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[uyuforu]

Success & Fame Indicators in Solar Return Chart

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Other posts you could like:

જ⁀➴ Romance Indicators in Solar Return

જ⁀➴ Traveling Indicators in Solar Return

જ⁀➴ Pregnancies & Having Children in Solar Return

જ⁀➴ Solar Return Predictions for Celebrities (2024-2025)

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╰┈➤ Get your own Solar Return Chart from 30€ to 60€ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

✮⋆˙ Leo Rising/ Leo degree on Rising (5°, 17°, 29°)

✮⋆˙ Libra Rising (more if you are into entering beauty industry)

✮⋆˙ Scorpio Rising can often tell us you'll change this year, your reputation, appearance will have a drastic change. So it can work too if you have other indicators.

✮⋆˙ Jupiter conjunct MC or in 10H

✮⋆˙ Jupiter 11H can often tell us you'll get popular online.

✮⋆˙ Leo Stellium often indicate big popularity this year.

✮⋆˙ Leo degrees (5°, 17°, 29°) on the angles, or on big 6 planets. Can also work on fame asteroids.

✮⋆˙ Stellium in 10H/ 11H/ 9H/ 1H/ 8H.

✮⋆˙ Stellium with fame asteroids in additions to planets.

✮⋆˙ Fame asteroids conjunct Sun.

✮⋆˙ Part of Fortune conjunct Varuna and Sun too.

✮⋆˙ 10H Ruler in 10H/ 11H/ 9H/ 8H/ 1H.

✮⋆˙ 11H Ruler in 11H/ 10H/ 9H/ 8H/ 1H.

✮⋆˙ Pluto ruling 10H or in 10H/ or conjunct MC.

✮⋆˙ 1H Ruler in 8H can often indicate people being obsessed with you this year.

✮⋆˙ Personal planets (except Sun) or Angles in 0° can often indicate new beginnings or big success too.

✮⋆˙ Mars conjunct Jupiter

✮⋆˙ Libra degrees (7°, 19°) on angles or in personal planets + 7H connections to fame/ or Venus being connected to fame in your SRC can mean you'll get success or fame in beauty this year. Can also mean you'll be popular because you can be considered as very pretty, handsome, or just stunning.

✮⋆˙ Fame asteroids in Leo or in Leo degrees (5°, 17°, 29°)

✮⋆˙ Sun/ Jupiter/ POF conjunct Varuna in Leo.

✮⋆˙ Big 6 Stellium in 10H or 11H.

╰┈➤ Get your own Solar Return Chart from 30€ to 60€ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

‧₊˚✩彡 Examples:

✮⋆˙ Naomi Campbell had a stellium in her 11H in her SRC of 1988-1989, with Sun, Jupiter, Mercury in it. She also had her Rising at 29°. Varuna Asteroid conjunct her Mercury in 11H as well. This year, Naomi Campbell was the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue Paris.

✮⋆˙ Anytime Naomi Campbell had a success in her career, she had 10H or 11H Ruler in 9H.

✮⋆˙ Selena Gomez had Jupiter conjunct MC, and it's also her MC's ruler, the year she started bigger roles in Disney Channel, in 2007. Pluto was also in her 10H. She also had a few fame asteroid in her 5H as well in her 9H.

✮⋆˙ Justin Bieber was discovered in 2007 online, he had Jupiter 11H and a big stellium in his 1H that year with some fame asteroids. His 3H Ruler conjunct a lot of fame asteroids as well.

✮⋆˙ The year Justin Bieber had his first single and first album out that was the start of a huge success, he also had his 10H Ruler in 9H. The ruler also conjunct some fame asteroids. He was also Leo Rising at 17°. 1H Ruler was in the 8H, and indeed girls were obsessed with him. In general people were often obsessed with him and either loved him or hated him.

✮⋆˙ In between, in 2008, Justin Bieber had a 10H stellium, with 10H ruler in 11H. Asteroids Lumiere & Varuna were both in his 3H. Rising was at 29°. He was very popular that year still.

✮⋆˙ Hailey Baldwin Bieber started to gain popularity around 2015-2016. This Solar Return, she had Leo Rising, Varuna 29°, 10H Ruler in 3H, North Node 29°, Populus conjunct Sun.

✮⋆˙ Hailey Baldwin Bieber was more popular the Solar Return she got engaged to Justin Bieber. If we look closely on the SRC, 10H had 3 different fame asteroids, and 10H Ruler was Uranus, which was at 29°. Yet she had Neptune and Chiron 11H, she was hated on a lot.

✮⋆˙ The year Hailey Baldwin Bieber launched her Make up and Skincare brand Rhode, she had Libra MC, Ruler being Venus was in 1H. She also had Sun, Mercury in 11H.

✮⋆˙ Still on Hailey Baldwin Bieber, her most popular product for Rhode was her lipsticks, and it was very popular in 2023. She had Jupiter 10H this year, MC was at 19°, Rising at 29°.

✮⋆˙ Selena Gomez had the most success too for her make up brand Rare Beauty in 2022-2023 (still today too), and in this SRC of 2022-2023, she had a 10H Stellium in Leo with Sun, Mercury, Varuna, Part of Fortune. She was Libra Rising as well, with some Fame asteroids conjuncting the rising.

✮⋆˙ Sabrina Carpenter has a stellium in 1H this year, and I'm not shocked because she is very talked about. People give her a lot go attention in general. Moreover, this stellium also indicates her being seen as very beautiful, a beauty icon.

✮⋆˙ The year BTS made their debut, Jungkook was on his SRC of 2012-2013. He had Jupiter conjunct 10H, it was also in 10H. Despite good fame asteroids being present in this house, his 10H ruler was in 12H, it wasn't seen much.

✮⋆˙ BTS had a huge success with DNA era, and it was in 2017. On this SRC of Jungkook, we can see he had Leo MC, so also Scorpio Rising. He had a stellium in 10H, with Sun, Mercury & Mars, but also Jupiter 11H. Additional, but Jungkook also had Varuna 9H, and that's the year BTS got more attention (than before) in foreign lands.

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[th3-new-rom4ntics]

okay here's my doctoral thesis on my sirius and regulus black face claims WITHHH evidence so if you don't want the typical face claims for these two, keep reading!

so, for sirius, i chose alain delon

sirius is supposed to be incredibly classically handsome and charismatic, which is why his transformation at azkaban and so-called crimes is supposed to be such a contrast. how can someone so charming be able to do such horrid crimes as he did?

he has that european glamour about him. the black family is supposed to be aristocratic, to remind you of the borgias or rothschilds; these famous, filthy rich and powerful clans. it makes sense if he has a sort of delicate handsomeness about him, which makes his bad boy behaviour even more of a contrast.

"And there he was... his face wasn't waxy at all but handsome and full of laughter."[src]

"And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place."[src]

for regulus, i chose jeremy brett.

jeremy brett is still incredibly classically handsome, like alain delon, but not perfectly so, unlike alain delon, which sort of matches the books. ofc i personally find jeremy brett incredibly attractive but the point stands.

he also has that european glamour about him. he literally played maxim de winter in rebecca. peak gothic fiction byronic hero archetype; perfect for regulus.

"Regulus was instantly recognisable as the boy sitting in the middle of the front row: He had the same dark hair and slightly haughty look of his brother, though he was smaller, slighter, and rather less handsome than Sirius had been."[src]

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20250516_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Can’t buy happiness, gibberish junkets and purely artistic impulses + this day in history w/depression diagnoses up 33% and our song of the day by The Boatrawker on your #MorningMonarchy for May 16, 2025. Notes/Links: ♬ Now You Can Stream Monarchy Pop 24/7! ♬ https://mediamonarchy.com/pop/ Make one-off PayPal donations of any size to the Monarchy https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/mediamonarchy #NewWorldNextWeek: Air Farce One and Ye Heils Hitler + Meltdown-Proof Reactors https://x.com/shartstorm8d8/status/1923241923529015394 Lil Durk Murder-for-Hire Case: Feds Delete All Reference to Rapper’s Lyrics In New Indictment; After the star’s attorneys accused prosecutors of unfairly using his lyrics against him, they’ve been removed from the newest version of the case. https://archive.is/KYPuK THE BIG STORY: Rap On Trial – Or Not? https://archive.is/kIl6N ‘New Bud Light’: Versace fashion brand blasted for partnering with Dylan Mulvaney https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/11/versace-partners-dylan-mulvaney-called-new-bud-light/ Luxury brands: higher standards or just a higher mark-up?; Research challenges assumption that there is a link between the cost of clothing and the way it is produced (Dec. 10, 2014) https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/10/luxury-brands-behind-gloss-same-dirt-ethics-production ‘No joke’: Aussie actress Isabelle Cornish hospitalised after impaling herself on stake fence in freak accident https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity-life/no-joke-aussie-actress-isabelle-cornish-hospitalised-after-impaling-herself-on-stake-fence-in-freak-accident/news-story/461c273924941a2cde3eb4c04c9f4e12 Tash Sultana added to WHO’s ‘One World’ COVID-19 concert series https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/tash-sultana-one-world-series/ Search: TASHSULTANAA covid https://x.com/search?q=TASHSULTANAA%20covid&src=typed_query Tash Sultana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tash_Sultana Video: ROCK STAR & WIFE 100% DESTROYED BY VAX POISON INJECTIONS (Audio) https://www.bitchute.com/video/V4fZwUOXBrG6 Taj’s Fedbook account with a search of “vaccinated” https://www.facebook.com/profile/100044237178904/search/?q=vaccinated Tash Sultana – “Can’t Buy Happiness” (Audio) Digital Single Mom + Pop Music/Sony – Apr. 4, 2019 *Tash Sultana – “Can’t Buy Happiness” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85rY9IT9rXM // Vax pushing/damaged dingus hasn’t made an album since 2021, I wonder why that is? This only charted in New Zealand.* lolol a lady at the Angels @ Padres game just held up a sign behind home plate that says MAGA with the first A as the Angels logo lol :verifiedtroll: https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20250512_maga-angels-at-padres.png Bud Black let go by Rockies in ninth season as manager https://www.mlb.com/news/bud-black-fired-by-rockies Dead Kennedys’ East Bay Ray: Jello Biafra Won’t Reunite With Us Despite Lucrative Offers https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/dead-kennedys-east-bay-ray-172907383.html Gaza, Trump dominate politically charged Cannes Festival opening https://www.yahoo.com/news/cannes-festival-under-pressure-stance-105710894.html Jake Tapper’s new book says Joe Biden didn’t recognize George Clooney. Glad to see the media reporting on this long after it mattered. https://x.com/Not_the_Bee/status/1922392656644014332 Video: Lefties Losing It – Brandon jibberish on ‘The View’ (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDG1X4LkFeQ Ultimate Fakebook – “Real Drums” (Audio) ‘This Will Be Laughing Week’ Noisome/Sony 550 – July 25, 2000 *Ultimate Fakebook – “Real Drums” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKaEjocwD_Q // https://www.thepitchkc.com/opening-up-and-saying-awesome-an-oral-history-of-ultimate-fakebooks-this-will-be-laughing-week/ // Manhattan, Kansas power-pop trio and major-label survivor Ultimate Fakebook broke up in 2003. But since 2008, the band has reunited for occasional...

[makeuphall]

[hairstylesbeauty]

[polilla-astral]

Vol. II. Les Clavicules de R. Salomon credit

[incorrectwebseriesquotes]

Alistair: Oh, he's normal is he? And what am I then?

Agatha: Well you're a freak, Alistair, you know that.

Alistair: Yes, I know. But I have rights!

[behind-the-screen-of-bangtan]

Jimin (지민)

Real name: 박지민 (Park Jimin)

Birth date: 13 October 1995

Home city: Busan

Instagram account

BU character: Park JiMin

BT21 character: Chimmy

(src)

Biography

As a kid, Jimin used to have lots of hobbies, following anything that piqued his interest. However, when he discovered dance, he realized this was his calling and took lessons for two years while in middle school before getting into Busan High School of Arts. He interrupted his scolarity once he got recruited by Big Hit. He’s the last member to have joined BTS, two years before their debut. Always hard-working, Jimin has illustrated himself through his dance and his acrobatic figures but he also know for his kindness towards the members and the fans.

For a more complete biography, you can check these ressources:

biography from the volume 5 of the Japan Official Fanclub magazine (trans by kocchi, Kimmy Yang)

interview with Kim Ki-yoon, the owner of the dance school in Busan, where Jimin used to go to (English translation)

Jimin has also shared tidbits of his daily life:

[VLOG]  Let's take a picture of Paris and go to Hawaii (2019)

팔찌공방 VLOG (Bracelet workshop) (2022)

Birthday albums: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Recommendations

Music

Spotify playlist

You can find Youtube playlists of the songs he shared on Spotify and on Twitter or during interviews.

Books/Movies/Series/Anime

Google sheet of his recommendations

Solo activity

Music (discography)

Jimin & V - “95 graduation” (2014)

Jimin & Jung Kook  - “Christmas Day” (Origin. Justin Bieber - Mistletoe, 2014)

Jimin, JK - “We don't talk anymore” (gift for the Festa, 2017)

“ 약속  (Promise)” (2018)

“Christmas Love" (2020)

지민(Jimin) X 하성운(Ha Sung-Woon) - “With you” (우리들의 블루스 (Our Blues) OST, 2022)

--- Chapter 2 ---

TAEYANG - 'VIBE (feat. Jimin of BTS)' (2023)

FACE (2023) (see this post) (2023)

NLE Choppa, Kodak Black, Jimin of BTS, JVKE, & Muni Long - “Angel Pt. 1″ (FAST X OST) (2023)

JVKE, Jimin of BTS, Charlie Puth, Muni Long - “Angel Pt. 2″ (FAST X OST) (2023)

MUSE (2024) (see this post)

For more details about the songs that don’t have their own post, I listed all the info I had here. For Chapter 2 songs, please check here.

Shows

구오즈 만다꼬 (95z Mandaggo) (2015, anchor)

?_?

?ㅅ?

?ㅡ?

ㅡㅅㅡ

Pixid (2023, guest): teaser, show

Brand endorsement

Global ambassador for Dior (2023): tweets, Jimin’s Instagram post, #2

House ambassador for Tiffany & Co. (2023): tweets, Jimin’s Instagram post, Youtube video, TikTok video, WWD: “EXCLUSIVE: Tiffany & Co. Releases Jimin’s First Campaign, Costarring Zoë Kravitz and Gal Gadot”

Magazines

W Korea 2023 Vol.2 (January 2023): tweets, Q&A, Behind the scene

Daman magazine February/March issue: tweets, interview

L’Officiel Malaysia March issue: tweets, interview

ELLE Hong Kong March issue: Instagram reel, interview in Cantonese

Vogue Korea April issue N°321: tweets, interview

AERA magazine No.16: tweets, interview translation

GQ Korea November Issue: tweets

Harper's Bazaar JP 2024 March issue: tweets, Youtube video, interview (in Japanese)

Interviews

BE comeback interview: “I’m the kind of person who likes to be loved”  

Butter release interview: “There’s people who’ve been rooting for us throughout this difficult time”

Proof release interview: “I want to be better, and cooler”

Trivia

Due to his round cheeks, Jimin earned the nickname of Mochi or Manggaetteok, which is a rice cake wrapped in manggae leaf.

[justkleinerthoughts]

the dr kliner lover promise 🤗

“I cross my heart through thick and thin, that My Tiny Kleiner deserves to win.

I swear to my Lord to let him scamper about, letting him Roam Freely with the fish and trout.

Dining on plastic and styrofoam is his favorite thing! When he crumps that scrunmy he sways and swings!

Pershaps he will die but i don’t car, i’ll take my kleiner anywhere.

so when you’re sad, don’t be so blue -

dr kliner shitsplosion will do unto you!”

say this rhyme three times to be rocketed into your tomb instantly: ignore it to pay respect to those dr kliener needed blood drawn But it was just a little 2 much. have a sparkly day!

📷 This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

📷

Isaac Kleiner

Biographical information

HomeworldEarth

Functions / Belongings

Rank / Occupation Former MIT professor Former Black Mesa scientist Resistance scientist

WeaponsShotgun

Equipment Glasses Dirty lab coat, probably retrieved from Black Mesa

Physical description

SpeciesHuman

GenderMale

Hair colorWhite (formerly brown), balding

Eye colorBrown (with glasses)

Chronological and political information

Affiliation Black Mesa Science Team (formerly) Resistance

Game information

Voiced byHarry S. Robins

Modeled over scientist01 (Half-Life model) Ted Cohrt

Designed byMarc Laidlaw

Entity namenpc_kleiner

"Well, Gordon, I see your HEV Suit still fits you like a glove. At least, the glove parts do. " ―Isaac Kleiner[src]

Dr. Isaac Kleiner is a scientist and one of the main characters of Half-Life 2 and its episodes. An archetypal 'absent-minded genius scientist' (although somewhat more benign), he is a prolific author of several works on teleportation and interdimensional travel, and one of the few survivors of the incident that took place in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Later on, he becomes a key (if somewhat self-conscious) leader of the Resistance against the Combine, and a prime member of the Resistance science team.

Contents 1 Biography1.1 Background 1.2 Appearances1.2.1 Half-Life 2 1.2.2 Half-Life 2: Episode One 1.2.3 Half-Life 2: Episode Two 1.2.4 Half-Life: Alyx 2 Relationships2.1 Gordon Freeman 2.2 Barney Calhoun 2.3 Alyx Vance 2.4 Eli Vance 2.5 Arne Magnusson 3 Behind the scenes 4 Trivia 5 Gallery5.1 Half-Life 5.2 Half-Life 25.2.1 Pre-release 5.2.2 Retail 5.3 Half-Life 2: Episode One 5.4 Half-Life 2: Episode Two 5.5 Half-Life: Alyx 6 List of appearances 7 References 8 See also

Biography

Background 📷

The second page of L.M.'s letter, where Kleiner is mentioned for the first time.

Kleiner first worked as a professor at MIT, where he was one of the mentors of Gordon Freeman. It appears that the two started their friendship already back then, and that Kleiner was quickly impressed by Freeman. Kleiner would later take employment in the Sector C Test Labs of the Black Mesa Research Facility, where he worked with Eli Vance and security guard Barney Calhoun.

During this time, Kleiner appears to have become a widely recognized scientist, seeing that he is on the front cover of the magazine Popular Scientist, apparently in an article called "Next level of quantum physics", as well as the author to at least one book, From Here to There in Under a Second, likely about teleportation.

When Freeman showed interest in a job at Black Mesa, Kleiner recommended him for employment in the Civilian Recruitment Division, and this recommendation combined with Freeman's experience at the Institute for Experimental Physics in Innsbruck, Austria, ensured that he got the position instead of his competitor, Judith Mossman. In Black Mesa, Kleiner would also compete for grant money with Arne Magnusson.

📷

A brown-haired Isaac Kleiner on the cover of Popular Scientist. The hair was Photoshopped on a screenshot of his model.

Kleiner appears to have been working with administrative jobs prior to the Black Mesa Incident in Sector C, as he received carbon copies of several letters, from L.M. to other employees, such as his letter regarding Barney Calhoun's new Blue Shift assignment, sent on May 9, 200-, and L.M.'s letter to Colette Green regarding the Xen crystal swap prior to the incident. Kleiner also appeared to be a Hazardous Environment Supervisor or Instructor, as the Hazard Course Training Schedule sent by Gina Cross to Colette Green mentions that Kleiner was slated to instruct Green for a Hazardous Materials Handling on May 9, 200-, although it was postponed to June, and ultimately did not happen due to the Black Mesa Incident.[1] At this time, Kleiner also was on friendly terms with many co-workers, namely Gordon, Eli and Barney, although Richard Keller mentions at the start of Decay that he does not understand what Kleiner sees in Freeman.

📷

The Anomalous Materials team before the Black Mesa Incident. Kleiner is the third from the right.

When the Resonance Cascade and resulting Black Mesa Incident occurred, Kleiner managed to escape Black Mesa, although exactly how remains unexplained. After escaping the facility, Kleiner relocated to City 17, where he formed up the core of the local Resistance along with Eli Vance, Judith Mossman and Barney Calhoun. As Kleiner and Eli entered City 17, however, Eli lost his leg to a Bullsquid while helping Kleiner over a fence. In the city, Kleiner set up a small lab beneath an abandoned Northern Petrol building, and began working on teleportation, among other works, while also staying in touch with Eli and Judith, who were working at Black Mesa East in the city's outskirts, as well as Eli's daughter Alyx, who was growing up.

Barney worked as a double agent for the local Civil Protection forces at this time, while in the meantime ensuring that Kleiner's Lab would go undiscovered and safe from the Combine. At one point, Kleiner finished his teleport, and tested it with a cat, apparently resulting in its death, forcing Kleiner to resume work on it. In this time, Kleiner also found a Headcrab, which he de-beaked, making it harmless, and named it Lamarr, before keeping her as a pet and, to an extent, domesticating her, much to the disdain of Barney. When Alyx grew older, Kleiner also worked with her and Barney to rescue Citizens from the Combine, and evacuate them through the Underground Railroad located in the City 17 Canals to Black Mesa East. At the time of Half-Life 2, Kleiner is finishing up his teleport.

Appearances Half-Life 2 📷

Kleiner operating a retinal scanner to open the door to the resurrected teleport.

Along with colleagues (and fellow survivors) Alyx Vance, Eli Vance and Barney Calhoun, he makes up the core of the Resistance against the Combine. Dr. Kleiner has set up a lab in City 17 in an old abandoned warehouse. A teleportation system, developed jointly by Kleiner and Vance, allows for near-instantaneous transportation between Kleiner's Lab and Vance's facility, several miles distant. As a pet, Dr. Kleiner keeps a debeaked Headcrab he calls "Lamarr". When Barney informs him that Gordon Freeman has arrived, Kleiner tells Barney to send Gordon on his way - although he forgot that Gordon would not know the way to the lab. Alyx eventually has to rescue Gordon and show him the way to the lab.

📷

Kleiner in his lab with Alyx, Barney and Gordon.

Kleiner then reintroduces Gordon to his HEV Suit which he has upgraded before sending him on his way to Black Mesa East, outside the limits of City 17. Unfortunately, Lamarr interferes with the teleportation process. Gordon is thrown through several locations, twice in Wallace Breen's office in the Citadel, Eli's lab, and a lake containing Ichthyosaurs, before finally rematerializing outside the window behind Dr Kleiner. He is then required to leave Kleiner's Lab on foot and will not return until the City 17 uprising.

During the rebellion, Dog turns up to Kleiner who keeps him safe in his lab. Kleiner is apparently alone during most of the uprising (save for Lamarr) as Barney is leading on the rebellion fronts, so he protects himself with a shotgun. When Gordon and Alyx teleport in from Nova Prospekt a week into the rebellion, Kleiner is very optimistic about the Resistance's odds and tries to convince Alyx of this, at which he fails. He is not seen for the rest of the game but manages to escape City 17 at some point between when Alyx leaves to find Gordon and the start of Episode One.

A depiction of Kleiner's younger self can also be seen in the lab, appearing on the cover of Popular Scientist, a fictional magazine (and spoof of Popular Science magazine). In it, he sports sideburns and has more hair, which is seen as brown in color. Although this is a somewhat 1970s/80s look, the picture likely dates from around the Black Mesa Incident, thus in the mid to late 1990s. Below the magazine cover is a young Alyx's drawing of him, with the affectionate words 'Uncle Kleiner' on it. A book by Kleiner, From Here to There in Under a Second (likely about teleportation), can also be found in Eli's lab at Black Mesa East.

Half-Life 2: Episode One 📷

Alyx listening to Kleiner's Breencast.

In Half-Life 2: Episode One Kleiner is not seen in person and is only spoken to directly once in a video transmission with Alyx during the first chapter. However, he is frequently seen during the later chapters on video screens and televisions previously reserved for Breencasts. This message is recorded and looped, simply instructing survivors to make their way to the nearest train station to evacuate City 17. Kleiner also amusingly informs people that the Combine's Suppression Field is no longer in effect so that "those so inclined should give serious consideration to doing their part for the revival of the species" to which Alyx comments, "is Dr Kleiner really telling everyone to... get busy?". The messages also include some vague information to try and rally people in the face of the fact that the Rebellion is only really beginning and will likely get worse before it gets better. It is likely that all these transmissions are broadcast from White Forest.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two 📷

Kleiner, Eli and Alyx talking about the Borealis at White Forest.

Kleiner reappears once again in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. First, he is seen beside Dr. Eli Vance and Dr. Arne Magnusson on the first video communication with Alyx and Gordon; he is not seen again until later on when Alyx and Gordon reach White Forest (except during the G-Man's speech). He spends most of his time working with Dr. Magnusson on his rocket. Before the launch, Kleiner briefly notes that there is an eight and a half pound anomaly, but Magnusson declares it is within tolerance and the rocket should be fired anyway. Unfortunately for Kleiner, the anomaly was Lamarr who had snuck onto the rocket while the nose cap was open earlier.

Towards the game's ending, when it is discovered that Judith Mossman found the Borealis, Kleiner is enthusiastic about the research contained on the vessel's use against the Combine, but Eli disagrees and states it could be responsible for another disaster on par with the Black Mesa Incident. After the rocket launch, Kleiner remains inside to help Magnusson with destroying the Combine Superportal while Alyx, Eli, Dog and Gordon go outside to see the Superportal dissipate.

Half-Life: Alyx

Although Kleiner himself does not appear, his book "From Here to There in Under a Second" can be found on the balcony at the start of the game. According to the back cover, it describes the history of teleportation and the potential for its use in the future.

Relationships

📷

Old friends reunite.

Gordon Freeman

Gordon Freeman was taught by Kleiner at MIT. He then recommended Gordon's position to the administration of Black Mesa, after which they became coworkers. At Black Mesa, Kleiner had apparently a habit of locking himself out of his office and Gordon would race Barney to "break in" to it.[2] Gordon became Kleiner's assistant again as a part of the human Resistance on Earth. He holds Gordon in the highest respects, even though he admits his heroic acts tend to cause trouble.

Barney Calhoun

Dr. Kleiner probably knew Barney well through Gordon. Barney would later aid Kleiner in the human Resistance in various ways, though mainly by working undercover in the Civil Protection, keeping the Combine away from his Lab, at no doubt tremendous risk to himself.

Alyx Vance 📷

Kleiner and Alyx in Kleiner's Lab.

Dr. Kleiner knew Alyx when she was an infant at Black Mesa, and they were close enough for her to call him "Uncle" in a collage she made. In Half-Life 2 they both work together in his lab, and on sending refugees on foot through the canals.

Eli Vance

Eli is almost the polar opposite to Isaac. He is laid back and confident(despite the fact that a Bullsquid took his left leg), whereas Kleiner is reserved, logical, and cautious in most situations. Coincidentally, this is probably why they make such a good team, and their disagreement on the use of Borealis' mysterious contents. They have both known each other and worked together since the days of Black Mesa. Kleiner is also affectionately nicknamed "Izzy" by Eli on various occasions.

Arne Magnusson

While Eli is the opposite to Isaac, Arne is simply headstrong with a very short temper. He has no patience for most of Kleiner's input and at times appears to give him many tedious and long tasks.

Behind the scenes

📷

Bust of "Cohrt", Kleiner's original model.

Kleiner is voiced by Harry S. Robins, the voice of most of the scientists in the original Half-Life and its expansions.

"Kleiner" is a German surname. Related to "klein", "small" in German, it has several translations, most of the time related to "reduce" or "inferior". "Isaac" is Hebrew, and comes from "Yitzchaq", meaning "he laughs".[3] In the Old Testament, Isaac was the son of Abraham, which God asked to sacrifice to test his faith, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. As an English Christian name, "Isaac" was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Kleiner shares his first name with physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton, and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. Perhaps his surname is shared with Albert Einstein's Doctoral Advisor at the University of Zurich, Alfred Kleiner.

Kleiner is basically the Half-Life bespectacled scientist model ("scientist01", or "Walter") turned into a real character, as it happened for Walter Bennet. Kleiner's Half-Life 2 appearance was based on Ted Cohrt, an accountant working in the firm about Valve's office. Kleiner's face originally depicted him as much older man,[4][5] but the team changed his mind when they came across Ted Cohrt in an elevator. It is also said that team members sometimes ran into him at Starbucks and the ones who did not know he was Kleiner's face were staring at him, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar.[4] After Cohrt was taken as the model, the older Kleiner face was recycled into the elder Counter-Strike: Source hostage. Although the old Kleiner model has nothing to do with Ted Cohrt, it is named "cohrt.mdl",[5] while the final model, based on Ted Cohrt, is simply called "kleiner.mdl". "Walter" is still used as the name of Kleiner's face texture.

The current model originally had a green shirt and black tie.[4][5]

📷

Kleiner in the Episode Two trailer.

As suggested by the Half-Life strategy guide, Kleiner's first name was originally "Alex", which was probably changed to avoid confusion with "Alyx".

According to the original teleportation sequence's sound files in the

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Sometimes, a hotel will have such good design ideas, I have to share them. Look at the Andaz Hotel in Amsterdam. Love the book shelves and the shape of the tables, but the lighting! They look like large bells with crystal chandeliers inside. Very unique.

Cool chairs, but red always makes a black & white motif pop.

There are bows on top of each bell. 

One of the rooms. Love everything about it- the wallpaper and the mural with a giant spoon with a fish feature wall. I also love the gray table with the sink and mirror. 

In this slightly different room, you can see that the table has storage underneath, and a marble bowl. This mural features a fish in a glass, and the blue fish matches the beautiful blue of the ceiling. 

And, this room has a giant whale above the bed. Love that sleek chair, too. 

Love this idea- put a console table in the middle of 2 sofas back-to-back, with a chandelier or overhead light fixture above the table. 

Black chairs in the sitting room- dark ceiling, white walls, and chandeliers. This fabulous design shows that everything doesn’t have to be white to be light and beautiful.

Dining room idea- quilted chairs and walls lined with upper shelving - storage on the bottom- to display a collection. The fabulous chandeliers match the collection.

The bar’s color scheme is lovely, but I like the way they did the fireplace. It’s blocked off with a beautiful piece of marble. 

Fireplace in the garden.

Outside, their garden looks like Alice in Amsterdam- so magical. This hotel’s design has got it goin’ on.

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/netherlands/andaz-amsterdam-prinsengracht/amsaz?src=corp_lclb_gmb_seo_amsaz

[stratharchives]

Christmas at the Tech, 1912-1963 - Part 1: Students’ Christmas Ball and Children’s Christmas Party

With Christmas time approaching and most of Strathclyde’s students and staff back on campus following the pandemic, many in-person celebrations and festive activities are being planned for the first time in several years. This series of three blog posts looks back at some of the Christmas activities associated with Strathclyde’s antecedent institution, the Royal Technical College (RTC), renamed in 1956 as the Royal College of Science and Technology (RCST) and popularly known as ‘the Tech’. We begin by considering two of the most eagerly anticipated events of all: the students’ Christmas Ball and the Children’s Christmas Party.

Christmas Ball

Organised annually by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), the Christmas Ball was a major event in the RTC and RCST social calendar and provided a welcome opportunity for students to let their hair down following the end of term exams. To encourage ticket sales, the SRC’s Dance Committee publicised the Ball in the student magazine, The Mask, and in the student newspaper, the Telegraph. The advertisement below was placed in the December 1938 issue of The Mask (reference: OJD/1/2/76).

The Dance Committee (later the Entertainments Committee) invested considerable time and effort to ensure the Ball’s success. In the early years, a hotel in central Glasgow would be booked to host the event: in 1926, for example, the Christmas Dance took place at the Grand Hotel, and in 1930 and 1931 the venue was the Ca’ D’Oro Ballroom. By the 1940s, however, the Christmas Ball generally took place in the RTC’s own Assembly Hall, which doubled as the Exam Hall. The new Student Union building in John Street, which was opened in 1959, later provided appropriate facilities for hosting the Ball and similar functions.

When the Ball was held on campus, the Committee had the unenviable task of decorating the hall for the occasion. In 1944, the RTC’s Navigation Department loaned them some flags for this purpose, ‘and it was [also] decided that the members of the Dance committee should look around the local shops for streamers etc’.[1] In subsequent decades, as the numbers of students studying at the RTC expanded, more resources were available and the new Union building offered increased space and scope for decorations, the Committee’s plans became more ambitious. The early 1960s saw the Christmas Ball organised according to a different theme each year, ranging from ‘Arctic Aurora’ (1960) and ‘Tropical Bally-Ho!’ (1961) to ‘Neptune’s Nocturnals’ (1962: programme pictured below, reference OJA/18/2/3) and ‘Black Friday’ (1963).

Designing and constructing props and decorations for a themed event demanded specific skills for which the Committee turned to members of the Architecture and Building Society, the RCST’s club for architecture students.[2] As the Committee minutes show, the ‘Architects’ club’ chose the theme for the Ball from a shortlist of suggestions supplied to them by the Committee, opting for that which offered the best artistic and practical possibilities.[3] As well as designing and building the set and props, the architecture students also designed the Ball tickets. Unfortunately, we have no photographs of the themed sets and decorations, but they were impressive, at least according to the writer of this letter in the student newspaper of 13 January 1961:

Dear Madam, I feel I must write an appreciation of the decorations for the Christmas Ball. The Assembly Hall and the Fourth Floor landing, were masterpieces in decoration and the spiral of tinsel down the stair well was a magnificent welcome on entering the building. The Architects who de- -signed the “set” as it were, and also everyone who helped in any way with the decorating of the building are to be congratulated on their wonderful achievements. I must, however, deplore the practice carried out at the Ball itself, of stripping the Christmas tree in the Dining Hall of its tinsel so that the female participants in the Ball might be decorated still further. Not only is this tinsel costly, but it did not greatly enhance the coiffures of the ladies who were seen wearing it. To conclude, thanks to the architects, for the splendid decorations and no thanks to those members who spoiled it slightly by ruining the Tree.[4]

The Committee’s labours did not end with decorating the hall, for one of their most important tasks was to engage a suitable band or bands for the evening. The 1950s and 1960s saw combinations of dance bands and jazz bands booked to play at the Ball; by the early 1960s, an additional ‘beat band’ was also booked to play during the interval. The Committee was further responsible for hiring caterers to provide a buffet; arranging the provision of at least one liquor bar; and organising screenings of several short films (mostly cartoons) in rooms adjacent to the main dance hall. If funds permitted, the evening’s entertainment would extend to a cabaret: a ‘Malayan fire eater’, who also performed hypnotism, was booked as the cabaret artist for the Christmas Ball in 1961.[5] Less spectacular (and less dangerous) amusements were also laid on for that year’s event, including ‘Enticing Bingo Sessions’.[6]

As the decades progressed, so too did the hour at which the Ball concluded. In the 1930s, the event tended to finish at 2.00am. In 1944, the students sought permission for the Ball to last all night, but the RTC’s Director, Sir Arthur Huddleston, was averse to the idea.[7] By the late 1950s, however, the Ball was generally scheduled to conclude at 6.00am and ‘breakfast tickets’ were available, entitling each holder to enjoy a hot meal in the early morning before making their way home.[8] In 1960, a double ticket for the Ball cost 25/ and a breakfast ticket cost 3/6d.

Annual Children’s Christmas Party

As well as a Christmas Ball for the students, the Students’ Representative Council of the RTC and RCST organised an annual Christmas party for younger children from local children’s homes, held in the Students’ Union. Transport and catering costs for this event were met from the proceeds of Wednesday lunchtime showings of Fred Quimby’s Tom and Jerry cartoons, organised by the Entertainments Committee. Each student attending the ‘Freds’, as these cartoon screenings were known, was asked to give a donation of 3d.[9]

According to this report in the student newspaper of 13 January 1961, the children’s party was a loud, frenetic, but happy occasion:

   The Children’s party was held in the Union on Wednesday the 28th December. Children from homes and orphanages in Glasgow as well as the children of Union employees were given a first class treat. [To] The music played by the members of the College Music Society, the children enjoyed all their favourite singing games i.e. “The Farmer Wants a Wife”, “The Grand Old Duke of York”, and “Pass the Parcel”. The band survived although surrounded by hosts of inquisitive children who found the microphone a very intriguing gadget. Lemonade, cakes, jelly, fruit and ice cream disappeared at an alarming rate. The children had a break from balloon bursting and musical games in an excellent little film show. Then Santa, alias Ian McClure, gave them each a present before they went home.[10]

A more candid report of the same event appears in another section of the newspaper, revealing that, due to an outbreak of mumps among the younger children at one of the homes, a group of 14-year-olds had been dispatched to attend the party in place of the usual 3-8-year-olds. Unsurprisingly, ‘They did not appreciate the Farmer wants a Wife as much as usual and Santa felt perhaps just the tiniest bit embarrassed . . . by giving “Bunny Painting Books” to mature youths. Luckily they were wrapped.’[11] Despite this hiccup, the annual party was both a welcome source of diversion and entertainment for the children, and a rewarding, if physically exhausting afternoon for their student hosts.

Today, Strathclyde’s students and staff continue to bring Christmas cheer to disadvantaged children in Glasgow through the University’s annual Christmas Toy Appeal. Since its inception in 2016, the appeal has provided approximately 8,000 gifts of toys, which have been distributed to six schools and nurseries and 14 charities. Staff and students wishing to participate in this year’s appeal may hand in donations of new, unwrapped toys to the University of Strathclyde Library until 12 December. Cash donations may also be made by following this link: https://onlineshop.strath.ac.uk/product-catalogue/student-experience/widening-access/christmas-toy-appeal-2022.

[1] OJA/6/1, Students’ Representative Council Dance Committee minute book, 1941-1946: minute of meeting on 10 November 1944.

[2] OJA/6/3, Students’ Representative Council Entertainments Committee minute book, 1958-1964: minute of meeting on 24 October 1960, p.92.

[3]OJA/6/3, Students’ Representative Council Entertainments Committee minute book, 1958-1964: minute of meeting on 9 November 1962, p.214.

[4] OJD/3/1, Telegraph vol.1, no.12, 13 January 1961, p.4.

[5] OJA/6/3, Students’ Representative Council Entertainments Committee minute book, 1958-1964: minute of meeting on 9 November 1962, pp.214-216.

[6] OJD/3/2, Telegraph vol.2, no.7, 8 Dec 1961, p.1.

[7] OJA/6/1, Students’ Representative Council Dance Committee minute book, 1941-1946: minute of meeting on 10 November 1944.

[8] OJA/6/3, Students’ Representative Council Entertainments Committee minute book, 1958-1964: minute of meeting on 4 November 1958, p.8.

[9] OJD/3/1, Telegraph vol.1, no.12, 13 January 1961, p.5; OJA/6/3, Students’ Representative Council Entertainments Committee minute book, 1958-1964: minute of meeting on 4 November 1959, p.44.

[10] OJD/3/1, Telegraph vol.1, no.12, 13 January 1961, pp.3-4.

[11] OJD/3/1, Telegraph vol.1, no.12, 13 January 1961, p.5.

[lytefoot]

Tabletop Game Rec

I know some of my followers are into or want to get into Tabletop games...

Abyss is the game that husband and I are playing right now. It’s a supernatural investigation game--think X Files, Men in Black, or Supernatural--although the player characters also have the option to be supernatural themselves.

The system is a variant on Powered By the Apocalypse. In this system, characters have various “moves” that they can use, both in narrative play and in a fight, and all action is initiated by the player characters (with the world reacting to them). Abyss is less rigid in its moves than some games that use this system, and gives players a lot of flexibility in both how they want to accomplish things (system-wise) and how they want to actually describe what their character is actually doing (story-wise). I feel like this could be a really good first game, if you want to try out tabletop, or a really good game to try if you’re getting tired of the rigidity of D&D.

(It’s also just a really good setting--if you’re looking for inspiration for somewhere to have your OCs run around, for example.)

It’s on sale today (10/4/2022), $5.09 for the ebook. This one book is the only thing that you need to buy in order to play (except for some six-sided dice, which you likely have in your house--or you can roll virtually on the web), and all the things that players might need to reference during play are on the freely available and re-printable character sheets, so only the game master needs their own copy of the book.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317710/ABYSS--Action-Horror-RolePlay?src=DotD&from_home=1

[fivescoffeemug]

milk coffee. (Five Hargreeves x Reader) (part 2)

Summary : you got too broke to pay for rent so you crash at Five’s.

Warnings : none

Words : 2,137

A/N : please please tell me (thru dm or ask box) if you want to be in this taglist, because I’m making more parts and this is seriously flopping :(

(Just to be clear, the story takes place on 2nd April 2019 assuming they got back to the umbrella academy and not the sparrow academy because fuck the cliffhanger)

taglist : @eyelash-curler

part 1 | part 2

“Have you got the money?”

“Sorry?”

“The rent.”

“I—I ... I don’t—I don’t have it yet.”

“Sorry but you’ve been here for three free weeks.”

“Miss, please, please just give me another week I swear my book’s just—”

“Get out.”

“Miss just—”

“I’m going broke too and I need the money! But since you’re broke too one of us has to have money right? Now go back up and pack your shit.”

“I’ll be homeless.”

“I’m giving you till five.”

Five. It hit you like a swing of a sledgehammer to the back of your head.

No, you thought. That would be so pathetic.

But what other choice did you have?

You rushed up the stairs, grabbing your phone and finding the word ‘Five’ in your contacts. You pressed on it, calling it immediately.

At the fifth ring, he finally picked up.

“What?” He hissed.

“Wow, you sound overjoyed to hear from me,” You rolled your eyes, soon realizing now was not the time for the petty insults.

“Mhmm,” He hummed, seeming busy with something else. “What do you want?”

This wasn’t the first time you called Five since you met him, probably about the third, the other two times were just because you were bored.

It had just come to you that he always seems so uninterested in your company whenever you began conversations, but he would come around soon enough. You both wouldn’t stop at the scornful insults though.

“Can I ... crash at your place?” You struggled to say, biting your lip and closing your eyes right after.

“You were already crazy enough to even want to keep in touch but this just breaks the mental asylum records by a landslide,” Five comments. “What next, you’re gonna come up and tell me you have powers or something?”

You couldn’t help but smile at his remarks. You always told yourself, ‘damn I hate it when he does that,’ but you always knew that was a lie.

“Well? This is a joke to just keep me listening, right?” Five asked. “What do you really want, Y/N?”

“Sorry to disappoint you today mister masochist, but it turns out that I do infact need a place to crash,” You repeated, hoping you wouldn’t have to explain.

But of course, that’s if you lived in world where everyone was a naive nobody.

“What’s wrong with your place?”

“I’m fucking broke, alright?” You blurted in frustration. “I’m not from here. I’ve got no one else. I had to pay the landlady from the money I could scrape out of my pants pockets and I thought my book would sell by now, but I guess I was getting ahead of myself.”

You could feel Five huffing in a slight chuckle.

“Not from here, so no family or friends to turn to for shelter ... oh helpless, helpless Y/N ... ” He narrated, clearly amused at your desperate situation.

“Well?”

“It would really be amusing to see you on the streets, wouldn’t it?”

“For you, definitely.”

There was silence for a while.

“You know what, fine. I’m not as cruel as you think I am.”

“The fact that you had to point that out means you probably are,” At this point, talking to Five always just triggered the instinct of throwing any insult you could at him.

“You wanna sleep on the streets?”

“No.”

“Then shut up and start packing.”

“Not even your address?”

“I’ll text you.”

“Okay, bye.”

And with that, he hung up, and you threw your phone on the bed and began packing.

...

When you turned up at the place, you thought you read the address wrong, you read it over at least seven times now. You looked up at the tall building. It was a mansion.

It made you wonder if Five really was just some regularly school boy.

You got to the front door, knocking at the wood. You found yourself admiring the patterns on it for a short while before the door finally opened.

“Can I help you?” A taller black woman with frizzy hair asked as you found youself puzzled.

“I—well, I’m ... ” You couldn’t find the words to say. You couldn’t say you were here to see Five because if anything you just needed a place to stay. “I just ... I wanted to see Five.”

“Five!” The woman calls. “Some girl is here for you!”

You heard the faint sound of some footsteps walking rather hastily down the stairs, finally seeing Five in the distance coming closer now.

“I was expecting someone, come in,” he said monotonously, barely making any eye contact with you.

You tugged your small luggage inside the building after you and got a good look at the foyer. There was a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the entire place just seemed so grand, giving off the 1990’s vibe but if they were dirty rich.

“F-Five how old are you?”

“Well ... ” his head slowly leaned to the side as he squinted in thought. “It’s complicated.”

“How is that complicated?”

“Okay if I said I was like twenty two would that satisfy you?”

“Well if that’s a lie then obviously not,” You follow him as he began walking up the stairs, dragging along your burden of a luggage.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to be unsatisfied for a while,” He turns to a corridor and you finally meet his plain room.

The walls reminded you of his eyes, the ones you fell for the time you met him. You had to admit, those were a true beauty.

Too bad its owner’s a real pain in the ass, you thought, smirking to yourself.

“What are you waiting for?”

“Do you guys just not have a spare room in this big-ass mansion?”

Five’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the ground. “Well, not one I’d want you to use.”

“Why not?”

“My dad’s. He’s dead.”

“Oh ... I—”

“Nope, don’t apologize,” Five shook his head. “Just put down your stuff. Crashing here is the best option you’ve got anyway, I’ll get an air mattress.”

You watch as Five exits the room, another stranger standing by the door, looking surprised and confused at the same time.

“Why?”

“Nothing I just ... I’ve never seen him so ... kind,” he finishes, soon entering the room. “Sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met. Klaus.”

“Y/N,” You shake the hand he held up, soon letting go as Five reappears again, seemingly glaring at Klaus before he left.

“Who are the other people in your house?” You ask before Five could start inflating the mattress.

“Does it matter?” He asks back, seeming to have no intention of letting you know about what was going on.

“Well, you’ll have to make some sense out of this,” You huffed, still slightly confused as to how peculiar Five has been. “If you’re not going to tell me then at least give me your age.”

Five grabs an air-pump and starts inflating the mattress, clearly ignoring your plea. You offer your help, and he let you but after discovering how incredibly slow you were going, he took back the pump and resumed doing it himself.

“Do you like reading books? I wrote one.”

“I really wished I had said ‘I don’t remember asking’, but unfortunately for me, I wanna know how the hell you ended up alone penniless where you don’t belong,” Five finished pumping air into the mattress, which you immediately say on after he left to put the pump back.

“Well?” His eyebrow raised, then returned.

“I was an orphan my whole life, it was abusive and I’ve had enough,” You huffed, frowning up at him. “That’s all I feel like saying.”

“An orphan ... when’s your birthday?”

“Tell me your age and I’ll tell you my birthday.”

Five looked to the side, biting his lip. He nodded, looking at the ground.

“How old do I look to you?” He cocked his head up as your eyes met yet again.

“Like ... eighteen?”

“There you have it.”

“I got it right?”

“Yes now it’s getting late and we’re going out to get dinner soon. You coming?”

“I don’t have any money left.”

“Five, let’s go,” A man appears at Five’s door, soon noticing your presence. “Who’s the girl?”

“Homeless person I decided to help,” Five replied coldly. “Poor Y/N doesn’t have the money for dinner too.”

“I’m not—”

“Y/N?” One of his eyebrows were raised, now facing you. “Don’t take the bitch too seriously he’s always like this.”

“I suggest you do the same for him, sadly Diego doesn’t have any spare braincells left, he shares one with our gorilla brother,” Five reviled, Diego turning back to glare at Five.

“I think I’ll skip dinner; I don’t want to bother the four of you about it.”

“The fou—Five! Does she not know about ...?”

“Do you really think I’d willingly embarrass myself by introducing the rest of our braindead siblings to her?” Five rolled his eyes.

“Up your ass, Five,” Diego digressed, soon smiling at you as he turned to face you again. “There’s actually seven—no six of us here. One of us died.”

“Your dad, right?”

“I—well n-no, he’s not really part of the picture ... ”

“My dad had seven of us. One of us died. That’s the end of it,” Five concluded, or at least tried to.

“My name’s Diego, that’s Five, and the tall black woman’s Allison, the short one’s Vanya, the bigger looking guy is Luther and the high one is Klaus.”

“Didn’t Klaus quit drugs?”

“Well, I don’t know. Drugs or no drugs he always kinda seemed high to me,” Diego shrugged.

...

After Five treated you to dinner, you washed up and Vanya let you use her pajamas for the night. Five got you an extra blanket and pillow too.

In the middle of the night, you had a nightmare. Your neck and face was sweaty and you were panting heavily. Five woke up to his room shaking, a few small things falling off the side of his table. He glanced down at you, trying to shake you awake.

“Y/N! Y/N!”

“No ... please ... I can e-explain ... ”

“Y/N you’re dreaming! Wake up!” Five fell off his bed as the shaking got worse, and ended up on top of you.

“Ow!” You jolted awake and the room’s rumbling had finally stopped.

He scrambled to the edge of the mattress, clutching the sides of your shoulders as concern had smeared his face.

“Y/N are you okay?”

Your face was already stained with tears when you woke up, but you couldn’t help damping your face again as you bury it in your hands, sobbing.

“Y/N ... talk to me.”

“No!” You cried, lowering your head to the mattress. It was a horrible nightmare. “I ... I don’t want to.”

“Y/N ... Y/N ... listen to me. Please, look at me.”

When you heard this, you stopped, as he asked. But it was only because you couldn’t believe what he was saying, or at least, the tone he was saying it in.

His eyebrows arched upwards as your eyes met once more. Those calm, sea blue eyes told wonders to you without saying anything at all. It made you calmer.

“You were dreaming. It was just a nightmare, it’s okay. You’re okay. Do you hear me?”

You felt his hand on yours. It wasn’t so obvious, though, because it was just the tip of his fingers touching yours.

But somehow, you still felt the tears rolling down your cheek.

“I’m ... I’m so sorry, Five,” you started tearing up again.

“Here.”

He held out his arms slightly, and you gladly wrapped your arms around his neck, your back now warm from his touch too. You buried your face in between his neck and your arm, while he places his chin on your shoulder.

You felt him inhale and exhale, and somehow the feeling of his chest, his shoulders rising, it made you feel okay. It made you feel at home.

“Are you okay now ‘cause I’d really like to go back to sleep,” five broke the silence after several seconds of feeling each others’ warmth.

You nod, pulling away from the hug. “It’s okay if you say no, but I ... I really don’t want to sleep alone. I mean, on this mattress. It’s so big, it feels so lonely.”

Five blinked for a few seconds before nodding, standing up to grab his pillow and blanket.

“I’ll face the other way,” He said, pullling his blanket over him as he laid beside you. “But I’m here. Just remember that.”

You nod, resting your head on your own pillow, feeling yourself ease back into the drowsy feeling of sleep.

“Actually, Y/N ... how did you make the room vibrate?”

[roonilwazlibimagines]

Hey, I love your work! I was wondering if you could do what Sirius Black dating a Ravenclaw would include. Thanks so much!

Yes! I am a ravenclaw, and I understand all racenclaws are different so I’ll try my very best!

I have this very specific kink where I want my partner to read books to me but sometimes I feel like I’ll end up being the one who reads and this would definitely happen with Sirius who wasn’t a very good reader but wanted to support your interests

He would lay his head in your lap and you would be absentmindly playing with his hair while you read to him and he would just find your voice so soothing and he was instantly calm

Quidditch was very interesting as you both would be quite competitive about it

If you played Quidditch, Sirius would find it very hot and there would be amazing src happening after you played

If Ravenclaw won you would constantly remind him about how great you were and how amazing Ravenclaw was

And if Gryffindor won Sirius would say he wasn’t immature like you and wouldn’t shove it in your face, but when there was a short silence he would immediately bring it up

You would try to put blue on him all the time and as much as he would whine and huff and roll his eyes it actually suited him

He tried to get you to wear red as well and you hated it just as much but you loved the way his eyes lit up and as long as you didn’t wear it in public too often it was fine

You would have very deep conversations about topics which either of you deemed important and often times they turned very existential

You would stargaze all the time and share both of your interesting facts about the stars, always making an effort to find Sirius

You would always help him with his homework and he would always be in awe about how much you knew

But it was very hard to stay focused and tutoring often turned into flirting which turned into something else

Sirius would definitely be happy to do that dumb thing where if he gets it right he gets a kiss because he thought it was cute and swore it made him more focused

I feel like although he is still goofy and and dumb at times, he had a very high emotional intelligence and you were able to connect to him on a deeper level because of it

He wouldn’t be afraid to write bad poetry with you and even though you got so embarrassed reading it out he would support you and it would always turn into you two crying from laughing so hard

Helping him with all of their pranks and advanced magic

Also finding out what to do when something went wrong (which they never did) but was really helpful when it did eventually go wrong

Being really into dreams and waking each other up at ungodly hours to tell him about your dream but he wouldn’t mind because he loved trying to decode them with you

Also, back to helping him study, I think sometimes it would be really hard because I feel like stereotypically it would be really hard to understand a Ravenclaw’s notes and only they could make sense of it which would leave Sirius amazed and just in awe of how your brain works

Stereotypically there would be a lot of late late nights doing whatever (or studying) but also I can see a Ravenclaw who knows the benefits of sleep and is adamant they need x amount of sleep which Sirius would just find adorable

I feel like as organised as Ravenclaws are, there is the underlying threat of it all falling apart because underneath is a massive mess and Sirius would just help them organise it all and just be so supportive

You would definitely call him out on his shit and wouldn’t be afraid to put him in his place which he absolutely loved (not that you would ever be harsh about it, but you just knew him really well and wanted the best for him)

In saying that you would like overanalyse him and his behaviours and he would beg you to tell him what you thought and you would be in his arms telling him why you think he associates happiness with the stars

Lots and lots of tea drinking mainly because a Sirius liked the aesthetic of it

I could go on forever so if you want more let me know !!

[hairstylesbeauty]

[aiweirdness]

Rhyming is hard

Although many people have generated AI poetry and lyrics, you’ll notice that they generally don’t rhyme. That’s because generating a decent rhyme is super hard.

You can get an inkling of this if you prompt the neural net GPT-2 with rhymes to complete. It will fail almost every time.

In part, this is because English spelling is so nonuniform. How would a model trained on just written English know that it can rhyme throw with dough but not with brow? Not to mention stress patterns and syllable counts.

A few people have attempted to get neural nets to rhyme, and one of them is a new online demo by Prof. Mark Riedl of Georgia Tech. Give it example lyrics to a song - for example, the first two verses to the Gilligan’s Island theme - and it’ll try to fit the number of syllables and rhyming scheme, as well as take inspiration from a short phrase you supply.

Prompt: “If I knew you were coming, I’d have baked a cake” Tune: Gilligan’s Island theme

Ok, but this is terrible. It’s TERRIBLE. One of the problems is a complete disregard for emphasis, making this inhumanly awkward to sing. It also does a rather cheap shortcut of rhyming words with themselves.

Prompt: “The mighty pudding god will devour you.” Tune: Gaston’s Waltz from Beauty and the Beast

Here we are not only off-topic and awkward but absolutely bonkers. It has made the rather daring move of incorporating a reference to Alusuisse, which wikipedia informs me is a defunct Swiss chemical company. In fact, looking back over the program’s output, it made this decision when looking for a rhyme for “this”, and it skipped past “bliss”, “dismiss”, and “Chris” in favor of the former aluminum manufacturer. When choosing rhymes it scores potential words according to their similarity to the prompt, and there must have been something about Alusuisse that screamed “vengeful pudding god”.

Its syllable counting also breaks in weird ways.

Prompt: “Destroy all humans” Tune: “Baa baa black sheep”

Looking back over the logs, it did correctly count 11 syllables for “baa baa black sheep have you any wool.” But this AI is built of lots of carefully-coordinated sub-programs, each of which only does a small piece of the puzzle, and apparently the sub-program that was supposed to suggest 11-syllable lines shrugged and went “on…. august? that’s all i got”.

Prompt: I am a turnip Tune: The wonderful thing about tiggers

This makes the world’s worst karaoke, and yes, Riedl has built a karaoke-making function for this. If you want to weird someone out, just casually sing a song with the AI lyrics instead of the real ones.

Botnik Studios also recently built a karaoke-generating algorithm (“The Weird Algorithm”) that instead of generating lines from scratch, picks them from some other source file, trying to match meter and rhyme. (for example, rewriting The Rainbow Connection with lines from X-files scripts). Here’s Jamie Brew demonstrating the system, including singing the lyrics as they pop up onscreen - if you tried to sing any of the lyrics above, you’ll know how darn impressive his singing is. Each line is independent, though, so if the song makes sense as a whole, it’s by accident.

So today’s AI can only sort of generate rhyming poetry. “Sigh. Natural language is hard,” Riedl tweeted, when he saw the Turnip hoowelp welp results. AI won’t be beating humans at rap battles anytime soon.

You can generate your own inadvisable karaoke using Riedl’s app.

Subscribers get bonus content: I generated more terrible AI lyrics than would fit in this blog post.

My book on AI is out, and, you can now get it any of these several ways! Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Indiebound - Tattered Cover - Powell’s - Boulder Bookstore