#physicsphoenix

[elsewhereuniversity]

Of all the STEM fields, astronomy is the most dangerous for a student at Elsewhere University. Every science has poetry in it, but astronomy is just so much more explicit about it. Observatories are liminal spaces at the best of times or the most mundane of universities, but only at this school does the tiny octagonal library need an iron bolt on the door and windows, only at this school is the inner wall of the telescope dome maintained with a crust of salt. Each of the three doors leading to the dome has a spray of blackthorn twigs pinned to it. It makes things a little easier, but only in the sense that after installing protective measures, fewer astronomy students vanished. The wind still howls outside the dome, sounding more like a voice than any wind should. The red lamps inside the dome still show shadows that aren’t cast by any student there. On some nights, the telescope will show you the wrong side of the moon, or Venus and Mars will switch places, or Vega will turn leaf-green.

The astronomy students do what they can to stay safe. But there’s magic inherent in astronomy, and there’s no iron nor blackthorn nor salt that can keep it out.

[x]

[gallusrostromegalus]

top 5 shades of blue, top 5 dragons, and top 5 famous snarky quotes

Blue:

5. Pthalo Blue4. Neon Blue- Argon is such a pretty color3. That-super-pale-almost-not-really-a-color-gray-blue- that-the-sky-is-on-cold-overcast-mornings2. Robin’s-egg-Blue, but only on the actual eggs1. That darker Blue they Sky gets at REALLY high altitude on clear days and you realize it;s because you’re that much closer to the void of space.Dragons:5. Charizard (idc what his type is, bitch is a DRAGON)4. Komodo Dragon3. Leafy Sea Dragon2. Glaurung, the Insanity-Inducing dragon from Children of Hurin1. Errol, from Guards!Guards!  By Sir Terry PratchettSnarky Quotes (done from memory bc internet is slow, so if they’re wrong that’s why):5. “Some cause happiness wherever they go, others, WHENEVER they go.”-Oscar Wilde4.”I never forget a face, But in your case, I’ll make an exception” -Groucho Marx3. “Inspirational, though probably not in the way the artist intended.”- My Art History prof.2. “Half of Congress is Imbeciles.” -Mark Twain. *congress protests* “Fine, Half of congress is Not imbiciles.”1.  “He has Delusions of adequacy.”

[breelandwalker]

hi! what convinced you to start practicing witchcraft? and what's been your favorite spell you've ever performed (or favorite effect you've caused; i don't know much about witchcraft so maybe not all magical acts are spells?)

There were a lot of things that got me onto the witchy path, but mostly it was an interest in herbal medicine and an irrepressible love of magic in literature. Truth be told, I didn’t need much “convincing.” When I discovered I could do those things for myself, I was like, “SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.”

My favorite spell that I’ve ever done was the love spell I wrote based on the methodology of the Amas Veritas spell from Practical Magic. I’ve cast a lot of spells in my time, with varying degrees of success, but this one really….wow.

Long story short, two months after I did the casting, there was a sudden spark with a longtime friend at a party. As we got closer, I started to notice that he fulfilled every single one of the traits that I’d asked for in my spell. Eventually we moved in together and well….the rest is history. :)

(And yes, he knows about me being a witch, there’s a very obvious pagan altar in the living room. His mother is witchy too, so he’s used to it. And yes, he knows about the spell, and he has no problem with it. It wasn’t directed at him specifically; it was directed at the person who would be my true love, and he happened to be the lucky guy.)

Also, you are correct - not all magical acts are spells. Certain things like divination sessions or activating a previously-cast spell may be linked to or tied in with spells, but they might not, strictly speaking, be spells on their own.

[elsewhereuniversity]

I was trying to figure out where mechanical engineering majors would fit in at Elsewhere University, since the fair folk probably wouldn’t want to hang out in the same places mech engineers do…

______________________________________________________________________________

There’s a frantic knocking on the door and Hadassah opens it. 

“Someone’s after me.” Dassi recognizes Laurel, an English student who always has the most beautiful words. Now, her words are stilted, tripping over themselves. “One of the Gentry–Forgot my ring and salt, I’m dizzy, can’t think straight–”

Dassi ushers her in. “Come on.” She closes the heavy door behind her and shoots the iron bolt home, but it almost doesn’t matter. There’s not a single member of the fair folk of Elsewhere University who would come in here.

Laurel’s nose wrinkles as she takes a deep breath; it’s a common expression for those who don’t come to the machine shop often. But to Dassi, the smell of iron and oil is home. 

Various students glance up as Laurel comes in; a few are working on projects at various hulking machines, but some are just camping out until the glamour clears from their eyes. Jack, the machinist, looks up and grins. “Another one? There’s hot chocolate in the back room. Milk in the fridge, too.”

Dassi and Laurel walk past the machines and Laurel looks around a little sadly. “I bet you barely see the Gentry at all.”

Dassi shrugs. “I mean, we do, just at much more of a distance than most of you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dassi frowns. “I don’t think there’s anything to be sorry for. It doesn’t always seem like the best thing, to interact with them like that. I mean, look at the way you came in today.”

Laurel has a dreamlike, faraway gaze. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but it’s worth it, to see and interact with those incredible beings. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

The back room has several students lounging on couches and chatting. Laurel immediately sees one of her friends–Tony forgets his protective items too often; he’s in here at least once a week–and goes to hang out with him, visibly relaxing. Dassi heads back out to the main floor of the machine shop. It had become a place of refuge for so many students trying to escape temporary attentions from the fair folk that there were more non-engineers than engineers in here right now. 

Ahmed almost immediately jumps in front of her. “Dassi, check it out!” He’s holding that little piece of iron that had been giving them so much trouble over the past week. “I really, really think this will fit.”

Dassi laughs and grabs it. “Yeah, but you said that every time we tried to work on it. Look, if it doesn’t work this time, maybe we should try adjusting the housing instead.”

“Yeah, yeah. But seriously, Dassi, I have a good feeling about this!” Ahmed’s hair and clothes sparkle faintly with iron filings caught there, and there’s a small burn from a soldering iron healing on his thumb. 

Dassi glances down at herself. There’s a huge oil stain on one leg of her jeans, and her fingertips are stained green by the copper wires she’d been wrestling with earlier. Engineering leaves so many little physical marks.

She and Ahmed walk over to the workbench and she inhales the scent of solder smoke, oil, iron…she spends so much time here that the smell comes back to her dorm room with her and settles in a little deeper every night. There’s no smell that speaks so strongly of peace and security as this one.

She and Ahmed bend to their work and she sees that his eyes are sparkling with the same excitement she feels, brighter than pure copper. The feeling she gets when one of her creations works–there’s nothing that compares. It doesn’t matter that she can’t interact with the fair folk. She can protect her classmates from them, and that’s enough. And the discovery, the knowledge, the ability to create; it’s more than enough. She wouldn’t trade it for anything.

[x]

[superblyunpopularopinions]

heyo, i see a lot of posts on your blog saying Emma (Columbia mattress girl) made up the rape accusation against Paul, but the main evidence anyone gives that she made it up is a) the college cleared him and b) she sent him friendly messages after the night in question. is there anything else? 'cause colleges aren't always the best at dealing with rape accusations and (1/2)

she actually did explain the friendly messages. note, i don't think this means we should automatically believe her. but if there's no other evidence you can point to, i think the best we can say is that nobody knows for sure whether he raped her or not except the two of them. (i have a friend who says she was in a similar situation so i'm inclined to think Emma's behavior isn't proof of falsehood.) (2/2)

The only issue that I have is this woman stated that she was raped, that the man in question brutally assaulted her.  From multiple reports there have been statements that she sent him message saying ‘Paul-Emma Chill Sesh’ as well as other things stating that she ‘missed’ him and otherwise.  The full complaint rendered by the student that was claimed to be the rapist can be found here.  It does have text from the messages written within the complaint.

I am a firm advocate of victim’s rights.  I very much am, but I also understand that people will lie about rape (as it’s happened to me, the woman claimed she had gotten pregnant because of me.  Joke’s on her, I am very much a transman and can’t get anyone pregnant in any way shape or form) because it is one of the few accusations that will cause a firestorm and a mob-mentality, the only other violent crime that causes this is pedophilia.  Rape is a horrible thing to accuse someone of, it’s a horrible, horrible thing that no one should ever go through in any way shape or form.  To belittle it by lying because affections weren’t reciprocated or to lie about it as a revenge tactic is even lower.

(I also know this has been a long time in my inbox, I only just came back.)