#psyche’s solar system

[thepsychewrites]

I love your roommate!Bucky series!!! Can you write more about his size kink?🥵🥵

oh god where do i even begin?

Bucky knows he’s a lot bigger than average. Not even in length specifically, but his girth is so wide that you can barely take him halfway in your mouth unless you want a severely sore jaw later on. Each time he pushes into you it feels like the first time all over again as he quite literally splits you in half on his dick. No matter how wet you are or how many fingers he warms you up with, it burns just the same every time.

“God baby, still so fuckin’ tight, huh? Wonderin’ how many times I’m gonna have to fuck you until I just slide on in…” Bucky growls in your ear as his dick slowly breaches your canal, loud whimpers coming from you as you writhe underneath his heavy body. He pulls away, sitting back on his haunches to look at where you’re connected. His jaw twitches as he gathers saliva in his mouth, craning his neck down to spit on your pulsing core to help him slide in easier.

“You look so fuckin’ pretty like this baby, fulla my dick, taking me so well.” Bucky throws his head back as he bottoms out, his hands digging into the flesh of your hips to keep him upright.

Your mouth opens wide, your eyes screwed shut at the fullness of Bucky’s cock seated inside you. “Ahh! Oh fuck, Bucky- shit that feels good.” You whine, the heels of your feet digging into the mattress from the intrusion.

Bucky can’t help the feral feeling that washes over him when he sees the tip of his cock poking from under the soft skin of your stomach. He moves out unreasonably slow, only to push in with fervor and watch with a slack jaw as he contorts your insides for his pleasure. “Should just keep you stuffed all day long pretty girl, maybe then you could take me better, couldn’t ya?” He mumbles, the veins in his arm bulging as he fills you full of his throbbing cock. The breathy groans you let out only spur him on, his pace becoming brutal as you go completely dumb under him, his swelling tip and heavy balls the only thought on your mind as he completely ruins you.

[nasa]

Let's Explore a Metal-Rich Asteroid 🤘

Between Mars and Jupiter, there lies a unique, metal-rich asteroid named Psyche. Psyche’s special because it looks like it is part or all of the metallic interior of a planetesimal—an early planetary building block of our solar system. For the first time, we have the chance to visit a planetary core and possibly learn more about the turbulent history that created terrestrial planets.

Here are six things to know about the mission that’s a journey into the past: Psyche.

1. Psyche could help us learn more about the origins of our solar system.

After studying data from Earth-based radar and optical telescopes, scientists believe that Psyche collided with other large bodies in space and lost its outer rocky shell. This leads scientists to think that Psyche could have a metal-rich interior, which is a building block of a rocky planet. Since we can’t pierce the core of rocky planets like Mercury, Venus, Mars, and our home planet, Earth, Psyche offers us a window into how other planets are formed.

2. Psyche might be different than other objects in the solar system.

Rocks on Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Earth contain iron oxides. From afar, Psyche doesn’t seem to feature these chemical compounds, so it might have a different history of formation than other planets.

If the Psyche asteroid is leftover material from a planetary formation, scientists are excited to learn about the similarities and differences from other rocky planets. The asteroid might instead prove to be a never-before-seen solar system object. Either way, we’re prepared for the possibility of the unexpected!

3. Three science instruments and a gravity science investigation will be aboard the spacecraft.

The three instruments aboard will be a magnetometer, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and a multispectral imager. Here’s what each of them will do:

Magnetometer: Detect evidence of a magnetic field, which will tell us whether the asteroid formed from a planetary body

Gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer: Help us figure out what chemical elements Psyche is made of, and how it was formed

Multispectral imager: Gather and share information about the topography and mineral composition of Psyche

The gravity science investigation will allow scientists to determine the asteroid’s rotation, mass, and gravity field and to gain insight into the interior by analyzing the radio waves it communicates with. Then, scientists can measure how Psyche affects the spacecraft’s orbit.

4. The Psyche spacecraft will use a super-efficient propulsion system.

Psyche’s solar electric propulsion system harnesses energy from large solar arrays that convert sunlight into electricity, creating thrust. For the first time ever, we will be using Hall-effect thrusters in deep space.

5. This mission runs on collaboration.

To make this mission happen, we work together with universities, and industry and NASA to draw in resources and expertise.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the mission and is responsible for system engineering, integration, and mission operations, while NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Services Program manages launch operations and procured the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Working with Arizona State University (ASU) offers opportunities for students to train as future instrument or mission leads. Mission leader and Principal Investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton is also based at ASU.

Finally, Maxar Technologies is a key commercial participant and delivered the main body of the spacecraft, as well as most of its engineering hardware systems.

6. You can be a part of the journey.

Everyone can find activities to get involved on the mission’s webpage. There's an annual internship to interpret the mission, capstone courses for undergraduate projects, and age-appropriate lessons, craft projects, and videos.

You can join us for a virtual launch experience, and, of course, you can watch the launch with us on Oct. 12, 2023, at 10:16 a.m. EDT!

For official news on the mission, follow us on social media and check out NASA’s and ASU’s Psyche websites.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[gaargoyle]

My current much-loved possession, an original 1993 copy of Space Marine. I wanted it for its lovely cover, mostly, (also physical media is supreme) even though it's seen better days. The pretty foil lettering has worn away in spots.

Inside is the timeline that was canon in 1993. You can still get this book today digitally, but I do not know if they include a timeline with it still, and if they do, if they kept it as it was for posterity or made updates.

Transcribed below!

A TIMELINE FOR THE WARHAMMER 40,000 UNIVERSE

15th Millennium - Humanity begins to colonise nearby solar systems using conventional sub-light spacecraft. At first, progress is painfully slow. Separated from Terra by up to ten generations in travel time, the new colonies have to survive mainly on local resources.

The Dark Age of Technology

20th Millennium - Discovery of warp drives accelerates the colonisation process and the early independent or corporate colonies become federated to Terra. The first alien races (including the ubiquitous Orks) are encountered. The development of the Navigator gene allows human pilots to make longer and faster 'jumps' through warp space than was previously thought possible. The great Navigator families, initially controlled by industrial and trading cartels, become a power base in their own right.

Humanity continues to explore and colonise the galaxy. Contacts are established with the Eldar and other alien races. A golden age of scientific achievement begins. Perfection of the Standard Template Construct (STC) system now permits an almost explosive expansion to the stars.

The Age of Strife

25th Millennium - Humanity reaches the far edges of the galaxy, completing the push to the stars begun over ten thousand years before. Human civilisation is now widely dispersed and divergent - with countless small colonies as well as many large, overpopulated planets. Localised wars and disputes with various alien races (especially the Orks!) continue, but pose no threat to the overall stability of human-colonised space. Then, two things happen almost simultaneously. First, humans with psychic powers begin to appear on almost every colonised world. Second, civilisation starts to disintegrate under the stress of widespread insanity, demonic possession, and internecine strife between these new 'psykers' and the rest of humanity. Countless fanatical cults and organisations spring up to persecute the psykers as witches, and/or degenerate mutants. At this time, the existence of the creatures of the warp (later known and feared as demons), and the dangers they pose to the human mind with newly awakened psychic powers, is far from understood.

Terrible wars tear human civilisation apart. Localised empires and factions fight amongst themselves as well as against fleets of Orks, Tyrannids [sic], and other aliens whose forces are quick to seize the opportunity to sack human space. Many worlds fall prey to the dominance of Warp Creatures whilst others revert to barbarism. Humans survive only on those worlds where psykers are suppressed or controlled. During this time, Terra is cut off from the rest of humanity by terrible warp storms, which isolate the home world for several thousand years, further accelerating the ruin of humanity.

The Horus Heresy

30th Millennium - Humanity itself teeters on the brink of the abyss of extinction. Civil war erupts throughout the galaxy as the Emperor of human space is betrayed by his most trusted lieutenant, the Warmaster Horus. Possessed by a demon from the warp, Horus seduces whole chapters of humanity's greatest warriors - the Space Marines - into joining his cause. When the final battle seems lost, the Emperor defeats Horus in single combat, but only at the cost of his own humanity.

His physical life maintained by artificial means, and his psyche by human sacrifice, the Emperor begins the long task of reconquering human space. With the creation by the Emperor of the psychic navigational beacon known as the Astronomican, the foundations are laid for the building of the Imperium, as it to be known in the 41st millennium. Fuelled by the dying spirits of those psykers who would otherwise fall prey to the demons of the warp, and directed by the Emperor's indomitable will, the Astronomican soon becomes an invaluable aid to Navigators throughout the galaxy. Interstellar travel becomes even easier and quicker, while the repression and control of psykers and creatures from the warp releases much of humanity from its hellish bondage.

The Age of the Imperium

41st Millennium - Throughout the portion of the galaxy known as the Imperium, humanity is bound within the organisations and strictures of the Administratum. The Emperor grows ever more detached from the day to day concerns of his mortal subjects, while the Inquisition works ceaselessly to protect humanity from the ever-present dangers posed by renegade psykers and the terrible creatures inhabiting warp space. The armies of the Imperium - the Guard and the almost superhuman Space Marines - maintain a constant vigil against the threat of invading Orks, Tyrannids [sic] and other aliens. But still the number of psykers increases steadily, and other more sinister groups associated with Warp Creature domination continue to gain ground...

[deep-space-netwerk]

So I wanna tell y'all about something very near and dear to my heart.

This is the Psyche asteroid, or, at least an artist's representation - we don't know what it actually looks like yet, but this is a fair enough guess. It's a roughly 200 mile wide asteroid in the asteroid belt, and it's made almost entirely out of metal. Its composition makes it unique; it’s the only large metallic body we know of in the entire solar system.

We think it might be the core of what used to be a planet.

When solar systems form, they start out as disks made of interstellar gas and dust, called protoplanetary disks. Here's a picture of HL Tauri, one of the best images of a protoplanetary disk we have.

That dust globs together into larger and larger pieces, and eventually forms hundreds of "planetesimals", which are rocky bodies about a kilometer across. Planetesimals had very erratic orbits compared to the modern planets - the dust of the protoplanetary disk caused friction and drag, which threw them off course.

They frequently collided with each other, and either broke apart or stuck together and grew even larger. Arrokoth is actually a leftover planetesimal, a time capsule from the early solar system, and we were able to visit it wayyy out in the Kuiper belt with the New Horizons probe!

Once planetesimals get to be about the size of the moon, we call them "protoplanets". Protoplanets were fundamentally different from their planetesimal siblings - we believe they were differentiated. When an object in space gets big enough, a combination of radioactive decay, impacts, and gravitational pressure causes them to heat up and melt. Denser materials like iron and nickel sink towards their centers, while the lighter materials rise to the surface. The differentiation process is why Earth's core is made of iron, while the surface is primarily rock.

While protoplanet orbits were much more stable than those of planetesimals, they still eventually collided with each other until everything settled into the planets we see today (though gas giants had a few extra steps - that's a different post!).

We think the Psyche asteroid was a protoplanet, well on its way to becoming a bona fide planet, when an impact struck it hard enough to strip away its rocky layers, leaving behind the dense, metallic core - like in this illustration.

More and more, we think  the properties of a planet's core are fundamental to its long-term evolution. Venus, Earth, and Mars are all roughly the same size and roughly the same distance from the sun, cosmically speaking, yet they're so different! Venus has hell death clouds, Earth is home, and Mars is dry and dead - why?

The Psyche asteroid gives us the unique opportunity to actually observe a planetary core directly - it's much harder to dig to the center of a planet than it is to go to space, so that's exactly what we're going to do!

On Thursday October 12th at 10:16am Eastern, the Psyche spacecraft will launch and begin its journey to the asteroid belt! You can watch at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv/!

I've been a part of this mission for over four years now, and I can't speak highly enough of the team that made it happen through all of the ups and downs. Good luck out there, buddy. We're all rooting for you :')

[sensualnoiree]

astro notes: the sun 🌞

The Sun represents the central principle of vital energy and conscious selfhood in the birth chart. Just as the Sun is the central entity in the solar system, it is also the central entity in the individual psyche reflected in the birth chart. Your Sun sign is considered the core of who you are in astrology. It represents your vitality, your sense of self, and your individuality. The Sun in your birth chart symbolizes your spirit, inspirations, motivations, personality, expressions, life force, and personal identity. The sign the Sun sits within on the day of your birth shows how this life force expresses itself in the world and what traits you are building throughout your life to feel and become more of yourself.

The Sun represents spiritual intelligence. Light is a symbol of intelligence or an awakening, and the Sun, as the supreme source of light in the human world, represents the highest form of intelligence, spiritual intelligence. The Sun symbolizes the Creator in various spiritual traditions, with prophets and messengers acting as mirrors, reflecting the sun's rays. This concept is central to progressive revelation, the belief that the universal God continually sends guidance to humanity through different prophets, all reflecting the same divine light.

In Japan, the Sun is revered as a goddess, the personification of the physical sun and the Ruler of Heaven. The Japanese Sun-goddess, Amaterasu, is considered the founder of Japan, and all emperors are known as "Sons of the Sun." In Shinto, the ancient religion of Japan, nature is worshipped, and the Sun plays a central role in rituals and customs. The Sun is seen as a source of physical stamina, business success, and protection from invasion.

In Christianity, the Sun has been used metaphorically to represent Christ. Christ is often referred to as the "Sun of Righteousness," and his birth was symbolically linked to the sun's creation in early Christian literature. The winter solstice, December 25, was chosen for Christmas because of its association with the invincible sun in pagan celebrations.

In ancient Greek art, the sun symbolized eternity and stability, despite the constant flux of time. The sun god Helios was worshipped in the Seleucid east, with bronze coins depicting a fusion of Helios and Apollo. The Vergina Sun, a rayed solar symbol, represented completeness and totality, symbolizing the 12 gods and the four elements.

In Native American traditions, the Sun is revered as a living being, connected to all aspects of nature. Native to the Americas understood themselves to be part of a larger interconnected web of life, where everything is sacred and connected. The Sun is viewed as essential for life, providing warmth, light, and energy to sustain all living beings.

The Sun holds immense significance across various cultures and spiritual traditions. It represents the core of who you are, your vitality, and your sense of self. Spiritually, it symbolizes the highest form of intelligence and the source of all light.

The Sun's symbolism reflects its universal importance as a life-giving force that sustains all living beings. Whether as a celestial body in astrology, a goddess in Japanese mythology, a metaphor for Christ in Christianity, or a symbol of stability in ancient Greek art, the Sun's significance transcends cultural boundaries, reminding us of our interconnectedness with the cosmos and the natural world.

follow for more astro insights like this and support me over on instagram @sensualnoire or yt @quenysefields

[annymation]

Okay, now I wanna know how the calming from nightmares would play out between Aster and Asha…which means I’m giving you full permission to write this type of angst.😅 Maybe the two of the have a nightmare about those AU endings you gave each of them (Asha is cursed and Aster is a black hole). If it means I see a wholesome interaction of either of them calming each other from a nightmare, it’ll be worth the angst.

OOOOH-HOO HA HA HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh Emptyblog7 my poor, naive, little friend! You have no idea of what you just unleashed!

Thanks to you, I can now explore the deep machinations of my characters psyche, their deepest and untold fears are revealed in poetic ways, and best of all, I get to make my favorite blorbo suffer YIPPIEEEEEEE!!!

So anyway, Asha got a nightmare in chapter 8 of Kingdom Of Wishes (In the updated version) so I guess it's Aster's turn.

"All you'll have to do is give her a true love's kiss" Explained Acrux, the south star of the southern cross constellation. The elder star spoke calmly with a wise and serene smile "If your feelings are indeed true love, then... You shall become a human"

He finished that sentence with his voice sounding slightly quavery, almost as if he was trying to hide from Aster a sense of dread he was feeling.

Aster, however, didn't notice the uneasiness in his voice at all. The young star was beaming with the news that the stars would actually grant his wish. He couldn't stop smiling, frantically moving his arms up and down with an unbound energy.

Aster celebrated in front of all the stars that surrounded them "WOOOAAAAH!!! LETS GOOO-" But he stopped himself, realizing it was best to show maturity in front of the ancient star "I mean- ahem- Thank you, for giving me this chance" The little star bowed down his head to Acrux, to which the brighter star just smiles amusedly.

Another star that was among the many others gathered around them spoke up "We couldn't, in good conscience, let you go without asking one thing first" The star that walked forward was Meissa, more specifically, she's the head of Orion "Do you truly understand what your wish entails?"

"Ummm sure I do, it means I get to spend the rest of my life with the one I love" Aster replied with his eyes sparkling brighter than the sun.

And speaking of which "Indeed, the rest of your life..." The sun from the earth's solar system herself spoke "A life that, for us, will be nothing but a passing moment... We'll view your life the same way humans view the life of a butterfly. Freeing and beautiful, sure, but also short and fragile." She explained with a smile that carried some worry behind him

Aster understood what the other stars were worried about, that he'd regret this choice, that something bad would happen to him, he smiled and tried to reassure them "I know, and I've already accepted that. As long as I have Asha by my side I have nothing to fear"

...

A voice echoed from the crowd of stars "Well then, I guess we're asking the wrong question. Aren't we?" Just from their tone, it was noticeable how they were smiling while speaking.

Aster was caught off guard by the voice. Deep down, they knew that this whole thing felt quite "Deja Vu"... Almost like a memory he was re-living... But that felt different, he didn't remember this part.

Aster turns towards where the voice came from, he doesn't know which of the stars spoke "And uh- what would the "right question" be? Heh heh" Aster asked, feeling anxious all of the sudden, not sure why.

The stars that were gathered around moved to the side, almost like a door sliding open to reveal who had spoken... Aster's breath hitched.

All he saw was two eyes. Two tiny, shiny, yellow eyes. On a dark silhouette.

Aster couldn't quite make out who or what the silhouette looked like. But he knew one thing... That's NOT how stars present themselves when taking a physical form... This is something else.

Aster floats backwards slightly, his eyes darting around to the other stars, he looks at them distressed as if to ask "Are you all seeing that?"

But they seem unnerved by the newcomer... They actually have no reaction at all.

The shadowy figure then says "The question isn't if you're prepared to die eventually, of coooourse you are." There's nothing to be seen on their face besides their eyes, however, Aster can practically HEAR their huge smile as they speak. The silhouette takes a few steps forward as they ask their first question "What you really should ask yourself is...

Are you ready to lose her?"

Aster felt a chill run down his spine... Which was odd, stars can't feel cold. He tried to open his mouth to speak but-

"Are you ready to be even MORE helpless than you already were?"

His voice didn't come out, it was as if something was holding his lungs. Aster turned to Acrux but-

"Are you ready to be useless for her, again?..."

Acrux wasn't there, he vanished. Aster quickly looks around, and to his horror... The stars are gone.

Aster is shaking, all he sees around him is darkness. There's nothing, there's no one. Just him, and this thing getting closer and closer.

The figure suddenly get's close really fast, floating right above him "Tell me, do you really think you can protect her?" He sneered, it felt more like a mockery than a question "Even though you can't even protect yourself?"

Aster was frozen in place, staring at those bright eyes looming above him.

Suddenly, he feels himself getting smaller, but not because he was shrinking. Looking down, Aster sees he's being sucked into a hole that opened beneath his feet.

They try to scream, but no sound came out.

And even if it did, no one would hear.

It's just the two of them, in the dark emptiness of space.

Aster feels as if they're being swallowed by quicksand, as his feet sink down slowly, down and down into the hole of emptiness.

"Heh heh it's like they said, you're just as fragile as a bug now" the shadow couldn't hold in a lowly chuckle as floated in circles above Aster, watching the other sinking down slowly in amusement "Ah but then again, that's nothing new to you, is it?" those glowing yellow eyes pierced through Aster's soul "Even when you had magic, you were weak. Now? Now you're NOTHING!" The shadow's hand SLAMS with all force on Aster's face, now pushing him down, making him sink faster and faster. "So, when something WORSE than Magnifico shows up, what will you do? Hmmm?" Aster tried to pull and punch the hand out of his face, but it wouldn't budge, it was like the arm was made of concrete. He was powerless to stop this "That's right, NOTHING!" The hand pushed Aster down harshly, he could feel his whole lower half was being pressured from all sides, like he was being buried alive.

From between the dark fingers, Aster could open his eyes to look at the silhouette face to face...

He wasn't a silhouette anymore.

Aster could see their face... It was his own face.

It was like looking in a mirror, albeit, a mirror with a very sinister smile.

"But hey! That's what you wished for, right?" they kept pushing Aster down, his chest was completely swallowed by the hole. The shadow grinned as he rambled almost playfully "To live unsure of what the future has in store, not knowing what other threats you'll be hopeless to stop next, wow, exciting stuff, huh?! Everyday a brand new failure!" Aster once again tried to scream, but his voice wasn't coming out no matter how hard he tried. They were buried now up to the neck. His shadow stopped smiling, now with a cold expression, he said one last thing before pushing Aster into the abyss "So don't cry about it when things get tough, you asked for it."

With one last push... Aster fell in.

And he kept falling. Down.

Down and down.

Free falling.

Down.

Until.

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" Aster woke up in cold sweat.

The boy was breathing as if his heart was trying to jump out of his chest, his eyes darting around the room, blinking rapidly, trying to adjust to the darkness. The room was barely lit thanks to the light of the full moon coming from the window, but slowly, things started coming into focus.

Aster tried to calm himself, hugging his pillow as he looked around to ground himself back into reality. None of that was real, he was fine, he was in his room, with just a closet, a few books scattered on the floor, and a face staring at him.

"GAAH-" Aster let out another yell, realizing that the face staring at him was his own... Because there was a mirror on the other side of the room.

He let out a sigh, of both relief and frustration, he literally just got scared of his reflection, how pathetic is that?

They stared back into the mirror for a few moments. Seeing his now curly brown hair and freckled cheeks... He could also see how much he was shaking, even though it wasn't cold.

They breathed deeply a few more time, as everything from that dream started to sink in, and not only that, but everything else that has been happening since Aster became human.

All the times he got hurt by accidentally forgetting he couldn't fly anymore and Asha got really worried about him.

All the times they passed by the royals statues and Aster had in the back of his mind the lingering fear that maybe the spell wasn't permanent.

All the times he wanted to express how this is all so new and overwhelming, to the point he sometimes didn't want to hang out with Asha and the others, sometimes, he just wanted to be left alone.

But he can't say that, right? Their time together is short, he has to enjoy every day like it's his last, that's what being human is all about... Right? And... That's what he wished for...

Aster didn't even notice he was crying til he felt a knot stuck in his throat. Tears were running down his freckled cheeks as he still kept staring in the mirror.

*knock knock*

"AAH!" Aster screams for the third time in a row once he hears someone knocking on the door.

"Aster, are you okay? I heard you yelling" Asha's voice came worriedly from the other side of the door "May I come in?"

Aster quickly dried his own tears with his pillow "Oh he-hey Asha! Ye-yeah sure, I'm fine, just uh- I fell from the bed" he lied, trying to disguise how hoarse his voice sounded

Asha opened the door, wearing a simple orange night gown and holding a candle "Did you hurt yourself? That was a pretty loud scream"

She wasn't actually buying this "Fell from the bed" talk, she knew by now Aster sometimes had the bad habit of keeping any negative feelings to himself. They still had to work through that.

Aster chuckled awkwardly "Heheh oops, I should probably apologize to Dahlia, her parents and the neighbors tomorrow, shouldn't I?" he tried to lighten the situation, but the shakiness in his voice gave it away that he wasn't feeling well

Asha set next to him on the bed and placed the candle on the night stand "Aster, you know you can tell me anything... I want to help." She held his hand, soothingly caressing it with her thumb. With his other hand Aster dried another tear that threatened to fall from the corner of his eye. Asha gently held his other hand as she said "You can cry if you need to"

And that was enough to make Aster break into tears.

The two of them hugged, as Asha caressed his back gently and whispered words of reassurance, his sobbing slowly subsided into small hiccups, and later to just some spaced out shaky breaths.

Soon, Aster was able to take deep breaths and calm himself, although he had calmed down, the two remained in the embrace, like neither of them wanted to let go.

"... I'm afraid of the unknown." Aster admitted in a sigh "Of not knowing what'll happen with us in the future... What if something worse than the royals comes and I- I can't keep you safe..." Aster's voice started shaking again.

Asha held him closer "I'm afraid too... Everyone's afraid of not knowing what'll happen next, that's part of life" she explained, feeling her own heart ache, as she indeed understood what Aster meant, or at least part of it "But we promised we'd protect each other, remember? That means I'm here for you too" She let go of the hug to look at him in the eyes with a smile "So don't put so much pressure on yourself, okay? We're in this together"

Aster's tears still glistened with the moonlight coming from the window, but he had a bittersweet smile.

"Thank you..." Aster pondered for a moment, and then asked "Is it okay if we cancel those plans we had for tomorrow and just... Stay home? Maybe just talking?... I think I want take the day to relax" He wasn't sure if it was selfish of him to ask that

"Of course we can." Asha replied warmly "That's actually a great idea, to be honest, we've been showing you so much human things everyday it probably got you kinda stressed, huh?"

Aster hugged her once again, she didn't know how much that meant to him.

"Thank you for understanding... I love you, Asha."

Asha hugged him back with a smile "I love you too, Aster"

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

Dang that was a lot. I had to do some research about dream symbolism, look up the meanings of "Not being able to scream in a dream" and "Sinking in quick sand in a dream" and also "Free falling in a dream" for more insight.

Basically what I wanted to explore was both Aster's fear of not being strong enough to protect Asha, a fear that carried over since their star boy days to his human days, and also the guilt that comes from not feeling 100% happy after getting something you wanted all your life. Aster wished to be human for so long, so he feel like he doesn't have the right to feel sad, otherwise they're being ungrateful, when of course there's nothing wrong with not being happy all the time, that's something Aster still gotta work through.

In conclusion, Aster needs some therapy, luckily Asha is the next closest thing.

Tagging yall cause I've been teasing this angst for days now lol @gracebeth3604 @uva124 @emillyverse @oh-shtars @signed-sapphire @kstarsarts

[rascosmicwisdom]

The Astrology of your Maternal lineage and inheritance. The sidereal Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter.

The moon ruling one’s emotions, psyche, sociability, and mother, we are predisposed to certain experiences, not only genetically but also through our experiences with our own mother.

Through exploring your moon placement you may find that the way you perceive and experience your mother is how you engage with the world. Your moon placement can show the ways you and your mother are alike, what you inherit from your mother, and things you both have or will experience.

The planet Jupiter represents the brain, growth and expansion, conception(so does moon) , perception, and your children. The planet Jupiter in one’s chart can be indicative of the experience in your mothers pregnancy and things she imprinted on you. Jupiter has exaltation in the sign of Cancer, the sign ruled by the Moon. So while this can symbolize having enough water/fluid on the brain, this can also translate to one’s time in the womb surrounded in water/fluid.

When a fetus is in the womb of its mother, there is already a maternal lineage connected through the eggs that are formed within the ovaries of the fetus while in the womb. One’s life on a cellular level begins in our grandmother’s womb.

Jupiter in the natal chart can represent one’s grandmother. I believe this also connects to Jupiter’s exaltation in Cancer and how it’s very common for the grandmother to be revered, and be a teacher to her grandchildren. Jupiter represents Jiva Atma , which is the individual soul/self. Life beginning on a cellular level within our grandmother’s womb, we can consider the relationship between Jupiter(grandmother) & Moon(mother); which connects to what is passed alone and our relationship to our mother and grandmother.

What was passed down by your grandmother to your mother has also been passed on to you. Cells from the maternal grandmother can be transferred to YOU via your mother.

According to research, a mother having a positive perception of her bond with her infant is a marker for more optimal social, emotional, and behavioral development. The emotional bond between mother and baby is critical to how the baby will grow and develop. A fetus also experiences the mother’s life and is able to perceive parts of it & be affected by it.

A baby’s DNA also becomes apart of the mother’s brain.

Mercury represents one’s inheritance/heredity.

Etymology of heredity: derives from the Latin word heres meaning heir & heredites meaning heirship. An heir is the inheritor. Mercury’s symbol is Venus, planet that rules DNA, with a crescent moon connected to it. This connect to what we inherit from our mother too.

Moon and Mercury have their relationship to one another in the birth chart. In Vedic allegory, Mercury is the child of the Moon. In the solar system, Mercury resembles the Moon. Mercury being how we process information\short term memory, and our nervous system. We collect memory’s through our emotions (Moon). Moon and Mercury connect to our somatic experiences. Which is influenced by: one’s experience in the womb, what your mother has passed along to you, and the emotional bond (or lack thereof) between you.

All of this shapes how we experience the world and this life

[sylenth-l]

hello! hunter age anon back once moe with another question!!! (sorry ig yhis gets annoying!!!)

i want to ask about Cayde's dynamic with andal!!! like, how to portray their relationship and maybe cayde's general psyche when it comes to people and forming bonds.

Not at all, I love getting questions about my guys!! (I'm just bad at answering them aksdjhflks OTL)

It's… complicated, I'm never sure how to describe characters' relationships with words. I know it sounds incredibly cheesy, but to me Andal and Cayde are two halves of a whole, one feels incomplete without the other. Even if we're talking about them being just friends, they're the type who always show up everywhere together and if for some reason they aren't, they'll be texting each other non-stop still. "We're two halves of a whole idiot" - that's literally them.

You could say that they knew and understood each other perfectly, but I feel like while it's true in general everyday scenarios, on a grander scale Andal always had an upper hand in that. He knew Cayde like the back of his hand, he trusted him and believed in him far more than Cayde ever thought of himself. Cayde however wasn't exactly that sharp when it came to serious things about which Andal avoided speaking head-on - like, Cayde couldn't understand why Andal takes his Vanguard duty so seriously. It was only after he spent years as the Hunter Vanguard himself that he started to get what Andal must've felt. I don't think it's Cayde's fault or something though - Andal most likely barely ever talked about that, and he himself didn't exactly need people talking about their feelings to understand them.

I think it's safe to say, judging by how everyone speak of him and the leadership positions he seemingly effortlessly always ended up in, that Andal just gets people, he understands them extremely well and can find a common language with just about anyone. He was the one who made "significant progress in faction accords". What kind of person you must be to make faction leaders come to an agreement, at that time especially??? Convincing, sharp and charming sounds like an understatement alksdhfkjaks

So, I think it was that quality that helped Andal almost immediately see right through all of Cayde's clowney facades. And his own kindness and honesty pretty much left Cayde totally disarmed. Andal got to know him - the real him - and loved him, thought of him as his best friend. And made damn sure Cayde was aware of that as well. That's actually so, so incredibly important - because with the way Cayde is, he constantly thinks that deep down people surrounding him either dislike him or are disappointed in him. No matter how much time they spend together, it's not something he himself will just get one day because "well it's OBVIOUS" or something. His relationship with Ikora and Zavala are probably the most striking example of that. Ikora says he was one of her closest friends - Cayde says he's not sure if Ikora even likes him. The City is flooded with Cabal, lightless Guardians scattered all over the system, humanity is in shambles - and Cayde is genuinely surprised Zavala is looking for him and needs him. He leaves messages for both of them in case they kill him, making it sound like he wouldn't be surprised at all if they did. That… really shows the abysmal gap of misunderstanding between them, to put it lightly.

But Andal! Cayde never once doubted Andal and Andal's feelings for him. The good old days he speaks so fondly of is the time when he ran around the Solar system with Andal and their pack. Even if he sometimes laments that Andal is too serious and bad with jokes, that seriousness and honesty is actually just another proof that if Andal says so, then he really does like him and is impressed by whatever Cayde wanted to impress him with this time. 

I think it's probably one of, if not the most important part of what made Andal so incredibly special to Cayde - that freedom of being able to be equally honest with him, be real. Goofing off because he simply wants to goof off - not because he prefers to give people lower standards so that they won't be disappointed in him when he fails. Sharing his muddy concerns and fears that he barely even can put into words, knowing it won't be laughed at or brushed off as unimportant. Absolutely everything got better instantly if they were in it together. The mere presence of one of them in close proximity immediately cheered the other up.

I don't know, I can talk about them for hours and still not say what I wanted to say. I always miss the most important stuff somehow, no matter how many words I pour in. Honestly, I think that to better understand what was happening between them, all you have to do is to (re)read "The Man They Call Cayde" - literally half of it is basically Cayde's love letter to Andal.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Scientists use Webb, Sofia telescopes to observe metallic asteroid Southwest Research Institute scientists are using telescopes to observe the asteroid Psyche in the infrared, providing context for NASA's upcoming Psyche mission. Dr. Stephanie Jarmak is using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to look for water signatures on the metallic surface of Psyche, while Dr. Anicia Arredondo is using some of the last data collected by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, to study differences in Psyche's composition at different points on its surface.

At about 140 miles in diameter, Psyche is one of the most massive objects in the main asteroid belt orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. Previous observations indicate that Psyche is a dense, largely metallic object thought to be the leftover core from a failed planet. On October 5, NASA is scheduled to launch the Psyche spacecraft, which will travel 2.2 billion miles and arrive at the asteroid in August 2029.

"Using telescopes at different infrared wavelengths of light, the SwRI-led research will provide different but complementary information to what the Psyche spacecraft is designed to study," said Dr. Tracy Becker, a group leader in SwRI's Space Science Division.

Psyche remains somewhat mysterious, as some previous observations have been conflicting, for instance showing variability in its surface composition in the near infrared wavelengths as well as hints of hydration on its surface.

"Our JWST observations are designed to determine if water exists on Psyche," Jarmak said. "Observations across the 3- and 6-micron wavelength ranges tell us whether hydration is present in the form of hydroxyl or actual water. And if we don't find it, that wouldn't be surprising, considering Psyche is thought to be a mostly metallic world."

Psyche is a particularly interesting target because Earth is thought to have a metallic core, but it's buried deep beneath its mantle and crust and is inaccessible for direct study.

"We used SOFIA to scan the asteroid in the infrared as it rotated to better understand if Psyche could be the remnant core of a differentiated asteroid or protoplanet," Arredondo said. "If so, multiple impacts would have stripped all the outer layers off, leaving only a metal core. But those impacts could also lead to variability. However, observations indicate that Psyche is metal - no big surprise - and we don't see a lot of variation with rotation, at least at the mid-infrared wavelengths."

Metal asteroids are relatively rare in the solar system, and scientists believe Psyche could offer a unique opportunity to see inside a planet. However Psyche is so unusual, it could also surprise scientists and suggest a different story of how solar system objects formed.

"All of the observations using different techniques keep showing us results that don't make sense in context with each other," Arredondo said. "That's why it's so important that we have a mission going there now."

[notebookqueenofnarnia]

This is probably niche but I have a bookstagram too and literally whenever I post more about Greek mythology retellings- like Song or Achilles and PJO like all the other blogs out there- I swear all these Greek nationalists(?) just bleed out of the woodwork to come defend ancient misogyny and claim exclusive rights to ancient stories?? Yes cultural appropriation is a thing, but fam…this is not that.

I have never seen them do this on any one else’s posts and like jeez Louise what am I doing to attract all of them?? I get that Greek mythology is a part of your culture but the hard truth is it is a part of all major Western identities, particularly in the US.

Rick does an amazing job of pointing all this out in Percy Jackson, but there are dozens and dozens of books and papers discussing Greek mythology being at the core of Western psyche (and yes I did use the word psyche to reinforce my point). The architecture. The symbolism. The narrative tropes. Brands like Nike. Our solar systems???

This is just a rant but seriously why would you spend your time ‘defending’ a guy who beheaded a woman who was punished for being a victim (in most versions of the Medusa myth) and why would you bother doing it in my wee little corner of the internet?

[cosmictapestry]

ok please please tell me what you actually imagine dream's first kiss to have been. how and why is it worse. please

haha yaaaaaaaaay baby dream war crimes <3 <3 <3 warning for canon-typical godawfulness <3 <3 <3

we’re not really given an idea of like, the spacing between endless births. we know that death and dream were close together and that desire and despair are twins. there’s no timeline though.

so, before desire and despair are born, dream is the sole juggler of the mortal psyche. i don’t think the weight of the collective is split between the psychological sibs, exactly—it’s more just that certain parts of the collective did not exist before their births—but this does mean dream was entirely alone in his experience of existence. for some time. maybe a long time. we don’t know!

there wasn’t despair or desire or delight or delirium yet but there Were dreams. All dreams All the time. and in My Favorite Characterization, that drives dream very mad very quickly. and he does terrible things and no one checks him on it. he doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not and he’s doing things just to see what will happen. he extinguishes a star to see if it actually stops existing—and it doesn’t, the dream of it and its thriving solar system still exists, so he didn’t do any harm, really. it’s fine. no one tells him it’s not fine. how is he supposed to know it’s not fine. death doesn’t care. destiny knew it would happen. time and night think everything he does is silly. so. it’s fine.

then destruction is born and he can see, finally, what’s really happening, because when he extinguishes a star the solar system doesn’t die all at once—it decays. he has to watch it crumble away and know that he did that. living things exist long enough to suffer before they die. it’s not fine anymore—he doesn’t want things to suffer, he never wanted that, why did that happen?? and it hurts now. the weight of all dreams was intolerable before but it hurts now, destruction makes things hurt. now everything he does is terrifying. he’s out of control. the mistakes keeps happening because he can’t tell what’s dreams and what’s everything else.

desire and despair are born. it gets worse. the dreams are—it’s all so awful, now. everything hurts and grieves and wants and the wanting doesn’t hurt. he chases the wanting.

he won’t harm reality on purpose—he still can barely tell what that is, he’s still messing up all the time, still out of control. he can control this, though. he can make something to—something to touch, on purpose, so he doesn’t touch anything else. if it’s just him it’s fine. so he makes something that he wants to touch and he touches it. and it feels so good to not have to try so hard to be in control.

then he sees what’s left of the thing he made and he doesn’t understand. he feels so sick. it’s the most disgusting thing he’s ever seen. it isn’t the quick clean wrath of a god. it’s the lust of a mortal. of ALL mortals.

he sits with the thing he made for days. weeks. tries to understand. he didn’t mean to do that. why did that happen. it’s so much worse than extinguishing a star.

eventually he reabsorbs the thing he made, memories and all. it is horrible. it is what he deserves. he never speaks of it.

[thepsychewrites]

Back to You | B. Barnes

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky was used to running away. He never knew the feeling of coming back would be so euphoric.

Word Count: 942

Warnings: 18+ only, MDNI ; a lil smutty, angsty, and too poetic. Bucky is stupid sometimes- but that’s life man.

Gif found on Pinterest, it is not mine. 

Author’s Note: This is pretty different from how I normally write, but I enjoyed how it came out. Let me know what you guys think. Love you.

Main Masterlist

—————

All Bucky had ever known was running away.

It was so easy for him to run. It meant he didn’t have to succumb to the guilt he often faced, tired of it being a reminder of his sins. Running meant he didn’t have to feel anything if he didn’t want to. He could go anywhere, be anyone. He could hide and never see the light of day again.

He didn’t want to run from you, nor did he want to hide from the love you poured into his glass. But he couldn’t bring himself to drink it down, leaving it to settle into every crevice and corner of his being. It wasn’t his to consume, yet he yearned for it all the same. Night after night when he laid you to rest, your body glistening with the hollow promises of a beautiful tomorrow and a lifetime of forever with the man by your side, he wanted to give in to the temptations more than anything. Run, his mind would scream, run before she gives you a reason to stay.

When the moon howled his name and coaxed him away, he greeted that guilt with a regretful sob. Who was he to run from you? From the only person to show him the love he searched his whole life to find? Who was he to break the binds that tied your souls to one another? The heart that beats for him wasn’t his own, but he didn’t mind ripping it to pieces. Shame came next, it’s voice more taunting and disappointed than guilt’s.

Maybe he could’ve learned to love you better if the feeling was familiar. Maybe, had Bucky known love early in life, had love taken the curtesy to embed itself into his genetic makeup, he wouldn’t of run from it. All Bucky knew best was running. That was familiar. It was coded in his DNA. But love? How could it be so easy? So serene?

It pulled him back to your welcoming arms. Your soothing coos were a comfort Bucky didn’t deserve. He ran, no guarantee of return. Yet, when he did, you let him back inside with no sly remarks. With no hatred in your eyes. You knew he’d be back, sooner rather than later. He couldn’t make it on his own, the both of you knew that well enough. He’d have to thank you for being so patient with him. Apologies fled his aching lips as he settled on his knees, adoring every nod and grin that came from you. He found his reason to stay, goddamn it.

His body moved against you with purpose, with a sense of urgency and lust. His arms cradled you like the fragile thing you were, so sullen and all too forgiving. God, he was so stupid. But maybe you were, too. Caving so quickly was never part of the plan, but damn your heart for being stubborn.

I’m sorry.

His lips kneaded over yours like they had a thousand times before, this time slow and sorrowful. They anchored you to a crumbling shore, a wave of desire washing over you. His tongue was a storm, forceful and overpowering in its wake to dominate you. You’d drown in his kiss if he’d let you, and tonight might be the night. The edge of his teeth got greedy, keeping your lips against his with no remorse.

Forgive me?

His hands caressed every inch of skin they could reach, his touch unnerved and blistering. His fingers shook as he felt you, each scratch and dig pulling a familiar song from your throat. A flock of goosebumps rose from your naked form, hesitancy long forgotten as Bucky fumbled with the buttons of his pants, desperate to match your unclothed state. The pad of his thumb traced against your pebbled nipple, readying it for his flooded mouth.

I’ve missed you.

His voice was hauntingly sweet, the words he spoke a testament to the love you shared. “Baby, look at me.” A phrase so often whispered in the cool hours of an early morning endeavor, a fevered chill creeping up your spine as he aligned his hips to yours, pushing in to fill a searing hot void opening inside of you. Ragged sighs filled the room, the wet slaps of Bucky rocking in and out of you barely heard over his deep groans. “Look at me when you cum.” It was a command, yet so raw and sincere, so broken and pleading. The connection was an olive branch, offering up a new beginning.

Never shoulda let you go.

His love was a dagger, but oh how you longed for that serrated blade. The pain was ever so comforting as it nestled deep within your skin, housed by the bones of your affection. His love was fierce, like the destructive winds of a devastating storm that brewed in the distance. But Bucky always kept you in the eye of it, calm and safe, even if the thunder raged on all around you.

You’re mine. I am yours.

The air you labored through wasn’t solely your own, but your lovers too. His harsh, hurried breaths whispering the words he couldn’t say. It carried his scent, homey and warm, all too inviting as it pulled you over the edge.

I love you.

You couldn’t smell it now, though, your whole body tensing and seizing as Bucky’s thick heat filled you up. His body fell over yours, shrouding you in his affection. And as he steadily dripped out of you, you didn’t have to hear the words from his mouth to know they were being said.

Never gonna let you forget it again.

-

-

-

[im-just-kinda-here-k]

tell me about stellaris in the most autistic way imaginable (i wanna learn by infodump and infodump only)

(Srry this took me so long to answer I wanted to answer once I got home and promptly forgot about it lmao)

So! Stellaris. The 4x game where you genocide in space or something.

I'll start from the top, you will be designing a space-faring empire to play as, staring with...

SPECIES/HOME SYSTEM: This is where your gonna decide what your founding species looks like and what traits they have, as well as what their home planet/star are named. Not to mention you can write a short biography on your empires pre-ftl history here! Role-play wise this will affect your game greatly, but in terms of gameplay its only a big deal early on as barring some exceptions you will like end up with quite the melting pot, and any individual species traits will be of little consequence. The next part will be much more influential, however.

GOVERNMENT: Now we get into the real meat of your empire. Who are they? What do they stand for? What makes them stand out? How do they decide on their leaders? Do they decide on their leaders? You can be militaristic xenophiles who will fight tooth and nail to protect the galaxies people, or a curious hive mind that wants to hoard as much knowledge as it can without coming to blows with its neighbors, and yes, space nazis. Here you can also decide the past of your species, they could be fairly normal, simply reaching out into the stars after a few decades of booming economy, or they could've never lived on a planet at all, being born on floating habitats in the void.

MISC: Just some other details, your first leaders name/gender, what your ships look like, what your advisor sounds like, that kinda stuff.

GAMEPLAY: I'm sorry but I have that committed to muscle memory I would have a stroke if I tried to explain it. Montu and other stellaris youtubers are the best for that.

MODS: For when you've spent 200$ on dlc but want 600$ worth instead. This can be anything from simple tweaks to complete overhauls of the gameplay. My favorite are "gigastructural engineering and more" which expand on the megastructure system (just really big things that make the economy go brrrrrr) and adds lots of post endgame content. (Wanna rearrange entire star systems into mobile weapons platforms and pit them against space cats that consume millions of galaxies to outlive entropy?)

Then there's stellaris evolved, which changes literally every aspect of the game in some way we would be here all day so just know it's amazing.

Alright we've been through a few paragraphs of this so I think it's time to talk about one of my own empires!

THE EMPIRE OF SILDORIA: A long time ago, humans sent out colony ships into a wormhole found at the edge of the solar system, most were destroyed, but one of the surviving ones wound up in a random part of the galaxy, and went a-looking for a new home. But they couldn't find one, supplies were dwindling and systems were failing, so they took a gamble and took up residence in the upper atmosphere of an unusually stable gas giant. It was still a brutal task, where people were worked to death out of necessity rather than greed, but they pulled it off. Floating cities dot the gas planet of sildoria, and after scrounging up enough materials, they have made their way onto the galactic stage. It did not come without cost, however, as the humans, or rather, sildorians, have been fundamental changed by their experiences. Their psyche is unbreakable on a biological level, and their bodies are quite tough as well. They are instinctively inclined to reduce waste, and have a reduced birthrate as a result of cramped conditions. The sildorian government is an interesting one, while it is extremely focused on material gain and expansion of industry, they make sure to take as good care of their people as they can. A sildorian laborer will be expected to give everything they can spare in the workplace, and in exchange they will want for nothing at home. In the future the sildorian empire is likely to take forays into robotics and cybernetics to maximize productivity and comfort. OK that's all I have to say :D

[deep-space-netwerk]

please please please PLEASE share more on your Thoughts about gas giants!! i'd love to learn in a way that doesnt leave me baffled and half my brain leaking from my ears! you explained things so well in the psyche post and also i think things are generally more fun to learn from someone who is Excited To Share than from Published Research Papers where everything has been dried out For Professional Reasons- understandably so, mind, but i am not In The Field and dont know the terms lol

Okay it's taken me forever to get back to this but I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

Like other planets, it all starts with a disk made of gas and dust orbiting an infant star, called a protoplanetary disk. Like these in the Orion Nebula, discovered by the Hubble!

To form terrestrial planets (rocky planets with relatively thin atmospheres like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), the gas in the protoplanetary disk coalesces to form hundreds and hundreds of rocky bodies called planetesimals, about a kilometer across. These planetesimals collide, and form dozens of protoplanets about the size of the moon. The protoplanets then collide as well, and stabilize to form the solar system as we know it today.

But, in the case of gas giants, colliding protoplanets don't form fully-finished planets. Instead, they form a core, or a seed.

We think the only thing that determines whether a planet will be terrestrial or a gas giant is simply how far away from the sun it forms - that's it. As a new sun warms its evolving solar system, it heats up the material in the protoplanetary disk. Close to the sun, the disk gets hotter, and things like water and other ices melt and evaporate into gas, making them difficult for the protoplanets to gravitationally capture. However, further away, the icy compounds stay cold enough to remain solid and coalesce along with rocky particles.

That boundary in the solar system - where ices evaporate to gas on the sunward side, and remain solid on the other - is called the "Frost Line". In our solar system, the Frost Line is right between Mars and Jupiter.

The protoplanets that form past the Frost Line turn into gas giant seeds, and are able to (kinda literally) snowball, picking up both rocky and icy material. With all that solid ice available, they grow far larger and far faster than planets in the inner solar system, and their gravity gets stronger and stronger. More gravity causes them to collect even MORE material until they're heavy enough to capture extremely lightweight elements like hydrogen and helium. Which, of course, makes them get even bigger and even heavier! Runaway growth!

But weirdly, as we study more exoplanets (planets that orbit stars other than our sun), we keep finding these huge gas giants incredibly close to their stars! Like, even closer than Mercury is to ours, which is insane. These "Hot Jupiters" break so many rules - gas giants "should" only be able to form where ice stays frozen, but here they are up close and personal with their stars, like this artist's concept!

It's possible that these planets are in the process of migrating closer to their stars, and we're managing to see them before they evaporate, but we just! Keep! Finding them!

One of my favorite parts of planetary science is how much we still have to learn. We'll think we have a pretty good idea of how things work out there, and then suddenly we'll find something that we can't explain. And there's an entire universe of weird shit - we've barely begun to scratch the surface!

[pobopolybius]

Classmate of mine in psych today got mad at a teacher for making fun of flat earthers and proceeded to talk about how there is no way to prove that gravity is real and that exoplanets were made up by the USA to win the space race and her, as a history college student, said ancient egyptians couldn't actually know about space because "they didn't even have boats" and she also said that the solar system isn't real and that the sun moon and earth are the only existing bodies because space isn't real

[phantomwarrior12]

Protect

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

They can't believe it.

A Guardian could do all of this?

They cast their eyes about, the carnage speaks volume and still - still they are in disbelief.

They were called in for a briefing. It was normal, everything was normal. But then there was commotion beyond Zavala's office. Then there was screaming - agonized, chilling screams that the Guardian will not soon forget.

The door was blown in. They leapt into action. 

They barely registered the fact it was another Guardian to start. He was covered in blood after all; his armor cracked and fragmented in places and a searing, sickly green shone through. The only human features discernable were his eyes. These crazed, raging, bloodshot eyes gazing back at them before he surged forward.

Darkness clashed against Light. 

The Commander stayed back, knowing well enough the Young Wolf’s ability and how it's best suited when there is no need for concern for the safety of others.

Stasis shattered at last beneath their might and the corrupted Guardian hit the ground; bloodied and battered to the point of defeat.

He tried to rise, tried to lunge or strike the Young Wolf but each time, he was knocked to the floor.

Their goal was to detain him. Help him somehow.

But he wouldn't give them that choice.

He grew desperate. He summoned the Darkness within and the weapons he manifested - the Young Wolf stifles a shiver at the memory.

They'd had no choice. He made a panicked rush at them, swung, tried to take them out.

The Commander barked an order. They don't remember what it was but at the time…it was something like permission.

Permission to strike another Guardian beyond the confines of the Crucible. Permission to kill what would otherwise be a comrade.

Permission to protect.

They'd summoned their own Light, rallying in time with their nerves and courage and they killed him.

When he dropped, they expected to see his Ghost appear to explain but…there was nothing.

Later, they'd be told he destroyed his Ghost - her fragments hung around his neck like some warped medal. Later, they'd find out that poor bastard was sent to Europa where the Pyramid screwed with his mind, manipulated and mangled his psyche until he caved to the voices and set about his destructive rampage.

Later, they'd find out there was no way to save him.

The Young Wolf sags against the wall. If they had gotten to him sooner–

He'd killed a handful of civilian guards. Even two Guardians and their Ghosts.

A sickened pang strikes them and the Young Wolf lays an arm over their lower torso.

If they had been there sooner…this could have been avoided.

"Guardian?"

Zavala's voice sounds somewhere in the distance - gentle yet concerned. They wonder if they're imagining it until his hand settles firmly on their shoulder and their head snaps upward.

"Are you alright?"

They manage a nod, albeit a shaky one.

He looks skeptical but thankfully, doesn't press them on the matter. Instead, he guides them over to a bench, helps them sit before taking a seat beside them.

"It's a tragedy, what happened here today."

They nod, their gaze dropping to the floor.

"We often forget the tragedies when we enter these walls. The Last City is a symbol of hope," he leans back against the wall, sharp eyes flickering over the crew assigned to clean up. "But it's also a beacon…not always for good."

The Young Wolf leans back beside him, but their eyes don't lift from the pavement. The sickness has begun to subside but they don't trust themselves enough to speak right now.

"We know so little of the Darkness. Of Stasis. Or even the Black Fleet lingering at the edges of our solar system. I don't believe this was a deliberate attempt on my life–"

The Young Wolf straightens up, gripping his forearm firmly in protest.

The corrupted Guardian had fought his way to Zavala's office. What more does he need proof of? 

But the Commander merely eases his arm free and they recoil with a degree of dejection.

"If it were an attempt on my life, they would have sent someone far stronger than a corrupted Light-Bearer hardly in control of himself. This was a warning. A reminder of their power and the threat they pose to the Traveler and to Earth."

He summons a gentle smile. They're sure he hopes it's reassuring but they note the twinge of worry in his eyes.

"When the time comes, Guardian. We will need you to defend this city. This world. Our people. You've done it before and I believe you can do so again. Can we count on you?"

"Always, Commander."

"Good." Zavala rises, "For now, get some rest."

They nod and as he moves away, their eyes drift to the window. They'll speak with Eris about the Pyramid. Something has to be done.

This cannot happen again.

This will not happen again.

Not if they can help it.

The world is burning. We need you out there!

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

Taglists are open! Send an ask/leave a comment to be added!

Forevers: @halo-2 @reaped-winnower @forgotten-by-the-stars @sugarcoated44 @cayde-6 @avrosaetos