#pipe support design

[osscontracting]

Key Components of a Successful Mechanical Piping Installation

Discover the key components of a successful mechanical piping installation, from design and material selection to testing and maintenance. Learn how precision and planning ensure efficiency, safety, and long-term system performance.

[silkentine]

Me when they are the sisters ever: 😭😭😭 They came out soooo freaking well. I won’t lie, they took me a thousand years to finish but through the constant support from all of my buds (and my latent bisexuality), we made it 😤

Hopefully you guys know the deal by now: design choices, easter eggs, and (NEW!) closeup shots below the read more. ⬇️

I wanted Ace to have a very down-to-earth vibe and looked at Aussie beach-girls, coastal cowgirls, and vaqueras for reference. (IDK, I’ve just always envisioned Ace as part-Australian🌺 and Mexican 🏴‍☠️) Her clothing choices are mostly natural or utilitarian materials like the painted wooden beads on her top, her woven fabric and leather belts, and her denim jumpsuit. I gave her bikini top a zen-garden kind of feel because I read the first Ace’s Story Novel and I loved how idyllic and peaceful they made Sixis Island sound so I wanted to invoke that in some way.

Speaking of her painted wooden beads, they hang off the back of her top and represent her connection to Sabo and Luffy. They watch her back once she sets sail. She only wears one red glass bead earring because the other one got ripped out of her ear when a child, leaving her earlobe torn (don’t think about it too much 😢). Also, YES! she does wear a hibiscus flower just like Rouge (because I hate you and I want to make you cry, muhwahahahaha).

Also, I really wanted her to have super textured curly hair that licks behind her like flames. I am always considering whether or not a character should have long hair or not because I don’t want it to be a hindrance if they’re in a fight (or if they ARE a fighter with long hair, how to they avoid an enemy making use of that?). Ace is, of course, a Logia-type Devil Fruit User so I think she wouldn’t have trouble with people grabbing it LOL I get the feeling that she doesn’t take very good care of it even though it looks amazing. Like you’d think it would be soft and bouncy just by looking at it but if you ever get the chance to run your fingers through it, it’s a total rat’s nest and there’s sand and food all up in it. She still falls asleep while eating 😂 but she tries her best to only do it around people she can trust (woman moment 😔).

Honestly, her design is not that different from Ace’s canon look. It feels really vital to Ace’s character to have a lot of skin showing. And he’s always hanging all over himself with his hips all cocked like the weight of the world is too much to stand up straight. It is certainly not my OWN preference to make her an absolute smoke show. That’s just the character, okay? (I’m partially lying and the proof is that I turned the emblem on Ace’s hat strap into a sternum tattoo for no other reason than that it is sexy af.)

Here are some closeups of Ace:

Now for Sabo, I’ve made her very girly. I tried putting her in pants or something more militant but she told me that she’d wear the big poofy sleeves and hiked-up ruffled skirt. I think Sabo has always had a strong grasp on his fashion sense and individual flair and I truly believe that his personal style is one of the major influences for the rest of the Revolutionary Army resulting in the very flashy, queer, steampunk aesthetic (aside from Dragon’s plain-ass cloak). So of course I had to implement her nonconformist look when reimagining her as a woman and dress her up to the nines.

I’ve given her very ornate jewelry that is there to tell a story, even if she herself doesn’t know it. I like to think she picks up stuff from her travels that resonate with her, such as a damaged set of earrings with one stone missing or red cup-shaped shells featuring three nestled pearls. Another accessory that cannot go unmentioned is her dragon claw hat pin that keeps her top hat resting on top of her hair (and is definitely used as a weapon when the situation simply doesn’t call for trusty metal pipe). She also has a veil that obscures her prominent facial scar. I imagine she’s not very keen on the reminder of the incident from her childhood that took away her memories. I also kept her chipped toothed because 1) it’s fucking adorable and 2) is a visual reminder that she no longer aligns herself with the nobility who would have gotten such a thing fixed. She is so poised in almost every outward facet of her life from her dignified role as the Chief of Staff to the elegant materials in her clothing that it can be easy to forget she was also a rough and tumble forest dweller. Every time Koala remembers this, he lets out the biggest sigh.

Her hair is inspired by Gibson Girls and Elizabeth Swann from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I wanted it to be fussy and tidy but fall apart when she’s in moments of distress. For example, when she remembers her sisters, her hair starts to look like Ace’s flaming mane. I’m so in love with her, I think she looks like an adorable little porcelain doll that would fuck you up. I made an effort to keep her eyes a little bit manic. I get lost in her steely black orbs (and also Ace’s warm brown ones, but we’re talking about Sabo rn).

Here are her close-ups:

Plot notes for this AU:

For this series of character designs, I wanted the expressions and outfits to be aligned with the canon plot but I don’t know if I have the heart to kill fem!Ace in my AU. I’m too attached and ASL has suffered enough!!!!! But Ace’s death is also a major defining moment for Luffy so it feels disingenuous to completely avoid it. Also a huge aspect of Sabo’s character is carrying on Ace’s will and I have so many thoughts about how the Dressrosa Colosseum scene would play out if they were all women. Oh well, I’ll cross that tragic bridge when I get to it. I’m definitely going to draw some Modern AU Girl Piece ASL though. They deserve to hang out with no stakes 😭 They are sisters!!!

Check out the tag “girl piece” on my blog for my other One Piece genderbends! 🥰

[little-p-eng-engineering]

Unleashing the Potential of Little P.Eng. for ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services

In the ever-evolving landscape of the process piping industry, ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services stands as a paramount standard for design, inspection, and construction of process plants. As we delve into the complex world of piping engineering, we encounter Little P.Eng., an innovative engineering consulting firm pioneering the application of these industry standards.

With years of profound expertise and a cutting-edge approach, Little P.Eng. shines as the gold standard in providing ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services. This article aims to shed light on the instrumental role that Little P.Eng. plays in revolutionizing the field of process piping.

Understanding ASME B31.3 Process Piping Standards:

ASME B31.3, a prominent subsection of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B31 Code for Pressure Piping, is a comprehensive set of guidelines for process piping. It includes various aspects such as materials, fabrication, examination, testing, and much more. Given its criticality, these standards must be implemented with utmost precision and accuracy, an arena where Little P.Eng. truly excels.

Little P.Eng.: Your Reliable Partner for Piping Calculation Services:

As a recognized leader in the engineering consulting sector, Little P.Eng. is fully equipped to handle all facets of ASME B31.3 process piping calculation services. Leveraging the expertise of highly-skilled professionals, the latest technologies, and deep-rooted understanding of ASME standards, Little P.Eng. delivers innovative, accurate, and cost-effective solutions.

Little P.Eng. and Comprehensive Calculation Services:

Little P.Eng.'s range of calculation services spans from pressure design of piping components, flexibility and stress analysis, to support design and selection. Their commitment to precision, comprehensive reports, and prompt delivery, all tied to their deep-rooted understanding of ASME B31.3 standards, ensure that they stay ahead of the competition.

Embracing the Latest Technology:

Little P.Eng. makes optimal use of the latest technologies to provide unmatched ASME B31.3 process piping calculation services. Using state-of-the-art software tools, they simulate, analyze, and validate designs, leading to safe, reliable, and efficient process piping systems.

Customer Satisfaction: Little P.Eng.'s Hallmark:

With a steadfast commitment to customer satisfaction, Little P.Eng. prioritizes its clients' needs at every stage of the project. This results in services that not only adhere to ASME B31.3 standards but also align with the specific requirements of the clients.

Let's delve deeper into the pressure design calculations performed by Little P.Eng. under the ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services. Here are the key types of pressure design calculations:

Wall Thickness Calculations: One of the most crucial aspects of pressure design calculations involves determining the minimum wall thickness required for pipes to safely contain the pressure. Little P.Eng. uses sophisticated software tools to compute this accurately, factoring in variables like operating pressure, material strength, temperature, and pipe diameter.

Flange Rating Calculations: Little P.Eng. expertly handles the complexity of flange rating calculations, which involve determining the maximum pressure that flanges can handle without leaking. The process considers factors such as temperature, bolting material, gasket type, and flange material.

Branch Connection Calculations: When designing a process piping system, engineers often need to calculate the reinforcements required for branch connections. Little P.Eng. performs these calculations with precision, ensuring the integrity and safety of the piping system.

Expansion Joint Pressure Thrust Calculations: Expansion joints are vital components of process piping systems that accommodate thermal expansion or contraction. Little P.Eng. uses advanced tools to calculate the pressure thrust exerted on these joints, thus ensuring their optimal design.

Safety Valve Reaction Force Calculations: Little P.Eng. also determines the reaction force exerted on safety valves when they open in response to excessive pressure. These calculations are essential for the safe and efficient operation of the process piping system.

Pipe Support Span Calculations: Pipe support span calculations are critical for ensuring that the pipe doesn't sag excessively under its weight and operating conditions. Little P.Eng. performs these calculations meticulously, keeping in mind various factors such as pipe size, material, and temperature.

High-Pressure Piping Design Calculations: For high-pressure piping systems, Little P.Eng. offers specialized calculation services that consider unique challenges such as material selection, joint design, and testing procedures, ensuring the integrity of the system even under extreme pressure conditions.

Conclusion:

The ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services can be quite challenging to navigate without the assistance of an experienced partner like Little P.Eng. Their meticulous attention to detail, robust understanding of industry standards, and unflinching commitment to quality make them an invaluable asset in the realm of process piping.

Little P.Eng.'s team of expert engineers works tirelessly to stay at the forefront of evolving industry standards, technologies, and market demands, ensuring their clients get the best of what the industry has to offer. With their forward-thinking approach, they not only provide services but also contribute to shaping the future of the process piping industry.

Keywords:

Little P.Eng., ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services, engineering consulting, process piping industry, process piping standards, pressure design, flexibility and stress analysis, support design and selection, customer satisfaction, Wall Thickness Calculations, Flange Rating Calculations, Branch Connection Calculations, Expansion Joint Pressure Thrust Calculations, Safety Valve Reaction Force Calculations, Pipe Support Span Calculations, High-Pressure Piping Design Calculations.

Tags:

Little P.Eng.

engineering consulting

Expansion Joint Pressure Thrust Calculations

Safety Valve Reaction Force Calculations

High-Pressure Piping Design Calculations

ASME B31.3 Process Piping Calculation Services

process piping industry

process piping standards

pressure design

flexibility and stress analysis

support design and selection

customer satisfaction

Wall Thickness Calculations

Flange Rating Calculations

Branch Connection Calculations

Pipe Support Span Calculations

Engineering Services

Pipe Stress Analysis Services

Piping Design

Located in Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver, BC; Toronto, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; Houston Texas; Torrance, California; El Segundo, CA; Manhattan Beach, CA; Concord, CA; We offer our engineering consultancy services across Canada and United States. Meena Rezkallah.

[novlr]

Any tips on how to describe indoor spaces so they feel real and match the vibe of the story without throwing in too much detail?

Getting interior scenes just right is all about finding the balance between setting the mood, showing the unique personality of your story world, and keeping the plot moving. There are lots of ways you can use senses, action, and background to set a scene, all of which can work seamlessly with the type of story you want to tell. Here are some tips on how you can achieve that:

How does it look?

Lighting: does your space contain the soft glow of lamps, harsh fluorescent lights, or natural light?

Use colour and textures like peeling paint, plush velvet, or sleek marble.

Size and scale: is it claustrophobically small or impressively grand?

Architectural features: does the space have high ceilings, crown mouldings, or exposed beams?

Furnishings: are they modern, sparse, antique, or cluttered?

Style and decor: what style is represented, and how does it affect the atmosphere?

State of repair: is the space well-kept, neglected, or under renovation?

Perspective and layout: how do spaces flow into each other?

Unique design features: describe sculptural elements, or things that stand out.

Spatial relationships: describe how objects are arranged—what’s next to, across from, or underneath something else?

How does it sound?

Describe echoes in large spaces or the muffled quality of sound in carpeted or furnished rooms.

Note background noises; is there a persistent hum of an air conditioner, or the tick of a clock?

Describe the sound of footsteps; do they click, scuff, or are they inaudible?

Include voices; are they loud and echoing or soft and absorbed?

Is there music? Is it piped in, coming from a live source, or perhaps drifting in from outside?

Capture the sounds of activity; typing, machinery, kitchen noises, etc.

Describe natural sounds; birds outside the window, or the rustle of trees.

Consider sound dynamics; is the space acoustically lively or deadened?

Include unexpected noises that might be unique to the building.

Consider silence as a sound quality. What does the absence of noise convey?

How does it smell?

Identify cleaning products or air fresheners. Do they create a sterile or inviting smell?

Describe cooking smells if near a kitchen; can you identify specific foods?

Mention natural scents; does the room smell of wood, plants, or stone?

Are there musty or stale smells in less ventilated spaces?

Note the smell of new materials; fresh paint, new carpet, or upholstery.

Point out if there’s an absence of smell, which can be as notable as a powerful scent.

Consider personal scents; perfume, sweat, or the hint of someone’s presence.

Include scents from outside that find their way in; ocean air, city smells, etc.

Use metaphors and similes to relate unfamiliar smells to common experiences.

Describe intensity and layering of scents; is there a primary scent supported by subtler ones?

What can you do there?

Describe people’s actions; are they relaxing, working, hurried, or leisurely?

Does the space have a traditional use? What do people come there to do?

Note mechanical activity; elevators moving, printers printing, etc.

Include interactions; are people talking, arguing, or collaborating?

Mention solitary activities; someone reading, writing, or involved in a hobby.

Capture movements; are there servers bustling about, or a janitor sweeping?

Observe routines and rituals; opening blinds in the morning, locking doors at night.

Include energetic activities; perhaps children playing or a bustling trade floor.

Note restful moments; spaces where people come to unwind or reflect.

Describe cultural or community activities that might be unique to the space.

How is it decorated?

Describe the overall style; is it minimalist, baroque, industrial, or something else?

Note period influences; does the decor reflect a specific era or design movement?

Include colour schemes and how they play with or against each other.

Mention patterns; on wallpaper, upholstery, or tiles.

Describe textural contrasts; rough against smooth, shiny against matte.

Observe symmetry or asymmetry in design.

Note the presence of signature pieces; a chandelier, an antique desk, or a modern art installation.

Mention thematic elements; nautical, floral, astronomical, etc.

Describe homemade or bespoke items that add character.

Include repetitive elements; motifs that appear throughout the space.

What is its history?

Mention historical usage; was the building repurposed, and does it keep its original function?

Describe architectural time periods; identify features that pinpoint the era of construction.

Note changes over time; upgrades, downgrades, or restorations.

Include historical events that took place within or affected the building.

Mention local or regional history that influenced the building’s design or function.

Describe preservation efforts; are there plaques, restored areas, or visible signs of aging?

Describing indoor spaces doesn’t have to feel like a chore. Focus on the details that matter most, tie them to the mood or characters, and let your readers fill in the blanks. A well-crafted space not only sets the scene but builds your character's relationship to it. Use sensory language, background, and action beats to tie it into your narrative, and don’t be afraid to play around with motifs and contradictions, depending on who is experiencing it!

[watchmegetobsessed]

LEFT UNSAID (part 1)

A/N: it's here! this is not a drill, the wedding fic is here!! i've been teasing yall with this fic for about a week now and i decided to cut the wait and post the first part! i hope you'll like it and my very first OC, Ziggy! as always, im eager to read your thoughts on the story!

WORD COUNT: 5.9k

SERIES MASTERPOST | MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

NOW

I’m watching as the residential scenery slowly turns into more weekend houses and rentals as the Uber is nearing the lake house. Chewing on my bottom lip I’m lazily blinking out the window, the movements of the car lulling me to the sleep I would have rather sunk into on the plane, but couldn’t. 

Then the distances between the houses start stretching out, more greenery, more space and between the trees I spot the glistening surface of Lake Eroda. The driver takes a left turn and through the windshield I spot Villa Matilda where the wedding will take place. 

The car comes to a stop on the gravelly driveway and at the same moment the bride herself steps out of the building. Jade practically jumps down the stairs, her wavy, blonde hair floating after her like a mermaid’s tail. She envelopes me in a warm hug as soon as I get out of the car.

“I’m so happy you’re here!”

“Of course I’m here, it’s your wedding!” I chuckle, squeezing her in my arms before we let go of each other. The Uber driver has moved to the trunk of the car and he is now unloading my bags. I grab my duffel bag and Jade snatches the garment bag from him before I could get a hold of it, so I take the tote that’s filled with shoes, because I simply couldn’t decide which one I’d need so I brought all the options. 

“I know, but you’re here earlier, helping me keep my sanity.”

“As a bridesmaid, it is my biggest duty.”

I thank the driver and head up the stairs, following Jade inside. The lake house offers the perfect blend of coastal charm and upscale elegance. With its airy, open-concept design, soft neutral tones and floor-to-ceiling windows in the back facing the lake, it is quite literally the most perfect venue for a wedding and it fits Jade and Ben’s style immaculately. The place features spacious outdoor terraces, a private dock, and beautifully landscaped grounds that flow seamlessly into the water’s edge. We walk past a sleek front desk and cozy lounge areas as Jade fills me in on what's been done since they’ve arrived this morning. It’s Thursday, only a handful of people arrive today to get a headstart on decorating and settling everything before the rest of the guests arrive on Friday evening and Saturday morning before the ceremony in the afternoon. The house is fully booked for the wedding from Friday, but today there are a few other guests lingering around still before the house turns private for the event. 

“Also… please don’t be mad,” she sighs as we make our way up the stairs. 

This is the universal sentence that gets someone mad, but I put on a poker face. 

“What is it?”

“There was a bit of mix-up with the rooms. They had a broken pipe in one of them yesterday so we had to shuffle around a bit.”

“Am I sleeping in the sand?” I joke. “Just give me a mattress at least.”

“You have the biggest room, actually.”

“Then what’s the matter?” I ask, confused as we reach the end of the hallway, lined with doors. Jade turns to me, an apologetic look on her face and I have no idea what could be possibly wrong. 

“Because we are short of two rooms–”

“Two?”

“There’s water damage in the room underneath as well.” I nod. “So we had to move people around a bit and… you’re sharing a room.”

“Oh, with your sister?” I ask brightly, thinking of how fun it would be to room with Cece this weekend, but Jade shakes her head and just when I’m about to ask who is going to be my roommate, the door flies open and I’m staring at the only person I was dreading to meet. 

THEN

Running late.

Jade’s text is not surprising. She is the type of person who always runs late, which is the exact opposite of what I am. She used to jokingly call us a ‘punctual mess” when we were roommates in college. 

With a sigh I just give a thumbs up on her message and slow my steps down, not that I think that matters, the bar is right now the street, I’m about two minutes away and if I had to guess I would say Jade hasn’t even left home. 

Lu cancelled tonight this morning, because of a family emergency and Asa couldn’t even come to begin with, and Helen… no one knows anything about Helen usually until the moment she just turns up and that always has a fifty-fifty chance. Being physically in the same room has gotten massively harder the past couple of years, but I guess that’s just adulthood.

I take a detour, round the block so I don’t have to sit in a booth on my own, giving apologizing looks to bigger groups because they don’t have a place to sit. And just when I reach the bar after my little trip, my phone starts ringing.

“Please don’t kill me,” Jade starts as soon as I answer.

“I have a feeling that I will, in fact, want to kill you after this conversation.” She ignores my frustration.

“Ben is not feeling good, I’m gonna go over and check in on him.”

“Okay, then when are you getting here?” I ask, already doing the math in my mind. Ben lives twenty minutes from Jade, she will probably stay a little bit, about half an hour and Ben lives a little over thirty minutes from here, so that means…

I realize she is silent on the other end of the call.

“Jade.”

“I’m sorry!”

“Don’t tell me you’re not coming–”

“I’m so sorry!”

“Jade!” At this point I’m whining. “I’m literally at the entrance!”

“I know!”

“No you don’t know! Because you’re not here and you’re not even coming!”

“I’m sorry!” she screams dramatically and I huff one more time before taking a deep breath in favor of keeping my sanity. I turn to the glass door and look inside the bar we often come to, my gaze sweeps over the place, everything looks the usual and I’m about to turn away when I spot a familiar face. 

“Jade,” I start, voice low. “Why is Harry Styles sitting at a table in the bar?”

You can’t hear someone’s smile, but right now, Jade’s is screaming at me. I know, I just know she is smirking and the urge to punch her in the face jumps instantly. 

“Oh well, then you didn’t go there for nothing I guess.” 

She acts like she is more innocent than Holy Mary herself, like she didn’t just lure me here pretending like we were meeting up with the group. I bet she told Asa to reject it from the get go and then made Lu cancel on purpose just so it would be only me turning up at the bar where oh so conveniently Harry is.

The guy she’s been so keen on setting me up with. 

Harry was high school classmates with Jade and knows Asa from some camp the both went to in summers growing up, so he is loosely tied to our little group even though he didn’t go to college with us. For the past year Jade’s fixation has been that Harry and I should date. 

“Believe me, you are a perfect match. I can just see it!” she told me the first time she brought up her masterplan to set the two of us up. 

We had met a couple of times. He seems like a great guy actually, with his unruly brown curls and boyish smirk paired with a great sense of humor, he is the type of guy I can see myself develop a crush on, but the pressure Jade put on us the second she called us the perfect match, it just made everything super awkward once we were in the same room. 

“That’s it, I’m going home,” I say, but don’t actually start moving my legs. Instead, I’m looking at Harry through the glass as he scrolls on his phone, most likely oblivious to the fact that this is a set up. 

“Just give it a chance, Ziggy. Have a few drinks with him and if you don’t feel the spark, then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Forever?” I ask instantly.

“Well…” I roll my eyes. Jade could never let go if she sets her mind on something, she is way too stubborn. But maybe I can have some peace if I give in just this one time and then, if the stars align and she finds something or someone else to fixate on, she might forget about it.

The sigh I let out is drenched in defeat and Jade knows she won. 

“He doesn’t know about it, right?”

“No. He thinks he is meeting Asa for a few drinks.” She sounds way too cheerful, telling me that she made our friend lie to him. 

Unbelievable. 

“I think I’m gonna kill you one day.” Jade just laughs cheerfully, definitely not taking my threat seriously. 

“Have fun and I expect a detailed report on the date tomorrow.”

“It’s not a date.”

“Sure. Bye!”

And with that, she ends the call. 

I often question how we get along so well, she is everything I’m not. Carefree, always going with the flow, Jade trusts her instinct and most importantly, herself. I can’t imagine a scenario where she is not the most confident person in the room. I’m none of these. A struggle I’ve been working hard to overcome is spiraling down when anxiety takes over me. I tend to keep obsessive control over things, pair it with constant self-doubt and it’s the perfect recipe for a very fragile mental state.

I’m working on it though, God bless the work of my therapist!

I huff again, eyes landing on the unsuspected guy sitting in the booth, eyebrows furrowed at something on his phone’s screen. 

Spontaneous. You’re trying to be more spontaneous, live more in the moment and not overthink, this is a moment to practice that, I tell myself. My fingers flex and then curl in over and over rhythmically, movements fueled by anxiety that’s ready to sweep me off my feet, right into a spiral anytime, but I catch myself and use the sudden adrenaline rush to walk inside before I could chicken out. 

My eyes are fixed on him as I cross the place, but he still hasn’t noticed me. I stop by the table, casting a shadow and that’s what catches his attention. His green eyes snap up at me and I’m sure he was expecting to see Asa, but when he realizes that I’m neither 6 feet tall nor a man, his lips part in surprise.

“Ziggy?” he asks, taken aback. I slide into the booth across from him. 

“We’ve been tricked.”

NOW

I question whether the whole broken pipe thing is actually true. Maybe I could ask someone from the staff to confirm. This has to be Jade’s latest trick.

But I just smile at her from the door, because there is no damn way a bridesmaid will cause any trouble for the bride two days before her wedding. 

“You sure it’s fine?” she asks again, gaze jumping from me to the figure standing behind me, whose presence is like a fire radiating heat against my back, but I choose to ignore it.

“It’s fine. We can manage, don’t worry about us,” I smile at her sweetly, though I’m clenching my jaw painfully. 

Jade’s face brightens as she claps her hands together. 

“Thank you guys, you’re the best. I have to run now but catch you later!”

She practically sprints off and I stare at the empty hallway for a few heartbeats before closing the door. I know he is looking at me, I can feel his burning gaze and I take a deep breath as I slowly turn around and look him in the eyes. 

“She said we only have the bed, but I checked, it’s a pullout.”

At first I don’t register what he is talking about, but then I spot the small couch under the window. 

“I’m taking it,” he simply informs me, his eyes searching for something in my gaze. Is he trying to decide whether I’m about to scream or break something on his head? Or maybe tell him I refuse to share a room with him so he has to sleep in the bathtub?

He would do it, no doubt. But I’m not trying to be bitter. 

“You were here first, only fair if I take the couch.”

He shakes his head.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sigrid.”

I ignore the way I feel hearing him use my full name, my body is betraying me. I watch him walk over to his suitcase, digging around it, then he pulls his charger out and plucks it into the outlet beside the couch. 

“You know she did it on purpose.” I say, focusing on packing out of my duffel bag and into the small dresser in the corner. 

“I know.”

“And this won’t be her last attempt this weekend.”

“Surely. That’s why I think maybe we should tell her…”

“Absolutely no,” I cut in.

“It might make things easier.”

“I think it would just make things messier. She would ask questions we wouldn’t answer.”

He is staring back at me, cheeks turning a light shade of red, jaw clenching, but no words spoken. At last he nods. 

“Right. Okay.”

I drop my bag onto the bed and unzip it, but don’t start unpacking just yet.

“This doesn’t have to be a thing. We’re adults. We can share a room for a couple days without turning it into a telenovela and ruin our friend's wedding.” Harry nods, but doesn’t look at me.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Let’s just stay away from each other as much as possible. This place is huge and there will be a lot of people. We can manage it without anyone finding out we have a weird history.”

“Is that what it is? Weird history?” He finally looks up at me with a blank expression, but I know there’s a lot behind those eyes that seem closed off in front of me now. 

I used to be able to read them.

“Well I wouldn’t call it a fairy tale, would you?” I turn my gaze to my bag and start pulling out the clothes. “Don’t worry, I won’t make it awkward.”

“Ziggy, I–”

“I said don’t worry,” I snap and when I look at him, for a moment I regret, because I see a sliver of… something behind the mask he’s been wearing since I arrived, but then I lock my emotions off before I could lose my mind. “We’re roommates for the weekend. That’s it. After the wedding, we go our merry ways.”

“Right. Okay.”

Harry nods once again, hesitantly looks around the room before his eyes settle on me one last time. Then with a soft sigh he walks out of the room. When the door clicks and I’m alone my knees give up and I bounce on the mattress, taking deep breaths, willing my thoughts to stop racing, but it takes longer. My usual tactics don’t work.

Not when it comes to Harry. 

THEN

It’s hard to read Harry. He has this stoic look, eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed as he chews on his thoughts that I wish I could hear. 

A waitress appears with the two beers, sets them on the table and then she is gone. 

“I haven’t realized Jade is this obsessed with setting us up,” he speaks up at last. 

“You haven’t?” My eyebrows shoot up, because if I’ve been the only one she’s been bombarding, then I’ll get really mad. 

“No, not really,” he shakes his head, taking a sip of his beer.

“So she hasn’t been dropping my name every time you see each other?”

Harry opens his mouth to answer, but then he thinks to himself and I know it’s been the case, he just hasn’t noticed, bless his heart.

“Let me guess. Whenever you talked about a new hobby or a place you visited or literally anything, her reaction was that I would absolutely love it too. She randomly shared stories that included me and she emphasized my part in it. She shared group photos that featured me. And my favorite, when you talked about anything dating related, she always ended up raving how this problem would never happen if you were dating me.”

Harry stares back at me with a blank expression, then it falls.

“For fuck’s sake, what a sly fucker.”

I bark out a laugh and we grab our beers at the same time, needing the alcohol for sure. 

“Now that you said all that, I realized that we’ve met what, like three times before?” I nod. “And I feel like it’s been way more, like you were there every time I saw Jade. What a witch!”

“She’s good,” I grin.

We sit in silence, I’m watching the bubbles dance upwards in my beer and melt into the thin, white foam on top. When I glance at Harry he seems deep in his thoughts as well. My mind starts racing, taking in the situation I was forced into and an idea materializes.

“Do you want to do an experiment?”

“What kind?” he asks curiously, though I can feel the hesitance in his voice as well. I pull out my phone and open a browser.

“If Jade wants us to give it a try so much, maybe we can actually do it and we either prove her right or wrong, but she might stop bothering us.”

“What are you thinking?” His narrow eyes tell me he is still not sold, but open to hear me out. 

I place my phone in front of him, an article open on the screen that I just searched up. 

“Have you heard about the 36 questions that can make two people fall in love with each other?”

“No… Yes? I don’t know.” He starts scrolling through the list of questions and I continue.

“Let’s go over them. At the end we will either be madly in love and Jade will have her ‘I told you’ moment or we won’t be in love and we can prove her wrong.”

He is taking my words into consideration and my anxiety suddenly skyrockets, because I just asked a man to try and fall in love with me. I don’t do that, I’m never this straight forward, I like the odd comfort of uncertainty, because it’s not rejection at least. 

“Okay.”

I mask my surprise as he looks up at me and slides my phone back, reaching for his beer. 

“Okay,” I repeat and turn my attention to my phone, scrolling through the questions and I explicitly ignore the warmth in my chest. “I take no responsibility over what happens, alright?”

“That sounds… sinister,” he smirks. He leans back and watches me while I pretend to be busy with the questions, though I’m not reading any of them.

I did not think this through. I don’t do well with attention, especially from men and now I put myself in a situation where a rather handsome man’s attention will be fully aimed at me and my answers to some kinda intimate questions.

Talk about exposure therapy. 

“I’m just saying, some of these questions can be… intimate.” From the way his eyebrows rise, I quickly add. “And I’m not talking about sexual intimacy.”

“So we are about to bare our souls to each other?”

“Kind of. Is that okay?”

He muses on the question, taking his time to decide and I can’t tell if he is just trying to look like he is still considering or he is actually contemplating whether he wants to be part of this impromptu experiment Jade forced us into. 

“Okay. Let’s do this,” he nods at last, leaning forward, ready to tackle the first question. 

At the same time, I start doubting whether it’s a good idea to share such details with each other. Baring some of these personal experiences and thoughts with someone I have only seen a handful of times in my life does not sound like something my anxiety appreciates. In fact, I’m definitely not known for being open and sharing my deepest, darkest thoughts, not even with my closest friends. 

Whenever I oddly decide to share more, I have a sour feeling afterwards that I’d just become a burden for that person, that I loaded my shit on them, they didn’t ask for it (even if they actually did), they don’t want to hear about my problems and I should never open my mouth again. It’s a constant struggle I fight every day and I’m yet to win against it. 

But I can’t back down at this point. I need to push forward and at least give it a try. I can always just end it and walk away. That would also require a lot of power over myself, but let’s not bring that to the table just yet. 

Clearing my throat I go up to the very first question and read it out loud. 

“Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?”

It’s a light question, great start. Okay, I can do it, I can talk about stuff like this with Harry. 

He thinks for a few moments, seemingly he takes the experiment very seriously, judging from the way he considers his choice and when he has the answer, he nods. 

“You go first,” you tell him.

“Okay. I would want my stepdad to be the dinner guest.”

“Oh, why?”

“Because he passed away and I miss him a lot. I also know Mum misses him too, so I would want to bring him back, even if it’s just for one dinner.”

Well, shit. He is going deep. Like, deep deep. 

“I’m sorry about that,” I say wholeheartedly and he just nods, with a tight-lipped smile. I’m actually surprised he gave me such an honest answer. 

From what I’ve seen, Harry never seemed like a loud, share-it-all kind of guy, he is not quite the silent type either, but my impression is that he only speaks when he has something to say and keeps the rest to himself. When I’d met people like that, it always took them time to share more personal details, they need a certain level of trust and I can truly relate to that. So it’s an odd experience that he started with telling me about his stepdad, but I like it that he is actually taking this seriously. 

“What about you?” 

I realize that I haven’t even thought of my own answer, I was too busy figuring him out. I take a moment to think.

“Is time traveling acceptable in this question?” Harry squints his eyes and then nods. “Then I want to have dinner with my younger self.”

The surprise on his face is obvious.

“That’s actually a great thought. What would you talk about?”

This is the point where I take three big gulps from my beer. If we go deep, I’m gonna need the alcohol, actually, I’m considering taking shots as well. 

I take a deep breath before answering.

“I want to tell her about my life now and ask what she thinks. If she is proud or if she thinks I’m cool.”

“You can’t tell what your younger self would think?”

I shake my head.

“I have an idea, but I don’t think that we can actually see things like we did as kids once we grow past a point. Adulthood consumes you, whether you like it or not and I feel like a whole different person than who I was at thirteen, let’s say. I know what I liked, what I didn’t like, but I can’t tell what I would have actually thought if I met my current self.”

I feel lightheaded once I finish talking. It’s liberating and nauseating at the same time, giving such an honest answer to him. It’s very unlike me and I can already feel myself slipping into a spiral, telling myself I shouldn’t have said it, I should have answered differently, now he thinks I’m weird and–”

“I like that and I agree,” he says, a tiny smile tugging on his lips and just like that, I’m out of the spiral. I return his smile and can feel the blush on my cheeks, so I turn my attention to my phone.

“Alright. Second question.”

NOW

When I step out to the back patio I spot a few very familiar faces near the outside bar. Asa is talking with Ben, the groom who looks a lot more relaxed than Jade appeared earlier. There’s a tall, slim figure at the bar and she doesn’t have to turn around for me to know it’s Lu. Her long, black hair is in a low ponytail that bounces with each of her movements as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, waiting for the bartender to finish her order. As I walk closer she turns, two margaritas in her hands and her face brightens when she spots me approaching.

“Hey! When did you get here?” she beams. I wait for her to put the drinks down, then she hugs me tight, swaying from side to side a little before letting me go.

“About thirty minutes ago. Are you already getting drunk?” I ask as we settle by the table with the guys.

“Hey Ziggy, now that you’re here, you can have the fancy looking drink with Luelle and I can get a beer.” Asa stands from his chair, steps closer and gives me a short, one-armed hug before walking up to the bar.

“I wanted to make an Instagram story, they make them so pretty!” Lu explains, pushing one of the cocktails over to me. I gladly assist her as she makes a short video of our glasses clinking, the amazing scenery of the lake and gigantic pine trees running up the hill on the other side of the water right behind. 

“Benny, how is the groom feeling?” I smirk at him. 

“Good. I think it will kick in on Saturday,” he chuckles.

“Has Jade turned into a bridezilla yet?”

“No, but you can make a bet,” Asa chimes in, two beers in hand. He gives one to Ben before taking his previous seat. 

“I think we will hit rock bottom tomorrow night.”

“Why are we making bets about our friend? Also, I’m betting on Saturday morning,” Lu adds, making us all laugh.

“She is taking it surprisingly well. But maybe because there hasn’t been a mishap yet.” Ben turns to the side and I follow his gaze to another group of people a little farther away, lounging in the sunchairs with drinks in hand. 

I spot Jade’s mom along with Ben’s, Then there’s Jade’s grandma in an iconic looking, pink sunhat and shades, what a diva. Around them their family dog, Loki is cruising, happily trotting from one person to the other, eager to find someone to pay him attention. That Beagle is such a princess at the age of nine, he has the whole family wrapped around his paw. 

Behind the mothers I spot two figures. The shorter one is Ben’s sister Lory, who I haven’t seen in probably two years. She was nineteen back then, which makes her twenty-one now and the change is undeniable in her looks. College has truly transformed all her teenage features into a more feminine, mature appearance. 

She has a wine glass in her hand and she is animatedly telling something to the person next to him who is none other than Harry. 

The pang of jealousy that zips through my gut is annoying. For one, I should definitely not feel anything when it comes to Harry, especially not jealousy. Two, Lory is nine years younger than him, he has known her since she was practically a child, there’s no way Harry would want anything from her. And three…

Lory laughs at something Harry said and there’s that cheeky smile on his face that I love so much. My stomach turns and… what was I thinking about?

“Ziggy?” Lu’s voice snaps me out of my whirlwind of thoughts.

“Hm? Sorry.”

“Asa wants to check out the pedal boats down by the dock. Want to come?” I haven’t noticed that they all started getting ready to leave the table. 

“Yeah, sure.” I grab the margarita, chug the whole thing down at once and join them. From the corner of my eyes I see Lory and Harry, but choose to ignore them as we make our way down to the dock. 

***

We watch from the dock as Asa and Ben fight for control in the pedal boat, beer in hand, the water carrying their voice back to us so we can hear them bickering like kids. 

“Jade put me in a room with Harry,” I say, legs dangling from the dock, my toes grazing the surface of the water. 

“What? Why?”

“Because apparently, there was some kind of plumbing issue in one of the rooms so it can’t be used and the one underneath has damage as well, so she had to rearrange the rooming situation.”

“And out of all the guests, you have to share with Harry, huh?”

“She never gives up,” I sigh.

“Maybe you should talk to her.”

Luelle is the only one who knows about my history with Harry, but not the whole story. She only knows we had a kind of date that night when Jade set us up and I told her things just didn’t work out, leaving out some pretty crucial details, but I just couldn’t get myself to talk it through again. Going through it was enough for me.

“That is not happening on her wedding weekend.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. So then what’s the plan?”

“There’s no plan. We are roommates for the weekend and that’s it. Hopefully the wedding keeps Jade busy enough so that she doesn’t try to play more games with us.”

“I doubt that,” Lu scoffs. 

Loki appears between us, poking his nose under our hands, demanding scratches that we gladly give him. A few moments later Jade walks down the dock.

“Is that my fiancé on that pedal boat, without a shirt on?”

We turn towards the water and realize Jade wasn’t hallucinating. Ben is standing on the boat, empty beer glass in his hand and his shirt is floating in the water a few feet away from them while he argues with Asa about something. 

“Babe! Is everything alright?” Jade calls out. Ben’s head snaps towards us, holding up his thumb. “Please don’t drown before we get married!”

“Can I drown afterwards?” Ben laughs, sitting back finally, though the boat sways dangerously from the motion and I wonder how much he has drunk before that beer.

“Maybe after the honeymoon! Now come back, your aunt and uncle just arrived!”

The boys unite and slowly head back to the dock. Loki has settled in my lap, enjoying the belly rubs I can give him with my longer nails. 

“Am I marrying a child?” Jade questions as she watches Ben fill his empty glass with water from the lake and then throw it at Asa, who in return, smacks him in the head. The two of them grew up like brothers and Asa introduced Jade to Ben in the summer after our first year and uni. They danced around each other for a while. Jade even briefly dated some jock from school before she finally came around and realized Ben is the one for her. 

I hear steps on the dock as the boys are only a few feet away. I look up and see Harry approaching, hands in his pockets, the gentle breeze playing with his curls. I can admit that he looks good without having any feelings for him, right? I always found him good looking and that doesn’t change just because of what happened between us. 

His gaze catches mine and my hand stops moving on Loki’s belly for a moment, because for a moment I feel like the wall I’ve been building up has just crumbled from just one look. But before my thoughts could get carried away, I hear a big splash from the end of the dock and when my head snaps around I see Ben in the water, the boat rocking quite wildly.

We all gasp at once and Jade is quick to fall to her knees at the end of the dock. There’s a heartbeat when everyone panics, but when Ben comes up to the surface, seemingly unharmed, relief washes over us. 

“What happened?” Lu asks Asa, who is still in the boat. 

“He said he can just jump over to the dock, but I told him we were too far away.”

“I was feeling hot anyway,” Ben laughs, swimming over to the dock, grabbing the edge right in front of Jade. 

“You scared me!” Jade hisses at him, but it’s obvious she is not mad at him. 

“I’m sorry baby. Don’t worry, nothing can stop me from marrying you on Saturday.” Ben grins at her, pulling himself up so they can meet for a kiss.

“Okay, swimming lesson is over. Come on, let’s dry you, we have shit to do.”

Jade stands and steps back so he has space to get out of the water, but the dock is just high enough that he can’t pull himself out.

“Here, let me help.” Harry reaches for him, their arms link and he helps the groom out of the lake. When Ben is on his feet he pulls Harry into a hug, completely ignoring that he is fully wet, soaking Harry’s front as well. They pull apart and Harry looks down at himself and I find myself looking as well.

Because the white linen shirt he is wearing is now clinging to his chest, the thin fabric almost fully see-through, sticking to his chest and shoulders in a way that makes my brain short-circuit for a second. I drop my eyes from the sight too late. When I glance back up Harry is looking at me.

He is not smug, not teasing, just… watching, as if he is trying to figure me out. 

I turn my attention back to Loki, though I can feel the heat crawling up my neck, to my cheeks. My body is betraying me. 

“Let’s get you dry and please try to stay that way.” Jade takes Ben’s hand as they head up the dock, back to the house. Harry stalks after then, Asa jumps out of the boat and starts walking back with Luelle, who glances back at me. 

“Coming?”

“Yeah, just a minute.” She nods, probably certain I just want to stay with Loki for a bit, but my intention is to put some distance between me and Harry. 

“I’m fucked, right?” I ask Loki, who just gives me a blank look before nudging my hand with his nose to get some head scratches. I obey and my gaze moves to Ben’s shirt in the water as I wonder how I’m gonna survive the weekend.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

[ayeforscotland]

What is Dataflow?

This post is inspired by another post about the Crowd Strike IT disaster and a bunch of people being interested in what I mean by Dataflow. Dataflow is my absolute jam and I'm happy to answer as many questions as you like on it. I even put referential pictures in like I'm writing an article, what fun!

I'll probably split this into multiple parts because it'll be a huge post otherwise but here we go!

A Brief History

Our world is dependent on the flow of data. It exists in almost every aspect of our lives and has done so arguably for hundreds if not thousands of years.

At the end of the day, the flow of data is the flow of knowledge and information. Normally most of us refer to data in the context of computing technology (our phones, PCs, tablets etc) but, if we want to get historical about it, the invention of writing and the invention of the Printing Press were great leaps forward in how we increased the flow of information.

Modern Day IT exists for one reason - To support the flow of data.

Whether it's buying something at a shop, sitting staring at an excel sheet at work, or watching Netflix - All of the technology you interact with is to support the flow of data.

Understanding and managing the flow of data is as important to getting us to where we are right now as when we first learned to control and manage water to provide irrigation for early farming and settlement.

Engineering Rigor

When the majority of us turn on the tap to have a drink or take a shower, we expect water to come out. We trust that the water is clean, and we trust that our homes can receive a steady supply of water.

Most of us trust our central heating (insert boiler joke here) and the plugs/sockets in our homes to provide gas and electricity. The reason we trust all of these flows is because there's been rigorous engineering standards built up over decades and centuries.

For example, Scottish Water will understand every component part that makes up their water pipelines. Those pipes, valves, fitting etc will comply with a national, or in some cases international, standard. These companies have diagrams that clearly map all of this out, mostly because they have to legally but also because it also vital for disaster recovery and other compliance issues.

Modern IT

And this is where modern day IT has problems. I'm not saying that modern day tech is a pile of shit. We all have great phones, our PCs can play good games, but it's one thing to craft well-designed products and another thing entirely to think about they all work together.

Because that is what's happened over the past few decades of IT. Organisations have piled on the latest plug-and-play technology (Software or Hardware) and they've built up complex legacy systems that no one really knows how they all work together. They've lost track of how data flows across their organisation which makes the work of cybersecurity, disaster recovery, compliance and general business transformation teams a nightmare.

Some of these systems are entirely dependent on other systems to operate. But that dependency isn't documented. The vast majority of digital transformation projects fail because they get halfway through and realise they hadn't factored in a system that they thought was nothing but was vital to the organisation running.

And this isn't just for-profit organisations, this is the health services, this is national infrastructure, it's everyone.

There's not yet a single standard that says "This is how organisations should control, manage and govern their flows of data."

Why is that relevant to the companies that were affected by Crowd Strike? Would it have stopped it?

Maybe, maybe not. But considering the global impact, it doesn't look like many organisations were prepared for the possibility of a huge chunk of their IT infrastructure going down.

Understanding dataflows help with the preparation for events like this, so organisations can move to mitigate them, and also the recovery side when they do happen. Organisations need to understand which systems are a priority to get back operational and which can be left.

The problem I'm seeing from a lot of organisations at the moment is that they don't know which systems to recover first, and are losing money and reputation while they fight to get things back online. A lot of them are just winging it.

Conclusion of Part 1

Next time I can totally go into diagramming if any of you are interested in that.

How can any organisation actually map their dataflow and what things need to be considered to do so. It'll come across like common sense, but that's why an actual standard is so desperately needed!

[boxturret]

Mata Nui, The Great Spirit

Hello, how do you feel about painting legoes? I think its fun.

Read on to see the terrible, unethical building process.

Many crimes were committed and I will likely be put to death soon.

Recently I completed quite a large project, painting this huge model kit of the Great Spirit Mata Nui. The kit in question is GiiKei's really impressive build, the instructions of which you can purchase here:

I was quite happy to see they cited my 3d model as reference, along with the original ideas submission. Fun fact: I really liked that ideas submission and made an account just to support it, but something about the proportions never sat right with me, and it was one of the things that motivated me to make that 3d model! So its fun to see it get used in the creation of another model :) And now here I am building it. Full circle.

Now, full disclosure, this is made from third party parts, I did test it on bricklink and it would have easily doubled the price, even before shipping from about half a dozen international stores. I kinda just bought this on impulse, it was pretty cheap and on sale and it was a gamble it would come at all really. But a week ago a nondescript bag came and inside it were sixteen hundred parts of honestly pretty good quality.

I think a couple parts used weren't in their parts catalogue so they had to be 3d printed, but even these were pretty acceptable. Actually in a way some parts were better, because this flame piece was pure red, instead of a mix of red and yellow as all branded parts are.

Some bits had a bit of a tight fit, and I drilled out the middle of the pistons, but I would have done that anyway to accommodate the painting. All in all, really good, was only missing one non essential part.

You can debate the ethics of stuff like this, but either I bought the instructions and paid a company in china X for the parts or I bought the instructions and paid a bunch of unrelated people X*2 for the parts, either way the creator gets the same amount. And I can say I wasn't going to build this off bricklinking parts. For various reasons I'm kinda done with bricklink*.

So after quite a few hour's work I had this lovely fellow. I must say, the design is quite good, its well articulated and has a lot of good build techniques. The head is both the strongest and the weakest part really.

I love the eye assembly, its built to allow for lighting, but it also cleverly includes natural light piping, and the kit comes with 4 sets of eyes, trans red and green for lighting and solid green and pink for display. Even has a little wrench to help swap out the parts.

On top of all of this the mouth is even articulated! So much shoved in such a small package. Unfortunately it does come at a cost, as its incredibly unstable. its a lot of 1 stud wide assemblies held together at odd distances with bars. I think the end result looks good, but its so easy for it to fall apart or get misaligned

Which is why, the instant I finished building this I decided to take it apart again and go at it with a tube of glue.

I glued large parts of this model together. I would happily do it again.

I'm not even going to hide behind any sort of "oh it wasn't real legoes so its fine" excuse, I would have 100% done this with "real" parts. Same with the painting really, I'm sick and tired of hiding behind the excuse that its acrylic so it can wash off, yes, technically, but it would take so much effort and the paints would probably stain some of the parts anyway. If something can benefit from paint or glue I'm not going to hold off just because the parts have a certain company's name on them. They're not sacred.

I can just use mineral spirits to undo everything anyway.

From the moment I saw the original ideas submission I knew: I wanted to paint it.

The GSR is a massive robot that's lain on the bottom of the ocean for millennia, and it reflects that with how dirty and rusty it is, its such an important aspect for me. And personally I quite like painting rust. It seems to be something I end up doing quite a lot.

So basically over the next couple of days I glued everything I felt needed glue, separated the model out in to several chunks, and then began painting.

First I primed it.

Then I did a black wash.

Then I started painting on the rust!

And then I realised I'd made a terrible mistake and redid everything.... Basically I kinda overestimated how much the black wash would fill in the nooks and crannies of the parts, so starting with a light primer base coat meant I was spending an inordinate amount of time trying to fill in all those little gaps and it was taking forever. So I made the correct decision of giving everything a coat of black paint first, and THEN moving on to the rust.

And after that everything went super smooth. Its really important to be open to admitting you made a mistake, and even if it will take more time its for the best to just start over.

For the bits of silver I used a similar technique to how I applied extra streaks of rust to my infected masks. It was a very enjoyable process.

After a quick coat of varnish and a day left to sit everything could go back together!

This guy is massive, around 50cm tall.

The back of the legs is by far the most interesting part of the model.

I especially like these movable pistons.

I did attempt to protect the light piping, and was somewhat successful.

The model is really poseable while at the same time feeling quite stable. Every joint in the legs is doubled. One thing I think is lacking is the ability for it to splay the arms completely out. But I can forgive it since, as I learned when rigging the 3d model, the arm pistons...don't really allow it. And the fact that this model actually has working arm pistons is much more of a positive in my mind.

In any case, you can just remove the pin holding the arms in and do it manually.

You may have noticed my old Mata Nui Island 3d print along with all the parts earlier. Well by some weird coincidence, they kinda match up proportion wise, ie the mouth and eye are roughly at the right places to be under the volcano and bay, respectively.

So that was a happy accident, and now I have a good way of showing how big the GSR is compared to the island.

Its big. And this is the logical size, not the insane 40000000000000 foot number thrown about by some. I have a series of posts about the various sizes of things because I find it interesting.

So in summation, I really couldn't be happier with this. The model design was great, I had a fun time painting it, and now I have a GSR model the size of a small child to display somewhere in my room. I've long been thinking of 3d printing my model, but this has really reduced my need for that. Also with recent duck related developments I've been made aware of how woefully inaccurate my model really is, and have to redo it at some point.

I have reached the maximum number of images per post. I might make a gallery post later. Good night. Have a nice weekend.

*come to bricklink and pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of getting a smashed mask in the mail. And don't you dare expect a full refund. Not a single part in this kit was damaged and it came in a bag! You can see this guy lying in the background of some shots.

[hurtspideyparker]

Emotional Support Intern Peter Parker

Tony and Peter finally arrive in the large room, polished leather Oxfords and stained-lace Converse making their way through the crowd of professionals. Tony has a hand on Peter's back guiding him, because no matter how many meetings, conferences, and office buildings they traverse together, Peter always manages to get lost the second Tony lets go. 

Thankfully Pepper is easy to spot, shaking hands with some blah blah from wee woo Industries. Her hair is the only splash of colour in the constant white black grey of everyone's pencil skirts and collared shirts. 

"Hi Ms. Potts!" Peter greets as soon as the woman turns and spots them. 

"Hi Peter—Tony. I told you to stop bringing the kid to these things. No offense Peter."

"None taken! You look lovely, did you get your hair done?"

Pepper's hair cascades over her shoulder in perfect curls, splayed out over her white button-up. 

"Yes actually, a trim and some highlights. I think she went shorter than I asked though, because I always get half an inch, and this does not look like half an inch."

Peter steps a bit closer and squints at the piece of copper hair she's holding out. 

"I think it's just because she curled it. You usually get it blow dried after."

"Hm. I think you're right actually."

Tony rolls his eyes, "I'm so glad you guys are having such a great slumber party. C'mon kid I have to avoid that senator and he's starting to glance this way." He tries to head over to some tall plants that happen to be great blind spots. 

"Ah ah ah Tony! We are talking about this. I told you to stop dragging Peter to all of your work responsibilities. I'm sure he's bored to death with these meetings and work events."

"Pep, he's an intern, he's supposed to be bored and taken advantage of. Besides, if you take away my emotional support intern then I simply wouldn't show up! So."

"You aren't even paying him for his time!" Pepper says at the same time Peter mumbles "emotional support intern?"

"Um excuse me, that 3 million dollar suit he stuffs between his math homework and Go-Gurt begs to differ. And anyways, I pay him with experience. I brought him to that seminar in LA on Saturday, and he's following me to Tokyo for that week long conference in July. I highly doubt he's complaining," he squeezes the boy's shoulders, Peter looking up and beaming at him and Pepper. 

"I'm really fine with it Ms. Potts. Besides, the more of these things I go to the more lab time I get!" Peter pipes in.

Pepper glares at Tony. "Really, bribery?" 

"Okay well, if us grown adults don't want to be here how else am I supposed to get a 15 year old to talk about environmental reform to people who don't even believe in climate change." 

Pepper and Tony hold each other's stares.

"You mean he spoke to Mr. Ellis about the generator you designed for his carbon plant, and it didn't end with him calling us a pansy corporation and you calling him a decrepit geezer who's business is the only thing that's going to die quicker than he is?"

There's barely stiffled hope supressed under Pepper's professionalism. 

Tony smirks. "Yep, I think Mr. Ellis even smiled. The kid's got charm! Who knew."

Pepper glances at Peter in consideration. 

"Peter have you ever considered pursuing anything further in business? Engineering is great, but if you really want to be successful it's incredibly important to build interpersonal skills, leadership, and even current market and finance knowledge. I mean you might want to sell your designs one day, or start a company." 

"Oh, I haven't really-"

"You could shadow me! I mean interning with a CEO is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it would give you a glowing resume, and I know a lot more about this stuff than Tony. He didn't even perform his executive duties when he actually was the CEO."

Pepper has that gleam in her eyes, the one she gets when men call her sweetheart, or when Tony isn't even dressed for their reservation that started ten minutes ago. 

It means she's already had the argument in her head. 

Peter is still stuttering, flustered with this side of Pepper. Her business face isn't usually directed at him, and it's a far cry from the woman who sends him home with leftovers from dinner. 

"Wait wait wait, are you trying to steal my intern?" Tony asks incredulously. 

"If anyone even needs an intern Tony it would be me. I have to babysit you and the company, meanwhile you just need him to hand you wrenches. Competent help is hard to find these days and you're wasting his talents." 

"Um, excuse me, he's the only thing keeping me together. You already have your fancy day planner and Excel spreadsheets, I need him to get me out of the house. He's the only thing keeping me a responsible adult, if you take away my emotional support intern then I will not attend a single meeting for the rest of the quarter." 

"You are such a man child!"

"La la la la can't hear youuu," Tony says with his fingers in his ears.

"Um, guys, I think people are staring."

Peter tugs on the corner of Tony's sleeve to get him to unplug his ears, glancing nervously at the groups of people sending them judgemental stares. The three of them give a wave and pleasant smile, most of the crowd continuing to move along on the grey carpet at the sight of their unsettling synchronicity and false turn of the lips. 

Pepper speaks through her teeth, a grin still presented at passers-by. "Fine, you can keep him, but only because he's doing half my job for me. The only person you can emotionally regulate around and it's a teenager. I'm glad you finally found someone who can keep you entertained." 

"Love you too honey," Tony says while putting a hand on the small of her back and kissing her cheek. He sighs, looking around the room at all the government officials who think these tech companies are spying on them. 

Apparently a surveillance state is only cool when they do it to manipulate their incarceration numbers, rig elections and lobby votes, and not for data mining and targeted ads. 

"I say we hit the cheese and crackers, take an awkward amount of sips from those tiny water bottles, and then speak to some old ladies till we have to do our presentation."

"Sounds great Mr. Stark. Will you make sure they don't grab my face again? I smelled like old lady perfume at school and Flash started making fun of me for stealing people's grandmas."

Tony looks into Peter's eyes questioningly and finds nothing but sincerity and resignation in them. 

"Well. Not my fault your cheeks are so gosh darn cute. But I'll do my best," he wraps an arm around the shorter and starts heading through the room again. 

The weight is comforting. Peter used to get anxious at these events, but Tony never leaves his side and is always looking at him like he's the Michaelangelo in the center of every room. He became accustomed to being Mr. Stark's favourite part of the event. While that may not seem difficult, especially considering the droning lectures and snooty company, it always feels special making jokes about people's ridiculous work jargon, and comparing the staleness of crackers at conferences. 

"Emotional support intern huh?" he says smugly. 

Tony glances at him, but instead of scoffing or denying anything, he just speaks with honesty. "You and Pepper are the best, most important things to this company. And to me. I'm really glad you're here kid."

Peter doesn't know what to say. The words stick in his throat while Tony hands him a water bottle with the lid already cracked. 

Peter has super strength; It's completely unnecessary to open his bottle for him. He doesn't point this out. Tony will do it at the next meeting, just like he did at the last one, and Peter will never mention it.

[glitchyrobo]

Ceres-class Missile Battleship

spaceship =>

(description & fiction under the break!)

Video Description

Several views of a large, long, and slightly bulky Terran warship in space. The ship has repeating triangle motifs in with various paneled textures throughout. Near the pointed front the nameplate of the ship is visible, reading 'CNS Temeraire'. The long front hull has a flat section on the top, covered in massive missile launch bays. Amidships, several armor plates, painted bright red with the Jovian Eagle in gold, protect the armored hab rings and a series of tubes. Aft, the radiators glow brightly as the engine burns hot. Embedded heat pipes run from the tip of the engine to the radiators

The first view is of the ship from above and in front, showing a dramatic angle. Several 'running lights' blink down the length as navigation lights flash

The second view is located to the side, looking forward, again showing the various lights

The third view is focused on the engine, showing it powering on to 100% thrust, then beyond. As it powers on the heat pipes glow in sequence

The fourth and final view repeats the engine power on sequence but from further, allowing the viewer to also see the coolant vents venting coolant

Excerpt from History of Pre-Domestication Terran Warships (3rd Revision), §685.8: Late Terran Accord & Pacification Program Era Battleships (Guided Projectile), Eltrin Yne, Forty-Seventh Bloom, xe/xem, Elly Yne, Twenty-Sixth Floret, et al.

Designed in 2521 CE (33 BT) by a consortium of Jovian shipbuilding corporations and first commissioned in 2526, the Ceres-class missile battleship was envisioned as a platform to launch massed missile strikes against enemy fleets while providing enhanced point defense and electronic warfare. At 750 meters in length and nearly 100 meters at its widest extent, this class represented one of the largest mass-produced spaceframes fielded by the Cosmic Navy.

Over the course of its service history, the class had numerous revisions. Most notably, the type-3 revision in 2539 (2521-CERES-III) which added coolant vents ahead of the hab rings, reducing their size in the process. The vents were positioned forward of the hab rings to expel hot coolant from over-driven point defense domes and electronic warfare equipment rather than the main engines, though they had a limited ability to expel engine coolant in extreme emergencies. These coolant vents essentially functioned as expendable liquid droplet radiators, which may have led to the development of more practical liquid radiators, had domestication been delayed. (See also §359, Speculation on Terran Shipcraft Development)

While there were no major engagements which featured a Ceres functioning in this intended role, classified TCN documents obtained after the fall of Terra stated that one of the primary goals of the class was to counter contemporary corporate navies, which largely consisted of small anti-piracy vessels, should a coalition of corporations ever come into direct conflict with the Accord.

However, the most significant hostile force that the Accord encountered prior to pacification were various pirate flotillas, which would generally consist of smaller, older, and less militarized vessels. While in a direct engagement a Ceres-class or other contemporary Accord capital ships would easily destroy such vessels, smaller ships were quite capable of outmaneuvering and escaping their would-be-predators.

At the start of the Terran Pacification program, there were 157 Ceres-class vessels active. After the signing of the treaty, only a handful of these ships refused armistice, as the amount of logistical support that the Ceres required to function effectively and the implausibility of that support without the Terran core sectors dissuaded overt feralism. Several dozen of the surviving vessels now serve as museum ships across Terran Protectorate space.

[blueiscoool]

‘Incredible’ Mosaics Were Found in an Ancient Luxury Home in Rome

Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has called the works “an authentic treasure.”

Researchers working in the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum in Rome have shared their discovery of luxurious mosaic-tiled rooms found in an ancient home on the site, which they believe may have belonged to a Roman senator. Created from shells, glass, white marble, and Egyptian blue tiles, the mosaics have been described by Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano as “an authentic treasure”.

The “rustic” mosaics, found on the grounds surrounding the Colosseum in the heart of the city, date to the late Republican Age, in the last decades of the second century B.C.E., and show a series of figurative scenes. They once decorated a townhouse, or domus, owned by an upper class citizen. Italy’s Ministry of Culture have said that “due to the complexity of the scenes depicted” and their age, the mosaics are “without comparison.”

One mosaic depicts a coastal city with towers and porticos, with three large ships floating by on the ocean waves. The culture ministry believes this could be a reference to naval victories achieved by the owner of the home, which is believed to have been a Roman senator. This is supported by historical sources describing the area as having been occupied by such high-ranking members of society.

The decorated walls were likely located in the home’s dining rooms, where luxurious banquets would be hosted, and guests at these events were likely wowed with “spectacular water games,” according to the culture ministry, based on the presence of lead pipes set into the walls.

In the reception room, an extremely well preserved decorated stucco featuring landscapes and figures was also discovered. Other designs include vines and lotus leaves flowing from vases, musical instruments, and tridents.

The mosaic walls were first discovered near the Colosseum in 2018, but excavation at the site will continue into 2024, and more rooms could be discovered. Alfonsina Russo, the Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, has said that once the domus is full uncovered, “we will work intensely to make this place, among the most evocative of ancient Rome, accessible to the public as soon as possible.”

By Verity Babbs.

[rachandroll]

Follow up on that bit of art from last night: I been thinking about how yelling at individual transphobes on the internet might be satisfying but it can honestly kind of become a trick we play on our brains to make us feel like it means we are sufficiently Doing Our Part. I regret not including anything like, more actionable on my post.

So, while I am still in moving apartment hell and can't pull a lot of links or anything rn, if you're in the US and cis, join me in looking up what bills are threatening trans folks in your state and go yell at your reps about it? And see what orgs in your area are doing work to help folks? I'm going to do the same after I schlep my bedframe over to the new place.

Or if you wanna do something ttrpg related, maybe go toss some money to one of the many trans game designers out there? Off the top of my head, I know the Defy the Gods first try crowdfund fell through and it's relaunching in a couple weeks, so that's worth a look? Would love it if people would pipe up with include other trans creators to support, too!

[mzzledmutt]

—BLIND DATE

starring.ᐟ katsuki bakugou x reader

synopsis.ᐟ “a social engagement or date with a person one has not previously met.” After neglecting his personal life for so long, Pro-hero Dynamight, also known as Katsuki Bakugou, can no longer run form the inevitable. With the help of his nosy parents, Katsuki ends up on a blind date with you.

warnings.ᐟ SMUT, fem!reader, pro hero!katsuki, first blind date, drinking, fingering, cunnilingus, unprotected sex, vaginal sex, overstimulation, creampie, biting, marking, hair pulling, pet names (excessive use of princess), slight man handling, bakugou is a softie at heart, praise, slight softdom!katsuki, breeding

word count.ᐟ 4.8k words

m.mutt 𐂯 please enjoy my brainrot!!

KATSUKI Bakugou was known for many things. His boisterous personality. His bulky, intimidating stature. His impressive and powerful quirk. His less than family-friendly language and his hatred of paparazzi.

You would think being in the spotlight since 15, he would be used to it at this point. Maybe even indulge from time to time but, it’s never been his thing. He makes that fact well-known, constantly. Written and spoken interviews, press conferences, and award ceremonies, he will remind everyone to mind their own business. Especially when it comes to his personal life.

New photos and videos always arrive of the hero, dressed in alleged disguise, flipping off and yelling at the paparazzi. Especially when they get too close to his family and friends. One of his most iconic videos is of his poor father attempting to calm down both his large, rowdy son and his equally rowdy, yet smaller wife.

This strong distaste for the prying eyes and cameras belonging to paparazzi, unfortunately, takes a hard toll on his love life.

Their obsession with publicizing his entire life has forced his hand in many situations. That and the exclusive life he is now forced to lead. One of the biggest downsides of being a hero is the increase in difficulty in your love life.

These few relationships he’s had have all ended one of two ways.

One, in a ball of fury and tears. As a pro hero, Katsuki is often spotted with many people. Typically, people he knows. In bars and restaurants, caught conversating and drinking. Those candid moments are always being televised, even without his knowledge.

Suddenly, his after-work drink with a few friends is skewed and Dynamight is allegedly dating pro-hero Uravity. Resulting in arguments and watching as his partners stormed away.

Two, the spark simmers out. Coming home to put on a front feels exhausting as the days tick by, they both know it. It’s only inevitable until someone’s bags are packed. They’ll cry, holding hands on his couch as he speaks. They’ll go for a hug, only to realize now isn’t the time and leaving is the better option. Soon his apartment is quiet again, leaving him alone.

All of it has turned him away from the dating scene. He’s young and green, with plenty of time to settle down. Except, the consistent pestering from peers, fans, and his own parents is draining. Balancing his hero life, personal and love life all at the same time, was nearly impossible.

“I’m not going out with some chick you designed a dress for!”

“Just give it a try, you brat.”

Katsuki groans, his head rolling back at Mitsuki’s pestering. They were currently sitting in his childhood kitchen, eating brunch as they usually did on Sundays. “You have no idea, you could find the love of your life!” His father chimed in, attempting to add support.

“Maybe you’ll finally give me a grandkid.” Katsuki cringes, shaking his head at his mother’s words. “Look, as your parents we just want what’s best for our little boy. Even if you’re a hulking mountain a man now.”

“I think you should give it a try, she was a sweet girl too. Very well mannered.” Masaru pipes up in Katsuki’s silence.

“Look, just give it a shot. I’ll give you her number and you two can work things out. If things don’t work out you can always try again.” She sips at her hot tea, eyes fluttering shut due to the steam.

“And if I say no?”

“Why do you have to be so incredibly difficult?” Mitsuki scolds as he swirls his spoon in his tea. “Why do you have to be so incredibly annoying?” He muttered followed by a swift pop to the head.

“Ow! Shit!”

That’s how he ended up in this high-end lounge, awaiting a random woman his parents vouched for. He nursed a glass of whiskey, looking over their messages on his phone. Their conversation was rather bland, nothing incredibly enticing but, everyone doesn’t connect over text.

After some time, from his spot at the bar, he sends her another text. It’s only fifteen minutes, there could be traffic. He closes the messenger, choosing to scroll through his social media feed. Occasionally, he lifted his head scanning the area.

It wasn’t a quiet night, the place was bustling with conversation and laughter. Twenty minutes late.

He sent another text.

Everyone is secluded in their worlds, eating snacks and conversing with their loved ones. Their loud conversations exceeded the confinements of their seats. Katsuki was growing impatient.

Thirty minutes late. He’s already attempted to call, being sent straight to voicemail. Was this a joke? Had his parents set him up for some reason?

Glowering red eyes linger across the bar, noticing a figure he had seen earlier. Dressed in a sleek, black dress and nursing a martini between manicured nails. And another text.

Each time he looked in search of his alleged date, his eyes wandered back over to you. Watching as you pitifully looked around, maybe in search of someone like him. His eyes shut as he grimaced watching you pout. Your full, glossed lips jutted out with sadness.

He goes to pick up his phone and sends another message before, shutting the device off. Nearly an hour and a half late, he wasn’t that desperate to pester someone who didn’t care.

“Excuse me.” He calls the bartender. It didn’t seem like this mystery woman would be appearing any time soon so, might as well take a chance. “Lady at the end of the bar,” He gestured toward you. “Another of what’s she’s having, from me.” The man nods, heading off to prepare the new drink.

Katsuki grins seeing your reaction. Confusion washed over your face for a moment before you were directed towards him. Eyes locking for the first time that night. You smile and wave, he reciprocates nonchalantly.

Soon, his whiskey is finished and another is placed before him. “From the lady.” The bartender smiles, pointing his gaze to you once more. You raise your glass in solidarity, your beautiful smile still on display. He raises his glass, as a sort of distant cheers, taking a swig right away.

He watches as your gaze falls to the background, peering around the dim bar before you rise from your seat. Katsuki anxiously shifted in his seat, unsure of where you were going but, his anxiety didn’t settle as you stride over to him.

“Hi.” One word and he’s hooked. Your melodic voice wrapping itself around his brain and heart. “Hey, care to sit?” He offers the seat beside him. “Gladly.” You’re nervous, curt responses give you away along with the slight tremble in your hand.

“What are you doin’ here, beautiful?” He’s starting bold, liquid courage providing him strength. “I was supposed to be on a date. He hasn’t shown.” He ashamedly smirks. “Funny enough, I got stood up too.” He down the rest of his drink.

“What’s your name?” You answer sweetly, a bright smile on your face. He shared it, almost subconsciously. “I’m Bakugou Katsuki—“

“I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are. I’m surprised everyone is being so calm right now honestly.” You laugh and his heart skipped a beat, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a while.

“Places like these are used to seeing pros, they get over it.” He replies, leaning against the bar top. “Not every day one-half of the wonder duo walks through those doors.” You reason, a smug smirk on your face as if knowing you’d won.

“Touché.” You giggle, a sweet sound he yearns to hear again. “Did you enjoy your martini?”

“It was delicious. Thank you, again.” Well-mannered and gorgeous. “Anything for a pretty girl like you.” You flush, thanking him profusely. He orders you both another round, choosing to carry on the conversation.

As you two spoke he fell deeper and deeper into infatuation. “I’m the newest assistant for your friend, Chargebolt. This is only my third month at the agency and I’m tired.” You sip at your drink. “Really? Been so busy I haven’t had a chance to make the trip. Can’t be an easy job though, knowin’ Kaminari.”

“It’s not the most difficult task in the world but, I do have to keep my eye on him like a toddler.” You share a laugh at the comparison.

The conversation shifts to your personal lives. Lamenting on your lack of a love life, work beginning to consume your free time. How your close friends and family have urged you to get out of your shell. Which led to this night.

His hand lays over yours as he showers you with compliments. Deflecting anytime your humble attitude attempted to shut him down. He complimented your dress, you tried to brush him off claiming that the piece was old and unflattering.

“Well, I think that dress is absolutely stunning.” His hand grasps yours, and you reciprocate. “I should know, my ma’s a designer.” He’s almost smug in saying that as if his association with a designer made him the judge of all fashion.

“I’m aware, I’ve browsed her catalog since I was little.” The way your eyes light up talking about particular garments his mother fashioned that she always dreamed of owning. “I think you’d look gorgeous in just about anything.”

“Are you flirting with me Katsuki Bakugou?”

The question hangs in the air for a moment. The two of you leaning into each other's spaces unknowingly. He could smell your sweet perfume from her, the scent filling his senses. “I am, is that alright?”

“It is.” Your eyes flicker down to his lips as you lick your own before sitting back in your seat. Katsuki’s already hooked, still leaning into your space as if entranced by you. He leans back, stuck in an unfamiliar haze of attraction.

That haze seemed to slow the time as he checked his watch seeing he had been chatting with you for nearly four hours. It was dark outside, patrons still lingering in the lounge.

“Hey, it’s getting late.”

“Is there anything I can get you? A ride home? Maybe a nightcap?” The last part was slightly rushed as if he were embarrassed. “A nightcap sounds good, I’m off tomorrow anyway.” The wink you give him doesn’t go unnoticed making his stomach tighten. “Excuse me, can I close our tabs?”

“You don’t have to.”

“Please, let me. Besides that jerk should’ve been here paying anyway.” You sit in silence as he closes you both out of the night and thank him as he helps you to your feet. Bakugou drapes his big coat over your shoulders, holding out a hand which you graciously take.

The contrast of the warmth of the bar and the chilly night air flushes your cheeks. You’re thankful to the hero for his warm coat. “Your hands are really warm.” You mutter as you both stride down the sidewalk.

Katsuki’s notices before you. The stares. People turn to whisper to each other as he walks beside you. Soon, there are flashes and cheers of his name. He rolls his eyes out of annoyance, holding onto your hand tighter as he moves faster. “Can ya’ keep up, princess?”

A small swarm of fans and paparazzi crowd the couple, snapping photos and begging for an interview. He barks orders at them to leave you alone, keeping your face obscured from their ravenous gaze. You blindly follow, rather unphased by the crowd around you.

Before you, a sleek, exquisite sports car sat with flashing headlights. Katsuki opens the passenger door, still blocking you from view as he helps you inside. Once the door is shut, you’re concealed by his dark tint. “Can’t you guys just fuck off, for one night?” It was a rhetorical question, more to himself than the people around him.

He waves at fans along the street, ignoring the money-hungry reporters behind him as he opens his own door and settles into his vehicle.

“I’m so sorry.” He’s met with a soft laugh and a gentle touch to his hand. “Katsuki, I’m used to it. This is a part of my job too, I’m just more behind the scenes.”

“They’re just invasive,” The card engine roars to life, vibrating the interior. “Almost predatory. Going any length for a snippet of gossip.” He groans, leaning his messy blond head against the leather seats. “Bakugo—“ - “Katuski.” He speaks over you.

His head lulls to the side, his full attention on you. “Katsuki. I appreciate all you’ve done tonight.” Plump glossed lips upturned into a smile that melts his heart. “Consider it a late welcoming gift. You’re lucky, I usually send assistants gift cards to a spa.”

You both laugh, a break between the growing tension filling the cramped space of his car as you hold eye contact. His tongue darts to lick his chapped lips, teeth barely grazing the skin before he clears his throat and looks away.

“You sure you still wanna go back to mine?” He asks, buckling his seatbelt and you do the same. “Yeah, it’s just one drink.”

One drink.

Just one drink.

The phrase repeated in his mind almost the entire time. Your voice disrupting his thoughts the only thing keeping him from being completely silence. He drives you to his building. A large, clean structure. Covered in windows, and lights, and well decorated.

You don’t even need to enter the lobby. Katsuki leads you to an elevator activated with a special keycard.

After a short trip, the doors open to this grand place.

You find yourself in awe as you walk through his front hall. His apartment was massive and spotless yet, homey. Although he clearly preferred a more modernized look, it still managed to have the charm and personality of his childhood home.

“This place is ten times bigger than my apartment.” Katsuki laughs, taking his coat from you and hanging it beside the door. “I want to downsize, this was an impulse buy from when I first started. A financial disaster is what I refer to it as.” You giggle, he swoons.

The blond guides you to his kitchen, pulling out a stool for you to sit in at the island. “Are you hungry? I can whip something up.” He offers. “I thought I was just here for a nightcap, not dinner.” You joke, settling down in your seat.

“Well, I like a nice snack when I drink and a lady always deserves a nice dinner on the first date.”

“This is a date now?” You quirk a brow, still rather unsure of what to make of this evening.

“Wasn’t it always? We both had shitty dates who stood us up, we just found each other instead.”

“Yeah, then I guess it is.” You bat your lashes as silence falls over the kitchen for a moment. Katsuki clears his throat and smiles, moving away to gather something to eat. “What’re you making?” You ask seeing as he stands before the fridge. “Nothing.”

“Fresh bow of fruit, put it together today. I can get some crackers and wine, that work for you?” You nod.

“Could you grab the bottle off the counter? Don’t worry about a screw I’ve got one.” You help yourself to sort of peruse his kitchen, taking in little bits of his taste from the pictures and decor before returning the bottle to him.

Katsuki pops the bottle, pouring you both half glasses. You cheers, taking the first drink together and savoring the sweet taste. “I didn’t expect you to like sweet wines.”

“I indulge from time to time, besides it was a gift from my ma.”

“Aww, Dynamight the mama’s boy.” You giggle, grabbing a fresh strawberry and popping it into your mouth. “Oh hush, she gets these kinds of things for free and knows I’ll actually use them.” He’s close, using his elbows to lean on the counter.

“So don’t always do this?” You can smell his cologne.

“Do what?” He can smell your perfume.

“Being pretty girls to your apartment.” The scents colliding are an intoxicating concoction.

“Only pretty girls I like.” A strawberry is held cautiously between his fingertips, held between your space. “You like me, Katsuki?” A rather silly question on your part, he wouldn’t do this for just anyone.

“I do, princess.” He slowly bites into the juicy fruit, keeping his eyes on you.

The sudden bass and rap of his voice along with the intense eye contact fill you with a sudden wave of heat. The facade of small talk became harder to keep up.

It wasn’t long before Katsuki was brazen enough to lean over the counter and press his lips against yours. Your glasses of wine are soon abandoned, sloppily making out as you sit on his pristine countertop. He stood between your legs, hands crawling across your back and hips as you pant into each other mouths.

Soon, you’re both stumbling down his spacious corridor and into his dimly lit bedroom. He lets you go, turning to close the door as you take in your surroundings. Once the door is shut his attention is back to you, frantic hands roaming over each other skin, pulling at the almost offensive fabrics that keep your bodies apart.

Your clothes are eventually scattered among his own on the bedroom floor as Katsuki gently lowers your naked bodies into his fresh sheets. Cradling your head as he brushes his lips along your jaw and neck. You shiver under his touch, calloused hands running along your soft skin, cupping your breast, and rolling your hardening nipples.

You mewl under his touch, legs squeezing his hips to keep him in place. His teeth nip at your jaw, lowering to nip and suck marks into the skin of your neck. Your hips buck against each other, his hardening cock jumping against your dripping cunt.

It was becoming too much. you whine, pulling his attention away from your neck.

“What’s wrong, princess?” His words are followed by more gentle kisses. “Want you, ‘suki.” you pout, eyes watering dramatically. “You want more, baby?” You nod, lips still stuck in a pathetic-looking pout. His right hand moves to your jaw, pinching the bone between a few, thick fingers.

“Use your words.” His voice is strong, and commanding. Yet, loving and soft. “I want more, ‘suki.” He smiles at your muffled words and presses a wet kiss onto your puckered lips. “I’ll give you more then, princess.”

Your jaws sore when he lets go, the feeling of his fingers still remnant in their wake. Your legs fall slack as the blond kisses down your torso, from the valley of your breast to the bottom of your navel. He follows the trail back up and down once more, staring you in the eye.

His eyes shift down for a moment, a wolfish grin forming on his face. “You’re dripping, baby.” He cooes making your skin flush. another whine leaves your throat as you tear your gaze away, trying to focus on the ceiling above you. “No no, look at me.”

“Good. Look at me, baby.” His right hand moves from rubbing at your hips, to gently caressing your skin until his thumb lands on your clit. Your thighs quiver at the sudden contact, your gaze locked on him. Thumb lowers to collect the juices from your cunt, making a show as he brings the digit to his mouth to taste you.

You’re infatuated with the godly figure before you. His pale skin glistens with sweat, muscles unintentionally flexed as he lewdly moans around his fingers at your taste. “‘s so good, princess. You taste so fuckin’ good.”

He makes of show of it, wickedly at your already blissed-out appearance. “So damn sweet, soakin’ my sheets.”

Your eyes follow him as he descends between your legs once more, harshly biting the plump skin before soothing it with kisses.

You’re so caught in your own pleasure, the shock of his fingers prodding your cunt forces a gasp. His free hand moves your thighs onto his shoulders as he stares you down. “Can I?”

One thick finger breaches your cunny slowly, gently pushing in before pulling out. He follows the motions a few times, watching as you gush around his finger. Soon, another is added. Carefully, thrusting into your pussy as he presses kisses to your clit.

You writhe at his ministrations, fighting to keep your eyes focused on the man before you.

He sets a slow and mind-numbing pace, slowly thrusting in and out. The sounds of your slick coating his fingers and your breath moans a chorus to him.

“Yeah? Feel good, princess?” He teases, gaze fixed upon your pleasure-ridden face. Your mouth is agape as strained moans are pulled from your aching chest. He was breaking you apart in two fingers, stretching you open and preparing you for his cock.

“You’re so fuckin’ tight. Gonna let me fuck this pretty pussy, baby? ‘M gonna stretch you open like a good girl deserves.” He declares, mainly to himself. Too lost in how your walls greedily suctioned his fingers back in.

Bakugou carefully leans down to lap at your clit, eliciting a soft cry and an arch of your back. He shuts his eyes as he savors the taste he was beginning to yearn for, suckling your poor neglected clit.

“Katsuki!” You shout, digging your nails into the pillow behind you. “Katsu—fuckk! Please, fuck me, baby! I need you so badly, need your cock so bad!”

He’s devoted to searing your taste into his mind. Messily coating his face and your cunny with a thin layer of wetness. Soon, he’s haphazardly withdrawing his fingers from your salacious cunt, against your protests to taste you further.

Spikes of blond hair bob between your legs, his tongue delving between your folds making you whimper and writhe. His hands grab a hold of your ass, holding you close to his face so you wouldn’t escape. Your back arches from the comforter, keening into his touch.

“God!” You cry as you fall back onto the sheets, fingers grasping for anything to clutch. His pace never falters, gratefully drinking your slick that spilled into his awaiting tongue, then swirling it around your throbbing clit.

“Kat—fuck! Baby—Katsuki!” Your body felt electric, an almost buzzing sensation that erupted from your pelvis and spread through your body. Your wanton moans are loose into the air, eyes shut as your head is tossed back.

You were a gorgeous statuette of pleasure.

You felt as if you bit off more than you could chew. Going out with a pro hero was already anxiety-inducing enough, practical criminal, allowing him to lure you to his apartment with promises of a nightcap, and now naked and wriggling beneath him was driving you to insanity.

And he's not even inside of you yet.

The maddening way his tongue circled your aching clit, inscribing his name into the bud. His blunt nails digging into the meat of your ass, keeping you relatively grounded. His tongue unrelenting stimulating your soaked pussy pushed you to your first orgasm.

A sudden wave of pleasure and the ever-growing pit in your stomach unravels through your body. You grip his hair, keeping Katsuki’s mouth in place as your hips buck into the pleasure. You loudly cry out his name, and a few tears roll down your cheeks as you cum.

He groans into your cunt, eyes rolling at the sweet taste of your cum. His hands rub your skin, easing away any pain left behind by his grip. Slowly, you open your eyes, chest still heaving.

“‘Suki,”

He pulls away, the lower half of his face soaked with slick and spit.

“M’yeah?” You can’t even think of what to say, just laying your head back to catch your breath. “You alright, baby?” You nod, still returning from your high. Katsuki crawls up to face you, a soft smile on his lips. “You look so pretty.” He cups your cheek, running his thumb along the soft skin.

“I want you to fuck me.”

He quirks a brow, a smirk on his face. “Yeah? I’ll fuck you, baby.”

“I promise, I’ll fuck you real good.” He captures your lips, sharing the taste of you once more. Your tongues are quick to entangle as you pant into each other's mouths.

Your fingers naturally gravitate to his blond hair, keeping him close as you kiss. Your bodies move together as you grind against one another, his hard cock leaking pre cum against your stomach. You’re both growing increasingly needier, rutting and panting like dogs in heat.

Katsuki breaks from the grinding, settling himself between your thighs. The tip of his cock pressed against your clit, spreading his precum as he teases you.

“You want it?”

“I want it, ‘suki.” His grin is wolfish at the nick, happily dragging his cock from your clit to press at your fluttering hole. He groans at the warmth and wetness, your dripping cunt already leaking onto him.

A pathetic high-pitched whine leaves your open mouth as his thick, heavy cock slowly bullies into your heat. Pushing deep into your plush, warm walls. Katsuki is slow, taking his time to ease you into the feeling. His lips are on your breast, kissing and nipping the soft skin.

“More, please.” You whine, your hands moving to hold onto his back. His hips increase in pace, still slow as you hiss once he draws back.

Katsuki slowly molds your tight pussy to his cock, stretching you open to only accommodate him. The sharp pain of your nails digging into his back only encourages him to thrust faster, making you cry out his name. Your cunt loudly gushes around his heavy cock, spilling syrupy juices down your skin.

“God damn, this pussy—fuck—you’re s’fuckin’ tight.” He grits out, grabbing your leg and pushing it back to the mattress. The change of angle causes you to lurch forward, your hands pushing at his shoulders. “Oh my god, Katsuki!” You shout, as his throbbing cockhead smushes against your cervix.

He’s back to sucking your tits, leaving spit-soaked freckled hickeys in his wake. You’re still adjusting to his size, the sudden change in position driving him deeper into your guts.

He’s pressed himself closer against you, his pelvis adding stimulation to your nice neglected clit. You throb around him and cry, fat tears slipping from your eyes. “Y’feel that, baby? I’m so deep in this pretty pussy. Y’feel me in yer tummy, does it feel good, baby?” You’re incoherent, only capable of breathless moans and sobs.

“You look so pretty, all fucked out ‘cause o’ me. Tell me, baby, do I feel good?” His hand cruelly comes down to press on the slight bulge in your stomach, causing your poor cunt to twitch around him. “‘s too much!” You cry out, pushing against him to no avail.

“Too much? You can take it, princess. Can’t ya’?” His pace suddenly grows rough, hips slamming into yours as he fucks into your cunny. He pressed your other leg to the mattress, forcing his cock all the way inside.

You’re mindless. Eyes rolled back into your skull, unintelligible moans and clawing at his skin. The rooms full of thick, humid air, the sounds of your squelching cunt, and a chorus of moans. Bakugou savors this image, in case he may never get the chance to see you again.

He caresses all of the right places inside of you, each thrust full of never-ending pleasure. His wicked tongue in your nipples and sinful roll of his hips push you to the edge. Like a burning fuse, slowly trailing all the way to a firework.

“Y’close baby? Don’t worry, you can cum for—fuck! You’re so fuckin’ wet—cum for me.”

Katsuki’s thrust increases to a maniacal speed, jostling you around his mattress without care. He was chasing his orgasm now, keeping you secure beneath he ruts into you. Heavy balls slapping against your asshole, the rough feeling of public hair against your soaked cunt. You can’t think let alone protest before he’s spilling his cum deep inside of your womb.

Katsuki keeps himself buried inside of you as he changes position, opting to hold you instead. You’re both panting as if you’ve run a marathon, hearts racing and skin coated in sex and sweat. You lay in silence, catching your breath for just a moment.

“Please don’t tell me you’re thinkin’ ’bout leavin’.” He mutters into your hair, rubbing your back. You breathlessly giggle against his chest, shaking your head. “I can’t feel my legs, Katsuki.” He smiles, cheering to himself.

“How about we clean up and get some rest? I’m beat.” A yawn cuts you off as you agree, alerting you to how exhausted you truly are. Katsuki kisses your forehead. “Get some sleep and tomorrow, we can continue this date. That sound nice?” You nod again, and slowly drift to sleep.

“Good. Stay here and look pretty, I’ll run a bath.”

[little-p-eng-engineering]

Little P.Eng. for ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services: A Beacon of Expertise and Innovation

Power piping systems serve as the lifeblood of many industrial operations, providing crucial transportation of fluids under high pressure and temperature. These systems demand high standards of safety, reliability, and efficiency, which are delivered by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B31.1 Power Piping Code. One name stands out in offering these precise and complex ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services - Little P.Eng.

A leading engineering consulting firm, Little P.Eng., combines experience, innovation, and cutting-edge technology to provide unrivaled solutions for power piping systems. In this article, we examine Little P.Eng.'s impact on ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services and how they excel in this specialized domain.

Deciphering ASME B31.1 Power Piping Code:

ASME B31.1 Power Piping Code is a robust regulatory framework that stipulates design, fabrication, installation, and testing regulations for power piping systems. With its technical intricacies, this code is an engineer's playbook for ensuring the safety and efficacy of power piping systems, and no one plays this game better than Little P.Eng.

Little P.Eng.: Your Trustworthy Ally for Power Piping Calculations:

In the field of ASME B31.1 power piping calculation services, Little P.Eng. has carved a distinctive niche for itself. Their team of seasoned engineers, with a comprehensive understanding of ASME standards, employ the best practices to provide highly accurate and reliable solutions, making them a trusted ally for all power piping needs.

Little P.Eng.'s Extensive Calculation Services:

Little P.Eng.'s expertise spans a wide spectrum of calculation services. From wall thickness calculations to expansion joint pressure thrust calculations, Little P.Eng.'s solutions are renowned for their precision and adherence to ASME B31.1 standards. The firm's exhaustive understanding of power piping systems equips them to handle complex calculations with ease and precision.

Harnessing the Power of Technology:

At Little P.Eng., the latest technology and software tools are harnessed to ensure their ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services meet the highest industry standards. By using advanced simulation techniques and design validation, they create power piping systems that are safe, reliable, and efficient.

Prioritizing Client Satisfaction:

Little P.Eng. places a strong emphasis on client satisfaction, ensuring each project is tailored to the specific needs of the client. Their commitment to quality, paired with their industry knowledge, delivers solutions that not only meet ASME B31.1 standards but also align seamlessly with the client's requirements.

let's delve into the specific types of pressure design calculations that Little P.Eng. offers under the ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services:

Minimum Pipe Wall Thickness Calculations: Ensuring the pipe wall is thick enough to contain the internal pressure is a fundamental aspect of pressure design. Little P.Eng. uses state-of-the-art software to calculate the required wall thickness, considering factors like operating pressure, material strength, temperature, and pipe diameter.

Flange Pressure-Temperature Ratings Calculations: Little P.Eng. adeptly handles the calculation of flange ratings under different temperature and pressure conditions. These calculations are crucial for specifying the appropriate flanges that will ensure a leak-free performance of the power piping system.

Branch Reinforcement Calculations: Branch connections, if not properly reinforced, can be potential weak points in a piping system. Little P.Eng. carries out detailed calculations to determine the necessary reinforcements, ensuring the structural integrity and safety of the piping system.

Expansion Joint Pressure Thrust Calculations: Expansion joints in power piping systems need to withstand the pressure thrust exerted upon them. Little P.Eng. uses sophisticated tools and techniques to accurately calculate this pressure thrust, helping to design expansion joints that can safely absorb these forces.

Safety Valve Reaction Force Calculations: When safety valves open in response to excessive pressure, they exert a reaction force that must be taken into account. Little P.Eng.'s team expertly performs these calculations, ensuring safety valves can operate efficiently and safely.

Pipe Support Load Calculations: The load on pipe supports must be accurately calculated to ensure they can sustain the weight of the pipe, the fluid it carries, and any additional loads due to thermal expansion or other forces. Little P.Eng. performs these calculations meticulously, considering various factors such as pipe size, material, and temperature.

High-Pressure Piping Design Calculations: High-pressure piping systems pose unique design challenges. Little P.Eng. offers specialized calculation services to address these, considering factors such as material selection, joint design, and testing procedures.

Conclusion:

ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services form the backbone of power piping design, ensuring systems can safely and efficiently transport fluids under high-pressure conditions. Little P.Eng., with its mastery of these calculations and unwavering dedication to quality, stands as a beacon of expertise and innovation in this field.

The team at Little P.Eng. continuously adapts to evolving industry standards and market needs, ensuring their clients receive top-tier, cutting-edge services. Their commitment to using the latest technology and best practices positions them as not just a service provider but as a key contributor in shaping the future of the power piping industry.

Keywords: Minimum Pipe Wall Thickness Calculations, Flange Pressure-Temperature Ratings Calculations, Branch Reinforcement Calculations, Expansion Joint Pressure Thrust Calculations, Safety Valve Reaction Force Calculations, Pipe Support Load Calculations, High-Pressure Piping Design Calculations, ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services, Little P.Eng., power piping systems, engineering consulting, ASME standards, wall thickness calculations, expansion joint pressure thrust calculations, client satisfaction, technological advancements.

Tags:

Meena Rezkallah

Little P.Eng.

engineering consulting

ASME standards

Expansion Joint Pressure Thrust Calculations

Safety Valve Reaction Force Calculations

High-Pressure Piping Design Calculations

client satisfaction

Minimum Pipe Wall Thickness Calculations

Flange Pressure-Temperature Ratings Calculations

Branch Reinforcement Calculations

Pipe Support Load Calculations

ASME B31.1 Power Piping Calculation Services

power piping systems

wall thickness calculations

expansion joint pressure thrust calculations

technological advancements

Engineering Services

Pipe Stress Analysis Services

Piping Design

Located in Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver, BC; Toronto, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; Houston Texas; Torrance, California; El Segundo, CA; Manhattan Beach, CA; Concord, CA; We offer our engineering consultancy services across Canada and United States. Meena Rezkallah.

[couldyouimagine-that]

Trust

Genre; bit of angst, hurt/comfort

Word count; 2.0k

Warnings; canon typical violence (Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Reader are on a hunt), Dean is a bit mean to the reader, 100% made up lore

Pairing; Lucifer (Supernatural) x Reader

Lucifer offers you some comfort after an argument with Dean, caused by him changing the plan during a hunt without telling you.

I am working on Pt. 2 of 'I'm So Sorry' I PROMISE but this idea came to me and refused to leave me alone. Enjoy!

Masterlist

-

You rounded the last corner, panting heavily as you held your angel blade aloft in your hand, at a loss for what else would work against the monster chasing you down.

“Now guys!” You yelled, clearing the final doorway. The Winchesters and Castiel would be waiting for you just beyond it, ready to close the last two doors to trap the monster in a short section of corridor whilst you worked out how to kill it. Lucifer was waiting outside the old warehouse as an extra safeguard since he refused to leave the Men of Letters bunker (his own safety net, so he claimed) and the Winchesters refused to leave him there alone. Since even an archangel couldn’t destroy this monster, it was something of an all hands-on-deck situation.

Your steps slowed as you reached safety, even when you looked around to see your friends were not there. A bolt of panic seized your chest when you realised they really weren’t there.

“Guys? Guys!”

No answer.

You spun around when an awful snarling reverberated around you. The creature stalked through the final doorway, hackles raised and crouched low as it prowled. Another snarl brought your heart into your throat.

You cast around one final time, but there was no help to be found. Maybe there was more than one monster? Maybe they had been ambushed by angels, or demons, or any one of a thousand other opposing forces who wanted you all dead. Whatever it was, it meant you were on your own. You didn’t dare think about what could have happened to them.

Drawing your blade, you faced the monster head on. You would go down fighting, even if it was the last thing you did. The monster lined itself up, head down, lips peeled back to reveal its glistening teeth. It charged – and the old water sprinkler system designed to put out fires started up. But the liquid that fell on your skin left behind a sticky quality. It smelled like vinegar. But you had no time to contemplate. Your gaze snapped up at the monster’s screaming, its fur smoking as its flesh began to peel away from its bones. You were left staring in shock as it collapsed on its side, its life force dwindling down to nothing.

“Oh yeah!”

You spun again at the excited exclamation from none other than Dean, who had sauntered in through a door which had previously been locked. He swaggered straight past you to get a closer look at the beast, smirking and talking big about the victory. Sam and Castiel followed into the room once the sprinklers had been shut off, the former wearing a pleased smile. Dean nodded slowly to himself like he had done something truly commendable, then turned his self-satisfied expression on you.

You were not smiling.

“Come on, Y/N, why the long face? We ganked that bitch!”

Your anger was warring with how upset you felt and you almost walked away from the situation entirely.

“Are you kidding me?” Sam and Castiel looked over at your tone. Dean just seemed confused. “You changed the plan without telling me. You risked my life, and you lied.” Dean was on the defensive immediately, trying to coax you into joining his celebration.

“Yeah, but it worked! Ordinary run-of-the-mill vinegar, who’d have thought!”

He started laughing, clearly forced when you didn’t join in, then looked to the others for support.

“You didn’t know those water pipes would work,” you said lowly. “And you wouldn’t have gotten here in time to help me if it hadn’t.” Dean’s face fell as he started to take you more seriously.

“Look, I’m sorry. Alright? We only just found out how to kill it and we didn’t have enough time to tell you. We still needed it in this room and you were the easiest way to do that, that’s just how it goes sometimes. We killed it, you’re fine. You can’t get caught up on what ifs.”

You felt your jaw tense up, a fire lit within your chest. You could have died, thought you were going to even, not a few minutes previously. Not to mention your fear of what could have happened to your friends. It was made even worse by the feeling of betrayal at what Dean had chosen to do. The others, too – they had all decided to put you in that situation behind your back. Dean was saved from what you were sure would have been one hell of a tirade by Castiel, who chose that moment to announce his opinion.

“I did say we should have told them, Dean.” You glanced over at him, not expecting such a confession. The bitter, truthfully frightened part of you still said it didn’t matter, since he hadn’t cared enough to either tell you or stop the plan altogether.

“Excuse me?” You knew exactly the look he was levelling his friend with, having been on the receiving end of it more than once. The last thing you wanted to do was bear witness to any more of this conversation.

“Let’s just get out of here,” you muttered, making your way towards the last place Lucifer had been.

You walked ahead, not bothering to check if the others followed. The case was pretty close to where you lived, so even though Castiel had transported you all to the warehouse, Sam and Dean had dropped off some things at your place first for the sake of convenience. When you got outside, Lucifer was leaning against a wall, arms crossed loosely and seemingly deep in thought. He straightened when he saw you, offering a sharp smile. His voice was honeyed when he spoke, and right or wrong, you couldn’t really say you minded.

“Got the hunt all wrapped up?” He asked, his face dropping to a light frown when you didn’t answer. You doubted he cared all that much, but he seemed to at least be enjoying the pretence if he didn’t. “Something happen?”

You gave him a tight-lipped smile. Dean clapped his hands together when he arrived a moment later, accompanied by the words let’s go. You appeared in your kitchen and immediately set to work checking your windows and closing your blinds, more than eager to go to bed. This was normally the point at which you offered the boys a beer, on the rare occasion they made it to your place.

“Okay,” Dean muttered from somewhere behind you. “Cas?”

So he wasn’t even going to speak to you before they left?

“Y/N, I’m sorry.” Sam’s expressive face was more than apologetic when you turned around. “We really didn’t have time to tell you. I mean maybe Cas could have gotten you out, but it would have been a matter of seconds and we knew the vinegar would work. If the irrigation system had failed, of course we would have stepped in. But it didn’t come to that. Things just changed quickly, please try to understand.” You accepted his apology, by now just somewhat deflated. You ignored Dean’s derisive scoff.

“C’mon Satan, let’s go.” That was equally as derisive, but you had noticed Lucifer stood further apart from the others than usual. He was watching you carefully, as if trying to will you into understanding what he was thinking. Naturally that was an impossible feat, but you had spent more than one long evening in each other’s company and in a moment of pettiness, you saw an opportunity to wind up Dean.

“He can stay if he wants.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed, but you simply gave a nonchalant shrug and went back to what you were doing.

“Are you kidding me?” Dean yelled, storming up to you and grabbing a shoulder to turn you towards him. “Are you that desperate to prove a point, really? I apologised; Sam apologised. What more do you want?” The grin which settled on your lips was malicious.

“I don’t want anything. All I’m saying is that it really comes to something when the devil is the only person who doesn’t lie to you in a group of people you consider to be your friends. So like I said, he can stay if he wants. The rest of you should go.”

You hadn’t seen Dean look genuinely surprised all that many times, but he certainly didn’t know what to say at that moment. His grip on your shirt loosened, but even Castiel calling his name didn’t break him out of his stupor. The angel sighed heavily, simply placing a hand on Dean’s back and transporting themselves and Sam, who had been watching on in somewhat mute silence, away without another word. Satan, on the other hand, was still standing in your kitchen and now looking at you with something akin to admiration.

“You’re brave,” he murmured, eyes sparking as if he was sharing some secret with you that he wasn’t supposed to be. You did feel a brief flicker of fear. For all your bravado and your relative confidence around Lucifer, you had absolutely no way to defend yourself against him if his mood changed. You hoped Castiel wouldn’t have left the way he did if he thought you were in any real danger.

“I was kinda going off the basis that if you wanted me dead, I would be,” you said, very quietly. “Please don’t tell me I was wrong.” He laughed, just a little bit.

“You’re not wrong. What would be the point in killing you?”

You nodded slowly, your expression conveying fair enough. Lucifer took it upon himself to find a surface to lean against, watching as you busied yourself with your few preparations for the night. You leaned against something too for a moment, organising your thoughts.

“I don’t mind if you stay,” you said slowly, “but I really need to go to sleep.”

“Tell me what happened on the hunt first?” You held back your sigh.

“Can we sit down somewhere?”

Lucifer snapped his fingers and you found yourself sitting next to him on your couch. He took the opportunity to stretch an arm out behind you, giving you a little smirk when you raised your eyebrow at him. You deliberated for a moment but accepted the invitation, laying your head back against his arm. He drew you in close to his shoulder, glancing down at the top of your head – privately enjoying the display of trust you were showing him – then looking out across the room as he listened to you speak. You only explained briefly, not least because you doubted he cared all that much. But he started smoothing his thumb across your shoulder, even squeezed you in closer to him for a moment.

“You know you could have prayed to me, right?” When you looked up in surprise, he wore no hint of a smile. “I would have answered. You wouldn’t even need to say it out loud. If you just thought about me, I’d be there.”

I didn’t realise – thank you for saying that –

“Why?”

Your eyes widened slightly when you realised the response you had given him out loud. You hoped he had heard what you thought as well. Lucifer tilted his head slightly, slowly angling his shoulders towards you. You felt pinned beneath his gaze, his easy confidence almost overwhelming.

“Thought you ‘really needed to go to sleep’?”

There was amusement in his eyes, but it was clear he had no intention of answering your question. You huffed a breath and leaned back against him more heavily this time. Lucifer moved again after a moment of silence, kicking your legs up onto the couch with one of his own and shifting around until he was laying down behind you. His arm now rested over your stomach, fingertips lightly brushing your ribs. You dared a glance up at him to find he seemed to just be staring past the ceiling, lost in thought. He still offered you a calm smile and a murmured go to sleep, and for reasons you couldn’t comprehend, you felt safe enough to do exactly that. Lucifer enjoyed the gentle weight of your head on his shoulder as you settled down and drifted off. He had no intention of sleeping himself, but he was certainly enjoying the moment.

[rabbitriceball]

Before you comment or reblog about it, please hear me out-

So there was a headcanon that is stuck in my brain and it goes like this:

Scraps and Goob are biological siblings, and their mother is a paper craft that resembles a ladybug/lady beetle/whatever kind of beetle you like. The children's mammalian appearance comes from their father, who they have never seen since their dad volunteered to live apart from their mom and he was fine not wanting to see the kids (he does pay child support tho).

Sounds outlandish, I know. I honestly do make some outlandish headcanons.

Reference for the craft mom past the cut.

Child designs for Goob and Scraps created by @honeydewandcake.

BTW the antennae are meant to be made out of pipe cleaners, that was what I was trying to do with her design.

[fearfulfertility]

PATERNITY WARD WEEKLY BULLETIN

This week’s activity report from Paternity Compound 145 highlights a continued shift from group-based programming to individualized physical relief, reflecting declining surrogate interest in structured recreation.

Despite concentrated efforts by staff, most surrogates reportedly prefer private gratification routines. As such, the DRC plans to phase out morale programming in favor of stimulation-based care.

BINGO – BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

Join us in Recreation Room 4 for weekly Bingo!

Winners will receive a bonus hour of physical gratification with a pre-selected member of staff.

(Reminder: Yelling "bingo!" without a win will result in revocation of stretchmark cream for 2 days.)

PAINTING – BUILD A BELLY

Join us in Recreation Room 3 for "build-a-belly!" Surrogates can decorate their bellies with stickers, glitter, and paint.

(Reminder: Surrogates will be hosed down after, no paint or other containments allowed in medical wards.)

MEDICAL REMINDERS

If your oxygen intake monitor is blinking red, alert a nurse.

Daily blood draw compliance is mandatory. Missed draws will result in reduced recreation time.

Any unauthorized birth outside designated delivery areas will be classified as "Disruptive Expulsion" and non-reportage will result in disciplinary action for entire ward.

CLEANLINESS IS COMPLIANCE!

A friendly reminder from Sanitation Officer [REDACTED]:

Do not attempt to detach your nipple cups during daily milking. If suction is not turned off, this could result in injury or spilt milk. Infractions will result in delay in daily milking sessions.

Stay hooked up. Stay safe.

MAINTENCE BULLETINS

Communal Showers 3 through 6 will be closed today for maintenance, due to structural damage.

Surrogates are cautioned not to engage in sexual gratification with their peers in the shower area. Further, surrogates are reminded that shower heads and pipes are not designed to handle excessive weight, do not hang or lean on them.

NOTICE: UNAUTHORIZED GAMES

The following activities are not approved for recreation:

"Guess the Fetal Count" (Causes emotional distress)

“How Far Can I Lean Forward” (Causes premature labor)

“Suck The Belly Button?” (Inappropriate)

Participation in banned games will result in personal gratification privileges removal.

THIS WEEK’S BIRTH RECORDSS

Surrogate S145-193P: Gave birth to sexdecuplets (16) over 32 hours of labor

Surrogate S145-117R: Gave birth to octodecuplets (18) after only 5 hours of labor

REMEMBER:

"The swelling is not a burden. It is the sound of a nation growing. You are full. You are vital. You are needed." ~ DRC Central Command

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDENDUM – RECREATIONAL ATTENDANCE

DRC, Facility Operations Command, Compound Oversight Unit

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: Reduction in Recreative Participation

To: Director [REDACTED]

While all activities listed above remain officially voluntary, attendance is increasingly mandatory as engagement metrics continue to drop. Compliance Officers have noted that most surrogates, after the first week of gestation, show little interest in group activities and prefer private stimulation behaviors. While this aligns with the expected rise in prenatal nymphomania all surrogates experience, it is also a waste of resources for our morale officers to pan.

Beginning next cycle, we will be deprecating the morale department and transferring all personnel to activities that support self-gratification activities for surrogates.

REQUESTED SUPPORT MATERIALS

1. Personal Relief Devices

Handheld or bedside-mounted vibration devices designed to help surrogates manage spermic pressure, stimulation urges, and muscular restlessness.

2. Lubricant Gel – Medical Grade

Non-scented lubrication gel, safe for internal and external use, compatible with most materials. Aids in reducing irritation during frequent intercourse.

3. Visual Distraction Content

DRC-approved pornographic videos designed to stimulate emotional arousal. Filmed encounters from other paternity compounds would be ideal.

4. Rotational Operator Contact

For surrogates physically unable to complete relief routines unaided, trained Physical Comfort Technicians should be rotated in to assist with physical gratification. Each session should not exceed one hour unless medically necessary.

----------------

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