#Infrared Illumination

[orgasmictomato]

20110304211603 (23)c1 rsz IR notes (Rider) - W by Jim Via Flickr: Infrared Dimensional Entity captured by IR laser illumination in the night sky. Shown here as cropped and computer enhanced for clarity in the laser beam.

[mydonkeyfeet]

I'm a paper conservator (though I don't post about that often here, so don't follow me expecting this kind of content) and I'll be assisting with a chemistry course on blue pigments and dyes next semester. I'm also trying to help get the chemistry folks the funding to get an infrared camera to examine artwork in my art museum for potential pigment analysis.

If you like looking at illuminated manuscripts, the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge has a gorgeous website called Illuminated: Manuscripts in the Making. It's full of high res images, often with infrared layers that you can examine too, and occasional microscopic images, and TONS of information about each manuscript including history, artistic style, artist's materials, etc. This website is the modern version of an old book of hours, beautiful and the highest quality and no expense spared.

This page (folio 20r) from The Hours of Isabella Stuart is fun for infrared examination. Most of the gorgeous blue was painted in ultramarine, which was one of the most expensive pigments, up there with gold, and it's the reason the Virgin Mary and Jesus are often portrayed wearing blue. But the owner, the duke of Brittany, changed the lady patron at the lower left (who may have been his first wife) and got an artist to paint his new fiancee Isabella Stuart instead, with her patron Saint Catherine behind her, clothed in ultramarine blue. Later he had it repainted again to change her headdress to a duchess's crown, but this time the artist used azurite blue which is slightly cheaper. It almost looks the same in normal light, but under infrared the azurite shows up as dark while ultramarine looks much lighter.

[shamnadt]

850nm vs 940nm IR LED Wavelengths - Which is best for a Night Vision Camera?

If you are interested in night vision devices, you may have come across the dilemma, 850nm vs 940nm. These are the wavelengths of infrared (IR) light that are commonly used to enhance the visibility of objects in the dark. But what are the differences between these two wavelengths, and how do they affect the performance of your night vision device? In this blog post, we will explain the…

[joshsindigostreak]

The Weight of Dreams

Demon!Josh x F!Reader

Authors Note: Happy Spooky Season everyone!! Lately I’ve been calling Josh a demon as a joke but something in my brain went, “write that down!” and thus this One Shot was born! Hope you enjoy him!

Word Count: 7.7k

Warnings: SMUT, MINORS DNI, 18+, PURE filth, there is a plot but you know what I mean, fingering, penetrative sex F!receiving, unprotected sex (but he’s a demon so?), oral sex F!Receiving, horn play (drew gooden voice, ‘I sure hope it does!’)

Incubi aren’t supposed to have regulars. They’re not supposed to have patterns. They’re supposed to skip around the ether and drop into human dreams like funnel clouds in the sky. Incubi and their Succubi counterparts all have their own agendas, feeding their primal urges since the first time a human fell asleep. If only humans knew the kind of catnip and candy that wafted into the universe from their subconscious. 

In the hierarchy of Hell, Incubi aren’t that far up the food chain. High enough to be a nuisance but low enough that they could essentially do what they wanted. The Dukes, Princes and Kings had more important things to worry about than horny, slumbering humans. 

One demon in particular was more chaotic than most. He was on the younger end for an Incubi, which often led to him shirking the “rules” of his kind in favor of whatever he wanted. He was a fucking Demon, another cog in the infernal machine that lurked beneath the earth. Who cares if he had an urban legend or two attached to his presence? If his equally demonic twin could be referred to as The Hat Man, then why couldn’t he continue on his nightly Hellish crusades and have fun while doing it? 

What’s the worst that could happen?

On this ordinary Wednesday night, he was flitting about town to town, sniffing out any saucy dreams that intrigued him. Not all dreams were created equal, and there were enough humans on the planet that he could afford to be picky. 

He was skating through the sky, invisible to the human eye. The only clue to his presence would be the occasional zap of a poDwer line or flickering streetlight. Power surges often happened if there were too many of his kind around, often confused with their Poltergeist cousins. 

The Demon was about to give up on this and of town and move onto the next major city when he was nearly hit in the face with the force of a dream that made him skid to a halt. Like a bloodhound, he followed the trail to a nearby apartment, easily fitting through a cracked window and into the kitchen. The only sound that could be heard was the low chatter from a television in another room. The lustful energy beckoned him down the short hallway like bait on a hook. 

Oh, this was going to be fun, he thought, a smirk forming on his face.

The only door on this end of the apartment was open, and the light of the television illuminated and flickered into the hall. With silent footsteps, he crept inside to see the source of the arousal that was practically vibrating the walls. 

If only humans were aware of what their energy could do.

The bedroom was tiny and it took seconds to find the source of the intoxicating energy. To Incubi, energy had a taste and a smell that was a touch beyond human comprehension, like trying to see infrared light with the naked eye. It made the demon's eyes threaten to roll back the closer he got to the bed. 

The human, a woman, rolled over in her bed, oblivious to the creature observing her. Her hair covered most of her face, and that’s when she made the most exquisite sound he had heard all night. 

A tight, low, barely audible moan. 

His entire being snapped to attention. He flexed his shoulders and silently walked towards the bed, satisfied he had found just the right dream to drop into. He gazed down at your slumbering form, noting your furrowed brow and pursed lips. He perched on the side of the bed, tentatively waiting for the right moment to drop in. It was more of an artform than even other Demons thought. 

Your television was still on, and the light that projected onto the wall in front of him perfectly silhouetted his small horns that curled backwards on either side of his head. All Demons had horns, and they were as individual as a fingerprint. The more experienced the Demon, the larger and stronger they looked. As an Incubus, his weren’t much to write home about, but he hoped that one day they’d eventually curl around the back of his head like a ram, and maybe if he was bad enough, he’d earn his leathery, bat-like wings similar to the other higher up Demons he knew. 

Slowly, his hand curled around your soft wrist, his head rolling back along with his dark eyes as your dream materialized in front of him. 

A university library? Groundbreaking. 

But there you were, reaching up towards a high shelf for a specific book and looking back over your shoulder, hoping the object of your fantasy would notice. Unfortunately for you, a Demon was in your dream now, and he was in the driverseat.

 

In this dream, your Demon was fully human in appearance. His horns were no longer visible, instead the main focus was his curly hair perfectly styled on top of his hair, and his eyes weren’t their usual black voids, but a dark brown that could see right through you. He slowly walked up behind you, allowing his footsteps to be heard on the hardwood floors. You looked back at him and there was a brief flash of confusion, but it quickly turned into a smirk as you raised your hand above you for whatever book you were trying to reach. 

In dreams, Earth-bound laws and physics didn’t matter, so you were nonplussed when he was suddenly at your back, hands curling around your hips and lips lightly brushing the shell of your ear. One of his hands swept up your side and up your extended arm, his long fingers lacing yours and securing it against the bookshelf. The action had you shuddering against him, your ass perfectly wiggling against his front. 

“Need some help?” He whispered, dragging his lips along your ear as he spoke. 

Another shiver ran through you. 

You turned your face towards him, feeling his breath on your cheek. 

“Maybe a little…,” you purred back at him. 

“Good thing I’m here then,” he said with a clear double meaning. The sheer arousal that was emanating off of you felt like a breath, no, a rush, of air into his lungs. The kind you take in after holding your breath for a long time. A low growl formed in his chest as he used the hand that was still wrapped around your hip to turn you around to face him. 

Even though his natural state was glamoured to look human, his own personal style of thick black kohl rimming his eyes remained, and the way you were looking at him suggested you approved of said choice. Your shoulders melted against the stacks, but your pelvis pushed forwards towards his own. He gladly indulged you and rolled his hips right back, smirking at the way your breath caught in your throat. 

You suddenly found both of your arms held above your head with one of his hands, while the other toyed with the hem of your skirt. 

Because of course you were wearing a skirt in this dream. 

The demon wedged his foot between yours, spreading your legs apart with an inhuman-like grace that had your lower lip sinking beneath your teeth  and staring at him through your eyelashes. 

The scenario was terribly cliched, but there was something about you that made the Incubi intrigued by it. He wanted to see how this played out. 

The hand on your skirt disappeared under the fabric, lightly touching the flesh of your thigh. Another tremble shook your leg. You were so fucking sensitive, it was driving him insane. 

You needed his touch. 

His touch. 

His fingertips drew patterns on your skin as he made his way up to where you needed him most. However, even though he was technically a Demon, he still had a shred of ethics about him, and he paused his hand. 

“Tell me what you want,” he requested in a rough voice. 

Your eyebrows twitched a little at the question, but you answered quickly, “you.”

That wasn’t good enough for him, though. 

“Are you sure?”

Your breathing got even heavier, “yes.” 

With that, he surged forward and crashed his lips onto yours, realizing he himself was dying for a taste too. His hand flattened against your thigh, kneading your flesh before continuing upwards. His fingertips were met with soft lace, and before he could fully toy with it, it vanished. 

He hadn’t been the one to do that. 

You did, taking back control of the dream. 

Oh…

The Incubi smiled against your lips, and relinquished his control over your dreamland. He was officially the passenger now, and he wanted to see what you could come up with. 

With your lace panties freshly vanished, you spread your legs even farther and tilted your hips forward, practically offering your drenched pussy to him. 

The heat he could feel coming off of you had his fingers shaking, and he wasted no time to slide his fingers through your slit. Your arousal coated his digits as he familiarized himself with every crease and fold you had, mentally mapping it out and trying to memorize you. Your flesh was so soft to him, a whimper threatened to escape his throat as he parted your mouth and slipped his tongue inside. 

He teased your entrance briefly, before sliding upwards to your clit. He rolled the swollen bud between his fingers, and he pulled back from your face just far enough to ear you cry out. 

That beautiful sound, he thought. He needed to hear it again. 

It sent a jolt through his body not only in the dream but back in your bedroom as he sat next to you. His hand gripped your wrist a little tighter, not wanting to risk losing the connection. 

His thumb was planted on your clit, sloppily circling it and giving it just the right amount of pressure, letting your mewling sounds and jolts of energy guide him. His middle fingers teased your entrance one more time before slowly slipping inside, enjoying the stretch almost more than you did. You were dripping down his hand at this point, and he wished for a second that he could feel it in person as opposed to in a dream like this, but he brushed the thought away as you threw your head back and gasped as the tip of his fingers curled upwards and grazed your g-spot. 

The cheeky side of him wanted to tease you more, make you desperate and whiney, but you had other plans. Even in your heightened state, you still had enough wherewithal to wait until his fingers curled just right to clench around them and hold them where you wanted them as you grinded back down onto his hand. 

The Incubus’s eyes flew open and he watched you wrench one of your hands from his grip above you and send it down to cup his own arousal through the jeans he had decided on for this dream. He bucked into your hand and bit down on your lower lip, a hint of frustration evident in the strangled sound coming from his throat. He released your other hand to grip what little of the bookshelf he could, while your newly free hand immediately went for the curls at the nape of his neck and tangled them around your fingers. This sent a fresh whine from the Incubus, and his resolve was threatening to give way. Part of him wanted to take back control, let you know who was steering this dream, but the other part of him was so intrigued by your assertiveness that he was this close to completely surrendering to you and drowning in your energy and rendering him pathetic in the eyes of other demons. 

The thumb on your clit increased its speed and your own movements against his hand began to get sloppy. You felt your high bubbling up inside you, and there wasn’t a single cell in your body that was going to get in the way of it. Your walls clenched even harder onto his fingers, to the point where they could barely move but neither of you cared. 

“Come on…give it to me…,” was roughly whispered against your mouth as his thumb harshly pressed down on your clit, and with a cry your vision went white and you shattered around his hand. For what seemed like minutes you convulsed and shook for him, shouting expletives to the ceiling as you didn’t even know his name. 

Now this was when any other Incubus with a modicum of common sense and decorum would swiftly exit the dream and jet off to the next human of the night, but he wasn’t ready to leave. The longer an Incubus occupied  a human's dream, the bigger the risk of them becoming a memory. The standard practice was to give and feed off a singular orgasm from whatever human, and then never see the same one again. That way humans wrote off their naughty dreams as hormonal build ups and mundane desire, nothing more. They’re meant to be mischievous phantoms, not figures haunting your dreams. There were other Demons for that. 

Instead, he continued to breathe raggedly against your cheek as he worked you through your orgasm. As you came down, he reluctantly withdrew his fingers from your core, and popped them in his mouth, wanting to savor your release for himself. 

Your eyes met, and you both seemed to be silently asking the same question of, “who are you?”

He couldn’t leave. He wanted to truly have you. What’s the point in being a Demon if you didn’t break the rules? Who put those rules in place in the first place? They could go fuck themselves. Even if he could only feel you wrapped up around him in a dream and never in the real world, he needed it. 

His still-damp fingers gripped your shirt and nearly ripped it off your head before doing the same with his own shirt. 

His enthusiasm surprised you and you held back a giggle as you took turns getting your clothes off as fast as possible. The Incubus’s lips locked back onto yours, and the faint taste of you still lingered in his tongue. He reached down and gripped the back of your thighs, lifting you easily against the stack. The shelves and books dug into your back but you welcomed it as he lined himself up with your entrance. 

The feeling of his thick head gliding through your folds was brief before he sheathed himself inside you. The force and sensation had you biting down on his bottom lip harder than you should have but you were too focused on the sudden fullness you felt to care. Your eyes were rolled back into your head as you adjusted to him. 

The Incubus inside you was gripping your hips like he was afraid you’d float away if he let go. He thought he had been prepared for this but the softness of your walls, the way you squeezed him, and the force of you biting down onto his lip had him uncharacteristically dizzy. He leaned his forehead against yours, letting his lip rest between your teeth as he remained still inside you. 

You released his lip and whispered, “I need you to move…” 

His eyes darted up to you and bore into yours as he reared back and slammed back in, causing you to arch your back away from the shelves. The Incubus dipped his head and took one of your nipples into his mouth, humming around it as he picked up his pace. 

The both of you pawed at each other as you moved together, nails digging into skin and teeth nipping and biting wherever they could reach. This wasn’t the time or place to go slow, and you both knew it. This dream was driven by need.

It wasn’t long before your second high crept up on you. At some point a hand made its way  in between you and was working your clit feverishly, By now you were a mess of bleary eyes and sweaty limbs. You couldn’t form words as he pounded into you, clinging onto him after giving up the idea you could meet his thrusts. 

“You gonna let me have it again?” He spoke into your ear before leaving an open mouth kiss on the space just under it. “Let me feel it this way?”

Oh, it was inevitable, you could feel the coil inside you tightening up like a spring, and any moment now it was going to snap. 

“I wish you knew how good you f-feel,” a growl rumbled in his chest, interrupting him, “squeezing…me…” 

You tried to respond, but all that came out of your mouth was a reedy sigh. 

“Look at you, dumb for it,” he teased as he tilted his hips, causing his cock to hit an even more delicious spot deep within you. 

It was too much. You were too overwhelmed. Between the tight grip on your ass, the kisses along your neck, the thumb working your clit, and the angle and force behind his moments, you were a goner. 

He felt you tighten up even more first, and your walls started fluttering around him as your legs shook on either side of his hips. Your mouth fell open in a silent scream, but you forced your eyes to stay open the whole time. With one last look into your watery eyes, he slammed himself into you one final time before he emptied himself. 

His eyes snapped open, and he remembered where he actually was: in your bedroom. He slowly let go of your wrist, severing the connection completely. 

It was over. 

The Incubus  stood up, backing away from your bed and watching you roll over onto your stomach. He needed to leave. He had been there for far too long. The energy from your dream was still roaring through his body, and your television was starting to flicker because of it. He couldn’t risk being seen. No, that was a rule he could not break. 

“Goodnight, Sweet Dreamer,” he whispered before exiting your apartment the way he came and into the night. 

~!~

That was eight months ago, and the Incubus lasted two weeks before he came crawling back to your Dreamland. That dream was a little more creative, the both of you ending up making out at some nondescript house party, kicking red solo cups out of the way as you backed him up against a wall. 

A week later, you were in some corn maze, and like most dreams it was confusing at first at who was trying to find who, but you ended up jumping on him in the center of the maze surrounded by bunnies and a pumpkin patch. 

A notable one was where the Demon was a rock star, and he had you bent over a couch in some random green room of a stadium. That one was fun. 

He tried, he really tried to keep his visits random and not too close together, but he failed miserably. At this point, he was a reaccuring dream to you, and he was starting to feel bad because you still didn’t know what he was. 

He tried keeping himself distracted by hanging around in a pocket dimension in Hell that his brothers were fond of. It was one they often found themselves at because of the quiet atmosphere compared to the rest of Hell. It wasn’t anything fancy, but a seemingly endless bar where a Demon could sit down, order any little treat they wanted, and relax after a long day. 

The four Demons were sitting at their usual table, catching up and sipping their respective beverages. 

“Are you actually going to drink that, Josh?” His twin teased as the Incubus had been sat at the table with the low ball glass held against the side of his forehead white he leaned on his elbow. The chilled beverage was refreshing resting where his ebony horn protruded from his forehead. 

“Leave me alone,” he mumbled before bringing the glass to his lips and taking a gulp. 

His twin, Jake, snickered across the table, “what’s gotten into you lately anyway?”

Josh gave him a hard look, “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Please. You haven’t been out in forever and whenever you are with us you look like a kicked puppy.” 

“Have you considered that you might be the reason for that?”

Jake’s mouth twisted into a frown, he knew better. 

“Anyway,” Josh announced, trying to change the subject, “we’re here to celebrate Daniel’s promotion!” He turned to his left and gestured at the tall curly haired demon. His newly-grown leathery wings flexed at the attention. He still wasn’t used to having them yet. 

In Hell, certain physical attributes were only obtained from being “promoted.” Otherwise known as making the right deals with the right Demons and having connections. Out of the four of them, he was the first one to achieve wing-status. The rest of them just had their horns that they were born with. 

Josh hoped to have wings one day but it was rare for Incubi to get the opportunity. 

“How do they feel?” The other brother, Sam, asked on Josh’s right. Sam was the youngest out of the four but he had a prowess and drive that made it obvious that his wings weren’t far behind Danny’s. It made the obvious competition between the two oldest twins even more tense at times. 

“They feel great, honestly but they’re awkward as fuck at times.” He looked down as the farthest point of his wings kept brushing the floor from where he sat. 

They settled back down into idle chatter, but Jake was not satisfied with Josh’s earlier answer. He wasn’t going to pry with everyone there, so he waited until Sam and Danny took off for whatever mischief and turmoil they had up their sleeves. 

Jake was flat out concerned with his twin, “tell me what’s really going on,” he pressed in a soft voice once they were alone. 

Josh sighed. Keeping the last eight months a secret from everyone, even Jake, was one of the hardest things he had done. Keeping something like this from his brother was making the situation even worse. 

“I did something…well, I’ve been doing something…” he muttered while staring at the ice cubes of his drink. 

Jake nearly snorted, “of course you have, you’re fucking a Demon for Lucifer’s sake.” 

Josh shook his head, “no…it's not something like that.” He took a deep breath and continued, “there’s this girl, well, human girl, and-”

His twin sighed heavily, “not a human, Josh…” 

Josh gave him a warning look, “are you going to let me talk, Jake?” 

“Fine. Explain.” 

“It wasn’t supposed to be anything, I promise,” the Incubus went on to tell Jake a summary of the last few months, keeping most of the salacious details to himself. But the way his dark eyes lit up as he described you, dropping details he had learned from your dreams, listing parts of your personality that you didn’t show to anyone else due to your subconscious, gave his emotions away.

“She’s just a random human, you’ll get over it and find something else to obsess over,” Jake concluded, not wanting to encourage this. 

“Is that really all that you took from that? I don’t want to get over her.” 

“Are you in love with this human, Josh?” 

The silence from across the table gave the Demon his answer. 

“Does she know what you are, then?”

Another beat of silence, this time Josh swallowed the rest of his drink and sat the glass on the table in a clank. 

“This is not going to end well, man.” 

Josh gave Jake another withering look, “don’t you think I know that?” 

Jake’s eyes softened, as did his voice, “you should’ve told me sooner.” 

“...and get lectured by you? No thank you.” 

“I wouldn’t-,” he sighed, “I wouldn’t have lectured you. I just know how you’ll be if she ends up getting hurt from this. You’re not fun to be around when you’re guilt-ridden. I don’t like seeing you that way.” 

What Josh hadn’t told him, was that you had seen parts of Josh he kept hidden from others too. After the first month or two, your dreams weren’t always overtly sexual. The two of you did talk sometimes, but not a lot. You learned each other’s names finally, and you hadn’t batted an eye at his name since it was so common. The banter you shared was easy; he even made you laugh more often than not. Falling in love with you wasn’t part of the plan, but it crept up on him, and he didn’t have the willpower to fight it. He didn’t want to.

“You’re seeing her tonight, aren’t you?” 

This time he avoided Jake’s gaze, but he answered, “I wanted to, yeah.” 

“Just be careful? Ok?” 

Josh looked up and nodded at his brother, before disappearing from his seat and reappearing outside your house. It was nearly three AM in your time zone, and he knew you were fast asleep. He stared up at the window he had come to know was your bedroom, The television light flickered and flashed. You always needed background noise to sleep, he had learned. 

In a blink he was in your room, staring down at your sleeping form. The slight pout on your lips made him smile. He sat down and took your hand and started to drop into your Dreamland. He had been so focused on you that he had missed the book, “Lucid Dreaming: Easier than you Think!” resting on your nightstand.

The scene before him was charming. Josh found himself standing in a forest, surrounded by green trees and the ambient sounds of nature. The path he was on led to a quaint A-frame cabin in the middle of a clearing. The lights were on inside, and he knew you were in there. 

As he opened the door to the cabin, he found you sitting on a couch with a book in your lap. You looked up at him and smiled warmly. 

“Hey you.” 

He smiled back and made his way to the couch and sat down. You threw your book to the side and moved to straddle his lap, smile growing even wider at being with him again. His hands reached up to cradle your face as you melted into his kiss. It felt so normal to see you again, so familiar, Josh didn’t even sense the change in your demeanor. 

The two of you made out for a good while, before you pulled back to look at him. 

“Took you long enough to get here, you’re a little late tonight.” 

That was an oddly pointed question, but he tried to play it off, “I am?” 

You sat back on his thighs and draped your arms on his shoulders, “Yeah. Normally you’re here earlier.” 

Josh shifted awkwardly beneath you. This was different. You were still you of course, but something was off. He wanted to keep playing along, but he didn’t want to make it worse. 

“You don’t feel real sometimes,” you started before kissing him again. His hands gripped your hips in the way he knew you loved, and he started to relax against you, but you pulled back and asked, “are you real, Josh?” 

He froze, his eyes stared into yours, unsure how to answer. 

“I-”

“They say that every face you see in your dreams isn’t new, that it’s always someone you’ve seen before even for just a second, and I can tell you with confidence that I had never seen you before that night.” 

Oh, shit. You had always taken the reins in your dreams, but not like this. This was more direct. This was…lucid.

He whispered your name, before confessing, “..yes…I’m real…”

You pulled back a little further to get a better look at him, “then what are you?”

This was it. This was when he had to come clean. You had purposefully set a trap for him, knowing he couldn’t resist you. He wasn’t even going to fight it, because it was completely his fault. 

He reached up and touched the side of your face, his thumb finding its home on your cheek, “my sweet dreamer…I-”

“Don’t call me that right now. Tell me the truth.” Your whole body was tense and rigid, as if you were bracing yourself for his answer. A good call on your part. 

He took a few deep breaths, “I’m…I’m an Incubus, love.” 

You stared at him, unmoving.

“Which is a kind of-”

“Demon?” you finished. When he nodded, you scrambled off of his lap and backed away from him, standing in front of the cabin's fireplace. Several different emotions swept through you, “you don’t work for the Devil, do you?” 

Josh straightened up in his seat, “no of course not, He’s very picky about who he works with and there’s no way he’d entertain even looking at someone of my rank.” 

“So Hell is real?” 

“Yes.” 

You looked at your feet, “does that…does that make you evil, Josh?”

His face started to heat up but he explained, “the concept of “good” or “evil” is a very human one, my love. It’s not that simple. Demons…we’re not ‘evil’ in the way humans make us out to be, just like Angels,” he made a face at the mention of such creatures, “aren’t inherently ‘good’ either.” 

“Angels are bad?” 

“I wouldn’t say bad…but they’re annoying to run into. They’re more vengeful than people think.” 

You stood there silently, taking it all in. 

The Demon before you continued, “you can’t think of Heaven and Hell being opposites of each other. They’re more like…different neighborhoods on either side of the same town, so to speak.”

“Well…you wouldn’t be the first Demon named Josh that I’ve met…,” your poor attempt at a joke to break the tension didn’t land very well, but your face softened towards him. 

Now it was his turn to look down at the floor, “if you never want to see me again, I understand and I’ll respect th-”

“Can we only meet here, in dreams?”

He stared at you, “no…I exist in all realms, not just the Dreamlands.”

You sniffed and squared your shoulders, “good. Now let me wake up.” 

The panic set in, you didn’t know that he looked a little…different in the waking world, “No, no you don’t have to-”

But it was too late. The Incubus was catapulted from your Dreamland and sent back to the earthly plane with a force that nearly sent him to the floor of your room. The connection was severed, and you were starting to stir in your sleep and sit up. The room was pitch black except for the glow coming from the television. It cast Josh in a perfect silhouette, but the inevitable was coming. 

You reached for your lamp, still a little bleary eyed from sleep when his voice stopped you.

“Wait, love,” He sounded exactly the same as he did in your dreams, and being able to hear him with your actual ears made your chest tighten and warm. 

“What?” you asked, confused. 

“I just…I look a little different than how you’ve seen me…,” his voice was so soft, almost defeated. “I just don’t want to scare you any more than I already have.” 

“I’m a big girl, Josh.” 

“I know, I know love, I just-” 

You didn’t let him finish before you clicked on your lamp, illuminating the small room. Before you looked up you turned off the tv, blindly pointing the remote at the screen. The only sound you could hear was your own breathing, and his. 

Slowly, your eyes lifted up to look at the Demon sitting at the foot of your bed. He wasn’t so different from your dreams, his kohl rimmed eyes were still their warm brown, his hair was still curly and unruly, the shaved sides accompanied by two black horns-

Horns?

They were black, a little shiny under the light, and curved backwards into his curls. It was certainly different, but they looked perfect with his sweet face. 

“You were worried about your horns?” 

HIs face reddened and he finally looked up at you, “M-my eyes also look different…but I didn’t want to throw too much at you all at once….” 

“Josh, show me.” 

He took a breath, and allowed his true eyes to appear. They were fully black, exaggerated by the kohl that lined them. The combination of his eyes and the horns certainly completed the demonic look, but it didn’t scare you. 

In fact, you felt a little emboldened, and threw your covers off your lap and got onto your knees.  Slowly, you crawled down your bed to him before straightening back up, making him look up at you. The black voids were lined with worry, as if he was waiting for you to scream, run, or both. Instead, you gently placed your hands on his cheeks. He relaxed slightly in your hands. 

“They’re beautiful, Josh,” your comforting  words were referring to both his horns and his eyes. 

This made his shoulders relax and he melted his cheek into your hand, “they’re not too much, love?”

You smiled, “honestly I was preparing myself for hooves and a tail.” 

The Incubus made a disgusted face, “I might be a Demon but I am not a Satyr.”

His tone made you laugh, “ok then. Can I touch them?” Your hand raised towards one of his horns. 

You wanted to touch them? He nodded and cast his eyes down. 

Tentatively your fingertips grazed the hard, ebony surface. The touch alone made him shiver, as his horns were sensitive. It had been awhile since someone had truly touched them like this. 

“Do you like that?” 

He looked back up at you, “yes…” 

Your fingers fully ran up the horn to the tip and back, truly feeling it. You noticed the action had him breathing a little heavier, and you softly wrapped your whole hand around it. The Demon made a sound low in his chest, almost like a purr. 

“They’re really sensitive, huh?” 

“You have no idea…” He paused, “Like I said earlier, if you want me to leave I’ll respect that.” 

You smiled and straddled his lap, facing him straight on now. 

“Kiss me, Josh.” 

He couldn’t believe what was happening. You weren't running, you weren’t scared, you still wanted him. Josh nearly crashed his lips onto yours, relief flooding his system. 

You melted into him like you always did, and being able to feel each other in the corporal world was even better than the Dreamlands. He felt so solid against you, his curls were even softer as you tangled your fingers in them. 

Soon, you felt yourself get pushed back onto your bed, your Demon climbing on top of you. It felt so natural to do so, as you technically had done this with him dozens of times, but this time it was real. You could take your time with each other and actually mean it, as time moved differently in dreams. Now you could feel him minute by minute, and the thought had your heart racing. 

His lips found yours again, and you were both focused on truly feeling each other for the first time in the physical realm. There was no rush, no deadline, no anxiety of the dream shifting or changing, it was just the two of you, in your bedroom. His weight on top of you felt so comforting and familiar. He left a trail of kisses down your jaw to your neck, landing on your pulsepoint and sucking the skin into his mouth harshly. You arched your back and grinded up into him. You felt his lips smile against your skin as he grinded down on you, and his arousal certainly felt the same as it did in your dreams. He hadn’t been exaggerating. 

His hands reached under the raggedy t-shirt you had slept in, before looking back up at you for permission. You nodded and he nearly ripped the shirt off your body, sending it into the corner of your room. 

“Do I look the same?” The question left your lips before you could stop it. 

His eyes swept your form, seeing your hair fanned out underneath you, no makeup on as you often did in your dreams, his breath caught in his chest. He looked over your body, counting each freckle and mole, making sure each and every one was still there. Over the last few months he had memorized them all, wanting the image of you permanently fixed on the back of his eyelids. 

“Even better, my love,” he said sincerely before capturing your lips once again, pouring his built up emotions into the kiss. He then started kissing his way down your body, giving attention to both breasts before kissing down to the edge of your panties. His fingers hooked onto the sides and pulled them down. You lifted your hips to get them off all the way, and they were thrown behind him blindly. 

His dark gaze landed on your pussy, the hunger in his eyes evident as he spread your legs apart. He couldn’t hold back anymore and quickly descended upon your core. His tongue flattened out and spread your folds apart, and the taste that flooded his mouth had him groaning into your body and grinding his hips onto your bed. 

Your breath caught at the sudden sensation, but you bucked into his mouth as his tongue found your clit, needing more friction from him. As he devoured you, the sight of his horns on top of his head sent another wave of pleasure through your body. Curiosity drove your hands to lightly wrap around each of them, pulling downwards slightly to steer his face further into your pussy. Your folds practically fluttered from the force of the moan that left his mouth. 

So you did it again. 

And again.

And again. 

Until you were crying out his name as your orgasm took over. 

Josh barely gave you a chance to recover as he crawled back up your body, using his own magic to vanish the clothes he had on on the way up. His lips greedily crashed into yours, while his hand hooked your leg around his hip. His other hand reached down for his cock, running it through your folds.

The new, yet familiar feeling of is cock at your entrance sent a shiver through you, and you grabbed his face in your hands, “please, Josh,” 

He couldn”t help but be cheeky, “you want it, love?” 

Your eyes narrowed, “show me what kind of Demon you really are.” 

As if it was possible, his eyes got even darker at your request and he slammed himself inside you, nearly pushing you farther up the bed. It was his turn to cry out at the feel of you. His pace was brutal, but it was what you wanted. You locked your legs around him at the small of his back and clung to him while your lips peppered kisses up and down his neck, along his jaw, nipping at the skin here or there with your teeth. 

Your Demon knew you better than the back of his hand, and he was going to prove it before the night was over. He continued to slam into you, angling his hips in the way he knew you loved, grinding his pelvic bone perfectly onto your clit. Your nails dug into his back in response and that spurred him on even more, loving that he could turn you into such a mess this way. 

You were so close, teetering on the brink of your orgasm. One final grind on your clit with his pelvis had your back arching even harder, and you shattered beneath him. Your legs shook and your walls clenched around him. He continued slamming into you, chasing his own high and working you through yours. 

You were starting to come down when your gaze landed on his horns, and a thought ran through your mind. Your hands grasped his face and pulled it down as if you were going to kiss his lips, but instead you bypassed them and flattened your tongue on the front side of his left horn. Josh shuddered violently against you and he twitched inside of you. His hips thrusted one final time before he emptied himself as deep as he could. 

Not wanting to miss your chance, you blew some air onto the wet spot your tongue left behind on his horn, causing him to shudder again as he came down. He chuckled against your chest as he laid his head down, trying to catch his breath. 

For several minutes, the two of you stayed tangled up in each other, not wanting to leave the little bubble you had created. This time, Josh wasn’t forced away from you because of your dream. He could lay there as long as you wanted him to. 

You were too exhausted to even attempt to move, so you relished his weight on you. Cleaning up wasn’t something you ever had to worry about in your dreams, but here in the real world it was an issue, and you felt his release start to leak out of you. 

“Josh…” you whispered. 

He got the hint immediately and slowly withdrew from you, looking down at your combined releases for a second before disappearing into your hallway for your bathroom. Your apartment was small enough that it was the only other door available and he quickly returned with a warm washcloth to clean you both up.

Minutes later you were both back under your covers, your head laying on his chest as your fingers drew tiny patterns onto his skin. He could tell you were trying to stay awake.

“You need your sleep, my sweet dreamer,” he whispered into your hair before dropping a kiss onto your head. 

“Would you be there to greet me?”

He smiled into the dark, “I could…but I like being out here with you better.” 

You let out a yawn and relaxed further into his chest. You reached for his hand and held it to your lips, brushing them against his knuckles before holding it on his chest. You didn’t know what any of this meant for you, but what the Demon in your bed didn’t know was that in the last eight months, you hadn’t had a single nightmare or bad nights sleep, and your intuition was sure it was because of him. 

“Will you stay?” 

“For as long as you want me to, my love.” 

His lips brushed against your forehead one last time before the both of you drifted off to sleep, not knowing what the future held for you both but knowing it was going to be better with each other in it. 

Epilogue: 

One human year later…

“Close your eyes, my love,” Josh said behind you. 

“What are you surprising me with this time?” You laughed as you did as you were told. 

“You’ll see. It's something I’ve been working on for quite some time.” The excitement and pride in his voice was evident. His footsteps came around in front of you, and your brows furrowed wondering what on earth it could be. He took a deep breath, “ok, open them.” 

Your eyes fluttered open and then immediately grew wide at the sight in front of you. There, in your living room, was your boyfriend, your Demon boyfriend, standing proudly with a new pair of bat-like wings protruding from his back. 

“How did you-”

“I knew a guy who knew a guy that was friends with another guy who needed a few favors and I volunteered. I didn’t realize he was a fucking Prince of Hell and he was so impressed by our little mission that he uhh…gave me a promotion.” 

Your mouth fell open, you knew he had been away a lot in the last couple months due to “Demon business” but he had kept parts of it vague. It was probably the one part of him you were still getting used to, but you trusted him enough by now that you weren’t too worried when he was gone for a couple weeks at a time. 

“So what does that mean for you…?”

He took another breath and stepped towards you, slipping his hand into yours, “I’m no longer an Incubus, love.” 

Your brows furrowed in confusion, “well then what are you?”

“Essentially, I collect souls now and not dreams.” 

“Pardon?” 

“When a person makes a deal with a Demon more often than not they sell their souls to them. Basically, when their time is up I get to take them to whomever they made their deal with and they get dealt with accordingly.”

You were still a little skeptical, “that sounds awfully busy…” 

He shook his head, “no this is a good thing, I get more ‘surface time’ with you now! I won’t be away as much.” He was full on grinning now and his dimple sank deeply into his cheek. 

Your eyes traveled from his sweet face to his new wings, the sunlight showing through the thin skin. He flexed them slightly under your gaze, happy you weren’t grossed out by them. Much like a year prior with his horns, you reached forward and grazed your fingertips on the surface of one. It twitched slightly under your touch and you looked back at your Demon. From the outside looking in, it was odd to be proud of your boyfriend's Demonic accomplishments, but you couldn’t help it. You leapt into his arms and kissed him, smiling against his lips as he held your hips and wrapped your legs around his waist.

Who would’ve thought that a Demon would make your dreams literally come true?

Fin

Tag List:  @dannyandthekiszkas , @readyforthegarden , @sinners-go-to-drink-the-wine , @wideminded-dreamer , @runwayblues , @wildbluesorbit , @llightmyllovee , @rhythm-of-space , @sacredthefran , @writingcold , @alwaysonthemend , @wetkleenex-gvf , @josh-iamyour-mama , @lightsofthe-living-gvf , @gvfcinema, @sacredthethreadgvf , @losfacedevil , @jakekiszkasbuttsweat , @shutupdevvie , @hearts-hunger , @gretavanfleetposts , @ascendingtostardust , @mackalah , @andromeda-raine-gvf , @jake-kiszkas-smirk , @gracev0609 , @sacredjake , @earthlysorrows , @gvfpal , @myownparadise96 , @itsafullmoon , @gvfmelbourne, @twistedmelodies , @that-witchy-pan , @gold-mines-melting , @texas-bbq-pringles , @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface , @childinthegardenn , @char289 , @stardustvanfleet , @sunfl0wer-power , @holdingup-fallingsky , @bladenotblaze , @gretavanlace , @lipstickitty , @jjwasneverhere , @josiee-gvf , @peaceloveunitygvf , @musicislove3389 , @gretavanhockey , @gretavanazula

[apod]

2024 January 15

Star Cluster IC 348 from Webb Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and K. Luhman (Penn State U.) and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA)

Explanation: Sometimes, it's the stars that are the hardest to see that are the most interesting. IC 348 is a young star cluster that illuminates surrounding filamentary dust. The stringy and winding dust appears pink in this recently released infrared image from the Webb Space Telescope. In visible light, this dust reflects mostly blue light, giving the surrounding material the familiar blue hue of a reflection nebula. Besides bright stars, several cool objects have been located in IC 348, visible because they glow brighter in infrared light. These objects are hypothesized to be low mass brown dwarfs. Evidence for this includes the detection of an unidentified atmospheric chemical, likely a hydrocarbon, seen previously in the atmosphere of Saturn. These objects appear to have masses slightly greater than known planets, only a few times greater than Jupiter. Together, these indicate that this young star cluster contains something noteworthy -- young planet-mass brown dwarfs that float free, not orbiting any other star.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240115.html

[my-vanishing-rad]

Woman of the Day the first woman navigator in the Soviet Air Force Marina Mikhaylovna Raskova of Moscow who died OTD 1943, creator and commanding officer of the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment - the Night Witches, the scourge of Nazi Germany.

Women were allowed to enlist during WW2 but not in combat roles, support only. That changed in June 1941 when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Germans were pressing on Moscow; Leningrad was under siege. Desperate times. As so often in war, needs must. Closed doors suddenly opened for women.

Marina was more than ready. She had letters from over 2000 women wanting to fight and finally, she had Stalin’s backing to form an all-female fighting squadron comprising three units of 400 women each. Most were students aged from 17 to 26 and they were put through compressed training as pilots, navigators, maintenance and ground crew at the Engels School of Aviation.

If Marina was prepared, the military was not. The women were allotted secondhand uniforms from the men, including boots that were too big. The women stuffed torn-up bedding in their boots to make them fit.

(This is when I warmed to them. Fast forward over forty years and just like every other woman prison officer, I was rolling up the legs of flame-resistant overalls and padding out riot helmets and safety boots with scrunched-up newspaper to make them fit because they were male uniform issue only. We didn’t even question it then. We were women, used to being treated as a flipping afterthought).

The Night Witches’ planes were no better: outdated two-seater open-cockpit biplanes made of plywood covered with canvas not meant for combat. Wooden planes, in other words. The women were not equipped with parachutes, radios, radar or guns. They used rulers, stopwatches, flashlights, pencils, maps and compasses to navigate and the planes could only carry two bombs, one under each wing. These weighed so much, the wooden planes could only fly at lower altitudes making them an easier target, which is why they only flew nighttime missions - and night flying meant freezing temperatures, wind and frostbite. The planes could become so cold that touching them could rip off skin.

If that didn’t sap the Night Witches’ morale, the outright sexism from male comrades should have. Marina tried to prepare her women for it but it was intense.

Impossible odds, wouldn’t you say? Yet on 8 October 1941, 28 year old pilot Major Yevdokiya Bershanskaya led the Night Witches on their first active bombing mission, thus making the Soviet Union the first to officially allow women to engage in combat.

Night after night, convoys of up to 40 two-women crews carried out between eight and 18 missions each, flying back at very low altitudes to re-arm between runs. The front planes would act as bait to act German spotlights, which provided illumination, and then release a flare lighting up the target. The last plane would idle its engines and glide in darkness to the bombing area. Stealth mode.

Their planes could manoeuvre faster than the enemy making them hard to target but other than that, they were defenceless. Almost none of the planes carried defence ammunition and if they were hit by tracer bullets, which carried a pyrotechnic charge, the wooden planes would burst into flames. Ducking and diving out of the way of enemy fire was the only tactic they had. These women were exceptionally highly skilled pilots.

The Germans nicknamed them Nachthexen or night witches because their wooden planes made a whooshing noise that sounded like a sweeping broom. The planes were too small for radar or infrared detectors to pick up and the women pilots didn’t have radioes so radio locators couldn’t pick them up either. In effect, they were ghosts, deadly ones. They were feared and hated so much by the Nazis that any German airman who downed one was automatically awarded the Iron Cross.

The all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment dropped more than 23,000 tons of bombs on Nazi targets. They carried out their last mission on 4 May 1945 when they flew within 37 miles of Berlin. Three days later, Germany officially surrendered.

Altogether, the Night Witches flew more than 30,000 missions, about 800 per pilot and navigator. They lost a total of 30 pilots. 24 were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, making them one of the most highly decorated units in the Soviet Air Force during WW2, but they were not included in the big victory day parade in Moscow because their planes were too slow.

The Night Witches were disbanded six months later. The Germans had two theories as to why the women were so successful: either they were criminals sent to the frontline as punishment, or they had been given special injections so they could see at night. Neither was true. What they had was determination, courage and skill. No witchcraft required.

Marina didn’t live to see it. She died on 4 January 1943 on the front line, aged just 30. Hers was the first State funeral of WW2 and her ashes were buried in the Kremlin.

The First Commandment of the Night Witches:

"Be proud that you are a woman."

[brightestofcentaurus]

Orion Nebula

"The dusty side of the Sword of Orion is illuminated in this striking infrared image from the European Space Agency's Hershel Space Observatory. This immense nebula is the closest large region of star formation, situated about 1,500 light years away in the constellation of Orion. The parts that are easily observed in visible light, known alternatively as the Orion Nebula or Messier 42, correspond to the light blue regions. This is the glow from the warmest dust, illuminated by clusters of hot stars that have only recently been born in this chaotic region.

The red spine of material running from corner to corner reveals colder, denser filaments of dust and gas that are scattered throughout the Orion nebula. In visible light this would be a dark, opaque feature, hiding the reservoir of material from which stars have recently formed and will continue to form in the future.

Herschel data from the PACS instrument observations, at wavelengths of 100 and 160 microns, is displayed in blue and green, respectively, while SPIRE 250-micron data is shown in red.

Within the inset image, the emission from ionized carbon atoms (C+), overlaid in yellow, was isolated and mapped out from spectrographic data obtained by the HIFI instrument."

Image and information from NASA.

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

Webb Unveils Dark Side

An international team of astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has obtained an in-depth inventory of the deepest, coldest ices measured to date in a molecular cloud. In addition to simple ices like water, the team was able to identify frozen forms of a wide range of molecules, from carbonyl sulfide, ammonia, and methane, to the simplest complex organic molecule, methanol. This is the most comprehensive census to date of the icy ingredients available to make future generations of stars and planets, before they are heated during the formation of young stars.

 This image from the telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) features the central region of the Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud, which resides 630 light-years away. The cold, wispy cloud material (blue, center) is illuminated in the infrared by the glow of the young, outflowing protostar Ced 110 IRS 4 (orange, upper). The light from numerous background stars, seen as orange dots behind the cloud, can be used to detect ices in the cloud, which absorb the starlight passing through them. 

 Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and M. Zamani

[robreyart]

The Magic of Reality 6 x 8 inches, Oil on Panel, study for a larger painting

Available tomorrow, 2/20/24, on Every Day Original! https://everydayoriginal.com

In stories we fantasize of having the power to control invisible energy, of having a magic wand to harness that energy and affect the world in mysterious ways. However, having these powers can simply be a matter of perspective. All around us, through us, invisible electromagnetic energy is flowing. Radio, microwaves, and infrared transmit information which, with the proper preparation, we can and do use to affect a multitude of things. Like magic wands, our phones and other remotes can cast spells that open garage doors, illuminate rooms, send secret messages, conjure food to our door, and make most of human knowledge available to us with just a few magic search terms. Reality is more magical than we could have imagined. To live the life of a witch or a wizard you only have to realize the energy all around you and the power you wield.

[jameswebb-discoveries]

Discovery Alert! In a new discovery released on Jan 08, 2024 James Webb Telescope and Chandra Solve Cassiopeia A's Green Monster Riddle.

Discovery Alert! In a new discovery released on Jan 08, 2023 James Webb Telescope and Chandra Solve Cassiopeia A's Green Monster Riddle. Read more here

Dive into the celestial wonders of Cassiopeia A as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory join forces to decode the enigma of the 'Green Monster.' 🌠✨ This collaboration has unveiled a mesmerizing image resembling an electric light show in space – think red clouds, glowing white streaks, fiery flames, and a central region that's practically a cosmic green lightning display. ⚡️💫

Chandra's X-rays in striking blue illuminate the hot gas, predominantly from the supernova debris, unveiling elements like silicon and iron. These elements form thin arcs in the outer reaches of the remnant, revealing the aftermath of a celestial explosion. 🌪️

Webb's infrared magic, painted in red, green, and blue, exposes the warmth of dust embedded in the hot gas seen by Chandra and the presence of cooler supernova debris. Meanwhile, the Hubble data adds a sprinkle of stars, turning this cosmic canvas into a dazzling tapestry. 🌈✨

Get ready to embark on a journey through the cosmos, where science meets art and the mysteries of Cassiopeia A are unraveled. 🌌💙 #WebbTelescope #ChandraObservatory #GreenMonsterMystery #CosmicDiscovery #SpaceArtistry

[thehomophobe]

When encountering a child 🧒: Part 2

Roxy 🐺: "Alright, so here's what you do." Roxy instructed as she pointed at the gas pedal inside the kart. "Your foot pushes on that pedal. That's what makes the kart go."

"And what about this one?" The kid points at the other smaller pedal in curiosity.

"That's the brake pedal."

"That's what stops the kart?"

"Mmhm." Roxy nodded. It was a simple vehicle but simple is different when it comes for children. (Y/N), the kid in the Roxy themed kart, had never touch one these in their whole life. Which is unbelievable despite living inside the literal walls of the mall in secret. The was right by the raceway, hidden in the dark shadows in the back where no guests, staff or robot could define. The only person who clearly notice the standalone slum from the darkness was Roxy. (Infrared vision obvi) And with an effort, Roxy decided to keep the kid's shack a secret from everyone, including her bandmates. How could she not keep allegedly her #1 fan practically standing by her side? 

(Y/N) held tightly to the steering wheel; all the might in their arms was forced onto the apparatus. They were nervous, only the adults drive a car, not little kids. But they had Roxy as their teacher, who gave a small chuckle from behind. "What's got you so tense?"

"Nervous." said (Y/N)

"You're going to be fine. Just follow the path" Roxy made a vague, squiggly outline of the track. "and slow down if you close to the edge." She points the barracks blocking around the perimeters of the track. (Y/N) loosen up and steadied themself, ready to race.

"You ready?" Their instructor asked, jumping over the barracks near the finish line.

"Mmhm." (Y/N) nodded determinedly. "I'm ready." 

Roxy couldn't smile anymore at the kid's determination. That furrow of focused, it's just too cute. 

"On your marks."

"Get set."

"Go!"

The colors fly, soar even. The wind blusters through with an unmatched force. The lights glow, illuminating with their shine. The crowds would cheer, whoas, wows, and whoos can be heard. Zooming through the gravel, bottles on the ground spin at the speed of light. Spray the champagne, pass the bottle. Hit the gas and go full throttle! You say to yourself. It felt amazing. It felt exhilarating. 

And you were one going 14 miles per hour.

Hey, it was fun for you. Especially with that big imagination of yours.

Riding the line at the final minute, you wanted to be first in line. Not really worried about the time. Roxy stood and watched for the last minutes ticking passed, arms crossed but she was smiling. Happy to see you're fun. You smiled back, showing all your jagged teeth to the gynoid.

Once you passed the finish line, Roxy cheered and clapped for you. You got out the kart and ran towards her like a kid after their first day of school, happily hugging her legs. Roxy didn't exactly know how to respond, but she thought a simple hug in return was good enough. 

You won the pole position by having the slowest qualifying time. 

Sun 🌞:

Riley Magner and Sally Rovere; left just after snack time was over.

Tommy Reignheart and Harry Kent; they too had made their descent.

Clementine, Jezbelle, Reggie and Nevin; all went home with their nanny Mrs. Delvin.

One by one the children all go, except for one who's all alone.

(Y/N) (L/N). The last child of the night. 

Sun kept to their side siting in one of the plastic chairs and assisted the young child on their paper pal. A competent distraction from the somber situation, the solemn moratorium of their guardian picking them at the late hours of the night. It is about this time when the daycare should be closed and Sun would rest while his brother handled security outside the giant play place. But for now, we craft a friend, to accompany us in this quiet, sepulchral yet serene moment in time. 

"Wow. That's a very nice paper pal friend!" The android complemented, marveling the poorly colored paper pal in front of the child. (Y/N) smiled both proud of their creation and happy about the complement. "

Tank you Mr. Sun." They slurred with glee and not-quite-right pronunciation. A grammer lesson would wait, Sun has to put all these supplies back to their rightful homes. With the help of (Y/N) of course.

"Do you know where the little crayons go?" Sun asked.

"Into the boo box." (Y/N) said, placing the crayons to their happy home. 

"That's right! Good job little star!" Sun clapped in congrats.

(Y/N) was always a sweet child. Whether it be during playtime, snacktime, naptime or an afternoon lecture, they would always behave wonderfully in the daycare. A trait both Sun and Moon admire dearly. Of course they were other sweet kids, but our spotlight is on (Y/N) today is it not? After cleaning up, Sun's battery alert popped up, reminding him of his low power.

WARNING! LOW BATTERY 

20% Power Remaining

He really needs to charge soon, both for him and Moon. He yawns of tiredness and rubbed his eyes. It was in his code for to be drowsy when his power depleted under 50%. You know, to look more human to the kids. With all the perks: stiff shoulders, malaise, slowed reflexes, constant yawning, and of course, droopy eyelids slightly covering powder blue eyes.

He was fatigued. He needed sleep. Sleep mode that is. But he can't leave (Y/N) unattended, even if they're responsible enough to be unsupervised.

"Mr. Sun." A small voice peeped. Below the 8ft android lied the small child looking up with big eyes. "Are you sleepy?"

"Sleepy? Me?" He perked up after the question and shook his head quickly to shake some spunk back into his system. "Oh nonononono I'm ok! I'm wide awake! See?" He smiled, trying to play off the exhaustion.

"Oh ok. Kan you braid my hair? Pwetty pweaze?" (Y/N) asked politely. 

"Why I loved to my little starbeam." Sun grinned. He really would. You had nice hair and it was an activity that doesn't require a lot of power. He's just gotta sit down and braid your hair. That's it. He can do that. He can absolutely do that. 

With newfound energy, Sun searched for the chest of scrunchies a coworker once donated for kids with longer hair while playing. Meanwhile, (Y/N) found a comfy spot. It was the perfect place. The sleepaway tent near the back of the daycare. Mainly used for kids who were more introverted and calm then the others. Away from the bedlam of children's games and cacophony of laughter and loud screams. 

Chest in hand, Sun scanned the area, looking for the little star that had just eluded him. 

"(Y/N)~. Where are you~?" Sun sonnets, like a princess serenading the woodland creatures around her. 

"I'm in here Mr. Sun!" (Y/N) giggled, a little head peeked from the tent. 

Oh dear. Sun silently worried. The sleepaway tent was also made for naps too. It was quiet, calming, peaceful, and according to Moon, incredibly comfortable. He was starting to wonder if he wasn't gonna make through the night.

"Come on come on!" (Y/N) hurried the android.

"I-I'm coming star." Sun stammered a little. Robotic celestials above please give him strength.

Moon 🌚: Moon check the doors. Once, twice, thrice. He can't have those pesky nightguards ambush him tonight. The perfect night for a late slumber party. He checked one final time; the pitch black is what the average person would see outside fake Lincoln log doors, but for Moon it's an empty hall slightly dirted from the patrons from early and are due for some scrubbing. Good, no ones here. 

"All clear little star~." Moon grinned, closing the door slightly.

A little giggle rumbled from inside the sleepaway tent. A lilac blanket shifted before rising from the floor. A child emerged from beneath, the blanket turned into a woolen shawl wrapped around their small body. An equally cheeky grin matched the one on Moon's. Let the fun begin.

It's been two whole weeks since Moon found (Y/N) living inside the plex. During a midnight security run, Moon found a small cot hidden deep within the gift shop, hiding behind old boxes of merchandise untouched by anyone in the past. (Y/N) presumably utilized the boxes for their hut. Moon found the child sleeping with an old (and incredibly ugly) plush of himself. Their guest id wasn't registered at all in the system, meaning they snuck in during the rush hours. So with a heart of gold, (and Sun's incessant use of persuasion), he took (Y/N) in as his own. 

To think: Moon's (and Sun's) very own child.

"We could be their dads!" 

"Don't push it."

But it doesn't sound bad, (Y/N) is a good kid and both brothers wouldn't have it any other way.

"What would you like to play first star?" Moon asked. The child hummed in thought before choosing. 

"That one." They pointed at a pack of colorful cards in the center of pile. Old Maid: Simplified. A simple game. And it had little pictures for (Y/N) to learn. 

Moon dealt the cards out for the both of them while he explained the rules. "You see these people?" He laid three different cards in front of the child: A milkman, a ballerina and a police officer. "If you two of the same person," he pulls the same three cards again, "you put them over here." The child nodded.

"You win if you don't get the old maid." He pulls the old maid card up to show. 

"Why?" (Y/N) asked.

Huh? A question Moon couldn't properly answer. He wasn't sure why the game maker deemed the old maid the losing degree. She's just an old lady. "I'm...not exactly sure star." He shrugged after dealing the cards. (Y/N) got into a comfortable position before the game started.

 You must've played hundreds of games tonight with Mr. Moon. You won some, you lost some other ones, but you had fun tonight. And now you were sleepy. You yawned and rubbed your eyes.

"Getting sleepy little star?" A rumbly voice purred. You always thought Mr. Moon's voice was pretty. It sounded like those cats you would hear on the streets. You nodded slowly. A pillow was placed by your side like magic. You held the blanket closely, feeling the softness around you. A nap sounded good to you anyways.

"Nighty night, little star~."

[orgasmictomato]

IR Image with riders 09 rsztagnotes by Jim Via Flickr: A group of entities traversing the night sky, unseen by human vision, captured here by IR laser illumination and night vision video cameras in Australia. Note the "no need" for any wings as such...and the "talon" like rear feet... INFRARED DIMENSIONAL ENTITIES Sorry for the pixelated image as it is not easy photographing from 2-3 kilometers in the night sky. This is the best I can do at this time..

[adz]

Early color photography required exposures through red, green, and blue filters. The three single-color images were combined, the strengths and interactions of RGB blended into one multicolor image. This "trichrome" technique is still a popular method of capturing infrared light.

The physicist Gabriel Lippmann took a different approach. He was inspired by the phenomenon of light interference, where the phase differences in light waves result in variations of amplitude and intensity. The result is a brilliant spectrum of possible colors:

Many species have evolved to exhibit phase interference - the iridescence of a beetle's carapace or a peacock's feathers is the result of the very same phenomenon that enabled Lippman to create color images in a single exposure.

Lippmann's interference photographs were termed "photography in natural colours by direct exposure in the camera;" a novelty then that now describes practically every color photo.

The result of Lippman's photographic process was a positive image (like slide film) rather than a negative. However, Lippmann plates appear colorless until white light hits them at a certain angle; this light illuminates the interference structure of the photograph, replicating the light shining upon the scene when the exposure was taken. The dark room and single point of illumination you see below is ideal for their viewing.

Later, Lippmann's interference photography technique was expanded with the use of lasers and 3D (rather than 2D) emulsion to create holograms, which capture their subject's light refractions at a variety of angles. White light holograms are viewable under the same conditions as Lippmann's photographs: by shining white light upon them at an angle to illuminate their interference patterns.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

A research team at NIMS has successfully developed an environmentally friendly, microspherical fluorescent material primarily made from citric acid. These microbeads emit various colors of light depending on the illuminating light and the size of the beads, which suggests a wide range of applications. Furthermore, the use of plant-derived materials allows for low-cost and energy-efficient synthesis. Conventional luminescent devices commonly utilized thin films of compound semiconductors containing metals or sintered inorganic materials with rare earth elements. However, in a circular economy, there is a demand for fluorescent/luminescent materials that do not use rare earth elements, which have unstable supply chains, or metal elements with significant environmental impact. The microbeads we developed aim to provide low-environmental-impact fluorescent materials using abundant, easily obtainable plant-derived materials as the main ingredients.

Read more.

[dnickels]

For something you may assume is universal and constant, light turns out to be a culturally mediated and often paradoxical phenomenon. Our ideas about it start 93 million miles away — eight minutes and 20 seconds as the photon flies — with our friend the sun. The sun is close to what physicists call an ideal Planckian blackbody radiator, delivering a smooth and broad electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves up through infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, and X-rays. A hot tungsten wire does the same, only with a much narrower range of output tilted toward the red and infrared. But here, unfortunately for the layperson, the terminology reaches a point that is profoundly counterintuitive. In physical light-emission terms, blue is a hotter temperature than red. The sun looks yellow up in the sky, but with a surface temperature of 5,772 degrees Kelvin, or about 10,000-degrees Fahrenheit, it has much more blue in it than an incandescent filament at 2,700 degrees Kelvin does. (A red-hot steel bar, in turn, would be somewhere down around 1,000 degrees Kelvin.) The higher the color temperature, the colder, in everyday speech, we say the light looks. “Warm” colors are the colors of the things humans experience as being warm. Obviously enough, through millennia of human existence, the point of reference for artificial illumination was firelight or lamplight. But they don’t burn at the same temperature as a star. If you bring a light source that is actually the color of the sun indoors, it stops looking golden and appears strikingly, severely blue. What to do about this fact is a debate that’s been unresolved for well over a century: Should the ideal artificial light approximate the sun, or should it approximate a flame?

[whumpy-bi]

Spirit Work (Five Nights at Freddy’s whump)

The witch stepped out of her van, sighing to herself as she stared through the darkness at the abandoned restaurant meters away from her. The exterior lights were on, illuminating the overgrown building and parking lot—but not much else.

This was stupid. Why was she taking advice from a pendulum?

She knew the answer to that, as much as she disliked it. She’d been desperate for a lead, for a real encounter with a haunting. She’d begged her pendulum for a hint, and it had drifted towards this spot on her map…

An abandoned pizza place. Odd, she couldn’t find it plausible that anyone had died here. But it certainly fit the usual profile of the haunted buildings she’d conduct her sessions in—poorly maintained, crumbling, left to rot for one reason or another.

It was a particularly warm night, so the witch felt comfortable sitting on the pavement just outside the old building. She held a stone in one hand, gripping it with intense effort and closing her eyes.

Show me what’s here.

She immediately recognized the shift in the air, the way her surroundings seemed to grow quiet. Even the buzz of the overhead lights seemed to soften as she listened for signs.

But…after a few minutes, the silence seemed deafening. Had there really been *nothing* here? Not a single voice, not even—

She opened her eyes as she moved to push herself up, and immediately locked eyes with someone. They were pressed against the window, staring right back at her. She couldn’t make out any details, and they seemed to shrink into the darkness as soon as she’d risen to stand.

“Hey!” She shouted, more out of surprise than expecting a response. So…there was something here. Paranormal or not.

As the witch pushed the old metal door open, pepper spray in hand, she reminded herself that she was smarter than the people in horror movies. She could run, she had a weapon, she knew better. She’d be fine. Most likely, this was just a squatter. But…for her own sake, she had to know.

The place was a mess, tables and chairs strewn about the place. Water damage was corroding every inch of the walls, something she knew her own dad would cringe at. The smell was typical of the abandoned places she’d visited—mold, rain, and dust all mingling together. She crouched down next to an overturned diner booth, admiring the painted artwork of a cartoon bear.

Kids probably used to love this place, germs and all. She wondered if this was another case like she’d seen in Florida a few years back—a child who’d died early and gone back to a happy memory to haunt.

But, she was getting ahead of herself. The shape in the window didn’t even look like a child. Did it? Did it look like anything?

She set her bag down, digging around in the dark with one hand to find her infrared camera. The place was getting darker the more she explored, and it’d be easy to find spirits (or squatters, her logical side reminded her) if she was looking for heat signatures.

As soon as her fingers wrapped around the camera, however, a splitting pain cracked across the back of her skull. Everything became dark and blurred after that.