#all of them are still usable for this project

[inhuman-obey-me]

yay torture! I love it lol- can I ask what are their method differences? (not a request I'm just interested!!)

in my own HCs Lucifer prefers methods that aren't so messy. he also likes short sessions more than longer ones. deep inside he's still a softie pff- while Barbatos on the other hand loves messier methods, long-term types of torture, and even TBMC*.

also! another unrelated HC: Lucifer learned most of his ways from Barbatos - his original methods can't break any demon - more suitable for punishing a child than a criminal.

due to his pride Barbatos didn't make it so obvious, since it would make Lucifer defensive lol....dropping tiny hints here and there, perhaps even gifting him (or Satan) a few books. although Lucifer almost picked up on it-

*: all methods of torture are TBMC as far as I heard, but in this case I mean severe conditioning/programming- to get a perfect program you have to do it for more than a decade...... yeah I have this cool hc about secret workers in the castle,,, do u want to hear about them too,,,,

sorry for the hc dump and derailing I got excited :[

Lucifer probably does prefer shorter sessions than Barbatos, but maybe not quite for that reason - he's really only a softie to his loved ones, after all. But he is an extremely busy demon with a very long to-do list and wants to get through his tasks as efficiently as possible so he can relax, maybe listen to a cursed record or two. He's a sadist, he loves to torture and he's damn good at it, yeah, but he also has hobbies, and is making someone suffer longer really more worth his time than, say...a nap? He's so sleep deprived, someone please let this man nap. In fact, make him.

For Barb, by contrast, this is his hobby to relax after a long day of work - so yeah, he's taking his sweet time and relishing in every last second of screams he can draw out of a demon's mouth. Plus, when you can control space-time at will, a long torment with Barb takes, what, 10 seconds if he deems it so? And he has a bit more patience with these things than Lucifer, so stretching out long-term "projects" is quite fun for him.

As cute as it is to imagine Barbatos secretly guiding and teaching Lucifer, though, we don't think Lucifer learned his torturing ways from him. In the Celestial Realm, he was already known as a sadist, and while the punishments he does to his brothers are basically just to get children to behave, he's not dangling true enemies of the state from the ceiling. Considering how shady and secretive the Celestial Realm acts towards the Devildom even now in supposed peace, torturing demon prisoners of war back when the two realms were actively in constant conflict was probably not out of the question, and Lucifer, as formerly the top angel, would undoubtedly have been one of the most intimidating to encounter there too. But Celestial Realm torture isn't about delighting in the target's pain; it's about getting usable results. By contrast, Barb's very much demonic attitude towards torture is all about the pleasure he himself gets from doing it, which is something Lucifer has never been as interested in.

So, Lucifer mostly gets the ones they need to break quick - cases that are urgent, things that are more time-sensitive. And for the ones who take a more delicate touch, or who they can take their time on...those are for Barbatos. And those ones will never recover.

For a couple of examples of how we've written their respective approaches to torture in the past (please heed all content warnings): Lucifer:

Melody of Revenge

Lucifer's section in this post

Barbatos:

A Peaceful Day in the Devildom

Barbatos' section in this post

[thenixkat]

Black Superpower Breakdown Re

Considering redoing that Black Superpower project but a bit more detailed/properly broken down. While it will definitely take *awhile* for listing shit and even longer for crunching the numbers and making graphs I’d like to get suggestions for characters to include.

For the purposes of this project, any Black character from a work of speculative fiction where there are people with supernatural or superscience powers/abilities are in it are viable even if the character in question does not have powers (the absence of powers is also valuable data). And Black means any group racialized as Black which is not limited to people of indigenous African descent. This includes Melanesians, Blackfellas, Torres Straight Islanders, and more folks than just Black Africans and their diaspora. 

There will be 4 major categories for characters: Confirmed Black, Ambiguous Brown Bitches, Visibly Nonhuman, Claimed by the Community.

- Confirmed Black- there’s characters are unmistakably visibly Black. Confirmed to be Black by the creator. A openly bigoted white bitch would look at them and go “Nigger!” with zero modifiers.

- Ambiguous Brown Bitches- Characters who are visibly brown but, especially in nonlive action media, are not actually given any specific visibly ethnic features. The kinds of bitches that any medium to darkskin bitch of any race could look at and go ‘That Me!’. Those kinda bitches.

- Visibly Nonhuman- Fuckers who do not look human but ... you know they Black. Whether its b/c the actor wearing the makeup is Black, or the voice actor is Black and gives the character a Black voice, or the design aspects invoke/reference Black stuff. 

- Claimed by the Community-  those characters that you’d be hard pressed to actually define and defend what makes them Black but a good number of Black folks claim the bitch for the community.

Still working out what specific powers and nonpower abilities will be termed as. But for character suggestions pls include: - Real Name and Code Name if applicable - Media of origin - Their powers and if they don’t have powers what technology/weapons/bonds are they using that makes them stand out from the average joe (ie. supersuits; cybernetics; pet monsters; martial arts; shit tons of money; etc) - Gender - Age/Life stage - Ethnicity if known - Species

[textfromthelookout]

Did you hear of the news?

I have. :(

Everyone else has their tributes so, here, a summary of my experience with Dragon Ball.

I was in fourth grade art class. A kid had the February 2005 issue of Shonen Jump, back when Shonen Jump was still physically printed here. I recognized Atem on the front cover because the Blockbuster around the corner from our house had DVDs (I think they were DVDs and not VHSs then since I distinctly remember it having a menu and special features) of some of the later episodes of Duelist Kingdom and my brother and I watched them on repeat. So I was like oh, hey, what's this? They make books of that stuff? I don't remember the conversation but the kid ended up giving me that issue, and I took it home with me.

There were a LOT of significant, groundwork things happening in that issue, now that I think about it. We were just beginning to see Sanji truly in action against Pearl. The Dark Tournament was in it's early stages still with Roto fucking around and finding out against Kurama. Sakura shears off her hair in a move that rearranged sexualities the world over. The reason Atem was on the cover was because Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium World was just debuting its first and second chapter. Bleach wasn't even serialized yet. And Dragon Ball, of course, was also there, about a hundred and fifty chapters ahead of everybody else.

Keep in mind that this was my first experience with manga, period. So my very first experience with Dragon Ball opened on this:

and ended on this:

Yeah. Truth be told, at the time Yu Yu Hakusho piqued my interest more than Dragon Ball (a guy fighting with plants? how creative!) but I never did forget these chapters. I thought the art style was so different from the others.

At some point after this, probably between several months and a year and a half, the TV happened to be on one evening when Toonami was airing Dragon Ball Z. Oh hey, I said, I recognize that art, I know those characters. So I hung around and watched some of episode 281. Two things about watching that episode stick with absolute crystal clarity in my mind to this day. Firstly: Buu choking Vegeta out with his arm freaked me the FUCK out as a child. I could not tell you why I had a fear reaction to it but hey, there you go. The second is this:

Specifically I remember 'You died once. If anything happens to you now, you won't exist anymore. There'll be nothing I can do to bring you back.' Not precisely word for word over the years, but Schemmel's tone of voice on this particular lineread. If I had to guess I'd say it was because at that point in my life, uh, death was kinda permanent? So wait, what do you mean died ONCE. Doesn't that apply to everyone?

This still wasn't enough to get me super invested in it though, it just didn't seem like something that would appeal to me that much. So a couple years go by, I don't think about it all that much, and then of course, TFS hits the scene and drops DBZ Abridged. So you know. As a shithead middle schooler with a shithead sense of humor I thought it was the best damn thing since sliced bread. (My biggest character flaw is that I still think a lot of Season 1 is genuinely funny)

And that was really the extent of my interaction with the franchise for the next several years. Say what you will about DBZA but they did manage to put it all together such that someone who had a nonexistent concept of what the original context was could grok it with not a lot of effort. Some time in high school, I think I was around 15, I decided to bite the bullet and read all the manga, as much to increase the funny factor of DBZA as sheerly for the sake of being able to say I had. Stick it to the other weebs, y'know. Now they can't say I didn't know anything about good anime. This was unfortunately at a time when all that was available online were dirty poor-quality scans and questionable translations, but read it I did. I went 'yep, that sure is about what I expected', and proceeded to get on with my life. GT came and went, I looked up and saw Battle of Gods coming out and went 'oh hey that's still a thing huh', kinda was peripherally aware of all the divisiveness of Super as it was happening, didn't really pay it much attention, just stuck to DBZA and quite a lot of wiki-ing.

And then, this time of year about three years ago now, in the middle of conversation with @prophecydungeon, Dragon Ball somehow came up. Something to do with 'Even though I'm not hugely into DBZ's story or whatever Toriyama does have some great character designs' (yes I was referring to Vegeta and Future Trunks at the time, no i will not stop being predictable, yes i am a parody of myself). They eventually brought up the DBS Broly movie and said, and i quote: 'that was a solid 1.5h of unbelievably fun and wacky animation'. Having seen the Gogeta vs Broly part of it on twitter and been like 'damn that animation's kinda off the hook actually, good for them good for them', my response was to be like. Oh word? I've got a spare hour and a half to kill, sure, fuck it, why not, time to watch DBS Broly.

I think that movie was precision crafted to hit me in the hyperfixation, if we're being honest. Opening on a solid 20 minutes of Lore and Worldbuilding and then having most of the rest of the runtime being mindless slobberknocker fun by way of some of the hardest animation flexes ever? I was done for.

In summation. I have been aware of Dragon Ball for a lot of my life, in that its presence was pervasive and enduring as I grew up. I may have been late to the game of actually wholeheartedly enjoying it, but enjoy it I do. Dragon Ball is the roots of a vast tree of anime, and in reading it I began to understand why that is. I respect it for that, and I love it for that. My current fixation may have shifted, but as far as time devoted to one individual thing goes... it took me a year and a half to watch my way through all of the anime and read all of the manga. ALL of it. So there's something good in there, I'd say.

[labs]

Hello again, Labs here with a recap of our test of Collections! We introduced this prototype back in September and then handed the feature to a handful of volunteers sourced from the notes on that post. Thank you again to all volunteers! 

We got so much useful feedback, and wanted to share some of that here, and reveal some next steps we’re taking. There are a couple of big projects cooking in Labs, and Collections has taken a backseat lately, but it is important to us to not leave y’all hanging. We very much want to build things with you here.

Our goal with the volunteer-based super-early phase of Collections was to see if those volunteers actually use the feature, watch what they come up with, and check whether anybody they invite to Tumblr signs up and becomes a regular user of the site. Turns out, nobody did sign up — it’s not as useful of an onboarding strategy as we thought it could be.

However, one piece of feedback we got is that Collections make great custom feeds, which people on Tumblr have been asking for a lot over the years. We hear you loud and clear: you want to supplement the standard Following / For You experience with more intentional control over feed content. That’s really important to us.

With that in mind, for those in the prototype, we’ve moved the Collections list to the left sidebar / mobile navigation as an expandable area like Account, for quick access. We like this better than putting them in the dashboard tab bar, but it’s still something we’re mulling over:

We also heard the need for more filtering options beyond just blogs and tags. What about only including a blog’s posts that use a certain tag, or excluding posts using a certain tag? Or list tags with a boolean AND operator (“posts tagged [tag] and [other tag]”), not just the OR operator we’re using now for sourcing tagged posts. Lots of ideas on how to further customize what shows up in the feed, and better define what the feed is “for”.

There were other fun, tangential bits of feedback, too, like the desire to make these Collections a collaborative feature, so that more than one person can help build a Collection. There were also several usability issues that came to the forefront, which we’ve addressed. And there were some well-articulated thoughts and questions about etiquette, such as how to seek a blog’s “permission” to be included in a Collection – that’s something we care a lot about, to help prevent this kind of feature from being a source of abuse.

Another piece of feedback we heard repeatedly is the desire for Collections of posts. This is not really what we intended with what we built, but it’s not too far afield either. We totally agree that having better, easier ways of collecting and curating individual posts would be useful, so we’re going to investigate that as a separate project.

With all of this in mind, we’ve split the work on Collections into two separate tracks:

Shaping this feature as a “customizable feeds” solution, away from an “invite others” tool.

Building a new thing for saving and curating static posts.

Stay tuned here on the Labs blog for updates on when/if we’ll be moving these Collections tracks of work to more people on Tumblr. (If you are one of the volunteers who helped us with Collections, you’ll still have access to it for the time being!)

Thanks for reading! And please reach out to us via Support, the replies here, or your reblogs, if you have any more feedback, as always.

[readychilledwine]

Somnophilia

✨️Kink Education with Elizabeth✨️

Somnophilia, or the Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, is the interest or sexual arousal in the idea of having sex with a Sleeping partner. Somnophilia is considered a predatory type of kink or paraphilia. Somnophilia is a pretty interesting kink/paraphilia psychology is still studying.

Some people enjoy it due to the power they feel when their partner wakes up, surprised by pleasure. These partnerships typically have prediscussed consent. Some people enjoy it because they have total power in the situation and have expressed frustration when their partner wakes up. Some people who expressed frustration also referenced using sleeping medication on their partner to prevent them from waking leading psychologists down darker path while studying this kink.

There's a lot of gross things we could get into when discussing somnophilia, but I'll be honest, I'm not interested in discussing the darker side of the kink world on this one. I'm just interested in you all getting to read about Rhys helping reader's delicious dreams come true.

💕Peep the Valentines Day List Here💕

As always, NSFW below the cut

Rhysand x Reader

Warnings - mentions of alcohol, reader is asleep (which should be given), Rhys using his powers over the mind for a little bit

Rhys hated long nights away from you.

He hated being trapped in a room with 7 other egotistical males, no advisers involved, trying to talk through issues between them all that had happened years ago while the highest of the Priestesses sat and mediated.

There were times when that poor female needed, no deserved, a drink more than he felt he did, but he knew this was for the fae they all looked after. One united front. A united realm. A goal Rhysand had dreamed of since he was a boy, a goal made possible with the death of Beron and Eris's rise. Now the last hitch was he and Tamlin. And Gods did having to air their dirty laundry to every High Lord piss him off.

He finished the last bit of his wine, annoyed as he held the empty bottle in his hand. It was then a dance of something came across the bond. Something so faint he knew you were projecting it in your sleep, but it had his attention nonetheless.

Rhys went up the stairs, entering your shared chambers as quietly as he could. He was greeted by the soft whisper of his name ringing in his ears like the melody of a siren's spell.

There, laying in the bed that until recently he slept alone in, was you with your head buried into his pillow. He could tell by the half empty wine glass and the book on the bed, you had drifted off to sleep suddenly. He approached slowly, studying the silk and lace nightgown adorning your body as he took off his own clothing.

It was then that it hit him, another soft moan of his name as your legs shifted, rubbing together before subconsciously falling slightly apart, exposing your glistening core to him. The scent of your arousal flooded his nose, intoxicating him as he crawled on top of you, holding your mind in that blissful dreamy state.

His cock twitched as he stared at your wet folds, at your cunt just squeezing around nothing. You looked so peaceful, so happy, so submissive and usable. He held your mind a little tighter, waiting until you moaned again to shift you and place one of your legs on his hips.

He ran his cock through your folds, biting his lip to hold back a moan at the wetness and warmth that greeted him. Rhysand then tool a breath, centering himself before entering you slowly inch by inch. Your lips fell open into the perfect o, breath stilled, a more desperate whimper left your mouth as he began to move in and out of you.

Rhysand had not felt control like this in years. He cherished every deep plunge, every drag of him against your soft walls. He cherished the way your breath was hitching, moans falling more spurring him on.

He could feel your mind starting to fight to wake up as he dragged down the night gown and exposed your breasts to himself. Your peaked nipples were like a treat just sitting and waiting, aching for his mouth and hands.

He didn't have time for that right now, though. You were on the brink of orgasm. He felt every sped up pulse of you, every wiggle. He released your mind right as your core tightened. You woke up barreling through an orgasm, hips lifting as your leg wrapped around a body.

You realized it was Rhysand slowly, a smirk playing on your lips as he took the nod you gave him as permission. His rough hands moved to your ass, gripping the plush flesh there, and he began pounding.

Each thrust was so hard, so deep, you had to put a hand on the headboard to stop yourself from being slammed into it. Rhysand's eyes had squeezed shut, and his head had fallen back between his shoulder blades. Two large wings littered with scars appeared behind his back as he began to growl in pleasure. They flared wide in dominance as you screamed for him, falling off the edge quickly for a second time.

"Gods, yes!" Your back arched off the bed as you gripped the satin sheets in your hands. "Fucking use me, Rhys. Feels so good, baby. So fucking good."

He growled again, moaning your name in response. "Almost there," he ground out. "Tell me where, darling."

"Inside me," the answer was so desperate. You were so close to that third orgasm. "Need you to fill me. Been so long."

Too damn long, Rhys said to himself mentally. He felt you begin pulsing again, a whine of his name leaving your throat, and it ripped him over the edge. The windows and house shook as he roared, spilling so deeply into you that you would leak his seed for weeks.

Rhys collapsed into you, chest heaving in time with yours as he buried into your breasts. "I-" He began, blinking as he realized what he had done, the line he potentially crossed. "I do not know what came over me."

You hushed him, bringing his lips to yours with a smile. "You just needed some control, Rhys. It's okay. I'm always happy to oblige my High Lord."

He rolled off of you, taking your nightgown with him, and began pulling you under the covers, snuggling deep into you. "Let's sleep, y/n."

"Of course," you reached up, kissing him deeply again. "Just don't be surprised when I wake you up with my lips wrapped around you."

Rhysand's eyes snapped open, looking down at you. "You beautiful wicked little creature. There are no words for how deeply I love that dirty mind of yours."He leaned down to kiss you.

"I love you too, my handsome, intelligent, and powerful mate. Goodnight, Rhysand."

"Goodnight, y/n Darling. I'll be looking for you in my dreams."

General tag list:

@hnyclover @glitterypirateduck @slytherinindisguise @mischiefmanager @bloodicka @starsinyourseyes @the-sweet-psycho

@mariahoedt @rinalouu @sarawritestories @starryhiraeth @starswholistenanddreamsanswered

Rhys taglist:

@tothestarsandwhateverend @cheshire-salvatore-mikaelson @avajustreads

Valentines Day Taglist:

@sfhsgrad-blog @amara-moonlight @eternallyelvish @novaksangel @teenageeggscissorslawyer @thisblogisaboutabook @amygdtjhddzvb

@justasillylittlegoofyguy @avajustreads

@littlestw01f @azriels-shadowsinger

[wisteriaiswriting]

Hi! Could you write hcs for Percy,annabeth and grover with child of hephastus! Adoptive! Older sibling (basically a demigod who kinda adopts them and guides them thru demigodhood and their life, I imagine the reader is 19/20)

(Bonus points if the kids find the reader sneaking off from camp to like see a secret partner (i imagine its a crossover w the kane chronicles,aka the reader's partner is some magician from the house of life,but doing hcs for just some secret lover also work) and the kids using it for blackmail)

Thanks in advance

𝔸𝕕𝕠𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕆𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤

Words: 502

This doesn't include the Kane chronicles part.

ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕪 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤𝕠𝕟:

This kid. He asks you about the weirdest things, mainly about items that hold no relevance to him. Rarely anything important, like the gods or battle.

For an only child he knows how to be the youngest. Especially the clingy type that openly looks up to you.

If he saw you sneaking off, there’s a chance he won’t know what you’re doing. But he will accidentally spill it to a few people. (Being Annabeth and Grover)

***

“So, what's that?”

Surprised by the voice you tighten your grip, almost throwing your project. Turning around to find Percy, leaning over your shoulder, right in your face.

“Okay 1, step back,” Using your hand you push him away, “2, you don’t know what a sword is?”

“I do! It’s just yours is–”

“Kinda weird? Yeah, it's not usable, at least yet.”

“Like a prototype?”

“Exactly.”

“Now, are you going to leave or help me?”

“I’m helping!” His first action of helping was to grab the nearest item, which wasn’t good.

“Percy!”

This kid definitely needs your help.

𝔸𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕖:

Most times when she needs your help she won’t ask you, seeming as she is an Athena kid. But still knows when to relent, asking for your help, especially about weapons and machinery.

Out of the three she seems like the middle child, having learnt to care for herself. But it doesn’t stop her from admiring you.

She won’t actively blackmail, bringing it up when it’s convenient. Oh she has some chores? Wouldn’t it be a shame if suddenly Chiron knew about your little escapades?

***

It was the Athena Cabin’s turn for chores, which wouldn’t normally happen. Either way Annabeth wouldn’t do them, as she had a simple surprise in her sleeve.

“Y/N?”

“Annabeth,” It wasn’t an ideal time for disruptions, as you are currently building something. “What do you need?”

“As you know my cabin has to do chores, and I’m not.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” That had you paying attention, spinning to see her. “You're an Athena child, surely you're smarter than that.”

“Oh, I am, you sure aren’t.”

“Huh… You wouldn’t.”

That seemed like a threat but she knew better, waving you off as she left.

“They’ll need you pretty early tomorrow.”

𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕:

Already smarter than the other two. Whether or not he needs help you’re the first choice within seconds.

Also younger sibling like, except this one tends to watch and listen, sometimes including his input.

If he saw you leave he’ll try not to say anything, eventually failing and soon the other Satyrs know. They’ll be the ones blackmailing you.

***

“You sure about this?”

“Yeah!”

“Alright then, grab me the wrench.”

You watched Grover look through your tools, reaching for a few before pulling away.

“All good?”

“Yep…” Even as he answered he looked unsure, “On second hand,”

There it is.

“Red handle,” Now he got it, reaching for the few red handled tools. Grabbing the right one before handing it over. “That one?”

“Yeah, now you want to help build?”

“Nah, I’m good…”

[etoilesbienne]

I don't know how to deal with the situation anymore, on one hand I understand everyone having hope and looking forward to the server repairing, really I do, but like... I feel like every update makes me feel more and more bleak for the communication issues. I'd like to say I feel reassured when a CC comes and says "well things are being fixed up and the admins I talked to are saying it's going great," but I just don't anymore, especially when I go look at one of the said admins public twitter, and they're liking tweets talking about how everyone leaving the company and exposing the way they were treated were just "ungrateful petty pieces of shit," and like... I don't feel comforted, I feel frustrated and like no one is talking to the admins who got ousted even more. Am I supposed to just smile and nod through the fact a language is just gone from the server? Why were we expendable... Why am I supposed to know you "support the admins" because you posted once in support of them a month ago but you proceeded to go on a tirade about how useless and liars all of the now out admins are over a week. I don't know. I don't think we know everything behind the scenes. Everything feels so weird. I just want the admins who got ousted to be okay and know their part of the server meant something to me. I don't know the answer and I doubt I ever will but this last year was a delight. I don't think it could've been the same without every former admin like Léa or Ana or Lumi or Shade or Dianna or Amz3t or Rainylour or Pancks or any of the update admins who kept me up on new content or all of the coders on the backend making websites like qsmp.tv usable and the purgatory website and the elections website and the cool ARG website or all of the builders in game who made events really shine or any of the unnamed many many more admins and people who worked so hard to make the project work so well despite all of the conditions. Like the server with any of these removed is hard to imagine and I still don't think I can fully believe it.

[flamebunnyy]

A few headcanons for my WoL. I'll just dump all the lore I have under the cut.

Lominsan Astrologians The Lominsan branch of Astrology is still a very new and experimental branch of the secretive Sharleyan/Ishgardian tradition. Initiated by a senior Arcanist Skywatcher of Mealvaan's Gate discovering several Astrology texts and star-charts being used as fish wrapping after their daily walk home by the Fishing Guild, the novel idea of using the arrangement of the heavens as the guiding geometry and the familiarity of using astral navigation warranted further exploration. Unlike their distant cousins, Lominsan Astrology has a heavy navigational and short-term predictive bent, focusing on extrapolating the present and past by projecting their current state onto the cycle of the heavens via arcanum and predicting their future state by backprojecting their transformation through the tabulated movements of the stars. This, of course, is incredibly math heavy, having already produced several new mathematical theories and driven at least four (4) Arcanists insane from the long nights spent in the meeting room they've barricaded themselves in. The lack of access to examples of astrologian planispheres, arms, and even decks of cards has required Lominsan Astrologians to make do with jury rigging existing equipment into the vague facsimile of one, both out of necessity and to suit their needs. As such, Lominsan-produced astrologian arms are highly skeletonized and unadorned, and incorporate a minimum of a sextant, a compass, a chronometer, a barometer, a thermometer, a hygrometer, an artificial horizon, and a sundial, with more advanced prototypes incorporating theodolites for more precise surveying and to take advantage of the platform's stability. They still haven't quite figured out the cards portion of it, and many either use playing card decks or navigation star flash cards to varying degrees of success.

Casting Whereas the modern Arcanist and it's derivatives safely channel aether through amplifying geometries written in aetheroconductive inks, the relative nature of the heavenly geometries require that the user finally channel the backprojected aether-patterns through themselves and out into a usable form. As well documented in the many historical texts of the guild, this is extremely dangerous except for the most well disciplined or hardened practitioners. In all astral navigation, the observer is first and final point of reference.

A nuanced but important difference between the traditional Sharleyan/Ishgardian and the novel Lominsan branch is their method of foresight. In the traditional method pioneered by Lewphon, user attunes their aether to the heavenly movements, drawing on the constellations with help from the planisphere and sets of cards to transform it into new properties or predict the future. In the mostly-independent Lominsan method, Arcanima is projected onto the position of the stars, transformed via moving the planisphere, and then backprojected into a new form, with the future collective movements amplifying the aether's power. The upsides is that the 6 constellations aren't necessary, and any combination of the 57 navigation stars plus the sun, moon, and current location may be used. The downside is that, unless well practiced, calculations must be done via dead reckoning (really Euler's method) of multiple celestial objects. The pure computation required, even for an expert assessor, is well beyond what is reasonable while holding back enough aether to kill a man. As such, only short-term projections are possible (no more than a week, a month if lucky), greatly limiting the Lominsan branch from the far-reaching predictive gifts of their distant cousins. Thankfully for the half-mad assessors, by performing these iterative calculations, the aether is "compressed" at each timestep, allowing them to cast spells at a similar strength to their Sharleyan counterparts. Further, by choosing different combinations of stars, different effects can be produced in replica of traditional Astrologian spells. The 6 constellations are also usable as projective stars, and were the first to be tabulated, making them go-to choices in the heat of battle. In addition, this gives the Lominsan branch much better short-term predictive powers of weather conditions than the other branches. An upside the others may find pitiful, but to the Lominsans, it's well worth the effort.

[tea-earl-grey]

the more i think about it, the more i like the fact that in Prodigy (and prospectively in shows set beyond then) the galaxy in Star Trek is much more connected, known, and easy to traverse than in the tng era shows. it makes sense that the legacy of ds9's forays into the Gamma Quadrant and particularly Voyager's journey through the Delta Quadrant would result in way fewer unknown parts of the galaxy and Starfleet's position shouldn't be about exploring but rather about forging connections with each other; trying to understand and learn rather than mindlessly spread outwards. (there's also something to be said about trying to alter the imperialist foundations of Star Trek and whether that can be done but that's another post.)

and from the point of view of technological development, it does make sense that a post-Voyager trek would have to deal with all this new tech Voyager came up with to speed up its 70 year journey. like yeah, of course Janeway would have a slip-stream drive installed on the Dauntless (one that is hopefully less likely to throw your ship into an ice planet). of course members of Voyager's crew (like Chakotay) would join the Protostar project to keep exploring faster than warp travel after 7 years of doing just that. of course there would be abandoned parts of the Borg transwarp networks still around and usable (as we see in Picard s1) after the network was fractured in Endgame. and as much as we joke and meme about Tom breaking the Warp 10 barrier like. that is still a significant scientific breakthrough that would have consequences. and it would certainly be in Starfleet's interest to try to maintain the relationships Voyager forged in the Delta Quadrant.

idk i would love to see Prodigy (and any other post-Voyager trek) actively dig into that idea a little bit more. like yes we boldly went or whatever but how are those people on those "strange new worlds"? do we still talk to them? do they like us? what sort of trade do we engage in with them? is it ethical trading? how are Federation diplomatic envoys dealing with like a million new states and cultures to negotiate with? how common is faster than warp travel now? what about outside of the Federation? how many people have been stranded 50 years from home after their engine died? what innovations have there been in communication systems? and most importantly – is Neelix still ambassador to the Delta Quadrant?

[ueberdemnebelmeer]

i've been thinking about this post

ever since i came across it because it bugs me so much ghjdfgd so many of the extensions listed there are redundant, either because they do each other's job or their functions have been implemented natively in firefox + the less extensions, the better! it's less surface area available for "attack"

i recommend the electronic frontier foundation's cover your tracks tool to check how well you're protected against web trackers (as for fingerprinting, i know brave combats canvas fingerprinting via filter lists - like firefox - and by randomizing a user's fingerprint, but it's a chromium browser. canvas blockers tend to impact usability. for day-to-day use you might just want to reduce data available to fingerprints, because to avoid that altogether i'm afraid you're better off using tor)

i'm going through the list above after the read more; i'm no expert, i've just spent a lot of my free time looking into how to improve my privacy and security habits and this is what my brain retained + don't believe me because i say so + feel free to point out any mistakes of mine.

�� keep

ublock origin. filter lists you should consider adding:

check Privacy > AdGuard URL Tracking Protection

add Actually Legitimate URL Shortener Tool (explained how here)

check out the arkenfox project's github page too!

🟨 optional

sponsorblock (1) & unhook (2) for yt. i personally don't use either because (1) i'm good with the good old dragging the current time indicator past sponsorship sections and (2) i'm also good at ignoring page elements i don't care about, but that's me obvs.

facebook container (& not listed above but multi-account containers too; differences between the two: x, x): total cookie protection (enabled by setting firefox's privacy protection to "strict") already partitions third parties, but these extensions could provide a further layer of isolation. container tabs + "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" + "Manage Exceptions" is excellent cookie management with no other extensions necessary

🟥 don't bother

total cookie protection makes ghostery, privacy badger & privacy possum redundant

you've got ublock origin so adblocker ultimate, ad nauseam & adblocker for youtube are also redundant. if you still see yt ads, remove all custom filters related to youtube on ublock origin and force update your lists

https-only mode has been introduced to all the main browsers so https everywhere is also redundant

trackmenot. it's unverified and indeed i've never seen it recommended in any of the multiple firefox hardening videos and guides i've checked, it's kinda useless unless you're a regular google or bing user. prefer a privacy-focused search engine instead

(e.g. duckduckgo [advanced search tricks here and here] which cleans up bing results and has a lite version too! i've also seen startpage [which cleans up google results] recommended but it's had some controversies. for further info, i recommend checking this)

duckduckgo privacy essentials. i suppose (but i can't be sure) this was installed because when you try to add a search engine in firefox's settings you're redirected to the addons page WHICH IS STUPID OF THEM because you can add them via search bar (i did this with e.g. letterboxd)

don't track me google. for those random google searches you still might need, if you added all the filter lists above to ublock origin you should be fine, and if you aren't you're better off using skip redirect

jury's out on blue blocker because it's unverified. i'm not a twitter user either so i haven't checked it out

[sailxrmxrs]

hello i really love your writing! if you're taking requests, i've been thinking about the infinite blue boys in a typical office setting with the MC and what that would be like? thank you!!~

this has been sat in my inbox for SO LONG I AM SO SORRY TO THE PERSON WHO REQUESTED THIS SDKFDGS but!! better later than never right??? right?????? anyway now is the perfect time to finally get around to this bc my brain has been so occupied lately playing sympathy kiss so office based otome is right at the forefront of my mind hehe. it's like it was meant to be. ALSO thank u so much!! i don't think too much about what i write after it's been posted so i forget people actually look at it sometimes sksjfkf TY FOR REQUESTING THIS WAS LOVELY TO THINK ABOUT also incredibly funny looking at the last post of me being like 'i want to get back to writing more regularly!!' as if i didn't slink back into the shadows again for four months this was also the first thing i've written since getting my new keyboard which is really taking some getting used to especially with nails dsklfsg still, enjoy office time gamers o7

♡ leo ♡

Leo definitely seems like the type to bring the energy to his office department, especially on a Monday morning when everyone wants nothing more than to have had just one more day to spend at home before work started all over again for another week. He'd be the only one with a spring in his step as he went about his morning, filling his water bottle, getting situated at his desk. Speaking of his desk, Leo's workspace would be the definition or organised chaos. Post-it notes are scattered across the bottom of his monitor, there's a pile of loose sheets covered in haphazard notes scrawled across them, and there are definitely more than a few pens with no ink left strewn across the desk. They also happen to be mixed in with perfectly usable pens so Leo would have to scramble for a pen when someone from another department came to brief him on a project he was working on. Every time, without fail, he is grabbing pens and scribbling on a notepad until he finds one that works enough to make notes clear enough for him to reference later on. You ask each time why he doesn't just go through and throw away the empty pens to which Leo jokingly scoffs about how he finds the right pens first time every time. He does not.

He's very much the epitome of a work best friend. Someone who will text you on the weekend like 'I know we spend every day sat next to each other but can we hang out together pls'. He enjoys your company okay!! You are very fun and he wants you to know that!! Will find himself getting into a bit of trouble for getting distracted talking about weekend plans with you but can you blame him? It's a Friday afternoon and his brain has logged off. Unfortunately for Leo, despite his brain having logged off, his computer is very much logged in so he has to force himself to keep going for that last stretch of hours between him and the weekend. Will whine and complain to you about how Fridays should be half days which, given Leo's usual demeanour at the start of the week, is an amusing shift in tone. Cut to a couple of hours later and Leo is shutting down his computer the second the clock ticks over to 5pm. He'll swing his chair around to face you, staring you down until you finally close everything down to get ready to leave. Think puppy watching and waiting for you to take them on a walk. Sometimes if you have plans for the Friday evening, he'll offer to pick you up on the way to work to save you the drive too. Also because it gives him an excuse for being late like oh no there was just so much traffic leaving their place I definitely did not stop for coffee on the way here not at all!! He absolutely did but don't worry he didn't forget to pick up your favourite order too~

I think Leo would be a really good motivator in the office too. If a day was going particularly bad, or if a really busy period struck he would be the perfect person to help keep your mood in balance. He's very encouraging for you to step away from your desk. Take a break, have a drink, maybe get a little snack to energise yourself. But he doesn't do it to distract you nor does he overstep any boundaries. He will offhandedly comment on how hard you've been working and make a gentle suggestion that a break is needed. He'd also offer to lend a hand if there was anything particularly pressing that was weighing you down. Try and say no. Try it. Never works. Leo's always happy to help because he knows you would do the same for him and have previously done so in the past when he was newer to the job and hadn't quite gotten his bearings yet. He makes the long days pass by quicker. Truly the best person to work with.

♡ milo ♡

Milo is absolutely that one coworker who keeps to himself a lot and develops this really cool and mysterious reputation. No one really knows what he does for work and no one ever asks him either because they're a little too intimidated to talk to him. It's not that he's had any particularly bad run-ins with anyone else in the office but more so that he no one really knows a whole lot about him. Any conversations about his weekend plans or what he did the evening prior are met with the most normal responses someone could muster. He's going grocery shopping, he's visiting family, he stayed in last night to watch tv. No one knows anything about his life outside of work and no one's bumped into him anywhere but in the office. The only reason people don't speculate that he lives there is because they see him drive in and park in the same spot at the same time each morning. Him keeping to himself isn't really an antisocial thing, but more so that he's there to work so would rather just get on with whatever he has to do with minimal distractions. He's an efficient man and doesn't like people stealing his attention away from any sort of deadline.

Then along comes this slight change in the office layout and suddenly your desk has been moved directly next to his. Surprise had left you stunned for a moment when Milo greeted you that first morning before sitting down and getting himself set up for the working day. He still never offered much conversation, just the usual 'good morning' and 'have a good evening' as you both left the office. It wasn't until you both stayed behind a little late one Friday evening to finish some paperwork before the weekend and he'd stricken up a conversation while walking back to your cars. It was mostly small talk, nothing of too much substance, but it was far more than he gave anyone else. If you ask, he simply answers that until the clock hits around 5pm, he's at work. Once he's left the office building, he's just normal Milo again. It's his way of separating work and his personal life. Honestly, his work/life balance is enviable.

Over time, as you grow closer, he'll start to chat more during office hours. Asking what you thought of a recent episode of a show, if you'd seen the news about an upcoming game. And your closeness wouldn't go unnoticed. You'll get coworkers whispering to you on your lunch break asking to share some information since they'd barely seen Milo speak with anyone else so openly before. You'd always politely decline, telling them he never really shared anything special and it was mostly just work related things—a white lie, of course, but what they didn't know didn't hurt them. Milo would appreciate it too, often voicing his complaints about the busybodies in the office not so subtly whispering about him. He didn't care too much about their speculations of him until they started dragging you into it too. Grumpy Milo grumbling into his coffee cup asking why they cared so much anyway. Who cares who he speaks to at work (He cares. But he won't tell you that).

♡ rory ♡

Rory at any given moment in time will take the opportunity to complain about something that has happened in the office that day. Whether it's someone not submitting documents on time or somebody emailing him with any extra set of tasks on top of his already stacked workload, he will be sending you a string of messages to blow off some steam. The first time it'd happened, you were sitting in the break room enjoying your lunch when Rory slumped into the chair next to you and signed so heavily you thought something terrible had happened and he was barely keeping himself together. As it had turned out, a new intern had done something without running it by anyone else first and caused a particularly big problem. One that Rory's manager decided would be his responsibility to resolve before the day's end. As well as meet his own deadlines for the same evening. To say he was stressed was an understatement. So Rory had taken solace in your quiet presence and let out his frustrations. Once he'd gotten it all out of his system, he apologised for the outburst and introduced himself, realising the two of you had never actually spoken before. He then offered to lend a listening ear for your own work annoyances, attentively taking it all in while you spoke. Once your lunch break came to an end, you exchanged contacts with the promise that you could be each other's dedicated work therapist whenever someone or something had pissed you off.

From that point on, you'd receive the odd message here and there throughout the day from Rory with the latest complaint. At first, it was just a way to get the annoyances off your chests but as time went on, conversations started to meander and before long you were becoming closer and closer. You didn't see each other much while working—only ever in passing if you needed to deliver a document to a different department or if there was a meeting you needed to attend. Your texts were your main point of contact with Rory until he suggested you start coordinating your lunch breaks so that you could actually hang out face-to-face rather than via text message. Coworkers would definitely start to speculate how and why these two individuals from completely different departments became friends or if there was something more to the relationship. Especially considering Rory, much like Milo, was more reserved and didn't really show much of an effort to become friends with the people he worked with. He was amicable enough but kept the colleague boundary up like a wall. Except with you, anyway.

I think Rory would want to extend your work friendship beyond office hours and would start wanting to text you later in the evening but is so nervous to come across as being too forward. He likes to act as though he's a very nonchalant person but he really isn't at all. Especially not where you are concerned. So you'd definitely need to be the one to nudge and initiate more of a friendship between you both. It wouldn't take much. All you'd need to do was text him one Saturday morning and mention how you were planning for a bookshop trip and as if he wanted to come along. He texts back almost instantly with a big 'YES' followed immediately by a 'glad you've finally recognised my superior taste in books' purely to save face for how eager he must have seemed. Would come into the office on the Monday with red cheeks once he saw you in the staff car park and try to sound as normal as possible commenting on how he had a good weekend. For his own sanity, just go along with it. He begs.

♡ alexei ♡

Alexei is the new starter who doesn't have a whole lot of office experience under his belt. He's bright eyed and eager to learn on the job but is also somewhat nervous to make mistakes or ask too many questions. It takes him a little while to settle in and feel fully comfortable with his surroundings but once he does, Alexei starts to really flourish. Once he knows you're happy to answer all of his questions and won't scold him for not understanding something straight way, he will come to you with an entire monologue of queries he wants to clarify. Literally rambles this long stream of consciousness before reaching the end of his list and looking at you all expectantly for your response. Listens so intently while he's perched on his desk chair, scribbling down notes as you run through everything he'd asked. Then turns back to his computer screen with a 'thank you' and then doesn't say another word for like two hours. He'll just be typing and clicking away with this intense focus until you have to tap on his shoulder and remind him to take a break from the screen for a few minutes. Will struggle to pull himself away for breaks because once he's in the zone he is IN. He only really likes stepping away from his desk when he has reached a good stopping point and he absolutely hates leaving a task partially finished.

I don't think Alexei would be a super social person at work. It wouldn't be for any particular reason other than the thought didn't really occur to him? He prefers to take his breaks at his desk because his chair is comfortable enough so the only people he really talks to on the regular are the people he works with directly. Being new, he hasn't had much of a reason to visit the other departments nor has he been brought on to any big projects that would have him meeting and working with anyone else around the office. Even after he's been there for a little while, he's reached a point where he feels awkward introducing himself because he's not exactly new anymore but he also doesn't know a lot of names. Whenever there's an office party or holiday event, Alexei will turn and whisper to you asking who that was or to remind him of a name. He could have had a good ten minute conversation with someone who and not had a single clue as to what their name was. It makes for some funny encounters, especially if it's someone not well liked within the office. They'd strike up a conversation just for Alexei to clearly not know who they are. We love to see it.

After Alexei has been working in the office for a few months and has gotten nicely settled in his job, I can see him being really welcoming to a new starter. In the same way you answered all his questions and helped him along with his training, Alexei would do the same for the new person. He might come across a little too excited with how forthcoming he is with explanations or offers to help out with anything they're struggling with but it's clear that he means well. He's just a little enthusiastic!! Would also start to add little decorations on his desk. He doesn't do anything too special, but he might have a tiny figurine of a jellyfish sat under his monitor and would have themed notepads and matching pens to go with them. If he's going to spend most of his day there, he wants it to feel like it's his personal little corner.

♡ brooklyn ♡

Brooklyn is the high ranking manager CEO businessman who is also one of the most likable people around the office. Despite him always being seen in his signature suits and ties with some sort of important document in hand at any given moment, he was genuinely pleased to speak with anyone working there. He has his moments of being the stern business type, particularly when in stressful meetings to discuss the company's performance for the quarter and their targets for the next quarter. Overall, however, he remains a generally calming presence. If you were his assistant, he'd try to alleviate as much of the pressure of the role as he could. He knew he was a painfully busy man and that you had no end of meetings to schedule, companies to contact for collaborations and partnerships. There was never really an end to your workload for which he felt a tad guilty. Anytime you entered his private office, reeling off the schedule for the afternoon or informing him of a visitor who had arrived to meet with him, Brooklyn is offering to make you a cup of tea or coffee no matter how many times you insist that that's your job, not his. He never listens.

I think he'd take a lot of interest in you as a person too, not wanting there to be this distinct barrier of boss and employee. He would much rather you both felt you stood on equal ground. That mindset had gotten him into some mild altercations in meetings when other company executives had made some sort of snide comment regarding your involvement in the discussions. Brooklyn wasn't going to stand for one of his most trusted and hardworking colleagues to be taken for granted. The strained tension never left the boardroom until a few minutes after the meeting ended and Brooklyn stormed out looking angrier than you'd ever seen him. Would be silent as he poured himself a cup of tea and then give you this serious talk about how if that were to ever happen without him around report it to him immediately. His expression was much sterner that you'd experienced from all your time working directly with Brooklyn, but it was evident that it came from a place of respect. And he explained as much as he leaned against his desk, pinching the spot between his brows as if the encounter had given him a headache.

There had never been any repeat instances following that afternoon, though you had overheard some whispers about the incident. Mostly from people surprised to hear that Brooklyn had raised his voice. Anytime you commented on it while presenting him with new paperwork, Brooklyn would adjust his tie awkwardly, face heating at the lack of composure he'd now exposed to the office. He took pride in coming across in a well-presented and calm manner so this one lapse of his self-restraint made him feel a touch embarrassed each time he was reminded of the event; in those moments he seemed less like the important business figure and more like a close friend you could playfully tease in passing moments between the busy hours. It was a comfortable and welcomed dynamic for the both of you.

♡ tobias ♡

Tobias is without a doubt the office socialite. He's always popping his head into the different departments with a request or to catch up after the weekend. He reminds me of someone I work with who is incredibly easy going and is friends with basically everyone in the office. Tobias can have a tendency to cause disruptions in that his voice will carry in an office room and he doesn't really realise how much of a distraction his presence can be sometimes. He doesn't mean to pull people away from anything important! But he also can't really help himself when it's the middle of the week and he's got all kinds of work adjacent stories to be shared. Will perch himself on your desk and start rambling away about something, not really noticing if you were paying him your full attention or not. It's only after he asks you a question and you noncommittally answer with a vague 'yes' that he'll start whining about how you're not listening to him. As much as we'd like to chat, some of us have work to do, Tobias. When you question him about his own work, Tobias will conveniently remember he needs to be somewhere else, dodging the question entirely and scampering away to a different department. There is usually a shaking of heads that follows after Tobias whenever he dashes off somewhere else—it's always from a place of endearing acceptance.

I can see Tobias being involved in the marketing side of a business. Definitely the one to organise big events and staff parties. He needs someone to rein him in though because some of his ideas aren't quite workplace or coworker friendly. He hears office party and thinks hell yeah time to go wild go crazy but no Tobias please the last time that happened you broke multiple office chairs we can't afford to keep replacing them every time. Would enlist you for help too because you're his favourite person to bother at work. Whether you humour him and play along or tell him to, light heartedly, leave you alone, Tobias will find his way to your desk for some quality catchup time. What do you mean it's Monday and you're busy? He needs to tell you about this movie he saw on Saturday that he thinks should be the theme of the next work event. He's also the type to bring food to your desk too. Will sometimes just buy lunch for you and pry your hands away from your keyboard so that he can slide a salad or pot of pasta into your grasp. Tobias takes lunch breaks very seriously. He'll also get treats for people in the office too! Buys little cakes or chocolates just because. This is part of the reason why everyone likes him so much; can't say no to a man who keeps you well fed.

Despite poking fun at Tobias being a bit more lax around the office, I think he genuinely would be full of solid ideas and he does feel pretty passionate about certain aspects of the job too. His work/life balance isn't perfect in that he tends to prioritise life a little more than he should sometimes but there's little harm in it. He's a very good person to be around if you're the type to get a bit too wrapped up in working. Tobias is NOT letting you overwork yourself. Not on his watch!! He's a surprisingly perceptive person and can very easily tell when you're stressed or not getting as much sleep as you should. Will take it upon himself to text you at the weekend to hang out and have a movie night with him. That way he can make sure you're relaxing and not spending your limited time off working your brain. Will steal your phone directly from your hands if you're staring too hard, eyebrows furrowed, and will replace it with a snack and gently remind you that it's the weekend time not work time. He has his uses sometimes.

[ageless-aislynn]

Title: “15 Minutes” (8/?) Author:  @ageless-aislynn​ Characters/fandom: Master Chief John-117/Reader, Halo the series Summary: You've got work to do. John worries. Things get a little more intense. Series: How to date a Spartan (without even trying) Rating:  T (PG13) Length: 1,945 (this chapter, 19,693 total so far) Spoilers/warnings: Set in the Silver Timeline of Halo the series, not the games or novels. Though we began with the events of Halo 1x06, there will be no more show spoilers. We are still firmly seated in the AU Warthog, merrily driving out to places where there’s only a passing nod to canon. 😉 Disclaimer: Definitely not mine but I do enjoy borrowing them just for a bit! 😉 A/N:  Text is both here in this post or available at AO3, however you like to read. Halo season 2 has finally arrived! However, this fic continues to zip along in the AU Party Warthog, so, while we began with season 1 way back when (and you'll see a few more things from s1 along the way 😉), we'll not be venturing into s2 territory at all. Unless s2 is going to take some verrrrry interesting twists, lol! Chapter 9 is still in progress by hand but I hope to have it ready soon. 🤞😣🤞The next chapter will also see us entering into some hurt/comfort for a bit but I tend to lean heavier on the comfort, in case you're worried. Or, you know, would be disappointed. 😉 If you read, I hope you enjoy! ⭐💖⭐

Taglist: @pinheadbanger​ @mysardencut​ @laurenstacy610​ @sporadicbelievernightmare​ @ultrablackwidower​ @bxmxtx​ @jellotherelol

If you would like to be tagged in my John/Reader fics, just let me know! I also write John/Kai, John/Cortana and Kai/male Reader, so I’m glad to tag you for whatever you’d like. If you would like to be removed from the taglist, also feel free to let me know, no harm, no foul. 😉 💖

Halo fic masterlist ⭐

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7

The Troop Transport Warthog hit a particularly rough patch and you held on for all you were worth to keep from being ejected.

"Sarge," Private Taylor yelled. "Where are we?"

"That's need to know and none of you need to know, marine," Sarge shouted back from the passenger seat. "Just keep your head down, do your job, and you'll be home 15 minutes before your mama has breakfast on the table."

You couldn't particularly tell if it were dusk, dawn or high noon, the air was so heavy with the greasy remains of mortar rounds. In the distance, a nondescript cityscape occasionally flared with either continuing pockets of active combat or just the remnants of the devastation that had passed through.

Wherever you were, it felt like you were barreling at top speed through a graveyard of vehicles: Warthogs, Mongeese and even the odd Scorpion, some overturned, blackened and smoldering, others weirdly intact as if their drivers had merely stepped away for a moment.

This was a salvage and recovery mission, tasking your unit with marking vehicles as repairable, recyclable or a total loss to be abandoned.

The next hour or so, that had been your focus, moving from Warthogs and the occasional Mongoose, conducting a quick evaluation, then using your spray gun to mark a green circle on the hood to send back to Reach for repair, a white slash to send it to be stripped for usable parts or a red X to abandon, not worth salvaging.

You marked a Mongoose with a red X, though the gun sputtered and you had to give it a few whacks before it sprayed properly, then you moved on.

Next up was a Warthog that seemed in decent condition from the outside, short of the rear antenna twisted until it resembled a curly tail. But the electronics were fried and the entire undercarriage looked like it had plowed over a series of flaming spikes, all major parts gouged out and burned. There might have been a few nuts and bolts reclaimable but since you'd just recently been writing up requisition for needed parts, you judged that it was more effort than it was worth.

You made the call to abandon it but as you tried to spray the red X across the hood, nothing emerged, even after shaking the sprayer and giving it a few more hits with the heel of your palm. With a slightly frustrated noise -- who was checking to make sure that the sprayers were in working order before they were sent out? -- you headed to get a replacement. Along the way, you caught a private going in the opposite direction.

"Hey, see that 'hog there? Would you red X it for me? Thanks."

"Um, sure," the blond man said and headed where you gestured.

You were still looking for somebody who had a spare sprayer when Sarge drove up in the Troop Transport again.

"Wrap it up, it's about to get hot," he shouted.

You quickly joined the rush back to board the Pelican and scrambled into a seat just as it lifted off. A split-second after you'd clicked the restraint down, the Pelican rolled to one side, shuddering from an impact.

Alarms began blaring, mixed in with the pilot calling out coordinates, and you automatically tried to look forward, as if you'd somehow be able to spot what was shooting at you. All you could really see was the anxious faces of the other marines around you. You spared a couple of breaths to be glad that neither Maria or Jamie had been called in for this.

The Pelican took a second, more glancing blow and the resulting shudder rattled your teeth.

"Covvies?" somebody asked over the engine whine and the private across from you shrugged.

"Who else?" she said. "But that felt like surface-to-air to me. What about you?"

She met your eyes and it was your turn to shrug. "I'm not sure. Never been hit by any sort of missile before."

"Oh well, congratulations on your first missile salvo," she returned with a crooked grin.

The Pelican rolled once more, this time in an evasive maneuver, then thankfully smoothed out and made its escape without further incident.

Your unit was taken to the covert off-world depot known colloquially as The Pit, where everything that had been marked for repair or recycle would be delivered for further sorting. In the center of the large warehouse area was a compactor pit for all of the scrap to be sent into. Several cranes were already busy moving the smaller vehicles like Warthogs and Mongeese into berths to be stripped down while the still operational vehicles were lining up to be loaded onto heavy transport carriers to be returned to base.

You finished stripping your second Warthog for salvageable parts and signaled the nearest lift operator. The clawlike crane clamped onto the 'hog's shell, picking it up and carrying it towards the compactor while you moved on to a Mongoose with a crumpled left rear wheel.

Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a Warthog with a particularly distinctive twisted rear antenna being dropped off into the line to be loaded up and returned to FLEETCOM.

Frowning, you wove your way through the other mechanics, avoiding the occasional flying part, and found a green circle sprayed onto the hood.

Shit, the private must've heard me wrong when I told him to red X it. It seemed like an odd mistake to make but things had been hectic.

You grabbed a sprayer and neutralized the green and sprayed over it with a red X, then went to the nearest crane operator.

"You see that 'hog with the X on it? Drop it in the line for the compactor, please."

"Got it," the woman said and you waited until she'd picked it up and deposited it appropriately before you returned to work.

You were elbows into a Gauss 'hog's engine bay when you heard your rank and name called. Looking up, your heart gave a little skip: John in full helmeted Mjolnir strode your way with thundering steps you could hear even over the rest of the cacophony.

"With me," he said tersely, passing by and disappearing through a doorway at the back of the warehouse.

You had to hustle to catch up and he had already stopped by the time you joined him in the otherwise empty hallway. He turned, removing his helmet with a slight pneumatic hiss.

"Are you okay?" you both said at the same time.

The angle of the hallway meant you were shielded from most of the work floor. He set his helmet down and very carefully took your hands in his gloved ones.

"Insurgents took the field," he said, looking you over from head to toe. "Did you see combat? Intel was unclear."

"No, we got out but the Pelican took a few shots. Somebody said it felt like surface-to-air but I didn't remember Covenant using anything like that. It was insurgents, then?"

He nodded distractedly, glancing away to mutter, "I'll be right there." Then he looked back to you. "I have to go. Your unit's being sent back to Reach but if they divert you into combat..."

He trailed off, clearly realizing there was no way to finish that sentence the way he wanted.

"Tell them, nah, I'd rather not, thanks?" Your mouth twitched and you squeezed his fingers.

He gave a resigned chuckle. "Yeah, try that, please."

"You're the one who'll be much more in the thick of it," you pointed out. "You be careful, okay?"

"Always try," he said, bringing your hands up to press a kiss to the back of both.

Kai leaned around the door, her visor glinting green. "Chief, sorry but we've got to go."

"Copy that." He released you with clear reluctance and picked up his helmet. "Stay safe. I'll see you soon."

He vanished through the doorway and you took a breath, exhaling slowly. John suddenly appeared right in front of you again, leaning down to cup your face in one hand.

You were just about to ask if something was wrong when he kissed you.

For a moment, for forever, the universe shrank to just the two of you, his mouth on yours, a little frantic at first, then slowing, steadying out.

You felt like you were hovering off the ground and then realized you were; he'd picked you up at some point, pressing you gently to his chest plate. Your hand dropped to the 117 etched near his heart and it was gritty with sand and dirt. You were both grimy and sooty but it didn't matter. It couldn't have been more perfect if you were in a flowing ballgown and him in a tux, slowly spinning together on a glittering palace floor.

He set you back onto your feet but you only parted a breath away from each other.

"I... I'll get better with practice," he mumbled.

You smiled at him, feeling wobbly, lightheaded and more grounded than you'd ever been before, all at the same time. "John, if you were any better at that, I'd have to show you how fast I can get a Spartan out of their Mjolnir with my bare hands."

He was near enough to see his pupils dilate and that was incredibly gratifying. "I'll hold you to that," he said, his voice dropping an entire octave, making your toes literally curl inside your boots.

Then he put his helmet back on and left. You took a moment to compose yourself, then exited as well. There was no sign of Silver Team. No doubt, the Pelican waiting for him had taken off the second he'd boarded.

Cutting through the busy deck, you looked for any vehicle marked with a white stripe, still waiting to be stripped. On an impulse, you diverted to the line being dropped one at a time into the compactor. There was no sign of the curly tailed Warthog.

It could've already been compacted, you were thinking when you saw it going by overhead, clutched in a crane claw and heading back towards the line to return to Reach.

You didn't stop to think, you sprinted for the crane's operator booth. "Hey, put that 'hog down!"

The operator looked at you and you realized in a burst that it was the blond man you'd originally told to mark it with the red X back on the battlefield, who'd apparently designated it instead to come back to The Pit.

No, to go back to FLEETCOM.

Recognition went across his face at the same moment and he bolted from the booth. The lift automatically stopped, the Warthog swaying over the crowded deck.

You knew. You just knew.

You ran as fast as you could and slammed the alarm on the wall. "Bomb!" you bellowed over the shrill klaxon. "Bomb! Clear out!"

Jumping into the operator booth and grabbing the controls, you quickly scanned the area as marines scattered everywhere. There was only one place you could think to go.

You swung the arm around, guiding the curly tailed 'hog firmly clasped in its grip towards the compactor pit. It felt like it was taking a year to get there but you couldn't release the controls or the safety would bring it once more to a stop. Once the Warthog was finally in position, you opened the grip.

What if I'm wrong? you thought as it began to fall. I'll feel like such a fool if--

There was a saying that if you were close enough to an explosion, you would never actually hear it.

It was true.

end note:

If you want to, you know, imagine that Sarge's full name is, sayyyyyy, Avery Johnson, well then, who am I to tell you that you're right or wrong? 😇

If you don't know the Troop Transport Warthogs, here's one in action from Halo: Reach. It's on the level "ONI: Sword Base" and is scripted to be destroyed but there's a way to save it and the marines in it and take it with you for a great deal of the rest of the level! I love saving the Troop 'hog, even if it always still looks like it's on fire. Nah, it's fiiiiiine, no worries! 😎👍😂😉

[thenerdysewist]

Making My Morgana Cosplay

I watched Merlin for the first time in 2015/2016, and was immediately obsessed with Morgana's Season 4 Coat.

At the time, I hadn't really gotten into sewing yet. I knew how to sew, but I'd only made one project bigger than a pair of pajama pants. But then the pandemic hit, and I was stuck inside with too much time on my hands. I rewatched Merlin (and have multiple times since 2020), and realized that I likely had the skills to make that coat so it became my pandemic project.

Materials:

My first concern was the materials. The coat is full length, with full sleeves and a train. That would require a lot of specialty (expensive) material, and I was pretty broke considering I had been laid off. Plus, new fabric is also pretty bad for the environment. So my goal was to thrift any and all material I could. I got lucky.

I found a king size comforter set at the thrift store for $10, and that meant I got both the specialty material and the lining in one

I found a lace skirt at a different thrift store for the sleeves of the under-dress, and a green prom dress to modify.

After much digging and swearing I found left over fabric from another cosplay to use as the green fabric in the hood and sleeves

A friend was moving and cleaning out her closet, meaning I was able to thrift the belt buckle from a belt she was going to donate

The only material I purchased new was the trim I used for the belt.

Process:

The first step was picking apart the comforter set. I probably could have just cut it open in order to render it into two flat pieces of usable material, but I knew the yardage would be a tight fit, so I used a seam ripper to separate the three layers of fabric from the layer of batting. (I think while I introduced a friend to Merlin).

I used a combination of patterns from my stash to get the pieces I needed. I used the hood from Simplicity 1771A, and the sleeves and skirt from Simplicity 8013. Looking back I likely could have used the bodice as well, but I felt the angle of the neckline was wrong, so I drafted my own bodice pattern using a t-shirt and the angle from the neckline of McCalls M7502.

I decided to make a mock up first. I only had the fabric from the comforter to set to work with, and there wasn't a lot. I didn't want to risk cutting into it, and then realizing it didn't fit. So I used an old white sheet to make the first draft.

Initially I thought the coat was a coat-dress, but noticed the detail that when Morgana walked, you could see the lining flash at the front. So I cut the bodice on the fold, and turned the skirt backwards. The front was meant to go on the fold and the back was two pieces to accommodate for a zipper. However, knowing I needed a train, I added a train to the front panel and made that the back, and then made the two back panels the front panels. I sewed them part of the way down to give it a skirt look, but left the bottom open so that the lining would flash when I walked. It ended up looking like this.

As you can tell from my face, I didn't like how it was laying. It didn't have the same shape as her coat, at which point I realized the front should be separate to make it close like a coat would, rather than a dress would. So I seam ripped the front skirt panels apart and cut the bodice front up the middle. I tried it back on and it looked like this:

(You can also tell by image quality that my old phone gave up the ghost and I had to get a new one, which had a much better camera)

I liked this a lot better, but there were still more adjustments I needed to make. I didn't like the angle of the neckline, and I felt like the train was too long. So I made those adjustments to the pattern, and made a second mock up out of a sheet set that my mom had cannibalized for her own sewing project.

With all the adjustments, the second mock up ended up looking like this.

I was now happy with the angle of the neckline and the length of the train, and felt ready to move onto working with the actual materials I bought.

I cut out all the pieces twice; once from the specialty material and once from the black backing material from the comforter set I used for the lining. I also cut additional lining for the hood and sleeves out of the green fabric since Morgana's coat has that contrast lining. I started by stitching the specialty fabric together.

Once that was done, I stitched all the lining pieces together. Then I pinned the specialty fabric to the lining with the hood in between the two layers so that it when I turned everything inside out, the hood would be on the outside.

I ended up not liking how the hood looked.

It came from too far back on the neckline. and that meant I had to pick apart the shoulder and neck seams and redo it. I redid this step probably four times because the fabric was thick, heavy, and slippery. It refused to stay in place, and I was constantly catching parts of the fabric I shouldn't.

Next was the sleeves. Which literally made me cry from frustration. Sleeves are my kryptonite at the best of times, but I was also working with fabric that was heavy, slippery, and thick, in a narrow arm hole. After several screaming matches with my sewing machine, and a stress and frustration induced break down, my mom ended up inserting the sleeves for me. (Thank you, Mom!)

Then I finally got to see the fully assembled garment and I was thrilled! It really looked like it was shaping up to look like Morgana's coat.

I completed the hem on both the lining and specialty material and the bulk of the garment was complete! But I still needed her belt, and I wanted to make have an under-dress since you can see a flash of the skirt under the coat while Morgana walks. For that, I just adjusted a prom dress that I found at the thriftstore. I shortened it, moved the skirt to be right under the bust, and added straps. I didn't think to get photos of that process since it was mostly pinning and cutting.

I did however, have to make my own lace sleeves for the dress since you can see lace sleeves under Morgana's coat. For this I traced the sleeve of a shirt I already owned.

Then I made a mock up which was way too tight. I added a little extra width, and made another mock up which fit. So then I was able to cut the sleeves out of the lace I removed from the skirt, and I stitched it into the armhole created by adding straps to the modified dress.

As you can see it wasn't the neatest job, but I didn't care since it was going to be covered by the coat anyway. If I wanted to submit this for a contest or anything, I'd probably go through the trouble of making her under-dress too, but this works.

All that was left was her belt. For that, I had ordered a precut YaYa Hahn pleather trim and that gave me the width of my belt. It also gave me the length since there was just enough there to wrap around my waist with some overlap. I cut a strip from the green fabric I used for the sleeves and hood, and black fabric for the belt lining since I was out of the green fabric.

Stitched those together, and flipped it right side out. I left one end open so I could insert two loops to attach the belt buckle to the belt. Then I pinned the trim to the belt and ironed it on. It was iron on trim so I didn't have to sew it.

I inserted the loops through the belt buckle, then tucked the ends into the belt and stitched it closed.

Reveal:

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I am jazzed by how this turned out. I think it looks so much like Morgana. I might need to fix the hem since the first time I wore it, twigs started getting caught in the hem, but that is an issue for future me. My issues are actually more with my makeup. I tried to learn contouring for this. I literally haven't worn makeup since 2019 and I only did basics then. So if anyone wants to let me know tips and tricks, my ask box is open. I also still don't know how for photos.

This project took well over a year to complete. Part of it was the amount of mock ups I did, but part of it was the process of tracking down materials. It took weeks for me to find the right green fabric and I actually bought multiple other fabrics that I returned because they weren't right for it. That it was in my own stash was such a relief while simultaneously the most annoying thing ever. The second snag was finding the belt buckle. I had to get one in the right dimensions to fit the trim for the belt, and apparently belt buckles are impossible to find in a size bigger than an inch. It was complete luck that my friend found something in her closet while she was moving. (If you have buckle resources, please hit me up. I need buckles for another project I'm working on now, and can't find buckles small enough.)

This is the biggest project I've done so far, and I am so proud of myself for it.

[dailycharacteroption]

Junk Technomancy Technomancer (Technomancer Alternate Class Feature)

(art by David Bonilla on Artstation)

Perhaps one of my very, very favorite things about the Starfinder technomancer class and their spells is how well they integrated technology and magic together, (in the spells at least, the magical hacks are kinda hit and miss for me) and nowhere else is this clearer than in the “junk” spells. Junk spells include those that either transmute nearby junk into a form unable by the mage, conjure junk usable for the former as their primary function or as a side effect, or that utilize already transmuted junk in a new way.

It began in the core book with the various junkbot spells, which were a stand-in for summoning until they perfected that with Alien Archive, but as more books came out, we got junk armor, junk swords, barricades, grenades, extradimensional shelters, and even the ability to detonate junk or transmuted creations!

It only makes sense, then, that there would be technomancers that specialize in these sorts of spells. They might be self-taught mystical tinkerers using the most readily available resource they know of in low-income neighborhoods, or they might be enthusiasts that see the ruined beauty and functionality in what others deem worthless.

Regardless of where they come from or how they feel about these things, only a fool would underestimate a junk technomancer just because their arsenal is all secondhand. It may not look pretty or be as sturdy, but they can squeeze surprising amounts of power out of what others cast off.

In exchange for having a cache and cache capacitor, these techno-mages specialize in junk spells, learning junk armor and junksword immediately in addition to their normal spell allotment, as well as upgrading to higher level versions of junksword as they gain levels (the text suggests that junk armor upgrades as well, but that spell doesn’t have variable level. It’s just a first level spell. A mistake on the author’s part?) Additionally, they can cast either one of these spells once a day without expending any energy.

Their junk spells also prove just a little bit better, their armor becoming tougher, and their transmuted creations lasting longer.

Given their focus on cobbling together contraptions than programming, they also focus on engineering rather than computers.

Finally, they improve their junksword and junk armor to allow for upgrades, their armor gaining an armor slot which they can install an upgrade into, and their junkswords able to incorporate a fusion seal the technomancer has on hand into their design.

The junk spells of a technomancer are versatile, ranging from defense to attack to utility, but they all require scrap electronics to work, which is why spells that conjure junk, be it the junk shards attack spell or the fabricate junk cantrip are very important for when you venture beyond junkyards, broken-down slums, or easily-smashable tech labs. That being said, you also still have all your other spell slots to diversify for those times when junk is not available and conjuring some would waste precious seconds. In any case, the focus on junksword and junk armor does mean the build expects you to be at least partially a melee build, so your spell and feat selection could probably do with options that tilt melee combat in your favor, such as debuffs and battlefield control options, to say nothing of enhancing your own combat prowess.

The versatility of junk spells cannot be denied, but one must also remember that no only are these creations temporary, but they render the junk used in them inert to any more castings of the spell, valuable only for their use as scrap. As such, I imagine that many of these technomancers also enjoy making longer-lasting creations as well, possibly from the junk they’ve spent on previous castings of their magic, incorporating components harmlessly into the whole of a project.

Strange attacks have been happening in the upper city, with people being slain by beams of light from invisible foes. The culprits are a group of lurkers-in-light, led by a lightweaver. However, confronting the fey in the upper city will be nearly impossible without first causing a blackout. The simpler option would be to track them to their dark undercity lair, home to junkers of all descriptions.

Most would consider Visak’s Folly, a debris field of derelict ships left over from the last great war, to be a poor place to forge a community, but for the xulgaths that dwell there, it is a golden opportunity. So much salvage to recover and sell. Many of them take up technomancy as well, turning the scrap that surrounds them into tools and weapons, the latter especially one those that attempt to muscle in on their claim.

It wasn’t the plentiful resources or the verdant wildlife that attracted Polgan to the colony world of Pillar, it was the ancient superstructure that gave the planet its name. Attempts to explore or survey it have been met with disaster before, but the young technomancer is certain that with his junk magic and know-how he can make the attempt alone and self-sufficiently. Such is the foolishness of youth.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

S!! i just reread Cant Explain All The Ways You Get Me High and i’m here to give you double the kudos bc god it’s fantastic 🔥 Honestly that one and I’d Fuck Me are some of my favorites—guess I have a soft spot for your solo scenes! Would you ever explore the inverse, with sub!bucky or seb taking care of themselves? What are the differences there between how steve/chris do it?

Can't Explain All The Ways You Get Me High

I'd Fuck Me

You know, I genuinely never noticed that among those solo, jerk off, fantasy scenes, I've only included the tops and/or doms. Huh. That's interesting. I mean, literally, there's also a scene in my "For Beginners" series with Chris fantasizing about Seb subbing for him...

Chapter One of Accept It

Maybe it'd because I'm a dom? So that sort of fantasizing is closer to my heart? Maybe it's just a coincidence, lol. Who knows 🤷🏻‍♂️

Anyway--

I think it would be pretty similar, I mean, the thoughts going on would be different, of course, but very much that same heady, frantic headspace as they barrel toward orgasm.

I'm not taking requests at this time, but sometimes I can't help myself...

Immediately, I had something in mind for Sebastian:

It's been a while for Sebastian--a while since he's gotten off with all of the work he's been doing (what feels like 15 different projects all that once, he swears) and the resulting exhaustion, and it's been a while since he's seen Chris with the way their careers stretches them apart all too often. So... orgasming hasn't exactly been his top priority. However, he's got the afternoon off. Somehow, after the early morning and late nights and their dedication, his director has decided they all need an early end for this Friday.

Thank. god.

And, with his time off, his thoughts unbusied, it's the tiniest thing that sets him off.

With their dynamic and how Sebastian gets, Chris will regularly send him orders when they're apart. It helps keep Sebastian from being overwhelmed with the need to submit here and now and being unable to, shutting down instead. Order this for dinner. Wear that pair of boxer briefs today. Chose this for the premier. Prep your meals for a week. Send me a photo of you when you have a minute. Sebastian eagerly fumbles to do as Chris says, especially eager the longer they've been apart. Craving a moment of calm, both-feet-on-the-ground steadiness that comes with Chris' pride. His approval. Even if it's just a text--

Good boy.

--or if it's more of a treat like a FaceTime call or rumbling voice memo.

"You're such a good boy, Sebastian."

that leaves Sebastian with chills, head to toe, and a helpless erection.

This time, what sets him off is Chris' reminder that he needs to have real food for, at least, one meal today. He's off set, so he should find something other than what he could get at crafty. Some protiens and healthy fats. Then, when Sebastian sends him a snap of his finished plate, Chris sends him another order as if he can feel that Seb needs to occupy his mind, playing into their push pull.

Make sure to clean it up properly.

Sebastian hand washes the fucking plate, silverware, and glass, despite the equally avaliable and usable dishwasher in his rented apartment nearby to the location they're filming at.

Done!

Sebastian texts him back.

Perfect.

It's one word. And yet...

It hits Sebastian like kick to the chest. He stares at the word, biting his lip. He doesn't expect more. He knows Chris is still working himself. It's more than enough that he's even able to send him a few words back and forth. He's not looking for a follow-up. He's just staring at the word.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Sebastian can hear Chris' voice sliding over the syllables in his head. It echoes through him, leaving his toes curling against the kitchen tile while his eyes slide shut, vividly imagining himself at home with his dom. He's just finished preparing dinner for Chris, home cooked--something simple that he can manage without too much thought, but enough that Chris knows he put effort into it--he set the table, he served Chris his food, then he sat at the table with Chris, watched Chris eat with Chris savoring each bite with smooth swallows and heartfelt moans of approval at the taste, he let (what a hardship) Chris hand feed him bites when he so desired, and he cleaned up their dishes and table, hand washing everything. He wants to. And, now...

Sebastian feels a wobble in his knees, so he lets his phone clatter onto the countertop and grasps it tightly instead.

Now, in his mind, Chris is stalking up behind him and Sebastian's heart is in his throat, ready and waiting for Chris to crowd him against the counter and cabinets and put those big, heavy, commanding hands all over his body. Pawing at him. He wants it. He aches for Chris to bend him over the sink and fill him up, fuck him hard and fast and dirty, while he tells him that he's good. He did good. He served him so well. He takes care of him so perfectly, now he's gonna take care of his perfect sub--gonna take him and use him like he craves.

Chris doesn't.

Not even Sebastian's imaginary Chris bends to his will. He's in charge. He will do what he pleases, and Sebastian will obey his word.

Submit.

Imaginary Chris bypasses him and goes to the fridge instead, bending over--oh, Lord, that's a sight--to reach the bottom shelf on the door where the beer lives, happily awaiting to be drank.

Sebastian dries his hands from the dishes... imagined and real. Imagined, he wants to turn and watch Chris' skillful, beautiful hands crack open the bottle. He doesn't. Real, he stands in place, letting his imagination pull him away, deeper, with how imaginary Chris walks right past him again, this time sparing one hand just to proprietorily draaaag his palm against the small of the back, "join me in the living room."

It's not a question, seeking company, maybe. If you like. But, hopefully. Join me? It's a command.

Everything in Sebastian wants to follow. The gravity makes his muscles weak.

Sebastian follows.

He follows Chris like a lovesick puppy, trailing after him and panting when he arranges himself on the sofa. Always so alluring that it's unfair. How is Sebastian supposed to do anything when his lover exists in such a state? Lounging about, casually, but perfect enough to have come straight out of a photoshoot. Thick, strong thighs spread wide, giving himself room, one arm over the back of the furniture, draped and taking up all the space he likes, commanding all of the suddenly humid air in the room with a heavy, dark look in his eyes.

Sebastian swallows, saliva flooding his mouth.

Meanwhile, Chris' other hand, having come to rest on his knee before, now mimes a gesture or two that's irresistible.

Kneel.

Come here.

Sebastian's eyes fly open, shattering the delicious fantasy his mind is painting. The image so real, so much ink, that it's spilling into his real life. He can't. Sebastian whimpers out loud.

Jesus Christ.

Even in the cold light of his real, afternoon kitchen, there's that pull inside him, forcing him from his comfortable center of gravity. Like missing a step on the stairs. Exhilarating. Heart hammering.

He needs.

The ache is now terrible inside him.

More than he needs anything else, he needs to be between Chris' thighs. That's where he belongs. His vision starts to go a little hazy and useless around the corners at just the thought. Chris towering over him. Powerful and authoritative. It's been too long.

And now Seb can feel the phantom heat of Chris' knees pressing against his shoulders and the weight of Chris' hand on his head, his blunt fingernails scratching his scalp, running through his hair and messing it up. He can feel the friction of denim jeans or cotton sweats or mesh basketball shorts against his cheek, muzzling into Chris where he's packed into whatever the fuck he's wearing but shouldn't be. He should never be clothed. He should--

Fuck me.

He should be between Chris' legs.

Sebastian blinks harshly a few times, trying to clear his vision and push away the raw throb that has begun to spread from deep in his gut to the base of his cock.

Impulsively, he snatches one of his hands away from his white-knuckle hold on the counter, intending to press the heel of his palm up against himself, but--

He whines again.

Here?

He looks around, taking inventory of his current situation, Sebastian gets distracted as his eyes land on his phone, and he recalls that damn text.

Perfect.

Glittering pleasure of praise from his dominant crackles through Sebastian like a lightning strike. All over again. Suddenly, he is back between Chris' thighs. Warm and crowded and so close to falling forward and mouthing at the bulge of his hardening cock in his sweats. Overcome by hunger. He can smell his arousal. Jesus. Seb wants to melt. He wants--

He can't fucking jerk off in the kitchen of a rental.

Can he?

Sebastian whimpers to the empty room. It offers him no comfort. Not a sound.

No.

Not here.

Quickly, Sebastian snatches his phone and dashes on clumsy legs to the bedroom. He's intending on texting Chris, asking him if it's possible for him to steal a few moments away. Sebastian just wants to hear his voice. For a minute. He wants it gruff and pressed right up against his ear, telling him he's perfect and good, and, and tell him--

Sebastian flushes hot, just thinking it. Admitting it to himself for the hundredth time. No matter, it always makes him squirm.

He wants Chris to tell him he's pretty.

He wants Chris to tell him he wants to put him on display and show everyone how good and pretty and perfect and odient he is. And--

Sebastian ends up distracted. His phone ends up on the bed, where he intends to also be. Lying back, relaxing, shoving a hand haphazardly down his pants to let Chris talk him off while he incoherently whines and moans and begs, the closest they can get when so, so far apart, but... he doesn't make it.

He doesn't even make it that far.

Instead, Sebastian gasps to himself, embarrassment making his cock pulse, thinking about how Chris would answer the phone and peel the mortifying words out of his mouth, make him admit how needy he is, then tell him he'a such a good boy for admitting it and he bet he looks so pretty, flushed and horny, and... Sebastian stumbles.

He ends up on his knees.

And.

He can't get back up. Aching. He's on his knees in his rented bedroom, near to the bed, but also too far away for it to be worth it to move again when he's so fucking hard.

The back of his eyelids are painted with the sights and sounds and sensations of their living room. Hardwood floors bite sweetly into his knees. Chris' cologne and laundry detergent clinging to his clothes, fading and turned darker the closer Sebastian leans into him, sweat and musk and arousal. Chris' hands on him. Holding his shoulders. Entwinted in his hair. On his throat or the nape of his neck, squeezing. Holding. Chris' voice rumbling through him, leaving him aching. Aching. Sebastian wants--

He wants Chris' cock out of his pants and in his mouth.

He wants to stare up at Chris' face, contorted obscenely into an expression of heat and pleasure, flushed and slack, as the weight and taste of his thick cock fills Sebastian's mouth. Heavy on his tongue. Coating his throat with the taste. Stretching his lips. Chris' hips pressed against his face, forcing him down his throat and making it hard to breathe in the most incredible way. Sebastian doesn't need to breathe. He needs to taste, to suck, to lick, to kiss, to gag and choke and cry.

He wants to cry on his cock.

He wants Chris to stare down at him over the handsome line of his nose and smirk. He wants Chris to tell him he's got such a good fucking mouth through a drawn-out groan. He wants to hear Chris moan through gritted teeth. He wants to have Chris cum down his throat and make Sebastian swallow, then lick him clean, then keep him warm while he finally drinks the beer he brought into the living room with him, watching the game, and keeping his needy submissive busy all at the same time. Multitasking.

Sebastian wants--

He wants--

Frantically, Seb shoves his hand into his sweatpants and cups his himself against his body, hissing with the temperature difference between his fingers and his heated, engorged dick.

In his mind, he's prolonging the moment of Chris' orgasm. The pornographic expression on his gorgeous face. Suspended in pleasure. The intense, incredible twitches and jerks of his cock as he pumps release onto Seb's tongue. The taste. The feeling. The way, oh, God, when Chris is really, really feeling himself, he'll reach down and recklessly plug Sebastian's nose as he shoves into his tight, wet, heat deeply. And Sebastian will spin. Sebastian will get dizzy. Sebastian will fly. His lungs aching to choke and sputter but not being able to. It all makes Seb so fucking hard. He's not in control. Chris knows what's good for him. Chris knows he's good. He's good.

He's so good!

Sebastian can't help but start to actually fist himself now. He's leaking enough to go faster. Faster. The friction is wearing his nerves down to raw wire, sparking and spitting electricity throughout his whole body. He's, oh, oh, he's--

It's so fucking intense, the images flashing through his mind. Now Chris has finished with him and Sebastian's chest is heaving, his lips buzzing, his mouth still stuffed full, tears and snot and spit running down his face, a complete mess, yet still pretty and perfect to Chris--for Chris. Sebastian helplessly cries out and loses his balance, his mind going haywire, imagining sucking Chris' still half-hard cock after he's finished, and grinding against his shin, feeling, feeling--

Good.

Obedient.

Sebastian falls forward, barely bracing himself against his now outstretched hand--the hand not wrapped around his cock--rather than faceplanting on the floor. His heart pounds in his chest. Lust rushes through him. Overpowering the fear. Pleasure rising and rising and--

"Gonna show me how pretty you are, baby? You gonna cum humping me with your mouth all full, jus' like you need, sweet boy?"

In his mind, in his fantasy, Sebastian cums with a muffled moan around Chris' dick. But, in his rented apartment, crumbling onto the floor next to his bed as if he might've been praying before he drifted off to sleep, he moans embarrassingly loudly. It's nearly a wail. It's like he's been hit over the back of the head. It hits him so fucking hard.

He's demolished as the pleasure crashes over him.

White-hot and ruining. Pumping wet, messy release into his hand and the inside of his boxer briefs. Humiliating and so, so good that he doesn't give a fuck.

"Atta, boy," Sebastian hears inside his own head, Chris' voice, as he achingly shakes through the last dregs of pleasure with a whine.

Oh, God.

But, (bratty) sub Bucky is pretty distinctive, too:

Steve's on a stupid fucking mission and he took his stupid fucking super dick with him (like an asshole) but, somehow, he didn't manage to take his stupid nuclear-level sex drive with him, too. Of all the things he has to leave behind! Fucking bastard.

He knows Bucky can't cope! And somehow, he still goes out there and fights the good fight despite being retired. Newsflash, Rogers, that ain't retired.

"Ugh," Bucky half groans, half moans, caught up in his thoughts, but also caught up in the physical sensations he's dealing with. Coping.

Steve's really left Bucky with no choice now. Not with his super libido bleeding over into Bucky, like, like--Bucky shivers, stifling a moan based on principle--bleeding into him like the hot, wet feeling of Steve fucking him with too much lube and then cumming inside him with his hurricane-like super-swimmers, pumping and pumping until Bucky swears he can see it stretching out his abs like he went too hard at dinner. Too much. Those goddamn swollen, heavy balls and...

"Guh." There's no stifling a dumb noise like that. It is what it is.

What is Bucky supposed to do but order via priority shipping and shove the biggest vibrating dildo he can up his ass?

This, this--

Bucky pants, his chest heaving, practically presenting his high, tight pecs and his begging-to-be-touched nipples. If someone was here to touch them! Bucky can't fight back a whimper, thinking about Steve's serum-hot, fever-hot body against his. His fingers--cruel and mean, plucking and twisting and pinching his nipples until they're puffy and raw, and Bucky is painting his belly white again. His mouth. Those lips. Plush, hot, and slick. Always just the tiniest bite of teeth that has Bucky shouting high in the back of his throat.

His cock jumps. Aching.

Fucking Steve.

This started out of spite. Bucky was bouncing on his fake cock, growling to himself, bratty and motivated. But it's devolved into something messy and pathetic and wet.

There are tears tracking shiny, salty paths down his cheeks when they're not being smeared into the sheets. It's really into a pillowcase. Not sheets. Steve's pillow. It still smells like him, and it's perfect for muffling the sniffling, howling moans that Bucky is pulling out of himself. He misses Steve's cock so much. He misses the rest of him, too. He misses the way he holds him down and pounds into him until Bucky is sure he'll finally fucking split into two. Hammering into him. Growling and grabbing him, throwing him around and making him take it. Bruising his hips and ass. Biting his shoulders, pulling his long hair until he's arched into a weak u-shape, every noise that Bucky has enough air to make fucked out of his wet, open mouth, "uh, uh, uh--"

Bucky aches for going dumb on Steve's cock.

He doesn't want to think! He wants to be able to do absolutely nothing. Fucked dumb.

He wants Steeeeeve!

Bucky whines to himself, his thighs quivering.

He's trying to replicate the magical ability Steve has to melt his brain out of his ears by giving himself as many orgasms as he can with the thick, heavy, vibrating toy shoved deep inside him. It's beginning to hurt. There's a puddle underneath him. Overflowing with pleasure. Yet, lust is still racing under his skin. It makes him whimper and squeeze the sheets in his fists.

He can hear Steve in his head, growling at him, smacking him around, goading him into another orgasm. The only one who can take Bucky; the only one who can hold him down and make him take it.

"C'mon, baby, I know that isn't all you got. You can take it. A cockslut like you? You can always take more. There's still spunk comin' outta'ya. I want you cummin' dry, darlin'. Then, then, I'll think about being done with you."

Instinctively, Bucky wants to do it. He wants to give it all to Steve. He has to. There's no other option.

So, he arches his back deeper. Blooming. His muscles complain, hurting with the stretch despite his daily yoga routine. He just can't--he's been at this for hours. He misses his fella bad.

He can't fucking be bothered, he's too frantically horny and too much of a spoiled pillow princess, to reach back and fuck his hot, puffy, wet hole with the vibrating toy. The closest he gets is jacking his cock. Even that's not normal, normally he has Steve to do that for him. Or, if Steve's not doing it for him because he's working too hard at working his cunt out--stringing him out until he's incoherent and stupid--Bucky is grinding against the bed, the couch, the floor, or whatever Steve has bent him over, unable to wait a minute longer. Right now, jerking off, he's so wet. His dick is swollen, and he can feel his pulse throbbing through it. He keens. Arching and spreading.

He feels fucked out and open but he knows he could be more. He could be hotter, he could be puffier, he could be wetter. If he pulled the dildo out of his hungry hole, he would be gaping. He could be gaping more if Steve had his way with him. Fucking him with that thick, thick cock, then getting frisky and sticking in his thumbs in alongside his dick. Prying him open. Wider and wider. Holding his hole open and feeling his own slick shaft thrusting in and pulling out as he ruins him.

He's thinking about Steve ruining him. He's thinking about Steve fucking him until he passes out--it ain't a true Rogers event until that happens, after all. He's thinking about Steve's strong fingers, scratching down his back, shamelessly groping his ass, and opening his hole. He's thinking about that fucking cock. He's thinking about--

Bucky doesn't want to think!

He wants to be ruined.

With an overwhelmed sob, Bucky collapses facefirst into his man's pillow and cums. Again. Crying out and jerking, soaking the bed.

The minute Steve gets home, he's demanding to be fucked within an inch of his life. Please. He'll get on his knees and beg. He'll break out the puppy-dog eyes and pout and beg. He'll offer to do whatever the hell, bendy painful (not hot, definitely, definitely. not. hot.) position his dog of a boyfriend wants. Anything. He neeeeeeeeds that dick.

[siringadev]

I think his original design is breathtaking, balancing between sensuality and military-combat uniform, between practicality and sophisticated aesthetics. One can have different points of view on his image and design, and it also has a dark side if you look at his background story. Below is an analysis of his original design. Very interesting and deep. Text from @deepgrounded [ content warning: discussions of objectification (including in a sexual sense), dehumanization, and abuse ] I genuinely believe Nero has an incredible design. It’s something that’s off-putting and bizarre, something I was confused by when I first saw it back in 2021. I had no idea about DoC, so I knew nothing about his lore. However, learning his lore reveals how brilliant his design is. It’s strange, extreme, uncomfortable and confusing. And that’s the point. Nero is someone who is objectified- he is treated as a weapon, not even an animal. He’s hardly cared for at all, and his strength is dealt with in manners not humane— he gets stronger when his arms are freed, when more of his body is exposed. So his arms are locked in an uncomfortable position to ensure he can’t easily free himself, belts keeping them in place. His face is covered with that mask his due to his Darkness escaping from his mouth. It’s a mask, it’s a muzzle that serves to dehumanize him. Nearly every part of his body is covered, not only removing him from a way to protect himself but also denying him a “natural” human look to him in terms of his silhouette. The only way we are able to tell Nero’s emotions and connect with him on a far more “human” level is through his eyes. They are the only way for Nero to physically express his emotions as most other forms of body language are taken from him. Even his legs are restricted, belts connecting the two, denying him complete freedom of movement but allowing him to still be usable as a weapon. I would argue that Nero’s uniform is meant to objectify him in a sexual sense as well. As restrictive Deepground already is, Nero is the one with the least control over what he wears, and he’s made to wear a skintight bodysuit with belts snuggly wrapped around his hips and crotch that serve no real purpose. The belts on his legs are meant to hold the holsters of his guns, and to further restrict his movement, and as discussed earlier, the ones on his arms are meant to keep those in place as well. His body is emphasized in a way that becomes more concerning the more you think about what it means in-universe. I had recently searched up straitjackets in order to make comparisons between them and his design and had found that many of those meant for fetish purposes had those specific belts Nero wears. Not any “legit” ones. Agency and autonomy is taken away from Nero is every possible way. It serves to dehumanize him through and through. And Nero has a pair of wings- mechanical and made of blades, a cruel mockery of actual wings, made to ensure that he can fight no matter what. It’s unnatural, far more so than the angelic appearance the wings of the Firsts have. The experiments that led to Nero’s birth are viewed as being very much like the JENOVA Project as well, adding to this. Nero’s wings are the farthest away from the symbolic ideal of “freedom” one could get. Nero is denied humanity in nearly every aspect of his design. You can see him, his wide and expressive eyes, but just barely. So much of him is hidden away by a representation of Deepground’s cruelty— jarring, unpleasant, and hard to understand. And that makes his design perfect.