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ephie-om · 7 months ago

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Starting to realize how much I like writing chaotic MC ':)

Day 24: RAD

“The halls of the royal academy have seen thousands of demons’ footsteps over the centuries. Discoveries have been made in these rooms which revolutionized magic as we know it. And not just magic; the sciences of biology, persuasion, and chemistry all have a home here.” You nod along to Barbatos’ explanation as he guides you through the labyrinthian academy grounds. The vaulted ceilings make you dizzy if you look up for too long, and you try to focus on keeping pace with Barbatos’ efficient strides. “You will be taking a set of introductory courses specifically selected for a non-demon student. Your professors have all been notified of your status as an exchange student with a one-year tenure and will adjust their lesson plans accordingly. You will have one-on-one training with certain professors before the year properly begins to provide you with a foundation of basic Devildom subjects that you will use throughout your time here.” Your eyes have already started to glaze over.

As far as you were concerned, you were pulled from your boring human life by the most powerful demons in existence. You live with the Avatars of the seven deadly sins, who you’re quickly learning can be bribed to do your chores. You’re going to do everything you can to make the absolute most out of this year, and school is looking like the last thing on your list right now. You try to pay attention to Barbatos again, but he’s started talking about the demons whose paintings line the front entrance and you find yourself not caring at all.

Your staunch indifference to your studies serves to make you yet another thorn in Lucifer’s side. You aren’t directly opposed to the idea of paying attention to your classes, you just end up finding more interesting things. Like an incantation to make Mammon speak without his accent for an hour, or the myriad of ways to make something explode into sparkly magical smoke . You’re sure you get disapproving looks from your centuries-old professors, but you’re too busy trying out new things to notice them. You’ve singlehandedly caused at least two classrooms to temporarily close for repairs (the third one could arguably also be Satan’s fault). Your textbooks have to be replaced almost on a weekly basis due to water damage, fire damage, lava damage, mastication, vanishing, or transmutation.

To the chagrin of everyone else, the problem only worsens when Solomon officially takes you on as his apprentice. Now you have the tools of a wizard to sow chaos on academy time instead of just your pact magic. On your first day, he lets you choose which basic spells to learn first, and without blinking, you choose every single one that sounds like fun. He chuckles knowingly, but you take solace in the fact that at least one person here finds you predictable.

As it turns out, Solomon’s lessons are much more engaging than those at RAD. Maybe it has something to do with the connection you two have as humans, or maybe you just learn better when your teacher is just as insane as you. You start to learn all the principles you’ve been unknowingly applying to your little experiments in class, and you revel in the way Solomon’s eyes shine when you finish a sentence for him. You’ve actually learned quite a lot from your class activities.

The following weeks, your destruction is a little more controlled. You think you catch one or two of your professors letting out a sigh of relief as you catch a runaway spell for the first time instead of sitting back and watching it go. You and Mammon are still inseparable in class, but now you understand why you get the results you do. He laughs under his breath when you mutter to yourself just like Solomon, eyes trained on a deep purple flower in your potions class. You look back and forth between the petals and the chalkboard at the front of the room, frown deepening.

The board says that the ingredient should dampen the water-summoning effect from the other reagents to create a controlled stream, but you swear you remember that it acts as an enhancer. You open your mouth to ask the professor if he’s sure he copied down the instructions, but the glare he shoots you makes you close it again. You shrug indifferently, excited to see the result either way. Sure enough, as the crushed petals hit the bubbling mixture, a rush of water shoots straight up from the murky liquid, and demons around the room cry out as their uniforms are instantly drenched. The force of the flow threatens to rip off the ceiling, and your professor can barely shout instructions over the sheer noise of the thing. You laugh to yourself even as you slog out of the room, spilling water over the floor in the hallway.

You recount the story dramatically over dinner that night, with Mammon adding in colorful details you must have missed. Satan laments how a professor, of all demons, could have made such a simple mistake. Lucifer listens silently, but you notice the glint of blue in his eyes as you speak. You text Solomon to fill him in on anything he hadn’t already heard, and he sends you several smiley stickers in a row. Bit by bit, the demons at RAD start to take you a little more seriously. Ever so slowly, you actually start to complete your homework, and the RAD you knew begins to change.

Not physically, of course. It’s still suffocating and stuffy and old. The imposing portraits of important Devildom figures in education still stare down at you from their massive frames in the lobby, following you with their dark eyes. You still get scolded for doodling sigils of your own creation instead of drawing out your arithmancy matrices. Barbatos still stalks you from behind random columns (no you can’t actually prove that, but some part of you can feel his beady eyes on you).

But you start to understand what the vision for this academy is. Like it or not, you’ve learned a lot in your time here, and its resources are indispensable to your work. You may not do serious wizard things like Solomon, but you’re definitely doing something that wizards do, which is doing magic for the hell of it. You surprise your housemates with fun little spells. You’ve learned one to reinforce Beel’s lunchbox at the seams, preserving it from the demon who gets a bit too distracted to find the zipper on the first try. You still blast off the occasional fireball to not let anyone’s nerves get too settled, but you’re finally starting to feel like RAD could be a place for you too.

#obey me #obey me swd #omswd #obey me shall we date #obey me mammon #obey me solomon #obey me mc #ephie writes #omadventcalendar

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ptolemaeasdaughter · 14 days ago

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꥟ 𝐎𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐬 ꥟

꧁ Remmick x oc ꧂

Author’s note: Hello everyone, this will be the beginning of my first ever fanfic, ever since I finished watching sinners it has me in a chokehold. I hope you guys enjoy this first part of my story, mind you, English isn’t my first language so please if you notice any errors let me know. For now, enough said, enjoy and leave a like and comment in support so I know people want me to continue this story. Love, me xx

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

The crowing of crows dark as the night began to arise when the first strays of sunlight peaked through the treetops, air still foggy with last nights bated breath. The aftermath of last nights storm had yet to reign down and the usual peacefulness and quite plains of Argolis where nowhere to be detected. It seemed as if the gods hadn’t been particularly kind to each other, leaving the fragile earth in ruin after their fight. The inhabitants of the archaic city of Argos still had to be awakened from their slumber, sleep being the only remedy that could’ve saved them from an impending catastrophe and hysteria had they seen the harsh storm that threatened their lands the night prior. A god's fight was never meant for the eyes of mortals, for it would invoke a terrible mistrust of the understanding of nature, nature, a concept thought to be understood by modern science. Living in a modern world, a world where science has it all figured out. Humanity at the top of the food chain, humans being able to understand and explain the complex concepts of physics. A storm, the mere result of the clash between warm and cool, drier air. The rising and cooling of this air, creating a place where the water- vapor has a place to condense into clouds, releasing their heat. If you’re the unlucky one living in the space where the air is unstable and continues to rise, a storm will occur within your living space. Poor you, but you’ll survive and so will your community. You just wait until it is over and continue with your life, no strings attached. A storm, the clash between natural elements as explained by modern science. No higher powers, no universe interfering with mortal life, just facts based on facts and years of research done by the greatest minds produced by humanity.

The old women of yore would’ve told you a different story. They would’ve told you a story of gods and monsters, divine intervention, and mythologies. Believing everything in nature has a soul, a being. The soul being the very essence of your being, living in human skin, a mortal body. Mortal and immortal living together in harmony, respect and integrity bound closely and echoing their harmony all throughout the universe.

People always have had a knack for storytelling. Cultures all over the world producing their legend and myths, people trying to make sense of the world that surrounds them. A world where every soul is a visitor, bound to this earth with a vow, only breaking in death and passing into the afterlife. The soul, bound to the people it is born to live with. The soul, binding itself to another’s and never withering away from that connection, even in death it would not tear itself away, forever being apart of another’s essence.

Perhaps this is why the naked body of a woman lay spread across the fertile grounds of a forest just outside of Argos. Trees still swaying back and forth, thriving in the aftermath of last nights storm, the cries of a lamb screeching in the distance. Chestnut-colored hair sprawled across the forest floor, blending in with nature. In fact, the entire bronzed body of the woman blended in with her surroundings. Next to her on the ground rested a small silver-sheeted rondel dagger smeared with blood, wrapped in a silky- white cloth, the blood staining each side, leaving a terrible coppery scent in the air. Claw marks marked her thighs and small streams of blood flooded into the ground. The woman was surrounded with rose pedals, the burgundy kind, creating a huge circle around her body. Small sighs left her nose, proving that she was still alive, just in a deep slumber and even though all kinds of bruises were forming on her face, bruises that would leave the average person in tears, a sense of peace rested upon her face. The woman dreamed of simpler times, flashbacks of her people dancing and singing next to a huge fire plagued her mind. The familiar voices of the elders danced through her ears as if she were back in time, to the glorious past, the past where it was unnecessary for her to summon the spirits of the dead, because then their souls were still earthbound and thriving, not slain and gone. It was a moment so beautiful, so peaceful to the point she herself was dancing with them, singing, and crying, not realizing that a dark vapor had gathered around the fire, around her people, watching them as if it were a predator aiming for its prey. Then out of nowhere it came at them and within seconds all she could hear were the agonizing screams of agony, the wailing of children and the pleadings of the elderly. A male voice called out her name, screaming it to the point of tears but slowly dying down when the vapor had gathered itself around the man calling out her name. All she could do now was focus on running away from that very vapor, gathering as many people as possible with her. The woman ran with all power left in her already exhausted body, searching for the weakest hint of sunlight forming through the bushes. Was this vapor death itself coming to collect her? Her craft involved invoking the spirits of the death; had her time finally come? Just when she was about to reach the open space bathed in sunlight, the vapor caught her heels wrapping its smoke-like tentacles around her ankles, yanking her down to the ground and dragging her back throughout the mud. Finally, the vapor surrounded itself around her blinding her proudly. The woman quietly muttered incantations meant for warding of evil, invented by her grandmother, incantations whispered in archaic language. Just when she thought the spells worked, the vapor gathered itself around her neck, prohibiting her from speaking any longer. Tears sprang in her eyes when an icy voice began to flow out a verse, one of the biblical kind;

“Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

forever. Amen.”

Suddenly, heavy, ragged breaths escaped from the woman’s body, her body jerking sideways and before she knew it her eyes shot open with blood flowing from her pupils. Crows could be heard in the distance, and it took her a while to finally become aware of her surroundings.

Has she finally surpassed earths challenges and joined her ancestors? Had death come and collected her? Or was she still bound to the mortal coil that called itself earth? How long had it been since she had last seen her ancestors? When was the last time she held her lovers face in her hands as he kissed his way up her arm? When was it the last time she had heard this wretched verse?

Question after question filled her head when she slowly sat up and stretched her back. Then everything went black and her freshly revived body fell limp against earths surface encasing her within it. An earthly prisoner, punished by love. ————————————————————————

Let me know if you would like me to tag you in the upcoming chapters xx

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twistedtummies2 · 9 months ago

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Top 15 Portrayals of Dr. Frankenstein

“What makes a monster, and what makes a man?” This quote from a Disney movie, of all things, weirdly sums up one of the central themes of Mary Shelley’s masterwork, “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.” In my previous countdown - where I discussed my favorite versions of the Frankenstein Monster - I said that Shelley’s novel is widely considered the first piece of sci-fi horror, not only because its title character is a scientist who attempts to use science to create life, but because the themes and ideas present in the novel are ones most common in science fiction, and especially “science horror,” to this day. In Shelley’s original novel, Victor Frankenstein is NOT a doctor. (Although I will be calling him “doctor” throughout this list, for various reasons. Deal with it.) Instead, he is a medical student studying to BE a doctor, who becomes so obsessed with the idea of not simply saving but CREATING life it drives him practically to madness. While Victor in the book is NOT the villain, you’d be hard-pressed to call him a hero, either…and that is the point. The book is filled with a lot of morally gray elements and ethical questionability, especially on the part of Frankenstein himself; while the Creature he constructs ultimately does turn out to do terrible things, it is largely because it has known nothing but scorn and neglect. This all begins when his “father” - after driving himself to bedlam creating the fellow in the first place - outright abandons him for, to be blunt, really petty reasons. Victor, in the novel, isn’t necessarily evil, but he IS extremely irresponsible and…well…frankly a bit of a drama queen. (I can relate, sadly.) His personal flaws and bad decisions lead to his own self-destruction, and the ruination of everything he holds dear. It is largely through him that a lot of the questions of the story we now associate with science horror come through: what happens when someone seeks knowledge too fervently? Do the means of gaining greater understanding of the world justify the ends? If we explore in certain directions, and don’t know when to hold back, will we find things out we really aren’t prepared to know? Are there, frankly, just some things man shouldn’t tamper with…and if we DO tamper with them, will we be capable of dealing with the consequences of our actions? That’s essentially the basic point of nearly every work of science fiction, especially of the darker variety: whether the “Monster” being faced comes in the form of advanced technology, extraterrestrial entities, unknowable cosmic forces, or biological scourges…it all seemingly begins with Frankenstein and his poorly-handled Monster. It’s for this reason you’ll sometimes find memes and posts that say, “Frankenstein IS the monster,” referring to Victor: the line between good and evil in the story is an extremely thin one, and while Victor never INTENDED to do any real harm, that does not excuse the harm that IS caused by his actions and inactions alike. Throughout different adaptations and reimaginings, Frankenstein has, as a result, been depicted in varying states of moral standing. Some versions take the flaws inherent in Shelley’s novel and go all the way with them, making the mad scientist into a villainous cad who will stop at nothing in his self-centered, arrogant attempts to basically play God. Other versions actually soften the character, giving him more redeeming qualities as he actually tries to do genuine good with his work, only for things to inevitably and unfortunately go awry all the same. Victor is neither of these in the novel, but both directions - and many more - can be fascinating in different ways. Keeping this in mind, it’s time to delve into the heart of darkness: these are My Top 15 Favorite Portrayals of Dr. Frankenstein!

15. Tim Curry, from Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster.

I’m going to presume most of you know about Tim Curry’s star-making performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical “Rocky Horror Show,” and its film adaptation “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” This cult classic musical was effectively a parody of Frankenstein…but, just like with the previous countdown, I didn’t think it was fair to include it, since I feel it’s really a bit more of its own thing, even if the parallels are obvious. HOWEVER, that doesn’t discount the time Curry played the ACTUAL Dr. Frankenstein, in this point-and-click adventure game. “Through the Eyes of the Monster,” as the title implies, puts the player in the role of Frankenstein’s Creation, as you have to explore the mad scientist’s castle and escape to the outside world. Based on that premise, and the casting of Curry, the version of Frankenstein here is one of the more villainous ones, and it really is Curry’s performance that makes the game: I’ve never actually played this title (it’s EXTREMELY rare and hard to get ahold of, by all accounts), but I have watched a couple of walkthroughs/Let’s Plays of it, and…well, let’s just say they don’t say much to its quality. It’s typically considered a bad game. Curry’s wry, morbid, delightfully wicked and predictably over-the-top Frankenstein, however, is very, VERY fun to see in action. If he’d been in a better game, this entry would have been a lot higher.

14. Grant Moninger, from TMNT (2012).

In the 2012 version of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” there was a four-part story arc where the Turtles - alongside a time traveler named Renet - had to face the Universal Monsters, who were being led by a demon called Savanti Romero. In the third part of the story, Romero and his monster army traveled to Castle Frankenstein, where they manipulated Dr. Frankenstein with plans to use his Monster as part of their team. Both the doctor and his creation were voiced by Grant Moninger; a casting choice that does not appear to be mere coincidence. There was a lot of promise to this version of the scientist, but I don’t think it really reached full maximum: as much as I loved this story arc, the stuff with Frankenstein, in particular, seemed a bit rushed. This version actually makes the good doctor…well…a GOOD doctor, as he befriends the Turtles and actually comes to genuinely care for his Creation, despite his initial disgust. Unfortunately, we never really got any closure for the “Frankenstein Family,” and the shift from horror to acceptance seemed rather quick, as all of the doctor’s stuff was shoved into this one chapter of the four-part tale. I liked seeing a more sympathetic take on Frankenstein, and the interactions he had with Donatello and his Monster (nicknamed “Frank” by Mikey) were really nice, but I wish they’d just done more and given him more time.

13. Donald Duck, from Disney’s Frankenstein Starring Donald Duck.

I’m hoping a lot of you will remember, from my past Dracula-related lists, the time Disney made a graphic novel version of “Dracula,” starring Mickey Mouse as Jonathan Harker and the Phantom Blot as the Count. Well, in that comic adaptation, none of the characters from the Donald Duck universe appear. This is because they were all saved for another graphic novel that was made concurrently: Disney’s Frankenstein. (Also, no, I’m not counting Runaway Brain here, just as I didn’t count it on the previous list. Sorry.) Just like the “Dracula” comic, this book actually sticks pretty darn close to Shelley’s story and text (though it naturally softens up some of the nastier bits), and there’s a lot of little in-jokes throughout the story that you’ll really only understand if you’ve actually read the book. In this version, Donald plays the role of the mad scientist, except instead of stitching together a monster created from cadavers out of rifled graves (bravo if you got that reference, by the way), he makes his Creature out of cardboard. While this was a very fun and funny entry, I personally prefer the work on “Dracula” a bit more: I just think it’s funnier (as well as even weirder, to be honest), and the casting there is even more enjoyable. Still, this is definitely a charming companion piece.

12. Boris Karloff, from Mad Monster Party.

This Halloweentime film was a rare cinematic release by Rankin/Bass: the company best known for their holiday TV specials, such as “The Year Without a Santa Claus” and “Here Comes Peter Cottontail!” This is essentially a Rankin/Bass Halloween special, but expanded to feature length and released on the big screen. In it, Boris Karloff (whose animated puppet is a caricature of himself) plays the role of Dr. Frankenstein, rather than his Creation. It’s revealed that Frankenstein is actually the leader of an organization of famous horror icons, including Dracula, the Invisible Man, and his own Monster, just to name a few. However, the old doctor is getting on in years, and decides it’s time to step down and choose a successor in the form of his nephew: a wimpy, shrimpy clutz named Felix. The Monsters, appalled at this suggestion, plot to steal Frankenstein’s newest experiment - a special explosive - and assassinate Felix, so they can have the league to themselves. Then, without the good doctor to keep them all in check, they shall - what else? - take over the world. Karloff essentially plays a sort of exaggerated version of himself in this movie, which is, on its own, very fun to watch. His Dr. Frankenstein is a morbid and spooky soul, but he’s not really evil, unlike the Monsters he apparently controls. SPOILER ALERT: he even ends up sacrificing himself at the end of the film, to stop the villains from enacting their wicked schemes. The moment where he does so, for the record, is pure awesome: a word to the wise, DO NOT MESS WITH BORIS KARLOFF.

11. Robert Foxworth, from Dan Curtis’ Frankenstein.

Dan Curtis - famous for his work on the Gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” - did a whole bunch of TV film and miniseries adaptations of famous works of classic horror, throughout the late 60s and early 70s. Among these were “Dracula,” “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,” and, of course, “Frankenstein.” At the time, Curtis’ adaptation of the lattermost story was probably the most accurate that had been put to the screen, taking significantly fewer liberties with the source material of Mary Shelley than any other. Foxworth’s Victor Frankenstein, appropriately, sticks mostly true to the source as well, though the movie seems to paint him more as an idealistic scientific dreamer who gets in over his head than anything else. This carries over into one of the biggest changes to the film, the ending. SPOILER ALERT: instead of vowing to hunt down his creature to the ends of the Earth, a mortally wounded Frankenstein instead realizes his many mistakes, and apologizes to his “son,” telling him to learn to forgive both himself and others with his dying breath. Of course, we can’t give the Monster a happy ending, - we’ll have no joy and justice here, thank you - so the poor Creature, still in a state of mourning, ends up shot and killed anyway before he can put this into practice. Scientist and creation thus die in each other’s arms. Poetic in its own way, I suppose.

10. Barret Oliver & Charlie Tahan, from Frankenweenie.

A sentimental parody of the 1931 Universal classic, the original “Frankenweenie” was a live-action short subject, created by Tim Burton while he was working at Disney. The story featured Victor Frankenstein (played then by Barret Oliver) as a young boy living in contemporary America. The boy is heartbroken when his beloved pet dog, Sparky, sadly dies. Inspired by a science demonstration at his school, Victor decides to try and bring his petn back to life. The short subject was released in 1984. It was honestly a very sweet story, albeit obviously one with a dark sense of humor, but Disney was dissatisfied with the results, and claimed that Burton had wasted company resources on the project. This led to Burton being fired from the company, which only gave him the chance to strike out on his own. Burton had supposedly always wanted the story to become a feature-length film; many years later, he came to Disney with a proposition to try and remake the short as an animated movie. By now, of course, Burton was a household name, and Disney agreed to give the project the go-ahead, provided he also made a couple of other movies for them at their stipulation. Burton agreed, and in 2012, a stop-motion animated feature of “Frankenweenie” was released. This time, Victor was voiced by Gotham’s Scarecrow himself, Charlie Tahan. It followed the same basic beats as the short, but - by virtue of being longer, as well as animated and having the benefits of modern technology - it was able to go much further with its subject matter. Without going into too much detail, in the film version, Victor’s experiments get even more out of hand than anybody could have anticipated. Both versions are very fun and very cute, while also having a delightfully decadent style to them only Burton could bring. I highly recommend you check both out, and pick a favorite for yourself.

9. David Anders, from Once Upon a Time.

“Frankenstein” was a bizarre choice of story to reimagine in this Disney-based show of family, love, and fairy-tales. However, the series found a way to make things interesting, and while I don’t think the Frankenstein story elements are perfect, David Anders in the role of the obsessed scientist is definitely a winning interpretation. In the series, it’s revealed that Victor Frankenstein comes from a world called “The Land Without Color,” where everything is in monochrome (a reference to the classic Universal movies). His experiments with creating life take on a new dimension, when he decides to try and use his theories to bring back his brother, Gerhardt, blaming himself for his sibling’s demise. However, no ordinary heart can withstand the intense electric energy needed to give his brother life…which is where things start to get particularly unusual. Frankenstein gets roped into a deal involving Rumpelstiltskin, the Evil Queen, and the Mad Hatter (wow, what a trio of characters) to gain a special heart from their own world in the Enchanted Forest. Only the “magic” of that heart is able to function properly and serve Victor’s purpose. The series blends science and magic together in a fun way, seemingly taking on the old idea of Clarke’s Third Law: “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Anders’ portrayal of Dr. Frankenstein was extremely fun, giving the character a more sympathetic bend but also injecting a sort of eerie, icy, creepy composure to him. In the modern day scenes, Frankenstein goes by the alias of “Dr. Whale.” (Another reference to the Universal pictures, referring to James Whale, the director of the first two movies.) By both names, he was a recurring character throughout the series; I only wish we’d gotten more closure on how his experiments really went, or else he could have ranked much higher.

8. Kenneth Branagh, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Released in 1994, this big-budget feature film was a direct response to the success of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” released earlier in the same decade. While both films have a lot of similarities - generally staying true to the source, but also inventing a few new twists and really hyping up the sensuality of some characters (which I think works much better with Dracula than Frankenstein, for the record) - most agree that Coppola’s movie is the more successful one, and critics and box office records of the time seemed to agree. However, it does have its fair share of fans, and I suppose I’m among them. It’s not perfect, but to be blunt, neither is its “sister film.” Kenneth Branagh both directed the film and plays Victor Frankenstein - not uncommon with this Shakespearean-acclaimed performer. Branagh’s version of Victor has a raw, somewhat manic intensity in his passions, contrasted by the moments where he has to keep it all together and in-check for polite society. The most significant change to the plot is that, unlike in the novel - where Frankenstein never completes work on the Bride for his Monster - Victor actually goes through with the experiment, albeit for his own unique reasons. I won’t go into further detail for reasons of spoilers, but suffice to say, this version focused a great deal on Victor’s tragedy, while still making him the morally and ethically questionable obsessive of the novel. Never has the question of who is the real monster been more shrouded in gray area.

7. Benedict Cumberbatch & Jonny Lee Miller, from the National Theatre Production.

In 2011, a stage adaptation of Frankenstein was produced by the prestigious National Theatre in the UK. The play is a sort of semi-accurate retelling of the Shelley novel (it follows most of the major story beats, but cuts or slightly alters various elements), and has a lot of merits to it…but by far the most interesting part was the casting of Victor Frankenstein and his Creation. Throughout the run of the show, both roles were tackled by Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. (Both actors were popular for playing Sherlock Holmes at the time. Probably not a coincidence, though it’s an odd leap to make.) The two performers alternated parts over the course of the show’s time onstage, with Cumberbatch playing Frankenstein some nights, while Miller played the Creature, and then swapping roles the next round, over and over. Two nights of the show - each featuring different revolutions of the two leads - were filmed and shown on various screens around the world. As a stage actor, I can safely say no recording can PERFECTLY capture the beauty of any live theatre show, but at least it allowed folks who never got the chance to see it live a chance to take a peek for posterity. While both actors do an amazing job in both roles, I personally most enjoyed seeing Miller in the role of Frankenstein, with Cumberbatch in the role of the Monster. There was a brusqueness to the way he handled the part that Cumberbatch didn’t quite have; given how the stage version here ends, and what we learn about Victor (I’m not giving it away here), I feel that’s more appropriate to the character. Again, though, both performers are to be commended: if you get the chance, try to watch both versions and judge the performances for yourself.

6. Ian Holm, from “Mystery & Imagination: Frankenstein.”

In 1968, the UK-produced horror series, “Mystery & Imagination,” made their own adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. It’s actually one of the few episodes of this show I’ve seen, and of the few I’ve witnessed, it’s definitely my favorite. A big part of the reason why goes to the gimmick the episode used: casting both the Monster and the Doctor as the same person. That person, of course, was future Bilbo Baggins himself, Ian Holm. Before he ever ventured into the Shire, Holm had a long and storied career, playing everything from Richard III and other Shakespearean roles, to a couple of the most famous writers in history, such as J.M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll. It’s perhaps only natural that he would get to play not only Frankenstein’s creation, but Victor Frankenstein himself. Holm does a brilliant job in both parts, and it’s a worthy adaptation overall, mostly following Shelley but with a few unique twists. Holm would not be finished with Frankenstein once this production ended, either; he later played a supporting part in the 1994 film adaptation. I highly doubt this bit of casting was coincidental.

5. Alec Newman, from Frankenstein (2004 Miniseries).

Alec Newman is a name some fans of dark video games may recognize; among his body of work, he was the voice of Simon Belmont for the “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” reboot trilogy, and also Jack the Ripper for “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate.” It’s therefore somewhat unsurprising to learn that, before either of those came to be, Newman played one of Gothic horror’s most famous figures. This two-part miniseries is a highly underrated adaptation. It’s arguably the closest to the book ever made, at least that I’ve seen, as the longer running time and two-part structure allows for not only virtually everything in the novel to be given space, but allows for a few innovations and changes unique to this interpretation. Newman’s Victor Frankenstein, however, sticks more or less true to the source all the way through to the end, in terms of writing and general portrayal. If “definitive” can be taken to mean “truest to the original material,” then he is arguably the definitive version of Victor Frankenstein: starting off as an idealistic and romantic youth, whose passions become twisted as his naivete and rebellious obsessions ultimately lead to his downfall. His health declines, his fortunes decline, but perhaps most importantly, his very soul is effectively despoiled by his own negligence and imprudence. While he’s not the first person most people will think of when they think of the character, he’s definitely one of the most interesting portrayals to date.

4. Gene Wilder, from Young Frankenstein.

There have been several characters over the years who were not meant to be the actual Dr. Frankenstein himself, but rather his successors or descendants. Examples include Wolf von Frankenstein, the titular character of “Son of Frankenstein,” and Victoria Frankenstein, an upcoming female take on the mad scientist made for Universal’s “Dark Universe” attractions. (Look into that, by the way, seems like it could be interesting…unlike the last time Universal attempted a “Dark Universe” rebranding, but I digress.) However, I left such characters out of the running because…well…they’re not Victor Frankenstein. They’re his sons or daughters or general followers. I made an exception with Gene Wilder’s delightfully daffy Frederick Frankenstein, the title character of the Mel Brooks dark comedy classic “Young Frankenstein,” for one simple reason: it felt like a crime to leave him out of the running. This is mostly because, while the film does state that Frederick is the original Frankenstein’s grandson, the movie more or less follows, beat-for-beat, the familiar Frankenstein story: it takes the story beats we recognize from both the novel and the first two Universal movies and transforms the tragedy and horror into zany, satirical humor. The result is probably one of the greatest horror comedies in the history of movies, with Wilder’s Willy Wonka - I mean, Dr. Frankenstein at the very center of it all. He is HILARIOUS in this movie; I would argue quite possibly the funniest performance of his whole career, which is saying quite a lot. There was no way I could have forgiven myself if I didn’t include him in the Top 5.

3. Colin Clive, from the Universal Monsters Series.

While the iconography of the original Universal version of Frankenstein’s Monster (and the work of Boris Karloff in the role) cannot be denied, I often feel that Colin Clive’s work in the role of Dr. Frankenstein gets somewhat overlooked. In the first film, 1931’s “Frankenstein,” Clive is really the main character, and gives us a really strong intense performance that actually still really holds up to this day. The Universal Frankenstein is just as obsessive and ethically questionable as the one in the novel, but he’s a BIT less morally problematic. Unlike Victor Frankenstein in the book, HENRY Frankenstein (as the film strangely decides to rename him; the name of Victor is given to another character, for some reason) actually DOES try to care for his Creation and teach him. Henry even defends the Monster for a while, against his own skeptical mentor figure, Dr. Waldman. However, after the Monster commits his first bit of homicide - which was ENTIRELY justified as self-defense, I should add - Frankenstein is led to believe his experiment has been a failure, and feels he has no choice but to destroy his creation. I really, REALLY love Clive’s Frankenstein: he has lines and moments that are just as memorable and masterfully handled as any of Karloff’s pantomime in the first movie. It was also nice to see him return in the second film, “Bride of Frankenstein,” although his role in the sequel is strangely much smaller. You can tell they really wanted to focus on the Monster, realizing he was the moneymaking character; by the time the third film comes around, Frankenstein has died offscreen, and his adult son (played by Basil Rathbone) is in the process of…ahem…inheriting the family business, shall we say? As the man who made “IT’S ALIIIIIIIVE!” such a well-known bit of dialogue, Clive more than earns his place in my top three.

2. Peter Cushing, from the Hammer Horror Series.

While the ethics and moral standing of both Colin Clive’s Frankenstein in the Universal films, and Mary Shelley’s Victor in the original novel, are certainly up to discourse…there is no such debate with Peter Cushing’s take on the mad doctor. This is the second (and last) Frankenstein on this list, after Tim Curry’s version, who is just straight up EVIL. In fact, I may be wrong here, but I THINK this was the first time anyone depicted the character as an out-and-out villain before, at least in movies. Cushing’s Frankenstein is almost a Richard III sort of character, at least in his first outing of “Curse of Frankenstein.” We actually sympathize with him at the start of the movie, but as the film goes on, he becomes more and more of a dastardly scoundrel. By the end of the movie, even though his Creation certainly does their fair share of murder and mayhem, there is no doubt that Frankenstein himself is the REAL monster. And, like any great monster, Frankenstein seemed almost indestructible: in every single film, he would narrowly escape his own demise, and come back in another ready to try his experiments again. As the films go on, we see Frankenstein’s character change and shift, as he bobs in and out between a sort of sympathetic villainy and just being a cruel, callous, coldhearted cad. By the end of the series run, we realize there really is no hope for the mad doctor: he is lost in own obsession, unable to escape from it, even if he secretly sort of wants to. Never had the warnings of Shelley’s novel been so explicitly elaborated on, and - through good scripts and bad - Cushing carries the role with incredible power, dignity, and precision, his work just as meticulous as the character’s onscreen. While I personally will always think of him as Van Helsing from Hammer’s equally popular Dracula franchise, first and foremost, his Frankenstein is certainly nothing to scoff at, and is still widely considered one of the greatest.

1. Harry Treadaway, from Penny Dreadful.

On the previous list, I mentioned how Rory Kinnear’s take on the Creature (whom I shall henceforth refer to as “Caliban” for this description) was somehow one of the most faithful to Shelley’s version, despite the story of Penny Dreadful being obviously different from the original novel. I also mentioned that the Frankenstein characters of the series were probably my favorites of the whole show. (This is saying quite a lot, with icons like Dorian Gray, Count Dracula, and - most terrifying of all - Simon Russell Beale in the ranks.) Harry Treadaway’s Victor Frankenstein is not only no exception, he is the epitome: this was my favorite character in the show. Treadaway’s Frankenstein captures the spirit of Shelley’s original version, and mingles it with a number of new ideas and concepts, in a way that is absolutely spellbinding. This version of Frankenstein didn’t give up after his first “failed” experiment, and continues to look into creating life, for various reasons. The relationship between himself and Caliban is one of the most intriguingly twisted in the entire show (which, again, is saying quite a lot), as are his relationships with several other characters. Most notably, this one has Victor not only coming to grips with his own faults and actions, as he is lost in a cycle of poor-decision-making throughout the show, but also has him facing the idea that there are some things science just cannot explain or overcome. It was a great way of bringing the philosophies of a character and their story into a new medium, and it made Victor easily the most fascinating figure in a show filled with so many other interesting, dark, disturbed characters. I have no problems or hesitation whatsoever naming Penny Dreadful’s Dr. Frankenstein as my favorite take on the character. Case closed.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Samuel West, from Van Helsing.

As I’ve said in the past, I do have a soft spot for this very, VERY crazy “monster mash” movie. The opening sequence where we see Dr. Frankenstein’s deal with Dracula, and the creation of his Monster, is arguably one of the best parts, but West’s Frankenstein is killed before the 10 minute mark.

Dr. Henry Blackbrew, from V-Rising.

Just like with Adam the Firstborn, this game’s version of the Frankenstein Monster, “V Rising” created their own version of Dr. Frankenstein, and you’re even able to face him as a boss. Very fun, but I just didn’t think there was enough here to give him a slot.

Robert Powell, from Frankenstein (1984).

I mentioned this one on the previous list. This made-for-TV adaptation tries to follow Shelley’s novel in a truncated format, and has a very good cast. Powell does a decent job as the doctor, but the low-budget and untidy script don’t do his Frankenstein any favors.

Augustus Phillips, from Frankenstein (1910).

The very first film version of the mad scientist and his story…though, as I said on the past list, the film seems to misunderstand the entire crux of Shelley’s novel, reinterpreting Frankenstein’s quest for knowledge as more of a Faustian bit of black magic than actual science. Still, credit for kicking things off.

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 6 months ago

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Simulated universe previews panoramas from NASA's Roman Telescope

Astronomers have released a set of more than a million simulated images showcasing the cosmos as NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will see it. This preview will help scientists explore Roman's myriad science goals.

"We used a supercomputer to create a synthetic universe and simulated billions of years of evolution, tracing every photon's path all the way from each cosmic object to Roman's detectors," said Michael Troxel, an associate professor of physics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who led the simulation campaign. "This is the largest, deepest, most realistic synthetic survey of a mock universe available today."

The project, called OpenUniverse, relied on the now-retired Theta supercomputer at the DOE's (Department of Energy's) Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. In just nine days, the supercomputer accomplished a process that would take over 6,000 years on a typical computer.

In addition to Roman, the 400-terabyte dataset will also preview observations from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and approximate simulations from ESA's (the European Space Agency's) Euclid mission, which has NASA contributions. The Roman data is available now here, and the Rubin and Euclid data will soon follow.

The team used the most sophisticated modeling of the universe's underlying physics available and fed in information from existing galaxy catalogs and the performance of the telescopes' instruments. The resulting simulated images span 70 square degrees, equivalent to an area of sky covered by more than 300 full moons. In addition to covering a broad area, it also covers a large span of time—more than 12 billion years.

The project's immense space-time coverage shows scientists how the telescopes will help them explore some of the biggest cosmic mysteries. They will be able to study how dark energy (the mysterious force thought to be accelerating the universe's expansion) and dark matter (invisible matter, seen only through its gravitational influence on regular matter) shape the cosmos and affect its fate.

Scientists will get closer to understanding dark matter by studying its gravitational effects on visible matter. By studying the simulation's 100 million synthetic galaxies, they will see how galaxies and galaxy clusters evolved over eons.

Repeated mock observations of a particular slice of the universe enabled the team to stitch together movies that unveil exploding stars crackling across the synthetic cosmos like fireworks. These starbursts allow scientists to map the expansion of the simulated universe.

Scientists are now using OpenUniverse data as a testbed for creating an alert system to notify astronomers when Roman sees such phenomena. The system will flag these events and track the light they generate so astronomers can study them.

That's critical because Roman will send back far too much data for scientists to comb through themselves. Teams are developing machine-learning algorithms to determine how best to filter through all the data to find and differentiate cosmic phenomena, like various types of exploding stars.

"Most of the difficulty is in figuring out whether what you saw was a special type of supernova that we can use to map how the universe is expanding, or something that is almost identical but useless for that goal," said Alina Kiessling, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and the principal investigator of OpenUniverse.

While Euclid is already actively scanning the cosmos, Rubin is set to begin operations late this year and Roman will launch by May 2027. Scientists can use the synthetic images to plan the upcoming telescopes' observations and prepare to handle their data. This prep time is crucial because of the flood of data these telescopes will provide.

In terms of data volume, "Roman is going to blow away everything that's been done from space in infrared and optical wavelengths before," Troxel said. "For one of Roman's surveys, it will take less than a year to do observations that would take the Hubble or James Webb space telescopes around a thousand years. The sheer number of objects Roman will sharply image will be transformative."

"We can expect an incredible array of exciting, potentially Nobel Prize-winning science to stem from Roman's observations," Kiessling said. "The mission will do things like unveil how the universe expanded over time, make 3D maps of galaxies and galaxy clusters, reveal new details about star formation and evolution—all things we simulated. So now we get to practice on the synthetic data so we can get right to the science when real observations begin."

Astronomers will continue using the simulations after Roman launches for a cosmic game of spot the differences. Comparing real observations with synthetic ones will help scientists see how accurately their simulation predicts reality. Any discrepancies could hint at different physics at play in the universe than expected.

"If we see something that doesn't quite agree with the standard model of cosmology, it will be extremely important to confirm that we're really seeing new physics and not just misunderstanding something in the data," said Katrin Heitmann, a cosmologist and deputy director of Argonne's High Energy Physics division who managed the project's supercomputer time. "Simulations are super useful for figuring that out."

TOP IMAGE: Each tiny dot in the image at left is a galaxy simulated by the OpenUniverse campaign. The one-square-degree image offers a small window into the full simulation area, which is about 70 square degrees (equivalent to an area of sky covered by more than 300 full moons), while the inset at right is a close-up of an area 75 times smaller (1/600th the size of the full area). This simulation showcases the cosmos as NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could see it. Roman will expand on the largest space-based galaxy survey like it—the Hubble Space Telescope's COSMOS survey—which imaged two square degrees of sky over the course of 42 days. In only 250 days, Roman will view more than a thousand times more of the sky with the same resolution. Credit: NASA

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #astrophysics

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writingrapscallion · 1 year ago

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Twin Switcheroo

I'm sure this has been done before, but lately I've been imagining an AU where, instead of Grunkle Stan being the one to meet the twins in Gravity Falls, it's Ford.

It all starts years ago, when Stan breaks Ford's perpetual motion machine. Rather than hide what he did, Stan comes clean to Ford and the two manage to fix the machine, leading to them becoming closer. However, Stan still feels a bit betrayed when Ford leaves to go to West Coast Tech.

A few years later, things are much the same as in canon. Ford graduates with honors (as well as three doctorates) and receives a large research grant for a project of his choice. In this universe, McGucket went to West Coast Tech, so he's still friends with Ford. Stan has still become a con artist and is actually in a pretty bad situation, facing potential charges for his illegal activity. However, Stan gets a call from Ford promising to make all his legal problems disappear if he comes to work as Ford's lab assistant in his investigations of a strange town: Gravity Falls.

When Ford realizes the strangeness of Gravity Falls, he decides he needs people he can trust to help him (and he wouldn't mind having some muscle to help him with the more dangerous problems). And so, along with his old friend McGucket, he decides to ask Stan for help since in this universe they're on much better terms.

Stan quickly accepts. It feels almost too good to be true: he and his brother can finally have the adventure that they always wanted. Sure, the cryptids of Gravity Falls are often dangerous and always disturbing, but at least he's with his brother. Unfortunately, much like in canon, thinks start to go wrong.

Ford makes his deal with Bill and creates the portal. McGucket is sucked into it and goes insane, abandoning the project. Stan begins to notice that Ford is becoming more and more erratic and disturbed, and can't understand why his brother doesn't seem to trust him. Things come to a head when Ford tells Stan to leave, and take the journal as far away as possible. Understandably, Stan freaks out.

His relationship with his brother was better than in canon, but Stan still felt abandoned when Ford left for college. With Ford gone, he'd been reduced to a petty grifter, without a home or family. The past few months have been the best of his life: he has a home, plenty of adventure, and, most important of all, his brother besides him. But now Ford wants him to leave.

The two start to fight and, suddenly, the portal switches on! Except in this universe, it's not Ford who's pulled in, but Stan. Ford is devastating, realizing what he's done to his brother, and does everything in his power to try and bring him back, but unfortunately, Ford already hid two of the three journals in places even he isn't able to reach (perhaps he even wiped his memory to prevent Bill somehow forcing him to retrieve them) and without Bill's insight, he has no clue how to reactivate the portal.

Timeskip to the present day. Ford has a reputation as a brilliant but reclusive scientist. His contributions to Physics and other fields of science have allowed him to win multiple Nobel Prizes and many other awards. However, he doesn't seem to care about any of this (he states to Dipper at one point he only publishes his results to ensure a steady supply of grant money).

Ford is kind but distant with his family. He's never met Mabel or Dipper before the start of the series, but he has written to them and sends them presents for their birthdays. Dipper idolizes his uncle, and is a lot more interested in science than in the original series as a result of his aspiratons to be like his Grunkle. His correspondence with his Grunkle is overly formal and often includes stuff like descriptions of science fair projects and requests to work as a lab assistant for his Grunkle (requests that are gently denied). Ford considers Dipper to be a promising young scientist. Meanwhile, Mabel being Mabel sends him stuff like videos of herself sticking gummy worms up her nose. Ford is mildly confused but very fond of his grand-niece.

The series starts when Mabel and Dipper are sent to spend the summer at their Grunke's place. They are both very excited to meet him (Dipper a bit more than Mabel due to his hero worship of Ford). Ford is happy to see them too, and gets along well with the pair when he's with them. However, he spends most of the day in his laboratory, working on unknown experiments, and leaves the kids to play around town. Ford often sends his two lab assistants, Soos and Wendy to look after the pair. Soos and Wendy are much the same as in the actual show— although Ford could probably hire anyone he wants to work in his lab since he's a famous scientist, he doesn't want to involve anyone outside of the town for fear of attracting unwanted attention to his real work.

A few days into his time in Gravity Falls, Dipper discovers the journal hidden near the metal tree. In this universe, the journal's slightly different. Each of Ford's three lab assistant wrote their own journal, marked with their own symbol (it wouldn't be much of a mystery who wrote them if the journal had Ford's six fingers on the cover). The first book, still owned by Ford, has the standard six fingered hand and is written by him. The second one, which has fallen into Gideon's possession, is written by McGucket and has a symbol based on his glasses on the cover. Finally, the journal Dipper finds is marked with the same symbol as Grunkle Stan's fez.

The contents of the Journal are a bit different than the original. Although Stan does write about their supernatural encounters, his style is far more informal than his brother's, often making jokes or mocking comments about the creatures they encounter. Occasionally, Ford takes over to write a section when Stan can't be serious, so the journals a mix of the two of their writing. Stan jokingly refers to his brother as "Mr. Scientist" throughout the Journal, unintentionally concealing the fact that Ford's the main researcher.

A few hours after finding the Journal, Dipper speaks to Ford, suspecting that the old man is Mr. Scientist (although he doesn't mention the Journal, only his knowledge of supernatural occurences in Gravity Falls, so Ford doesn't know he has it). However, Ford feigns disbelief in the supernatural, hoping to prevent his nephew from diving too deep into the secrets of Gravity Falls.

Although Ford's performance successfully convinces Dipper that he's not the Author (AKA Mr. Scientist), Dipper is not deterred in the slightest by his Grunkle's skepticism and instead takes it as a challenge. To prove his credentials as a scientist, he's going to prove his Grunkle wrong, face down the supernatural, and bring back evidence (cue two seasons of Phineas and Ferb style antics where the evidence disappears as soon as he tries to show it to Ford).

#Twin Switcheroo Au #gravity falls #grunkle stan #ford pines #fiddleford mcgucket #gravity falls au #mabel pines #dipper pines

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mariacallous · 1 month ago

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The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.

Scott Bolton’s first encounter with Io took place in the summer of 1980, right after he graduated from college and started a job at NASA. The Voyager 1 spacecraft had flown past this moon of Jupiter, catching the first glimpse of active volcanism on a world other than Earth. Umbrella-shaped outbursts of magmatic matter rocketed into space from all over Io’s surface. “They looked amazingly beautiful,” said Bolton, who is now based at the Southwest Research Institute in Texas. “It was like an artist drew it. I was amazed at how exotic it looked compared to our moon.”

Scientists like Bolton have been trying to understand Io’s exuberant volcanism ever since. A leading theory has been that just below the moon’s crust hides a global magma ocean, a vast contiguous cache of liquid rock. This theory dovetails neatly with several observations, including ones showing a roughly uniform distribution of Io’s volcanoes, which seem to be tapping the same omnipresent, hellish source of melt.

But now, it appears that Io’s hell has vanished—or rather, it was never there to begin with. During recent flybys of the volcanic moon by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, scientists measured Io’s gravitational effect on Juno, using the spacecraft’s tiniest wobbles to determine the moon’s mass distribution and therefore its internal structure. The scientists reported in Nature that nothing significant is sloshing about just beneath Io’s crust.

“There is no shallow ocean,” said Bolton, who leads the Juno mission.

Independent scientists can find no fault with the study. “The results and the work are totally solid and pretty convincing,” said Katherine de Kleer, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology.

The data has reopened a mystery that spills over into other rocky worlds. Io’s volcanism is powered by a gravity-driven mechanism called tidal heating, which melts the rock into magma that erupts from the surface. Whereas Io is the poster child for this mechanism, tidal heating also heats many other worlds, including Io’s neighbor, the icy moon Europa, where the heat is thought to sustain a subterranean saltwater ocean. NASA launched the $5 billion Clipper spacecraft to search Europa’s sky for signs of life in the proposed underground ocean.

A map of Io’s surface, created with images from the Voyager 1 and Galileo missions, shows the wide distribution of the moon’s volcanoes. The large red ring is sulfurous fallout from the plume of the Pele volcano. Photograph: US Geological Survey

But if Io doesn’t have a magma ocean, what might that mean for Europa? And, scientists now wonder, how does tidal heating even work?

Melting Magma

Heat drives geology, the rocky foundation upon which everything else, from volcanic activity and atmospheric chemistry to biology, is built. Heat often comes from a planet’s formation and the decay of its radioactive elements. But smaller celestial objects like moons have only tiny reserves of such elements and of residual heat, and when those reserves run dry, their geological activity flatlines.

Or, at least, it should—but something appears to grant geologic life to small orbs throughout the solar system long after they should have geologically perished.

Io is the most flamboyant member of this puzzling club—a burnt-orange, crimson, and tawny Jackson Pollock painting. The discovery of its over-spilling cauldrons of lava is one of the most famous tales in planetary science, as they were predicted to exist before they were discovered.

NASA’s Voyager 1 probe photographed Io in 1979, revealing the first glimpse of volcanism beyond Earth. In this photo mosaic, a lava plume is seen emanating from Loki Patera, now known to be the moon’s largest volcano. Photograph: NASA/JPL/USGS

On March 2, 1979, a paper in Science ruminated on Io’s strange orbit. Because of the positions and orbits of neighboring moons, Io’s orbit is elliptical rather than circular. And when Io is closer to Jupiter, it experiences a stronger gravitational pull from the gas giant than when it is farther away. The study authors figured that Jupiter’s gravity must therefore be constantly kneading Io, pulling its surface up and down by up to 100 meters, and, per their calculations, generating a lot of frictional heat within it—a mechanism they described as “tidal heating.” They conjectured that Io may be the most intensely heated rocky body in the solar system. “One might speculate that widespread and recurrent surface volcanism would occur,” they wrote.

Just three days later, Voyager 1 flew by. An image taken on March 8 documented two gigantic plumes arching above its surface. After ruling out all other causes, NASA scientists concluded that Voyager had seen an alien world’s volcanic eruptions. They reported their discovery in Science that June, just three months after the prediction.

The planetary science community quickly coalesced around the idea that tidal heating within Io is responsible for the never-ending volcanism on the surface. “The unknown part that’s been an open question of decades is what that means for the interior structure,” said Mike Sori, a planetary geophysicist at Purdue University. Where is that tidal heating focused within Io, and just how much heat and melting is it generating?

Courtest of Mark Belan/Quanta Magazine

NASA’s Galileo spacecraft studied Jupiter and several of its moons around the turn of the millennium. One of its instruments was a magnetometer, and it picked up a peculiar magnetic field emanating from Io. The signal appeared to be coming from an electrically conductive fluid—a lot of fluid, in fact.

After years of study, scientists concluded in 2011 that Galileo had detected a global magma ocean just below Io’s crust. Whereas Earth’s mantle is mostly solid and plasticky, Io’s subsurface was thought to be filled with an ocean of liquid rock 50 kilometers thick, or almost five times thicker than the Pacific Ocean at its deepest point.

A similar magnetic field was coming from Europa, too—in this case, apparently generated by a vast ocean of salty water. The implications were profound: With a lot of rocky material, tidal heating can make oceans of magma. With plenty of ice, it can create oceans of potentially habitable liquid water.

Volcanic Vanishing Act

By the time the Juno spacecraft started swinging around Jupiter in 2016, the belief that Io had a magma ocean was widespread. But Bolton and his colleagues wanted to double-check.

A sequence of images taken over the course of eight minutes by NASA’s New Horizons probe in 2007 shows an eruption by the Tvashtar Paterae volcanic region. The plume in this false-color image rises 330 kilometers from the moon’s surface. Video: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

During flybys in December 2023 and February 2024, Juno came within 1,500 kilometers of Io’s scorched surface. Although the remarkable images of active volcanoes drew everyone’s attention, the goal of these flybys was to find out if a magma ocean truly lay beneath the moon’s rocky skin.

To investigate, the team used an unlikely tool: Juno’s radio transponder, which communicates with Earth, sending and receiving signals. Because of Io’s unevenly distributed mass, its gravitational field isn’t perfectly symmetrical. That uneven gravitational field subtly alters the motion of Juno as it flies by, causing it to accelerate or decelerate a little.

That means Juno’s radio transmissions will experience the Doppler effect, where the wavelength shifts slightly in response to Io’s uneven gravitational field. By looking at the incredibly small shifts in the transmissions, Bolton’s team was able to create a high-fidelity picture of Io’s gravitational field and use that to determine its internal structure. “If there were indeed a global magma ocean, you’d see a lot more distortion as Io orbited around Jupiter and as the tidal forces flexed it and changed its shape,” said Ashley Davies, a volcanologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who wasn’t involved with the new study.

But Bolton’s team did not find this level of distortion. Their conclusion was clear. “There cannot be a shallow magma ocean fueling the volcanoes,” said study coauthor Ryan Park, a Juno co-investigator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Cassini-Huygens mission photographed Io against the backdrop of Jupiter in 2001. Photograph: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

So what else might be powering Io’s volcanoes?

On Earth, discrete reservoirs of magma of different types—from the tarlike viscous matter that powers explosive eruptions to the runnier, honey-esque stuff that gushes out of some volcanoes—are located within the crust at various depths, all created by the interactions of tectonic plates, the moving jigsaw pieces that make up Earth’s surface. Io lacks plate tectonics and (perhaps) a diversity of magma types, but its crust may nevertheless be peppered with magma reservoirs. This was one of the original lines of thought until Galileo’s data convinced many of the magma ocean theory.

The new study doesn’t rule out a far deeper magma ocean. But that abyssal cache would have to be filled with magma so iron-rich and dense (because of its great depth) that it would struggle to migrate to the surface and power Io’s volcanism. “And at some depth, it becomes tricky to distinguish between what we would call a deep magma ocean versus a liquid core,” Park said.

For some, this raises an irreconcilable problem. Galileo’s magnetometer detected signs of a shallow magma ocean, but Juno gravity data has emphatically ruled that out. “People are not really disputing the magnetometer results, so you have to make that fit with everything else,” said Jani Radebaugh, a planetary geologist at Brigham Young University.

Researchers disagree on the best interpretation of the Galileo data. The magnetic signals “were taken as probably the best evidence for a magma ocean, but really they weren’t that strong,” said Francis Nimmo, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a coauthor of the new study. The induction data couldn’t distinguish between a partly molten (but still solid) interior and a fully molten magma ocean, he said.

Heavy Water

Perhaps the main reason scientists study Io is because it teaches us about the fundamentals of tidal heating. Io’s tidal heating engine remains impressive—there’s clearly a lot of volcano-feeding magma being generated. But if it’s not producing a subsurface magma ocean, does that mean tidal heating doesn’t generate water oceans, either?

Scientists remain confident that it does. Nobody doubts that Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which is also tidally heated, contains an underground saltwater ocean; the Cassini spacecraft not only detected signs of its existence but directly sampled some of it erupting out of the moon’s South Pole. And although there is some light skepticism about whether Europa has an ocean, most scientists think it does.

The smooth, lightly scratched surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, photographed by the Juno spacecraft in 2022, shows no sign of what lies beneath: in all likelihood, a vast saltwater ocean. Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

Crucially, unlike Io’s odd magnetic field, which seemed to indicate that it concealed an ocean’s worth of fluid, Europa’s own Galileo-era magnetic signal remains robust. “It’s a pretty clean result at Europa,” said Robert Pappalardo, the Europa mission’s project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The icy moon is far enough from Jupiter and the intense plasma-flooded space environment of Io that Europa’s own magnetic induction signal “really sticks out.”

But if both moons are tidally heated, why does only Europa have an inner ocean? According to Nimmo, “there’s a fundamental difference between a liquid-water ocean and a magma ocean. The magma wants to escape; the water really doesn’t.” Liquid rock is less dense than solid rock, so it wants to rise and erupt quickly; the new study suggests that it doesn’t linger at depth long enough inside Io to form a massive, interconnected ocean. But liquid water is, unusually, denser than its solid icy form. “Liquid water is heavy, so it collects into an ocean,” Sori said.

“I think that’s the big-picture message from this paper,” Sori added. Tidal heating might struggle to create magma oceans. But on icy moons, it can easily make watery oceans due to the bizarrely low density of ice. And that suggests life has a multitude of potentially habitable environments throughout the solar system to call home.

Hell’s Poster Child

The revelation that Io is missing its shallow magma ocean underscores just how little is known about tidal heating. “We’ve never really understood where in Io’s interior the mantle is melting, how that mantle melt is getting to the surface,” de Kleer said.

Our own moon shows evidence of primeval tidal heating too. Its oldest crystals formed 4.51 billion years ago from the stream of molten matter that got blasted off Earth by a giant impact event. But a lot of lunar crystals seem to have formed from a second reservoir of molten rock 4.35 billion years ago. Where did that later magma come from?

Nimmo and coauthors offered one idea in a paper published in Nature in December: Maybe Earth’s moon was like Io. The moon was significantly closer to Earth back then, and the gravitational fields from the Earth and the sun were battling for control. At a certain threshold, when the gravitational influence of both were roughly equal, the moon might have temporarily adopted an elliptical orbit and gotten tidally heated by Earth’s gravitational kneading. Its interior might have remelted, causing a surprise secondary flourish of volcanism.

But exactly where within the moon’s interior its tidal heating was concentrated—and thus, where all that melting was happening—isn’t clear.

Perhaps if Io can be understood, so too can our moon—as well as several of the other satellites in our solar system with hidden tidal engines. For now, this volcanic orb remains maddeningly inscrutable. “Io’s a complicated beast,” Davies said. “The more we observe it, the more sophisticated the data and the analyses, the more puzzling it becomes.”

Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.

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jabbage · 1 year ago

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#Letters from Watson #lettersfromwatson

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blazehedgehog · 1 year ago

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Given they’re soft rebooting again… what’s your Jurassic world 4/jurassic park 7/ Jurassic animals and also Triassic and Cretaceous animals make life difficult: the movie pitch? I feel like, as fun as the sequels can be, they’ve lost the science parable and horror/thriller elements of the classic - for all its faults; at least lost world has that.

Hmm... I'm gonna think like a movie executive. What's hot right now? AI's hot, right? It's the buzz. I propose a hard reboot.

Crichton's original novel opens with this big screed about a near future where we have "designer genetics." Genetic manipulation gets easier and easier and I think it's said Jurassic Park takes place in a world where it's getting to the point that parents can custom-order what kind of kids they'll have by selecting specific genetic traits. (It's been a while since I've read it)

Jurassic Park the movie shows human beings physically modifying genetic code by hand using VR displays, but Mr. DNA also admits that "a full DNA sequence contains 3 billion genetic codes." So it's ridiculous to assume that a human being could edit the genetic code by hand. One sequence would take years to get right, maybe even a lifetime.

So our story is that we have some 20 something silicon valley tech bro. He got outrageously rich off of crypto and NFTs and was smart enough to cash out early. We frame him as altruistic but around the edges we can see maybe he's not the greatest person. It's suggested he knew crypto was kind of a scam, which is why he got out early, but obviously he was in crypto at all to begin with, which does not bode well. But he's supposedly "one of the smart ones." Now he's rich! And cool! And using his powers for "good." He's beloved in pop culture.

The next wave is here. Neural network LLM Artificial Intelligence. He's all in. It's the next crypto. And he starts a company that uses LLM AI to "solve the genetic algorithm." He spins this out into a financial empire where people can custom-order pets with specific traits. But obviously people with a lot of money start wondering if maybe they can get more... exotic products.

With the realm of cats, dogs and parrots conquered, our techbro begins phase 2: recreating extinct animals. This is a guy who thinks he's going to save the world by restoring lost links in the food chain (without doing enough research to see how that would change our existing ecosystem, since he could be resurrecting an invasive species).

He's going to debut the first of his phase 2 work at an event he's calling Jurassic Park, because he's going to demonstrate the first living dinosaurs in 65 million years. Jurassic Park will continue to operate as a massive nature reserve; a symbol of his control of life itself.

Obviously: everything goes wrong. The AI has never had to change this much genetic code before. It has to make up whole entire sections of DNA. The end result is unpredictable, but techbro is confident that if the AI sequenced things well enough that something could actually hatch from the egg, then it's safe.

It is not safe.

Not only do we not understand anything about dinosaur behavior, these technically aren't even dinosaurs. They're genetic mutants. The on-site dinosaur expert brought in with the press to verify Jurassic Park's claims quickly realizes that while some of these dinosaurs are accurate in some ways, a lot of them have hard deviations away from known science. Muscles that aren't quite right, appendages that aren't the right size, things like that. Maybe their brains and brain chemistry are slightly different.

The question remains whether known science was wrong or whether the AI made something up that was never true.

The question is brought up again when we learn a technician within Jurassic Park sabotaged everything intending to steal the genetic learning data from techbro's servers. Techbro says the thief poisoned the data and that's gotta be why there's mutations.

The security systems fail. The thief has left them to their creations. Jurassic Park as we know it happens.

Since a lot of movies have to deal with this, all throughout this, nobody has phones. To prevent leaks, all of their phones were confiscated before they entered Jurassic Park and locked in a security checkpoint. Our techbro, maybe as a sign of solidarity, even gives his phone to the security guy. We could even say maybe they've been having security issues beforehand, to set up the thief hacking everything before he actually does it.

Anyway, since our thief sabotaged the park's own communication channels, a lot of the movie is about getting back to that security checkpoint, breaking in, and getting their phones so they can call for help.

Oh, and also: all of Jurassic Park's vehicles are electric, too, and tied into the security mainframe. Since the park's whole security system was hacked and disabled, none of the vehicles can be operated. The only thing that works are these little golf carts, but they're small, can't go very fast, and offer little protection. Maybe our survivors try one, it gets smashed by a triceratops, and they're too far away from the depot to go back for a new one. So a lot of the movie is them traversing the park on foot.

As they're being chased by dinosaurs through the park itself, they end up deep in the core of a genetics lab. And it's here we learn the dark truth: there is a wide margin of failure. The recently deceased specimens are all kept for study and learning and there's a lot because the AI fails often, and it has to be taught not to do that. We see dozens of disfigured animals. Bits and pieces of dinosaurs, pets, and even, in one tank... human parts. These tanks are labeled "phase 3."

Not only are the mutated dinosaurs not the work of sabotage, this guy's been trying to create genetically modified people. We have our big "what have you done?" moment of horror. One of the last surviving members of the press is going to blow the whistle on this place. It's over. Maybe it's someone we build up as the techbro's new friend discovering that their hero wasn't who he said he was.

Just then, a dinosaur bursts in and kills that person. Drama! Tragedy!

Obviously, the survivors find a way out. Techbro has to live with his own conscious. Multiple people died at his hands on this day and he had a hand in creating some of the worst sins against nature mankind has ever seen.

(Or maybe we stick to the original Jurassic Park book and he dies just before getting on the escape chopper.)

#questions #Anonymous #jurassic park #reboot #this is almost fanfiction #llm #ai #nft

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reflections-in-a-critical-eye · 1 year ago

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Both sets of shippers in the BTS fandom are so damn annoying to me

Me: here's the factual reasons everything you said is wrong. Here's the correct version of the mistranslation you're using. This is the setting of the joke you've taken out of context. This is them doing the exact same thing with their other friends. That's not even them in the picture you're spreading. Your friends husbands co-workers Korean dad is incorrect about what he said - it's simply not true. You're citing this thing as fact but only one fan saw it and you're still using a wild amount of guesswork to reach your conclusion

Tkkr: Their love is so deep that others are jealous. Anyway let's celebrate their wedding anniversary tomorrow

Me: Yeah I think they have different jobs now. It's not a big deal. They're still together

Jkkr: Do you think they broke up!!!!!!

Me: well technically we don't know if they were ever together but I don't think this is a reason to think...

Jkkr (hysterical): Everything was a lie! Love is dead! I knew it! I knew it! No wonder they did zero dance challenges together (the ultimate sign of love)! They've been oscar worthy method actors this whole time! I knew seven was autobiographical! They are straight white men after all (not Jimin)! I've fallen and I can't get up!

You'd have to read like half of this post that I made last year, but once you get past that, you'll find some of my thoughts on this issue and what is my stance on this particular type of positioning in the fandom.

From a critical perspective, you're not bringing anything new and it's a dead end conversation from the beginning because of your premise. One is not like the other and never has been, but somehow this is a discourse perpetuated by large subsections of the fandom. Conversation on shipping practices and shipper fan behavior could be productive and interesting, if only we would at least try to minimize our own bias for the sake of it. Not completely because it's impossible, but we could try. And it's also a conversation that cannot take place if we don't know or refuse/forget to have a somehow cohesive image of each shipper group, with its characteristics and other relevant aspects.

I never went out of my way to correct people here and there because I don't feel the need to, but also because I understand when there's a possibility for understanding and conversation and where there's not. Again, that comes as a result of the knowledge we would have about shipping group dynamics and characteristics.

And lastly, it's K-Pop shipping, not rocket science. It can be taken seriously from a research/fandom studies perspective, but using it as ladder for us to get up on our high horse? Not for me.

#m thoughts #bts ships #bts shippers #jikook

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wellnesstips-care · 9 days ago

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Choosing the Right Skin Surgery Clinic in Newcastle: Your Guide to Safe & Effective Cosmetic Procedures

In the ever-evolving world of aesthetic medicine, choosing the right clinic for cosmetic treatments is more important than ever. Whether you're dealing with a skin concern or exploring subtle enhancements, finding a reputable skin surgery clinic in Newcastle ensures that you receive expert care with outstanding results.

Newcastle has grown into a prominent hub for advanced cosmetic treatments, offering a mix of medical-grade skincare, minor surgical procedures, and cutting-edge non-invasive solutions. If you’ve been searching for trusted professionals in cosmetic surgery in Newcastle, here’s everything you need to know.

Why Newcastle is Becoming a Cosmetic Surgery Destination

Newcastle isn’t just known for its culture and history—it’s also gaining recognition for its leading aesthetic clinics. Thanks to the rising demand for cosmetic procedures, the city is now home to several established names that combine medical science with aesthetic artistry.

What makes cosmetic surgery in Newcastle so appealing is the focus on natural-looking results, safety, and patient comfort. From anti-ageing injectables to skin lesion removal, Newcastle clinics cater to both cosmetic and dermatological needs.

Understanding Cosmetic and Skin Surgery Services

A reputable skin surgery clinic in Newcastle offers a wide variety of treatments designed to address both aesthetic goals and medical skin concerns. These services typically include:

Mole, cyst, and skin tag removal

Scar revision and minor facial surgery

Anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers

Skin rejuvenation treatments like microneedling and Profhilo

Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)

These procedures can dramatically improve a person’s self-confidence, reduce skin discomfort, and enhance overall skin health—all with minimal downtime.

Eldon Aesthetics: A Trusted Name in Newcastle

Among Newcastle’s top clinics, Eldon Aesthetics stands out for its dedication to safe, effective, and personalised care. Led by medically trained professionals, the clinic combines clinical precision with a patient-focused approach.

Their extensive treatment menu includes:

Mole and cyst removal under local anaesthetic

Non-surgical cosmetic enhancements

Advanced skincare solutions tailored to individual skin types

Minor surgical procedures performed with aesthetic finesse

Eldon Aesthetics ensures that each treatment plan is bespoke, based on in-depth consultation and long-term skin goals.

Benefits of Visiting a Skin Surgery Clinic in Newcastle

Opting for local care at a reputable clinic like Eldon Aesthetics brings several advantages:

Medical Expertise – Treatments are performed by trained medical professionals, not just beauty technicians.

Regulated & Safe – Clinics follow strict health regulations, hygiene protocols, and patient safety standards.

Minimal Downtime – Most skin and cosmetic procedures are non-invasive or minimally invasive.

Long-Lasting Results – Treatments are designed for natural and durable outcomes.

Personalised Care – Every patient receives a treatment plan tailored to their concerns, skin type, and lifestyle.

Cosmetic Surgery Trends in Newcastle

The demand for cosmetic surgery in Newcastle continues to rise, especially for procedures that enhance natural features. Popular trends include:

Subtle lip enhancement

Eyelid rejuvenation

Cheek contouring with dermal fillers

Non-surgical facelift treatments

Skin tightening and collagen-boosting therapies

Unlike earlier trends focused on dramatic transformations, today’s aesthetic choices aim to refine and restore—helping patients look like the best version of themselves.

What to Expect During Your Consultation

If you're considering a treatment, your journey will begin with a detailed consultation. Clinics like Eldon Aesthetics make this process informative and comfortable. Your skin or concern will be assessed, options will be discussed, and the practitioner will explain the best course of action, including:

Procedure details

Cost and number of sessions required

Downtime, if any

Expected results

Aftercare instructions

This open approach builds trust and ensures that patients make confident, informed decisions.

When Should You Visit a Skin Surgery Clinic?

You should consider visiting a skin surgery clinic in Newcastle if:

You have a mole, skin tag, or cyst that’s bothering you

You're seeking anti-ageing or facial rejuvenation treatments

You want to improve your skin’s tone, texture, or firmness

You’re interested in non-surgical cosmetic enhancements

You’ve been recommended a minor surgical correction

The key is to choose a clinic that blends clinical credibility with a personalised and respectful approach to aesthetics.

Final Thoughts

Looking and feeling your best doesn't require drastic changes—just the right clinic and expert guidance. With safe, modern procedures and a growing list of satisfied clients, Eldon Aesthetics has become one of Newcastle’s leading choices for both cosmetic surgery and skin care treatments.

If you're considering mole removal, dermal fillers, or any aesthetic treatment, it’s time to explore Newcastle’s trusted professionals. Let expert care, natural results, and skin confidence begin right here.

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aipuconnects · 9 days ago

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From Field to Recognition: How AIPU Membership Helps You Get the Respect You Deserve

Across India, thousands of skilled professionals are quietly building careers through real work. They manage teams, handle clients, lead creative projects, and solve everyday challenges. They have experience sometimes years of it. But one thing still holds many of them back: a lack of official recognition.

This gap between real experience and formal identity often becomes a roadblock. Talented individuals get ignored in interviews. Freelancers get passed over for bigger projects. Small business owners are not taken seriously. All because they don’t have something concrete to show.

That’s where AIPU comes in — giving people the respect they’ve already earned.

AIPU: Giving a Name to Your Work

AIPU has created a process where people can get recognised for what they’ve already done. Whether you’re in business, human resources, creative fields, science, or community work AIPU offers official membership and field-based certificates that reflect your real abilities.

It’s not about what books you’ve read or what building you sat in. It’s about the effort you’ve put in and the results you’ve delivered.

With AIPU, your story becomes your strength. Your years of effort finally get a place on paper in a way that companies, clients, and organisations trust.

Why Recognition Is Not a Luxury — It's a Need

You can be great at your job and still be overlooked. You can have talent and still struggle to convince others. In today’s world, people look for proof. They want to see something they can verify. Without that, your words often don’t get the attention they deserve.

AIPU solves that. It gives you a recognised identity not based on theory, but based on what you’ve already done in the field. That simple shift changes everything.

Your confidence grows. Opportunities open up. People start taking you seriously.

Real Work, Real Identity

AIPU understands that not everyone follows the same path. Many professionals begin their journey early, some switch careers, others build their expertise on the job. That journey matters. It should count.

Through AIPU’s membership and certificates, people from different fields now have something solid to carry forward. Something that says, “Yes, I’ve done the work — and here’s the proof.”

Whether you’ve spent years in human resources, worked in the arts, contributed to social causes, or grown your presence in business your work deserves validation. AIPU’s Arts and Humanities Certification in India is one such example. People in cultural fields, writing, creative media, or social work often struggle to show their contribution. AIPU bridges that gap — helping them show their value without having to start from scratch.

AIPU Is Now Trusted Across the Country

The reach is growing. More professionals across industries are turning to AIPU because it delivers something simple and powerful: recognition based on truth.

People have started calling it the Best Online Certificate and Membership Provider in India because of how flexible and honest the process is. There are no long waiting periods, no complicated rules, and no judgment about your past.

If you’ve done the work, AIPU helps you prove it. That’s all that matters.

No Set Path — Just Real Support

If you’ve ever felt stuck because you didn’t follow the “usual” steps — this is your way forward. AIPU doesn’t expect everyone to be the same. It respects individual journeys.

Maybe you started working early in life. Maybe you built your name through freelance projects. Maybe you’ve been leading people for years but never got noticed. With AIPU, all of that can finally be recognised.

That’s why it’s also being seen as a trusted Education certificate provider in India — not because it pushes everyone into one system, but because it celebrates the paths people actually take.

Turn Your Experience Into Something That Speaks for You

In India, we often hear “hard work speaks for itself.” But in the real world, hard work needs support. It needs visibility.

AIPU gives that visibility. It puts your name, your work, and your field experience into a verified document you can carry forward. Use it on your LinkedIn. Share it with your next employer. Show it to your client. It's a simple thing that makes a big difference.

And once people start seeing your official identity, the respect follows.

You’ve Done the Work — Now Let the World See It

If you’re tired of being underestimated… If you’re tired of saying “I know my work” but no one believes you… If you’ve built something but don’t have anything official to show…

AIPU is your next step. This is not about changing who you are. It’s about showing who you already are — clearly, proudly, and professionally.

#AIPUMembership #ProfessionalRecognition #FieldToRecognition #CertifiedByAIPU #AIPUCertificate #CareerProof #TrustedMembershipIndia #BestOnlineCertificate

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theforbiddeneden · 24 days ago

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[HQ] Sleep Token: Teeth of God 2024 - TRANSCRIPTION - ENG TO PTBR - PART II

**ALL CREDITS ARE IN THE END OF THE POST**

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ENGLISH

The Director

NOTE 3:

58 Days since Lunar Anomaly

When we first retreated down into the ground, I think that somewhere in the midst of my despair I clung to a degree of hope. This wasn’t so much a hope for survival as much as the hope that we would at least be able to discern some kind of meaningful understanding of what has happened. We have committed everything— I have committed everything. The last precious remnants of humanity extinguished in the name of what makes us human to begin with. To shed what light we have left on this sea of the unknown. But now I see that this was a futile effort that has resulted in nothing but death, not merely in the context of our final struggle but across the scope of all human existence. It has all amounted to nothing but a few extra skulls drifting in the foul ethos that has swamped our world.

It is clear now that the lunar anomaly functions in accordance with laws of its own. It makes a mockery of science. It permeates and distorts reality to the degree that all foundational assumptions are rendered useless. It kills everything it touches whilst simultaneously imburning(?) it with some kind of new life, twisting nature into something grotesque and unrecognizable. These new forms seem organic but they have nothing resembling a typical cell structure or genetic blueprint. They can spring forth in an instant, summoning flesh from nothing. Furthermore, our ability to measure even the most fundamental aspects of our physical world is becoming impossible. The mass of objects change slightly depending on whose they are, as though gravity itself has begun to lose its grip. We have detected seismic activity from further into the earth than we ever thought possible. The anomaly doesn’t just want to consume all life. It wants to consume reality.

As for those beings, I know not what they are or where they originated. They themselves are not consistent with the nature of the anomaly they inhabit. Their actions seem to exhibit some strange sentience but their motives are unclear and they made no effort to communicate. At times I have concluded that they are here to replace us, or perhaps even they themselves represent some fractured distillation of our nature. They are after all violent, just as we have been to the very end. They seem to push against one another as a part of some strange order. As time has passed though, I have come to believe that they have no connection to us. I believe that what our world has become is little more than an aroma to them— a crucible of existence where they will battle eternally. The totally of their being is not their individual functions but rather the conflict between them. We are merely spectators to their endless dance of ceaseless struggle. This is perhaps the only thing that connects them to the drowned memory of what humanity once was— that we too sought meaning through constant friction and unending movement, compelled by some core motive force that drives us to bring ourselves to bear on the world and manifest our own perceptions.

In these final dimming days I knew only the solace of a promised land. I have become the ultimate witness. I have been saddled with the heavy blessing of seeing the marvelling of everything and I can do nothing but wait for it to unravel me too. But I live still within this temple of untampered flesh and I will spend what blood still beats through it to barter one last time with the tangled threads of fate. If I must, I will march through the eye of death and meet it with eyes of my own.

What few of us are left now have our orders.

We must know what it is to become of us.

(Transcribed by @Knowone08bbbb)

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PORTUGUÊS

O Diretor

NOTA 3:

58 dias desde a Anomalia Lunar

Quando primeiro recuamos para debaixo da terra, acho que em algum lugar no meio do meu desespero eu me agarrei a um grau de esperança.

Não era tanto uma esperança de sobrevivência, mas sim a esperança de que ao menos seríamos capazes de discernir algum tipo de entendimento significativo sobre o que aconteceu.

Comprometemos tudo, eu comprometi tudo.

Os últimos e preciosos remanescentes da humanidade extintos em nome daquilo que nos torna humanos em primeiro lugar. Para lançar a pouca luz que ainda temos sobre este mar de desconhecido.

Mas agora vejo que este foi um esforço fútil que resultou em nada além de morte, não apenas no contexto de nossa luta final, mas em toda a extensão da existência humana.

Tudo isso resultou em nada além de alguns crânios extras à deriva no fétido ethos que engoliu nosso mundo.

Está claro agora que a anomalia lunar funciona de acordo com leis próprias.

Faz escárnio da ciência. Ela permeia e distorce a realidade a tal ponto que todas as suposições fundamentais tornam-se inúteis.

Mata tudo o que toca enquanto simultaneamente o imbuindo com algum tipo de nova vida, retorcendo a natureza em algo grotesco e irreconhecível.

Essas novas formas parecem orgânicas, mas não têm nada que se assemelhe a uma estrutura celular típica ou um código genético.

Elas podem surgir instantaneamente, invocando carne do nada. Além disso, nossa capacidade de medir até mesmo os aspectos mais fundamentais de nosso mundo físico está se tornando impossível.

A massa dos objetos muda ligeiramente dependendo de quem os possui, como se a própria gravidade estivesse começando a perder sua força.

Detectamos atividade sísmica vinda de mais fundo dentro da terra do que jamais pensamos ser possível.

A anomalia não quer apenas consumir toda a vida. Ela quer consumir a realidade.

Quanto àquelas entidades, não sei o que são ou de onde vieram. Elas próprias não são consistentes com a natureza da anomalia que habitam.

Suas ações parecem exibir alguma estranha forma de consciência, mas seus motivos são obscuros e elas não fizeram nenhum esforço para se comunicar.

Em certos momentos concluí que estão aqui para nos substituir, ou talvez até que representem uma destilação fraturada de nossa própria natureza.

Afinal, elas são violentas, assim como nós fomos até o fim.

Elas parecem se opor umas às outras como parte de alguma estranha ordem. Com o passar do tempo, porém, passei a acreditar que elas não têm nenhuma conexão conosco.

Acredito que o que nosso mundo se tornou é pouco mais do que um aroma para elas — um cadinho de existência onde batalharão eternamente.

A totalidade de seu ser não está em suas funções individuais, mas sim no conflito entre elas. Somos meros espectadores de sua dança infinita de luta incessante.

Esta é talvez a única coisa que as conecta à memória afogada do que a humanidade um dia foi — que nós também buscávamos sentido através do atrito constante e do movimento interminável, compelidos por alguma força motriz central que nos empurrava a nos impor ao mundo e manifestar nossas próprias percepções.

Nestes últimos dias em desvanecimento, conheci apenas o consolo de uma terra prometida.

Tornei-me a testemunha definitiva. Fui agraciado com o pesado fardo de ver o maravilhamento de tudo, e nada posso fazer além de esperar que isso também me desfaça.

Mas ainda vivo dentro deste templo de carne intacta e gastarei o sangue que ainda pulsa nele para barganhar uma última vez com os fios emaranhados do destino.

Se for preciso, marcharei através do olho da morte e a encararei com olhos meus.

Os poucos de nós que restam agora têm suas ordens.

Precisamos saber o que será de nós.

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ENGLISH

The Director

Note 4 (final note + translated runes):

62 (D)ays since the Lunar Ano(m)aly

I once spoke but it now speaks through me just as I speak through it no longer to nothing I can change nothing no I can change nothing nothing has become my plaything I can make nothing into a weapon there will be no void left unfilled I am h(u)man and humans are always human and always sc(a)red because being human makes us scared and being scared makes us hu(m)an I will crack the flesh I will crack the earth I will eat the pieces they will be pieces of me would you like to dance I have always been dancing we must keep dancing even when we are (j)ust tendrils we were always tendrils we could touch everything ever(y)things god did not want us to touch that (i)s why he left us here that is why he thought we were ugly he could not wrap his tendrils around every part of us we spilled his paradise over the earth and danced within it such a beautiful dance horror would leap and dance with us horror would bathe us and we could lie within it we could tear the h(o)rr(o)r out from our (h)earts over and over we could never sleep sleep is death not eveb the earth would sleep the earth fears (d)eath its bl(oo)d would freeze out (i)n space out (i)n nothing we must reach through the stars through the darkness even though it is so cold it can freeze our blood we can let our blood freeze and thencrack it open hot like the earth we can step through death death wear it like a crown (h)eirs to the highest (p)antheon of life precious life with death as its blood precious death bursting from the many wombs of sacred war paradise was empte witho(u)t us there we only s(i)lence but our blood made the flowers grow god spilled his blood ov(e)r paradise god knows the dtars are waiting fertile ground cold to the (t)ouch those stars are hungey and they crave only the blood of god we are his tendrils and we will bury ourselves (i)nto those cold stars and there will b(e) no darkness death will give us fear and fear will give us blood we will spill our hot b(l)ood across the stars I finally understand now I do I understand but will you let me keep my human fear will you let me yes being scared makes you (h)uman fear will (s)ow the hot blood of god across the cold stars fear w(i)ll make us dance and we must (k)eep dancing can you see god dancing for you can you see him biting into you can you hear his teeth cracking into pieces of the stars they send spa(r)ks raining down through the darkness all these years you have hunted him and reached for him you wan(t) his blood he made you with veins inside of you like tendrils we dance through his veins as we bite through the stars and dance and he opens his mouth wide I am so scared will you (l)et me be the last human (I) understand now I am the teeth of god I am the teeth of god I am the teeth of god I am the teeth of god I am the teeth of god I am the teeth of god I am the teeth of god

(Preface: Anything that has “transcribers note” is by me, @Knowone08bbbb, the transcriber. If something does not have “transcribers note” in parentheses, it was written by The Director)

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PORTUGUÊS

O Diretor

Nota 4 (nota final + runas traduzidas):

62 d(i)as desde a Anomalia L(u)nar

Eu falava antes mas agora é ela quem fala através de mim assim como eu falo através dela não mais para o nada eu posso mudar nada não eu posso mudar nada nada se tornou meu brinquedo eu posso transformar o nada em uma arma não haverá vazio deixado sem preenchimento eu sou h(u)mano e humanos são sempre humanos e sempre ass(u)stados porque ser humano nos deixa assustados e estar assustado nos torna h(u)manos eu vou quebrar a carne eu vou quebrar a terra eu vou comer os pedaços eles serão pedaços de mim você gostaria de dançar eu sempre estive dançando nós devemos continuar dançando mesmo quando formos apenas tentáculos sempre fomos tentáculos podíamos tocar tudo todas as coisas que deus não queria que tocássemos é por isso que ele nos deixou aqui é por isso que ele achou que éramos feios ele não conseguiu enrolar seus tentáculos em todas as partes de nós derramamos o paraíso dele sobre a terra e dançamos dentro dele uma dança tão linda o horror saltaria e dançaria conosco o horror nos banharia e nós poderíamos deitar dentro dele poderíamos arrancar o h(o)rr(o)r de nossos c(o)rações de novo e de novo nunca poderíamos dormir dormir é morte nem mesmo a terra dormiria a terra teme a m(o)rte seu s(a)ngue congelaria no espaço no n(a)da nós devemos alcançar através das estrelas através da escuridão mesmo que seja tão frio que possa congelar nosso sangue podemos deixar nosso sangue congelar e então quebrá-lo quente como a terra podemos atravessar a morte vestir a morte como uma coroa h(e)rdeiros do mais alto p(a)nteão da vida preciosa vida com a morte como seu sangue preciosa morte explodindo dos muitos ventres da guerra sagrada o paraíso estava vazio sem n(o)s lá havia apenas s(i)lêncio mas nosso sangue fez as flores crescerem deus derramou seu sangue sobre o paraíso deus sabe que as e(s)trelas estão esperando solo fértil frio ao t(o)que essas estrelas estão famintas e desejam apenas o sangue de deus somos seus tentáculos e vamos nos enterrar nessas estrelas frias e não haverá e(s)curo a morte nos dará medo e o medo nos dará sangue vamos derramar nosso sangue q(u)ente através das estrelas eu finalmente entendo agora eu entendo mas você vai me deixar manter meu medo humano você vai me deixar sim estar assustado te faz h(u)mano o medo vai s(e)r a semente do sangue quente de deus através das estrelas frias o medo vai nos fazer dançar e devemos c(o)ntinuar dançando você consegue ver deus dançando para você você consegue vê-lo mordendo você consegue ouvir os dentes dele se quebrando em pedaços das estrelas eles enviam f(a)íscas caindo através da escuridão todos esses anos você o caçou e o procurou você q(u)eria o sangue dele ele te fez com veias dentro de você como tentáculos nós dançamos através das veias dele enquanto mordemos através das estrelas e dançamos e ele abre bem a boca eu estou tão assustada você vai me d(e)ixar ser o último humano eu entendo agora eu sou os dentes de deus eu sou os dentes de deus eu sou os dentes de deus eu sou os dentes de deus eu sou os dentes de deus eu sou os dentes de deus eu sou os dentes de deus

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FULL CR ENGLISH @Knowone08bbbb, @k01_png on twitter Original doc English TRANSCRIPTION Portuguese translation theforbiddeneden TOG PDF, Link PURCHASE: https://teeth-of-god.sleep-token.com/

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