#barrel project no. 8

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Kickstarting the audiobook of The Lost Cause, my novel of environmental hope

Tonight (October 2), I'm in Boise to host an event with VE Schwab. On October 7–8, I'm in Milan to keynote Wired Nextfest.

The Lost Cause is my next novel. It's about the climate emergency. It's hopeful. Library Journal called it "a message hope in a near-future that looks increasingly bleak." As with every other one of my books Amazon refuses to sell the audiobook, so I made my own, and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-lost-cause-a-novel-of-climate-and-hope

That's a lot to unpack, I know. So many questions! Including this one: "How is it that I have another book out in 2023?" Because this is my third book this year. Short answer: I write when I'm anxious, so I came out of lockdown with nine books. Nine!

Hope and writing are closely related activities. Hope (the belief that you can make things better) is nothing so cheap and fatalistic as optimism (the belief that things will improve no matter what you do). The Lost Cause is full of people who are full of hope.

The action begins a full generation after the Hail Mary passage of the Green New Deal, and the people who grew up fighting the climate emergency (rather than sitting hopelessly by while the powers that be insisted that nothing could or should be done) have a name for themselves: they call themselves "the first generation in a century that doesn't fear the future."

I fear the future. Unchecked corporate power has us barreling over a cliff's edge and all the one-percent has to say is, "Well, it's too late to swerve now, what if the bus rolls and someone breaks a leg? Don't worry, we'll just keep speeding up and leap the gorge":

https://locusmag.com/2022/07/cory-doctorow-the-swerve/

That unchecked corporate power has no better avatar than Amazon, one of the tech monopolies that has converted the old, good internet into "five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four":

https://twitter.com/tveastman/status/1069674780826071040

Amazon maintains a near-total grip over print and ebooks, but when it comes to audiobooks, that control is total. The company's Audible division has captured more than 90% of the market, and it abuses that dominance to cram Digital Rights Management onto every book it sells, even if the author doesn't want it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

I wrote a whole-ass book about this and it came out less than a month ago; it's called The Internet Con and it lays out an audacious plan to halt the internet's enshittification and throw it into reverse:

http://www.seizethemeansofcomputation.org/

The tldr is this: when an audiobook is wrapped in Amazon's DRM, only Amazon can legally remove it. That means that every book I sell you on Audible is a book you have to throw away if you ever break up with Amazon, and Amazon can use the fact that it's hold you hostage to screw me – and every other author – over.

As I said last time this came up:

Fuck that sideways.

With a brick.

My books are sold without DRM, so you can play them in any app and do anything copyright permits, and that means Amazon won't carry them, and that means my publishers don't want to pay to produce them, and that means I produce them myself, and then I make the (significant) costs back by selling them on Kickstarter.

And you know what? It works. Readers don't want DRM. I mean, duh. No one woke up this morning and said, "Dammit, why won't someone sell me a product that lets me do less with my books?" I sell boatloads" of books through these crowdfunding campaigns. I sold so many copies of my last book, *The Internet Con, that they sold out the initial print run in two weeks (don't worry, they held back stock for my upcoming events).

But beyond that, I think there's another reason my readers keep coming back, even though I wrote a genuinely stupid number of books while working through lockdown anxiety while the wildfires raged and ashes sifted down out of the sky and settled on my laptop as I lay in my backyard hammock, pounding my keyboard.

(I went through two keyboards during lockdown. Thankfully, I bought a user-serviceable laptop from Framework and fixed it myself both times, in a matter of minutes. No, no one pays me to mention this, but hot damn is it cool.)

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/13/graceful-failure/#frame

The reason readers come back to my books is that they're full of hope. In the same way that writing lets me feel like I'm not a passenger in life, but rather, someone with a say in my destination, the books that I write are full of practical ways and dramatic scenes in which other people seize the means of computation, the reins of power or their own destinies.

The protagonist of The Lost Cause is Brooks Palazzo, a high-school senior in Burbank whose parents were part of the original cohort of volunteers who kicked off the global transformation, and left him an orphan when they succumbed to one of the zoonotic plagues that arise every time another habitat is destroyed.

Brooks grew up knowing what his life would be: the work of repair and care, which millions of young people are doing. Relocating entire cities off endangered coastlines and floodplains, or out of fire-zones. Fighting floods and fires. Caring for tens of millions of refugees for whom the change came too late.

But with every revolution comes a counter-revolution. The losers of a just war don't dig holes, climb inside and pull the dirt down on top of themselves. Two groups of reactionaries – seagoing anarcho-capitalist billionaire wreckers and seething white nationalist militias – have formed an alliance.

They've already gotten their champion into the White House. Next up: dismantling every cause for hope Brooks and his friends have, and bringing back the fear.

That's the setup for a novel about solidarity, care, library socialism, and snatching victory from defeat's jaws. Writing it help keep me sane during the lockdown, and when it came time to record the audiobook, I spent a lot of time thinking about who could read it. I've had some great narrators: Wil Wheaton, @neil-gaiman, Amber Benson, Bronson Pinchot, and more.

I record my audiobooks with Skyboat Media, a brilliant studio near my place in LA. Back in August, I spent a week in their recording booth – "The Tardis" – doing something I'd never tried before: I recorded a whole audiobook, with directorial supervision: The Internet Con:

https://transactions.sendowl.com/products/78992826/DEA0CE12/purchase

When it was done, the director – audiobook legend Gabrielle de Cuir – sat me down and said, "Look, I've never said this to an author before, but I think you should read The Lost Cause. I don't direct anyone anymore except for Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton, but I would direct you on this one."

I was immensely flattered – and very nervous. Reading The Internet Con was one thing – the book is built around the speeches I've been giving for 20 years and I knew I could sell those lines – but The Lost Cause is a novel, with a whole cast of characters. Could I do it?

Reader, I did it. I just listened to the proofs last week and:

It.

Came.

Out.

Great.

The Lost Cause goes on sale on November 14th, and I'll be selling this audiobook I made everywhere audiobooks are sold – except for the stores that require DRM, nonconsensually shackling readers and writers to their platforms. So you'll be able to get it on Libro.fm, downpour.com, even Google Play – but not Audible, Apple Books, or Audiobooks.com.

But in addition to those worthy retailers, I will be sending out thousands – and thousands! – of audiobook to my Kickstarter backers on the on-sale date, either as a folder of DRM-free MP3s, or as a download code for Libro.fm, to make things easy for people who don't want to have to figure out how to sideload an audiobook into a standalone app.

And, of course, the mobile duopoly have made this kind of sideloading exponentially harder over the past decade, though far be it from me to connect this with their policy of charging 30% commissions on everything sold through an app, a commission they don't receive if you get your files on the web and load 'em yourself:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell/posts/3788112

As with my previous Kickstarters, I'm also selling ebooks and hardcovers – signed or unsigned, and this time I've found a great partner to fulfill EU orders from within the EU, so backers won't have to pay VAT and customs charges. The wonderful Otherland – who have hosted me on my last two trips to Berlin – are going to manage that shipping for me:

https://www.otherland-berlin.de/en/home.html

Kim Stanley Robinson read the book and said, "Along with the rush of adrenaline I felt a solid surge of hope. May it go like this." That's just about the perfect quote, because the book is a ride. It's not just a kumbaya tale of a better world that is possible: it's a post-cyberpunk novel of high-tech guerrilla and meme warfare, climate tech and bad climate tech, wildcat prefab urban infill, and far-right militamen who adapt to a ban on assault-rifles by switching to super-soakers full of hydrochloric acid.

It's a book about struggle, hope in the darkness, and a way through this rotten moment. It's a book that dares to imagine that things might get worse but also better. This is a curious emotional melange, but it's one that I'm increasingly feeling these days.

Like, Amazon, that giant bully, whose blockade on DRM-free audiobooks cost me enough money to pay off my mortgage and put my kid through university (according to my agent)? The incredible Lina Khan brought a long-overdue antitrust case against Amazon while her rockstar DoJ counterpart, Jonathan Kanter, is dragging Google through the courts.

The EU is taking on Apple, and French cops are kicking down Nvidia's doors and grabbing their files, looking to build another antitrust case for monopolizing GPUs. The writers won their strike and Joe Biden walked the picket-line with the UAW, the first president in history to join striking workers:

https://doctorow.medium.com/joe-biden-is-headed-to-a-uaw-picket-line-in-detroit-f80bd0b372ab?sk=f3abdfd3f26d2f615ad9d2f1839bcc07

Solar is now our cheapest energy source, which is wild, because if we could only capture 0.4% of the solar energy that makes it through the atmosphere, we could give everyone alive the same energy budget as Canadians (who have American lifestyles but higher heating bills). As Deb Chachra writes in her forthcoming How Infrastructure Works (my review pending): we get a fresh supply of energy every time the sun rises and we only get new materials when a comet survives atmospheric entry, but we treat energy as scarce and throw away our materials after a single use:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612711/how-infrastructure-works-by-deb-chachra/

Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. We have shot past many of our planetary boundaries and there are waves of climate crises in our future, but they don't have to be climate disasters. That's up to us – it'll depend on whether we come together to save ourselves and each other, or tear ourselves apart.

The Lost Cause dares to imagine what it might be like if we do the former. We don't live in a post-enshittification world yet, but we could. With these indie audiobooks, I've found a way to treat the terminal enshittification of the Amazon monopoly as damage and route around it. I hope you'll back the Kickstarter, fight enshittification, inject some hope into your reading, and enjoy a kickass adventure novel in the process:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-lost-cause-a-novel-of-climate-and-hope

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/02/the-lost-cause/#the-first-generation-that-doesnt-fear-the-future

[gimmethatagustd]

sweet dreams | ksj

Seokjin loves when you paint your nails pink.

○ Pairing: Dom!Seokjin x Sub!Reader

○ Rating: Explicit/18+

○ Genre: Established relationship, smut

○ 8 / 100 Drabble Challenge (Master/Dom)

○ Word Count: 1,182

○ Warnings: Free use kink, consensual somnophilia (kinks negotiated "off screen"), vaginal fingering, spit, unprotected vaginal sex, cunnilingus, cum eating, light bdsm themes, no pronouns or gendered language are used for the MC aside from pussy and tits

○ Notes: I think I'm going insane actually 😅 Please read the warnings and if you don't know what somnophilia is, please maybe do a little research before you read this, just in case it might be triggering to you. Also I didn't edit this and I'm too embarrassed by the filth to even proofread it so jhsdfkjs enter at your own risk, besties. Proceed with caution 😭

○ Post Date: February 10, 2024

○ Masterlist | AO3 Crosspost

○ What was Jai listening to? Do Me Right - GEMINI

For the past few months, work has been kicking Seokjin’s ass. As his company barrels toward a major project deadline, he’s found very little time to spend with you. It’s unfortunate because you are accustomed to having fun together, whether going on dates or having a casual night in. 

You’ve been bitter about it, and Seokjin can’t blame you. His baby deserves better, to be cared for and spoiled, and deserves more attention than he has given you. 

Coming home late, Seokjin sighs when he slips into the apartment and finds all the lights off. It’s just past midnight, long since you fell asleep. You used to stay up for him, but Seokjin begged you not to. It wasn’t fair for you to deny yourself sleep because of his job.

After taking off his shoes and removing his suit jacket and tie, Seokjin quietly makes his way down the hall to the bedroom you share. 

You’re fast asleep in bed, sprawled out on your stomach with one knee hiked up, wearing nothing but a cropped tank top and flimsy panties, the kind with lace trim and a tiny bow because your ass is a present, or whatever that rap verse is that you’re always quoting. 

Seokjin thinks you’re cute in anything. 

He especially thinks you’re cute in pink – pink panties, pink tank tops, the remnants of pink eyeshadow because you forgot to wash your face before you fell asleep, and, his favorite, pink nail polish. 

The little glass bottle sits on the nightstand beside your bed. You applied the polish shortly before bed, and Seokjin can smell the lingering chemical aroma in the air. 

It started as a shy confession and an even more shy request – you admitting to Seokjin that you always wanted to try out a particular fantasy but had never found a partner you trusted with this level of kink exploration. Seokjin, though, you trust with your life. He has done his best to show you that he can and will listen to you, respect you, and love you. 

So when you asked Seokjin to have his way with you whenever you wear your favorite pink nail polish, he took his role as your trusted caretaker very seriously. 

Seokjin pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor along with his jeans. Keeping his briefs on, he kneels on the bed, one knee on either side of your leg that’s straightened out. He uses his knee to push your leg that’s bent, hiking it up to open your thighs even further. He’s slow as he does it, careful not to wake you up. 

He runs his palms over your asscheeks, slipping his fingers beneath your underwear and squeezing just light enough to make them jiggle. Pulling your underwear to the side, he exposes your pussy, open wide for him from how he has pushed your leg up.

Leaning forward, Seokjin spits onto your pussy. He uses his thumb to push his spit through your folds, rubbing it over your clit and then dragging it down to your entrance to dib his thumb inside. 

You let out a small whimper, and Seokjin pauses his movements. Only his heavy breathing and your little sounds echo in the room, but your eyes remain closed, and your breathing is slow. 

Relaxing with the knowledge that you’re still asleep, Seokjin starts touching you again. He spends time circling your clit, alternating between pressing hard on the sensitive skin and maintaining light touches that serve more to spread your arousal around. His mouth waters from just playing with your clit, and he lets more spit soak your pussy. Seokjin always likes it wet and messy, especially when you’re so pliant while sleeping.

Your body reacts on its own, naturally shifting into his touch when he slides two fingers into your entrance. He fucks you slowly, easing his fingers in and out carefully so he doesn’t disturb you. Your ass jiggles slightly each time his fingers rock into you. Sometimes, he pushes deep in and stays there, fluttering and massaging your wet walls. 

With his other hand, Seokjin reaches over to push up your shirt. Since it’s a crop top, it’s already barely covering your tits, making it easier for him to push it up. Licking his fingers, he tweaks your exposed nipple, swirling and pinching it until it grows hard. 

Seokjin bites his bottom lip to stop himself from moaning as he eases his fingers out of you, smearing your arousal on the back of your thigh. You're so wet, and his cock is aching, hard, and dripping precum, a dark spot staining the front of his briefs.

"So beautiful..." Seokjin whispers to himself as he spreads your lips and spits directly into your pussy again. Arousal and spit dribbles down your lips and soaks the bed sheets.

Unable to take it, Seokjin takes his cock out and rubs the tip through your folds. When the ridge of his head catches against your clit, you let out a quiet whimper, your body aware of the pleasure even if your mind is still oblivious.

The little breathy sounds you make only spur Seokjin on more. He's impatient as he sinks his cock into you, your walls slippery and hot as you suck him in. He presses his hands into the bed on either side of your waist and thrusts deep and slow, careful not to wake you as he fucks into you.

Seokjin loves how easy it is to manipulate your body while you're sleeping, especially knowing that you like being a little fucktoy for him. You like it when he uses your body like the perfect cocksleeve, pleasuring him even when you're asleep.

You moan in your sleep, and Seokjin wonders if you're dreaming about him fucking you. You came in the past, writhing in your sleep and moaning so loudly that you woke yourself up. This time, you must be genuinely exhausted because your eyes barely flutter as Seokjin chases his pleasure.

It doesn't take long for him to cum. He does so with quiet grunts, pulling back just in time to watch his cum spurt over your lips, some of the hot liquid dripping back into your stretched-out entrance.

Not even bothering to tuck his cock back in his briefs, he slides down to bury his face in your pussy, lapping at the cum to clean you up. It's the final push you need to finally orgasm, your hips bucking and your body shaking as a moan rips through your throat.

"Jin," you gasp, reaching down to dig your fingers in his hair. You don't bother getting up; just let your body slump into the bed as your orgasm hurdles through you like electricity, shocking your system.

"Sorry, I woke you up," Seokjin murmurs against your pussy. He tries to pull away, but you push his head back down.

"Please," you whisper, sleepy eyes still closed. "More, please."

Humming in satisfaction, Seokjin gives you what you want. He's weak like that; even when you're pliant, he'll always be weak for you. 

Disclaimer: All my writing is fictional and for entertainment purposes only. None of these characters are meant to actually represent the real people mentioned in the stories. 

All rights reserved © @gimmethatagustd​ - Do not copy, repost, modify, or translate any of my writing. Do not use my writing for any AI purposes whatsoever. Do not use my fics for anything aside from reading and commenting on them. My fics will only be posted on this Tumblr and on AO3 (gimmethatagustd & daddytaehyungie). Request an AO3 account here. 

@jooniesxbby @seokteoksworld @taegeum @dprmoon @chimmisbae @yoonminkookk

[sashiavi]

•······🍑·······• ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𝓓𝓪𝔂 𝓔𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪•·······🍑······•

𝚂𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝙰𝚟𝚒'𝚜 𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙺𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 2023

#8•𝚂𝚎𝚡 𝙿𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗•#8

𝙰𝚕𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙺𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚑 ʷᵒʳᵈ ᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗ ².⁷ᵏ

•· ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪·····.•🍑•.····· ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪·•

→ᴰᵃʳᵏ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵉⁿᵗ ᵂᵃʳⁿᶦⁿᵍ←

ᵀʰᶦˢ ᴾᶦᵉᶜᵉ ᴹᵃʸ ᵇᵉ ⱽᶦᵉʷᵉᵈ ᴬˢ ᴰᵘᵇᶜᵒⁿ ⁻ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ ᴰᶦˢᶜʳᵉᵗᶦᵒⁿ ᴵˢ ᴬᵈᵛᶦˢᵉᵈ

This was supposed to be a simple endeavor. Scout out a new location for Kaveh's client and be done with it. But no, of course not, of course something had to go wrong. Kaveh alone was already a liability to his own health. Add [Name] into the mix? You've got yourself twin tornadoes, barrelling tail first into trouble and chaos. Now they weren't lost, insists Kaveh, just taking the scenic route. Yeah, the scenic route joins [Name]. Alhaitham's eye twitches, he wasn't born yesterday unlike these two bone heads. He can see the slight confused head tilt Kaveh gives towards the map in his hands and the anxious glances their other travel companion gives the forest around them.

Alhaitham couldn't remember how they even managed to convince him to tag along, he wasn't a part of their respective Darshans, nor did he have the freetime. The forest was humid, typical for Sumeru's tropical landscape, his body felt clammy and gross. At least they weren't in the desert he supposed, there'd be a lot more whining and a vast lack of shade. Plus, he'd rather have his boots caked in sticky mud and leaves than have sand in his shoes.

"If you keep scowling like that you'll age worse than you already are." The prissy voice of Kaveh snaps him out of his train of thought.

Alhaitham's eye twitches again, Archons, sometimes he wanted to strangle him. Squeeze his neck while his pretty vermilion eyes roll back into his skull, forcing pretty glittery tears to roll down his cheeks. What..? Nothing. If there were someone reading his mind he'd tell them it was a joke. Blink if you're a mind reader. He ignores the passing glance [Name] gives him, blinking in concern, preparing herself for an explosive argument. Alhaitham signs and wipes his palm over his face, perhaps he ought to relax, it was a rare opportunity to be partnered up with the rowdy pair.

"Gah! What in the name of the Sevens- What is that!?" Never Mind. Relaxation ruined. Kaveh's screeches were back in his ears. Alhaitham's irritance is quick to fade when his eyes reach towards the sound. Kaveh sputters and coughs, frantically swatting a thick pink dust away from his face. [Name] was not faring any better, equally as coated in the mystery cloud as Kaveh. Alhaitham is quick to find the source, an otherworldly flower, stained pink and red with ornate petals. The plant had sprayed some sort of spore or pollen over the pair, perhaps a defense mechanism of some sort - Alhaitham was no Amurta student, this was definitely out of his realm of knowledge. He sucks in a breath, staunching over and brushing the pollen from the two, ignoring the sneeze you blow into his face. The pollen tickles at his nose, nearly forcing his throat shut, his body was definitely aberrant to inhale whatever the substance was.

The group manage to control the spore cloud, swiftly trekking down the path to avoid the majority of the affected area. A thought strikes Alhaitham; Was the plant toxic? He hadn't particularly worried about it in the moment, and the group seemed to be fine. Visibly, Kaveh and [Name] were stained a little pink, a thin sheen of dust covering their hair and clothes. Otherwise, they seemed completely normal, even though he wasn't feeling any concerning side effects - Apart from an itchy throat and a runny nose.

"How are you feeling?" He directs to no one in particular. The pair hum and shrug in response, they seemed to be fine. The group continue on their search for the elusive location for Kaveh's next big project.

•··········🍑···········• ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪•···········🍑··········•

They were not fine

At least an hour had passed since the pollen incident, everything had felt fairly normal. If you discount the warm, tingling feeling the group felt in their tummies. Until now, symptoms were at an all time low.

Kaveh was not faring well. His stomach felt cramped, tight and nauseating, sending cold shivers down his arms. His legs wobbled as he walked, he had half the mind to catch any imposing stumbles. His skin was warm, unnaturally so, clammy, sweaty and cold, unusual for the Sumeru weather. Was he sick? He felt feverish, the unbearable kiss of a migraine threatened to break in his head.

One glance at [Name] and even he could tell she was in a similar state, face flushed and breaths shaky. Small Kitten-like cries whimper from her throat with every few steps she makes. She hugs her arms to her body, eyes glazed and bleary, barely focused on the road ahead.

Alhaitham notices the state of his travel companions, swaying from one side of the path to the other, boots catching on pebbles and nearly toppling them over. It's Kaveh that's knocked down first, landing right on his knees, scuffing them into the mud below. [Name] spins around blearily, mumbling a short 'huh?' Barely managing to keep herself upright. Alhaitham is quick to his side, knees bent, hands hovering over his form.

"Kaveh, are you alright? Can I touch you?" He asks. Kaveh groans and nods dopily in response, a large frown sits itself on his face. Alhaitham presses his palm to the blonde's forehead, he was definitely warm, unnaturally so. He keens into his hand, eyebrows scrunched inwards, his discomfort well shown on his face. Alhaitham's head swims for what to do next, give him water? Some food? Let him rest? He wasn't well versed in the human body - Humans in general for that matter.

Alhaitham slides his palm to Kaveh's cheek, just as warm, as he suspected. The blonde hiccups a small cry, squirming in his spot in the mud. Alhaitham brings two fingers to Kaveh's neck, pressing into the hot pulse point under his chin. Kaveh keens, moaning breathily at the hard press of his fingers at his throat. He must really be feeling sick if he was moaning in pain like that - Alhaitham muses.

Kaveh whines as he pulls away from him, crouching and sifting through his pack, ready to get to the bottom of the situation. Alhaitham is quickly stunned however, when he feels a soft press on his front, down there. He looks down, finding a flushed Kaveh nuzzling his nose into the crotch of his pants. His hands hook into his trousers, snatching him down, closer into him. Alhaitham lands on his behind, ass in the wet mud of the forest floor. He leaves wet kisses against Alhaitham's clothed cock, staining his dark pants with his spit. The pit of Alhaitham's stomach warms, head spinning momentarily, what had gotten into Kaveh? And why wasn't he stopping it? Alhaitham wracks his frazzled brain - The Pollen. Gods he could feel it now, his body burning hot, cock aching in his trousers. He sucks in a breath as Kaveh mouths at his clothed head, kissing open mouthed, breath hot through the now tight fabric.

"K-Kaveh- This isn't funny-" His words are cut short buy a hard lick on his trousers.

Alhaitham feels a breath against his neck, he nearly jumps back. A soft, low moan erupts from [Name's] throat, right into his ear. Her arms wrap around Alhaitham's front, pressing him into her chest. She kisses at Alhaitham's skin, warm, glossy lips stick to his neck, leaving sweet wet marks over the surface. Alhaitham breathes a moan, bumping his hips into Kaveh's lips. His tongue laps at his cockhead, tasting the cheeky dribbles of pre that seep through his trousers. Archons Alhaitham should stop them, restrain them, anything. They wouldn't do this on their own accord, it was the pollen! But Alhaitham couldn't bring himself to do it, the wet lick of Kaveh's tongue, sweet kisses pressed into his neck from [Name's] soft lips. It was too good to not indulge.

Alhaitham's moral compass is completely shattered by a sweet little moan. He couldn't even remember who made the noise, but he couldn't withhold. He hastily works at the button of his trousers, pulling them down just enough to reveal his swollen, achey cock. He taps his sticky head against Kaveh's lulled out tongue, groaning as he eagerly laps at him. The lips on his neck turn to teeth, sinking softly into his decadent, milky skin. His chest heaves, his breaths shaky and uneven. [Name's] snug grip on him tightens, one hand pets over Alhaitham's ribs, caressing him tenderly. He swallows and licks at his lips, plump and parted from the heavy petting he had been recipient of. He suddenly hiccups, eyes widening and looking down, seeing Kaveh wrap his pretty, pink lips over his fat tip.

Alhaitham let's out a strangled groan, his throat buzzes under [Name's] lips. She giggles a deranged little noise into his skin, breathy and keening before nipping hard at his neck. He swears a short profanity, tilting his head back and nosing into [Name's] cheek. Kaveh's warm mouth engulfs his thick cock, bobbing up and down, licking and kissing at his weeping cock. Alhaitham thrusts his hips forward, gently nudging his cock further down Kaveh's throat. Kaveh whines on his length, greedily wrapping his arms around Alhaitham's hips, hugging at his body as he takes him down his throat.

Gods they were going to kill him. His body was on fire, achey length twitching hard as Kaveh swallows around him. The soft breath in his ear sends hot shivers down his spine, [Name] sinks her teeth into his earlobe and he keens. Not a sound he would usually make. His hands find their way into Kaveh's shiny hair, threading his fingers through the pretty strands. He wasn't going to last, the hot mouth sucking his cock, dribbling drool and pre down Kaveh's chin as he swallowed him down. The sweet caress of his body, the soft pinch at his nipples through his top. His cock aches and his heavy balls tighten, he couldn't take anymore. Alhaitham cums with a startled groan, shooting thick, milky ropes into Kaveh's mouth, who keens and laps at his thick pulsing head. [Name] hugs him tight, hushing his noises with a soft giggled 'shh' in his ear.

Kaveh moans sweetly around Alhaitham's thick cock, licking and suckling at his sensitive tip. He pops off of his cock and climbs over Alhaitham's frame, grabbing at [Name's] chin and pulling her into a searing kiss. They lock lips next to Alhaitham's ear, tounging into eachothers mouths, swapping hot spit and Alhaitham's milky, salty cum. Alhaitham's noses into Kaveh's warm neck, catching his breath as the pair ravish each others lips.

What happens next is a blur in Alhaitham's vision, all happening far too quickly for his gluggy brain to keep up. [Name] straddles Alhaitham's lap, hands planted firmly to his chest, pinning him onto the sticky mud below. She kisses him, tonging through his lips, forcing him to taste his own mess on her tongue. Alhaitham openly moans into her mouth, lapping eagerly at her wet tongue. She giggles airily into his mouth, grinding her hips into his half hand groin. A half rakes through his thick, grey hair, petting him sweetly. Alahitham's eyes crane upwards, finding Kaveh's pretty vermilion eyes staring down at him. How did his head end up in Kaveh's lap? He couldn't recall and frankly neither did he care.

A small hand wraps around his hardening cock, tugging him sweetly, edging his length into a stiff, achey mess. She grips his base tightly, threading his fat tip through her wet creamy folds. Her slick coats over his head, creating the most delicious ache in his length. Gods everything was a blur, he couldn't remember anyone removing their clothes, and yet it somehow happened. His skin finally felt cool in the misty forest air, no longer confined by the thick heavy clothing he wore. His eyes wander back to [Name], her cute, plump thighs straddle his hips, squeezing teasingly.

Her hips lift, catching the thick tip of his cock on her gushy cunny hole, circling his length like a minx. She sinks down, so, so slowly, relishing in the thick stretch of Alhaitham's cock in her cunt. Alhaotham flings his head back, eyes rolling, vaguely seeing Kaveh's face above him. Kaveh tuts, caressing his thumb over Alhaithams lips. He slips his thumb into his mouth, pressing down on his tongue, forcing him to look down at his thick cock, stretching out [Name's] sweet pussy. He moans wantonly, pitched high and throaty on Kaveh's thumb. He bottoms out into her, her cunt kisses at his groin, dribbling sweet, sweet slick into his lap.

[Name's] hips bounce up and down on his lap, humping and riding on his thick cock. Her arm reaches, palm wrapping nicely over Kaveh's freed cock by his cheek. She strokes him eagerly as she fucks herself in Alhaitham's lap, grinding her puffy clit into his groin with every hump of her hips. She laughs again, breathy and cunning, she leans down, sinking her cunt right on Alhaitham's cock, forcing his fat tip to kiss at her cervix. She takes Kaveh's pretty pink tip into her mouth, sweetly suckling and kissing him. She humps into Alhaitham's lap as she sucks Kaveh off, kissing and licking at his length while she fucks herself. Kaveh moans deep, pulling Alhaitham by his mouth to his cock. Alhaitham laps and kisses at his milky base, licking heavy lines over the pretty vein that ran under his length.

[Name] pops off of Kaveh's cock, straightening up and slamming her hips into Alhaitham's lap. She grabs his hair, angling his mouth just right for Kaveh to press through his lips. Alhaitham suckles at Kaveh's flushed tip, moaning stupidly as he takes him down his throat, painfully angling his neck to achieve such a feat. Alhaitham felt pathetic but he couldn't care, his mind swam with only them, their lips, their bodies, their sweet and pretty cock and pussy. He ought to take a sample of that dreadful pollen himself, if this was how they were going to behave around him. Alhaitham wraps his palms around [Name's] waist, driving his hips upwards into her cunt.

[Name] squeals as Alhaitham thrusts into her, breaking her pace for something far quicker. Alhaitham whines on Kaveh's cock, fucking up into her juicy pussy feverously. He licks and laps at Kaveh's pink tip, dipping his tongue into his wet slit, drinking up any milky pre that dribbled out. The three cry and moan, thrusting and grinding and fucking into each other with haste. Minds fogged, eyes bleary, cock throbbing and aching, sweet cunny spewing creamy slick everywhere. Gods Alhaitham could feel it, the way Kavehs pretty cock twitches on his tongue, the hard clench of [Name's] cunt on his cock.

[Name] falls first, sweet pussy squirting hard all over Alhaitham's lap, pretty spurts of slick messing everywhere as he fucks her at a brutal pace. She squeals loud, her little cunt clenches on his cock, milking at his fat length with her hot orgasm. Alhaitham fucks thick and hard into her pussy, buying her quivering hole with his slower pace. He groans over Kaveh's cock as he cums again, spouting creamy ropes into her messy pussy. He humps into her, using her pussy to milk up all he had to offer. [Name] giggles dumbly, kissing at Alhaitham's lips, wrapped around Kaveh's length. He pops off of his cock, lapping and licking his aching head, catching his tongue against [Name's] own as they kiss at his slit. [Name] humps her pussy into Alhaitham's lap, whining into Kaveh's cock as she fucks Alhaitham's half hard length.

Kaveh threads his fingers through both of their hair, tugging at the strands, whining as they bring him to fruition. Kaveh cums hot spurts on their lips and tongues, relishing in the two as they lap up his mess between each other's lips. They kiss and suck at Kaveh's leaking head, swapping spit and sharing Kaveh's cum.

•··········🍑···········• ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪•···········🍑··········•

Everything had calmed down, clothes were back on, albeit caked in mud and leaves, heads were clear and some were feeling guilty. [Name] and Kaveh nearly grovel at Alhaitham's feet, sniffing up snot and tears as they apologize to him profusely

"We're s-sorry we're so sorry!" Cries [Name].

"Is there anything we can do to make it better? I'll- I'll clean the whole house for a full year! I'll deliver you lunch! I'll… I'll kiss your boot! I'll-" Kaveh babbles on and on.

Alhaitham huffs, and shakes his head, a ghost of a grin washes over his lips. His eyes fall behind them, on a dainty, pink and red flower. Kaveh paces back and forth, still spouting nonsense before his eyes light up.

"I know! I'll-" He's cut short, in his usual Kaveh manner he poses dramatically as he speaks, subsequently slapping his hand right into the plant. With a sigh Alhaitham holds his breath, watching as the pastel pink pollen fills the air around Kaveh once again.

I usually post 10-11am my time and it's 5pm heheeuhabm oop

In my defense.. I have no defense heheh

Anyway I just think Alhaitham also deserves to be wrecked - initially I was going to have Kaveh but it was his turn ♡

•··········🍑···········• ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪•···········🍑··········•

Thank You For Reading! Comments Are Always Appreciated! Ily ♡

♡KinkTober Taglist♡

@heath-sama @yejiswifex @hunnibunnix @bleh09 @madsw9 @py-schi @wizzardcatwithastick @shiningpaint-marbleheart @cherrytomato2 @i-am-silver @your-tears-taste-sweeter @kqzutcra @themusingsofmany @kaijubxnny @omletteattack

•· ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪·····.•🍑•.····· ֪٘ ︶ ͝ ٘⏝𖹭⏝ ͝ ٘︶٘ ֪·•

[fatehbaz]

---

Native American tribes from Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario have come together to call for an end to the Line 5 pipeline.

The Enbridge Line 5 crude oil pipeline, first constructed in 1953, stretches from Wisconsin through 645 miles of Michigan and ends in Sarnia, Ontario. Part of the pipeline travels underwater through the Straits of Mackinac.

In recent years, the pipeline's continued operation has become a source of controversy. Many tribal nations and communities claim that the pipeline goes through their traditional territories. The Straits area in particular is considered a place of significant cultural and historical importance to many native groups, including the Anishinaabe. According to tribal leaders, the pipeline poses a major and direct threat to the ecosystems along its path.

“The Straits of Mackinac are [...] sacred from both a cultural and historical perspective in the formation of the Anishinaabe people,” said Austin Lowes, chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, in a statement. “Protecting the Straits is also a matter of the utmost environmental and economic importance — both to our people and the state of Michigan.”

Tribal leaders and other environmental groups have publicly opposed the pipeline for many years and have called for the pipeline to be shut down.

Supporters of the pipeline point out that it transports 540,000 barrels of light crude oil and natural gas liquids through Line 5 on a daily basis. [...]

In an effort to address safety concerns, Enbridge has proposed an underwater tunnel to house the portion of Line 5 that runs under the Straits of Mackinac. [...] Critics of the tunnel project say no oil should be transported through the Straits at all, as a spill could have a devastating impact on more than 700 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. [...]

Previous attempts to shut down the pipeline have been stopped through various means, mostly the 1977 Transit Pipeline Treaty between Canada and the United States.

The latest attempt saw 51 tribal organizations from Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario submit a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council. This report, dated April 4, claims that the Government of Canada is violating the human rights of Indigenous peoples through its continuous support for Line 5.

The report was submitted to be considered during Canada's upcoming Universal Periodic Review, conducted by the United Nations. As a United Nations member state, Canada is required to be evaluated for its human rights record on a regular basis.

Canada's Universal Periodic Review will take place this year on Nov. 6-17.

The 51 different tribal organizations that signed the report include: The Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 First Nations throughout the province of Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians, Hannahville Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

---

Headline and text by: Brendan Wiesner. “Michigan, Wisconsin and Canadian tribes come together to fight Line 5.” Yahoo! News. 8 April 2023. Article originally appeared on The Sault News with the title “Great Lakes tribes send report to United Nations to fight Line 5.” [Some paragraph breaks and contractions added by me.]

Context:

Line 3 brings oil from Alberta to Lake Superior. Then, Line 5 brings the fossil fuel from the Duluth area to the Detroit/Windsor area in Ontario.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

02/15/2024 Daily OFMD Recap Part 1

TLDR; Cast&Crew; Rhys; Samba BTS; Con O'Neill; New Watch Parties: NextGoalWins; Watch Party Reminders; A Safe Space Ship; Hoff The Beaten Path Drama; Florida SuperCon;

Wow yall, I actually have to do a 2 parter today for all the crap that happened. Just. WOW.

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys' IG blew up today with all sorts of photos. This was after Samba BTS dumped on us earlier in the day, because apparently our fragile brains needed to explode.

Just to add to the excitement of the day, there were 2 cameos added.

Regarding Short Poppies - On Cameo - IG link = tysm @lividturkeys and Short Poppies Crew! for the video!

Regarding Rhys' Cats! - On Twitter / GD = tysm @elphia_3 for this vid!

Oh look, Rhys is trending on twitter, I wonder why?!

= Samba Schutte BTS =

Everybody say thank you Samba because HE SERIOUSLY DELIVERED today and this time it's featuring Taika!!!!

Thank goodness for all the folks bringing over videos to tumblr because there were a lot today. Pictures first, video links below.

Src: Samba's Instagram

Wanna see all the stills on Tumblr? See @londonspirit's post here.

Some background pictures of the videos produced some VERY INTERESTING research material.

Tumblr Video Links:

Rhys In the Rain - @bizarrelittlemew

The Underwater BTS - @blakbonnet

Taika Pan Up / David Give Them What They Want - @ blakbonnet

Archie Barrel Lifts / Cast In the Rain - @rhysdarbinizedarby

Getting Into the Water - @ rhysdarbinizedarby

Rhys' IG Story About the Sandwich - @ rhysdarbinizedarby

David Fane Veil - @ rhysdarbinizedarby

Taika Running Into Rhys' Arms - @ rhysdarbinizedarby

= Con O'Neill =

Con O'Neill left a really wonderful thanks today, and special shoutout to @ringasunn and all the folks who contributed to his Con O' Neill Love Project!

Src: Con's IG

If you missed the love projects or want to see part 4, here's the links to the Instagram videos:

Love Project: Part 1

Love Project: Part 2 

Love Project: Part 3

Love Project: Part 4

== New Watch Parties! ==

Wanna check out NextGoalWins? It's available on Hulu/Disney+ Watch Party: Feb 25, 2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10pm GMT

Watch Party HashTags:

#OurFlagWins

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

= Feb 16: Ongoing Watch Parties =

People of Earth S1 is still going strong! Episode 9&10 tomorrow Feb 16, at 4PM CST/ 10PM GMT Replay of episodes 1-10 Saturday Feb 17, 8 AM CST /2 PM GMT Need access? Contact @iamadequate1!

== Uncle Season 1 Watch Party ==

Episodes 4 5 6 tomorrow Fri 16th Feb! GMT - 8 PM / ET 3PM / PST - 12 PM and as always those outside the UK: VPN Article

== A Safe Space Ship Meetup! ==

Remember the in-person A Safe Space Ship event in San Diego CA on the 11th? A bunch of the crew got together and got some fantastic pictures at the Maritime Museum of San Diego! Check it out! Src: Fangirlfoto IG

== Hoff The Beaten Track Drama ==

Apparently some studios didn't pay their bills so there's some drama going on with Rhys' show Hoff The Beaten Track. If you wanna read the article without a paywall visit: No Paywall / Paywall

== Florida Super Con ==

Who wants some Revenge? 🏴‍☠️ Welcome aboard the stars of Our Flag Means Death, Vico Ortiz and Samba Schutte to Supercon! Join these pirates July 13 and 14 for a weekend full of Autographs, Photo Ops, and a cast panel. Buy tickets now or walk the plank: Supercon24.com/BuyTickets⁣ ⁣ Photo Op and Autograph onsale dates will be shared soon. Src: Florida Super Con IG

[blanket-burrito-protocol]

"On Monday, March 13th, 2023, the Biden Administration approved the controversial Willow Project, the largest fossil fuel project the United States has reckoned with in decades. An $8 billion initiative of ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest crude oil producer, the project will nearly double existing oil production in the state."

"Long story short, over 30 years, Willow will release 260 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. That’s not good, especially given a United Nations climate report saying global carbon emissions rose in 2022. Also, Alaska Natives are sharply divided on this project. The blog explores the long history of extractive capitalism in Alaska, and how that has essentially put impoverished Indigenous people at the end of the barrel of a gun when it comes to fossil fuel projects like Willow."

The Lakota Law Project has another petition going around against a massive oil drilling project in Alaska. First link is the petition, second is their blog post about it with more information. Signing the petition is super easy. Just add your name and email.

[dumbass-duo-showdown]

Ahem ahem

After months of waiting!

I AM PRESENTING THE BRACKET FOR DUMBASS DUO SHOWDOWN!

CLICK FOR BETTER QUALITY!

The first 16 battles will happen at 8pm CET (gmt+1)!

Group 1!

Uhh btw some of these were put on one day accidentally

Roronoa Zoro & Monkey D. Luffy aka Zolu (one piece) vs Good times with Scar & Grian aka desert duo (hermitcraft)

Bill Preston & Ted Logan (bill & Ted’s excellent adventure) vs Jessie & James from team rocket (Pokémon)

Wayne & Raj (total drama) vs Denji & Power (chainsaw man)

Burton & Shawn (psych) vs Rosencrantz & guildenstern (hamlet & rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead)

Josuke Higashikata & Okuyasu Nijimura aka Josuyasu (JoJo’s bizarre adventure) vs Shouyo Hinata & Tobio Kageyama (Haikyuu!)

Isaac & Miria (Baccano) vs Jay Walker & Cole Brookstone/bucket aka Bruise (lego ninjago)

Ace & Deuce (twisted wonderland) vs Aang & Sokka (avatar: the last airbender)

Tommyinnit & Tubbo aka Clingyduo (dsmp) vs Shiver, Frye, & Bigman aka Deep Cut (splatoon)

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) & Booster Gold (Michael Carter) aka boostle VS Mustard Lesbian and Ketchup Gay from this post

Mordecai & Rigby (regular show) vs Lindsay & Tyler (total drama)

Rui Kamishiro & Tsukasa Tenma aka Ruikasa (project sekai) vs Zuke & Mayday aka Bunk Bed Junction (no straight roads)

Ruffnut & Tuffnut Thorston (how to train your dragon) vs Jedediah & Octavius (night at the museum)

Merry & Pippin (lord of the rings) vs The Doctor & Donna (dr who)

Jedward (irish music history) vs Min-Gi Park & Ryan Akagi (infinity train)

Grif & Simmons (red vs blue) vs Beavis & Butthead (Beavis & butthead)

Bender & Fry (futurama) vs Porsche & Pete (kinnporsche)

GROUP 2

1/8-18:30 & 2/8 18:30

Kaz & Oliver (mighty med) vs Bobbi Morse & Lance Hunter aka Huntingbird (agents of S.H.I.E.L.D)

Henchman 21 & Henchman 24 (venture bros) vs Spongebob & Patrick (Spongebob Squarepants)

Galo Thymos & Lio Fotia (promare) vs Yusuke & Kuwabara (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Charlie Kelly & Mac (it is always sunny in Philadelphia) vs Donald, José & Panchito (the three Caballeros)

The Bros (the bro duet) vs Chai & 808 (hi-fi rush)

Markiplier & CrankGameplays aka Unus Annus vs Knockout & Starscream (transformers)

Caspar & Shez (fire emblem warriors: three hopes) vs Yukiko Amagi & Chie Satonaka aka Yukichie (persona 4)

Tk Strand & Evan Buck Buckley (911 on fox lonestar) vs Shane & Ryan (buzzfeed unsolved)

Ontario Pipping Plovers (birbs from canada) vs Kaminari Denki & Ashido Mina (My hero academia)

Rin Okumura & Kuro (blue exorcist) vs Adam Blampied & Sullivan Beau Brown (No barrels rolled)

Chip & Gillion aka Fish and Chips (just roll with it) vs Josuke Higashikata & Yasuho Hirose aka Yasugap (jojo's bizarre adventure)

Soldier & Demoman (team fortress 2) vs Cuphead & Mugman (the cuphead show)

Nott/Veth & Jester (critical role the mighty nein) vs Troy & Abed (community)

Walter White & Jessie Pinkman (breaking bad) vs Barbie & Ken (barbie life in a dreamhouse)

Cuddles & Toothy (happy tree friends) vs Heath Burns & Hoodude Voodoo (monster high)

Pete Wentz and Gabe Saporta (bandom) vs Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng & Nie Huaisang (MDZS/the untamed)

TAGS TO CHECK OUT!

#propaganda #dumbass duo showdown announcements #dumbass duo showdown update #round 1 #art gallery #polls

[marmorafarms]

Ocean Eyes

Happy Birthday Kabru!

Pairing: Labru Rating: Explicit A/N: Trans Kabru, use of the word cunt

You can find it on ao3 or you can read it down below!

“Laios has requested your presence in the throne room.”

Those were the words that kicked off this incredible night. Kabru had been sitting his room eating food he managed to sneak from the kitchens while he focused on his latest batch of reports. The Elven Queen had said something about wanting to have a meeting, and Kabru needed to re-read the correspondence and analyze the situation from every angle. Just as he felt like he was getting somewhere, there was a knock on his door.

“Come in,” Kabru said casually, and the door to his study opened. In the doorway stood Marcille, which surprised him. Marcille rarely came to visit him, and when she did it was usually with very important news.

“Is everything okay?” Kabru asked, setting his sandwich down. Marcille cocked her head to the side looking thoughtful.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “Laios has requested your presence in the throne room. He also requested nobody else be allowed in there for the rest of the night,” she grumbled. “To get to my lab I have to go through the throne room! So annoying.”

“Did he say why?” Kabru asked, frowning. This was an unusual request. Closing down the throne room to everyone except them? It must be serious.

“No,” Marcille said. “But he did say for you to come right away.”

“Alright,” Kabru said, and stood up. “I’ll go right now.”

“Great,” Marcille said, turning to leave. She paused, and looked back at Kabru. “Happy birthday by the way,” she said with a smile.

“Birthday? Oh! That’s right,” Kabru said. “I almost forgot.”

“You almost forgot your own birthday?” Marcille said, aghast. “You mean…you haven’t celebrated yet?”

“No. I’d rather not make a big deal about it though. I haven’t celebrated in years.”

“Why not?” Marcille asked.

“Misiril always made me eat a special kind of Elvish cake that she would get from the fanciest shops. It was gross and terrible and I always had to force a smile when I ate it. Stopped liking my birthday when I was around 8,” Kabru said, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s really not a big deal.”

“Well, I’ll need to get you something!” Marcille said enthusiastically.

“And we’ll bake you a cake like the Tallmen make! So fluffy and good!”

“You really don’t need to,” Kabru said awkwardly.

“But I want to!” Marcille said earnestly. “It’ll be tomorrow though because it’s so late…but I’ll do it! Just you wait! I won’t take no for an answer!”

“Well okay,” Kabru said with a laugh. “Thanks Marcille.”

Soon Kabru was walking down the hall towards the throne room, his face arranged in a worried expression. What could he want to talk about? What was wrong? It must be something incredibly serious. The hour was late, and to be alone for the whole night? Countless scenarios flashed through Kabru’s mind, each more dire than the next. When he arrived at the throne room, two guards stood outside of it.

“Sir Kabru,” one of them said.

“Just Kabru please,” Kabru said. “Does the King still need me?”

“Indeed,” the other guard said. There was something about his tone…his face was almost completely covered by his helmet, but Kabru could still see a smirk on his face. What was going on?

The doors opened and swiftly closed, and Kabru walked in, jaw immedietly hitting the floor. There was a table before him piled up high with foods he hadn’t seen in years, desserts he only saw in his dreams. And on the throne…

Kabru gulped. Laios was seated, no not seated, lounging on the throne. He sat at an angle, one leg thrown over an arm of the chair. He was wearing loose fitting pants and his cape…but there was no shirt to be seen. His barrel chest and soft yet strong belly were on full display, and Kabru could feel his mouth watering. It had been far too long since he’d seen his king like this.

“What are you doing?” Kabru asked, shaking his head. However, the smile on his face betrayed his true feelings.

“Wishing you a happy birthday,” Laios said, and swung his leg forward. He got up and strode over to Kabru. “I did some research, and found that there were some cookbooks left over from Utaya. I had my chefs prepare some of the dishes I found.”

“Laios…” Kabru murmured, looking at the spread before him. “You didn’t have to…but since you did, thank you.”

“Anything for you, ocean eyes,” Laios said. Kabru looked up at him, eyebrows raised.

“I haven’t heard that name in a while,” he said, and Laios looked away, an ashamed look on his face.

“I know,” he said. “It’s been way too long. And it’s my fault.”

“Yes it is,” Kabru said, picking up a small pastry and taking a bite. He let out a pleased hum and nodded in approval. “If it wasn’t for this, I might not have forgiven you.”

“I wouldn’t abandon you, you know that right?” Laios said, coming up behind Kabru and wrapping his arms around his waist. “Just…so many things have come up. And since you don’t want to share a room--”

“That would raise too many brows,” Kabru said firmly. “We’re not married, people would talk.”

“We could be,” Laios said, and Kabru froze.

“Excuse me?”

“We could be married,” Laios said.

“Laios…” Kabru said, turning around in Laios’ grasp to face him. “Do you think that’s wise? I’m your adviser.”

“I don’t care,” Laios said. “I lo--”

“Stop.” Kabru said, putting a finger to Laios’ lips. “Don’t say things you’ll regret.”

Laios gently removed Kabru’s hand and began kissing the side of his palm. “What makes you think I’d regret saying it?” he said.

“Well, you wouldn’t be able to t-take it back, because…because…” Kabru said, stuttering slightly as Laios took a finger into his mouth and gently sucked.

“You and your oral fixation,” Kabru said with a chuckle, and automatically began thrusting it in and out of Laios’ mouth. Laios let out a slight moan, and Kabru chuckled.

“You should activate the runes,” Laios said as he released Kabru’s finger, nodding towards Kabru’s crotch.

“You want dick tonight?” Kabru asked, smirking.

“You wanna know what I want?” Laios asked, his voice dropping an octave, words dripping with honey. “I want to suck you off and then have you ride me on the throne.”

“Oh, so you want the best of both worlds, I see,” Kabru said.

“Greedy.”

“Maybe,” Laios said. “I want you…all of you. It’s been so long. You want it too, right?”

Kabru bit his lip. Part of him wanted to be grumpy that Laios had let it go this long without so much as cuddling him. But the other part of him wanted sex, and wanted it now.

“Fuck yeah,” Kabru said, giving in, and Laios let out a low rumble of approval. A shudder went through Kabru, and he let out and undignified squeak as Laios pulled him in by the hips. Laios wasn’t usually this…assertive. Kabru was used to leading the show, but this was a nice change of pace.

Neither of them knew who leaned in first, but soon the sound of lips on lips filled the air, a soft moan escaping every now and then. Kabru briefly wondered if the guards would be able to hear them, but suddenly found that he didn’t really care at the moment. He threaded his fingers through Laios’ hair and gently tugged, getting a low moan in response.

“You like that?” Kabru asked, eyes hooded.

“Yes,” Laios said.

“Yes what?” Kabru asked.

“Yes sir,” Laios said.

“Very good. On your knees,” Kabru said. Laios looked like a cat who had just caught a canary as he got down on his knees, eyes bright with excitement. Kabru slowly undid his belt, and Laios let out a whine.

“Patience is a virtue,” Kabru said in a sing song voice, and Laios stuck out his lower lip.

Kabru undid his pants, and let them drop to the floor before stepping out of his underwear. Laios looked at Kabru’s cunt, hunger in his eyes.

“Want a taste before I change?” Kabru asked, and Laios nodded. He moved under Kabru and angled his head so he could swipe his tongue along the smaller man’s folds with ease. Kabru stifled his moans as Laios lapped at him, and finally pushed him away.

“Thought you wanted to suck some dick,” Kabru said. Laios wiped his mouth and nodded.

“I do,” he said. “But let loose okay? Please. Sir.” Laios added on quickly.

“What does that mean?” Kabru asked.

“I want to hear you,” Laios said. “Let me hear you.”

“Your guards…” Kabru said, and Laios shook his head.

“I paid them double not to talk,” Laios said. “It’ll be fine.”

“Well…okay,” Kabru said. He closed his eyes and touched the tattoo of several sigils that were written in an arc above his mound. He began to recite the incantation, and soon his body began to change.

“It’s so cool that you can do that,” Laios said, looking at the dick that was now before him.

“Shut up and suck,” Kabru said, but the harshness in his voice was barely there, his tone more teasing than anything. Laios nodded, and slowly took him into his mouth, reaching up and putting Kabru’s hand on top of his head. Kabru gripped Laios’ hair, and his eyes rolled back as his lover began to suck.

“Fuck…” Kabru groaned, and Laios bobbed his head faster. He lapped and sucked at Kabru’s cock, stroking him when his jaw began to ache. It was getting to be too much, and soon Kabru was thrusting into Laios’ mouth, fucking his face hard and fast. Laios relaxed his jaw, moaning around his cock. The slight vibrations sent Kabru over the edge, fireworks bursting before his eyes, and he cried out as his cum striped the back of Laios’ throat white.

Kabru felt like he was about to pass out, the orgasm had been so intense.

“Good…good job…” Kabru panted. “Now it’s your turn.”

He touched the sigils again, and soon his cock had changed back to his wet, soaking cunt.

Laios grinned, and before Kabru knew it, he had been swooped up into Laios’ arms, bridal style.

“Laios!” Kabru said, shocked, face flushed.

“What?” Laios asked innocently. Kabru knew that Laios knew full well that his displays of strength were a huge turn on for Kabru. He looked away, and Laios chuckled darkly.

“It is my turn, isn’t it?” Laios said. “I get to have you how I want you.”

“It’s my birthday,” Kabru countered.

“So you’re saying you don’t want this?” Laios asked.

“No,” Kabru grumbled, and Laios grinned, carrying him to the throne.

It took a bit of scooting around, but soon Kabru was in reverse cowgirl while Laios lounged on the throne, slowly sliding down onto his cock. Laios was an average length, but he was thick. The way he stretched Kabru open felt incredible, and Kabru’s eyes rolled back as he fully seated himself. God he had missed this. Missed getting to ride this perfect cock.

Gently, Laios thrusted up, and soon they got into a rhythm. Kabru had almost forgotten just how noisy his king was, gasps and loud cries of pleasure ripped from his throat.

“You like it?” Kabru asked. “You like me riding you?”

“Yes…yes!” Laios cried out. “I love it, I love you!” he shouted out, thrusting upwards one last time. The two of them came together, cum filling Kabru up as he wailed in ecstasy.

“I told you…not to…say that…” Kabru panted as they came down from their highs.

“Too bad,” Laios said. “I said it. I meant it. I’m not taking it back, ever.”

Kabru paused.

“Promise?” he asked.

“Promise,” Laios said.

“Then…I love you too,” Kabru said in a small voice, lifting himself off of Laios’ cock. He was suddenly pulled into a bear hug, and made a surprised sound before melting into it.

“I love you,” Kabru said again, and Laios kissed the top of his head.

“I love you too. Happy birthday Kabru.”

[zvaigzdelasas]

Faye told the nation in a televised speech on Wednesday, stressing the nation's openness to investors.

The audit is one of the first policy moves announced since the 44-year-old former tax inspector's inauguration on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Faye defeated the ruling coalition's candidate in a March election by a landslide, reflecting high hopes for change in the country of around 18 million.

"The exploitation of our natural resources, which according to the constitution belong to the people, will receive particular attention from my government," he said.

"I will proceed with the disclosure of the effective ownership of extractive companies (and) with an audit of the mining, oil, and gas sector."

He did provide further details, but sought also to reassure investors, who he said were "welcome in Senegal."

"Investor rights will always be protected, as well as the interests of the state and the people," he said.

Senegal's first offshore oil development is due to start production in mid-2024. The Sangomar oil and gas project operated by Woodside Energy is expected to produce about 100,000 barrels per day.

The country is also gearing up to launch the $4.8 billion Grand Tortue Ahmeyim liquefied natural gas project later this year, spearheaded by BP Plc and Kosmos Energy Ltd.

According to Bloomberg, the projects are expected to spur economic growth of more than 8% in 2024 and over 10% in 2025. Senegal is already one of the African countries to dominate the world’s top 10 growing economies. Senegal's growth is expected to be fueled by increasing private and infrastructure projects.

4 Apr 24

[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! 😎👍😂😉

[sailorpants]

Help build yurts for the unhoused people of Camp Nenookaasi in preparation for the oncoming Minnesota winter!

From the campaign description:

We are a group of neighbors in South Minneapolis raising funds to build warm winter structures for unhoused relatives at Nenookaasi Healing Camp. Yurts make winter in Minnesota survivable. With a wood stove and used blankets as insulation, yurts can make a life or death difference in sub-zero temperatures. Below is a breakdown of what each yurt costs:

Slats for walls and roof: $135

Plyboard center circle: $30

5 2 x 4 x 8's for center supports and door: $20

Rope: $50

Hardware: $10

Barrel stove and stovepipe: $35

Large tarp and blankets for insulation: $220

TOTAL cost per yurt: $500

Our goal is to raise $10,000, which would build 20 yurts to house 150-200 people at Nenookaasi Healing Camp this winter. Everyone deserves a warm place to take shelter, most especially Indigenous neighbors facing the cruelty of being unhoused on their own homelands. If you've been blessed with the safety and security of stable housing, please consider sharing those blessings.

As of Oct 14 2023 there’s only about $2k left out of a $10k goal and some of the yurts have already been built!

I know that the world is crazy, life is expensive, and there are plenty of fundraisers and worthy causes to support—this is simply one that’s nearby to me. I’m sharing this link to spread awareness of a really cool project in the hopes that maybe some folks farther away can help too.

[saturnznct]

d-20; making christmas cards for members | lmk

➸ word count; 1023 words

➸ lucas; aged 10, noah; aged 8, maeve; aged 4

➸ alternative names used; hyungjun (lucas), minjun (noah), yeoreum (maeve)

dadmas masterlist | nct masterlist (lnks will be added later)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

‘Wow, Mae, you really captured Uncle Doyoung’s spirit there,’ Mark grins.

Maeve holds up her Christmas card for Doyoung proudly, showing off the rabbit with a Santa hat she’d drawn on the front with ‘Merry Christmas Doyoung Samchon’ written in messy toddler handwriting on the front.

‘Although, I think we need to work on your Hangul. You wrote Samchon in English..’

Maeve just looks sheepish, putting the card into the finished pile and grabbing another plain one to start.

This was a Lee household yearly tradition. The kids would sit down at the dining table, cover it with pens, glitter and whatever crafting materials they could get their hands on, and make cards for family and friends.

When it came to the sheer amount of NCT members, it was a full on operation. The members had been randomly assigned to each of your three children, who would make their cards. You and Mark would write the inside messages once they were finished and all the glue and or paint had dried. 

‘Wait, why does Maeve get Uncle Johnny?’ Noah whines once he notices Johnny’s name on Maeve’s list. 

‘It’s random, No,’ you explain, ‘it’s fair that way.’

‘But I wanted to make Uncle Johnny’s card,’ he pouts.

‘Buddy, the card will still be from you, and Uncle Johnny will know that,’ Mark rubs Noah’s back with his hand, ‘how about you make a really pretty card for Uncle Taeyong, huh? I bet he’d love a really glittery one!’

‘Daddy, can we come to work with you and give Uncles their cards?’ Noah asks, wanting to see his beloved Uncle’s reactions to his work. 

‘Of course, how about you and mummy/mommy drop me off tomorrow, and we can give them to Uncles then?’

‘Yay!’ Noah cheers, accidentally knocking over a pot of silver glitter.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

‘Uncle Ten!’ Maeve runs into the practice room, barrelling towards the first member she sees.

‘Mae!’ He exclaims with equal excitement, wrapping the small girl into a big hug.

‘Sorry to interrupt your practice, guys,’ you apologise, knowing that all of the members are gathered to rehearse for their end of year project. 

‘It’s all good,’ Jungwoo, the closest person to you grins, ‘it’s nice to have a break.’

He catches Maeve’s eye, his face suddenly lighting up, immediately dropping to his knees to offer a hug, ‘and to see my Yeoreum!’

‘Ah, Minjun-ah,’ Jaemin squats down to greet Noah, ‘what’s that you’ve got?’

Noah holds out the envelope with both hands, a messy ’Nana’ scrawled across the front. 

‘Ah, thank you,’ Jaemin always saves his aegyo for his favourite nephews and niece, his Mark’s children.

‘This one’s for you, Uncle Yangyang,’ Maeve hands Yangyang his card.

‘Wow, thank you MaeMae, you’re so kind,’ Yangyang, who has crouched down to her level, peels the envelope open, laughing when he sees the sheep with the Christmas hat drawn on it.

‘I like how the sheep is pink and glittery,’ he adds, pulling her into a hug, ‘I love it, thank you Mae.’ 

The members fuss over the kids, each giving very exaggerated but genuine reactions to their individual cards.

‘Ah, Hyungjun-ah, thank you,’ Chenle fist bumps Lucas, ‘you write in Chinese so well.’

‘It’s from the lessons you gave me,’ Mark chimes in teasingly, and the two men laugh as Lucas huffs.

‘Yeoreum-ie, your art is so good!’ Yuta fusses over Maeve, who blushes and squirms at his compliment over her drawing of him next to a Christmas Tree.

‘Don’t get all embarrassed!’ he teases, poking her side, before turning to Sicheng who’s standing beside him and commenting, ’so cute.’

When Lucas notices Johnny holding his own card, he walks over to talk to his favourite Uncle.

’Tell Jude-hyung that I’ll give him his card the next time I see him,’ Lucas tells Johnny, ‘I don’t want him to think I’ve forgotten about him when you bring that one home.’

‘Will do buddy, I’m sure you’ll see him when the school holidays start.’

‘Are you guys not going to Chicago?’ Lucas tilts his head in confusion.

‘Not ’til the twentieth,’ Johnny explains, ‘you guys should arrange to hang out. In real life, not just on the Xbox or whatever it is.’

Lucas just shrugs, embarrassed at being called out, and Johnny chuckles.

‘I’m just messing with you, go on, go give Uncle Seunghan his card.’

‘They’re so sweet, Hyung,’ Jisung remarks, watching the scene alongside Mark, ‘so crazy I’ll have one of my own in a few months.’

’They’re a handful,’ Mark shakes his head, still smiling, ‘but I love them more than anything.’

At that moment, Noah runs up to Jisung, clutching Jisung’s own card. 

In a corner, several members are gathered comparing cards, Doyoung throughly enjoying Maeve’s rabbit drawing while Xiaojun praises Noah’s reindeer.

‘Thank you, Noah, I’ll keep it forever,’ Taeyong reads the message inside of his card, on which Noah has drawn a polar bear wearing a lime green (’NCT colour!’) scarf.

‘Will you really?’ Noah gasps, shocked that his Uncle would treasure his creation for so long.

‘Of course, because my Minjun-ie made it for me!’

Eventually, all of the cards are distributed, and the three Lee children sit against the mirror and watch as the members go through their dance performance for the year. 

‘What did you think, Mae?’ Hendery bends down to ask, face showing a picture of pure joy when she begins bouncing on her feet and enthusiastically chatting about what she likes about the song and the choreography.

‘Come on kids, say goodbye to your Uncles. We’ll get out of your hair now, leave you to practice,’ you start gathering up your things, leaving the three of your children to say goodbye to all of the members.

’See you when you get home,’ you give Mark a quick hug, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek as to allow him to avoid unnecessary teasing from his members. 

‘Bye bye little Lees,’ Ten and the rest of the members wave you all out of the room.

‘Now, kids,’ you announce once you’re fully in the corridor, ‘let’s go and harass Uncle Minseok.’ 

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Don't Go Blindly Into the Dark

Summary:

To hide that he can't read, Jan Van Eck has been forcing his son to pretend he's blind since he was eight years old. Wylan is now attending Ketterdam University, and meeting Jesper Fahey may very well be about to change his life. But is he safe to tell Jesper the truth? And what will Jesper say if he does?

Jesper is struggling to weigh up his life in the Barrel and his life at the University of Ketterdam, and there's a good chance that his growing debt is about to make the decision for him. He hasn't attended class consecutively for months, but maybe that will change when his newest project includes partnering up with Wylan Van Eck. But can he really leave the Barrel behind him? And how long can he keep up the pretence of who he thinks Wylan wants him to be?

Tags: @justalunaticfangirl @lunarthecorvus

If anyone else would like to be tagged let me know :)

Content warnings for this chapter: ptsd, loss of a parent, implied child abuse references

AO3 link

Chapter 8 - Jesper

“Hey, merchling. It’s Jesper,”

Wylan looked up.

“You don’t have to announce yourself every time, you know. I know it’s you,”

“Really?” asked Jesper, in spite of himself.

“Well for starter’s no-one else calls me merchling,” Wylan would have been glaring at him if his focus wasn’t ever so slightly too far to the left, “But also I can recognise your voice,”

“Wow, you can already recognise my voice? You must be smitten,”

Wylan’s cheeks heated, and Jesper grinned.

“I recognise everyone’s voices,” he snapped, defensively.

“Relax, I’m teasing. Anyway, can I sit with you?”

Wylan blinked. For a brief moment no-one said anything, and then Wylan quickly nodded and shuffled slightly further along the otherwise empty bench so Jesper could take a seat. It was a new phenomena for Jesper to arrive at a lecture on time; to decide where he wanted to sit instead of hastily perching on the end of anywhere where a space was free. And he’d come to the recent realisation that, other than Helena Dente and a couple of others, rowdy groups he’d been to the Barrel with or pretty almost strangers he probably shouldn’t just sit back down next to without explanation of awkward conversations, Wylan was pretty much the only person round here he knew. He hadn’t hung around long enough to make any real friends. Somehow though, he trusted Wylan. Maybe that was stupid of him - how good was his track record with trust? Then again, how much of that was his own fault?

The lecture began and droned on for what felt like an awful lot longer than the hour that actually passed. Jesper fidgeted, twisting his rings and drumming his fingers against the desk. When the class finally drew to a close and people began to file out, he turned back to Wylan.

“Okay I’m not insane right, we’ve been in here for like five years?”

Wylan smiled, laughing softly.

“It wasn’t… the most interesting lecture we’ve ever had,”

Jesper laughed in agreement, like he’d know. 

“We’re both free the rest of the day, right? Do you wanna go to the library to work on the-?”

“I can’t,” Wylan breathed, almost nervously, his smile dropping “Sorry. I have to get home,”

“Fancy dinner party?” teased Jesper, “Journeying to a royal wedding, perhaps?”

Wylan didn’t laugh.

“I just… I’m not supposed to stay out too long,”

Jesper raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.

They walked out into the corridor together, and Jesper found himself watching the end of Wylan’s cane tapping from side to side against the glossy wooden boards so distractedly that he almost walked straight into a wall. He spent the evening on a job with Kaz - nothing big, intercepting some shipment of jurda so Kaz could sell it on; they’d repackage it, line the boxes with coffee grounds to hide the scent, and move it out in their own illegal shipments, but that would be someone else’s job - and the night solidly losing at Three Man Bramble and buying drinks he couldn’t afford. He missed his whatever-subject-it-was-supposed-to-be lecture the next morning, but managed to run back to the University District in time to meet Wylan.

“So come one then,” Jesper said, at some point, tapping the end of his fountain pen against the table, “You had to take the business class, but what do you actually want to do?”

Wylan shrugged.

“I’m good at chemistry,”

“But do you like chemistry?”

“What does it matter?” asked Wylan, shaking his head, “Just doing something I like won’t get me anywhere,”

“You don’t need to get anywhere,” Jesper couldn’t help but reply, “You could sit around your fancy house doing nothing for the rest of time, if you wanted to. So why are you here?”

Wylan flushed.

“I wanted to learn,”

“Learn what?”

“Anything. Everything,”

He looked almost earnest in it. Almost.

“Come on, there has to be something specific you want to do,”

“Well why are you here?” asked Wylan, “You said you hate economics, but it’s the only subject we’ve ever talked about. What else do you study?”

Jesper wasn’t actually even sure.

“I’m in the midst of switching around my classes,” he admitted, remembering suddenly that he was supposed to meet the dean tomorrow with his new ideas, “Everything I’ve ever tried wasn’t for me - on the farm, at a gunsmith. I was supposed to come to Kerch to find my direction,”

Wylan nodded, slowly.

“And… have you?”

“Saints, no. I don’t know what I want to do - what else do you study?”

“Chemistry, mathematics, biology,”

Jesper sighed.

“Well they all sound boring as hell. I have to volunteer some ideas of what to study by tomorrow, and at this rate it’s gonna be absolutely nothing,”

When Jesper did show up to his meeting - ten minutes late, but at least that was a considerable improvement on last time - he didn’t actually know what he was planning to say until it came out of his mouth. But then the next morning there he was, sitting next to Wylan at the back of a biology classroom. 

“What happened to this being boring as hell?”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it will be,” said Jesper, lightly, “But you’re smart, and I’m sitting next to you,”

Wylan shuffled and Jesper was trying to figure out if he’d said something wrong, when the figure of Nina Zenik appeared in the doorway. He grinned as she waved and sauntered over. He hadn’t noticed that Wylan had all but completely frozen. 

“Hey gorgeous,” he moved along a little so she could sit down, “Where’s Inej?”

“Doesn’t take bio,” said Nina, at the same time that Wylan said:

“You know Inej?”

Jesper used the second he needed to process that question to introduce Wylan and Nina to each other. Uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how Wylan looked, but Jesper couldn’t tell why. 

“Nina and Inej just moved here from Ravka,” said Jesper, smoothly, “We met the other day. But you know Inej?”

“She’s in my chemistry class,”

Wylan fidgeted with his sleeve whilst Jesper gave Nina a furious, questioning look that she pointedly ignored. What were they doing honing in on Wylan? Jesper definitely didn’t trust that Kaz had any kind of good intentions, and he didn’t want them to get the kid mixed up in whatever scheme he’d concocted this time. 

It also turned out to be pretty annoying to sit in between Wylan and Nina during a biology class, because they both cared. The professor was apparently a big fan of making everyone discuss the topic with each other and they seemed to have to do it every ten minutes, which meant that every ten minutes Jesper had to sit there trying to wrap his head around the size differences between DNA and genes and alleles and chromosomes he was also stuck listening to them both going on about the action of RNA polymerase in the process of transcription. Eventually, he murmured to Wylan:

“I don’t get it; what does the enzyme do?”

“Enzymes are like natural catalysts,” Wylan replied, “The DNA helicase enzyme catalyses a reaction that unwinds the two strands of DNA, and the DNA polymerase enzyme catalyses a reaction that forms a new phosphodiester bond to make a new strand. That one’s like welding; the two pieces of metal you want to connect are the bases, the backbone is what you’re going to use to form the link, and the enzyme is the torch,”

It was like he knew exactly how to explain it in a way Jesper understood. He didn’t know how he did that. Jesper smiled.

“Okay, so when they make the protein it's like welding again, right? Just between amino acids, instead of bases,”

Wylan nodded.

“With peptide bonds, instead of phosphodiester,”

“Well, that’s kind of interesting,” said Jesper, in spite of himself, “It’s just like metalwork. And if you unwound it all without damaging it - that’s what the helicase does, right? - you’d be able to know what all the bases were. So it’s like a code, you could figure out any protein the DNA can make just by reading the bases,”

“Yeah,” Wylan smiled, “That’s the proteome,”

Jesper did his best to listen to the rest of the lecture, trying to follow along with the descriptions of mutations in the order of the bases and what they could lead to. It was an overview, the professor told them, of what they’d be studying in a lot more detail over the coming weeks. As the lecture drew to a close and the students began to file out, he called:

“Do we have a Miss Zenik, in here? Might I have a word?”

Nina glanced back towards Jesper and Wylan, frustrated, but then smiled her way to the front of the room. Jesper looked at Wylan.

“Do you, er… do you think that maybe we could meet up some time to talk about some of the biology stuff from earlier this year? 

“Yeah,” Wylan smiled a little nervously, “Yeah, we could do that. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow. I guess in the morning again?”

There was a pause, and then Wylan ventured:

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to be late home one night, right? We could go to the library after lunch,”

Jesper grinned.

“Sounds like a plan,”

His good mood lasted him all the way to the door. He waited alone in the corridor for Nina to leave the lecture hall, and soon as her foot was over the doorstep he pounced.

“What the hell are you doing with Wylan?”

“My job, Jesper,” she said lightly, tossing her hair over her shoulder as they began to walk down the hallway together, “And anyway what do you care?”

“Don’t turn this around on me. We both know there’s no good intentions behind this, and I’m telling you to leave him alone,”

“Well if you want to take it up with Kaz then be my guest,” she replied, “But I think we all know how that conversation would go,”

*

Jesper didn’t realise how long he and Wylan had been in the library until they left and discovered the sunset was waiting for them. They’d sat downstairs on some of the comfortable sofas beneath the towering bookshelves in a far corner, opposite each other, Jesper cross-legged with a notebook open in his lap. Wylan started by describing mitosis, which Jesper already vaguely knew was how cells replicated. He didn’t stop Wylan though, even when he was going through topics that Jesper already understood. There was something wonderful about watching him explain it.

“The entire world is a puzzle,” Wylan said, “And sometimes you get to learn one bit of it, you solve one piece or one equation, and it’s like it’s clicked into place. Like you won something, by figuring out this tiny piece of the puzzle. I feel like I’ll never know enough about anything, there’s always something new,”

Jesper smiled slowly, watching him, the sunlight warm through the window and drifting over them. 

“Like when I went to the Ice Court,” Wylan was still saying, “All I could think about was the Ice Moat.It’s just a layer of ice over water, but the court is on top of a hill and there’s no aqueduct - where does the moat come from?”

“You went to the Ice Court and that’s what you were thinking about?” Jesper shook his head, “What were you even doing there?”

“I went to an embassy dinner,” Wylan’s voice drifted a little, like he regretted bringing it up in the first place, “When I was a kid,”

Jesper didn’t know why he asked, but his curiosity was piqued so he continued:

“You travel a lot?”

“I used to. Before…” he gestured vaguely towards his eyes, and Jesper found himself wondering again about the little scar above his cheekbone.

“Where did you go?”

“Lots of places; my father used to take me everywhere with him. We went to the Shu oil fields, Elling, the jurda fields near Shrifport,”

“They’re beautiful,” Jesper murmured, thinking of the orange fields at home and forgetting what a stupid thing that was to say, “I mean - sorry,”

“It’s okay. And anyway, that was before the accident. They were beautiful. I’m glad I got to see them. But we don’t really go anywhere anymore, not anywhere that isn’t in Kerch anyway,”

“Why not?”

“This, mostly,” he shrugged, gesturing to his eyes again. Jesper wasn’t sure why that should stop them, “But we lost my mother not long before the accident, and I guess… I guess my father just felt like he was losing us both,”

Jesper wanted to say that was stupid; he hadn’t lost Wylan, Wylan was sitting right there and maybe if his father didn’t suddenly start treating him differently than he used to then l it wouldn’t feel like they’d lost anything at all. But all he said was:

“I’m sorry. I…” he breathed, “I lost my mother too, when I was a kid,”

For a strange, stupid moment Jesper reached out and tried to take Wylan’s hand. He didn’t even really know why. But as soon as they touched Wylan flinched near on violently and Jesper drew away.

“Sorry,”

“No - sorry, I -” Wylan fidgeted with his sleeve, “I can’t see it coming; you took me by surprise,”

There was a pause.

“Biology?”

“Biology,”

“Right,” Wylan smiled, “So, erm, meiosis has two specific mechanisms that add more to the daughter cells not being identical. The first is where the homologous pairs cross over each other…”

And on he went. 

Jesper could hardly believe how late it was when they stepped outside, the sky above turned a thousand shades of pink and orange as the sun began to sink over the horizon.

“Gorgeous sunset,” he said, eyes focused above him as he hopped down the last few steps.

He turned back and realised Wylan was still a short way behind him, with one hand on the railing and the other keeping up the rhythmic beat of his cane as he searched for the edge of each step. Jesper was slightly glad he could see him blushing as he bit his tongue and said:

“Oh. Sorry,”

There was a long silence, even after Wylan had reached the the base of the stairs and stood for a moment beside Jesper, before he murmured:

“What does it look like?”

“I don’t…”

Jesper swallowed.

“Okay here, can-” he hesitated, thinking of Wylan flinching away in the library, “Can I take your hand?”

A brief moment passed before Wylan nodded. Jesper closed his hand slowly over Wylan’s, giving the merchling time to pull away if he wanted to. He didn’t. Jesper lifted his arm and pulled Wylan’s gently with him, and pointed out to the horizon.

“Right here, this is soft pink - like spring and cherry blossom, when you can kind of feel it in the air. Then this bit,” he moved their hands slowly, “This is like the jurda fields, and over here it’s a kind of gentle warmth, like late summer evening sitting outside. When the air starts to cool but it’s still comfortable and light. But then here - this is like sitting in front of the fireplace in winter. It’s warm, and you need it to be warm, and it makes you feel…” Jesper looked down at Wylan, and realised that if Wylan could have been staring straight up at him he would have been, pale lashes caught in the light and curls glowing ever so softly. His voice had somehow become a whisper when he finished: “safe,”

Jesper’s breath caught in his throat. He studied Wylan for a moment; those eyes that should have been a slightly brighter shade of blue but were dazzling even as they were, the freckles scattered across his cheeks like lost stars, the curls still shimmering in what was left of the sunlight. It took him a long moment to realise that they were still holding hands.

“Safe?” Wylan whispered, tilting his chin up slightly.

Jesper let his hand trace slowly higher up Wylan’s arm, ready to move away if he stopped him. But he didn’t stop him. Jesper breathed slowly, leaning in, his free hand moving to push one of Wylan’s curls away from his face.

“It’s a pity you don’t know how beautiful your eyes are,”

Wylan blushed as Jesper ran a hand over his cheek and gently tilted his hace up towards his own. He leaned forwards, reading to close the space between them, but Wylan squirmed and Jesper tensed as he pulled his hands away. 

“And me, of course,” he added, letting his voice take on a teasing lilt to brush past the moment, “It’s a shame you don’t know how gorgeous I am,”

Wylan almost smiled, but he had stepped away.

“I - erm,” he brushed his fingers through the lock of hair Jesper had moved and cleared his throat, “Excuse me,”

And then he was gone, and Jesper was standing alone at the bottom of the stone steps, the sunset above his head continuing on impassively.

Dammit, Jesper. What have you done this time?

[swedebeast]

Okay, so, I found something

yeah, so, uh, for those with an interest in military technology or naval warfare, this will require a second glance. But the Swedish wording of this is "PROPOSAL FOR AIR CRAFT CARRIER CRUISER WITH 6 210MM GUNS"

So, uh, this seems to have been the pet project of one Harry Åbom who drafted this sketch in 1946 and it is not mentioned anywhere else in the Swedish navy command correspondence, except for this sketch in the war archives - seemingly it was a proposal that just never went anywhere because there was no benefit for the Swedish navy when it never went too far away from air field coverage, and if they ever wanted any carriers they could just buy them as surplus from the US or Great Britain.

Below I will present the translation (and added info for context)... and oh boy, strap yourselves in.

Guns 6: - 210 mm gun 3 barrel turret 8: - 120mm - - 2 barrel turret 30: 40mm - - two and one barrel tripod/gun pod Hull armour Above water belt: 70 and 70 mm (rear 40mm) Torpedo belt: 80 mm Flight deck and other hangar: 25mm Hangar deck: 25mm Torpedo deck: 75mm Sides and ends: 50mm PROPOSAL FOR AIR CRAFT CARRIER CRUISER With 6 210mm guns Keel length: 160m Keel width: 22m Underwater compartment: 6.1m Displacement: 12,000 tons Displacement standard: 11,500 tons Speed with 40,000 horsepower: 26 knots Air craft: 16.

[teamdilf]

Karlach finally intervenes and forces Petra and Astarion to have a conversation about their feelings.

“You never told him, did you?” Karlach whispers to her. They’re sitting beside Astarion’s bed at the inn, where he’s lying, unconscious, with a blanket pulled up to his neck. It won’t do anything; he doesn’t generate body heat but hopes the comfort and routine of lying under a blanket is helpful for him while he recovers. She’s curled up on Karlach’s lap, watching him, and hating herself. He dove in front of a hit meant for her. She can be revived. He can’t.

The stupid man. He’s supposed to be all about self-preservation and then he goes and does that? Gods, what an ass.

Karlach damn well knows the answer to her question, and she bristles with annoyance, but doesn’t say anything, knowing that her girlfriend will barrel through and have this conversation regardless.

“He wasn’t acting like he was interested and I won’t risk our friendship.”

“Petra, darling? I love you desperately but you are so bloody dim about matters of the heart. Gods, I’ve never seen a man more besotted than Astarion. All you had to do was ask him if he was down to come up with an arrangement and he’d have danced into your bedroll.”

[bedlamsbard]

“The soldier,” Thanos said. He flinched a little as one of Natasha’s widow’s stings hit him in the side of the head, but brushed it off as if it was nothing more than a mosquito bite. “The man out of…time.”

Thanos let the last word linger there between them. The Stones set across his knuckles glittered in the fading sunlight as he turned his left hand over, thoughtful.

He was a kid playing with a new toy, the kind of boy who burned the wings off flies with a magnifying glass and a sunbeam. Steve knew the exact instant Thanos realized he could use more than one of the Stones at the same time.

March 1945: With the deaths of Johann Schmidt and Steve Rogers only a month old, the SSR has spent the intervening weeks hunting down the last of Hydra’s holdouts. When Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos are unexpectedly called back to London, however, the return of Steve Rogers from beyond the grave raises more questions than it answers – and draws the attention of a dangerous new enemy.  (Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanoff)

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14: Born to Run 176K, AU, WIP

Chapter preview:

Steve was shaking when Natasha put a hand on his arm, like the enormity of what was happening had suddenly caught up to him, the way she had seen it do a few times over the course of the past twenty-three days.  He stilled under her touch, his breathing slowly evening out, until he finally drew himself the rest of the way up and looked hard at the Sorcerer Supreme.  “The hell are you doing here now and not twenty-three days ago?” he demanded. “Before I got kidnapped, shot, and beat to shit?” The woman eyed him thoughtfully, that same calculating expression Natasha had seen a dozen times before on people meeting Steve Rogers for the first time and weighing him against whatever conclusions they had already come to about Captain America.  Usually Steve came off the better in that competition, but not always; there were plenty of people who preferred the idea of Captain America over the reality.  Phil Coulson had been one of them. “All right, hold up,” Morita said, sounding slightly strained.  He had his hand on what Natasha guessed was a hidden knife sheath; none of the Howling Commandos habitually carried sidearms inside the SSR. “We’ve got wizards now?  Like magic-magic wizards, not Schmidt’s bull?” The woman glanced at him.  “The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj have guarded the Time Stone for millennia,” she said.  “We prefer to keep to ourselves.  It’s better for everyone that way.” “There’s a war on, in case you haven’t noticed,” Peggy said coolly from Steve’s other side.  Her pistol barrel hadn’t wavered at all, still pointed squarely between the newcomer’s eyes. “Who says we haven’t been fighting it?” the other woman countered.  “There are more battlegrounds than even the Strategic Scientific Reserve knows.”  She looked back at Steve and Natasha and said gravely, “It’s time to go home.”