#lowest point was 29

[killa-trav]

rotherham could very well break their own record of lowest points scored in championship and i think that is just bloody lovely

[tempo-takoyaki]

From an anonymous freeform prompt for SVSSS Action, may I present to you... Delicious in the Abyss! A SVSSS x DunMeshi AU!

More info about the different characters (with some sketches) under the "read more" :

In Delicious in the Abyss, we follow various groups of adventurers as they explore the "abyss" a mysterious place filled with various fauna and monsters. No matter their race or age, most of them have the same goal: becoming the master of the abyss... However, some have a very different idea of how one should explore the abyss. Take for example a certain group led by an elf named Shen Yuan who desires one thing only... eat as many different monsters as possible!

Shen Yuan's party :

Shen Yuan: Elf, 87 y/o, Mage. His wish is to eat and study as many monsters as possible. He started exploring the abyss about twenty years ago, but had to stop abruptly after taking in Luo Binghe. On the surface, his studies seem to merely be for the sake of curiosity... But are they?

Luo Binghe: Tiefling, 63 y/o, Tank (and cook). Thrown into the abyss at the age of 38 (since tieflings are a long-lived race, it means he was about 14), he got stuck in the lowest levels for few years before Shen Yuan saved him. He regards him as his savior (and one true love) and would do anything for him... even if it means cooking the monsters (he hates it, he hates it so much).

Shang Qinghua: Gnome, 87 y/o, Healer. Shen Yuan's oldest friend and the author of many infamous books. He stopped writing them about twenty years ago though, after he started to explore the abyss with Shen Yuan. He seems to be looking for something in the abyss, or rather: someone.

Liu Qingge: Tallman, 26 y/o, Swordsman. One of Shen Yuan's friends. He used to be part of the Cang Qiong guild but left it after a disagreement with one of his colleagues. Now he works for Shen Yuan with his younger sister, Liu Mingyan. "Uh? My goal? Get stronger. Mh."

Liu Mingyan: Tallman, 24 y/o, Swordswoman. Liu Qingge's younger sister, she accompanies him on each of his missions. She got an offer to work with Cang Qion mountain once but refused it once she learned her brother had left the guild. She's quiet but efficient, however, Shang Qinghua suspects that she might stick around for other reasons...

Cang Qiong Guild:

Yue Qingyuan: Tallman, 48 y/o, Tank. The leader of Cang Qiong, he's a respected individual amongst adventurers. However, he seems leniant on the vices of his vice-leader: Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu: Tallman, 40 y/o, Swordman. Vice-leader of Cang Qiong. He's the reason Cang Qiong is exclusively made of tallmen, as he has a strong distate for any other races, especially elves. The only exception to this rule is his adopted daughter: Ning Yingying, a dwarf. He's the one who abandoned Luo Binghe into the abyss after discovering his true nature.

Mu Qingfang: Tallman, 29 y/o, Healer. The group's medic.

Qi Qingqi: Tallman, 31 y/o, Swordswoman. She wanted to create a branch specifically for women in Cang Qiong Guild's but because of Shen Qingqiu's veto on recruiting other races she couldn't make it work.

Ming Fan: Tallman, 19 y/o, Mage. A cowardly young adventurer. He has a crush on Ning Yingying.

Ning Yingying: Dwarf, 51 y/o, Tank. Despite being older than him, she's Shen Qingqiu's adopted daughter whom he took in when she was merely 30 y/o. She likes her father a lot, however she can't forgive him for what he has done to Luo Binghe. (She'll leave Cang Qiong to join Shen Yuan's part at some point).

(Side note, Cang Qiong is still specialized in cultivation, hence why most of them look so young)

The Tieflings hideout:

Tieflings are a race that I made up for this AU specifically, inspired by D&D. They're inhabitant of the dungeon, tall and sturdy, with pointy ears akin to elves, horns of various shapes and tails. They can also use magic like elves, tallmen or gnomes, however their magic rely on its own set of rules.

Mobei-Jun: Tiefling, 92 y/o, King of the Northern tribe. Leader of one of the numerous tiefling tribes hidden in the abyss, he met Shang Qinghua twenty years ago in the abyss and has made him swear his loyalty to him since then. He has sensed change in the abyss since Luo Binghe's arrival, and decided to trust Shen Yuan's party to solve this issue... With the compensation of Shang Qinghua.

Sha Hualing: Half-ogre half-halfoot, 15 y/o, Princess of the Eastern tribe. Adopted daughter of the king of the eastern tribe, she's a bastard born from the forbidden union between an ogre and a half-foot and was abandoned into the abyss at birth. Of short stature, with a short life spawn, she makes up for it with her keen senses and her strength. She later on joins Shen Yuan's party.

The first Tieflings:

Tianlang-Jun: Tiefling, ??? y/o, Master of the Abyss. The master of the abyss, his powers are beyond anything imaginable. He claims to have eaten what has given him those powers and since then has known hunger beyond what any mortal could endure. He has once fell in love with a tallman woman by the name of Su Xiyan, but she has left the abyss years ago, and he doesn't know what her whereabouts are... The only thing he knows is that she's the only one capable of satisfying this hunger that eats him from the inside.

Zhuzhi-Lang: Beastman (snake), ??? y/o, Guardian of the abyss. Tasked by the Abyss' Master to protect its inhabitants, he'll kill anyone who gets in his ways indiscriminately at the exception of Shen Yuan, who saved him years ago when exploring the abyss for the first time. He only obeys the Abyss' Master orders, and because of that, has forced the Tieflings deeper and deeper into the abyss regardless of how they felt about it. As a chimera, he's more snake than the tiefling his soul has been mixed with.

Other groups:

Huan Hua's guild (the governor's guild): The one guild financed by the governor of the state in which the abyss is located. Its members are from various races. Despite the guild stating they're open to anyone, only those from a wealthy background can become a part of it.

Zhao Hua's guild: Specialized in magic. They have rounds to reanimate unlucky adventurers in the abyss.

Tian Yi's guild: Specialized in training new adventurers.

And that's it for now! What awaits them in the abyss? Many adventures and delicious cooking, that is, if Luo Binghe can handle it.

"Freed from the abyss at long last... Forced to cook the monsters with seasoning this time. I've been cursed there's no other way to explain it... Damn it, it's good though, I really am a great cook."

[vestaignis]

Гора Кука (Аораки) - наивысшая точка Новой Зеландии, высота которой составляет 3754 метра над уровнем моря, расположена в западной части Южного острова, в новозеландских Южных Альпах. Гора состоит из трёх пиков - самый низкий из них имеет высоту 3593 метра над уровнем моря, средний - 3717 метров и самый высокий - 3754 метра. Гора Кука сложена из кристаллических пород, имеет форму седла с крутыми склонами, а её вершина покрыта вечными снегами и ледниками. Вдоль восточного фланга горы спускается знаменитый ледник Тасмана - крупнейший ледник в Новой Зеландии, протяжённостью 29 километров и площадью 156,5 квадратных километров. Нижняя часть горных склонов покрыта уникальными дождевыми лесами умеренного климата и живописными альпийскими лугами, в которых произрастают эндемичные виды растений и редкие виды животных, встречающиеся только в Но��ой Зеландии.

Для маори, коренного населения Новой Зеландии, Аораки является священной горой, на языке племени Нгай Таху название горы означает "большое белое облако". Английское название Mount Cook (Гора Кука) дал горе в 1851 году капитан Джон Лорт Стокс в честь знаменитого мореплавателя Джеймса Кука. С момента открытия горы европейцами, её вершина постоянно манит альпинистов со всего мира. Несмотря на то, что Аораки - далеко не самая высокая гора на планете, она является технически очень сложной для восхождения. Огромную опасность для альпинистов представляют резкая смена погоды, сильные снегопады, высокий уровень обледенения скал, большие трещины ледников и высокая вероятность внезапного схода лавин. Только с начала XX века при восхождении на гору Кука погибло около 80 альпинистов, что делает её самым смертоносным пиком в Новой Зеландии. Не даром в легендарной эпопее Джона Толкина "Хоббит, или Туда и обратно", "Властелин колец" и "Сильмариллион" гора Кука стала прототипом пика Карадрас - одного из высочайших пиков Мглистых гор в Средиземье. Именно под Карадрасом был построен великий город гномов Казад-Дум

В 1953 году на территории вокруг горы Кука был создан Национальный парк Маунт-Кук, в который входят 19 горных пиков высотой более 3000 метров над уровнем моря и 8 (из 12) крупнейших ледников в Новой Зеландии. Парк является частью района Те-Вахипунаму, внесенного в список Всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО за выдающуюся природную ценность. Помимо занятий альпинизмом (восхождение на вершину разрешено только опытным альпинистам в сопровождении горных проводников), посетители парка могут заняться скалолазанием, трекингом, горным велосипедом, охотой и насладиться невероятным зрелищем самого "звёздного" ночного неба на Земле. Во время прогулок по горным тропам можно увидеть попугая кеа - единственного в мире попугая, эндемика Новой Зеландии, обитающего на высоте 1500 метров над уровнем моря и выше.

Mount Cook (Aoraki) is the highest point in New Zealand, with an altitude of 3,754 meters above sea level, located in the western part of the South Island, in the New Zealand Southern Alps. The mountain consists of three peaks - the lowest of which is 3,593 meters above sea level, the middle one is 3,717 meters, and the highest is 3,754 meters. Mount Cook is composed of crystalline rocks, has the shape of a saddle with steep slopes, and its summit is covered with eternal snow and glaciers. Along the eastern flank of the mountain descends the famous Tasman Glacier - the largest glacier in New Zealand, with a length of 29 kilometers and an area of ​​156.5 square kilometers. The lower part of the mountain slopes is covered with unique temperate rainforests and picturesque alpine meadows, in which endemic species of plants and rare species of animals grow, found only in New Zealand.

For the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, Aoraki is a sacred mountain; in the language of the Ngai Tahu tribe, the mountain's name means "large white cloud". The English name Mount Cook was given to the mountain in 1851 by Captain John Lort Stokes in honor of the famous navigator James Cook. Since the discovery of the mountain by Europeans, its summit has constantly attracted climbers from all over the world. Despite the fact that Aoraki is far from the highest mountain on the planet, it is technically very difficult to climb. Extreme weather changes, heavy snowfalls, high levels of icing on the rocks, large glacier cracks and a high probability of sudden avalanches pose a huge danger to climbers. Since the beginning of the 20th century alone, about 80 climbers have died while climbing Mount Cook, making it the deadliest peak in New Zealand. It is not for nothing that in the legendary epics of John Tolkien "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion" Mount Cook became the prototype of the peak of Caradhras - one of the highest peaks of the Misty Mountains in Middle-earth. It was under Caradhras that the great city of the dwarves Khazad-dum was built.

In 1953, Mount Cook National Park was created on the territory around Mount Cook, which includes 19 mountain peaks over 3,000 meters above sea level and 8 (out of 12) of the largest glaciers in New Zealand. The park is part of the Te Wahipounamu area, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding natural value. In addition to mountaineering (climbing to the summit is only permitted for experienced climbers accompanied by mountain guides), visitors to the park can go rock climbing, trekking, mountain biking, hunting and enjoy the incredible spectacle of the most "starry" night sky on Earth. While walking along the mountain trails, you can see the kea parrot - the only parrot in the world, endemic to New Zealand, living at an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level and higher.

Источник://shark-er.livejournal.com/121080.html,/tury.ru/sight/id/ 14721-gora-kuka-aoraki-14721,/www.tripadvisor.ru/Attraction_ Review-g658483-d4080009-Reviews-Aoraki_Mt_Cook- Mt_Cook _Village_Aoraki_Mount_Cook_National_Park_Te_Wahipounamu_Mac.html,/www.nik-m.com/regiony/kenterberi/aoraki-maunt-kuk-samaya-vysokaya-gora-novozelandskikh-ostrovov/,//t.me/ borderlesstravel.

[twinklestarss]

Perc'ahlia’s Wedding Vows

Percy: “When I met you, I was at the lowest place I had ever been, I was barely human. I had lost anything that matter and I had sunk into a deep over romantic shadow and then this new family came along, and you came along, and slowly, through time and experience, I learned from you that you can have a romanticized notation of the darkness within yourself, but that darkness must be cast by some light. And there's no sense not romanticizing that, as well. And that I could find myself in that, again. Every time I thought I would sink, I would see your face. Your face, the first time, I truly lost control, and you told me to take off the mask. You have given me a future I had cheaply sold away. You have given me a family I thought forever lost and a future I was prepared to sacrifice for something so trivial, I just literally just watched you take it and it means nothing compared to this. I promise to walk into the future with you, I promise to build a family with you, and I promise to always be here for an adventure with you.”

Vex: “Percival, darling, fuck -- I don't know when it happened, when I fell, I sat down and tried to write vows and pinpoint the moment, but was it when I first met you? Dressed in rags, starved? Was it-- Was it when I saw you overcome that darkness inside? Standing tall and proud and unbroken? I thought for sure it was when you stood next to me and helped me face fears I hadn't spoken aloud and support me in a way that no one other than-- other than my brother had ever done. But honestly, even by that point, I-- I'd fallen. I think, it happened through all the little moments, that I didn't even notice. You sleeping on my shoulder in the Feywild. Or when I saw you bent over, laughing so hard, you spit chicken out of your mouth because Scanlan had an arrow in his neck. I think, I never expected anyone to mean as much to me as-- as Vax'ildan. To be as important to me, to feel like another half. There was a hole in my heart, and I truly believe the only reason I didn't perish from it is because you were holding my heart so tightly. I thank the gods I gave it to you. It is yours, forever and always. I love you, dear. I'm so glad we're together.”

Dalen’s Closet (August 29, 2019)

[foamofthe-sea]

Found some questions rummaging through the xiv tags while I wait for this social event to start so send a number and I'll answer it? Feel free to reblog and do the same.

1. Where were they during the Calamity? 

2. How did they acquire their Echo? 

3. Does their Echo function like it does in the MSQ? Or is there a twist to it? 

4. Do they have a canon mount or minion? What's its name(s)? 

5. Where are they from? What was their childhood like?

6. How did they deal with the massacre on the Waking Sands?  

7. How did they deal with Haurchefant's death? 

8. How did they feel about the liberation of Ala Mhigo? Do they feel it could have been handled differently? Where they at all bothered by how they were involved? 

9. How do they feel about Zenos? 

10. How do they feel about their relationship with Hydaelyn? Midgarsormr?

11. Were they more sympathetic to the dragons, Ishgardians, neither or both? 

12. How has their job affected whatever headcanon version is of the MSQ if any? 

13. Are they close with any of the other Scions? Who do they get along with the best? 

14. Of the Scions, who are they most worried for? 

15. Is your WoL promiscuous? Celibate? Or just waiting for the right person? 

16. What does your WoL do to relax? What sorts of distractions do they seek? Do they foster any bad habits as a result?

17. Who is their favorite Alliance leader? Who do they get along with the best out of them? 

18. Does your WoL fully embrace their role as the WoL or do they try to remain humble? 

19. What do they think of the Heaven's Ward? 

20. Of all the places they've been to, which is their favorite? Do they like to go back there? 

21. Are there any raid storylines (Ivalice, Coil of Bahamut, Werlyt, etc.) you consider to be canon for your WoL? Which ones don't you consider canon? 

22. Do you  have a unique tale for their job class or is it pretty much like what it is in the game?

23. Are there any side quest storylines that you're particularly fond of or think of as being canon to your WoL's experiences? 

24. Does your WoL have any phobias? 

25. Do they have any habits or rituals that they do to soothe themselves? I.e. Playing with their hair, chewing their lip, fidgeting, etc. 

26. Do they suffer any traumas from any of their adventures? How do you foresee this affecting them going forward? 

27. How did the events of Shadowbringers impact them? 

28. Were they suspicious or open to Emet-Selch's presence when he first appeared? 

29. Did your WoL suspect anything was amiss with Urianger or the Crystal Exarch? Did they feel betrayed? Upset? When the truth finally emerged? 

30. What was their highest point in Shadowbringers? Their lowest? What caused it? 

31. What were their first impressions of Hien? 

32. Did they trust Asahi right away? Why or why not? 

33. How did they feel about what happened with Yotsuyu? Did they feel like she was justified in her actions?

34. Would you say your WoL is fundamentally a good person? Or are they a bad person that's been persuaded to do the right things? 

35. How do they feel about the fact that they've killed a lot of people and/or things?

[unabashednightmarepizza]

𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒

Summary: Black Family sucked. That's what your friends, your family and boyfriend said. They were obsessed with being "pure" and ready to do anything to achieve that... But none of you would have known exactly what measures they would go.

A/N: I went overboard with this one, and had to seperate it to two parts. So, hopefully, next week, you guys will have a second part. But I'm sleepy while uploading this so... Forgive me if there are some mistakes, I'll fix them later. REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

Trigger Warning: Mentions of torture and abuse, some very slight make out mentions(?), typical Black family, 8.2K words.

Pairing: Regulus Black x Pureblood!Fem!Reader

Prompts: "No one makes me smile the way you do.", "I've always loved that about you.", " I know I don't say it a lot, but I really do love you." and "You're all I'll ever need to feel better." from this prompt list ; 3,6,7,8,9, 19, 22, 29, 30 and 31 from the kissing prompts 4 of my "SUMMER CELEBRATION" event.

Part2

Regulus wasn't seen.

It wasn't like he wasn't at the school where you both called your home, he definetly was. There were glimpses of him in lessons, or Quidditch practices, there were slight whispers of his rich and silky voice as he spoke to his friends in the Great Hall, one that you could always catch no matter where or when. It was the same voice that whispered you sweet good mornings, the same voice that told you soft spoken, full of love and adoration, words as he danced with you in somewhere away from the prying eyes, his own blue-ish gray ones looking extra ethereal and captivating at the moonlight that shone on both of you, contouring his sharp face so beautifully that often left you speechles.

Speechles at how this amazing, caring and loving boy was yours. And he often felt the same about you, about how lucky he was for finding you in that library corner, drowning in books and hair messy, at his lowest point.

A point where no one really made it an effort to listen to him, to know him.

By his friends, his parents... His own brother.

But, even if he wasn’t heard or seen by his family, Regulus Black was seen in Hogwarts, by many others... But not you.

Not today.

He was avoiding you.

It hurted you whenever he distanced himself. He often did this, but even then, he would tell you that he just needed to be alone and gather his thoughts after a kiss to your forehead and then return a few hours later with your favourite dessert from one of the house elves. They even learnt when to bake them for him and you, after witnessing how bice you treated them and such, they were happy to stay awake a few more hours so that you two could be happy.

And of course, you understood that everyone could need some alone time in this hectic life, Regulus more than anyone, but this much of being alone...

He didn't even come to dinner time, instead saying some bullshit about wanting to sleep and tell you to eat with your friends after a soft kiss to your cheeks and a short kiss to your lips. He would always lay some on your lips, and even pepper your whole face with them. His kisses were always so passionate, they left you a breathless mess at the place he kissed you, making you jump on him as you both laughed in delight.

Be it his dorm, you would jump on the bed and you two would play fight, looking into each others eyes as he would hover over you, a hand on your waist with a thight grip as his breath fanned your face, his nose touching yours as he would muzzle his to your neck. You are beautiful, he would whisper before his kisses would turn urgent and you both’s clothes would soon be thrown away at somewhere.

Regulus Black was a passionate young man, someone who felt deeply... But that passion was slowly dying.

And it was your greatest fear coming true.

“Excuse me, guys... I don’t have an appeatite...” you slowly got up as you looked at them, apologizing with your eyes. People always thought them to be such fuckers but Barty and Evan, as long as they weren’t in their teasing romance, were actually great friends of you and Regulus... Barty was the first one who adopted you in the group, back before you were sorted in any houses, in the train and... Perhaps, you were the only one they loved in another house.

“Where are ya goin’? Ya haven’ eaten anythin’?” Barty pointed to your plate as a sheepish look came over you, lips tugging to a sweet smile, hoping that he would let it pass. He wouldn’t have fallen for the puppy eyes, not for the 97th time, had Evan not pointed to who was missing on their table as well.

“looking for her boyfriend, I see...” you gave a sad smile at Evan as he nodded to the entrance of the Great Hall. He, too, was aware that something was... more wrong with the Black as well, but none of them could come close enough to question him without getting blasted off. “Go. That boy never admits, but he is very dependant on you... He needs you.”

But, if there was anyone who could do that... And perhaps, it was you he wanted to have with him, it would be you.

He had seen from first-hand experience how good you affected the boy, how he seemed happier. Though he would always tease him for the heart eyes he sent your way, or how he would get up from his seat and hug you at the entrance of the Great Hall as soon as he sees you, and also accompany you to his side as you talked with his friends and then, sit with you in your side of the table with your friends at lunch time or dinner, he was glad he found some solace in you.

He was aware of the “pureblood nonsense” most “pureblood” families believed in, his and Blacks for example, and did anything to make their children believe in it too. Regulus was still considered lucky in his eyes, for having Sirius protecting him since he didn’t have someone that would protect him.

And now that they were friends, there was no way in hell that he would allow him to relapse into those bad thoughts that could never actualy stop swirl in his head.

You beamed at Evan as your sprinted from them, Evan yelling after you that they would bring some food for you two while Barty hissed about you not doing any funny business. Evan elbowed him hard as Barty whined about how Regulus was becoming soft, and pink, and domestic around him so much that he couldn’t take it anymore. I love our girlie, and cold bitch of a friend but they both make me... sick...

You couldn’t care less about what they said though. Your mind was only on Regulus and how in pain he looked earlier, even when he tried to hide it behind his steel look. You wondered if it was the anniversary of his brother leaving him behind, but quickly checked it out. Maybe his parents were strict and harsh to him again? But he always said he was used to their harsh ways of teaching...

And now that you stopped in front of the the door seperating you from the Slytherin Common Room... You realized that you didn’t know much about your own boyfriend as much as you were supposed to. And that thought made you frown as you looked down for a moment. You knew how... intense things can get with the “pureblood thing”, even though your family wasn’t that harsh when it came to that ideology, you could only imagine what was going on behind the Black household’s closed door by what Sirius had told you.

Pain, screams and suffering enough to make even the strongest wizard or witch cry their eyes out, just to escape, just to... end it all.

Much like the sniffles coming from insidehis dorm after you entered, sniffles that did nothing to ease your nervousness.

And there he was, your absolutely soft and loving and perfect boyfriend, laying on his side as he clutched his cushion thightly while sobbing uncontrollably , his body heaving up and down as his cries rolled off his tongue and reached your ears. Your heart clenched painfully at the heartbroken boy before you, twisting an invisible knife deeper and deeper with each of his cries as you slowly walked up to him and sat down on the bed, alerting him to your presence before putting your hand on his shoulder and caressing his shoulder comfortingly with sad eyes.

“Reggie...” you knew how he hated that nickname, even throwing a fit to Evan how he didn’t like, though he always said he preferred only you to say it, so when he didn’t react even at that name, you sprinted to his other side after applying a locking charm to the door, guessing he would want to be alone with you right now withour anyone barging in.

At first, he tried to deny you and your touch, but you were persistent. When you said yes to date him, you made a promise to him that day: even if your ways split, you would still be there for him through thick and thin.

You wouldn’t ve another person who left him alone.

“I’m not leaving, I’m here... You’re safe, Regulus...”

And perhaps, it was the way your voice so softly comforted him and how your hands glided through his black curls, or maybe he was too tired after crying his heart out. Whatever it was, he suddenly got up and launched at you, burrying his face to your neck as you sat down on your butt and swayed him from side to side like a baby. Regulus was a man who fought until his last breath, someone who rebelled silently, someone who stood on his ground so strictly that you often thought there would be nothing that could break him.

What happened to him to make him turn into a mess?

What did they do this time?

He was talking, rambling about how bad it was and how she was gonna kill him for it but you didn’t know what “it” was. Your frown hardened by each passing second as his rambles got more intense with fear, fear of his own mother.

“ I-I h-had to leave... I had to leave there, Y/N! They... They wanted-“ another choked sob raked through him as you hugged him even thighter than previously, lifting his head in a hurry and desperately searching for your eyes, to see if you believed him, if you were trully there, if you were... real.

You held onto his face softly, running your thumb up amd down through the bridge of his nose as you kissed his lips to prove to him that you were real, and he was safe in Hogwarts, making him feel all of you as his tears wet your lips, leaving a bitter taste at your tongue.

Not from the salty taste, but the pain they held.

Your mind already finished his sentence without him actually doing so. Because there was only one thing you both feared, one thing that kept him awake at most nights...

One thing that made him cry onto your shoulders that much...

“Did they... Did they do it?” your shaky whisper shook him from the half-trance he was in, and your question made you shiver as if You-Know-Who’s hands were around your neck, your shoulders, the death and chaos that followed him around reeking even in the comforting bubble you two had in Regulus’ dorm.

He shook his head as his hands twisted the silk of your robe. “No... Bella came to the house, said that she wanted to take me to him... The Dark Lord. She said it would be an honor to fight for his cause...” he paused  to gulp down the bile that rose to his throat, clenching his eyes shut and focusing on your comforting smell and warmth. He slowly calmed down and looked at you with his ocean blue eyes, wondering how it was possible for you to net be like his own family, how you were so kind and different than others. When he first saw you in the Great Hall, everyone was looking at you in awe, some were jealous and some were scared. Mostly half-bloods and muggle-borns who was now aware of your family and how in danger they were with a school full of purebloods who mostly wanted to get rid of them.

But just as your kindness and warmth eased him many times, they eased those who once feared you as you welcomed them all happily with open arms, making them promise to turn to you if something were troubling them. You proved everyone that you and your family wasn’t like those psychopaths who was hellbent on killing them, even if it made you be branded as “blood-traitor”. You didn’t seem like you cared much about it, rather spending time with your friends even when nasty Slytherins threw insults at you. All you did was to flip them off and go back to whatever you were doing...

And this was why he hesitated to talk to you at the beginning, both from his family status and the nasty comments that would be thrown at you from his house in Hogwarts. He thought you were only kind to muggle-borns and half-breeds since they were being bullied constantly and, harsh to the purebloods who insulted you.

And he was a pureblood... which meant that you would defiently flip him off and even hurt him.

Which proved to be wrong soon, when he cautiously walked up to you in potion class and asked for help as you turned around and gave him a wide smile as you patted the spot next to you. He didn’t want to think back to how close you two were as you listed the ingredients behind him and looked from his head and down at the cauldron to see if he was doing it right.

But it was the happiest he had ever been as you smiled at him and patted his back proudly as you called for the Professor and showed him your works. That was the moment he realized that he could talk to you without any fear, and also, come to you with some of his problems whether you were able to solve them or not. But perhaps, the biggest discovery about his first meeting with you was...

Knowing deep down that he would fall for you, and your dedication for those close to you.

He was proven right, and it was also a joy to realize this as much as it pained him.  He knew with what kind of burden he came, and he didn’t want to do that to you. It wasn’t fair to such a sunshine person like you. But he had been a bit more selfish than he wanted to admit in his life, and he needed a light... A hope that showed him, told him that his days that was often covered with darkness would be gone soon.

He didn’t know what he did to deserve you, to have you return his feelings almost 2 years ago, but he was so damn glad to Merlin that you were in his life, that you were his light, his saviour.

Just a few minutes ago, he was miserable and scared and didn’t know what else to do. He felt like he was cornered like a wild, hurt animal, not knowing or seeing a way out.

But at least... He had you, he would always have you.

It wasn’t like he didn't come clean with this, his family and how they supported Voldemort. It was actually one of the main reasons that even if he loved you, his heart called for you, he would never try to court you. He couldn’t bring himself to be the reason your smile would fall, the reason you would be dragged into his mess.

But still... Both of you naively thought that he had more time, that you both had more time to act like a normal couple living a pink romance.

That was what you wanted to have. For Regulus to feel safe and happiness, away from the tragedy that was his family.

Apparently, Merlin had other plans.

“B-But... You’re still in school? I thought they wouldn’t...” your voice died down as horror filled you for what was coming to your ways. You were aware of their bond with the Dark Lord, and that they would make either him or Sirius join the DeathEaters too. Sirius was safe now that he ran away and seeked help from James, and you were happy for him. Sirius, James and Remus were your friends anyways, you loved hanging out with them or tutoring them.

Which meant almost all the time.

They were nice people, happy to help you at any time and anywhere, or well, every person who they loved and cherished...

That was exactly why you didn’t understand when Sirius appeared in James’ house alone, leaving his little brother, 14 at that time, alone in such a “hellhole”.

Alone and defenceless, crying much like now as he curled in a ball...

But deep down, you knew that Sirius was worried about him too. You knew him, and listened to him as he cried to you about how he wasn’t used to feeling safe and how worried sick he was for his brother. Something must have happened for Regulus to not let him come with his brother, and Sirius to not drag him away from that house.He, after all, was a stubborn little shit whether the situation was good or not.

 But whatever it was that made both of them not to talk for months and reconcile, it came back to bite everyone’s ass.

“I know, love... I know...” he kissed the tip of your nose as he tried to comfort you back, feeling your fear as his. That was one of the reasons why he fell for you: You felt everyone’s pain even when they really didn’t deserve it.

And though he liked watching you get protective and help someone out while he stood behind and admired you, the tears sitting at the corner of your lovely eyes did nothing but break him even more as he wiped them away, kissing just under your eyes softly, afraid of inflicting you with even more pain.

“That’s what I said, that I should finish school first but... Mother said it was full of dirty wizards and witches, muggleborns and half-bloods. She said I was better off without all those scums....” your brows furrowed at how Walburga Black was so... full of hatred at those who wasn’t like her, her sons included. You probably never saw another human who was so full of hatred, her negativity pouring as venom, trying to poison everyone just as she once was. You had a good guess of why she was like this, why she always threw hatred and so many curses on practically everyone.

After all, none of her sons turned out to be like the Black family. Both of them didn’t support the “Pureblood nonsense” like they did, and Sirius was brave enough to rebel against them while Regulus did it more silently. He showed himself to be just like the perfect Black heir, did everything they asked for and stood tall against them.

He wasn’t brainwashed by them, and though they weren’t proud of him- and could never be- You were so damn proud for him, just like a certain older brother.

You didn’t know it but Regulus, had it been not for you, he feared he would have actually believed in them and what they said, solely for the reason that he wanted them to love him, to acknowledge him as a son. They wanted perfection and he wanted to be perfect, he needed to be perfect.

Because if he wasn’t... Who would he be to anyone?

You are Regulus Arcturus Black, he remembers you telling him after he finally came clean to you about what was in his mind, after asking you out. He was so sure you would decline, laugh it off or anything remotely that told him you didn’t feel the same, before he felt your soft hands slowly taking hold of his downcasted head as his eyes widened in surprise at how... content you looked with the same smile that ignited a fire deep in his soul that it never died, and would never do.. And you are a great man who is kind, strong and powerful, brave too! You are my favourite person in the whole world and I’ll spend an eternity reminding of who you are... Starting with, my boyfriend.

Silence scretchted between you two as he smiled softly at the memory, a perfect one to cast a Patronus perhaps. He desperately wished that this was one of those times you sneaked into his dorm for a nightly fate when he would for sure know that you would scare away all the demons in his head...

But unfortunately, the reality was something else. Something even more demonic and evil than the usual nightmares that haunted him.

Something that tore both him and you apart by how scary it was.

“What did you do... Regulus, did you do it?” he didn’t speak, just took your hands and put them on his sleeve, wanted you to look yourself. Because he didn’t have enough energy anymore. Suddenly, as you slowly pulled his sleeve up, the reality of what would have happened if he didn’t fight against them crashed him.

He would never see you saunter into the Great Hall every time, he wouldn’t sneak out in the middle of the night to have a late night date with you, he wouldn’t be the one to walk with you to your next class, he wouldn’t wait for you for food, he wouldn’t go to Hogsmeade and look at you as you begged to have some more candy from Honey &Dukes, he wouldn’t watch as yougot embrassed cutely...

He wouldn’t be there to love you, and you wouldn’t be there to love him.

You took a sharp intake of breath as you felt his skin over his dress shirt, as if somehow, you would feel the dark tint of the skull and snake symbol over his forearm. You would never judge him, never dare to do such thing. How could you, when you knew how much pain he would have to endure for it, knowing how much it would hurt him?

If that happened, if he yielded and accepted-or rather forced to- you would surely feel helpless and scared, for him. But then, there would absolutely be nothing stopping you from taking him to safety, and possibly going apeshit crazy at them for doing something, something he didn’t want to, on him.

“I just... I just wanted to be enough, for them t-to just... love us.” Your heart broke as stray tears escaped your eyes at how broken he sounded, how even amidst his pain, he still cated for his brother. Regulus took your silence and gasp as a bad sign, he murmured sadly with his eyes downcasted once more as he rubbed your tender flesh. He already felt like a total douchebag, including the voice that screamed at him that he was just like his family with you crying in front of him and him not being able to do anything, that he didn’t deserve anything good in life. And your soft cries didn’t help how he already felt helpless either.

“Don’t cry, love... I know that’s stupid but-“

“No it's no... Not if it’s making you feel like this...” you murmured as you took his hand between yours, squeezing his elegant and long fingers one by one as a way to comfort him as he smiled down at you, seated on his bed as the silky green color complimented you in the best way possible. His eyes looked at your body as the light casted on you made you look ethereal and take his breath away with your beauty. He looked down at your hands as they caressed his hands and wrist comfortingly, before pulling it up to reveal... smooth skin, without any dark ink covering it.

But...

Your hands stopped at feeling a bump on his perfect skin... A bump that wasn’t to be there... Alongside with bruises and yellow-ish tints on his arm...

“T-They... They did crucio o-on you?” you stammered out as you lofted his arm closer to yourself, looking between him and the bruises he had with wide eyes.

“Bella...” he said sadly as his hands clutched your arm thight, as if his life depended on you. And in a way, it did. You were his whole life, the only thing he had, and he would be nothing without you. “She did it, later mother beat me and threw insults and crucio at me...”

“I didn’t even say anything at first... Until she included you.  How she would destroy you, ruin you since you were being a distraction to me and what was more important.” He explained as he took your hands between his and kissed them, a gesture that often left you a blushing mess, and continued. “That’s when I decided that it was enough. That all the pain she inflicted on us, on me was over. I had a life, my life... I would never let her or anyone hurt you, so I fought back and... well, you know the rest.” He mumbled shyly as he peered at you, trying to determine what the effect of his words were to you. Flushed cheeks and wide eyes? That’s something he expected. Shuffling like a cat in embrassment? Also expected, that was something you usually did with him which was another thing that he found adorable.

But what wasn’t expected was what left your mouth.

“I’ve always loved that about you...” you whispered out eith softest eye possible and this time, it was the Regulus Black who blushed.

“What do you mean?”

You shrugged your shoulders as he frowned, but upon you not looking at him and the sudden urge to hide yourself, he smirked and threw his arms around your waist to pull you against him as he nuzzled his face to your neck while your hands played with his curls. He was glad that once sad and bad vibe left to a more pleasant and happy one as he shared this moment with you, with hugging and kissing.

You giggled as the ticklish feeling his lips left on yourbskin made you groan while trying to stop him, so that you could get those words out. You loved his kisses and how they made you feel, but you had to say this... Or else it would eat you alive, and then you would be frowning the whole next day.

“I mean-hey, stop! I’m trying to be romantic here!” you swatted his hand away as it slowly slithered upwards aling the expanse of your naked back, ruhhing circles on the flesh there as he hummed. “I thought it was my thing, love?”

“Yeah, but now, I changed it! It’s mine now, you did it a lot. Now, will you please listen, my pretty and handsome boyfriend?”

“Hmm... Gotta think, love... Maybe after a kiss?” he wiggled his brows playfully as you rolled your eyes but did so, smiling into the soft and lingering kiss you both shared.

Ugh, this boy... Always looking for way to smooch me...

“Now that you had your kiss,” you said after being parted from him, panting at the intensity of the kiss and trying hard to not dive back at the sight of his pink and swollen lips, you continued with a finger idly rubbing his lips and then his beauty mark under his chin.

“I love your brave heart. Even if you might not think so, you have been standing up against them for so long and you, protecting me even if I wasn’t there further proves it...” you looked at him with a kind look and took his hand to place it on your chest, right where your heart was as you continued.

“I love how you always know how to make me smile, no one makes me smile the way you do, my days better and surprise me. I love how you always seem like you don’t care but actually listen when there is something we, any of us, want or when something is bothering us.”

“I love how thoughtful you are, even when it breaks you... Just like how when Sirius left home, and you came to me crying. Not because you felt anger or hatred, which would have been understanable by the way, but rather joy. Joy, because you knew that it was a new start for him so that he could live a normal life even if it killed you.” A scoff left you in the middle of your speech  remembering how your best friend left his little brother like that but soon disappeared when you remembered how broken he was when he talked about his brother.

Regulus, though, was in shock. Because no one in his life had ever been that thoughful and attentive to the way he felt. No one really saw what was hidden behind his strong façade but yet again, you weren’t “no one” and he was always going to be understood.

From now on, and until forever.

“you don’t think I’m... broken? Bad?” he mumbled as he looked at you through his lashes, head down but still smiling. Your heart soared for the boy before you and you leant down to capture his lips with yours, but not before uttering one lost heartfelt sentence.

“All I know is that I love you, that you deserve everything good in life.”

Regulus sniffled once more as he accepted your kiss, humming happily as he allowed you to deepen it. Little shocks went through his body and he wondered if you felt it too but didn’t dwell on it more. He only accepted your unconditional love.

“I know I don’t say it out loud much, but I really do love you so much... You’re all I’ll ever need to feel better.”

“And I love you, love... So much.” You whispered silently, kissing the topnof his head as he thightened his hold on you. Everything was nice and silent once more, only the sounds from the crickets and owls reaching both of your ears. You kissed his head, his forehead and cheek contionously while he laughed, genuinely laughed since he came back, while trying to make you stop. He knew trying to physically stop you wouldn’t work, so he opted for other ways.

Like, kissing you desperately from your neck as he breathed out to tour most sensitive part of the column of your neck, gracefully out only for him to kiss, to mark.

And he wasn’t wrong. When you felt his hot lips on your neck trailing wet and fast kisses up and down your neck, you gasped and let him do as he wanted. Your legs opened for him to step between them, hovering over you with both of his hands on each side of your head as he gazed at you with love and clear desperation. At that moment, you two weren’t just two lovers who were fucking around.

You two were soulmates that understood each other on another level.

He suddenly stopped his ministrations and just looked down at you from above you for a few seconds before sighing dejectedly.

“I don’t want to live there... But I don’t know where-“

“You are not going back to that place, Regulus. Not again, I won’t allow it.” You sternly cut him as you rose up on your hands, brows knitted together while you pushed yourself up as he lowered back and looked at you as if you were crazy.

“B-but... I have nowhere else to go! They would cut me off of the tapestry and disown me! Sirius had James and-“ he exclaimed in distress as he started to shake again, shaking his head at the sudden panic of the reality and what he was supposed to do. He was so caught up in the comfort he had after so long that he had forgotten about what was waiting for him.

His mother with her wand out to use even mkre gruesome punishments, forcing him to come to their meeting and kill innocents...

He couldn’t get help if they did it, and how would his brother look at him if he were to get that damned mark? He already didn’t consider him as a brother, he would definetly refuse to have anything to do with him after he sees it.

And you? How would you accept him like that? A vicious killer who would have to work for the Dark Lord even if it was the last thing he wanted?

You wouldn’t deserve it, you wouldn’t want it, you wouldn’t love him, you wouldn’t accept him, he would be all alone and then be killed as-

“And you have me..! You could stay with me and my family, you know they would do anything to protect us.”

Your desperate call for him was what made him come back to his senses, from the panic attack he had at just thinking about the possibilities. He didn’t register what you said at first. Inside his mind, there seemed to be a constant whirl and buzzing sound as if he was fighting back against a huge storm and he was just... trying, trying and trying but failing in the end.

But it was because he tried to do it alone. He was never allowed to ask for help since it was a “sign of weakness” as his father called it, but now that he had a different circle of people, different friends and above all you, he didn’t have to fear anything.

The way Regulus broke down at the mere mention of his family house( something that was supposed to be comforting) broke you, the sight of the kind boy you knew being treated that way... You couldn’t allow it anymore. There was no way you were letting him go to that house, back into Walburga’s waiting arms as she was waiting to point that damned wand to her own son and mercilessly torture him.

And, to prevent it, a bright idea came to your mind. Sure, there was a potential that your parents would be shocked, more likely have questions as to why they were hosting the boy but thwy would understand... and hopefully help him out.

“You know how my mum adores you, they would gladly help us both.” You weren’t lying to comfort him or yourself, it was true. Last summer, when you brought him to your house after he told something about his whereabouts to his mother, he stayed with you and he would always be thankful for what you did for him that summer. Because those 3 months were the best he had in a long time. At first, when he witnessed the pure love and care there was between all of you, he felt jealous and angry.

Jealous because he didn’t have, and could never have, what you had. He felt the bitter pangs of knives every time you kissed your parents, they brought you home made meals to your room as you showed him the cool muggle books or listened to songs on your bed as you held hands and looked at each other with lovesick smiles. The way you bravely sneaked into the guest room just to fall asleep with him, to comfort him so that he didn’t feel alone changed him in a way, made him more brave.

You didn’t have to know, but your mum always checked on him during night to see if he was doing fine and smiled whemever she saw you both sleeping while hugging each other as if your lives depended on it.

But even when he was jealous of you and your parents, though never serious, he had a clear mind to judge the situation and then... he realized how they included him to their casual lifes as well, just like you did.

It was like a famy thing, huh?

How your mother requested him to come to the kitchen and later taught him how to cook some meals, tasted what she cooked and even helped her out around the house all the while listening to her talk shit about almost every family in the wizarding world, except Weasleys, with a huge smile on his face.

He could never dare to do that in his own house, but here, in your own... He was sitting with your mother on the kitchen with a cup of tea and biscuits while they talked and talked. She took after her mother, both inner and outer beauty, he would think as he gazed at the way your mum talked and even threw some praises at him here and there which didn’t fail to make him blush.

He really wanted to be a part of that life, he needed it... He had never been happier than he was at that time and to hear you say that he could be...

“I can? You... Promise?” he hopefully asked with tears in his eyes as you nodded uour head immediately, bringing him for yet another hug as you kissed his nape softly.

“Yes, I promise. You and I, forever and then even more... Remember?” he suddenly surged forward and took your face in his hands, inhaling your shampoo before diving for a passionate kiss as his hands wrapped themselves around your waist and pulled you to his lap. He poured all his love and gratitude into it, teeth clashing together as his lips and tongue desperately searched for yours.

You squealed but then moaned slightly at how hot you suddenly felt, how his movements and kiss heated you up more than normal. This kiss wasn’t normal, this side of Regulus wasn’t normal. He normally was someone who showed his love silently, who kissed you under shadows. You understood it well, he wasn’t a man who liked to show off with physcial affection and rather made his silent care work its magic.

But right now, this Regulus was fragile and sensitive, and his desperate kisses showed it too as he wanted you to... know it.

And Merlin, did you know it...

You held onto his neck and hair as your lips moved against his lips, leaning him back amd making him lay on his back as your body laid on his flush, chest to chest. The kiss was everything you both wanted, it has been so long since he deprivee both himself and you from each other but it wasn’t the time for it to lead to something more.

Not when he was so in pain, and need of comfort.

Besides, there was something else that needed to be talked about if you were doing what you were planning to do. Some people that needed to know, who would gladly move the entire universe for the boy below you

You shyly looked at him with a troubled look and Regulus’ brows knitted together as he worriedly took a hold of your face in his warm palms. “Is something wrong, my love? Was it too much?”

You looked at him in amazement, the fact that he still thought about your comfort when he was the one who needed it bedazzled you. But like you said, it was a trait you loved about him, perhaps the the best one.

You shook your head while taking a huge breath in. “No, love... It was quite... enjoyable.” You flushed under his teasing smirk, cursing at him for making you feel like a little kid being offered candy inside your mind as you cleared your throat and got off of him to sit next to where his body was now leaned back against the head of his bed. He was looking at you with confusion and slight worry, wondering ehat was on your mind as his hand wandered to your knee and rubbed it gently. To not give him any more scare any longer, you took in his glorious sight and continued.

“There are two more people who you could turn for help to.”

That was something you both talked about a lot, who he would turn to if shit went wrong and he had to act quick with his escape. You always knew that Regulus shouldn’t stay in that house even a moment longer, but he insisted that he was fine and assured you that everything was under his control with a swift kiss to your forehead.

So you kept your silence. You didn’t talk about it again until he would want to, but still... You told Sirius about the awful things they did to Regulus as he listened with clenched jaw and asked him if there was anything he could help with when the time comes.

Not if... When.

Because everyone knew that the inevitable was waiting right outside the door, and there was no stopping it.

And he of course, immediately offered himself which you declined for the time being since Regulus still believed that he hated his brother. You watched how broken he suddenly seemed after you said it but still nodded, knowing how he fucked everything up by not grabbing him with himself as he left, and gavr you their uncle’s name.

“He is a good man, also like us who didn’t believe in their ways... If there is anyone that could help, it’s him.”

Regulus tilted his head to you as if asking what you meant,  how the hell it was possible that there would be more people who could help him, and with a sigh, you looked at his eyes. “Your uncle Alphard and... Sirius.”

“No... My uncle? That’s fine. But Sirius... He hates me, love. He showed me how he felt about me! He wouldn’t want anything to do with me!” he got up from his bed hastily in panic and went to the open window as he leant over it with his hands in his hair, welcoming the fresh and cool air into his lungs.

You understood where he was coming from, knowing little pieces about how that night went between them and how he... did a lot for Sirius that night, something he didn’t know and probably would never. Some harsh words were apparently exchanged between them and even if they both knew that the other didn’t mean it...

It didn’t hurt any less.

Regulus thought that Sirius chose James over his own brother and hated him for being the way he is.

Sirius thought his little brother wad ashamed of the person he was, how he always caused trouble even as toddlers and made him get hurt even though he would mostly be the one taking the blame for him.

And you thought that the Black brothers were stupidest motherfuckers in the whole world.

Your arms fell helplessly on the bed as you watched Regulus break down, almost, again. You never felt this helpless in your life, and your gut told you that the reason of his agitation was partly because he hated himself for making you go through this, but...

You promised him one year ago that no matter what happens, you would be there for him.

Always.

“No, my love... Sirius loves you and cares about you. I know, because I listened to him as he cried in James’ house.” You walked up to him slowly, took his hand and stood before him as your hand crept up towards his sculpted face and rubbed his cheek softly before tiptoeing and kissing each side of his cheek as he smiled and exhaled slowly.

At that time, things were tense for them. So much so that it affected the school as well.  Sirius was still on edge because of his parents, worried sick for both Regulus and himself, thinking that they were planning something evil about himself. Regulus was hurt because his brother left him, for James, and even called him his “brother” which didn’t seem anything friendly to the poor, young boy who was drowning in his insecurities. It didn’t matter that he was already thinking about also running away, to you probably, but he wasn’t abandoning a brother for another one in his eyes and therefore blamed Sirius for being selfish.

But, as much as you understood both Regulus’ frustration and Sirius’ anger, you also knew that your friend and the older brother of your lover would drop everything to help his little brother out of that shithole.

“Just... Talk to him. Because I know you, you would regret not doing so if you don’t do it.” You sighed out tiredly, the later hours into the night catching up to you as you begged him softly, hoping that he would accept. A part of you feared that he wouldn’t, and tey to solve this by himself like always...

But you were his weakness, the reason he rebelled back and changed his future unknown to either one of you.

He would kill for you, die for you, live for you and turn the whole universe upside down if he had the power.

“Okay... Will you... Will you also be there? For me?” he softly smiled and kissed your nose, leaning his forehead to yours as he waited for your answer with a small smile. You smiled before kissing him deeply, slowly as your lips lingered on his and he closed his eyes slowly as if to savour this moment. You tugged him towards bed with a whine. “ Forever and always... Now, come back to bed.”

At that, a playful smirk found his face since you came in his room. “Now, I thought we could get to that lever later in our relationship, love.” You blushed heavily at how that one innocent sentence seemed so... cozy and something a married couple would say. You hid your face at the sudden flashes of you two being married, living your dreams in a cottage far way from everyone came before your eyes before punching his arm. It didn’t do anything of course, that boy was fit contrary to what people thought by his lanky figure, except making him laugh and kiss your hairline.

“You’re so adorable when you blush... Alright, let’s go and sleep.” You smiled as you watched him get under his duvet and groan in relief when he found a good position to sleep, blushing at how the expanse of his back flexed with each of his movements. You sighed in relief at seeing that he would finally fall into a comforting sleep and moved to quitely get out of his dorm when his monotone yet curious voice reached you, halting you in your steps.

“And, where do you think you are going?” he asked matter of factly as you stood there like a deer, with a hand on the doorknob as you slowly turned to look at him sitting down on his bed and laying halfway down with his torso out. “Uh... Going back to my dorm?”

“And who said you could?” he raised a brow at you questioningly as you laughed awkwardly, turning fully to him with your arms crossed in front of your chest as you looked down at him hesitated.

“I thought you would want to... be-“

“Trust me, love, being alone is the last thing I need right now... I need you...” he shyly said, his cockiness suddenly disappearing as he opened the duvet and offered you to come and sleep with him. His chuckle of disbelief made you scoff at him as you went up to him and got under it without making him repeat himself. He chuckled once more as he pulled you towards him, snuggling to you as your arms wrappes around him and soon you both fell asleep to the comforting embrace of your lover.

When he arrived in his room, he was terrified of going back to Grimmauld House and be forced to accept the Dark Lord’s way. He felt as if there was no other option for him, and he even mentally prepared himself to break up with you to save you from the tragedy. But as you slowly came back to his bed and sat down before inching closer to him and settling right next to him on the single bed, your bodies flushed together as you laid your hand on his chest, right where his heart was beating loudly, he felt hope blossom in his chest.

Even if he chuckled and tried to play the cool Regulus to hide how these all meant a lot to him

He fell asleep peacefully with you between his arms and this time, rather than those nightmares that decorated his dreams as he only saw his mother and the red hue of the cruciotus curse, he now dreamed of future.

A future where he was happy with you, in a country-side...

A future where you would be waiting for him with just as warm and soft embrace, continuing to lighten his days just as you are doing just by existing...

A future where he is safe and happy, with the family you two might create, a family that would be completely different than the one he has.

And, for the first time in 16 years, he had a good nights of smorning.yoy btoh laid under his duvet together, not caring about the teasing he would face the next morning.

[pangeen]

undefined

The Penrose process:

(also called Penrose mechanism) is theorised by Sir Roger Penrose as a means whereby energy can be extracted from a rotating black hole. The process takes advantage of the ergosphere --- a region of spacetime around the black hole dragged by its rotation faster than the speed of light, meaning that from the point of an outside observer any matter inside is forced to move in the direction of the rotation of the black hole.

In the process, a working body falls into the ergosphere. At its lowest point the body fires a propellant backwards; however, to a faraway observer both seem to continue to move forward due to frame-dragging (albeit at different speeds). The propellant, being slowed, falls to the event horizon of the black hole. And the remains of the body, being sped up, fly away with an excess of energy.

The maximum amount of energy gain possible for a single particle decay via the original (or classical) Penrose process is 20.7% of its mass in the case of an uncharged black hole (assuming the best case of maximal rotation of the black hole). The energy is taken from the rotation of the black hole, so there is a limit on how much energy one can extract by Penrose process and similar strategies (for an uncharged black hole no more than 29% of its original mass; larger efficiencies are possible for charged rotating black holes).

Via Wikipedia

Animation:  © Eugene Pylinsky

Throat singing: The Gyuto Monks of Tibet

[localravenclaw]

Fifty OC Questions

1. Describe your OC's physical appearance in detail.

2. Why'd you choose your OC's name?

3. How does your OC feel about their birthday?

4. How does your OC and their parents get along?

5. What's something you'd never put your OC through again?

6. What's your OC's go-to comfort meal?

7. What career path would your OC take?

8. What's something your OC can't do?

9. What is your OC's ideal romantic partner?

10. Does your OC like to spend time alone or with others more?

11. What time does your OC usually go to sleep?

12. Where in the sibling order is your OC?

13. What's the worst thing your OC's ever done?

14. What would it take for your OC to kill someone?

15. What item does your OC hold most dear?

16. How does your OC unwind?

17. What's your OC's star sign?

18. What kind of drunk is your OC?

19. Who does your OC end up with?

20. Who is your OC's role model?

21. Is your OC big on revenge?

22. If your OC ever got the chance, would they go back in time? When would they go?

23. What's your OC's favourite memory?

24. Will your OC ever admit to being wrong?

25. Is your OC doomed by the narrative?

26. Would your OC get along with you?

27. What's one thing your OC will never get over?

28. Is your OC going to make it?

29. Does your OC look their age?

30. What weird pet would your OC have?

31. Does your OC care a lot about their appearance?

32. What's one food your OC can't stand?

33. What animal do people associate your OC with?

34. what's your OC's "thing"?

35. Random fact about your OC

36. Would your OC sleep with a clone of themself?

37. What part of yourself do you love in your OC?

38. What's the lowest point in your OC's life?

39. What's your OC's biggest achievement?

40. Does your OC ever go back home?

41. How would your OC adapt to the modern world?

42. Does your OC have any unique talents?

43. Does your OC exist in canon or AU timeline?

44. Is your OC a people person?

45. Did your OC ever have an alternative name?

46. Does your OC possess any special powers?

47. Is your OC allergic to anything?

48. Does your OC have a lot of uncommon knowledge? How do they know it?

49. Does your OC have any scars or birthmarks with an interesting story?

50. What do you love and hate most about your OC?

I've been meaning to put this list of questions together to get to know more about my friends' OC's/MC's. I've always been very fascinated about other people's character's lore and this kind of helps me flesh out my own OC's as well. There's already an HLMC question list out there, so I tried to list different ones this time.

Many of the questions are from @ocprompts. Please give them a follow for daily questions about your OC's! ♡

[lastlifesmp]

Gone through and tallied up some data about how many hearts people kept. This is not a health timeline of each player, (that is a bit too much work for right now) so I'm just making note of the lowest health the player got to, what hearts were gifted to them, and what they ended the session with. If anyone wants to make a whole chart on the specific number of hearts each player lost overall please @ me on it I wanna see lmao.

Bdubs: Lowest health was 20.5 hearts. Gained 10 from the secret keeper. Ended on 29 hearts.

BigB: Lowest health was 24.5 hearts. Gained 0 from the secret keeper (he was already on 30). Ended on 24.5 hearts.

Cleo: Lowest health was 28.5 hearts. Gained 2 from the secret keeper. Ended on 30 hearts.

Etho: Lowest health was 22 hearts. Gained 1 from Pearl, gained 8 from the secret keeper. Ended on 30 hearts. Got to 31 hearts at one point.

Gem: Lowest health was 26.5 hearts, gained 1 from Scott, Skizz, and Impulse, gained 3 from the secret keeper. Ended on 30 hearts.

Grian: Lowest health was 27.5 hearts, gained 3 from the secret keeper. Ended on 30 hearts.

Impulse: Lowest health was 28.5 hearts, gained 1 from Gem, gained 1 from the secret keeper. Ended on 30 hearts.

Jimmy: Lowest health was 17.5 hearts, gained 1 from Martyn, gained 10 from the secret keeper. Ended on 17.5 hearts. Got to 30.5 hearts at one point.

Joel: Lowest health was 14.5 hearts, gained 1 from Tango, gained 10 from the secret keeper. Ended on 20.5 hearts.

Lizzie: Lowest health was 28 hearts, gained 10 from the secret keeper. Ended on 30 hearts.

Martyn: Lowest health was 5.5 hearts. Gained 1 from Bdubs, gained 10 from the secret keeper. Ended up on 15.5 hearts.

Mumbo: Lowest health was 28 hearts. Gained 0 from the secret keeper (he was already on 30). Ended on 28 hearts.

Pearl: Lowest health was 21.5 hearts. Gained 1 from Lizzie, Jimmy, and Etho each, gained 8 hearts from the secret keeper. Ended up on 28 hearts. Got to 31 hearts at one point.

Scar: Lowest health was 22.5 hearts. Gained 1 heart from Mumbo, gained 6 from the secret keeper. Ended on 22.5 hearts.

Scott: Lowest health was 30 hearts. Gained 1 from the secret keeper (this was odd as his healthbar never changed and other people who turned in a task with full health did not recieve any hearts). Ended on 30 hearts.

Skizz: Lowest health was 24 hearts. Gained 1 from BigB, gained 0 from the secret keeper (he was already on 30). Ended on 25 hearts.

Tango: Lowest health was 22.5 hearts. Gained 1 from Cleo and Joel, gained 1 from the secret keeper. Ended on 22.5 hearts. Got to 31 hearts at one point.

Props to the 4 players who were able to get their health above 30 at one point, Etho, Jimmy, Pearl, and Tango. The players who ended the session with 30 hearts were Cleo, Etho, Gem, Grian, Impulse, Lizzie, and Scott. Head in hands for Martyn undoubtedly loosing the most hearts and getting the lowest in session 1, while congrats to Scott for not loosing a single heart the whole time!

[miaoqing]

I've been thinking and based on my current re-read of the books, Shen Yuan can't have been older than 24 when he transmigrated.

When he's in the plant body, 11 years post canon (3 years when Binghe lives with him, 3 years of Binghe in the abyss, 5 years of being dead) he says:

"Ever since Luo Binghe had opened a series of gates to a new world for him, Shen Qingqiu's worldview, which had been set for the past twenty-plus years, had suffered a heavy blow"

If we assume that 1. by "twenty-plus years" he means his entire life and 2. he counts his own age as [age at transmigration]+6 (as in excluding the 5 years that he was dead), at this point in time, he is at the absolute most 29 years old; which would put him at 23 when he transmigrated. But, while saying "twenty-plus" and meaning almost 30 is definitely a Shen Yuan-ism, I think it's safe to assume that if he was closer to 30, he would have said "nearly thirty years" to drive his point home even more. So I would interpret this as him being at most 26? 27? here, which would put his transmigration age at 20-21. But! The lowest he could mean with "twenty-plus" is 21, which would put him at the mere age of 15!!!!!! at the start of the book. I really hope that he was older than that (imagine him ordering 16-year old ming fan around lol) but he could have feasibly been like 18?

tl;dr shen yuan was most likely between 15 and 23 when he transmigrated

PS. Based on calculations made by @svsss-fanon-exposed, Shen Jiu would have been around 33 when he died, and the other peak lords were probably around the same age, give or take AT MOST 10 years. So. It is not impossible that some of these 30+ year olds were calling an 18-year old "shixiong". RIP Qing-generation peak lords personally i would spit blood

PPS. if we were to assume that with "twenty-plus years" shen yuan meant "twenty-plus years" since he had some sort of sexuality crisis, and we assume that one of those occurs around 12 and that he meant 21 years, then he would actually be *at least* 33 when he says this 💀

PPPS. "oh but i had an awakening when i was 4" that would still put him at *at the very least* 25 (again assuming that "twenty-plus"=21) when he says this, meaning that he would have been between 19 and 24 when he transmigrated)

PPPPS. i'm an english major and i don't actually know how to count so if any of this is wrong please don't be mean to me 💔

[bluetortoist]

Showing off another Batman OC. This time, its my own Alice. I know. So original 🙄 but I can't help myself. She's a very accomplished chemist who crossed paths with Mad Hatter and later on became his lover.

(More info of her down below! History kind of dubious, be warned)

Name: Alice (real name: Eleanor Carole)

Nickname: Alias "Dear Alice"

Age: 29

Gender: Cis Female

Identifies: Demisexual

Race: Human

Ethnicity: White

Nationality: American

Birth town: Lansing, Michigan

Current Living: Gotham City

Allegiance: Chaotic Neutral-Lawful Evil

Powers/Abilites:

• Being a chemist, she has experimented and perfected two different formulas to mutate one's body to grow bigger or smaller. They can be ingested as is, or injected/mixed in with various ingredients. She uses this as both a defense (Bigger) and stealth (Smaller) strategy. However, she can't use it too much or else has negative effects on the body.

• She has a few versions of long armed, Horse's Hammer formed in the shape of a pink flamingo, one heavy, the other light; It, no doubt, causes pretty hefty damage.

• Even though she has become more physically strong since working with Tetch, she still only knows basic self defense and fist-fight combat, but has always (and always will), kept a knife on her body since moving to Gotham.

History: Eleanor was born into a family of domestic abuse but doesn't remember too much from that time other than that they were clearly unhappy together. Luckily, she didnt get to experience that environment for long because both her parents died in a car accident when she was 4. She was sent to live in an orphanage until she was 10 and was adopted to a family of doctors and physicians. It was through them she found her interest/obsession with chemistry. Even though they try, Eleanor rarely get to see both her parents at the same time since both had conflicting work schedules at the time, and spent a good chunk of her school years making and losing friends and putting more effort in her hobbies. This was about the time (10-13) her emotional detachment problems for people started to develop. Graduated top of her class with her Chemist degree, no friends, but got a boyfriend in a one-sided relationship. They started living together once they moved to Gotham. Got a job at a chemical reasearch facility that was a branch of Wayne Labs, but wasnt that well liked; was considered a "cold genius" among other coworkers. Decided to go see a therapist to help with herself as well (much to her boyfriends chagrin). Both those took all of her time that it was putting a strain on her relationship with her boyfriend. Somewhere around this time was when she was feeling at her lowest and also when she met Jervis and soon became friends (whom she already knew was the Mad Hatter). She begun seeing him a lot more after venting her personal and emotional troubles to him (quite literally saying that she wishes she was born as someone else) and he suggests his own kind of hypnosis therapy to help bring feelings up to the surface, all while conditioning her into a version of Alice. She consented to this kind of therapy, desperate to feeling anything like any sort of person at this point. (Basically: delusional man teaches girl how to manifest a new persona to actively dissociate 💀). This continues on and eventually (and quickly) start to form a relationship. The boyfriend, already pissed enough, already suspects she is seeing someone else. Confronts her one night about it, says hes kicking her out and almost turns into a fight, but she manages to beat him unconscious in self defense. In a panic, she runs right back to Jervis, and he offers to let her stay. He goes out and kills the boyfriend himself before finding out the boyfriend had made a report on her to the police. She stays in hiding for a couple of weeks afterwards. In that time, she and her Alice persona has become one in the same and doesn't even remember her old name anymore and only small bits of her early life. Alice finally felt like a person, regardless of whether those feelings were in the right place or not. They were at least real and her own now, Jervis/Hatter was real, and she can finally say, without faking, that she loves both of them for it. It wasn't until later on in the future that Hatter and her got involved in a criminal incident that she decided that she would need to protect herself and her precious Hatter (much to his dismay, not wanting her to get involved at all, but was pushed to believing its for the best). She started learning how to use weapons and self defense and creating more of her own chemical formulas inspired by Alice in Wonderland. She eventually started gaining a name for herself as Hatter's lover, right hand, and mad genius chemist, "Dear Alice"

Notes/Quirks:

• She has two snaggletooth upper-canines and a small birthmark on her upper right cheek.

• She used to have a therapist she would go to to help with her apathy and general difficulty with forming attachments with other people, due to some emotional damage back in childhood.

• She used to volunteer to read to children at her local bookstore. It was something for the community that her therapist encouraged her to do to help interact with other people. It was the one thing she missed before going to crime.

• She has never read a lot of classic children's books as a child, including Alice in Wonderland until it was suggested to her for her next book reading. Thus, how she will soon meet Jervis Tetch.

[two-white-butterflies]

milk matches her underwear | d. targaryen

Description: how the media reacted to therese's relationship. a thread of posts and articles talking about it. Pairing: millionaire!daemon targaryen/low-key!actress!reader part one

DAEMON TARGARYEN'S NEW FLING, THERESE.

The self made millionaire, Daemon Targaryen, is known for his scandalous relationships. In 2010, he began dating infamous heiress, Paris Hilton - in which their relationship was dubbed as 'weed-gate' as they were both caught smoking marijuana during the FIFA WORLD CUP in South Africa. While the heiress evaded charges (stating that the bag was 'too cheap' to be hers), the millionaire went under fire and his company stocks plummeted. His next beau, Sandra Bullock, reportedly broke up with him due to his 'offensive' and 'depraved' nature.

All of therese's fans are wondering if the millionaire is a perfect fit for their Indie Princess. As she is known for keeping her life private, while Daemon Targaryen - is the opposite.

comments

richardmatterson: plus, he's a little too old for her. - bethcocoa: i agree and he keeps posting on his insta accs, i don't think she likes that. 🤷🏻‍♀️ - metuccirichie: if she don't like that then she wouldn't be dating him , but she is which means that it's ok

medusasmith: I kinda liked her more with Fernando Alonso - vineyvinnie: FR SHE WAS THE WAG OF THE 2010'S - medusasmith: she was the WAG before WAG was a thing

daemontargaryenismydaddy: how daemon targaryen reads all the hate articles about him inside his $52 million mansion in beverly hills after making out with therese and renting out an entire mall for her

8 comments 129 likes

ongismterrence: he rlly isn't bothered - daemontargaryenismydaddy: he could care less

therese: (first picture: bf in normal habitat) (second picture: bf in my normal habitat)

46,238 comments 1,848,933 likes

DaemonTargaryen: One was taken while i was 😵‍💫 and the other was taken while i was 🥰 - therese: which one is which?

clarainezzzz: come home wife, the kids miss you.

user 999: someone said that she labels her posts the same way national geographic labels their books and i can't unsee it 😭 - therese: first pic: man discovers alcohol. (colorized) - DaemonTargaryen: Second pic: man discovers love. (colorized) - therese: 😳

stantwtisinnsta: therese reading her bf's cheesy posts about her, i just know that she's getting the ick LOL

beyoncelanataylorworld: Ya'll swear that ya'll dgaf but this is ya'll when there's news about therese and daemon

thealonsoshipper: missing this era of therese and fernando

12 comments 29 likes

thereseismyladylord: friendly reminder that that was the lowest point of her life (acc to her in an interview)

therese: Ten years, and the string is still tight. It breaks my heart to see these comments about you. My personal life is NEVER up for public scrutiny.

0 comments 2,384,129 likes

THE TRUTH ABOUT THERESE'S PRIVATE LIFE: FERNANDO ALONSO, DAEMON TARGARYEN, AND THE MEDIA.

"I think part [of] the reason that I didn't have social media presence was because of the amount of hate I got over my personal decisions"

When the actress was asked about Fernando Alonso this was her reply.

"I mean my exes are amazing, the backlash that I got wasn't. Everyone was speculating over my personal life that my public life got overshadowed. I don't like that."

When we asked her about the hate that her recent boyfriend is getting, this was what she answered: "I'll never leave him alone - I'll defend him against everything. He's amazing, he's a shot of espresso. I'm not letting anyone ruin the art that we have."

part three

@baybieruth @watercolorskyy

[garagepaperback]

thrall Even the moan is serrated, ripped clean out instead of offered up.

Harry’s always wanted to hurt Malfoy and also not, and here, with his fist tightening around the pearled dash of his throat, he can. Malfoy writhes under him and the line of his body is the same wrong symmetry - weak, strong. Fighting off, giving in.

Because he’s always been mostly racket, Malfoy moans again, low and strangled and Harry covers his mouth. The hot trap of his voice seethes against Harry's palm; he pushes down harder. He's got a vicious grip on Malfoy’s wrist with his other hand and pulls it, an odd bend and another caught sound. Along the crooked stretch of Malfoy's neck, he isn’t kissing, it just involves the same desiccated parts - a love bite with the douse of affection permanently removed. It's the same for the covetous hands and the greedy hips and being inside him without the slightest semblance of union. They're parallel lines, more so, connected only at a splintering, where something’s knocked someone off course or one of them is otherwise fractured.

Even under Harry’s hands Malfoy won’t stop moving, won’t stop trying to claim up the air with noise. He's so fucking greedy; there's another guttered gasp like a boot-press to the chest. It's been at least ten minutes since he opened his eyes, so, still a loud coward, too.

Skimming his teeth over the wildest point of the arch, Harry moves down Malfoy's neck and Malfoy keeps begging, wet on Harry’s palm with a whimper, a leaked cry made in the lowest hollow of his chest. Maybe lungs, maybe not made at all but definitely taken. Stolen, Malfoy would say, if Harry would let him talk.

“Shh," And then when he doesn't, "shut the fuck up." Harry tightens his grip, fingernails biting into Malfoy's cheek. He doesn’t want to risk the bare spill of vowels eventually finding each other, coming out a whole word. Talking isn't part of it.

That’s how the whole thing started. They worked together, they were older, it should have been settled, but speaking to him brought everything back. Harry understands that isn't exactly fair and then that makes him furious, because he was fair and it took the particular gittishness of Malfoy and Malfoy only to drag Harry out of resolution.

The clamor of feeling showed up heavy and constant: in the lifts, at meetings, Malfoy across a pub laughing, Malfoy fussy with his tea, lofty shoulders hunched over the low counter in the break room. Mostly, he didn't deserve to have moved on. Harry wanted to loot the propagation and find everything that hadn't, to catalogue the flourish and failure. He needs the war to not only have meant something but to mean everything; Malfoy holds the equation and the problem solved. If Malfoy could come out of it changed and be truly moral, with either the virtue dug out from some deep well or built brand new, then it could all have been worth it. Be worth something.

And, the antithetical: he shouldn't be allowed the priviledge of progress. A visceral reminder that the world is riddled with pain, suffering, cruelty, that people inflict that on each other - Malfoy stands for that, because he had stood for it. Harry wanted him punished, redeemed, good all along, evil all along. A symbol and a flawed, living thing. It doesn't make sense, but with Malfoy below him, it almost - like this, it lives on the chasm of a knife, nearly both, almost real.

for day 29 of @microficmay

[homestuckreplay]

Favorite Homestuck Character: 27th US President William Howard Taft

(page 556-566)

8/29/2009 Wheel Spin: Dramatic Irony Verdict: Puns, The Lower Form Of Humor

8/31/2009 Wheel Spin: Parent Bad :( Verdict: Brother Truly Awful And Horrendous

We begin these pages with John, followed by a quick cut to Dave. Both of them navigating the dangers of their home and the possibility of being watched, but in very different ways.

The Colonel Sassacre and Bathtub level ups are clearly just a setup for puns, so I’m not gonna read too much into the idea that everything can level up (yet). But Colonel Sassacre gained 9550 boondollars from his level, so he must be pretty far up the echeladder compared to the bathtub (490) and John’s meager 200. Sassacre’s new level is ONE MAN JULEP VACUUM. A julep is a chilled cocktail, today usually made with mint, bourbon and crushed ice, although historically used rose petals and was prescribed for health. In 1939, the mint julep became the official drink of the Kentucky Derby after being drunk there probably since its inception. For the ‘genteel, aristocratic southern colonel’ hoovering up a large number of juleps at the derby must be a sign of social status. A high achievement indeed.

Meanwhile, the bathtub’s levels are both references to apocryphal bathtub-related stories. ARCHIMEDED was the ancient Greek mathematician who got into the bathtub and realized that placing an object into a liquid would displace that volume of that liquid (and could therefore determine what metal an object was made from, via the relationship between weight, volume and density) and ran naked through the streets yelling “eureka!” So, his AQUACRADLE is the watery crib that nourished and inspired him. Meanwhile, William TAFT was the US President famous for being the heaviest person in office, who was believed to have gotten stuck, or JAMMED, in the White House bathtub. Although both of these stories are probably false, they’re famous and they’re fun references.

Finally, VAULTHALLA is a pun on Valhalla, the hall of slain warriors in Norse mythology. It’s horrific as a pun (complimentary) but I do think p.558 is the best looking page in all of Homestuck so far. The jewel tones streaked to create the sunset and the sea, the way the boat bobs on the waves and the fire flickers and is reflected in the water is way more beautiful than it needs to be to carry the pun.

LAD SCRAMBLE (p.560) is John’s equivalent of YOUTH ROLL (p.379) in terms of being acrobatic feats attempted and failed by these characters. Can’t wait for Dave’s Dude Scoot and GG’s Kid Tumble. But I am really glad this happened to our boy on the lowest flight and not miles above the house. The code violations on Rose’s building are scarier to me than the absolutely MASSIVE imp that shows up afterwards.

As predicted, this is the rook. It has a better moveset than the imps and is worth about five of them power-wise which is absolutely more than John can handle. The learning curve of Sburb continues to be really steep. I wonder if all the enemies are literally climbing up from below? It makes sense given that they’re part of the forces of darkness, and it sets the game up as a giant chase using architecture, where – at a certain point – just out-climbing the smaller enemies might be more effective than killing them, and only the higher level enemies will even reach the players.

Returning to Dave after a hundred pages away from him is like stepping from the normal world into the first layer of endless puppet hell. His mind is a complex and terrible place, but he – or the narrator – is getting closer to admitting some things. He feels ‘pangs of jealousy’ about his bro’s turntable gear and there’s a mention of getting worked up, and he acknowledges that his bro’s comic ‘get[s] under [his] skin’ and that he thinks it’s ‘just a little TOO ironic.’ He is also aware that ��trouble’s a-brewin’ due to a missing sword. This feels like somebody getting sucked in too deep to a subculture that’s fine in moderation, but then somebody takes it way too far to the point that it’s harmful – but by then it’s too late to get out, especially when that somebody lives with you, has power over you and presents themself as an authority.

Today I learned that ‘Animal’ is the actual name of a Muppets character (along with Rowlf). This comic is of course puppet themed – Bro does not have a diversity of interests – being tormented by Jigsaw from the movie Saw, which I will watch soon. The art style is different to Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff, less pixelated and artifacted with some hand lettering instead of Comic Sans, darker in both tone and color palette. I’m sure this is post-post-post-post-ironic to some people but to me this is just every ‘what if we took a children’s story… and made it Fucked Up’ post that has been made on the internet in the last decade.

There’s also near-confirmation that Bro is hiding close by and messing with Dave’s mind via sylladex. On p.563, there’s a flash of the sword on the wall being captchalogued, and on p.564, the flash of Lil Cal being de-captchalogued – both from back towards the couch area if my mental picture of the room is right. Out of every character we’ve met so far, Dave’s bro is the one without a single redeeming quality; every new fact or insinuation draws him as an even worse guy.

[solarwynd]

i come with a hot take that i dont expect to be well received by others but here goes:

i think pjms really need to cut out the “thailand streaming farm” narrative, for several reasons.

streaming culture has been popularized by armys throughout the years. as far as i can remember, there has been a lot of discourse among chart-oriented armys for years (since the english trilogy era) about both vietnam’s and thailand’s streaming practices. they were the first ones’ to push the account-switching techniques that a lot of streamers use today. back then, it was deemed unsustainable and risky by most chartmys bc it led to large drops when people got tired of doing that. now, its the mainstream streaming practice in the fandom and other countries have managed to make it a more sustainable effort (i.e., LC’s longetivity in the US). the US is the most praised sector of pjms (and deservedly so, they work their asses off) while still using that technique so why are overall pjms much harsher with how they express themselves about thai armys/pjms vs us pjms? honestly sometimes it feels mildy xenophobic to me when is see those kinds of tweets/posts.

while i definitely get that their lack of consistency amd favoritism towards some members has been annoying in the past i don’t think we can say the same anymore. sgmb got more streams day one than nlg and every single jk song released last year (every.single.one and more than double for some of them).

i also cant believe i had to find this information out by a random jjk that popped up on my search this morning when i was looking up today’s sp update (you can imagine my horror when i confirmed those numbers).

jjks frequently and stupidly use the bot narrative for usa pjms, and in all honesty, pjms look just as dumb using the streaming farm narrative for thai armys/solos. its giving that meme of spidermens pointing at each other bc in reality were ALL “bots” were ALL “streaming farms”. we are all a somewhat small group of people (within the market) putting in an extreme effort for our artists. let’s not fool ourselves into cultish them vs us mentalities when (for some things) we are not that different.

Thailand streams get called out because the numbers they pull are not proportionate to the number of users that they have in their country. Look at SK for example. Their lowest entry right now is 4.3k. Top 50 12.8k Top 20 23k Top 10 37k Top 5 60k With top spot being LC with 118k. Proportionate. Brazil, a chart range somewhat similar to the US. Lowest entry is 182k. Top 50 381k Top 20 612k Top 10 882k Top 5 1.06M and Top spot 1.14M.

The lowest entry for Thai charts right now is 28k. Then you get to top 50, that’s 68k. Top 20 (which is Espresso by Sabrina) 98k Top 10 167k. From there is gets sus because to make a jump from that to the top 3 current spots which are 524k, 1.13M, 1.8M. (Down from 6/29 where Rockstar & SGMB had 2.5M and 2.2M respectively and the lowest entry was 26k.) Then you look at the #3 spot from that same day and it was 484k. The gap between #3 and #2 was around 1.7M. Like you cannot tell me that’s normal cause it isn’t. You don’t see those kinds of gaps on any other country chart. So It doesn’t have anything to do with xenophobia (or being upset about the fact that that country is TK majority) because there are other Asian countries and countries outside the US that don’t get called out since they do have streams proportionate to their population and have reasonable ranges.

Bringing up US fans streaming in comparison to Thai fans is also odd to do because it’s not the same. The lowest entry on the US chart is 340k Top 50 starts at 600k, Top 20 841k Top 10 1M with top 5 being 2.1M. That’s also a very proportional chart. Jimin’s numbers in America have always sat in the 200k-to 1M range without significant jumps coming out of nowhere.

Him going from a 465k debut with LC to 2.2M with SGMB from Thailand is not just the 20x cap per account method, that’s something else being employed there. And it’s not that they got “stronger” either.

I’ve expressed my discontent with a large chunk of SGMB’s streams coming from Thailand on multiple occasions. I’ve wanted it far away from Jimin for this exact reason. I’m not denying that there isn’t a concentrated effort to get better numbers in general. And I don’t think any pjm is “fooling themselves” into thinking that how they stream is entirely organic. It’s not, but I still won’t put it on the level of what some Thai fans are doing.

[talonabraxas]

Solar Angel Contact with the Solar Angel

The Solar Angel channels life from the Monad to the lower self, responding to karmic necessities and orchestrating a sequence of incarnations through which the individual can gain evolutionary experience. The Solar Angel’s point of attachment to the human individual is the causal body. It links the mental permanent atom on the first subplane with the mental unit on the fourth. Between these subplanes lies the great gulf that has divided us, since our inception as human beings, and which eventually we seek to bridge by constructing the antahkarana.

The causal body is a sheath that contains the astral and physical permanent atoms and the mental unit. It is the lowest vehicle to survive from one incarnation to the next, and through the three permanent atoms (for convenience treating the mental unit as such) serves to preserve a distillation of the experiences from successive incarnations. Prior to physical birth, life flows down from the causal body to the lower mental, astral, and physical planes, energizing the permanent atoms and sweeping the devas of those planes into action to build the new incarnational form. 29 At the end of that incarnation, life is withdrawn from the lower vehicles, and the permanent atoms are enriched by what has been learned.

For millions of years, the lower self is unaware of the Solar Angel’s existence. For its part, the Angel looks down on its charge, like a hen brooding over its egg, waiting for the first stirring of awareness that can develop into more definite contact. In the Tibetan’s words, the Solar Angel “is in deep meditation for the greater part of the cycle of lives of any one individual, and that it is only when a fair measure of personality integration is set up that the soul’s attention is drawn away from its own interior considerations and egoic affairs to those of its shadow.”

Techniques for developing contact with the Solar Angel can be found in many esoteric systems, whether or nor the concept of the Solar Angel is properly understood. For example, Ron Scolastico’s popular book Doorway to the Soul provides an interesting sequence of meditations that could be used even by people with minimal esoteric training. 31 As the individual invokes his or her Solar Angel, the Angel responds, at first sporadically and then more continuously. Golden Dawn initiate Israel Regardie provides an eloquent description of the process:

The everlasting abode of the Higher Self is the Eden of Paradise, the supernal sanctuary which is ever guarded from chaos by the flaming sword of the Cherubim... From that aloof spiritual stronghold it gazes down on its vehicle, the lower man, evolved for the purposes of providing it with experience—involved in neither its struggles or tribulations, yet, from another point of view, suffering acutely thereby… (S)eldom does th(e) Genius leave its palace of the stars except when, voluntarily, the lower self opens itself to the higher by an act of sincerest aspiration or self-sacrifice, which alone makes possible the descent of the Light within our hearts and minds.

The Tibetan makes a similar point and goes on to emphasize the need for a reciprocal response in building the antahkarana. He tells us that, “as it lives its own life on its own level of awareness,” the Solar Angel “is not always constantly aware of its shadow, the personality, in the three worlds. When the antahkarana is being built, this awareness must be present alongside the intention of the personality.”

Some types of service can only be performed with the Solar Angel’s participation. For example, the Tibetan explains that the practice of white magic requires the Angel’s resources:

Only the solar Angel can do the work of the white magician, and he effects it through the control of the lunar angels and their complete subjugation. They are arrayed against him, until, through meditation, aspiration, and control, he bends them to his will and they become his servants… The worker in white magic utilises ever the energy of the Solar Angel to effect his ends. The dark brother works through the inherent force of the lunar lords, which are allied in nature to all that is objective.

Similarly, in that important application of magic, healing:

The healer who works on a higher level, and necessarily therefore with a higher type of patient; he uses the energy of his own overshadowing soul in conjunction with the energy of his individualised soul, and thereby radiates it forth into the soul of the patient, via both of the auras.

If white magic requires the Solar Angel’s assistance, magic ritual has also been explored as a means of invoking the Angel. The most famous ritual for that purpose was recorded by the medieval Kabbalist Abraham the Jew (1362-1460), but attributed to a sage, Abra-Melin, whom he claimed to have met in Egypt. 36 What is particularly significant about Abraham’s work is that, in a preamble to the ritual, he dismissed the then-customary use of elaborate magic paraphernalia to emphasize a life of prayer and concentration, akin to the spiritual practices of the mystics—or indeed to our own esoteric disciplines. The early 20th century occultist Aleister Crowley adapted Abra-Melin’s ritual to invoke what he termed “the knowledge and conversation” of the Angel.” It is not clear whether Crowley succeeded, but he affirmed that the central role of ritual is “the invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel; or, in the language of mysticism, Union with God.”

Another ritual for invoking the Solar Angel, used by members of the Golden Dawn, focuses on participants’ personal transformation. Interestingly, it refers to the “true Self,” a phrase often used by the Tibetan:

Come forth unto me, Thou that art my true Self: my Light, my Soul… Thou that art crowned with Glory… Thee I invoke. Come forth unto me, my Lord: to me, who am Thy vain reflection in the mighty sea of Matter… Without Thee I am nothing; in Thee am I All-Self existing in Thy Selfhood to eternity.

Yet another includes this affirmation of personal sacrifice and sacrifice and courage:

Let the influence of thy divine ones descend upon my head, and teach me the value of self-sacrifice so that I shrink not in the hour of trial, but that thus my name may be written on high and my genius stand in the presence of the Holy One. In that hour when the Son of Man is invoked before the Lord of Spirits and his Name before the Ancient of Days.