#tumblr/electrical tools

[galleryyuhself]

Galleryyuhself - The Tool King sets itself apart - Located in Chase Village Chaguanas, this is their big Divali sale.

[pandoraslxna]

hi luna, i found ur fics on ao3 and ran my ass to tumblr bc i just needed more of ur writing. you're so talented!!

i was wondering if you could write a lo'ak x reader story similar to the step bro!teyam fic where he makes contact with the sex pollen. it could be step bro!lo'ak or just reader's bsf idm bc i've been thinking abt that fic for agessss and i'd die for a lo'ak version even where reader is the one that touches the pollen instead 😭🫶 pretty pls and thanks in advance （╹◡╹）♡

Forbidden desires

adult Stepbro!Lo‘ak x female omatikaya reader

Words: 3.8k

Summary: Nine times out of ten, when you were sent to one of those old, abandoned RDA outpost facilities, it went just fine. But there's always that tenth time.

Warnings: explicit smut, stepcest (they’re not blood related), sex pollen, cowgirl position, creampie, teasing, praise

Nine times out of ten, when you were sent to one of those old, abandoned RDA outpost facilities, it went just fine. But there's always that tenth time. And of course it’s when your accompanied by your older stepbrother, who somehow seemed to magically attract any kind of danger ever since he was a kid.

Scavenging abandoned laboratories for essential supplies that the clan could use was usually safer than it sounded, but this place, it was far off your usual research zone and Jake- dad, he said you could call him dad. Well dad said, it would be better to not go alone this time, just in case.

The once bustling scientific havens now stands as a relict of the past, slowly succumbing to the relentless embrace of nature. The laboratory emerges from the foliage, structure weathered and worn by time. Moss and ivy clings to the cracked walls, intertwining with rusted metal equipment. Vines creep through broken windows and shattered glass, casting intricate patterns of sunlight onto the decaying floors.

This place smells sharp, metallic, so much like tawtutes [humans] and the rotting smell of death and burnt earth they leave behind. Not exactly a pleasant scent.

Inside, a sense of eerie tranquility fills the air. Dust particles dance in the faint beams of light that manage to pierce through the overgrown canopy. Dilapidated shelves line the walls, remnants of long-forgotten experiments, holding faded vials and forgotten notes.

Lab benches, once polished and pristine, now bear the scars of abandonment papers lay strewn across the floor, their text faded and illegible. The hum of electricity has long been silenced, replaced by the gentle rustling of leaves and the fluttering wings of Riti [Stingbats] that were abruptly woken by the two na‘vi entering the long forgotten building.

Amongst the ruins, you search meticulously, your eyes scanning for useful remnants. You carefully examine cabinets, hoping to uncover unused medicine, bandages, exo packs that are still intact or any other useful tools.

Your stepbrother however, seemed to have other plans in mind.

"You shouldn’t touch that", you said, snatching his wrist mid way of him prodding at what you hoped was a fake skeleton. Lo‘ak let out a chuckle as he gazed down at you, both of his brows raised in amusement as he wriggled his hand free of your hold.

"Relax, tsmuke [sister]. Are you always this uptight when going on your little adventures?"

"I‘m not uptight, Lo‘ak. I‘m being careful", you said, shaking your head. "Jak– Dad taught me to be. You never know what the vrrteps [demons] could possibly be hiding here. And this isn’t an adventure, we‘re here to get supplies!"

"Right, of course. We‘re on a very important mission here", Lo’ak scoffs sarcastically, then proceeds to yank at the skeletons arm and point it in your direction, poking your hip with the boney finger when you roll your eyes at him. "You think they have traps set here to capture cute na‘vi girls? Ohh, isn’t that scary?"

"You’re an idiot", you giggle, swatting the hand away and playfully slapping your stepbrothers arm.

You both then take the steps up to the second floor of the building, and when you round a corner, you stop dead in your tracks. There was a "DO NOT ENTER" sign taped to the door that was slowly starting to peel off.

Experiments on animals or even na‘vi weren’t really uncommon, and you knew the horrors that the RDA was capable of, had heard and seen it yourself, especially in those research laboratories. Which is why you weren’t sure if whatever awaited behind this door was worth the few extra exo packs and bandages.

"We shouldn’t–"

"Oh, yes we should", Lo‘ak is quick to cut you off, all too eager to push the heavy metal door open. A rush of stale air fills your nostrils and you grimace at the smell.

"I should’ve just asked Neteyam to come with me", you mumble under your breath, closely following Lo‘ak into the room, who had a wide, excited grin on his face.

"And miss out on all the real fun?" He chuckles, shaking his head. "Yeah, you two would clearly make the better duo."

Rolling your eyes, you couldn’t help the feeling of unease that grew inside you, your eyes darting around the room, while your stepbrother's curiosity only intensified. Ignoring your trepidation, Lo‘ak stepped forward, drawn to a large, dusty table at the center of the room.

Among the scattered papers and broken equipment laid a few conical flasks, some of them still filled with droplets of a strange liquid.

Turning on your heals you took a quick 360°-spin. The room was small enough to get an overall view in less than a few seconds. There was nothing but this table and broken laboratory equipment. Nothing that seemed to be of worth for the clan, so you glanced back over your shoulder, already heading back to the door as you pleaded, "Lo‘ak, come on. There’s nothing in here, let’s just go back."

Lo’ak however, couldn't resist the temptation to tease you, playfully waving one of the glasses around. "Killjoy", he mutters under his breath, before shouting, "Here, catch", and throwing the conical flask in your direction. You shriek as you jump around to try and catch the glass in time, but it slips right past your fingers.

You both watch it fall like it’s happening in slow motion, until it bursts on the floor and the glass shatters in thousand little pieces.

As soon as the liquid inside makes contact with the tiled floor, it morphs into a small cloud of steam that smells awfully sweet and you end up coughing a few times before sending a glare in Lo‘aks direction. Sucking in a sharp breath, he makes an apologetic face and rushes to your side, careful not to step in any of the glass shards. "Shit, sorry! I‘m so sorry, are you hurt?"

"No, skxawng [moron]. I‘m fine", you clear your throat, "Great mother, you’re acting like such a child sometimes…"

"Yeah, I hear that a lot", he grins and you can’t help but smile at the coy flick of his tail. "C‘mere, can’t let you get hurt or dad will skin me", he murmurs, pointing at the glass, before scooping you into his arms and carrying you out of the room.

A heavy sigh leaves your lips and tickles Lo‘aks neck as you rest your chin on his shoulder. Your heart was still pounding from the scare, harder than you would like to admit. Nuzzling closer to his neck, you allowed your eyes to rest for a moment, just breathing in the natural, soothing scent of his skin, while he carried you downstairs. He smells so much like cedarwood, leather and freshly cut grass, you notice. And something else that you can’t quite put a name on, but it tingles your nostrils and makes goosebumps raise on the nape of your neck.

"You smell good", you mumble the words before you can throughly think them through, while pressing your nose against his throat. Your lips graze his skin and you can feel his upper body stiffen at that. "Was that a weird thing to say?" You ask calmly, almost a little too calm.

There’s a moment of silence before Lo‘ak shakes his head and murmurs a quick, "no."

Back at the main entrance, he gives a light squeeze to your hips, signaling you that he would let you down to your feet now, but your arms wrap around his neck tightly. He just smells so good, you want to stay here for a while longer. Lo‘ak is strong, you know he could effortlessly carry you all day.

"Can you hold me for a while longer?" Your own voice seems so far gone, so far away, you don’t even hear yourself properly, don’t even realize you’re speaking at all. Your skin tingles where Lo‘ak has his arms wrapped around you, and you can’t help but giggle and squirm, pressing yourself closer against him.

"Tanhì [little star], are you… are you okay?"

"Hmh", you hum, crossing your ankles behind his back like a Syaksyuk [prolemuris] clinging to it‘s mother.

"Are you sure?" There’s genuine concern in his voice, one of his hands running up your back, feeling your temperature at the nape of your neck. "You’re kind of burning up a little."

Your response almost sounds like a drunken mumble, "hmm strange. My heart‘s beating pretty fast too." It’s followed by a little giggle, and Lo‘ak frowns.

He‘s not panicking, not yet, but he knows something is wrong. This was really, really not normal behavior for you. He feels your face entirely too close to his pulse point, can feel your nose nuzzling against him, your lips brushing his throat. It’s not a kiss, he tries to make himself believe.

You’re not kissing up and down his throat. You’re not, because that would be wrong. Why would you— and then he feels it. Your tongue. His whole body shivers at the wet glide of your tongue on his throat, and Lo‘ak swallows thickly, before coming back to his senses.

"O-Okay, listen, uhm, I’m gonna put you down now", he scrambles, untangling you from his body to set you down to your feet. Your knees seem a little weak and Lo‘ak can’t help but reach out to hold you steady, ignoring the way it makes you blush and lean in on him again.

It doesn’t take a genius to come to the conclusion that whatever was in that glass container must’ve been some sort of drug or whatever. As soon as the coin drops, Lo‘aks heart fills with guilt. His expression shifts to that of worry and uncertainty as he ponders if calling his father would be a good idea. He knows he has to make sure you’ll be okay, has to get you to the tsahìk, but he knows just as well that dad will most definitely skin him alive if he finds his precious adoptive daughter in this condition.

"I feel weird, Lo'", you snap him out of his train of thoughts. Lo’aks hands are on your upper arms, holding you steady while simultaneously keeping some distance between you and him. His eyes scan you up down, and he almost chokes on his spit as he catches the way you clench your thighs together, squirming, and fiddling with the fabric of your loincloth. "Feels really weird… here", you tell him in a hushed whisper, one of your hands bullying it’s way between your clenched thighs. Your eyes are half lidded and glassy as you stare up at him through your lashes, your cheeks flushed in a dark red.

Now he’s panicking.

"S-Shit", he sputters. His eyes are wide as he adverts his gaze to somewhere, anywhere else but you, trying not to look at his stepsister touching and rubbing herself over her clothes. That’s bad, that’s really, really bad. "Let’s just get you home, yeah? I‘m– I‘m sure there’s a cure to whatever it is that you have."

One quick glance down to see if you had even heard what he just said, and he finds you still clumsily rubbing your hands between your thighs, seeking some sort of relief. "But you", he swallows thickly, "you really need to stop doing that, okay?" Lo’ak knows he doesn’t even sound half convincing, and it takes him more than just a bit of effort to not stare at you right now.

You look back at him under your lashes, bite your bottom lip and shake your head and he knows you’re doing that on purpose— working him up with those helpless little noises, sweet sounds of need and pleasure, thighs clenching and unclenching around your own hand.

"C-Can’t you just help me? Please, I- I need you."

One of your hands then closes around his wrist and before he realizes to where you’re guiding him, his palm cups your still covered cunt. He feels your slick drench the woven coverings under his fingertips and his eyes widen. "Need you here", you plead. "It hurts so bad, Lo‘ak. I‘m so empty."

"I– I can’t, we shouldn’t—" Lo’ak shakes his head, seemingly torn, but suddenly your lips press against his and he just can’t find it in himself to pull away.

Your lips are so soft, softer than he imagined (not that he imagined what kissing you would be like, ever) and the moment Lo‘ak finds himself kissing back you surge forward, the grip around his wrist tightens, urging him to stay right there, teeth nipping at his bottom lip until his lips part and he can taste you, your tongue slipping inside his mouth, your salvia mixing with his.

Your kiss is forceful and he’s so much more into it than he thought he’d ever be. And when you pull back your lips are red and wet, and he knows his mouth is probably a perfect mirror to yours.

"Fuck, tanhì, baby", he whispers, "Gonna get me in trouble…" And in an instant he’s on you again. His tongue tingles as it curls around yours, with drool running down his chin as he backs you up against a tree. You cling to him, desperate and wanting, not letting go of his wrist until he makes you understand that he’s only pulling away to get that damn loincloth out of the way. It nearly rips with the effort of getting it off, but when he finally succeeds you both clumsily pull each other to the ground.

This is wrong, he thinks as he spreads your legs opens. This is so wrong, he thinks as he runs his hands up and down your body, your chest, pushing your top out of the way.

You look so beautiful like this, chest heaving and covered in a thin layer of sweat. Hair messy and eyes dark with lust, pupils so blown it should make him worry, but he can’t bring himself to care when his gaze falls to the space between your thighs where slick oozes out of you in a concerning amount.

"Please- Please put it in, I need you", you slur, spreading your thighs further apart. "Need you inside."

Your pussy looks red and puffy, so sensitive as he runs two digits through your folds and then gently pushes them in. You gasp, but open up perfectly for him. It’s not enough, Lo‘ak can feel it. He curls his fingers, pumps them in and out a few times to hear those sweet moans tumble from your parted lips.

"You have to promise you won’t hate me after this", he says under his breath. His thumb glides over your clit, gently pushing its little hood up to bring the little nub into view and he can almost feel it throb under his touch. "I‘m just helping you out because you asked for it, alright?" Lo‘ak says it as if he’s talking to himself, reassuring that you want this, it’s okay, and maybe it actually is. Peeling his eyes away from the mouthwatering sight between your thighs he finally looks back up at you, swallowing the salvia that has been pooling in his mouth. "Promise you won’t hate me. Please." The restrain is clear in his voice, but he’s nowhere near as needy as you are. "C’mon, baby, say it. Tell me with your words."

"I won’t hate you, Lo‘ak just please–" Suddenly you shove him by the shoulders, rolling over until you’re the one straddling him, pinning him down to the ground. Your hand impatiently reaches between your thighs and feels for his cock, before repositioning it to prod his tip at your entrance. He bucks up into your hand as you give his cock a few pumps, pre-cum dribbling through your fingers.

The sight of him beneath you sends a throb straight to your cunt.

Lo‘ak sucks in a breath just as he’s about to tell you to wait, slow down, but then you‘re already slamming yourself down onto him without remorse. Fuck, it's so easy. Fits right in like a glove; overwhelmingly wet and warm, a terrible combination that scares him.

A punched out moan breaks from his throat as he feels the tightness of your velvety-like walls envelope his length. He’s so deep inside you, he can feel your cervix kissing his tip and it sends a shudder up his spine.

It's almost an out-of-body experience as you get on your haunches and lift yourself up, the head of his cock still nudged against your entrance, and he watches your gleaming lips part before you sink all the way back down again, taking him into the softest, most delicate parts of yourself.

Lo‘ak feels it and knows that he can’t change anything about the way he’s completely surrendering to your control- and he absolutely fucking loves it.

It’s so wrong, but that’s what brings a tingle to his fingertips. So dirty, but that’s what makes heat raise under his skin like a fire burning down a forest.

Lo’ak watches the way your belly contracts visibly, in time with the hitch in your breath at the first few thrusts. Your thighs tense and your fingers finds his braids to anchor yourself, and his hands find your hips and push you down harder on his length and he’s startled to realise how soft you are now, yielding to him in ways he’d never have imagined once. You’re putty in his hands, ridden by nothing but pleasure. A carnal need.

It’s luck that the adventures in Lo’aks life gave or showed him at least a bit of reservoirs of self-control that his karyus [teachers] never thought he had, because after those first few thrusts, you ride him vigorously.

Lo’ak doesn’t know how you’re this in sync, but he knows you want him to fuck you hard and fast. With his hands still gripping your hips tightly, he drives deep and eagerly into your weeping cunt, welcomed by that glorious softness again and again, and you wrap your arms around his neck and meet his thrusts as best as you can.

"Lo‘ak", you draw out his name in a long, pathetic moan, "more, need more!"

"Great mother, you’re greedy, baby," he huffs out in a laugh, grips your hips and holds you down on his cock for a second longer than necessary, just to feel your little cunt pulsate around him. You struggle briefly, before picking up the pace again, bouncing harder than before, but also more uncoordinated.

"S‘just so good," you slur, sounding almost drunk. "You feel so good inside me. Fuck me harder!"

Your tongue lolls out and he catches you mid way, tongues meeting in a hungry, filthy kiss. You taste awfully sweet as you moan into it, and Lo‘ak can’t help but think you would want spurs right now, to urge him on all the more. As if he needs that when you kiss him like this, when you hold him so close he feels your tits, soft and warm and perfect, press against his chest.

His cock throbs and you’re starting to quiver now, distinct from the more deliberate movements you both make. It shows in your breasts, makes your thighs tremble against his sides and makes tremors in your stomach muscles.

For a moment it switches from bouncing to grinding, and Lo‘ak knows what you’re trying to do. You grind and rub your needy little clit against his pubic bone, let out desperate noises of pleasure while you hump him.

Lo‘ak makes a hungry humming noise in return which he feels through his lips, once you break away from the kiss, then a breathy groan when he captures a nipple between his teeth. His tongue swirls around the little nub before he tugs and he enjoys the way you clench around him at this.

One of his hands comes up to palm the other, kneading your soft flesh and twirling a nipple between his digits.

"Come for me", he then says, flat tongue gliding over your breast before goosebumps raise underneath. "Come for me, tsmuke. Do it."

The scream you let out is borderline pornographic. It brings tears to your eyes and nearly tips you off balance if it weren’t for Lo‘ak holding you, fucking you through it with short but deep thrusts that send you gasping for air. "Hmh, there it is. Good girl," he groans, "keep coming for me, baby, just like that. Let it all out for your big bro, yeah? Let me feel how bad you wanted this. Look at me."

You force your eyes to stay on him, watch him as you fall apart, rocking your hips for that little bit of extra friction, and Lo’ak feels all of it. The wetness where you are slipping together, the tightness, the little tremors of your body, the pulse of your clit as it rubs against him.

Lo‘ak doesn’t even realize he’s coming himself because he’s entirely too focused on you. He’s bluntly staring at you, eyes half open, mouth agape. It’s like he is trying to burn the image of your pleasure ridden face and your picture perfect body on top of him into his brain forever. He wants to keep it stored away just for himself, to come back to after this is over because he knows he can’t have you again. Because this can’t happen again.

The wet plap, plap, plap of his thrusts continues until your thighs begin to shake and he’s sure he has emptied even the last drop of his cum into your core. It’s back to just grinding then, wet bodies pressing together, closer and closer until neither of you can’t move anymore.

You’re panting, exhausted and spent, your chest heaving to inhale big gulps of air into your burning lungs. Blinking a few times, Lo‘ak notes that your eyes are halfway back to normal, pupils not as big as they were, your skin feeling less feverish but all the more sticky than before.

Good, that’s good, right?

"You," a pause, he swallows, "you okay?"

Nodding and a little out of breath you confirm it with a quick, breathy, "yeah."

There’s a long, long moment of silence, with just the two of you looking at each other, sweat still pearling at your forehead and messy hair framing your beautiful face. Lo‘ak looks at you like he’s afraid breaking the eye contact would break the spell and you would shove him away and call him disgusting, but you don’t.

"I'm not sorry, you know" he says finally, when he can’t stand it anymore. "I would do it again. For you. I will do it again, in a heartbeat, if I...."

"If you have to," you finish for him.

Lo’ak considers pushing it, considers holding your face and speak more firmly so he could be sure he had your full attention while he tried to make you get it. "Yeah," he says gently instead, risking a half hearted grin that would surely give him away. "If I have to."

[ceeplays]

Favorite Default Replacements & Game Override Mods (Part 1 - Object Overrides)

A compiled list of my favorite default replacement and override mods from the past year, plus a few classics that I just couldn't leave out. This is Part 1/3 of a collection of cc finds.

(More info and download links below the cut). ♥

𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒩𝑒𝓌 𝒴𝑒𝒶𝓇! ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

I hope you all had a lovely, restful holiday, and that the bugs in For Rent haven't made you rage quit just yet. •ᴗ• I don't know about you guys, but lately I've been feeling extra grateful for all the stunning creations our modding community has been releasing. So, I figured I'm long overdue for another mod rec list and voila! - here we are.

This time, I'll be linking my favorite default replacement and override mods! While I mostly focused on newer releases, I also tried to add some overrides I don't frequently see mentioned on YT or in rec lists.

The original post got quite lengthy, so Tumblr forced me to divide this list into three (3) separate parts (sorry for the inconvenience!). - Part 2: Food & Kitchen, and World Overrides (here) - Part 3: Electronics & Font Replacements (here)

As always, I hope you find this useful, happy holidays to all who celebrate, & happy simming! ♥

------------------₊˚⊹♡

Object Overrides:

@kirsicca : (1) The Modern Loveseat, (2) The Amaranth Sink, (3) Barely-Used BG Toilets

@surely-sims : (1) Growing Together Treehouse (becomes seasonal), (2) Vanity Make-Up Props, (3) Fire Alarm, (4) No Footprint Sleeping Bags, (5) Invisible Bassinet, (6) Basinet, (7) Booboo Billy Toy, (8) Nesting Blocks

@depthofpixels-cc : (1) Growing Together Treehouse Slide

@cowplant-snacks : (1) Seasons Holiday Tree

@lonvely : (1) Magnolia Promenade Trolley, (2) Toothbrush

@symphonysim : (1) Horse Grooming Tools

@dscombobulate : (1) Boxing Gloves, (2) Toothbrush

@superflare : (1) Infant & Toddler Sippy Cup

@simder-talia-blog (original creator unknown) : (1) Ice Skates

@elflike : (1) Ice Skates

@duplica-imite : (1) Ice Skates

@vroshii : (1) Ping Pong Paddle (becomes tennis racket)

@myxdollyt : (1) Fenty Make-Up Override, (2) Bratz Make-Up Override

@simmerwellpupper : (1) Game Controller (PS5 DualSense Controller)

@largetaytertots : (1) Default Replacement Haul (Lipstick, Pet Carrier, Mop, Pet Leash, Rake, Snow Shovel, Infant Toy, & more!), (2) Laundry Pile, (3) Folded Laundry, (4) Razor, (5) Cleaning Overrides (Sponge & Cleaning Spray)

@vixonspixels : (1) Female Roller Blades, (2) Folded Laundry, (3) Infant Bath Sponge, (4) High School Bus, (5) Restaurant Menu, (6) High School Homework, (7) High School Textbook, (8) University Homework, (9) Pencil, (10) Dog Leash

@bbygyal123 : (1) Infant Carrier

@apricotrush : (1) Scrub Daddy Sponge, (2) Presents, (3) Cleaning Spray

@serkisyan : (1) Playing Cards, (2) Make-Up, (3) Mail Envelopes/Bills, (4) Paint Brush/Easel Pencil, (5) Electric Toothbrush, (6) Charcoal Toothbrush, (7) Infant Bottle, (8) Cleaning Spray #1, (9) Cleaning Spray #2

@channel4sims-cc : (1) Aquarium Fish, (2) Kitchen Sponge, (3) Infant Bath Seat, (4) Infant Rubber Duck

@sims41ife : (1) Totoro Watering Can, (2) Laundry Bag & Pile, (3) Public Phone Booth (includes simlish swatches), (4) Game Controller, (5) Coffee Cup

@awingedllama : (1) Infant Crib, (2) Game Controller, (3) Bassinet

@cecesimsxo : (1) Infant Bottle

@ellcrze : (1) Infant Bottle, (2) Sponge

@bellassims : (1) Mysims Trophies (become squishmallows), (2) Mysims tTophies (become tsum tsum plushies), (3) Mysims Trophies (become disney tsum tsums)

@cocoelleansims : (1) Infant Bottle, (2) Grocery Bag, (3) Plopsy (becomes etsy)

@imfromsixam : (1) Infant Bottle, (2) Infant Rug, (3) Stand Mixer, (4) Invisible Bassinet

@hydrangeachainsaw : (1) Game Controller #1, (2) Game Controller #2, (3) Infant Bath Seat, (4) Infant Bottle (warning - paywalled)

@pixelvibes : (1) Elephant Watering Can (warning - paywalled), (2) Infant Bath Seat (warning - paywalled)

------------------₊˚⊹♡

the end! ♥

[lets-try-some-writing]

You got any more creative juices for the Twins AU O.O that was such a jummy au angst with the truth and pinpricks of healing at the end nom nom nom

I'm Listening, all of us are

Ah yes the twin au. Its been a while. Honestly I am low on ideas for this au. It was a concept that I took and ran with and failed to make notes for. However, I will write what I can.

Previous part here. (excuse the formatting I was still figuring tumblr out when I wrote the last piece for this au.)

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

To wear the face of another was a... difficult thing. It wasn't merely a mask for Optimus. In order to take the identity of his brother, there were sacrifices that had to be made, ones beyond losing his connections and name. Most of the augments had long since been forgotten, but with his identity revealed to his team, it was not hard to find those augments now that the difference was clear.

"Orion, what is this?" Ratchet's digits hovered over sealed compartments on Optimus's frame. The medic worked worked the plating before Optimus could respond, and within a klik, his data cable ports were revealed.

"Sir, you..." Arcee stared in horror, as did the rest of the team. Optimus for his part merely shrugged. He was from the data caste. Optronix was not. His twin had been an enforcer, and no enforcer in Iacon had data cables of all things.

His were cut and cauterized, stopping them from every fully regenerating. It was painful in the extreme, and the instincts of the Archivist demanded he engage his data cables whenever he interacted with technology. He gave up the ability to ever perform his one soothing duties for the sake of appearances. It didn't hurt anymore, it merely prompted a vague feeling of loss.

Ratchet made attempts to assess the damage and repair the worst of it, but all he got in return were hisses of pain from Optimus. His cables were sensitive, even when cut and hidden away. To repair them would be to reopen millennia old wounds and fish around in what amounted to a sensory organ. Without proper tools, it would be needless agony. Ratchet gave up on repairs but did put caps over the cut data cables to limit additional pain that Optimus had been walking off since his rise to Prime.

Arcee worked with Ratchet quietly to make prosthetic data cables for Optimus to use. The prosthetics attached to the caps and simulated the feeling of connecting to a device via electric pulses. It didn't actually do anything, but it would ease the archival coding. Optimus was dubious, but later in the dead of night he could be found with a smile on his face as his prosthetic cables attached to the console. The simple act have him comfort, and for that, the team found the effort worth it.

His devastated data cables were not all the team discovered. As Ratchet ran examination after examination, a whole plethora of augments were swiftly located. Optimus did not stop them. There was no point in it. They knew now, and it was not as though his augments could be removed now.

His optics had been remodeled as one of the first changes to his frame. Optronix's optics had full optical glass coverage. Orion's were of the cycling variety. Optronix needed protection from shrapnel and explosions. Orion needed to be able to capture everything with photographic clarity. When he took on his brother's identity, his sensitive optics were covered with thick optical glass and changed in color to match Optronix's gold ones. He had not seen his own optics since he became Prime, and he had long grown used to the faint pain that came from having to squint just to see through the optical glass.

Ratchet offered, or rather begged to be able to remove the glass. Optimus allowed him. However the glass had to quickly be put back into place when Optimus all but screamed in agony at the sheer level of sensation. After so long seeing through lenses, he couldn't handle light or the level of detail his optics afforded him.

To try and slowly acclimate him back into his original frame, Optimus was ordered to take out the optical glass at least once a cycle for five minutes. The children did their best to make it more bearable for him by having him read books to them. The small text gave his optics something to focus on and helped him reintroduce archival programming back into his priority trees. Every day he would take time out of his usual working hours to read a book to the children. Usually this amounted to reading out their homework questions or helping them get through their assigned reading. However it was always enjoyed and more than once, Bumblebee sat in to listen and see what his Sire's optics actually looked like.

The collective agreement around base was that Optimus's real optics were far more attractive than his fake gold ones.

Optimus had always had a rather boxy build as an Archivist. The frame type allowed him to process all of the data that assaulted him. Optronix however had a slim build, rather unusual for an enforcer. But it fit him due to his position as an investigator. Optronix was designed to be seen by the public and both fast and flexible. Orion had not been forged with such intentions in mind. In order to achieve his brother's frame type, Optimus went through extensive fasting periods and slowly had his waist taken in over the course of vorns. The damage to his internals meant he could never consume great quantities of anything and instead was forced to fuel slowly in order to not overwhelm his crushed tanks.

When Ratchet discovered that fact, he nearly lost his mind in rage. He immediately began attempting to find the bindings that kept Optimus's frame from reverting. However when he did locate the bindings, it was a slow and painful procedure trying to remove them. The bindings had been welded into Optimus's spine and served as a sort of ribcage for his waist. Getting it off involved surgery and Optimus being a wet noodle for several weeks while he recovered.

He vented far better after it was taken out, and for the first time since his rise to Prime, he actually felt like he fit into his frame. Getting him to fuel properly became a new fight for the team, especially once Optimus began to grow unhappy with his frame as it reverted. After so long, the shift began to come rather quickly. He maintained his waist, but he bulked up considerably. More than once the team caught him trying to wrap makeshift binds around his middle just to alleviate his discomfort at losing what he had long since deemed "necessary augments". Bulkhead came in clutch when it came to easing Optimus's concerns. The Wrecker was quick to bring Optimus into sparring matches, showing him that being extra bulky didn't do a thing to his combat capabilities.

Optimus was still the Prime and just as deadly. A supermodel waist didn't define his skill level.

The team were more than pleased when Optimus began to go without his mask without seeming on edge. They smiled when his optics adjusted enough to the light that he didn't need the optical glass anymore. They were all but thrilled when he openly used his prosthetics and moved comfortably in his frame. He had never been visibly as happy as he was, even though they were still at war.

Then Smokescreen arrived, and all that hard work went down the drain. Optimus was dead set on keeping up his persona around those who didn't know.

Ratchet wanted to scream.

[letteredlettered]

Just going to address a few of the types of comments I see about AI on tumblr dot com.

I've seen people say that it's useless, because real human emotion is what the world needs now.

I've seen people dismiss it as a fad, cheering for it to crash and burn like bitcoin or NFTs.

And I've seen people passionately discuss how a) AI is using the intellectual property and creative work of human people to learn, without crediting that property, work, or the creators that enable that AI to exist, b) with that knowledge, AI can recreate or replicate the work of human artists, writers, and other content creators, thereby rendering artists/writers/creators without the means by which to earn a living. Many of these passionate (important, true) arguments end with some kind of conclusion like, "This is why AI is evil and no one should ever support it's use."

Let's just talk about the last one first. Importantly, I don't want to minimize or reduce the problems that artists, designers, writers, musicians, etc all face due to AI. It's not just artists. Anyone who creates content and puts it on the internet can have it stolen without credit by AI. AI can take an article written by a journalist, change the words slightly, and generate a fake name and fake photo so that the journalist who wrote the article makes no money while the company with the AI rakes it in. It's a huge problem that is destroying livelihoods as well as avenues of creation, expression, and information-sharing that will only get worse.

But to conclude that AI is therefore evil is kind of like saying social media creates toxic environments and therefore the entire internet is evil. Social media sucks, but I use the internet for keeping in touch with friends and banking and taxes and learning about the world and fandom and watching TV and learning about problems at work as quickly as possible and donating to charities. I mean, like, the internet does kind of suck; enshittification is real, but I think we all understand that the internet can be a useful tool.

Similarly, AI is being used to save lives. It solved the protein-folding problem, which not only saves lives but can help humanity in tons of other ways. It can identify certain signs of cancer more quickly than any human could. And before you say "well it's fine if we're only using it for science," you should know that the identifying cancer thing got discovered because some bakery wanted AI to identify pastries for pricing reasons. AI can process the billions of data that are necessary to consider to mitigate and prevent further climate change; it can help us come up with ideas for how to do so. In a bizarre example, AI can recognize which wood comes from which tree to help authorities discover illegal lumber trafficking which depletes endangered trees and protected forests. AI can help predict and prepare for the next pandemic. AI can explore space. AI can spot fake news.

Vilify certain uses of AI as is just and necessary, but vilifying all of AI just means that fewer people understand what AI can actually do, which means fewer people working to ensure this tool actually works for us rather than against us.

Second, let's just talk about AI as a fad. This idea frankly boggles me. AI is not bitcoin. AI is the internet. It's the computer. It's electricity. It's the compass. It's not just going to change the world, it already has, and it's not going anywhere.

AI is your spam filter. AI is your auto-correct. AI is why you see the ads you do. AI is why you get emails about deals for trips when you've been thinking about making a trip. AI is in your GPS, planning your route. AI is your search engine. I'm not trying to sell these things as positives right now; I'm selling them as realities. AI is not going away because it is already here, you who said you hoped it was like bitcoin are already using it, it's not going away.

AI is going to drive your cars. It's going to design ads specifically targeted to you as an individual. AI is going to be your children's friend and it's going to buy your groceries, and I'm just not sure there's much you can do about that at this point.

But last I want to talk about what the world needs now, because it does need humanity. It needs humanity to understand that the enemy is not AI; the entities that threaten our humanity are not AI entities. The entities that threaten our humanity are the corporations that are currently building AI with corporate interests in mind, with commercial interests in mind.

It might sound like I'm splitting hairs here. Maybe the folks who are so against AI on tumblr dot com are against AI because corporations are developing AI and what they mean when they say that AI is evil is that the current outlook on AI is just not that great because it is not being regulated and studied by enough governments, many of the general populace are either ignoring it or condemning it, and those who are most focused on its development have capitalist agendas that mean AI is going to be a lot worse before it gets better. But somehow, I'm getting the idea that the view on AI is not that nuanced--and it needs to be.

The humanity we need now, imo, is curiosity and ingenuity and passion, and we need that curiosity and ingenuity and passion directed at AI. If we get curious, if we inform ourselves, if we know what it is and what it can be and how to use it, then we can start to make demands of our governments for regulations. We can start to make demands of companies for how this should be used. We can start to incorporate AI into our lives in a way that gives us more time and space for art and creation and writing, not less. If we, as a species, were careful about this, we could use AI to make our world better, not just for humans but for every living thing and so many of the unliving things. We just have to pay attention.

Meanwhile, James Bridle's pointed out in Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence, "We tend to imagine AI as embodied in something like a robot or a computer, but it can really be instantiated as anything. Imagine a system with clearly defined goals, sensors and effectors for reading and interacting with the world, the ability to recognize pleasure and pain as attractors and things to avoid, the resources to carry out its will, and the legal and social standing to see that its needs are catered for, even respected. That's a description of an AI--it's also a description of a modern corporation. For this 'corporate AI,' pleasure is growth and profitability, and pain is lawsuits and drops in shareholder value. Corporate speech is protected, corporate personhood recognized, and corporate desires are given freedom [. . .] Crucially, [corporations] lack empathy, or loyalty, and they are hard--although not impossible--to kill."

Then he quotes Charles Stross, who wrote, "We are now living in a global state that has been structured for the benefit of non-human entities with non-human goals."

We could be treating technology itself not as something humans, in our dominance and supremacy, impose onto our world, but rather as a natural intelligence evolving alongside us. In so doing the focus would not be on creating machines that seek only profit and extraction, but rather make the world a better place. To do that we should be forming relationships with this technology and at the same time, rediscovering our relationships with the world around us. And just like anything the steps to get there are first curiosity, then education, then legislation.

[thenyanguardparty]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/ai-chatgpt-water-power-usage-b1106592.html

see this post i just reblogged:

ultimately the article you posted just uses "ai" as a Topical Word For Getting Clicks and the main point is about the expenditure of resources by data centers more generally, which *is* worth talking about and a much more important conversation to have. "ai" isn't inherently uniquely bad at this (unlike say cryptocurrency mining where the expenditure of resources is where the value of the currency comes from in the first place, and so if it was more efficient it would in fact lose value), and the article you posted itself provides some solutions for the water expenditure problem with cooling data centers. where's all this outcry for the energy and water costs from, say, *online gaming* servers for example? maybe we should all log off tumblr since it runs off of a data center somewhere too. it feels very disingenuous to bring this up only for "ai" and not for other stuff, especially as this was not an argument against "ai" until very recently when other arguments started to fail

[littleesistler]

tickle questions

Tickle Questions? Cause Why Not?

1. What’s your favorite tickle tool?

I don’t know but I’m just in love with electric toothbrushes like once I even removed all the bristles from an old toothbrush head to make it a flat attachment. And yeah an electric toothbrush can act like a makeshift massage gun for those who don’t have one. And an electric toothbrush behind ears, collarbone, hands, ribs, hips, belly, bellybutton, knees and feet. I love, and you can even tickle yourself with it, muahaha I love it 😈🪥

2. Favorite Ler? (Tag them if you dare~)

well my mom and my childhood friend that I mentioned in another post🥰

but my favorite lers here on tumblr is are, please give me a good tickle 🥺

@the-shy-ler (this blog is sfw)

@missamyrisa2 (this blog is both sfw and nsfw)

3. Favorite Lee? (Tag them to call them out~)

my cousins, my friends, my friends younger siblings

but my faovirte lees on tumblr are, please I wanna give a good tickle 🤭

@kikibumblesqueaks (this blog is sfw)

@fluffallamaful (this blog is sfw)

4. Opinion on blindfolds/restraints? Why or why not? ‘if it helps the Lee relax then yeah they can be good options especially if a Lee is ticklish to a violent degree it can help, but for me I don’t want someone to be or myself to be restrained the full time. Or their hands and feet might get sore. No no no no. None of that. So one me as the Lee or the Lee has melted and relaxed there aren’t any points for restraints anymore, so I’ll just remove them and cuddle them while giving more tickles to their desired intensity or soem after care 😚🧸

5. A spot that gets you squealing? my hips and bellybutton, like I can sound like a seagull when I laugh in those spots 😂

6. How long do you estimate you could last before calling mercy? Well it depends on spot and my head space, but yeah if I get competitive I won’t go down without a fight. So I’ll be the brat this little annoying shit I can be 😎

7. Ever have tickle fantasies? yeah like I can lucid dream so many of my dreams are about tickling, but not just like ticking without a plot. Like it will be a scene weaved into the dream to make the characters bond. Like lol my dreams are like little movies or series. (I can explain this more if anyone wants) 😴 8. Why did you make your tickle blog? Well I’m very creative and I have lots of different perspectives and ideas, so I wanted to like add my own charm to the community. And since I’m equally a ler and Lee a full switch I can be so many things for so many different people. but if I’m being honest my zebra buddy @kikibumblesqueaks inspired me the most, since she/they also have eds and I fell in love with writing about my condition and how tickling helps me like it does for her/them 🤗

9. Does anyone irl know of your interests? my mom and my childhood best friend, they are both very supportive 🥰

10. Can you say the t-word? Yeah when I’m in my ler mood it’s my favorite words, tickle, tickler, tickling, ticklish, tickly, ticklee 😈

but if I’m in my Lee mood, well yeah no way 🫠

11. Verbal teases, yes or no and why?

Katlyn yes 😜 I mean any type of tease adds more personality and bonding, it makes it more personal. Like if I’m tickling someone and just starting at them it can feel a bit sinister so even if the Lee can’t answer I love to ask little questions,

like oh ready for me to get your tummy. I see your feet are wiggling a bit, oh look at that smile I might just drag a feather under your nose and shin.

It like ads that little extra flavor and makes it more playful and childish. So cute 🥺

12. Upper body tickles or lower body tickles? upper body it’s more intimate and you can like see the lees face and expression. Like them hugging me or me hugging my ler while I get tickles. It also leaves room for the to playfully fight back ☺️

13. Neck or ear tickles? behind ears your honor 😩

14. Pinned on your back, or your stomach? on back since I want to see my lees face and I don’t want them to have trouble breathing. Ask them being on their back makes it more fair like they have more mobility and I love some little roughhousing 🥰

15. What do you love about the lees you know? my cousin loves to hug my and giggle with her eyes closed 🤗

my childhood friend shakes her head and holds my hands 😘

16. What do you love about the lers you know?

my mom smirks and eyes full of glee as she tickles me 😍

my childhoods friends eyebrow raise and smirk 😏

17. Feathers or Paint Brushes? paint brushes your honor, like they give so much more control. And as a traditional artist I can like pain with body paint and make a big tease with it all. like I have this game idea where you paint on the lees tummy or arms but the bellybutton or palm or hands are where you mix the paint.

also with the paintbrush you have like a wooden end, perfect for trading ribs or stretch marks 🫠

18. How long have you known about your interests in the community? well when I was a kid I’d like replay a tickle sene from a kids show over and over again and I’d like memorize what episode that tickle sene was. When I was 9 my family got our first iPad so I watched a lot of elsagate with tickling (that was kinda inappropriate, don’t recommend) I searched for fanfics when I was 15, mainly sonic ones. But it was first when I was 18 and I fell in love with the Dsmp that I found tumblr pages like, @fluffallamaful @covenofwives @wishitweresummer @mushiewrites that I truly fell down this rabbit hole 🥰 I love you guys !

19. What’s your favorite way to be tickled? (As in provoked, teased into asking, etc.)

well any way really as long as it’s clear I’m giving my consent and I feel safe, then yeah all ways to getting tickled are welcome. But I like love when someone can tell my Lee mode, like I get more touchy and whiny then usally and they just tease until I ask them to tickle me silly 🙃

20. Are you/Do you like Polite Lees or Bratty Lees? (Asking for tickles vs Pissing someone off for tickles) Feel free to add questions/truth or dares to these if you wish!

oh I love when I have a brat that melts and becomes a clingy little puppy after an attitude adjustment or a polite Lee getting impatient and more irritated for anticipation. I love them both and especially when you get to that tickle point when they do an uno reverse card.

But if I’m being honest I love me a little brat I can teach some manners, watch out 😈🪶

[soylent-crocodile]

Magura (Monster)

(Realistic Magmar by Namh on Deviantart)

(I mentioned these earlier in @thecreaturecodex's ask box before we started actually talking, and here they are, published to tumblr! Magura started as a servitor race for the Great Old One Cthugha, who is relevant to a character from my Strange Aeons game, and was inspired by the pokemon Magmar, even if it quickly spiraled in its own direction.)

CR9 NE Medium Aberration (Fire)

Magura are a race of intelligent, omnicidal beings who seek to cleanse the universe of life through the detonation of stars. They travel through space on massive fiery skiffs powered by solar sails on a search for stellar systems to annihilate. An average magura citizen is a scholar of these astral detonations and of alien technology, being well-versed in arcane secrets and occult philosophies about destruction, the planes, and fire. Despite this, many magura are spiritual, and the worship of fiends and outer gods (particularly daemons) is a common part of magura societies. 

Magura philosophy understands the material plane, if not creation itself, as a mistake on the part of the gods- a material existence can only lead to suffering, as interpersonal connections and material goods are lost, destroyed, or simply fade to the sands of time. Their answer to this philosophical quandary is to destroy the material plane by snuffing out stars one by one. True to their beliefs, magura do not collect material possessions for any purpose other than practical use, and even then, many destroy or dispose of tools even if there’s a potential future use, much like other mortals have the opposite affinity. 

Magura bodies subsist on solar energy in a process not unlike photosynthesis, though with different chemical pathways. Magura appreciate the irony that they rely on the stars they destroy to move and survive, and acknowledge that the completion of their goal will cause the extinction of their race- this is a sacrifice they are comfortable making, especially as it’s rather far into the future.

Magura leaders are called Magura Guides. Magura Guides can cast spells as an 8th level wizard, and often advance their levels in Wizard or Rogue.

This man-sized creature resembles an upright reptile, but its head has a pointed beak and is covered in large, bulbous growths. Misc- CR9 NE Medium Aberration (Fire) HD14 Init:+7 Senses: Perception:+15 Aura: Flamestoke 60ft Stats- Str:21(+5) Dex:17(+3) Con:17(+4) Int:22(+6) Wis:16(+3) Cha:18(+4) BAB:+10/+5 Space:5ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:119(14d8+28) AC:22(+3 Dexterity, +13 Natural, +6 Deflection) Fort:+10 Ref:+7 Will:+12 CMD:28 Resist: Acid 5, Electricity 5 Immunity: Fire, Disease Weakness: Vulnerable to Cold Special Defenses: Heat Shimmer Offense- 2 Claw +16(1d6+5 plus Burn) CMB:+15 Speed:30ft Special Attacks: Burn (2d6, DC19) Feats- Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power Attack (-3/+6), Combat Expertise (-3/+6), Improved Dirty Trick, Greater Dirty Trick, Improved Feint, Weapon Focus (Claw) Skills- Acrobatics +15, Bluff +12, Escape Artist +9. Fly +15, Heal +6. Knowledge (Arcana) +10, Knowledge (Planes) +14, Linguistics +10, Perception +15, Sense Motive +12, Spellcraft +18, Stealth +15, Use Magic Device +13 Spell-like Abilities- (Caster Level 10, Concentration +14) Burning Gaze (DC15) /constant Fireball (DC17), Major Image 3/day Special Qualities- No breath Ecology- Environment- Space (Hot) Languages- Ignan Organization- Solitary, Wave (4-6 Magura, 1 Magura Guide) Treasure- None Special Abilities- Convection Flight (Ex)- In areas of intense heat, magura are particularly buoyant; they gain a fly speed of 40ft and a maneuverability of average. Flamestoke Aura (Su)- Mundane fires around a magura are empowered by a magura’s internal heat. The Reflex DC to avoid or put out a mundane fire within a flamestoke aura increases to 18, and the damage dealt increases to 2d6.  Heat Shimmer (Su)- A magura’s internal heat warps the air around it, causing a visual distortion. Magura have concealment (50% miss chance) against ranged attacks and a deflection bonus to AC equal to its intelligence modifier. Creatures with the fire subtype can see through this effect.

[kroodzgoingcrazy]

(edited|more personal stuff and ask will be on : @neonecrosis)

About me: (he/no other pronoun) 16 years old, my name is martin, jeb or kroodz I have been in TCC since April 2022. I play the guitar and I love music.

I love everything related to doom and computer science, movies, music, guitars, mj, rooms, bands or movies posters, food, cookies, pizza and other kool stuff.

I watch movies but mainly classic horror, snuff, found footage, thrillers and psychological.

I also like to write, mainly poetry and writings that reflect my thoughts or just writing in my journal.

I spend most of my time researching different tcc websites.

I love zero day, bowling for columbine.

I'm a stoner, a depressive and an industrialist.

music: KMFDM, rammstein, nine inch nails, chemical brothers, megadeth, chemlab, the offspring, ceiba, nirvana, the smashing Pumpkins,the smiths, black sabbath, tool, burzum, rage against the machine, audioslave, pearl jam, alice in chains, anthrax, deftones, the prodigy, david bowie, led zeppelin, skinny puppy, stone temple pilots, marilyn manson (personally manson is to pop), system of a down, the doors, the electric hellfire club, my bloody valentine, pink floyd, boards of canada,white zombie, L7, children of bodom, front 242, die krupps, phantom planet.

tcc faves (no idolize or support):

DK,Weise,Bosse,Auvinen,Lanza,Seung Hui, other more

-

-

i hate somethings mainly

noises from noise pollution.

people who don't think for themselves

tumblr bigots

school bullies

childrens

the new wave of music

the junkies

the guys who have sex being younger

naz-s or white supremacists.

the humans

[astudyincontrasts]

Could we get a Viktor drabble where he’s doing that thing teenagers do when they written their name and your name in their journal to see how they sound with your last name?

And getting caught 👀

As you wish, anon. And if Viktor getting caught writing things about reader is your jam, might I suggest A Theory by @gaybybirth which is the fic that dragged me kicking and screaming back into writing on tumblr.

Round and around and around that long finger. How he could twirl chestnut strands so much and not have given himself a permanent little curl or even a tiny bald spot behind his ear was beyond you. As it was he had cowlick after wispy soft cowlick curling errantly in the mess of his hair. It was irritatingly endearing, terribly distracting. Had your own fingers itching every time he started up that bad habit to slap his hand gently aside and and rake your own fingers back down his scalp. Difficult not to think what it would feel like, the silk mess of that hair carded between fingers. To watch him tilt is head back, close those tired amber eyes slowly. Thick lashes dark against pale cheekbones. Let you kiss bruised, tired eyelids softly...

No.

No, thoughts ran away with you far too easily. Not even thoughts - silly fantasies. He was terribly busy, terribly important. Him and Mr. Talis. Busy building the future of Piltover and leashing the power of those terrifyingly unstable hex crystals to allow teleportation across continents, across worlds. And all you could think of was touching that babyfine soft hair that formed a v at the nape of his neck. About the way his voice was always so softly quiet, terribly gentle.

He'd let you hold one, once. A hex crystal. Dropped it into your palm and smiled at how you'd sucked breath in hard and fast as you cradled it like a live bomb. Closed your cupping palms around it with his own.

"Can you feel it?" He asked.

All you could do to swallow, throat sandpaper grit and eyes round saucers. You could feel his fingertips against the outside of your wrists, feel the brush of his thumbs against your own and the warm of his palms to your knuckles. And yes... the shallow pulsing electric vibration of the deadly dangerous crystal you held. Like licking a battery without the copper taste, and with the warning crackle through the whole of your forearms straight to spine.

Lightening in a stone, if not a bottle.

Blue luminescence reflected in gold eyes as he pulled the careful cup of your hands apart and took the stone back. Eyes only for one thing and it surely wasn't for the tech assistant in faded grey and tatty coveralls, constantly smeared in gear grease and always in the background; fixing all the little minor issues the new golden boys of Piltover managed to create with their unlimited intellect and vastly overestimated mechanical expertise.

Sure, they could both design the future, write complex mathematic and arcane problems as foreign to you as Noxian calculus... but ask either to find the actual source of a lack of power in a time train gear network they had designed? Forest for the trees, you supposed. It was fine, you were good with details, with the trees, if this metaphor held.

Details like that hair twirling. Like his shy smile. Like how you'd be under and deep in the guts of a piece of mech and fumbling blindly for a tool only to have him press it into your searching fingers. Never could figure out how he always knew exactly what you were looking for without even having been asked. Nine eighths spanner? In your fingers. Ten quarter allen wrench? Done. The finest pair of needle nose pliers? His fingertips soft against your grease stained palm as he pushed it there in silent passing. Reading your mind.

If only you could read his.

So nice then, that one night, when you’d dragged yourself out from under the guts of their latest prototype, to find him sat there alone, the only other living soul in the lab and shaking an empty pen between twirling the silk licks of his hair.

You rolled tired shoulders and unzipped coveralls to tie the arms round your waist over your sweated tank top.  Wandered over to pull the pen from his fingers and put a fresh one in hand.  So lost in thought he failed to notice.  Went right back to scribbling.  Curiosity had you glance over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of whatever incomprehensibly complex mathematics he was entrapped in.

And instead stared down at two open pages scrawled with your name.  And his.  And little rough sketches and doodles that had a heat rising under your skin with the searing intensity of a late summer sunburn.  Under your lean over his shoulder Viktor had swam to the surface, fresh pen stilling its most recent scrawl of your name before it dropped and he scooped one elegant hand under the jacket of his notebook to slam it shut and spin on you.  Luminous golden eyes wide.

Before you could stop yourself you’d reached past him fast as a striking snake and grabbed up the notebook.  Back pedaled a few steps as you flipped through it.  Your name, his name, doodles and drawings and.... oh.  You turned that page sideways and squinted.  OH.  

“Wait.  Please...”  His voice was broken, begging.  Mortified.  

“Viktor.  Do you...”  You were going to tease him, grinning, delighted.  Until you looked up and saw him wilt, the fine splay of one hand hiding half his face as he slumped back onto his lab stool.  Oh no. 

Still, you weren’t giving that book back.  Yet.  Tucked it behind the small of your back in the waistband of coveralls and closed in on him.  Very much emboldened by all the scribbles on those pages, lovely spidery litany of your name over and over again intertwined with his.  Had you slot yourself between the long spread of his lean thighs.  Permanently stained and calloused hand tugging away the one that hid his face by the wrist.  

He resisted, and for a strained second you felt sure he was going to rise, spindle legs carrying him backward off the stool and out of the lab.  But instead he gave, and let his hand drop, heat burning fever under pale skin beneath.  Hot as steam burnt steel under your fingers as you caught up the fine angles of his face.  Glad he didn’t seem to mind the scent of gear grease and petrol on your skin.  Or how rough your thumb was as you slid it over the little freckle under his eye. 

“Have you settled on one?”  You couldn’t help your teasing nature, had to ask.  So pleased he would be so obsessed as to fill pages with your names together.

“Please.”  Still pained, he tried to pull his face from the frame of your hands, tried to reach round you to grab the book back.  Instead you caught his arm behind you and pressed it higher as you leaned in.

Took a chance and pushed your forehead to his temple.  Watched him exhale a shiver and turn amber eyes up toward yours.  So close you could see the flecks of brown and green imbedded in the gold depths.  Unable to help yourself, you pressed him.

“What else have you written about us?”

[sirfrogsworth]

So, I guess Justine has appointed herself one of the main advocates negotiating the use of A.I. within the film industry.

I don't know how else to say this... she is a ditz.

I used to follow her on Tumblr. I even gave her kids laser eyes. And then I started seeing bad take after bad take. And it is disconcerting when someone with mostly progressive ideology veers into poorly informed points of view. And she went completely off the rails when the COVID lockdowns interfered with her local small business. She was ready to throw grandmas under the bus to protect her profits.

Negotiating how A.I. is used in filmmaking needs to be handled competently by someone who understands the technology.

And that is not her.

First you have the pretentious "very raw" statement. Movies contain multitudes and the ones that are not... raw... are valid too. Then she conflates visual effects with A.I. and throws VFX artists under the bus with the grandmas.

If you want her seal of approval you can only do minor fixes and effects. That is so vague and not at all how modern movies are made. Even smaller films without superheroes and crazy CGI can make extensive use of VFX for set extensions and myriad other invisible things. And while there are some "A.I." powered tools in VFX, that is completely different than generative video. Those tools are used by legit artists and still require skill and experience.

The latest Spider-Verse movie used A.I. tools. They trained the A.I. using their own artwork so it could understand their inking style and apply it to the CG characters. It was not a magic push-button effect. But it did save artists hours and hours of tedious, frame-by-frame work. Would that get Justine's stamp of approval or is it not raw enough?

And then she imagines this A.I. blender thing that does not exist. I guess she thinks the still image generators will easily translate into video and work the same way. I'm reminded of Y2K when people were predicting exploding electrical grids and digital armageddon.

The truth is, we have yet to really see what A.I. will be like in a more video-centric context. The tech is mostly based in the realm of still images. From what I understand, generating images is extremely intensive on servers. Actually, text generation uses quite a bit of computing resources as well. So generating complex A.I. video could require orders of magnitude more resources.

Currently any A.I. video you see is usually just a static talking head that had an animation assist from After Effects. Corridor's controversial A.I. anime video required taking live action footage and converting every frame to an anime-style still image. It took them months.

If you look at this video, no one talks, there are no dynamic camera movements, no dynamic lighting, and people mostly just... blink.

Generating still images is much different than generating video.

And as of now, you cannot even create a finished product with A.I. with still or moving images. I mean, it can barely do hands. The stills are not very high resolution, the prompts are often finicky and take a lot of trial and error to get a usable result. And usually you still have to do a lot of cleanup to use an A.I. image for anything considered professional.

Yes, it will get better and probably at an exponential rate. But we don't actually know what the capabilities will be and how people will take advantage of them.

So to make wild predictions of A.I. blenders that can mix multiple actors into a composite super actor is a little premature.

Creating feature length, cinema quality 4K video is a very long way off. Which means we should probably focus on the current problems and when the technology advances more and we have a better understanding of how it will be used, we can cross that bridge.

Also, even if the studios had the capability to create a composite virtual actor, I don't think audiences would ever accept it. People already get grumpy about CGI. Virtual actors do not worry me that much. I think audiences are always going to demand real people saying lines written by human beings. Maybe I'm being optimistic. And I'm not saying we shouldn't put in place safeguards to prevent misuse of A.I. tech. But I still don't think this is a huge concern.

Right now deepfakes on social media are more troubling than A.I. video generation. A scam Mr. Beast deepfake was just passed around and it was definitely good enough to dupe people. We need to figure out how people's likenesses can be protected. We need ways to verify a video's authenticity.

And when deepfake tech is used in filmmaking (e.g. The Mandalorian season 2 Luke Skywalker) actors need very specific approval powers. It makes sense to use deepfake tools to put an actor's face on a stuntperson. That is an amazing way to improve safety. And I don't have a huge issue with de-aging effects (again with consent). But the actor should be able to approve everything on a case-by-case basis and also control what happens to the training data.

Beyond that... what do we do about dead people? Is it good enough that their "estate" approves? Perhaps it would be a good idea for all living actors to make their wishes known before they pass.

And we need to come up with protocols to ethically train A.I. tools.

I believe A.I. has great potential to actually *help* the filmmaking process if we approach this intelligently. It isn't all good or all evil. It could be used for things like rotoscoping which is a thankless and mind-numbing task. It could make big budget-style VFX accessible to indie filmmakers who can't afford ILM. People could make their own superhero movies outside of the studio system on tiny budgets and a gaming PC.

I have been using A.I. tools to paint out things in Photoshop and it works so much better than the old clone and heal tools. There are so many tedious tasks with my photography and art that I would happily pass off to A.I. so I can focus on the more artistic aspects of creation. And I really hope that is the future of how A.I. is utilized.

I don't know if the dreaded A.I. blender is on the horizon, but I really hope a more serious person takes up this fight. We absolutely need to be careful how this technology develops. But if we leave this to silly people, all of the *actual* negative eventualities are going to happen because we were trying to stop a mutant JLawMeganMerylGinger Cruz from dancing in our movies.

[eldritchamy]

@creative-sparx replied to your post “science fantasy is such a hard genre to be into...”:

The magic system in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series is handled very much like a science with many different categories, grounded mostly in the concept of entropy I believe; I would say it is very much a fantasy using science elements rather than science fiction using fantasy. As a bonus, Diane is a very active and friendly Tumblr user who often engages in the specifics of the system with fans, and has a lot of writing credentials in both fantasy and science fiction.

Now that sounds like something me and my own magic system might be interested in reading.

I think what I'm looking for is not Science Fantasy, (which seems to be just a synonym for science fiction), but Scientific Fantasy.

I want a world where magic is just a fact of the world and is studied like any other science. It's just part of how the world works, as recognized and math'd out as gravity.

So much of Urban Fantasy fucks up the worldbuilding by just slapping a magic system on top of a world that is otherwise exactly like ours. And a world exactly like ours wouldn't exist at all if there were magic. If magic was a TOOL that people could use to SOLVE PROBLEMS, it would be USED to solve problems the same way we would think to use machines and electricity. Those solutions, and the new problems people would discover by using them, would look nothing like our world at all.

In a world that has had access to magic over a long period of time, the kinds of problems you CAN solve, and even the kinds of problems you would THINK OF AS PROBLEMS IN NEED OF SOLVING, would be radically different from the problems our world, and our technology, has developed to deal with.

Long range communication wouldn't be solved by a box with electricity trapped inside it. There would be magical approaches to solving that problem. Okay, MAYBE a crystal tablet that can display information is a good enough idea that someone would think of it. If the world is old enough? Sure, someone has probably figured out that electricity exists and can be used by people who are less skilled or comfortable with magic to solve similar problems, but magic wouldn't just be slapped onto the surface of an otherwise unchanged world. The entire structure of society and the tools it creates and uses would be completely different.

Like Senshi using earth golems as a kind of farmland that manages its own water supply and fights off pests. LIVING HYDROPONIC CONSTRUCTS. That's brilliant.

The entire fucking world would be radically changed in more ways than even a very dedicated worldbuilder could ever really imagine. Public transit could be magic based, even teleportation based. Energy grids could be powered by magic. Something equivalent to an elevator could be done through levitation fields. Shipping could be managed through demiplanes that open in multiple places. Medical science could incorporate magic as a diagnostic tool. With an extreme level of fine control, surgeons could heal incisions or tissue damage without stitches. Magic wouldn't need to be a separate form of education, the basics would just be taught alongside the water cycle or the respiratory cycle.

People would make jokes 20 years after graduating about how mana is the powerhouse of the soul.

THERE'S NO GODDAMN REASON FOR A WORLD WITH MAGIC TO BE LOCKED TO THE AESTHETIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE.

Magical constructs could be teleported into orbit for space research. Think of the possibilities of a magic space race! Astromancy wizards summoning familiars on the moon!

There's so much more you can do with a magical setting than mud and castles and dragons and liches and horses. It's FANTASY! FANTASIZE! IMAGINE SOMETHING!

What if instead of meeting in a tavern you were stuck on a 3 hour connecting flight together on a sky train. You meet at the airport on your way to a tourist trap in the fey realm for spring break while working towards a degree in Arcanodynamics, and bond over the fact that it kinda sucks, and that pixiedust pretzel was in no way worth SEVEN gold, and their internship at the alchemical research hospital doesn't pay enough for this shit.

[squarebracket-trickster]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thank you @sunset-a-story for ALSO tagging me way back in August. I AM SO SORRY

1. What motivates you to write?

It itchy, itchy urge to create something. I NEED it OUT. I MUST make sense of it ALL. The thoughts need ordering and putting together to maximize the happy chemicals. I see something I like that someone else made and I get jealous so I must do something like that, but MY way, and BETTER. It all makes me very itchy (restless).

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I skimmed my entire 3rd draft (so far) to pick a line. There are a lot of good ones but none I liked more than the rest - I couldn't choose. So... I know I've already shared this one but dammit. It is a kickass line. It's also the first line of WIPVII - and you do not know what devils I sold my soul to to escape THAT writer's block.

I will live, I tell myself through the salt water in my eyes and the sting of the south wind on my face. This will make for a good story one day.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Banter and wit. Which is funny because I always thought that was the thing I would struggle most with - I was the academic overachiever who took herself too seriously in school. But when I reread my drafts there is something that makes me laugh in nearly every scene. Most of my highlighted lines are banter or retorts.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

I love seeing writeblr content on my dash and I looooove getting interactions when I liveblog my writing. It is so nice to be able to share this with people who love it too (rather than inflicting it on my poor irl friends who are not writers). I just love all you Writeblr friends so much!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

A 2x3.5' and a 3x5.5' whiteboard with a rainbow's worth of whiteboard markers in different thicknesses for brainstorming, family trees, timelines. My sketchbook, a mechanical pencil, and YouTube drawing tutorials for my maps and concept art. MS Word, dark mode, Times New Roman pt 11, with comments enabled for my manuscripts, outlines (bullet points), and worldbuilding notes. Subfolders within subfolders stored on my PC to organize all my Word docs. Two separate USBs which my completed manuscripts are saved to (in case something happens to my computer AND one of the USBs).

I have yet to find any worldbuilding or map making software (and it hasn't been for lack of looking) that gives me enough flexibility. I have yet to find any writing software that has features Word doesn't but that would actually help my process rather than overwhelm me.

I do want to write out a draft of WIPVII by hand at some point (though with my penchant for writing hand cramps this might be doomed). I also want to try an electric typewriter.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

WIPVII doesn't have very complex worldbuilding (there is no magic and most of it is ripped from real world history) but I do always love it when authors tell us what way the wind is coming, what smells it carries, what the view is in the distance, whose lands those are... that kind of stuff. Really creates a sense of place. I spent a lot of time mapping all this out in my own novel and I am very happy with it! The description feels so rich!

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Learn more about the craft. Writing is problem solving. If you aren't happy with something figure out why - the mechanics and technique behind writing. If you're still stuck learn even more. There are so many great, free resources on tumblr, youtube, blogs, pinterest (though it is most stolen from tumblr) even twitter and tiktok.

Also, learn how to filter out what advice is helpful now versus what should wait for later so you don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't even written a first draft yet don't bother with pacing, exposition, line editing, or let alone how to query. Just focus on the macro-stuff like plot and character arcs.

Tagging with the lightest brush on the shoulder these nine alleged humans: @cheeto-flavoured-pasta, @alnaperera, @bluberimufim, @daisywords, @boundedsea, @full-on-sam, @writernopal, @ashen-crest, @surroundedbypearls

[disabled-dean]

hi hello i need to know more about The Last Great American Cowboys 👀👀

Hiiiiii Jenna 💕 (and hiiiii Taylor cuz you asked about this too!)

The Last Great American Cowboys is a poetry & prose chapbook I'm working on about my experience working with my great aunts on their ranch. They are 90 years old and have led literally thee most incredible lives. And now they live in an ambiguous platonic partnership on an unproductive horse ranch in the mountains. I have so so many stories about them (and would love to share more from the collection) but I am late to a meeting and then a cute little procedure!! So I'm just gonna start with the series of poems that got me writing again after five years.

More under the cut and tw for horse death (I got horse death poem three published in a zine last year along with the illustration, Snowfall)

horse death poem one

a horse falls in the barn outside 

there's nothing to do but go inside and wait 

for the man to come with the heavy tools to bury her.

she has fallen in such a way

that it will be difficult to move her

halfway in and out of the barn, 

on the crusted snow that has fallen 

off the roof.

if she dies in the stall, 

it will be ugly. 

her open eyes are glazed

her body frozen. 

not upright. 

not taking nourishment.

her paddock-mate, 

a handsome red gelding, 

runs frantic circles 

in the pen beside her.

(Horses apparently can become very attached to one another)

Pat says, these ones in particular.

we cover her in an electric blanket. 

there is nothing to do but wait.

we go inside. 

Pat practices the music

for her upcoming concert.

60 years in the Yakima Symphony 

first chair violin.

Micki starts to take 

the ornaments down

from the Christmas tree.

The orange barn cat 

sneaks inside 

as she's taking the wreath 

down from the door.

I make bacon at the stove. 

we spend 

several minutes of lively 

debate

trying to tell if it has turned.

Micki says,

"With the things we do and the things we eat, we should be dead by now." and they both laugh.

they tell me a story about getting lost in town the day before, trying to find their hairdresser.

we debate 

trying to move

the horse before the man 

comes- the first foal 

born on this ranch when they moved 

from California

33 years ago.

Outside,

she is lying in the sun.

Micki says,

"There's something very sad about putting Christmas away.”

horse death poem two 

we go out to the barn 

with shovels and pick axes

and try to chip 

her frozen hind quarters 

free from the ice.

kneeling in snow 

and frozen manure.

The orange cat watches solemnly from the stall door.

A long, orange extension cord

is run from the house to power a small, purple hair dryer.

The man has not come.

horse death poem three

The next day a vet comes 

with a long silver needle 

and we stand around in the snow, 

talking about the small,

painted colt 

with the hole in her heart

Who -29 years ago- 

wasn’t supposed to make it

through the night

(Sorry tumblr fucked with the spacing and I am too late to fix it!!!)

[alykkat]

An Ultimate (But Not Definitive) Guide to Maximizing Comfort When Camping 

First things first – to me, "Glamping" is when you pay to camp at a prebuilt campsite or one that is set up for you. Yes, I know – I'm splitting hairs, but I'm very proud of the camping experience I've curated.

Secondly, if you're looking for another backpacking, minimalist camping guide, this is not it. I'm a comfort maximalist and proud of it.

And a disclaimer: links are affiliate links, and if you make a purchase, it'll send some monies my way.

Want to share this with somebody who isn't on Tumblr? No problem here's a public google document.

To help you contextualize the massive information dump you are about to receive, here is a pretty standard layout of our campsite.

Our base camp structures include your tent, shade structures, and your vehicle.

TENT:

The tent we use the most is a Coleman 8-person camping tent in the style of a "cabin" with a built-in closet (link), and we have considered upgrading to the newer version (link), but haven't yet. Note, this tent is not ideal for Burning Man – for the Burn, we use two instant weatherproof Coleman tents (link) with rainflies (link). The smaller tent is also the tent I'd use if I were camping alone.

SHADE STRUCTURES:

We have one 10x10 Coleman instant Canopy (link) with two sun walls (link) and one 13x13 Coleman Pop-Up Canopy (link).

OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE:

The stakes provided with your tent and easy-ups are very flimsy. I highly recommend getting 10-inch nails (link) with washers (link) for staking everything down. We got ours at Home Depot, along with a mallet (link) to hammer them into the ground.

TOOLS:

You can never have enough tarps. You want at least two heavy-duty 10x10 tarps (outside) and one 10x10 medium-duty tarp (inside the tent). We keep a plastic bin with quite a few tarps and always keep extras on hand. In addition to the mallet, you'll want to keep the following tools on hand:

Scissors

Multi-tool (link)

Camping multi-tool (or small hatchet)

Silicone cable ties (link) – they're reusable and have solved so many problems

Duct tape

Spring clamps

Carabiners

Work Gloves

Long handle lighter – seriously, don't fuck yourself with just a regular cigarette lighter.

LIVING ROOM:

Our living room boasts a two-seater (link) and three-seater (link) quick collapsible Kelty camping couches and an easy-to-pack-up coffee table. I cannot express how much this coffee table (link) improved our camping experience. When camping, you are always, and I mean always, looking for a usable surface.

We have an array of lighting from string lights, cable lights, personal carry lights, and this rechargeable work light (link) – this work light is a crowd favorite since you can point the panels up at the easy-up, illuminating the whole camping setup.

KITCHEN:

My favorite time of day when camping is early morning before the rest of the group is up – I start by making myself a fresh cup of coffee and preparing to make breakfast. Our kitchen setup is what our friends look forward to most when we organize camping trips.

There are so many options for a portable refrigerator, and we started with an entry-level one from Setpower (link) and an ECOFLOW portable power station (link). For extended camping trips, I recommend getting solar panels to charge it up during the day if you're going to keep a fridge running – especially in hot heat. Thankfully, electricity management is handled by my partner; this is an area that he is very precise about.

There isn't much need to write a verbose story to go along with the rest of our cooking gear, so without much fuss –

Coleman 2-burner propane stove top (link)

Braided hose adapter for a regular-size propane tank (link)

Propane tank – found at your local hardware stores

Cookware storage (link) – we changed from a plastic bin to this hanging bag that fits everything but cups and bowls.

A small plastic storage bin houses cups, bowls, and our single-cup drip coffee maker (link)

Biodegradable dish soap (link)

Collapsible buckets (link)

Kitchen table/counter (link)

Water storage (link)

Electric water spout (link) – it doesn't fit directly; we haven't found a reasonably priced one that fits, but you can DIY it with the provided water spout from the water containers -- we use tape.

Utensil sets (link) – It, unfortunately, comes with the travel boxes for each set. I put all of the sets in the cookware storage zip pouch and used these for various other projects.

INSIDE THE TENT:

On top of the tarp, we put an 8x10 living room rug as the next layer. This incredible layer completely changes the experience inside the tent, making it incredibly homey and comfortable even on rocky terrain.

Since the two-person cots have an annoying metal bar down the center, we push two Coleman cots (link) next to each other. For bedding, the first layer is two two-inch foam cushions, a queen-sized flat sheet, and our desired number of blankets and pillows.

We store most of our tools, camping lights (headlamps, flashlights, etc.), sunscreen, bug spray, wet wipes, & other miscellaneous items we need quick access to in an organizer box (link).

And one of the more silly comfort improvements that has been great for hanging coats, hats, headlamps, and keeping things off the floor – a coat rack (link).

NEXT-LEVEL COMFORT:

Electric shower head (link) – our friends laughed hard when I pulled this out of my box of tricks, but they certainly enjoyed using it. Pro-tip, save water and use the smaller attachment.

For winter, get a Buddy Heater (link) – they are safe to use inside the tent and have a tip-over safety feature.

Battery powered fans

House shoes – this should be self-explanatory, but being able to slip them on and move around the camp is just *chef's kiss*.

If I were a solo camper, I'd still have a lot of the same gear, but with a smaller tent. I'd make do with one shade structure and one couch, along with the coffee table. Don’t forget your standard items like extra batteries, trash bags, tent dust brush & broom, etc. For a wonderfully detailed getting started guide to camping check out this post by @flamingbluepanda --https://www.tumblr.com/flamingbluepanda/714785085620158464/how-to-camp-for-beginners

[pathfinderunlocked]

Trinexx - CR17 Dragon

Who will survive, the monster or the hero? Arise, three-headed Trinexx! Now... consume the hero!

Artwork by EricMHE on DeviantArt.

This creature is from The Legend of Zelda. You can tell because its name is so idiotic.

Trinexx is the boss of a volcanic dungeon called Turtle Rock in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Although it's an incredibly powerful monster (the second strongest creature in that game), all it can really do is walk around and use breath weapons. It has super high AOE damage output, but unlike Link, a party of high level Pathfinder characters can fly or manipulate the battlefield.

I recommend using this creature indoors, probably in a cave of some kind, to avoid the obvious high level solution of simply flying 200 feet up and shooting it until it's dead. But if your players are absolutely terrified of facing this thing head-on and instead just cast Widened Hungry Pit on it, well, that's Pathfinder.

It would make sense to have the linnorm heads rear back when using a breath weapon to get a wider area, and then lunge forward as a charge action when attacking. It doesn't provoke an AoO from doing this, and it helps make up for its somewhat low attack bonus.

A trinexx is essentially an oversized, unusually intelligent dragon turtle that's been magically fused with the heads of a tor linnorm and an ice linnorm. Some wizard probably thought that was a good idea. A typical speciment is 50 feet long, 30 feet wide, and weighs 80 tons. The top of its shell reaches 30 feet high, but the linnorm heads can reach an additional 15 feet above that.

The Legend of Zelda: An RPG to the Past has a bunch of additional Zelda content for Pathfinder 1e. I've also posted several other Zelda creatures in the past; just search for "zelda" on my blog using Tumblr's search tool.

Trinexx - CR 17

This long-tailed aquatic beast resembles a massive snapping turtle with draconic features. Emerging from two holes in its shell are long necks with dragon heads, one red and one blue.

XP 102,400 N Gargantuan dragon (aquatic) Init +2 Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft., scent, true seeing; Perception +24

DEFENSE

AC 36, touch 8, flat-footed 36 (-2 Dex, +32 natural, –4 size) hp 243 (18d12+126) Fort +19, Ref +9, Will +16 Defensive Abilities shell resistance DR 15/— Resist acid 10, electricity 10, sonic 10, force 10 Immune cold, fire, sleep, paralysis SR 28

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee bite +22 (4d6+11), 2 claws +21 (2d6+11) Space 20 ft., Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with bite) Special Attacks breath weapon, capsize, lunging head

STATISTICS

Str 32, Dex 6, Con 25, Int 16, Wis 20, Cha 26 Base Atk +18; CMB +33; CMD 41 (45 vs. trip) Feats Awesome Blow, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Appraise +26, Climb +23, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering) +24, Intimidate +29, Perception +26, Sense Motive +17, Spellcraft +24, Stealth -14 (-6 in water), Swim +40, Use Magic Device +29; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in water Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic, Ignan SQ amphibious, exploding shell, linnorm heads

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Breath Weapon (Su) Cloud of steam 20 feet high, 25 feet wide, and 50 feet long, once every 1d4 rounds, damage 12d6 fire, Reflex DC 26 half; effective both on the surface and underwater. The save DC is Constitution-based.

A trinexx can only use its breath weapon if both of its linnorm heads have been killed.

Capsize (Ex) A trinexx can attempt to capsize a boat or ship by ramming it as a charge attack and making a CMB check. The DC of this check is 25, or the result of the boat captain's Profession (sailor) check, whichever is higher. For each size category larger than the trinexx's size, it takes a cumulative –10 penalty on this CMB check.

Exploding Shell (Ex) At the start of its next turn after both of its linnorm heads are killed, a trinexx's shell explodes, dazing the trinexx for 1 round but dealing 10d6 bludgeoning and piercing damage in a 200 ft. radius burst. A DC 26 Reflex save halves the damage. Flying creatures damaged by this effect must also succeed on a Fly check with a DC equal to 5 + the damage dealt, or fall to the ground as the shell particles disrupt their flight. The save DC is Constitution-based.

After a trinexx's shell has exploded, its natural armor bonus is reduced by 16, and it loses its DR and energy resists. However, its base land speed increases to 60 ft., it gains a +16 bonus to Dexterity, it gains access to its breath weapon, and it gains Spring Attack and Charge Through as bonus feats.

If a trinexx's shell explodes, only a spell such as regenerate that grows back severed body parts can restore it.

Linnorm Heads (Ex) A trinexx has two linnorm heads attached to its body, which act as separate creatures on their own initiative, despite being parts of its body.  The linnorm heads must remain adjacent to the trinexx, and move with the trinexx if it moves.  They cannot be forcibly moved away from the trinexx.

If a trinexx's linnorm heads are killed, only a spell such as regenerate that grows back severed body parts can restore them.

Lunging Head (Ex) Once every 1d4 rounds, as a standard action, a trinexx can greatly extend its neck to make a single bite attack with a reach of 60 feet instead of the normal reach of 15 feet. This counts as an attack action, and can be used with the Cleave feat.

Shell Resistance (Su) Once per day, when a trinexx fails a spell resistance roll, it can choose to succeed instead. After it does so, it loses its SR and takes a -4 penalty to AC until it rests and regains its use of this ability.

Trinexx's Red Linnorm Head

N Large dragon (fire) Init +6 Senses uses trinexx's senses

DEFENSE

AC 29, touch 17, flat-footed 21 (+8 Dex, +12 natural, –1 size) hp 90 (12d12+12) Fort +9, Ref +14, Will +13 Immune curse effects, fire, sleep, paralysis Weaknesses stunned by cold, vulnerability to cold

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee bite +22 (1d8+16) Space 10 ft., Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon, death curse

STATISTICS

Str 32, Dex 22, Con 12, Int —, Wis —, Cha — Base Atk +12; CMB +24; CMD 36 (cannot be tripped) SQ amphibious, trinexx's heads

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Breath Weapon (Su) As a standard action, a trinexx's red linnorm head can breathe fire in a 90 ft. cone, dealing 10d6 fire damage and setting creatures and objects in the area on fire (dealing 1d6 fire damage per round until the target extinguishes itself). A DC 21 Reflex save halves the damage and negates being set on fire. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus. After using this breath weapon, a trinexx's red linnorm head cannot use it again on the following round.

A trinexx's red linnorm head and blue linnorm head cannot use their breath weapons on the same round as each other.

Careful Movement (Ex) When a trinexx's red linnorm head moves on its turn, it does not provoke attacks of opportunity. It still provokes attacks of opportunity when it is moved automatically by the trinexx's movement.

Death Curse (Su) When a creature slays a trinexx's red linnorm head, the slayer is affected by the curse of the red linnorm head. Curse of the Red Linnorm Head: save Will DC 24; effect creature's AC, CMD, and saving throws are reduced by 4 against the trinexx and its blue linnorm head. This effect is permanent, but ends if the trinexx dies. The save DC is based on the trinexx's Charisma.

Linked Mind (Ex) A trinexx's red linnorm head has no Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score of its own.  It uses the trinexx's mental ability scores to determine these statistics. It cannot use any mental skill, even Perception; the trinexx makes these checks instead and controls the red linnorm head directly.

Stunned By Cold (Ex) Any time a trinexx's red linnorm head takes at least 20 points of cold damage in a single hit, it must succeed on a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. The DC of this save is equal to half the cold damage dealt.

Trinexx's Heads (Ex) A trinexx has two linnorm heads attached to its body, which act as separate creatures on their own initiative, despite being parts of its body.  The linnorm heads must remain adjacent to the trinexx, and move with the trinexx if it moves.  They cannot be forcibly moved away from the trinexx.

If a trinexx's linnorm heads are killed, only a spell such as regenerate that grows back severed body parts can restore them.

Uses Trinexx's Senses (Ex) A trinexx's red linnorm head has no senses of its own; the trinexx uses its senses and controls the red linnorm head directly.

Trinexx's Blue Linnorm Head

N Large dragon (cold) Init +6 Senses uses trinexx's senses

DEFENSE

AC 29, touch 17, flat-footed 21 (+8 Dex, +12 natural, –1 size) hp 90 (12d12+12) Fort +9, Ref +14, Will +13 Immune cold, curse effects, sleep, paralysis Weaknesses stunned by fire, vulnerability to fire

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee bite +22 (1d8+16) Space 10 ft., Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon, death curse

STATISTICS

Str 32, Dex 27, Con 12, Int —, Wis —, Cha — Base Atk +12; CMB +24; CMD 36 (cannot be tripped) SQ amphibious, trinexx's heads

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Breath Weapon (Su) As a standard action, a trinexx's blue linnorm head can breathe ice in a 90 ft. cone, dealing 10d6 cold damage, extinguishing fires in the area, and coating the ground with slippery ice which causes creatures in the area to fall prone. A DC 21 Reflex save halves the damage and negates falling prone. The area is coated with ice for 1 minute; this functions as the ice slick spell. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus. After using this breath weapon, a trinexx's blue linnorm head cannot use it again on the following round.

A trinexx's red linnorm head and blue linnorm head cannot use their breath weapons on the same round as each other.

Careful Movement (Ex) When a trinexx's blue linnorm head moves on its turn, it does not provoke attacks of opportunity. It still provokes attacks of opportunity when it is moved automatically by the trinexx's movement.

Death Curse (Su) When a creature slays a trinexx's blue linnorm head, the slayer is affected by the curse of the blue linnorm head. Curse of the Blue Linnorm Head: save Will DC 24; effect creature's AC, CMD, and saving throws are reduced by 4 against the trinexx and its red linnorm head. This effect is permanent, but ends if the trinexx dies. The save DC is based on the trinexx's Charisma.

Linked Mind (Ex) A trinexx's blue linnorm head has no Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score of its own.  It uses the trinexx's mental ability scores to determine these statistics. It cannot use any mental skill, even Perception; the trinexx makes these checks instead and controls the blue linnorm head directly.

Stunned By Fire (Ex) Any time a trinexx's blue linnorm head takes at least 20 points of fire damage in a single hit, it must succeed on a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. The DC of this save is equal to half the fire damage dealt.

Trinexx's Heads (Ex) A trinexx has two linnorm heads attached to its body, which act as separate creatures on their own initiative, despite being parts of its body.  The linnorm heads must remain adjacent to the trinexx, and move with the trinexx if it moves.  They cannot be forcibly moved away from the trinexx.

If a trinexx's linnorm heads are killed, only a spell such as regenerate that grows back severed body parts can restore them.

Uses Trinexx's Senses (Ex) A trinexx's blue linnorm head has no senses of its own; the trinexx uses its senses and controls the blue linnorm head directly.