#determined degeneracy ;; ic

[dirtyandbeauty]

@rattusrexx​ asked:

→ BE MY VALENTINE! // 🍫 - Might have stolen those chocolates but they found that 'bomb' scene in Dressrosa to be most entertaining.

→ BE MY VALENTINE!

🍫 to give my muse a box of chocolates

Now that was unusual. Someone giving him a gift? Very unlikely. The most he got was enraged insults and shouts and all kinds of garbage hurled at him. Which, of course, never upset him. The opposite, really, it always filled him with joy and satisfaction at how overworked he could make people so easily. He was called ‘the cannibal’ for a reason. But chocolate was something else! He had no clue who this guy was, yet he wasn’t about to say no to free sweets!

“Hell yeah chocolates! I dunno if ya want somethin’ from me, but I’ll take ‘em!”

[ragingbookdragon]

I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 2

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.7K Warnings: Explicit Language and Angst!

Author's Note: It's amazing how much one can write when they've got a story to tell, eh? Enjoy! -Thorne

Set Three Years After PT. 1:

Life for her revolved around work in the A.M. and community college in the P.M. If she wasn’t brewing cappuccinos and baking apple turnovers, she was writing research papers and taking physics exams. It was hectic and it was hard, much harder than anything she’d done, but it was her life, and she was going to make the best of it. The money she’d taken from her savings account had only lasted her long enough to get a decent one bedroom one bathroom apartment in a small complex and the rest went towards tuition. The coffee shop two blocks from her building had fortunately been looking for a new hire when she arrived, and she took the chance where it was, not going to look the gift horse in its mouth.

The life she lived now was a complete 180 from her old one. Back then, she didn’t have to work (though she did at a high-end department store in the mall—her father got her the job but at least she had one) and there wasn’t anything she couldn’t get with a swipe of a credit card. Now she was on a budget that consisted of five and ten tips and the last time she actually bought a new pair of shoes over a hundred dollars had been last year when she needed them for an interview, and even then, it cost her a limb.

Everything was so different, but she didn’t want to go back, preferring to be on her own and away from Gotham. From the newspapers and media, her family had convinced the world that she’d taken a few years to go overseas and spend time in Europe. A mental reprieve, they’d called it. Partially true if she was honest, but she wasn’t going to open her mouth about it lest they learned where she was. She didn’t go through all that trouble to be found within three years.

“Melisandre.”

Maybe I should move again?

“Melisandre?”

Moving would take a long time but it would be effective.

“Melisandre!”

Someone grabbed her arm over the counter, and she jerked with a start, eyes widening as she finally realized someone was standing in front of her.

“Barry?” she asked, and he smiled.

“Finally,” he snorted. “I’ve been calling your name for like ten minutes now.”

She felt a flush creep along her cheeks, and she smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. Usual?” she murmured, marking a disposable coffee cup with a marker.

Barry nodded with understanding and handed her a credit card. “I hear you. How’s studying going for that physics exam?” His blue eyes darted to the science book she had sprawled over the counter.

“It’s going,” she muttered and turned, starting to mix together his latte. “I still can’t get the thermodynamic laws down. They’re a bit confusing.”

“Yeah, it’ll take a while. You know if you need my help, all you gotta do is ask, right?”

Shrugging, she glanced at him as she poured. “You’re a busy man, Barry. I can’t have you trying to help me while trying to solve cases too.”

Barry chuckled and accepted the freshly poured latte. “I’m an excellent multitasker, Melisandre. Besides, you don’t have to worry about it messing with my work.” She opened her mouth to retort but he cut her off. “Seriously, shoot me an email about whatever questions you’ve got, and I’ll take a look at ‘em, okay?”

Her eyes narrowed warily, and she inquired, “You’re sure it won’t interfere? I’d hate for you to get in trouble for working on non-work-related things.”

“I promise, Melisandre,” he smiled and accepted a bag of apple turnovers too. He couldn’t help but pull one out and bite into it, letting out a delighted noise. “God, what do you put in these things? They’re phenomenal.”

She giggled and winked as he handed her a twenty. “A baker never reveals her secret, but if you really want to know, I use a little vanilla extract.”

Barry shook his head with a chuckle and started making his way to the door. “See you later, Melisandre!”

Waving at him, she called, “Bye Barry! Take care!”

Just as he opened the door, he stopped and spun around, suddenly asking, “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?”

Blinking, she glanced at the physics book then back to him. “Well, I was going to be studying for the exam…why?”

“My nephew is in town and I wanted to introduce him to you. I’ve already mentioned you a bunch of times and he wants to meet you.”

Her face pinched. “Barry Allen, what did you tell that poor boy?”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “That there’s a lonely college student who has no friends but has the greatest baking abilities in the world.”

“I cannot believe you told him I had no friends! Why!”

“You don’t.”

“Well, yeah! But still! You don’t just tell someone that! It makes me seem like there’s something wrong with me!”

Barry waved a hand. “Relax. Wally’s the least jerky person you’ll meet.” He smiled. “You’ll like him.”

She frowned. “I still don’t think this is a good idea, Barry.”

“Why not?”

“Well, he’s here to see you and your wife, not come meet the person who feeds your apple turnover addiction.”

The blonde’s cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson and he spluttered, “It is not an addiction!” he spun around and marched through the door. “I’ll send him over tomorrow! Bye!”

And he left before she could even say a word.

***

It had to be hieroglyphics. It was either that or some ancient cuneiform he’d recently taken up interest in, because there was no way whatever he’d written on the paper was English.

She cocked her head to the side, muttering, “Jesus Christ, Barry, did you write this on a caffeine bender? Your writing is like chicken scratch.” She tipped her head to the other side trying to decipher it when someone leaned over her shoulder.

“Which problem do you need help on?” they asked, and she pointed to the sheet.

“I have no idea what that says.” She turned and saw a red-haired stranger. “If you think you can, be my guest.”

He took it and read over it a moment, green eyes scanning over the page then he said, “Let’s see, he wrote first, ‘The third law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system at absolute zero is a well-defined constant. This is because a system at zero temperature exists in its ground state, so that its entropy is determined only by the degeneracy of the ground state.’”

Pausing, he scanned it again and added, “Then he marked a note beside it and wrote, ‘In simplistic terms, if an object reaches the absolute zero temp. of (0 K = -273.15C = -459.67°F), its atoms will stop moving. In other words, at absolute zero, the entropy of a perfectly crystalline substance is zero.’”

Glancing at her, he smiled. “Make sense now?”

She huffed and nodded, taking the sheet back. “Yeah, thanks. I don’t even know how you managed to get all that from his writing.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Barry’s handwriting is deplorable.”

Her eyes went wide, and she immediately questioned, “How did you?”

Sticking a hand out, he greeted, “Wally West. I’m Barry’s nephew.”

Shaking his hand, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe he actually told you to come up here and meet me.” A smile came across her lips. “I’m Melisandre Hale.”

“That’s a pretty name, Melisandre.”

“Thank you,” she grinned and waved him to one of the bar-stools on the adjacent side of the counter. “Have a seat and I’ll get you something to eat and drink.” As she slid behind the counter, she inquired, “Anything specific?”

Wally stared at the bored, offhandedly mentioning, “Barry said something about apple turnovers that could make you cry with joy, so I’ve gotta have one of those.” His evergreen eyes met hers. “Maybe two if I’m being honest.”

She grunted, but a grin crossed her lips, nevertheless. “Barry exaggerates a lot, Wally. They’re good, but they’re not mind-blowingly good.”

“Then I guess that leaves me to be the judge,” he countered with a smirk. “What should I drink?”

She thought for a moment then offered, “Have any judgments about drinking before five o’clock?”

He let out a startled laugh and shook his head. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

With a grin, she turned and started working her magic and a moment later, she was sliding a plate with two iced apple turnovers over along with a clear steaming mug of dark coffee with cream on top. She leaned her hip on the counter and watched him pick up one of the apple turnovers and take a bite.

Immediately his eyes went wide, and he exclaimed, “Holy shit.” He gaped at her. “This is delicious, Melisandre!”

Despite herself, her cheeks warmed, and she gave him an easy smile. “Thanks, Wally.” She nodded to the crystal mug. “Try the Irish coffee.”

He did so and tossed his head back, letting out an exaggerated groan that had her laughing until her stomach hurt. Wally was on his second turnover and he looked at her.

“You’ve gotta open up a bakery or something, Melisandre. Your pastries are awesome.”

She huffed and took the plate from him as he finished the last bite. “Let me get through college first and then I’ll wonder how to rack up enough to open a shop.”

“What are you studying?”

Pausing, she tossed a quick glance at him. “There’s no specification right now. I’m just doing general studies to get all the basics out of the way.” She put the dish in the sink and started rinsing it. “I’m at the four-C right now.” His brows pulled together, and she added, “Central City Community College.”

He snapped his fingers. “Right! It’s been a while since I went to the four-C.”

Her eyes found his and she curiously asked, “Did you go there?”

“Yeah, a few years back.”

“You don’t look that much older than I am. How old are you, Wally?”

He sipped his coffee and set it down as he replied, “I turned twenty-eight a month ago.”

“Happy belated birthday,” she smiled, and he gave her one in return.

“Thanks. How about you?”

“I turned twenty-one a few months ago.”

“Hmm, happy belated birthday to you as well.” He grinned, quipping, “How’s it feel to finally be able to legally do all the things you were doing before you turned twenty-one?”

She shot him a look. “Shame on you, Wally West, for assuming I was doing illegal things.” He chuckled and she shrugged. “But to answer your question, it feels great, so thanks.”

Wally snorted at that. “My best friend and I got absolutely hammered on our twenty-firsts and swore to never drink hard liquor again after we woke up in the bathroom in our underwear after passing out on the floor.”

A shudder passed over her at her own memory of waking up beside the toilet after her birthday celebration with a bottle of white rum. She cocked a hand up with her water bottle in it. “Here, here,” she toasted and took a sip as Wally raised his coffee and drank too.

She glanced at him. “Are you in school, or are you done?”

“I finished a while ago. I work out of a tower with a group of friends in Manhattan.”

For a moment, her eyes drifted to the simple pair of jeans and graphic shirt he was wearing. She lived in the upper area of Gotham and she knew what uptown Manhattan was like, and it wasn’t jeans and t-shirts.

Evidently, he did too because he scowled, “I have suits and ties, thank you very much.”

She snorted and took the empty mug from him. “I didn’t say anything, Wally.”

“You made a face.”

“Is a face a ground to be hostile?” she grinned. “I was just wondering what type of business in Manhattan ran on flash t-shirts and skinny jeans.” She eyed him. “Tech?”

He shrugged. “It’s…a bit of everything if I’m being honest.” It sounded like he didn’t exactly want to say, and she let it be, rinsing out his cup before setting it to dry.

A buzz sounded and she felt for her phone when he said, “That’s mine.” Wally pulled his phone out, read the message, and stood up. “I’ve gotta go, Melisandre.”

She nodded and took the twenty-dollar bill he handed her, waving her off when she tried to hand back the change. As he started towards the door, she called, “Wally?”

He turned on his heel and waited and she felt foolish for saying it, but she admitted with warmth in her cheeks, “It’s been a while since I had any semblance of a friend…so thanks for this afternoon.”

Wally gave her a pearly white grin. “Barry said you’d say something like that,” he chuckled as she scowled and he added sincerely, “Can never have too many friends, Melisandre…and I hope you’ll become a great one of mine. So far, you already are.”

She smiled, “Same here, Wally.” The bell signaled his exit and she let out a heavy sigh as her heart warmed in her chest at the feeling of a newfound friendship.

***

She was dead on her feet when she finally got through her front door and into her living room, practically collapsing onto the couch. Though it wasn’t far from the truth as she flopped down and toed off her shoes, heaving a long and winded sigh as she stared at the dark ceiling. She wanted to turn on the lamp on the table beside her, but she didn’t want to move. Hell, she barely wanted to get up and take a shower, so she didn’t go to bed sweaty.

Just a moment. She thought. Just a moment to close my eyes and I’ll get up and go shower.

Of course, the second the shut them, she was opening them to her phone telling her it was two A.M. She groaned and picked herself off the couch to shuffle into her bedroom, and when she got there, she peeled off the clothes from her body and let them fall, not caring about the hamper just a foot away. She’d do it tomorrow after class.

The shower was quick, and she crawled into bed a few minutes later, glancing out the window at the stars that were still in the night sky. Even if she tried to avoid thinking about it, she couldn’t, and her mind drifted to when she was a young girl and would stare out the window in her bedroom back in Gotham, watching the spotlight come alive and paint the silhouette of the bat symbol against the night sky.

She missed them. She missed them a lot. Missed eating meals at a full table and the laughter in the manor. Hell, she even missed being ignored, because at least then she could see familiar faces every day. Now, it was wake up, go to work, go to class, then come home. And the process repeated every morning. She was alone in a city where she didn’t know anyone except for one forensic scientist and his wife, going to a college that didn’t even have her real identity. She’d not even said the name “(Y/N) Wayne” out loud for fear that someone with super hearing would hear her and tell her father, instead going by “Melisandre Hale”, a twenty-one-year-old born and raised Central City citizen going to community college. It pained her to admit, that with her decision to grant herself the freedom she desired, it came with a heavy price, and that was the loneliness. And it was worse compared to what it was like back then.

Sighing, she rolled over and pulled the covers up over her head, hoping that when she shut her eyes, she’d stop thinking about what she left behind. Unfortunately, the universe and her mind were never kind, and as she drifted to sleep, she saw the pained faces of her family.

[luetine]

undefined

This time-lapse, assembled from images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope over a period of two and a half years, shows the evolution of the light echo coming from the supernova SN 2014J.

The supernova was located in Messier 82, the „Cigar Galaxy“, about 3.5 mpc (11.5 million light-years) away from earth. The light echo is caused by light scattering of the interstellar dust cloud. When it was discovered in January 2014, it was one of the closest supernovae seen for decades and, due to its relative closeness and unusual brightness, of great interest for scientists and amateur astronomers.

The closeness of the supernova allowed astronomers to study it in much more detail than usual and might help us to understand how supernovae form and evolve. Moreover, SN2014J was, as its optical spectrum showed, a Type Ia supernova. These supernovae are used for determining distances in space, understanding them better may, therefore, help clarify the shape of the Universe.

A supernova is a large explosion that takes place at the end of a star's life cycle and produces heavier elements. When a supernova happens, the star expels all its, or at least a great majority of it, matter at speeds up to 10% the speed of light. In the case of SN2014J, the supernova produced a debris that originally expanded at up to 20,000 kilometres per second. The expelled matter can be seen as a supernova remnant.

Supernovae are classified according to their light curves, their absorption lines and the chemical elements they emit. If a supernova has a strong ionised silicon absorption line, it‘s a type Ia supernova; otherwise, it’s classified as Type Ib (this type has helium absorption lines) or Ic (doesn’t have helium absorption lines). The same classifications are used for type II supernovae. Type Ib, Type Ic, and Type II supernovae are the result of the core-collapse of a massive star.

A type Ia supernova occurs in a binary star system. Here, two stars are orbiting the same point. One of the two stars, usually a white dwarf, „consumes“ matter from its companion star. Due to this, the white star accumulates too much matter; its mass becomes greater than the Chandrasekhar limit, and this results in a supernova. The Chandrasekhar limit is the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star, which is 1.4 times the mass of our sun. White dwarfs resist gravitational collapse primarily through electron degeneracy pressure. The Pauli exclusion principle disallows two electrons with the same spin to occupy the same energy state in the same volume. This forces them into higher energy states, once the lowest energy level is filled. When they are in a higher energy state, the electrons are travelling at faster speeds. These faster moving electrons create a pressure called electron degeneracy pressure. When the mass of the white star approaches the Chandrasekhar limit, its gravity attempts to squeeze the star into a smaller volume. This forces electrons into a higher energy state and therefore travelling at higher velocities. When the mass of the white dwarf is smaller than the Chandrasekhar limit, the electron degeneracy pressure in the star's core generates an equilibrium to the star's gravitational self-attraction, this prevents it from collapsing. At the Chandrasekhar limit, the electrons are travelling close to the speed of light, but the pressure exerted by them becomes insufficient to support the star, thus causes it to collapse and to evolve into a different type of stellar remnants, such as a neutron star or a black hole.

[dirtyandbeauty]

@multixminds​ asked:

She's been following the idiot along the rooftops because he had attempted to lose her in the crowds after swindling her and when the opportunity came, she kept from the rafters with every intention of pouncing down upon her target. The execution was great and yet--as though guided by fate--Said Idiot maneuvered just beyond some tall guy and the Tall Guy was the one she ended up clinging to from behind. Ah damnit. Why was he so tall and-- The Idiot was getting away!! "GET BACK HERE YOU ASS!" // Dana to Barto.

“Huh??? The hell are you?! Get offa me!!” Suddenly heckled by some crazy woman, Bartolomeo swiftly grabbed the stranger off his back and flung her to the ground. His foot was brought down on her and he peered down with an indignant look. “You gotta problem??? Heh, I’ll give ya a problem.”

[dirtyandbeauty]

@penguin-of-the-heart​ liked for a starter.

What unfortunate luck... The Church must have been down on hunters, their finest ranks busied with the good work of eradicating the unholy. There was no one else for the young priest to turn to at the moment, and so his help was enlisted.

The hunter was leaned back casually against a wall, unamused eyes looking down his quarry. Bartolomeo shrugged at the priest. “Eh. Not much are you? Guess I wasn’t really expectin’ anything much. You gotta demon for me to take care of?”

At first glance, the hunter didn’t appear to be very armed. Not wearing much for good armor against the shredding claws of monsters. However, despite his... attitude and fiendish appearance, he had never failed to get a job done in the odd chance his services were called on.

“And what’d ya say your name was again??? ‘Penguin’??? Weird name for a priest.” ‘Penguin’ may just have his work cut out for him...

[dirtyandbeauty]

@metalheaduo​ asked:

Throws cheese sticks at the rooster (from Franky) "Reeveenggeeee "

“This the best ya got for ‘revenge’? I can show ya some real revenge.”

[dirtyandbeauty]

@demonladyamande​ said:

👻- For something that scares or disturbs them, but they refuse to tell anyone

Secret Spilling.

“Ya know, clowns are pretty disturbing. Or mimes? I don’t really know the difference, just what’s their deal? Do they think they’re makin’ anyone happy lookin’ like that?? Hey lady, ya know your brother’s a clown???”

[dirtyandbeauty]

@bloominghands​ asked:

Oh! It’s her friends from Dressrosa! She calls over to them as she approaches with a bright smile. “Cabbage! Rooster-Kun! It’s lovely to see you again! I hope you’ve been well?” 🌸

“L-L-LOVELY?! DID YOU MISS ME?!?!” She actually missed him- she cared about him- What the greatest feeling in the world!!! He was going to flood over-

“An incoherent fool. Get your act together, that isn’t how us Fleet Commanders are supposed to behave.” Cavendish chided. His focus returned solely on the archaeologist. “And you’re as beautiful as ever, Miss Nico Robin. I am always well, it gladdens me to see you in good health too.”

[dirtyandbeauty]

@demonladyamande​

“Heh, you think I’m gonna be the one cryin’ and runnin’ back to their mama??? Don’t think I don’t know about what you guys did to Luffy-senpai and his crew! He’s gonna take you all down, and I’m with him all the way! Fuck the Big Mom Pirates-dabe!!!!”

[dirtyandbeauty]

@goldenshowman​:

A loud growl escaped the casino king’s mouth as instantly his hands clutched to his face. It was the same burning pain he felt years ago, his face was changing and molding into something differnet. Blue eyes filled with rage stared at the source of this problem. When this is done...he will break this young man’s spine with his own hands.

It stopped....slowly he removes his hands only to be greeted by the sight of a large snout that belongs to a wild boar. Gritting his teeth he summons a golden spear aiming at the young man. “Any last words? Hope you are happy for putting me  through this because I’m going to have a hell of fun while making you bleed boy!”

“Heh, you think I did that??? I can’t do anythin’ like that, but it sure is a RIOT! Heh haha!” The rooster teased the now pig-nosed man. He stood in a casual manner, seemingly unflinching at the creation of the golden spear. “Maybe it’s ‘cause all that greed of yours caught up to ya, eh? Ya know, it’s a real fancy place ya got!”

Barto crossed his arms over his chest in x-shaped fashion, fingers twisting over the other. “Hope ya don’t mind sharing somma that! Not that I’m givin’ ya the option hog-face!”

[dirtyandbeauty]

“That submarine looks so much better now-dabe!”

[dirtyandbeauty]

@ryathenaughtykitsune​ asked:

"Cavendish and Barty are back? Cool. I thought they got caught by Marines because of Barty..."

“You’d really think I’d get caught by those guys? No way, it’s just the one who’s runnin’ the show is a little pussy baby who leaves us hangin’ all the time! Maybe she’ll actually write now that her health’s feelin’ better. I dunno, she keeps goin’ on about some kinda ‘cat boy’ from this ‘final fantasy’ thing.”

(Pspspspsps. I’d like to return to writing like I always say I do, and I’ll be trying to be active on @crystal-catboy​ and @son-of-beast too)

[dirtyandbeauty]

@perpetualconfusion18​ said:

💃- For a talent that they like to keep hidden from others (For either!)

Secret Spilling.

“There is no talent of mine I would hide~ All my talents are for your viewing pleasure!~ But I must warn you, the sheer radiance of my skill may just cause you to faint~”

“Yeah right. The only thing you’re really skillful at is snoring the loudest outta anyone I’ve ever heard.” The rooster sneered. It’s impossible to get any good sleep around that guy! Whether Hakuba was awake or not.

“I don’t got much ta hide from anyone. Heh, you wanna see how well I can spell my name on the floor with my piss???” Thats... a talent. He’s also surprisingly good at making candy!

[dirtyandbeauty]

@wanderingmechanichick​ commented:

"Fek dem clowns im pretty sure they eat babies!!"

“The fuck? I mean, I get that babies can be annoyin’ but eatin’ them? Fuck ‘em clowns.” Ironic coming from the man known as ‘the Cannibal’.

[dirtyandbeauty]

@ncmvds​ said:

🌟- For a secret wish or desire of theirs

Secret Spilling.

He won’t admit it easily, but a desire of his (funnily enough) is that Desire understood the simpery and sailed with him in support of the Straw Hats. Just wasn’t meant to be.

He claims to enjoy and not regret his life of piracy. It’s better than some stuffy old castle, isn’t it? But sometimes he longs for what could be if he hadn’t been banished. Or maybe he’s simply homesick... He wouldn’t say so himself.

[dirtyandbeauty]

He’s watching, amused. “Damn it’s all justa stupid number. I didn’t even haveta set anyone off for this one!”