#skylight rolling shutter

[girldragongizzard]

Chapter 18: Third Megnitude

Sensation probably comes back to me faster than it feels like it does.

If it took longer than a moment or two, I imagine I’d be crushed.

The surface beneath me is hard, slick like varnished wood, curved, and tilted, and my ass is notably higher than my head.

The instant I have control over my muscles, I scramble to my feet, claws scuffing and sliding across what is actually varnished wood. And I blink my eyes and look around.

I appear to be on the starting ramp of a now barely functional roller derby rink, in a darkened arena lit only by the waning sunlight coming in through the high windows and skylights. And the ambient light coming in through the ragged hole in the wall I apparently just came through.

And through that hole, I see glimpses of Säure’s moving body as he lifts himself up from the ruins of his stadium.

And as he lowers his head to turn his eye toward my hole and look at me, I hear and see movement in the corners of the gym around me.

I dart my gaze here and there to take it all in.

Oh, shit. The derby team is here, in the arena with me!

Oh, fuck.

Oh, crap.

“Go,” I say, incapable of giving my voice any urgency, but making it as loud as I can. “Now.”

And then I cough up a little aerosolized flame to emphasize the urgency, and turn and run from the new entrance I made to the building myself.

I slam against the doors on the west side of the room, just before anybody else reaches them, banging them open and damaging the frame in the process.

I do my best to keep my rapidly moving tail away from any calves or thighs as I bolt through the door and scamper down the hallway past the lobby of the hockey rink on my right, and the concessions stalls to my left.

There’s a big set of three glass double doors at the other end, and I can hear skates and sneakers squeaking and rolling across the laminate flooring behind me.

The ground shakes with a muffled whump. And then again.

Then, just as I’m crashing through the front doors of the complex, the whole world shutters with a quick succession of four impacts.

And I stumble into the parking lot just in time to be struck with Säure’s cry of fury.

It’s like someone took the T-Rex roar from the first Jurassic Park movie and stretched out the waves into the infrasonic and ultrasonic ranges even for me, and then turned the volume up so high that people struck by the sound don’t so much hear it as they are pushed through a portion of spacetime forcefully by it.

My mind refuses to register the experience as anything intelligible as it’s happening, and it’s only afterward that I start to make sense of it.

I don’t have to turn my head far to look over the building at him and catch him snapping at something in the air to the left of his head. Something I can’t see.

“Go,” I say, my voice severely muffled to my own ears. “Go. Go. Go.”

It hardly need be uttered. The team is dispersing and scrambling for their cars. I hope the time it takes to get into them and get them started isn’t too long for their safety. Especially with me in their midst.

But Säure does look distracted.

He snaps at the air a few more times, blindly, unintelligibly.

So, I take the moment to turn and face him and stretch all my muscles.

The soot and ashes from Laserbreath’s attack over there have mostly been blown off my scales, but I’m still dusty and dirty looking. Smudged.

I am, incredibly, miraculously, unwounded. At least, nothing like the gash on my shoulder that’s mostly healed now. But I’ve been seriously banged up, and my whole body hurts in places and ways that worry me.

The more I work it, though, the more ready I feel to do something else.

Then I remember something I can do that I haven’t really played around with much, except on my own when I’m bored. I have no idea what good it will do here, but if Säure’s so harried and confused, maybe I can add to that.

I do a fair imitation of Joel’s yawp.

Then I bolt to my right, circling the building and headed in the direction of the nearby elementary school. There are probably kids in there, I know, but I’m not going to draw him there, this is just a quick feint.

Wait. Are there children in there? It’s Saturday.

Still. There might be.

Round the corner and mostly out of sight, I let loose with the loudest series of poinks I can manage.

Then, I turn and run along as close to the side of the building as I can, past the front doors again, and over to the North of it.

And there, I let out the most anguished dying man’s scream I can remember.

And I keep going.

We’re actually in Tannis’ territory, and she’s confused by the sudden close presence of three of her neighbors, so she shrieks like a singing banshee. Perfect.

And then I’m crashing through the wooded wetlands to the north of the Sportsplex, between it and the soccer and softball fields, and I’m whistling like Wentin as I go. That’s a really easy one to mimic, honestly. A spooky sin wave of a voice.

Briefly, I think I can hear Wentin croon in my ear, “Adorable.” 

But it’s not there. To get that close, it would have to enter the full vision of that eye, nevermind the peripheral. And there’s no such movement or presence when it happens.

This is a large wooded area that we didn’t draw Säure too, and I wonder briefly if the Poet is hiding in here. It’s her favorite kind of haunt, I’m told. But I don’t see her.

I hope that if Säure follows me to the northern fields, he doesn’t do too much damage on his way.

And then there are more poinks far behind me, faster and more poignant, strident, than I managed to make them, as Astraia joins in on the taunting.

And that triggers a series of call backs from the surrounding territories. A whole cacophony of dragons. And it sounds like they are closing in!

Holy shit, are they all fools like me?

Then, the weirdest thing happens.

I hear my own cry come from downtown, across the freeway and over building tops, from my own roof. Distant and taunting.

I did not coordinate with anybody to do that. I don’t particularly want that to happen. But I also don’t even know how it happens. Who is imitating me from my own roof?

I can only think of Chapman. I wouldn’t put it past hir to be able to craft a noise maker of any sort by scrawling a pattern all over the tar black roof in trans pride chalk.

Why, though? 

More confusion?

We don’t want to draw Säure into the populated areas of the city, I don’t think. Not that we aren’t already surrounded by inhabited buildings and homes right now. But not downtown!

It feels like when things started to derail, everyone lost cohesion, and they’re all now flailing about. Just like me. Communicating badly with dragon calls at best.

I really just wanted Säure confused enough to stall him from going after me and the Flounder Pounders. I am so hoping the derby team made it out of there.

I feel a few more thumps as Säure repositions himself on the ground and maybe starts pursuing what he thinks of as me.

A glance over my shoulder shows me his tail swinging high over the Sportsplex, as he’s turned around, and I stop to watch. I don’t exactly feel safe, but I’m clearly not being threatened at the moment.

I observe as he makes an attempt to jump and lift himself in the air, but his wings cannot find purchase and he slams back into the ground like a building falling to its hands and knees.

And then he rears up on his hind legs and roars again with that space folding auditory assault of his.

And I think clearly, for the first time today, this all might have been a huge mistake.

By provoking Säure, I’ve seriously endangered the city. And if we can’t subdue him before the National Guard is deployed, or something like that, it could be even more of a disaster than it already is.

I wonder why anybody went along with this plan of mine.

What am I doing?

Welp.

I’m going to do everything I can to bring him to me in an open field, then.

What we can do there, I have no idea.

I’d love to talk to him, but I only have a limited array of vocabulary for that. It’s grown over the past week, in preparation for this. But I also know my ability to talk under pressure is unreliable, too.

But, If I can get him over these wetlands to those fields, I at least know that we won’t be fighting too near any houses. And that feels critical to me.

On the other side of those fields is a light industrial area with businesses that should be closing up shop now, if they haven’t already done that three to four hours ago.

I can’t believe how long this fight has taken. But we’ve been flying all over the city before this, I guess.

Meh.

Time for me to see if I can figure out how to fight an offensively picturesque, spiky, mobile, infuriated hill.

I turn back and start bounding through the thin trees and brush toward the northern fields again.

As I near them, I catch glimpses of people standing near their cars, watching Säure’s antics behind me, over the treetops.

I start repeating my signature cry. Loud and insistant and over and over.

And the enormous monster must be reacting to me because, as I burst from the treeline, I see everyone in sight buckle at their knees and turn to run, looking over their shoulders up at the sky.

Yes, you fools, get the fuck out of here!

These look like the stragglers of a few games that must have been going on in these fields before this all started.

Boom!

Boom, boom, boom!

Säure is now actually following me.

Thump, bump, boom!

I can see his towering head looming higher and higher as he nears my location, while I’m galloping out to the middle of the fields.

When I get to my chosen spot, I hop and turn to face him, crouching on springy legs ready to lunge or bolt to either side, and call with my entire diaphragm, “Stop.”

It’s not a yell or a shout. There’s no emotion to it. But, like my morning song, it’s loud enough to be faintly heard two neighborhoods over.

I know he can’t not hear it.

And he does stop. He pulls back his head, tilting it down at me, and opening his mouth menacingly.

“Talk,” I call out.

He tilts his head to the side, mouth still cracked open. It looks way less quizzical that way. Though, still questioning. As if asking me if I’d like to step inside his maw.

“Fuck. Chapman,” I say at the same volume. “Fuck. Ptarmigan. Fuck. Artists. You. Me. Talk. Peace.”

That would probably go over badly with everyone who overheard, if key people didn’t know that this was actually part of my original plan.

Why not desperately stick to it, actually?

I’m losing.

He can actually get me if he chases me all day.

But, I’m seeing that he’s still hesitating to go full out. He doesn’t want to hurt his hoard, the city, more than he has to. The stadium must have been a calculated sacrifice, or a moment of pure passion. But he pulled himself up short of the Sportsplex, even if he was being distracted by something else.

And while he’s been walking after me, now, he was mincing, picking his foot placement carefully.

So, while I could dodge into the rest of the city to avoid him, and leave him the choice of following me and possibly killing people, or letting me get away – and I’ve shown I’m willing and capable of doing that, actually, as much as I don’t want to – the fact that I’m stopping and offering him a chance to negotiate might actually be enticing.

I wonder if he can talk in full dracoform.

I’m not sure why he wouldn’t be able to.

“Meghan,” he says, voice thundering across the county.

Yeah. This actually feels embarrassing and tense. I’m putting myself on the very public spot by doing this.

“Truce,” I reply. Another new word of mine, just for this use.

“No. You. Give. Up.”

“No. Truce,” I insist.

“You. No. Bargain,” he responds, loud enough for the Sheriff to hear, it seems like.

“No,” I tell him. “I. Threat. I. Go. You. Fight. Fairport.”

He jerks his chin up, mouth open and says, “Ridiculous!”

In response, keeping my eyes on his head, I feint to the side, toward downtown. Then I bark, “Okay.” 

I keep my body tense and leaning that direction, to make it clear what I intend to do if he pushes the matter.

“Stop,” he says.

“No,” I reply. “You. Truce.”

This is the point at which the cartoon villain would call my bluff and pounce on me, forcing me to dash into the city and risk him following me to the injury and deaths of hundreds to thousands of people.

All the other dragons have fallen silent to our conversation. At least that part of the plan is working now. But it’s kind of creepy. As if we’re the only two dragons in town, now.

I can watch him considering the situation I’ve pulled him into, weighing all the risks to himself. And he’s been presented with a few that neither he nor I fully understand.

I still haven’t felt Ptarmigan do anything, but Chapman and the Poet have been laying enchantments on Säure that were not fully explained to me, out of a need for expedient secrecy. Similar to why I’ve been lying in my blog. And something is also keeping him from flying, it seems.

I still don’t think he’s quite grasped that he’s the villain in this story, though. But, then, that is a bit subjective to who the audience is, I guess.

This is scary.

Everything is telling me he’s going to pounce, or attack in some way.

He’s so powerful, there’s no particular reason for him not to. Not in the short run, at least. And while the long run is the crux of it, the longer he pauses to consider, the more time my Artist friends have to craft another snare for him, or pull the snares tight that already surround him. And he’s got to be thinking about that.

But, you know? All the cartoon villains in the world were written by humans, with human sensibilities and motives.

This is a dragon.

And though I’m less than a rival, I’m vermin to him, I’m right in the middle of both his hoard and his food supply. And I’m apparently really annoying to him. I’ve got his attention.

I don't know. I have been projecting a lot of thoughts into his head that might not be there. Maybe he's just visualizing all the ways he can swallow me, or he knows things I don't.

I wait, poised to gallop and fly away at an instant twitch on his part. And as much as I really don’t want to see anybody die or lose their house today, I am damn well prepared to run into the city. Now that I’m against this wall, I want to survive.

“Okay,” he says. Then, after a meaningful pause, he says, “Talk.”

I. Do. Not. Relax.

I’m trying to think of a word I know that I can remember that has enough meaning for a negotiation. And I feel like my mind is slowly going blank as I try to search it.

This is the worst time for losing what little speech I have! But it’s happening.

“Talk,” I manage to repeat, feeling really lame about it.

He jerks his head. With his mouth open, I’m sure it looks like a silent mirthful laugh to a human, but to me it’s pure threat. And my muscles twitch.

“Talk,” I say again.

“Yes,” he replies. “Talk. You. Talk.”

Damn him. He’s gotta see I don’t have my purse. My tablet is gone. He’s mocking me. He’s putting me on the back foot by insisting I do something I can’t do very well at all.

Though, I was the one who insisted on talking instead of fighting.

I wonder if I can speak as much with body language as anything. If we could both take human disguise and get to the library somehow, we could use the computers there to actually talk to each other. 

I still don’t know exactly what I want to talk to him about, but having him concede to do that with me would be far better than dancing through Fairport trying to fight each other.

Especially if we can do it in human disguise, because then he’ll be stuck for a while, and then we can actually do something about it.

I’m thinking, maybe, since he was the one who just destroyed several wetlands and the city stadium, we let the police arrest him. As much as I hate to lean on that corrupt institution, it would be a wonderful irony.

He’ll probably just get a slap on the wrist, but it’ll be a start.

I jerk my head sideways toward downtown, and manage to say, “Go. Talk.”

Let’s see if he can figure that out.

He looks the direction I indicated.

Then he closes his mouth and tilts his head to look at me with his right eye, and says, “Top of Tower.”

Ah, his restaurant of choice. His turf.

If he can provide phones, or tablets, or something to talk with, I’ll take it.

“You’re paying,” he says.

That’s a whole phrase he taught himself.

I cannot afford that restaurant. But, this does give me the opportunity to stiff him in return for him stiffing me, if I play my cards right. So, I’m going to agree to it.

The trick now is trying to figure out how we’re going to get there from here.

Maybe I just have to agree and then wait to see what he does.

Can I remember the word I need? I can.

“Okay,” I say.

“I. Drive,” he says. And then he lifts his head and makes a weird warbling noise with his syrinx. It’s kind of like a klaxon but also some kind of bird song. There's a whistling to it, with a rhythm of ultrabass infrasonic rumbling. It might be just a little too complex for me to imitate, but I definitely can't match the volume.

It echos off the surrounding landscape like a fog horn.

And then, when he’s done he looks at me again, and says, “Wait.”

“Truce,” I repeat, hammering down on my key concern.

“Truce,” he says.

And then I remember one of the phrases I'd worked on the last few nights, and it’s perfect.

“Shake on it,” I say. And then, I awkwardly stand on my hind legs and hold out my right claw, expectantly.

There's no way he can shake my claw while he's that big. Even if he did some silly gesture like present me with a single tree sized talon, he'd too easily crush me with a twitch. And there’s no way I'll stay where I am to let him do that.

He studies me carefully.

I wish I could guess what he’s thinking.

I suppose I need to show him a gesture of trust. Not that that's at all a reasonable expectation in this situation. But I don’t think reason or fairness factor into anything Säure does.

OK.

I want to sell this to him. He's gotta be feeling uncertain and vulnerable with all the weird bullshit we've been trying to pull on him. And he has some kind of curse the Poet just put on him.

But if he called for a ride and we are going to the Top of the Tower, he’s going to commit to taking human form.

He blinks and changes the angle of his head, still studying me.

There must be a reason he’s not insisting we fly to his home in our dracoforms.

Maybe he guesses I'll never agree to it. So a semineutral human establishment is in order. A place I'd agree to go to.

He must really want to work with me.

Or, to turn the trap I've laid back on me, and to attack me when I've let my guard down.

I know how quickly I can change my shape.

It's not quite fast enough to dodge a UV laser, if I'm in human disguise. He could burn me then. But, my human skin doesn't feel like it's my insides or anything vulnerable like that. When I'm in that shape, I can still feel my scales covering me.

It's really an unknown risk. But at least I'll see him opening his jaws first.

But, if he pounces instead, I'm sure I can revert and dodge in time. When it comes to that kind of interaction, I have yet to find a dragon besides Anurak that can touch me. Not even Wentin can.

I decide to do it.

I sigh with a big breath, and fold myself up into my faerie princess outfit, then give him a closed lip smile and hold out my right hand again.

Säure rears back in a movement that looks like my doom, closing his eyes.

But then he opens them again and takes four tree crushing steps through the woods between us and dives down into his businessman disguise only a few yards ahead of me.

Straightening his tie and then stretching his arms as he looks down at them, he begins to walk forward toward me.

His face is so good at portraying smugness with hardly a muscle twitch. His straight backed walk makes him look like he's buoyed physically by his own confidence.

“Shake on it,” he says in a human volume, reaching out with his own right hand just as I hear a helicopter approaching in the distance.

I can't believe how much the sound of that kind of contraption puts me on edge.

It's a very silly idea to ride a helicopter from here to downtown, where there’s no-where to land it. Unless maybe this one is going to deliver a car. It could actually airlift a car here, if it's a big enough chopper.

Well, I think that’s what he did with his song, call that chopper.

Maybe it's the trap.

And I feel the back of my neck tensing as our hands near each other under the increasing sound of air being smacked by rotor blades.

Then movement catches my eye, as it does. 

It's right behind Säure’s head from my point of view, so he doesn't seem to see the shift in my gaze. Or, maybe neither of us can really react in time.

Because time itself seems to dilate.

As our hands go from six inches away from each other, to within an inch, between thumps of the distant helicopter blades, I watch as Wentin blooms from the darkness between trees in the twilight, and lopes as if in slow motion across the field to rear up above and behind Säure.

And just as Säure reacts to the look on my face, wide pupils almost in perfect circles, mouth opening, Wentins jaws snap shut over his top half.

Limbs jerking, failing to transform, Säure is lifted up into the air, and swallowed like a seagull with a freshly broken neck.

It takes Wentin only three jerks of its head to imbibe Säure.

And then the billionaire is gone.

—

I don't really know how long I've been staring at Wentin as the helicopter continues to close the distance. But the vehicle is probably very nearly here.

And in that time, the nightmare doesn't explode with a suddenly expanding kaiju bursting from its stomach.

I'm not just bewildered, I'm in shock.

Wentin winks.

And I'm still in my princess disguise.

“My dear Queen Meghan,” Wentin eventually says, just barely audible over the helicopter. “It has been my honor to serve you, but really, next time, you will have to finish your meal yourself.”

And then it turns and leaves.

[designthoughtsarchitects]

Complete Lighting Guide for Your Dream Home: Natural and Interior Lighting Tips by Design Thoughs Architects in Bangalore

Planning is an integral part of a home, and having good ventilation and natural light on the inside is one of the primary goals of architectural planning. This guide is to enhance lighting in the home through natural and artificial lighting. 

We will also look into the basics of interior artificial lighting options, the popular brands, and more details. We will explore interior lighting, their brands and how to choose them as a homeowner for each space in your home. This becomes integral to interior design - selecting hardware, light fixtures, laminate colour selection, etc. 

Exterior lighting

Natural lighting through planning 

Windows in a home bring in natural light in all cases. However, we can include a few more elements while planning your home. 

Skylight

In earlier days, people felt it was mandatory to include ventilated skylights with courtyards below. This has evolved with modern-day skylights, which are particularly effective in rooms that don't have many walls with window options. People prefer either glazed, CNC pattern skylights or just grills. 

A grilled skylight floods the dining room with light and interesting shadow patterns throughout the day. 

Window positioning 

We can include large openings on the south side to receive light throughout the day, on the east side for morning light, on the west windows for evening, and on the north for diffused light. 

Arched windows in double-height spaces create a statement and plenty of natural light.

Open-planning

Open plans have fewer walls than closed plans, making the space feel larger and adding extra light to the common spaces. 

An open planning layout of foyer, living, dining and kitchen with double height and bay window

Bay-window

Bay windows protrude from the wall, offering multiple angles for light to enter. They can also create a cosy nook for reading, storing, or gazing out the window. 

Bay windows in bedrooms elevate the room’s aesthetics and feel.

Glass Doors and Internal Windows

Replace solid interior doors with glass-paned doors like French or sliding doors to allow light to flow between rooms. Add transom windows above doors or interior glass walls to let in light.

Interior glazed doors

Lighting in interiors 

Other than placing windows and skylights, a few strategies add to a well-lit place. 

Mirrors

Strategically place mirrors to reflect natural light deeper into rooms. Placing a large mirror opposite a window can almost double the perceived light. Mirrored furniture or backsplashes can also help.

A mirror in the entrance or foyer acts like a feature wall, adding more drama to a regular space. 

Choosing your furniture 

Add furniture and accessories with glossy or metallic finishes. These surfaces bounce light around the room. Think about coffee tables, side tables, cabinet hardware, and light fixtures. Try glass-top tables, shelves, and transparent or translucent decor items to allow light to pass through.

Well-lit spaces with gloss finish shutters, doors and glass doors with strip lights

Reflective Flooring and sheer blinds

Choose flooring with a sheen, such as polished wood, light-colored tiles, or even rugs with a slight sheen, to reflect light upwards. Instead of heavy, dark curtains or blinds that block light, opt for sheer curtains, lightweight fabrics like linen or cotton, or blinds that can be easily opened or rolled up during the day. Consider installing curtain rods higher and wider than the window to maximise the exposed glass.

Reflective floor surfaces with marble and sheer curtains

Light and Reflective Colours

Paint walls, ceilings, and even floors in light colours like white, off-white, cream, pale grey, and soft pastels. These colours reflect light, making the room feel brighter and more spacious. Opt for paint with a glossy or satin finish for better light reflection.

A blend of cream and off-white with accents of green plants adds a good feel to a home environment. 

Interior lighting

Quick guide for lighting selection 

According to interior design and space, lighting is vital in creating an elevated aesthetic in the evening and nighttime. Let us break down how to select a fixture in each space. 

Purpose of Lighting

Ambient: General lighting for overall illumination.

Task: Focused light for activities (e.g., reading, cooking).

Accent: Decorative or highlight lighting.

Style & Aesthetic

You might follow a theme or style for your interiors, so match fixtures with the interior style, like modern, classical, industrial, or minimalist.

Ceiling Height & Room Size Taller ceilings may need pendant or chandelier lights, while lower ceilings do well with flush mounts or recessed lights.

Color Temperature

Warm white (2700K–3000K): Cosy & homely 

Cool white (3500K–4100K): Functional, alert lighting

Daylight (5000K–6500K): Best for task lighting

Energy Efficiency Just like your home is a one-time investment, it is feasible to opt for LED fixtures as they're energy-saving, low-maintenance, and longer-lasting.

Types of lighting 

Ceiling lights

Chandeliers: Decorative fixtures with multiple light sources, ideal for dining rooms, entryways with high ceilings, and formal living rooms.

Chandelier in a double-height space 

Pendants: Single light fixtures suspended from the ceiling, often used over kitchen islands, dining tables, or in hallways. 

Pendant light enhances a dining space while adding focus to the space 

Flush Mounts: Fixtures are installed directly against the ceiling and are suitable for general lighting in rooms with low to average ceiling heights, such as bedrooms, hallways, and smaller living rooms.

Flush lights in the corners of the ceiling 

Semi-Flush Mounts: Hang slightly lower than flush mounts, offering more decorative options while still being suitable for lower ceilings. Good for bedrooms, hallways, and dining rooms.

Hanging flush lights for informal living 

Track Lighting: Consists of multiple light heads attached to a continuous track, offering adjustable and directional lighting. Useful for highlighting artwork, task lighting in kitchens, or general lighting in modern spaces.

Track lights are used in the gym space.

Recessed Lighting: Fixtures installed within the ceiling, providing a clean and unobtrusive source of ambient or task lighting. Requires careful planning during construction or renovation.

Recessed lights in common areas

Wall Fixtures

Sconces: Decorative wall-mounted fixtures that provide ambient or accent lighting. Used in hallways, bathrooms, like flanking mirrors, bedrooms as bedside lighting, and living rooms.

Wall sconce in bathroom

These cover most of the lighting fixtures for you. Fixtures like floor lamps, table lamps, and outdoor lighting, like landscape lighting, enhance spaces in interior design. The table below will help you understand the overall lighting for your home in a jiffy. 

Conclusion

Coming to the end of this detailed guide to lighting up your dream home, we hope you are clear about how to approach your architect from this lighting perspective during the planning stage. It adds beauty and enhances each space drastically. 

Check out our other blogs on our website for more insights about our projects, and we will bring new topics and projects for you. Also, look at our Instagram page for quick content consumption of our projects. 

📞 Planning to build your dream home?

Reach out to us at +91 70221 69882 or drop us a mail at admin@designthoughts.org.

You can also explore more such projects and client journeys on our website: Design Thoughts Architects.

📍Visit us at our studio in JP Nagar, Bangalore — we’d love to discuss how we can help bring your dream home to life.

[shutterandblindsinstaller]

Timber Plantation Shutters: An Elegant and Practical Window Treatment

Timber plantation shutters have long been a popular option for window coverings among homeowners seeking a blend of durability, utility, and beauty. In addition to offering useful features like light control, privacy, and energy efficiency, these traditional shutters have a timeless beauty and elevate any space.

A single piece of cloth that rolls up and down on a tube mechanism makes up customized roller blinds, a sort of window covering. They provide a smooth and streamlined appearance and are among the most adaptable and simple window coverings available. You may choose the fabric, colour, pattern, size, and functionality of custom roller blinds to make them fit your window and interior design the best.

With Countless Design Options, It Fits Perfectly in Any Window

The ability to be created to fit any window is one of the main benefits of custom roller blinds. Not every room will look good with standard blinds, particularly if the windows are unusually shaped or sized. Conversely, custom-made roller blinds are created to your exact specifications, guaranteeing a perfect fit.

They are therefore perfect for huge floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights, and windows with unusual shapes. The design options for personalised roller blinds are practically limitless. A vast array of textiles, hues, and designs are available to complement the interior design of your house.

Enhanced Energy Efficiency with Simple Upkeep

Additionally, customised roller blinds can increase the energy efficiency of your house. By keeping heat out in the summer and holding onto warmth in the winter, several types of fabric can act as insulation, assisting in the maintenance of a pleasant temperature within your house. Roller blinds are renowned for being low maintenance.

Roller blinds are simple to maintain, in contrast to drapes or curtains that can gather dust and need to be washed frequently. To keep them looking new, you may vacuum them or wipe them down with a moist cloth, depending on the fabric. Certain textiles are even prepared to withstand dirt and stains, which makes them even more practical for hectic homes. Custom roller blinds offer a smooth approach to improving your living area, whether you're equipping your entire house or just one room.

Source: https://shutters-and-blinds-installer.blogspot.com/2025/01/timber-plantation-shutters-elegant-and.html

[taylorstirling]

We have now trialed our new Skylight roller shutter system in Hobart, unlike traditional roller shutters this system pulls the roller shutter down in roller bearing rails. A skylight roller shutter is a type of shading system designed for skylights or roof windows. These shutters are installed on the exterior or interior of a skylight and can be rolled up or down to control the amount of light entering the room. They offer benefits such as: Light Control: They can help regulate the amount of natural light entering the space, which is useful for reducing glare and protecting furniture from UV damage. Energy Efficiency: By blocking out sunlight, they can help in maintaining the internal temperature, reducing the need for air conditioning or heating. Privacy: They provide a level of privacy by blocking views from outside. Weather Protection: Some roller shutters can offer protection against the elements, including rain and wind, which can help in extending the lifespan of your skylight. We can now offer the skylight roller shutter in Hobart and Skylight Roller Shutter in Ballarat

[somfyindianew]

The Beginning of Motorized Blinds: Transforming Home Comfort and Style

Introduction

Automated shades in design with home automation have come to represent modernity, convenience, and refinement. The days of manually adjusting blinds with cables or wands are over; today, homeowners are embracing the seamless integration of technology into their living spaces with motorized blinds. In this essay, we'll look at the evolution, benefits, and transformative impact of motorized blinds on how we regulate light, boost privacy, and enhance the aesthetic appeal of our homes.

A quick overview of motorized blinds.

Motorized blinds are window coverings with an electric motor that can be controlled remotely or automatically. Instead of manually adjusting blinds using wires or wands, motorized blinds can be lifted, lowered, or slanted at the touch of a button on a remote control, smartphone app, or voice commands with compatible smart home systems. These blinds can be powered by batteries or hooked up to the building's electrical system, providing various installation options to meet varied demands and preferences. They are available in a range of materials, styles, and patterns to accommodate varied interior aesthetics and window sizes.

Motorized blinds provide various advantages, including convenience, energy savings, increased safety, and security. They can be set to adapt automatically based on preset schedules, sunshine intensity, or inside temperature, thereby regulating temperature and sunlight level and lowering heating/cooling costs. In addition, motorized blinds eliminate dangling cords, making them safer for families with children or pets.

Overall, motorized blinds are a modern and sophisticated solution for controlling natural light, privacy, and atmosphere in homes and businesses, with greater flexibility, convenience, and functionality than traditional manual blinds.

Types of Motorized Blind

Roller Blinds: The roller blind is a single piece of cloth that is spun in both directions and wrapped around a tube at the top of the opening. The electric motor of the motor rolling blinds allows for quick opening and closing and is controlled by pressing a button via computer controls.

Roman Blinds: Roman blinds are made of a fabric that is folded when raised & lies flat when lowered. Roman blinds with motors are a stylish and useful window treatment choice. They raise and lower smoothly and evenly.

Vertical Blinds: Features or vertical blinds include independent slats that are suspended vertically from a track at the top of the window. Security, lighting, & the angle between the slats and the overall position of your blinds can all be precisely changed with motorized vertical blinds.

Venetian shades are those with moveable horizontal panels that can be adjusted to correspond with the degree of sunlight in an area. One can easily adjust the height of the sheers and adjust the slats' angle if your Venetian blinds are motorized.

Pleated Blinds: When the blinds are down, they lie flat; when they are lifted, a single piece of fabric is folded. Using just one push, motorized pleated blinds can be raised or lowered to any desired position quietly and seamlessly.

Panels make up the structure for honeycomb or cellular blinds, which traps air to improve insulation and energy efficiency. Automated cell blinds are more convenient & require fewer resources since they can be lifted or lowered to better control temperature and light.

Skylight shades are specifically designed to windows, such as skylights, which are situated at the ceiling or feature sloped surfaces. Electric skylights blinds simplify the process of operating windows that are challenging to reach by enabling remote opening, closing, or adjusting of the blinds.

External/outside Blinds: Designed to provide protection from the elements and shade for outside spaces such as patios, decks, or pergolas, external and outdoor shutter also available. Consumers may control privacy & light levels for outdoors using motorised outside blinds because they are weatherproof and simple to operate.

These are only a handful of the several types of motorized blinds that are on the market today. Every type offers benefits of its own or can be tailored to meet specific needs and tastes using a range of textiles, materials, and operation options.

The advantages of motorized blinds

The numerous advantages that motorized blinds provide to designers, architects, & homeowners alike are responsible for their increasing acceptance. Let's examine a few of the main benefits:

Convenience: The unrivaled accessibility that comes from motorized blinds was perhaps their greatest asset. Users may effortlessly move their blinds to control the light from the outdoors, improve privacy, or generate the ideal atmosphere with a click of a button or a voice command. Those with hectic schedules and impaired mobility who seek more straightforward home management options will find this degree of simplicity especially beneficial.

Enhanced Comfort: The capacity to automate blind functioning in line with schedules or environmental circumstances is one feature that promotes pleasure. Motorized blinds can raise living and workspace standards by reducing glare, managing daylight levels, and maintaining comfortable interior temperatures.

Precise Light Control: Motorized blinds may decrease glare & increase sunlight because they give users precise control over the amount of sunlight that enters a space. Depending on their preference, homeowners can create a visually pleasing and well-lit workspace by either removing or adjusting the blinds to let in additional sunlight during the day.

Improved Safety and Privacy: Motorized blinds improve security and privacy inside a home through automated and remote control. To discourage prospective attackers, owners may set up blind movements to mimic occupancy while they are gone. Furthermore, motorized blinds remove the need for human operation, which lowers the possibility of accidentally leaving the blinds open and jeopardizing privacy.

Energy Efficiency: Through maximizing heat gains with sunlight, blinds with motors can assist with energy savings. With programmed operation & sensor integration, blinds may dynamically change throughout the day to reduce the need for artificial lighting and HVAC systems.

Design Flexibility and Aesthetics: Motorized blinds may be integrated into the architecture of contemporary houses as well as offices because they come in a wide range of styles, materials, and designs. In addition to providing safety and flexible lighting management, they modernize any room with their sleek, contemporary style.

Accessibility: People with disabilities and mobility issues can access motorized blinds with less difficulty than manual blinds. Because the shutters may be operated via voice via remote, anyone can easily adjust the curtains to match their decor.

Productivity and Well-Being: Motorized shades can improve office workers' overall well-being in addition to their productivity. By maximizing natural daylight and reducing glare, these offer a quiet and productive work environment that could increase morale, attention, and job satisfaction.

Integration with Smart Home Systems: It is simple to integrate motorized blinds with existing smart home systems, providing centralized control and automation over a wide range of household products. This link increases the general ease and functionality of the smart home framework.

Automated shades are helpful in today's residential and commercial settings because they provide safety, comfort, convenience, energy efficiency, and attractiveness whilst addressing the changing demands of contemporary technology and lifestyle.

There are four strong reasons to motorize your interior blinds.

Unmatched comfort can be experienced by controlling your interior blinds with a remote control, tablet, or smartphone. Anything is made simple with Somfy solutions.

Savor quiet moments: Our new line of motorized systems offers you the best possible sound quality when raising and lowering your blinds. You won't be bothered by noise.

Reduce energy use: Your motorized indoor blinds become smart and linked when they have solar sensors, which enables them to instantly adjust to outside circumstances. They will therefore greatly assist you in better managing the amount of energy you use.

Design an area that expresses who you are! Choosing a motorized system is like choosing a new way of life! Use natural light that benefits you and creates your ambiance to attain seclusion, calm, and tranquility!

Why Buy Motorized Blinds from Somfy?

The assurances of a French brand: We design our products in France to provide you with the best possible quality, longevity, and performance.

Providing accessibility and central control for enhanced comfort – A centralized system with remote control will let you take full advantage of your home or flat. That you require to achieve comfort and tranquility with a fundamental phone or handheld device.

Items that change: our goods adjust to fit your needs and price range! Our objective is to offer you effective bespoke solutions.

Somfy Services: Somfy will help you every step of your way to deliver the greatest results & ensure your utmost comfort!

Conclusion:

The way we interact with and control our window treatments has changed dramatically as a result of the introduction of motorized blinds. Through the use of technology, these inventive solutions provide unmatched ease, accuracy, and elegance, revolutionizing our perception of and approach to designing our living areas. Future developments in motor technology, sustainability, as well as connectivity, could further improve the practicality, economy, and aesthetic appeal of motorized blinds, making them an essential component of both residential and commercial structures. Using motorized blinds, homeowners can effortlessly and elegantly enhance their interior time, be that through establishing a cozy and well-lit haven or by enhancing energy efficiency and security.

[rollingshutter]

[autobot-scout-riella]

Broken + Storm

Send In A Word, And I’ll Write A Drabble Or Starter Based On It | Accepting

The rolling crash of overlapping thunder outside warns that it's going to be a truly impressive storm. For as long as Riella can remember, Cybertron has had extreme weather patterns; she doesn't know if it was always that way, or if it's a consequence of the war, and the planet technically dying for a very long time, but she's never really felt the need to find out. She doesn't mind storms - as long as she doesn't have to be out in them. Rain makes it easy to fall asleep, and thunder and lightning make for dramatic viewing if she's not ready to sleep.

Lightning flashes outside the window, followed by another roll of thunder, and a small wail echoes from the other bedroom. Apparently, little Kyanite does not share his sire's appreciation for storms.

"It's all right, Ky." Riella scoops the sparkling out of his bed, a curved metal shell carefully padded with soft, thick metalmesh and filled with blankets and stuffed toys. (He probably doesn't need them all in bed with him, but neither of his parents are inclined to tell him to put a few back.) "It's just a thunderstorm. It won't hurt you."

Kyan wails, apparently not reassured. Riella settles him on her hip and carries him into the main room, where only the overhead skylight shows the storm. The shutters for that are still broken - they were like that back when the little family moved in, and both Riella and Blackout like the view enough that they've never fixed it. "Everything's okay," Riella soothes, when moving away from the windows doesn't seem to settle Kyan. "Everything's okay."

Admittedly, Riella's never considered herself particularly good at soothing younglings. Still, it's a little disappointing that no amount of cuddling, bouncing, or humming will settle him. She'd really hoped to get better at handling a crying little one.

In the end, she turns on a few dim lights, tracks down his favorite toys, and creates a distraction. Kyan, it turns out, likes his transforming dragon toy more than he dislikes storms, and a few strategic sound effects are enough to pull his attention entirely away from the thunder and lightning.

Someday, maybe, he'll develop his parents' appreciation for dramatic weather. But not just yet.

[scint]

Void

Kaidan was up late into the Normandy’s night cycle, lazily stretched out on one of the armchairs on the Observation Deck. He had found a sect of his biotics students earlier in the day, bookmarking his progress as he’d taken point with Shepard on a run inside a geth dreadnought. Instead of turning in and retreating to the Crew’s Quarters he’d gotten cozy with a plate of food and sank his teeth into the extranet, digging, finding links and reading mission reports where his clearance allowed. Where his military rank wouldn’t suffice, his newly endeavored Spectre status opened enough firewalls to piece together the majority of their current objective and location. He could get used to this.

It was so late in fact that he jumped when the entryway slid back to reveal Shepard’s silouette.

“Shepard, hey. Wasn’t expecting you,” he said, acknowledging her presence as he tucked his datapad away next to his empty dish.

“Kaidan. Didn’t mean to disturb you. I thought everyone would be sleeping.” She stepped inside, tired eyes glancing from him to the porthole beside him.

“Everyone except for us, it would seem.” Kaidan stood, walking over to the glass without ever taking his eyes off of her. Something was... off. “You okay?”

“Just out for a midnight stroll.” Her words were light, but they didn’t reach her eyes. She crossed the room to stand beside him, her eyes still trained on the view outside of the ship.

Kaidan glanced that way, seeing only the usual specks of light freckling the velvety black canvas. “Can’t sleep?”

“No.” Her reply was barely a whisper. “What about you?”

“I got word about some of my students. Wanted to check it out while the trail and the intel was still fresh.”

“Are they okay?” Again, the concern in her voice didn’t match the darkness in her gaze. Something was wrong. Well... they were in the middle of a war, and she was the driving force; coordinating, politicing, saving lives where she could and bringing the fight to the enemy just as often. Maybe the fatigue was starting to poke holes in her otherwise even and collective demeanor. But his gut said otherwise.

“Yeah, Shepard, they’re okay,” he started slowly, chewing on his next words. “I get the feeling there’s something on your mind.”

Shepard’s pout deepened slightly, but she didn’t readily offer an explanation. Seconds ticked away as they stood in silence, the air growing heavy between them.

“It’s funny,” she finally said. “Looking at it, you see the stars, the faraway galaxies, and you know there’s something out there. I can close my eyes and hear your breathing, look around the room and hear the hum of the ship. But out there... once you stop breathing, there’s nothing. It’s so quiet,” she revered thoughtfully. Jade irides darted up to meet his as she stole a glance, eyes flickering back to stare straight ahead. “My, uh, cabin has a skylight right above the bed. There’s no shutter for it. I've thought about buying a roll of duct tape so I don’t have to look at it, to keep the memories out of my head so I can fall asleep. Tonight, I had a flashback to the docking tube of that dreadnought. All I could hear was my breathing and my mag boots every time I took a step. It was like a heartbeat. It sent me back to when I was free floating after the Collectors took out the SR1. My pulse was loud in my ears and my lungs felt like I was swallowing flames when I tried to get the remaining oxygen to my lungs. When I ran out, everything went silent. I...”

Kaidan placed a hand under her chin, guiding it up to his and forcing her to meet his eyes once more. “I never should have left you. I’m sorry.”

Finally, her eyes softened and a small smile touched her lips. “Don’t say that. We would’ve both been lost that day. Besides, we’re both here now.” Shepard’s eyes fell uneasily. “I just wish I could shake the nightmares. All of them.”

“I can’t think of anything worse than that.”

She met his eyes once more. He could see his sad, bewildered expression reflected back at him in those emerald shards. “There was this boy back on Earth. I saw him the day the Reapers hit. I... couldn’t save him. He’s running for cover in the dreams, and I can’t reach him in time. And I can hear whispering, but it’s like the voices are in my head. I can hear people we’ve lost. Thane, Mordin... Ashley,” she choked out.

“Shepard.” Kaidan’s armor chinked. Forgetting his resolution to let Shepard only get as close to him as she wanted, he pulled her in by her broad shoulders and held her tight against his chest. A moment of stillness passed, then her arms snaked around his waist and her cheek came to rest in the pocket of his collarbone.

The familiarity of the way their bodies fit together, the rush of hot breath that warmed his skin as she released a deep sigh, her very proximity awakened long-buried nerves that bristled to life. He leaned back into her the way the sunflowers his mom had planted when he was younger leaned towards the sun.

He lost track of how long they stayed like that. Finally Shepard loosened her hold and slowly extracted herself from his grasp. Everything about her had warmed, from the flush of her skin right down to her eyes. Where there had been darkness now was light. She was the gravitational center of his own galaxy, the sunlight he’d been missing for far too long.

“I have good news,” he muttered as he palmed the controls of the window display. Metal siding slid into view and the void was blocked out. He watched the smile dawn on her face, mirrored by his own. “This window has a shutter. We’ll talk to Cortez in the morning, see if there isn’t something he can install for your ceiling. In the meantime,” he drawled, taking a seat on one of the expansive couches the room housed. “These aren’t uncomfortable. And I’d like you to stay here tonight. If you’re okay with that.”

[...]

When Kaidan stirred, he felt something shift with him as he stretched his limbs. Shepard had leaned up against him as they’d drifted off. He could feel the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of her chest and just make out her soft, serene features beneath her dark bangs. He smiled victoriously but settled back against the cushions. It didn’t matter how long she slept so long as she did so soundly. He would wait as long as it took.

#Fictober Day 10: It’s so quiet.

[brax-was-here]

Scarlet Briar: The Devil of Gronkk - A Halloween Story

“Gather around, children, if you wish to hear a scaaaaaaary story!” the Storyteller laughed as she gestured to the group of children in front of her in a tucked away corner of the Grand Piazza of Lion’s Arch. Charr cubs, asuran progenies, human and norn children, and even a few newly born sylvari, most dressed in costumes of some sort, all sat on the ground in front of the cloaked woman, most of her face hidden by her oversized hood. Once everyone was seated, she sat in an ornately carved chair, its high back towering over her. Her cloak fell open revealing an ornate black silk dress embroidered with dark red accents. Various carved pumpkins, their faces glowing by candlelight, sat on the ground around her and the children, forming a half circle, as a smaller pumpkin, it’s ghoulish face flickering in the darkness, sat on a table next to the Storyteller.

“Now who wants to hear a story of the Devil of Grunkk!?” she asked whimsically.

“OOoohhh!! I do! I do!” hands raised into the air and the children yelled their approval.

She raised her hands, clad in red and black embroidered silk adorned with silver jewelry, and gestured with them whimsically, producing an image of a sylvari suspended in the air.

“Good! Let us get started, shall we!?”

“So close…” Faeyin quietly squealed. A sylvari of the Pale Tree, she hung upside down from a rope in the study of a mansion in the high residences of Lion’s Arch. She had heard of an artifact that housed a gem of considerable value that was in the custody of a rather wealthy merchant that owned a shipping company. She carefully cut a small hole in the top of the glass case holding the amulet that she desired. She gently fed a small clasp into it, locking it into place. With her cutter, she drew a circle around the clasp, cutting the glass through. She carefully lifted the newly cut disc away from the case.

“And now…” she carefully reached in and plucked the amulet from its display. Withdrawing her hand, she quickly secured it in small pouch in her chest piece. In an instant she flipped upright and started climbing the rope, stopping near the skylight as a slight chill washed over her. She shrugged it off and climbed out of the window. Rolling up her rope, she heard someone behind her. She turned, throwing a small knife at the footsteps. The weapon clattered across the roof as there was no one there. She dropped the rope and grabbed her dagger from her hip, activating the fiery blade as she quickly glanced around. Making her way to the knife, she looked around everywhere as she knelt to grab the weapon. A giant dark cloud of smoke and ghostly bats suddenly erupted from the skylight spewing out over the rooftop. Faeyin leapt backwards over the edge of the mansion.

“Oh boy! This just got interesting!” she yelped as she landed in the grass yard beside the structure. Looking to the sky, she could see the billowing fog erupting into the night sky as a cloud of whispy bats came flying at her. She bolted across the grounds and leapt over the fence into the street, racing away from the domicile as fast as she could.

“Ms. Storyteller!” a charr cub raised his hand in the air.

“Fae…yes?” She looked at him.

“Is her knife magical?”

“Well, if you listen to the story, maybe we will find out?”  The Storyteller smiled as she handed out pieces of candy to the children sitting around her.

“Now, let’s continue.” she said, a big smile on her face.

Faeyin darted through the streets of Lion’s Arch as fast as she could. She finally stopped when she noticed the cloud following her had finally dissipated. Ducking into an alley to catch her breath, she removed the amulet from its satchel. Activating a small lamp, she looked over the intricately carved gold plate, focusing on the brilliant blue gem embedded in its center. She noticed a small murky cloud floating around within the gleaming exterior.

“Oh my…” she whispered to herself. “What do we have here?” The dark cloud within pooled into the center of the gem.

“I found you.” A deep voice growled in the alley. Faeyin turned, the light from her lamp being swallowed by the billowing darkness that was washing through the alleyway.

“Thorns!” she dashed out into the street. The black fog rolling out behind her. She could hear the hiss of the fog shaped bats chasing behind her.  She yelled at a group of pedestrians that were returning from the Halloween festival being held in the city center.

“RUN! Get away as fast as you can!” as she ran by them. The group froze as the black cloud washed over them, pulling them within itself.

“I have a question!” a young asuran progeny raised her hand.

“Yes, what is it?’ the Storyteller asked.

“If it’s fog, how did it grab them?”

“It’s magical living fog that will grab you if you aren’t careful and take you into a dark world full of demons and monsters that you will never escape.” The Storyteller responded playfully menacingly. The progeny’s eyes grew big at the thought.

“Now, let’s get back to the story.”

As the street took a downward slope, Faeyin started ducking between buildings and darting through alleyways trying to get away from the billowing cloud that was in pursuit.

“What in Tyria is this thing!?” she asked out loud. “And how do I stop it!?” She glanced over her shoulder in hopes that she had gotten away from it. Seeing nothing of the sort behind her, she slowed down to catch her breath once again.

“Well, it seems I need to figure out what this thing is?” she breathed in deep looking at the amulet. “There must be someone here that can help.”

“And just want do you need help with?”  a voice said behind her. She yelped and spun around, pulling out her dagger.

“Whoa! Whoa!” a male human shouted; his eyes wide with his hands up as she held the weapon to his neck. “I’m not gonna attack you or anything!”

Faeyin narrowed her eyes as she studied his face. It was painted in a somewhat familiar design.

“And just who…ah, are you supposed to be Prince Thorn?” she asked.

“That’s who I’m dressed as for the festival. And who might you be?”

“Doesn’t matter. But what does matter is that you need to get off the street. There is a monster out there devouring anyone it comes across.”

“Well, that certainly is a tale to fit the season. And what does this creature look like?”

“A black fog. Some smokey looking bats.”

“Hmm…I guess I should watch my step.” He said, slightly disbelieving. “Anyway, I might be able to help you with that fancy trinket you got there.” He nodded at the amulet, which was firmly in her grasp.

“I don’t think so.” She placed it securely back in its satchel.

“Look, I don’t know much about fancy jewelry, but I do know there is someone who might be able to help. A jeweler named Roland Lambombard in Merchant Row down near the festival area. He seems to have a knack for odd pieces. He has a place set up there. If you hurry, you might catch him before he leaves for the night.”

“A jeweler you say?” She asked raising an eyebrow, a slight smirk on her face. “Well thank you. I’ll check him out.” Faeyin smiled lightly as she returned her weapon to her side.

“Um…Ms. Storyteller?” one of the sylvari sheepishly raised his hand.

“Yes, sapling?”

“Is…is he going to die?”

“We’ll just have to find out now, won’t we?” she responded.

Faeyin cautiously made her way through the streets, laughter and singing filled the air as she drew closer to the Grand Piazza of Lion’s Arch. Many of the local pubs were brimming with festival goers filling the air with joyous atmosphere. She searched around along the merchant booths for the jeweler in question, stopping in front of a shuttered booth whose sign read “Lambombard”.

“Well…” she sighed. “Bad luck here, I guess.” She turned looking around the area for anyone that might be able to help. She spied another merchant close by that was in the process of closing up shop for the night.

“Excuse me, miss.” Faeyin approached the female charr.

“Yes?” the woman growled, continuing to close her booth.

“Could you possible tell me where I may find Mr. Lambombard this evening?”

“He had to leave a little early. Got word something happened at his home up on the hillside.”

“Oh…um…thank you.” Faeyin turned abruptly and walked away, realizing where the jeweler was heading. “Oh boy…” she whispered to herself. “Surely there is someone else here to help…” she thought to herself.

“Return the amulet to me.” Faeyin heard the deep growling voice again. She turned and saw the dense fog billowing through the lane.

“What in Tyria is that!?” the charr asked.

“Just run!” Faeyin yelled.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” The charr woman raced away as fast as she could with Faeyin close behind. They heard a rushing of wind and a loud clap of thunder that knocked them to the ground.

“You dare stand against me!” the voice boomed. Faeyin turned to see another sylvari standing in the street. He was clad in bright blue robes holding a sylvari styled staff. Another sylvari stood nearby, with a bow at the ready, a raven perched on her mushroom head.

“We had heard about a smoke cloud moving through the city terrorizing the populance.” the woman spoke.

“And you’ll will go no further, creature.” the other continued.

“OOoooooohhh!” the children gasped.

“They’re going to save the day!” one of the norn children quipped. The Storyteller smiled at the group as she passed out another piece of candy to them.

“Then you will serve me like the rest of those cretins! Minions, destroy them!” The sylvari heard the shuffling of feet as a group of people slowly walked out of the murky cloud.

“Oh no…” Faeyin gasped as she recognized some of them, including the man dressed as Prince Thorn, as the people she passed on the streets. Wispy black smoke flowed from around their eyes and out of their noses and mouths. She saw the two sylvari raise their weapons.

“Don’t hurt them!” Faeyin screamed. “They’re being controlled!” The duo glanced at each other. The woman launched an arrow which pierced through the knee of the Prince Thorn actor, causing him to scream in pain and drop to the ground.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m outta here.” The charr spoke and dashed away.

“Well, they aren’t undead.” The male spoke. He raised his staff a moment and pointed it at the group, sending a bolt of lightning through them. They stood convulsing for a moment before dropping. Faeyin noticed the lightning arc over something of considerable size within the cloud.

“GRRAAAHH!!” the voice bellowed. “You will pay for that with your lives!”

“Oh! It’s the devil!” one of the children shouted. The Storyteller smiled as she looked upon the group.

“Something…or someone is in that cloud!” Faeyin shouted.

“Return the amulet to me and I will spare your lives!” the voice boomed. Faeyin removed the amulet from her satchel.

“What’s so special about this trinket?”

“Return it! Now!” The cloud started moving towards the trio.

“Terebellum, strike it with lightning again.” The mushroom head sylvari ordered. The blue clad sylvari raised his staff in the air and pointed it once again, launching a lightning bolt into the cloud. Again, it struck something within the cloud, arcing over it.

“AAAHHH!!! Now you die!” The cloud seemed to shuffle along slowly. Faeyin unhooked her dagger from her belt, igniting the blade.

“I’ll be right back.” She said as she ran into the dark fog.

“What are you doing!?” the voice spoke. “What! Get away! Don’t strike that!” There was the sound of metal clanging. The duo could see the firey blade of Faeyin’s dagger faintly moving about in the fog.

“Vespertilio, do you think we should help?” There were sounds of what seemed to be a struggle followed by the sound of a crash.

“No, I don’t think so.” She replied. The fog slowly dissipated as Faeyin walked towards them, dragging what seemed to be an asura behind her.

“Let me go! You’ll pay for this!” the asura yelled at her. Terebellum and Vespertilio could see the inoperable remains of a small hovering chair laying on the ground once the fog had cleared. Faeyin plopped the asura down in front of them.

“Here’s our mysterious voice.” she said. They looked at the asura, who was dressed in a worn black robe, wearing an ornate skull mask with horns. Vespertilio pulled the mask from him, revealing and older asuran face.

“Wait…I know you. You’re the asuran necromancer Gronkk.” Vespertilio spoke somewhat stunned. “You disappeared last year while trying to trap Mad King Thorn when he appeared in the plaza.”

“Yes, and unfortunately, the runes on my amulet were backwards and I ended up trapped in my own amulet, which your friend here released me when she unknowingly broke the wards keeping me there. Now, if you will, may I please have my amulet back?”

“Um, I think you would be better off without it. After all the trouble you caused this night. Perhaps we should get the Lionguard.” Faeyin crossed her arms. It wasn’t long before members of the guard arrived and took the asura away, while others helped the wounded festival goers.

“You’ll pay for this!” he shouted as they marched him off.

“Thanks for your help.” Faeyin said to the duo.

“It was no problem. Glad we could be of service.” Vespertilio replied. “Should we celebrate a little?”

“I think we should.” Terebellum agreed. Faeyin nodded as they headed to the nearest pub.

The Storyteller handed out one last piece of candy to the children as she concluded her story.

“Now please enjoy the festival!” she quipped as they ran off.

“I do believe you are actually enjoying this.” Amaranda spoke nearby, eating from a cup of ice cream. Ceara lowered the hood of her cloak as she turned to her sister.

“It’s fun!” Ceara replied smiling, plucking a piece of candy from the bowl. Amaranda walked up to next to her. “And besides…” Ceara continued, lowering her gaze to the ground momentarily before looking towards the children in the distance, a somber look crept across her face. “It’s the least I can do for them.”

“You do remember what Faeyin told you, right?” Amaranda asked, scooping the last of her ice cream from the cup.

“’If you keep living in the past, you will never step into the future.’ I remember.” Ceara smiled lightly as she gazed off toward the harbor.

“Come on.” Amaranda grabbed her by the wrist. “I think I hear some chocolate ice cream calling your name.”  

“You know me too well now.” Ceara said as the pair walked out into the festival grounds.

FIN

[lokitoright]

Galway Day with Tom Hiddleston

A/N: I wrote this purely for fun :) I want soft, UwU, friendly, PG content, so this is obviously not smut. I wanted to write about a beautiful day with Tom Hiddleston, enjoy!

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Warnings: Fluffyish, Tom accidentally drops his towel, showering?, I don’t know how to do this...this is my first FanFic

Summary: You and Tom have been best friends for years. The two of you decide to have an adventure in Galway. A simple yet lovely day. This one perfect day could lead to a romance that destroys a years of friendship, or unites true soulmates. 

You wake up to find a beam of sunlight has graced the opened window. A steady breeze blows back the sage green curtains and you breathe deep the morning air. You roll down the duvet and slide your wool socked feet to the floor. Stretching your right arm up you tug on the cuff of his sweater. You yawn and stand to walk to the window. You plop down on the window seat propping your head against the open shutter you watch the stream trickling its way through the field. The birds jump from tree to bush as the bees and butterflies make their morning flower rotations. It’s the first sunny day in a week and you’re almost as eager as the birds to get up and go outside. A lovely day in Galway awaits.

“Hello early bird” Tom says sliding through the cracked open door holding two mugs.

“Hi, you’re up early” you say back with a soft smile.  

He walks over, hands you a steaming mug, and picks up your ankles to set them on his lap and sits at the foot of the window seat.

“I couldn’t sleep” he says “the storm was so loud plus this place is freezing” 

“That would be my doing. I left the window open to hear the rain I guess the wind blew the fire out” you say.

“Let me get this right, you make me sleep on the couch, open the window, and steal my jumper to freeze me out, and I’m the one bringing you tea?” he says in a joking accusatory tone.

“Woah first off, I offered to take the couch but you insisted you wanted to be in the den to keep the ‘fire going’. Second, the rain is a lovely sound to sleep to. Third, you gave me the jumper on the walk last night, sooo...” you banter back.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. Not my fault I almost died of hypothermia” he nudges you and smirks.

You roll your eyes in response and take a sip of tea. 

“Thanks for the tea though. Earl Grey?”

“English Breakfast actually, with cream and honey” he says.

“It’s lovely” you say with a grateful smile.

You both stay by the window and admire the meadow until the mugs are empty. 

“Shall we go for breakfast? Then off to the cliffs?” he says, shortly after the sun has completely covered the field.

“Yes! I’ve been dying to have a sunny day let’s make the most of it!” you say jumping up from the window seat “Let’s get ready and go.”

Tom gets up to take a shower and you take the mugs to the kitchen. You wash up the dishes from dinner last night while you wait to take a shower. You walk to the den and begin to tidy the small mess that was made last night from the games and drinks with your friends Wren and Abbigail. They’ve been dating two years now and Abbigail has been your best friend since childhood. The two of them are staying in the cottage just down the street. It’s still early so you know Abby won’t be up for an hour or so, but you send her a text saying you and Tom are going to breakfast and they should come meet up to go to the cliffs after.

Tom emerges from the shower, messy damp hair, and towel around his waste walking into the den.

“I figured it’s only fair I use all the hot water first seeing as I was shivering all night long” Tom says pathetically stirring up another banter.

“If I get in that shower Hiddleston, and the hot water is all gone, I’m gonna...” you begin picking a play fight

“You’re going to what?” he challenges as he walks to the couch, where you’re sitting. 

Just then the sun breaks through the kitchen window creating a glow around him. You can see the heat of the shower steaming off of his arms. His body isn’t as scrawny as you remember the last time you saw him with no shirt. And your guy best friend suddenly becomes strangely appealing. No stop, what? This is weird he is just a bro, snap out of it. It’s not that weird is it? You scan his newly muscular torso, shoulders to waste, and you suddenly realize you’re sitting and he’s standing. You’re at eye-level with his towel, his crotch, and that is weird. You’re filled with a sensation of being uncomfortable, yet attracted to him. You  decide to stand up to avoid the unavoidable line of sight. However, you shoot up, step into the water that Tom has trailed in from the shower, slip and fall against him. He catches you by your forearms in the split second of panic he drops his towel. The teeny bit of awkward you tried to avoid has now transformed into an immensely, uncomfortable situation. You both freeze and make ONLY eye contact. He slowly squats down, still holding your forearms from your fall, not breaking eye contact, with one hand he grabs his towel and wraps it back around his waste. 

“Well I suppose that’s what you’ll do. Rob me of my towel as well as my jumper” he chuckles and you both break into a freeing, hysterical laugh.

Finally, all tension subsides from within you and you rise to your feet. 

“You better watch out!” you joke back and make your way to the bathroom. 

Inside the bathroom you turn on the shower. Thankfully, there is still hot water. You undress, fold his sweater and set it on the sink, then climb in under the water. The steam from the shower drifts up to the bathroom skylight and you watch the blurry clouds float by as you rinse out the shampoo, then conditioner. Your mind begins to drift with the clouds and you relive what just happened in the den. I mean, it’s completely normal to be attracted to your friend randomly, it happens all the time, right? Yeah, yeah. It won’t be weird, it’s nothing. Is it? YES. NO. I DON”T KNOW. You try to snap out of it, but your brain keeps you lingering on him. 

You finish showering, turn the water off, and step out onto the woven bath mat. You dry off and put on the flowy sundress you picked out for today. As you walk out the bathroom door you grab Tom’s sweater and walk to the den. Tom is now clothed, mostly. He’s wearing rolled up gray pants with short leather boots and is waiting for a certain sweater to complete the outfit. 

“Here you go” you hand the sweater to Tom, “wouldn’t want you to be naked or anything”

“God forbid!” he says with a laugh then takes the sweater and pulls it over his shoulders and down his unbeknownst sculpted midriff. You realize you’re doing it again, gawking at your FRIEND, so you switch your brain off of his body and onto breakfast.

“Shall we go to breakfast, then?” you ask

“We shall” he grabs his coat and follows you out the door.

-

Part Two Coming :)

[almadinaupvc]

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[raging-violets]

Solar Flare // The Flash 6x15 - The Exorcism of Nash Wells Ficlet

Title inspiration: It’s a play on words, get it? lol

Summary- Sunshine and Cadence duke it out over the Refractor.

A/N: As I do with all canon parts of the show, I took some liberties with Sunshine’s ‘limits’.

-

Sunshine took down the ARGUS soldiers and Captain Singh with ease. Just as they thought she would. Nevertheless, it still worried Joe to see how well she knew to use her powers to get the Refractor. .So much so that when she had him bent over her arm, screaming in pain, he was mildly impressed. But didn’t have too much time to think about it.

The had to stop Sunshine and they needed to do it fast.

Joe’s eyes flickered toward the emergency exit door just as it opened, and Barry leaned out. He clapped his hands together then extended them, waiting for the catch. “Joe!”

Barry caught the Refractor and ran through the garage of the CCPD, all the way to his lab. He ran through the twisting-turning, hallways of the CCPD, hearing Sunshine hot on his heels. Close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off her body.

He skidded into his lab, just as the doors were closing, and threw the lock up.

Sunshine raced to the door, practically slamming into it when it closed in front of her. She slammed her fists against it, tugged on the door handle, letting out a loud grunt as she did so. She reached up her hands, pressing her forehead against the cool metal.

Then, feeling a sliver of warmth on her face, she looked up and grinned a slasher smile, seeing sunlight straining to come through the closed doors. That was all she needed. Lifting a finger, Sunshine moved it so it bathed into the sunlight. Her finger illuminated into a bright white, heat radiating through it. She lowered her finger, pressing her fingertip down to the lock that kept her out, slicing through it like butter.

The latch swung free and she pulled the door open with ease, and another grunt. Dusting off her hands, she walked inside. Her eyes scanned the rows of shelves that held beakers, bottles, and test tubes filled with different chemical compounds. But she didn’t see Barry or the Refractor. Not that it mattered, she’d find it one way or another.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Sunshine cooed. She chuckled when there was no response. ” Oh, you really want to turn this into a game don’t you?” Her hands started to glow white once more. “That’s alright, games can be really, fun!” She charged up her hands, ready to send a blast of light out into the air around her. “Just don’t blame me when you get sunburned—Ah!”

A powerful kick to the side of the face sent Sunshine sprawling to the ground. She rolled onto her side and glared up at Cadence as she stood in the middle of the lab floor, dressed in her Flare suit. She tipped her head to her side, arms folded over her chest. “Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.”

Sunshine growled, getting to her feet. She started toward Cadence, holding out her hands. Her lips curled at the corner in a smirk. She brought her hands back—and paused, seeing the shutters on the wall to ceiling windows shut one by one. Cadence continued to watch her.

Sunshine’s eyes narrowed a fraction of a second. Then she noticed the light she continued to be bathed in, coming from the light above her. Noticing it, Sunshine laughed, tsking mockingly toward the Firestarter. “Oh…” Sunshine sighed, cracking her knuckles. She shifted her weight form foot to foot. Once more, she lifted her hands, about to use her power. Then the ceiling light disappeared with a ‘thud’ the skylight slamming shut. “No!” She brought her hands down, staring at them, willed them to flare up once more.

They managed to glow for a few seconds but didn’t stay long. She could feel her power weakening, not too much, but just enough for her to notice a difference.

“Don’t worry.” Sunshine’s head whipped up. Then her eyes widened in horror, seeing the light that emanated from Cadence’s body, her eyes giving off a hellish glow that would’ve traumatized even the eldest of men. “We’re still going to have a fair fight.” She tossed the Refractor in her hand.

Up and down.

Up and down.

Cadence stopped tossing the Refractor, noticing Sunshine’s head bobbing at the same pace of the mirror item. “Oh? Are you trying to get this?” She moved it behind her back. “Try and take it from me. I’ll give you an advantage, try it with one hand!”

Sunshine brought back her hand and threw it forward, throwing a beam of burning light toward her. Cadence simply bent to the side, allowing the light to strike an empty wall of the lab. “Whoo! That was a close one!”

“Ugh! Will you shut up?!” Sunshine declared.

Cadence tossed the Refractor once more. “Have it your way.” She then sucked in a deep breath and blew out, sending a line of fire mixed with ash out toward Sunshine. Sunshine rolled out of the way, throwing an arm up to shield her face. With the light of the fire, she absorbed the light and threw it back toward Cadence. Seeing it coming, Cadence jet propelled herself forward, her speed cutting through the beam of light that engulfed her, to punch Sunshine directly in the face.

Sunshine stumbled back, bringing her hands up to her nose as it gushed blood. Then, lifting her hand, she turned and elbowed Cadence in the face just as she landed next to the military veteran. That time, Cadence’s head snapped back, and Sunshine used the momentum to knock Cadence’s legs out from beneath her.

“I don’t need my powers to take you down,” Sunshine declared.

Cadence flipped her hair back from her face. “Then put your money where your mouth is.” She pushed herself off the ground, doing a knee float to get back to her feet. Sunshine immediately was on her, swinging her fists left and right, trying to get her hands clamped behind the firestarter’s neck, hoping to grapple her to the ground.

Cadence easily evaded the blows and did an illusion; she spun on the ball of her left foot and extended her right leg as high as she could as she bent towards the ground. The heel of her right foot snapped into Sunshine's cheek, sending her spinning to the ground. Sunshine was immediately back on her foot, back into a flurry of punches to Cadence’s face.

Cadence jerked her head back every time a fist came toward her face. The she took multiple steps backward, using her momentum to launch herself back through a shelf of chemicals. She knocked the beakers to the ground, grabbed the railing of the shelf and used it to spin herself around, slamming her feet into Sunshine’s chest.

Sunshine brought her hand up to her chest, all breath escaping her in a loud Pew! If the fight didn’t end soon, she wasn’t going to last. She may not have been able to use her light powers, but her meta abilities were at least making it easier for her to take every blow that came her way.

She was going to have to fight harder if she was going to get that Refractor.

Sunshine swung her arm back and threw it forward. Cadence, who was converging on Sunshine once more, stopped and backed away with a shriek, covering her eyes from the bright flash bang that nearly blinded her. Sunshine used the time to bend the light around her to appear invisible. She teleported onto Cadence’s back, wrapping her hands around Cadence’s throat and threw her weight backwards to increase the pressure on the hero’s throat.

“Ack!” Cadence gasped, struggling to pry the hands off from around her neck. She’d been able to catch a plane against her chest, list multiple pieces of furniture, and even a gorilla without breaking a sweat. But it was almost always a stalemate if one metahuman who had super strength was going against another.

“I hope it doesn’t hurt too much,” Sunshine grunted, pulling harder, digging her feet into Cadence’s back. “When I snap your neck.”

“Then…” Cadence gasped. “It’s a good thing I can heal!” She brought up her hand, creating a fireball directly next to Sunshine’s hands. All at once, Sunshine’s hands illuminated into a bright light, the heat from her power making her palms melt directly into Cadence’s neck. Smoke erupted from the skin pressed against each other.

The pressure of the light from her hands, knocked Sunshine off Cadence’s neck. Cadence whipped around, the skin on her neck immediately healing, and teleported above Sunshine. She slammed Sunshine to the ground with a strong strike of her elbow into Sunshine’s chest. Sunshine didn’t get the chance to recover as Cadence grabbed her, arced her back through the air and over her knee, pressing it directly into her back.

“Ugh!” Sunshine struggled to break free, but every time she moved, the pressure on her throat and back increased. “Argh!”

Cadence calmly held onto Sunshine as she tried to break free. She blew her hair back from her face, gazing down into the snarling face of the veteran. “You have a choice,” Cadence remarked, steadily applying pressure to Sunshine’s body. “Give up, or I break your back.” She waited, continuing to steadily increase pressure, making Sunshine squirm and make a whining sound. Finally, Sunshine stopped struggling and became limp. “Good choice.”

Tag List: @seize-the-droid​ @agb-random​ @papergirlpapertownn​ @witchofinterest​ @foxesandmagic​ @hogwarts-is-my-wonderland​ @ocfairygodmother​

[whiskeyworen]

Stormy Thoughts

The storm was raging outside. Two days ago, they had seen the rising, roiling clouds coming off the Sea of Sorrow, and decided to break port. The Forsaken Aspect's cloak and Illusion generators were powerful... but they would not be able to hide her physical shape against the rain. It wouldn't do for some dockworker to look out over the bay and see a Pact airship that somehow was shielded from the rain by something much bigger-- and cloaked -- to boot.

So rather than avoiding it, a course was set for the middle of nowhere out on the sea. There, the ship dropped its anchors; heavy Asuran geomagnetic anchors tethered to the ship by self-repairing Sylvari-tech vine chains. It wasn't a new design, but it was something being used in a novel fashion; the vines were a modification of the barrier vines the Pact used back in Fort Trinity, only on a far larger scale. Even if the anchors didn't physically hit bottom, their field projectors latched onto the ores in the sea bottom with their powerful magnets, becoming almost immobile in the water.

Thus docked, the crew decided to wait out the storm. It was almost a... vacation of sorts. They couldn't even jump the ship through a Mist portal because of the distortion the hurricane was creating not just in the atmosphere, but in the local magical fields.

It was somewhere on the second night, when things started to happen.

***

Moryggan started awake for the fifth time, shooting up in bed in terror, before groaning in frustration. Outside the lightning flashed yet again, and the rumble rolled through the ship. She glared at the large picture window that ran the length of her quarters; it was her fault really, for choosing THIS particular room as hers. She'd wanted to see the sea and sky passing by, and the big window seemed perfect for that.

The problem was, it put her on the edge of the ship on the upper decks somewhere below the bridge; though the hull was thick around there, it wasn't soundproof. So the lightning flashed angrily, and the thunder rolled menacingly, and once again, she was denied sleep.

"Pale Tree damn it." She muttered, tossing the covers off in irritation. Moryggan climbed out of bed, grumpily sliding a pair of deck shoes on and a housecoat over her night slip. "...never going to get any sleep in this room."

As if to taunt her, the lightning arced outside, striking the ship's energy barrier, dispersing with a noisy bang and an electric squeal from the shield. Moryggan's eyes narrowed and she ground her teeth, a sound of frustration hissing from her as she headed for the door. She'd have to find sleep elsewhere.

***

On the other side of the ship, in quarters that mirrored Moryggan's, the storm was having a negative effect on someone else as well. Though for a significantly different reason.

Tenna whimpered quietly in her sleep. The lightning didn't bother her...but the thunder did. And the rain. She'd fallen asleep alright earlier in the night, but as the storm worsened, the sound of the rain and the thunder woke ugly memories that then infiltrated her dreams.

The roar of the Jungle Dragon. The gunshot. The explosions rocking the fleet.

The hot dampness she felt when she woke, that burning inside and the fetid air of the gullet of the Stonehead.

"Submit and die!" Mordremoth's stone-grating voice grumbled out of the darkness, carried on the voice of thunder from the real world. "You will never escape me!"

She could see the great prow of an airship coming down at her as she fell, the gleam of the razor-sharp metal as it plunged towards her chest...

Tenna woke with a start as another thundercrack rolled over the hull, clutching her kingfisher griffon plush tightly. Her eyes darted around, thinking that somehow the horrors of her dream had followed her into waking, before she let out a pent up breath explosively.

"....I hate these dreams." She muttered, and flopped out of bed, pulling the plushie with her as she wobbled towards the door. Her oversized Disintegrating Gourds T-shirt hung almost to her ankles; she'd deliberately bought a human-sized version specifically for the size, and because the image printed on it was bigger.

Not that any of that mattered to her as she sleepily scratched at it as she trudged out into the hall. There was only one thing on her mind; the one place she'd be able to get some rest.

***

Cyrus lay awake, staring up at the skylight. Compared to other cabins on the same deck, he actually had the most window space of them all. He just didn't like having the shutters open at all times. So instead of the long, curved wall of portholes that would have been the side of his cabin, he had the sliding armor shutters closed, leaving only a relatively small skylight near the top exposed.

His cabin actually extended out onto the forward, upper hull slightly, so instead of having a vertical wall and porthole, his was a curved, half-egg shaped window lattice. On good days, with the shutters up, he could almost look up and see the bubble of the bridge's viewport from his room.

For now though, with the storm raging outside and the ship's shields up, it was just easier to have the shutters closed. He could still hear the rain pummelling the shutters and the roof, and see a little bit of the storm through the skylight, so that was nice. But he didn't want to be blinded by lightning flashes either, or woken by the squeal of the shield as it took electrical hits.

Cyrus just couldn't seem to drift off though. Not for any particular reason, but sometimes he just...couldn't relax enough to sleep. He'd always had an issue with internalized tension, and sometimes it caused him insomnia.

Just looked to be one of those nights.

"....tomorrow is going to suck if I can't get any sleep." He muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He sighed. "Maybe I should see if there's a sedative in the infirmary I can take."

But that would require getting out of bed. He was comfy, as it was. Getting up would mean pulling on some pants, maybe boots, and heading below decks. So much trouble just to sleep.

He was about to lever himself out of bed when there was a knock on his door. Who could it be at this hour? Cyrus took a moment to check if he was decent (he was), before calling out. "Who is it?" "Moryggan." Came the reply.

Moryggan was up too? "Come on in. Don't worry, I'm decent." She opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind her. To his surprise, she seemed kinda reluctant, but it might be the fact she was just wearing a simple nightgown and robe.

In his quarters.

While he was in his own night clothes.

Some part of him entertained the idea that maybe, just maybe, that was a hint of a little green blushing glow on her face that she was trying to surpress.

"Sorry for bothering you so late, Cyrus. I was... having trouble sleeping."

He nodded, sitting up completely. "That's alright... I was kind of awake anyway. Was there something you wanted?"

She nodded, approaching the bed. Sitting on the edge she awkwardly rubbed her arm with a hand, before reaching up to gingerly touch the scar on her forehead, her eyes going distant for a moment. Before he could ask, she shook herself back to reality, and looked at him.

"I was wondering... hoping you'd let me rest here for the night." She glanced up at the skylight, wincing as lightning flashed, but thankful the thunder was muted by plate armor thicker than that around her own cabin. The flash too, had been dimmer because of the small size of the window. "...The storm. It's, uh... it's brought up a lot of bad memories, and I kind of don't want to be alone."

Cyrus blinked dumbly for a moment, and then shimmied aside, offering her more of the bed. "Uh, yeah. Sure. If that's what you want. Do you want a separate blanket or anything?"

Moryggan shook her head and shed the robe, turning and flopping onto her side, facing away from him. "No...thank you."

After a moment, she shifted and pulled some of the blanket over herself. Cyrus just lay back down, and rolled onto his side -- facing away from her of course. It felt awkward to him; the idea of laying on his back next to his teammate and friend like this. At least facing away was acceptable. It wasn't like they hadn't shared close quarters before; in their travels they'd had to share tents and inn rooms before.

It was just the fact that normally he'd be wearing more than he was. Even those stays at the inns, he usually had a long-sleeved tunic on, along with loose leggings. The concept of accidental contact, let alone accidental skin-contact just wasn't a thing when he dressed like that for bed. Thinking about it, he was pretty sure that Moryggan too, had worn more to bed. He just couldn't for the life of him remember what.

Moryggan on the other hand -- while Cyrus' mind went down a rabbit hole -- stared out across the room to where his desk was installed along the wall. She found her gaze caught by the rack of small paint bottles, and the badly stained ceramic cup resting near the lamp. Did he have a hobby? She wondered, frowning a bit and looking around without moving. She'd never thought of it before, but in the last few years travelling with him, she'd never paid attention to things like that. Did he have a hobby? The few times they stopped by his place in Divinity's Reach, there'd been times he'd retreated to his room for hours while she wandered the city.

Moryggan never asked what he'd done in there; just assumed he was plotting out more of his Plan. The one that led to the revival of the Home Base, and the creation of the Forsaken Aspect. Even after the ship launched, there'd be days when he'd disappear to his quarters for hours, sometimes days, without talking to anyone except the Aspect.

"Cyrus?" She asked quietly.

"Mm?"

"Do you..." Moryggan paused, unsure how to proceed. It was the middle of the night. Maybe it wasn't the best time to probe. "Ah, nevermind..."

"....Okay."

An awkward silence filled the room as they both tried to fall asleep. Every time the lightning flashed above, though, Moryggan flinched a bit, a sensation that Cyrus could feel through the bed every time she did it.

"Mory?" He eventually asked, not rolling over. Instead he stared at the far wall, where the armor plate shutters covered his grand window. He felt her grow still, where she had been fidgetting slightly inbetween flinches.

"Yes?"

"...Are you okay over there? It kind of feels like you're on edge."

"Yes... I mean no. I'm not. Okay, I mean." She replied, mixing up her response by accident. She sighed. "It's the storm. Lightning makes me...edgy, I suppose you could call it."

"Is it the sight, or the sound?" Cyrus asked carefully. He didn't like pushing into people's personal space. Not unless he had to.

"Sight. I don't really have an issue with thunder. But the lightning flashes..." She flinched as another bolt lit up the skylight above. A hiss of frustration left her and she drew the blankets up closer to her head. "...I don't like the flash. For reasons."

Cyrus thought for a moment, before sitting up and reaching over to a shelf built into the wall near the bed on his side. From inside, he pulled a length of dark cloth, carefully folded. Item retrieved, he lay back down, but he reached back to dangle the cloth before her, on her side. "... If you want you can try this. I'm a bit of an insomniac, and can be light-sensitive sometimes, so I bought a few blindfolds to use for sleep."

Moryggan blinked at the length of material as it slid from his fingers, exposing the entire length of it. It was only a few inches across, but it was more than two feet long; plenty of material to make an adequate blindfold. She carefully took it from his fingers, and let hers play over the material; to her surprise, it was high-quality silk. Holding it against her eyes, she couldn't see even a bit of light come through; the weave was quite intricate, and the silk itself was multiple layers thick. It was thick, but it was also unbelievably light and soft.

"Thank you." She said softly, considering it, before a thought came to her and a smile quirked her face. "...Never knew you were into that, Cyrus. Sometimes you learn the most interesting things about people."

His response was an exasperated sigh, and she giggled a bit, before sitting up and tying the blindfold on and laying back down.

She waited to see if it'd work, only to smile again when the sound of thunder reached her ears...but the flash had not. "It works. Thank you."

"Not a problem. Just let me know if you need anything else." He sighed tiredly, and closed his eyes, once again trying to sleep.

It wasn't long at all before he felt her shift in the bed again. To his surprise, she shifted backward until her back touched his. It was only the lightest of touches, but he couldn't hold back from moving. It was really more like a spasm, honestly; he hadn't expected skin contact and it surprised the hell out of him. "Uh?..."

"If it's okay..." He heard her say slowly. "Could I ask you to... rub my back, until I fall asleep?"

"Rub. Your back?" Cyrus repeated quietly. "Would that... would that actually help?"

Without looking, he could hear her head shift on the pillow, apparently nodding. "I've always thought about it as reassuring. But I never had anyone who'd do it for me, so..." "Well, if it'll help." He turned over in place, reaching out with one hand. Cyrus paused for a moment, staring at her bare back and neck. He knew on a strictly medical, clinical level that sylvari were essentially plants, but ones that fluoresced in the dark. It was common knowledge, as well as the fact that their skin patterning tended to reflect those of plants as well. It just never occured to him directly, because he'd never been in this situation before. He only stared for a few seconds, but it was enough to set his mind rolling with thought. Moryggan's skin was still the familiar magenta hue, but now he could see that, at least across her back, she had darker, spot-like patterns of deep green, like that of her hair. Or the fact that the sylvari bioluminscence (in her case a gentle mint green) didn't illuminate those spots, instead following pathways both on the surface of her skin, and beneath. Dang. He thought, as he watched her glow pulse slowly in the darkness. That's actually really pretty. Kinda reminds me of some pitcher plants, or something. Or some flowers. His fingers finally touched her back, between her shoulder blades, and to his surprise she shivered a bit, and her glow sped up for a moment. "Ah, sorry. Did I touch the wrong spot?"

"No." Moryggan replied, and shook her head. "No, you just caught me a little off guard, even though I was trying to be prepared for it. Your fingers are a little cool."

"Oh." Cyrus chuckled and then rubbed his fingers, getting them warm, before putting them back on her spine and gently brushing from between her shoulder blades up to the base of her neck. ".... Is that good?"

Moryggan's only response was a quiet, non-verbal mumble of assent, almost a sigh. That made him smirk, as he continued the stroking.

"....back of the neck too..." She eventually murmured, clearly starting to drowse. " 'S'feels nice..." "Glad you're enjoying it." He told her softly.

Over the next few minutes, he continued stroking her back, softly running his fingers up and down, her spine, her neck. At her nonverbal suggestion, he also added a bit of a shoulder rub to what he was doing, eliciting a few more pleasant sighs and murmurs from her. She's almost asleep... He thought, smiling a bit. Maybe when she does I can roll over and get some sleep mys-

That's when the door to his quarters banged open loudly, startling them both. Cyrus snapped up in bed, one hand already reaching for the axe he kept by the bedside in its mount, while Moryggan scrambled to pull the blindfold off, spectral butterflies already floating around her as she prepared to teleport away.

The room was dark, and the doorway was even darker, but it was clear that a small figure was standing in it, foot outstretched in a flat kick. Sleepy, semi-luminscent orange-gold eyes blinked tiredly in the darkness of the doorframe, before a lightning flash cast just enough illumination to reveal the bedraggled asura.

"...Tenna?!" Cyrus was confused. "What the hell?"

Tenna stumbled into the room, scratching at her shirt and blinking dully. She looked around a bit, eyes casting over Moryggan but only lingering for a second or two, before coming back to him.

"....Dreams." She muttered, and shuffled her way to the bed, on the side opposite of where the sylvari lay. The plushie kingfisher griffon in her hand was hooked onto the blanket before she pulled herself onto the bed beside an increasingly confused Cyrus and an alarmed Mory. "Can't sleep...Bad Dreams."

Cyrus's confusion was swept away in an instant, and he scooted away from the edge, giving her room. Immediately he understood, and felt a flash of pity for the little Asura, who proceeded to dig herself under the blankets and wrap both arms around his forearm, burying her face in his upper arm. "Oh.... Right. The dreams."

"Cyrus?" There was a note of irritation in Moryggan's voice, though she tried to hide it. Alarm, confusion, and possibly jealousy warred in her expression as she looked between him and the small being clinging to his arm. "Care to explain this?"

He sighed as he laid back down, propping a pillow under his head as he got comfortable, and gestured for her to do the same. When she'd settled in, turned so she was facing him, that expression still on her face, he shrugged. "Kind of the same story as you...but from a different angle."

"Oh?"

Cyrus reached over to give Tenna's hair a stroke while she continued to bury her face in his arm. "She gets bad dreams. Has had them ever since our days in the Priory. I only found out about them when we ended up on a research mission together and she approached me about it."

Moryggan's expression softened a little. Quietly she asked "Dreams?..."

He nodded, looking up at the skylight as he thought back to the first day an exhausted Tenna finally told him about her problems. "She gets Night Terrors. I won't speak for her about them, but they're for pretty legitimate reasons." His eyes clouded a little as he thought. "Given what the world's gone through in the last few years, it's surprising we don't all suffer from Night Terrors and PTSD." That got a chuckle from Moryggan, where she was resting her cheek on his shoulder. "Well, from the sounds of it, everyone in here right now is suffering from some kind of night ailment."

"Night Terrors, astrapophobia, PTSD, insomnia..." Tenna recited tiredly, eyes closed. "...All'v'us need ther'py."

"So we all end up clinging to each other like wreckage in a storm." Moryggan giggled a bit, and then eyed the plushie Tenna had brought in. "...much like you cling to that cute little toy. It's very cute."

One of Tenna's eyes opened, and she squinted at the sylvari across the bed. "... You makin' fun of me?"

"Not at all! It's adorable." Moryggan's stage smile was clear. "For a moment I forgot you were an adult!"

"...You realize I'm older than you, right?"  Tenna riposted. "As the eight-year-old in the room, by all rights you should be the one with the stuffed toy. Right?...Miss 'Single-Digit-Year-Old'?"

Cyrus winced, not just at the friction between the two, but because both of them were now digging their nails into his arms unconsciously. "Alright, enough of that...Come on you two; just cool down and try and get some sleep."

"Right..."

"Sorry..."

There was some shuffling in the dark as everyone got comfortable. The blindfold went back on Moryggan's face, Cyrus propped up more pillow for himself, and Tenna proceeded to make herself more of an attachment to his arm by tightening her grip.

Because of the change of position, he realized he couldn't stroke Mory's back anymore. At least, that's what he thought until she worked her way under his arm to snuggle against him.

"....Sorry, but I still want that back rub." She admitted, her cheeks luminescing in the dark a little. "This is the only way I could think of that'd free your arm up."

"Uh, that's okay." Cyrus replied, wrong-footed. He hadn't expected her to get in that close at all. I can smell her fragrance. He thought. She smells like...jasmine flowers. "I don't mind."

She smiled, and rest her head against his shoulder while he resumed stroking her back.

"I bet you don't." Came a teasing response from Tenna. "Y'got two ladies all snuggled up to ya. You're as happy as a skritt in a treasure trove."

Cyrus had no answer for that at all, and could only stammer a bit, which made both women laugh quietly.

They were all left to their own thoughts after that.

Moryggan still puzzled over what Cyrus might do for a hobby...or what kind of nightmares Tenna actually had. Come to think of it, just how many times over the last few years had Tenna visited him like this? How often has she been here? She wondered, a tinge of jealousy working its way into her thoughts. For some reason, the thought of those two sharing a bed -- even if it was for clinical, theraputic reasons, and entirely non-romantic -- aggravated her.

What hold did Tenna hold over him, that he would unquestioningly let her in like that? She barely said two words, and he moved over to make room for her!

And why was it making her jealous? It's not like she and Cyrus had any kind of relationship. Well... except for that one time, right after the end of Kralkatorrik... and before that, the time when Mordremoth had tried to use her as a puppet... Come to think of it, do we have any kind of relationship? Her thoughts froze as she tried to puzzle out her feelings.

On the other side of the bed, Tenna just groused internally. She'd all but made herself a permanent attachement to Cyrus, feeling the warmth of his arm, her face buried into it as she tried to drift off. She could even smell him; if anything, thanks to her 'adjustment', her sense of smell was pretty darned powerful these days. It felt like bragging, but she privately bet herself she could identify the soap he'd used, and how long it'd been since his last meal or shower.

Still. Sleep. She was so tired, but it was just not coming.

Stupid nightmares. Stupid Dragon. Stupid anxiety. Stupid sylvari already being here. She grumbled harshly, before sighing. No. Not stupid sylvari. Got no right to say that. Mory is a good sylvari. Shouldn't be mad she's here. And Cyrus is nice and warm...

Stop thinking. Just blank the mind and go to sleep. That's what she needed to do.

Stuck right in the middle, Cyrus really was not going to be able to fall asleep. On the one hand, it felt really nice to have them snuggled up against him like this. Tenna hadn't been far off in her statement -- He WAS happy, in a way. But... he was so very, very anxious. He hadn't remotely prepared for a situation like this, or planned for it, because it... it simply wasn't something that ever happened! How do you prepare for two of your companions, both women, both immensely powerful and deadly, cuddling up to you like you're a teddy bear?!

At the same time he was thinking that, his mind was also whirling with every little thing it could see, smell, feel -- all of it. He was keenly aware of Moryggan against him, of the feel of her skin under his still-stroking hand. Cyrus was very much aware of her luminescence, and how it was waxing and waning. The scent of jasmine flowers -- her scent -- was all he could smell.

On the other side, he was also aware of just how much of his arm Tenna was immobilizing, where his hand and fingers were, and for the Gods' sake, not to even attempt to move any of it at all. From wrist to shoulder on that side, he was effectively pinned down by a warm, grumbly asuran engineer.

Yep. He was not going to be able to sleep tonight. Could tonight get any more absurd? He wondered bleakly.

There was a double-knock on his door frame, right before Verula leaned into view. She wasn't looking into the room as she entered; instead consulting a dataslate as she wedged herself into the door frame.

"Hey Cyrus, I saw your door open, so I figured you got insomnia again. I was wondering if I could talk to you about..." That was when she looked into the room, and blinked in surprise. "...about...?....Uh?"

Of course. Cyrus muttered in his own head, even as Tenna grumbled and buried her head more into his shoulder. Moryggan just raised the blindfold with one hand, before sighing and pulling it back down, resuming her sleep spot.

"Hey Verula." He said tiredly.

"Uh. Yeah. Hey." The charr put the slate away, and leaned in looking closer at the scene. There was a supremely perplexed look on her face. "Am... I interrupting something here? Exactly what's going on?"

Cyrus just shook his head and smiled weakly. "Tonight seems to be a bad night for everyone. And for some reason... we're all gravitating here, I suppose."

"....Seriously?"

He nodded. "I did have insomnia."

Moryggan raised her hand loosely, before letting it drop back to the bed. "Lightning wasn't letting me sleep in my own quarters."

"Bad DREAMS." Tenna offered tersely, not even raising her head. "Tryin'a sleep skritt-dammit!"

Cyrus just shrugged a little. "...So yeah. It kinda turned into a therapy-session-slash-sleepover somehow."

Verula just looked at all of them, staring at them oddly, before stepping backward, slowly, out of the doorframe. "Right.... okay. Tell you what... I'll be right back."

They listened to her tromp off in her heavy plate, before it faded from earshot. A few minutes later, they could hear her coming back, but at a far faster rate. And the sound of heavy armor was missing entirely. "Oh no. What is she...?" Cyrus began, before the charr dam burst into the room, arms filled with extra blankets and pillows. She peeked over the top of the pile, grinning. "You should have invited me! I haven't been to a sleepover since I was a cub in the fahrar!"

"Verula?!"

But it was too late. While chattering about her time at the fahrar and how one of her best memories was a group-sleep during basic training, where the cubs all cuddled together for warmth, she laid out some oversized pillows on either side of the head of the bed. On the side Moryggan was on, she grabbed Cyrus' desk chair and used it to prop some of the pillows up, while on Tenna's side, she just left them piled on the floor until they reached the height of the mattress.

"Okay! Now, everyone sit up!" Verula waved her clawed hands at them. "Come on! Make some room! Scoot forward if you have to! You can lay back down in a moment!"

It was only when they did so that they realized she no longer had her armour on; Verula had a simple black-grey tunic on, exposing her rarely seen pale fur. She clambered onto the bed behind their heads, laying down with her head on the chair-supported pillows. With one hand she pulled one of the blankets she brought over her, while with the other she propped up their pillows against her body. "There we go! You can all lay back now!" She grinned, stretching out.

"O-okay..." They all laid back carefully, gingerly resting their heads on their pillows. To be truthful, it was only Cyrus that had the pillows; Moryggan was using his shoulder as her pillow, and Tenna his other arm. "Are you sure you're okay with this, Verula?"

"Absolutely." She nodded sharply, closing her eyes. "Nothing builds camaraderie like being close together. I would have suggested it a long time ago, but I honestly didn't know how you all would react."

"Well, charr aren't usually this...close to people." Moryggan pointed out, fidgetting to get comfortable. "I mean, I can understand the fahrar, but afterwards, all of you seem to be rather solo."

"Yeah... We are." Verula sounded wistful. "I'll admit that it's something that never stopped bugging me in the Legions. I looked around at all the other races -- all of you -- and saw all these weird, close-knit units. Living together, sleeping together, fraternizing... the whole thing." She shrugged a bit, putting her hands behind her head and staring at the ceiling. "I always wanted to find out what it was like, but being charr... opportunity just wasn't there."

She chuckled, and curled her tail around to tickle Tenna's ear. "At least, not until now I suppose."

Moryggan craned her neck back to 'look' at Verula, despite the blindfold. "I never expected something like that from you, Verula...no offense."

"None taken."

"To think that the big, tough, resolute, serious charr in our midst has a soft side is... Well, it's surprising, but in a pleasant way."

The charr reached down to give her a matronly pat on the head... before reaching over to ruffle Cyrus's hair a bit more roughly. "I'm glad to hear that. But keep it to yourselves, alright? There's reasons I never ever mentioned it among my own kind."

"Duly noted." Cyrus grumbled, unable to reach up and fix his hair. He sighed in resignation. "It's not hard to see why you'd keep that a secret. Anyone that knows anything about Legion charr would get it."

"That said, the next time you all decide to be all collective like this..." Verula yawned and smirked as Tenna grabbed at her tail, pinning it along with Cyrus's arm in her vice-like embrace. "...We'll have to arrange it for in my quarters. No offense, Cy, but your bed is way too small. And since we have no Norn in crew, mine is the biggest bed by far."

"Agreed!" Moryggan nodded primly, snuggling in a bit closer and adjusting the blankets.

"'Nuff talk!" Tenna hissed. She opened one golden eye to glare at the others. "'Nuff talk, more sleepy. Skritting gabby-gums..."

The others chuckled, but the talking finally began to cease.

As they slowly dropped off to sleep, one by one, Cyrus lay there, staring at the skylight, listening to the thunder. The storm was already passing; the thunder was farther off now. In a few hours, it'd be over the mainland.

He listened to the soft sigh of the sylvari next to him. To the tight-lipped murmurs of the asura, that he could feel her lips moving where she pressed her face against his arm. He could feel the rise and fall of Verula's breathing somewhere behind his head, though his pillow was basically on her stomach.

This still feels like some kind of silly joke. He told himself as he started to drift off. A joke of the Gods on me. What are the chances everyone just happened to be here tonight? That we're all okay with this situation?

A small smile made its way to his lips, as he finally felt sleep come upon him. He could live with that, he supposed. It wasn't bad at all. What dreams would this create, though?

[budgetroute57-blog]

Are Vision Blinds Power Outage? ... Are They A Good Option For My Bed Room?

Just How To Clean Mobile Shades.

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Content

Blinds Direct.

Finest Window Blinds Of 2020

A Couple Of Of Our Fave Color Styles.

Privacy At Residence With Smart Tone.

Blinds Direct.

The quantity of personal privacy that you require can determine which kind of blinds you get because there are some that are strong textile, like tones, that will certainly not enable any kind of visuals through when closed. If you intend to be able to keep an eye on your kids while they play outside, this might not benefit you.

Are blinds still in style?

The biggest advantage of having sheer curtains for the windows is seamlessly the amount of functionality that is possessed by it. It brings in vital elements such as light, cooling and heating factors and brings in a decorative aspect to the house.

Ideal Window Blinds Of 2020

This upright option is developed for usage on huge glass doors, like patio area or yard doors, that need insurance coverage from the floor to just a few inches from the ceiling. These blinds are long sufficient to cover the entire door, for that reason obstructing all light radiating in, as well as are additionally great for large windows as well. This choice is a lightweight and textile shade that covers the window and also rolls up to allow light in. These textile choices make use of light fabrics to permit some light in for a natural glow to the house from natural light.

A Couple Of Of Our Favorite Colors.

Are vertical blinds Still in Style 2020?

Smart blinds are window coverings that include built-in motors that let you add remote raising or lowering capabilities based on schedules. These blinds are also called automatic blinds, smart shades, or automated blinds.

You can use your iPhone to establish state of mind illumination, check on your youngsters, as well as start your favored Spotify playlist. As well as when you desire a little privacy, you can establish your blinds to shut right from your phone also. Hardwired electric blinds escape your house's mains power supply.

Are custom curtains worth it?

Once the Smart Bridge is configured properly in your home you can start using Alexa to open and close the blinds in your home.

With several styles and choices, you can choose the one that you want to make use of as well as see in your home, and also obtain the most effective option for your home windows. Shutters are usually made from timber and also suit the window framework's interior and have slats that are connected and managed by an upright wood piece. To shut or open up the slats, you merely utilize the upright piece to move all the slats up or down at the exact same time.

If you don't have a major plug outlet situated close to the windows a new fused spur can be wired in especially for the blinds.

Personal Privacy At Home With Smart Shades.

Home Depot has a substantial choice of mechanized skylight blinds from VELUX.

While these roller shades are definitely smarter than non-motorized ones, they can not be controlled by a wise audio speaker.

However, their price factor indicates that you can acquire these roller shades and a wise switch for less than several sets up that are wise out of package.

And also with the VELUX Climate Control Set, you can completely automate your home's smart blinds and skylight shades to get precision control over the temperature and also light inside your house.

How long do motorized blinds last?

The Automation Kit works on slatted blinds of 2-3 inches, which is the probably the type of blinds you have in your home. It won't work on the less common cordless blinds or roller shades. That's because the motor replaces the mechanism that makes the blinds tilt.

Running expenses are marginal as well as all of the wiring is hidden from view. Battery powered blinds are a great choice if you are installing electric blinds to screen difficult to reach windows. There is no need to install a plug outlet nearby or run any kind of new wiring. You additionally avoid having any type of unattractive wires leaving the wall surfaces. The batteries sit within the barrel of the roller blind itself, developing a clean as well as cool surface.

Inside the track, there are mechanized hooks to hold your drapes. The track itself on this product is incredibly heavy duty, allowing you to hang also hefty drape.

When set up, the system can be managed by remote control. It is very important to note, nonetheless, that the Drape Call adapter cable as well as the Wi-fi clever plug required to manage these drapes using your wise speaker are marketed individually. The MySmartBlinds Automation Set offers a way to turn your existing blinds into totally automated ones in just a couple of mins.

There are also several designs of wireless motorised blinds to pick from so you are bound to locate one that suits your house. From Zonwering and cost-savings point of view, automated blinds play well with wise light bulbs as the illumination of the light bulbs can be readjusted based upon the sunshine coming into the room.

Smart blinds are window treatments that consist of built-in motors that let you include remote raising or decreasing capacities based on timetables. These blinds are additionally called automated blinds, wise tones, or automated blinds. In spite of the prices and a couple of efficiency missteps, those that need smart shades for a few vaulted windows or a specific bed room will certainly find a helpful solution in Serena. Although blinds may seem like a little part of your house, they can offer terrific energy-efficiency and also personal privacy than you assumed.

Before you go on and also get a collection of blinds or tones for your house or home, you intend to consider what kind you desire as well as what you want them to do. It is necessary to consider what you desire out or your blinds, whether you desire them to darken the room at night for far better rest, or be closed closed enough to offer complete personal privacy. Like the American Homesupplier Smart Drape Pole, the Drape Call Electric Remote Controlled Drape System is a track that is set up along the top of your home windows.

Get Specialist Style Recommendations Today.

An additional method to maintain the sun from filtering system right into your home is to put up shutters on your home windows. These solid, frequently plastic or timber, shutters can be wonderful as a durable alternative to fabrics or slats. Cellular shades can look a horrible great deal like pleated shades, but these alternatives have a honeycomb shape that holds on to caught air and also aids protect the window. They are generally made with a comparable soft and slim textile to that of the pleated shades.

Are motorized shades worth it?

Battery powered motorized blinds are the simplest option. Rather than being connected to a string, motorized blinds have a tube installed up top that lifts the shade up. The battery fits above that and connects to a motor for power. Lithium batteries have a significantly longer life.

[sushihail15-blog]

Roller Blinds Made To Gauge.

2020 Cost To Mount A Retracting Awning.

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Content

Shipment

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive? That Depends Upon The Representative

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive?

Made To Determine, Made Simple.

The 8 Ideal Outside Audio Speakers.

Outside Yard Waterproof Awning Canopy Outdoor Patio Cover Uv Shade Awning *.

Blinds Direct Clearguard.

Is installing blinds hard?

You can also wash your vertical fabric blinds in the washing machine, but this must be on a gentle cycle at temperatures no hotter than 30C (86F). They should be laid flat to dry still and not put in the dryer.

All remakes will need to be remade in the very same shade, feature and also requirements, no changes are enabled. Shutters should be personalized measured and set up, similar to custom blinds as well as shades.

Delivery

Skylight blinds are the only style that will totally remove this. However, you can cut down on light permeating in by seeing to it your blinds use the best fit feasible. The aluminium Venetian blinds will fit the window or door perfectly without gaps in between the Perfect Fit structure and window framework. They can be opened totally also when the door or home window is pressed open, making them sensible as well as unbelievably adaptable.

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive? That Depends Upon The Representative

Roller blinds can be produced in a selection of different colours and also patterns, from flower layouts to polished red stripes as well as block shades. This style adaptability makes roller blinds a wonderful addition to any type of room, whether you're decorating your living room or home office. This is excellent for areas with home windows that encounter out onto the street or are within sight from one more neighbor's home, as you'll intend to safeguard your personal privacy at the times you need it most. Roman blinds are generally created with thicker product than roller blinds, suggesting they prevail with regards to personal privacy.

Depending upon the products you make use of, they can set you back as low as $20 per shutter, yet the standard is more detailed to $250 to $700. zonwering buiten can obtain aluminum blinds, roller shades, or other choices in elementary styles for low cost-- someplace between $7 and also $25 each.

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive?

These blinds are easy to mount and suffice of shutting out the light. Metal includes an innovative touch to any type of area, and is specifically prominent in office settings. These are controlled by a string that will gather the textile at the top of the home window to reveal the light, including a classy want to any kind of space. Before you have a home window blinds installer be available in to set up your blinds, you'll require to recognize what this will cost.

Made To Measure, Made Simple.

As sundown draws in, rolling down these blinds will provide an appropriate obstacle against the last dredges of light and guarantee your space is dramatically darkened.

Roller blinds are a sensible option for all rooms in the home, can be manufactured in a series of different products and also are conveniently styled.

We have actually all seen them, either in your own residence or someone else's.

When somebody points out shopping for window blinds, roller blinds are the quintessential design we all believe of.

Obviously, Roman blinds can additionally be used in larger living rooms, as well as also bay home windows. The nicely folding material guarantees your windows look streamlined and also stylish in any way times, whether your blinds are raised up or totally lowered. For newborns as well as children particularly, the tiniest increase in lights can cause disrupted nights and also complication in between night and day.

The 8 Best Exterior Audio Speakers.

When open, roller blinds are among the neatest and most portable sorts of blinds. There's no additional material to obstruct your view of the globe outside, or to restrict the all-natural light flooding into your home. As roller blinds are created with much less fabric than many other designs, they are just one of the easiest types of callous clean and keep in great condition. You do not require to clean individual slats or dirt lots of material to keep them looking spick and span for many years to come. Nonetheless, this isn't to claim that they aren't exceptionally fashionable.

Outside Yard Waterproof Awning Canopy Patio Area Cover Uv Color Awning *.

Select from a wide range of finishes and also stains, choosing the timber grain that finest complements your interior decoration. https://zenwriting.net/scarfsecond74/blinds-online-look-for-uk-inside-home-window-blinds could additionally go with painted wooden blinds, which add another component of passion to the area. Whether your living-room is modern, standard, colourful, or country-cottage inspired, wooden blinds will certainly function a reward in your home windows.

Are blinds washable?

PVC slats make slapping sound when drawn open. If not operated properly, gears in carriers can “strip out” and slats will not rotate correctly. Over time, the PVC slats tend to become brittle. Same thing can happen with the plastic tabs inside fabric vanes that allow them to snap into the headrail.

If you acquire power efficient blinds, they may cost more than various other types of blinds. Power reliable blinds make your home windows more reliable-- specifically, they stay out unwanted warmth or cold.

What color of blinds should I choose?

If you're refurbishing your home on a budget, roller blinds may be the top choice for you. As they're less decorative than Roman blinds, and are typically produced with less fabric, they tend to be easier and slightly cheaper to produce.

Blinds Direct Clearguard.

There are a number of elements that can influence the price you'll pay. From the dimension of the installment job to the sort of products a pro will certainly be anticipated to collaborate with, this info is required in order to obtain a precise rate. Adhering to the simple measuring guidelines will guarantee a correct fit, however, all of us make errors once in a while and this protection plan covers any type of mis-measurement mistakes. If the home window treatments do not fit, please let us recognize within one month of receiving the things.

How much does Lowes charge for blind installation?

Roman blinds However, they are the most expensive option when it comes to made to measure blinds.