#structured data for images

[bkthemes]

Is It Possible to Use Alt Text to Gain Backlinks?

Introduction Alt text, or alternative text, is primarily used to describe images for accessibility and SEO purposes. While it helps visually impaired users understand image content, it also plays a crucial role in search engine indexing. Many marketers wonder whether alt text can be leveraged to gain backlinks, and while alt text itself doesn’t create direct backlinks, it can indirectly…

[penny-anna]

the Justice League's identities all get publically leaked but before the dust has settled someone on twitter is like 'OMG i can't believe you guys are actually buying this obviously fake leak. look at this 'Billy Batson' person's birthday, he would only have been 11 years old when Captain Marvel started operating? how are you people so dumb'

immediately throws the whole thing into doubt. everyone going over the other ID information looking for other potential discrepancies. 'they expect us to believe Superman is some journalist called Clark Kent? they don't even look alike' and 'look at this Hal Jordan guy next to Green Lantern their facial structures aren't the same at all' and 'this Diana Prince woman has NO web presence, I don't think she's a real person'

'Bruce Wayne? c'monn how stupid do these peple think we are' etc etc

someone brings up that Wally West is clearly too young to have been operating as the Flash the entire time but then people from Central City are like no no that one might be legit, it's common knowledge locally that there's been more than one Flash.

this sparks the idea that perhaps the original Captain Marvel died or retired and was replaced with a new guy at some point. another whole group of people now scrutinising images of him trying to identify when the '''''switch'''' happened.

someone doing a deep local newspaper archive sweep turns up a photo of CC Batson accompanying a story abt his archaeology work, everyone agrees that Captain Marvel has his exact face, takes 0.2 seconds to join the dots that he officially died not long before Captain Marvel first appeared and Billy is his son. 2 Captain Marvels theory, previously dismissed as nonsense by most reasonable people, now looking very plausible.

whatever group leaked the identities absolutely steaming bcos their data is good damn it, everything in there is 100% factually correct and no-one is buying it ):<

Justice League and associates (initially sweating) now just pouring fuel on the fire. Oracle has made dozens of sockpuppet accounts to spread chaos and discord. official Flash account insisting that actually everyone is mistaken and he's definitely 100% been one guy this whole time. Lois Lane on twitter like 'do you guys think I wouldn't know if my husband was Superman'.

absolute pandemonium.

[weepingwitch]

i know this means absolutely nothing to most people but basically all of the little web game things I've made recently (angels in automata, hex plant growing game, d.a.n.m.a.k.u., life music, sudoku land, the metroidvania style map editor, etc etc etc) are all entirely self-contained individual client-side html files that can be downloaded and run offline and have literally no libraries or frameworks or dependencies, because i'm an insane woman who enjoys hand coding my input handling and display code from scratch in vanilla js and having it all live in one single html file with the game logic and the page structure and the page style all just living and loving together side by side in a universal format that can be run by any web browser on any devixe. i'll even include image files as base64 data-uri strings just to keep every single asset inside the one file.

[hellotailor]

armand’s costumes are such an interesting data point re: his nebulous sense of identity.

when analyzing any costume, there are always many factors to consider: the setting, the character’s personal taste and economic constraints, storytelling concerns like tone and genre, etc. with armand, we also need to remember that he’s 500 years old and violently disconnected from his human origins. everything he wears has an element of disguise, selected to blend into a new environment.

armand was enslaved as a child in 16th century delhi, and barely remembers his mortal life. unlike louis - who can return to new orleans after 80 years and reconnect with his past - armand has no home to return to. his whole backstory, even his name, is rife with traumatic subtext, leaving him with an obsessive need for structure and control. this adds an extra layer of meaning to costuming choices that initially seem like straightforward menswear. 

armand’s 1940s wardrobe is very put-together - primarily three-piece suits and coats that make him look wealthier and more formal than louis, who is purposefully dressing down. most of these outfits are tailored to bulk up armand's frame, leaning into the "maitre" persona. and like his business-casual dubai wardrobe, he always leaves his collar open. when i interviewed costume designer carol cutshall, she described this as a symbolic power move, signalling that he's an apex predator who doesn't need to protect his throat.

my personal interpretation is that while armand clearly likes to look good, he has a complicated relationship with attractiveness. he doesn't always want to draw attention. his color palette is shadowy (black, grey, brown, olive green), and he’s much less flashy than the other Théâtre vamps. however when he’s feeling confident and flirty, he becomes more of a power-dresser - for instance his hunting outfit with the big coat and sunglasses, or his habit of wearing kohl.

interestingly, most of armand's 1940s costumes set him apart from the coven. the Théâtre vampires dress like cabaret performers, embracing a lot of period-specific styles. by contrast armand is more timeless and neutral. in fact, due to the relatively minor changes in men's suits over the past 100 years, there's a lot of overlap between his wardrobe in the 1940s, '70s and 2020s:

the rest of the Théâtre squad share an unofficial uniform of boldly clashing monochrome patterns with pops of bright color. meanwhile armand has a very plain wardrobe, emphasizing the image of him as a businesslike authority figure surrounded by zany artistes. he only wears subtle stripes on a few occasions in the '40s, reflecting the recurring prison motif we see in lestat's trial suit and (most famously) the dubai penthouse bedroom:

if we ask the question, "what does this person like to wear?" there are easy answers for lestat, louis and claudia. we understand their tastes, and the motives behind them. but armand is more enigmatic. we can recognize through-lines in his wardrobe, but his "taste" is dominated by whatever role he's currently decided to embody, whether that's a parisian theater director or a real estate mogul in dubai.

the times when he appears to have the most fun with clothing are when he steals a pair of sunglasses from his human dinner (!) and when he's pretending to be rashid. in other words, when he's explicitly performing for an audience. "real armand" is still a mystery.

(i may write more about armand's dubai wardrobe later, but for now, you can find all of my iwtv costumes posts on this tag!)

[nasa]

What We Learned from Flying a Helicopter on Mars

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history – not only as the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another world – but also for exceeding expectations, pushing the limits, and setting the stage for future NASA aerial exploration of other worlds.

Built as a technology demonstration designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity performed flight operations from the Martian surface for almost three years. The helicopter ended its mission on Jan. 25, 2024, after sustaining damage to its rotor blades during its 72nd flight.

So, what did we learn from this small but mighty helicopter?

We can fly rotorcraft in the thin atmosphere of other planets.

Ingenuity proved that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds when it took to the Martian skies for the first time on April 19, 2021.

Flying on planets like Mars is no easy feat: The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere, with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight.

Ingenuity performed several flights dedicated to understanding key aerodynamic effects and how they interact with the structure and control system of the helicopter, providing us with a treasure-trove of data on how aircraft fly in the Martian atmosphere.

Now, we can use this knowledge to directly improve performance and reduce risk on future planetary aerial vehicles.

Creative solutions and “ingenuity” kept the helicopter flying longer than expected.

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days (more than 33 times longer than originally planned), Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, dusted itself off after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Fun fact: To keep costs low, the helicopter contained many off-the-shelf-commercial parts from the smartphone industry - parts that had never been tested in deep space. Those parts also surpassed expectations, proving durable throughout Ingenuity’s extended mission, and can inform future budget-conscious hardware solutions.

There is value in adding an aerial dimension to interplanetary surface missions.

Ingenuity traveled to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, which served as the communications relay for Ingenuity and, therefore, was its constant companion. The helicopter also proved itself a helpful scout to the rover.

After its initial five flights in 2021, Ingenuity transitioned to an “operations demonstration,” serving as Perseverance’s eyes in the sky as it scouted science targets, potential rover routes, and inaccessible features, while also capturing stereo images for digital elevation maps.

Airborne assets like Ingenuity unlock a new dimension of exploration on Mars that we did not yet have – providing more pixels per meter of resolution for imaging than an orbiter and exploring locations a rover cannot reach.

Tech demos can pay off big time.

Ingenuity was flown as a technology demonstration payload on the Mars 2020 mission, and was a high risk, high reward, low-cost endeavor that paid off big. The data collected by the helicopter will be analyzed for years to come and will benefit future Mars and other planetary missions.

Just as the Sojourner rover led to the MER-class (Spirit and Opportunity) rovers, and the MSL-class (Curiosity and Perseverance) rovers, the team believes Ingenuity’s success will lead to future fleets of aircraft at Mars.

In general, NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions test and advance new technologies, and then transition those capabilities to NASA missions, industry, and other government agencies. Chosen technologies are thoroughly ground- and flight-tested in relevant operating environments — reducing risks to future flight missions, gaining operational heritage and continuing NASA’s long history as a technological leader.

You can fall in love with robots on another planet.

Following in the tracks of beloved Martian rovers, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter built up a worldwide fanbase. The Ingenuity team and public awaited every single flight with anticipation, awe, humor, and hope.

Check out #ThanksIngenuity on social media to see what’s been said about the helicopter’s accomplishments.

Learn more about Ingenuity’s accomplishments here. And make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[pukefactory]

Okay I’ve gotten way to much back into ENA and I had an idea of Ena from dream bbq with reader were the reader speaks a whole new language and Ena takes time to learn and understand this new language just to feel closer to reader. I’m not sure if it should go romantically or more platonically lol

I more just wanted to put my thoughts out there! Thank u if u do write for this! Have a good week <3

•☽────✧˖°˖ SOMEONE WROTE THIS SONG BEFORE ˖°˖✧────☾•

★ Summary: A Compilation of Headcannons Featuring Salesperson Ena X Reader Who Speaks An Unknown Language

★ Character(s): Salesperson Ena (ENA: Dream BBQ)

★ Genre: Headcannons, SFW

★ Warning(s): None - Completely Safe!

★ Image Credits: @JoelG

☆ Salesperson Ena was immediately fascinated when she realized you spoke an entirely unfamiliar language. “A rare commodity! A unique dialect with limited market exposure! Tell me—what’s the valuation on fluency?” She started taking notes right away, promising to invest time into learning.

☆ “WHY CAN’T I UNDERSTAND A SINGLE THING YOU’RE SAYING?! WHAT ARE YOU, SOME KIND OF ORACLE?! SOME COSMIC JESTER?! A MESSENGER OF GØD WHO WON’T JUST SPIT IT OUT?!” While her Salesperson side was taking a structured, strategic approach, Meanie Ena was screaming into a dictionary, shaking it like the words inside might rearrange themselves into something she could grasp.

☆ Ena’s learning methods were… questionable. At one point, she tried to absorb your language through osmosis, pressing her forehead against yours while mumbling, “Downloading linguistic data… recalibrating neurons… okay, that’s not working.” Then she switched to frantically gesturing at objects and waiting for you to name them.

☆ One day, Ena decided to fully commit. She put on a little presentation, flipping through a self-made slideshow. “Ladies and gentlemen of the universe, I present to you—MY NEW LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BUSINESS PLAN. Featuring: memorization! Pattern recognition! And my personal favorite—aggressive trial and error!” She even had graphs, though they didn’t make any sense.

☆ As she improved, Ena started offering (unwanted) translations to everyone in her bizarre world. “WORRY NOT, CITIZENS! I HAVE DECODED THE ENIGMA THAT IS MY PAL’S SPEECH!” She would then proceed to provide the most inaccurate translations imaginable. “They just said… ‘All business transactions should be made in good faith!’ See? Deep philosophy!” (You had actually just asked for a snack.)

☆ There was a moment—rare, fleeting—when Meanie Ena stopped shouting and just sat in quiet contemplation. “You… really spent time teaching me,” she murmured, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “That’s… nice, I guess. Ugh, shut up, I didn’t say anything sappy!” (She totally did.)

☆ Ena started mixing your language with her usual speech patterns, much to the horror of those around her. “DEAR CUSTOMER, LET ME OFFER YOU A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DEAL ON—” she suddenly switched mid-sentence into a phrase in your language that made zero sense contextually. Even she looked confused. “…Wait. Did I just say ‘fermented pancake’ instead of ‘investment opportunity’? Oh dear.”

☆ One day, she threw you a curveball. “Now it’s YOUR turn!” Ena decided you had to learn her speech patterns in return. Suddenly, you were being quizzed on sales jargon and cryptic Meanie Ena-isms. “QUICK! WHAT’S THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO ‘SPONSOR MY BUSINESS’?” (…There was no correct response. Only suffering.)

☆ Once Ena became confident, she started using your language for private jokes and secret commentary. If someone was annoying her, she’d lean over and mutter something in your dialect that made you stifle a laugh. “Ugh, what did she just say?!” a bystander demanded. Ena grinned. “Oh, nothing. Just business talk!”

☆ Finally, after who-knows-how-long, Ena approached you with something clutched tightly in her hands. “TA-DA! My final product!” It was a handwritten letter, completely in your language. The grammar was awful, the spelling was questionable, but the message was clear: “Thank you for being my friend. I hope we can talk like this forever.”

[p-seduonym]

Switched At Birth (Part Eight)

A/N: I'm alive! I swear. I was just sick for a bit. Also, I had writer's block so I'm not really happy with this. Regardless, hope you like it! Also, if you're new, hi and welcome! I got this idea from @luludeluluramblings's Switched at Birth Au. Check it out and give them some love!

Taglist (I'll add you if you ask):@von-jour, @holylonelyponyeatingmacaroni, @kenyummy, @bunniotomia, @ch1cky-093, @toxicthotsyndrome68, @cynniee, @icefox8155, @eyeless-kun, @c4xcocoa, @ed15fashionista, @yourtypicalhuman09, @fightmebissh. @tsuniio, @fantasyhopperhea, @type-ink, @dirtydiavolo, @colorfulgardenerduck, @seemeee3, @ironsaladwitch, @yumeravenclaw, @jjsmeowthie, @snowy-violet, @wizzerreblogs, @ratterpatter, @gremlin-dumpster-fire-art, @anonymoustext, @a-heavenly-hell, @holderoflostmemories, @ilovecoffe0

Yandere!Batfam X Switched! Fem! Reader X Yandere!Wayne!OC

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

It was rare for Tim to not know something.

From the mundane to the extraordinary, he always had to be the first to know.

So Melissa’s recent escapades didn’t slip under his radar, even if they registered less than a ping.

As the rows of monitors blinked with surveillance feeds, data scans, and live social media aggregators, Tim considered the grainy photos halfheartedly. Barbara sat at her command chair, typing rapidly as he sipped his mug of coffee behind her.

Leaning back, Barbara pointed out with an arched eyebrow, “See this one? Melissa Wayne spotted riding through Crime Alley on a bicycle. With some girl in cat socks. Whole city’s losing its mind.”

Tim took another sip from his mug. “Yeah. I clocked it about thirty minutes ago. Midtown cameras picked them up—she’s been with the same girl a few times now. Thrift shop, old diner, now the conservatory.”

“And? Not even remotely curious?” Barbara joked with a smirk.

“Please,” He scoffed, “Gotham latches onto any Wayne with a pulse and a hobby. It’s a media Rorschach test. People are just projecting”

“Yeah, but this is Melissa we’re talking about. No offense, but she's not exactly popular. Specially in the media”

“It’s noise, Babs. A bored city sees a couple photos and gets excited. Unless she suddenly manifests laser eyes or starts dating a Falcone, it’s not mission-critical.”

Barbara, still typing, narrows her eyes slightly at the screen, “Uh huh. And what if it is something? That building they went into tonight—zoning says it hasn’t been structurally sound in over a decade. Can’t imagine any reason they’d go there”

He sighs and sets down his mug before inquiring “What? You think it’s a hidden op or something?”

“I think Melissa has never done anything unpredictable in her life–until now. And it might be because of that girl”

She paused suddenly. This didn’t go unnoticed by Tim, as he watched her pull up the footage of a Midtown surveillance camera. The screen displayed a paused image: Melissa on the back of a bike, smiling. It was a soft sort of smile, one that Tim couldn’t remember off the top of his head and that left him somewhat uneasy. The girl pedaling throws a glance over her shoulder, eyes sharp, grin crooked.

“...She looked at the camera,” Tim frowned slightly.

“Now you’re curious?” Barbara chuckled.

“Curious, maybe, but not concerned”

When Melissa gently eased herself through the crack of the front door, she paused for a moment and looked back over her shoulder. Even from the distance covering the front gate of Wayne Estate and the front porch, she could see you pedaling down the paved path.

A small childish part of her wanted to call out to you, but she bit her tongue. Instead she pacified herself with the promise you made:

“I’m gonna be honest with you Mel, it’ll probably take a bit before I’m “gala-ready”. But I swear I will be before we go, alright?”

The gala was still weeks away, but you looked so sincere that Melissa couldn’t do anything but believe you.

So, still wind tousled, Melissa turned back to enter the manor. A small smile, secretive yet content graced her face. Her fingertips gently brushed the scrunchie tied snuggly around her wrist.

That is until she saw Damian, seated at the base of the grand staircase, arms folded, shadowed by the low amber light of the chandelier. His posture was still, but coiled. Watching. 

Melissa felt her smile drop.

“You’re late” He said it like she was inconveniencing him.

She blinked slowly at him which only made him grow more exasperated.

“I didn’t know you were waiting for me” She answered cautiously but truthfully, slinking closer as if not to startle him.

Damian rolled his eyes, “It’s not normal for you to be out this late. Or to be that close to Crime Alley”

Her eyes widened, “How did–”

“Please, did you think your little escapades went without notice? Those morons in the media are fixated on the two of you.”

She recoiled at his mention of you. You weren’t supposed to be in their sights.

Not yet, anyway.

Melissa fidgeted under his gaze, idly twisting the hair tie on her wrist.

“I didn’t think it’d upset you that much”

“I’m not upset. I’m alert.”

A pause grew between the two siblings before she sighed. It was that typical pitiful sigh, like she bore all the weight of the world’s brudens.

That same annoying sigh.

“I’m sorry I worried you.” She said it in such a rehearsed way, “I just went out with…with a friend”

“I wasn’t worried,” He stressed. “I was concerned for the Wayne name and how your actions would affect it.”

Melissa nodded as if she understood, but he knew she wasn’t listening. Her eyes were glazed over and stared at him as if he was a clueless child. It irked him even more.

“You. You’re hiding something”

That seemed to grab her attention. Her eyes flicked to meet his, even if they still looked forlorn.

“...isn’t everyone?” She acquiesced, in a hushed voice.

Another pause followed before he stood and pivoted in place. As he ascended the stairs, Damian stated flatly.

“Whatever it is, keep it to yourself. Don’t be a nuisance”

While he climbed, he added.

“To us, or her”

Watching him walk off, Melissa’s face remained fixed.

Her thoughts, however, quickly curdled.

“Damn brat” Hissed in the back of her head when she reached her room. 

It was rather simple to play the pitiful, hopeless forgotten daughter. It made her unassuming. No one would think twice about what she did. However, that paranoid cretin seemed hellbent on ruining that. Melissa knew her ploy never worked on him, yet she could not drop it. Out of habit or pride, she continued the charade around him.

But, still, Damian didn’t think much of her. Even now, he likely saw her acting out as a sort of rebellious phase. 

That could work.

“A quiet, rebellious girl keeping odd company”, was something that she could play.

Just until she could hit them where it hurt.

A/N: I am legit so tired. If this wasn't that good, I'm not in a great headspace rn. I just wanted to post something for yall this week.

[are-we-art-yet]

Is AWAY using it's own program or is this just a voluntary list of guidelines for people using programs like DALL-E? How does AWAY address the environmental concerns of how the companies making those AI programs conduct themselves (energy consumption, exploiting impoverished areas for cheap electricity, destruction of the environment to rapidly build and get the components for data centers etc.)? Are members of AWAY encouraged to contact their gov representatives about IP theft by AI apps?

What is AWAY and how does it work?

AWAY does not "use its own program" in the software sense—rather, we're a diverse collective of ~1000 members that each have their own varying workflows and approaches to art. While some members do use AI as one tool among many, most of the people in the server are actually traditional artists who don't use AI at all, yet are still interested in ethical approaches to new technologies.

Our code of ethics is a set of voluntary guidelines that members agree to follow upon joining. These emphasize ethical AI approaches, (preferably open-source models that can run locally), respecting artists who oppose AI by not training styles on their art, and refusing to use AI to undercut other artists or work for corporations that similarly exploit creative labor.

Environmental Impact in Context

It's important to place environmental concerns about AI in the context of our broader extractive, industrialized society, where there are virtually no "clean" solutions:

The water usage figures for AI data centers (200-740 million liters annually) represent roughly 0.00013% of total U.S. water usage. This is a small fraction compared to industrial agriculture or manufacturing—for example, golf course irrigation alone in the U.S. consumes approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day, or about 7.87 trillion liters annually. This makes AI's water usage about 0.01% of just golf course irrigation.

Looking into individual usage, the average American consumes about 26.8 kg of beef annually, which takes around 1,608 megajoules (MJ) of energy to produce. Making 10 ChatGPT queries daily for an entire year (3,650 queries) consumes just 38.1 MJ—about 42 times less energy than eating beef. In fact, a single quarter-pound beef patty takes 651 times more energy to produce than a single AI query.

Overall, power usage specific to AI represents just 4% of total data center power consumption, which itself is a small fraction of global energy usage. Current annual energy usage for data centers is roughly 9-15 TWh globally—comparable to producing a relatively small number of vehicles.

The consumer environmentalism narrative around technology often ignores how imperial exploitation pushes environmental costs onto the Global South. The rare earth minerals needed for computing hardware, the cheap labor for manufacturing, and the toxic waste from electronics disposal disproportionately burden developing nations, while the benefits flow largely to wealthy countries.

While this pattern isn't unique to AI, it is fundamental to our global economic structure. The focus on individual consumer choices (like whether or not one should use AI, for art or otherwise,) distracts from the much larger systemic issues of imperialism, extractive capitalism, and global inequality that drive environmental degradation at a massive scale.

They are not going to stop building the data centers, and they weren't going to even if AI never got invented.

Creative Tools and Environmental Impact

In actuality, all creative practices have some sort of environmental impact in an industrialized society:

Digital art software (such as Photoshop, Blender, etc) generally uses 60-300 watts per hour depending on your computer's specifications. This is typically more energy than dozens, if not hundreds, of AI image generations (maybe even thousands if you are using a particularly low-quality one).

Traditional art supplies rely on similar if not worse scales of resource extraction, chemical processing, and global supply chains, all of which come with their own environmental impact.

Paint production requires roughly thirteen gallons of water to manufacture one gallon of paint.

Many oil paints contain toxic heavy metals and solvents, which have the potential to contaminate ground water.

Synthetic brushes are made from petroleum-based plastics that take centuries to decompose.

That being said, the point of this section isn't to deflect criticism of AI by criticizing other art forms. Rather, it's important to recognize that we live in a society where virtually all artistic avenues have environmental costs. Focusing exclusively on the newest technologies while ignoring the environmental costs of pre-existing tools and practices doesn't help to solve any of the issues with our current or future waste.

The largest environmental problems come not from individual creative choices, but rather from industrial-scale systems, such as:

Industrial manufacturing (responsible for roughly 22% of global emissions)

Industrial agriculture (responsible for roughly 24% of global emissions)

Transportation and logistics networks (responsible for roughly 14% of global emissions)

Making changes on an individual scale, while meaningful on a personal level, can't address systemic issues without broader policy changes and overall restructuring of global economic systems.

Intellectual Property Considerations

AWAY doesn't encourage members to contact government representatives about "IP theft" for multiple reasons:

We acknowledge that copyright law overwhelmingly serves corporate interests rather than individual creators

Creating new "learning rights" or "style rights" would further empower large corporations while harming individual artists and fan creators

Many AWAY members live outside the United States, many of which having been directly damaged by the US, and thus understand that intellectual property regimes are often tools of imperial control that benefit wealthy nations

Instead, we emphasize respect for artists who are protective of their work and style. Our guidelines explicitly prohibit imitating the style of artists who have voiced their distaste for AI, working on an opt-in model that encourages traditional artists to give and subsequently revoke permissions if they see fit. This approach is about respect, not legal enforcement. We are not a pro-copyright group.

In Conclusion

AWAY aims to cultivate thoughtful, ethical engagement with new technologies, while also holding respect for creative communities outside of itself. As a collective, we recognize that real environmental solutions require addressing concepts such as imperial exploitation, extractive capitalism, and corporate power—not just focusing on individual consumer choices, which do little to change the current state of the world we live in.

When discussing environmental impacts, it's important to keep perspective on a relative scale, and to avoid ignoring major issues in favor of smaller ones. We promote balanced discussions based in concrete fact, with the belief that they can lead to meaningful solutions, rather than misplaced outrage that ultimately serves to maintain the status quo.

If this resonates with you, please feel free to join our discord. :)

Works Cited:

USGS Water Use Data: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/water-use-united-states

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America water usage report: https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/research/golf-course-environmental-profile

Equinix data center water sustainability report: https://www.equinix.com/resources/infopapers/corporate-sustainability-report

Environmental Working Group's Meat Eater's Guide (beef energy calculations): https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/

Hugging Face AI energy consumption study: https://huggingface.co/blog/carbon-footprint

International Energy Agency report on data centers: https://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks

Goldman Sachs "Generational Growth" report on AI power demand: https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/generational-growth-ai-data-centers-and-the-coming-us-power-surge/report.pdf

Artists Network's guide to eco-friendly art practices: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-business/how-to-be-an-eco-friendly-artist/

The Earth Chronicles' analysis of art materials: https://earthchronicles.org/artists-ironically-paint-nature-with-harmful-materials/

Natural Earth Paint's environmental impact report: https://naturalearthpaint.com/pages/environmental-impact

Our World in Data's global emissions by sector: https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector

"The High Cost of High Tech" report on electronics manufacturing: https://goodelectronics.org/the-high-cost-of-high-tech/

"Unearthing the Dirty Secrets of the Clean Energy Transition" (on rare earth mineral mining): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/18/clean-energy-dirty-mining-indigenous-communities-climate-crisis

Electronic Frontier Foundation's position paper on AI and copyright: https://www.eff.org/wp/ai-and-copyright

Creative Commons research on enabling better sharing: https://creativecommons.org/2023/04/24/ai-and-creativity/

[luv4arinn]

I Just Wanna Feel

Author’s Note: So—sorry for not posting in weeks, but I had a massive writer’s block, and well… I’m back! I was heavily inspired by THAT Robbie Williams song. Yes, I watched his biopic. Yes, I cried. Yes, I recommend it. And… surprise?! There will be a whole chronology with the others, all themed around Robbie’s songs! Yayy <3!! Consider it a gift? from me for taking so long 🥺. Love you all.

Pairing: Bayverse!Donnie x female reader

Tags: Intense fluff, nerd having an emotional crisis, extreme overthinking, unexpected kisses, Donatello’s mental breakdown, romantic panic, “oh no I messed up” but in HD, happy ending.

The sound of the keyboard echoed through the room—a rhythmic, steady tapping that blended with the low hum of the monitors. The bluish glow from the screens cast irregular shadows across his face, reflecting off the lenses of his glasses with every line of code appearing and disappearing on the monitor.

Donatello was there, as always.

The work was easy. Thinking was easy.

It was like a well-structured algorithm: receive information, process it, execute a plan of action. The world had rules, patterns, probabilities—formulas that predicted outcomes with near-absolute precision. No matter how chaotic a situation seemed, there was always a logical solution waiting to be uncovered.

Computers don’t lie.

Data has no biases, no whims. It doesn’t suffer irrational fluctuations. It doesn’t beat faster without reason. It doesn’t have to remind itself to breathe.

But then…

There’s you.

And everything falls apart.

Not immediately. Not like a fatal error shutting down the system in the blink of an eye. It’s more subtle. Like an unexpected variable in an equation that had, until now, been perfect. Something that doesn’t fit into the rigid structure of his world—but something he can’t ignore either.

He thinks about it often. About how his brain operates like a well-calibrated machine, each thought clicking into the next like the teeth of a moving gear. Logic is his native language. Reason, his compass.

And yet, when it comes to you, all that logic becomes blurred.

The gears grind.

The code becomes erratic.

The equation fills with unknowns.

Because when you step into his space, when your voice disrupts the steady rhythm of his keyboard, when you lean over his desk without a second thought for the scattered circuits and switch off his monitor without warning…

His first instinct is to think. Analyze. Quantify.

What does this mean?

Why does his heart react this way?

Why does his skin register the shift in temperature more intensely when you’re near?

But thinking doesn’t give him answers.

Feeling does.

And that is terrifying.

Because feeling isn’t predictable. Feeling has no neatly arranged lines of code, no graphs to chart behavioral patterns, no equations with exact solutions.

Emotions, in themselves, are a chaotic system.

And you…

You are the anomaly he still doesn’t know how to decode.

Nights shouldn’t feel this short when spent alone in front of a screen. And yet, when his mind drifts to the memory of a laugh, the fleeting image of a glance, the echo of an accidental touch… time dissolves in a way not even quantum physics could explain.

When he feels the weight of his name on your tongue. Like an access key to a system he never thought anyone would try to hack.

And he watches you from the corner of his eye as you lean closer, and in that instant, every variable in his mind shifts. Every equation rewrites itself.

A shiver runs down his shell.

Feeling.

He knows because his chest tightens with an undefined pressure, a sensation he can’t attribute to any specific physiological variable. His heart rate isn’t elevated from exertion. He’s not under attack. He’s not in danger.

So why does his body react as if he is?

There’s no equation to explain this.

Because if there were, he would have solved it long ago. He would have identified the problem, broken it down into its components, eliminated any errors. But every time he thinks he’s close to an answer, another unknown appears, shifting all previous solutions out of place.

Music filters through his headphones, slow and melancholic.

“I just wanna feel, real love…”

A shiver runs down his spine.

His body reacts to the sound before his mind does. It’s absurd. It’s ridiculous. There is no logical reason why a progression of chords and a set of words arranged in a certain way should have this effect on him.

And yet, here he is.

Fingers hovering over the keyboard, motionless—caught between the instinct to keep working and the strange, undeniable realization that… he can’t.

Not because he’s tired.

Not because he lacks information.

Not because there’s a problem that requires more processing.

But because, for the first time in a long time, the data isn’t the most important thing.

The screen flickers with information he should be absorbing, but he isn’t. His glasses reflect numbers and graphs that would normally hold his full attention, but his gaze is empty, unfocused.

The room remains unchanged—draped in shadows, illuminated only by the bluish glow of his monitors and the faint blinking of LED lights from his equipment.

The mission had been difficult. The margin of error had been higher than he liked to admit.

It wasn’t often that his calculations failed.

But sometimes, calculations weren’t enough.

Sometimes, reality simply… refused to adhere to logic.

“Feel the home that I live in…”

His jaw tightens.

He doesn’t know how that song ended up on his playlist.

But he has a reasonable theory.

One that involves Mikey, his blatant disregard for personal privacy, and his insistent need to “help him connect with his emotions.”

(Sure. Right.)

And yet…

The lyrics hit him harder than he’d like to admit.

It’s not the melody itself. It’s not the chords or the rhythm. It’s the way the words seem to slip through the cracks in his mind, seeping into the spaces that logic has never quite managed to seal shut.

“I just wanna feel, real love…”

Donnie exhales slowly, his fingers still hovering over the keyboard, motionless.

He thinks about the battle.

The mistakes.

The risks they took.

Numbers flash through his mind like a simulation running in reverse—impact probability, the margin of error in his calculations, the reaction speed needed to avoid damage. Fractions of a second where the difference between victory and absolute disaster depended on decisions made under pressure.

But more than anything—he thinks about you.

He thinks about the way, at the end of the fight, you rushed to check if he was okay.

About how, without even thinking, your hands—warm, alive—ran along his arm, searching for injuries he had already identified and dismissed milliseconds before with his visor.

He could have told you it wasn’t necessary.

That he was unharmed.

That he had concrete data to prove it.

But he didn’t.

Because logic dictates that worry should be extinguished by facts.

But feeling…

Feeling dictates that your touch lingers, even after you’ve gone.

That the sensation of your skin against his stays beyond his capacity for reasoning.

That the light pressure of your fingers on his forearm still burns in his memory, like an unsolved equation looping endlessly in his mind.

“Come and hold my hand…”

Donnie closes his eyes.

He could turn the song off.

He could erase the anomaly from his system.

He could rewrite the equation, adjust the variables, find a way to rationalize what he feels.

But… he doesn’t want to.

Because for the first time in his life, the result of a problem doesn’t matter as much as the unknown.

He doesn’t just want to think.

He wants to feel.

He wants to understand why being with you feels like the only constant that truly matters.

And then—you arrive.

Without warning, without fanfare, without the slightest idea that the world inside Donatello’s mind is teetering on the edge of a collapse even he can’t explain.

The lab door slides open smoothly—barely a whisper against the silence, thick with static electricity and the faint murmur of music in his headphones.

He notices everything.

The shift in air pressure.

The sound of your footsteps, softened against the floor.

The faint scent of shampoo and fabric laced with the chill of the night.

The way the temperature in the room rises by just a fraction of a degree when you step inside.

But he doesn’t turn around immediately.

Because he doesn’t know what to do with the anomaly that you are in his equation.

He doesn’t know where to place you within the rigid parameters of his logical, structured world.

His operating system slows, his brain—so used to processing information with the precision of a surgeon—stalls in an endless loop, searching for a resolution that refuses to exist.

And then—your voice.

“Donnie?”

Soft. Not because you’re hesitant, but because you know him. Because somehow—through a method he can’t quantify—you can read the tension in his shoulders. You can see the way his fingers have stopped typing, even though the screen is still waiting for input.

He closes his eyes for just a moment, as if that alone might be enough to reboot him, to restore the control that feels like it’s slipping through his fingers.

He knows he should say something.

He knows he should act normal.

But his normal means efficiency, speed, precise answers delivered at the exact right moment.

And right now, every command in his mind is failing.

You watch him with quiet curiosity, tilting just slightly toward him—just enough for the air between you to feel heavier, more tangible.

“Everything okay?” you ask, voice soft in that way that completely disarms him. Then your gaze sharpens slightly, scanning him with quiet scrutiny. “Are you hurt?”

He doesn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looks at you.

His mind runs an automatic analysis of your expression—eyes slightly narrowed, lips barely pressed together, the faintest crease in your right brow, as if you’re already calculating the probability that he’s lying.

Logic dictates that he should reassure you with data. That he should tell you his visor has already run a full diagnostic scan and that his physical condition is optimal. That there is no rational reason for concern.

But then his gaze drops.

And he sees his own hand, still resting on the desk—still tense.

And for the first time in a long time, he chooses to do something without overthinking it.

He looks at you again.

His throat feels dry. Without realizing it, he wets his lips—a quick flick of his tongue over skin cracked from hours without proper hydration.

Then, in a voice so quiet it barely sounds like his own, he asks:

“Can I… hold your hand?”

It’s not the kind of question anyone would expect from him.

And he knows it.

Because it doesn’t fit his usual patterns. It’s not something that makes sense in any logical context.

But right now, logic is utterly useless to him.

Your lashes flutter in subtle surprise, as if the words take a few extra seconds to fully register.

“What?”

His instincts scream at him to backtrack, to rephrase, to find a way to explain what even he doesn’t fully understand.

But he doesn’t.

“I want to…” He inhales, trying to reorganize his thoughts. “I mean, just—”

He shuts his eyes for a second, frustration flickering across his face. He has never felt this clumsy with words before.

When he opens them again, you’re still there. You haven’t moved. You haven’t looked away.

And somehow, that alone gives him the courage he’s lacking.

“I just… want to feel it.”

The truth escapes him so easily, so quietly, that it almost embarrasses him.

Your expression shifts.

It’s not amusement.

It’s not rejection.

It’s something softer. More intimate.

And without questioning it—without hesitation or unnecessary words—you let your hand slide over his.

Not hurriedly.

Not hesitantly.

Just with the quiet certainty of someone who understands exactly what he’s asking for.

And when your fingers intertwine with his, Donnie feels every equation, every algorithm, every carefully structured rule in his mind… simply dissolve.

As if they had never really mattered in the first place.

“Well?” you ask, your voice carrying a faint attempt at lightness.

Donnie knows you’re trying to sound casual, that you’re masking your uncertainty behind a relaxed tone. But he notices.

He notices the delicate dusting of pink on your cheeks, the almost imperceptible tremor in your lower lip, the way your thumb brushes against the back of his hand—like you’re adjusting to the contact just as much as he is.

And something inside him… softens.

His lips curve, at first unconsciously—a smile, small and barely formed. Then, from deep in his chest, a quiet laugh escapes, unbidden and genuine, as weightless as the air after a storm.

It’s not mockery. It’s not disbelief.

It’s something purer. Something real.

—Nothing, —he murmurs, his thumb moving awkwardly against your skin— Just… this is nice.

The confession catches him off guard.

Because he hadn’t planned it.

Because he hadn’t filtered it through his logic before speaking.

Because it simply happened.

And then, you look at each other.

Maybe for too long.

Maybe just long enough for the world around you to blur into a distant murmur, as if nothing else exists except the space you occupy together.

He finds himself mesmerized by you.

Fascinated.

But not in the way he is fascinated by a new equation, by an unexpected pattern in the data, by the perfect symmetry of a well-designed structure.

This is different.

This is raw.

This is visceral.

This is feeling.

His other hand, trembling in a way he doesn’t understand, lifts with a slowness that borders on reverence.

And when his fingers brush against your cheek, the touch is so light it feels like an experiment in itself.

He feels.

He feels the warmth of your skin beneath his fingertips, the way it molds so effortlessly to his touch, the way your body leans ever so slightly toward him—responding to an equation he hasn’t yet written but, for the first time, doesn’t feel the need to solve.

He feels the erratic pounding of his own heart, too fast, too unsteady, as if it has forgotten its natural rhythm.

He feels the heat gathering in his chest, expanding outward like a shockwave, defying all logical explanation.

And then, he hears you sigh.

Small.

Soft.

Almost imperceptible.

But he feels it.

He feels the warmth of your breath against his skin, the subtle vibration of your exhale in the nonexistent space between you.

Feels,

feels,

feels.

As if every one of his senses—once so meticulously calibrated to process information—has now been repurposed for a single objective:

You.

Your warmth seeping into his skin.

Your quiet, rhythmic breathing.

The barely-there weight of your gaze resting on him.

The familiar scent of you, imprinting itself onto some hidden corner of his mind he never thought necessary.

Just you.

Only you.

Nothing else exists.

Nothing else matters.

And then—without thinking, without calculating, without rationalizing it into exhaustion like he always does—

he kisses you.

It’s brief. Just a brush of lips.

A moment suspended between doubt and need, between impulse and fear.

A single heartbeat contained in a single point of contact.

And then—

He hears you gasp.

His entire body locks up. Every muscle goes rigid with a tension so sharp it’s almost painful.

His brain—so efficient, so precise, so relentless in its ability to analyze every variable in a situation—enters a total shutdown.

He stares at you, eyes wide, pupils blown.

Oh, no.

No, no, no.

He misread everything.

What the hell was he thinking?

You don’t see him that way.

Why would you?

Why would you ever?

Shame crashes over him like an unstoppable wave. His stomach twists, his skin burns, his heart clenches into an invisible fist that threatens to crush it from the inside out.

He pulls back, his hands loosening, his voice catching in his throat.

—Oh, God, I didn’t mean to— —he stammers, his voice cracking under the weight of his own panic. His thoughts are a mess of unsolved equations, of probabilities collapsing into a singularity of pure dread— I just… I thought it was a good moment, I—

—Yes.

Your voice cuts through his spiral.

His brain short-circuits.

—It was.

…

What?

His breath halts.

The air thickens, pressing in from all sides, as if the entire universe has stopped—right here, right now, in these words, in this reality he never accounted for.

And then—

You close the distance.

You are the one to bring your lips back to his.

And his mind—his brilliant, overanalyzing mind—

for the first time in his life—goes completely silent.

And he simply—feels.

[apod]

2025 March 17

Thor's Helmet Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Hopkins (East Coast Astronomer)

Explanation: Thor not only has his own day (Thursday), but a helmet in the heavens. Popularly called Thor's Helmet, NGC 2359 is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages. Heroically sized even for a Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across. In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like an interstellar bubble, blown by a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center. Known as a Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution. NGC 2359 is located about 15,000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Great Overdog. This sharp image is a mixed cocktail of data from narrowband filters, capturing not only natural looking stars but details of the nebula's filamentary structures. The star in the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to explode in a spectacular supernova sometime within the next few thousand years.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250317.html

[shiyorin]

#Thanks @roroco316, your ideas is the best (⁠~⁠￣⁠³⁠￣⁠)⁠~

#When Primarchs send dick pic to you

#Rogal Dorn/Perturabo x F!Reader (Reader is Imperial Agent)

#RIP Reader

#NSFW, non-con, many things

The Imperial Palace on Terra hummed with activity, its gilded halls filled with the usual bustle of servitors, tech-priests, and various officials going about their duties. But deep within its labyrinthine structure, in a secluded chamber reserved for one of the Emperor's sons, something decidedly unusual was taking place.

Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists, is very confused. His massive form, usually the picture of stoic control, now radiated an unfamiliar tension. The Primarch's face was flushed, his breathing heavy, and an uncomfortable tightness had taken up residence in his groin.

Dorn growled in frustration, running a hand through his close-cropped white hair. He didn't understand what was happening to him. Was this some new form of xenos attack? An Enemies of the Imperium plot? Whatever it was, it was interfering with his ability to focus on his duties, and that was unacceptable.

As he turned to pace back across the room, Dorn's eyes fell on the data-slate resting on his desk. An idea formed in his mind, one that both excited and confused him. Perhaps if he documented this strange condition, he could better understand and combat it.

With decisive movements, Dorn strode to the desk and picked up the data-slate. He fumbled with the unfamiliar camera function, his large fingers clumsy on the small device. Finally figuring it out, he positioned the slate and began to remove his armor.

As the ceramite plates fell away, Dorn's impressive physique was revealed. Muscles rippled beneath skin marred by countless battle scars, a testament to millennia of warfare. But it was what lay between his legs that truly captured attention.

Dorn's cock stood at full attention, a monument to masculinity that would make even other Primarchs pause. It jutted proudly from a nest of curls, its girth easily as thick as a mortal man's forearm. Veins pulsed along its length, leading to a swollen head that glistened with pre-cum.

The Primarch's face flushed deeper as he aimed the data-slate's camera at his engorged member. He felt ridiculous, like some kind of deviant, but the urge to capture this moment was overwhelming. With a grunt of determination, Dorn snapped the picture.

Staring at the image on the screen, Dorn felt a mix of embarrassment and... pride? Yes, there was definitely a part of him that was pleased with what he saw. But what to do with it now?

Again, an inexplicable urge seized him. Before he could second-guess himself, Dorn's fingers were flying over the data-slate's interface, sending the image to the one person he felt might be able to help him make sense of this situation: you, the Imperial Agent he'd worked with on several classified missions.

As soon as the image was sent, a wave of mortification washed over Dorn. What had he done? This was completely inappropriate behavior for a Primarch! He needed to explain himself, to provide context for this madness.

Dorn began typing out a message to accompany the image:

"Dear Agent,

I find myself experiencing an unusual physiological response. My genitals have become engorged and I feel an overwhelming urge for physical contact. I believe the most efficient course of action would be for us to engage in sexual intercourse. Please prepare yourself, as I will be arriving at your quarters shortly to address this situation.

Regards, Rogal Dorn"

Satisfied that he had explained himself clearly and concisely, Dorn hit send. He then began to reassemble his armor, his movements hurried and clumsy in his eagerness to reach your quarters.

Meanwhile, in another part of the palace, you were reviewing reports when your data-slate chimed with an incoming message. Expecting more mission briefings, you casually glanced at the screen - and nearly dropped the device in shock.

There, filling your entire display, was the most impressive cock you'd ever laid eyes on. Your mouth went dry as you took in its massive size, the way it curved slightly upward, the prominent veins that promised to make you feel every inch when it was buried inside you...

You shook your head, trying to clear the sudden fog of lust that had descended. Who in the Emperor's name would send you such a thing? Your question was answered moments later as a text message popped up.

As you read Rogal Dorn's blunt, matter-of-fact explanation, your eyes widened in disbelief. "???" you muttered, re-reading the message to make sure you weren't hallucinating. Rogal Dorn, the Praetorian of Terra, had just sent you a dick pic and was now on his way to fuck you?

Before you could fully process this turn of events, a thunderous knock echoed through your quarters. Your heart leapt into your throat as you realized Dorn hadn't been exaggerating about coming right away.

With trembling hands, you smoothed down your uniform and went to answer the door. It slid open to reveal the towering form of Rogal Dorn, but your eyes were immediately drawn lower, to the massive bulge straining against the Primarch's codpiece.

"Agent," Dorn rumbled, his deep voice sending shivers down your spine. "I trust you received my message and are prepared to assist me with this... situation."

You swallowed hard, your gaze alternating between Dorn's intense eyes and the promise of what lay beneath his clothes. "I... yes, my lord. Please, come in."

As Dorn ducked through the doorway, the full impact of his size hit you anew. He was easily twice your height, his broad shoulders nearly brushing both sides of the entrance. The thought of taking his cock - that magnificent beast you'd seen in the picture, made you clench in both fear and anticipation.

'Oh Throne,' you thought, a mix of panic and arousal coursing through you. 'If he puts that thing inside me, I might actually die.'

But as Dorn began to remove his clothes once more, revealing inch after glorious inch of sculpted muscle, you found yourself thinking that there were far worse ways to go.

The Primarch's cock sprang free, even more impressive in person than it had been in the picture. Pre-cum beaded at its tip, and you had to resist the fear when you saw it.

Dorn's eyes raked over your form, dark with a feeling he didn't fully understand. "I find myself... eager to proceed," he said, his usual eloquence deserting him in the face of his overwhelming need. "How shall we begin?"

You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for what was sure to be the ride of your life. "My lord," you said, your voice suppressed the trembling "why don't you start by showing me exactly what that cock of yours can do?"

A rare smile tugged at the corners of Dorn's mouth as he advanced on you, his massive erection leading the way. "With pleasure, Agent."

As Dorn's large hands wrapped around your waist, lifting you effortlessly, you sent up a silent prayer to the Emperor. May the Emperor protect you.

*****

Perturabo, the Primarch of Iron Warriors, was in a foul mood. His massive form paced the confines of his private chambers, tension radiating from every inch of his superhuman body. But this wasn't his usual anger, no, this was something far more primal and embarrassing.

He was horny. Painfully, achingly horny.

The Primarch growled in frustration, his hand unconsciously drifting to the impressive bulge in his armor. He hated this weakness, this base desire that clouded his thoughts and distracted him from his grand designs. But try as he might, he couldn't shake the burning need that consumed him.

With defeat, Perturabo began to remove his armor, piece by piece. As the last ceramite plate clattered to the floor, he stood naked, his massive cock jutting proudly.

Perturabo's dick was a thing of beauty - if one appreciated monstrous, superhuman genitalia. It stood at an impressive 10 inches when fully erect, thick as a mortal man's wrist, with prominent veins running along its length. The head was a deep, angry purple, already glistening with pre-cum.

Despite his self-loathing, Perturabo couldn't resist wrapping a hand around his throbbing member. He stroked himself slowly, a low groan escaping his lips at the sensation. His other hand reached down to cup his heavy balls.

As he pleasured himself, Perturabo's thoughts drifted to you, the Imperial Agent who had been a thorn in his side. Your fierce intelligence, your unwavering loyalty to the Imperium, your lithe body that he longed to break…

Before he could stop himself, Perturabo grabbed his data-slate. With one hand still working his cock, he snapped a picture of his erect member. The image was intimidating, his massive hand wrap around the shaft, veins bulging, pre-cum dripping from the tip.

Without allowing himself to second-guess, Perturabo sent the image to your personal vox channel.

Instant regret flooded him the moment he hit 'send.' What in the name of the Warp was he thinking? He was a Primarch, a demigod of war, not some pervert sending dick pics!

Frantically, Perturabo tried to recall the message. To his immense relief, the system informed him that the image had been successfully retrieved before you could view it. He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

'You definitely hadn't seen it,' Perturabo thought, a mix of relief and... disappointment? washing over him. How dare you not witness it? The audacity!

Meanwhile, in your quarters aboard an Imperial vessel, you were having a mild panic attack. You had indeed seen the image before it was retrieved, how could you not notice a message from a Primarch? And now you were sweating bullets.

Your hands shook as you typed out a quick response: "Lord Perturabo, I didn't see anything in your last message. Was there something you needed to communicate?"

You hit send and immediately regretted it. What if he took offense? What if he thought you were lying? Oh Emperor, you were so screwed.

Back in his chambers, Perturabo read your message with growing anger. You had seen it. You must have. And now you dared to lie to him? To a Primarch?

With a growl of frustration, Perturabo typed out a scathing reply: "Do not attempt to deceive me, Agent. I know you saw the image. Your dishonesty only compounds your offense."

And then, driven by a mixture of anger, lust, and wounded pride, he reattached the photo of his erect cock to the message and sent it again.

Your eyes widened in shock as your data-slate pinged with a new message. You opened it, praying to every saint you could think of that it wasn't what you feared.

Your prayers went unanswered.

There, filling your screen, was Perturabo's massive member in all its glory. You felt your mouth go dry as you took in the sheer size of it. How was that even possible? It had to be as thick as your forearm!

Despite your fear, you couldn't help but feel a twinge of arousal. You quickly shook your head, trying to dispel such dangerous thoughts. This was Perturabo, for Terra's sake! He'd crush you like a bug if he ever got his hands on you.

With trembling fingers, you typed out another response: "My Lord, I assure you I didn't see anything in your previous message. I would never lie to you."

You hit send and immediately curled into a ball on your bed, praying for a quick and painless death.

Perturabo read your latest message with growing fury. How dare you continue this charade? Did you think him a fool?

"Enough of your lies!" he typed back, his fingers nearly cracking the data-slate's screen. "You will cease this deception immediately, or I will show you the consequences of toying with a Primarch in person."

As he sent the message, a new idea formed in Perturabo's mind. If you insisted on playing dumb, perhaps it was time for a more... hands-on approach to communication.

With a few quick commands, Perturabo accessed the ship's systems. He located your quarters and activated the emergency teleportation protocols. In a flash of blue light, he materialized in your room, still gloriously naked and fully erect.

You screamed in surprise and terror as the massive form of Perturabo appeared before you. You scrambled backwards on your bed, eyes wide as saucers as you took in the Primarch in all his naked glory.

"L-Lord Perturabo!" you stammered, trying desperately to look anywhere but at his imposing erection. "I-I don't understand-"

"Silence!" Perturabo roared, his voice shaking the walls. He stalked towards the bed, his cock bobbing with each step. "You claim you saw nothing? Then allow me to give you a proper view."

Before you could react, Perturabo grabbed your ankle and dragged you to the edge of the bed. He loomed over you, his massive frame blocking out the light, his cock mere inches from your face.

"Look at it," he growled, his voice a mixture of anger and lust. "Look at what you've done to me, you infuriating woman."

You couldn't help but obey. Your eyes locked onto Perturabo's member, taking in every vein, every twitch, the bead of pre-cum forming at the tip. You swallowed hard, a confusing mix of fear and arousal coursing through you.

"I... I see it, my Lord," you whispered, your voice barely audible.

Perturabo's hand shot out, gripping your chin and forcing you to meet his gaze. "And what do you think of it, little agent? Does it please you? Does it terrify you?"

Your mind raced, searching for the right answer. What could you possibly say that wouldn't result in your immediate demise?

"It's... impressive, my Lord," you finally managed, your cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Truly befitting a Primarch."

A slow smile spread across Perturabo's face. "Good answer," he purred. "Now, since you've finally admitted to seeing it, I think it's time we put it to proper use, don't you?"

As Perturabo's free hand began to tear at your clothes, you realized that your earlier fears had been misplaced. You weren't going to die today….

[spaceexp]

NGC 2566 (MIRI image)

The galaxy filling the frame in this NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month is NGC 2566, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Puppis. In this image Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) puts the thick clouds of interstellar dust that suffuse NGC 2566 on display, as well as the galaxy’s compact, bright core.

At 76 million light-years away, NGC 2566 is considered a nearby galaxy, making it an excellent target for studying fine details like star clusters and gas clouds. The new Webb images of NGC 2566 were collected as part of an observing programme (#3707) dedicated to understanding the connections between stars, gas and dust in nearby star-forming galaxies. NGC 2566 is just one of the 55 galaxies in the local Universe examined by Webb for this programme.

To gain a full understanding of the star-formation process in nearby galaxies, astronomers will combine Webb data with observations from other telescopes. At the long-wavelength end of the electromagnetic spectrum, the 66 radio dishes of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) provide a detailed view of the cold, turbulent clouds where stars are born. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has also cast its gaze on NGC 2566, and a new Hubble image of this galaxy was released earlier this week. The Hubble data will help researchers take a census of the stars in nearby galaxies, especially the young stars that are bright at the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive. Together, the Webb, Hubble and ALMA data provide a rich view of the cold gas, warm dust and brilliant stars in NGC 2566.

The Webb data are part of a Treasury programme, which means that the data may help answer multiple important questions about our Universe. Treasury data are available for use by scientists and the public without a waiting period, amplifying the scientific impact and allowing exploration to begin immediately.

[Image Description: A spiral galaxy, seen close-up. Its core is a round spot that glows intensely bright, crowned by eight long and spikes that extend across the galaxy, artefacts of the telescope’s structure. Its disc is an oval shape with edges made of very thick and cloudy arms of gas and dust, mostly blue but paler and brighter around patches of stars. Wisps of darker dust also fill the inner disc and swirl off the ends of the arms.]

Credits: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy;

[newbiespud]

Okay, I lied. One last set of Warframe 1999 spoiler thoughts to get them out of my system:

Bookending the story with Transference into Arthur (once very rudely without permission to start off on the wrong foot, once begrudgingly with permission to bring them home) is just great theming structure. Building thematic parallels into your story isn't hard, it's just so much better when the characters' and their growth reinforce their meaning.

On the surface, the Drifter's "help" to the Hex looks like a mere cheerleading pep talk, but that's not how I took it. Who knows more about fully matured Warframe powers than the Tenno? How can they lend that expertise to the Hex in their desperate moments? Eleanor can wrangle the Infestation within with a little willpower boost; Tenno do it all the time, or else their Warframes would be out of control. "Quincy, remember, your frame has the Seek power and it's busted." Aoi especially just needed a bit of support from someone who's used a fully kitted-out Mag before and mastered her magnetic powers. "Amir, here's something you would have never found out on your own: Your Warframe body has a Parazon, which doubles as a hidden blade AND a data-link!" And, of course, Arthur - if your body can't move, then I can move it for you. It's all the Tenno being an experienced Tenno to help the Hex.

I was definitely in the camp of "wait, I thought Albrecht shot Amir- OH THANK GOODNESS WE STOPPED THAT."

It's so incredibly great that the instant-messenger stuff allows us to discuss and digest a lot of Warframe's weirder lore in an in-character way, on top of all the other ways it's great. Love me a game system that accomplishes multiple goals at once for different player interests.

My absolute favorite thing overall? Thematically, this is a mirror-image of The Sacrifice. Somehow, through sheer empathy if nothing else, the Tenno have the power to share their inner strength with troubled, broken, hopeless beings, take away their pain, and unlock their full potential. The Operator did it with Umbra (and by extension every other fully converted Warframe), and now the Drifter's done something arguably even more impressive - using that power on partially still-living humans, with understanding, consent, and mercy.

Look, I'm arguably a writer by trade. I love analyzing story structure, and I especially love seeing action genres take a stab at being emotional, vulnerable, and empathetic while still being kickass action. That's a delicate balance, but oh boy does it make for a delicious dish for my particular palette.

[twstfanblog]

*~Period Drama~* Friday

A/N: It's here, the finale! Thank you all for coming on this trip with me. Time to focus on my other projects. Another BIG THANK YOU to @bun-lapin for allowing me to use her fun OC's. WordCount: 11.3K Warnings: Brief Mentions of Roe V Wade, One Instance of Vomiting, She/They OC Pronouns Start, Saturday (Octavinelle), Sunday (Heartslabyul), Monday (Savanaclaw), Monday pt2 (Diasomnia pt.1), Tuesday (Diasomnia pt2), Wednesday (Pomefiore), Thursday (Scarabia), Friday (Here)

~Taglist~

@twistedcece @deltrea @krenenbaker @koebishrimpuwu @cat100200 @emyluwinter @obsessionswithfandoms @ady-hilborn @lucid-stories @girl-nahh-two @itz-hydrodeptus-foxy7 @chyluna @riddlesimps @death-the-jo @a-twistedheartslonging @qixlin @chaosistheonlyway @welcome-to-my-horde @abell2029cluster @kirans-wonderland @coffee-or-hot-cocoa @the-ace-reader @iamsoconfusedallofthetime @chroniccorvus @marvelous-maxi @prolonged-eyecontact @lozplayer @jabberwocky-warrior @thateldribitch @bun-lapin @mel1rose @ladyraeka @ladyzsgolla @kimdourden @noncreativepage-blog @girl-nahh-two @shironakuronatasa @colombia-chan @roseapov @anunholyabomination @koebi-channnn @noises-of-nothing @creatorbiaze

Ignihyde had no actual business looking the way it did. Even Diasomnia in its full gothic structure wasn't as shit-brick-inducing as the horrifying image the Hades dorm gave. Yuu gave a small, awkward nod to each glowing-eyed skeleton they passed on the stairway. Feeling the internal pull to acknowledge them even though Ortho and Idia had said they were nothing more than decorations multiple times. The very fact they had eyes was more than enough to make Yuu give them a sense of personhood.

The inside was somehow better and worse. While it didn't share the same aesthetic of the outside — damned souls chic — the stark white furniture and structures made the dorm feel like an Apple store. The neon blue light screens everywhere did nothing to change her stance. They could only wonder how fucked the sleep schedules of Ignihyde students were as a whole.

“Oh. What have we here?”

Turning, Yuu nodded in greeting to the man walking closer. “Hi, Mr. Rohdri. Idia called me over for a research thing.”

Eldric Rohdri wasn't a teacher Yuu really saw let alone interacted with. The teacher taught fairly basic classes but everyone on campus knew the only reason he even came to NRC was to teach the technomancy classes. Yuu had learned she was — as Trein referred to it — ‘terrifyingly’ good at hand-crafted magic circles. The skill was only half the equation in technomancy, though. The other half being an actual knowledge of technology. Something Yuu had no will to learn past being able to torrent movies and keyboard shortcuts. As such, she had little reason to talk or meet with the professor outside of staff meetings. Though Crewel had stated the man was almost adorably talkative at times.

The eye-patched man tilts his head, an eyebrow barely twitching, “A meeting…with Idia…in the flesh?”

“I know, weird, right?”

Sighing, Eldric turned his attention back to his light screen tablet and tapped at the screen, “You know, I took this position as dorm advisor because I assumed the Ignihyde lot didn't…socialize…”

“I mean.” Yuu shrugged, a smirk on her lips as she looked off to the side, “In all honesty, what I do is just bullying.”

“True. I haven't had so many maintenance tickets for cracked STYX-pads since the Shroud family backed the funding to ensure every Ignihyde student would have one.” 

“I like to think it keeps them on their toes. Teach them to have strong grips, ya know?”

“No, the data shows it just gives them anxiety.” Eldric still hadn't looked up from his tablet, tapping at it in a continuous pace, “But, they normally come with that anyway. So no real harm, I suppose. This talk was…it was a talk. I must be on my way so I will make this quick.”

“Make what quick-” Yuu jumped back, eyes wide as a wall panel beside them opened to multiple mechanical arms and tools reaching out. 

Yuu tried to step away, only for one arm to grip them by the bicep and hold them still. In a flurry of movement, tools poked and picked at her, one had even swabbed the inside of her cheek. Multiple lights flashed in their face, realizing as a soft-tipped arm held her eye open that they were being scanned. Once all the tests and samples seemed to be taken, the arms and tools had retreated back into the wall, a single arm staying out to offer a bright-blue sucker. 

Eldric patted Yuu on the head before walking away, “Good job. Crewel should be alerted to my findings should anything concerning be found.”

“...” Yuu looked over their shoulder, hair now a mess and clothing vaguely disheveled. Scoffing under their breath, they glare at the mechanical arm holding out the sucker. The machine seemed to sense their eyes and offered it closer to them.

“...” They snatch the sucker from the machine, grumbling as they put it in their mouth and making their way toward Idia’s room. But when the door opened, they mood instantly lifted.

“Prefect Yuu! It's so nice to see you again!” Ortho greeted them, the other Freshmen quickly wrapping his arms around them and pulling them into the room.

“Oh my god! Ortho, you're alive!” Yuu hugged back, laughing at the confused expression Ortho gave once they both released the other.

“Why would I have expired…? Ah! You must have been worried because of the virus I contracted.”

“...” Yuu briefly met eyes with Idia, the third-year quickly shaking his head with the strongest glare he could muster. Looking back at Ortho they nod, “Yeah. I was real concerned about ya, buddy.”

With a giggle, Ortho walked (Floated?) with them closer to Idia’s setup, “Nii-san was able to hard reboot my memory to the day before I got the virus. He said it took so long because I was unresponsive and he isn't able to edit my software of his own accord anymore. Unfortunately, other than the blood samples, I did lose whatever data I collected on Saturday. So I'll be joining you and Nii-san today to learn more about your ailment.”

“That's…so good. You're gonna be ok though right? The…the virus won't affect you again?”

“Unlikely. If Nii-san ever encounters a new virus form, it only takes him a few hours to figure out how it works and how to counter it. I'm now fully protected from all forms of cyber attacks once again!”

“Wonderful…” Yuu fully turned to Idia, kneeing the back of his chair to make the Junior justle in his seat, “Sup, shit rat?”

“Can you be nice to me…for once? At all?”

“Yeah, but I won't.”

Ortho perked up, brows furrowed down but no real anger in his voice as he yelled, “Prefect Yuu! Please be kind to my brother!”

“Of course, anything for you, Ortho.” Yuu leans over, pressing a kiss to Ortho's forehead before looking back to Idia, “Sup, rat?”

Idia scowled, narrowing his eyes, “How is you still calling me a rat nicer?”

“I mean, you're still a little rat.”

Turning back to his screen, Idia’s scowl turned into a pout and he mumbled under his breath, “Ok, the quicker we do this, the quicker you get out of my face…”

Bony fingers clicked against mechanical keys, easing the room into the ASMR sounds while Idia pulled up multiple search tabs to type in the most basic questions he could think of regarding the ‘Refresh Cycle’.

Ortho hummed, tilting his head and already forming one of his hands into a syringe, “Prefect Yuu, may I have another blood sample? Since Jade Leech made me privy to you experiencing hormonal changes, I'd like to compare a new sample with the one I collected on Saturday.”

Holding out her arm, Yuu watched as Idia finished gathering all of his resources, “Go for it, buddy.” They barely felt the pinch as Ortho drew their blood, managing to kick at Idia’s chair without moving their arm in his grasp, “So what are we doing?”

“Level 0 tutorial on the ‘Magic Circulation System’ and the ‘Refresh Cycle’. Most health classes are in middle school and after looking over your class schedule, I noticed you don't have a biology subject in any of your academic roadmaps…”

“Yeah, I don't really care for the sciences…”

“Well, you should. So before we get grinding on your weird, alien blood ritual, we're gonna go over the home server basics.”

“Keep fuckin’ talkin’. I can and will break your nose again.”

“Anyway…” Idia pulled up a screen, pointing to it as he spoke, “The Inner Magical System,  or the more medically accepted term, Magical Circulation System is the system that regulates the movement of magic through the body. The system isn’t studied as much as we'd want. Observing living subjects has only given us the information that the MCS is normally one-for-one with the body's vascular and nervous system…”

He clicked over to another page displaying a diagram that reminded Yuu of the photos Crewel had shown them nearly a week ago.

“The pathways of MCS are able to fluctuate which is how we were able to notice them once technology advanced enough to be able to view magic on scans. While everyone in Twisted Wonderland all have an MCS, mages’ MCS pathways are noticeably thicker and have more branch-off points. This difference is the current theory on why mages are able to cast magic and the average npc isn't.”

“How the fuck is this a theory? Do you guys know or not?” Yuu glanced at the bandages Ortho had excitedly presented to her, picking out one with a teary-eyed pomegranate. 

Idia sighed, pulling up a new tab, “The MCS isn't easy to study. It's still only a theory that there are actual physical pathways. Seeing how in post-mortem, subjects’ MCS rapidly decay. Not to mention since it's interwoven with other systems…” Idia looked at the image of what doctors and various researchers had deemed a healthy MCS reading, “Magic isn't easily studied either; it's everywhere, but it can be dangerous to or easily disrupted by outside forces. Which is why every approved study is a long trial-and-error process…”

Yuu tilted their head to lean against Idia’s shoulder, ignoring the Junior trying to wiggle his body away from them, “Isn't your family's whole thing the shadow government study of magic and aggressive kidnapping?”

Ortho giggles, taking space on Idia’s other shoulder as he pointed to other displays on the screen, “STYX's main field of study is Blot-related magics studies and aggressive kidnapping. Though, in recent years, mom has been making impressive strides in all manners of scientific fields…”

“Your mom is great; I think if she came out with a microchip you put in your brain, I'd trust it.”

“Prefect Yuu, what would the microchip do? Oh! Would it be a new way to watch videos and call friends?”

“Ortho, please. Don't tell mom about that. She might actually get started on it. But, back on subject. We don't know a lot on MCS still but we seem to at least have discovered the basics.” 

Idia clicks over to a new window, a lineup of bodies on the screen as he continued, “Compared to other species of Twisted Wonderland, humans have the most constant but ‘weaker’ structure compared to the others. Overall, a good starter base model if we were picking mains…Beastmen and Merfolk vary in variety. Because of their biology and the general fact Merfolk have the option to commute between land and sea, their MCS are more flexible. It's also been studied that due to this — should their systems be damaged — they have a higher healing rate and are less likely to have lasting damage.”

Ortho pointed to the last example, while the other three were clearly outlines of adults the last was the vague shape of an adult, “Fae MCS are the least studied both from most Fae not wanting to participate and also their readings overloading the scanners.”

Idia nods, “Fae MCS nearly overlaps every last internal system they have. For a Fae to lose or damage their MCS is basically inciting total organ failure. But back to what we're supposed to be focusing on, the Refresh Cycle.”

More clicking and Idia shows a page with a prominent photo of a uterus diagram, “The Refresh Cycle is a specific process where a uterus draws in the body's magic to replenish the lining. The process is taxing on the individual leading to bodily fatigue, cravings, and mood swings. It only lasts a day or rarely two. Should it last longer, it's highly recommended you speak to a doctor.”

“Fucking whores…” Yuu glared at the screen, scowling as they muttered under their breath.

Ortho perked up, “Oh! Nii-San did more research at my request on Saturday, once I was alerted that you were not assaulted. It turns out this has been documented in history. The only figures that matched your timeline and symptoms were the Queen of Hearts and her two daughters. Though, such reports decreased over the years, only popping up briefly for the next generation before never being reported again in the bloodlines.”

“It caused just as much panic as your splash out did.” Idia clicked on an article titled ‘The Queen of Hearts and her Bloody Mystery’, “I'll send this to you to read over.”

“Thanks…So, bloody pussy isn’t a natural thing here, huh?”

Both Ortho and Idia cringe, the Junior looking away to search for the proper cable for their next steps, “Not unless it's a really rough birth or…you know, assault. It doesn't last long, no way as long as seven days…hand me your phone.”

“Yep.”

Yuu’s smartphone was an object of interest to Idia, ever since she first came into his room asking for his help on properly connecting it to their new school-issued tablet. Idia could only theorize at the spell graft that was affecting the phone to give it the ability to transcend through dimensions. A mystery he was willing to let fester seeing how misaligning a single part of the — no doubt cosmically complex — spell graft, the phone could be rendered completely useless. Or even explode. He wasn't entirely sure which was most likely…

In the end, all he could do was write up his own graft to act as a free-for-all access point. Attaching it to a few USB cords fixed the problem of universal connection, no matter how terrifying the combo made him feel with it in Yuu's hands.

The group all stood in silence, watching an instant flash of runes and elemental symbols glitch across the screen before settling on the Google homepage.

Yuu smiled, “Aw. The homepage is cute today. Idia, take a screenshot.”

He did as he was asked, mumbling under his breath about Google being a dumb name. He poised his hands over his keyboard only to freeze. He looked at Yuu from the side of his eyes, “Um…what am I searching up?”

Ortho hummed, “Well. It's best to just ask, isn't it? A simple ‘What is a period?’ should give us the answers we seek…”

And it did. In the most basic of terms, a period was the shedding of the uterus lining should the egg not be fertilized by a sperm.

Yuu hummed, “Yeah, pussy pee-” she suddenly choked, glancing at Ortho in worry before looking back at the screen, “Vaginal wallpaper replacement.”

“...” Ortho creased his brows, glancing at Yuu from the corner of his eyes, “You are aware the ‘vagina’ is…not the correct term, aren't you?”

Idia spoke up, glancing at Yuu in mild judgment, “Yeah. Riddle and Jade asked me about that. From the first scans, we share the same hardware biology-wise. But like…you don't seem to know any real terms-”

“Oh my fucking GOD. Shut up. I know, ok? The vagina is multiple parts and all that bullshit. It's just easier to call it all the vagina, get off my dick.”

“That's not convincing me you know the names of your reproductive parts, Prefect Yuu…”

“Fuck you guys.”

“Hmmm…but…why does it remove itself? Wouldn't it stay inside? Instead of shedding, shouldn’t it simply heal if there’s damage?” Ortho tilts his head, a lightscreen projecting from his hand, “Maybe it works in the way scar tissue does…? But, if that were true, then removal is the best course of action…” Ortho looked up from his tablet, raising an eyebrow to Yuu, “Do you have any more information on the process, Prefect Yuu? Past test results have shown a hormonal difference from last week to this point.”

“I don’t fucking know.”

Idia frowned, glaring at Yuu, “This is your fucking body. How do you not know how shit works?”

“I've told you guys. The healthcare of my home nation is basically be rich or die. And even if you are rich, they may still let you die.”

“Prefect Yuu, that's so comically evil, I can only think it's a lie. But, if that's true then you should be even more conscious about your health!”

“Too expensive. My family just picked to be lucky and hope we don't get sick and die.”

Idia gestured to the screen, the multiple links on the page to show just how ‘researched’ their mysterious ailment was, “You literally have a smartphone capable of searching for this shit on your own time!? How do you not know anything past the literal bare bones!?”

Yuu glared at Idia, jabbing their finger hard into his chest and making the third-year wince, “Fuck you! If a NASA worker doesn't know all the facts about a period, then I get a fucking pass!”

“What is NASA!?”

“It's the fucking space people- hold on.” Yuu elbowed Idia, sending him rolling off to the side as they took over the keyboard, “There's a fucking song about it.”

“You have real aliens?” Ortho looked at the screen in wonder, “Is Sally Ride the alien's name?”

Yuu smiled, clicking a YouTube video, “No, Ortho. She was an astronaut. She went to space.”

“You can send people into space!?”

Idia rolled back to the two, pouting as he grumbled, “Your country's sent people to space, but you don't know how a period works-”

“Shut up and listen to the fucking song.”

Luckily, the video seemed to be short. Both of them prepped to take the information with a grain of salt, seeing how the channel name was ‘Comedy Central’.

Remember when NASA sent a woman to space, for only six days, and they gave her…

100 tampons~

100 tampons~

…

And asked, “Will that be enough?”

Idia nor Ortho were sure if it was or wasn't in reality either. But by the crowd's reaction of immediate laughter, it clearly was not. Idia turned to Yuu, opening his mouth to ask if 100 was too many or too little, only to have the song continue.

Cause they didn't know if that was enough~

These are our nation's greatest minds

They are literally rocket scientists

They also tied the tampons together,

By the strings like sausages

100 tampons

100 tampons~

Ortho and Idia could only stand in muted silence at what they hoped was a dramatic retelling of what actually happened. The woman's voice managed to carry across the pure awkward energy that must have coated the entire conversation. Ortho was the one to pause the video once the second song spoke about the same men creating a ‘make-up kit’ for space.

The silence in the room was only broken by the quiet hum of Idia’s tower and Yuu's muffled laughter.

Idia finally spoke up, rolling his eyes and folding his arms in an effort to minimize his own secondhand embarrassment, “Okay! But, like, we didn't know either so you can't blame them!? Would you even know how many to bring!?”

Yuu smiled at Idia, shrugging their shoulders, “I mean if I was excessive and it was my period week? Maybe like 30…40 tops?”

Ortho had tilted his head down, brows furrowed in pure confusion, “How…does one use a tampon…? What are the strings for? Why did they tie them together?”

“Ortho, I wish I could tell you…”

“Well! You said this is space science right!? Space and biology are vastly different skill trees, it makes sense they didn't know!”

“Sure, but like…you get a pass on not knowing because you two have never dealt with a period before. These were grown-ass men with wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters. All of which probably got periods.” Yuu shrugged again, grabbing one of Idia’s unopened energy drinks and cracking it open for herself, “So, my point, I'm allowed to not know shit. Because even the smartest assholes didn't know if a single adult woman would need 100 tampons for a six-day trip into space, nor did they even try to guesstimate an actual number.”

…

Idia sighed, holding his head limply in his hands, “...I'm tired…”

“Aw. Look at you, speaking like an American…”

“Prefect Yuu, do you know of…any actual sources of research? Preferably not in comedic song form…”

“...” Sipping the energy drink, Yuu typed at the computer one-handed, “My friend Maxine watched this lady a lot. I think she's a OGBYN?”

Idia made a face, not able to discern the acronym, “OGBYN?”

“I…yeah? Like a pregnancy doctor?”

“But you get a period if you're not pregnant?”

“It's- hold on…” Yuu opens a new tab, quickly googling for the full name, “Ok. Do you have Obstetricians/Gynecologists? It's that.”

Ortho widens his eyes, “Ah! That's a rare occurance to have both titles…”

“Is it?”

Idia nods, digging up his old knowledge from health classes, “Obstetricians here are only really required for ultra-danger level of births. A large population gets by with just biannual visits to their gynecologist and consulting with a midwife. Birth isn't really…I guess…” The wrong word to use was hard, difficult was no better, “...Threatening…?”

“To have both professional titles be the standard is mildly concerning…Is birth seen as more perilous in your world, Prefect Yuu?”

“I’ve never been pregnant, so I can't give firsthand experience. But just…a lot can go wrong, I guess? Both mom and baby's health can turn on a dime. Postpartum issues and stuff can get really bad too…”

“How so? Don't the hospital, family, and loved ones support the mother after the birth?”

“Yeah, the struggles and strife of women aren't really important where I come from.”

“...Why?”

“Because the world hates women, I guess. Starting the video.”

“What-”

This video was wildly more informative. The doctor spoke in easy-to-understand terms, drawing out diagrams and clearly showing the variables one could deal with in their period. She had even excitedly explained the beginning processes of pregnancy. By the end, Ortho had made more than enough notes on the actual hormones involved with the process to begin cross-dimensional research with Riddle and Jade. 

Smiling, Ortho turned to Yuu and tilted his head, “That must have been a very nice refresher course. Did it help you remember any information from a prior health class, Prefect Yuu?”

“Ortho, I'm not going to say this again. I don't fucking know. The only health class I had was in elementary school and that was literally just to tell us that a period means we’ve become a woman and are gonna start bleeding now. We didn't learn any of this shit if I remember right.”

“...” Ortho opens his eyes, “What?”

Idia leaned closer, “Wait, they didn't…teach you about this?”

“I mean it was only like a day or two. We learned about what to expect and how to use pads and tampons. And that if we have sex we'd get pregnant. They gave us gift bags of chocolates…”

“...You're lying. You have to be lying. That is such a barebones tutorial.”

Ortho moved past Yuu, eyes now laser-focused on the screen as he started to type, “What were the health classes like in your world?”

“Aaaah! No! Don't type that shit in!” Though she tried, Ortho wasn't moved by her shoving and pulling. Instead, she stood with a hand over her eyes as Ortho and Idia read over the most relevant topics dealing with ‘health classes’.

“...”

“...”

“...Prefect Yuu.”

“I don't wanna talk about it.”

Idia was squinting at the screen, opening multiple new tabs to speed read through with Ortho, “They’re getting rid of health classes for elementary students? How do you ban talking about puberty with elementary schoolers? That's like… the tail end is when it starts doesn't it?”

“I don't wanna talk about it.”

“Wait, Nii-san, what is Roe Vs Wade? There's a lot of users in the comment section talking about it.”

“We can search it.”

Yuu sighed as the two quickly read through a brief article, dipping their head down lower and starting to slowly shake it, “Please, don't-”

“WAIT, THAT CAN HAPPEN!?”

“WHY!?” Ortho turned around, hands bracing against Yuu's shoulders and shaking her though her expression didn't change, “WHY WAS THAT EVEN A CHOICE TO MAKE!?”

“...” Yuu's face pinched, taking in a shaking breath before she leaned forward to rest against Ortho's shoulder.

The robot stood stunned, even Idia pausing in his yelling to watch the magicless mage in concern, “...Yuu-”

“Give me a minute.”

The two sat in silence, allowing Yuu to work through their own internal struggle and softly cry into Ortho's —undoubtedly uncomfortable — shoulder. Soon, she took in another big breath, pulling away to discreetly wipe at their eyes.

Idia passed over the open energy drink, “Do you…want to talk about it?”

“Not at all. Can you, like, exit out of those, honestly?”

“Yeah.” Ortho had already exited the pages before Idia could even reach for the mouse again, leaving behind the YouTube video of the smiling doctor.

Yuu sniffles, sipping at the drink before laughing slightly, “Click that video.”

“This one?” Ortho squinted his eyes at the screen, “...Trying the Period Simulator?”

Idia perked up at the word ‘simulator’. Eyeing the screen with renewed interest as the video played, “Wait. You can stimulate a period with a machine? There should be plenty of research then.”

“Not really. Every period's different and not everyone feels pain the same way. Plus It doesn't really…stimulate a period. It more so just tries to recreate cramps…” 

Yuu started to smile. Slow and creeping, the longer they watched the video and the sound of pain increased with every new level on the machine. Taking one last sip of their drink, they looked over to Idia’s concerned face, "Hey, Idia…you wanna make something fun?”

“Um-”

Ortho had instantly caught on. His head snapping away from the screen so fast Yuu would have been worried if he had an actual neck, eyes nearly vibrating from how manic He seemed, “I do!”

“That's the spirit, Ortho!”

Unsurprisingly, with how excited Ortho was, the machine only took two days to complete. Yuu and the Shroud brothers had set the machine up in one of the vacant rooms of Ramshackle, a mass text being sent out for everyone to come to the dorm before it got too late in the evening. A follow-up text stating attendance was mandatory.

Idia looked over, raising an eyebrow at Leona and Ruggie who were already lounging around, “I didn't think you two were gonna be the first ones here…”

Ruggie shrugged, a lazy smile on his face as he looked off to the side, “I mean we were already here.”

“Why are y'all always just in my fucking house?” Yuu had casted them a side glare, “Gonna make you fuckers start paying rent.” 

Yuu was hooked up to the simulator, doing last-minute testing with Ortho to make sure the machine was working properly. They'd been standing still, their eyes narrowing every few moments before instructing Ortho to turn the level up. 

As Yuu reached the highest level, she nodded, “Yeah, that's as good as we’re gonna get. Past the lack of other stuff, you and Idia made this more accurate than the one from my world, I think.”

Ortho giggled, helping Yuu remove the nodes on their back, “Well, there were a lot of other symptoms that we couldn't replicate without putting someone in a full-body simulation.” He closed his eyes, hanging his head in sadness, “And the hormonal changes we would have attempted to recreate are deemed as ‘Uncivil’ torture methods.”

“...” Yuu raised an eyebrow, “What are the civil ones?”

At that moment, Riddle, Trey, and Cater had entered. Riddle already giving Yuu a stern glare as he folded his arms, “I don't have the context of this conversation, but civil or not; torture is very illegal.”

Both Yuu and Ortho boo, Yuu dramatically pointing toward Riddle who only intensified his glare, “No fun haver! No fun haver!”

Riddle huffed, stomping his foot only once as Yuu and Ortho kept chanting, “Torture is illegal and that is final!”

Leona snorted, "Not in a few countries…”

Yuu gasped, turning to Ortho with a giddy expression, “Ortho~! Vacay locations!”

“Yay, torture!”

Idia frowned, Riddle nearly glowing from how red his face was, “And you guys wonder why I don't like them hanging out…”

It took both Cater and Trey's combined powers to get Yuu and Ortho to stop planning a ‘Torture Tour’. The two Juniors pointing out that by international law, torture was still very illegal. And if a country was found to be engaging in such methods, they would be punished accordingly. A fact that Ortho simply stated they wouldn't…say which country was engaging in illegal torture methods. A topic that Trey had shut down without mercy.

“Oh!” Yuu hummed, “Before I forget. Riddle, Cater, you guys take the school offered birth control, right?”

Leona scoffed, raising an eyebrow teasingly at Yuu, “Not gonna ask me?”

“Do you take birth control?”

“...No, but you could at least pretend to ask my opinion.”

Cater sighed, folding his arms and tilting his head in question, “Yes. We take the birth control; why do you ask, sweetie?”

“Do you always feel nauseous after taking it or is that a side effect that will stop after a while?”

Riddle's face pinched, “Why didn't you raise this issue with Crewel?”

“Why are you asking this now? Have you been feeling nauseous the whole time taking it?” Cater sounded more alarmed, even Leona looking at Yuu in a more concerned light.

“I mean I just started taking it-”

“Hold up.” Ruggie raised his hand, the bridge of his nose pinched with his other as he spoke, “You mean to say this whole time…for the past six-seven months you've been here — potentially having sex with your multiple boyfriends — you've not been taking birth control?”

“ …Well, when you spell it out like that, it sounds stupid and irresponsible-”

Cater had sighed, shaking his head in disbelief as he tapped at his phone. “We're going to my clinic after I get permission from Crewel.”

“I don't need to go to a clinic.”

“No, you're getting a new prescription.” Cater openly ignored her protests, briefly looking up to smile at Ortho, “Hey, let's get this whole thing started! What are we doing, Ortho?”

“This is my event-”

Ortho gestured to the machine sitting on the table, multiple muscle connectors in his hand, “This is my brother's and I's attempt at a ‘Period Simulator’! While it doesn't stimulate every symptom we've recorded, Yuu has assured us it's very capable of recreating the proper sensation of a period cramp.”

Idia did his best to hide his grin, wondering just how badly some people would fare, “Anyone wanna go first?”

After a beat of silence, Leona stepped forward, “Might as well see what was making you a wreck last Monday.” he lifted his shirt, letting Ortho affix the sensors along his lower stomach and back, “I still can't believe it was bad enough to make you throw up and cry like you were.”

Yuu rolled her eyes, moving beside Idia to work the controls, “Yeah, big talk from a bitch who's never had a period.” After a few moments, Yuu smiles and tilts her head, “How's it feel?”

Leona scoffed, “Like nothing.”

Yuu had set the machine to ‘Seven’ out of the Ten levels, “Yeah, I haven't turned it on yet.” 

The second the switch was flipped, Leona let out a single grunt and crumbled to the ground. The Savanaclaw housewarden slowly curled in himself, a single fist clenching so tight a vein was visibly throbbing under his skin.

Everyone blinked in surprise, Ruggie rushing over to hover his hands over Leona, “H-hey! What's happening!?”

Leona had barely lasted twenty seconds, everyone yelling in panic around his prone form as he slowly dug his claws into the hardwood floors. Luckily, he managed to gather enough willpower to lift his head, pupils shrunken to pinpricks as he gasped out, “Turn this shit off.”

Yuu relented, flipping the machine off and allowing Leona to finally relax and breathe out a loud sigh of relief. Ruggie had already started to remove the sensors from Leona's body when they spoke, “So, how was your one minute period?”

“You were not feeling that…!” Leona fumbled in standing, Trey and Ruggie more so dragging than helping him up. Though the constant spasming and clenching of his inner muscles had stopped, his body suddenly being wracked with pain made him jelly-legged.

Laughing, Yuu shrugged, “I mean, my period hangs around a ‘Six’ or 'Seven’ on my own pain scale if I don't take pain meds. Not like… A ‘Ten’ which is ‘I gotta get to a hospital’ pain, but in range to be ‘a little homicidal’ pain.”

Trey had helped Leona to an armchair, gesturing to the machine as Leona melted into the seat, “Is that thing safe?”

Ortho nodded, “Of course! We did trial runs and everything. Honestly, Prefect Yuu says it feels more along a ‘Three’ of her pain scale at max power. But, I believe with a bit more testing, we can successfully create a one-for-one simulation!”

“Keep that shit away from me.” Ruggie shook his head, sticking close to a still groaning Leona, “Mandatory or not, I'm not tryin’ that thing.”

“You may be spared. Leona's reaction was more than I could have hoped for.”

Leona moved one of his arms from his middle, raising a middle finger to Yuu.

Ortho chimes in, holding up the pads with a gleeful expression, “Who wants to go next?”

The silence that followed was comical, each boy looking at the other with poorly hidden concern and fear. Before long, Trey sighed and stepped forward.

“I'll go. This feels like a situation where we're not getting off unless Yuu's felt we had enough…” He lifted his shirt, already twitching lightly as Ortho stuck the pads to his stomach and back, “Don't put it on too high, ok?”

Yuu giggled, setting the machine to five, “I'll give you the ‘average special’. Not the worst, not the easiest.” Seeing Trey properly hooked up, she tilted her head, “Ready?”

“You'd still turn it on-oh, okay.” Trey had taken a step back, face grimacing as the pain hit him all at once.

Cater had his phone out, held low but at an angle to still capture Trey in the camera, “How you feelin’, Trey?”

“It's…ah…it's coming in…in moments-Mmmmmm this feels wrong.” Trey took slow, controlled breaths. He gently rocked back and forth, gaining an almost zen before the sound of the front door slamming open downstairs startled him. He choked, spit going down the wrong pipe and losing his focus.

With Trey now on his knees and choking, Cater kept filming but gave Yuu a pleading glance, “Ok, turn it off, he's not…recovering from this.”

“True…you wanna go Cater?”

The Junior left out a single harsh laugh, still filming as Ortho helped a shaking Trey remove the pads from his lower body, “You couldn’t pay me enough to do this. How about I just film everything for future posterity?”

Trey groaned, rubbing his lower back, “Way to avoid the experience…” He turned, smiling and raising an eyebrow to Riddle, “Your turn?”

“...Um…” Riddle's eyes briefly glanced at the door, wondering if he could make a break for it. But hearing the voices in the hallway, he sighed knowing one of them would stop or slow him enough for Yuu to drag him back, “I suppose…”

While he was being fitted, the door opened to show Ace and Deuce covered in grass stains and clumps of dirt.

Riddle frowned, awkwardly folding his arms over Ortho's head, “Why are you both dirty?”

Ace pointed over his shoulder, expression annoyed, “Floyd dropped us.”

Behind the two dirty Freshmen were Floyd and Kalim, the smiley housewarden comfortably kneeling on the mer's shoulders. Jade, Azul, and Jamil following behind the two.

Jade laughed into his hand, eyeing his twin subtly, “He got tired of carrying them.”

Looking around the room, brows furrowing together at the scene of both Leona and Trey slumped over, Azul asked, “What…are we doing…?”

Idia snickered, letting Yuu take over the controls, “We made a machine that can simulate the cramps Yuu's had the past few days. We're running a gauntlet to see who can actually stand up to it. You wanna test your skills, Azul-Shii?”

Floyd tugged at the pads attached to Riddle's stomach and lower back, smiling lazily with Kalim still on his shoulders, “These little things are gonna shock you or something?”

Azul hummed, adjusting his glasses as he glanced over Riddle, “Maybe…I'd rather see this process firsthand than go in blind.”

Yuu spoke up, smiling as she messed with dials and switches, “Riddle, I'm giving you a ‘Three’. Because I think anything higher would actually kill you.”

Riddle glancing nervously at Yuu, “Parden, can this pain be fatal?”

“Possibly, I don't know.”

“Wha-aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Riddle cut himself off suddenly, the weak sensation making his insides twist and pinch in an unfamiliar fashion.

Floyd had surged forward — leaving Kalim to tumble off of his shoulders and to be barely caught by Jamil and Azul. He fretted over Riddle in his own way, hands up to hover over his boyfriend's hunched-over body.

“Goldfishie? Is it really that bad…?”

Riddle's only response was to let out a groan, his breathing slowly picking up as another pang of pain hits him. Floyd had just barely sent a glare to Yuu before she shut the machine off.

“You good? I only gave you a three…”

Standing back up, the redhead tried to subtly wipe a few tears away from his eyes, “It was…very unpleasant. Reminded me of…hunger pains.”

“Oh shit, my bad, Riddle.”

Sighing, letting Ortho and Floyd take the sensors off his body Riddle continued, “It's no fault of yours. I was aware this process was painful for you, but I couldn't fathom it…felt like that…”

Deuce muttered, eyeing the pads with curiosity, “Is it really that bad?”

Yuu gestures to the pads, eyebrows raised, “Wanna try it for yourself?”

While Deuce was looking at the pads, clearly weighing his options, Ace scoffed and rubbed the back of his head, “You couldn't pay me to try that…”

“Oh, I wasn't expecting you to, pussy.”

“Oi.”

Yuu shrugged, smiling as Deuce was already allowing Ortho to hook him into the machine, “What? I'm agreeing with you, pussy. You don't have to try, pussy.”

Ace was already standing beside Deuce, scowling as he took one pad off of the other freshman’s back, “Shut up. I'm doing your stupid little challenge.”

Ace barely lasted thirty seconds, crumbling under muscle spasms while Deuce kept himself standing through sheer willpower alone. The redhead was on his knees, fists balled tight and curled as small as he could be in a fetal position. He took in wheezing breaths, letting out long and strained sighs.

He tapped out when Yuu turned the setting up to ‘Eight’. A hand waving at Ortho frantically to remove the pads along his midsection. Deuce had barely choked, face turning red as he strained harder to keep himself standing. While Ace was being freed from the electric pulses, Deuce’s expression had turned more and more distressed the longer he stood. Yuu had turned the dial to ‘Nine’ when Deuce let out a loud yell and started to pull the sensors off of himself by force.

“NO. NOPE. DONE. I ALMOST SHAT MYSELF.”

Ace, who was curled up on the ground arms around his middle, let out a bubble of a giggle from his groaning.

Leona sat up straighter, eyes wide in a sudden epiphany, “That’s the feeling!”

Trey nodded, having given up his seat to let Riddle sit and rest, “Yeah, that is a good way of describing what it feels like. Past the pain, it’s like you need to…really take a shit.”

Riddle mumbled, sending an annoyed glance to Ace now cackling on the floor,  “I’d rather we say ‘stomachache’ than…defecating.”

Yuu, laughing along with Ace turned to the other group of boys, “Anyone else wanna try?”

Floyd and Jade had simply looked at each other before grinning. They were hooked up quickly, both Trey and Riddle excusing themselves and wishing the other’s luck in their ‘torture sessions’.

Looking over the dials, Yuu spoke, “I’ll give you guys a ‘Five’ to start off with. I wanna see one of you guys make it to ‘Ten’.”

The machine was barely on for two seconds before Floyd was ripping the pads off of his body, his once playful expression dropping instantly at the flash of pain, “I don’t wanna do this anymore.”

Azul spoke up, eyeing the machine with even more distrust than before, “That’s a record…”

Yuu turned to Jade, the other twin still hooked up but eyebrows furrowed together, “Still wanna try for ‘Ten’?”

He’s only response was to give a thumbs up, a little approving hum in his throat.

Jade getting to ‘Ten’ was a feat in itself. The Sophomore had managed to ‘Seven’ before he physically started to show signs of distress. All the way to ‘Ten’, Jade had started to let out sharp and shrill clicks and growls. His expression starting to nash as he bared his teeth in a show of hostile energy, his hands flexing with the barely concealed urge to rip into something unfortunate enough to get too close. 

Idia had quickly turned the machine off once Yuu had turned the dial to ‘Ten’, everyone else in the room having been pressed against the walls or furniture in an effort to stay as far away from Jade as possible. As his brain slowly eased back into its front conciseness, he blinked and looked around the room.

“Did something…happen?”

Floyd spoke up, Azul, Ace, and Deuce all using him as a shield from Jade's feral display, “Wow, I'm glad we don't have periods; dad would of been dead before we even hatched.”

“Ah. I assume it was bad then?”

Azul poked his head from behind Floyd, “You don't know?”

“No, I blacked out.”

Ruggie spoke up from his place pressed against Leona, “By the Seven…”

Yuu smiled, holding up the other set of sensors toward Azul, “You wanna try now, Azul?”

“Please don't. We love each other, this doesn't need to be how I die today.”

“I wanna try!” Kalim had instantly popped up from behind Jamil, eyes shining in glee as he instantly moved to Jade’s place.

“Kalim, no.” Jamil had moved, stopping Kalim from lifting his shirt, “You can’t just,” Sighing he gently shoved the other boy away from the machine, “You can’t just try something like this. There’s no telling how you could react to this.”

“React to what?” 

Vil and Rook walked into the room, the Pomefiore housewarden raising an eyebrow at the unfamiliar machine.

Yuu smiled, gesturing to the machine as though it were a new car, “We're doing a fun little contest to see who can withstand a period cramp. Jamil was just about to volunteer-”

“No, I wasn't. Once again, I was keeping Kalim from jumping into something he has no grasp of.”

Vil hummed, tilting his head as Rook lit up beside him, “Trés bien! What a glorious act of empathy; to feel along with our beloved petite madame the torture that casted them into turmoil from the last half fortnight!”

“It would be an interesting experience. Though it's impossible to recreate the ailment one for one, we would at least know the physical part of it.” Vil smiled, looking to Jamil with a saccharine smile, “You'll be giving us an example?”

Kalim whined, pushing and pulling Jamil’s arm, “Please? If you try and say it's okay, then me and Vil can try. Please~?”

“...” Jamil sighed, holding his hands out for the grouping of pads in Yuu's hands, “Don't put it on the highest setting…”

“Jamil…I could never…to you.”

The Scarabia vice was no stranger to pain nor stressful situations. But the sudden rolling waves of clenching and spasms in his lower stomach gave him pause. In what could be described as ‘The Five Stages of Grief’ Jamil's expressions twisted and melded as he stood silent. Finally, he rested on ‘Acceptance’ his face falling back into his normal neutral expression. He took in one last breath, sighing out as he now stood as though nothing was wrong.

“Okay. This is unpleasant, I feel like I'm being kicked in the stomach by a toddler over and over. I may overblot again.”

Vil raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“Yeah, this is torture.”

Kalim hummed, eyes now holding an edge of concern, “Is it really that bad?”

“Well, it's not baking a fucking cake, I'll tell you that.”

“OMG, you have PMS. Tracks.” Yuu smiled, gently clicked the knob to ‘Seven’ and barely holding in her giggles as Jamil started to quickly detach the sensors from his body.

“No. No, I will actually try to kill someone again if I keep that on longer.” Jamil gave Yuu a mild glare. He sighs, rolling his eyes as Kalim rushed over and excitedly waited for Ortho to hook him up, “That was deeply unpleasant…”

Yuu only responded by making a kissy face, turning the dials to lower settings. Her eyes glance over to Kalim, the boy beaming and bouncing on his heels, “Ready?”

“Ready!”

The machine was only set to a ‘Three’, but the second the sensation had hit Kalim he stopped bouncing on the balls of his feet. His expression slowly but steadily dropped into neutrality and then quickly into distress.

Jamil spoke up, “Kalim-”

“Turn it off.”

Yuu snickered, but moved to flip the machine off, “Kalim, you only had a ‘Three’, don’t you-”

“Turn it off.”

The machine was off, Ortho and Jamil quickly removed the patches from Kalim’s sides. The housewarden in question turned to Yuu, eyes wide in barely contained hysteria.

“Why did that make me relive every trauma I’ve had?”

Yuu blinked, unmoved by his concern, “Kalim, that's just what a period does sometimes.”

Cater spoke up, glaring softly at Yuu while he muttered under his breath, “Yeah, because that's totally healthy and normal to feel once a month…” He ended the video, smiling toward Ortho, "I actually had other plans today, can you keep recording for me, Ortho?"

"Got it, Cater Diamond!"

Jamil had Kalim half draped across his shoulders, the housewarden mumbling in their region’s dialect, “I'm going to take him back to the dorm before he has a full-blown episode. Once you’re done with your torture machine, break it. Please. I'm begging you.”

Yuu scoffed, rolling her eyes “It's not torture-”

Azul placed a hand on Yuu's, smiling softly once she looked at him, “Oh, my dearest pearl. The only way to describe what you went through is torture, Plain and simple. And on that fact, I and the twins shall be taking our leave, as well.”

Floyd had laughed, already at the door and holding it open for Cater and Jamil carrying a still-mumbling Kalim out with him, “Azul doesn't want to risk Shrimpy talking him into doing it.”

“Don't give her ideas. Farewell, my pearl and others. Hopefully, you all have a more pleasant day than what it’s been…”

Yuu raises an eyebrow, “You and Ruggie don't wanna leave yet?”

Leona smirked, shaking his head as he was fully relaxed in the armchair, “Oh no. This is more fun than you said it was gonna be. I'm enjoying myself, Feral.”

Ruggie tilted his head, smiling at Ortho, “Oi, Ortho. Were you gonna try it?”

Ortho blinked, “Ruggie Bucchi, I don’t have internal organs.”

Idia muttered under his breath, glaring at Ruggie from the corner of his eyes, “Please, my brother’s suffered enough in this life.” 

“Then I believe it is my turn, non?” Rook excitedly stepped forward, lifting his shirt for Ortho to affix the sensors, “What a rare experience I will endure! One not felt by this generation, past or future.”

“Yeah, I'll put you at ‘Seven’ and go from there.” Yuu flipped the switch.

Rook's eyes widened, his once excited expression turning into a strange hybrid of stunned and panicked. He hunched forward, his lips parted but silent as he slowly eased himself to kneel on the ground.

Yuu quirked an eyebrow, watching the Junior slowly curl in on himself, “Ah, there he goes.”

Vil looked vaguely concerned, folding his arms and tilting enough to see Rook’s face, “Rook…are you alright?”

“I have never felt such a sensation. My insides twisting and gripping in fear, anticipation of dread. The physical grasp of femininity strangles me, punishing my hubris for daring to believe I could stand against such a beautiful force-”

Leona spoke up from his chair, eyes lidded as he caught Yuu’s attention, “Turn it up.”

“Please don’t…”

Yuu giggled, “Want me to turn it off?”

“Please do.” 

Leona lamented, claiming Yuu was being soft on her precious Pomefiore boy when she turned the machine off. The Junior finally seeing the pure amusement of this game now that he could witness those who annoyed him on the receiving end. 

Rook was up and twirling around when Vil was still getting set up. The Junior was reciting freestyle poetry on the curse and blessings of womanhood. Though his main takeaway was joy at gaining a new sensation to his lifelong collection of experiences.

Vil only rolled his eyes, “That's one way of looking at it…”

“Well, why the fuck are you doing it then?” Yuu asked as she turned dials on the machine.

“The term ‘gut-wrenching’ comes up an offensive amount of times in scripts. And since I haven't had gut issues since I was a child, I actually don't have much to work with.” he smiles, smoothing his shirt back down, “So this will be research. Onion, set me at ‘Six’.”

“I'm giving you ‘Ten'.” Yuu smiled, taunting and calm, before flipping the machine back on. 

Everyone in the room jumped at the ear-piercing, shrill scream that escaped Vil, the sound briefly echoing in the room. The star had ripped the sensors off his body faster than Floyd had. He took a step forward, wobbly-legged but determined as he walked toward the door and fumbled his way out of the room.

A beat of silence hits the room, Rook excusing himself before following Vil out of the room. Yuu bit her lip, turning the machine off as Leona started to laugh. Ruggie no better as lion beastman became more and more hysterical in his laughter.

The door opened slowly, Epel, Jack, and Sebek casting worried looks to Leona hunched over in his chair.

Epel did his best to wait for Leona's laughter to ease. When the Junior…clearly wasn't, he managed to speak over Leona, “Why is Vil lyin’ face down in the hallway?”

Yuu opened her mouth, closing it at Leona's laughter reaching a new pitch. She looked over to Ruggie, the hyena nodding his head.

“Ok, we're gonna head out. I think we've seen all we can see.” Ruggie draped Leona's arms over his shoulder, half dragging his housewarden out, stopping to pat Jack on the shoulder, “Good luck…”

“With what?” Jack called out, staring after his upperclassmen in confusion.

Ortho tilted his head, gesturing to the machine, “Would any of you like to make 10 thaumarks?”

Sebek spoke, “Ortho, that is by far the worst way to start this conversation.”

“Here's a better one then.” Yuu smiles, gesturing to the machine herself, “Would any of you boys like a lesson in empathy?”

“No?”

Jack tilts his head toward the device, ears pinned back in distrust, “What is that?”

“Try it out, Jacky-Boy. Test your grit, are you tougher than the average woman from my world or a simple puppy in my presence?”

“...You're goding me.”

“Is it working?”

“...” Jack clicked his tongue, taking two big steps and standing beside Ortho, “I'm only doing this because I know you'll get annoying if I reject it…”

“Idia-Senpai…what is this?” Epel casted the housewarden a confused stare, he and Sebek watching Ortho place medical sensors on Jack's lower stomach and back.

“For real? We made a torture box and have been testing everyone's pain tolerance.”

Sebek snapped his gaze toward Idia, “You what?”

“Wait, torture how-aaaaah…?” Jack's question quickly slid into a confused vocal run, his expression pinching together in a guarded grimace.

Yuu leaned on the table, raising an eyebrow at Jack, “I gave you a ‘Six’. How you feeling?”

Jack didn't answer, nor did he move from his braced stance. As nearly a minute passed, Jack finally gained the power to turn his head. It started small, minimal slow shakes that slowly grew faster.

“Are you having a seizure or are you asking me to turn it off?”

Jack's only response was to shake his head faster.

“Jack, that is not answering my question.”

“Just turn it off, ya psycho!” Epel yelled.

“Fiiiiiine.” Yuu groaned, rolling her eyes and shutting the machine off.

Even when the currents were gone, Jack remained completely still and tensed. He could only cough lightly as Epel came over to him with concern.

Sebek glared at Yuu, “What did you do!?”

Yuu slapped the top of the machine, Jack finally moving if only to get farther away out of fear that Yuu had turned it back on, “We made a period simulator and let me tell you…none of you guys are built to handle this shit apparently.”

Epel frowned, his hands moving to massage along the beastman's jaw, “Jack, baby, unclench…”

“I can't. If I do. I'm gonna fall.”

Idia snickered, turning his tablet for Sebek to see, “I've been making a scale. The only one who's managed to make it to ‘Ten’ is Jade and he blacked out doing it.”

The room door slammed open, Leona standing in the doorway with a smile on his face, “Good, the machine's free.”

Rolling her eyes, Yuu laughed at seeing who was behind him, “You did not come back just to watch them try the simulator.”

He stepped back inside, Malleus and Lilia walking in behind him. Silver was tucked in Malleus’s arms, the Sophomore snoozing peacefully.

Lilia smiled, looking at the machine in curiosity, “Leona tells us it was an experience that we could never have naturally! I'm glad I had the idea to gather my boys and make sure they were able to partake.”

Malleus tilts his head, holding Silver higher in his arms, “Will Silver be able to experience it if he is asleep? I would hate for him to miss such an event due to his disorder.”

“Oh!” Lilia waved for Malleus to place Silver in the empty chair, “Maybe this simulator will be the legendary item that can wake Silver.”

Yuu shrugs, Ortho excitedly holding the sensors up beside her, “One way to find out.”

Was it possibly cruel and illegal to hook a sleeping person to what was essentially a torture device? Obviously, they still did it. Though the meaner outcome of Silver leaping up in confusion and pain, what actually happened was more concerning. The group all watched as Silver simply creased his brows in slumber before his forehead smoothed again. Yuu checked the settings a second time, the dials all turned to ‘Ten’ each.

“...I know he didn’t just eat this shit.”

Lilia sighed, patting Silver’s head, “I could say I'm surprised, but I’m not…”

Leona raised an eyebrow, mildly annoyed that Silver had no reaction, “At least I can see why you were sleeping so much during this.” 

“Sleeping does keep the Blood Goddess away.”

Malleus and Leona turned to her, each wearing looks of concern, “The whom?”

“May I try it?” Lilia looked at the sensors, holding one of the nodes in hand, “I’d love to see if it compares to anything I’ve felt before.”

Yuu smiled, “My frame of reference is being stabbed. That was a common one in my world.”

Lilia was hooked up quickly, the older fae standing with his hands on his hips, “Well, only one way to compare then!”

Once the switch was flipped, the smile faded from Lilia’s face. The fae’s hands slowly gripping harder and harder into his hips. He blinked, his brows creasing together then relaxing at odd intervals. He continued to open his mouth, a syllable slipping out before he closed his mouth again.

Leona laughed briefly, ignoring the annoyed glance Malleus sent him, “Having fun?”

“Leona, don’t act like you didn’t crumble the second I turned this shit on.” Yuu turns to Lilia “But, Lilia, are you okay? I gave you an 'Eight'.”

The fae managed a laugh, his smile quickly falling off his face as his breath came out in a ragged motion before he spoke, “It’s…it’s reminding me of a time when I had an iiiiiiiiiiron needle stabbed into my siiiiiiiiiiiide…ahahaHA-It broke off and I just…AH-dealt with that for. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaays…ha…”

Malleus didn’t move to help, but watched his guardian with a weary eye, “Are you…alright?”

“I will be honest, this is making me think of the WAR…HA. WHORE! Oh, that helps. WHORE!”

“Ok, turn it off…” Idia gently eased Ortho away from the older fae when Lilia had started to simply yell swear words.

Once he was free of the sensors, Lilia had returned to his normal jovial air. Laughing under his breath, he stretched and popped his back, “Oh…oh, that was dreadful. You say it can get worse than that?”

Idia speaks, “It can get way worse, apparently. There’s this thing call endometriosis, sickass curse name btw, that can physically cripple people.”

“Shroud, you can use your technomagics to screen for that, correct?”

“U-um…yeah? I searched up symptoms of it so if need be I could locate it on a scan-Wait, Malleus-Shii, Yuu doesn't have it, right?”

“I don't believe so…but, there is nothing wrong with a thorough search to ensure my beloved's health.”

“Malleus, I'm standing right here.”

The horned fae smiles, leaning down to press a kiss to Yuu's temple, “That you are.”

She huffs, fighting against a smile threatening to spread across her face, “Are you trying this thing or not?”

“Hmmm… I suppose there's no reason not to partake. It will be an experience, as Lilia put it-”

“Waka-Sama! No! This machine is clearly dangerous!” Sebek moved forward, trying to stand between Malleus and the simulator,  “It was enough to render Jack speechless and Lilia in a state of hysteria! As your retainer I can not allow you to try such an activity!”

“Sebek, are you insinuating that I am weaker than not only Lilia but Jack as well?”

“...” Sebek's stance slowly eased, the Freshmen curling in on himself with mild shame, “I…I did not mean it in such a way…”

“Then step aside, I wish to empathize with my fiancée, properly.”

The half-fae sighed sadly, moving to the side and letting Malleus be outfitted with the sensors.

“Child of man, please set it to the highest setting.” He raises his hand, a move to silence both Sebek and Yuu, “I'm aware of my choice. I wish to experience the worst this ailment could become to you. There is also the factor that my body is simply…more hardy than your own. The highest setting may be the only way I can feel it.”

“...” Yuu sighs and starts to adjust the machine., “I hate that your logic is sound…okay. I hope you don't regret your choices…”

Leona spoke up, watching the scene with an easy going smile, “I hope he does.”

When the switch was flipped, nothing happened. Everyone standing in silence, everyone watching Malleus’s face for any change showing pain or distress. Nearly a minute passes, the horned fae remaining perfectly still and silent.

Leona blinked, making brief eye contact with Lilia before he stepped closer to Malleus. he snapped his fingers in quick succession, twice in front of the fae's eyes and then once directly next to his ear. Malleus didn't so much as twitch. 

“Malleus?...Malleus?” Lilia reached out, shaking his charge by the shoulders and receiving no response, “...Turn this off.”

Idia was already flipping the machine off before Yuu could turn to do it. Once the lights had dimmed on the box, Malleus's eyes regained their focus and light. The prince finally blinked, looking toward Yuu in question.

“Have we started? I don't believe I'm feeling anything.”

Leona let out a harsh, cackle of a laugh. The housewarden turning and walking out the room, “Oh that's rich. I got what I wanted, I'm gone.” He swung the door on his way out, laughing all the way out of Ramshackle.

Yuu stood with a hand over her mouth, “...Okay…I'm not going to send you back to wherever you just escaped from…so you win, I guess?”

Epel and Sebek both perk up, all concern and hesitation gone, “Win?”

Ortho laughs, taking the sensors off of a confused Malleus, “You've seen. Simply withstanding the simulator is hard enough. It only makes sense that actually enduring the simulator on max power is a win.”

Sebek quickly snatched Idia’s tablet, eyes scanning over the names and settings of their friend group, “You said making it to ‘Ten’ is a win?”

Epel had shoved his way to looking at the tablet despite Idia’s urging to give him his tablet back, “Ya said only Leech made it to ‘Ten'?”

Yuu hummed, patting a still confused Malleus on the shoulder, “I don't know if we can count that one. He did go fucking feral.”

“True…”

“I've decided!” Sebek slammed the tablet into Idia’s chest, nearly sending the housewarden through the wall, “I will do this challenge to show the might of Diasomnia!” He gripped his shirt, pulling harshly to rip the cloth clean off of his body.

Jack spoke, “Sebek you did not need to rip your shirt off-”

Epel harshly shushed his taller boyfriend, eyes not moving away from the newly revealed muscled chest, “Shut up, let him do what he thinks is best…”

Sebek smirked, requesting Yuu start him on ‘Nine’ as opposed to a lighter number, “I will be able to go straight to the winning number this way. What kind of retainer could I be if I can't handle this level of trivial pain?”

“...” Yuu slowly smiled, waiting for Ortho to give her the ok of Sebek being properly hooked up, “Ready?”

“Yes.”

The switch was flipped, Sebek's smug expression instantly falling as his face paled. One of his hands reached out toward Silver, digits sinking into the Sophomore's chest hard enough to startle him awake.

“I'm up, I'm-what's-”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Sebek yelled, eyes laser focused on the floor as he kept himself up right with sheer willpower and core strength alone.

“Sebek!? Why are you yelling!? Father!? Malleus!?” Silver attempted to wiggle out from under Sebek's pin. A feat becoming increasingly difficult the tighter Sebek's fist started to twist Silver’s shirt.

“Lilia-Sama was right, yelling helps! YELLING HELPS SO MUCH!”

“What is going on?” Silver called out in pure confusion.

Yuu spoke up, still calm through Sebek's shouting, with the flair of announcing ‘Waterfall’, “And here's ‘Ten’.” Yuu clicked the machine to its final setting.

Sebek dropped to his knees, pulling Silver half off of the chair as he refused to release his grip.

After nearly thirty seconds of Sebek's yelling and Silver’s questions fueled by pure panic, the machine was turned off. Sebek slumps fully to the floor, breathing heavily before slowly curling himself into a ball. 

Silver looked around bewildered, hoping someone would tell him what just happened, “When did I get to Ramshackle? I was in the quad?”

Lilia laughs, already helping Sebek off the ground and slinging an arm over his shoulder, “We can fill you in on the way back. I do believe we're done with today's event.”

Lilia left no room for discussion, already dragging a groaning Sebek out of the room, 

semi-forcing a confused Silver and Malleus to follow Behind him. Silver questioning What was even happening, having fallen asleep in the quad of the school only to wake up to Sebek's screaming more he normally did.

Malleus followed his posse, a pout on his lips as rain clouds seemed to form in showing his plight, “I didn't even try It…”

Yuu turns to Epel, raising an Eyebrow and holding the sensors out to him, “Epel, are you like… sure, you want to go all the way to ten?”

“Ah ain't no fuckin’ bitch. Slap them bad boys on me so Ah can have braggin’ rights ov'r these losers.”

“Well, if we're counting that as legally binding…” Yuu turns dials on the machine, setting them to max as she did with Malleus only to be stopped by Ortho gently placing a hand over hers, “Yes, Ortho?”

“Maybe we don't start Epel Felimer off at the highest setting. I'm beginning to believe a sudden simulation of this variety could induce brain damage.”

Jack took a small step back, eyeing the machine with even more distrust than before, “Wait, really!?”

Ortho shrugs, “I mean, it's doing something to people.”

Jack sighed, folding his arms, “Did you guys do trial runs with thing or something? Like, are you entirely sure it's safe to use on actual people?”

Idia gestures over to Yuu, “Yuu tried it.”

“Ok. So we're going off the word of a crazy person?”

“Ay!?”

“Don’ care! Ah got a point ta prove!” Epel lifted his shirt, glaring at Ortho until the android relented and stuck the first sensor on him.

Once properly fitted, Yuu started Epel on ‘One’, increasing the power every two minutes to ensure he felt each stage. The Pomefiore Freshmen didn't even flinch until he got to ‘Three’. He made a single sound of discomfort, hands moving to press on his stomach.

“Ok…that felt…Ah felt that, that's the weird part…”

And such sensations only got worst. Epel having to brace his hands against the wall, widening his stance in an attempt to keep himself standing once the machine was turned up to ‘Five’.

“...”Epel’s face was scrunched up, brows furrowed as he looked through his bangs at Yuu, “Is…is needin’ to poop-”

“Yeah, that's a normal feeling to have during.”

“A'ite…”

By ‘Eight’, Epel had adopted the new method of screaming being a crutch. He had lowered himself to the floor, kneeling into a frog pose.

“Epel, if you actually shit on my floor-”

“SHUT UP!”

The final hurdle was to last an entire minute on ‘Ten’. Ortho stating they should decrease the time for the last level as Epel had started to punch the wall. A whole minute Epel spent the time power walking around the room, engaging his entire body to distract from the pain. Every now and again yelling out a country-flavored string of swears. The moment Ortho excitedly clicked the machine off, saying that Epel had completed the entire simulation experience, the purple haired Freshmen dropped to his knees and vomited.

“OH, COME ON!?”

Ortho hummed, tilting his head in question while Idia tried to hide behind him, “I wonder if prolong exposure can lead to vomiting…So many new variables…”

Jack was careful to not step into the puddle before a panting Epel, sighing as he raised an eyebrow at him, “Congrats, you won bragging rights on throwing up.”

“Shut up and take me to the damn infermary…”

Jack picked Epel into his arms, walking the groaning Freshmen out of the room with a chatting Ortho hot on their heels.

Yuu sighs, looking at the puddle of vomit on their floor, “Now I gotta clean that shit up.”

“You’re the one who wanted to torture your friends again under the guise of empathy…” Idia could only smile at the glare she gives him, raising his hands in a carefree manner, “Everything’s got a price, you know?” He moved to fully pack and shut the machine down, unaware of the look Yuu was sending him.

“...Hey, Idia? You didn’t try.”

“Yeah, because I’d rather be tazed?” Idia spoke out, voice clear with how stupid he thought the idea was.

“...” Yuu smiles, reaching into the table’s drawer and pulling out a simple black-box tazer. Her eyebrows wiggle as she presses the button twice just to show it was charged.

“...” Idia sighed, grimacing as he held his arm out, “Everything’s got a price…”

[nasa]

25 Years of Exploring the Universe with NASA's Chandra Xray Observatory

Illustration of the Chandra telescope in orbit around Earth. Credit: NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan

On July 23, 1999, the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit carrying NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. August 26 marked 25 years since Chandra released its first images.

These were the first of more than 25,000 observations Chandra has taken. This year, as NASA celebrates the 25th anniversary of this telescope and the incredible data it has provided, we’re taking a peek at some of its most memorable moments.

About the Spacecraft

The Chandra telescope system uses four specialized mirrors to observe X-ray emissions across the universe. X-rays that strike a “regular” mirror head on will be absorbed, so Chandra’s mirrors are shaped like barrels and precisely constructed. The rest of the spacecraft system provides the support structure and environment necessary for the telescope and the science instruments to work as an observatory. To provide motion to the observatory, Chandra has two different sets of thrusters. To control the temperatures of critical components, Chandra's thermal control system consists of a cooling radiator, insulators, heaters, and thermostats. Chandra's electrical power comes from its solar arrays.

Learn more about the spacecraft's components that were developed and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Fun fact: If the state of Colorado were as smooth as the surface of the Chandra X-ray Observatory mirrors, Pike's Peak would be less than an inch tall.

Engineers in the X-ray Calibration Facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, integrating the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s High-Resolution Camera with the mirror assembly, in this photo taken March 16, 1997. Credit: NASA

Launch

When space shuttle Columbia launched on July 23, 1999, Chandra was the heaviest and largest payload ever launched by the shuttle. Under the command of Col. Eileen Collins, Columbia lifted off the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chandra was deployed on the mission’s first day.

Reflected in the waters, space shuttle Columbia rockets into the night sky from Launch Pad 39-B on mission STS-93 from Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA

First Light Images

Just 34 days after launch, extraordinary first images from our Chandra X-ray Observatory were released. The image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A traces the aftermath of a gigantic stellar explosion in such captivating detail that scientists can see evidence of what is likely the neutron star.

“We see the collision of the debris from the exploded star with the matter around it, we see shock waves rushing into interstellar space at millions of miles per hour,” said Harvey Tananbaum, founding Director of the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a star that exploded about 300 years ago. The X-ray image shows an expanding shell of hot gas produced by the explosion colored in bright orange and yellows. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

A New Look at the Universe

NASA released 25 never-before-seen views to celebrate the telescopes 25th anniversary. This collection contains different types of objects in space and includes a new look at Cassiopeia A. Here the supernova remnant is seen with a quarter-century worth of Chandra observations (blue) plus recent views from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (grey and gold).

This image features deep data of the Cassiopeia A supernova, an expanding ball of matter and energy ejected from an exploding star in blues, greys and golds. The Cassiopeia A supernova remnant has been observed for over 2 million seconds since the start of Chandra’s mission in 1999 and has also recently been viewed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

Can You Hear Me Now?

In 2020, experts at the Chandra X-ray Center/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and SYSTEM Sounds began the first ongoing, sustained effort at NASA to “sonify” (turn into sound) astronomical data. Data from NASA observatories such as Chandra, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope, has been translated into frequencies that can be heard by the human ear.

SAO Research shows that sonifications help many types of learners – especially those who are low-vision or blind -- engage with and enjoy astronomical data more.

Click to watch the “Listen to the Universe” documentary on NASA+ that explores our sonification work: Listen to the Universe | NASA+

An image of the striking croissant-shaped planetary nebula called the Cat’s Eye, with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope.  NASA’s Data sonification from Chandra, Hubble and/or Webb telecopes allows us to hear data of cosmic objects. Credit: NASA/CXO/SAO

Celebrate With Us!

Dedicated teams of engineers, designers, test technicians, and analysts at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are celebrating with partners at the Chandra X-ray Center and elsewhere outside and across the agency for the 25th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Their hard work keeps the spacecraft flying, enabling Chandra’s ongoing studies of black holes, supernovae, dark matter, and more.

Chandra will continue its mission to deepen our understanding of the origin and evolution of the cosmos, helping all of us explore the Universe.

The Chandra Xray Observatory, the longest cargo ever carried to space aboard the space shuttle, is shown in Columbia’s payload bay. This photo of the payload bay with its doors open was taken just before Chandra was tilted upward for release and deployed on July 23, 1999. Credit: NASA

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[alienpossession]

The Shell: The Landing

The right landing should have delivered us right on the doorstep of the townhall of the small town, where we would quickly encounter all sort of human that probably gathered right away to observe us upon our landing.

We would then utilize that opportunity to paralyze them with our venom, gather their DNA, absorb it to our system and built our human shell that copied the townspeople for the perfect integration as we would then dispose their vegetative bodies. But, we instead landed off the town's border due to the rookie that probably put the wrong coordinate which resulted in us stranded in this forest and in human measurement, some 35 kilometres off from our supposed landing spot. That distance is a very miniscule one compared to the intergalactic journey we went through, but for human measurement, that's like a major miss and we ensured that we will relay this message once we are in contact with Mothership that stationed just outside Earth's orbit. The next batch should not experience this unfortunate circumstances

Yet, despite the isolation, we still managed to find a lot of traces of human existence among this wooded path. Sadly, it's not consistent enough to be extracted as a basis to build our shell as most of them tend to be sweat and urine instead of blood, saliva or sperm which has higher DNA consistency. But it's a huge wooded landscape and with that much human traces already, we kept our belief that we will find the necessary DNA source eventually.

After around 30 minutes, we finally found what we're looking for. It's near a structure we learned as a tent and there, we found copious amount of sperm and other things right next to a tree and basically spread around the area. As the one responsible for this pack, I decided to be the first one to initiate this whole thing so I absorbed all the DNA, hair, saliva and practically anything I could find in the perimeter and let the process kickstarted. I can feel my liquid form enlarged and started to harden as I emitted all the information I received from the sources to create the perfect human replica. The flashes of image I received about this human source sharpened the imitation to its finest details. I started from the head as we were taught in our academy to always form the brain and the head first because that's where we will control the shell from. This human has quite an angular facial feature peppered with shaved facial hair based on the genetic data. He has no inherited diseases whatsoever so I take the liberty to assume that this is a healthy person which means that he probably has decent built. The average height of the human in the area where we supposedly landed is around 6 feet tall so that's the height I set my shell to be. But everything becomes much more easier as this human all in a sudden walked out from his tent and started calling out another name

"Colin, is that you?" He faintly whispered. Did I and the pack make too much noise? Well, creating a shell is not necessarily a quiet process as we're practically building a skin but we believe we've been very quiet. Then, an animal we know called as deer appeared but the human seemed to not be that startled. Yet, just a glimpse of his look helped me to really fine-tune everything to perfection. I reshaped my shell's abdominal and pectoral muscle to be tighter and imprinted the ink I saw on the human. The taut legs and tight yet bubbly glutes followed suit alongside the hair on his legs and shaved pubic hair. I also notice the scars in his back and right above his ass crack and make his intricate web of veins that carried the blood to energized his body more visible in my shell to really match his. The final creation is the sexual appendage of the male human and despite not seeing it in full frontal form from the owner, I make an educated guess from the bulge he sported earlier and let the meat formed itself to become a 6.5 inches soft, uncut cock with a large grape-sized sperm glands or human usually called it as balls. It's modifiable after all, so no need to get it perfect on the first go

As I then take the time to create all the internal organs and placed myself to wrap this imitation brain of this shell like a cocoon, this shell is finally ready so I stand up and happily grinned looking at the rest of the pack

"Wait here, okay? All of you will have your turn coming,"

He's already back inside his tent when I stand up, so I slowly creep myself to ambush him before that Colin person comes back. He's sleeping naked with his ass on full display inside his tent, the fuzziness and arch of his ass inspired me to alter my shell right then and there for a perfect copy and before he's aware, I lunged right at him and started to circle my muscular forearm to choke him. We battled hard as he flailed around trying to get himself free, but I locked his neck and legs way too tight for him to get out from. When his body goes limp, I finalized the tiny details I failed to get by altering my shell before I enacted the final replication process. As my shell goes limp without me in control, I inserted myself to his brain to gather all information needed. It's a rather quick process as I simply wrap myself around his soon-to-be useless brain and absorbed all the information about.......Ryle Adams. Then, I slide out from his brain and entered my Ryle shell to then inject the memory to the mush of a brain of the shell so I can pass myself on as Ryle Adams with ease and also making this body able to function autopilot even when I'm not inside of him, a perfectly seamless integration

Now, time to clean up the old Ryle and prepare for Colin's arrival after his fishing duty. Maybe to make the replication easy, I should just stuff one member of the pack into Colin's brain, so once it gets out, it can simply replicate everything without making guesses or adjustment. Yeah, that sounds easier to be honest.....