#lattice quartz
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Lattice Quartz with Schorl (Black Tourmaline) from Erongo, Namibia
A beautiful lattice quartz specimen with schorl (black tourmaline) from Erongo, Namibia! Lattice quartz is an unusual quartz formation found in one specific area of Namibia and gets its unique shape from interlocking quartz crystals that form around feldspar. It is often confused with Brazil law twinning and is super funky. This pieces has a fantastic split presentation with one side showing the interlocking quartz growth and the other covered in tiny black tourmaline crystals.
#lattice quartz#crystals#tourmaline#quartz crystals#rare quartz#gems and minerals#mineral specimen#quartz specimen#black tourmaline#gems#gemstones#rocks#nature#natural crystal#crystal#mineral collection#minerals#gemstone#geology#cool rocks#geology rocks
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I make more Nighthaze Characters than i will ever be able to play so now i'm going to start making it everyone else's problem.
The who's who of it all is under the break
Black Trenchcoat: Zony (Zebra/Unicorn) Hacker. one of 4 characters I made based on the different campaign tones as stated in the operator's manual. He's based off the "black trenchcoat" tone which is all about gritty realism of cyberpunk reality, your Blade Runners and such. so I made him a paranoid wreck who will stop at nothing to wipe any system from knowing he ever existed.
Cranberry: Reindeer (Deer/Kirin) Support Gunner. Originally Sprite Cranberry™, made as a joke for a one-shot. She suddenly spun off into her own full on character with depth and an arc like said one off spun off into a campaign about figuring out who's doing all the shady shit in town. I made a second sheet for her so I can use her in vanilla campaigns just in case other Operators don't wanna use someone else's homebrew. Personality-wise, both Sprite Cranberry™ and Cranberry are virtually identical, however Cranberry I write to be a lot more relaxed since she's a baretender who only sometimes has to use the shotgun when things get hairy on the club. Her homebrew counterpart is instead a federal agent who frequently has to confront the fact that she was unemployed until a month ago. More often than not, she has to do so violently and with a shotgun.
Jazz Magnum: Abyssian Gunner. The streetrat with a badge, and originally the character I was going to go with for the oneshot I now play Cranberry in. However, the dedication to the bit overpowered me. He's very mechanically similar to cranberry, but instead of having two guns and a handful of utility spells, he uses just a pistol and is augmented with implants that compliment a run and gun playstyle. I'm playing him soon in another campaign i recently got to join so here's hoping!
Lucky Break: Dwarf Lagulus Pilot (homebrew). She exists because of a comic I was drafting before ultimately going forward with Sundown Trotten' instead. She was going to be one of two protagonists who are both gold hearted idiots who both lift each other up to be their best while simultaneously enabling the other's worst most chaotic behaviors. she and her friend are now in debt to the mob and compete in the Thunderdrome to pay it off. Her heritage is a homebrew one I made specifically because I wanted a herengon adjacent heritage in the game. blame D&D i wanna play as a character with bunny ears in your TTRPG is that so much to ask ;0;
Pink Mowhawk: Diamond Dog Augmented Brawler. The Second of 4 characters I based/named after the Operator manual's campaign tones. Pink Mowhawk is defined as your action oriented rule-of-cool type cyberpunk world, like the Cyberpunk TTRPGs, Cyberpunk 2077 or like Hi-fi Rush if it was a little grittier. Pink Mowhawk's a loud abrasive lad who's got a punch first ask questions later mentality. he's also a huge suntech dork because imo that's the rule-of-coolest part of most Cyberpunk settings for me so I wanted to lean into suntech enthusiasm for his personality. He's also asexual because nobody fucks with Pink Mowhawk. Nobody. I'm very funny please laugh.
Quartz Tick: Zony (Zebra/Pegasus) Augmented Brawler. Like Cranberry, he started out as a joke, but now he's his own character with lore because I really like Kamen Rider and I wanted to see how well I could adapt your standard rider-tropes into the Sundown Equestria setting most campaigns/oneshots use. He's got a bike that I hope I one day get to jump off of and dive kick some poor sap in a game one day because that would be sick as fuck
Rainbow Lattice: Crystal Pony. Somebody in the Nighthaze server said Rainbow Lattice would be a good pony name, and then I drew them. Because of their sporadic in the moment conception, they don't have a sheet lol. but they are a sunstone miner so if they did have one they'd prolly also an aug'd brawler? they're like the one dude in the sunstone mines who's there willingly because while prison labor's cheaper they're just that big on rocks. info-dumping about the other minerals they finds to whoever will listen
Shroud Whisper: Breezie Healer/utility spellcaster. Once again, another Joke turned full ass character that my brain made in response to finding out about DJ smokey's iconic producer tags. The main inspiration being Shadow Wizard Money Gang and We Love Casting Spells. She's a medicart medic who's ultra dedicated to her shadow wizard larp when not on the clock, who studies all magic she can hoping to find cool spells to cast. That's it. That's the character. She loves casting spells. Shadow Nuclear Breezies pledge your souls to the Shadow Princess.
Turn Tables: Changeling Infiltrator/Negotiator. My Cringebug Failhorse daughter who was my very first Nighthaze character sheet, and protagonist of a sunjackers fancomic I make called Sundown Trotten'. She's based off Leno, a pokemon OC i first used in PK-Rocker's Poke-Survivor. First as a contestant in season 4, and then as an assistant host in season 6. She's pretty much Leno except she struggles more with self worth and addiction rather than social interaction and gender identity. However, she's still grappling with the original concept of being a shapeshifter who's mask has become closer to the real her than her base look ever was.
0u0 Thank you for coming to my mcfucking odyssean ted talk on my cyberpunk children's show OCs. See you next week for even fucking more of them
#art#mlp#Nighthaze#in order of left to right top to bottom#Black Trenchcoat#Cranberry#Jazz Magnum#Lucky Break#Pink Mowhawk#Quartz Tick#Rainbow Lattice#Shroud Whisper#Turn Tables
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Pink Pearl: SOLD
Always thought of as a simple minded pearl who honestly to many outsiders never thought she was that great at being a quiet and follow you from behind type. Yet never seemed to be reprimanded much from Zebra Agate whom she was entrusted to.
Currently she's thriving in this new Era 3 and on earth in Empire City. She was the one among this group to actually start the whole animal pattern print...kind of. Though technically it could be argued the pattern started with Zebra Agate but Pink Pearl conciously chose leopard print from seeing them on models in store window advertismenet and could not be more interested.
On Homeworld theres very little patterns, only really lattice work or stripes of any kind or diamond checkerboard. No one really thought out- no one thought to look to organic beasts for fashion. Humans are so fascinating. Maybe thats what that Rose Quartz truly saw in them. How creative and vibrant they are.
Comes with a past form too on toyhouse
Design Notes on Grey and Pink Pearl: Inspired first by Pink pearl's interest in 'animal pattern' which Grey is a pearl who excelled at being 'a pearl' sure she was never the most emotive, sing song-y type of pearl for entertainment yet what Zebra Agate needed was a pearl more of a secretary of keeping things on schedule and taking calls and what not. I also decided for this story a conscious effort that Pearls don't wear patterns. They're not of importance they are here to be simple, more softer colors typically and just to show they're a pearl. not some combination of gem type wearing another gems pattern. Also decided the same of course for Pink pearl for them being simple, run of the mill pearls even if Grey has a bit more to her past design it was only for the more authoritative feel that a pearl might have being under an *Agate* that terrifies
Design notes on Pink lace: Due to corruption she is a lot more faded- not just from corruption but because her gem was more like that of the sand gem. Embedded in an object and only ever facing the sun. bleaching her gem of colors with too much exposure. She's a lot more polished in her currently look- i had a design ready for her just out of corruption look but then that would leave Zebra agate without a past form and decided to let the two non pearls without past forms. She of course used to be much more vibrant.
Design Notes on Zebra Agate: purposefully the inverse of typical zebra pattern on her clothes. with white stripes on black you can see that her hair itself is a regular part of black stripes on white like a typical zebra. also her design on her bodysuit is specifically to mimic a ribcage with zebra stripes
Zebra Agate: [Sold]
"An Agate Terrifies" That's what Agates do. That's who Agates are. Subjugate those out of line and whip them into shape. They're here to make everyone stay in their proper places and follow rules. However I took her to completely go into the other direction of dealing with rules. The Punk movement appealing to her- if this is Era 3 and there is no need for her job role. Why should she keep trying to force a terrifying agate lifestyle? She may not be the kindest or most sweet Zebra Agate is however sentimental and more thoughtful than many- even pink lace considered her much more cold and rigid to expectations of what used to be common of gem society. While shes not an anarchist she has been delving into punk fashion but also the subculture to help her adjust to her new world and its views. She had always needed to follow rules blind and enforce them but due to the new order change. How else was she to find something that even acknlowedges no structure is perfect and many are flawed- even so her diamonds were flawed. Nothings perfect and nothing is without work to adjust.
Grey Pearl: SOLD
A muted personality.
What do you do when you used to know everything you were supposed to do? Living not in just a new era but an entire new world where you're allowed a lot more freedom that you never actually craved before. She's known Pink Pearl for thousands upon thousands of years and while there are some feelings of envy she would consider Pink Pearl to be her only friend. It's a complex mix of emotions like anyone would have especially towards Zebra Agate and the peculiar softness she seems to have for Pink Pearl that she has with no one else. Whilst never treated harshless it always was more of a cold wall from Zebra Agate that Grey Pearl felt. That this was strictly business relationship. Agate never even asked her to sing or dance- two components that make a pearl a pearl in many's eyes. Yet she's asked Pink Pearl to sing for her, and never stopped her from dancing without being asked.
Grey Pearl may not have much of a relationship with Faded Pink Lace however she almost projects a sense of kinship of feelings left behind with her. In fact it was after Pink Lace Agate came back with those curated corruption spots that she decided to have some own markings herself. Humans have tattoos and while she can't get a traditional tattoo from humans she herself worked to get those marks on herself. She was the last one in the group to reform to this new Human lifestyle.
Comes with a past form too on toyhouse
(Faded) Pink Lace: SOLD
During the gem war she of course fought for homeworld and even was was part of the last charge. Of course, while she is more of the carefree type even she could see the dangers. Zebra was part of the task to pull out more of the aristocrats and Pink Lace part of the ground troops. Anything could happen so just as a precaution she sent her pearl away to Zebra Agate.
Honestly, she expected that terrifying Agate to reset Pink Pearl for herself. It was a peculiar feeling for Pink Lace recognizing her pearl- even if it took only a moment before her Pearl recognized her. All so unevenly spotted and with sharp spiked growths coming out of her. She was a mess...Just how Zebra Agate used to scold her about. Her pearl still so lively and a bit oblivious to others feelings but even now so creative- such unique spots on her dress...theyre not even diamond shaped.
Pink Lace at least knows to go with the flow of things but a good deal perceptive.
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What makes a rock a rock and not a crystal?
Ok SO
A mineral is a naturally occurring non-organic solid with a defined chemical composition and an orderly molecular structure. This means the molecules throughout the entire structure will be exactly the same, and be arranged in a symmetrical, geometric, repeating pattern called a crystal lattice.
Quartz is a mineral. Its chemical formula is silicon dioxide, and its crystal lattice forms a repeating tetrahedron.
Ice is also a mineral. Its chemical formula is dihydrogen monoxide, and its crystal lattice forms a repeating hexagon.
Obsidian is not a mineral. It is a mineraloid, a mineral-like substance. Its chemical composition can vary wildly, and instead of a crystal lattice, its molecules are jumbled up in an amorphous solid, meaning there’s no nice repeating pattern to them.
A crystal is any solid material with a crystal lattice.
All minerals, by definition, have a crystal lattice. So all minerals are crystals! Some things that are NOT minerals are also crystals!
Sugar is a crystal. It has a crystal lattice made from molecules of sucrose. But it is not a mineral because it is organic.
Often, these repeating geometric patterns in the crystal lattice cause the substance to naturally form big geometric structures with distinct faces - such as the points formed by quartz. These larger structures are colloquially also called crystals, and their shape (called a crystal habit) is determined by the shape of the crystal lattice. The same crystal lattice can produce multiple different crystal habits, and it’s all very cool and complicated but I won’t go off on a tangent about it right now.
A substance does not have to form big structures like this to be scientifically considered a crystal. It just needs a crystal lattice!
A rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids. It can be made of a single mineral, or a bunch of different minerals. But when made from a single mineral, it will not be one solid block of that mineral with an unbroken crystal lattice. Because it is an aggregate, it will be a bunch of micro- to macroscopic grains of that mineral all compacted together, each with their own individual crystal lattices.
Granite is a rock. It is made of grains of minerals such as quartz and feldspar.
Limestone is a rock. It is mostly made of grains of calcite.
So rocks can be made of crystals, but rocks are not crystals - in the same way that a house can be made of bricks, but a house is not a brick!
And this is just a very quick overview of these terms, because the scientific definitions can get increasingly pedantic and there are tons of weird exceptions! It is all very fascinating.
But of course, the word rock also has a colloquial definition, which is just… a chunk of that hard stuff the planet is made of! A mineral, a crystal, a fossil or a bio-organic solid… whatever! This is a rock collection and these are my rocks!
#rock collecting#red pen has cool rocks#talkin' bout rocks#i'm gonna get salty in the tags for a minute about that they're minerals marie meme and how utterly unrealistic it is#because literally everyone in this hobby just calls them rocks#and we all collectively understand that we're using the colloquial definition#it's bizarre to me that the show made that joke because arguing about semantics is honestly kind of a Fake Fan red flag at this point#like the only people who argue semantics about this are the crystal woo crowd who insist they're collecting 'crystals'#they're magical healing crystals marie
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Thanks to Curieously for sending this lovely 1903 Georgian Revival estate in Hinsdale, Illinois. It has 8bds, 8ba, $9,999,999.
Lovely sunny hall enters into a dining area.
I can't resist a pink room and this one has a beautiful bar behind a pink lattice wall.
Pretty pink sitting area with lots of natural light.
What a lovely breakfast room on the sun porch. Love the fountain.
Wow, the gorgeous lattice work is even on the ceiling. It looks beautiful, and I'm sure they must have a staff to clean it.
As is typical of large homes, there is always an assortment of places to sit.
What a delightful blue fireplace and banquette in this dining room.
This gray living room is more formal, even has a more formal lattice ceiling. Every colorful home in this home has a different design.
The large kitchen was renovated has gorgeous dark cabinetry and amazing marble-patterned quartz.
I like this better than the dull white quartz that they always pick on HGTV.
The curving stairs are Georgian, but the decor is Art Deco.
What a delightful floral bedroom.
Here's a home office where they must entertain clients.
Luxurious bedroom with a bed alcove.
Interesting- a retro lounge even has a disco ball.
A round room for music and relaxing.
Plus, look at this- a vintage bowling alley.
2.79 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds.
The patio and pool.
Truly a beautiful property.
Huge home and every room is beautifully decorated.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Hinsdale/505-S-County-Line-Rd-60521/home/14060312
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Custom Wire Wrapped Necklaces
These are the stones I have available for wire wraps, for those of you who are interested!
If you would like to claim one, please be sure to read this entire post!
So here’s the rundown. Below is a picture with each stone numbered, and below that is the name of each stone, along with the price.
The price includes the following: the stone wrapped in the metal of your choice (sterling silver, 14k gold fill, 14k rose gold fill), an 18″ chain finished with a handmade clasp, and it includes free shipping worldwide!
You will choose the style they’d like it wrapped in. There are three example pics below.
Payment is due when the stone is claimed and all the options are chosen (metal, style, etc). PLEASE NOTE - these will be completed in late May 2023. I will aim to have them done before the end of that month. They take a long time to make, please make sure you’re okay with the wait before ordering. I put the utmost care into this and have extreme attention to detail, and when that combines with my busy schedule, it means that it can take a while. I always aim to get them done early, but sometimes it’s not possible. If you are buying one for a certain event or deadline please be sure to let me know when ordering, so I can let you know if it's possible for it to be completed before then!
To claim: send me a message over the instant messenger with your email address, the country you’re in, the stone you’d like to claim, the metal you’d like it wrapped in, and the style you’d like it wrapped in. I’ll then send your invoice and get started on your pendant! :)
*Note* These are some of my best, highest quality stones! I’ve been collecting (and hoarding, if I’m honest) hundreds of top-quality stones for 10 years to build this collection I can share with you.
Here are all the stones:
Brecciated Azurite - $140
High-Grade Old Stock Ocean Jasper - $140
High-Grade Old Stock Ocean Jasper - $140
Lavender Quartz Facet - $155
Highest Grade Rainbow Moonstone - $180
Highest Grade Rainbow Moonstone - $175
Deep Red Garnet - $145
Watermelon Tourmaline - $145
Blue Apatite - $135
Genuine Spectrolite from Finland - $150
XXL Genuine Spectrolite from Finland - $325
Rainbow Obsidian - $135
Gold Sheen Obsidian - $120
Silver Sheen Obsidian - $115
Silver Sheen Obsidian - $120
Lavender Chalcedony - $135
Australian Crystal Opal Triplet - $125
Fire Agate - $125
Mozambique Rose Quartz - $120
Blue Labradorite - $125
Rare Purple Labradorite $145
Rainbow Moonstone - $130
True Silver Moonstone - $140
Lattice Sunstone - $140
Confetti Sunstone - $135
Star Ruby - $140
Chatoyant Sapphire - $160
Red Rutilated Quartz Facet - $135
Epidote Included Quartz Facet - $140
Clear Quartz Facet - $115
Black Tourmaline & Epidote Included Quartz Facet - $185
Harlequin Quartz - $160
Phantom Amethyst w/ Inclusions - $150
Ethiopian Opal - $155
Rare Genuine Andamooka Opal from Australia (15.8 carats) - $435
Vietnamese Ruby Gourd Carving (22.75 carats) - $425
Cat's Eye Pink California Tourmaline (San Diego co.) (12.3 carats) - $230
Morganite from Russia - $170
Chrome Diopside from Russia - $180
Pyritized Ammonite Fossil from Russia - $180
Dianite (Russian Blue Jade) - $160
Amazonite from Russia - $120
"Blueberry" Azurite Geode from Russia - $140
Uvarovite Garnet from Russia - $185
Mongolian Turquoise - $140
These are the styles you can choose from (I do very minimalist wrapping so the stone really shines through! And the wrapping is super sturdy!)
Style #1 (prongs):
Style #2 (symmetrical):
Style #3 (asymmetrical):
I will cross out each stone as they are claimed!
Extra little note: I have some square wire if you prefer that to the round, just let me know!
Thanks, everyone :)
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autumnal writing prompt:
fallen leaves but it has to take place inside the TARDIS. any doctor + companion and/or pairing
hiiiii thank you for your prompt and for your patience <3 tbh, i loved this concept and i spent a fair bit of time on the execution, trying to get the vibe close to what i was seeing in my head. not sure if i succeeded. but i hope you enjoy it anyway!
i went with the tenth doctor for this one, set post-runaway bride, reflecting on the loss of rose.
to read on ao3, click here!
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When the time came, he let the TARDIS guide him there.
He never knew where it had been or would be. He never knew what it would be like either. That was part of the Solarium's charm: it was a place which could only be found when it wasn't sought. Its unpredictability made it what it was.
And it had been a night for unpredictability. But he'd delivered the bride safely home. Snow still sugared the shoulders of his suit when the halls began changing.
"I'm not ready," he felt himself say. The words echoed hollowly ahead of him, down funny sharp turns and looping passages. He was raw and exposed and though he was very alone, he didn't feel alone—he felt stifled by memories, ghosts crowding the edges of his vision.
He needed time. He needed more of it, reams of it, an endless fountain of it. He needed all the time there was, and more—because that's what it would take.
But he followed the lights anyway. What else could he do?
Down corridors and stairwells, he let the ship lead him. Up a spiral staircase. Behind a false wall. The TARDIS was rarely consistent, but she was kind: she let him take the long way 'round.
When the arched doorway finally presented itself, the weak light was already filtering out through the cracks. Dry, brown leaves skittered and hushed as he put his palm to the creaky wooden door and pushed.
Autumn.
Inside the Solarium, it was autumn.
Outside, too. The atmosphere beyond the high, domed glass and iron lattice work appeared blue—a pale, eggshell blue, verging on grey. Clouds melded seamlessly with sky. The chill of it was almost a visible thing.
Within the Solarium, everything was in its proper place: the sundial, made now of stone, though in the past it had been many things—wood, then ceramic, then glass, then gleaming quartz; the pond where nothing lived and nothing grew, but the water itself danced. The ivy still crept perpetually up the lattices.
And in the center of the room, the tree still stood.
The tree in the Solarium belonged to no particular genus, had no particular name, though he'd searched the TARDIS library to find one. The bark of its massive trunk was smooth and unobtrusive, marred only by the occasional scar of some long distant, unknown trauma. It never fruited, though he'd seen it in every season. Its leaves often changed shape or grew irregularly, patchy and strange.
And at present, it was an explosion of colour.
The Doctor said nothing.
Gold, gold. So many golden leaves hung from those broad branches. Shades varied from the palest sunrise to a hue so rich and dark as to be nearly orange. In some spots, clusters of browning, dead leaves hung, poised to fall.
His eyes avoided those patches, drawn instead to where the vibrant colour was thickest. It was the gold of hair, of puddled sunlight, of a young sun. In spite of himself, he began crossing the tiled floor.
The loose laces of his plimsolls disturbed the occasional fallen leaf, a crackling announcement of his presence. But he still approached slow, like he would meet a wild animal. He stepped cautiously over where thick roots had broken through the floor.
It was only when his hand began to lift, fingers extended, that he paused.
"I'm not ready," he whispered, scarcely a moment before a vibrant daisy-heart-yellow leaf broke free and fell—right into his waiting hand.
"I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet," and she's jumping, bouncing on her heels, and she's smiling, and it’s lovely, "different sky… What's that smell?"
"Apple grass," he tells her, eager to share everything he knows.
"Apple grass… It's beautiful. Oh, I love this. Can I just say, travelling with you, I love—"
"No."
The Doctor's hand spasmed, and the leaf fell, taking with it the scent of a different world. Apple grass. Such a crisp, fresh smell. He could never smell it again without thinking of her.
His throat felt tight. He wasn't ready.
Yet how many times had he stood just like this and let the memories wash over him?
Often they were green—hopeful springtimes of gentle past, a balm when he needed it most. Reminders of the goodness which existed in pockets of the universe, waiting to be discovered.
Sometimes, they came frost-fanged and bitter, serrated edges cutting him to the bone. Regret was grey. Steel grey.
All his companions had bloomed and withered here, on these unreal branches.
But this—the season the tree offered him was too cool and serene for what he felt. This… gentle giving-way. There was a storm inside him.
She had not passed gracefully into another season; she had been torn from his world, and her world, and the TARDIS, and him. How could that be beautiful?
How could that be golden?
He moved in a rush, grasping suddenly at the nearest withered clutch of leaves. He was only just tall enough to reach, and when he closed his fist, he came away with—
Pleading. "Help her."
But he isn't moved. "Everything has its time," he says, "and everything dies."
—and,
"No." Sarah Jane stands firm. Sure in herself. "The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship," and the guilt cuts him open as he thinks of her, the leaves on her tree; then he thinks of Rose. "Everything has its time—"
—and,
"Why don't you ever just say what you mean?"
"Rose—"
"It's always talking with you, but you never…" She shakes her head, hair catching the light of the console. He wants to hold her so badly he can barely speak. "Just tell me this, Doctor: you and me, is it ever gonna change? Will we ever…?" She drifts off, uncertain.
"Everything changes." It's not really an answer, but it's the best he can do. "I promise."
—and in a blink, his fist closed. The brittle memories crushed to dust in his hand.
They were still there, of course: in him, in the TARDIS herself, and they always would be. They would grow anew, changing shape over time. Even at the topmost parts of the tree, people who were long gone lived forever: his granddaughter, with her untameable smile; an old historian who loved cocoa and cake and driving him spare; a young boy who was so brave, and so clever, and so very foolish; an Edwardian adventuress who followed him into madness.
The companions of his many lives.
They crowded their way up into the highest branches. One day, Rose would live among them, a golden crown to this ancient tree.
But even that knowledge held no comfort.
"No more," he said, "please."
Around him, the room gave a faint, irritated huff—like a creaky groan and a hum at once. And from somewhere else, a wind stirred. Focused and strong. Pay attention, it seemed to say, or else did say, in its own language.
A leaf the colour of liquid gold wriggled and broke loose, and he knew better than to run from it. All he could manage was to stand his ground as it smacked, with unusual force, into his chest.
The image burst over him.
"Anything else?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
He sees where the woman—the bride—is looking. Over his shoulder. His gaze follows her, and he feels all the air leave his lungs. There is an infinite space between one heartsbeat and the next. But it’s real. It’s really her. No hologram or vision or ghost. No memory.
In the darkness, a light. Blonde hair glinting, her eyes holding his. And then he's running. Running flat out.
She's all he can see.
The feeling inside him is like nothing else. Like being reborn.
Her smile crosses the distance, gilded and lovely, meeting him before his arms can reach her. But even before his touch lands, he knows he’s already home.
The Doctor blinked. A hand rose to wipe down his own face, smearing the tears he hadn't felt fall. His from another time.
His feet stumbled forward, and he caught himself against the tree's giant trunk.
"Not a memory," he whispered to the silence, in all its enormity, its electric potential. "Not yet."
Prescience, passed down to him by the brush of a leaf. This had never happened before.
But then, there had never been anybody like Rose before, had there? She'd left her mark on the TARDIS, on the vortex itself, every bit as much as she'd left her mark on him.
The pads of his fingers felt out a scar in the wood. One he hadn't seen before. It had an odd shape to it, an asymmetry that reminded him a little of an animal in profile: a jagged protrusion, and the swell of a haunch.
Something with its nose to the sky.
He traced it twice before he understood. The muzzle. The howling. His chest felt weightless, for a moment. Uncompressed by longing and grief, his hearts beat freely.
The Doctor, with his hand to the wolf, wheezed out a shocked laugh as he suddenly remembered that these leaves were also the colour of flame. Of timeless, endless burning, searing and rewriting.
"I bring life."
From its bark and its branches, from its roots and its high crown, the tree seemed to shiver out a very long sigh as he finally grasped its message. Everything has its time, it breathed. Its hope was golden.
The shades of it all swirled together and tangle, an infinite vortex, laden and dripping with life still to come, and it was beautiful.
The Doctor smiled, removed his hand, and turned from the tree.
Her time—and his—and theirs—was not yet over.
There was more to be done. And he was ready.
#wow tenrose angst? from me? groundbreaking#anyway i hope you enjoy <3 sorry about the long wait!!#fic and chips#tenrose#dw fic#timepetals#prompt fic#ten x rose#tenth doctor#rose tyler#abbey writes#idk how to tag fics anymore. seriously. how do we tag things here without being So Annoying. someone tell me
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Displacive and Reconstructive Phase Transformations
One way to categorize phase transformations is the way in which atoms move to create the new phase. Displacive, also known as diffusionless, transformations are those in which the atoms shift in position relative to each other but do not move throughout the lattice and generally maintain the same neighbors. Displacive transformations do not involve diffusion or compositional changes. Contrarily, reconstructive, also known as diffusive or diffusional, transformations, are those in which atoms move throughout the lattice and rearrange themselves relative to each other. Reconstructive phase transformations involve diffusion, and can (but don't always) involve compositional changes.
Graphite to diamond is a reconstructive phase transformation, as is the formation of pearlite in steels. Quartz to cristobalite is a displacive phase transformation, as is the formation of martensite in steels.
Sources/Further Reading: (Image source - Steel Microstructures) (Diffusionless 2001 book chapter) (Diffusional 2014 book chapter) (Phase transformations book chapter) (University of Cambridge)
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For #Feathersday: Some selections from the Kingfisher Headdresses from China exhibition at Art Institute of Chicago showcasing tian-tsui, the traditional Chinese fine art of using the highly prized iridescent blue feathers of regional Kingfisher species (Alcedinidae).
Lots more pieces (including smaller hairpins & earrings) on display at the exhibition, open through May 2023.
It is also important to note that the demand for feathers for tian-tsui nearly drove kingfishers to extinction in China in the early 20th centry, with the last feather factory closing in 1933. But there are now some contemporary artists reviving the craft who make a point of using ethically sourced feathers (collected from molt etc).
1 Cap (清朝 点翠头饰）
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 18th-19th century
Gold wire, kingfisher feathers, amber, coral, jadeite, ivory, glass, silk
Exceptional workmanship and the brilliant color of the kingfisher feathers make this an outstanding example of a woman's headdress. At the center, a phoenix with a peacock-like tail is flanked by a pair of dragons. Stacked above the phoenix are a large bat studded with a jadeite gem and another executed in fine filigree. Gourds, symbolizing the wish for multiple offspring, appear on the sides and suggest that this cap may have been worn by a young woman.
2 Headdress (清朝 点翠头饰）
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 19th century
Silk-covered lattice, kingfisher feathers, gilt bronze, jadeite, coral, amethyst, rose quartz, and carnelian
The central roundel on this headdress features a butterfly with jadeite wings and a coral body while those on either side contain rose-quartz flowers and narrow-waisted bottle gourds, symbols of fertility. Below the butterfly, two bat-like creatures with long antennae and quartz bodies are flanked by gourds. Jade-petal flowers and other plant motifs fill the top register.
3 Headdress (清朝 点翠头饰）
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 19th century
Kingfisher feathers, gilt bronze, pearls, garnets. rose quartz, jadeite, and glass, applied to a silk-wrapped wickerwork trellis
The numerous stylized creatures that adorn this headdress are bats. They represent a motif favored in Chinese art because the Chinese word for "bat" (fu) sounds similar to that for good fortune. The wings of the large bats are fashioned with seed pearls, and red agate cameos indicate the eyes and bodies of the smaller ones. Their long antennae end in pearls, which would quiver with the slightest movement when the headdress was worn. The strings of pearls hanging from the lower rim form a veil.
4 Tiara (清朝 点翠头饰)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 19th century
Kingfisher feathers on silver gilt, jadeite, carnelian, coral, and ivory
In Chinese culture dragons are powerful but benevolent creatures, and the ones that decorate the top of this tiara chase a central flaming pearl- a combination that probably expresses the hopes for a happy marriage. Around the perimeter, stylized characters for longevity (show) and small figures of immortals symbolize a further wish for long life. On the inner rim, the eight phoenixes facing downward are also talismans for good fortune.
5 Tiara (清朝 点翠头饰)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 19th century
Kingfisher feathers on gold and gilt bronze, agate, and lapis lazuli
At the top of this tiara, a pair of dragons chase a flaming pearl, a motif expressing hopes for a happy marriage. Below them a pavilion probably represents a paradise of immortals, and still farther down are two goldfish, symbolizing offspring and good fortune. The bottom is composed of a row of birds facing downwards, each holding in its beak a string of pearls suspending L-shaped musical chimes. The Chinese word for chime, qing, is similar to that for celebration.
6 Opera Costume Headdress (民国 点翠头饰）
China, first half of 20th century
Kingfisher feathers, gilt bronze, faux pearls, and glass
This headdress teems with symbols of good fortune. The design centers on a large tree peony and below it, a pair of guardian lions flank a flaming pearl. The next row down features red-headed phoenixes and a dragon. A pair of leaping fish--symbolizing a successful career and abundant offspring- appear above the peony. At the top is a pavilion, perhaps representing a paradise of immortals.
More details appear amidst the primary designs: bats and butterflies fluttering their wings and Chinese characters with meanings such as "wealth," "longevity," "nobility," and "glory," collectively imbuing the headdress with an air of celebration.
7 Opera Costume Headdress (民国 点翠头饰)
China, Possibly Guangxi province, early 20th century
Gilt bronze, kingfisher feathers, pearls, coral, silk thread, and glass
Together with phoenixes, mandarin ducks, and bats, four large clamshells decorate this headdress. Each clamshell contains a pearl that is visible only from the side or the top. Contemporary audiences would likely have noticed many pearls dotting the headdress, though, and associated them with the clamshells' contents. In addition to wealth, the pearls probably symbolize a wish for a happy marriage and many offspring.
[all descriptions above from the gallery labels]
***
The only book I know about (in English) about tian-tsui feather art is this one:
Kingfisher Blue: Treasures of an Ancient Chinese Art by Beverley Jackson (2001)
PS - kingfisher feathers aren't really blue - and in fact no bird feathers are known to have "true blue" pigmentation! It's all structural color, just a trick of the light fooling our eyes. :) (Try taking a single "blue" feather and backlighting it sometime to see for yourself!)
Learn more here:
#kingfisher#bird#birds#birds in art#feathers#feather art#tian-tsui#China#Chinese art#Asian art#Qing dynasty#19th century#20th century#decorative arts#historical costume#headdress#tiara#opera costume#ornithology#color science#blue#exhibition#museum visit#Feathersday#animals in art#book recommendation#Amazon
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Crystals: they taste good. Especially when used in magic. CRUMCH.
So do rocks. So do minerals. Just so deliciously spiritual. Y'know?
But they don't all taste good on your soul in the same way, because these words don't mean the same thing. GEM and STONE and CRYSTAL aren't synonyms, though their definitions sometimes overlap. In a casual setting it's fine to fart these words around interchangeably. I just wouldn't do it in any serious capacity.
🔮 YO WHY DOES THIS MATTER
🐻 In short: it'll make your spells more powerful.
🐻 In long...
To start getting into these lovely crunchy snacks, dear humans, you're going to have to know at least a little of the science. And if you're groaning right now, you're not ready to be a practitioner of any ding-dang metaphysical thing. You have to understand a touch of the natural world before working with it.
For instance: if you need fiery passion in your life, are you going to use something in your spell that comes out of a mollusk (a pearl) or from a volcano (obsidian)? If you need structure, is it better to use an object that's chemically a blobby mess (an opal) or orderly and neat (quartz)?
Unless you have prior associations with these objects, the basic science is all very crucial.
Still, I'm not gonna bore you. Let me just lay on you what you need to know to start with. You can go scurry off and read more as you please.
🔮 WHAT IS A CRYSTAL?
A crystal is a homogeneous solid substance with a repeating symmetrical structure. This structure is called a crystal lattice.
— Crystal Basics: The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 200 Gemstones by Nicholas Pearson
What the hickety heck does that mean? Basically:
A crystal is a solid. OK.
Its internal chemical or molecular structure is homogeneous. All its parts are the same.
Its internal chemical or molecular structure is symmetrical, meaning its parts, on an axis, are the same. Mirrored. Think a butterfly, a snowflake, etc.
Its internal chemical structure also repeats. So you have the same chemicals or molecules repeating.
Its internal chemical structure is called a crystal lattice.
SALT is a crystal. It looks like this, way down on a teeny-weeny level:
Those are the elements sodium and chloride in a crystal lattice.
🐻 As an overview...
✨ USUALLY CRYSTALS: minerals
✨ SOMETIMES CRYSTALS: gemstones, stones
✨ USUALLY NOT CRYSTALS: mineraloids
✨ USUALLY NOT CRYSTALS, BUT MADE OF MINERALS: rocks
✨ DEFINITELY NOT A CRYSTAL: eggs, sadness, your mom
🔮 WHAT IS A MINERAL (AND MINERALOID)?
A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic crystal. That means that minerals must be formed by nature, from nonliving sources, and exhibit homogeneous compositions and symmetrically repetitive structures.
— Crystal Basics: The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 200 Gemstones by Nicholas Pearson
Let's break this down again.
A mineral is naturally occurring, which means it forms in nature.
But it's also inorganic. Animals don't make them. Plants don't make them. Things that are alive can't make them. It's gotta come from the earth. (Which is alive in a spiritual sense but not in a scientific sense. It's not, like, an organism. You know what I mean?)
They have homogeneous compositions. This means they're made up of the same thing throughout their entire structure.
They also have symmetrically repetitive structures. Their composite parts mirror on an axis, again like a snowflake, and the patterns of their molecules, elements etc repeat.
Labradorite is a mineral. It comes out of igneous (magma-formed) rock and it has a repeating chemical mixture of oxygen, silicon, aluminum, calcium, and sodium.
🐻 On the other paw...
When a substance meets some, but not all, of the criteria of a mineral...it is called a mineraloid.
— Crystal Basics: The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 200 Gemstones by Nicholas Pearson
If you have yourself a substance that's real close to a MINERAL but doesn't check off all the boxes, it's a mineraloid.
Obsidian is a mineraloid. It comes from lava, so it's non-organic. But its structure is amorphous, meaning it's not arranged in a crystal lattice.
🐻 So: a MINERAL is a CRYSTAL. A MINERALOID is generally not a CRYSTAL.
🔮 WHAT IS A ROCK?
This one's so easy I don't have to pull out a book for it: basically, a ROCK is made up of one or more MINERALS or MINERALOIDS.
Marble is a rock. It's composed of the MINERALS calcite and/or dolomite.
Limestone is a rock. Its parents are (generally) the MINERALS calcite and/or aragonite. I'm sure they're proud.
🔮 WHAT IS A STONE?
Not an official scientific term, as far as I know. This is one that's gonna vary depending on your dialect, your background, etc. I use STONE as a synonym for ROCK, but wouldn't use it for just any old MINERAL or MINERALOID. (Like, a piece of obsidian is not always a STONE to me.)
Your mileage may vary.
🔮 WHAT IS A GEMSTONE?
Also not an official scientific term, as far as I know. Like STONE, this will vary based on your background, dialect, etc. Generally, GEMSTONE refers to any MINERAL, MINERALOID, or ROCK that you humans have used to decorate yourselves over the years. Think jade (ROCK) or ruby (MINERAL) or opals (MINERALOID).
🔮 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
There's way more scientific rocky rockiness to be talked about. For instance:
The rock cycle (how rocks are formed)
Crystal structures (based on the shape of their lattices)
Color, hardness, etc
...not to mention the METAPHYSICAL properties involved here. But this post is already long and to be honest I'm tired of speaking Human. More later.
Blessings, cubs!
(Typed up by my wife Mate-chan. Thank you, baby.)
#crystal#crystals#rock#rocks#geology#aesthetic#rockhound#rockhounds#i want to eat it#witch#witchcraft#witches#witch community#witchblr#pagan#baby witch#new witch#metaphysical#crymstals
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Lattice Quartz with Schorl (Black Tourmaline) from Erongo, Namibia
A beautiful lattice quartz specimen with schorl (black tourmaline) from Erongo, Namibia! Lattice quartz is an unusual quartz formation found in one specific area of Namibia and gets its unique shape from interlocking quartz crystals that form around feldspar. It is often confused with Brazil law twinning and is super funky. This pieces has a fantastic split presentation with one side showing the interlocking quartz growth and the other covered in tiny black tourmaline crystals.
This piece is currently available on our Etsy page! http://overthemoonminerals.etsy.com
#lattice quartz#crystals#tourmaline#quartz crystals#rare quartz#gems and minerals#mineral specimen#quartz specimen#black tourmaline#gems#gemstones#rocks#nature#natural crystal#crystal#mineral collection#minerals#gemstone#geology#cool rocks#geology rocks
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Did you know one of the most common crystals on earth is actually ice? Ice crystals form with a hexagonal lattice (meaning the molecules arrange themselves into layered hexagonal patterns upon freezing). Ice is also considered a Sedimentary monomineralic rock.
I actually didn’t know this!! That’s so cool :0
If I was asked what I thought the most common mineral was I’d probably say quartz ouuu
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cool looking rocks and gems i found :)
Staurolite
Indonesian Native Copper
Opal Vein Dreamstime
Lavender Angel Aura Spirit Quartz
Beryl Aquamarine
Clinopyroxene
Precious Opal
Flourite
Flourite
Patagonian Crater Agate
Beryl Aquamarine
Labradorite
Titanium Quartz
Dumortierite Quartz
Malachite Druzy Quartz
Amethyst Quartz
Peacock Coal Mcadoo
Malachite
Labradorite
Mottramite Cerussite
Ulexite
Geothite Mineral
Rainbow Lattice Sunstone Australia
Agate Face 'Egg'
Hemimorphite
Burmese Tourmaline
Tourmaline
Rainbow Obsidian
Bismuth
Naturally Iridescent Hematite
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Rock fact: Sand is mostly made of small crystals. Minute quartz crystals to be exact. Glass isn’t considered a crystal despite this finding because the lattice is not in crystal structure! While rigidly fixed like all crystals they don’t have an orderly pattern.
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Hi!! Im trying to come up with a 3 way fusion for my gem ocs and i was wondering if you could help? Its Lavender Pearl, Hawks Eye Quartz, and Angel Aura Quartz
For individual fusions (if it helps at all) Ive got
Lavender + Hawks Eye = Boulder Opal
Lavender + Angel = Rainbow Aura Quartz
Hawks Eye + Angel = Bloodstone
My only idea for the 3 of them rn is maybe a snowflake obsidian but im not sure
Sure!!! I have a few ideas already!!
Ocean jasper, butterfly jasper, or perhaps mookaite? Mookaite is a little saturated and warm for the colours I imagine you'd receive from two pastel and one darker cool-leaning gems, but the purple-r varieties might fit alright!
(Also you are entirely free to ignore this part as you didn't ask for any help in this area, however 'angel' and 'rainbow' aura quartz are actually the same gem- perhaps an iris agate or a rainbow lattice sunstone would work in its place?)
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hello excellent dirt person. do you know anything about kaolin? i am curious if so, what the Dirt Person view on it would be
So the long and short of it is I have no view on it because kaolin is just, a thing that exists. I have no view on steel or grapes. They exist. There's a lot of commercial grade uses for rock and soil that lay people wouldn't anticipate but are entirely common within certain industries, from gravel and sand mining, to the mining of rocks and soils bearing certain clay minerals or rich in certain elements. Kaolin in particular has uses valuable to ceramics and the paper industry but I know very little about either of those.
However, I do know things about the clay mineral that is actually what's extracted from kaolinite and what an excellent opportunity to talk about phyllosilicates, aka, clays and micas!
I am, more technically speaking, an environmental soil chemist, and though I lean on the last one of those titles the least, here we're going to have to take a quick detour onto chemical bond angles and crystals. This is a very brief oversimplification but deeply relevant.
Atoms bind together in order to be more stable, but the bonds themselves are charged, and therefore repel each other. Imagine an atom as an orb with things sticking out of it:
If you have two bonds, as far apart on a circle means 360/2, so the bond angle will be 180, and they'll be on opposite ends (examples: CO2)
If you have three, 360/3 means 120, and so you get something that looks like a triangle.
If you have four, then things get fun, because the previous two have been two dimensional shapes, and what you actually get instead is a three dimensional tetrahedron with an average bond angle of ~109. And when you get into silicates, tetrahedrons are your basic building block
If you have six, then your average bond angle is 90 degrees; imagine four in a square plane and two at the 'poles'. Remember these for later!
Silicates dominate our world. If carbon forms everything living, then silicon forms everything non-living. Over 90 percent of the earth's crust is formed by silicate minerals, which are as astounding diverse and varied as big brother carbon's molecules. This diversity comes in spite of the fact that silicon is near-exclusively bound in the form of the silica tetrahedron seen above.
Where we move from bond angles to crystals is the fact that each oxygen in a silica tetrahedron has two charges, meaning oxygen can be bound to two different silicon atoms, which creates a crystal lattice structure of repeating units of silica tetrahedra. Depending on how silca tetrahedra are linked together, you get the following structures:
(Fun fact! Quartz and Zeolites are some of the most chemically and mechanically stable minerals on earth, and the Tectosilicate arrangement is the exact same crystalline pattern that makes up diamonds. Anyways!)
Focusing down on phyllosilicates, the structures that form are vast molecule thin sheets of repeated chained circles of silica, which is just one of the many ways math that may seem abstract emerges in the natural world, as what forms as a result is a tesselation. Now although silicates are dominated by silica, they are not exclusively silica tetrahedra for the simple fact that the real world conditions in which these form are messy, but secondly, the tetrahedral shape means that in a sheet crystal, silica has leftover oxygens that it could share with other ions. And so what you get in nature is that phyllosilicates are not just sheets of silica tetrahedra, but are two to three layers of repeating tetrahedra/octahedral units bound to a silica backbone.
(src paper; good resource for those who want to know more)
Now these phyllosilicates, literally "sheet-silicates", are very strong and chemically resistant molecule thin layers. But the thing about being so strongly attached to itself means that the actual attraction between layers is governed by an entirely different form of chemical bond (IMFs, which we won't get into), and ranges from no real binding to tightly bound to weakly bound.
And finally, it's time to talk about kaolinite!
Kaolinite is the clay mineral named for kaolin, the rocks/sediment that bears a lot of it. Kaolinite, pictured above, has very uniform physical properties, is very chemically stable, is quite cheap, and has abundant material use.
But, time for a shock and a swerve, I spent all this time talking about clay minerals to talk about smectite instead! You fool!
Smectitic clays differ from kaolinite substantially in ways we won't get into, but the short answer of it is that bonds form between sheet layers, but weak bonds. Strong bonds will basically not really come apart and aren't an issue. No bonds aren't an issue. Weak bonds are an issue.
What weak bonds between layers leads to is a shrinking and swelling of clay layers over time, as water enters clay layers in the fall through spring, then leaves in the summer, causing the entire soil to shrink and swell with moisture, like thermal expansion joints on bridges but much more pronounced. This also leads to a lot of interesting soil properties, so much so there's an entire soil order named for soils with smectitic clays, the Vertisols.
What's shown here with the slickensides are literal smooth surfaces that form as large units of soil shrink-swell and rub against each other. Very strange stuff!
On the human scale, soils with vertic characteristics cause a lot of headaches in the places I grew up, meaning a lot of people in North to Central Texas spend time watering their lawns in deep summer heat to avoid foundations cracking. I've seen new homeowners in Texas who didn't know about it have their entire fence come down because of soil cracks, especially wood fences that catch the wind.
And that's how clay will ruin your foundation.
(PS: Clay mineralogy is foundational to soil chemistry but we'll get into that at a later date. To simplify: clay mineralogy is variable by geology and essentially serves as the most chemically active site in soils, but you kind of have to get real in the weeds on it and I do not have time to get into ion substitution and why every mineral's chemical formula looks like a fucking math equation just so I can talk about cation exchange capacity right now.)
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