#Second Renaissance

[awkwardpariah]

In 1997 NASA launched the Mars Pathfinder mission, landing a small lander and the first interplanetary rover in what was once the Ares Vallis of Chryse Planitia. The lander was later renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, while the rover, Sojourner, operated for 92 sols before losing power. And for nearly 40 years the sands of Mars would burry these robotic pioneers in dust. When terraforming began in the 2030s, NASA was charged with preserving sites and artifacts on the surface considered to be of special historical or scientific interest. The Pathfinder spacecraft were no exception, and were exhumed by 2037. Carl Sagan Memorial Station would become the site of a permanent scientific instillation  that would grow into a network of facilities spread over hundreds of square kilometers. The original settlement would eventually become the city of Sojourner while the network of research bases would form the core of the eventual Sagan Territory established after World War III by President Jacobi. As the once dry Ares Vallis became the thriving Ares Sound, Sagan went from being a relatively underpopulated network of research stations to a top destination of immigrants from Earth. Its research bases became part of the Sagan University System, which remains one of the greatest systems of higher education in the Sol System. While founded as a place of learning, Sagan has become a primarily maritime oriented society, with some of the busiest ports and shipyards on Mars. Most of the population is concentrated around the Bay of Galilaei centered on the city of Tana which bestrides the inlet of the same name. Tana is home to one of the lesser Universities of the SU system, SU Tana, which is really only known for its contributions to the Martian shipbuilding industry. The crown jewel of the SU system is in the capital city of Sojourner, the Sagan Institute of Technology or SIT. It was SIT scientists who first proved the existence of the Graviton in the lab, and has since become one of the most important players in the field of Gravitonics. Thanks to all my Patreon supporters who made this map possible. All my patrons get early access to my projects before they go live. Please subscribe at: patreon.com/SeanMcKnight

[sardonycal]

mirrors.

i was listening to end of beginning by djo and thought 'oh thats literally them' lmao. the line "another version of me" struck a chord.

[fish-in-the-aquarium]

The Horror of Empathy, Part 1

After getting access to Rhys's subsystems Jack begins to hear echoes of his feelings. The first true touch for a man who actually believed he was Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.

Part 1 || Part 2

[vivicendium]

the convo between edward and jacob in eclipse is a great adaptational addition. i love how edward is like “tbh if the circumstances weren’t what they are, i might’ve actually liked you and wanted to be friends” and jacob is like “if the circumstances weren’t what they are i’d still think you’re a huge loser :/“

[jesncin]

Can we get some more Jimmy please? I think we need some more Jimmy

Your Pal Jimmy, the artist.

[fuckmeyer]

i wish we had seen more done with the symbol of Bella Swan as the lamb. Edward got his "lion & the lamb" scene. i wish there was a point where Bella was reflecting on this with Jacob.

"the wolf & the lamb." how sick it is that the lamb always finds herself in the company of predators. how beautiful it is that the lamb has the courage & tenacity to seek them out.

"the wolf & the lamb." how wise it is that the little lamb who the lion teased for being so delicate uses her softness to cozy up to the warmth of yet another natural-born predator.

"the wolf & the lamb." the lamb has left the flock only to be abandoned by the pride; now, here is the lamb running with the pack as if her claws are just as sharp & her canines sink just as deep.

here is Bella Swan, the "wolf in lamb's clothing."

[lethargicactionhero]

"Wonderful chap. All of them."

[bey-life]

RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ

[howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen]

bella describing edward in twilight: he’s so beautiful. I’m completely dazzled by him

bree tanner describing edward in her book:

[Transcript:

YouTuber Mike’s Mic: “Could he be crustier, do you reckon? I don’t actually think he could be crustier. He’s like a moldy piece of bread with a moldy piece of cheese on it put under the grill, but the tray in the grill is too high, and the cheese melts and then burns, and the cheese fumes of the moldy cheese get stuck to the grill, so then any future thing that you put in that grill is gonna smell like moldy cheese. That’s his vibe.”

End transcript]

[blackholelynn]

I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU TAKE REQUEST BUT I SAW UR WRITING FOR TWILIGHT AND IM BEGGING YOU, CAN YOU DO LIKE THE READER GETS DRUNK N EDWARD HAS TO TAKE CARE OF THEM OR SOMETHING !! I LOVEE YOUR WRITING BTW

Princess Carriage

Summary: You have a few too many drinks while out with Angela and Jessica, leaving Edward to be the one to take care of you while you sober up.

Pairings: Edward Cullen x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol/drinking

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: Thank you so much for this request! I ended up getting caught up in some stuff irl which meant I couldn't finish the Twilight Appreciation Week event that I was hoping to keep doing, but I will take any excuse to write more for Twilight! And I am finding myself loving writing for Edward!! So I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it 🥰

~~~

Bass boomed around you, filling your chest with a dull thrum at every beat. The lights above you pulsated with different colors. Your arms felt sticky with a mix of sweat and whatever had spilled on the bar earlier in the night. The small glass pinched between your fingers held a pink liquid that you didn’t remember the name of, but it tasted like sweet berries and nothing like alcohol. That might have been why you had drunk three or four in the last hour without a second thought.

The sound of garbled speech hit your ears, and you turned in bewilderment to Jessica, standing beside you with a large grin. “What?!” You had to scream to be heard over the music.

“I said!” she started, grabbing your glass out of your hand. “I think you’ve had enough.”

A childish pout formed on your lips as you reached for the glass, but no matter how many times you thought you had grabbed it, you must have missed it by an inch. “Please! I paid for that!”

“Actually, a guy paid for it before getting shot down so hard I thought he might cry.”

“I’m taken, but that doesn’t mean I won’t accept a free drink.”

Jessica tried to stifle her giggle to remain stern but failed. “Okay, I’m just as guilty. But seriously.” She regained her disciplined facade as she put the drink back down on the bar and hooked her arm with yours. “I think it’s time to get some bad food and call it a night.”

You hadn’t realized how drunk you were until the mention of food made your stomach do a backflip, and you shook your head adamantly. “Maybe we just go home.”

“Yeah, I think that’s for the best. Let’s go get Ange and blow this place.”

You followed closely on Jessica’s very high heels, making sure to keep a hold of her. The staggering amount of people you had to walk through hadn’t fazed you before, but now that your head was spinning, it felt like walking through a fun house.

When you reached Angela, your head was swimming so much that you couldn’t concentrate on what your two friends were saying to each other. You only registered Angela’s relief at the prospect of leaving, and then you were all bee-lining it to the exit.

Once you got outside, the cool air quelled the nausea that started crawling up your throat. Angela and Jessica helped you into the passenger seat, and it was obvious to them how awful you were feeling. Jessica got in the back seat behind you and put her hands on your shoulders.

When Angela started the car, she quickly glanced in your direction. “Are you feeling alright?”

You silently shook your head, groaning a bit when the motion caused your nausea to come back. A rustling noise came from the backseat before Jessica handed you a plastic bag.

“Always prepared,” Angela quipped with a sheepish smile.

You leaned your head back against the headrest as the car started moving. “Thank god for that.”

Angela dropped Jessica off first, considering her house was the closest of the two. However, when she started turning around in the driveway, you realized that you shouldn’t go back to your house like this. You were sure that your house would be in an uproar if you arrived home close to being blackout drunk, and in the spur of the moment, you made an alternative decision.

“Ange,” you started, still hesitant about the choice. “Do you mind driving me to Edward’s place?”

She stopped mid-turn, raising an eyebrow at you. “Are you sure? I don’t know…”

“I don’t want to go home like this.” Seeing she was still not convinced, you added, “And I know he wouldn’t do anything. I’ll even call him to make sure it’s alright.”

She took some time to contemplate before she relented and nodded. You pulled out your phone and called Edward, already having him on your speed dial. It only rang once before he picked up.

“Is something wrong?” His voice seemed erratic, and you could only imagine what was running through his head. You had never once called him at this hour of the night.

“No,” you assured him, “I just wanted to know if it was alright if Ange drove me to your house. We were…out. I don’t want to go home.”

The silence signaled that he had the whole situation figured out. It wouldn’t be hard, considering your slurred speech. His lack of response started to create dread within you. Was he upset? How could he be upset with you for having fun?

“Do you need me to get anything for you? How are you feeling?” But he wasn’t upset. His voice was tender and soft as he asked.

You let out a small sigh of relief. “No, you don’t need to get anything. I’ll feel better when I see you. Ange is driving me there now.”

“I’ll meet you both at the end of the driveway and drive you the rest of the way.”

“That’s probably for the best.” You were about to hang up before you tacked on, “Thank you for this. I love you.”

He let out a light-hearted chuckle on the other end. “Anytime. I love you too.”

Your head felt airy when you hung up your phone, holding it to your chest with a dopey grin. The car started moving again, slowly inching towards the road.

Finally, Angela spoke up. “I’m taking it I can drive you over there?”

“Yeah, he’ll meet us at the end of the driveway. Oh, take a left here.”

Angela heeded your directions, and you couldn’t miss the smile on her face. “I’m glad you have him. You practically light up just by talking to him on the phone.”

You sheepishly put your hands up to obscure your face. You were sure you still looked like someone in an ad for a dating app with how wide your grin was. It wasn’t anything that could be helped, though. Edward always had that effect on you.

You continued to give directions (the best you could, considering how drunk you were), and after only a few wrong turns, you managed to pull up to the Cullens’ driveway, where Edward’s silver Volvo sat waiting for you like a carriage. He wasted no time coming to your door and helping you out into the cold night, thanking Angela profusely.

“Just make sure she’s sober enough for our brunch tomorrow, or Jessica will kill me,” Angela pleaded through her open window.

You gave her a weak thumbs up with the arm that wasn’t clutching Edward’s middle for dear life. With that, she seemed assured enough to drive back onto the road and into the night.

Lowering yourself into the Volvo, you looked at Edward with a smile, “You’re my knight in shining armor.”

“I would give that honor to Angela since she got you here safely, but I’ll settle for being your prince,” he answered cheekily. He kissed the tip of your nose as he leaned over to buckle your seatbelt.

You snorted and swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You’re making me want to take back all the nice things I was going to say about you.”

“I could drive you home inste–”

“No! Nope, you’re absolutely the best anyone could ask for. Just get in here and drive so I can sleep.”

He laughed and got into the driver’s side of the car. The short ride back up to the Cullens’ house was long enough that you started to nod off, so when the car stopped, you didn’t even want to get up.

Edward opened the door for you, and he effortlessly scooped you into his arms when he saw your drowsiness. “You’re acting like a cranky child. You know that, right?”

“Mmm,” you muttered, hiding your face in the crook of his neck. “Don’t care.”

“I don’t even want to imagine your headache tomorrow morning.”

At this point, his amused words fell on mostly deaf ears as you fell deeper asleep in his arms. You didn’t even register how fast he had you into bed, with mere seconds passing before you were safely tucked away under the covers.

He was just about to leave to get you a glass of water when you clutched his shirt sleeve. “Don’t go.”

“I won’t be long. I promise.”

“You better,” you mumbled, reluctantly letting go. It was always interesting that he would let you hold him still, and he didn’t just break free from your grasp. He could do it easily enough no matter how hard you held on, but nevertheless, he would always stay until you let go.

Edward was only gone for the time it took you to blink, and he was back in the room, setting down the glass of water and a bottle of over-the-counter pain medication on the nightstand beside you. “I always keep my promises.”

“Yeah, just shut up and cuddle.” You pulled your arms out from under the comforter to make grabby hands at him. You were sure you looked ridiculous, but you couldn’t be bothered at that moment. Honestly, it was a miracle you were still awake and coherent.

He didn’t protest or say anything else, aside from laughing a bit, and crawled into the bed beside you. He made sure to lay above the comforter in the hopes that it would keep him from making you too cold throughout the night. You draped your arm over his middle and latched onto him before immediately falling asleep.

And he was right. Your headache the following day was truly awful. It had to have been the headache from hell because you could hear everything as soon as you woke up. And all that noise hurt worse than anything you’d felt in a long time.

He noticed as soon as you stirred in your sleep, noting the scrunched up expression on your face. “What’s wrong, love?”

“Headache,” you rasped out. You didn’t realize how dry your mouth was until you tried to talk. Before you could ask, Edward handed you the glass of water he had prepared the night before. The cool liquid soothed your throat instantly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And here, take some of these.” He gently laid two pills into your hand. “Those should help with the headache.”

You quickly took them, grimacing once they were down. “I don’t think I want to get out of bed at all.” You reached across him to set the glass back on the nightstand before deciding that you’d like to stay like that, so you laid across him lazily. “Everything hurts.”

“Too much alcohol will do that,” he teased, rubbing your temples with his cold fingers. The relief was instant, and he had a self-satisfied smirk on his face after your hum of approval. “You do remember that you have brunch with Angela and Jessica?”

You groaned and turned over onto your back, turning your face towards him. “I don’t want to go. Jessica’s the one that dragged me out last night.”

“I don’t think it’s fair to blame her for how drunk you got.”

You frowned but conceded, “No…it’s not. But I still don’t want to go.”

“Angela was adamant about me getting you to that brunch.” When he still hadn’t convinced you, he added, “I can drive you there.”

“In the Volvo?”

“Yes, in the Volvo.”

You playfully pretended to think about it. “Hmm…so you’re telling me I get to spend extra time with you and show up in an expensive car? I don’t know…”

“Come on,” he chuckled, picking you up as he escaped from the warm confines of the bed. You giggled as his cold hands held your waist, and he set you down in front of the dresser that had some of your clothes in it. “Get dressed, so I don’t have those two angry with me.”

You laughed even harder at that statement. “You’re afraid of Angela and Jessica? You?”

“Yes,” he answered with finality. “They’re intimidating.”

You both were now laughing before Edward finally calmed down enough to leave the room, allowing you to change. You opened a drawer of the dresser, your drawer, and picked out the outfit you wanted to wear for the day. Your whole body still felt like you’d gotten hit by a truck, but you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face. Even when you overdid it, Edward was always right there by your side. Through thick or thin, he was there. How had you gotten so lucky?

The honk of the Volvo’s honk snapped you out of your daze, and you looked out the window to see Edward leaning against the car. When he saw you through the window, he motioned towards the car as though it were a carriage. You rolled your eyes and made your way downstairs, endlessly happy. Edward truly was your prince, although getting you to admit it to him would take a bit more work.

[awkwardpariah]

On the night of January 9, 2112 (Houston time), a flash of light illuminated the sky over most of Haklo and Osomi on the planet Alo. The flash lasted a fraction of a second, but in that time night became day, and the whole world was left in stunned silence as to what had just transpired. In the halls of power in New Glava, Tilio'Ramna, and Capital Island the leaders of the three great superblocs met with scientific advisors and called their counterparts, paying lip service to the NHSO and CCMS with calls later in the night. The 31st Fleet out of Oya'ramna and the 19th Fleet out of Dyna'ramna were both given direct orders to maintain present posture, and do not engage. By morning, everything on Alo appeared to be as it should be, and the scientific community attributed the flash of light to a previously undocumented supernova.

Then two days later a new, much smaller but more persistent light appeared in the night sky. Ground based telescopes tracked as the light grew larger, and the heads of state and chief science advisors for the five blocs were in near constant contact. Among the public, curiosity quickly shifted into speculation and panic, and by January 13, when the mysterious light had become the brightest object in the night sky, with a long tail unlike any comet previously observed, panic had evolved into awe and terror. Most were simply captivated by the incredible sight that now dominated the night, while others fell into the worst instincts of any society confronted with the unknown. The government attempted to calm the public before eventually the head of the  Osomi CoDominium Astronomical Agency (OCAA) made a public address confirming what unaffiliated scientists and the public at large had speculated for the last few days: the light in the night sky is not a natural phenomenon so far as the scientific community can determine. What was intended to calm the public with a simple statement of facts only fueled speculation, protests, and riots until on January 15 the light simply vanished. OCAA and its companion agencies in the other four blocs all tracked the object's trajectory to the L4 Lagrange point. This convinced most of the planet's astronomers that the light source was most likely an alien spacecraft.

For the next 9 months the public's panic largely subsided, with the exception of the planet's fringe groups, which began holding rituals lifting the light up as some kind of divine communication. As the status of the light transitioned from scientific inquiry to social debate, instances of mass suicide and violent clashes between demonstrators and the government became more frequent. Despite the behavior of the planet's more reactionary elements, most Argommi agreed with the assessment that it was an alien spacecraft or at least some kind of celestial phenomena. Life seemed to return to some version of normal before being upended once again on April 29, 2112. The growing community of amateur astronomers who had been gathering in the uninhabited places of Alo since the first light appeared reported a strange streak of light in the sky above the Arslav Desert. While the government dismissed it as a meteorite at first, nuclear early warning tracking stations and civilian observatories identified 7 more such objects in unique orbits over the following weeks. As another wave of panic gripped the planet, the public demanded that the Argommi governments take action. What sort of action was entirely up for debate. A series of summits were called where the leading members of the scientific community debated what the lights were, and how best to respond. There was no single event in which the attendees of the summits publicly stated that the lights were of alien origin, or had any connection to the previous two lights that dominated the sky so many months ago. It simply became the foundation of the debate without anyone saying so. The Argommi now believed they were not alone in the universe, and someone was watching them from above their planet.

After six months of seeing faint lights occasionally streak across the sky, and only a notion at the last possible location the mothership could have gone, many in the scientific community had settled on the idea that they had been visited by an uncrewed interstellar probe similar to an old proposal from their world, and were now being observed for purely scientific reasons. No consensus was reached about how to respond, though the Kuvo Republic, the leading power of the Osomi CoDominium, elected to coordinate an effort within the OC and the neighboring CCMS to attempt radio contact with these probes via its civilian space program. This prompted condemnation from the Tilio'ramna Pact and neglect from the Canavin Union. The TP believed that the OC, much less one of its member states unilaterally attempting to speak for the entire planet was arrogant and dangerous. The CU proceeded with their own attempt at radio contact in secret.

After repeated attempts to get a signal through on April 1, 2113 a relatively small OCAA radio observatory in the Great Basin picked up a series of repeating high frequency tones that could only be artificial. With the satellite only a few minutes from setting over the horizon, the station's chief radio astronomer responded with a simple salutation in Ioldan. Within the few minutes in which the researcher was being chided for unilaterally attempting First Contact, every tracking station on the planet received the same message simultaneously from the 8 sources the Argommi had been aware of, and a 35 they didn't even know existed in higher orbits. The message was a number in every local language on the planet, representing the frequency they should tune to for further communication. Further responses were coordinated by the major astronomy agencies of the five blocs, and were met with a series of tests.

It quickly became apparent that the tests weren't to determine if the Argommi were intelligent, those observing them KNEW that, and clearly a great deal more about their species. These tests were designed to allow the Argommi to determine the origin of their observers on their own. They quickly determined what constellation the spacecraft came from, but also confirmed they had no way of observing the specific star with their level of technology, as it was located some 2,920 lightyears away. They gained insight into just what they'd been seeing in the night sky. The flash on January 9, 2112 was the release of a Bubble Trap, a phenomena the Argommi didn't even have a theory for. The Bubble Trap was released by a spacecraft that compressed and expanded spacetime to travel faster than light while not actually moving. The smaller, more persistent light was a matter-antimatter reaction that propelled the spacecraft in-system. It became apparent after a few weeks, that their visitors could not move a great deal of mass between the stars, constrained by physics that hadn't even gotten on the napkin drawing phase for most of their scientific community. Still, the message was clear: We are explorers, it has taken a great deal of time, energy, and resources for us to come here, and we couldn't conquer you if we wanted to.

On June 3, 2113 the Director General of the OC held a final meeting with her security council and with the ambassadors of the other four blocs. The decision was reached to make contact and to invite the 'guests' they now knew as "humans" to land at Sansomi in the Triplet Is. Sansomi had been used as neutral ground for diplomatic summits for decades on Alo, a consequence of it being the least inconvenient place for airships to reach for all five powers. The Great Conference of Argommi met on a bright clear day (typical of the Triplet Isles) in the terminal of the Sansomi Airport, with all five leaders of the planet's blocs in attendance, along with leading scientists, religious leaders, and a massive crowd of onlookers, protestors, and pilgrims. People milled about not knowing what to expect when someone's finger shot up with the cry of "THERE!" and a red streak in the sky was seen by all, as had been warned by the human visitors. The streak nearly crested the horizon before fading at which point a particularly thoughtful sound engineer turned the stage's speakers to play the calm methodical words between the human visitors and local air traffic controllers. The words were in modern Tiloan, and the calm, deliberative, almost boring exchange eased the crowd enough for the director of OCAA to encouraged those with telescopes and binoculars to look to the sky. Eventually the small black and white spacecraft came into view of the naked eye and the crowd was silent as the ATCs and the human crew occasionally spoke in brief confirmation of their position. As the strange looking spaceplane touched down and deployed a drag chute it gently slowed to a stop.

11,703 confirmed deaths were attributed to the arrival or disappearance of the light in the sky that the Argommi would come to know as the interstellar spacecraft IV-402 Beagle III. What would come of this meeting would unite the planet more than ever before, and create the modern Aloan Cold War.

Special thanks to rajavlitra who was commissioned to draw the Argommi for this map, and all my Patreon supporters who made this map possible. All my patrons get early access to my projects before they go live. Please subscribe at: patreon.com/SeanMcKnight

[sardonycal]

forgive me i let my beyonce addiction bleed into these ones y_y` <//3

[comradekarin]

taylor swift fans constantly setting that woman up by comparing her to black artists and saying she’s better than them is super funny,, like they very seriously think that she is leagues above BEYONCÉ or MJ as if swift’s whight mediocrity isn’t the root cause,,,, but here’s the kicker… let you say that Beyonce is the better singer, or dancer, or has better production, or more of a cultural impact… “oh, let’s not compare two queens who are killing it in the game” shut the fuck up- white feminism is a disease. this is my spirit when y’all fr bring up that whight woman:

[bookwyrminspiration]

if I had been in Bella's position I would not have survived. like literally. I would've picked at my lip or scratched off a scab because Texture and then boom fresh blood and welp he drinked me. we would not have made it to new moon without an incident

[cuties-in-codices]

men's fashion

in a book of domestic and foreign costumes, bavaria, late 16th century

source: Munich, BSB, Cod.icon. 341, fol. 5v, 102v and 107v

[apollos-boyfriend]

mcyt 2023 predictions

ranboo will have a "meet my boyfriend" clickbait stream where the boyfriend in question is something like a reigen arataka body pillow

youtooz goes bankrupt/otherwise closes

members of the mianite team will begin writing for origins at tubbo's behest, triggering a mianite renaissance

among us will have an mcc crossover where mcyt-related items will be added in the game

lil nas x plays valorant with foolish and karl

tommy will make a youtube video where he goes through the legal process of adopting tubbo

a new life series drops. jimmy is, miraculously, not the first to die, but he is the second.

another mass twitter migration occurs. wilbur admits to having a tumblr, but it isn't @sootings

karl jacobs and captainsparklez kiss, uniting the two generations of menkissers

EDIT: ant and velvet will get engaged