#windy work in progress

[windydrawallday]

I'm not a fan of showing stuff this early in the stage, but I'm quite proud of it, and these rascals are my absolute favs, so WHY NOT!

I got a draft for a Before-Splitting Vezok and a design attempt for Vezon: I like the idea of calculating the amount of mass he borrowed from Vezok, and still, he's not very skakdi-looking: doesn't have a tail or the back spines, not even the digitigrade type of legs! (I left him with only three claws instead of the four I usually draw).

... tho, if you noticed, he took Vezok's pointy parts of his horns, and that's why my Vezok After-Splitting design has them cut! Is a symbolic trait I like a ton x)

[windydrawallday]

I'm in the process of rendering Dino!Predaking and excited to focus on fleshing out your girl too x)

The thanks go back to you, Mousey! You enabled my love for TFs and Dinosaurs to mix in such a cool AU 💚🦖

Thanks to the talents of my buddy, I now have a height chart for Juni and the boys (Predaking and Starscream) in my Dino!AU. 🦖

Thank you so much, Windy!

(🎨 by @windydrawallday)

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Love without lust

Emperor Caracalla x wife!reader

warning : smutish, erection problem, hurt/comfort, kissing, cuddling

Summary : After the festival lots of food and drink was passed around, coins were handed out and bets were placed. Above all, it was also the rhinoceros that had been prepared, Caracalla brushed himself with the special powder...but in the hours afterwards he had to realize lamentably that once again he could not pursue his love and lust even if he wanted to.

info : OMG I knew I had to write this idea after reading the script, but he can't have anything nice without suffering. Have fun reading ;)

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A leader had to be strong and successful, he had to be a strategist and always two steps ahead of everyone else, but he also had to be windy who could wrap everyone around his finger just to strike at the right moment.

There were also attributes of kindness and yielding in order not to be rejected in negotiations, as a ruler it was always a fine line between being right and being condemned.

But there were attributes that at least Geta somehow managed to get right, who at least somehow tried to lead Rome for a few years, trying to implement all the knowledge his father had taught him and it all worked somehow, that was the main thing.

Everything worked except his brother Caracalla was not what he was supposed to be from the beginning, too bad, too jittery, not perfect and with his progressing madness it got worse and worse.

He loved his wife, his brother and Dundus, but above all it was his lucid moments that hurt him when he saw what he had done, what he had failed to do, that only hurt him more.

As much as his wife's encouraging words reassured him, if he could just take her hand and enjoy it he felt less bad, ,,My amusement is to see your joy” he had once told her when he had presented a trick with Dundus and her smile had enchanted him.

It had warmed his heart and made his stomach tingle with love and lust, something they would perform in the bedchamber...wouldn't he provide there too.

At first they were hardly noticeable, but they both had a duty to fulfill, an inheritance to be made, and even if the love was there, the emperor's body seemed to belong less and less to him.

As often as he sought out his beloved to make love to her, to make her happy in the light of torches, the more often it was his body that could not and he lay in her arms, ,,It will work out one day,” she tried to comfort him and stroked the blond hair on his head.

Even if their unhappiness boiled over from time to time, an empire like Rome's needs heirs, at least one, and when Geta died Caracalla would not be able to rule alone, not in his condition.

It was an open fact that was told behind closed doors...but this was not to be the case today. A big party was thrown when the new gladiators had fought and the arena fight in particular had pleased many of the elite and especially the emperors, ,,A ravishing celebration my dear” came from the empress's lips as she sat on the couch next to her husband.

Caracalla's broad grin reflected his excitement, there was the best food, gold hung everywhere and the exoticism only seemed to increase, ,,It's to everyone's liking!” she heard Geta say louder and cheers could be heard as her brother-in-law gave her a quick friendly glance.

Before the marriage it had always been Geta who had taken care of his brother, now he had found a helping hand in her and a compassion that meant a lot to him, returning the look she placed her hand on that of her husband.

Blue eyes that glanced hastily from the audience to her became calm for a moment, ,,You like it? Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked more quietly, almost unsure that he couldn't give her everything.

She nodded and leaned in to give him a quick kiss, feeling him cling to her, his answer coming from the woman who meant so much more to him than all of Rome could. So much more than a wife, a mother, a daughter, an aunt, someone to play with, to love, to desire. She was his heart.

The festival progressed and at some point both emperors joined the company themselves, which she did, some merchants had brought the latest fabrics and toys, both things that she and Caracalla both liked, which is why she left her husband's side for a moment.

A moment of which she was unaware of what he was doing, or rather what he hoped to gain from it, when only minutes later all the nobles gathered again in the main hall to attend the gladiatorial fight, during which she held Caracalla's hand to stem the tide of his euphoria.

The fight, the blood, the excitement, all of these things were something he liked more than ever since his illness. He knew that it somehow did him good, but it could also be insidious, which is why she always kept an eye on her darling.

But even when the fight was exciting, the crowd was cheering and even Geta the gladiator was applauding, Caracalla seemed more interested in enjoying himself than in swapping stories, so she left him and only said a few words of appreciation to the “poet” before she was the first to leave to put an end to the last hour of noise, wine and debauchery.

She used this time to occupy herself with embroidery, read books about fertility and tried to find a solution to her husband's problem with the doctors, which was more difficult than she had assumed.

From old writings that were hardly lesbian, to alternative remedies that were more deadly than helpful for her, to the idea that she should sleep with Geta, which was out of the question for her and them.

She knew how hard it was to run an empire and be there for the family at the same time, but she wanted to help if she gave birth to an heir, but it was Caracala's "fault" that it didn't work, because where there was no seed, there could be no child.

Hours that slowly brought the day to an end, she spoke once more with Geta who wanted to consult with the Senate the next morning, Caracalla disappeared into his room and did not take part in the meal - not unusual but disappointing.

The three of them were always calm, not too mad but not too sad either, he was kept happy by her and his brother and now alone, ,,He will find himself...believe me he always does” Geta tried to cheer her up before brother-in-law and sister-in-law wished each other goodnight and disappeared into their respective bedrooms as the moon slowly rose over Rome.

Her own toga already removed and her servants sent away, she wrapped herself in her evening cloak and lay down on the bed, her eyes on the text on the parchment as the crackling of fire from the torches could be heard...until she heard footsteps and only moments later the door to her chamber was pulled open.

,,Caracallas! Is everything all right?” she asked, unsure if anything had happened, which is why he came in so exuberantly, almost jittery, more excited than usual as he let the doors fall shut behind him and ignored her question, heading straight for her bed and leaping towards her.

Hands taking away her parchments and a broad smile that took her by surprise as he engaged her in a hasty kiss, his hands trying to open her robe trembling with overwhelm and her own fingers barely able to stop him.

,,Alive! My love I feel more ready than ever” he finally answered as he broke away from her, a brief moment between them as he looked at her, his blue eyes dilated and she saw the white sweater still lightly on his nose.

What had he taken? The question popped into her head, but when she felt his lips on her neck, nibbling and biting, she knew that whatever it was might lead to a result that pleased them both.

Her hands loosened his own clothes as best they could, he caressed her body, taking in every spot that wasn't covered, and she fell back into the pillows as she enjoyed his touch again.

Her fingers stroked through his blond hair, ,,Such a beautiful boy," she praised him and saw the bright pink waves between the smudged make-up, heard his groan and kissed him once more as he ran his hands over her breasts, massaging them lightly and kissing the warm skin further to her center and she hoped in her increasingly lust-filled mind that it would work.

The love between them had felt this good for a long time and she was almost as excited as she had been on their first night of marriage when he pushed her robe off her thighs and her body was almost completely exposed.

She closed her eyes as she could almost feel him...but when she heard the sudden rustle of fabric and a intake of air, she opened her eyes, slightly confused.

The lust that had just taken hold of him was mixed with panic and fear, blue eyes clouded with tears as he looked down at himself and looked like he was going to cry, ,,Don't...not again...I'm sorry” he couldn't quite form the sentence, he moved away from her avoiding her gaze as she slowly brought clarity back into her own head and straightened her robe.

Carefully crawling over to him, she placed her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace and feeling the tremors as he cried, as tears dripped and makeup smudged, ,,It's okay, I'm not disappointed you know that...it will work out one day,” she assured him as she caught a glimpse of his body.

What was initially a lust, an arousal was now a soft one again despite the drug he must have taken from the party, but Caracalla shook his head and held on to her tightly, only slowly catching her as his words simply turned back into tears.

,,You are an emperor, Caracallas you are my husband, my sweet sweet boy do you understand?” she asked as she took one of his hands to stroke him slowly over the head.

The empress voice cracked slightly as she saw him so hurt again, it hurt to see him like this when he was so full of joy, so full of confidence that he could finally give her a child...that he could finally be a better father of his own and she could finally be a mother who cared for a real child and not him.

Her kisses on his head continued to judge him all around and she slowly let him go, ,,Yes-Yes I understand...I thought it would work, just once more it didn't have to work...our love could have accomplished so much” he slowly let out and repositioned himself.

His head shot to hers in prayer and his blue eyes looked up at the painted ceiling showing the heroics and gods she held out one hand for him to hold onto and her other continued to stroke his head like a mother would, like his mother had done.

She held him there while the torches burned around them and she gradually felt his peace, ,,Our love will reach so much” she assured him saw blue eyes look at her and his smile became confident, he believed her and two hearts beat the same again that night as fear and sorrow were submerged in soft loving kisses and they had a night of safety and above all true love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@cottoncandiescupcakes , @k-yurieee , @somepallings , @abundance-of-fic-reblogs , @artandmusicdubs , @eddie-munsons-mommy , @duck-duck-goose2 , @userchai , @the-a-word-2214 , @sweeteststing , @qardasngan

[delopsia]

Hi del! Wecome back! Glad to hear your 'engine's runnin again XD

If your lookin for a Rhett and/or Bob... don't know how it is where you are but it's currently dark, windy, and rainy here and the lights are a flickerin... What do you think about bein with the boys during stormy blackout conditions? ~🌧️

aaaa hello! thaank youuu ^w^ I'm sorry this took me so long, haha.

Rhett ⊹₊ ˚‧

If there is one kind of weather that Rhett is uniquely familiar with, it's storms like these. Wabang is infamous for the uniquely violent storms that are always running through it; things have progressed to the point that there's been an ongoing study about why the hell this particular town is constantly being hammered by freak storms, including that freak fire tornado last summer...🔥🌪

That being said, Rhett's a veteran when it comes to these things. The storm is still a few miles out, and you'll catch him squinting into the distance, muttering something about 'it'll be here in five or six minutes.'

Sure enough, six minutes later, it feels like the world is ending.

The power isn't even out yet, and Rhett's walking around unplugging the expensive electronics (read: The Abbott household has had its electricals fried by lightning twice, and the thought of replacing everything for a third time scares him to death).

Bored? Not for long.

Rhett Abbott is a number of things, and crafty is one of them; he's got a whole box of stuff dedicated to power outages. Board games, power banks, cards, intricate little building kits, absurdly bright flashlights, enough batteries to survive an apocalypse...

Perry has yet to realize, but Rhett's even scrounged up the old Nintendo DS consoles they played on growing up. You can't think about the storm when you're too busy fighting for your life in a game of Mario Cart ⭐

Regardless of what you choose to do with him or if you're content to do different things, Rhett's incredible at keeping busy during these things. Growing up on a remote ranch that regularly experienced week-long power outages, he's built up a whole catalog of remedies.

But if you're not feeling like playing games and just want to curl up on the couch or in bed, Rhett is perfectly content to snuggle up to you like the oversized cuddle bug that he is.

He doesn't bring it up, but a lot of his old injuries ache during these heavier, aggressive storms. His left wrist tends to be the worst offender, but the long-healed break in his right leg and all of those various fractures have been known to rear their ugly heads as well.

Your only indication that he's hurting is how slowly he tends to move like he's treading barefoot through broken glass.

If you call him out on it, he's got a real tendency to downplay how much he's hurting, but he always won't put up much of a fight if you decide to massage his sore wrist or work the tension out of his shoulder.

But again, he's perfectly content with cuddling and relaxing together :( He just wants to do something with you

Bob ⊹₊ ˚‧

👁️👁️

No really.

The power goes out, and all you see are two wide eyes staring back at you, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Is the power out?" It's the first thing he asks every time, without fail.

Very mindful of checking all of the necessary weather alerts. Are we at risk here, or should we simply proceed with caution?

Unlike how Rhett immediately springs into action, Bobby's immediate suggestion is to curl up and take a long nap together. The general idea is that the power should be back on by the time you wake up; it's the closest thing you've got to time travel.

That being said, if you say no to sleeping through it, then he won't either, no matter how much he loves his storm naps. He just can't bring himself to sleep when he knows he's left you alone to figure out what to do while the storm rages past :(

Jumps at the thunder and pretends it never happened.

You don't know what it is, but storms have a real tendency to turn your beloved partner into a 40s-something dad.

You blink, and suddenly, he's standing on the porch watching the storm. The only thing he's missing is a can of cheap beer and some cargo shorts.

"Why are you outside?" "Do you see how dark that cloud is over there?"

Rambles off some odd weather lingo that he's got no business knowing and that you can only understand if you've got a degree in the field or if you've otherwise gone out of your way to learn the science behind how storms work.

If there's something about your lovely bookworm, it's that he's going to find a way to build a little reading corner during all of this.

A couple of strategically placed battery power lights and some cozy blanks, and you're all set. The sound of the storm can make for some incredible ambiance, given you've got the right book for it.

Sometimes, you get bored with your own book or don't feel like reading at all and just wind up snuggled into his side, watching the way his eyes flicker over every line. You may think you're being sneaky about it, but Bob has long since caught onto what you're doing.

Both ⊹₊ ˚‧

"Powers out!" Bob. "Yeah, no shit." Rhett.

Their individual remedies to the power outage doesn't exactly change; it simply makes the list of solutions a lot longer than it would otherwise be. So it's really a question of which of these things will we do, rather than what to do at all.

Regardless of what is chosen, it's always a community effort.

Both of your boys are very keen on sticking close together when storms are this bad; if you try to walk off on your own, then they're almost always following like a pair of lost puppies.

Just because it's pitch black in the house does not mean these two won't rough house and tackle each other to the floor. If anything, the low visibility makes it more fun for them.

There's one occasion where you were scrolling on your phone and simply listening to the sound of them swearing and rolling around.

It requires the three of you experiencing a couple power outages for Bob to figure it out, but the water heater still works during these, and you know what that means.

Baths!

You have such a hard time saying no to it because Rhett always gets so excited at the mention of it. At the very least, you're going to wind up sitting outside of the oversized tub with them. You've said no once in the past, and the sight of Rhett's smile falling was enough to shave a year or two off of your lifespan.

If you do choose to get in with them, then you get to join in on the great debate of whether to use bubbles, bath bombs, epsom salts, or nothing at all.

While you and Rhett deal with getting the water to the right temperature and gathering up things like towels and clothes, Bob busies himself with placing battery-powered candles all over the bathroom.

It's weirdly romantic. The storm is still raging on outside, rain pelting against the windows, the screams of the wind broken apart by thunder, but you're here relaxing together and enjoying each other's company.

It's cute until the power spontaneously kicks back on, and you're blinded by the lights...

[a-sock-in-a-sandal]

What is happening in Czechia right now - heavy rains and floods

So as a Czech citizen I felt like saying something about it here so here you go, it's mostly my experiences and some official data.

For context, the first week of September 2024 (2nd to 8th) in Czechia was a burning hell - the temperatures were around 30°C or even above for the entire week. Some schools even ended their classes earlier because of the hot weather - they usually ended before afternoon when the weather was worst. So when we found out that everything will stop the next week, we got happy. We were told the temperatures are gonna get under 20°C, sometimes above, but usually under, it's gonna rain and it's gonna get windy.

All of it happened. The first few days of this week (plus maybe the weekend of the previous one) were chilly, windy, and cloudy - it did sometimes rain, but usually only for a few hours a day. Sooner it started to rain more, for more hours a day, somewhere even for the entire day.

But then the Czech government scheduled an emergency meeting because they were worried about the rains - and they had a reason to. Such rains could cause major floods that already happened in Czechia twice. So they didn't want to waste any time on preparing.

The weather progressively got worse - in my region, it rained the whole day for like three days and it is still raining now. The wind is strong and cold and the temperatures are very chilly. I live right next to a stream at the lowest part of my village in lowlands and the water has risen a few meters (like 2 or so).

The worst situation is in Moravia, which is where I live, but where I am it is still good, only heavy rains and the water levels rising but not as much as to cause a trouble - however there is a few places in my village where it is completely underwater, but not anyone's house or cellar. But Northern Moravia/Silesia is flooded, especially parts like Jeseníky and Opava. The more it gets on west the better it is, mostly a few regions on the north-west are the safest ones. It is usually the Karlovarský/Ústecký and maybe a piece of Plzeňský kraj that is safe.

Most events got cancelled and/or delayed due to bad weather and flood warnings. However the schools are still opened, and it's kind of a meme between students that "we're gonna kayak into our schools on Monday!" Electricity stopped working at many places, including my village. When I woke up today there were firefighters in my street but nobody knows why but I heard that someone's cellar might be flooded.

Our Czech subreddit r/Czech is "flooded" (I couldn't help myself) with maps of flood situation and tips on what to do in case you have e.g. an animal in floodplains. If you switch on the news channel ČT24, you get 24/7 segments and reports from different parts of Czechia, interviews with meteorologists, politicians talking about it and such. Most channels stream as normal but there are some emergency broadcasts. Social media is filled with it.

However, there is a group of mostly older people who are those old conspirators and are strongly against our government because their favourite politician isn't the prime minister (the situation is more complicated but that's enough for this), and they claim that all this is fake and "it's actually to keep people at home before elections (there are ones to happen soon) so they can't meet and talk about the politics", or that "it's a punishment for sending help to Ukraine" (Czechia has sent a lot of help there and these people are mad for some reason) and such. It makes me sick because some people already died and many are injured and many homes can be destroyed.

Czechia has already had two major floods in the near past - in 1997 there were ones in Prague and in 2002 over the entire Czechia. They were catastrophic, people died and were injured and lost homes. So that's why everyone is scared and the government tries very hard to keep us safe.

I already shared my experience, but I just talked on a group chat with my friends from different villages in my region so here goes what I found:

Electricity is out on most places because it is flooded near some important place for electricity

Plenty of places are flooded with like 10-20 cm water, people can still walk in it and some cars drive in it

A football pitch right next to a stream in my village is completely flooded, only the nets are visible

Plenty of bridges are closed and plenty of them are also underwater

We're debating whether or not our school is gonna be closed since most of us take bus to school and we don't know if it would be able to arrive, plus electricity isn't working in the town where we have school, but we'll still see, we didn't receive any news about the school closing

It's starting to get clear (less cloudy) as I'm typing this but I hope it'll get better, the rain is not as heavy as it was

I just hope it's gonna get better ❤️ I'll update you tomorrow or even today if anything major happens

[monstertreden]

☕︎ ENERGON & TEA ☕︎

-Reader: FEM reader   -TW: none, slight "innuendos" towards the end -Character: Thundercraker (Transformers series) -Summary: He won't pay attention to you all day, what was he up to? -Word count : 2204 -A/N: Yipiii I've used my art as the thumbnail eheheh. Some of people that liked the drawing wanted to see the fanfic, I hope you may like ittt :) It took me a bit more than I expected, since I've been sick all week :(

He has been unusually quiet all day long. Normally, despite being a reserved type, he would break the ice, but today he was so absorbed in his own datapad (just like an ipad kid) to even pay attention to you, minutes ago he almost stepped on you ��without noticing. Did Starscream assign him too much work? With that frown on his face, you could assume he was beyond annoyed…

And you craved that attention. You were already small next to him- a colossal metal alien robot that now towered above you on his chair. Since last week it has been particularly windy and today was exactly like that, you were FREEZING, the frigid air seemed to seep into your bones. There weren’t functional heaters around, you desperately needed something to warm you up, but that blankie of yours wrapped around your shoulders surely wasn’t enough to keep you warm and fuzzy. You could feel the numbing fingers of winter creeping in, and all you could think about was how to escape the chill that enveloped you.

You eyed Thundercracker, his massive frame radiating warmth while he remained completely oblivious to your suffering.  The audacity.

You tugged your blanket tighter, but it was mostly useless. The cold was relentless, and he was right. There., an actual walking, talking heater—yet he wasn’t even sparing you a glance, his optics reflecting the datapad blue hue.

You let out a frustrated huff. Maybe a little, gentle nudge would remind him you existed, right there, just under his pedes, seeking his attention. Taking a few steps closer, you reached up and gave his leg a push. Nothing. Not even a glance. Alright, desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Thundercrackerrrrrrrrr” you whined, voice muffled in your blanket cocooned around you. “I’m cold.”

Across from you, the Seeker remained hunched over his datapad, completely absorbed in whatever he was reading. His wings twitched—progress. But still, no real reaction. Certainly not what you were hoping for.

Pouting,you tried again, stomping your foot for emphasis. “Hey, I know you run warm! C’mon, let me borrow some of that Seeker body heat, instead of hoarding it like a selfish jet!!”

That finally got his attention. With an exasperated sigh, he lowered his datapad just enough to give you an unimpressed look. His optics flickered over your bundled-up form before deadpanning,“You could just say you want attention instead of making it sound like an emergency.”

“It. is. an emergency, are you mocking me??” you insisted, eyebrows raised dramatically, wrapping your arms tighter around yourself “I’m dying, TC. Right here. Right here in front of you.”

He scoffed dismissively, clearly not buying it. His gaze right back to the glowing datapad in his hands “You’re not dying.”

“I could be,” you shot back, snuggling deeper into your blanket. “Hypothermia. Frostbite. Who knows how much longer I have before I become an ice sculpture!” His mouth opened to protest but you quickly shushed him, raising a finger "Don't you dare gaslight me, you glorified built-in heater"

He exhaled through his vents, optics narrowing slightly. “That’s not what gaslighting means.”

“It is when I say it is,” you huffed, refusing to back down “Now, are you gonna let me mooch off your internal warmth or am I filing an official complaint to the Decepticon HR department?”

His optics dimmed in exhaustion. “There is no HR department.” He stated, his patience wearing thin with the back and forth.

“That’s only because they haven’t heard my case yet. There will be if I keep suffering like this.”

Thundercracker stared at you for a long deliberate moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with an audible sigh of why me, he set his datapad down and shifted just enough to allow you closer. “Fine. But if you drool on me, I’m launching you outside to let you freeze.” What a big fat lie he just told.

Grinning in triumph, you wasted no time in pressing yourself against his side, gently being picked up by hi hand and put near his neck, already blissfully basking in the warmth radiating from his cables.

Oh. Oh. This was so much better.

Thundercracker, however, barely spared you another glance before refocusing on his datapad. His optics flickered as he scrolled through whatever had him so engrossed, his expression unreadable.

Naturally, that only made you more curious.

“What are you writinggg?” You craned your neck, attempting to peer over the massive digits partially shielding the screen. Immediately, his servo shifted, cupping around your face to block your view as he turned the datapad further out of reach. “Nothing,” he said a little too quickly. “Just Starscream’s work. The usual report that slag was supposed to do and hand to Shockwave but dumped on me—HEY! HOW—”

Being small had its advantages. Like a determined hamster slipping through the digits of his hand, you expertly wriggled free , using his own shoulder plating as leverage to climb higher. You leaned over, eyes scanning the glowing lines of Cybertronian script… Some of those strange glyphs seemed familiar. After spending so much time around Thundercracker, you had gradually picked up the language. Although you weren’t fluent, you could understand enough to realize that this wasn’t just another boring Decepticon report. You squinted your eyes, reading out loud :

"He would always find solace in the storm, caught not in the chaos of before or the aftermath, but in the very moment. The roar of thunder would speak to him without judgment, a familiarity he longed for. Decades of wishes led him to the only place he truly felt at home, where the howling winds would always wait for him. They would always hug his bigger frame with their smaller hands while he recharged, but especially when they joined under the stars—"

That definitely didn’t sound like the usual boring logistics or reports Starscream routinely dumped on Thundercracker. Your curiosity flared as you tried to decipher more, but before you could get further, a very flustered Thundercracker snatched the datapad away, holding it high out of reach.

“Alright, enough snooping, you little rodent ”

You grinned up at him, arms crossed over your chest. “That didn’t look like work to me. It looked like some kind of—” you paused for dramatic effect, “poetry.”

His optics widened slightly, then narrowed as he pointed a finger at you. “First of all, it’s not poetry.” The way his wings twitched violently told you everything you needed to know.

You smirked triumphantly. “Oh, It totally is.”

Thundercracker groaned, rubbing his faceplate in exasperation. “It’s just—something I write sometimes. It’s nothing important. Just classified information”

“It so is! You even wrote about the wind hugging you—oh my god, TC, are you writing self-insert romance?”

For a second, he remained quiet and scowled. “I've told you! That’s classified!” He kept insisting.

“No way!” You giggled, eyes darting back to the glowing text of the datapad, but before you could read another sentence, his large hand effortlessly scooped you up with way more ease than should be legal.

Dang it. He had size on his side too.

Grumbling, he plopped you back down into the crook of his neck as if that would make you forget everything. “You saw nothing.”

However, you couldn’t help but snicker, already warming up again. “Oh, no, I saw everything. And now I have so many questions just for you mister alien.”

Thundercracker groaned, muttering something about regretting ever letting you sit near his neck. "You promise not to laugh…?"

"I pinky promise!" you replied, raising a finger to seal the vow with mock solemnity.

Just then he hesitated, “Just so you know…this is uhm..meant for a more mature audience actually" His optics flickered between you and the datapad still clutched in his hand , raising his glasses. “I— I’ve tried sharing my work before,” he admitted, voice quieter now, like he was letting you in on a secret no one else knew. “Other bots— they don’t get it. They think it’s weird. Call me names for it.” His vents exhaled sharply, like he was forcing the words out. “So, I stopped.”

"Then something happened, one night…I've gathered some courage…I— I got the courage to start posting again. On a brand new blog,all mine.” His wings twitched, and if you didn’t know better, you’d almost think he was flustered." That's where..I started finding my own people, bots who enjoy my writings, who get it, who get me-they- uh,,it's embarassing to explain it" Your eyes widened. “You’ve got fans? followers??”

“Not fans, or er followers, I don't care if they're millions” he grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular. “Just… bots who don’t make fun of me.”

"….millions…?" A wide grin spread across your face, practically vibrating, grabbing his faceplate. “THUNDERCRAKER YOU'RE FAMOUS”

“Stop it.”

“Oh. my. god., you’re a secret literary influencer. AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME? Thundercraker I'm utterly disappointed in you…Do you have a pen name? Do you do Q&As? Do you—”

Clearly exasperated he let out a long sigh"…-I, yes." , getting it all out of his chest "on my side blog"Leaning even closer to his faceplace, your curiosity piqued “Wait, wait—what do you write on the side blog? Is it more poetry? Deep reflections? Or—” Your gasp was audible miles away, eyes practically sparkling. “Do you write fic?”

Thundercracker stiffened, as if the mere suggestion had thrown him off balance.

You inhaled sharply, realization washing over you. “YOU DO.”

His vents whirred with increasing intensity. “I will throw you.”

“Ohhh, seems like someone likes to write fanfiction about their peers!” you teased, grinning like you’d just uncovered Cybertron’s best-kept secret. “What is it?? Secret forbidden Decepticon romances? Dramatic retellings of mission failures? Starscream redemption arcs?”

He made a noise between a frustrated groan and a static-laced growl. “It’s not that.”

You gasped theatrically, pressing a hand to your chest. “Oh God, is it about Megatron?”

Thundercracker recoiled so hard his thrusters nearly flared to life, causing a brief shimmer of light around him. “ABSOLUTELY NOT…or well, yet”

You waved a hand nonchalantly, leaning back into your blanket. “Oh, come on, TC! I can just picture it now—Decepticons in love, right? You, writing about all your fellow Seekers in dramatic, very emotional situations. Spicy stuff too, right?”

Ah, you caught on even quicker than he expected. His wings twitched nervously, and his gaze flickered down to you“It’s not exactly… what you think,” he muttered, as if trying to downplay his fascination.

“Oh?” You practically bounced with curiosity. “So you don’t write about your fascination with your other peers? I mean, I’ve seen some pretty intense stuff on the net— wait a second…if that's not the case… then…” You leaned in closer ( if that was even possible), squinting up at him with a playful grin. “—Bot x Human?”

He froze. Silence stretched between you, thick enough to cut with a blade. His wings gave an involuntary twitch, his vents releasing a slow, steady exhale like he was already regretting everything.

“I knew it!That’s your thing! You’ve been writing about us all along!”

Thundercracker hesitated, his optics flickering, and there was no hiding the slight tinge of something deeper behind his words. “I… I just think humans are… fascinating. They’re small, but they feel everything so strongly. I mean, they’re capable of emotions and connections that—” He stuttered.

“Aw, TC,” you teased, your grin widening. “You’re a romantic.” *Thundercracker blinked at you, surprised by your response. “You’re… not weirded out?”

“Nope.” You grinned playfully. “Honestly? I think it's kinda sweet, even if it’s a bit scary. Picture a big Decepticon like you, writing stories about us humans and what makes them tick?” You snickered. “You’re like a secret human studies scholar! And from now on I'll be your own personal teacher! mhh, or maybe  human muse sounds more fun,  don't you think?”

“Also, I’m full of useful knowledge!” nudging his hand  "Before you know it, you’ll be an expert on humans. And hey, who knows? You might even get better at writing them… in all areas  eheh even the spicy bits, the things humans like to read about late at night. You know the ones.” You shot him a knowing look. “I’ve seen plenty of spicy fanfics out there. I’m sure your readers would love that content from a Decepticon writer!”

He vented against your face, his wings twitching nervously for the tenth time. "Fine then. If you want to help so badly…" You felt him mass shift beneath you, the air growing thicker, and tense.

In an instant, you found yourself nearly pressed against his side as his hand moved into a more comfortable position to hold you. The sensation of his body, now slightly taller and bigger than yours, felt like a strange mix of security and intimacy. Thundercracker shifted once more, making sure you were settled before his voice returned, quieter but with a hint of nervousness.

"If you'll allow me then-" his hands twitched and stopped just above your shirt.

You couldn’t suppress a grin, feeling the excitement building. "Oh, I think you’ll do just fine. We could use this time to learn more about what makes…both bots and humans…unique".

[centrally-unplanned]

This article about Hamas's strategic planning in the lead up to the October assault was at least a partial mind-changer for me. So far I had been viewing Hamas as executing a "bait" attack on Israel for international & domestic political reasons. Kill enough Israelis, and in particular take some hostages, to force Israel to invade Gaza; which you want because that will re-inflame radicalism, tank Israel's growing coziness with Arab states like the Gulf Monarchies, and keep the Palestine Question front-and-center on people's agendas.

What it was not about was achieving any sense of a military victory; Hamas did not think they would be able to defeat the IDF on the field, or even truly hold them back. They thought they would do better than they have in defending Gaza, to be honest, but the goal wasn't to "win" in that way or anything. The actions of Israel, in their inflamed bloodlust, would be the fulcrum of progress for Hamas. It was the most logical interpretation of their strategy, because tbh its working, Israel's strategy void has bungled this war at every level. Of course if it is "worth it" is a completely separate question - Hamas is playing a game from deep, deep in the red, if you aren't going to fold and pack it up from that position these are the hail mary plays you make.

This article, a long (and sometimes overly windy) interview with two career members of the Palestinian governing orgs (primarily Fatah), shines a very different light on that. They outline that over the past ~decade, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar coalesced power around his own faction of highly fundamentalist adherents that convinced itself that divine favor was shining on them and they would be able to actually defeat Israel in the field. The most compelling evidence for this is a conference they held planning the post-conquest occupation of Israel:

So detailed were the plans that participants in the conference began to draw up list of all the properties in Israel and appointed representatives to deal with the assets that would be seized by Hamas. "We have a registry of the numbers of Israeli apartments and institutions, educational institutions and schools, gas stations, power stations and sewage systems, and we have no choice but to get ready to manage them," Obeid told the conference.

They even called people up to ask if they would take the job of governor of this-of-that province! This was not a bored-Friday white paper by any means. They discussed defensive plans and counter-offensives like that was on the table. Sinwar outlined conquest as the goal.

If we accept this premise, it naturally lends itself to the question "okay how did they get the rest of Hamas to go along with this?" Because Hamas is not all These Kinds of People, its a governing state that does politics on the international stage after all. One of the reasons I leaned towards my interpretation was that, for the past ~decade, Hamas has actually been doing a glam-up rebranding of the org to make it more moderate & respectable in international eyes. The 2017 Charter Revision is the biggest example, which included say disavowing the idea that this was a religious war (distinguishing between zionism & judaism), and loosely admitting to the idea that they could recognize Israel as a country if terms were met. Actions like these show actors who are pretty level-headed. Were they inauthentic? Did they change their mind?

Maybe a bit, but its more than they aren't the same people. Right alongside the build-up to the October attack was a purging & sidelining of whole swaths of Hamas leadership. Many were not even informed of the attack - though they knew something was coming. Apparently it leaked on October 2nd, and a bunch of leaders just immediately fled the Strip for safety. This one is the most amusing:

Haniyeh's eldest son took a similar course of action. Around midday on October 2, Abed Haniyeh chaired a meeting of the Palestinian sports committee, which is headed by the minister of sports, Jibril Rajoub. Suddenly he received a phone call, left the room for a few minutes and then returned, pale and confused. He immediately informed the committee – whose members were in a Zoom conference with counterparts in the West Bank – that he had to leave for the Rafah crossing straightaway, as he had just learned that his wife had to undergo fertility treatment in the United Arab Emirates. (He was lying.) He granted full power of attorney to his deputy and left the Gaza Strip hurriedly.

That is one way to duck out of a pointless meeting, take notes people!

So instead of my hail mary politics play, what you have is a story of an institutional coup by a radical faction - which for extremist resistance groups is an ever-present threat. None of this means the "bait" strategy part is wrong of course, that was definitely still the point - but this argument here claims that goal of the bait was to bring the IDF into Gaza where it could be defeated in the field with their extensive fortifications, and then presumably inspire others like Hezbollah to jump on the moment of weakness and besiege Israel proper.

So....is this true? There are two gigantic caveats on this article: the first is that the people being interviewed do not primarily work for Hamas - they are members of Fatah, the leading faction of the PLO. They hate Hamas, they are not Hamas leaders themselves, they have every incentive to paint Hamas as irredeemable. You really can't take this story simply at their word. But they aren't outsiders - they hate Hamas but they work with them constantly, that is how it works, people rotate around in the Palestine orgs. They have met personally and worked with dozens of Hamas leaders; one of them was even called to be offered one of those post-war occupation governorships! (He said no lol) So its a big red flag but not a damning one. And things like the fleeing leaders, the conference on the occupation, those all 100% happened. They released press on it, they weren't hiding it.

The second caveat is that its just really not uncommon for large organizations, particularly extremist ones, to engage in mainly performative actions at scale. The South Korean government still maintains a department that plans for the administration of North Korea for example! Not totally useless ofc, but it writes exactly the reports you think it does that get put in a bin and never touched. Sometimes its appeasing internal factions, sometimes its PR, sometimes its just institutional inertia. Its absolutely believable that Hamas would make a big plan for how they would conquer Israel because otherwise...what do you tell the commanders, exactly? Why are they fighting again? A significant percentage of the lower-level fighters need that belief, so you give it to them. While certainly there is a fundamentalist faction in Hamas, are they ones winning? Or are they just another faction being played against?

I don't see enough evidence to say, but there is enough to make me pause. I'm not sold on it in the end, that is my final conclusion. I think more brains than Sinwar were involved in this and they had more realistic aspirations. And yet the level of commitment and disorganization does suggest that at least some of what was pushing events forward was a group immune to doubts being at the wheel. Certainly interested in researching more.

[animatedjen]

hallooooo it's kybersteal here - this is my main hehe - and uhh i have a bunch of questions about UUU actually, mostly about the order to do things in, how exactly it works with the in-game photomode (if at all) and if you can combine custom expressions with animations and such. like i said before, i've been spoiled with Otis tools in other games so i just wanna know if my expectations are unrealistic for Survivor or not lol. any help you can give will be very much appreciated ✌️☺️

Good questions! I mainly use the UUU camera in the Jedi games, with a few exceptions (Hell is Us and RDR2) so I'm not sure how Otis' tools are used elsewhere. But I'll answer with what I do know:

Does the UUU camera work with the in-game photomode? Ehh kind of but not really. When you open photomode with the UUU tools active [photo 2] you'll have access to in-game lights and overlays (filters, stamps, frames) but all the actual camera features (focal length, DOF, etc) are now controlled with UUU.

If I'm using the camera tools for photos, it's often during a cutscene or while also using the Pose Editor, both situations where the in-game camera isn't viable. So this isn't something I've tested much.

Can you combine custom expressions with animations? If you want your own Pose Editor poses used with an animation - short answer, no. The UUU In-Game Overlay [photo 3] allows you to trigger character animations from a drop-down list under "Experimental Options." Here I selected a body and face animation that we normally see when changing Cal's hair/beard in the game's customization menu [photo 4]

If you activate the Pose Editor, it freezes Cal's current position. So you could start an animation, pause at the expression you want, and then adjust the overall pose with the Pose Editor [photo 5]. But those changes will disappear when the Pose Editor is deactivated.

That drop-down list does sometimes include cutscene-specific animations, depending on your current story progression and which cutscenes happen at that location. The ending shot of Traitor Inquisitorius 3 combines an idle body animation, a facial animation from the second Denvik confrontation on Nova Garon, and a windy hair animation. The gif at the top of this post is a cutscene animation from the ambush on the senator's yacht.

Hopefully this is helpful? I'm running v4.10.2 so some features will differ depending on how updated your UUU tools are. I also reference the documentation a LOT when I can't remember a hotkey or need to remind myself how a specific feature works. Otherwise it's lots of trial and error 🤷‍♀️

[windydrawallday]

The morning shift had me busy af to pay attention to anything else so, I'll leave these as beta/unfinished until next time! I was hesitant to grab Zaktan because, except for the head (I like it a lot), I'm not very convinced but still pleased to put as many spiny details as I could pfff (I thought about Praying Mantises to make him look "collected/stoic" and Lich/Animated Corpses for their "decadent/unmade" look).

BONUS just me tossing that ball of an idea: I know in canon his body shifting isn't exactly treated as full shapeshifting... but I like the idea of Zaktan being able to tweak his body features just enough to change his appearance... even shift where his mass go to "lose" some height and look less threatening... until he can't hold back anymore the patience or concentration for it.

... that would be quite the scary thing to look, shifting from one state to another...

[megadoomingir]

Hello! I read your fanfic "stop me" and it inspired me to create a whole sub-blog dedicated to an au I came up with.

Are there any tips you have for writing things out like settings? And also just general pacing cuz I seem to struggle with pacing lol

Hello! And goodness me- I was recently told ‘artists inspiring artists’; please carry that with you as you work on your AU blog and any other stories you come up with! Keep the energy flowing! 🙌

And what a great question! Let me see if I can break things down for you and, hopefully, be helpful. :)

Let’s start with settings. Let’s say you’d like to write a battle. Swords clanging, guns firing, knuckles cracking, whatever it is. The battle itself, whether big or small, has no form or real function unless you know where it’s being fought. Fighting on a beach is going to be written differently than on the streets in a city or even along a mountain path. You have to take into account the terrain and the relationship it has with your characters. Not just where their feet are planted but what hazards could arise (misplaced stones/shells, trash/human objects, boulders/trees/bushes, SO MANY THINGS-). Even the little details, the weather, the natural world, the smells, all of it, comes together to create the scene. So hmm… Let me try something. I’m not going to tell you where the setting is. I’m going to describe it…

Dawn had long since passed. The crash of the waves and the salt in the air only added to the tension growing amongst her soldiers. Her lieutenant was trying to be subtle, kicking the heel of his boot against his calf to dislodge sand collecting between his toes, but it only made her fill with more anxiety. The discomfort was as palpable as the bite of the cold wind across her face. She could smell winter’s breath, its breeze like frozen fingers in her hair. Her army’s banner twirled above her on a post. It would be the first thing her opponents saw as they crawled over the dunes to meet their end.

Now let’s analyze this. They’re on the beach. It’s the seaside. It’s cold, miserable, windy. Everyone is on edge. Instead of directly saying ‘The battle was on the beach…’, I described the territory and some of the issues they’d be dealing with. I even give the time of day. I don’t need to talk about how maybe there’s a cape nearby or an outcrop of boulders, unless it be pertinent to the story itself, but I give enough detail that someone could close their eyes, smell the salt, feel the cold and hear the waves. Don’t overload your settings to start, but be very mindful of what is important to tell your story. Since this woman’s army stands at the beach, that sand is going to affect how they’re able to move, run, dodge, etc. Focus FIRST on the most important details to your story’s environment, then add other details as needed. If the detail has no impact on your characters or the progress of the story, then it probably isn’t needed anyway. Let me give another example of this, so you can see the difference!

Milo needed the latest and greatest appliances, especially in his state-of-the-art kitchen. He never cooked and refused to learn. Among the wooden countertops that he felt matched the blue walls and low-hanging white tiles, his utensils were stacked neatly and covered in dust. He had flowering plants in pots by the window. Next to the kitchen was his favorite room, his woodworking shop.

Ok, this was hard for me to write because I didn’t want to talk about his kitchen at all and really wanted to detail his hobby- But let me explain that! Pretend we are writing a story about this ‘Milo’ and his woodworking shop that he runs out of his home. That’s the first thing we should be describing! If it’s important later that he needs his kitchen, we can describe it gently in the beginning. But pretend we talked about his shop first already-

He’d never really noticed it all before. The stacks of nonperishables he never cooked, the neat rows of appliances and utensils never touched- some still tightly bound in their original packaging- and all of it, all of it, covered in a fine layer of dust that had never once caught his eye. Well, it caught his eye now. And as the surmounting list of cleaning tasks grew larger, Milo’s stomach dropped with the feeling of knowing he had only an hour to clean… and an hour to learn how to cook.

Oh Milo. Shouldn’t have put that off. XD Now that it’s important to the story, we can describe his kitchen. Could be family, a friend or even someone new in his life coming over. The point is this: if you’re writing about Milo’s woodworking shop that he runs out of his house, and it happens to sit next to the kitchen, don’t describe the kitchen unless it becomes a major part of the story. Maybe he needs to grab a cup of coffee out of there and reflect on his life choices. Or he has a tantrum and breaks a cup. But unless his coming into the kitchen for say, breakfast, is a super important moment, don’t describe how he makes two poached eggs, three slices of toast with butter, fresh squeezed orange juice and a handful of bacon. Sounds like a great breakfast. But does it give him food poisoning later? Is the breakfast itself important because his late mother made it for him and it was the last thing she made for him so he eats it every day? To sum it all up, focus on the details that drive your story forward or have place and reason among your characters. I’ve written Milo for only a little bit, I just made him up, but from what we can already see, he’s an artist, probably good with his hands, but clearly neglects parts of his house and he doesn’t know how to cook. He’s probably struggling with other aspects of his life that are spiraling out of his control and where he finds control is in buying things he never uses. His house is probably hoarded in on top of everything else. If I were to write a story about Milo and his woodworking shop, I would want to keep my details of his environment important to his story.

As for pacing… I feel like a majority of my childhood was filled with great movies and TV shows. Some, when I watch now, are really fast-paced and I feel robbed of the larger story I could have had with an extra season or even a TV show out of a movie premise. Take a look at the media you consume. What movies and shows are you watching currently? Do they feel wrapped up a little quickly or too fast paced? Or even the opposite? Are they dragging on and on without telling much of a story? Part of how we as writers tell stories is based largely upon our exposure to media and experiences we’ve had. When it comes to translating all that into our own written word, pacing can be hard to master.

Let me be clear: it took me years to master pacing. Practice, practice, practice does help. Not perfection, but improvement. There’s always the ability to do better later on. If I were to read my very early works, I would cringe at the sight of it. But it’s what helped me develop my skills as a writer. My advice would be to look into writing privately for yourself, something you don’t post, and something you can quietly dissect without outside influence telling you how to do it. Read it aloud so you can hear the story (as reading it and hearing it are very different and can help you spot problems) or even have your computer read it to you (check your computer’s Voice under System Preferences, if you have it).

How does your story end? It’s one of the most important questions a writer can ask themselves when they come up with an idea. If you don’t have an idea for the ending, your pacing will definitely be off because your story is on a journey to nowhere. I’m fortunate in the sense that when I have an idea, it’s one of the first few things I establish in my head. ‘I have a story about this and these are some things that happen in between and this is how it ends.’ Stories that have no defined end tend to drag on too much and stories that don’t have foundations to build off of will move too quickly.

So to summarize: when it comes to settings and environments, you need to imagine in your head what the territory accomplishes for your characters and your story. What details are important to them to push the story forward? What needs to be understood immediately and what can be told later? Highlight the most significant aspects first. Let your characters’ interactions with their world help describe the rest. And when it comes to pacing? Absorb what you can through media. Analyze the pacing in movies and TV shows. Ask yourself ‘did they write the pacing too fast/too slow? Am I satisfied/agitated/bored with the length of the story? Does it make little sense how it pulls together?’ And don’t limit yourself to watching only the good stuff, consume bad stories, too. You will learn so much by watching bad shows and movies because we as humans notice the bad over the good consistently. (If you have a friend who seems to always complain about their car, you’re going to think they need a new car. But wait-! How often does your friend compliment how well their car drives? How often does anyone? You’re not going to spend your days praising your vehicle, you’re going to complain when this simple blip in your life is doing something wrong.) So watch bad media, too. Sci-Fi movies are easy to do that with. Any movie ‘made for TV’. I can provide you a list of ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ to study from. All movies that I would name, good or bad, are done so with love.

And let me say this…:

You will struggle. You will revise and rewrite and reimagine whole sections, and that is the beauty of your creation. To be seen and understood in your way and then reformed to be better seen and understood by others. Your writing will only improve the more you do it. Don’t be afraid to explore the limits of your abilities and push them. :)

[padfootagain]

Only an Almost (XIII)

Chapter 13: Decisions

Hi! Here comes a new chapter! We are reaching the heights of the angst… next chapter. So, buckle up, we’re up for a wild ride…

I hope you’ll like this chapter! Please, tell me what you think!

*************************************

Pairing: Hozier x fem!reader, friends with benefits AU

Warning: No explicit smut or nsfw content, but there are sexual themes and heavy make-out sessions (it’s a friends with benefits AU, I can’t really escape it), so 18+ only!

Summary: Andrew has been in love with you for years, and yet he has never confessed his feelings. But a night out celebrating the engagement of his best friend changes everything. However, you don't seem ready to be with him just yet. You make him an offer that he can't refuse... but will certainly regret.

Word Count : 1982

Masterlist for the series – Hozier’s Masterlist – Main Masterlist

“Andy, honey… can you take a pic from up there? Down the river. Try to centre it on the bridge…”

Andrew followed his mother’s instructions, climbed on the bench by the docks that ran along the Liffey, aimed the camera the best he could, took a couple of pictures.

“Is that alright?” he asked his mother to check the pictures, handing her the camera.

“Perfect! Thank you, honey.”

They resumed their walk down the river, Raine’s camera secured around her neck. He offered his mother his arm, and she took it with a tender smile.

“This is such a lovely afternoon, isn’t it?” she said after a moment of comfortable silence.

The sky was grey but there was no rain in sight. Dublin was busy with life, as it always was. The murmur of cars passing in adjacent streets and boulevards mingled with the cries of a few seagulls who had flew up along the river from the sea. It was early in the afternoon still, right after lunch-hours, and the docks were empty of people, except for the occasional joggers and their loud earphones, the parents and their children, the lovely couples. It wasn’t too warm, nor too windy. There was a sweet scent coming from a nearby bakery.

“Yeah, it is lovely,” Andrew nodded.

“Thanks for coming with me today and helping me with the pictures.”

“I’m expecting some kind of reward for such hard work,” he joked, making his mother laugh wholeheartedly.

“That may be arranged… if you come for lunch on Sunday.”

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

“Jon is coming too, with his partner.”

“Lovely.”

“You can ask Y/N to come, if you want to.”

“Mom…”

Andrew shook his head, growing annoyed already.

“Y/N and I aren’t together. I’ve told you…”

“I know, I know. You have that… casual thing going on. No progress on that then?”

Andrew grew quiet, pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he thought of an answer.

“I don’t know,” he answered earnestly. “I’m fucking lost.”

Raine waited patiently for her son to speak again.

“I… It’s like… I don’t know what she wants. Sometimes it’s just so… nice. Like we’re moving forward, like we’re getting closer to being an actual couple. And the next second she’s cold and just…”

“One step forward, two steps back…”

“Yeah, something like that. Back to square one. I don’t know what to do. I just… I can’t believe she feels nothing at all. There was this one time I talked to a woman in a pub… she was fucking jealous. I stayed over night and it was so… intimate. Really. It wasn’t just casual. And we have so much fun together, like… we really have a lot of moments when we are truly happy. But then, the other day, she just ran off like laying in bed with me for five minutes might kill her.”

He heaved a deep sigh.

“I don’t know. I’m lost. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I should do, and I don’t know what I want either.”

“Don’t you? Know what you want?”

“I mean… I do know. But she doesn’t want that.”

“Have you told her how you feel?”

“No… I don’t think she would react well.”

It was Raine’s turn to heave a sigh.

“If the two of you don’t want the same thing… you can’t stay with her. You’ll get hurt, Andrew. Do you understand?”

“Of course… don’t you think I’ve thought of that?” he fought back, being harsher than he meant.

He felt guilty as soon as the words passed his lips, and so he tightly closed them.

“You need to talk to her,” his mother insisted, ignoring her son’s irritation. “It’s the only way out. Communication is key.”

“I know.”

“But?”

“But if I do, and she rejects me…”

He let his words suspended in mid-air, to hover between them. But Raine soon let out a low chuckle.

“Andy… You can’t have happiness without sorrow; love without pain; satisfaction without risks… it’s never one or the other. It’s always both. If she rejects you, you’ll have to learn how to live with it, the way we all do.”

“I don’t know how to live without her. And I don’t think I want to find out.”

Slowly, she nodded.

“You must really love her,” was her only answer.

His throat tightened, he could feel that he was welling up too.

“Yeah… yeah…”

“I have to admit… I don’t understand her,” Raine went on.

She stopped their walk so they could sit on the bench there, facing the river. It wasn’t the nicest part of the docks, but it was quiet, and someone near was blowing soap bubbles with their daughter. They flew up catching the light of the hidden sun, iridescent and fragile as they rod on the wind. They both looked at the bubbles while they spoke.

“What do you mean?” asked Andrew.

“I mean… I’ve always thought that she felt the same as you did. That one day your lives would finally align, and you’d end up together. Married even.”

“Were you already choosing baby names for us?” Andrew laughed.

“I have a whole list,” she joked, and they both laughed for a moment, despite all the pain held in this conversation. “I don’t know… I thought she loved you.”

“I don’t know… sometimes I have hope. Sometimes she pushes me away so much, I wonder if she doesn’t hate me a little.”

“Hate you?”

“Or is ashamed of me, perhaps.”

“Why would she be ashamed of you? You’re a good man. You truly are a good and kind person. There will never be a day when I am not infinitely proud of who you’ve become.”

“God, mom, stop… that’s enough…” Andrew protested, blushing all the way to the top of his ears and shifting uncomfortably on their bench.

Raine merely smiled fondly at him.

“I don’t know,” Andrew went on. “I don’t understand what she wants.”

“This can’t go on forever.”

Slowly, he nodded. Daphne’s words echoed in his mind.

“You’re right. I need to talk to her.”

“I’m your mother. I’m always right!”

They laughed again, brighter and merrier than before. They remained there for a long while, chatting, the conversation drifting towards the rest of their family, this new recipe for a blueberry pie she wanted to try, this song he was working on.

When he offered to go for tea before going home, Andrew was fully aware of how lucky he was to have her by his side.

The hike was nice, although the weather was unsteady. But then again, it always was in Ireland.

Andrew wanted to wait until you would reach the lake to talk. First Daphne, then his mother… he couldn’t push back that moment any longer.

You had talked about your work while you walked, then about the wedding. It was coming closer, only a couple of months left. Soon, it would be time to try on the dresses and suits, settle on the flavour for the cake.

You were growing a little annoyed though. It was visible that he was only half-listening to you, barely participating in the conversation. Still, you didn’t say a thing, merely pouting and frowning a little. You were adorable, as always…

“Ha, there it is! Let’s take a break!” he offered as you finally reached the shore of the lake.

You plopped down in the grass as an answer, further away from the trail so as not to be disturbed if more people were coming this way. Andrew soon joined you.

“Alright, what snacks for today?” he asked, making you roll your eyes.

“You know you can bring your own snacks…”

“They’re better if I steal them from you!”

You chuckled, handing him some biscuits and some grapes.

“As sweet as you,” he teased, biting in one of the fruits and shooting you a wink that brough fire to your skin.

“Smooth,” you said with irony dripping from your voice.

He laughed, biting on his biscuit instead. His favourites. He wondered if you knew how much he loved them. You often carried these when you hiked together.

There was a long silence, and Andrew was visibly nervous. He had a lot of courage to gather, and a lump in his throat that needed to be swallowed back, so he could finally talk to you.

“Andy? Spit it out.”

He looked up at you.

“Hmm?”

“Whatever it is that got you so worked up… spit it out. You’re killing me.”

He clenched his jaw, set his gaze on the lake. Peaceful. Tiny ripples brought by the wind. Rocks and grass and wildflowers staining its shores. There were some birds over there, on a tiny rock, right on the edge of the water. He wondered what kind of birds they were, all shades of grey and white and black…

“I just… I think we should talk.”

“We have talked,” you fought back, defensive already.

“Y/N…”

“Look, Andy… things are simple. We don’t need to talk about this more. We agreed that this would be casual, just sex, no attach. If you don’t want to do that anymore, we can stop.”

“I don’t want us to stop…”

“What do you want then?”

You.

But if he said it, he knew you would run. He could see it in your eyes now. Somehow, he just knew you would fly away like these birds on the shore of the lake, that you would disappear in the sky, never to be seen again.

“I just want you to answer one question.”

“Go on.”

“What do you want from me?”

You were so taken aback by his question, you were left silent, with lips parted and brows furrowed.

“What… what do you mean?” you stuttered back.

“What do you want from me? This… this is temporary. At one point, we’ll either become more than friends, or go back to being in a friendly zone. Which one will it be?”

You huffed, clearly uncomfortable, shifting your weight.

“I don’t know. How could I know that?”

“I know.”

“And what do you want?”

“I asked first.”

“I asked second.”

“No. No, Y/N. You’re not allowed to turn that around.”

“Why not? Why are you asking this anyway? You’re always… wanting to plan, wanting to make this evolve… why can’t things just remain how they are?”

Because I’m in love with you.

But Andrew couldn’t say that. He settled for what seemed like the next best thing.

“Because I care about you. And because nothing ever stays the same. Things always change.”

He was surprised by your sudden anger. How you got to your feet in a jolt. How you started packing back your snacks.

“Y/N…”

“I don’t fucking know, okay?! What do you want me to tell you, Andy? It was never meant to be more than an arrangement. What else could I say?”

“It means more than that to me.”

You opened your mouth, but nothing came out. He didn’t know what to make of your silence. Because if no words were coming out of your mouth, tears were gathering at the corners of your eyes.

And his heart was beating a thousand miles a minute, but he didn’t back down. He stared, and waited, for an answer that never came.

Instead, you kept on packing. And then you were off to the trail without a word. He followed you, eventually, walking behind you in silence. It started to rain, about halfway down the trail to get back to the carpark. You reached his car in silence, drenched and miserable.

You didn’t speak for a few days, until an olive branch was offered to him, in the shape of an invitation to the cinema.

He ended up in your bed that night, but when it was over and done, he didn’t stay.

[rafeysvenicebitch]

𖤓Crossing the Divide𖤓

𖤓Part 1𖤓

Paring: Rafe Cameron x fem!pouge!reader

Warnings: Cussing, suggestive I think

Your little beach house cabin was around the warf, it was a 30 drive from your job. Inconvenient, but you had to get money anyhow. You had no one to pay the rent for you, and no one to pay your college funds. You used to tutor, but all the younger kids had grown up, and the kids who struggled with school either dropped out of school or their parents pulled them out due to signs of no progress. You had been living off of the 3,000 dollars you got for a year. Not much, but just enough if you were mindful about how it was spent.

The sun had almost set and a black Cadillac was trailing you for about 6 minutes; slowing down when you slowed down, stopping when you stopped, and sped up when you did. You stopped and got off your bike. You knew wearing incredibly short denim shorts would get you in trouble, but you’d thought you’d be home before dark.

The driver seat window rolled down, a familiar voice shouted,”Hey doll face! Why’d you stop?” The door opens and Rafe Cameron stepped out. He had to be the most entitled kook you knew, after Topper and Kelce of course.

But he was the most dangerous. A killer. A criminal, so you chose your words carefully.

You cleared your throat,”I just felt uncomfortable, Mr. Cameron.” Too formal.

He chuckled,”Mr. Cameron? Are you a business partner, doll face?” He walked closer to you, with his hands behind your back. His face inched closer to yours,”Come on, answer my fucking question, doll face.”

You crossed your arms and put the shield of your helmet up,”Stop calling me doll face!”

He backed up with a sly smile on his face,”Alright, dollie. You like that better?”

You rolled your eyes and huffed,”I don’t have time for this.” You turned around and walked back to your motorbike.

He roughly pulled you back,”Dollie, I see you got a packa cigarettes on you. Care to share?”

You didn’t even look at him,”No.”

He sighed,”You leave me no choice, dollie.” He yanked you cigarettes and lighter from your pocket, he held them in the air.

You tried reaching for them. It’s not like you were short, you were 5’11, and he was 6’2.

You whined,”Rafe! Give them back!”

He shook his head, lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth,”Nuh uh sweet thing.” You gave up and were about to turn around, but he stopped you,”You wanna sit for a while? You’re not like the typa pouge I usually see.”

You take your helmet off and put hung it on your motorbike. You had already parked on a sidewalk, so you were good.

You nodded,”Sure.” Bad idea. It’s Rafe Fucking Cameron. A killer. A criminal. An unsettling feel was looming in your stomach.

He passed you the blunt as he walked you to a bench,”Perfect.” He put his leather jacket in your hands,”You cold? It’s kinda windy.”

You felt cheeks heat up. Stop it, you told yourself. You snorted,”Since when were you caring?” You put the jacket on.

He lit a cigarette for himself, taking a few puffs before answering,”Since a few minutes ago, doll face. I like that nickname better.”

You nodded,”Ok.” You both sat in silence for a few minutes, then you broke it,”I can’t pay for college.” Dumb idea.

He took like 6 long drags, then answered,”Oh. You’re going to college.”

You sighed,”I’m not Kook royalty, Rafe. I have to work.”

He put his head back,”Yeah. Do you need help?”

You took the cigarette out of your mouth, and bit your lip. The pouges would verbally kill you for accepting help from Rafe Cameron, especially Kiara and Sarah. But what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Right?

“Sure.”

He looked at you, smirking,”It’ll cost ya’, doll face.”

You looked at him, locking eyes,”What?”

He kissed his teeth,”Everything comes with a price,” he played with your hoop earrings,”In your case, lemme doll you up. Show you off. No one knows you in the first place. You’re my intelligent personal assistant.”

You blink a few times,”Am I doing any real work?”

He held your face up with your chin, observing you,”’Course. You’re smart aren’t ya?” You nodded,”You’ll plan out some things, you don’t need to know. You’re too much of an angel. I needa save some of that innocence.”

You looked away. Were you really doing this? Risking your friendships just to get into college?

You nodded again,”I’m in.”

>>>

“You did what!” Sarah and Kiara yelled in unison.

You looked down,”I’m working for Rafe now. I need to get out of this place.”

Pope scoffed,”So you’re risking your friendships to go to college. I wanna to go college too, but I wouldn’t do that.”

Your eyes started to water, your nails dug into your palms,”I know.”

John B sighed,”Do you even know what that bitch did? He killed people, shot his own sister, stole gold, and jumped me n’ Pope.”

John B stood up to pat your shoulder,”You’re playing a dangerous game. It’s your funeral. You can’t pull out of the deal now, or you’ll owe ‘im.”

You looked up,”I just need to get out of Kildare. I’m risking it all, I know. And y’all are the best people to come into my life-“ your voice cracked up,”I need to do this.” Before you knew it, you let go. Tears started rolling down your face one by one. You covered your mouth, muffling your sobs.

Sarah and Kiara were the first people to give you a hug. JJ went in, then John B, then Pope.

“Do what you gotta do. But just know, if he does anything. We told you so.” JJ said in matter-of-fact tone.

You smiled, wiping your tears,”Ok.”

୨⎯ END OF PART 1 ⎯୧

[makeshiftdraco]

Thanks for the tag @greenleaf4stuff !

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your latest fanfics (or up to if you have less!) & tag 10 people.

To Bear Such Scorn

The Silmarillion & Unfinished Tales Canon AU. Explicit. In progress. Celeborn/Galadriel/Annatar.

Galadriel and Celeborn dom the Dark Lord in Eregion.

The scent of smoke and iron greeted Annatar as he entered Celebrimbor’s workshop.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66747652

Brat

TROP Adarond Mafia AU (Sequel to Creep). Explicit. Finished. Brat tamer!Adar/Brat!Elrond.

Elrond gets kidnapped by a rival syndicate, and Adar swiftly comes to his rescue. Upon their return to Mordor, the mob boss punishes his brat for his defiance, but softer confessions arise in the aftermath of the earlier bloodbath.

Elrond gracefully wove through the crowd of writhing bodies, confidently dodging drunk dancers.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64041571

The Diplomacy of Desire

TROP Adarond Diplomatic Marriage AU. Slowburn. Mature so far but eventually explicit. In progress. Adar/Elrond.

Tensions run high as Adar and Elrond meet to negotiate outside the besieged city of Eregion. When the Elven commander refuses to give up the ring of power, Adar suggests an alternative solution that catches the Half-elf by surprise. The Moriondor will agree to an alliance between Uruks and Elves upon one very specific condition...a diplomatic marriage between Elrond and himself.

The iron chain heavy around his throat, Adar lay upon a cold and windy peak, looking up at the heavens in despair.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61103356

Beware the Wolf Within

TROP Serial Killer AU (Sequel to Beware the Wolf Behind the Mask). Explicit. Dead dove. Finished. Halbrand/Galadriel.

Galadriel grapples with her new life on the lam with Halbrand. She unintentionally brings the infamous serial killer to her cousin's doorstep, and she is forced to confront her own jealousy and anger when Halbrand takes an interest in Mirdania, an innocent young woman who is almost her perfect likeness.

Silvery moonlight glinted in Galadriel’s golden hair, the cool wind rippling through tangled tresses as she watched the wooded landscape fly past.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/60497668

Bitter Aftertaste

TROP Haladriel Modern AU. Explicit. Finished. Sauron/Galadriel.

Tensions run high when Galadriel and Sauron confront each other at a party. The bitter exes are forced into close proximity, and lingering desires threaten to reopen wounds that neither of them have fully healed.

“Is all this really necessary?” Sauron inquired.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62870926

Stolen Warmth

TROP Adarond Canon AU, written for Adarond Week. Explicit (non con elements). Finished. Adar/Elrond.

Adar meets with Gil-galad to negotiate terms of surrender. The Moriondor is willing to let all the king's subjects depart Eregion...save one.

Adar stood amid the ruins of Eregion, reveling in a battle hard won.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62146528

Osculation Overdue

TROP Adarond Library AU, written for Adarond Week. Mature. Finished. Single dad!Adar/Librarian!Elrond.

Glug decided to play matchmaker when he overhears his father call the nice librarian pretty.

“Hurry, Dad!”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62045902

Creep

TROP Adarond Nightclub & Mafia AU, written for Adarond Week (Prequel to Brat). Explicit. Finished. Adar/Elrond.

Elrond pretends to be Galadriel's boyfriend to save her from creeps at the nightclub, but the club owner, Adar, isn't falling for their ruse. Elrond soon learns it wasn't Galadriel that caught older man's interest...

Adar leaned against the railing, surveying his oasis of darkness with a glass of whiskey in hand.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61987636

The Exception

TROP Haladriel Mafia AU. Explicit. Finished. Sauron/Galadriel.

Galadriel falls for the charming stranger that stumbles into her bar, but little does she know Halbrand has a dark past and a plan for revenge.

A gloom permeated the dockyards.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47164501

Touch & Taste

Star Wars Reverse Harem Mafia AU (part of Reylo Mafia AU The Thunderbolt). Explicit. Finished. Ben Solo/Rey/Ushar & Ben Solo/Rey/Vicrul.

Kylo and Kira Ren finally reward Ushar and Vicrul for their faithful service to the newly formed Ren Syndicate.

The cold edge of a sharp knife awoke Ushar from his slumber.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55023172

Definitely noticing an unintentional trend with my opening lines. Apparently setting ominous vibes is my go to...

Tagging: @myrsinemezzo @conundrumoftime @shestoodintears @klynnvakarian @elvendreamsfics @coraleethroughthelookingglass @demonscantgothere @theriverwild @myfavouritelunatic @scriberated

[snapthistiger]

exercise 05192025

bike ride to the gym

worked lifeguard job 445a to 10a

8 x 10 incline sit ups

3 x 10 pec machine

3 x 10 lat raise

3 x 10 low row

30 minutes on the step mill

3 x 10 cable press

3 x 10 cable row

bike ride home

the gym workers received mini Three Musketeers

work went well. on my own most of the time. steady swimmers and then water aerobics class at 8a. coworker who was due in at 9a showed up 7 minutes late

exercise felt great. especially the step mill. i am due to donate blood soon and that will slow me down some

my watch was dead when i woke up this morning. i changed the battery this afternoon. hopefully the watch will still be water resistant after the battery swap

grrrrr. work scheduled me on top of 2 days of time off that i had requested and that was approved. the gym is super short on lifeguards due to additional demand for lifeguards at new pools in the area and the water park opens next week and another pool opens this coming Saturday.

top = water aerobics class in progress

bottom = mourning dove hanging out near the gym. probably staying out of the super windy conditions

hope you have a peaceful afternoon and evening..

[crownofefflorescence]

Hello, I hope this isn't to rude to ask but I was wondering what the outfit styles and trends of clothing are like in your world? And I hope the writing is going smoothly, and your having fun while doing it <3

Hello, Anon!

ヾ(˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶)

This is a lovely ask, not rude at all! It's still a work-in-progress, but I've answered it a few months ago in THIS post and will try to go into more detail for you here!

Sandals, breathable fabrics like linen, and lighter colours are preferred because of the arid climate. Embroidered and dyed fabric is commonplace though! Z wears a lot of red. Nobility or royalty favour robes (and sometimes sleeves) that are long enough to trail and are more elaborately embroidered or dyed. Patterns are inspired by flowers or leaves, but can include other details or be somewhat abstract.

Cuffs, rings, bracelets, collared and beaded necklaces, and decorative chains are common accessories.

Headscarfs are essential during windy or very hot days; elaborate headdress (more in the style of hanfu) are worn by royalty and those powerful in working magic, but among the rest of the immortals hair can also be fashioned as elaborately or simply as desired by that individual.

Cosmetics are common and dark pigments are most often applied around the eyes for beauty and protection from the elements. No tattoos or piercings as I explained HERE, but there will be no such limitations on your MC.

How much of the body is covered is also up to individual preference or however one prefers to stay cool in warmer weather! For example, U is almost always fully covered to the neck and wrists.

You might not be seeing much of the wider world and culture in the game itself, because the premise is quite isolating and we'll be focused on the twins, but your MC will get glimpses of it here and there.

If you want to look up more references, the worldbuilding for the clothing style in Garden of Bones was partly inspired by traditional garments from the Middle East and also Asia, most notably but not limited to Egypt, India, and China!

As I said in the first post linked above, something from everything, none of one thing.

Hopefully this was a satisfactory answer, Anon, and thanks again for the ask; I really love worldbuilding!

~ Effie

[razielim]

Razielim's Playlist Recs

For focus, entertainment, and relaxing.

✍🏼 For writing: Assassin's Creed II OST. No spoken words to fuck up your writing process; immaculate vibes. (Side note: Venice Escape is one of my favorite pieces of music ever. Perfection.)

🎨 For painting: Assassin's Creed II ambience: collecting treasure chests OR walking around Florence. The first one has a lot more chaos/action happening, the second one is more peaceful/predictable. Both can be helpful for focusing, depending on the mind's current state.

🎨 For painting: Assassin's Creed IV sea shanties + ambiance. Works best when you're working on rendering something very dull but necessary, especially if you know the words well enough to sing along. Y'know, the way this music form was initially intended to be experienced, just with less rope burns.

☔ For progress: Zelda lofi + thunderstorm. When it's raining and you need just a little bit more energy to get through working on your fic or art, this is great. Also good wind-down music when you want to listen to something intense enough to not be boring, but not stimulating enough to stay up another five hours.

📚 For reading: Classical piano + thunderstorm. Whether it's actually raining outside or just very grey and you'd like to pretend it's raining, this collection of classical pieces just can't be beat for curling up with a good book/fic during overcast weather.

🥘 For cooking: Now We're Cooking. It's got everything. A fuzzy weather report, some classic Peter Parker humor, and just really good music. Put this on repeat, don an apron, perhaps pour a glass of wine, and meal prep flies by.

☕ For mornings: Sunday Joyride. The music-lover's lofi. No mid, half-formed notions of "relaxation aesthetic" here. It starts humorous and goes hard on enjoyable, varied mixes. Funky, groovy, fun. Perfect for a morning drive to the grocery store or cafe on those days when you wake up feeling good and intend to ride that high for as long as possible.

🎃 For October: Dark lofi Halloween mix. This ain't your grandma's chill lofi beats with a Halloweeny picture slapped over it. A malicious mix boasting a legitimately spooky soundscape, it samples Junji Ito, Lovecraft, and other unsettling storytelling. Put this on while going for a long walk after dark to properly get you in the spirit, only to never return or be heard from ever again.

🍂 For autumn: Vintage, autumn, jazz. Great stuff. For sunny walks, overcast windy walks, drinking bourbon and cider, curling up under a blanket, scrapbooking and doodling. You'll find yourself singing these on your own before long, whenever the air is particularly crisp or when wistful moods strike up.

🌱 For relaxing: Chill songs. Great on slow walks with boba when the weather is perfect, or for soaking in the tub or in the sun. I don't like relaxing, but I'll drop everything and relax if this is playing.