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tiredfox64 · 3 months

Note

Giant Liu kang, okay I'll shut up

No the reader isnt even small, he's just fucking big, bro is a god my guy😭😭😭

Run! It’s God

Yip notes: You can’t go asking this WHEN IM BACK IN MY GODZILLA ERA

Pairing: Liu Kang (MK1) x Gn reader

Warnings‼️: Short stack

Some may think they will not meet God until they die. Some believe they will see God during a big event that was told in a scripture. Some believe God is not with us. Maybe God is created. Maybe there was never a God

But God is watching us. Hi Liu Kang!

Liu Kang is no ordinary god. He was once human like you and me. He understands how curious humans can be and how emotional they are. It comforts him to watch over his creations. It reminds him of his past life. Though it’s hard to get a clear look at them when his eyes glow bright. It attracts all eyes onto him. He can��t risk others acknowledging his presence. He has found a solution around this issue and that’s by going out at night. Yes, strange solution, he knows. But when his eyes blend in with the stars or even city lights it makes it seem like he’s not even there. But to truly pull that trick off he must change forms. He finds it works best when he is in the form of a titan.

Since the beginning of this timeline, Liu Kang has gained the ability to grow large like a titan. He doesn’t do it often since it involves a lot of energy from an amulet. But tonight he will use it again so he can go out and see the people. They better be acting good or he swears to himself—

══💤══╡°˖✧🦊✧˖°╞══💤══

The night sky was so clear. Not a dark blue cloud in the sky that could hide away the moon. It was full and bright, using its light to guide your way up the hill. The somewhat overgrown grass tinkles and scratches at your ankles as you reach the top. There you see your favorite spot, a single bench next to a willow tree. The view you get from this height is incredible. You could see how the city lights up with life. Even when the world is dark there are still people on the move whether it be working, partying, or just enjoying life. That’s what you’re doing, enjoying life. The area is quiet with only a few cars driving by at the bottom of the hill. You feel the breeze flow over your body as you take a seat on the wooden bench.

You take deep breaths and feel your heart slow down to the serenity of the experience. It’s good to take time to step back from life’s hardships and breathe. It doesn’t matter if they are large or small, life is hard and it stresses you out to no end. For your own sanity, you must step away. So how about you take a look up at the beautiful stars tonight. Maybe you will find some constellations like the Draco or the Hydra constellation. That’s if the stars would stop moving-

The stars are doing what? The stars are what?

That’s not right. The stars are shifting too fast. Maybe it’s a plane? No, if it was a plane then there would be green and red lights flashing in and out. Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. But if they were why would it be those two specific stars that are moving around? Actually, now that you are staring at them, they seem larger than the others. Even a little hint of blue in them. Great, now the stars are blinking—WHAT?

Oh, it seems like I have been found. I might as well acknowledge my presence.

In that moment you see something moving around. You can’t tell exactly what it is but it’s huge. Those two glowing lights you know aren’t stars come closer to you. The ground beneath you shakes as if a tyrannosaurus is coming towards you. You are frozen in fear, unable to move your legs that wobble from the shaky ground. Finally, you see a face show up in front of you.

“Good evening-“

“GOOD GOD- YOU’RE HUGE!” You yell.

Your hand goes flying up to cover your mouth. The look on Liu Kang’s face shows both shock and disappointment. He did not mean to startle you. Poor thing, your heart must be jumping. Your legs begin to work and you run behind the tree before shouting,

“I’M SORRY!”

“Oh, no, please do not hide from me. I did not mean to scare you.” Liu Kang speaks in a gentle voice. Sure, his voice can be a little authoritative but he is trying his best to be friendly right now.

You peek your head out from behind the thick trunk of the willow tree. You are surprised by how gentle his voice seems. You still stay behind the tree just in case you are being tricked. But that face that Liu Kang was giving you was getting to your soul. His eyes are not harsh but more like a soft light. He does back away from the hill a little to give you some space. You slowly walk away from the tree and get closer to the bench to get a better look at him.

Your mind cannot comprehend what is happening. Your eyes stare upon a man who is way bigger than you. This is not an elephant sized man, this is a dinosaur sized man. Nope, you are lowballing, this man is the size of Godzilla. Final Wars Godzilla to be exact. His eyes, as we have established, glow in ways that are impossible.

You are a good person, you do no wrong. Your system is clean. If there were any drugs or alcohol found in your system then that was not you who put them in your body. You are not drunk and you are not high on anything. What would make you high enough to make everything feel normal but make you see a huge man?

I’d say datura but legally I don’t know anything about it.

“I apologize for scaring you. I am Lord Liu Kang, protector of Earthrealm and God of fire.” He bows to you.

God? Earthrealm? This is so strange. You plop down on the bench to take a moment to think about this all. It all feels real but your brain can’t comprehend it. You pinch yourself to make sure this is not a dream. Liu Kang lets out a light chuckle at your display of confusion. Usually people just accept who he is or say “What in the actual fuck” but you are truly unable to accept the situation at hand.

“Perhaps I should explain everything to you.” He suggests.

“Yeah…yeah that would help a lot. Thanks.”

══💤══╡°˖✧🦊✧˖°╞══💤══

So on a random night you somehow met God? Fascinating! No one will believe you but that’s okay. This will stay between you and Liu Kang.

He was real, as real as the bench you sat on. He even let you touch his hand to make you realize that he was real. He told you the truth that he likes watching humans go about their lives, it’s just not easy with some aspects of him. Even if he changed his clothes his eyes would still stand out. That’s why he goes out at night.

He didn’t expect you to come out and sit at the top of the hill. He was curious about what you were up to since you didn’t seem to be doing anything, It seems like he got too close since you caught him. But now that all that mess was settled…what now? You have a fire god next to you on this hill, no cars are coming by at this time, and you’re alone with each other. Well, you could continue appreciating the view with him.

“Do you often interact with people?” You ask.

“Yes, but not many are strangers. The people I interact with are my warriors and the monks at the Wu Shi Academy.”

“So not many people from the city, huh? Probably not many in the countryside either I’m guessing.”

Liu Kang chuckles before replying, “No. You are the first stranger I have truly interacted with. I do appreciate that you did not run away.”

Don’t you just feel special? You smile as you continue looking at the city lights while kicking your feet. You feel his eyes staring down at you but you don’t look at him. You feel like it would be rude. He’s not looking at you with any ill will. He’s just taking in the fact that he doesn’t speak with others that are not fighters. It’s a nice change. You seem to be a person going through life without the thought of fighting for your realm or having huge goals that seem impossible to achieve for a being like you.

“Would you like to get a different view of the city?” He asks.

You turn around and give him a look of curiosity which is a cute look for you. You tilt your head slightly to the side while you think about it. You decide why the hell not. Let’s see what he will do for you.

“Sure!”

Liu Kang places his hand gently on the ground, the grass flattening below him. You look at him to confirm your suspicions of him wanting you to climb into his hand. He nods his head while having a warm smile on his lips. You take your time climbing onto his palm. Your nails claw at his skin as your feet kick you off the ground. You tumble onto his hand before giving him the thumbs up. His other hand swoops in to give you more space and prevent you from falling off. He slowly lifts you higher in the sky which makes you close your eyes in anticipation. Once the movement stops and you feel the wind blow a little harder you open your eyes.

Your eyes sparkle as brightly as the city lights. You get a clearer view of the buildings that are behind and beside the tall ones. So many colors come from apartment buildings with windows glowing blue, purple, red, or multicolor. You watch multiple motorcycles weave through traffic while the cars beep at them. The headlights of cars range from pure white to yellow which illuminates the streets.

“Wow…the city looks entirely different from this point of view.” You reply in amazement.

“Indeed it does. A different point of view is sometimes wonderful.” He says before continuing to look at the city.

The moment lasted for a long time. The only thing that is on your mind is how gorgeous it is and how lucky you are to be in this situation. You rest your head against his finger as you continue looking. One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. You stay like that for fifteen minutes before you feel him slowly bring you down. He opens his hands to allow you to get back on the ground. You hop off his hand with no complaints. You had your moment.

“You should get home. It is getting late and you must be tired.” He advises you.

You nod your head before making your way down the hill. You walk slowly since you truly don’t want to leave this moment. But Liu Kang is already walking away. You swiftly turn around and yell to him.

“Lord Liu Kang, can I ask you something?!”

He turns around and his bright eyes are almost the only thing you can see. You see his silhouette but the rest of him was hard to see in the dark.

“Ask and you shall receive.”

“Can we do this again?!” You yell.

You don’t see it but a smile appears on the fire god’s face, “Of course.”

Yap notes: I didn't get a nosebleed this time but I did have a crisis because I was thinking about how many depict god as having glowing eyes. The only one I could think of in the moment was that short film called The Portrait of God and boy would it suck if Liu Kang looked like that. And then (this is the bad part) I remembered this video or even picture that I believe was about a captured god whose limbs were being stretched and it was in pain. The problem is I can't find it and now I'm wondering if I made it up or the plot is not right...I went on this rant for too long. I promise I did not write this to distract myself from taking notes. Adiós!

#mortal kombat #mk1 #mortal kombat 1 #mortal kombat1 #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat x you #mk x reader #mk x you #mk fanfic #liu kang x reader #liu kang x you #liu kang mk1 #mk1 liu kang #liu kang mortal kombat #mortal kombat liu kang #liu kang #g/t community #sfw g/t #g/t writing

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wonder-mei · 7 months

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Letting Life Lead Part 2 (MK1 Bi-han)

Reminder: this is not lore accurate to the Mortal Kombat universe. I write because they're hot. I also do not have a beta reader or I read my fanfic from top to bottom to see any errors. I'm lazy okay.

I forgot to include an idea in the previous fan fic so here’s a sequel. Consume it well.

—

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Ever since she was a teen, many of her friends and girls around her age got into relationships with people they were interested in. Some until it led to marriage and some broke up. And from that she learned; not everyone can have happily ever after with their first love or when someone thinks their partner is the one.

But there is one conversation her friends always frown upon. Arranged marriage. They said it is too out of time and unethical because of how it won’t give that person no choice to defy. When the rumour of her getting arranged with the oldest son of the Lin Kuei clan grandmaster. Her friends sent her condolences which she understands because everyone describes Bi-han is as cold as his cryo power and very stern to be the best for his clan.

And they were all wrong. Very wrong about him.

The wife of Bi-han turns her head towards the door slides and her husband enters with his arms on his back hiding something. “Welcome home” she greets with a smile and drops the brush she has been using for hours on the wooden table in their room “What’s that?”

Bi-han approaches her and places a box wrapped in cloth on the table. She curiously unfolds then opens the box and reveals her favorite sweets inside. She smiles cheekily at Bi-han “Your Po Po won’t like this” even with that word she eats them anyway.

Just this evening before the maids cook lunch she requested for her favorite sweet but out of nowhere Bi-han’s grandmother came into the kitchen “You cannot eat that food! They are unhealthy”

She then came into their bedroom with a frown in her face “What’s wrong?” Bi-han asked but she didn't answer,one of her quirk when she is upset. Bi-han sighs leaving his wife alone to soothe her emotion off alone as she is comfortable to do it on her own alone. He went to the maids asking what happened to his wife and it was his grandmother once again being strict with her wife.

Now Bi-han can now be at ease seeing his wife eating the food she craves today. He caresses her head as she eats. He then holds the paper she wrote a poem on, a talent of hers. She writes her thoughts and nature as her hobby. It reads;

The sun arise at dawn,

And the moon moves away for it to shine,

Even the sun is brighter than the moon,

The moon is still there for the sun,

Even it is not a star,

Giving light to earth,

The moon will be by the sun’s side,

Nonetheless and forever.

Bi-han smiles as he reads the poem. He stands up to put it on the wall with the other poems. His wall used to be blank and nothingness and now the walls are covered with poetry she had written. Even the poem she dislikes, he still stick them on the wall saying ‘Still written with your heart’

After she finished eating. They both sleep for the night together. And the morning came, they both ate breakfast together. The grandmother came in to join too. “Young lady, I told you to wear Beizi! It is the clan’s tradition for the women to wear Beizi everyday” she nags pointing at her Aoqun attire.

Bi-han sighs, gripping his fists under the table. His wife is pouting again at the nagging “I told her to wear Aoqun today”, he said with a gruff. The grandmother scowls in annoyance. His grandson is backing up his wife again as he always does. The old lady left the couple alone. The wife hugs his arm as a Thank You. Bi-han knows she is fond of wearing Beizi as her daily attire every day. Bi-han would occasionally back up his wife in whatever situations.

“You have been married to her for 6 months and she is still not pregnant. It seems like she is useless!”

“It is my decision to not have a child now”

“Why is she not wearing blue? She is your wife and it’s symbolized she is your property”

“I told her to wear that”

“A married woman shouldn’t walk around the village!”

“I made her to walk outside”

“She still acts like a child! She’s very childish”

“I will teach her”

But he didn’t. He let her be herself. Bi-han understands that she is his wife but she is still young and has a lot of experiences to discover for her curiosity. She can still hangout with her friends or play with the clan’s kids. Even though she was given a lot of freedom, she still respected him as her husband and set her own limit for his comfort.

What are the odds, a man as cold as Bi-han is the greatest husband every woman wishes for. Her friends are jealous that her husband worships her like a deity and loves her as her own. From fear to adoration the women view Bi-han but he won’t even take a glance at them. He already has his wife who sees good in him just from the first glance they shared. No judgement in her eyes,only acceptance.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

P.S: i don't know how to write poem so i'm sorry if it's bad lol

#mortal kombat x reader #bi han x reader #sub zero x reader #mortal kombat #sub zero #bi han mk

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odditycircus-2002 · 2 months

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MK1 Medusa: You married that absolute waste of existence?!?!

Medusa ALT: (Genuinely Confused) Why do you hate our Prickly Catcus so much?

Mk1 Medusa: EEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!

I just like to think that in most timelines, Medusa!Reader is happily married to Shang Tsung. But once in a Blue Moon, you do come across one that isn’t married to Shang Tsung. Even rarer, one that HATESSSS the man😆

ALT Medusa!Reader genuinely curious: Why do you hate your Shang Tsung so much?

MK1 Medusa!Reader holding back tears: Because he broke my trust AND made me a ssssstranger in my own BODY!

ALT Medusa!Reader too calmly: Would you mind if I joined you in eviscerating that poor excuse of a Shang Tsung?

#mortal kombat #oddball speaks #shang tsung #mortal kombat 1 #mk1 #medusa!reader #ask answered #anon ask

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renatogpadilla · 5 months

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THOUGHTS ON CR3E92 IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

- FIRST EVER CR CROSSOVER EPISODE?!

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

- Dariax said "This Flute doesn't play itself anymore." Doriax canon offscreen?

- "After all the handjobs, this is what we mean to you?!" Damn... I mean, I'm glad Opal and Cyrus found a way to relieve stress, Gods know they're both stressed, but damn.

- Ending the episode on Opal Twice-Crowned hitting phase 2 of the boss fight was EVIL!

I love it, @quiddie ! I feel like when this gets animated in a decade or so, we'll get this fight and the fight with Otohan Thull overlayed one on top of the other for a Season Finale or something!

- Raven Queen going two for two on Rogues turned Paladin! Which is great, but now I have to replan Morrighan's moveset for that imaginary Critical Role fighting game that only exists in my head (somebody ask me about it please, I NEED to talk about it!) but at least she gets some Smite options out of the Bunny Hop command jump!

- Dariax is a Bard now too! That's honestly so perfect for Matt! And the fact that both Sorcerers and Bards are Charisma Casters makes me feel like the Synergies are gonna be great!

- Oh, Dorian, wonderful blue king... That's a lot of strength that your Dice will never agree to let you use for anything cool. I missed you SO MUCH!

- Speaking of that imaginary CR fighting game, this just solidified Opal as a puppet character. The tag combos with Ted would be WILD! Think Kenshi from MK1!

- Fy'ra Rai... Just... FY'RA RAI! Gods, I've missed Anjali at the table! Her memory with Opal, her tug-of-war with her thoughts about her sister... THE LAVA WHIP! Nothing sexier than Monks! Except a pissed off Wizard or Druid.

- On the other side of the table, I LOVE the moment the girls all collectively remembered they had to break the news to Frida... Oh, that's gonna hurt BAD!

- Anyone else noticed that Ashton is BURNT OUT and laying on the ground after his Titan form wears off, but Fearne just says she's really tired and just KEEPS GOING? Ashton is DONE for now, but Fearne needs to keep moving forward... Fuck, I love these two.

- Orym... Just... Orym. If you take a level in Barbarian after this, I wouldn't blame you.

- Side-Note: This means Dorian DID get Orym's last message before they went to the moon! He just didn't/couldn't answer! Which means, through the static and everything, Dorian COULD hear Orym! And now he's probably gonna get this message once the battle is over... Jesus, if they get to Zephra and Keyleth went to the Lodge next to the lake that's gonna be a problem...

- Side-Note Side-Note: Anyone else hoping to GOD that Allura called the Nein to help? Cause Beau and Caleb were involved, but now it feels like an "All Hands on Deck" situation, and we could use Kingsley's small army of pirates right about now...

- So much happened this episode between the grieving and the flashbacks and the rolling for handjobs that I didn't have time to process the splinter cell of Xhorhasians that split their soul in twain until I woke up... Opal may have forgotten, but maybe Ted hasn't? Though if they're the same person, maybe they both forgot...

- Aabria, the corrupting of the Memories was FOUL, I LOVE IT!!!

- Somebody needs to tell Essek about the soul-splitters. In fact, let's get to that while we deal with Ashton too!

- IF OPAL DIES, AMY CAN COME OVER AS DENI$E! Like, I don't WANT her to die, but Westruun isn't that far... 👀

- I just realized this is the first ever FULL episode of CR without Sam at the table... Fuck, man, when it hurts it hurts. Glad Marisha brought back the fan.

"Forgot the Consonants?" "No Letters." OUCH, MISS RAY, WHAT THE FUCK?!

- Raven Queen Paladins hasting themselves first thing in the fight. Vax is back, and he's a Bunny Girl now!

- I like that the Crownkeepers are a two-way Overwatch reunion (McCree Cassidy and Symmetra) and a three-way Persona 5 reunion (Yusuke, Ann Futaba and Akechi).

- Everything was so fucked this episode that everything with Liliana got knocked to the background for me, THAT'S how good it was!

- The SECOND Evoroa said Ludinos was on Exandria I knew EXACTLY where he would be! Now we HAVE to get the Nein involved, right? Unless the bastard makes the city float again...

I cannot WAIT for the next episode! And if Sam brings a new character when all the groups are together, it would be SPECTACULAR! I'm guessing he's going to play one of the moon races, because that just sounds cool... Either that or Tary!

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cyanobotcodes · 2 months

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Procedural Skyboxes 1 - Atmosphere

Earth-like - no atmosphere to atmosphere

Earth-like - clear to overcast

Martian-esque - no dust to dust storm

static Earth-like light haze

Last week I was on holiday and did no work on my RimWorld mods. Instead I tried my hand at learning Unity. After powering through the tutorials, my project this week has been skyboxes.

Discussion and process below the cut.

First off I need to credit this tutorial by Jannik Boysen, without which I probably wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. I didn’t end up following the tutorial very closely in the end, but the first section in particular set me on the right track from knowing basically nothing about making a skybox.

My goal is a stylised, pretty skybox suitable for drawing skies for a variety of different atmospheric conditions, including other planets with very different atmospheres.

I did look into a physically-based approach (which is to say, a mathematical solution to try and simulate the way light moves through a real atmosphere as closely as possible). I found my understanding of both atmospheres and shaders somewhat lacking. And besides, I’m shooting for a somewhat more stylised look and feel.

As a result, physics will inform my choices, but I won’t be attempting to directly model real optics.

I can however recommend some sources from the reading I did for anyone who is interested in doing full physical simulation. (There’s a wealth of material out there, these are the ones I ended up bookmarking/downloading.):

Simulating the Colors of the Sky (scratchapixel.com)

Real-Time Rendering of Planets with Atmospheres, T. Schafhitzel, M. Falk, & T. Ertl

A Practical Analytic Model for Daylight, A.J. Preetham, P. Shirley & B. Smits

All-weather model for sky luminance distribution-preliminary configuration and validation, R. Perez, R. Seals, and J. Michalsky

Rendering Parametrizable Planetary Atmospheres with Multiple Scattering in Real-Time, O. Elek

A Scalable and Production Ready Sky and Atmosphere Rendering Technique, S. Hillaire

Mk0 - Black/Blue

Very simple. Two settings: the colour of the atmosphere, and a slider for the amount of atmosphere.

Hitch: the black spot.

A linear gradient from horizon to zenith produces an ugly black spot dead centre in the sky. I settled on a cubic gradient from the full atmosphere color at the horizon to 40% of it at the zenith.

Mk1 - Absorb/Scatter

The color of the sky that we see is produced by sunlight scattering through the atmosphere.. Much as when we look at the moon, we see it by the sunlight bouncing off its surface, we only see the sky by the sunlight bouncing off the particles in the air. For gases, the main form of scattering is Rayleigh scattering.

Contrary to popular opinion, the blue colour of the sky is not because of the oxygen in it (or not just the oxygen, at any rate). Most gases scatter far more blue light than any other visible wavelength. A nitrogen-only atmosphere would look very similar to our nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, as would argon, methane, etc, etc. There are slight differences in scattered hue, but most atmospheres (considering only the gases!) are going to be blue-ish.

The biggest difference, as far as I'm aware, is for highly polarisable gases like sulfur dioxide (SO₂), which scatter noticeably more green light than nitrogen or oxygen, although they still scatter blue preferentially.

The “scatter” component of my skybox is essentially the same as the black/blue Mk0 model. Scattering is more intense near the horizon (because you are looking at/out through a thicker layer of atmosphere) and less intense toward the zenith.

However, oxygen does have one special contribution to the colour of Earth’s atmosphere: ozone: O₃. Ozone is blue. Actually blue, even in much smaller than atmospheric quantities, unlike common-or-garden oxygen or nitrogen. This means that it provides a noticeable contribution to the colour of the sky even though it is only present in tiny quantites (less than 10 parts per million even in the ozone layer).

Because the ozone layer is found high in the stratosphere (where the UV light from the sun hits the oxygen in the atmosphere), I am modelling its effect as applying before scattering (in reality they overlap, but I’m trying to keep it relatively simple). The ozone absorbs a small portion of the red and green light from incoming sunlight.

The effect is that the sky overhead is a deeper and richer blue than scattering alone produces:

Here’s a quick chlorine atmosphere, with both absorption and scatter contributing to the dense green colour.

It’s not a great representation of a chlorine atmosphere yet, because chlorine is so densely green. The sky would probably be darker and have less of a horizon-to-zenith gradient, due to the fact that most light would scatter many times before reaching the camera. Our model isn’t set up to handle this yet – but it still makes quite an attractive alien green sky.

Mk2 - Gas/Particulate

So far I’ve only modeled the effects of scattering by gases. Suspended particles of liquid or solid in the air have a massive effect on sky colour (as we all know from wildfires, dust storms, clouds, and other such phenomena). Suspended particulates are typically much larger particles than gases, and the dominant scattering effect is Mie scattering.

For our purposes, the biggest difference is that light scattered by particulates tends to reflect the colour of the particulate substance, instead of just being blue or mostly-blue.

I therefore add a second scattering component, this one controlled by a particulate color and a particulate intensity.

Hitch: too blue

The intuitive first course of action is to add the two scattering components together. After all, the light we see is the sum of the light scattered by the atmospheric gases and the light scattered by the atmospheric particulates.

On the left, high intensity white scatter from water particles, barely making a dent in the blue of the sky. On the right, a rather fetching mauve sky that does not look a lot like the red dust in the air that it’s supposed to be showing.

The problem is that the amount of light scattered by the particulates rapidly becomes far more than the amount scattered by the gases. The 256-options-per-channel of standard RGB colour space just isn’t enough to represent the massively different amounts of light we’re talking about.

When the particulate densities are very low, the sky colour is dominated by the blue of the gases, with perhaps a tint from particulates in the air. As particulate densities get higher, the colour is dominated by the particulates. I wrote a function to slide smoothly between these two modes.

(While the sky might actually be darker with a lot of smoke, the colour on the screen will still probably be the brightest thing in the scene, due to the limited dynamic range of the colour space.)

Now we have a better representation of a hazy, overcast sky, or a Martian-esque storm of red-orange dust. But…

Another hitch: gradients

Both of the above images look kinda weird, because they are too bright at the horizon and too dark overhead. When the sky is very full of particles (high turbidity), it tends to look smooth and uniform from horizon to horizon.

This happens because of multiple scattering. When the total amount of scattering is low, most of the light that reaches the eye has only been scattered once. A small proportion has bounced twice, and an even smaller proportion two, three times, etc. Single scattering is usually a “good enough” model for clear skies.

But when the total amount of scattering gets very high, as in high turbidity, most of the light is bouncing around two or three times before reaching the camera. This means that the amount of light coming from any given direction has very little to do with what direction that is, or what direction it originally entered the atmosphere from.

A second function, kicking in at higher particulate intensities, slides the behaviour of the sky from “single-scattering” (gradient from horizon to zenith) to a single, uniform colour representing multiple scattering.

And that gets us to the shader shown at the top of the post. Some of the calculations probably still need tweaking, but it's hard to gauge exactly what needs to change without adding some more complex features...

Next up - stars.

#indie dev #shaders #skybox #cyanobot learns unity

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earthrealm-konquest · 7 months

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▮FIGHT▮TRAINING▮STORY MODE▮KUSTOMIZE▮▷SETTINGS

━━▷ 『 SETTINGS 』

□ KONTROLS

□ AUDIO & GRAPHICS

□ GAMEPLAY

■ OTHER

━ KREDITS

━ PROGRESS

▷▷ INFORMATION

━ ⋆ MICK/SAM ; 18TEEN

━ ⋆ ARTIST ; ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: EDITOR

━ ⋆ HE/HIM ; THEY/THEM

━ ⋆ MK11 RADIEN RIDER

━ ⋆ PLAYED : [▪︎MK1] [▪︎MK11] [MORE TO COME..]

□ BACK TO MAIN MENU

#━⋆ pinned post #tw flickering #tw flashing #━⋆ silly little video i made inside post #━⋆ art

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dynamites-ao3 · 11 months

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*claps my hands* welp i wrote my once in a blue moon angst, now back to peddling smut and crack fics that i like to pass off as “humour” 👍 i like the lin kuei in mk1 they are some rad dudes

#personal

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mrm101 · 1 year

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NASA announced yesterday (19 May) that Blue Origin has won the, Appendix-P, USD3.4b award (Blue Origin will chip in another USD3.5b itself) to build the second HLS-SLD (Human Landing System Sustained Lunar Development) companion crew Lunar lander to SpaceX's HLS-SLD Starship, beating the (other one and only) rival bid from Dynetics. The design, to be called 'Blue Moon' (no tittering please) will ultimately be used to land a crew on the Moon on Artemis V in 2029 following the use of SpaceX's HLS Starship on Artemis III in 2025 and Artemis IV in 2028.

This design is different to the design Blue Origin and partners Lockheed Martin, Draper and Boeing first submitted for the first HLS contract won by SpaceX in 2021.

The Blue Moon will be launched onboard a (yet to be launched or even seen) Blue Origin New Glenn within its 7m fairing and be delivered to the same Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) to be used by the Gateway station. Before it can be used for a Lunar landing it will have to be refuelled, for this Lockheed Martin is building the Cis-Lunar Transporter (no pictures or renders of this yet). Effectively a tanker which will also be launched by New Glenn to travel out to dock with the Blue Moon in Lunar orbit and transfer propellent to it (the Transporter can also provide other services to the lander whilst docked). The tanker will feature new technology under development by Blue Origin to minimise Liquid Oxygen boil off, which they call their 20 kelvin zero boil off system, to allow it to be used as a long term storable propellent (which will also have wider applications including for supporting surface operations). The crew will launch on a separate SLS-Orion Artemis mission, docking with and transferring to the Blue Moon lander via Gateway station in Lunar Orbit.

The lander will be 16m tall with a dry mass of 16t, 45t when fully fuelled, unusually (if there is a usual for Lunar landers) the propellent tanks are above the crew module (when landing anyway) with the liquid hydrogen tank on top on which will be mounted fold out radiator panels (as shown in pic) and solar panels (on the opposite side) the high gain antennas etc and the Transporter docking and refuelling connectors on the top end. In the middle is a toroidal liquid oxygen tank within a lattice structured, on the bottom is the Crew Module for four astronauts with an airlock and immediate access to the surface (unlike Starship from which the crew will need to descend on a lift platform). The port for docking with the Gateway station or Orion is mounted on the side of the crew module with a little docking window near it I noticed. The engines are then mounted to the base (my first impression are that it seems a bit weird to route the fuel lines through the Crew Module to the base when the engines could be mounted near the propellent tanks around the middle, which would mean less lunar surface and rocks being blasted up on landing and particularly take off... also the docking port could then be mounted less awkwardly on the bottom centreline... but what do i know).

For the return flight the entire vehicle will launch back into orbit to dock with the Gateway station, you can't have separate ascent stages if you intend to use the lander multiple times.

Meanwhile the Transporter will have returned to Earth to dock with and be reloaded with propellent itself form another vehicle (presumably... also not revealed yet) launched by New Glenn before it goes beck to Lunar orbit to refuel in turn the Blue Moon lander for its next mission.

Before the first crew mission (Artemis V) in 2029 a different but identical Blue Moon lander will make an uncrewed test landing in 2028, this lander would be available for future use once it returns to Lunat orbit but another new one will be used for the Artemis V mission.

Prior to these missions Blue Origin will launch two (or more) Blue Moon Mk1 vehicles (the finished landers being Mk2) to test various components of the system (again no pictures of the Mk1 yet).

Blue Origin also plan to build cargo only versions of the lander which would have a 20t payload capability in a reusable configuration or 30t in a surface delivery only (one way) configuration.

In addition to the other partners in the project Astrobotics will be providing cargo accommodation systems and Honeybee Robotics will provide cargo off-loading capabilities. Boeing will build the docking system. As with the Dragon and Boeing commercial crew spacecraft supporting the ISS the spacecraft and their design will belong to Blue Origin (and the Starship to SpaceX) not NASA so they will be available in theory for other paying customers in future. Pic: Blue Origin, info via mostly the NASA press briefing.

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alice-beaumont-ravenclaw · 4 years

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A Momentary Lapse of Duty

A/N #1: Finally, the concert fic is out! So, this author’s note will mostly be links to things that will make the fic more enjoyable.

Luna Silver headcanons: Hat | Car | Watch

Pink Floyd Concert: Set List | Concert recording | Playlist of the studio recording of the songs | Venice Concert broadcast (a shorter version of the same concert that was broadcasted)

Outfits: Alice | Luna (basically)

Alice was standing in the entryway of her house, looking out the window of the door. She glanced at her watch, which had a black strap and a gold-coloured case, before looking out the window again, clearly waiting for something. She was wearing a black psychedelic Pink Floyd t-shirt with a design inspired by the cover of “Wish You Were Here” at the front and the dates and locations of the 1975 tour at the back. She had paired it with a relaxed boyfriend fit denim shorts that had some abrasions, and a blue flannel checked long-sleeve shirt that used to belong to her brother Jacob. Her black Dr. Martens, black handbag, and light grey striped socks peeking out of her boots completed her look.

She was fiddling with the tip of her braid when she saw a car parking in front of her house. A blond girl emerged from the turquoise Ford Escort MK1 1973, but before she could open the front gate, Alice opened her front door, waving at her.

“Finally! I was about to think we were going to miss the concert!” exclaimed Alice as she made her way to her friend.

Luna Silver, one of Ravenclaw’s beaters, had gotten two tickets to the Pink Floyd concert and had invited Alice to join her as they had gotten along during the short time Alice had been part of the Quidditch team. Not to mention Luna’s best friend Rohan was not interested in going to a Pink Floyd concert.

As her former teammate approached her, her eyes widened when she noticed what Alice was wearing. It was eerily similar to her outfit, which was a blue flannel checked long-sleeve shirt, a Pink Floyd tee inspired by their “Dark Side of the Moon” album, brown ankle grazer trousers, and tan Timberland boots. Luna’s surprise faded when she noticed that the resemblance stopped there, as Alice was bare-faced, and her only accessory was her watch. On the other hand, Luna had a full face of makeup, with gold eyeshadow, black eyeliner on the upper lash line, mascara, and dark purple lips. She was wearing a choker and multiple layers of necklaces around her neck, a few bracelets of various sizes and colours and a watch on her right arm and a black leather bracelet on her left, not to mention the rings she was wearing. Alice was sure she had seen one of the rings Luna was wearing on Barnaby’s fingers.

“Nice outfit,” said Luna as Alice passed in front of her to get in the car. “Was partly expecting you to turn up in a cute summer dress or something.”

“For a Pink Floyd concert? Sure, if I wanted to stick out like a sore thumb. Anyway, you’ve seen what I wear during Quidditch practice, so you know I don’t always wear girly clothes,” pointed out Alice as she opened the door of the car. “Anyway, do you think this car will last long enough to get us to the Docklands and back?” she added looking at the vehicle.

“Oliver is an excellent car! Did a road trip one summer with it a few years back, and had no problems whatsoever,” pointed out Luna, getting in the driver’s side of the car.

“Oliver? You named your car?” asked Alice, staring at her as Luna started the engine and pulled onto the street.

“Wouldn’t you?”

“No… Anyway, you said you got the car a few years back and went on a road trip, right?”

“Yeah,” replied Luna, wondering what she was getting at.

“You went on a road trip while illegally driving a car… That takes guts,” simply observed Alice. “Not surprising you dated Rath and Barnaby at the same time then. Rath seems like the jealous type…”

“We never actually dated… And how do you know about Rath, we kept our relationship a secret?” asked Luna, briefly glancing at her.

“You really think you can hide that kind of stuff from Penny and Andre?” replied Alice smirking.

“Well, I guess not,” said Luna, shaking her head with a small smile.

“You also dated Bill, right?”

“Again, we never actually dated…”

“Semantics. The point is… How is it to be romantically involved with a Weasley?”

“Which one?”

“Do you mean…? Well, hum, I guess in that case…” started saying Alice, flustered.

“I’m messin’ with you,” replied Luna, laughing.

“Oh! I was starting to think I had missed something…”

“Anyway, aren’t you going to tell me how I shouldn’t have broken Barnaby’s heart or something?”

“Why? Love is a fickle thing. I’m actually more impressed that you broke up with Rath and survived to tell the tale.”

“She’s not that bad.”

“I’ve seen her wielding that bat. If she wanted, she could crack your skull open.”

“As much as imagining me being murdered by someone is fun, let’s return to the Weasley question. While being involved with Bill, he is different from Charlie, so I don’t think you can use my experience as a reference. Anyway, I wouldn’t be worried about your budding romance with Dragon Boy. That snog you shared in front of everyone…”

“It was just a kiss,” grumbled Alice, her face turning red.

“Sure. A kiss that lasted more than ten seconds,” replied Luna as she drove around looking for a parking spot.

“Well, whatever it was, doesn’t mean anything for the future. While I do love him, I can’t predict the future. We are two in this relationship. He could lose interest in me now that he has me,” pondered Alice.

“Wow. You just started dating, and you already think like that? Cheer up, Alice. Dragon Boy has been gaga for you for some time now. Highly doubt he’s just going to drop you out of nowhere,” said Luna as she pulled on the hand brake.

Alice got out of the car and noticed a sign. “Luna, this says ‘Residents Only.’”

“Don’t worry. Jae hooked me up with this magical permit that’s good for everywhere,” said Luna as she placed a piece of paper on her windshield.

“How did…” started asking Alice.

“He didn’t tell, and I didn’t ask,” interrupted Luna, locking her car.

“Oh…”

“Now, come on, we don’t want to be late for the concert,” said Luna as she grabbed Alice’s wrist and started walking.

They made their way to the Docklands Arena, where a line had already formed, full of people waiting to get in.

“You have the tickets?” asked Alice as they went to the back of the line.

“Yup,” said Luna, turning her back to the Muggles in front of them. She discreetly took out her wand and waved it over her watch, the case opening up to reveal a small compartment. She took the tickets from said compartment, resulting in Alice furtively looking around.

“Did you seriously take those tickets out of your tiny watch in front of Muggles?” whispered Alice. “This goes against the Statute of Secrecy!”

“First of all, the Muggles are in front of us, and I turned my back, so don’t think they saw anything. Second, what do you care about the Statute? You broke so many rules at Hogwarts; I thought you would be the last person to care,” pointed out Luna.

“A plan my rule-breaking to reduce the risk of being caught. Call it a calculated risk,” explained Alice, looking around to make sure no Ministry employees had suddenly appeared to arrest them and bring them to Azkaban.

“Calm down, Alice, the Ministry won’t send us to Azkaban over a watch with an ancient Extension Charm,” said Luna, laughing as she patted Alice’s back.

They finally entered the arena, their eyes adjusting to the bright lights. They quickly found their seats and settled in before the concert began. Alice looked around, out of curiosity, at the audience. Some were young, about 20 years old, probably some of Pink Floyd more recent fans, while others were old enough to remember Pink Floyd at the time of Syd Barrett. There were some teenagers, but not that many. She raised her eyes toward the arena’s lights, thinking they ruined the whole rock mood a concert like this should have.

“The lights are awfully bright,” Alice remarked out loud.

“They’ll probably turn them off when the concert starts,” replied Luna as she tried to tighten her loose high ponytail, her tongue sticking out between her lips.

Alice kept looking around, not sure what else to say. She mostly interacted with Luna during Quidditch practice, so conversations had never really been part of their interactions. They talked, but never had extremely long conversations like she had with some of her other friends.

Lost in these thoughts, she didn’t notice when the lights dimmed a little, and the music started playing softly as the crowd cheered. The guitar playing, as well as the crowds erupting cheers that followed, caught her attention and she looked around, noticing the lights had barely dimmed.

“Ugh,” she heard Luna grunt. “Are you telling me they won’t turn off the lights?”

“Maybe later?” suggested Alice.

“David Gilmour has started playing. The ideal time to turn them off has passed,” explained Luna.

Alice looked around, noticing that while many were glaring at the lights above them, all were enjoying the music. When the other band members appeared on the stage and started playing, the audience erupted into cheers again.

Alice bit her thumb, concentrating on the music, her brows furrowed. She wasn’t that familiar with Pink Floyd. She had read about them after Luna had invited her to the concert and had listened to some of their records, but she wasn’t a longtime fan like Luna seemed to be.

“What song is this?” whispered Alice, a few minutes into the song.

“Don’t you recognize it? It’s ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’!” replied Luna, just as Gilmour started to sing.

“Oh… right… The one written as a tribute to Syd Barrett…” said Alice, trying her best to hide that her knowledge of Pink Floyd was recent.

Luna looked at her with a raised eyebrow, staring at her awkward smile before returning her attention to the concert. She had no idea Alice had accepted her invite partly because she was curious to see what a rock concert was like, partly because Luna was so cool, you can’t say no to someone who is at that level of cool. She couldn’t just admit she had no idea who Pink Floyd was.

Alice was lost in these thoughts when the saxophone made a high pitch sound at the end of the first song, which made her wince while the crowd was cheering. The cheers quieted down as the second song started. It was very calm, somewhat extraterrestrial. A few minutes in, the tempo completely changed and Gilmour began to sing again. Alice thought that the song’s intro didn’t match with its current beat.

A soul in tension that's learning to fly

Condition grounded but determined to try

Alice glanced at Luna, who was enthralled by the concert. She turned her gaze back to the stage. She figured the sound of Pink Floyd was something you got used to, as she was mostly feeling confused.

At the end of the song, the group stopped playing as people cheered. David Gilmour waved a bit at the crowd before starting to speak.

“Thank you very much, indeed!” he said before the crowd cheered.

“We’re going to play songs from the Momentary Lapse of Reason album for the first half of tonight,” he managed to say over the crowd’s clamour. “Are you ready, Guy?”

Guy Pratt nodded and started playing the beginning of the next song.

Alice enjoyed the repetitive beat of that song and the echoey sound of their voices and the instruments. While she still looked pensive, she was tapping her feet to the beat. She couldn’t help but smile when she heard Humphrey Bogart’s distinctive voice over the music.

“You're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong,” she heard him say.

“Merlin! It’s a scene from Casablanca,” she whispered to herself.

“Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp,” said Humphrey Bogart.

“It’s the ‘We’ll always have Paris’ scene!” said Alice, beaming.

“You seem more excited about that than the concert,” pointed out Luna, staring at her friend, bemused.

“Ah, hum… Well, it is one of my favourite movies,” explained Alice, blushing.

“If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life,” said Bogart.

“But what about us,” said Alice, along with the voice of Ingrid Bergman, a line that the voice of the actress repeated a few times until only the music was playing.

“Wait... They didn’t include ‘We’ll always have Paris’ or ‘Here’s looking at you, kid’? What’s the point of including that scene if you won’t use the iconic lines from it?” complained Alice, to Luna’s amusement.

“Just enjoy the show. You can watch the movie tomorrow if you want, and you’ll get all the iconic lines,” teased Luna, patting her friend’s back.

Pink Floyd’s voice sounded robotic in the song after. She had a hard time understanding what they were saying or singing. Eventually, they started to play a calm song with a recurrent melody. As they weren’t singing, Alice closed her eyes, trying to envision something, to see what story the music was trying to tell, but the only thing that came to her mind was outer-space. She suddenly imagined herself wearing a Star Trek uniform and walking around the USS Enterprise. At least she thought it was the USS Enterprise. Her knowledge of Star Trek was limited to the two or three episodes she had seen on TV, which she had watched because the captain had a French name, yet spoke with a British accent. Alice was suddenly taken out of her reveries when the robotic voices returned. She thought this was a bizarre and very long song intro.

The robotic voices stopped as suddenly as they started and were followed by the sound of a guitar and a bass. Alice had an expression of total confusion on her face. When the drums began to play, she couldn’t help but beat the rhythm by tapping her feet again. She was relieved when Gilmour started singing again. Pink Floyd songs seemed to have very disparate song intros. She didn’t remember them to be so all over the place when she listened to the records back home. Maybe she had listened to songs they had not played yet. As the song ended, at least, she thought it ended, as the instrumental parts were so heterogeneous, dogs or wolves appeared on a round screen behind the band, growling.

“What the…?” mumbled Alice, staring at the screen.

“It’s because the song is Dogs Of War,” explained Luna.

“Why do we have visuals for that one song? Why couldn’t they show the Casablanca scene?”

“Still going on about that movie? They probably didn’t show the scene because of copyrights.”

Alice let out a sigh, tapping her fingers on her arm to the tempo of the music. The song was good, and the beat was catchy. She still would have rather seen Humphrey Bogarts’ face on that screen than a bunch of angry wolves. Those wolves reminded her too much of her encounter with Fenrir Greyback. A sense of relief washed over her when the song ended and the wolves disappeared.

“Thank you very much, indeed,” said David Gilmour as the crowd cheered. “We’ll do one more song, and then we’ll do the shit. This is On The Turning Way.”

The crowd clapped and whistled as Gilmour started to sing again. Alice was mostly surprised there wasn’t a long song intro. It was a smooth song, even when the music got more intense, it maintained its relative serene vibe. Alice closed her eyes, trying to absorb the music, to visualize it. It felt dramatic and self-assured. Luna and other people around her started to get up to dance to the music, but they were quickly told by security to sit down. At the end of the song, everyone got up to applaud them.

The lights got a bit brighter, indicating the beginning of the intermission.

“Want anything?” asked Luna, as she got up.

“Hum, bottled water, if it’s not too much to ask,” replied Alice.

“Coming right up,” said Luna with a smile as she walked towards the exit.

Alice got up to stretch a bit, looking at her watch as she did so. The concert had started about an hour ago. She still had about an hour and a half to go, at least based on the review she had read in the paper. Another hour and thirty minutes of confusion with some moments of enjoyment…

“Here you go!” said Luna with a grin, holding the bottle of water in front of Alice’s face.

“Oh, thanks,” replied Alice, blinking as she was coming out of her thoughts. She looked at Luna who was sipping a glass full of a golden liquid. “Is that… beer?”

“Hmmm? Oh! Yeah, they didn’t have anything stronger. If there weren’t so many Muggles around, I’d take some from my watch… Want any?” offered Luna.

“Hum, no, I don’t drink.”

“Suit yourself.”

“But… the legal age of drinking in the UK is 18. You’re 17,” pointed out Alice.

“Technically, you have to be 18 to buy alcohol. You can drink beer and wine when you’re 16. Anyway, what are you? Some junior copper or something?”

“No, but what if they had asked for your ID? They might have thrown you out and you would have missed the rest of the concert.”

“They didn ask for it, and I had my fake ID with me, just in case,” replied Luna, taking it out of her pocket. “Honestly, Beaumont, you need to learn to relax. No wonder you always looked so tense every time I saw you. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders: the cursed vaults, Rakepick’s betrayal, your brother’s disappearance, getting good grades, playing Quidditch, solving your friends’ problems, being a Prefect… Honestly Alice, you need to let go. You don’t have to worry about everything and everyone,” said Luna, squeezing Alice’s shoulder with her free hand.

“Easier said than done… Every time a new vault releases its curse, everyone looks at me to solve it. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy solving the mystery of the vaults, and I’ve learned so much in the process, but it’s just so much pressure when everyone waits for you to deal with the vaults. Sure, Dumbledore is all about me leaving it to the professors, but I’m the one who’s seen as the ‘Curse-Breaker,’ and everyone expects me to end the curse. And with the whole Rakepick betrayal…” said Alice, holding her head, her fingers entangled in her hair. “Ugh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with all this.”

“Hey, don’t worry. You clearly need to talk, and whenever you’re ready, I’m right here,” said Luna, smiling at Alice as she ruffled her hair.

“Thanks,” said Alice with a small smile, briefly looking up as the lights dimmed a little. “Oh, looks like the concert is about to resume.”

“Better sit down then,” said Luna as they both sat in their seats.

The crowd cheered and whistled loudly as David Gilmour started to play the guitar. People were clapping to the beat of the music. Alice was tapping her heel to the ground as she began to once again wonder when they would start to sing. It eventually dawned on her, as she was pensively staring in front of her, that maybe some of Pink Floyd’s “songs” were actually instrumental tracks. It would make sense that some of the instrumental bits she thought were freakishly long song intros were actually stand-alone instrumental songs. But with multiple instrumental songs following one another, it was hard to tell them apart. Just as she was thinking that, the group started to sing. She slightly nodded her head to the music’s rhythm, her arms crossed, staring blankly in front of her.

Luna glanced at her briefly, before staring at her as she realized Alice looked more like someone who was there to write a dissertation on rock music or on Pink Floyd than someone who was there to simply enjoy themselves. Her slight bobbing of the head might have been a sign she was enjoying herself, but her blank expression worried Luna.

“Hey, are you ok?” she asked her fellow Ravenclaw when Pink Floyd had started another of their instrumental songs.

“Yeah, why?” said Alice, raising her eyebrows.

“You just don’t look like you are enjoying yourself,” pointed out Luna.

“I am. Admittedly, it’s not what I usually listen to, and I did think their song intros were odd until I realized they probably were instrumental ‘songs,’ and it made much more sense.”

“Wait, weren’t you familiar with Pink Floyd before coming?”

“Honestly… I might have done a quick research before coming to the concert to be a bit more familiar with them, but that’s pretty much it,” admitted Alice, looking away.

“But why did you accept when I invited you?”

“Well, part of me was curious to see what a real rock concert was like, though based on your reaction, bright lights and not being allowed to stand are not the norm. And I knew Pink Floyd by name… And what am I supposed to say to one of the coolest girls at school? That I only know the name but couldn’t name you one of their songs?”

“Coolest? Not sure about that,” said Luna, remembering her beloved hat from her 3rd year. She then shook her head with a smile. “And I thought you were a Pink Floyd fan because of that t-shirt you once wore at Quidditch practice.”

“T-shirt? What t-shirt?”

“The one with the Dark Side of the Moon album cover… Basically like the one I’m wearing right now.”

Alice looked at Luna’s t-shirt. “I thought it was a science t-shirt.”

“Science?”

“Yes, the dispersion of light by prisms because of refraction and Snell's law, first observed by Sir Isaac Newton.”

“A science lesson at a Pink Floyd concert? You are full of surprises, Alice,” said Luna with a side smile.

“Thanks, I guess,” replied Alice, furrowing her brows.

“What about the Pink Floyd tee you’re wearing now?”

“Bought it in Camden for the occasion.”

“You planned your outfit? I think Andre has an influence on you,” said Luna, laughing as she patted Alice’s head.

“Don’t tell him. I’ll never hear the end of it. Anyway, he’d probably say I needed more accessories,” said Alice, looking at Luna’s outfit.

“That style takes years to develop,” said Luna proudly.

“Years?”

“Yup… Though I’ll admit the septum ring does a lot to create the right vibe. Oh! Maybe…”

“Don’t even think about it! I’m still overcoming the trauma of getting my ears pierced, and it was, like, 10 years ago.”

“Oof! You are such an angel!” exclaimed Luna, pinching her friend’s cheek.

“Ouch!” winced Alice as they heard a woman singing. “Wait? Why is a woman singing?”

“Oh, that’s The Great Gig In The Sky. It’s a song without any lyrics, the woman will just sing sounds,” explained Luna.

“That’s... original?” said Alice, raising her eyebrows as she looked at the stage.

Alice stared at the scene as she heard the woman singing. She clearly was vocally gifted, but it sometimes felt more like screaming than singing to Alice’s ears. Alice did think that using the human voice like that was clever, even if it wasn’t to her taste. It was as if the voice was like the other instruments, just producing notes. The crowd around her seemed to enjoy it as they loudly clapped as the song ended.

The clapping turned into cheers as Pink Floyd started to play the next song, which Alice remembered hearing on the record she had bought: Wish You Were Here. She clapped along with the audience to the beat. When David Gilmour started singing, everyone sang along with him. Alice wasn’t familiar enough with the song to actually sing along, only swaying along to the rhythm. Still, she did think it gave the concert a pleasant atmosphere to hear the crowd singing a song they clearly loved.

The next song started off with a strange instrumental bit, making Alice wonder if it was another instrumental song until the bass started playing and everyone started clapping to the beat. Alice nodded her head to the tempo of the song. The clapping faded when the group began to sing, but the song and the beat enthralled everyone. Alice noticed Luna tapping her foot to the rhythm, and many around her were either nodding or swaying their body to the beat. She saw some people trying to get up before security quickly told them to sit.

The song ended, some people showing their appreciation by whistling before the cheering started again when the next song started. The beginning was very soft, which Alice found pleasant. As she could clearly hear the drums, she couldn’t help herself to air drum along with the beat. The saxophone gave the song a completely different vibe from the other songs. It felt more like jazz than rock, which was probably why Alice liked it and had a smile on her face.

Her smile didn’t fade away during the next songs, the beat being very catchy. She even caught herself tapping her heel to the rhythm of the songs. The crowd started to sing again during “Another Brick In The Wall” and cheered as the music started to fade. David Gilmour approached the microphone to talk to the crowd.

“Yeah!” he shouted to the crowd’s cheer. “One more song before we go,” he said, making the crowd boo him. He laughed before adding, “We’re gonna do one last song for tonight. Thank you all very much for coming tonight. This is Comfortably Numb.”

The crowd once again cheered as he announced the song, while Alice thought the song’s name was appropriate to the way she was starting to feel. It was getting late, and her eyelid felt heavy. She sat back as they started playing, her elbow resting on the armrest and her cheek resting on her fist. It was a song with a slow pace that made Alice comfortably numb, to the point where she closed her eyes. She listened to the music, letting herself drift away. People cheering at the end took Alice out of her sleepy trance, and she clapped along with everyone else. The band bowed and waved as they left the stage, but the crowd kept on cheering, clearly wanting an encore.

After about a minute or so of clapping, shouting, and cheering, the band reappeared on the stage, resulting in the cheers becoming louder. The songs of the encore were catchy with a fast beat, making Alice anything but sleepy. Luna even got up at some point to dance, but even if it was the encore, security quickly told her to sit down, or she would be kicked out. So everyone was limited to dance in their seats while clapping. Luna couldn’t help but smile when she noticed Alice moving her body and snapping her fingers to the music. At the end of the encore’s second song, the crowd got up to cheer and clap, showing their appreciation to the band. David Gilmour thanked the crowd before leaving the stage.

“So, did you enjoy the show?” asked Luna as they made their way toward the exit.

“Well, once I figured out that some songs were instrumental pieces, I did enjoy it more. Before that, I was a bit… befuddled.”

“Why didn’t you ask me about it sooner?”

“Well, I didn’t really want to admit I wasn’t familiar with Pink Floyd…”

“Am I really that intimidating?”

“I wouldn’t say intimidating… Just like one of the cool kids no one wants to disappoint.”

“How sweet of you,” said Luna, pinching Alice’s cheek. “Honestly though, I’m really not that cool. My roommates don’t think all the animals that hang out with me are so cool.”

“So that’s the smell that comes from your floor…” said Alice, rubbing her cheek.

“Hey! They do not smell!” replied Luna, lightly punching Alice’s shoulder.

“Joking! Bill mentioned how talented you are with animals, so for someone who has a hard time just petting some creatures in Care of Magical Creatures, that’s cool.”

“Meh, I’ll take it. Now get in the car,” said Luna shaking her head and smiling as she unlocked it.

They got into the car, and Luna turned on the radio as she drove. The late hour and the slight movements of the vehicle caused Alice to fall asleep. Noticing Alice had dozed off, Luna turned off the radio, a light smile on her lips. Parking in front of Alice’s house, she gently tapped her friend’s shoulder.

“Angel… Angel…” she softly said while tapping her shoulder.

“Jacob… No… Niffler…” mumbled Alice.

“Alice…”

“Mmm?” muttered Alice as she opened her eyes.

“You’re home,” said Luna, nodding toward the terraced house.

“Oh… Thanks. Wait, did I fall asleep?”

“It’s ok. It is pretty late.”

“Well, thanks again for tonight. I really enjoyed it,” said Alice as she left the car.

“Glad to hear. Goodnight,” said Luna, waving as she started to drive away.

Alice waved back, “‘Night!”

Alice kept waving until the car turned a corner.

A/N #2: I hope you enjoyed this fic! I would like to thank @lunasilvermorny for allowing me to write a fic with her precious MC (and for reading and commenting my fic to make sure I didn’t screw up her character). Here’s one additional link: London Arena atmosphere. If you are wondering why I wrote this concert with an atmosphere which is very far from the average rock concert, it’s because of the comments in that article of people who actually went to the Pink Floyd concert. Let me know what you thought in the comments! (Oh, and I kinda answer the question associated with the letter A in the 30 Day Alphabet OTP challenge.)

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm fanfic #hogwarts mystery fanfic #alice beaumont #Luna Silver #hphm mc #other people's mc #hogwarts mystery mc #jacob’s sibling #pink floyd #concert fic #london docklands arena

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kerbaldevteam · 6 years

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KSP Weekly: Lunar Water

Welcome to KSP Weekly! A study published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides direct and definitive evidence for surface-exposed water ice in the polar regions on the Moon.

The team of researchers — led by Shuai Li of the University of Hawaii and Brown University — peered at suspected icy patches using an instrument called the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), which flew aboard Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, and provided the first mineralogical map of the lunar surface. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper used the near-infrared spectrum to pinpoint the signature activity of ice molecules interacting with infrared light. This helped the scientists to distinguish the frozen water from other types of ice or water in a different form — such as bound up in minerals — and they identified ice deposits dwelling in permanent shadows at the Moon's north and south poles.

The abundance and distribution of ice on the Moon are distinct from those on other airless bodies in the inner solar system such as Mercury and Ceres, which may be associated with the unique formation and evolution process of our Moon. The Moon's surface is continuously bombarded by meteorites and micrometeorites. Many, if not most, of these impactors contain water ice, and the lunar craters show that many of these were very large objects. Any ice which survived impact would be scattered over the lunar surface. Most would be quickly vaporized by sunlight and lost to space, but some would end up inside the permanently shadowed craters, either by directly entering the crater or migrating over the surface as randomly moving individual molecules which would reach the craters and freeze there. Once inside the crater, the ice would be relatively stable, so over time the ice would collect in these "cold traps," and be buried to some extent by meteoritic gardening. Correspondingly, most of the ice was found in surface craters that are never touched by direct sunlight, and where temperatures hover around minus 157 degrees Celsius.

This discovery has several implications. For instance, it can provide scientists with valuable clues about the composition and activity of the Moon and other icy bodies in the inner solar system. Beyond the scientifically intriguing aspects, deposits of ice on the Moon would have many practical aspects for future manned lunar exploration, as it provides significant impetus for future international landings in the polar regions to drill and return samples of this ice. Ice deposits in significant quantities on the Moon could also provide resources for future lunar bases, or could also potentially be an important resource for space travel; mining lunar ice and converting it to rocket fuel could extend the reach of future missions to deep space.

[Development news start here]

First of all, we want to thank everyone who participated in our poll which helped decide which color pattern the revamp of EVA Space Suits will have. We received many responses and there was a clear preference, so without further ado, here are the results:

The red, blue and white suits were clearly the favorite, and as such they are now part of the Kerbals’ wardrobe. While performing this poll, we also received tons of constructive feedback on the revamped EVA Space Suit. The art team is assessing the feedback and we will show the final version in a future update.

As part of the 1.5 Update agenda, we have also been looking at other parts that are getting a well-deserved refurbishment. One such parts is the MK1 Command Pod, which just got out of the VAB, fully revitalized and optimized. We're taking this opportunity to fix a few small issues with the original Mk1 pod. Attachment nodes will be adjusted so that the pod nests correctly on a 1.25m stack, and the top has been tweaked to be exactly 0.625m in diameter. The MK1 Pod will keep all its features and specifications, but with this new look it will make your first rockets look sleek and modern. Just as with the other parts we have shown off, the goal of this revamps isn’t to reinvent the wheel, but to give the part catalogue a more cohesive and sleek look, as well as to optimize the texture maps and the model geometry to reduce load times. Here is a GIFs to give you a full 3D look of the MK1 Pod.

Click here for the high res image.

Aside from art-related tasks, the team also started to work on improving and expanding the functionality of the Search Bar in the Mission Builder. Now whenever you make an inquiry, the Search Bar will check for matches on both the Toolbar and the Canvas. To facilitate the search process the system will create two lists; one for toolbar results and other for matches within the canvas. You will then be able to select your search results and it will highlight the matching nodes on the canvas and focus the camera on them. You can also drag a search result out onto the canvas and it will copy the existing node.

[KSP Vault] Last week, DasValdez got ULA systems engineer Patrick Moore to talk about the Parker Solar Probe mission and Delta IV Heavy rocket while he provided realistic flight commentary as he launched his own “Deltish IV” rocket carrying a “Parker Sorta Probe”, built using stock parts in Kerbal Space Program. Watch it here!

youtube

The Mission of the Week, Jeb’s Monument, a very challenging mission that will have you transporting a huge Jeb Statue towards Duna. Piloting, spacecraft design, docking, re-entry, precision landing, and efficiency, this mission will put your skills to the test! Get it here: https://bit.ly/2MIYNgN

Have you seen cool KSP-related content that you consider worth highlighting? Share it with us and help us give content creators more exposure. :)

Remember that you can also share and download missions on Curse, KerbalX, the KSP Forum and the KSP Steam Workshop.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to join us on our official forums, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned for more exciting and upcoming news and development updates!

Happy launchings!

*Information Source:

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ice/ice_moon.html

David, L. (2018, August 22). Discovery of Water Ice on the Moon Thrills Lunar Scientists. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/41590-moon-water-ice-discovery-thrills-researchers.html

Li, S., Lucey, P. G., Milliken, R. E., Hayne, P. O., Williams, E. F., Hurley, D. M., & Elphic, R. C. (2018, August 15). Direct evidence of surface exposed water ice in the lunar polar regions. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/08/14/1802345115

Luntz, S. (2018, August 21). Scientists Have Discovered Water Ice On The Surface Of The Moon. Retrieved from https://www.iflscience.com/space/scientists-discover-best-evidence-yet-for-water-ice-on-the-lunar-surface/

Weisberger, M. (2018, August 21). Ice on the Moon! Frozen Reserves Detected at the Poles in a Lunar First. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/63387-ice-on-the-moon.html

#Kerbal Space Program #ksp weekly #ksp #moon mineralogy mapper #Moon #Ice #update 1.5

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un-enfant-immature · 5 years

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Max Q: NASA signs up new Moon delivery companies

There were lot of highlights in the space industry this past week (even though a rocket launch that was supposed to happened is now pushed to Monday). The biggest news for commercial space might just be that NASA signed on five new companies to its list of approved vendors for lunar payload delivery services, bringing the total group to 14.

SpaceX is among them, and Musk’s company had its own fair share of news this week, too – some good, some bad. One things’ for sure: Even going in to the last week in November, there’s still plenty of news to come in this industry before the year’s out.

NASA selects five new vendors for commercial lunar payloads

Artist’s rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander.

The five include Blue Origin, SpaceX, Ceres Robotics, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems. This doesn’t necessarily mean all or any of these companies will actually fly anything to the Moon on behalf of NASA, but it does mean they can officially bid for the chance. Alongside 9 other companies selected previously by NASA, their bids will be considered by the NASA based on cost, viability and other factors.

SpaceX Starship prototype blows its lid

This is the bad news I referred to earlier: SpaceX’s Starship Mk1 prototype in Texas blew up just a little bit during cryo testing. This test is designed to simulate extreme cold conditions that the spacecraft could endure during flight, and it clearly didn’t. But Elon Musk was optimistic, saying just after the incident that they’ll move on to a more advanced design right away.

Sierra Nevada Corporation details an expendable cargo container for its Dream Chaser spaceship

SNC’s Shooting Star module. Credit: SNC.

One of the companies that is now included in NASA’s lunar payload service provider list is Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). They’re currently developing and building their Dream Chaser spacecraft, which is reusable and lands like the Space Shuttle. At an event at Cape Canaveral in Florida, they unveiled what they call the ‘Shooting Star’ – an ejectable single use cargo container for the Dream Chaser that can really add to its versatility.

Nanoracks will launch a test craft that can convert old spaceships into orbital habitats

This demonstration mission is just a start, but the tech that Nanoracks is launching aboard a future SpaceX launch will be able to cut metal in space, marking the first time a robotic piece of equipment has done that. The ultimate goal is to use this tech to take spent spacecraft upper stages and give them new life – as research platforms, satellites or even habitats in orbit.

NASA’s JPL is using the Antarctic to test a rover for a trip to Enceladus

That’s one of Saturn’s moons, and it’s made up of icy oceans. Normally, that’s not an optimal place for a rover to get around, but the agency’s laboratory has been testing a design in the Earth’s coldest oceans to see how viable it will be, and now they’re going to use the Antarctic, which is where it’ll test it for months at a time.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is made of Starship steel

Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s crazy, beautiful, ugly, strange Cybertruck pickup last week, and he noted that the stainless steel alloy that makes up its skin is the same material that SpaceX is developing and using on its new Starship spacecraft. Sometimes, being CEO of both a car company and a space company at the same time really pays off.

Space is inspiring new kinds of startups

A lot of large companies outsource at least part of their innovation management and design, and with the space boom on, there’s a new opportunity for companies to emerge that specialize in helping those same large companies find out where they fit in this new frontier. Luna is one such co, putting the puzzle pieces together for health tech companies.

#TechCrunch

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magzoso-tech · 5 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/max-q-nasa-signs-up-new-moon-delivery-companies/

Max Q: NASA signs up new Moon delivery companies

NASA selects five new vendors for commercial lunar payloads

Artist’s rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander.

SpaceX Starship prototype blows its lid

Sierra Nevada Corporation details an expendable cargo container for its Dream Chaser spaceship

SNC’s Shooting Star module. Credit: SNC.

Nanoracks will launch a test craft that can convert old spaceships into orbital habitats

NASA’s JPL is using the Antarctic to test a rover for a trip to Enceladus

Tesla’s Cybertruck is made of Starship steel

Space is inspiring new kinds of startups

#Miscellaneous

0 notes

a-lesbian-goth · 8 years

Text

A Monster’s Trip to Justice

@mymywhataninterestingsight

@magicandheart

@magestaves

@banbutsunoriron

@idontknowanythingandthatsok

I remember the first time the moon changed. I remember how there was a feeling of tranquility after the sun fell. Usually people would feel trapped in concrete walls. But for a wolfman, concrete walls are comfort for a long night in. This was how it was always going to be. I would never hurt any living being, and that was a great comfort for me. I’d been through enough in my life to know what harming a living being could do. I hated the sound of suffering, sometimes I even hated the sound of the world around me. Here is was quiet, no sounds leaked through the thick walls around me. My mentor had brought me to this place.

We’d worked at the lumber yard together, and it’s amazing how you can bond as you cut through a forest everyday. My mentor Cecil Fields, had been a werewolf or more commonly known back then as a wolfman ever since he was 30 years old. And he still looked 30 years old. But to a kid fresh out of high school with starry eyes and rose colored glasses, Cecil Fields was a jaded old man. In fact he was a lot like a Father to me. Funny how you realize so much about someone after they’re gone. And he had brought me to that same basement one night precisely on the full moon. He promised me he wouldn’t hurt me, so I sat in his basement and waited for what he wanted to show me. I was suspicious of the basement, but I trusted him enough to stay put.

I remember how he changed, how his body became deformed and filled with hair. It wasn’t like in the movies, it was quick and painless. He looked like a big black dog standing on it’s hind legs. He stared at me with pure red eyes, and I knew he was still in that mind. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t lose yourself in that form. But of course, my little idiot self screamed their head off and scrambled across the room, falling on my own damned shoe laces and smacking my head against the concrete. I was bleeding like crazy, and was lucky I didn’t die then. I still regret screaming and doing that. I was frozen on the floor, my ears ringing from the echoes of my screams. That was all the time he needed. It was over quickly, and I should have been lucky he didn’t decide just to kill me right there. A swift bite to the arm, quick and as gentle as possible. The bite didn’t tear out my flesh or muscle, but in my terrified state it looked that way. He went to the corner of the room and curled up, satisfied with his work. I waited for the sunrise anxiously, knowing now why I couldn’t open the door. I cried like a little kid, begging him not to kill me. It should have been more obvious than it was, but he explained it all to me when he changed back in the morning.

And I was back with him in the basement, this mentor staring at me from across the room. My first full moon. I was a little too happy about it, knowing how proud Cecil was of me. Knowing that we were bound together, an inseparable pack of two. And I would have loved that, to stay in his guidance forever. But that just wasn’t my luck. Cecil gazed at me like I was his first born child, yet in his proud stare there was sadness, maybe even a little pity.

“ I cursed you, Porfirio.” He muttered, sitting on the concrete ground with a groan. “ What, with eternal life? Never getting old?” I was naive then, just a kid with a starry eyed, dewy dream of never getting old. Typical Peter Pan or some bullshit like that. “ No, you dear boy.” Cecil sighed, staring down at the ground with the face of a tired man. “ Then with what?” “Being alone.” “ But you said-” “ Forget what I said.” “ T-Then-” “ I’m dying.” He held his head in his hands, and for the first time, his face grew red and he burst into tears. “ Cancer, cancer they told me it’s in my back near my spine. There isn’t shit I can do, Porfirio. After all these years there isn’t shit I can do!” He stood, and punched the wall, leaving his first bloodied and a dark stain on the sterile gray. The moon was out now, and our features were changing. I felt the energy going through me like I was caught up in ocean waves, drowning me as I became something greater. The peace I had felt was gone, filled with sorrow and fear of what was to come. The waves of this new power held no meaning, because the image I’d had of the future had shattered into some fragment of a nightmare. And that’s reality would be for a very, very long time…

Now what do I remember of Albert? Well, for starters, his name was pronounced in the pretentious French way where you pronounce it like Al-Bear. Secondly I remember what he did, of course, I doubt anyone could forget that. And thirdly, I remember his face from my childhood; a kid that sat in the back of the class, the smart one that got bullied a lot by his parents and the kids in the schoolyard. I don’t remember if I was one of them, and I wonder still if it would have made a difference.

I remember writing in for a roommate. The typical “person wanted” ad-no stoners, no conservatives, no devil worshippers, I was looking for your average Joe, Jane, and John. Then Albert came, Albert from my home town. That was a weird coincidence, considering our home town was half a country away from the point where we both ended up. I didn’t know he moved, but I remembered that we both had our reasons. Mine was an escape from my abusive parents and from the death of Cecil. For him, something similar to the first reason, maybe even the second. We didn’t talk about it, we know where we came from, there was no reason to know specifics. In fact, I thought I was going to enjoy living with Albert for a while. He seemed nice, and didn’t care when he found out my secrets. I thought he was a good roommate for a long time, until…

It started.

Albert wasn’t the hot rod in the dealer’s lot. He was a beat up Ford MK1. His chin was sunken into his neck, and his skin was the color and texture of a rotten peach. He was awkwardly built and lanky, and to make this guy a real winner, his shoe size couldn’t have been more than 6 and a half. The only feature that stood out were his eyes. They were bright blue, like the picture of the ocean on a postcard. They locked you in, held you there for a long time. Something about them was unsettling, but I could never place my finger on what. I thought it was something wrong with me, like everything else. Like I said, he was a “nice guy”. So I shoved my suspicions about Albert aside and tried my best to get along.

But everything changed when he actually found a girlfriend. Peg was a factory worker and she wasn’t a real looker either. She had features similar to that of a brick wall, and an attitude exactly of that. She smelled like grease even after she showered. I didn’t care about Albert’s love life, because to be honest I was pretty confused about my own at the time. One night I heard Peg screaming in Albert’s room. I thought it was some fetish thing, so I stayed quiet in my room until morning. Her screams still ring in my ears sometimes, because oh god, how could I be so stupid? The next morning, Albert emerged, disheveled but otherwise looking completely proud of himself. But something about him seemed…wrong. As in more wrong than usual.

Half asleep and mulling over a cup of instant coffee, I leaned over the table and watched as Albert went over to make himself a cup. “ So, uh, will I have to make her breakfast later?” “Nope,” he said, his voice joyful and half laughing at my question.

“ I didn’t hear her leave last night,” I said, taking a long sip of my coffee.

“She didn’t.” “ Then, is she-”

“ I killed her, Porfirio.” It didn’t seem real for a few moments, and I felt in many ways disconnected from myself. There was Porfirio, looking like a deer in headlights, eyes blurring with disbelief. His heart had fallen past the pit of his stomach and feet, melting into the floor. And then he asked, “ What?” As if he didn’t already know. You heard the screams, genius. Then he started making connections, and there it was, the elephant sized tiger in the room. Porfirio stood up, almost falling over on the table, and he ran over to Albert’s, room, throwing open the door and almost breaking it off of it’s hinges. And there she was.

Peg was horribly mutilated when Porfirio found her. Her breasts were cut off, and she was cut through the middle with a jagged knife. Her organs spilled out in a bloody mess on the floor. Her eyes were wide open, blood shot with the fear and agony she had gone through in her late life, her mouth still hanging wide in a scream. But I didn’t answer her screams for help and mercy. I, Porfirio, had stayed silent in my room the whole night. My heart wretched and beat, pounding as though it was tired of me and wanted to be free. I didn’t realize how heavy I was breathing. My eyes darted across the floor which was stained in a dark color. I looked over to where her bottom half, or what was left of her bottom half, was. It was cut apart, and stacked like lincoln logs in the corner of the room. The lower half of the torso almost like a crumbling house with the organs and spine protruding out from it, the skin marred from knife wounds. The legs were leaning on the side of it, cut off from the lower half, the soles of the feet touching and holding it all together. There was no beauty in it, in murder there is no beauty or grace. Murder is not art, and I’m sorry if your fucked up mind ever tells you it is.

I felt a metallic and bitter taste rise on my tongue, and out from my mouth flowed the coffee I drank and bits and pieces of what I had ate the night before. It even took me a few moments to realize that that new fluid solidifying on the floor had come from me.

And behind me,

Albert was laughing.

“ With what you are, and you can’t even stomach this?” He said with some sort of dry, fucked up laugh that I never wanted to hear again. I was a werewolf, dammit, but I wasn’t a killer! My mind was blank as it searched for answers, my mind darting across the carnage. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, it was as though the moment had locked me into a cage where I would never escape.

When I could move again, I was ten minutes late for work. That fucking asshat had made me ten minutes late. I forget a lot of what Albert told me, but I couldn’t respond so it wasn’t really important. Something about art I think. But any person would know what he did wasn’t art. I went into my room, and thought about it all being some sort of dream. But it wasn’t. I could still hear Albert cleaning up his “masterpiece” in the other room. I slid on the black pants which were a typical quota for where I worked, and I noticed that my legs were still shaking. My hands shook with them. I buttoned my pants with my fumbling hands and slipped on my red shirt. I pushed myself off from the bed and went over to my mirror, taking some hair tonic on my comb and slicking it through my black hair. I was ready to go, but I looked like a deer after it’d been hit by a car and left on the side if the road to die. I figured there was nothing I could do to fix that, and I tried my best to head out into the world and be a functioning being.

That was one of the hardest shifts at the Five and Dime I’d ever done. My eyes kept darting to the clock, watching the black hands tick onto each number, going onto the calendar to see the moon schedules. Full moon next week. Full moon, and what would I do? What could I do? How could I fix this? I said absent minded hellos to the customers, half hearted “have a nice day”s. Occasionally, a “buenos dias” and a “gracias”, and each time one of the abuelas tried to start a conversation, she noticed something was wrong. After I refused to tell her why, she scurried off to make a big lunch or something. Damn, did I want to tell her. I wanted to gush out my feelings, cry and melt onto the counter about how my roommate was a murderer. I wanted confess like I was the murderer. I felt guilty, like a man being convicted of his crimes on death row. My mind kept calling me back to the room, and I sure as hell didn’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t kill Albert, because in my heart I knew that I wouldn’t finish the deed, and he’d find a way to frame me for the murders. I couldn’t tell anyone-if I did, I’d be shot up as soon as I turned on the full moon. It was perfect conditions for Albert, and I cursed my rotten luck. I’d climbed the hill to fall back down it again, and I wondered if that would be how I spent my eternal life now that Cecil was gone…

The answer came to me after Albert had killed so many, I had to stop counting them for my own sanity. Albert was an expert by now, and he was coming up with new “creative” ways to get rid of the bodies. Leaving them in the woods or throwing them into a river, turning them into soaps and sweets he’d share with cronies at his office job. Knowing how to clean the blood, taunting me at work as he went into my Five And Dime and buying supplies to clean his messes. I felt myself being torn apart with every kill, separating like egg whites and yolks for a demonic pastry. I wanted so desperately to do something about it, but I couldn’t. Albert knew it too, Albert mocked me for it. When his eyes locked me in, they were challenging me, daring me to do something about it.

Then it appeared to me one night.

I was in the kitchen, sitting at the table. Our counter space was occupied by a junk tv I bought. I turned it on to drown out the screams, to drown myself in whatever protests were happening. I turned it on after work, sitting to watch the daily news that was never new at all. But that day was an exception. It was turned on to some hippies out in California, a reporter with a pole up their ass along with McCarthy’s head in the mind talking about why these younglings were important.

LSD.

LSD. Sweeping the college campuses and the student protests, they said. Said protesters reported how it opened the mind, how it felt like heaven was right in front of them, how great they felt. An escape from reality.

It sounded foolproof.

If I went wolf during a trip, I could kill Albert with ease while having no idea what I was doing! And even if I didn’t, it could help me with how I was feeling, help me find a way to kill him. It was perfect. “ Why are you smiling?” Albert asked, staring back at me as he did the dishes.

“ I wanna try it,” I said, pointing at the television screen.

He shot me a suspicious look. “ Why?” “ Why not?” “ You can’t be serious. Those protesters with their liberal bullshit wouldn’t know their head from their asses.” Well, looks like Albert really didn’t fit one of my roommate specifications after all. “ Listen Albert, I just, uh, have a good feeling about it.” I shifted in my chair, and I realized then my smile. Albert asked about out but I didn’t really pay attention to his question. “You’re going to the college today, right?” Albert, much to my disgust, had recently taken an affinity to killing college students. Told me it was something about the vitality and robbing of innocence that got him off.

Albert nodded, “there’s going to be a frat party tonight.”

“I’ll go with you and I’ll get it there!”

Albert thought about this for a minute, shooting me a sideways glance that made an anxious feeling rise into my heart. It didn’t matter if he said no really, but maybe I could prevent another murder if I took the LSD before he killed somebody. A part of me still feared the consequences, but a larger part of me was desolate-it had no fear or much of anything really. Maybe LSD could fill it with something, but then again that was pure assumption based on this horrible, wonderful plan I had.

I sat in the front seat with Albert as we drove to the college. He’d been hesitant around me the whole day, and for the first time, I started to reconsider my plan. What if Albert was preparing for the moment I was going to trip like I had? What if he sat in his cubicle office job the whole day, answering phones and typing out sheets, all while thinking about all the ways my trip could hurt him and his plans? With the way he looked at me, it wasn’t too far fetched. “ You sure about this whole LSD thing?” Shit. “ Yeah, of course I’m sure,” I responded, staring out the window. I watched people passing by on the street, my sweaty palms against the dashboard, and the quick beating of my heart. I tried to focus on the people outside, and imagining how Albert would kill them. Although, this made me think about what if I were to do it on my trip, so I quickly abandoned the thought.

There was no moment of bravery, there was no moment at all which I realized “I am doing this no matter what because it is right.” No, I was fucking petrified about the consequences, I was resolute that everything could go wrong and that was it. I wasn’t a hero then. I’m still not. I was and am just a wolfman, going through the desert, horribly out of place but with no way to get out of it. I didn’t have Cecil . God, Cecil would have killed Albert right after Peg. But I didn’t have that courage. If I was trying to be Cecil , I was only a dull reflection of who he was. So I never tried to be Cecil , though at that moment, I wondered what he would do. I wondered how he would have torn Albert apart, gutting him alive as he screamed, just like his victims before him…

I wondered if I could get to that.

The night air hit me like a bat to the stomach. Going into the clammy, hot frat party, it wasn’t hard trying to find drugs. Most of the students were already drunk, high, or tripping or somewhere in between all of it. The place smelled of pheromones and drugs. I watched them for a few moments, sinking into the crowd. I only looked around 18 after all, so me going into the party wasn’t a huge stretch of the imagination. I surveyed them, some of them were kissing and fucking, some of them were looking at themselves as though they’d never looked at themselves, and others were shouting about absolutely nothing at the top of their lungs. The only lights on were stage lights, multicolored and in various random places around the room. Some of them were out,so I decided that people were moving them. The air buzzed with loud radios, announcers playing the latest tunes, people babbling on about pointless advertisements on things the kids could probably never buy, and people reciting the nightly news. I almost felt high just being in the place, taking in the fumes. But eventually, I found one with acid. The transaction was simple, I handed him a roll of money, and I had 5 strips. They were at the bottom of a small brown bottle with the label scratched off. Sketchy, but I didn’t really care what they did. I just wanted to be out of my skin.

I returned to the car successfully, the bottle in my pocket. I felt proud of myself, sitting in the back seat of the car, laying down with my head against the back of the window. I heard footsteps approaching the car, and I turned my head to see Albert walking a college girl towards the car. She had unkempt brown hair, and wore a flowing dress of some thin material. She got into the side of the car, and by the way she was stumbling, I could tell she was drunk out of her mind. Albert’s tie was undone a little, and he had a look of excitement on his face. Watching that disgusting, putrid piece of filth stumble with the girl towards the car made me want to vomit.

I heard the car doors open, and slam shut. The girl in the front seat smelled like she had taken a bath in a whiskey keg, and she chuckled. “ Who’s the Puerto Rican in the back?” She asked, her voice slurring. I didn’t bother correcting her and telling her I was Mexican. It wouldn’t make a difference. She mattered, yet she didn’t matter at all. She was a human life, a woman who deserved to become someone great. She could have the cure for cancer in that brain of her’s, and humanity deserved to have that. She didn’t deserve to get killed by Albert, snuffed out too soon. Her family didn’t deserve to mourn her and never find the body. She didn’t matter because I had no right to know anything about her, and she had no right to know anything about me. I could have told her to run, tell her Albert was a murderer, but that wouldn’t do any good. She’d run out of the car, inform everyone at the party, and Albert would deny it. If the police came, there wouldn’t be enough evidence linking him to anything, and he’d be let go. Then he’d tell the world about my existence, and I would die. Albert would kill more people. So I couldn’t do anything, except sit there, and hope the little pieces of paper in that bottle would end this whole mess… “ Don’t mind him,” Albert said, smiling to the full extent which his sunk chin could allow. I wondered if the girl could even tell how ugly Albert was. I despised how he talked about me. It reminded me of how my Mother would tell the women in her church group about all the things I’d done wrong, when I’d done absolutely nothing. I was a good child and she fucking knew it. My Dad just filled my body with scars for no reason other than he liked to have that power over me. Albert liked to have that power over me. He liked knowing I was a wolfman, and he liked knowing that to keep me quiet. He liked knowing that anything I said to the girl would do nothing. He liked having me powerless.

But not for long.

By Jesus, not for long.

A few minutes into the drive, I opened the bottle with the strips. I shook it until two fell into my palm, and I was surprised by the color. They were bright, neon colors like pink and green. I wondered if I hadn’t been handed something else by the college junkie, but then I realized it didn’t really matter. I popped two on my tongue, and counted three more left in the bottle. I was tempted to take them all in one go, but I didn’t want to wake up dead. Being dead wasn’t too bad in the situation, hell, maybe that’s how they’d catch Albert; but I wanted to know that Albert would be dead. I wanted him dead and gone. I wanted to know that he wouldn’t hurt anyone anymore, even this girl in the front seat. Maybe her life wouldn’t go anywhere, and she’d wish she was dead just like me. But there was still a chance it wouldn’t. And that chance, was worth it.

I closed my eyes and felt the strips dissolving, and I let myself go calm, knowing that this was only chance one. I had three more left. Three more…

I felt my skin grow more receptive to the air around me, the staunchness of the car. My senses became more aware of the insides of the car, and I felt like I could feel everything in myself. I felt like I could feel my brain firing off, my stomach processing my dinner. It felt like my life had ended, and I’d risen again, learning the layout of this new, beautiful body. I opened my eyes and looked at my arms, and my vision took me by surprise. Everything felt sharp, clear, as though I’d been seeing through a fog my whole life and it had recently cleared up. I laughed, and the sound echoed as though I was in a cave-no, the basement. Cecil. I laughed, and things started to change. They grew different colors-the leather came to have flecks of green, light blue, and in amazement I sat up and touched it. Albert and the person had began to talk again, and their voices became echoed was well, distorting as my thoughts seemed to talk, sounding out all around me. It was as though I was back in the party, only the party was myself. My thoughts moved at a lightning fast pace, marathoning in a circle around me. The place I was in felt new, it felt refreshed through this clear lense of colors that were so perfect. I wanted more. I moved my arms and felt the muscles within them contracting to commit to my movement, I felt in control. God, I was finally in control. For my whole life others had controlled me, my Father, Albert, with the exception of Cecil. God, Cecil, you should have seen this! I felt a flooding sense of joy and comfort come over me, nothing was wrong.

I forgot about Albert in more wonderful world.

He was so far away, and I was so close, so intimate with the world around me.

I was in heaven.

When the car stopped, I was very aware of it. I got out of the car, and onto the sidewalk. The world was fluid around me, as though each part was fragmented into many pieces like a stained glass mirror, only the pieces of glass were moving as though there was one great force pulling them. I walked up the stairs to the apartment, Albert was ahead of me and so was the girl. They became closer as though I had put a pair of binoculars upon them, and far away as though there was a football field of distance. The stairs grew bigger and smaller, and I paused on a few of them, thinking that if I moved, I would lose my footing and fall off the edge. The images then separated, one image layered with a rotating translucent version of the other. So I was back in the apartment, and I found myself completely in love with the tiles. I fell to the floor and watched them. They were changing to different colors, different patterns which moved like a river on the floor. And I touched these patterns, and found that when I came closer to them they faded. My thoughts had somehow gotten lost into a greater loop that was beyond myself, and I had forgotten about killing Albert. I was pounding my hands onto the moving patterns, the texture of the tile so sleek and glossy beneath my hands. And new voices joined my trekking thoughts, asking me in both English and Spanish about things I hadn’t thought about before. I felt so happy, so happy that tears slipped down my face, feeling so hot yet comforting. “ Beautiful,” I said, my voice joining the continuous echo.

Around me, shapes began to rise, I had lost all sense of time although I know it was slipping by like the patterns around me. Shapes rose and went to the ceiling which flowed like an expanding and shrinking river, rose up to touch the ceiling and fall back onto the fluid tile. The pure, free joy came over me and surrounded me as I laid down on my back near the table. I had almost forgotten there as I watching the towers rise and fall. I fell in love with it too, stroking the sides like a soft animal. The spires swirled into the air then swirl back down, rise up from me, then swirl back down. It was mad, glorious, I loved it. Warm hands were touching me, all warm hands were pulling me down into the floor, warm hands that loved me. There was a great sense of everything being resolved, including Albert. Everything was okay. Heaven. Heaven was where LSD had brought me, a new bright world where I was free from anything and everything. A place where I could hear everything and nothing. It was beautiful.

Then, I found myself closing my eyes, feeling the great weight possessing them. I closed my eyes, and the world quickly went black.

When I woke up, I knew I was back in reality. The LSD had worn off, except for a large feeling in my chest. I sat up, hoping it would go away, and something thumped on the floor next to me. It was then I realized my shirt was covered in wet blood, and on the side of me with eyes wide open was the girl.

I’d failed.

I’d fucking failed.

Like the rest of Albert’s victims, she was cut in half. The torso now lay on the ground beside me, pale as a sheet with her skin sunken inwards. Only this time, I noticed that she was clean cut, as though someone had taken out the organs inside her. I let out a scream and curses.

“ Porfirio? More like, Poor Fear Rio.” Albert laughed at his own fucking stupid joke, which didn’t at all alter the total panic I felt from the girl’s dead body and my own failure. “You killed her, you know. You killed her in that form of yours!”

“ ¡Calláte, hijo de la chingada!” I spat bitterly, my words coming out in sharp, fearful breaths. I looked down at my hands, feeling dizzy and unable to catch my breath. He was a lot worse than an hijo de la chingada, but at that moment those were the only words my mind child find. I suddenly missed the LSD trip, because it felt better than reality-hell, it felt more real than reality. I was resolute that I didn’t kill her. It was impossible. I knew I was on the ground the whole time, and Albert was too fucking stupid to even make it look like I killed her. Although I knew this was true, it added onto the sudden hatred I had for myself. The feeling of failure and self betrayal. I felt like vomiting as I looked over to the dull eyes of the girl, and I pulled my legs to my chest and put my face down into my knees. I couldn’t even ask Albert if I had turned to my wolf form during the entire thing, because I was panicking to much to think of anything but the dull eyes, no longer watery from her drunkenness. Both living and dead, they seared themselves into my brain, and all the revelations I came to during the acid trip had disappeared. I felt exactly where I had started-

Powerless.

I took and shower to wash the blood off, relied on the sun to dry my hair, and got on my uniform to go to the Five And Dime. Before I forgot, I rummaged through my clothes from the night before to get the medicine bottle with the LSD. I put it on the top of my dresser, and stared at it as I prepped myself for work. My hands went slowly on the tie, and suddenly the girl’s eyes came back into my mind. I pulled it tighter, and tighter, and tighter-

Until my eyes focused on the LSD again.

I released my grip on the tie, coughing a bit and feeling the all too familiar wave of nausea creep up from my stomach. “ I won’t fail again,” I promised myself and the bottle. “ Two more tabs of it, and I’ll kill him. I won’t fail again.” Fear was surrounding me, closing me up in the darkness like a trash bag smothering my body. Trash bags were Albert’s signature when he threw someone into the river. I had failed. I had robbed her family a chance of having a daughter. I had robbed her of a chance to live her life, whether that be for the better or for the worse. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, still don’t, but at that moment I felt like I killed her. Maybe I couldn’t kill Albert, whether that be on acid or not. I was a coward, I knew that much. I had defied all the bravery that I had ever seen in Cecil, I spat on his legacy when I was supposed to carry it on. A headache throbbed in my skull, an alarm to fire off that I needed to go to work.

It was like I’d witnessed Peg’s death for a second time, only this time I had a plan. Everything I did felt dull and mechanical, rehearsed over and over. Any stamina that I’d gained from working and escaping the apartment was gone, drained by the dead girl’s eyes that stared down on me. I tried to think about my trip, remember what I’d seen and what I heard that had made me happy. It was all gone, gone…

I popped two strips in my mouth, the same as the last time. I closed my eyes for a few moments, then found relief in my senses sharpening. And it all came back to me, coming in like an old friend. The hurried thoughts, the voices, and the spires of color, the patterns like stained glass reaching into the sky as they touched the ceiling moving like a river of color. I looked at my arms, expanding and retracting, full of color and light. It was then I felt myself rising, I was going somewhere else. I was floating along the air, I had become a different being. Around me the world had changed, I was no longer in a bed, I was no longer anywhere that I recognized.

This new world was full of the geometric patterns which I looked at with great awe, patterns that rose endlessly into a sky where they gathered and swirled together. Below me was a sensation like heaters blowing around me, then I felt myself changing, changing into my wolf form. Had I forgotten the full moon, or was it the drugs? This thought was lost in the echoing voices and thoughts that all seemed to pass by fluidly, like the blue and green surface where I stood. And when I looked up from where I stood, I saw a being absorbed by these colors, a familiar form almost like a mirror image of the form I had taken on. Only this image was not me. From it I gathered a familiar sense, as though I had found-

“ Cecil!” My voice became loud like a scream, echoing and remaining through the trail. I was so small in comparison to this wide, majestic place where I now was. It wavered, the images folding onto themselves and creating new ones, the world around me beautifully distorted save the being before me. The rapture of seeing Cecil was so immense, and I heard his voice again. Cecil, whom I had watched fade away in the hospital, whom’s coffin I lifted and left behind, Cecil, Cecil my mentor, my spiritual Father, whom I had mourned. Engulfed in the beautiful and unclear world, where we were both a part of something much larger.

“Do what is right,” Cecil told me, his words then getting lost. “ Kill Albert. Do not forget.” “Cecil!” I cried again in amazement, rushing towards him in the energy that I was.

“ You are strong. You are a part of something much greater, Porfirio. You are worthy. You are whole, and you are loved. What you are going through is a muddy stone in a river, a river of what your eternity shall be.” “ I get it,” I cried, my voice shaking through the world. “ I get it!”

Cecil neared me, his presence filling me with the paternal warmth and guidance it had offered me in the past. Gone was the image where he wasted away, gone was the weight of his coffin in my hand, gone, all gone. He was there, holding me, filling me with a purpose that I had forgotten. Filling me with faith, the hope, the love of myself that had gotten lost, that I never fully discovered. It felt like the gate to everything had been unlocked, and here I was, inside of it all, a part of it all. I may not be brave, yes. But that was alright. I was brave in the eyes of others, and bravery did not matter. I was myself, I was a part of something greater. I was a part of a loving world. And it was time for me to destroy something for that whole.

Instead of fading to darkness this time, I faded back into reality. When the effects were gone, there I was, lying on my bed. I got out of my bed and went to find Albert, fear coming over me like the waves of something that I felt when becoming a wolfman. I decided quickly on how to do it if it was not already done. I didn’t know if I’d killed him already or not.

My thoughts were answered when I heard someone screaming in the next room, a man this time. Albert usually didn’t do double kills, but since he was, this was all more of a reason for it to happen tonight. I was running quickly, and only then I realized-

I had been in the form of the wolfman. I ran on my hind legs, feeling my paws running against the floor. I jumped on the door, knocking it down. I saw Albert, the man on the bed tied to it as Albert laced him with cuts that weren’t deep enough to kill him. He turned to me, and I saw the surprise widen his horrible eyes.

Surprise.

And horror.

Like the girl.

I bit into his stomach, taking a mouthful of his torso. I tasted his blood, felt his organs between my jaws, and tossed them aside when I felt the waves reversing. It didn’t matter. I kept him pinned beneath my weight as I changed back, and wrapped my hands around his throat. He tried to fight me off, but he was weak from my bite and his arms felt like rag dolls as they tried to push me away. I saw his face turn bright red as I squeezed his neck as tightly as I could, I saw it turn redder, then violet, then blue-and dead. His eyes lulled back in his head, and I continued squeezing, my grip as tight as it could go. Even though I knew he was dead, I threw his body off of the bed and watched it fall onto the floor with a thud. I went onto the floor, launching into obscenities, and I cut my hand as I pried the knife from his dead hands. He’s managed to cut me a few times, but he had failed once I had torn into his stomach. The truth possessed me, and I couldn’t stop. He was dead, but some part of me told me he was still living. I took the knife from his hands, and stabbed it, I continued stabbing it into his head until it split open, the brain flowing out like a smashed pumpkin. Then, a great sense of tranquility came over me.

I stopped, my breaths shaking my body, and I dropped the knife.

I looked at the victim on the bed, surprised, looking at me with fear. “Stupid,” I said to myself, although I was bound to break that habit sometime. I took the knife, and cut the rope at the boy’s foot. He seemed horrified, watching me in shock. He didn’t thank me, he just laid on the bed, filled with fear. I dropped the knife on the ground, and it clattered onto the floor. “ It is done.”

I left the room, my feet feeling heavy as the rush had faded. I’d done it. I’d fucking done it. I succeeded. I went back into my room, a great sense of relief and tranquility coming over me. And that was it. I turned to my mirror above my dresser, and saw myself, covered in blood. Covered in small nicks. Then, I saw the reflection of the pill bottle.

One tab left.

Why the hell not? Some part of me still felt disgusted in myself, felt wrong, although what I had done was the right thing. I may have killed him, but I prevented the death of future victims. I needed to be away from it again. I needed one last time to get myself away, one little reward for this thing that I had done. Maybe I’d even see Cecil again, and he’d congratulate me on my good work. Albert was my first killing, and my last.

My hands fumbled on the white lid, and I nearly dropped the brown bottle.

I let the small, green tablet spill out onto my shaking hand.

Shaking? I laid back on my bed, feeling relief and tiredness. This wouldn’t last long.

I slipped the tab onto my tongue,

And I went to heaven one last time.

#child abuse tw #suicide mention tw #drugs tw #hallucinations tw #this is a horror story with mentionings of lsd #reblog if you want too!#if you read it i congratulate you #if you want you can tell me what you thought of it #this is a short story set in the 1960s about a mexican american werewolf who takes lsd and tries to kill a serial killer #tagging people who said they wanted to read it #likes are also nice #oh also #gore tw #also i don't really have a solid title so suggestions are nice

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