C E L E S T I A L

[empyrism]

[THOR] glorificd‌:

The harder Thor struggled, the more the tendrils fought against him in its lechery—that with how he tried to veer back and pull himself off of the mass that now had his arms and legs and waist, they tugged back harder to where they were latched and further jolted the mighty angel into a shudder and a moan as gripping malice pinched at his nubs even firmer—as if a pull. No. Thor roared, realizing fully what was happening. But try as he might, the entity merely teased one as the burning light within his chest bloomed on—even more now that it was being coaxed. Suckled. Parasitic and perverse. Thor had to do something quick—though with how every slide and prod against his exposed body continued on to send these small sensations all over him, the fog in his mind was beginning to creep in. No. He could still hold—he has to. That with how he commanded his power, the angel hissed at the pinch once more before he focused his light to surge to his arm and burst forth in golden flames that obliterated the tentacle that held him there.

“Enough!” the bull roared on, but before he could act, a force came on like a harsh wind. Warm. Resonant. That with how pressure and vacuum collapsed onto them all at once, the tug at him and the consequent shrivel, Thor was quicker then—gritting his teeth as he ripped everything off of him; only to feel a sharpness prick at him and forced a soft hiss before finally succeeding albeit with a stumble as his now freed cock bobbed out into its freedom in its half-hard heft. And the fiend writhed from the impact, Thor just gritted on to regain his bearings, though the new warmth ticked a new cause of alarm from the mighty angel as he darted his sights towards his ally and nodded in gratitude, breasts heaving on as the new forcefield covered the both of them.

“—yes I am fine… you came just in time…” Thor grumbled on as he looked onto the mass that was beginning to regain its own countenance—and with it, he grumbled on, feeling a tingle at his plump nubs as the sting began to dull… and creep into warmth. Whatever it was managed to envenom him and with another swell of a breath, he could feel what malice it entailed. He was swelling. Filling. Thor glared at the entity as he protectively rubbed at its chest—that while compromised, he knew that he still had an edge now that Empyrean was here with him. “—it’s not over yet… we must find the seed of it,” he nodded on as the creature had once again formed itself in the mass of its tentacles ——— and with it, lashed its assault onto Empyrean’s shield with its shadowy appendages.

It was hard not to notice Thor’s (further) state of undress, even as he rubbed his supple yet affected pectorals: the angelic’s hefty member in full view of the two other entities before him; one his ally, one his foe — no matter, there was something of utmost import and urgency before them that required their immediate attention.

Empyrean could feel the distinct force of the energy drain coming from the creature before him. A parasite. The tentacles swirled through the space, changing shape as it tried to break through the field of light he created. Not just pummeling against his shield, but eating it away, consuming it, feasting on it. He could feel the subtle shift of power, flowing from his essence through his shield and upwards as the pull of darkness grew ever stronger, even as it sharpened into points in an attempt to find a weak spot in the curvature of their protection.

But he was star stuff itself. A near endless supply of energy. Empyrean was sidereal incarnate, sui generis. His very form was coruscating, shifting sparkles of pure light. His body burns and burns, scintillating in all its glory. Even as the black mass of void tentacles was steadily gelding his energy.

They ask, How bright are you willing to burn?                  You answer, Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.

If the monster wanted to feed, he’ll stuff it full of radiance so strong it’ll crack and burst at the seams.

“Of course, these things tend to persevere even against all odds.” Thor spoke true, and even if they were to defeat this creature here and now, incinerate it till there was nothing left — it will eventually come back. It may take years, decades, centuries; it may take a different form, but it will be back. The darkness always did. “If light is what it wants, we’ll feed it our combined light, right through it’s black heart.” Empyrean focused his energies, light-made molecules expelling from his very fingertips before forming into a concentrated beam that pierced through his own shield, striking cleanly against the sharp appendages that had been determined in their onslaught against the twin bodies of light. “Come on!” He pulled the angel’s hands towards him before taking flight, soaring above Luna’s ground as they broke into the weightlessness of space.

[empyrism]

[LUCAS] letxtherebelight‌:

“There is always time to cook or bake,” Lucas shrugged, “A little healthier this way too. Besides, I enjoy it. I used to cook for two anyway, but my roommate is currently in isolation so…” A soft sigh, Lucas watched the mentor found a spot for the spot. He swung his backpack down and placed it next to it. “Think you have met him, actually. My roommate is Samson.” He smiled a little, obviously rather fond of his roommate despite the current situation.

“Look, it’s just a name. It doesn’t have to explain your entire existence.” Lucas chuckled a little, glad to move the topic elsewhere so he didn’t have to think about his isolated roommate and how much he missed him. “Perhaps something starts with ‘Em’? Emeric, for example. Or we can just take the last four letters, ‘Rean’ doesn’t sound too bad.” Lucas suggested with a thoughtful expression, “Just some suggestions, anyway. But I think having a nickname will make you less… intimidating to new joiners.”

He rolled his shoulders and stretched his back, blinked a few time to look more awake. “Okay then, what are we working on today?” He turned to face his mentor, his posture proper, ready for the action. “I am ready when you are.”

“Yeah.” He’d been there, and really it was the first time he had a proper interaction with Samson. At least, the void-touched had cleared medical so that was somewhat of a relief — the isolation was just a precaution in case anything was missed, or if it manifested itself later.

Emyprean understood Lucas’ point of view. He did look intimidating as well — all muscles and full brawn; his defaulted facial expressions (usually of the stony, stoic type) didn’t help his image. After all, he was here to help people, he should at least be more approachable. Of course, he would purport that they could approach Devrim for that really, the more affably, actually human side of them. Certainly more connectable. “Rean’s been tossed around before.” He’s pretty sure Dominic’s mentioned it at least once. It just never really stuck, at least then.

When Lucas inquired regarding the agenda, the entity was glad for the distraction from the conversation — or rather the conversation was actually the distraction — it wasn’t something he found that he enjoyed discussing. Empyrean was relieved that they were at least moving on from it. It usually led to a whole long list of thoughts and introspection. W̵̧̙̤͙̱̓̑͐̏͂͢͢ḩ͔͓͎͍͇̦͆̾͌̃̀̃̑̚ǫ̷̧̪͎̬̳̣̩̀̄̽̇͗̔͘͘͠͡ͅ ä̗̜͈̮́̈́́̽̐̊͒͋͢ͅm̨̯̟̠͚͚̯̯͂̆̎͒͛͋̈́̎͌͟ I̸̧̠̻͙̱̎͐̈̃̾͆́͟ͅ,̸̢̦̘̗͕̭̫͔͍͉͆̀̓̄̌̚̕͝͞ r̢̛͉̻͉̫͉͂͊̅̌̈e̵̢̥̙̙̳̝̲̩͋̊͗̌̒̋̑͟͡͡a̢̮͎̳͓̳̮̪̰̩̔͋̈̐͑̀l̶͉̭̻̦͖̗̟͓̋̀̎͆̀̊̕͘ļ̸̬͙̝̖̠̤̗̱̭̽̅̊͒̂͊̒͘͞ỵ̨̩̬͖̰͆͋̐̎̾̐̊?̣̘̝̲̖̠̲̤́̿͗̚̕ͅͅ One that he didn’t like to share with anyone. “Something a lil’ new.” He pulled out a piece of cloth, meant to act as a blindfold. That combined with a variety of loud noises could spice up their training sessions. “We’ll be working on how well you can feel the light around you and work with your surroundings with some sensory deprivation and/or overload. The real world gets real messy too often that you never really know what to expect.” Unless you could predict the future, or manipulate probability.

[acecroft]

💪 💪 💪

[glrphotographer]

Iceland, just the hint of the aurora looking out to the mountains beyond Thingvellir. A perfect night.

[emmaduerrewatson]

We’ve always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments. These moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or perhaps we’ve just forgotten that we are still pioneers. And we’ve barely begun. And that our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us. - Interstellar, 2014.

[empyrism]

It's been two years, eight months and a day Walking 'round in New York in the rain And right now, I'm a walking cliché It's been two years, eighth months, nothing's changed I'm out here trying to love somebody I tell myself I'm doing well But every time I think about you Still hurts like hell

[nathanwuornos]

[empyrism]

I've been the archer, I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling But who could stay?

[fuckyeahjupiterascending]

Jupiter Ascending (2015).

[empyrism]

[CLAYTON] goldfaded‌:

thank fuck, he sat down. clayton knew he probably looked a bit of a mess, at least – his expressions were tighter, body language tense, fingers itching for something to do. the isolation wasn’t the problem – the lack of challenge, of contest, was.

“doesn’t feel right, taking edvin’s time like that.” lie; he doesn’t know if it’ll count, and he can’t predict how he’ll react if he gets thwarted. so many weeks without a win, a loss could tip him over. “dom? noah?” he cocked a look. “no idea who they are.”

still, he almost vibrated as the other approached, forcing himself to sigh and calm down. “you don’t gotta last ten years. just make me think. fuck, cheat, if you need to.” clay turned the board so white faced the other, and waved for him to start.

Right, the man’s new, new-ish. Pretty big place, pretty significant amount of people — you’re bound to miss (more than) a few faces here and there. Pretty people too, but you wouldn’t catch Devrim saying that aloud. And there was something about Clayton that reminded him of Lance. The look was certainly there. Something about the attitude — the need to keep busy, at least from what he could glance off the surface. Granted that perception might have been skewered with how the man before him was acting right now — a little frazzled, a little worse for wear with the current situation, too much pent-up energy that had to be released.

“Ain’t right fer me to cheat.” He cast his eyes down onto the board, moved one of the pawns at the side of the board forward two spaces. It reminded him a little of using this to pass the time in space, when other board games (at least whatever that could be brought up into the ship) and video games had been exhausted. Figured he might as well introduce himself given the circumstances, “’m Devrim.” He’d heard of Clayton in passing, but never really needed to look at his file — file access was usually restricted (even if he technically had some clearance for basic information and the like as a mentor) and there wasn’t a reason to either. Might as well take this opportunity to get to know someone new. New-ish.

[empyrism]

[CLAYTON] goldfaded‌:

the quarantine was kinder to some, than others.

clayton managed to get a mission or two into his system before the lockdown, and it was enough for a while, but not for long. his body, his divine soul ached for combat. the strain of it, the stress of steel on steel. training only beat the cravings back, like a patch to carry over to the next pack. regardless of how long his power would last in isolation, he felt tense.

he jolted to awareness when he heard someone pass by. finally. if they stopped in, they’d see clayton – dressed in layers, open flannel over a tank and jeans, sitting expectantly (see: pathetically) at a set-up chess board. “–I can explain,” he said, both hands out, placating. “but I need this. it’s a power thing.”

The quarantine was like an everyday occurrence to him — or at least it used to be, back when he was an astronaut, back when he wasn’t this. So it was something he was deeply accustomed to: living the same bunch of people, working together, eating together, unable to leave and venture out (into the cosmos of space). Cooped up in a space never did good for anybody, but adaption was the key to it all, especially for a species like humanity. It was after all, called evolution.

“I’ve heard tall tales.” Devrim was intelligent, that much was a given, (he wouldn’t be who he was today without it) — but tactical games was a whole other field. Something he was sure he would be no match for. “Don’t think I’ll be much of a challenge. Wouldn’t an AI, EDVIN or someone like Dom or Noah be better suited for this?”

Still it wasn’t like he really had much to do.

Besides mentoring and training, all he had going for him was a little leisure and working out here and there. One chess game wouldn’t hurt, even if it had been years since he’d last played it.

[alexanderhamiltonisthebottom]

We are getting close to answering the age old questions: Why are we here? Where did we come from? Does the Universe, in fact, have a beginning or an end? And if so, what are they like? If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of Human reason. We would know the mind of God.

[beeple]

OTHER SIDE

[apselen-e]

the voice from the stars

[yennciri]

[hclistic]

He is star stuff, and galaxies swam within him. Just as it did in everyone else, it only seemed to be more literal in his case. Infinite impossibilities made possible by thought. The brain is an endless wonder where galaxies and universes are born in seconds, destroyed in milliseconds, and reborn in nanoseconds. He is one with the cosmos, an impossible thing made possible.

[empyrism]

[SAMSON] untilvoid‌:

samson could bear empyrean’s ire – regardless of where it was aimed. as he saw it, himself and the shadows were ‘one’, for lack of any other way to interpret. this was in the name of protecting the advocates. he’d broken protocol, even if it was for, what he felt, was the right reasons. this was what he’d earned.

“understood, sir.”

the cold stare was met with one of samson’s own, until the doctors and nurses, masked and gloved as they were, blocked empyrean from sight. samson was stripped, layer by layer, each article of clothing isolated for testing. even his leather apron was hung up on its own, until he was laid naked on the table, not moving to cover himself at the slightest. his hands were at his sides, palms flat on the cold metal, no matter how many goosebumps rose on his skin.

the tendrils mostly behaved with the staff, since their bedside manner was considerably more kind than empyrean’s own.

In many ways, that was where they were similar, like two sides of the same coin. He and Devrim were separate beings with individual thoughts, feelings, wants, desires, and even though they came from different origins, they were also one. In the same way, with him and Lucas — light and dark; one cannot exist without the other. There was that constant push and pull, like the tides, or the cycle of life and death, or Ea (ᛠ) as Devrim was inclined to give it a name.

Empyrean was appreciative of Samson’s response and ease of following orders, he didn’t want to step in if he didn’t have to. The mentor looked at the unfolding events clinically, and eventually the other was laid bare before his steel eyes. Nudity did not phase him, and were it not for social constructs he would not have bothered with ‘clothes’, real or imagined into existence by molecules. His other self would have afforded the man a degree of privacy and turned away till something happened — but Empyrean would not be doing his due diligence if he were to miss anything. A split second twitch was all it would take.

The med-techs proceeded to prod at Samson, taking samples of skin, sweat, blood, and other bodily fluids; checking his vitals, his statistics and the like. Most of these were to be sent for deeper analysis and testing, but he could already see some of them already working their centrifuges and microscopes for the quick and dirty version, wanting Samson to be in the clear just as much as anyone else.