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#Survival Research Laboratories
musicktoplayinthedark · 5 months
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Mark Pauline
Survival Research Laboratories
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unbossed · 15 days
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I spent so many weekend nights in my barracks room watching taped SRL performances while riding out a 10-strip of acid.
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The SRL compound reminds me of an amplified version of the workshop of my childhood home at first glance. Bits of metal, wire, and dust everywhere. However, here the machines that create, create instruments that destroy. In the center of the room stands the bulk of The Hand o’ God, waiting for someone to add final touches, namely fingers. Pauline cryptically explains its name by stating that he envisions God would move things similar to the device. God's massive arm, hurling large objects into place. The tour begins. Rows of Walking Machines hang from the celling of the main workshop. In the far corner, the Rail Gun sits, obscured. We reach the computer epi¬ center of the SRL compound, where Pauline explains that he just picked up the two pieces of equipment in front of me for a small amount of money, and now that he has re-fitted them he can sell both for a nice profit margin. Much of the equipment, however, is not for resale, but is being stockpiled for future SRL plans. 1996
Industrial Nation 14 : Paul Valerio : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
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abjectionporn-blog · 9 months
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Scans from Under the Big Black Sun: California Art, 1974-1981
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werkboileddown · 9 months
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photographyartgallery · 5 months
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Survival Research Laboratories
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devpalmer · 1 year
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My game is out now!
re:curse is a surreal RPGmaker horror game inspired by the likes of OFF, Ib, LISA: The Painful RPG and Yume Nikki.
Play as distraction-prone researcher Linda Langley and explore as your laboratory distorts and degrades around you. Send emails. Grapple with your clown infestation. Face consequences. Maybe even survive!
This is a game about...
doors
screens
bitrot
self-fulfilling loops
computer viruses (not real ones)
trans-temporal communication software
gay subtext
surprises
secrets
re:curse was solo developed as a passion project, mostly between 2020-2021. I've returned to it and added the final touches necessary to make a finished game. Bundled with the game is a trove of bonus content for your perusal, including uncompressed source files, concept art, unreleased original music, 3d files, and more. I hope you enjoy!
Download for free on itch.io!
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obsessivevoidkitten · 5 months
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Love Stings
Yandere Male Aqrabuamelu (scorpion man) x Chubby Female Reader (CW: Violent Noncon, oviposition, paralytic venom, reader gets stung, stalking, stalking, scratching, biting, claiming bites, crying, mild scent kink, blood, mild blood kink, Stockholm syndrome, kidnapping, escape attempt, general yandere behavior) Word Count: 4.7k (This was commissioned at the end of September. It is hard for me to write afab reader. Don't worry though, I do not accept payment until I am done or almost done. The customer wished to remain anon. I hope everyone likes it.)
To most people, the wastelands of Treregar were just that, wastelands. Harsh sunlight, miles of seemingly endless sand, with water sources few and far between. Nothing but the hardiest flora and fauna could survive there for any significant length of time. Let alone thrive indefinitely.
But you were not most people. You were a scientist. And to scientists, the wastes were a gold mine of research potential. Some of the strangest creatures and plants called this place home. And with the country now open to outsiders, researchers wanted to make a breakthrough there. You were in search of biological samples that could have medicinal properties.
But the wilder parts of this country were very dangerous. Especially the desert wastes. There were even reports of explorers and scientists going missing and of large chitinous beasts prowling the sands. But you were not going to be deterred by a few tall tales. The others had probably fallen prey to the harsh environment if anything.
Still... it didn't hurt to have a couple bodyguards. You had arranged an escort of a couple fairly priced and reliable mercenaries, two large men by the names of Mr. Whitley and Mr. Matthews, to accompany you while you procured samples for study.
You also came with fully stocked packs and kept to a region near a small river. You didn't believe in letting stories run your life, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks either.
The first thing you did on your arrival, after setting up a base camp with your escorts, was starting your task by taking samples of the river water and the muck at the bottom. There was a good possibility of finding new microbes that could be of interest.
The water was crystal clear, perhaps the purest you had ever seen, and there were no signs of anything dangerous. The biggest danger was the heat. Despite the water submerging your legs and wetting your arms whenever you collected a sample the heat was still stifling.
But you had known what you were signing up for when you started all this and it would only get harder as you started collecting samples outside of the water.
When you collected plant and insect specimens from the fertile banks of the river you had to keep wiping the sweat from your brow. You kept the samples preserved in a specially cooled container that would allow you to study them at length later when you were back home.
Once you had all that you had gathered that day packed away, you ate alone in your tent, Mr. Whitley and Mr. Matthews were not exactly the best company, but that was okay. It wasn’t their companionship that they were being paid for.
When you had finished your meal, if you could even call one unit of mystery field rations a meal, you decided that it would be a good idea to go to bed early. Tomorrow’s adventure would be deeper into the wastes and you would need all the rest you could manage. It was going to be a bit rough on you. You were used to working in laboratory conditions not out in the field. But you knew what you were getting yourself into.
Whitley and Matthews guarded the camp in shifts, but even under their protection you couldn’t shake the feeling like you were being watched as you settled into an uneasy sleep.
On day two of the expedition, after eating another bland ration for breakfast and refilling your water supplies, you found something before you even set out. Odd tracks outside your camp, a good bit away but they were still close enough to creep you out a bit. Whatever had made them was not small.
But you had protection from any threats and you were handy with the knife you kept in your belt at all times. And whatever had made the tracks was gone now. You put it out of your mind and pushed onward.
As the cooler morning hours passed, you were really suffering as you had to start your trek into the desert proper. The organisms suited to such a brutal environment were what you were really interested in. Far more so than what lived in the relatively cool waters.
The sun beat down upon you with all the heat it could manage but still you trudged on. Miles and miles of sand. Stopping only to diligently take new samples and record field notes any time you encountered something new and promising.
You and your guards were overheated, exhausted, and aching. But it would surely be worth it for the scientific knowledge gained by your collective suffering. You all had finally started the long march back to camp when you could have sworn you felt like you were being watched. Whitley must have noticed something off as well as he stopped your trek home to look around. But the worry was discarded when in the distance a giant wall of sand materialized as if from nowhere, It rushed towards you like a great red tidal wave.
A sudden sandstorm.
It was upon you and your escorts in a thrice, you could see nothing at all in front of you as looking up for even a moment would invite the angry sands to scratch at your delicate eyes. From all your studies on the region in your preparation for this trip you had found sandstorms to be very rare this time of year. Your luck was astoundingly terrible.
All you could do in this situation was stay low to the ground, wait it out, and hope that you and your body guards didn’t get blown away. You also prayed that they both had the good sense to not try to walk in this mess. That would only welcome disaster. Trying to stumble about in this weather was a guaranteed method to find yourself lost and stranded in the desert.
On and on the storm raged, sand scraping and biting into any exposed flesh, until finally the whirling winds gradually declined before subsiding altogether. Leaving no trace of what had just transpired except scratches on your arms and legs and the ebbing adrenaline leaving your system rendering you shaky on your feet.
You were sore and stiff from laying in the same position so long. You took a good look around you only to discover that disaster had indeed been welcomed. Neither Whitley or Matthews were anywhere in your sight. Idiots. They were large men, not easily slipped up by the storm and rolled down a hill as you were. The weather couldn’t have pushed them very far. They clearly decided to keep trying to travel despite the obvious foolishness.
Well… they were not exactly getting paid for their brain power. But they were paid to keep you safe. To guard you. And they couldn’t exactly do that if they were determined to be idiots who wandered away from you!
When you made your report they were certainly getting docked for this.
Assuming that you all met back up. You probably would. Eventually. If they lacked a compass like you did then they could just head east until they hit the river and then travel up until they hit the camp. If they didn’t have one they would have to wait a little while and see what direction the sun headed in.
The direction the sun sets actually changes a bit throughout the year, but the autumn equinox had only just transpired so it would certainly set at the most west that it was possible for it to set.
You hoped those two knew that. Surely they did.
Right then you had to focus on yourself though. Without those two you were far more vulnerable. You were not really worried about the wildlife or anything such as that, but if you became injured or something all alone then you would be screwed. Something as simple as a sprained ankle could mean your death out in this blistering environment if you were left exposed to the elements long enough.
You shouldn’t have ventured so far from camp. Your body was aching with exhaustion. You were a bit on the chubby side and your body was not used to being pushed so hard. You perked up when you saw a large figure of a man standing in the distance walking in the same general direction as you were.
“WHITLEY! HEY, OVER HERE!!”
He evidently heard you as he turned around to face your direction and started walking towards you. As you got closer you could tell that other than a few abrasions from the storm he did not seem to be in bad shape.
“I am glad I found you”
You wanted to tell him he would not have had to worry about finding one another if he had just stayed put but you thought better of it and held your tongue.
“I think something may be watching us, I don’t know. I just have an uneasiness and feel like the air has shifted with a barely noticeable scent. I lost my sword in the storm.”
“Then… we better hurry back to camp… Maybe Matthews will be there…”
“Right.”
You noticed he had undone his dagger from his belt and was holding it close, ready to lash out if something attacked the two of you. He may not have had his longer blade but you knew he was still deadly with that one. He would surely protect yo-
The sand in front of you shifted, and from it sprung a beast of colossal size. Hard black chitinous plating gleamed in the sunlight, covering a monstrous form from top to bottom. It was a hulking beast with a human shaped torso on top of the body of a massive scorpion.
Whitley, to his credit, didn’t hesitate. He dodged the tail that struck at him with terrifying speed. He jumped up high and slammed his combat knife into the chitin covered chest of the beast. His blade was deflected as if by plate armor. The tail struck again at an angle Whitley couldn’t dodge in time and his arm was impaled by a wickedly sharp stinger. He twitched in pain for a moment then went limp before being pushed aside by the clawed arm of the scorpion half of the great beast before you.
Then the thing turned its gaze to you. Unblinking, glossy, entirely black eyes stared you down. If eyes were the windows into one’s soul then those eyes let you look into the soul of a demon.
Hopeless though it may be with the speed of the monstrosity you did the only thing your fear stricken brain could think of. You ran.
You ran and you didn’t look back. Cruel though it may have been, you found yourself thinking that maybe it would let you go since it had already taken down Mr. Whitley. Many predatory beasts did not take down more than what they needed.
But the scorpion hybrid wasn’t after food. Humans were not in his diet. No, he was after something much better than a meal. He was after a mate. A nice wet cunt to stuff full of his eggs.
When Kurnugi first caught your scent in the wind a couple days ago he was instantly intrigued, he had never smelled something quite so enticing before. He had to investigate. Though a few miles away he sniffed out your camp and watched for a while.
He didn’t really like the thought of humans in his territory but he stopped himself from attacking and scaring you all away because of you. Your smell was nice, sure, but now that he had seen you he knew he had to know more. You looked so delightfully fragile and soft. He wanted to watch you a bit longer before deciding what to do with you all.
Kurnugi observed you as you went about your tasks at the river. Delicate hands carefully tending to samples. He did not understand why you were doing it, but he liked the thought of those careful little human hands tending to his dick.
At first the scorpion man thought that perhaps the two large males with you were mates of yours but concluded that wasn’t the case as they never shared your nest, never physically touched you, and hardly verbally communicated with you. They seemed to just guard you and keep a lookout.
But they had been unable to spot Kurnugi given how well he stuck to the shadows, used sand to submerge himself partially, and carefully remained downwind of his quarry.
The longer he watched the more he realized how good a mate you would make. Too weak to ever oppose or escape him and he could tell by the way you collected and analyzed your little samples that you must be very intelligent. And you were just so much softer than anything he had ever encountered in this rugged environment. Surely if you were in a place as brutal as this then you’d need much better and dedicated protection than the ones you seemed to call Whitley and Matthews.
Kurnugi was much larger and stronger than any two humans, of course, no matter how well built they were. But they had long metal blades that may be able to get between his natural armor plates. Better to stalk your group for a while and wait for a moment of weakness.
He discreetly followed your party as you traveled away from your base camp and readied himself to attack when he noticed how tired all of you looked. Then the sandstorm struck.
Even a desert evolved being such as a mighty aqrabuamelu would not travel during a sandstorm.
When it passed he could tell by the scents he detected that your group was split up. This was even better. First he went after Matthews, then incapacitated Whitley before your very eyes. He had made sure not to kill them. No, they would surely be taken and bred by other desert creatures. There were many that loved humans.
And then there was you. It was cute how you thought you could escape from him so easily. He allowed you to try, watching in amusement as your tired chubby legs did their best to carry you away from him.
And then he rushed towards you, he closed the distance in surprisingly few seconds and stabbed your soft rear with the tip of his stinger. He was careful not to stab too deeply, but it was still pretty painful. You thrashed for a few seconds before crumpling to the sand.
The venom had paralyzed you, no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t get your limbs to cooperate at all. You could still feel everything though. The sand on your face, the tears about to burst from your eyes. You were certain death was what awaited you.
Instead the scorpion simply bent over to gently scoop you up in his humanoid arms. He held you close and buried his nose in your neck to revel in the intoxicating smell of his new mate, now finally in his possession.
The amorous aqrabuamelu rushed off to his den, holding you tightly to his hard body as he did so. He was excited to get you acclimated to your new home, and to his cock. He was sure after his displays of strength that he would have you moaning for his eggs in no time. Luckily his home wasn’t too far.
The entire trip he happily talked in a chittery voice to you, though you had absolutely no idea what he was saying. He sounded extremely excited though and rubbed your back soothingly as he spoke.
When he came to the entrance to his abode and scuttled into the cave in such a hurry that he almost tripped over himself. He placed you, all nice and paralyzed for him, on his raised pile of bedding and made short work of your clothing. Every inch of skin from your soft human breasts to your inviting pussy were laid bare under his hungry gaze.
He pulled you to the edge of his nest over to where he was standing. He gripped your thighs with his large hands and slowly spread your legs, as if unwrapping a precious gift. Savoring the moment before it was entirely open.
The venom was still coursing effectively through your veins, offering you no recourse. You could only stare into the terrifying red eyes of this abomination as he looked at you and drooled. His intent with you becoming all the more evident as his engorged cock protruded fully from the genital slit at the meeting of his scorpion and humanoid body segments.
There was no way something like that could enter a human without some degree of pain.
Seeing it you wanted to scream. To kick and fight. But you were a prisoner in your own body. All the struggle you could force out of your body were choked cries and grunts of fear.
The scorpion caressed your sides in a gesture meant to be comforting to his scared little mate, but any touch from him only brought about more terror.
He crouched down at the edge of the bed so that his head was level with your crotch. He inhaled the scent deeply before licking the outer folds of your sex.
"Mmmm~"
You could feel it in your entire body as he hummed loudly in contentment. Your flavor was better than he could have imagined.
Your cunt was wetter than it had ever been before. A fact that made you all the more frustrated and angry at yourself. It was bad enough you couldn't get your body to move.
Kurnugi was making out with your entrance, gripping your hips painfully and drawing blood as he lost himself in thoughts about you carrying his spawn.
He enjoyed every heavenly drop of your juices, mixing in a heavy amount of his saliva into you so that you were as lubricated as possible.
He decided you were as ready as you could be and rose up to press his cock against you.
Kurnugi rubbed the tip of his strange inhuman prick against your pussy, grinding against it. He let out a low moan as he plunged into you all at once, unable to hold himself back from doing so any longer. The paralytic you had been drugged with must have started to wear off by that point because as he shoved himself into you you were finally able to scream a bit and grip the bedding beneath you.
The length was insane but the worst part was the thickness. It was like it was trying to rip you open. He gave you time to adjust before he began his thrusting, but there was just no getting adjusted to that type of size in such a short amount of time without a lot more preparation.
You flinched and gasped in pain as he began slowly moving in and out of you.
The scent and sight of the bit of your blood that mixed with your fluids and smeared on his cock only seemed to excite him and he increased the pace, the outline of his cock plainly visible under the skin of your belly. He used one of his hands to rub at the outline as it moved back and forth inside of you, effectively giving himself a handjob while he bred you.
He lowered his head to your chest and ferally bit and licked at your breasts. Instinct demanding he marked and claimed what was, by all laws of the desert, his property.
After what seemed like an eternity you finally had acclimated to the size of the man taking you and began feeling less pain with flashes of pleasure. Chasing those brief flashes, you weakly grinded into each thrust from the scorpion.
Kurnigi’s roaming mouth had found your neck and was sucking and nipping at your soft skin there as if his life depended on it.
The stimulation was only feeling better as the two of you continued, your cries of fear and pain having long since been replaced by weak lusty moans and shivers of delight. You came a couple times and by the third you were completely fucked out. You had never orgasmed so hard in your life and were barely aware of anything other than that nice feeling between your shaky legs.
Kurnugi finally hit his climax as well and bit your neck hard as he did so, injecting something into your neck to leave a permanent claiming mark on you. You flinched in pain but it receded quickly, you were too out of it to really care what he did to you at that point.
Until you felt him cum into you. Your eyes went wide at the sensation as you felt relatively large round masses being pumped deeply into you.
Eggs.
You were shocked and disgusted, but there was nothing to be done about it then. You let the aqrabuamelu lick your various scratches and bite wounds clean before tucking you in with blankets so you could sleep while he made a meal.
He was so jubilant that his pregnant little mate was cozy in his nest while he took care of you. He had a nice home, a large territory, and now a soft mate to dote on and stuff full of his big prick whenever he needed to. Life was perfect.
THREE MONTHS LATER:
It had been around three months since you had been abducted. And it was hours since you had run away from the monstrosity that had kidnapped you. His name was Kurnugi, you had learned, managing very limited communication with the brute. He had finally let his guard down, finally trusted you since you had never been anything but compliant since you had been with him, and he had finally left you alone to go hunt for a longer period of time.
You did not waste the opportunity, it was clear that your bodyguards had not managed to leave the desert, probably succumbing to exposure. Either that or no one had cared to send a search party to look for you thinking you were a lost cause. So it was up to you to rescue yourself.
Once more your legs burned with a familiar exhaustion. Kurnugi was a skilled hunter that moved fast. Once he returned to his den he would begin tracking you immediately. If you were going to succeed then you had to get as much distance between yourself and that cave as you could possibly manage. It didn’t help that you were pregnant with his many eggs. It surely made travel more difficult.
As you made your way up the river you considered walking in it to hide your scent, but you decided against it. The wind was blowing your scent in the direction that you were fleeing from so it wouldn’t help you at all. The slog through the water would only slow you down. And that was the last thing that you needed right then.
The last thing other than suddenly finding yourself laying with your back against the hot sand and looking up with an absolutely outraged Kurnugi looking down at you with a malicious grin on his face.
How had he snuck up on you so silently?
You had expected to be immediately paralyzed by one of his stings, but the scorpion had other things in mind. He wasn’t just angry. He was hurt. You had tried to leave him the first opportunity you had. Had he not proven himself against lesser males to be a strong mate? Had he not provided food and water and shared his home with you? Had he not given you a nice belly full of eggs as any mate would desire?
The aqrabuamelu clearly had to show you your place. He had been too gentle with you. Not done enough to prove that you were, beyond any whisper of a doubt, his property.
And in that vein of thinking he did not bother with his venom, no, he wanted you to have the full ability of movement and still be just as utterly powerless to do anything to avoid him using you as he saw fit.
He pushed you over onto the ground and flipped you so that you were facing the sand with your ass up. Then, right in the middle of the desert, he ripped off the pants he had made for you out of leather and plant fibers.
Kurnugi crouched so that his cock was level with your cunt, his strong hands gripping your hips so hard that they would undoubtedly be bruised. You cried out and struggled just as pathetically as he had predicted that you would.
“Please! Please NO!!! I’ll behave! I-I’ll never leave again. KURNUGI PLEA-”
Your words became a pained shriek as he interrupted them by ramming his entire dick straight into you. No prep at all. He understood your cries for mercy and carried on anyway.
Each thrust into you was slow, powerful, and deliberate, driving your face into the sand as his nails bit into your flesh.
You were right about one thing. You’d never try to leave him again after this. He was going to fuck it into your brain so you’d have no chance of forgetting.
Tears dripped down your face, wicked away by the thirsty air and ground. Your legs shook and you would have collapsed were it not for the strong hands propping you up. Your abused cunt felt like it was being torn apart.
Kurnugi was once more excited by the scent of your blood and began pulling you back and forth over his prick like you were just a cock sleeve built for his pleasure. All you could do was sob and take it and try not to puke.
With a final slam he came in you hard. No eggs this time, since you were already full of them, just fluid that thankfully soothed your insides, if only a bit.
The anger of the aqrabuamelu was finally quelled and he panted with his throbbing cock still twitching and pumping cum into you. He picked you up and renewed the bite mark he had left on you. He did not have to since it was permanent, but he wanted to so you’d remember you were branded property.
Luckily the pain from the bite had been swallowed up by the disorientation and pain from the rape.
A small comfort.
Kurnugi picked you up effortlessly and cradled you close to him.
You couldn’t quite tell what he had said, but you knew it was meant to be soothing. He rubbed your back and chittered sweetly in that foreign language of his. Evidently happy to have that nasty business out of the way and content in the knowledge that you wouldn’t be trying that again.
7 MONTHS LATER:
You couldn’t wait for the eggs inside you to hatch. Kurnugi had assured you that you would be a great parent and since the eggs absorb the DNA of the parent they are deposited in he was confident that they would be the cutest babies in the entire world.
He was so wonderful to you. He doted on you and helped take you for walks when you were restless. He caught or foraged and then prepared all of your meals. He cuddled you close and kissed your swollen belly and made every effort to cheer you up when you were feeling down.
And you were sweet to him too, you learned how to craft things from the leather and fibers he made so you made him little trinkets that he either wore or decorated the den with. And you always greeted him by kissing him softly whenever he came home.
Things were a lot easier now that you could communicate.
And now that you understood that you could never go anywhere without him and to try to do so would be very hurtful for the both of you.
But why would you ever want to do something like that?
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greenglowinspooks · 6 months
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(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (Pt. 4)
Tw: descriptions of body horror, Dr. Crane has PTSD and Does Not Realize, Crane has an actual panic attack and just doesn’t care, the Riddler makes one (1) sex joke about Batman
Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually
(Pt. 1 here) (Prev here) - (Pt. 5 here)
(Masterlist here)
Dr. Jonathan Crane is in his lab, the acrid scent of chemicals filling the air, and his hands are shaking.
Danny’s health, for the first week that he had him, had been steadily improving at an extremely quick rate. However, his healing had begun to stagnate. Danny said that it was because his body had run out of ectoplasm, and that while there was a lot of ambient ectoplasm in Gotham, he needed a stronger type in order to heal.
And so, that led Dr. Crane here.
He had stolen the research notes from the Penguin years ago regarding his experimentation on him.
(He quite vividly remembers the sound of bone creaking and groaning as it twisted, lengthened. The squelching of shifting tendons and muscles, the strange fabric-like tightening of skin. The feeling of going from man to monster, of losing all claim to his humanity.)
Danny had called him Liminal, part ghost. He had said that he was transformed by, among other things, a kind of synthetic ectoplasm.
Danny needed ectoplasm.
Crane had the research notes. He had every ingredient necessary. And yet, attempt after attempt failed.
The chemical smell burns his nose. His hands tremble.
Dr. Crane is not afraid.
He doesn’t feel fear anymore. He’s tried to, many, many times, but nothing has worked. And yet, his hands are shaking still.
(The horrifying sensation of vertebrae pop-pop-popping along his spine, growing and lengthening. The unbearable itching beneath his skin as toxin glands begin to form. The feeling of his teeth sharpening and elongating, of his skull growing, of his vision changing and brightening. The awful stench of chemicals. The awful stench of ectoplasm.)
Jonathan takes careful note of his shaking hands, his blurring vision, his accelerated heart-rate and shallow breathing.
(Human hands. Human vision. Human heart and lungs and organs.)
He takes note of them, but he does not let that distract him from the task at hand. Danny is not a chemist, but Jonathan is.
The boy knows enough about chemistry in theory, but he won’t go anywhere near Crane’s equipment. He seems to have some sort of intense fear of laboratory settings, probably developed during his stay with the GiW, and Crane is willing to respect that, if only because he cannot afford to lose him.
As such, Crane is the only one qualified to do this. And, unfortunately, if he isn’t successful the boy may very well die.
He heats the chemicals to precisely the right temperatures, adding each one to its correct container.
Dr. Crane thinks of the Scarebeast, that creature born of cruelty and greed and a sense of superiority. That creature which he tries to ignore is a part of him, that can never be removed. A damage which cannot be undone.
He pours the contents of a small beaker into a larger flask, watching the liquids swirl together. The stench in the air is becoming closer and closer to the one burned into his memory.
Crane’s whole body is wracked with unpleasant sensations. It’s truly unfortunate, he thinks, that despite his mind’s lack of fear, his body still reacts so harshly.
Jonathan’s eyes wander, eventually settling on a purple and green card sitting innocently on the corner of the table.
Right.
Even if they wiped out the GiW tomorrow, and even if Danny could survive without ectoplasm, he would still be in danger.
Crane has to get him back to good health. It’s the only way he can be sure that the boy can defend himself properly.
The solution in the flask begins to foam, and Jonathan does not hesitate as he adds the final ingredient. He pours the mixture into a new container, capping it and placing it into a freezer set to -40 degrees.
Hopefully this time he got the timing right.
Jonathan tries to relax, the ventilation in the room slowly but surely clearing the familiar smell from the air.
He thinks of the letter.
Surely, he thinks, that man can come up with some better material for his jokes. Or, at least something new.
Same old threats, same old attempted poisoning.
Aiming his threats at Danny, though, that was new. New and utterly unacceptable.
Scarecrow did what he had to.
He doubted that his solution would last forever, of course, as with that man it never did. As such, he would prepare both himself and Danny for the inevitable moment that his choices came back to bite them.
However, for the moment, they were safe. Danny could rest and recover, and Jonathan could figure out a plan to minimize possible damages.
Jonathan is no longer shaking.
He’s exhausted. This is his fifth attempt today, and each one leaves an unfortunate strain on his mind and body.
With a sigh, he settles himself into his seat at a nearby desk, opening up his computer and logging his most recent attempt. He still has to wait for it to chill to know if it was successful, but he can always update the logs later.
Once he’s done, he stretches, joints popping loudly as he walks to the freezer.
When he sees the results of his tireless work, the ghost of a smile flits across his face.
Success.
Jonathan picks up the jug of ectoplasm and leaves the lab, which is in all actuality the basement of the new apartment that he moved himself and Danny into after receiving the note. The scrappy old woman who was his landlord had told him that as long as he paid her five hundred dollars up front, she would let him set up in the basement without any questions or cop calls.
And so, the most expensive apartment in the Narrows was his.
At least, he thought, the distance between the basement and the apartment was short enough that Danny didn’t have to sit in while he was doing his labwork.
Jonathan knew that he didn’t exactly have a strong grasp on the concept of ‘lab safety,’ proven by his built-up immunity to almost every toxic chemical he’d ever encountered, and he doubted that Danny should be around such an environment.
He was back to the apartment quickly, not bothering to hide the self-satisfied smile on his face. Danny is sitting in his armchair, trying to read one of his books. Danny looks up, ready to greet him, when he sees the jug in his hands and pauses.
“Is that..?”
“Synthetic ectoplasm,” Jonathan says proudly, “I found the Penguin’s research notes and decided to recreate it, since you said that you needed it to heal properly. I’m not sure if it’ll work the same as what you usually have, but I hope it’s helpful all the same.”
Danny is standing, now, and looking at Jonathan with a strange look in his eyes. He looks, Jon thinks, like he’s about to cry.
Then Danny is rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Jonathan, his scrawny form shaking.
Jonathan is, for a moment, horrified. Did he do something wrong somehow? Why is this child, who’s so afraid of touch, hugging him?
And then he hears Danny’s voice, and he knows that it was all worth it.
“Thank you,” he’s mumbling, over and over, “thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.”
“Of course,” Jonathan says softly, because what else can he say?
The boy cries in his arms for a while, and Jonathan briefly wonders what his life must have been like before, if a person like him can be seen as a comforting figure.
Then, Danny pours himself a small glass of the synthetic ectoplasm, putting the rest into the small fridge which had come with the apartment, and he settles back down, sitting in the armchair once again.
Jonathan sits opposite of him, and they chat with one another as Danny drinks.
Danny talks to him about the stars and tells him about different spaceships, and Jonathan makes sure to pay attention and ask the boy questions.
He doesn’t miss the way that Danny lights up every time he asks him something about his interests. He’s so passionate, so smart, a trait that he seldom sees outside of his fellow rogues, and Jonathan wants to encourage that.
It’s…nice. Peaceful, almost.
And then the front door flies open, because Jonathan isn’t allowed to have nice things.
“Jon,” a familiar voice rings out, “what the hell?!”
Danny is frozen in place, clearly terrified.
Jonathan heaves a sigh, turning to face the nuisance who’s entered his apartment.
“Eddie,” he drawls, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Edward’s face is red with anger as he invades Jonathan’s apartment.
“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe it’s the fact that you sent a bunch of rogues a cryptic message and then dropped off the face of the earth for two weeks! I was worried, Jon!”
Jonathan hums in acknowledgement.
“I didn’t think it was that cryptic,” he says, picking up a book in order to pointedly ignore the Riddler.
“Oh, of course you didn’t, you straw-stuffed hickory dickory dickhead. I swear, you’re always—” he pauses, finally having noticed Danny sitting opposite of Jonathan, “—who is this?”
“My apprentice,” Jonathan replies, dreading the upcoming headache he was no doubt going to develop from Edward’s company, “he’s helping me hunt down the GiW. His name is Danny.”
Edward gasps dramatically.
“You—an apprentice?! And you’re letting him sit in the old man chair?! You don’t even let me sit in the old man chair,” he wails, draping himself over the headrest of the couch with a flourish, “Jonathan, I thought I knew you!”
“Edward,” Jonathan says, “get out of my apartment.”
“Oh my goodness, this is incredible. You’re becoming the bat!”
“I am not becoming the bat, Eddie, now get out.”
Edward has a shit-eating grin on his face as he waltzes over to Danny. Danny, who seemed terrified when he first appeared, is now looking at him with obvious amusement written all over his face.
“I mean, look at him! The hair, the eyes, the scrappy build. If you put him in one of those traffic light vigilante costumes, he could easily pass as a Robin!”
“I’m not doing this with you today, Eddie.”
“Riddle me this, Jon: I am a treasure hidden inside of a chest. You can break me, or steal me, or give me a rest. I can flutter, or pound, or attack, or drop, but if you don’t have me, you’re certainly fucked. What am I?”
Jonathan pauses for a moment before he groans, dropping his head into his hands.
“Eddie.”
Danny sits still, a confused look on his face as he repeats the riddle silently. Then, his face lights up in delight.
“A heart!”
“Jon, I like this one,” Edward says with a smile, ruffling Danny’s hair, “you are correct! A heart, something that I wasn’t aware that our dear Jonathan had!”
“Eddie, stop.”
“No, no,” Edward says, “I was worried about you, you deserve this. I mean, you even missed girls night! You never miss girls night!”
“Girls night?” Danny asks, absolutely delighted.
“Oh, of course,” Edward says, sprawling over on the couch, dangerously close to just laying in Jonathan’s lap, “we have it once a week. I’m invited because of Selina and Jon’s invited because Harley likes him.”
“And what does girls night entail, exactly?”
“Eddie,” Jonathan groans, “please.”
“Well,” Edward hums, “we usually paint our nails, or watch a movie, or gossip about the other rogues, and occasionally, we tell each other about any ‘encounters’ we have with Batman,” he says, raising his eyebrows up and down.
Danny’s jaw drops.
“Edward, shut up,” Jonathan says, an irritated tone in his voice that wasn’t there before.
“No way,” Danny says, “I thought that Batman, like, hated you guys or something. You mean he actually..?”
“Oh, the Bat is much like a bottle of liquor or a cheap cigarette, in that he was made to be passed around.”
Danny chokes on air.
“Edward Nygma,” Jonathan hisses, getting out of his seat and looming over the man, “get the hell out.”
Edward pales.
“Leaving, leaving!” Edward says, dashing away from Jonathan. He pauses, turning to flash Danny a quick smile.
“Remember Danny, I’m your favorite uncle! Not any of the other rogues, me!”
With that, he leaves, the room falling completely silent.
And, as per usual, that silence does not last.
“You full-named him?” Danny asks gleefully, “and it worked?”
Jonathan just sighs, sitting down on the couch and rubbing at his temples.
“Please, don’t take anything Eddie says seriously. He’s a moron.”
“Dr. Crane, please let me come to girls night with you,” Danny pleads, his eyes sparkling, “I promise I won’t embarrass you.”
Jonathan groans.
“Of course you won’t, Eddie will do it for you.”
“Come on, please?”
“I think we’re a bit busy with the GiW at the moment,” Jonathan snaps. He pauses as he notices the crestfallen expression on Danny’s face.
This boy is going to be the death of him.
“Perhaps, though, when all that is taken care of…”
Danny cheers, grinning wildly, and Jonathan is not at all relieved to see him happy again. Certainly not.
The rest of the day is relatively normal.
Danny works on trying to get information from the GiW database while Crane refines his his fear toxin, both preparing for a raid on the GiW base they located in Gotham.
It was only a temporary base, nothing of note, but there was a chance of discovering more bases through it, and that wasn’t something either of them were willing to give up.
Still, something like this would take time. Rushing would only lead to failure.
Late in the night, long after Danny is fast asleep in his room, Jonathan pauses.
The GiW are not the only threat out there. They aren’t the only threat to him or to Danny. Perhaps it could be helpful to reach out to someone with greater resources than himself.
He sends a quick message to Red Hood.
Hopefully, he thinks, everything will go smoothly.
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terrestrialnoob · 5 months
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To say that Bruce Wayne didn’t like Vlad Masters would be an understatement. Masters refused to treat anyone not obviously rich with any decency, was allergic to admitting he was wrong, used underhanded business tactics to get unconscionably one-sided deals, and kept everything just barely on the side of legal. All on top of having the reputation as one of America’s Most Charitable Billionaires with how much money he gave into rare disease research, that just so happened to also be America’s second biggest tax write-off for one individual. It wasn’t a private feud either. Bruce had gotten, first, in a donation war for who could fund the most charities, which Bruce had thought was in good fun, until it soon became clear that Masters was taking it far too seriously and tried to sabotage a charity event. Bruce wasn’t sure how he did it, but “it was lucky that Batman was there” to get everyone out of the burning building. Bruce then learned just how competitive the man was, and if he didn’t let him win, there’d be more innocent people put into danger.
So, you could imagine his surprise when he got a phone call from a dejected sounding Vlad Masters. “Bruce, it may be hard to believe, but I need your help.”
“With what?” Bruce didn’t want to deal with this man-child’s ego tripping, but he could never refused a cry for help, whether legitimate or a trap.
Vlad sighed loudly into the phone and Bruce thought for a moment he had been hung up on and missed the beep. But after the long pause Vlad said, “Recently, some old college friends of mine died.”
Bruce absorbed that in the shorter pause that followed. First that someone like Vlad had friends, and second, that their deaths meant something to him.
Vlad continued, “Jack had been a rival of mine and I had never forgiven him for marrying the woman I’d loved or – he also caused an accident that had left me hospitalized for months. I still say we were friends because, well, he never stopped trying to be mine despite how horrible I was to him. We had met when he and I were in a horrible punk band, and then I met his friend Maddie and the three of us made – Sorry, I don’t mean to ramble...”
“It’s understandable,” Bruce responded, “But, you said you needed my help? I have a really good grief counselor if that’s something you’d like?”
“Ah no, you see, Jack and Maddie had a son,” Vlad paused, “They had a daughter too, but she was home when their basement laboratory blew up and their entire house collapsed into it. The three of them, as well as three other teenagers, died. Danny was the only one to survive, and he is now in my care.”
“Jesus,” Bruce sighed, “Does he-”
“Before you offer, a bad experience with a school counselor has him sworn off seeing any kind of professional.” Vlad cut in, “And my bad behavior with his parents beforehand has convinced him I’m some kind of evil supervillain who wants world domination or some such nonsense. He wouldn’t trust anyone who’s associated with me in any way.”
Bruce nodded, seeing where this was going, “But you and I are openly rivals.”
Vlad hummed in agreement, “And you unfortunately have firsthand experience with both losing your parents and helping a grieving teen through the same.”
Bruce sighed, he was getting another kid, wasn’t he?
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reasonsforhope · 10 months
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"Similar to the expeditions of a hundred or two hundred years ago, the Tara Pacific expedition lasted over two years. Its goal was to research the conditions for life and survival of corals. The ship crossed the entire Pacific Ocean, assembling the largest genetic inventory conducted in any marine system to date. The team's 70 scientists from eight countries took around 58,000 samples from the hundred coral reefs studied.
The first results of the analysis have now been published in Nature Communications. This largest-ever data set collection on coral reef ecosystems is freely available, and for years to come, will be the basis for elucidating the living conditions for corals and finding a way for them to survive climate change.
Important first results of the expedition show that global microbial biodiversity is much higher than previously thought. The impacts of the environment on evolutionary adaptation are species-specific, and important genes in corals are duplicated.
Global biodiversity ten times higher than assumed
Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse marine ecosystem on Earth. Although they cover only 0.16% of the world's oceans, they are home to about 35% of known marine species. Using a genetic marker-based data set, the researchers found that all of the globally estimated bacterial biodiversity is already contained in the microorganisms of coral reefs.
"We have been completely underestimating the global microbial biodiversity," says Christian Voolstra, professor of genetics of adaptation in aquatic systems at the University of Konstanz and scientific coordinator of the Tara Pacific expedition. He says the current estimate of biodiversity (approximately five million bacteria) is underestimated by about a factor of 10.
Impacts of the environment on evolutionary adaptation are species-specific
The 32 archipelagos studied serve as natural laboratories and provide a wide range of environmental conditions, allowing scientists to disentangle the relationships between environmental and genetic parameters across large spatial scales. This led to another important finding: The effects the environment has on evolutionary adaptation trajectories of corals are species-specific. To determine this, the researchers examined the telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that are the carriers of genetic information, for the first time.
In humans, the length of telomeres decreases during life; that is, with an increasing number of cell divisions, suggesting that biological age is closely linked to the length of telomeres. Researchers on the Tara Pacific expedition have now found that the telomeres in very stress-resistant corals are always the same length. "They apparently have a mechanism to preserve the lengths of their telomeres," Voolstra concludes...
Important genes are duplicated
Research data from the Tara Pacific expedition brought to light that the long life of some coral species may have yet another reason: the duplication of certain genes. Many important genes are present multiple times in the genome. The researchers were able to determine this through sequencing of coral genomes employing a new high-resolution technique.
This technique, called long-read sequencing, makes it possible to not only determine the set of genes present, but also to look at their order in the genome. According to Voolstra, the pervasive presence of gene duplication could be a possible explanation for why corals can live for thousands of years despite being exposed, for instance, to extreme UV radiation in shallow waters.
The entire data collection is freely accessible
All data sets are openly accessible and fully described with accompanying physical and chemical measurements to provide them as a scientific resource to all researchers.
"This is unique," Voolstra says. "It is the largest data set collection on coral reefs ever collected and it is completely open access." The aspiration is that this data collection will serve as a foundation and inventory to guide future study of coral reefs worldwide for many years."
-via Phys.org, June 26, 2023
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qawcamiz · 1 year
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pleasee I'm craving forrrr Albedo x sub fem reader where Albedo encourage them to drink aphrodisiac thennn ;)))
Hesitations — Albedo Kreideprinz
Summary: Albedo inquired of you to look after him in his laboratory and assist him to obtain the outcome of his research, But unfortunately, The temperature of the mountain the two of you in is too decisive to deal with, So he let you take some specks of 'warmth' — since you trust your Master All too Well, you decided to take his offer, Pondering nothing possibly could go wrong.
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NSFW (mdni) : praise, fingering, teasing, nicknames, cursing, fem reader, sexual content, love potion (sexual pleasure) etc.
notes : IM AORRY FOR GHOSTINF YAKLL 😭😭😭
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"Master Albedo, Here's the blueprints you requested me to organize for your further investigation, Is there anything else I can benefit you with?" you offered in your typical calm tone as you handed him a bundle of papers which he took in one hand and began leafing through absentmindedly.
You'd been working for him, an eccentric alchemist, run his research laboratory for about years by now and he had yet to give any variety of solutions about why precisely he was so inquisitive in doing experiments or what he longed for them for.
The fact that he regardless survives isolated on this chilly blizzarding mountain of an isle simply to make everything even more peculiar didn't rigorously help either. But it wasn't as though he ever communicated to people and when you would raise a query if you may accompany him on his work, he was surprised at the enthusiasm you put on.
"Actually, Y/n..." he initiated and hesitated to think further and began again once you shook encouragingly, "I revised your agenda for today, Could you accompany me until I finish up my calculations?" he asked and you raised an eyebrow at him skeptically but nodded nonetheless to show your compliance regardless.
"Master Albedo..! I— I Will be pleased to have the opportunity to assist you with whatever I can! But the thing is... I have never done any analysis or experiments before... So maybe staying and helping you will be an issue." you said sheepishly because you weren't very well versed in alchemy or poisons so you had no way of knowing what this dude accomplished in his spare time besides, Albedo always came back exhausted from every single one of his experiments.
"That's not it, Y/n. I have some stuff to inquire about, and I need your answer, these are things I might need some additional proficiency to achieve, and I would like you to provide that expertise," he told you calmly, and you stared at him confused before a small gasp left your lips when you realized he wanted you to be his assistant to conduct these experiments.
"What exactly do you mean?" you asked, unable to conceal your excitement as you thought over the possibilities of having such wonderful access to an alchemist's secrets and being able to get your hands on some fascinating essences and ingredients to develop your innovations and...
"—That can only get more complicated if you remain inexperienced of them and I'll ought somebody who understands about this sort of stuff to tell me all the details, but it shouldn't take too long to complete our work, and I trust you, I know you will do as good as I'm anticipating," Albedo explained with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.
"Sorry?"
"Uh, you weren't paying attention? I said if you would be interested to take on some of the brews I'm currently making. It might make you feel better after all that pressure you've gone through lately," he dwelled upon slowly and patiently, waiting for an answer you didn't appear to understand.
"And I tend to spend the rest of the day accomplishing this research with my dearest deputy, So? You don't have to respond right away, if it would cause difficulties for you, You can refuse the offer. Making you uncomfortable is the last thing I wish to see, after all." He finished and eventually gave you a genuine smile which made you redden lightly from embarrassment and shyness in comparable portions as you glanced down at your feet.
"Alright then, Master Albedo! Hopefully I don't mess up and ruin everything!" you responded and tried hard to hold in your laughter upon realizing your eagerness.
"Also..." his tone contorted seriously and he waited for you to peek up at him again before persisting, "I want you to quit calling me Master, How do I put this..? I abhor it..— It's accumulating on my nerves, And I refuse to let you attempt to behave toward me formally. If I were human then perhaps... I insist on sticking around to be addressed as Albedo." He decided and look away while you stared in shock, unable to compose words.
Finally, you recovered yourself from the initial shock of what he just said and smiled at him, "I see, If... calling you 'that' made you uneasy, My Apologies— Albedo! Although, Thanks for letting me know, Then I won't call you that anymore, alright?" You chuckled nervously and blushed slightly as Albedo looked up at you again with surprise in his eyes, and a small smile tugged at his mouth in response.
"Here's one of my prosperous potions that helps you warm up in a frosty atmosphere, Considering we're in Dragonspine, I'm pretty sure this would help you, Just like my previous experiments have helped you recover some lost warmth, here it's supposed to help restore heat to your body and keep you safe in this frigid climate," Albedo explained as he showed you a vial filled with liquid that had a green tinge to it. There was a small golden ring around its center and when you held it up against the light, you noticed how small the ring looked compared to the rest of the bottle and guessed it was the size of your thumbnail.
"Go on, If you felt something unconventional or out of spot, now would be a perfect moment to discover what it is," he instructed you peacefully, he turned around to negotiate the other potions while you drink the concoction. It tasted bitter and sweet at the same time. You gagged a bit when it hit the back of your throat but quickly calmed down after that, feeling a wave of relief wash over you as the liquid warmed you from the inside.
Eventually, The impact sweep throughout your whole body, warming up your limbs from the inside without sabotaging them too much. Your heart raced a bit as you felt it thumping in your chest, and your skin thrived hot from the effect. You felt your face redder and more flushed than usual, You looked towards Albedo, who remained his back turned away and completely unaffected by your situation.
'Ah... What the fuck? I feel so hot all of a sudden... Master Albedo said this helps me warm my body right? This must be the result... But I didn't predict it to affect me this firmly... Maybe I drank too much?...' you pondered as you looked back into the vial, trying to ignore the sensation that was running through your entire body. 'Shit... I... Must go home... This is bad...' You covered your mouth to prevent any undesirable responses to the potion's effects.
You shut your thighs tight concurrently as soon as you felt the burning sensation on your lower regions and sough quietly in pain, hoping that if you lingered quietly enough you would manage to evade Albedo from noticing you acting weird and fleeing. Instead, you heard him chuckle from across the area, and your cheeks burned in humiliation and from the embarrassment of your feelings toward the alchemist.
"Why are you being subtle, Right now? If I remember correctly, you were quite babbling when I first brought this subject up," he commented casually while putting away the empty glass he was carrying earlier, seemingly unbothered by your reaction. You swallowed hard, "N-No reasons," you mumbled ashamed as you rubbed your thigh in hopes that it would cool you down.
'I... Need water... This is bad... How am I supposed to answer him without sounding like a total pervert or something?! Damn it!' you thought to yourself as you looked back at the table where you'd placed the empty bottle before, and you found yourself wondering if it would've made a difference if you'd taken another sip of the potion instead.
"Did the potion work?" Albedo said with a hint of a teasing grin on his lips that somehow managed to make your cheeks burn hotter with chagrin.
"y-yes..! It works incredibly perfectly! I feel so warm all of sudden!" you looked away again, feeling extremely self-conscious as you struggled with your tongue to form the words.
"that's good to know," Albedo smiled and stood straight again, turning towards you again with a smug expression, "Because I have yet to figure out anything regarding it myself, and I certainly wouldn't want to embarrass myself with any shameful mistakes." he leaned in closer toward you and suddenly grabbed your chin as he moved your head so that you could look him directly in the eyes.
"To let you know, the effect will last for at least 5 days." Your stomach churned uncomfortably at his proximity, and you could only imagine how your body would react if he touched your face.
His teal eyes seemed like they were studying your features, trying to memorize them and analyze your facial expressions, probably because of the way they seemed to change depending on whether he was looking in your direction or watching something else entirely. 'Damn him.' you cursed silently as he finally pulled away, and your eyes flickered downwards, totally not averting his gaze.
Albedo watched your body attempt to accept the potion's effect, fascinated, before he spoke up, "I don't understand... Most people would ask someone for assistance when they feel their bodies are in heat. But it looks like for me, you don't need any help at all, You must be very satisfied right now, hm?" You could feel Albedo's intense stare burning into your face as he began walking forward to grab your hand, taking your potion out of your hand gently.
"Let me look over the tag for you, 'Aphrodisiac' indeed." He murmured amusedly, almost mockingly, as he examined your weak and trembling body before he continued speaking. "It seems like you're having quite the difficulty restraining your body's temperature." He scoffed.
"Master... I... feel restless." you stammered in a hushed whisper as you tried hard not to think about how close he was to you, and how badly you wished you could just reach out and pull him into you.
"That's the outcome, y/n. Your body will be responding unaffectedly to the potion since it'll boost the likelihood for you to attain back whatever warmth you lost and will eventually soothe down again once you did something about it," he explained calmly, though you noted how he didn't seem to have an explanation himself as well. His voice sounded deeper than normal and it was strangely hypnotic.
"What are you feeling?"
"Master... I feel... Superheated over... there and... Feels like my heart skips several beats just from hearing you talk... I don't know how long I can stay like this. I... Don't think I can take it..." " you replied softly as you slowly looked up into his shining teal eyes again. His pupils were dilated slightly with excitement and his irises seemed to glow with curiosity. 'He knows how to tease me! Fuck! Why does he do this?'
You peeked at him with a half-lidded stare, still feeling extremely aroused. He tilted his head as he examined your face, seeming to notice that you were struggling to maintain eye contact and your breathing hastened as your heart rate rose rapidly, 'Don't let him hear that.' You thought, biting your bottom lip anxiously and making an effort to control yourself.
"C-Could you, please... Help me?" You muttered huskily and Albedo seemed to stiffen slightly at the request, but a few moments later he relaxed, smiling warmly as he took off his coat and draped it over your shoulders,
"If that's what you wish. I guess I can indulge you today since I got nothing better to do." he started unbuttoning your shirt slowly, making sure to leave a little bit of space between the buttons as he carefully slid it open, revealing your brassiere.
You gasped when you saw the state you were in, You were already very hot and uncomfortable from being in such close quarters with him but this added fuel to the fire as he reached underneath your shapewear, he took it off then brushed his fingers lightly across one nipple, making it erect instantly under his touch. His fingertips brushed across your skin lightly, sending shudders down your crest at the gentle phenomenon of his soft fingertips skimming at your flesh.
"A-Albedo..! What are you—" You were cut off abruptly with a soft gasp as he leaned forward, pressing his mouth onto yours hungrily. At first, you weren't prepared for his advances. You'd assumed he was going to kiss you and then you expected him to leave to give you space, but instead, he kissed you deeply, his hands moving to cup your face as he pressed his lips harder against yours.
You inhaled again as he ran his tongue along your bottom lip, asking for entrance which you consented instantly. He pushed his tongue past your lips and explored your mouth thoroughly, making you moan softly as you felt his tongue slide against yours. It felt like he was devouring your tongue, sucking on it, savoring every second of the kiss, while you couldn't keep yourself collected at his movements.
Your legs quivered as you felt him pulling away from your lips, your arms wrapping around him tightly as you leaned forward and held onto him tightly, burying your face in his neck as you breathed heavily. You felt his hands move from your face to your waist, gripping your hips as he lifted you and carried your bridal style,
He sat you on the edge of the desk, letting his lips hover near your ear as he spoke seductively. "So captivating..." he whispered and pressed his forehead against your ear as he caressed your cheek. You shivered when his breath tickled your skin, feeling your face turn redder as a faint blush adorned your cheeks.
"P-Please... Put something inside of me... I'm not able to... Keep everything from getting out during this." You whimpered softly as you closed your eyes, hoping he would ignore the fact that you'd called yourself filthy earlier and would do whatever he asked.
He chuckled as his hand traveled down from your face to your waist, unbuttoning your shorts as well, he slipped the cloth off you gently before lowering his head and nibbling on your earlobe. "Beautiful..." A small whimper left your lips before you wrapped your legs tighter around his waist, your entire body tensing up at his movement. As he trailed light kisses along your bare collarbone and chest, you could feel your body becoming hot as the temperature rose quickly, causing your nipples to prickle in response.
He continued to lick, nip and suck your nipples until they were harder. The tendencies were too severe for your mind to focus on as he continued to tease, tormenting both you and yourself with his actions. After a short time, he stopped what he was doing and placed another soft peck on your lips.
he spoke in a low tone, "Are you ready, y/n? Should I show you how much can you get someone stimulated by just letting them touch your body?" He paused in his movements, waiting for you to answer him in return before he resumed the slow kisses he left behind.
"Yes... Master— Albedo..." You mumbled quietly, barely able to contain the desire building within you as you felt his tongue trail dangerously lower, your eyes fluttered open for a split second to glance over at Albedo, noticing him smirking at your flushed state while observing your flushed face in amusement. You gulped as a shiver run through your body due to the cold wind that was hitting your naked body,
He placed kisses along your abdomen, and suddenly it hit you that he was going to remove your underwear. Your eyes shot open wide as he continued trailing his fingers over your exposed thighs,
your heart pounded uncontrollably against your chest as the tips of his fingers lightly dragged along the sensitive skin of your thighs as he continued to stroke your sex through your underwear. "Please... Stop teasing me..." You whined softly as you tugged on his hair slightly in annoyance, unable to take any more of his teasing and teasing behavior and his playful expression.
"This feels good, doesn’t it? So eager… So impatient, and yet So ravishing too… I can't help but want to devour you whole and fulfill me fully... I feel like I'm about to explode, just by looking at your flushed pink face…" He trailed off, as he glanced down at your wet swollen lips, his face turning red with arousal as his finger brushed against your clit, sending more tingles throughout your body.
He removed your underwear completely before placing his mouth with you as his hand moved back to your pussy, pushing a single digit inside of your soaked folds and stroking your clit as he sucked on your hardened nipples, causing them to become painfully sensitive.
You felt heat rushing through your veins as you clenched your teeth tight, your whole body shaking with passion as he continued to use his fingers to fuck you into oblivion, making your eyes roll up in your head.
You moaned loudly as you clutched onto his hair, your nails digging deep into his scalp, your fingernails scraping against his scalp sharply and he responded by curling his fingers deeper inside of you. He proceeded to play with your clit in rhythm, driving you crazy and making you feel the most incredible pleasure and satisfaction you had ever felt in your life.
"I-I feel something... Oh— Albedo..!" You screamed excitedly as he pulled his fingers away and placed his thumb on top of your clit, rubbing you as you released all of your pent-up desires as you arched your back and came hard right on his hand.
"It seems like you're enjoying this just as much as I am… If you continue to let yourself go that easily–"
"Master... I'm still in heat... I think..."
"Hm? of course, I won't be satisfied until you are."
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Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - New scientific research has revealed a piece of tartan found in a peat bog in Glen Affric around forty years ago can be dated to circa 1500-1600 AD, making it the oldest known surviving specimen of true tartan in Scotland.
The Scottish Tartans Authority commissioned Dye Analysis and Radiocarbon testing on the woolen textile to prove its age.
Scotland's Oldest Tartan On Display For The First Time!
Glen Affric tartan - Scotland's oldest-known true tartan discovered by The Scottish Tartans Authority to go on display for the first time at V&A Dundee's Tartan exhibition.
Credit: Alan Richardson Pix-AR
The first investigation was dye analysis carried out by analytical scientists from National Museums Scotland. Using high-resolution digital microscopy, four colors were visually identified for dye analysis: green, brown, and possibly red and yellow.
The dye analysis confirmed the use of indigo/woad in the green but was inconclusive for the other colors, probably due to the dyestuff degradation state. However, no artificial or semi-synthetic dyestuffs were involved in making the tartan, which pointed to a date of pre-1750s.
Further clarification on the age of the tartan involved radiocarbon testing at the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory in East Kilbride. The process involved washing out all the peat staining, which would have otherwise contaminated the carbon content of the textile.
The Radiocarbon testing results identified a broad date range between 1500 and 1655 AD, with the period between 1500 and 1600 AD the most probable. This makes it the oldest-known piece of true tartan found in Scotland – the Falkirk ‘tartan,’ dating from the early third century AD, is actually a simpler check pattern woven using undyed yarns.
The Glen Affric tartan, which measures around 55cm by 43cm, is now on display for the first time at V&A Dundee’s Tartan exhibition.
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The piece will be the oldest exhibit among more than 300 objects. The exhibition examines tartan’s universal and enduring appeal through iconic and everyday examples of fashion, architecture, graphic and product design, photography, furniture, glass and ceramics, film, performance, and art.
“The testing process has taken nearly six months, but the effort was well worth it, and we are thrilled with the results!
In Scotland, surviving examples of old textiles are rare as the soil is not conducive to their survival. As the piece was buried in peat, meaning it had no exposure to air and was therefore preserved.
The tartan has several colors with multiple stripes of different sizes, and so it corresponds to what people would think of as a true tartan.
“Although we can theorize about the Glen Affric tartan, it’s important that we don’t construct history around it. Although Clan Chisholm controlled that area, we cannot attribute the tartan to them as we don’t know who owned it.
“The potential presence of red, a color that Gaels considered a status symbol, is interesting because of the more rustic nature of the cloth. This piece is not something you would associate with a king or someone of high status; it is more likely to be an outdoor working garment," Peter MacDonald, Head of Research and Collections at The Scottish Tartans Authorit said.
Scotland's Oldest Tartan On Display For The First Time!
New scientific research has revealed a piece of tartan found in a peat bog in Glen Affric, Scotland around forty years ago can be dated to circa 1500-1600 AD, making it the oldest known surviving specimen of true tartan in Scotland. Credit: Credit: Alan Richardson Pix-AR
“The Glen Affric tartan is clearly a piece of national and historical significance. It is likely to date to the reign of James V, Mary Queen of Scots, or James VI/I. “There is no other known surviving piece of tartan from this period of this age. It's a remarkable discovery and deserves national attention and preservation. “It also deserves to be seen and we’re delighted that it is to be included in the Tartan exhibition at V&A Dundee,” John McLeish, Chair of The Scottish Tartans Authority, said.
“We knew The Scottish Tartans Authority had a tremendous archive of material and we initially approached them to ask if they knew of any examples of 'proto-tartans' that could be loaned to the exhibition.
I'm delighted the exhibition has encouraged further exploration into this plaid portion and very thankful for The Scottish Tartans Authority's backing and support in uncovering such a historic find.
To be able to exhibit the Glen Affric tartan is immensely important in understanding the textile traditions from which modern tartan derives, and I'm sure visitors will appreciate seeing this on public display for the very first time," James Wylie, curator at V&A Dundee said.
Tartan at V&A Dundee opens on Saturday, 1 April, until 14 January 2024.
Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
Source: Facebook
Source: AncientPages.com
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‘’Typically, neuroses don't even have an outgrowth. Typically neuroses just keep folding back upon themselves, ad infinitum. They're just very uninteresting excessive behaviors that, by definition, don't go very far. So I'll be the first to admit that there are engines that drive what I do that are very akin to the things that drive any kind of obsessional behavior. So that obsessiveness is a tool that I use. How does anybody get themselves to do anything besides sit around and smoke cigarettes and drink beer all day? Any way that you can trick yourself into doing anything is valid.’’
https://archive.org/details/Mondo.2000.Issue.02.1990/page/n113/mode/2up
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Since 2023, three articles have appeared in scientific journals, with 45 authors in all, arguing that the claims made on behalf of the wood-wide web have far outstripped the evidence. The objections are numerous. Many studies of inter-tree transfers have found only minuscule amounts of sugars shuttling between the trees – “statistically significant” but not necessarily “biologically significant”, one group of authors says – and most don’t rule out the possibility that the resources travelled through the air or soil rather than fungally. Despite Wohlleben’s insistence in Hidden Life that in a mycorrhizally conjoined forest “it is not possible for trees to grow too close to each other”, studies have not generally shown that seedlings ensconced in fungal networks do better when close to older trees (they often do worse). And although many trees are colonised by mycorrhizae, there is debate about whether those mycorrhizae actually form a durable network through which nutrients and signals could pass. Nature, the original venue for Simard’s research, recently ran an explosive news feature by Aisling Irwin on the “groundswell of unease” among ecologists with public discussions of mycorrhizal networks. Irwin reports on the scientists’ general scepticism and on a particular episode that has raised concerns. In her memoirs, Simard makes much of the idea that “mother trees” favour their kin. She describes in detail field research by her graduate student showing that seedlings placed in a fungal network “survived better and were noticeably bigger” if they were genetically related to nearby older trees. But that field study, the critics have noted, actually showed the opposite: the related seedlings were likelier to die, though the trend was not statistically significant. (Simard says that other studies by the student, from the laboratory, support her claims and she’d merely made a narrative choice to describe the results as emanating from the forest. “I do not, and would never, imply anything misleading when presenting research,” she told Irwin.) What makes the recent criticisms of Simard’s work so striking is that some come from her former colleagues and admirers. The first critical review of evidence was by three scientists – Justine Karst, Melanie Jones and Jason Hoeksema – who had all co-authored papers with Simard. The lead author, Karst, has discussed how she was inspired by Simard’s research to become a mycorrhizal ecologist. The second, Melanie Jones, appears in Simard’s memoirs as a hero who supported Simard when few others would. Jones co-authored the 1997 “wood-wide web” article, though she no longer stands fully by it. It was the cultural obsession with intelligent trees, from television shows to airport books, that impelled Karst, Jones and Hoeksema to reconsider their own earlier work. Simard, who is preparing detailed replies, regards these in-the-weeds debates as distracting from the urgent task of protecting forests. She has described the attention that Karst, Jones and Hoeksema’s criticisms have received as “an injustice to the whole world”. Perhaps, but it is exceedingly hard to read the recent reviews of evidence and retain faith in the wood-wide web as settled scientific fact. “Why do we so badly want this to be true?” Karst has asked. Maybe the unrelenting news of global warming and its attendant catastrophes – wildfires, hurricanes – has driven readers for respite toward calmer environmental stories. Or perhaps recent political cruelties have led us to seek reassurance that, in nature, beings are thoughtful and kind. The connective aspect seems important, too, as if trees’ fungal friendships could release us from our phone-checking isolation. Fairly or not, we’ve loaded our aspirations on to the forest: be the tree you want to see in the world.
[...]
A tree, Farmer writes, is “a radically nonhuman thing”, and a large, old tree is especially one. If trees have conceptual value, it is not because their similarity to us elicits our sympathy, but because their difference from us enlarges our horizons. They are the most visible markers on the evolutionary road not taken. Trees stand in for all the photosynthesising, carbon-dioxide breathing, fixed-in-place species that share our world yet have fundamentally different ways of living in it. Contemplating trees should be, above all, an exercise in humility. The mountains and woods, Santayana told his California audience, allow you to “take yourselves simply, humbly, for what you are, and to salute the wild, indifferent, non-censorious infinity of nature”. Perhaps the presence of beings older, larger and more numerous than we are – whether or not they resemble internet users or our mothers – can be a reminder that we are not everything, and that everything is not us. “Let us therefore be frankly human,” Santayana enjoined. And let the trees be trees.
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