#I want a slightly large sample size

[itsalongwaytotipperary]

#reblog please maybe #I want a slightly large sample size #i need to know what the people say

[njmcvlt]

first vacation together || suh johnny

bf!johnny x reader

wc: 1330

cw: slightly suggestive

an: this was originally written with [redacted] member in mind but i skimmed through and made some quick edits, so apologies if i missed something.

Today was finally the day! You gathered all of your bags and made your way out the apartment door after getting a text from your boyfriend Johnny. This would be the first time you see each other in a month. Not only would you two be seeing each other, but you were going on vacation together for the first time.

Johnny had been extremely busy preparing for 127's comeback. It made him sad that he wasn't able to see you much so he decided to plan a week long getaway for the two of you. You offered to help him plan but he denied it so this whole trip would be a surprise to you. You walked out the front door and was greeted by the 6-foot tall man you called your boyfriend.

“My Love!! I've missed you so much,” he said pulling you into a big hug and kissing your forehead. “Hi baby! I missed you too,” you said grinning wide like a child. Once settled in the car you couldn't help but bombard Johnny with questions about where you were going. He giggled at you enthusiasm “You'll find out as soon as we get there.” You both arrived at the train station and boarded the train. You were so excited about the trip you couldn't keep still, bouncing in your seat. Johnny couldn't help but smile at his adorable partner.

4 hours later you arrived at the destination. Stepping off the train you breathed in the salty air of the seaside city of Busan. You were beyond excited, this was your first time outside of Seoul since moving to Korea. What made it even better was that you'd get to experience it with the love of you life. “Soo... what do you think?” Johnny asked nervously. “I love it! You remembered, I've always wanted to come here.” You smiled up at him and grabbed onto his hand. The two of you left the station hand in hand, walking through the city to your hotel.

At the hotel, Johnny opened the door to your room. You gasped at its large size then immediately ran over to the window to admire the view of the city below. Your room was on the top floor of the hotel which made it perfect to look over top of the buildings. It was starting to get darker outside and the lights on the buildings began to sparkle. Walking over to you and placing his arm around your waist, he turns you to face the bed. “Did you see the size of the bed?” he said with a smirk on his face, implying some naughty activities you two would be getting into later. “Johnnyyy”, you said whining and playfully smacking his arm. He let out a little chuckle. “Come on now, let's go before we're late for our dinner reservation.”

Once at the restaurant, the front desk host leads you through the restaurant to your table right on the water. It was perfect, just like a scene in a movie. Johnny was somehow able to reserve the entire patio juts for the two of you. The table was lit by candlelight and all that could be heard was the sound of crashing waves. Johnny held your hand from across the table, admiring your beauty in the candlelight and you both sat in silence, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. The food was amazing, as expected, and you shared a little cake for dessert. After dinner you two decided to walk around the city a bit and stumbled across a street market. You thought it would be the perfect place to find souvenirs for yourself and friends back in Seoul. Johnny walked past a small jewelry stall and saw a matching ring set that caught his eye. It was perfect, just your style. He thought it would be the perfect gift to remember this trip so he bought it, becoming giddy at the thought of how much you'll love it. You both continued to walk through the market, looking at the trinkets in all of the stalls and trying food sample. After buying a few souvenirs you made your way back to the hotel with arms linked together.

Suddenly Johnny pulls you aside to sit on a nearby bench and gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. He looks a bit nervous after pulling away and you take notice. “What's wrong baby, is everything okay?” He forms a light smile not wanting to worry you any further, “You know I love you so much. I just want to make this trip special. I feel so bad about not being able to spend time with you. My job takes up so much of my time, I don't want you to think I'm ignoring you. I just want this to be perfect.” You gently place your hand on top of his for reassurance. “It's okay baby. I understand that your job is very time consuming but you love what you do. That's one of my favorites things about you, you're so passionate. Just know I will always be there waiting for you and cheering you on,” you said placing a kiss on his cheek. Johnny smiled at your words and started to pull out a small box from his pocket. “I have something for you,” he said placing the ring on your finger. Tears began to form in your eyes at how sweet he was. “Thank you so much. I love it!” you said giving him a quick kiss. “It's starting to get cold, let’s hurry and head back,” he said drawing his jacket over your shoulders. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and you rested your head on his arm, walking back to the hotel in silence, just enjoying the moment.

Over the next few days you enjoyed all of the attractions Busan had to offer. You guys went to the beach, explored the city, visited local temples, and rode in the sky canals. You were having such a fun time you didn't want it to end. On the last day of your trip Johnny wakes up and stretches his arms above his head and looks down to smile at your sleeping figure next to him. He gently gets out of bed trying not to wake you and steps over to the window to open the curtains. To his surprise it was dark and gloomy outside and rain started to drizzle. Visibly upset he thought “it wasn't supposed to rain at all this week. This was supposed to be their perfect vacation. I hope they're not to upset.” Lost in thought, he was startled by your voice. “Good Morning baby! What's wrong.” “It's raining today. Our plans are ruined.” He said sitting down on the edge of the bed and placing his head in his hands. “Let's just have a lazy day!” you said, “We can just lay in bed, cuddle, watch movies, and order room service.” Happy to see that you weren't upset, he tackles you down on the bed and covers you in kisses. ”Let's do it!” You both crawl back in bed and snuggle into each other. While you pick something to watch on Netflix, Johnny is busy ordering breakfast to be delivered to your room. For the next few hours you two would be comfortable in each others embrace.

”Hey look baby, the rain stopped. Did you want to go out?” You were enjoying the quiet time you were spending with Johnny. It had been so long since the two of you got to relax like this. You didn't want it to end. “Can we just stay like this?” you spoke softly. “Of course we can princess.” He said placing a kiss on your forehead. You wrapped your arms around Johnny’s bare torso and snuggled closer to him.

”Thank you for the vacation baby. I had a really good time. I love you.” you said smiling before slowly drifting off to sleep.

#nct #nct 127 #nct imagines #nct 127 imagines #nct fic #nct scenarios #nct fluff #nct johnny #nct 127 johnny #johnny suh #njmcvlt

[wafflepatterns]

Meet new sewing pattern <Kaede> Utility apron / Tool belt

A new item is just released from Waffle Patterns. Meet Utility apron / Tool belt <Kaede> sewing pattern. You can choose a bib apron type or tool belt with many useful pockets and functional parts!

Please freely mix and combine the design options as you like and make functional gear for sewists, gardeners, carpenters, makeup artists, florists, or all cool creative workers!

<Design options>

View A is an apron type with a bib and the apron is slightly longer than View B. The bib pocket has a layer and pen holder. There is a large layered pocket on the center of the apron and useful cargo pockets, zipper pockets, and hanger loops are on the side parts.

View B is a tool belt type with belt loops, and slightly shorter than View A. The center pocket has one more layer for the artist tool pocket where we can store brushes, seam rippers, or any other stick-shaped equipment. It features belt loops&belt. you can make a belt for this or use a belt you already have. Also, it can be changed to View A type of belt.

My personal favourite is the detachable tool pocket. If you want to make this, please attach the hunger loop or belt loops/belt for attaching it.

Please mix and match the options for your design intention and materials.

<fabric recommendation>

The pattern is drafted for woven fabrics. Mid-heavy weight durable fabrics like duck, twill, denim, linen, or canvas will be suitable.

Some very thick/stiff fabrics might not be suitable for details like double folded edge or flap etc, because of the thickness of fabric layers. Please consider proper finishes for your material or try to use a contrast fabric for some parts.

I partly used folded nylon tape instead of the double folded pocket opening edges on the sample. Depending on the fabric, maybe this is a good option for the hem, too. Also, I used a contrast fabric for the facing on the gray sample and skip interfacing on some parts, because the shell is quite stiff.

The salmon pink sample was made with mid-weight cotton duck, I made other workwear series with this like Anzu or Azuki. I bought it at local traveling fabric market years ago. Since the construction is like chambray or dungaree, similar fabrics may be found in coloured denim section.

The gray sample is a teflon-coated outdoor fabric. It’s a bit stiff for clothing but perfect for this item. This fabric is also from my local fabric market years ago.

I want to make another one with oil clothes, raw denim or nylon ripstop if I can find nice fabric.

<Other material>

The samples are using durable webbing tape for the belt and neck straps etc. Those tapes and parts like adjusters are sometimes found in bag making material section at stores. If you cannot find perfect materials, make the tape from a shell or contrast fabric of the same width.

<Size>

3 sizes XS/S, M/L, and XL/XXL are available. As for choosing your size, I recommend referring to the finishing measurement, too. I think some people like to use a tool belt of a smaller size. In that case, please choose a smaller size, then adjust the length of the belt and neck strap to fit your body. If you use the apron over jackets or outers, a larger size will be the option. Since the pattern is quite flat, those are suitable for men, too. The length might be too short. If you want to lengthen, off-setting the hem is the easiest way.

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The sewing pattern includes 15 pages of instructions and all the sewing processes are described with detailed illustrations. The pattern files are available for both home printers (A4 or US letter) and copyshop(A0/A1 format).

You can check other photos of this model on my Flickr page.

The Utility apron / Tool belt -Kaede- (size XS - XXL) PDF sewing pattern is available here. Also in the Etsy shop.

Special discount price until 12th Sep 2022 (CEST) with other popular patterns. No discount code is needed! The sale page is here.

*****  Special offer +12EUR for Paper pattern and free shipping Paper pattern + PDF option is available with plus 12EUR. Shipping worldwide. But please note that, in the current situation, all the shipments are affected by the measure of COVID-19. There might be some shipping delays or accidents. *The paper includes only the pattern, please print out the instruction by yourself or read it with your tablet or PC.  The PDF + Paper listing page is here.

*In the sale period, the shipping of the paper pattern starts 13th Sep 2022.

Enjoy your sewing!

(Japanese post here 日本語ポストはこちら).

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

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#wafflepatterns #sewing #sewing patterns #DIY fashion #other tips #other tip #tool apron #utility apron #tool belt

[imagineanime2022]

Your Beautiful

Ayame Sohma X Reader

Word Count: 1744

Requested: @twilightlover2007

Request: I'd love to see Ayame with a plus size bookwormish girlfriend who is a little (or a lot) self conscious about what she wears and Aya will have NONE of that. Perhaps he designs a dress just for her to surprise her and make her see herself as he does. Please and thank you!!

Ayame had known you since you were in school, you never really crossed paths though, considering his more popular status and your more quiet disconnection from the popular scene. Ayame had always wanted to talk to you but never found the right time, everytime he shared a room with you people flocked to him and all he could do was watch you from afar. When you did talk to someone your eyes cast down to the floor and voice softer than silk. He watched you from afar as it seemed to blossom in your own environment, only catching his eye every now and again, eyes flitting back to the floor or book you were holding when you realised that he was looking right back at you.

Ayame remembered the first time that he was alone with you, you had both been paired for a project, you knowledge on the subject was immense and while you claimed that it only came from the books that you read, the fact that you had finished a book impressed him all the same, especially since at that age you wouldn’t find him sitting still for anyone. This was also the first time that he got an inkling for the way that you felt about yourself, he had at first assumed that you just didn’t like the uniform which was why you seemed so uncomfortable in it, and in most ways he was right. When you weren’t dressed in your uniform there was not that was shown off to the world, you covered your body in baggy clothes he assumed to hide it, though he never asked. Now he thought that those clothes were cute, he loved coming over to work on the project to see you curled up in the large oversized jumper, legging clad legs tucked under you and out of sight but he did look forward to the school days as well, those were the days that he could really appreciate the figure that you hide so often,

After leaving school he lost contact with you for a long while, that is until he opened his shop, he was looking for a supplier of fabrics and stumbled across your small business, he recognised you immediately if not for your appearance but the book tucked under your arm and the way that your eyes flitted to the floor the same as when you were both kids. “Still have trouble looking people in the eye it seems.” He joked, your eyes widened as you looked up at him. “You remember me?” You asked. “Of course, we’ve not been out of school that long, and he had almost every class together.” He reminded you. “Well no but, I’m no one important-” “Nonsense dear, you are just as important as the next person, not to mention you’ll be the one providing the materials I need for my shop… Can I count on you for that?” He asked. “O-of course.” You nodded. “Perfect.” He smiled softly “now could I trouble you to run me through what you have available at the moment?” “It’s no trouble.” You informed him as you ushered him through the shops going through everything that you had, what was easier to get and what was a little harder to acquire given your location, Ayame need anything further he pitched a partnership to get both your businesses off the ground, you accepted much to his excitement and that was where you found yourself now.

You made your way into his shop sample tiles stowed away in a small bag, he had informed you that he was working on a new project and all he needed was for you to bring over your favourite materials, you walked in at the same time as some other customers, one of them barging passed you to get to the counter, you stumbled slightly clutching the sample squares to your chest as you tried to balance yourself “Move.” She ordered. “S-sorry.” You mumbled stepping out of her way, falling back into an old habit of looking at the floor. “Why would you be here, it’s not like you could wear anything that Ayame makes.” The girl sneered as her eyes snagged on the sample squares assuming you were a customer. “S-sorry I’ll just-” “Now what is it that you are apologising for my sweet dove?” You jumped at the sound of Ayame as he stood behind you, when you didn’t say anything you felt him lean down “I’m talking to you dear.” You gave a small embarrassed squeak at the proximity before stuttering out an answer. “I-I, they are your customers you should see to them.” You finally managed to say, he looked at the girls and waved her away. “She’s no customer of mine.” Ayame answered. “You can’t-” “I won’t have you supplying materials for someone who treats you this way and I won’t be sourcing my materials anywhere else.” He explained. “Ayame you can’t-” “I can.” He answered firmly, the group looked at him in shock before being escorted out of the shop. “Ayame, they were paying customers, you can’t do that!” You scolded him, he just smiled down at you. “I own this shop, I can do what I want. I have enough paying customers to turn away those who don’t deserve my service.” He waved you off, dragging you towards the back room gesturing for you to sit on the sofa. “So show me what you’ve brought.” “I brought a couple of options, you know since you didn’t really give me any direction, who is the client this time anyway?” You asked. “That doesn’t matter, she has very similar taste to you, I think that she will love whatever you choose, so of these three which do you like the most?” He asked. You looked at the three samples that you had picked out, one subtle in design and colour, another a little more chaotic but still softly coloured and the last calmer in design but the colours were a little more flashy, you pointed to your favourite one and he nodded as he held it up. “I like this, this will work.” “Are you going to show me what you are working on?” You asked, he smiled and shook his head. “You will see it when it’s finished.” He promised “Now that the business is out of the way, how are you?” He changed the subject, stirring away from work and into more casual conversation.

It was a couple months later Ayame rushed into your shop, you had been restocking the shelves after an eventful first half to the day, you turned expecting a customer and some ways you weren’t wrong but when you looked at him you knew that there was something wrong. “Ayame are you okay? What’s wrong?” You asked, he reached behind him turning the sign on your door to ‘closed’ before pulling you into the back room, it was then that you realised that he was holding something. “Ayame?” “(Y/N).” He said as he turned to look at you, you frowned when you noticed the tears gathering in his eyes. “Your acting weird what’s-” You were cut off by him pulling you into a tight hug, it almost felt like he had been waiting years to do this but that couldn’t have been true, there was nothing stopping him from doing it years ago if that was what he wanted. “Ayame?” “I’ve waited so long to do that.” He admitted and that caused you to truly frown. “I don’t understand.” You decided that admitting it would be easier than trying to figure it out on your own. “I know, I’m sorry but just know that I’ve wanted to do this for years.” He said into your shoulder before finally letting you go, “I have something to give you.” “Give me?” You asked. “Mmm.” He hummed holding up the bag that he had walked in with, you took it from him and looked inside, you recognised the material as the sample that you had picked out months ago. “I thought this was for a client. Why are you giving it to me… Did they not like it?” You asked. “Take it out.” He prompted, you lifted the absolutely stunning clothing set out of the bag. The top was form fitting and the bottom to go with it would sit snugly on your hips and shoe off the shaping of your legs perfectly. “Do you like it?” “It's a beautiful set.” You answered. “Then they liked it, will you try it on for me?” He asked. “T-try it on?” You asked. “I know that you are going to look ravishing.” He said holding the set in front of your body as he rested his chin on your shoulder. “Even if you only ever wear it for me, know that you are safe to wear whatever you want and try whatever you want, I just want to see you.” “It won’t be as exciting as you think, I’m not like the other girls.” You answered and he shook his head. “I don’t want you to be like the others, I want you to be comfortable, I want to show you that are beautiful and you always have been whether you dressed down for a days work-” he pulled the outfit away from you to show you the outfit you were wearing “-or dressed up.” He offered you the outfit again and you took his from his hand walking to the bathroom to get changed. You cleared your throat when you walked out causing him to look over at you, the smile that split his face was genuine as he held up his phone snapping a picture before turning it to show you. “That’s me?” It sounded like a question even to you. “That’s you and you are beautiful.” He said softly, hugging you again “please give me the chance to prove it to you.” “You are doing a great job so far.” You smiled. “I’m far from done my dear.” He promised pressing a kiss to your cheek, he knew that he wasn’t going to change you overnight, you could tell by the way that he looked at you, he was proud of you for even putting the new outfit on and it was then that you decided that you would be happy seeing that look for the rest of you life, if he’d allow it.

Request Here!!

#fruit basket oneshot #fruit basket x reader #fruit basket imagine #fruits basket #ayame sohma #ayame sohma imagine #ayame sohma oneshot #imagine #oneshot #one shot #reader insert #x reader

[thebawdybaldurian]

Tavhalstarion Pregnancy Drabbles: The Breeding!

A day of sketching leads to a vigorous, inverted lovemaking session, where Halsin’s excited knot seals a new chapter in their lives.

Content and Warnings: Breeding, oral sex, fingering, face sitting, PIV sex, threesome, knotting, cum mixing.

Previous drabbles:

Astarion and Tav finding out Halsin Finding Out The Birth

As she finished up her latest sketch, Halsin let his head bow slightly, finding Tav’s gaze as he kissed Astarion’s shoulder. He’d seen her idle hand stroking her thigh more regularly as she sketched their posed figures and her breath had quickened a little. He knew she would soon have need of them. She smiled and nodded as his hands creeped down from Astarion’s waist, edging closer to his cock.

“Are we changing poses again?” Astarion asked as Halsin’s body continued to shift against him, stirring at his touch.

“I think she wants to see something more intimate now,” Halsin brushed his fingers just above the base of Astarion’s cock.

Astarion’s gaze flicked to Tav and saw she’d already pulled her skirt up a little. He let out a hissing sigh as Halsin’s fingers began to tease along his shaft. “You naughty little thing…Show me how wet you are,” Astarion requested.

She grinned and uncrossed her legs, spreading them wide and revealing a large, damp spot on her underpants. Despite their fairly innocent, but nude poses, she’d felt herself flowing throughout her sketching, the size contrast of their beautiful bodies making her stir. “You’re getting better with your self-control, my love,” he bit into his lip as Halsin cupped his balls. “How long have you been throbbing?”

“Since the first sketch,” she sunk back in her chair a little, pulling her panties to the side to show them the full extent. Both men made pleased noises in their throats.

“Would you like to join us or keep watching for a bit?” Halsin asked, sinking to his knees to tongue Astarion’s asshole.

“Watch for a bit longer,” she moaned, finally letting her fingers brush across her engorged lips.

She watched intently as Halsin hungrily ate Astarion’s ass and they both stroked themselves hard. Halsin eventually worked his way around to get his lips around Astarion’s cock. “Yeah,” she hissed, slipping a few fingers inside herself as her husband’s cock slipped into their lover’s throat.

“Come here,” Astarion moaned, gripping a tight handful of Halsin’s hair.

She obeyed, setting her art supplies down and slipping her dress off. Her panties hit the floor with a wet thump. She prowled to Astarion and kissed him with a hungry tongue, letting her fingers brush into Halsin’s hair too. “How does his throat feel?” she teased her tongue out, begging Astarion’s lips to engulf it.

“Incredible,” he sucked her tongue slowly, letting a finger drift between her ass checks. “But better if you added your mouth too.”

“Greedy,” she growled, but sunk to her knees beside Halsin.

He freed Astarion’s cock for a moment to kiss her and then they shared his shaft for a long tease. Halsin’s mouth then found its way back to her, lingering for a moment at her nipples before he lay down so he could sample his favorite honey. They shifted so she could straddle his face and still access her husband’s cock. Halsin suckled her clit clean, taking every ounce of honey that had been waiting for him.

Tav stared up at Astarion as she came quickly, her hand pulsing around his cock as her muscles did. “Let me have a taste now,” he smiled down at her. He pulled her up to standing, spinning her around and bending her back over slightly. He took a firm grip on her hips and buried his face between her legs, not needing to come up for air for even a moment. Halsin had gotten back up off the floor, seeing her mouth was hungry for his cock. She sucked him vigorously as Astarion continued to tongue her. “I need your cock too,” Tav finally whimpered, wanting to be skewered at both ends.

Astarion was more than happy to oblige, teasing his pre-cum slicked head against her before sliding it in. She moaned loudly, the sound muffled by Halsin’s cock.

They sandwiched her between them, their hands pushing and pulling her body back and forth in a slow rhythm. As Astarion began to fuck her harder, she huffed and stroked Halsin’s cock, demanding that both men needed to cum inside her. She slowly eased her hands down to the floor as she lifted her legs up, allowing Astarion full control of her hips. Astarion pounded her hard, Halsin watching the show and patiently stroking himself, waiting for his turn. He loved seeing her fucked in such unusual positions and felt his cock growing a little extra. Astarion grunted and groaned as he came inside her, able to guide her hips just how he needed. “Mmmm thank you, my love,” Tav sighed breathlessly, her face red from being inverted.

Astarion carefully relented his spot to Halsin, shifting his grip on her hips to the Druid’s hands. “I will be quick, my heart,” Halsin eased inside her, his cock meeting the cum that was still stored within. Not a drop had leaked out during their handoff. It made her even more slick, allowing his thick shaft to easily slide around at a frantic pace. She whimpered and moaned loudly as he fucked her even harder than Astarion had, the pale elf taking her chair to enjoy the rest of the show. She could barely keep her hands on the floor, gripping her fingers hard into the rug to hang on. “Oh Gods,” Halsin squeezed his eyes shut, his cock so engorged that he felt an involuntary knot bulging out of the base of his cock. He sunk into her with one final hard thrust, his seed joining Astarion’s in the swirling mess of her womb. His knot locked just inside her, sealing their mixture in for the foreseeable future.

“Oh no,” Tav gasped, barely able to catch her breath. She too felt the same familiar pressure at her entrance, knowing they would be tied together unexpectedly. Astarion had yet to be privy to it, so she was unsure how he would react.

“Problem, my love?” Astarion got up from his chair as Halsin carefully eased her completely down to the floor, his hips still glued against her ass.

“Halsin…perhaps you can better explain it,” she blushed deeply, lying prone and exhausted on the floor. The Druid’s cheeks were also heavily blushed.

“I have this…thing…when I get very excited…it…engorges and…locks me inside her…until the excitement ebbs away…” Halsin shifted to show Astarion the swelled bulb of flesh at the base of his cock.

“Oh…” Astarion grinned, letting out one of his boisterous laughs. “I’m sorry…it’s not funny…well it kind of is…but it is also kind of hot…You just stay…stuck inside her? For how long?”

“I think it was nearly an hour…last time,” Halsin blushed even deeper, remembering their last hunt fondly.

“Because you couldn’t stop playing with my clit,” she grinned, her face languid and glowing.

“The pulses of her cunt just make things tighter,” Halsin explained, tempted to give her one more climax so he could stay in her that much longer.

“I see…” Astarion grinned deviously, helping Halsin roll them both on their sides so they could rest a little more comfortably. He grabbed the pillows off the reading chairs so they could prop their heads off the floor and then snuggled on the opposite side of Tav. “So we could just…keep making her cum…she couldn’t get away…”

“Don’t you dare,” she grinned widely. Astarion shared a nod with Halsin, who slipped his thick fingers around her hip and began to circle her clit slowly. “Damn you both,” she whimpered as Astarion set his mouth to her breasts.

They took turns teasing and stimulating her four more times, each clench of her cunt milking more of Halsin’s seed into her. Her last, whimpering squeal meant she could take no more, so they finally relented. They snuggled close on the floor, using the sheet of fabric they’d used for a few of the draped sketches to keep them covered.

They fell into their trances, all of them sharing the same strange, interconnected dream of watching fish spawning upstream. A silver and a brown trout both battled against the rushing flow of water, jostling against one another to see who could crest first. Another large brown one came speeding along, unintentionally catapulting them both up into the calm pool above. “What a strange dream,” Tav stirred for a moment after their achievement, trying to double check that she’d taken her moon blood tincture that month. She couldn’t see the shelf where she kept them, but was almost certain she had and nestled back between her two lovers, feeling Halsin’s knot slowly starting to ease.

#astarion x tav #tavstarion #astarion #astarion ancunin #halsin #halsin x tav #tavhalstarion

[gaycrouton]

Oversized Scrubs

season three | slight hurt/comfort | protective mulder | 1.8k | ao3

Black lace. A pink bow. Some sheer thing that haunted his dreams. He never meant to see any of it, he looked away as soon as his brain caught up to his eyes. It just sometimes took longer than he was proud of because of the southern redirection of his blood flow.

It was just something he’d gotten used to over the past few years of working with her. If Scully was doing an autopsy, chances were, he’d accidentally get a clear shot down her shirt.

The first time it happened, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes. It was like his mind was treating the creamy, pale expanse of Scully’s torso like a Rorschach test. Scully’s clothes were usually baggier, at least her suit jackets were, but for some reason, more often than not, the small woman wore scrubs that were several sizes too large for her frame. This meant the neckline would fall away from her torso if she bent down even slightly, and since he towered over her, he was always in the line of sight.

Mulder never said anything because it felt inappropriate to bring up. He knew the autopsies physically took a toll on her without making her feel like she needed to modify her posture so her pervy partner would stop looking at her breasts.

Only, that was just it. While he’d have the decency to look away, he’d often turn his head to find the local medical examiners making a similar discovery before suddenly paying a lot more attention to her than they previously had been.

Sometimes they smirked at him like getting a free peek at the unsuspecting medical doctor was an inside joke, and it made his blood boil. 

Much like it was right now.

He didn’t particularly like Officer Gonzalez to begin with, the man seemingly couldn’t differentiate confidence and arrogance and made it everyone else’s problem. Mulder hadn’t expected him to come to the autopsy bay, but apparently, the man wanted to treat the victim’s body like a carnival attraction. Mulder hadn’t been paying attention to what he was saying, but he noticed when the constant hum of the background noise came to a halt. 

When he glanced over to see if Gonzalez had left, he saw a sleazy grin had been what sealed his mouth shut. The man looked like he was trying to raise himself up on the balls of his feet, and it became painfully obvious to Mulder why that was when he glanced at Scully who was currently bent over the body as she collected debris samples.

Deep purple satin.

He immediately pulled his attention up towards her face and saw she was completely none-the-wiser to the fact Gonzalez was treating her job proficiency like a strip tease.

“I thought you were going to canvas the area for more bodies?” Mulder stated firmly, stepping in front of the officer to effectively block Scully from his line of sight.

Gonzalez smirked at him, and Mulder knew he was only chagrined because he thought he’d stepped on Mulder’s toes. “Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he replied, the real meaning of his words causing Mulder’s jaw to clench.

He stood there for a minute until he couldn’t hear the departing officer’s footsteps, but the sound of Scully’s murmured voice caused him to turn back around. “I thought he’d never leave.”

She was still hunched over, and he was still avoiding looking at the valley of her torso. A familiar weight settled uncomfortably in his chest, and he felt like a prick for not mentioning it to her sooner. Over three years of working together, there had to have been at least a couple dozen people who had leered at her without her knowing because he was too chickenshit to say anything.

“Hey Scully,” he stated, walking towards the other side of the table.

“Hm?” she hummed in reply. She glanced up when he didn’t answer, and, upon seeing the look on his face, stood up straight. “What’s wrong?”

“Um,” he sighed, stopping when he caught sight of the tape recorder hanging down from the ceiling between them. “Could you turn that thing off for a second?” he asked, gesturing to the tape recorder.

She gave him a look, but complied nonetheless. “Is something wrong?”

“Well,” he paused. Knowing he had to have this conversation didn’t help him when it came to figuring out what to say. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way.”

She cocked an eyebrow and continued to stare him down. “Then say what you mean.”

“Why are your scrubs always so big on you?” he asked.

“Because most of the places we go only have scrubs for men,” she replied, compiling his guilt. “Why do you ask?”

He bit his cheek and rubbed his chin. “I just wanted to let you know that… sometimes, when you bend over… it’s easy to see down your shirt.”

There was a moment of silence that made his balls rescind into his body in fear. “I wasn’t trying to look, it’s just-“

“I’m constantly bent over during an autopsy,” she finished flatly.

“I just thought you might want to know,” he replied, looking towards the door where Gonzalez had just exited.

When he turned around, he saw her attention had followed his and her eyes snapped back with a look of understanding. “Is that why you, in so many words, told him to get lost?”

“I also thought his cologne smelled bad,” he joked lamely. Scully looked down at herself, as if really assessing her scrubs for the first time. The collar of the shirt was so big that it effortlessly exposed her collarbones; no matter how she shifted or adjusted, the shirt dwarfed her. His gaze flickered down and he noticed a small protrusion on her hip and the way her pants legs were rolled up a few times. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were having a hard time getting scrubs in your size? I could have told the morgues to have some ready for you before we fly out,” he asked.

“Mulder, you know most of the autopsies I do are spur of the moment,” she sighed. “And while that’s a sweet gesture, I already have to deal with their surprise at seeing a female pathologist. I don’t want to deal with their frustration at being requested to accommodate me.”

“I could always-“

“Is it really that bad?” she interrupted with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’m just tall, so, uh, yeah,” he stammered awkwardly. “You don’t even have to bend over very far for it to gape.” 

Her lips pursed to one corner of her mouth as she let her head fall back in defeat. “Did someone say something to you?” she asked, her tone pitching up slightly like it did on the rare occasion she got embarrassed.

That wasn’t what he’d meant to do, and the guilty knot of pressure in his chest was beginning to creep up his throat. It was now obvious to him the large scrubs were a subtle sign she wasn’t invited into the space she had a right to, that it already was uncomfortable for her, and now he’d gone and made her self-conscious.

“I’ve caught a few guys staring,” he admitted softly. “I should’ve mentioned it earlier, I just,” he paused, taking a deep breath before exhaling, “so much time has passed that I didn’t want you to think I hadn’t said anything because I was ogling you.”

“You weren’t?” she asked. The soft inflection of her question made his eyes widen before he saw the smirk on her face. 

“You already have one potential sexual harassment complaint you could file against me from when you found all those videos in the cabinet,” he teased back.

“I would never file a complaint for that. You were just being such a good friend for holding onto Frohike’s collection for him,” she deadpanned.

Mulder openly chuckled at that, and Scully looked pretty proud of herself for it. He was relieved they were able to diffuse the tension with humor, but he knew he’d unleashed something that was bound to continue to be a problem. 

He was about to say something when he saw Scully lift the bottom of her shirt up. The action revealed to him that the drawstring of the pants was effectively useless; instead, Scully had taken a hair tie and cinched the waistband herself. He watched as she deftly removed the drawstring from the scrubs and re-cinched the waist before letting the hem of the shirt fall back down.

Scully then took the string and tied it around her waist like an apron, adjusting the fabric as needed. “How very MacGyver of you,” he teased.

She offered him a small smile before clearing her throat. Then, looking at him with the utmost expression of professionalism, she said, “I’m going to resume working now. Will you tell me if it’s bad?”

“Are you giving me permission to look down your shirt?” he asked playfully.

“One-time offer.”

Scully bent over, only this time glancing up at him as if to check if he was looking. There was an eroticism to the action he hadn’t expected and it made his breath catch in his throat. “Well?” She asked, her voice deeper from craning her neck up.

Mulder let his eyes flicker downward and was met with the sight of her collarbones peeing over the collar of her shirt. “Leer-proof,” he replied.

“Good,” she nodded, flicking the tape recorder back on and signaling the end of the conversation.

He stuck around for a while, waiting to see if she found anything notable from the external exam before deciding to take his leave. There were a few family members he needed to interview, and he still felt a little grossed out seeing the organ removal process.

Mulder let her know where he was going, but he was stopped right when he got to the door. 

“Mulder,” she called out softly, making him turn around to look at her.

“Yeah?”

He watched a sly smile spread on her lips as she continued working on the body. “Your fly’s down.”

---------------

*I promise I haven't abandoned any of my other works. I've taken a vow not to join any exchanges until I'm caught up with everything. Grad school, serotonin deprivation, and no free time just go hand-in-hand. I was typing this on my phone to be a note for later, and it just ended up writing itself so I figured I'd post it here as a little thing. Again, promise I will be updating my other WIPs as soon as I can.

#x files #fanfic #x files fanfic #mulder #scully #msr #season three #protective mulder #scully's scrubs #friendship #ust

[highclassheaux]

Black Friday Lingerie Sales:

If you are making the transition into high end s*xwork now is one of the best times of the year to buy lingerie and begin building your wardrobe. Summer sales, anniversary sales, sample sales and Black Friday/after Christmas sales was when I would buy almost all of my lingerie when I was first starting out.

Most of these sites/designers are a bit on the pricey side (which is another reason to buy when it's on sale) but I put a few mid and lower cost options/brands in here as well because not everyone has Agent Provocateur money.

Agent Provocateur - 30% off site wide (use code AP30) this may not seem like much but if you purchase from their outlet (pieces that are already discounted) it will add up nicely (doing it this way and you can literally buy a set for less than $100).

Bluebella - up to 50% off site wide definitely check out their "outlet" section as well

Bloomingdales - 25% off selected items

Curvy Kate - up to 50% off site wide - great store if you are plus size

Dita Von Teese - 20% off and though that may not be much, her sales page is definitely worth checking out

Fleur du Mal - an EXTRA 30% off of sale items with code 30FLEURYOU

For Love and Lemons (on their site, not VS) - 30% off everything, use code CYBERWEEK (if you're into very feminine, pink, "girly" lingerie, definitely check out their sales page)

Harlow and Fox - 30% off all in stock items (they don't have a large collection of in stock items because their lingerie is usually made to order but I wanted to mention them because their bras go all the way to G cup)

Journelle - 20% off everything which includes their sales page

Moxy Intimates - $10 off $50, $25 off $100, $45 off 150 + free US shipping

Net-A-Porter - up to 50% off select styles

Playful Promises - up to 85% off of everything

Revolve - up to 70% off

Saks Fifth Avenue - up to 80% off of select styles

Studio Pia is having a sale as well (the discount depends on the collection).

The Outnet - an additional 25% off of everything with code BLACKFRIDAY

And my absolute favorite: HONEY BIRDETTE IS 50% OFF select styles (just stop reading and go right now)

Honorable Mentions:

Ann Summers - up to 50% off everything

Yandy - up to 80% off sitewide

I know Ann Summers and Yandy are not considered high end, however, I'm mentioning them because if you need photos, doing online s*xwork or need additional pieces to create content to post on your social media, these 2 sites can really come in handy. However, if you are really slim and/or have a small chest be very careful if you order from Yandy, a lot of their sets have a tendency to run slightly on the bigger side (even their size small) and a lot of their pieces are actually sized S/M and M/L not S, M, L, etc. They do have some XS pieces that will fit A cups fine. But if you are plus size, they have a substantial collection of plus size lingerie.

I'm not mentioning SHEIN because although they are also doing a Black Friday sale, their shit is always cheap lol.

#swonly #fssw #heaux #heaux advice #fssw only #heaux tips #high value heaux #high class heaux

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Astrophysicists publish Kepler Giant Planet Search, an aid to 'figure out where to find life'

A team of astrophysicists led by Lauren Weiss, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Notre Dame, created the first-ever catalog of small, Earth-like planets with Jupiter-like siblings (planets that share the same star)—a critical component in the search for life elsewhere in our universe.

Forthcoming in The Astrophysical Journal, the Kepler Giant Planet Search took a decade to complete.

"This catalog is the first of its kind and an unprecedented opportunity to explore the diversity of planetary systems that are out there with things that are like the solar system, but not exactly the solar system, and it gives us a chance to rewrite the story of how the planets form," Weiss said.

"The science question that I've been trying to answer over the past decade is: Of the other small planets like Earth that are out there, which of them have Jupiter siblings? Because this might be an important characteristic to look for, if we want to figure out where to find life."

Previous research over the past several years has singled out Jupiter as one of the reasons for life on Earth. During the formation of the solar system, Jupiter slingshotted rocky and icy debris and embryonic planets toward Earth's current location. Jupiter still hurls debris in Earth's direction today. The debris may have carried water to our planet intact, creating the oceans and later, fostering life.

Based on data collected from the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Waimea, Hawaii, Weiss and collaborators recorded almost 3,000 radial velocities of 63 stars like our sun that host 157 known, small planets. The 157 small planets range from the size of Mars to the size of Neptune, and some of them have rocky surfaces that might be suitable for life. During the study, the team discovered 13 Jupiter-like planets, eight planets closer to the size of Neptune, and three companion stars.

Perhaps counterintuitively, large, gas-filled giant planets outside of our solar system are difficult to find because some common detection methods don't work. The Kepler space telescope, which retired after nine years in 2018 after it ran out of fuel, had been an excellent tool for scientists to find small exoplanets that orbited close to their stars. It used the transit method, which measures tiny dips in the brightness of the companion star to indicate the presence of a planet as it orbits its star.

Gas giants, however, are usually much farther from their stars and don't cross in front of them with any practical regularity for astronomers. Jupiter, for instance, takes 12 years to orbit the sun. Also, unlike planets close to their stars, distant planets often have slightly tilted orbits as seen from Earth, making the dips in brightness less prominent.

Weiss and collaborators used the radial velocity method, which uses Doppler spectroscopy. The team measured the "wobble" of a star as the waves appear to pull slightly closer and away from Earth based on the gravitational tug from a large, orbiting planet.

"Jupiters are large and they pull a lot on the stars we can measure. We can find them if we take many, many measurements over time, which is exactly what I had to do," Weiss said. For every star in the sample, she and collaborators observed the Doppler shift of the star's light waves for a minimum of 10 nights and in some cases up to hundreds of nights.

"It varies depending on the star," she said, adding that "observing" the stars wasn't done by directly looking through the telescope. Astronomers control the Keck telescope from remote observing stations worldwide, including at Notre Dame.

Though Weiss was excited about the discovery of the Jupiter-like planets, the catalog of Earth-and-Jupiter-like planetary systems is the aspect that will help astronomers in years to come. This paper, for instance, is the primary paper in the Kepler Giant Planet Search for which future papers will be based. Some will describe architectural patterns observed in planetary systems, the efficiency of detection of planets, and the joint occurrence of giant and small transiting planets.

"Probably the thing I'm most excited about is revisiting this story of how the Earth formed," Weiss said. "Now that we have more information about what other kinds of planetary systems are out there, we're looking for patterns, finding new discoveries, and these possibilities really excite me."

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #astrophysics

[cherp-official]

THE PEOPLE YEARN FOR SURVEY RESULTS - COMPARISONS TO LAST YEAR

The 2023 CARDS Survey has closed, with 617 respondents compared to last year's 409 - a 50% increase! Let's look over the results together, compared to last year. Last year's results are on the LEFT. Crosstabs are available upon request (send me a tumblr IM or a discord message @ TTMIYH).

Everyone is getting older (significantly) and male-r (less significantly).

The site is becoming slightly more cis and slightly more bisexual.

The differences here from last year I would consider to be basically statistically negligible.

"80/20 posting/answering" and "50/50 posting/answering" have basically eaten large chunks out of the other categories.

No real changes in starter/no starter preferences.

Interestingly, Character and Character Wanted have eaten large chunks out of the other categories, especially Fandom. Mark down your characters wanted, people!

NSFW Sexual has become slightly more popular at the expense of the other categories.

Basically, no change here that I think couldn't be attributed to a larger sample size.

Given current events, I think it is unsurprising that "followed from MXRP" almost doubled in size.

People are bumping chats less but are less likely to disconnect from a chat that they are bumping.

Ahhh numbers

"Jumping in without planning" is slightly more popular than last year but you're still better off probably trying to plan out A Little Bit at least.

A significantly larger portion of the side is verified, while "I don't plan to become verified" is also growing. It seems like a significant amount of the people who planned on becoming verified did, in fact, become verified!

And finally for the comparisons to last year: People Like Homestuck More.

Results for the new questions are in a separate post due to tumblr image limits! See you there!

#cherp #cherp.chat #survey #long post

[sekhisadventures]

Aziguni's Lucky Number

Valdrakken, the Roasted Ram

Shalandrae sat at the bar as Nitika examined her arm. It had been a few days now and their adversary had yet to reappear, but after that incident Nelen and Grimo agreed that it was almost certain that she targeted Shalandrae because she was alone… and so they all decided to pair up whenever heading out for the time being.

Groups of two, minimum, and never leaving without one of Grimo’s new devices.

With the help of the engineers staying in Valdrakken he was able to replicate his device and made enough for at least half of both Avalon and Savage United now, though it was slow going. Making them small enough to wear on the wrist yet sensitive enough to detect Dissonantia’s demonic allies was tricky work and required some specific materials which weren’t as easy to obtain on the Dragon Isles as they might have been closer to Orgrimmar.

It also didn't help that some people couldn't wear one. Shalandrae's shapeshifting power would render one absorbed into her body (and possibly break it) when she transformed, and Nelen had much the same issue. His own robes were spelled to change size when he became a worgen, but such magic would interfere with the watch's sensors.

At the bar with the night elf and tauren were Nelen and Leza, the former going over a spellbook with the latter to describe the finer points of conjuring foodstuffs from pure magic. The vulpera girl had been eager to learn that one as soon as she could. No vulpera grew up in Vol’dun without experiencing the lean times as it were, and the ability to feed her family with arcane energy alone was something she wanted to master as soon as she could.

Further up the table was Zhan-min, the pandaren man writing in a leather bound journal. His own brewing notes. He and Jaie had been talking recently, and she was trying to talk him into doing something specific. While the pandaren man was hesitant, he couldn’t deny that Jaie’s idea had merit… but he hadn’t quite shared with the others what exactly she wanted him to do yet.

After several long moments and a few gentle prods to gauge Shalandrae’s reaction, the tauren woman nodded, “Well, it looks like besides some spots on your arm still being slightly lighter than the rest you’re almost healed. Should go away in a day or two.” she said, releasing the druid’s limb.

Shalandrae gingerly felt over her arm as Nitika added ‘as long as you don’t pick at it’ under her breath, the elf rolling her eye at her. “Yeah, I know… but yeah, Sekhi and Dareley did good work. I blacked out after Dissonantia ran off, but apparently she’d made a real mess of me.” she frowned. “Bilescourge… ugh… saw too many of those damned things on Argus…” she sighed, then looked up at the sound of hooves approaching through the large stone building. “… huh, speaking of Argus…” she murmured with a grin.

Aziguni was walking towards them, the draenei woman smiling a bit awkwardly as she approached, and as she drew close Shalandrae noticed something different about her outfit.

“Hey, um… Aziguni… where’s your tabard?” asked Shalandrae with a raised eyebrow. Ever since she’d met her, the draenei had worn the tabard of the Dragonscale Expedition… but today it was missing.

Aziguni chuckled a bit nervously, “Well… about that…” she began…

Expedition Field Headquarters, Some Hours Earlier

“A formal complaint against me from the Reliquary?!” demanded Aziguni as she stood in a large tent, across from a dwarven man wearing a loose comfortable top, trousers with lots of pockets, and sturdy boots. He had a long thick beard of black hair running to grey and a monocle in one eye.

“Lass, I get where yer comin’ from aye, but… well…” he took a breath, “A few of th’ other members of th’ Expedition stated they felt… unsafe… given who you’ve been associatin’ with lately.” he nodded, resting his hands on a large table between them.

The table was covered in maps, various bones and samples of rock and stone, a few plant clippings, several pictures taken with a S.E.L.F.I.E. camera of native wildlife, and the like… but in the middle turned so Aziguni could read it was a scroll bearing the seal of the Reliquary.

“… who I have been associating with…” she replied icily, “This is about my brother, isn’t it Balfir?” she looked down at it, then up at him. “Du’thaes and Zelan are behind this, aren’t they?” she frowned.

The dwarf shook his head, “Lass, ye know I cannae answer that. Th’ whole point o’ these sorta complaints is that they’re promised anonymity ta avoid retaliation. All I can tell ye is that they’re in th’ Horde.” he nodded. That much was obvious given that it was the Reliquary making a complaint. Until recently the Horde and Alliance were at war with each other, so the Dragonscale Expedition had set up this system to address issues before they became outright battles.

She stood up, looking at him, “I see… and what does the Explorer’s League say about this?” she asked, keeping her voice as even as possible.

Balfir sighed. “Honestly lass, I’ve been gettin’ rumblin’s from our side as much th’ same. I understand he’s yer family ‘n Velen vouches for ‘em… but…” he paused, thinking for a moment, “… I cannae pretend that there ain’t a lot o’ people on both sides who’d be happy ta see th’ Eredar bugger back off ta Argus.”

Aziguni shook her head, “I cannot believe this Balfir… are you honestly telling me that to satisfy this I would be expected to cut ties to my own brother?” she demanded, throwing up her hands.

Balfir frowned, “Aye, that be th’ lot of it… Again, I understand where yer comin’ from lass, but yer brother is a bloody man’ari! I sympathize, but…” he began.

She scowled, “Yes… and now I am being asked to choose between him and my work for the Explorer’s League and the Expedition. Is that it?” she asked.

He nodded firmly, “Aye lass. That be it.”

She looked down at the notice one more time… then reached for the strap holding her quiver on and undid it, dropping it on the floor.

“Er… lass?” asked the dwarf, looking shocked at her actions.

“Shut up.” she snapped, pulling her tabard off over her head, then tossing it on his desk in a heap. “If I must choose between my job and my family, then there is no choice to be made.” she replied, pulling her quiver back on and turning to go. “I have worked for the Explorer’s League since I first arrived on Azeroth, but now that my brother is… an undesirable… I am being confronted with such a decision. Give my regards to Brann and the others…” she nodded curtly, turning to leave as Balfir goggled at her.

As she left she paused, seeing three elves standing a ways off. Zelan, Du’thaes, and Erimisa… the ones she had encountered after helping Malgum with his injury.

She smirked, gave them a very rude gesture, then whistled as she walked off towards the path out of the camp. As she did Eocundo and Muaaqi made their way over to her and followed alongside her on the road back to Valdrakken.

The Roasted Ram

Aziguni sat at the table with a fresh mug of moonberry wine, blowing out her lips. “In hindsight I may have still been a little testy given everything that had happened since Malgum arrived… but… yes… I am no longer affiliated with the Expedition, or the Explorer’s League at all.” she sighed.

Shalandrae nodded in understanding… to both sides of the story infact. She was willing to at least attempt to tolerate Malgum’s relation to Aziguni, now that the two of them were… well… ‘giving it a try’ as they decided the morning after Dissonantia’s attack, but she also saw where those who complained were coming from too. While it sounded like those Aziguni suspected of it were doing it out of malice, she also believed that there were those with genuine fears and concerns towards the man’ari.

After what she’d seen of Malgum’s ‘felfury,’ she couldn’t deny those fears had merit… even Aziguni was worried seeing that, though her concerns were more helping her brother control and contain such awful powers, possibly even removing them somehow.

Leza huffed at them, the young vulpera piping up. “That’s a buncha yeena crap Aziguni. They can’t just expect ya ta drop your brother like that. I don’t care what he did, family is important!” she nodded firmly.

Nelen nodded, “Mm… that’s easy to say when you haven’t been to Argus apprentice… but… yes, Velen trusts in Azraal and his followers so I’m willing to at least give them the same chance the Alliance gave my people.” he nodded. To say that the worgen were not immediately accepted by the Alliance would be an understatement. The late King Varian Wrynn himself had originally tried to block them rejoining their former allies, and if not for Anduin’s persuading and Greymane helping the Varian with his own less literal but no less problematic inner beast the Gilneans may well have been on their own.

Shalandrae had moved next to Aziguni after her tale had begun, the druidess holding her hand with her uninjured one, a look of concern on her face. “So… what are you going to do now?” she asked.

Aziguni shrugged, “I… honestly do not know Shalandrae. The Explorer’s League gave me a salary for my aid since arriving on Azeroth. Now that this is gone… well…” she winced. At the time it had seemed so clear, but gear needed repairs and both herself and her two companions needed feeding, nevermind that she went through a LOT of arrows. Being a hunter could get very expensive.

Zhan-min however was grinning, the heavyset pandaren man leaning back in his chair. “Well I got a dang good idea for ya gal.” he said. “Back home in Halfhill, we believe a lot in ‘lucky numbers,’ and given how ya’ll are an item now… well…” he smirked, “Maybe its just a goofy ol’ Pandaren superstition, but they say that seven is a good number fer… relationships. ‘specially new ones.” he nodded.

Nelen and Shalandrae looked at him, then the druid shrugged. “Okay… seven… what?” she asked.

Zhan-min’s grin widened, “Ain’t it obvious girl?” he pointed to himself and held up a finger. “Me…” he jerked a thumb back at Nelen and held up another, “Th’ boss back there…” he pointed to Shalandrae and held up a third, “Ya’ll…” then he held up a fourth, “Jaie,” a fifth, “Sam,” and a sixth, “Dareley.” and then he looked at Aziguni meaningfully and nodded slow.

Aziguni blinked in confusion, then it dawned on her as she pointed to herself and replied, “… seven?” she asked.

Zhan-min laughed, “Well why not? Seven is a dang good number for couples, you two are a couple, ‘n if you join us that makes seven of us!” he grinned, gesturing to them and nodding, then adding in an almost offhanded way, “Also ya’ll’re definitely on Dissonantia’s shit-list now that she knows yer th’ one who drew her picture… sooooo… yeah, probably best ya’ll stick close ta us if ya can.” he turned, looking back at Nelen, “Well? Ya’ll agree with me right boss man?”

Nelen scratched at his beard, “I can’t deny that you make a good point there. I don’t follow Pandaren Numerology myself, but seven is a magically significant number… and, yes, now that Dissonantia knows who you are…” he frowned, looking at Aziguni, “Honestly you’re lucky she didn’t come after you already. From what Shalandrae told me she was murderous even by her standards.”

Shalandrae was grinning. She had grown closer to Aziguni after what had happened and while they two were still feeling things out… she did know that the idea of the draenei woman being around more often was something she was quite happy with. “Well, I think we both know you have my endorsement… and probably Dareley’s too.” she nodded, “He and I tend to agree on most things.”

Aziguni chuckled a bit, “Yes… er… I have noticed you and Paladin Steelhammer have a very… um…” she began.

Shalandrae snorted a bit as Nelen chuckled and shook his head. “No!” replied the night elf, “No no no no no by Elune no! Its not like that… Dareley and I are just… well… we’ve known each other since Northrend and… yes, we’re just very very good friends. We founded Avalon together… but… yeah, he’s… not looking for a relationship with anyone.” she nodded.

“Don’t worry Aziguni, you’re not the first one to make that assumption about them. They do rather come off like an old married couple sometimes don’t they?” asked Nelen as Zhan-min gave a loud belly laugh as only one of the Pandaren could, a real belly laugh where he jiggled all over.

Shalandrae gave Nelen an annoyed look, but she didn’t deny it with more than just a small shrug.

Aziguni blushed in embarrassment at that, hearing Leza giggling as she shook her head, “Well, now that we have that cleared up… yes, if you are offering I would be quite pleased to join Avalon. Is there… um… any official documentation? An orientation process? A new tabard?” she asked quizzically.

Nelen shook his head, “No no, none of that. The only one of us who wears a tabard is Dareley, and its his old Argent Crusade one from when he was in Northrend. We’re fairly informal. Unless anyone objects, you’re in… and I doubt Sam would complain… and I know Jaie wouldn’t.” he smirked. Jaie had been telling him a few times how frustrating it was to watch Aziguni and Shalandrae dance around what was clearly a budding relationship, especially when she had trouble finding anyone who wasn’t… well… Jaie found most non-pandaren women to be ‘too skinny.’

Aziguni smiled at his words, nodding, then settled in next to Shalandrae as Nelen ordered them a fresh round of drinks.

“So… Zhan… seven is ‘good for relationships?’” asked Leza, “Uh… how does that work?” she asked.

Zhan-min looked at her, then frowned and stroked his beard, “Huh, yeah guess it must sound odd ta someone who ain’t from Pandaria. Its… um… Pandaren is a kinda… tricky… language fer outsiders ta learn.” he explained. “Lotta overlap in words ‘n how ya’ll say a word can change what it means.” he nodded to the young vulpera, “Our word fer seven sounds th’ same as ‘even’ so people think it’s good fer couples ‘cause it means an ‘even’ relationship. Fair, both people carryin’ their share o’ th’ load… ya’ll get me?” he asked.

“Oh… neat.” she giggled, her tail wagging, “Do ya got a lucky number?” she asked curiously.

He grinned wide, “Sure do! Nine’s mah lucky number, ‘cause its th’ same word we use fer ‘alcohol!’” he laughed, taking his mug as the barmaid came by with a fresh tray.

Aziguni chuckled along with the others, then looked around at them “Oh, um… I did mean to ask… have any of you seen Malgum?”

At this the laughter slowly trailed off. Shalandrae, Nelen, and Zhan-min looked between each other, then Zhan-min shrugged as Nelen and Shalandrae shook their heads in response.

Aziguni frowned, looking worried, “Oh… I was hoping… I haven’t seen him since he ran off after Dissonantia in the Azure Span. I mean… I know he’s probably fine… a man’ari is a very hard thing to kill…” she replied, tapping her finger against the table anxiously.

Nelen shrugged and nodded, “Mm, yes that is true… well, I’ll ask the others when they come back in if they’ve seen him anywhere…”

The Twisting Nether, Dissonantia’s Lair

“’ow much bleedin’ longer is this gonna take Gremori?” growled Dissonantia. Binding Malgum and forcing him to return with them had been difficult, nevermind keeping the spell active enough that he couldn’t invoke the felfury again once his strength returned.

“It’ll be done when its done Dis! This isn’t easy! Eredar skin is tough!” she replied, holding a long, sharpened demon fang in one hand and a jar of felblood and other foul ingredients in the other as she dipped the fang in it, then went back to work.

Malgum snarled around an improvised gag that Dissonantia had Cenoon make when she’d gotten sick of his cursing and threats, which the Incubus had crafted together worryingly quickly. Malgum’s body was uncovered above the waist and his arms and back now sported the beginnings of several large tatoos that glowed a sickly greenish glow.

“Good bleedin’ fing yez know how ta do this…” she grumbled, annoyed she had to rely on the felsworn’s skill.

“Damn right it is. We ink these right and you put your spell in them, and Malgum is as good as your puppet!” she laughed as the captive eredar snarled around his gag and thrashed about, causing her to step back until his strength ran out, then continue her work.

Dissonantia grinned wide, “Mmhm… lookin’ forward ta seein’ th’ bleedin’ look on Nelen’s face when I send that ball o’ felfire ‘n crazy at them!” she cackled.

At this point however, Gremori paused, then looked back at her, “Uh… Dis? You… can’t let him do that.” she warned.

Dissonantia sat up and frowned, the witch seated in her throne as she held one arm out, maintaining the control spell that kept Malgum from calling upon his fel-cursed strength. “Wot? Why th’ feck not?!”

Gremori sighed, “The felfury burns everything. That’s why that whole part of the Azure Span went up like that. Anything around them is burned up, including them. If Malgum uses it, then it’ll burn away the tattoos too.” she explained.

Dissonantia scowled, “Well feck… looks like me new toy is gonna be missin’ one of th’ best bits.” she frowned, “Well, at least he can deal with that draenei bitch that helped Nelen make all those feckin’ wanted posters.” she smirked as Malgum growled and cursed, his words rendered unintelligible by his gag.

“Eh? Wot was that Malgum?” she taunted, “I couldn’t quite hear yez, boyo. Speak up! Didja say ‘I wanna strangle me sister ta death with me bare hands?’ Tsk tsk… patience! Gremori gotta finish yez’s pretty new tattoos first…” she grinned wide, watching Malgum strain against his chains as he bellowed oaths of retribution and death around his gag again.

Dissonantia smirked, a new slave under her direct control… and unlike the black dragon Nitika couldn’t free this one. An’she’s light would burn Malgum as much as the markings, maybe even kill him.

Yes, controlling a dragon was a good idea, but she decided to stick to what she knew… and what she knew was demons.

Next Story

Previous Story

#adventures in azeroth #world of warcraft #warcraft fanfiction #warcraft roleplay #dragonflight

[thesomniusreport]

Logfile:MO.d649

I have to admit today to considerable nervousness, maybe even fear; but also incredible excitement. I was out to the west of my cabin, where I’ve been cultivating torchweed to use for lighting. As mentioned previously, I found a stretch of dry (ish) ground out that way, and the torchweeds seems to prefer growing in mud at the waters edge. Anyway, I was gathering up some samples, hoping to develop breeds which sustain brighter and longer lasting luminescence after being cut.

In the mud, I found the print pictured below. Part of me wants to withhold judgement, telling myself that this is an alien biosphere and I should not apply norms from Earth.  On the other hand, These just look like tracks, and I cannot conceive of what else they could be. If my assumption is correct, this would be by only the second fauna I have encountered on Somnius, and obviously the largest. The glowlies are the size of a large dog, and they represent the only fauna I have witnessed. The cries I hear from the canopy far above sound like some sort of animal, but thus far I have been unable to climb high enough to reach even the lower branches of a Tree of Life.

The prints I have rendered below is over half a meter in diameter. The progression and number of tracks makes me think quadruped. A large one. I keep picturing in  my head something like an Elasmotherium but of course such blatantly convergent evolution is highly unlikely. And it is irresponsible to even make such conjectures with nothing to go on but a mudprint.

This has me a bit worried. If I am even slightly correct this creature could be a danger to me, even if it is nominally docile. I haven’t had to worry about such things before, and this is very unsettling. I suppose I will now have to test my dedication to non-violence towards the indigenous life.  Samuel would laugh at me if he were still around.

Hah. Non-violence. When the time came, I did not hesitate against my own shipmates. Did I value them less? Some days my own motivations escape me.

Idle ruminations.  No way to change things now.

Note from the Director: We have thus far been unable to recover the image referenced above.

#first wave #somnius #somnius report #original writing #original worlds #Original Work #oc #sci-fi #scifi #sci-fi & fantasy

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Interlude (BC) Chapter 22

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Master Post

Corentin’s house was right across from Barna’s. The blacksmith’s son could have gone anywhere in The Iron City, but the house he had picked was perfect for his needs. It was a typical two story house connected to a large warehouse on the side. The dwelling was one of many buildings that were built when the city was first formed, so it was unclear what the setup was originally intended for. Corentin speculated that there must have been a smith or a group of craftsmen who wanted to be close to their work. Whatever the case, all of it was just fine for him.

Prior to Kresimira moving in, the home was fairly plain. Corentin was not really one for decorating, but Kresimira certainly was. In two weeks she had made the place start to look like a family had lived there. With all of the paintings, plants, and new furniture coming in, Corentin had gone about making accommodations for a future child. Vlastimir and Ekaterina were impressed as he showed them around. All of it looked incredibly cozy.

“As you can see right there, that’s the indoor entrance to the warehouse. I’m probably going to keep it locked most of the time and just go in through the outdoor entrance. I don’t want our kid wandering in there.”

“A good idea, assuming he’s not born super durable, but still…” Vlastimir assessed.

“Or her,” Ekaterina added.

Corentin chuckled as he opened the doors. “Truth be told, I have no idea how they’re going to turn out.”

A wave of slightly chilly air hit the three as they stepped into the warehouse. The ceiling was 30 feet tall, with a second floor used for books and deskwork. The ground floor was littered with all sorts of projects in varying degrees of completion. Many of these were separated by partitions and dividers. Multiple furnaces and anvils could be found along the walls, with appropriate tools nearby. A lot of it was dirty, but that was expected given the bags of coal and crates everywhere. As Corentin led his guests to a set of metal stairs, they noticed a robotic head and lower arm sitting around. Each was appropriate in size for Maximus.

“Hey, wait a second. Those look familiar…” Vlastimir observed.

Corentin smiled. “Yup, those are some of the components that served as prototypes for my boy. I wasn’t going to create two of him, but I did need to test some things before I committed to them. Turns out that The War Machine of Old was a lot more complicated than I initially thought.”

“Do they work? Like, can they actually move and what-not?” Ekaterina inquired.

“Yes, but they need to be hooked up to that machine you see next to them” Corentin answered as he led the two upstairs. “And in case you’re wondering, no, Maximus can’t equip them. They function on the same principles as him, but are a completely different build.”

Looking down from the second floor was a neat experience, seeing all the projects from above. Over at the far left corner was an alchemical lab that stretched to the opposite right corner. Vlastimir looked at the vials, beakers, ovens, crucibles, tools, and drawers. All of it looked like a typical chemistry lab to him. This was until he found a glass case on Corentin’s main desk. Inside was a shiny, blood-red gemstone. Noticing him in awe of it, Corentin put his hand on Vlastimir’s shoulder.

“Yup, that’s my Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Incredible…”

Corentin then took a seat at his desk. “I’m surprised I managed to make one considering it was during the break up, but hey, sometimes you don’t know your own strength.” He then got out some paper, pens, and a sample-taking kit.

Ekaterina marveled at the stone, then looked at Corentin. “Say, Corentin? Could you… um… could you make me a gem that looks like that? I think it’s very pretty.”

He scooted his chair over to a wooden display case and lifted the door for a second. “Sure, I don’t see why not. Let’s get this done first though.”

“Of course… So what are we doing exactly?”

“I'm naturally aware of what’s going on at the end of the week and that you two will probably be departing for your home realm for a bit. Since I don’t know when you two will be back, I’d like to get a sample of your aberrant abilities, if you’re okay with that.”

They looked at each other and thought about it. “Um sure, Corentin,” Ekaterina replied.

Vlastimir chuckled. “As long as you can contain my blood. It’s something else…”

Corentin started with Ekaterina since he assumed that would be the easiest. It turned out that her ribbons were quite strong, resisting his knives and scissors. The solution was one of his guillotine paper cutters, enhanced with his magic. Corentin cut off a 12 inch strip, cut it in half, then divided the second piece into one inch long fragments. To Ekaterina, it initially felt like trimming a nail. Interestingly the magnetic force vanished from the samples once they were cut off.

Vlastimir’s blood was a bit tricky. Getting a needle into his skin was next to impossible. After several failed attempts, Vlastimir had an idea. Turning his left index finger into a blade, he gently ran it down his right arm. This opened up the skin enough to let some blood through, but not enough to actually hurt him. Corentin used a fresh syringe to collect six milliliters of blood, three of which were each put into their own vial. Vlastimir then changed his finger back to normal and used it to close the wound.

“Now behave yourselves, alright?” he said to the vials.

Corentin looked at Vlastimir, then to the blood. “Okay then. Before we have some lunch, Ekaterina, what kind of gemstone would you like me to alter?”

“Oh, right. Do you have quartz?”

Opening up the case, Corentin retrieved a large crystal and set it down on a workbench. He then got out a can of red dye and scooped some out with a tablespoon. This was poured over the quartz, followed by him drawing a seal with some chalk around it. Corentin held his hand over it, causing electricity to arc from his palm. The gemstone glowed for a moment, then settled down. What sat before them was a beautiful, translucent red crystal that was not too light and not too dark.

Ekaterina loved it as she held it up in the light, thanking him profusely. After all the samples were squared away, Corentin took his guests back to the house for some lunch. He figured it was the least he could do, especially since he had to draw blood from Vlastimir. It did feel a little awkward given how long he had known the two, but Corentin vowed to thoroughly study what he had been given. His curiosity always managed to get the best of him after all.

As they all ate, Kresimira entered the dining room in a hurry. “Corentin, Dear? There was a slight hiccup at the tower…”

“What’s the matter?” He asked after swallowing his food.

“Well as you know, we decided to do some more mapping of The Crimson Library today. Just as we entered, a couple of the bookshelves in the B wing collapsed. Is it alright if some of the royal alchemists used your workshop to repair them?”

“Absolutely. The outdoor entrance is unlocked and the tools should be good to go. Have them come to me if any of them need sharpening or if any help is needed in general. Of course I may go oversee them regardless…”

“Thank you, dear.” Kresimira then noticed their guests. “Vlastimir, Ekaterina! Good, just the two I was looking for. So about today: We’re going to have to postpone our plans until tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay,” Ekaterina replied. “I take it all of this is more involved than normal?”

“That, and the fact that I’m helping Englehart implement a guidance system. Figured we might as well since we’re there.”

Corentin took a sip of his drink. “About time I say. Speaking of that, I would’ve sent a ravager or two to go look for you back when you got lost… the only issue is that the ravagers like to roughhouse. Speaking of which, I really need to find something for them to do now that they’re back…”

Kresimira was going to comment, but held her tongue. “Fair enough. There are some rather priceless tomes and artifacts in that library… Anyways, Ekaterina; My further apologies, but my friends are also busy today.”

“I see. Well alright then. Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Oh no, it’s fine. It’s fairly boring at this point given that it’s just me retracing my steps. Speaking of which, I need to get back to them. Turns out I mapped out more of the library than I initially thought.”

The three resumed eating as Kresimira departed. A thought then occurred to Vlastimir. “Just how deep is that library?”

“Deep” Corentin answered. “We haven’t even found the end of it yet. It’s firmly believed that it was created by The Scholar of Old. And a little bit of trivia on the tower itself: It’s not native to The Iron City. The legends say that the Mage, Scholar, and Hexer created it during the prime of the primordials as a repository for their collective knowledge. Supposedly they left it here for the Primordial Hunters and their descendants. Personally I would have loved to have gotten Leif’s insight on it…”

“Why not go ask Vex about it?” Vlastimir pointed out. “He’s over at Blood’s place as we speak.”

“Yeah, and Deimos is… well, at the Magician’s Labyrinth, but still” Ekaterina added. “Why not go ask them about it?”

Corentin rested his head on his hand and pondered the idea. “Huh, why didn’t I think of that sooner? I mean, Deimos is incredibly busy at the moment… but Vex? You have a point…”

“I’m sure he can take a break from the utter madness that is Blood’s training to help you out” Vlastimir stated, certain of himself.

“Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt to pop on over there, see how Blood’s doing and what-not…”

After finishing their food and thanking Corentin, Vlastimir and Ekaterina returned to The Singing Storm Tower. Things were just as busy as when they had left earlier in the day. Both of them were curious to know how things with The Crimson Library were going, so they swung by there on the way to their quarters. Englehart, Radovan, and Kresimira were directing the stewards who were going about and checking on things. As the duke stepped away to assist someone, Englehart had noticed the couple.

“Hello Vlastimir, Ekaterina. What are you two up to?”

“Greetings, your majesty. We’re just seeing how things are going” Ekaterina answered. “No one’s gotten lost, have they?”

The king laughed. “Thankfully no. Aside from some bookshelves collapsing, things have been fine…”

“I told Eustorgio we should’ve replaced the shelves in B wing…” a voice called out from high up. It was Vexation, bringing some books down.

“Eustorgio?” Englehart questioned.

“Oh, sorry. That’s Deimos’ original name.” He then noticed Ekaterina. “Oh, Eka! Perfect timing. Give me one second…” Vex quickly climbed up another ladder and scooted it over to a high up shelf. Once he had what he needed, he got down and presented an old book to her.

“What’s this?” she asked as she inspected the worn out cover.

“It’s my old grimoire that I used when I was a neophyte. I think you should check it out. Consider it an apology for how hard I was on you back in the Dark Grand City. What good is my advice if you don’t know what direction to take, aye?”

“Oh, thank you…”

“Very thoughtful of you, Vexation,” Englehart complimented. “Say, you wouldn’t mind helping us out here when you get the chance, would you?”

“Not at all, your majesty… actually, I probably could right now since I want Blood to do a little studying with these books… I’ll be back in a moment.”

Kresimira stepped over as he left. “Oh my, this should be interesting. It’s quite the honor to have one of the creators of the tower help us out with it.”

Vlastimir climbed up the ladder Vexation had used and began rummaging. “Kresimira, you should go get Corentin. He mentioned wanting to ask Vex about the tower itself.”

She nodded. “A good point, Vlastimir. If you all will pardon me for a minute, I’ll go fetch him right now.”

“Very good,” Englehart replied. He then noticed Vlastimir coming down with a stack of books and going to set them on a table. “My boy, you got a library card for those books?”

Vlastimir froze, his face invoking that of a deer caught in a pair of headlights. “Wait, what!?”

Englehart laughed again. “I’m just messing with you, lad. Still, bring those over here so we can note what you’re borrowing and where they came from.”

Ekaterina giggled. “Don’t forget to note my book while you’re at it.” She then went over and gave Vlastimir a light kiss on the cheek to soothe his nerves.

Next: Chapter 23

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

#chaotictempleknight #ultramagic alternate #fantasy #sciencefiction #sciencefictionfantasy #literature #fiction #writing #story #chapter #writers on tumblr

[edmturnmeon]

Arkham Dark - Fujifilm Cinematic SOOC Recipe

Batman Inspired Film-Look Recipe for Urban Night Photography

Mood: Dark, Low-Light, Mysterious Cinematic​ Intended Use: Suitable for low-light photography, creating a darkcinematic look Inspired by: Batman Inspired by the dark and brooding atmosphere of the Batman movies, this Arkham Dark cinematic Fujifilm film simulation recipe aims to recreate the moody and gritty visuals of Gotham City. The settings are designed to evoke a sense of mystery and drama while retaining the essence of the iconic character.The Arkham Dark cinematic recipe is best suited for capturing scenes that embody the haunting and mysterious elements of Gotham City. It's ideal for urban landscapes, night shots, and portraits of characters with a noir-inspired touch. This film simulation setting will allow you to create visually striking images that transport viewers to the dark and dangerous world of the Arkham games.

Arkham Dark SOOC Recipe For Cinematic Urban Street Photography​

This film simulation recipe is compatible with Fujifilm X-Series cameras that support the Classic Negative film simulation. It aims to bring out the essence of the Arkham games' iconic look, allowing photographers to capture images that embody the haunting ambiance of Gotham. Although it might not be 100% accurate, this is probably just a theme name for this film simulation recipe.The magic for this recipe to work is to underexpose your image. Set the exposure compensation to -1/3 or -2/3 to slightly underexpose the image, giving it a darker and more mysterious look. I have turned on a large amount of grain effect to add a film-like texture and a touch of nostalgia to your photos. To achieve the cinematic look, adjust your Fujifilm camera to allow different aspect ratios, consider using the 16:9 ratio to give your photos a cinematic widescreen feel.I'm sure your creativity will be better than any of my sample photos.

Low Light Recipe for Fujifilm Cameras of All Kinds

If you're a Fujifilm camera user who's looking to take your street photography to the next level, you might want to try out the Arkham Dark film simulation recipe. This recipe is designed specifically for Fujifilm cameras that have Classic Negative film simulations. Not only that, it's also compatible with both the X-Trans IV and newer X-Trans V sensor cameras such as the Fujifilm X-T5, X-H2, and X-H2S.The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn't matter what type of Fujifilm camera you have - whether it's an older model or a newer one - you can still achieve that sought-after cinematic look and feel that the Arkham Dark recipe is known for. So, if you're looking for a way to make your street photography stand out even more, give this recipe a try and see just how much of a difference it can make.Are you an avid film photographer who loves exploring different low-light film recipes for your night photography sessions? If so, we have some exciting news for you! I have carefully curated some of the best low-light film recipe creations that will take your night photography to the next level. With these proven recipes, you can confidently capture stunning night-time shots with amazing clarity and detail.From moody and dramatic to bright and vibrant, our low-light film recipes offer a wide range of visual styles that suit your creative vision. So why wait? Check out our selection of top-rated low-light film recipes today and elevate your night photography game!

Arkham Dark SOOC Recipe Custom Settings

Film Simulation Classic Negative Highlight -1 Shadow +2 Color +2 WB / Color Temperature Auto White Priority, Red -3 & Blue 3 Exposure Compensation Up to -2/3 ISO Auto up to ISO 6400 Clarity 0 Sharpness 0 Noise Reduction 0 Grain Effect / Grain Size Weak / Small Color Chrome Effect / FX Blue Strong / Strong Dynamic Range DR400 Image Size L 16:9

Sample Photos

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR

Looking for more Fujifilm SOOC Recipes?

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#CinematicFilmRecipes #ClassicNegativeFilmRecipes #LowLightFilmSimulationRecipes #StreetFilmSimulationRecipes

[obeliskthetormentorsfeetpics]

“On the topic of shapechangers:

“Here in the Prime material plane, only very rarely are there creatures with the natural ability to significantly alter their forms. Of this short list, none have so perfected the skill as mimics, doppelgangers, and house hunters. These three creatures, due to their similar methods of shape changing were long thought to be closely related species that have evolved to occupy slightly different albeit similar niches. However, resent studies into the three have shown that they are actually the same creature in different stages of life.

“This creature, which has been tentatively named ‘polyform’, begins its life as a mimic. During this stage, the polyform is a largely-immobile ambush predator, camouflage themselves as simple small objects in their environment or taking the shape of objects that have been imprinted on them - the latter of which I will explain later. Once they have acquired enough mass they will begin to form a nodule within them that acts as their brain, granting them the ability to rely on more than simple instinct to capture prey.

“As this brain develops, the mimic will start to observe their environment to determine what types of objects prey might be likely to interact with, remember the forms of objects and even alter their disguises to appear more appealing than the original object. This is the stage of life most are familiar with as at this point - if the mimic is in an area prone to looting or otherwise inhabited - they often will take the shape of chests or doors, objects they often see humanoids interact with.

“Eventually, a mimic will start to deviate from its sessile life style, beginning with moving to new positions more frequently and advancing until they are taking the forms of animals to move around more actively and continuously. The leading theory behind this change is that the brain of the mimic has developed enough to desire more stimulation than simply waiting for prey can provide - they get bored. Polyforms at this stage have been show to be able to use reasoning to solve complex tasks, learn and understand speech, and many scholars believe at this point the polyform becomes fully sapient in preparation for its next stage.

“The doppelganger. When a mimic’s brain has completed its development, it will become a doppelganger, strongly favoring humanoid disguises over bestial or inanimate ones. Sadly there is very little that can be said in general about doppelgangers as not only is there an incredible degree of variance in behavior between individuals, bit their skill at hiding makes even finding a suitable sample size near impossible.

“There are reports of doppelgangers living near civilization hunting wildlife and stray humanoids like wild animals, and reports of doppelgangers living far from any settlement, fleeing any altercation and seeming to want as little to do with humanoids as possible. Similarly there have been doppelgangers discovered living peacefully in disguise in cities, and yet others have been found disguised as community members, using their disguises to manipulate or even hunt members of their community.

“In any case, if a doppelganger lives long enough it will invariably have a sudden shift in behavior signalling its next metamorphosis. What it is that triggers the change is unknown and doppelgangers interviewed seem in most cases to be unaware that it even happens, but no matter the doppelganger’s previous temperament, it will have an overwhelming desire to move to a place on the outskirts of a humanoid settlement.

“This can range from purchasing a small home on the very outskirts of a city to nesting in a clearing or other flat piece of land half a day’s walk from the nearest settlement, no closer and no farther. Then, they are compelled to eat, not just to sustain themselves but to grow. Doppelgangers who have embedded themselves in society may begin buying or raising a huge amount of livestock while wild ones will hunt enough to wipe out a large chunk of the nearby wildlife.

“The doppelganger will acquire a huge amount of mass very quickly, during which time their mental state will decline as their brain rapidly deteriorates. when enough mass is acquired, they will take the shape of a house, shed, barn, or other structure either by observing and imitating ones they’ve seen or by consuming and replacing an existing structure. By this point, the brain has been reduced nearly to nothing, containing only the memories of the shapes of small objects likely to attract a humanoids attention: jewelry, currency, articles of clothing, etc.

“This stage is the house hunter, a creature known to eat humanoids who carelessly venture within, but truthfully a house hunter will only eat the absolute bear minimum, leaving most who enter it unharmed so long as they do not threaten it. The reason for this is simple, once properly disguised, the house hunter will begin to produce mimics. Thousands of mimics. You remember before when I mentioned Imprinting a shape? This is where that comes into play. the house hunter will use its memories of objects to give them their first disguises, masking them as all manner of valuables and hiding them within itself before making itself look abandoned to encourage looters.

“This is the way the polyform spreads, mimics disguised as gold coins in the pocket of a bandit who ‘happened upon some abandoned goods’ can travel far. Fortunately it is extremely rare for a polyform to advance all the way to this final stage of its life and reproduce, but even so, it is still unknown just how much gold in circulation is real, and how much is young mimics, waiting for a good opportunity to slip out of your pocket.”

-Transcription of a lecture given by Dr. Hamin Thillowisp, professor of arcane ecology at the Lorehold College of Magic, Strixhaven University

#dnd #mimic #doppelganger #househunter #headcannon #magical creatures #lore #long post

[sciencespies]

Bats' midnight snacks reveal clues for managing endangered species

https://sciencespies.com/nature/bats-midnight-snacks-reveal-clues-for-managing-endangered-species/

Bats' midnight snacks reveal clues for managing endangered species

How do we bring threatened and endangered animals back from the brink? The task is never easy or simple, but one thing is undeniably true: If we don’t understand these animals and what they need to survive, we have little chance of success.

Saving bats, then, is arguably a trickier endeavor than for other species. After all, the cryptic critters only emerge at night and are highly mobile, making it difficult to track their movements and behavior.

In a first-of-its-kind study, University of Illinois and Brown University scientists reveal the diets of endangered Indiana bats and threatened northern long-eared bats, providing clues to effectively manage both species and their habitats.

“This was an in-depth study of these two imperiled species in landscapes where they co-occur. Nobody’s done that before. This investigation gives us a much better sense of how bats not only coexist, but also how they benefit our forests and how we can thus manage the forest to provide bats with better habitat,” says Joy O’Keefe, an assistant professor and wildlife extension specialist in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

Previous research into these bats’ diets relied on older, outdated technologies that could miss important prey species. And no study had yet investigated how the two species divvy up their prey resources to coexist.

“When you have two closely related species sharing the same habitat, that means they’re probably built similarly and need similar places to live and things to eat. This brings up a lot of questions about how they’re doing that. Are they competing? Or is there some system in place where they’re able to divide resources? Our job was to figure that out,” says Tim Divoll, a data scientist in the Center for Computation & Visualization at Brown who completed his doctoral research with O’Keefe.

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Divoll and O’Keefe humanely captured bats and collected fecal samples at two Indiana locations — a large managed forest and an area with small forest patches near a major airport — over four summers. The researchers identified insect prey from DNA in the bat feces and added a size classification as a more practical way of looking at insect prey.

“If a bat sees two moths that are the same size and have the same flight pattern, the bat’s not going to distinguish what species they are. It’s going to eat whatever moth it can catch,” Divoll says. “I wanted to use an analysis that better aligned with how bats might perceive their prey. We tend to assume that genetic classifications of prey are the most meaningful, but bats don’t study taxonomy.

“But the taxonomic identification can be very interesting. For example, maybe there are some insects in the dataset that require specific host plants. We want to help managers recognize that so they can manage for a diversity of plant types that host a diversity of insects, leading to healthier forests and more food options for bats.”

Overall, the two bat species ate a lot of the same insects, including moths, beetles, crickets, wasps, mosquitoes, and more. They also ate a significant number of agricultural and forest pest species, displaying their role as providers of beneficial ecosystem services.

Somewhat surprisingly, the northern long-eared bats, the smaller of the two, picked up slightly larger prey items. According to the researchers, that’s likely because the northern is a gleaner, meaning it grabs prey off surfaces, at least some of the time. O’Keefe says bats that use a gleaning strategy would likely have an easier time locating larger insects on bark or leaves. That’s in contrast to aerial hawkers, bats that take prey mid-flight; they’ll detect and go after anything moving in the air, whether it’s large or small.

That slight difference in prey size preference and feeding style may be enough for the bats to avoid direct competition, but the researchers can’t be sure from this study alone.

“It’s difficult to say whether they’re in direct competition without measuring the availability of different insect types, and we didn’t measure that in our study. But our earlier research in the same forested site showed northern long-eared bats use much less space when foraging than Indiana bats. And they’re selecting habitat slightly differently. At the end of the night, they might end up eating all the same things, but they’re finding them differently,” Divoll says.

The bats’ diets were so similar that there were greater differences between sites — forest or airport — than between bat species.

“This tells us that, at some level, they are generalizing on whatever is available at a given site. They might be flexible and specialize at certain times, but these two bats are going to go after whatever is predominantly there,” Divoll says. “They may use different hunting techniques and search different heights of the forest, but they both likely capture easy targets while searching for preferred prey.”

#Nature

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[huntersgreys]

Soundhack spectral gate

#Soundhack spectral gate free

Time stretch x100, overlap factor 0.5 output Original sample used as input for all examples Time Stretching Output Example gopvoc can analyze up to 8192 FFT bands.Before writing to disk, gopvoc clips any samples to the max or min allowed value for the given bit depth. gopvoc handles output clipping differently than SoundHack.gopvoc does not allow a scaling function, it only accepts a single value for scale factor.gopvoc time stretching can only take a multiplier scale factor for time instead of a target output duration.gopvoc pitch shifting can only take a multiplier scale factor for pitch (octave lower is scale factor of 0.5, octave higher is 2.0, etc).gopvoc can only read and write AIFF and WAV files.gopvoc can process AIFF/WAV files with an arbitrary number of channels.gopvoc uses a slightly different vonn Hann window function than SoundHack.The way the "best" interpolation and decimation rates are determined is slightly different than the original SoundHack. gopvoc doesn't allow time stretching beyond the maximum or minimum as determined by the given inputs, see below.Unlike the original SoundHack, this port does not have a UI and must be used on the command line. Multichannel audio exchange between users via internetĮmulation of vinyl wear and tear, crackle etc.This is a Go port of the phase vocoding analysis/resynthesis routines from Tom Erbe's program "SoundHack". Vintage style delay phaser, flanger, saturation TAL-Dub TAL-Dub II, TAL-Phaser TAL-Flanger TAL-Tube Slicer- autobreaks, autogLitch or whatever Stereo width control with phase inversion +phasescope - shows L-R phase relationship +matrix - mid-side to left-right encoder and decoder +decimate - bit depth and sample rate reduction +pitchdelay - same, settings oriented to pitch shifting Gain - large, fixed volume steps which don't introduce quantization noise Rider - automatically rides the gain to keep the apparent volume level consistent Overflow - digital bit-overflow distortion Plugs included with (and requiring) this freeware applicationĬonvolution reverb graphic equaliser multiband scraper (bit size reduction) simple reverb multiband freeverb MIDI filter 5 band EQ 20 band EQ Width Enhancer Limiter Compressor gate valve warmer swamp buffer funky repeater DC blocker Hum remover Buff Rice.īad Cable - harsh distortion simulating a bad cable MIDI bridge, organizer & wrapper for different drum sampler formatsĮxperimental multitap delay with panning and controllable morphingĭiatonic Shifter, Octave Shifter, Reverse SamplerĬombo, Degrade, Detune, DubDelay, Dynamics, Re-Psycho!, RoundPan, Shepard, Talkbox, TestTone, Tracker. Pingpong delay, phaser, multitap delay, buffer delay, latency fixer, merger. RMS Buddy, Buffer Override, transverb, freeverb, Geometer, Scrubby, Skidder, Polarizer, MIDI Gater, EQ Sync, monomaker. Vibrato : can do two frequencies at once, and ring modulationĦ4-bit bitscope and intersample clip indicator Slew : just the slew section of "channel" SampleDelay : the only sample delay with negative delay Pressure : Compressor (an early vari-mu compressor design) Rompler with limited sound banks - synth, organ, FXĪcousticBass : convolution mode of acoustic bassĬabAlnico10 : Airwindows alnico 10" speaker cab modelingĬabPrinceton : Airwindows Fender Princeton cab modelingĬhannelEQ : 4-band fixed-frequency EQ which passes bit-identical output when flat Sonic Birth collection : plugs included with freeware applicationįlying Monkey Synth Bassdrum (synth) Rainy Synth Synthesiser - 6 bit console game sound-ish "Demo" drum kit with four multisampled drums, no time limit. Please make additions and corrections below. * For this list, 'free' means free, donationware, magware and 'unlimited' demos (no beeps or timeouts) I know some of these have already been listed but many have not- enjoy

#Soundhack spectral gate free

I read in many discussions about new DP5 VI's that many people have a lot of VI's and free plugs.ĭoes anyone want to drop here his list of preferred free stuff?Ĭan we try to build a free stuff tipsheet?

#Soundhack spectral gate