to grow steadily, driven by:

Rising demand for eco-friendly and non-volatile solvents in chemical processing.

Increased application in energy storage for battery electrolytes and fuel cells.

Growing use in pharmaceuticals as drug delivery agents and biocompatible solvents.

Expansion in biomass processing to support sustainable biofuels and bioplastics.

Advancements in industrial catalysis to improve reaction efficiency and reduce waste.

Emerging Trends in the Ionic Liquids Market

The market is witnessing a shift towards customized ionic liquids tailored for specific industrial applications, enabling better efficiency in chemical synthesis, extraction, and separation processes. The energy storage sector is adopting ionic liquids for next-generation batteries and supercapacitors, improving performance and safety. Additionally, researchers are exploring bio-based ionic liquids derived from renewable sources, aligning with global sustainability goals. Government regulations promoting green chemistry are further driving investments in ionic liquid-based solutions, particularly in the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Key Points:

Ionic liquids are gaining popularity as green and sustainable solvents.

Strong demand from the chemical, pharmaceutical, and energy storage industries.

Growing research in bio-based ionic liquids to support sustainability.

Increasing role in catalysis, electrochemistry, and biomass processing.

Government regulations promoting eco-friendly alternatives drive market growth.

Conclusion

The Ionic Liquids Market is set to expand significantly, driven by its unique chemical properties, eco-friendly nature, and broad industrial applications. As industries shift towards sustainable and efficient chemical processes, ionic liquids will play a crucial role in revolutionizing green chemistry, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing technologies.

Read Full Report: https://www.snsinsider.com/reports/ionic-liquids-market-4746

Jagney Dave — Vice President of Client Engagement

Phone: +1–315 636 4242 (US) | +44- 20 3290 5010 (UK)

#Ionic Liquids Market #Ionic Liquids Market Size #Ionic Liquids Market Share #Ionic Liquids Market Report #Ionic Liquids Market Forecast

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hildegardavon · 9 months ago

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Athena

Athena battling Alkyoneos, detail from the Altar of Zeus Frieze, Greek Hellenistic Period, 200/100 BC. Copy of marble original (ca. 180 BCE) from Pergamon, now in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin

The Altar of Zeus, erected about 175 BCE on the Pergamon acropolis, is the most famous of all Hellenistic sculptural ensembles and was located on an elevated platform framed by an Ionic stoalike colonnade with projecting wings on either side of a broad central staircase. In contrast to other Greek temples that had sculpture on the pediment, this building had a frieze almost 400 feet long with a hundred larger-than-life-size figures on the altar platform. The choice of subject matter held great symbolic significance for the Attalid kings. The subject is the battle of Zeus and the gods against the giants, a popular topos in Greek art, but this is the most extensive representation of that epic conflict for control of world. (BYU Library)

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hidden-poet · 1 year ago

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heyyy, I saw your post about the difference between movie!coryo and book!coryo, and you mentioned that this change (or the movie) diminished Sejanus and Lucy Gray as Characters. Can you expand more about that? I LOVE LOVE that analysis, thank you so much <333

why, yes I can! thank you so much for the ask

In my opinion, both Lucy-grey and sejanus were written down to be very 2D characters. The movie makers really tried hard to keep the focus on Coriolanus and as a result the building blocks of the two characters were either giving to Coriolanus or ignored completely.

Firstly, Lucy-Grey. The movie made her out to be totally dependent on Coriolanus. She only survived the Hunger games because of him. This may of been true with the snakes, however what we don't see in the movie is how resourceful she is.

Movie Coriolanus is pushed to be the mastermind of manipulating the games through showmanship. However, book Lucy-grey is always preforming, long before Coriolanus even cons on. She blows a kiss to the audience and waves as she is taking away during the reaping. Even the Peacekeepers there find her charming. In the movie she was very weak. A brazen performance was given from the book lucy-grey, just a brave performance was given by movie Lucy-grey.

This watering down of her cheek and charm continued through the movie. The first encounter was the same as in the book but the dynamic was intentionally skewed. In the book it was lucy-grey who held the high ground. She was preforming for him again at the train station. Almost taunting him as she spoke. Your roses don't mean anything to me, my mama used to bath me in them. She sizes him up to the point where he is worried that she is going to walk away or laugh at him. While the dialogue is the same as the movie, the deliverance is not. Book Lucy-grey was almost belittling him. The lines; 'Ah a rebel'; 'well, good luck, Gorgeous' were mocking lines. Where's in the movie they come across almost flirty.

Book lucy-grey was amusing herself with him. Movie Lucy-grey seemed like she actually wanted his help. This is reinforced as they progress to the next scene. Book lucy-grey walks away from Coriolanus at her own accord, not taking his rose. Movie lucy-grey is shoved by Peacekeepers and takes the rose out of his hand. Even their actions in the movie are focused on highlighting Coriolanus.

Coriolanus in the movie was given a much stronger character then in the book. In the book Coriolanus asks permission from a drunk peacekeeper to get into the van. He is worried to be around the tributes, and lucy-grey pays him no mind at all while he is there. He kicks reaper in the crotch (Which is a universal cowards move) when pinned.

Not compare this to the movie. Coriolanus jumps in while peacekeepers are distracted. A strong, masculine move. "Hi" he greets unafraid.

The ionic line "What's the matter, pretty boy? are you in the wrong cage?' gets changed to give him an air of superiority.

"No, this is exactly the cage I was waiting for".

gets swapped for

"No, this cage is delightful".

Clearly, one of these is powerful then the other.

The former is an explanation. A timid and unthought out response to a anxiety filled situation.

The latter is a 'fuck you'.

Now it is hard to deny that Lucy-grey saves him by asking the tributes if they got family back home in both cases. However, movie Coriolanus is given the doubt that he could have been ok without her. While the book shows how fucked he actually was. Book lucy-grey gets up and places herself between Coriolanus and the tributes!!!!! she was his protector! But that role is reversed in the movie. The cage tips and Coriolanus reaches out for Lucy-grey holding them both up for a second before falling. Book Coriolanus tries to save himself only to be unable and land in the zoo.

In these slight changes, the power gets shifted to Coriolanus and it is hard to see lucy-grey thinking for herself.

She is the one who makes it very clear that she knew her survival depended on her performance, and calls him to arms to preform with her. Her character building blocks were given to Coriolanus in this they transfer her charm and cunningness to him.

She puts the rose behind her own ear, she puts the poison in the compact, it was lucy-grey who suggested that the Capital citizens bring food for the tributes because 'no fun watching the games if we're all to weak' to fight. Coriolanus was left playing catch up to her performance.

In the book it seemed like she was the one manipulating Coriolanus not the other way around. They also cut a lot of her humor and charm. Don't even get me started on the reunion scene at the Hob. There was no fists flying for her honor. She looked after herself and Coriolanus looked after himself. Like all throughout the book. She was also the one to push to stop at the cabin were he found the guns. In which there was no loose end conversation. She knew straight away, he was not to be trusted.

The case scene was a lot more hunter vs hunter, then hunter vs prey. In the movie it looked like she just ran senselessly . In the book Coriolanus figured out she willfully drew him out so she could get back to the cabin to get a gun and that's how he caught her.

In the book she was a victor. In the movie she was a survivor.

Now my biggest pet peeve, Sejanus. Dear god, they watered down that man in the movie. Talk about a green flag man. He is first introduced as a memory of a shy and sensitive little boy with big brown eyes being builled at the play ground. It perfectly sums him up.

He is only ever shown to be a good friend to Coriolanus (Waving at him and ensuring Coriolanus is ok in pretty much every scene). And boy! the compassion. He spoke up every time someone compared the tributes to animals. He was much braver outspeaking in the books and a hell of a lot more sassier to Dr Gaul.

A very important note was that it was Sejanus who first fed the tributes. Going to the zoo with sandwiches and plums for everyone, not only Marcus. He refused to play the game along side Coriolanus and Lucy-grey. He tried to get out of mentoring at every opportunity, he couldn't eat at points in the story, everything Coriolanus did that was good either came at the expense of Sejanus or by the side of Sejanus.

He was shown to be a man overcome with compassion and the drive to always do the right thing. When Arachne died, Sejanus sprinkled crumbs over the dead tributes body as per his capital 2 tradition, showcasing these attributes.

We really got to see more of his personality during the peacekeeper training at the end. He was a top shooter we learnt, and it was him that got pushed into officer training but turned it down and offered it to Coriolanus.

He then tracked Lucy-grey down for Coriolanus, helped Coriolanus prepare for his officer training, encouraging him along the way, Shared all of the food Ma sent him with his friends at the compound.

He shared everything he had with others, always wanting to help. He wanted to change the bigger picture of the districts but also focused on helping people with every day tasks. He helped the covey with chores, and carried Maud ivory when her feet hurt from walking.

While I do believe there was enough stage presence for Lucy-grey and Coriolanus, I can see why they chose to dilute Sejanus. There is no way, Coriolanus could have been responsible for his death and still have audiences like him. In the same manner, they gave the building blocks of his character to elevate Coriolanus to the audience.

They took the sweetness and quite hardness from Sejanus, and the cheekiness and truthfulness of Lucy-grey.

What we got instead was a soft, impulsive boy that Coriolanus had to save multiple times, that probably would have ended up dead anyway, and damsel in distress that relied upon Coriolanus's wit to survive.

No hate to the movie at all. I loved it.

But Movie Coriolanus came at the cost of book Lucy-grey and Sejanus characters.

#coriolanus snow #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #hunger games #tom blyth

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