#manmade mountains

[nutty-photo-beauty]

[hyperlexichypatia]

assumption based on your blog: you live in North America

Also correct!

Although continents are fake much the same way that gender is fake -- I've used the analogy "Yeah, I say I'm a cisgender woman in the same way I say I live in North America -- it's an easy shorthand and everyone knows what it means, but the category kind of falls apart on any real examination."

Sorry, "Continents are fake" was one of the most mind-blowing personal revelations of my adult life. But yes! You are correct!

[celestialtrolls-moved]

That's really nice of you Amarin! Have you ever found anything actually neat while doing the cleaning? I can't imagine everything left behind is trash.

"...I did not do it for anyone's benefit but my own, originally."

"The only things I tend to save when they are left behind are books. The land provides for me as I care for it, and I don't care for the jewellery and treasures that get abandoned, I simply hold onto them until their owner comes back looking for them."

[bixels]

Portal 2 is still the perfect game to me. I hyperfixated on it like crazy in middle school. Would sing Want You Gone out loud cuz I had ADHD and no social awareness. Would make fan animations and pixel art. Would explain the ending spoilers and fan theories to anyone who'd listen. Would keep up with DeviantArt posts of the cores as humans. Would find and play community-made maps (Gelocity is insanely fun).

I still can't believe this game came out 12 years ago and it looks like THIS.

Like Mirror's Edge, the timeless art style and economic yet atmospheric lighting means this game will never age. The decision not to include any visible humans (ideas of Doug Rattmann showing up or a human co-op partner were cut) is doing so much legroom too. And the idea to use geometric tileset-like level designs is so smart! I sincerely believe that, by design, no game with a "realistic art style" has looked better than Portal 2.

Do you guys remember when Nvidia released Portal with RTX at it looked like dogshit? Just the most airbrushed crap I've ever seen; completely erased the cold, dry, clinical feel of Aperture.

So many breathtakingly pit-in-your-stomach moments I still think about too. And it's such a unique feeling; I'd describe at as... architectural existentialism? Experiencing the sublime under the shadow of manmade structures (Look up Giovanni Battista Piranesi's art if you're curious)? That scene where you're running from GLaDOS with Wheatley on a catwalk over a bottomless pit and––out of rage and desperation––GLaDOS silently begins tearing her facility apart and Wheatley cries 'She's bringing the whole place down!' and ENORMOUS apartment building-sized blocks begin groaning towards you on suspended rails and cement pillars crumble and sparks fly and the metal catwalk strains and bends and snaps under your feet. And when you finally make it to the safety of a work lift, you look back and watch the facility close its jaws behind you as it screams.

Or the horror of knowing you're already miles underground, and then Wheatley smashes you down an elevator shaft and you realize it goes deeper. That there's a hell under hell, and it's much, much older.

Or how about the moment when you finally claw your way out of Old Aperture, reaching the peak of this underground mountain, only to look up and discover an endless stone ceiling built above you. There's a service door connected to some stairs ahead, but surrounding you is this array of giant, building-sized springs that hold the entire facility up. They stretch on into the fog. You keep climbing.

I love that the facility itself is treated like an android zooid too, a colony of nano-machines and service cores and sentient panel arms and security cameras and more. And now, after thousands of years of neglect, the facility is festering with decomposition and microbes; deer, raccoons, birds. There are ghosts too. You're never alone, even when it's quiet. I wonder what you'd hear if you put your ear up against a test chamber's walls and listened. (I say that all contemplatively, but that's literally an easter egg in the game. You hear a voice.)

Also, a reminder that GLaDOS and Chell are not related and their relationship is meant to be psychosexual. There was a cut bit where GLaDOS would role-play as Chell's jealous housewife and accuse her of seeing other cores in between chambers. And their shared struggle for freedom and control? GLaDOS realizing, after remembering her past life, that she's become the abuser and deciding that she has the power to stop? That even if she can't be free, she can let Chell go because she hates her. And she loves her. Most people interpret GLaDOS "deleting Caroline in her brain" as an ominous sign, that she's forgetting her human roots and becoming "fully robot." But to me, it's a sign of hope for GLaDOS. She's relieving herself of the baggage that has defined her very existence, she's letting Caroline finally rest, and she's allowing herself to grow beyond what Cave and Aperture and the scientists defined her to be. The fact that GLaDOS still lets you go after deleting Caroline proves this. She doesn't double-back or change her mind like Wheatley did, she sticks to her word because she knows who she is. No one and nothing can influence her because she's in control. GLaDOS proves she's capable of empathy and mercy and change, human or not.

That's my retrospective, I love this game to bits. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

[o0sleepingdead0o]

Prepared For Anything Pt. 6

Part One, MasterPost

Jason’s been gone for a week and Danny was starting to get a little worried. He hadn’t replied to his calls or texted him back to let him know the memes he’d sent were hilarious or asked if Danny even knew what the meme he’d sent meant(half the time he didn’t. He’d just missed the joy of memes, okay? He didn’t understand this world’s pop culture very well yet). A lot of them involved the bats.

So, Danny did what every good friend did; hacked into the city’s camera’s and tracked him riding down the streets and watching him get eaten by a wall . . .

A secret lair entrance. Cool. That must be where the bats hid out and did all their techy stuff and kept all their detective cork boards and yarn. . .

Underneath an alley? Did that mean their secret hide out was in the sewers? Danny was so going to make a meme involving them and the teenage mutant ninja turtles after he’d rescued Jason. 

Except. . .the cameras didn’t show Jason coming back out of the cave for the whole seven days. Was he still down there? Should he check? If he was still there, then he was probably fine and dealing with a really heavy problem with the others.

Danny’s face screwed up in thought, swirling the mouse on his laptop in circles.

He could just try and portal to him if he latched onto his ecto-signature, but that was really invasive. It was only supposed to be done by Fraid members in extreme circumstances. Skulker was the worst about breaking that rule, having tracked Danny down so often like that in high school.

. . .

Well. . .he and Jason weren’t Fraid, but it was an extreme circumstance. Surely, he’d forgive him.

With that moral conundrum out of the way, Danny straightened and closed his eyes, reaching into his core to help pick out the signature. It easily sensed the fading remains left behind in Jason’s apartment next door, and his eyes snapped open. Jason wasn’t in Gotham at all. Danny got out of his desk chair and hesitated to rip a portal open.

If he portal-ed right to Jason, he would see that he could make portals and be suspicious. Maybe he could aim just to the left of Jason’s signature, to help preserve the secret of his abilities.

Heh. Danny was so good at this. What a genius he was.

Danny began ripping and floating into the Infinite Realms, carefully avoiding pinging exactly onto the signature.

When he floated invisibly through the next portal, wind and snow whipped into his face.

“Aa—pfffth.” Danny threw his head to the side, squeezing his eyes shut at the harsh winds, while trying unsuccessfully to blow the hair out of his eyes. Eventually, he remembered to go intangible and used his hands to un-blind himself.

He was in the mountains.

A blizzard blanketed the silhouettes of nearby peaks, casting the scenery in nothing but harsh whites. It was the only reason Danny noticed the carved entrance on the side of a mountain, making it show by the unnatural, manmade ridges and peeks of dark stone where dry snow couldn’t catch hold underneath the edges. 

Making sure Danny remembered to close the portal first, he flew down, noticing people in ninja outfits(?) guarding the way. It was no obstacle for him, of course, and flew in easily under the cover of literally not being able to be seen.

There was shouting within the place and the ringing of swords. It had become a familiar sound since taking blade training from Fright Knight and Pandora. He was okay, he could defend himself with a sword in a pinch, but it was honestly more practical for Danny to just use his powers or fists in most situations.

Jason was here. His voice echoed off the stone walls fitted with torches, like memories that couldn’t quite be grasped, warbling in an eerie way. Ninjas—freakin’ ninjas. Danny was definitely going to make that meme, cause ninjas!—were stationed here and there, but most he saw were rushing to the sounds of fighting growing louder the further Danny traversed.

Was Jason a ninja? What was he doing here? Was he fighting other ninjas?

The tunnel/hallway ended at a pair of large, open double doors, opening into what looked like an arena.

There was Jason! Oh. And Red Robin and Purple and Batman. The Angry Duckling was off to the side in a balcony, viewing box thing with a mean looking lady, cuffed to the floor and unconscious.

Hmm. . .well, that didn’t look good.

Carefully, Danny slipped behind one of the large doors where no one could see him and came into the visible spectrum. He stuck his head out, finding Jason’s bright red helmet again in the crowd of fighting. He straightened as he fully came out and dipped into the fray.

“Whoop. ‘Scuse me.” Danny leaned out of the way of a blade, stepping further in and ducking behind someone with nunchucks. “Pardon, just behind ya there.” The ninja was taken by surprise and spun around so fast, he almost lost balance as he swung out his weapon. Danny caught it and pulled him back to balance. “There ya go.” Danny let go and continued on. “Oop. Careful there. ‘Scuse me. Oh, don’t wanna drop that.” Danny caught the thing someone had been about to let hit the ground and threw it clear across the arena. A smoke bomb went off. “Oh, sorry!” Danny quickly stepped off someone’s foot. “I think you’re bleeding there, Bud.” Danny told someone he passed and stepped over someone lying unconscious on the ground. “Hey, I found someone’s finger!” Danny ducked real quick, grabbed it, and held it above his head. “Anyone missing a finger?! This should be put on ice immediately!” He called out. He dropped his arm when no one seemed to hear or respond to him over the noise.

Ah, well.

He gave it a coating of permafrost just to be nice and dropped it. He was cool like that (Heh) but he wasn’t going to carry it around.

“Excuzee.” Danny said and finally found himself next to Red Hood. “Hey! There ya are, what’s—“

“DANNY?! WHAT THE EVER-LIVING—“ Red Hood deflected a blade and kicked someone in the gut. “HOW?! WHAT?!” Blocked someone and grabbed their wrist and kicked out at another guy. “WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! HOW DO YOU ALWAYS—WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHAT THE HECK?!”

“Woah! What’s with the hostility?!” Danny side-stepped a guy and cocked his head to the side to avoid a blade before falling down into a squat to avoid a horizontal swipe of a sword, and shooting to standing again. 

“Did you freakin’ stalk us to the Himalaya’s?!”

“Oh, is that where we are—what?! No! I—” Danny cut himself off, realizing he had no idea how to explain how he was here.

“DANNY?! What the frick???!!!!!” Red Robin said in passing as he duelled a swordsman with his bo staff.

“Oh, hey!” Danny waved cheerily, ducking a blow he wasn’t looking at. He spoke to Jason again. “What’s with the ninjas, by the way?”

“Are you kidding me?! Oomph! Get out of here, it’s dangerous!”

“Whaaat.” Danny drawled and moved away from another threat with a smile, to show how silly that statement was. “I’m good. It’s like we’re dancing.”

He heard Jason muttering vehemently under his helmet, mostly about how stupid Danny was. Danny laughed.

“Right?” Danny asked the next guy that tried to kill him, leaning back and leaning in, stepping to the side, and keeping eye contact the whole while. He did a little spin away, kicked a guy away from Hood, and spun back to the first guy, to bend backwards nearly in half. 

“Die!”

“See? He’s having fun too.”

Jason sighed and shot a ninja. “Why are you like this?”

“Do you want me to answer that or are you being rhetorical?”

“Uggghh!”

“So, yeah, anyway, Robin doesn’t look so good?” He tried to prompt Jason into explaining the situation.

“They used a magical artifact to brainwash him and he conked out.”

“That’s so rude!”

“Yeah, I don’t think his mom cares.”

“That’s his mom?!” Danny kicked the guy he’d been dancing with in the crotch, elbowed him in the head when he bowed over, and finished him off with his fists clamped together coming down on his head. “So, what’s the plan?”

Hood glanced at him and gave a heavy, resigned sigh. “I can’t believe this.” He muttered his breath. “You have experience fighting.” A question, statement, and confirmation all at once.

“A little. So?”

“Right now, just worry about—“

The Duckling stirred and sat up. The lady beside him un-cuffed his hands from the floor and he stood.

“My son.” The lady put a hand on his shoulder almost lovingly. Then turned to the ninjas and vigilantes. “Subdue them.”

Disgust and anger grew thick in Danny’s stomach as the Duckling nodded curtly and jumped off the balcony railing. To Danny’s amazement, the Duckling made almost no noise whatsoever as he landed.

Oh. Okay. No. Just no. This was so messed up.

Absently, Danny clocked the ninja he’d been dancing with over the head, stole his weapon, and began carving a bloody path towards where he’d last seen the Duckling. When he found him, he was fighting with Spoiler. She was having a difficult time fending him off without actually fighting him.

Ducking and weaving between ninjas and their weapons, he pulled up just behind Robin. He exhaled sharply as he dodged the blade the smallest vigilante swung at his head.

“Woah, cool it!”

“Danny?!” Spoiler exclaimed.

“Hey, wassup?” Danny drew a dark purple stone half the size of his palm from his pocket and pressed it to the Duckling’s forehead. The vigilante stilled as if in a daze, the tip of his sword lowering to the floor.

“What did you do?!”

“Stop him!” The lady shouted from the balcony.

The ninja’s numbers had decreased dramatically since the fighting began and they all rushed at him. But they were too late. Robin went limp and Spoiler caught him before he could hit the ground.

“Robin’s down, let’s get out of here!” Steph said into her coms, doing her best to protect Robin while fighting off the attackers. 

“Here!” Danny took the Duckling from her and slung him over his shoulder. They ran for the exit, joined by the other vigilantes. They kept Danny and the Duckling in the centre, warding off attackers as they ran as a unit. 

Just as they reached the exit to the arena, Danny looked back at the lady on the balcony jumping after them. “You suck!”

What a strange experience. 

As they ran through the halls, soft, controlled panting surrounded Danny, quiet, trained footsteps barely making an echo. The ninjas attacking and following that were still conscious to do so, were the same. Danny had never had such a quiet fight, or escape attempt with such a large number of people before in his life.

They broke out into open air and frigid, crunching snow. Danny let the others guide him. Batman pressed something on his gauntlet glove things, and out of thin air, a large hangar door lowered to reveal the inside of some sort of aircraft.

Oh, crud.

Now, Danny did like the vigilantes, but he wasn’t too keen on being trapped mid-air in an enclosed space with them. They always had questions he didn’t want to answer, like “How did you get here?” and “Who are you?” and “Where did that come from?” and “How are you still alive?” (So stupid), and he knew they wouldn’t let up even if he said “no”. He’d been lucky before this, having means to escape situations, but if he got on that air-craft, he wasn’t sure how things would go. If they were angry with him for being evasive, or suspicious, there’d be no escape without revealing himself, and things would get. . .

. . .

. . .Really. Annoying.

He refused to be stuck in that situation again. Last time, he was saved by the others’ utter exhaustion and poor medical states of almost dying in a desert. He had a feeling he wouldn’t get a repeat.

Danny let out a disappointed sigh. He would’ve loved to have some time with Orphan. 

But, alas.

So. With a little misleading(fake) stumbling, and a lot of midwestern manners of “ladies first” (circumventing Batman’s attempts to be the last by accidentally pushing falling into him), he tossed the Duckling to Batman just as the ramp was about to close, and jumped out the small crack that was left.

They called after him, the ramp had begun to reopen despite the ninjas clamouring underneath it’s hovering, but he dove into the snow and didn’t reemerge.

><><><><

There was either frozen lasagna he could cook up, or leftover half-eaten busy day beef casserole from a week and a half ago that had been forgotten on the counter, and Danny decided he could bare to wait a little while longer to eat. Food poisoning wasn’t really a concern for him anymore, but taste definitely was, and he was pretty sure he would not like the taste of whatever fuzzy thing was growing underneath the half-opened cellophane.

Jason must have left his place in a hurry.

Pulling a wholly disgusted noise from his throat, Danny tugged the casserole off of the surface with as little touching as possible, and dumped the whole thing, tin pan and all, into the garbage can.

Jason would thank him later.

Danny was being so generous to check up on his food—er—his apartment, making sure everything was as it should be in his absence.

Double checking everything in the fridge was okay, Danny dug out the peach cobbler safely tucked in the back, peeled off the lid, and poked at it with a spoon to see how it’s contents had fared. Smelled it. Took a small bite. Took another larger bite just to be sure. And maybe just one more to be doubly safe. A fourth to be super sure—

The door creaked open and Danny spun around, spoon in his mouth.

Oh geez, Jason looked awful.

In the doorway, his friend had paused just over the threshold, looking to be using the doorknob to keep himself steady. It had been a day since he’d last seen him as Red Hood, and his face was a bit haggard, hair mussed with sweat, muscles sagged with exhaustion, and brows furrowed in what Danny could only call distress. 

. . .distress??

Jason stared at the halfa uncomprehendingly.

Danny felt like he was missing something as a heavy weight settled in his gut, an unexpected tension filling the air, as if let in by the draft of the open door. There was a stillness, a gap between them that he felt he should understand, why Jason looked this close to having a breakdown, why it somehow felt like it was Danny’s fault—

. . .

. . .

Oh. . .

Realization dawned.

Danny had Messed Up.

The cold metal had turned warm in his mouth, and he slowly pulled it out, carefully setting it and the pan on the counter. “Uh. . .hi. . .” He greeted weakly, mind scrambling to figure how to resolve the situation, heart palpitating under the stress.

Fighting was one thing, okay? Accidentally distressing people he cared about and not knowing how to fix it was a whole other.

Jason slowly scanned him up and down. 

“. . .Are you. . .ok. . .” Danny choked out.

Okay. . .look. Danny has a completely valid reason for not contacting Jason immediately after he jumped off the aircraft, or when he got home. 

. . .

. . .

. . . He was an idiot. That was his reason.

How was he supposed to know that anyone would care?! His Fraid had long stopped worrying about when he’d disappear, and everyone else, he could safely say, would just watch as he was run over by a bus. (To be fair, Danny had survived that before and had walked away like nothing had happened).

Jason’s face was scarily still. Without a word, without taking his eyes off of Danny, he moved like a zombie to step fully inside and close the door behind him.

“Hey. . .so. . .” Danny didn’t know how to make this better. What was this reaction?! Jason looked a second away from either killing or hugging him! “You were gone a while. . .”

Jason dropped his duffle bag and came towards him. 

Danny had the inexplicable urge to move away from him, but stood his ground as Jason approached like he was seeing a ghost. . .

No! Bad Danny! Not a time for puns!

When he was close enough, Jason reached up and nudged Danny’s shoulder as if testing he was real.

Danny pursed his lips, making the executive decision to let Jason take control of the situation. It was, in no way, because Danny had no clue as to how to proceed.

“H. . .hey. . .” Danny’s voice wavered.

Never-mind. Guess he was going to try anyway.

“S-so. . .I uh. . .” Danny frantically made a small portal behind his back and slipped the solid links of metal around his wrist. “Was wondering where you’d gone, so I could. . .um. . .” Danny awkwardly showed the watch on his wrist. “Show you this. . .thing. . .that I. . .uh. . .found.”

Jason didn’t even glance at it.

Just great! This was going sooo well!! 

“It can. . .teleport. . .people. And maybe other things, I haven’t. . .tested it yet. . .” He trailed off lamely.

Jason remained silent. Staring. Still. So, so still. A stupid clock ticked from somewhere in the living room, doing nothing for Danny’s nerves.

Then, Jason’s expression shifted to something else equally indiscernible, jaw feathering, and chest expanding with a deep breath. He bowed his face into a hand and exhaled harshly.

And then. . .he walked away. . .went into his room. . .and closed the door.

. . .

. . .

Danny threw himself across the counter and internally died. He was going to have to figure out how to make this up to him.

He still made sure the peach cobbler didn’t go to waste.

------------------

Tag List:

@okami-love, @whataspectaclebear, @thomasdimensor, @observerblock23, @stargazer-luna, @lazerswordweilder, @random-sparks-98, @spam-extemporal, @theo-the-raven, @felicityroth, @jklpopcorn, @nontitlenym, @wanderwithwings, @8000fangirl, @vexishereandveryqueer

[seat-safety-switch]

"Hold on there, pardner. This here's a cognition hazard." said the holographic cowboy in the corner of my vision. He then took a series of poses that the designer must have thought looked heroic and protective, before flickering back to his original position and repeating the process. My artificial ranch-hand was not incorrect: the thing I was attempting to do would cause me unpredictable amounts of psychic damage, likely impacting my relationships with those around me and even my mental state at rest. Even so, I pushed the button and waited.

Software development used to be a sort of reckless task, undergone without care. Decades ago, hundreds of folks would cram themselves into a single building and then work hard on their computers to develop computer programs. Originally, these programs performed useful but difficult tasks, speeding them up dramatically for the varied needs of government and industry. At first, life improved. And then, as with every prior machine in human history, we looked for harder jobs for it to do.

A funny thing happens when a computer program gets longer than about a page of typewritten code. You have to hold a lot of it in your head. The best programmers could commit an entire system to memory, gliding through it like barracuda through a disreputable motel's swimming pool. We didn't know then how much trauma it caused. The doctors had no idea what was happening with all those isolated burnouts freaking out, moving into the woods, and hunting men for sport.

Watching the old newsreels now, seeing the 20th-century equivalent of coal miners delving willingly into fold-out charts of MFC inheritance diagrams, it's a little hard to stomach. It only took about twenty years of continued exposure to this kind of thing before the human mind rebelled, the manmade logical constructs providing a kind of sharp edge that ripped through sanity like a hot wire. Thing is, it still had to be done, and the folks who did it seemed to enjoy it up until The Void caught up to them too. So the government did what the government does best, and compromise. We'd all have warnings that what we were doing was insanely dangerous and life-shortening, and our employers would keep demanding that we heap more complexity atop ever-increasing mountains of irreducible cruft.

A good deal for all involved, especially the folks who got the contract to make the warning holograms about fifteen years ago. They must have loved their jobs, putting the little cowboy hats on them. You can tell in all the little complex details of his haunted face, begging me to turn back from my route to oblivion. One day I'd like to make something cool like that.

[redlugia]

Poster for my fanfiction Chimera King. Ever wonder what Dutch was up to between the epilogue and RDR1? Ever think he might've found one of those scary lab easter eggs and started making animal-human chimeras? No? I did! I wrote a fanfiction about it inspired by Frankenstein that's currently in the works!

Info and link under the cut ... otherwise enjoy the art :)

Summary:

After shooting Micah and abandoning John in 1907, Dutch wanders the mountains with little but an unraveled mind and two guns on his belt. Unbeknownst to him, there are several cryptic secrets across the wilderness waiting for the infamous seeker to find them. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and written in first person journal entry format, this is a story about Dutch’s guilt, grief, dreams, and relentless loneliness when pushed to extremes. It centers around the Manmade Mutant point of interest, and gives some characters “second chances”. This is not a Dutch redemption story.

Content warnings: Animal death, description of surgery and dissection, grave desecration, dissociation, canon-typical violence.

Word count right now: 9,348 words, but updates frequently!

Check it out if you're interested :)

[darkmaga-returns]

#10 - Joe Rogan guest completely shatters the polio narrative.

Dr. Suzanne Humphries challenged one of the most sacred beliefs in medicine: that vaccines eradicated polio.

The truth is – polio wasn’t eradicated. Polio is actually “still alive and well,” Dr. Humphries declared. It’s just that a few sleights of hand made the world believe otherwise.

What largely brought polio cases down, according to Humphries, wasn’t the vaccine’s impact—it was a change in the way polio was defined.

“Polio is called different things today,” Humphries explained. “Whereas back in the 1940s, 1950s, the criteria for diagnosing polio were completely different to the year that the vaccine was introduced. The playing field, the goalposts—everything was changed… they were able to show a complete cascading drop of paralytic polio simply because of the way they changed the definitions of what polio is and what could cause it.”

After the vaccine rollout, cases that would’ve been diagnosed as polio were now labeled as Guillain-Barré syndrome, coxsackievirus, echovirus, or chalked up to lead or mercury poisoning.

She also pointed to another key factor: environmental toxins. The rise in polio diagnoses, she said, mirrored the use of toxic chemicals like DDT.

As use of neurotoxic pesticides like DDT, arsenic, and lead declined, so did toxic exposures that mimicked polio symptoms. Fewer kids were bathing in poisons that caused spinal nerve damage, so naturally, paralysis decreased.

“The tonnage of production of DDT absolutely mirrored the diagnosis for polio,” Dr. Humphries explained. Even today, she added, “The countries that still make DDT… are where we’re still seeing this paralytic polio situation happen.”

And when it comes to the poliovirus itself? It’s not quite as harmful as people think. Humphries explained that polio is actually a “commensal”—a virus that lives in most people without causing harm.

“95 to 99% of all polio is asymptomatic.” Dr. Humphries described a study of the Javante Indians, where “98 to 99% of every person they tested… had evidence of immunity to all three strains of polio,” yet none of the children were crippled. “They were like, ‘We don’t have any of that problem,’” she recalled.

Dr. Humphries also cited a chilling story in history. In 1916, a Rockefeller lab in Manhattan set out with “the specific stated goal… to try to create the most pathological, neuropathological strain of polio possible.” Researchers injected monkey brains and human spinal fluid into monkeys.

And that experimentation came with devastating consequences. “There was a big problem with that, which was [polio] released into the public by accident,” Dr. Humphries explained. “And the world experienced the worst polio epidemic on record. 25% mortality.”

In short, Humphries argued that polio didn’t vanish because of vaccines. It disappeared under a mountain of redefinitions, environmental triggers, manmade disasters, and a lot of propaganda.

[nutty-photo-beauty]

[forgottenarthur]

OOC | What was at Kil-kennar?

ok so kate said

phabblebabbles 3d @quillington We haven’t discussed much abt Kil Kennar I guess beyond it being where the High Seeress lived BUT it could also have/had her acolytes who maybe were able to save some of the ancient texts before Kil Kennar fell???

and i realized like!!!!!! that we never like...talked about it???? lasjkdfkljsdf so i wanted to launch a full discussion!!!

so i ~do have some hc's that i thought id pop up here (in no particular order) which we may or may not want to use but can at least get us chatting!!

but ~first, some things we ~have established

its the religious center of the astairan faith

its effectively its own ~county but w a chosen ~high seer~ as its lord/lady rather than a great house

its high up in the mountains

its a fortress that was (pre!arthur) considered nigh impregnable (i have some madness in mind a la a certain alexander the great re how he did ~that which...i don't think ive ever actually talked abt!!)

its at a v strategic spot and ik we had ideas as to why but idr them atm alksjdfjsdf i think it had to do w being able to command both sea lanes ~and passages through the natural land barrier that is the mountains -- also there's def both the symbolic and the morale component w it being the faith center etc but i feel like it had the big north-to-south pass besides the fens in those mountains and kil-kennar protected/commanded that kinda thing or smth?? maybe it was the east to west...idk...

it has a huge ~chapterhouse where representatives from every county in the country can meet -- and i ~think we said its where the vote is cast for the ruler?? and/or the ~high seer?? but idr that distinctly

i think?? that's everything we've already decided abt it?

ok so like when i ~first envisaged kil-kennar i was heavily inspired by carcassone but like extreme edition -- this sprawling fortress built ~into the mountains and like...you trip off the tower you will be falling foreverrrrr its up there in the clouds pr much

ok so let me just get my vision of the siege of kil-kennar out of the way!

THE SIEGE OF KIL-KENNAR & THE EAGLE'S FEATHERS

ok so basically my thought was that our boy arthur went through his army and found the best rock climbers and pulled them out of the army, having them go a different way, trekking through the almost impassable mountain rocks and clefts itself rather than the narrow passages the main army took, so that the ppl of kil-kennar would never see them at all

then w the soldiers he had left, he sent the usual expected thing of a useless assault on the walls, including improvised siege ladders and towers etc but this was mostly to distract them (tho arthur himself was the first to mount the walls before the invaders from behind got there, even tho he was quickly repelled) from the fact that his real forces weren't assaulting the manmade part of the fortress but, rather, scaling the sheer rockface of the mountain and speed climbing and rapelling inside from the most impregnable part of the walls, from which point they attacked, opened the gates to arthur's troops outside them, etc, and thus the fall of kil-kennar. i do think there was a traditional siege component for awhile before hand tho-- supposedly tryna starve them out etc esp bc i think it took awhile for everyone to assemble and messages to relay between arthur's split forces etc

like alexander the great, arthur def offered big rewards to the first several to get there too given the huge risks of the whole thing and probs ~did say smth a la alexander the great that: "Nature has placed nothing so high, that valor cannot overcome it. It is by trying what others have despaired that we have [an Empire] in our power." (i think alexander the great was an ass but he really went off w that speech huh) arthur probs ended his vers of that w a crusader-esque cry of smth along the lines of 'the god wills it' and there we go

ik this sounds insane but its really happened so i feel perfectly justified! im referencing Alexander the Great's legendary Siege of the Sogdian Rock (or of the Rock of Ariamazes there're disagreements etc yknow ancient history be like that kladsjflkjsdf -- the whole thing tbf ~is shrouded in hella legend but i say its fair game here!) and his famous Flying Soldiers (besides there was a siege of a city in Sicily by the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse where smth similar -- if less impressive bc siege ladders -- also happened). [ "In a siege of a mountaintop fortress, Alexander offered prizes to soldiers who climbed towering cliff faces in the fastest time. Dozens of men died attempting to scale the sheer walls, but others made it to the top using a[n improvised] combination of iron spikes [tent pegs] and linen ropes—techniques still used by climbers today." ]

"'[W]hen they came to very steep places, some grasped projecting stones with their hands and pulled themselves up, others made their way by using nooses of rope, still others drove wedges between the stones and made steps on which to stand.' But without modern safety equipment like belays, harnesses and carabiners, Alexander’s men were one misstep away from disaster, and at least 30 men died attempting the ascent. 'They spent a day amid fear and toil. After having struggled over rough places, still harder ones awaited them, and the height of the rock seemed to grow. That indeed was a pitiful sight, when those whom their unsteady step had betrayed were hurled down a sheer drop; and the example of others’ disaster showed that they must soon suffer the same fate.'"

arthur was def expecting to be known as like ~the eagle of kil-kennar~ or smth after this fabulous exploit esp w his eagle and winged sun imagery and his troops' apparent ability to fly etc but instead he got butcher of kil-kennar bc ppl focused in on the beheading and not the marvelous and innovative military tactics he pioneered alkdjsfjdf and now his not!gf (he thinks) hates him for it LKSDAJFLSJKDF its rough being arthur ;DDDDD

i feel like arthur's 'flying troops' did fare better than their leader that way and got nicknamed the eagle's feathers from there on out -- thanks, guys!! a special new branch (or should i say...wing ;DDDDD) of arthur's pre-existing order of the dawn (bc yes he did battlefield knight everyone who was brave enough to dare that climb, no matter their rank -- even if you fell to your death you did so as a knight, and a knight of the dawn, at that! and if you were lucky and survived ur to this day sir so-and-so even if you started a peasant and arthur thinks that's incredibly egalitarian of him to have done laksjdfkjds)

but i feel like their thrilling, death-defying exploit probs ~was pr widely circulated throughout the empire esp as damage control for the whole beheading a witch and subsequent rioting thing laksjfjdskf but idk that it got v attached to ~arthur himself and was probs more just a cool thing that ~house varmont~ (lowkey implied twas the emperor himself no doubt...) did which ngl def does irk arthur HE WANTED THAT CREDIT!!!!!! lkajdsfjksdfj instead he's just a butcher laksdjfkljdsf ;DDD

also genuine question -- why hasn't anyone made a movie abt the siege of the sogdian rock????????? like this just feels like prime for that but anyway alsdkjflkjsdf

PONTENTIAL PRE-CONQUEST USES OF KIL-KENNAR?? (aka the actual point of this whole post...)

ok so like i was sort of thinking of the fortress of kil-kennar ig as like...ig kinda like a medieval monastery? this haven of learning and prayer that's like this really remote but incredible place sorta living outside the regular run of time kinda thing??? ~lay ppl may or may not live there as well but like sort of a religious retreat kinda vibe???? but also obv a center of pilgrimage and a restful place in these treacherous mountains where you can stop and given offerings to the guardians and get a hot meal and a good sleep etc before continuing your way across, kinda thing?

and/or maybe it was a university of some sort??? like iirc our girl @forgottenarias took a retreat there w her mom while dom was still king to help her learn abt being a seer? and, while aria's situation was secret, maybe smth it offered lotsa benefits for seers seeking to learn? so according to [ lizzy's og post abt witchery <3 ], there is 1 general thing that all witches get which is the ability to ~see the guardians~ (unless ur @forgottensaoirse ;D), but from there guardians can also gift you further low level magics, healing and/or premonitions so!! im thinking that maybe there were sort of...for lack of a better term...courses where you could learn to manage the sight and more advanced classes on magical healing and interpretting dreams and visions and such?? or even if not formal training sm then like...a bunchfof seers for emotional support/advice etc?? idk i just feel like astaira is v much a helpful place so having a place for banding together to work through this stuff just feels like smth they'd have?? esp bc it can be so confusing/scary but is also simultaneously so important/revered!!!

i also feel like, since we established that the head seer and the ruler occasionally have clashes and such, the chapterhouse might also lowkey serve as a court for them and that sort of thing as well as like a teaching place for doctrine and such but also oracle of delphi-esque readings and proclomations and such!

also yesssss deffffffff think there were acolytes and non-lay folk aplenty!!!!! and also a MASSIVE library, not just religious tho probs tHE biggest religious library in all astaira would have been located there i would guess, etc!! but full of all kinds of subjects! history, magic, you name it! still think the biggest number of astronomic books was at stafford for reasons and the biggest natural history section probs at malconaire etc buT i feel like astaira is all abt learning and so i feel like all these places have massive libraries!!!!

also roderick defffff burned all magic/religious books that weren't smuggled out!!!! an id i love love love the idea that some ~were!!!!!! ppl risking their lives to save this precious information SOB <3 hopefully some of it can be gotten into the right hands eventually...i can see aria, @forgottenbrigit , saoirse, and any other seers benefitting from it big time too, should they ever get their hands on it!

anyway idk!! just some thoughts...as always i defffff feel like ive left smth out but i can't think what it was so we're gonna just! go w it! laksdjflksdf id looooooove to hear everyone's thoughts on this/hcs of your own etc!!!! i feel like there's sm worldbuilding we can do here lajsldfkdsf <3333333

[the-starry-seas]

Hey there dear !

It's a tusken day apparently today (the best kind of days) so now I have a headcanon question and I love your hcs and worldbuilding. So what do you think the Tuskens relationship with the sky and stars would be ? Especially since you know, Tatooine has two Suns and I'm sure the most beautiful night skies too.

Oh! Yes! I have headcanons indeed 😂

Astronavigation is pretty much the only system the Tuskens use. Because like, Tatooine used to be an ocean planet, got glassed by an orbital bombardment, and then that glass dissolved into sand. I can't imagine there's many landmarks left after that level of destruction. But while the planet's surface was getting completely fucked over, the stars in the system stayed the same! So it was pretty much the only reliable way to navigate Tatooine while the planet underwent its apocalyptic reshuffling.

Eventually, the geography of the planet settled down. They figured out which mountains disappeared, and where there's big new pillars of glass and slag, and navigating via landmark is now something that can be reliably done...

When there's landmarks in the first place. Book of Boba Fett showed what was pretty much a featureless desert wasteland. Sand dunes move over time. Even at the rate of moving ten feet a year, that's gonna be thirty or forty miles for a single dune. Very hard to have geographical landmarks or manmade markers in that kind of terrain.

Tatooine's night skies are stunning. Check out this pic by the National Park Service. 95% of Tatooine counts as an excellent dark sky site. The names and legends behind constellations have been perfectly preserved since Tatooine's pre-desert time. It was the only thing that could stay exactly the same when quite literally the rest of the world was being destroyed. Very little of their culture could be retained so exactly, so star lore is extremely important to Tuskens! The suns, moons, and stars feature heavily in mythology, fiction, and art.

Constellations are also used to illustrate relationships and navigate grief. For example, a family with three kids will find a constellation of five stars, one to represent each member of their immediate family. Even when a family member dies, the star that represents them is never separated from the others, which is particularly helpful for young Tuskens facing their first loss.

This is also a great way to illustrate how, just like each constellation is connected to the rest of the sky, each family is connected to the rest of their clan, and each clan is connected to Tuskens as a whole. A star is never alone. Neither is a Tusken!

The three moons are named after the Kumumgah brothers who led the army that repelled the Rakata. Tatooine keeps a lunar calendar of 304 days, with ten months making up a year. The months vary in length by up to a week, based on the phases of the moons. Festivals fall on a full, half, or new moon. The last day of the year is marked by the only day on which all three are a new moon at the same time. Historically, this has also unofficially been a lover's festival, as the darkness is a great cover for couples to sneak off together without anyone seeing.

Unlike the moons, the suns have never had any specific names. Since pre-Tusken times, however, they've been referred to as a male-female couple in mythology, songs, and everything in between. The two sun symbolism features heavily in wedding ceremonies' spoken rites and visual decorations.

As a result, both the two suns and the colour yellow have come to represent loyalty and love in all relationship types. Pairs of round yellow 'sun beads' are exchanged as promises of lifelong fidelity between siblings, friends, and spouses. Often a proposal is done by gifting a bracelet woven from yellow fabric or embroidered with yellow beads. Clothes worn by couples at their wedding ceremony have two suns prominently featured in some way - to not have them is bad luck!

Polycules typically use the same symbolism since it's so culturally ingrained. However, some will pick out constellations with the proper number of stars, just like families do. In four-person polycules, it's common to double existing two-sun patterns.

Wearing clothing with only one sun is used to indicate that a person is in mourning for someone they loved deeply. The mourning period lasts until this piece of clothing is burned.

[velchronica]

no take-backs! ♬~*.°₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ blue lock

he’s spent ages planning the perfect moment to add to his lover agenda™ and immortalise your love story with a promise of devotion for all time

content: bllk charas x gn! reader, proposals, sfw, fluff

wc: 0.3k

he draws miniature galaxies onto the flesh of your back, hands slipping underneath the fabric of your his t-shirt, and thanks the heavens that you don’t stir from your sleep. he’s no artist by any means—far from it, in fact—but he loves the way you feel, the way you feel so right in his arms.

you’re still asleep as the sun rises behind silhouettes of skyscrapers, still blissfully unaware as he wishes on the invisible stars he’s drawn onto your skin. it’s a silent, secret prayer.

his blackout curtains are not fully drawn, so the golden hue of early dawn slip through the gaps. when he checks his phone, it’s little past five in the morning, so you still have plenty of time. if he carefully slips away now, it’s unlikely that you’ll wake up immediately, since you’re still jet-lagged from your flight. perfect timing.

he lifts his arms from your body, reluctant to leave you even for a moment after just a week apart, but doesn’t move from the bed. instead he takes a moment to admire every feature of your sleeping face, your lips barely parted and your peaceful expression.

your hair is dishevelled, strewn around your pillows, and your side of the bed is much less organised than his own. it’s a manmade mountain range built from crumpled sheets, blankets discarded in your sleep, and decorative pillows and plushies having been nudged around (and off) the bed at some point during the night.

doesn’t make you any less beautiful than you are every day. there’s nothing and nobody in the world who could enrapture him, have him as bewitched and enchanted as you do, even when you’re not awake to do so.

he snaps a picture and can already hear you shrieking, leaping to pry his phone from his hands, insisting you look a mess, face flushed with embarrassment. “don’t you dare!” you’d squeal as he’d take your attempted assault as an attempt at a hug, and he’s take both your hands in his before trapping you in an enveloping embrace. if he was lucky, your short-lived fury would melt away into giggles as you hugged him back, and if not so much, you’d flick his forehead and call him a hopeless idiot.

“well,” he’d then say, “at least i’m your hopeless idiot.”

begrudgingly, he pushes himself up off the mattress, and basks in the early morning haze for a few more minutes as he strokes your hair. you scrunch up your nose, and he freezes, afraid he’s woken you up, but your face relaxes and he breathes out a sigh of relief. knowing he’s wasted enough time watching over you—well, actually, it’s not a waste when it comes to you, but he’s got other things on his lover agenda™ to do for you today—he slips out the bed and slinks out your shared bedroom.

as he opens the door to leave, he glances back at your sleeping form, overwhelming affection and unmistakable adoration in his eyes. his gaze falls on the band around your finger, the very one he slipped onto your hand upon waking up in the morning, praying to still his pounding heart and hoping the sensation didn’t wake you. he wonders if breakfast in bed will be enough to distract you from its presence, which is still unbeknownst to your sleeping self, so that he can ask you properly. after all, a delicious meal is a sure-fire way to an 100% guarantee that you’ll say yes—not that he thinks you’d say no in the first place.

not with the way you flung your arms around him when you flew in yesterday. you’d only flown out to attend a close childhood friend’s wedding in your hometown, which had coincidentally happened to be during an important match week, so you’d had to go alone, much to his displeasure, which had been made clear at his next meeting with his manager. that had been the first time you’d spent so long away from each other in a very long time.

he knows you’ll say yes, because long distance for almost a year had been unbearable, but love had prevailed when you showed up at his apartment one day with a suitcase, beaming so brightly that he picked you up and spun you around before kissing you like it was a scene from a drama. “you’re stuck with me, now,” you’d told him teasingly, pressing chaste kisses along his jawline. “i have a job here now, so i guess you have no choice but to lemme stay with you.”

”oh, well, hm—then i guess i don’t,” he’d said, pretending it was a decision requiring much consideration. “but you’re stuck with me too now, so no taking it back, alright?”

he’s got it all planned out on his lover agenda™ for today. at some point later, when you notice the intricate and beautiful ring on your finger, he’ll simply smile innocently at you. “wanna stay with me for the rest of our lives? i do have to warn you in advance—if you say yes, you’re stuck with me forever, so no take-backs.”

and when you shriek and leap into his alarms at the speed of a shooting star, he’ll press kisses to your forehead, trying to hide his tears of joy when you tell him, ecstatically, “i’m yours, forever and always, so no take-backs.”

— CHIGIRI HYOMA, MIKAGE REO, isagi yoichi, bachira meguru + your favs!

© velchronica 2024

[brandywyne]

Worldbuilding - Countries

...You didn't think that was the end, did you?

Let's see how much you've really developed and put it all together.

19/18

What is the name of the country? Does it have other names or nicknames?

- What do the people look like? What are their races and unique types? Are there natives?

- 

- Where is the country located, and what are its defining geographical features?

- 

- What is the climate like, and how does it affect daily life and the economy?

- 

- How was the country founded, and what major events shaped its early history?

- 

- What type of government does the country have (monarchy, democracy, etc.)?

- 

- Who is the current leader or ruling body, and how do they maintain power?

- 

- What are the dominant religions or belief systems, and how do they influence society?

- 

- What languages are spoken, and are there regional dialects or unique scripts?

- 

- What is the country’s primary source of income or wealth (agriculture, trade, mining)?

- 

- What is the country’s relationship with neighboring nations or regions?

- 

- What are the key traditions, festivals, or cultural elements that define the country?

- 

- Does the country have a military, and how does it protect itself from threats?

- 

- Are there distinct social classes, and how do they interact with one another?

- 

- How are cities and towns structured, and what is the state of transportation and communication?

- 

- How advanced is the country’s technology, and how does it compare to others?

- 

- How is education structured, and who has access to it?

- 

- What are the staple foods, and how does the country sustain its population?

- 

- What historical or ongoing conflicts shape the country’s identity?

- 

- What are the national symbols, flag, or emblems, and what do they represent?

-

- What are the country’s aspirations, challenges, or prophecies about its future?

- 

GEOGRAPHY AND THE NATURAL WORLD

1. What is the country’s geographical location within the world?

2. What are its major physical features (mountains, rivers, forests, deserts)?

3. What is the climate like? Are there seasons, and how do they affect the country?

4. Are there any unique geographical phenomena (volcanoes, geysers, floating islands)?

5. How does the geography influence the culture, economy, and history?

6. Are there any natural resources that define the country?

7. Are there notable landmarks, either natural or manmade, considered significant?

8. What kinds of flora and fauna are native to the region?

9. How has the natural world shaped the myths and beliefs of the inhabitants?

10. Are there any supernatural elements tied to the landscape, such as cursed forests or sacred mountains?

HISTORY AND ORIGINS

1. How was the country founded, and by whom?

2. What events led to its formation (wars, migrations, divine intervention)?

3. What is the timeline of its major historical events?

4. Has the country undergone significant transformations (conquests, revolutions)?

5. Are there legendary figures or heroes in its history?

6. How does the country’s history shape its identity today?

7. How is history recorded (oral tradition, written archives, magical means)?

8. Are there any forgotten or forbidden parts of its history?

9. What are its neighboring nations, and what are its relationships with them?

10. Has the country ever been colonized or been a colonizer?

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

1. What type of government does the country have (monarchy, democracy, theocracy)?

2. Who holds power, and how is it maintained (elections, divine right, military strength)?

3. Are there political factions or parties?

4. How are laws created, enforced, and challenged?

5. Are there any notable leaders, current or historical?

6. What is the country’s approach to justice and punishment?

7. Are there corruption or hidden power struggles?

8. How does the government interact with its citizens?

9. Is the government centralized or decentralized?

10. How does the country engage in diplomacy with others?

ECONOMY AND TRADE

1. What is the country’s primary economic activity (agriculture, mining, industry)?

2. What are its major exports and imports?

3. What is the currency, and how stable is it?

4. Are there distinct economic classes or inequality?

5. Does the country rely on a barter system, gold, or another economic base?

6. Who are its main trade partners, and how are trade routes maintained?

7. Are there monopolies or major guilds controlling resources?

8. How is labor organized (slavery, serfdom, unions)?

9. Are there any unique goods or services the country is known for?

10. How does the economy influence its relations with other countries?

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

1. What are the dominant languages and dialects spoken?

2. What are the major religions or belief systems?

3. Are there traditions, festivals, or holidays unique to the country?

4. How is family structured, and what are common social norms?

5. What role do art, music, and literature play in society?

6. Are there significant cultural taboos or superstitions?

7. How is education structured, and who has access to it?

8. What is the status of marginalized groups in society?

9. How do people dress, and what influences fashion?

10. How do the citizens view outsiders or foreigners?

MILITARY AND DEFENSE

1. Does the country have a standing army or militia?

2. What is the level of military technology?

3. What are its major threats (neighboring nations, rebellions, monsters)?

4. How does the country train its soldiers?

5. Are there elite forces or legendary warriors?

6. How does the country defend its borders?

7. Has it been involved in major wars?

8. Are there alliances or treaties that ensure security?

9. Is military service mandatory or voluntary?

10. Are there magical or supernatural elements in the defense strategy?

TECHNOLOGY

Is magic real, and if so, how is it integrated into daily life?

2. What forms of magic exist (alchemy, elemental, divine)?

3. Who has access to magic (everyone, select classes, special guilds)?

4. Are there laws governing the use of magic?

5. How advanced is the country’s technology?

6. Are magic and technology integrated or in conflict?

7. Are there famous inventors or magicians?

8. How does magic or technology shape warfare?

9. Are there magical artifacts or lost technologies?

10. How does the country’s use of magic/technology compare to its neighbors?

INFRASTRUCTURE AND DAILY LIFE

1. How are cities and villages structured?

2. What modes of transportation are used?

3. How do people access water, food, and other necessities?

4. Is the country industrialized, agrarian, or nomadic?

5. What is the level of healthcare available?

6. How do people communicate over long distances?

7. Are there major public works (aqueducts, roads, walls)?

8. How is waste managed in urban areas?

9. What is the role of markets and public spaces in daily life?

10. Are there notable architectural styles or innovations?

RELATIONS WITH THE SUPERNATURAL

1. Are there gods, spirits, or other entities influencing the country?

2. How do citizens interact with the supernatural (worship, appeasement, avoidance)?

3. Are there sacred sites or cursed places?

4. How do myths and legends shape the country’s identity?

5. Are there supernatural threats or protectors?

6. How does the country’s religion influence its magic?

7. Are there individuals or groups that act as intermediaries with the supernatural?

8. What role do omens and prophecies play in governance or daily life?

9. Are supernatural beings integrated into society, or are they adversaries?

10. Is there a belief in an afterlife, reincarnation, or other spiritual journey?

FUTURE AND ASPIRATIONS

1. What are the country’s long-term goals or ambitions?

2. How does it plan to expand or sustain itself?

3. What threats could destabilize the country in the future?

4. Are there visionary leaders or movements shaping its direction?

5. How is the youth being prepared for the future?

6. What role do innovation and creativity play in its vision?

7. Are there unresolved conflicts or tensions brewing?

8. How does it see its place in the wider world?

9. What is the country’s relationship with environmental sustainability?

10. Are there prophecies or predictions about its future?

Cheers motherfucker 🥃

(But still, drink responsibly)

[balladofthewhitehorse]

Magpies - Drabble

''What are you doing?''

England froze - and spun around, a curse bitten between his teeth as he glared icily at Scotland. What are you doing? Skulking about? Mused England, bitter at being crept upon by someone who was part-ways a mountain; The magpie fluttered off with a whirring of wings, and England dared not look at it (dared not invite bad-luck, dared not to imagine that single white spot in a sea of iridescent feathers). ''Nothing.'' He retorted, staring at Scotland - daring him to ask further.

''…Magpies, huh?'' Scotland hummed. Many supersitions passed through their countries, many of them were manmade - and they in turn were effected by them. ''I prefer clovers.''

England's face wrinkled. ''Clovers are bullshit. Don't even think a four-leaf exists.''

''Don't be like that just because you've never been lucky enough. Have your magpies, you silly wee dug.'' Scotland snorted, rolling his eyes. Typical of him to be so prickly. ''Ireland has a knack for finding them.''

''Cos Ireland is so lucky.''

''England.'' His voice was the rumbling of warning thunder. Too close. Too hurtful. Too cruel, Sassain. You're trying not to be like that anymore.

''Sorry. Sorry.'' Mumbled England, clearing his throat and looking down at his feet. ''…Do you believe in supersitions then?'' He stared at Scotland, hoping he wasn't alone.

''Aye, I do.'' Scotland shrugged. ''Why wouldn't I?''

[darktapufifi]

5566 — Planet Ourea

Classification: Terrestrial Group - Tectonic Class - EuGaian - Paludial Gaian - Bathy pelagic

[See Resources for definitions/explanations, the post I got them from did some amazing work.]

This planet is located outside of the normal solar system, and its current location has been lost to time.

(Terra Quadrant - Māter Sector - 7° - 62° - 42°)

Terrain & Ecosystem: Boreal zone

The planet is almost entirely comprised of mountainous regions, the mountains made completely of rock, assumed at one point in history to have been the tectonic plates of the planet, but the truth has been lost to time. Between the walls of mountains there lies valleys, abundantly filled with life. Many of the valleys are filled with taiga forests and freshwater lakes, however there are some deciduous forests scattered amongst the coniferous taiga forests all over the planet amongst mountains. The mountains however only take up around half of the planet, the other half is an abundant and deep ocean, with some manmade sea stack island, as some of the more aquatic or recluse species and individuals refused to move on land or to live in the mountains.

Social Climate: Democracy

many of the areas inside the openings in the mountains lack any land to begin with, which is why they've probably adapted a way for sea life to get up to said cities, like a water elevator or smthin, or like a water proof teleportation pad

The planet adapted to the mountainous environments by building homes and cities along the mountainsides, where all walks of life lived from the sky to the land and sea. They built systems to get up and down the mountains, and even to get into the ocean from one point to another with ease, allowing ocean stacks to visit the mainland when needed. Due to the abundant resources and knowledge on the planet however, it became a supply point and rest stop, the economy boosted by the visitors coming and going from the planet. It was visited often enough that the space riders had an unofficial station located on the planet for any business they needed to conduct. Strict laws were set in place so the planet was not over harvested for its natural resources, and those laws were passed down and improved upon over thousands of years until they could have easily been considered sacred to the inhabitants of the planet, the punishment of violation often ending in exile or death, though everyone always had a vote in the matter, and all opinions were heard out. Many markets had currency exchange areas to allow those from other worlds to be able to purchase until there was a standardized currency declared and used widespread. Merchants and merchandise were subjected to laws to ensure regulation standards were followed when it came to the buying and selling of goods, but it was also to keep track on the resources heading out so they could abide by the harvesting regulations. They had a bustling economy and a diverse population up till the end.

Native race/species: Anthropoeidís

Also known as Beast Folk in layman's terms, the Anthropoeidís species is a group of highly intelligent organisms, akin to humans or critters, that originate from the planets oldest living species of animals, and evolved over thousands of years. The history of each different animal is passed down its species line to what was current day before the destruction of the planet.

Status: Destroyed - Necro Gaian

Annihilated by the Prototype. The cult laid siege to the planet, captured any inhabitants possible, then destroyed the planet. First flooded it with red smoke, then completely destroyed into rubble. Disrupted the ecosystem and killed all life.

TLDR: Planet core got pumped so full of smoke that it imploded.

Appearance & Map:

[See Resources for the site used to make the map.]

Space Riders AU by @onyxonline

~{ Resources }~

Planet classification —

Map making —

[lastconcourse]

There is a computer made of sardonyx: square sun. You float

Below the mountain, looking through the heads up display, seeing a cross-section of our star's heart,

there is a computer made of warm sardonyx.

full of beacons and windows nailed on sludgey linkages

and free-floating crystals used to enumerate & indicate.

The heads up display grants a visual chiasmus, the system seen from without and within both at once:

a sun in an android's heart, an aeronautic heart within a manmade sun

a drop of gold falling out of a turbine, or falling back into it

an aquatic-colored set of armor, with new muscles

clouds raining ink as a trio-fleet, airborne airborne airborne.

The valley is muddy and green and it keeps raining

the glasses you've worn are the size of the horizon. Ideas roll.