#Post-Tree Removal Tips

[reasonsforhope]

Masterpost: Reasons I firmly believe we will beat climate change

Posts are in reverse chronological order (by post date, not article date), mostly taken from my "climate change" tag, which I went through all the way back to the literal beginning of my blog. Will update periodically.

Especially big deal articles/posts are in bold.

Big picture:

Mature trees offer hope in world of rising emissions (x)

Spying from space: How satellites can help identify and rein in a potent climate pollutant (x)

Good news: Tiny urban green spaces can cool cities and save lives (x)

Conservation and economic development go hand in hand, more often than expected (x)

The exponential growth of solar power will change the world (x)

Sun Machines: Solar, an energy that gets cheaper and cheaper, is going to be huge (x)

Wealthy nations finally deliver promised climate aid, as calls for more equitable funding for poor countries grow (x)

For Earth Day 2024, experts are spreading optimism – not doom. Here's why. (x)

Opinion: I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore. (x)

The World’s Forests Are Doing Much Better Than We Think (x)

‘Staggering’ green growth gives hope for 1.5C, says global energy chief (x)

Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View (x)

Young Forests Capture Carbon Quicker than Previously Thought (x)

Yes, climate change can be beaten by 2050. Here's how. (x)

Soil improvements could keep planet within 1.5C heating target, research shows (x)

The global treaty to save the ozone layer has also slowed Arctic ice melt (x)

The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future — and its past (x)

Scientists Find Methane is Actually Offsetting 30% of its Own Heating Effect on Planet (x)

Are debt-for-climate swaps finally taking off? (x)

High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN (x)

How Could Positive ‘Tipping Points’ Accelerate Climate Action? (x)

Specific examples:

Environmental Campaigners Celebrate As Labour Ends Tory Ban On New Onshore Wind Projects (x)

Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in Africa (x)

How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution (x)

Rewilding sites have seen 400% increase in jobs since 2008, research finds [Scotland] (x)

The American Climate Corps take flight, with most jobs based in the West (x)

Waste Heat Generated from Electronics to Warm Finnish City in Winter Thanks to Groundbreaking Thermal Energy Project (x)

Climate protection is now a human right — and lawsuits will follow [European Union] (x)

A new EU ecocide law ‘marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals’ (x)

Solar hits a renewable energy milestone not seen since WWII [United States] (x)

These are the climate grannies. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect their grandchildren. [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

Century of Tree Planting Stalls the Warming Effects in the Eastern United States, Says Study (x)

Chart: Wind and solar are closing in on fossil fuels in the EU (x)

UK use of gas and coal for electricity at lowest since 1957, figures show (x)

Countries That Generate 100% Renewable Energy Electricity (x)

Indigenous advocacy leads to largest dam removal project in US history [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

India’s clean energy transition is rapidly underway, benefiting the entire world (x)

China is set to shatter its wind and solar target five years early, new report finds (x)

‘Game changing’: spate of US lawsuits calls big oil to account for climate crisis (x)

Largest-ever data set collection shows how coral reefs can survive climate change (x)

The Biggest Climate Bill of Your Life - But What Does It DO? [United States] (x)

Good Climate News: Headline Roundup April 1st through April 15th, 2023 (x)

How agroforestry can restore degraded lands and provide income in the Amazon (x) [Brazil]

Loss of Climate-Crucial Mangrove Forests Has Slowed to Near-Negligable Amount Worldwide, Report Hails (x)

Agroecology schools help communities restore degraded land in Guatemala (x)

Climate adaptation:

Solar-powered generators pull clean drinking water 'from thin air,' aiding communities in need: 'It transforms lives' (x)

‘Sponge’ Cities Combat Urban Flooding by Letting Nature Do the Work [China] (x)

Indian Engineers Tackle Water Shortages with Star Wars Tech in Kerala (x)

A green roof or rooftop solar? You can combine them in a biosolar roof — boosting both biodiversity and power output (x)

Global death tolls from natural disasters have actually plummeted over the last century (x)

Los Angeles Just Proved How Spongy a City Can Be (x)

This city turns sewage into drinking water in 24 hours. The concept is catching on [Namibia] (x)

Plants teach their offspring how to adapt to climate change, scientists find (x)

Resurrecting Climate-Resilient Rice in India (x)

Other Masterposts:

Going carbon negative and how we're going to fix global heating (x)

[oni-gory]

Genshin boys in heat! PT. 1

ᡣ𐭩 characters: Tighnari x afab reader

ᡣ𐭩 cw: Minor writing smut, penetration, public sex, masturbation (kinda?), Switch Tighnari

ᡣ𐭩 notes: New series of oneshots! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵) my posting schedule is so inconsistent omg yall im so sorry— 😭

Tighnari

You and Tighnari were nothing but coworkers, both of you were members of the Vanara that often bumped into each other. Well, that’s how you saw him at least. Tighnari on the other hand, found you quite attractive. He was interested in you, but knew better than to pursue his romantic ambitions. Especially with a coworker. So he just often caught himself staring at you.

One morning, while you were getting ready to go patrol with some other forest rangers, you bumped into Tighnari. But… he was acting strange. His face was very red and he seemed really fidgety. You tried to apologize nonetheless, “Oh- I’m sorry Tighnari! Uhm… are you alright.?” You asked, but Tighnari didn’t respond. He just quickly pushed past you and hurried away into the forest. That made you really worried. So instead of going on parol like you were assigned to, you went looking for Tighnari.

After searching most of the areas you knew he frequented, you ended up wandering around the forest by the Gandharva Ville. That was when you heard panting coming from a… tree? You approached quickly, worried that it was an injured animal. But when you peeked your head past the tree, you instead saw the Forest Watcher. He was leaning against the tree, sweating profusely while gripping a bulge in his pant. Your face flushed red and you quickly looked away, hoping to quietly sneak away and pretend it never happened. But all of a sudden Tighnari grabbed your hand.

His sense of smell was outstanding, and it seemed he noticed you. Tighnari looked up at you with a red face, a desperate look in his teary eyes. “I-I’m sorry.. plea—please help..” He begged you, pulling on your arm. Despite his appearance, Tighnari was shockingly strong. You struggled to find the words, not wanting to say yes… but he looked so desperate. Tighnari seemed like he needed you. So you feebly nodded, mumbling an embarrassed response, “Okay.. Uhm- What do you need.?” Tighnari looked around to make sure nobody could see him before leading your hand to the bulge in his pants. Just you touching him, even through his clothes made the Forest Watcher shiver.

Your face was red while you continued touching him through his clothes, listening to Tighnari’s whimpers. He moved from laying back against the tree to laying back against you. “Moree..” He whined, sweating while trying to make you remove his pants. You bit your bottom lip before removing his pants. This entire situation was so embarrassing… But for some reason Tighnari was to blinded by his lustful heat, which you were still oblivious to. His hard cock was poking out of his underwear, longing to be released. You let out a shaky breath when seeing it, surprised by how large your supervisors cock was. Your hands trembled, pulling his underwear down to his knees so you could get a better look at it. You felt so perverted as your fingers wrapped around his lengthy dick. Tighnari’s eyes rolled back into his head as he lifted his head, letting it rest on your shoulder. He was so sensitive..

You were standing in the middle of the forest jerking off the Tighnari of all people… This was insanity. But his sweet moans clouded your mind, distracting you from the thoughts running wild in your head. You got the chance to focus on just pleasuring him, swirling your fingers around his tip and watching as the green eyed man whimpered. He was getting a bit loud, and Tighnari noticed. He covered his mouth, muffling his moans just barely. He even started breathing heavier, and you could tell he was about to reach his edge.

Then, just as you thought, a rope of sticky white cream bursted out of Tighnari’a cock. He hyperventilated, tears trickling down his cheeks after the intense pleasure. Your hand was now a mess, and so were your panties. Your eyes were locked on his still hard cock while Tighnari tried to collect himself. “T—tha..Thank yuo…" He mumbled, leaning against a tree. His face was flushed with blush and a bit of tears and Tighnari didn’t notice that you had bent down onto your knees until you gripped his sensitive cock. The Forest Watcher let out a yelp, his ears drooping against his head. "W-what are you d— oh archons~..” He shivered, biting his bottom lip as you opened your mouth and began to suck on his cock. Tighnari’s legs trembled, feeling sensitive after his orgasm. But even still, He wanted more. Much more than only your mouth. He wanted to breed you.

It had been an hour since the two of you were gone, and none of the others forest rangers knew what was happening between the both of you. They had no idea that by now, Tighnari had you against a tree, ramming his cock inside of your cunt desperately. He was holding your legs up even after your protests against it, clearly determined to breed you. “Ti—Tighnariii~!! Too— too much~..” You moaned out, gripping the tree in an attempt to stabilize yourself. Tighnari had his face nuzzled in your shoulder, smelling your arousal, which only fueled his thrusts. You continued to moan until you heard his muffled voice, “You’re being too… loud.." Then you made an attempt to quiet down by covering your mouth with your hands. He was fucking you like a rabid dog, and honestly, he basically was one. Tighnari began to feel your pussy clenching around him, and he noticed your back was arching. So he decided to try pounding into you deeper, feeling his own orgasm reaching near. All of a sudden, you felt the Forest Watcher’s cum overflowing in your pussy, dripping onto the grass. As the high of your orgasm ended, you knew that the two of you wouldn’t just stay coworkers.

[monarchberrysblog]

18+ mini–drabbles | miguel o’hara | 02

nerdy! miguel o’hara x fem! reader

✮ content warning: MATURE CONTENT IS PRESENT, VIEWER’S DISCRETION IS ADVISED. smut (obvi), overstimulation, cunnilingus, light fingering, and female ejaculation.

✭ author’s note: hello hello! i now have ao3! i’ll post my longer fics there instead of here! and here is a small drabble i worked on while sick! fevers always come in clutch…

main masterlist.

“Jesus…” Your jaw drops down, laughably down to the floor. “Oh my God!” Your moans fill the dorm before your hand caresses the back of his head, tugging at his wavy hair. With a heavy hand, your hand slapped against the nape of his neck and pulled him closer to your warm core. His hands squeeze your thighs in response before he allows the tip of his tongue to lick your entrance slowly from the bottom to your puffy clit. The wet muscle lingered before he eagerly took the bundle of nerves between his teeth, grazing his fangs.

“Careful…!” You slap the back of his head and scoot his head away from between your legs. “Sorry! Sorry…” He mumbles and places a gentle kiss against your clit, slowly pulling away. His face is coated, making it look like he helped himself to a serving of a sweet treat but went overboard. He licks his lips, licking the clear, slippery, and stretchy discharge. He looked like a kitten who fell into a bowl of milk face-first.

He resorts to soft, gentle nibbles against your clit before smoothing it out with the flat of his tongue, feeling the aloe vera-like sensation against the puffy ball of nerves.

“Better, thank you.” You sighed, back to basking in his touch and kitten licks. His eyes dart up, looking at you, seeing your head thrown back into your silky pillows. His mind did a double take, his sanity staggering at five miles per hour. What if he…

Those staggering ideas halted as your hands touched his face, removing those rectangular frames. His vision clouded, creating a jump, contrasting his once-assisted 20/20 vision—chills course down his spine like a snake climbing a tree. But it didn't phase him physically as he continued to bask in your warmth and taste. "Right there..." You exhale before you comb his hair back and pull him close to your needy pussy.

His nose smashing against your wet clit was not on his plans, especially on a Thursday night when he should be studying, not memorizing your taste (or anatomy) like he had a test over your warmth and taste.

"I'm close..." He hears the soft announcement but continues to savor you in bliss. He's listened to the words in some videos but didn't expect to hear you say them. His hand rests on your lower stomach, his thumb slowly rubbing the sensitive nub. "Keep it there!" The pitch in your tone jumps drastically before you wrap your legs around his head, trapping him like a spider grabbing its prey with sticky webs of deception.

The subtle nibbles and licks continue before a warm fluid waterboards him. He spits the small fluid out and kisses the inside of your thigh firmly. "Holy shit..." You reach down and gently wipe away the clear liquid off his chin. "Didn't mean to waterboard you." You giggled as you saw Miguel wipe away the mess you left on his nose. lips, and chin. "Didn't know that you were capable of..."

"Female ejaculation."

“Yeah, that…”

[pcr-alice]

DPxDC - The Bat Key

there were a few posts going around a bit ago about Danny being Bruce's mentor in his early years, and they planted this idea in my head. i mixed in some cryptid danny for fun and to fit the halloween vibe. also on ao3

Batman grunted in pain as he hurried down the dark, townhouse-lined sidewalk. The cloudy night blocked the moonlight, and the lamps along the entire street were out, but they still moved between the shadows under the trees. The slash wound in his side was painful to the point that he had an arm around Robin’s shoulder to prop himself up. He scowled with each grunt. At least the blade hadn’t been spiked with venom. The same couldn’t be said for Red Robin’s wound. He was barely conscious, and Nightwing had to practically carry him. But they had finally made it here.

“Door.”

Nightwing hobbled up the few steps to the small porch and leaned against the wall to help hold some of Red Robin’s weight. Robin rushed to the door, already pulling a pick set from his utility belt. Batman managed to ascend the few steps himself, double checking the 13 to the side of the door.

“Wait.”

Robin scowled once again, but he complied. Batman pulled a small strip of metal from the lining of his utility belt. The tip was cut into a jagged, hooked pattern. He slipped it behind the bat symbol on his chest from underneath and twisted it a half spin. When he slid it back out, there was a house key attached to the end. Once free, he inserted it into the deadbolt and removed his hand. The temperature immediately dropped. Batman sighed in relief.

“What are –”

Robin’s question died before it was finished as the key began glowing green. It slowly rotated itself with the sound of grinding gears until a click echoed from behind the door.

“Oh great, I’m hallucinating” Red Robin wheezed out.

Batman turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“In.”

Robin entered first, crouched and alert. Nightwing followed, Red Robin draped over his shoulders. Batman took one more look around and spotted one of their assailants across the street, staring with their two glowing yellow eyes. He held the gaze for a silent few seconds, tension slowly leaving his body as they remained deathly still, then stepped inside and closed the door.

The large circular window high above the door lit the entryway with moonlight from the clear night sky. A staircase on the left led up into the dark, its railing marking out a small hallway balcony above. To their right was a small table, empty except for an unlit lamp. Past that on the same wall was an archway that led to a dark room pierced just enough by the moonlight for a large couch to be visible. The hallways straight ahead stretched into void.

“Couch.”

Once again, Robin entered first, disappearing into the shadows to scout the room. Nightwing lugged Red Robin into the room and laid him down on the couch to examine his wound. Batman followed and watched over the back of the couch.

“Bruce.”

Robin spun and threw a knife at the voice.

His senses had been honed to perfection since as long ago as he could remember. From the age of eight the only two members of the League who were capable of sneaking up on him were his blood relations. Now that he was out, Cain was alone on that list. Not even Batman could go unnoticed. Whatever this voice was, it managed to surprise him. But the League taught him to have no weaknesses, so even if his senses failed him, his reflexes could pick up the slack. The best tutors known to man had trained him with strict discipline, instilling perfect form and pinpoint accuracy that he could replicate from a dead sleep in pitch black darkness, all before he had even formed a single thought.

All together, this meant his blade was in the air before he could even parse what was said or what tone it was said with. When he realized that the voice had called Father by his civilian name in a calm greeting, he realized he made a mistake. But luckily, the voice wasn’t injured. Nor even startled.

“Danny.” Bruce greeted back.

This Danny had caught the knife by its handle well in front of his chest with what Robin evaluated to be his off-hand. Bright blue eyes pierced through the darkness straight to his position. They glowed in the darkness despite emitting no light, almost like a cat’s but without a source to reflect. If he had to guess, this unknown was a bit older than Red Robin. A bit taller, too. His deep black hair was unkempt, as if he had just been in a windstorm, sticking up at gravity-defying angles. He wore a dark robe made of fine material, not quite up to League wear standards, but too formal for a nightgown.

Robin cautiously stepped out of the darkness toward the others. Danny’s squinted eyes followed him, head angling slightly as it rotated to track his movement. Then they flicked away to look at Nightwing and squinted further. After a scant two seconds that stretched far too long, he raised his other hand to push his sleeve up, revealing a cheap plastic Batman-themed digital watch with a bright blue rubber strap.

“Been a while, hasn’t it?” He murmured.

He pushed his sleeve further to reveal another, different watch, analog and much more elegant with a black strap most likely made of leather. It looked like something Father would wear to a gala. His eyebrows raised as he looked at it.

“Late, too.”

Batman grunted. Danny dropped his arms to his side, grip loose on the knife. He dipped his head at Damain and looked at Batman.

“My son, Damian.”

Damian tensed at the revealed information.

“He’s sharper than you were.”

“Being raised in an assassin cult will do that to you.”

Damian tensed even more despite the relaxed familiarity, almost teasing tone, that Batman fell into. Danny hummed a deep note and nodded his head toward Nightwing.

“Dick?”

“Nightwing.”

“And the one bleeding all over my couch?”

“Red Robin. Tim. Also my son, not by blood.”

Danny hummed again and lazily tossed the knife into the air toward Robin (who easily caught it, of course) as he walked to the other side of the couch. His movement made no noise whatsoever. Nightwing stepped back cautiously, positioning himself to step between Danny and Red Robin at a moment’s notice.

“What kind of poison?”

“We don’t know.”

He sat down on the edge of the couch to look down at Red Robin but paused as he was leaning down. Instead, he pushed up his sleeve again, and the watches were gone. In their place was some sort of wrist computer that took up half his forearm. The screen was covered in undecipherable text and was surrounded by several buttons marked with hieroglyphics. Robin narrowed his eyes and gripped another knife behind his cape.

“If you throw another blade, I’m confiscating all of them.”

“Stand down, Robin.”

He scowled but let go of the knife. Danny looked to Batman.

“You seem to be getting a call, Bruce. You can take it in the entryway.”

Batman nodded and walked back out the archway, tapping his comm.

“Oracle. We’re safe for now. Red Robin is being treated for poison”

Robin and Nightwing watched him go, turning back after a brief second, only to flinch into defensive stances.

The entire room had changed. It was now lit by a blazing fireplace with a large coffee table between it and the couch where Danny and Red Robin were situated. The table was covered in supplies – glass bottles with colored liquid, mason jars filled with water and fruit and herbs, bowls of nuts, trays of fruit, plates of granola balls, and stacks of labeled first aid kits.

They each stole a look back to Batman, who kept speaking over his comm, not bothered in the slightest.

“I know you can’t. Have the others pull back.”

He flashed them the hand signal for safe.

“I’ll explain when we return. Hour at most.”

They focused back on Danny to see that he had a much larger first aid kit open on the floor next to him and was skimming his fingers across Red Robin’s forehead, brushing his hair away.

“Oh, this one’s cute,” Tim slurred, and he was Tim now, his mask resting on his chest.

Danny snorted and shifted Tim’s uniform away from the slice in his side. He wiped the blood away with some bandages and tilted his head in confusion. He lifted a bloody finger to stare at it. His eyes squinted and he brought the finger up to his nose, where he gave it a sniff. A low growl vibrated through the room, and Robin gripped his knife again. Danny tapped the bloody finger to his tongue, and Robin threw his knife. Or he would have, had Batman not caught his arm.

“Well?” Batman asked.

“It’s a good thing you brought him here,” Danny responded, voice deeper than even Batman’s, “No one should have access to this.”

He raised his other hand and a glowing green post-it note shimmered into existence in his palm. He flicked his wrist toward Nightwing, offering the note to him between two fingers. It was now covered in tiny writing, just as indecipherable as his wrist computer had been.

“Take this into the greenhouse,” he nodded to a door behind Nightwing that had almost certainly not been there before, “Give it to the Gardener; she’ll get you what you need.”

Nightwing hesitantly took the note and looked to Batman, who nodded to him and began walking to one of the chairs next to the couch. He stepped backwards to the door and cracked it open, giving them all one more glance before slipping inside and closing it gently behind him.

Batman slipped his cowl off and grabbed one of the bottled drinks, twisting the cap off and taking a large sip.

“I’ve tried countless times to replicate this flavor, all of them unsuccessful.”

“It’s made with long-extinct fruits, Bruce. I’d be impressed if you managed it.”

Bruce grunted as the door behind him opened and Nightwing stepped in, looking slightly shell-shocked, carrying two small jars and no post-it note.

“Took you long enough,” Danny scolded while gesturing him over.

He handed the jars over and sat down in the chair opposite Bruce, squinting in confusion at his lack of cowl and relaxed snacking. Robin slid into place next to him, still tense and on guard.

Danny unscrewed one of the jars and stuffed a roll of bandages inside before screwing the lid back on. He tossed it to Bruce without looking (who easily caught it, of course) and unscrewed the lid off the other jar.

“Help yourselves, by the way,” he vaguely gestured toward Robin and Nightwing with his head and pointed to the table with his elbow.

Bruce shook his jar and pulled some of the bandages out, sliding them underneath his suit around his wound. Danny scooped a finger’s worth of paste out of his jar and spread it over Red Robin’s wound. He screwed the cap back on and tossed the jar to Bruce just as the other one came flying back to him. They were both easily caught, of course.

Despite the initial hiss of pain, Red Robin’s whole body had been relaxing since the paste had been applied. His eyes slowly opened while Danny was cleaning his hands off and flicked around the room in a quick assessment.

“Who’s this?”

“Danny.” Bruce supplied.

Red Robin looked around the room slowly this time, taking in Bruce’s cowl-less head, the half-drunken jar of colored drink in front of him, the pile of nuts in his hand, Nightwing’s slightly traumatized face and awkward posture, Robin’s irritated scowl and distrustful glare, and he groaned loudly.

“Please tell me this isn’t another Selina situation. He’s like my age.”

“Bold of you to assume my age and gender.” Danny deadpanned.

Red Robin gaped back.

“I met Danny when I was first starting out as Batman.”

“When he was what, eight?” Dick blurted.

“Still with the assumptions,” Danny muttered to himself.

“We thank you for your assistance...Danny.”

Robin was stiff and formal and struggled through the Danny. But that didn’t stop Danny from giving him a slight smile. He looked down at Red Robin then up at Nightwing then finally back at Bruce.

“I like them,” he declared, grabbing a jar of water off the table.

Bruce grunted as Danny unscrewed the lid and handed it to Red Robin.

“Danny has not aged since we first met.”

“Not exactly, but whatever,” Danny mumbled as he tidied up the first aid kit.

Nightwing opened his mouth as if to speak but shook his head and kept quiet. Robin stepped forward to grab a banana off the table with a polite nod to Danny. Red Robin stared down at the jar in his hands. It was full of cold water with a thick slice of pineapple and sprig of mint. After a quick glance to Bruce, he took a sip that turned into a gulp that turned into him emptying the jar in one go and releasing a contented sigh afterwards.

“Do you know anything about the Court of Owls?” Bruce asked.

A tremor shook the house. Bruce tensed in reflex but didn’t leave his chair after a glance to Danny. Nightwing leapt to his feet. Robin slid backwards and drew a blade. Red Robin jolted up and winced through the half-eaten pineapple slice in his mouth. There was a tense silence for several seconds.

“Only that they are not welcome in Gotham,” Danny eventually replied.

After a few more seconds of silence, Danny flicked his eyes to the fireplace mantle as a small object tipped itself over. Nightwing shot his hand out and snatched it out of the air before it could hit the ground. He opened his fist and looked at a miniature gargoyle statue in confusion.

“I may have to become involved,” Danny nodded to Nightwing, who gently replaced the gargoyle on the mantle.

Bruce grunted. Danny tilted his head, staring into the middle distance.

“The occult shop on 4th and Finger between Asher’s Deli and Panadería Golosos,” he recited.

“There is no such shop.” Robin scowled.

“You are correct,” Danny turned to look at him, “And now that you know it’s there, you’ll be able to find it.”

“Emergencies?” Bruce asked.

“Entryway table, same rules.”

The exchange seemed to satisfy Bruce, who stood with a grunt and pulled his cowl back over his head. The others rose with him and followed him toward the entryway, each nodding a thank you to Danny as they went.

They stepped back into the moonlight of the entryway and saw the previously empty table now had four keys laid out on top of it, evenly spaced and covered in a thin layer of dust. When they looked back through the archway they came from, they saw a dark room back to its original form, no Danny to be seen anywhere.

Batman grabbed one of the keys and slipped it into a belt pouch. Robin followed his lead and took a key for himself.

“Father, were you ever going to inform us that you befriended a vampire?”

Batman grunted and cracked the door open to peer out.

“He’s not a vampire,” Red Robin scoffed, grabbing a key for himself.

“I don’t know, creepy house, magic shit, you should’ve seen the gardener,” Nightwing swiped the last key with a flourish.

“He tasted your blood, Drake.”

“He what!?”

“That was after you called him cute,” Nightwing teased.

Red Robin froze with his mouth open, eyes slowly widening.

“I was hoping I just imagined that.”

“Seriously Tim, he’s probably like 300 years old.”

“Tt, I believe Brown would call this robbing the cradle.”

Nightwing and Red Robin turned to look at Robin in silent surprise.

“Shall we leave?” He ignored their incredulous looks and followed Batman out the door.

They scrambled to not be the last out the door, finding themselves in an entirely different part of the city than they entered from.

[tofupixel]

Do you have any advice on how to get into pixeling larger scenes, or how you go about the process? I dabble in pixel art occasionally and am interested in pursuing it more, but whenever I try large scenes I always tend to fall flat

Love your art, by the way!

thank you!

my first step i always go get a ton of references. i think if you are struggling with pixel scenes it can help you to get some pixel art references too. for example if you arent sure how to render a tree, look it up on pixeljoint hall of fame im sure you can find something that inspires you.

this is the moodboard for my current knight crowley/statue azi piece im working on (software is called pureref btw. i have a dedicated monitor just for this but you can do transparency and overlay it if you lack space)

i think this is mostly preference but i always begin working with large areas of value/colour rather than an actual line sketch

i usually only save the wip process if im sending it to clients, so here is an example of how i worked through a commission

at this point im just going for the vibes. colour is more important and shape/size and having random pixels everywhere doesnt matter cos u can just remove them later !!

its kind of an anomaly/doomsday thing so i wanted the red sky and chaos all over

i work really quickly at this point and try for energy

just beginning to work my way through and detail things up. im still changing things around and adding more stuff in different places. its digital art so you can change things however you like, just keep moving forward

final ver sent to client after some revisions. pixel art is 99% rendering so you just need to keep pushing forward

i also want to say i did like 3+ years of sporadic studies. mostly studio ghibli and shishkin. if you have someone who inspires you you can study their work and figure out how they do it.

it cant be overstated how many of these i have done lol and im still not even close to where i want to be (its a process)

anyway sorry for the long post but you really should go for it. ive done the same concept like 3 times over my career (so far) cos i enjoyed it and want to come back to it now that im a little better. so u dont have to make it perfect the first time but doing it is better than not doing it!

sorry for the long post but i kinda got carried away anyway lmk if u want more specific tips i like talking about pixel art :--3 GL with your art

[jetii]

So excited you are taking requests! I love your work ❤! Could I request a S(ish)FW (language and innuendos ok, basically anything except actual smut) with Prompt #56? I was thing fem Jedi!reader and Crosshair having a snarky/flirting conversation post mission? Maybe leads up to implied sexy times, I'll leave that up to you.

This prompt was so Crosshair lol thank you for requesting it!

Grateful

Pairing: Crosshair x Jedi!Reader

Words: 3,132

Tags/Warnings: fluff, canon-typical violence, arguing as a form of flirting, a gratuitous amount of swearing, some making out but nothing too crazy

Prompt: 56. “I-I don’t know if I want to yell at you or fuck you.” / “Surprisingly that is not the first time I’ve heard that.”

500 Follower Celebration Masterlist | Main Masterlist

“Eyes up, General.” Crosshair's smooth voice sounds in your ear. “You’ve got company.”

You quickly pocket your datapad, taking a look around the forest. You don't see anything, and you look up at the tree where you know Crosshair is perched, the tip of his rifle just barely poking through the leaves. 

"How many?" you ask, keeping your voice low.

"Just one, but it's a big one."

You take another look around the trees. "Where is it? I don't see anything."

"You will."

“That’s not helpful,” you grumble, turning back to your datapad, tapping on the screen to wake it back up. The screen lights up, and you go back to your notes, continuing your read through as you walk through the woods, your eyes flicking up every so often to glance around you.

Nothing.

Your eyes focus back on the datapad. You’re still searching for an elusive herb that is supposedly native to this planet, one which is a rare and valuable medicinal ingredient. It’s not uncommon for Jedi and other medics to search for them, though it was a pain to do so. Making matters more complicated was that this planet was so far removed from the Republic that you were risking getting into trouble just by being here. 

The natives had yet to be contacted by the Republic, so your presence was an unknown to them. You don't even know if they're civilized enough to communicate with you, and if they were, whether or not they'd be hostile to you.

What you do know is that you’d be punished if you were caught on this planet without permission, and the last thing you wanted was to be sent to the AgriCorps. Again.

Crosshair, of course, thinks you're stupid for even thinking about searching for this herb. He had made a point to tell you exactly what he thought as the two of you set off earlier this morning. You’d left Tech and Echo behind to repair the ship’s systems, while the two of you went out to explore, Hunter and Wrecker doing the same in the opposite direction.

Crosshair was less than pleased at the idea, but he'd agreed to go with you anyway, even if his reasoning was more to ensure you wouldn’t get yourself killed.

As much as you hated to admit it, the sniper was probably right. Your chances of actually finding this herb was slim. You'd spent several days searching for it already, and your only reward was sore feet and an empty vial. You didn't even know how the plant was supposed to look, other than the brief description provided to you by a Jedi Master who had been on this planet before and some poor quality photos.

Small, white, fragrant flowers. Leaves long and thin, shaped like a star, growing in groups of five.

You were sure there was plenty of vegetation that matched the description on this planet. Hell, it was a forest, and it seemed like everything was green. The only problem was finding the right one.

You had no idea how long you had until the flower stopped blooming, and the plant lost its medicinal value. If you didn't find it soon, you'd have to leave, and then you'd be forced to return home empty handed, without the rare herb and with no explanation as to why you'd returned without it.

And worse, Crosshair would be proven right.

The thought of that alone was enough to make you want to find the damn thing.

You walk a few steps farther, pausing at a small clearing in the forest. You glance at your datapad again, checking your notes, then scan the ground for any sign of the flower.

"It's not there."

You look up. You don't see Crosshair anywhere.

"Where are you?" you ask.

"Behind you."

You turn and look, and you still can't see him. "Well, if you're going to criticize my choices, the least you could do is get down here and help."

"I am helping. By keeping you alive."

You scowl. "Where the hell are you?"

"You should really watch your language, General."

You roll your eyes. "Come down here and help me," you say.

"Help you with what?"

You jump and turn, letting out a surprised yelp when you see Crosshair standing next to you, the butt of his rifle resting on the ground, one hand resting on it, the other on his hip. His helmet is still on, and you're unable to read his expression. You hadn't heard him approach, and it had startled you, enough so that your hand had gone to the lightsaber at your waist.

"What is wrong with you?" you demand.

He tilts his head. "I didn't realize you were so jumpy.”

"Yeah, well, if you weren't always hiding in trees and making creepy comments, I wouldn't be," you grumble, releasing your hold on your saber one finger at a time.

"If I wasn't always watching your back, you'd be dead," he retorts.

"Yeah, yeah," you mutter. "You're the only reason we're not all dead."

"You're welcome."

You let out a sigh and roll your eyes. You’re sure he’s smirking underneath his helmet, and you're not entirely sure how you feel about it. There's something about him that irritates you, that gets under your skin, but he's also the only one on the squad that seems to pay attention to you. And he does a good job of it, too.

It's strange, really, because he seems to notice things about you that nobody else does. He knows when you're annoyed, or upset, or when you need to eat. He can tell when you're not sleeping well, or when you're tired, or when you're distracted. And when you're focused, like now.

The two of you spend a moment staring at each other, neither of you saying anything. You can practically see the smirk on his face, and you narrow your eyes, not trusting him. He's the most unpredictable member of the squad, and he always seems to catch you off guard. He seems to take great pride in it, too, and you don't appreciate it.

"Whatever," you finally say, turning back to your datapad and looking at it again. The description of the herb and its supposed medicinal value was all well and good, but the picture of the plant was very generic. It looked like pretty much every plant in this damn forest.

"Do you actually have any idea what you're looking for?" he asks, stepping up next to you.

You give him a withering look, and he just stares back at you.

"No," you hiss. He chuckles, a low, warm sound that makes your skin prickle. "You wanna tell me what's so funny?"

"Not really," he says, his helmet turning towards you.

"Asshole," you mutter, turning away from him and scanning the ground. He's still staring at you, and the feeling of his eyes on you makes your skin crawl. "Do you mind?"

"No," he replies, his voice low. His helmet tilts to the side as he watches you, and you can feel your cheeks growing warm. He's close, and it makes you feel uneasy, but you don't back down, and he doesn't move.

“Look, if you don't want to be here, you can leave," you say, turning to him, your voice rising.

He takes a step closer, and you have to fight the urge to back away. You stand your ground, and he leans closer, the black visor of his helmet mere inches from your face.

He scoffs. “And get blamed when you disappear and die on this planet? No thanks."

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?"

He shrugs. "Wouldn't matter to me," he says. "But I like to think of myself as a loyal soldier. Wouldn't leave a comrade behind, no matter how idiotic the mission. Or the person.”

You roll your eyes. He's just trying to piss you off, and he's succeeding.

"You're insufferable," you hiss. "Get lost, and stop following me. That's an order."

He chuckles, the sound sending a shiver down your spine. "Can't," he says. "I'm stuck with you."

"Why?"

He doesn't answer, just shrugs.

"Then just leave," you mutter, turning and walking away. You hear him follow behind, but you don't bother to look. You know he'll keep pace with you.

You walk in silence for a few minutes, before he speaks.

"What exactly are we looking for, anyway?"

"Are you actually going to help, or are you just gonna complain?"

"Complain, probably."

"Then leave."

"Not until you do."

"Ugh," you groan. "Fine. Look for anything with long, thin leaves, and white flowers."

"What does it do?"

"You don't care."

"Probably not, but I'm asking anyway."

"It's for an antidote," you reply. "For a poison. It's very rare, and expensive, and the only way to obtain it is by harvesting the flower. If we can find one with roots in tact, we can bring it back with us and grow our own. But the only place it's grown is here, and the blooming season is only a few days and then it's over."

"Sounds like a lot of trouble," he comments.

"It's worth it," you argue. "This could save thousands of lives."

"So, what do I look for?" he asks. You give him a look, and he shakes his head. "What? You asked for my help. Tell me what to do."

"Fine," you sigh. "The flower is usually found growing at the base of a tree or shrub, and the roots are long and deep, and it has a unique scent."

"Unique how?"

"I don't know, it's like..." You wrinkle your nose, thinking. "Like... honey and mint, I think? It's hard to explain. I don't really smell it myself, but that's what I was told."

Crosshair stares at you for a moment, his hands flexing. He looks like he's contemplating something, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he just turns away, walking into the woods.

"Cross?"

"Keep your eyes open, and don't die," he calls back.

"Where are you going?"

"To find your precious herb," he replies, waving over his shoulder.

You roll your eyes. "Just don't get lost!"

He doesn't answer, disappearing among the trees.

You continue on your way, stopping every so often to check the ground for any sign of the flower, and then move on. The day passes slowly, and you feel yourself getting more and more frustrated. Your frustration only grows when you see the sun starting to set, the sky slowly darkening.

"Fuck," you grumble, turning and heading back in the direction of the ship. Crosshair had left hours ago, and you hadn't seen or heard from him since. You had no idea where he was, or if he was still alive.

"Cross, you there?" you ask, tapping your comm.

Nothing.

"Crosshair, come in."

Still nothing.

You let out a frustrated huff. He was probably fine, but that didn't stop the worry from creeping up inside of you. It wasn't unusual for him to disappear, but you had expected him to stay close to you, especially after insisting that he stick with you.

"Dammit," you growl, turning back around. You're about to call out for him again, when you hear a twig snap behind you. You go still, your hand instinctively going to your lightsaber, and you spin around, igniting it.

You're not prepared for what greets you.

You're met by a massive, six-legged creature, easily three times your size, and twice as wide. It's covered in thick, shaggy fur, its legs ending in sharp talons. It lets out a growl, its teeth bared, saliva dripping from its mouth.

You're frozen in place, your heart pounding. You can't move, your limbs trembling, and you try to think, to find a way out of this, but you can't.

The creature takes a step towards you, its head lowered, and you can feel the air around you shift as it inhales. It's trying to catch your scent.

You grip the hilt of your lightsaber tightly, willing your hands to stop shaking, trying to keep the blade steady. You’ve fought bigger, more dangerous things than this. You can handle it.

You swallow hard, trying to calm your nerves. You can do this. You're a Jedi.

The creature opens its mouth, a low, rumbling growl echoing in the woods. It's almost on top of you now, and you brace yourself, knowing you have to act, or you'll be dead.

You move forward, swinging your lightsaber towards the creature. It reacts immediately, lunging at you.

A loud shot rings through the forest, and the creature stumbles, its head jerking to the side. Another shot, and another, and the creature falls, the life draining from its body.

You stand there for a moment, your lightsaber humming quietly, the smell of the creature's blood filling the air. You can feel your heart beating wildly, and you know you should be relieved, but you're not. You're angry, and terrified.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You could have gotten yourself killed."

Crosshair is standing next to you, his rifle aimed at the creature, his eyes hidden behind the black visor of his helmet. His hands are steady, his finger resting lightly on the trigger, and you can feel the tension radiating off of him.

Okay, now you're furious.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" you demand, glaring at him. "There’s no way the locals didn’t hear that. We're going to be in so much shit."

"That thing was about to kill you, and all you can think about is how much trouble you're going to be in?"

"Yes!"

He lowers his rifle and pulls off his helmet, and you're met with his usual expression of disdain. "You're unbelievable."

"Where the hell were you, anyway?"

"Helping you," he says.

"Bullshit," you hiss. "If you were helping me, we'd have found the damn flower by now."

He holsters his rifle and digs into the pouch on his belt, pulling out a vial and holding it up.

You stare at it for a moment, not believing what you're seeing. It can't be. There's no way.

"Are you kidding me?" you ask, snatching the vial out of his hand and turning it over. Sure enough, inside is a small, white flower, its roots still intact.

"You're welcome."

"This can't be real," you murmur, your eyes widening as you stare at the herb. It's everything you'd hoped for, and more.

"It is," he says.

You turn to him, your mouth hanging open. “I…”

"It's okay," he says, taking the vial back and handing you his helmet. "You can say it."

“I—I don’t know if I want to yell at you or fuck you.” The words are out of your mouth before you can stop them, and you cover your mouth with your free hand, your face burning.

His eyebrows shoot up, and he tilts his head.

“Surprisingly not the first time I’ve heard that," he says, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"It just slipped out," you protest. "I didn't--"

"Sure you did," Crosshair cuts in, taking a step towards you. He's close, so close that you can feel the heat of his breath against your skin, and it makes your knees weak. "I've got that effect on people."

"I hate you," you whisper, unable to look away from him.

"No, you don't," he murmurs, leaning in and pressing his lips against yours.

You gasp, but don't pull away, your eyes fluttering closed as his hands rest on your hips, pulling you against him. His lips are soft, his kiss gentle, and you can't help but kiss him back, your arms wrapping around his neck, his helmet dangling from your fingers.

The two of you are pressed together, his warmth surrounding you, and you melt into his embrace. You're not sure how long you stand there, your lips moving against his, your heart pounding in your chest.

You can't seem to think straight, and all you can focus on is him, his touch, his scent, his taste. He takes a step forward, and you gasp as your back hits a tree, his body pinning you there. He takes advantage of the opportunity, his tongue slipping past your lips, exploring your mouth. You moan softly, and he deepens the kiss, his hands gripping your hips tighter.

Your knees are trembling, and you have to wrap your arms around his neck, afraid that you'll fall. He seems to sense this, his hands moving to your waist, pulling you flush against him. His armor is hard, digging into your skin, and you let out a soft whimper, a sound that makes him smirk against your lips.

He breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against yours, his breath hot against your skin. His eyes are dark and hooded, his cheeks flushed, and he's breathing hard. He doesn't speak, just stares at you, his gaze intense.

"Thank you," you finally whisper.

“For the flowers or the kiss?" he asks.

"Both."

He smiles, and it's one of the first genuine smiles you've ever seen from him. He's beautiful, and you can't help but stare at him, his sharp features, his piercing eyes.

"Come on," he says, pulling back and taking your hand. "Let's get back to the ship before the locals figure out we're here. You can show me how grateful you are later."

Your cheeks burn, and you quickly look away, trying to hide the blush that's creeping up your neck. 

"Yeah, yeah," you mutter, rolling your eyes, though you can't help but smile as he takes your hand and tugs you towards the ship. The two of you walk in silence, his fingers laced through yours. He's surprisingly gentle, his touch light, his thumb brushing over your skin.

You're still not entirely sure what to make of him. He's cocky and arrogant, but he's also protective, and attentive. He notices things that others don't, and he does what needs to be done, even when he doesn't want to. And he doesn't let anyone else tell him what to do.

But most of all, he's the one person who's always been there for you. He's the one who's always watched over you, even when you didn't want him to. And even when he's a pain in the ass, you're glad he's there.

You steal a glance at him, and he's looking at you, his expression soft.

"What?" you ask.

"Nothing," he replies, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Just wondering how grateful you're going to be."

You flush, looking away, and he chuckles, squeezing your hand.

"Shut up," you mutter, trying, and failing, to hold back a smile. You can’t deny you’re looking forward to it.

Taglist: @baddest-batchers @covert1ntrovert @stellarbit @bruh-myguy-what @qvnthesia

@spicy-clones @kindalonleystars @cw80831 @totallyunidentified @heidnspeak

@lovelytech9902 @frozenreptile @chocolatewastelandtriumph @etod @puppetscenario

@umekohiganbana @resistantecho @dindjarins1ut @tech-aficionado @aynavaano

@burningnerdchild @ihatesaaand @lolwey @hobbititties @mere-bear

@thegreatpipster @lordofthenerds97 @tentakelspektakel @notslaybabes @mali-777

@schrodingersraven @megmegalodondon @dangraccoon @dreamie411 @sukithebean

@bimboshaggy @anything-forourmoony @9902sgirl @jedi-dreea @salaminus

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@julli-bee @sonicrainbooms @captn-trex @feral-ferrule @webslinger-holland

@marchingviolist @deerspringdreams @chaicilatte @somewhere-on-kamino @silly-starfish

[sim-songs]

Ezra Cardigan Conversion

♪ Original post here by @clumsyalienn ♪ For teen, young adult, adult and elder males ♪ Four recolorable channels (shirt, cardigan body, cardigan edges, buttons) ♪ Twelve presets; one fully recolorable w/o tree stencil, one fully recolorable w/ tree stencil, ten patchwork semi recolorable swatches (only the shirt underneath) ♪ Polycount ~4.5K

Notes:

The cardigan does not have backfaces because I could not get the mesh to cooperate. It's not that noticeable though!

Because the buttons are completely 3D meshed, they will stretch on fatter sims, I fixed them as best as I could but they may still look wonky.

I've got a tip for you if you want to use one of the presets for the cardigan but want to get rid of the tree stencil! Go download this mod (cheat version) and, while in Create-a-Style, type "deco s". It will remove the tree stencil and nothing else so you can have even more variety!

I love men in chunky cardigans and slutty little shirts underneath. I also LOVE patchwork clothes, so this was a no-brainer 😍

Like my work? Consider giving me a tip on Ko-fi! ❤

♪ Download on SimFileShare ♪

@pis3update @sssvitlanz @xto3conversionsfinds @kpccfinds

[jovial-thunder]

Lancer Tactics devlog

I'm gonna try out posting my ~monthly devlog roundup here as well. These suckers are glorified changelogs with anecdotes and gifs galore. Let me know if this is something you like seeing show up on your dash?

Map Editor

Got units able to be placed/deleted/moved in the mission editor

Can paint/remove command zones in the editor

Can paint minecraft-like terrain blocks in the editor

Can paint/rotate multi-tile props in the editor

Can edit unit character sheets and portrait via the editor

3D maps

Did a bunch of art tests with 3D mech models, provided by GeneralChaos, which we ended up deciding not to go with to keep things simple.

To avoid the can of worms that is animation, we'd have to lean into a static "tabletop minatures" aesthetic which we decided is not a style we want to be stuck with. By sticking with 2D sprites, we avoid falling into a sort of uncanny valley; it's easier to get away with not animating a 2D sprite than it is for a 3D model.

 We also experimented with 3D terrain. We decided to make a rule that the visual style for a piece of terrain should match its mechanical effect: obstructing terrain that you can't move through, such as rocks or buildings, will be in 3D, while non-obstructing terrain like trees will stick with 2D sprites.

Hooking up the 3D camera to follow events like movement and attacks did a LOT for making it starting to feel like it's cohering into an Actual Game™

Implemented cover! And an attack preview! Cover works by aiming a ray from the target to the originator (technically to and from each voxel of each, respectively, to handle size 2s shooting above size 1 cover) and tracking all the terrain blocks it hits (how we'll handle non-terrain hard cover TBD). I think I have it working according to Perijove's cover rules manual, but I'm sure there'll be edge cases to work out. This is a case where things are significantly simplified by working in squares instead of hexes; hexes have a lot more possible weird angles you have to deal with.

Re-added what I'm stubbornly calling Combat Popcorn; little bits of text that pop out when you use abilities and attacks.

UI & game screens

Added ability for the engine to show UI that's anchored to the game world via a little word bubble line but also stay on screen as the camera moves around.

Got word bubbles working; you can now write dialogue in the mission editor, hit playtest, and see it work in a mission! (it does actually translate correctly now; this gif is just from a bug I thought was funny)

Got ability effects mostly behaving appropriately again, including muzzle flashes. The easiest way to handle them ended up being NOT billboarding them so they always face the camera (like all other 2D sprites in the game); instead, I put them on a plane parallel with the ground and just spin them around the unit to point at wherever their target is.

Did some work ironing out our tooltip system. The standard in CRPGs these days is this kind of nested labyrinth of tooltops that you see in Baldur's Gate 3:

I Did Not Want to try and figure out how to wrangle that much UI, so we're instead opting to cap the nested tooltips at the second layer. You can lock a general tooltip for e.g. an action and then mouseover various items within that tooltip to get glossary definitions...

...and then instead of having those glossary tips be lockable/mouse-overable themselves, I collect all related terms to that glossary definition and let you tab through them.

Added skin overlay functionality to the portrait maker, enabling textures like scars, tattoos, stubble, and vitiligo to be applied to just the skin and not extend off into space.

Midway through writing this update, Carpenter sent me this gif of the randomization button working! There's a still a bunch of skintones/assets missing and a few are a bit janky, but it was exciting to start seeing the range of these lil freaks (affectionate) that this editor can create.

Mourning cloak license!

This is the one I'm probably most excited about: I did a bit of a content dive and implemented a basic character sheet + all Mourning Cloak traits and equipment. They don't have fancy graphics yet, but the weapons and systems can be added via the character sheet and used in-game.

It took a little under a day, including adding soon-to-be common mechanisms like bonus damage. This is great news in that it means the engine we've been building for so long in the abstract seems to do a great job in handling comprehensive actual game content, and that it looks like we've set ourselves up for success when it comes time to buckle down on churning that out.

I'm sure other licenses will come with unique difficulties (I fear the day it comes time to do the Mule Harness // Goblin CP) but I'm feeling good about it!

Vertical slice?

Taking a step back, the pressing question on my mind has been "when will we have a playable early access build?"

I was originally hoping for Feb/March, but what we've internally been referring to as the "3D cataclysm" has pushed everything back by at least three months, so the target for the first alpha build is now in May. So, ah, thanks for your patience! Seeing things come together, I've become more and more convinced that moving to 3D was the right call.

[milkweedman]

Fiber Sale (need money for moving; also trying to destash) !! Only shipping to the US. All prices include shipping.

Would also really appreciate donations if you want to help support me but can't buy something for whatever reason.

Check the original post to see what's been sold and what hasn't (I will cross out sold items). First come first serve.

https://ko-fi.com/kolyenka

Prepared Fiber--all of this is prepared by me :) the following 4 are cheaper as I can ship them in normal envelopes

A: 0.14 oz, combed top. Blend of bfl, tencel, tussah silk, corriedale, merino. Very soft and shiny. $8.

B: 0.11 oz, combed top. Blend of tussah silk (black) and mohair locks (green). $8

C: 0.22 oz, combed top. Same blend as A, just a lot more of it and in different combos. Distinct gradient from one end to the other. $10

D: 0.4 oz, rolag (made on blending board). Tussah silk, mohair, and bfl. Very squishy and fine. $13

E: 0.29 oz. Rolag, wool and cotton blend. Even more stripes of color under the surface. $13

F: 0.51 oz. Rolag, wool blend with some Angelina. Purple underneath. $15

G: 4.75 ounces. Rolags (many many rolags). Blend of various wools; some fibers are not quite next to skin soft, but overall it's a soft blend. Mix of red, orange, white, purple, and black. $45

H: 1 ounce. Washed longwool fleece (breed unknown). Dyed by myself with onion skin. $10

I: 1.2 ounces. Southdown flax blend, predrafted from rolags. Could potentially make up to 6 ounces total of this. $18

FLEECE

J: 6 ounces. Washed jacob lambsfleece. Very soft for a jacob, large bits of vm (was able to get it out with hand cards). $20

K: 5.5 ounces. Hampshire with 2+ years growth, washed fleece. Definitely an odd fleece, not like your usual down breed. Has vm; washed it multiple times but still looks gross--I've found its almost impossible to get totally clean before it's yarn. Recommend combing, spinning, then washing. Nice and soft. $25

L: 7.5 ounces BFL cross. Very soft and with good luster. Some vm, was able to remove with hand cards. $25

M: 4.75 oz. Jacob x Border Leicester. Good luster, warm brown tips. Nicely soft. $20

SPINDLES:

1: thin spindle (7 inches long). Good for cobweb weight but can achieve thinner and thicker. Birch wood with woodburning. $80

2: thick spindle (7 inches long). Good for laceweight but can achieve thinner and thicker. Wood type unknown (some sort of fruit tree iirc). No woodburning due to lots of wormholes and spalting which provide their own visual interest (they don't cause problems spinning don't worry). $60

3: thick spindle (6.5 in long). Good for laceweight, can spin thicker and thinner. No clue on wood type. Woodburned on most of the surface, the rest has wormholes again. $90

BAGS

4: handblended handspun handknit drawstring project bag, 20 inch circumference. Cord is handspun flax. It's folded in half in the bigger picture. $90

5: handblended handspun handknit pouch. Don't remember the circumference but you can compare to the other bag. Body is entirely southdown babydoll wool. Handle is handspun icord. $75

HANDSPUN YARN

6: 4 oz, 325 yards. Hand blended and handspun. Alpaca, wool, silk, silk noil, angelina. 2 ply fingering weight. Very textured. $65

7: 5.75 oz, 572 yds. Merino and silk blend, 2 ply, dk weight. Blended for a triangle shawl, stripes get longer as you go. Very soft, shines very beautiful in the light. $115

Please DM if you're interested--first come first serve. I take payment via ko-fi.

[creature-wizard]

Info For Beginner Witches!

This is basically a masterpost for content relevant to new witches. A lot of it of it's stuff I wrote but I'll also link to material written by other people if I think it's useful.

Practice & Technique

Magical Correspondences 101

Closet Witchcraft: How To Get Witchy When You Can't Come Out Of The Broom Closet

How To Practice: Divination With Dice!

An approach to deity/entity work for the sort of people this sort of thing would work for

Manifestation Without Woo (a compassionate psychological approach to manifestation)

Non-Competitive Affirmations

No, you can't tell anything about a person from their natal chart.

A Brief Introduction to Energy Work

Energy Work On The Body: Hittin' The Right Spots For Tension Relief

Research & Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking: Definition, Examples, & Skills

Caution & Critical Thinking In Divination

10 Questions To Distinguish Real From Fake Science

"A weird thing just happened, does this mean anything? Is it an omen?"

Practicing discernment: Some ways of testing and ruling out the mundane

Research Tip: Remember the Five W's!

How conspiracy peddlers and cult recruiters make you feel like you're "thinking for yourself" when you're actually not

Remember a Previous Life? Maybe You Have a Bad Memory

Why fighting pseudohistory matters

Scams, Hoaxes, Conspiracy Theories, & Cults Everyone Should Know About

On people who assert "things are done this way for a reason!"

Dogmatism is not the solution to cultural appropriation

Some beliefs you might have to deconstruct as an ex-Christian

Avoiding Harmful Stuff & Staying Safe

Recognizing the difference between real history and pseudohistory

Is the spiritual person a conspiracy theorist? A list of red flags

List of red flags to watch out for when joining a coven or online group

Beware of charisma mirrors

When your right to say no is entirely hypothetical

Dog whistles and symbols to watch out for

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

What is spiritual eugenics?

Toxic Individualism In Modern Witchcraft

New Age beliefs that derive from racist pseudoscience

The Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis is Racist and Harmful

Allyship does not mean seeing yourself as worthless

The rules about responding to call outs aren’t working

History

Debunking the Pervasive Myths About Medieval Witch Hunts

Debunking Myths About Easter/Ostara

Just How Pagan is Christmas, Really?

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired By Odin

Why Prehistoric Matriarchy Wasn’t a Thing (A Brief Explanation)

Why Did The Patriarchal Greeks And Romans Worship Such Powerful Goddesses?

No, Athena Didn't Turn Medusa Into A Monster To Protect Her

Who Was the First God?

Were Ancient Civilizations Conservative Or Liberal?

PODCAST RECS - Debunking and Fact-Checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces

Angela's Symposium (YouTube channel about modern esotericism and witchcraft by Dr. Angela Puca)

ESOTERICA (YouTube channel about the history of Western esotericism by Dr. Justin Sledge)

ReligionForBreakfast (YouTube channel about religion run by Dr. Andrew Henry)

Let's Talk Religion (YouTube channel run by Filip Holm, lots of Islamic content but also lots of other stuff)

OceanKeltoi (Norse Heathenry)

Jackson Crawford (Norse Heathenry)

Conservation & Ecology

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Explained (all USian witches should read this, it most likely affects you)

How the Rage for Sage Threatens Native American Traditions and Recipes

(This post is unrebloggable because I plan to use it as a reference post to link, and may add/remove things to it over time.)

[alexanderwales]

My juniper bonsai died. I had gotten it at a bonsai class, where I pruned and repotted and trained it, and had it for about a year. I was so happy that it lived through the winter, and I kept it watered, looking at the new growth and seeing where I would eventually make it take shape into something a little more interesting. But it's dead now. I had noticed the tips getting brown, and that meant it wasn't getting enough water, so I watered it more often, making sure the soil was moist. The tips got more brown, and then over the course of two days, some critical process inside the miniature tree failed, and the whole thing went brown and dead. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, which is frustrating, because it means that if I make a second bonsai from a cheap little Home Depot juniper, there's a good chance that it, too, will die.

As time goes on, the thing I enjoy more and more about video games is how legible everything is. You press a button and something predictable happens. You screw up and you understand why, and how to fix it. Even a hard game, like Dark Souls, lets you understand why you died to the boss and what you can do better next time. You can say to yourself "okay, shield for the first two attacks, dodge for the heavy attack at the end, then punish with a heavy attack and back off".

I've been editing the first book of my webnovel, Thresholder, and I am just mired in an inability to understand whether the changes I'm making are actually improving it. Everything is done by feel and rules of thumb. I'm trying to be bold, but I'm charging off into the fog, unable to see where I'm going. I've always hated editing, not necessarily the line edit stuff to remove clunky phrasing (which is fine) but the larger scale stuff, trying to hammer a good story into a great one, removing unnecessary characters and winnowing down a scene until it's just the exposed heart.

If I could have a minor superpower, it would be to see, in real time, the audience average score for a piece of writing before it was released. I could tweak a line and get some feedback on whether it was better or worse. I could change a character's name and see whether people liked it better. I could do A/B testing.

But writing in real life has very long feedback cycles, even if you're posting things online, and it's difficult to know whether you've made something good until after it's out in the world.

[tasteracha]

please

word count: 1.7k

warnings: afab!reader, reader x chan, reader calls chan sir, chan calls reader slut (once), oral sex, soft dom!chan

synopsis: you and chan play out one of your fantasies

you’ve thought about it. him coming home, post concert adrenaline still high, still in his obscene concert outfit that makes your mouth water every time you see it. him acting like a stuck up kpop star, displaying the fame that he never lets himself think about, too humble for it. you acting like a fan, someone who only gets to imagine being with him in your fantasies. when it actually happens it catches you off guard, even though he makes plenty of noise coming through the door to let you know he’s home. you talked about it in the morning, laying in bed with drowsy eyes and puffy cheeks, but you didn’t think he would actually do it. you hadn’t been expecting him for at least another hour, at the very least.

he proves you wrong when he enters the bedroom, looking at you in almost exaggerated surprise. 

if you’re not in this bed in ten seconds i’m going to climb you like a tree, is on the top of your tongue. he looks phenomenal, dressed in sparkly black with sweat still dotting his brow, like he ran straight here without even saying goodbye to his members and staff. but you don’t say it - that’s not the role you want to play right now. 

“bang chan?” you squeak out instead, using your covers to hide most of your body in faux embarrassment. “what- what are you doing here?”

“i’ve seen you.” he says, stalking towards you like a predator. “at my shows. posting about me. writing about me. you think you can look the way you do, talk about me the way you do, and not face any consequences?”

your face burns up, and this time it’s real embarrassment. he’s not wrong - he knows you write about him, even if it’s mostly a power move against everyone else because while there are better writers out there, you’re the one whose arms he comes home to. you’re the one who he shares a bed with, he presses kisses to your skin, he loves you. 

“get up,” he orders, breaking you out of your shame, eyes passive as they roam over you. the urge to follow his order washes over you, tempting, but you stay put. 

“what?” you stammer out instead, ignoring the way the heat is already starting to form between your legs. 

“i don’t want to repeat myself. you do what i say, is that clear?” his voice is firm, tinted with a only do this if you want to that you only hear from years of being with him.

you slowly move out of the covers in response, movements timid as you look down at the shorts and old t-shirt you wore to bed. should you have worn something sexier for him? the thought sends another delicious wave of shame through you, warming you from your head to your toes.

as if hearing your thoughts, he stalks towards you and thumbs at the collar of the shirt, stretching it a bit so he can see your collarbones and notice the lack of bra underneath.

“look at you, ready for me like this,” he growls, digging his thumb into your flesh. “do you dress like this every night, hoping i’ll show up like this?”

you exhale shakily, not knowing if you want to press further into him or step away. the headspace is taking over slowly as your mind goes fuzzy. he removes his hand from you to unbutton his shirt and you hold back a whine of protest.

“no, keep it on,” you say, your own hand coming to rest on top of his, stopping his movements. “please?” you tack on, knowing he would like it. he likes when you beg.

sure enough, he groans and releases his shirt, letting his hand linger against yours for a moment. 

“on your knees,” he says, unbuttoning his jeans and pushing them down just enough to free his cock from his boxers. the jeans are deliciously tight on his thighs, held up without him trying. you’re on your knees before you know it, one second staring into his eyes and the next second eye-level with his hardening length.

“chan?’ you stutter when he moves to tap his tip against your bottom lip. he chuckles, stroking himself a couple times against you.

“that’s not what you want to call me, is it?” he says coldly, dark eyes looking down on you in condescension. you rack your brain, eyes flitting back and forth between his face and the cock in front of yours. mr. bang seems too clinical, too detached, so not that. chris is what you call him when he’s gently rocking into you, whispering declarations of love into your ear, so it’s not that, either. sometimes, when you’re especially in need of control, you call him your pet, but that’s not right. you land on one, testing out the flavor of it on your tongue before trying it. 

“sir?” you say tentatively, and he rewards you by pressing his length into your mouth. you moan around him in content, the taste of him hitting your senses making you more floaty than before. 

“that’s it,” he moans when you take him a little further into your mouth, and you don’t know if he’s referencing the title or the way you suck him in, but you don’t particularly care at the moment. you bob around his head like it’s where you belong, ignoring the ache in your knees. you don’t know how long you stay there for, letting him shallowly thrust into your mouth while you sit obediently, hands in your lap. you’re twitching to touch him, fingers aching for his skin, but one slap to your hand had you twisting them together instead.

he pulls back after a while, holding himself at the base. his soft noises, moans and growls under his breath, were spurring you on. now with the silence, you feel lost. did you do something wrong? you look up at him through your lashes, tears starting to form.

“oh, sweetheart,” he coos, brushing your cheek with his thumb. you nuzzle into his hand, grateful for the contact. “you did so well for me. but you don’t want me to come in your mouth do you?”

oh. it clicks into place. you shake your head rapidly, tongue flicking out to lap at the drool that’s pooled on your bottom lip. 

“on the bed,” he orders, his tone not matching the way he helps you to your feet, letting you steady yourself on shaky legs. he strips you of your clothes clinically, clicking his tongue at you when he notices you have nothing on under your shorts. it’s patronizing, the way he’s looking down at you. it’s lovely. “hands and knees.”

you get into position, listening to the sound of his clothes hitting the floor. you turn your head and pout at him, mourning the loss of the smooth silk that was adorning his body. 

“don’t look so sad,” he bites, kneeling behind you and running two fingers through your folds, making you jolt. “you’re so wet already. i can’t have you ruining my nice clothes, hmm?”

“no, sir,” you slur out, so gone for him. his hands grab at your ass, squeezing your flesh between his strong hands before spreading you apart for him. his cock teases at your entrance, making your heartbeat falter. he usually teases you, making you fall apart on his fingers or his tongue before splitting you apart on his cock. not today though it seems, given that he drives himself into you in one thrust. you choke on your breath, arms giving out as you fall to your elbows and let your head smush into the pillow under you. 

he starts slow, movements sensual as he lets you get adjusted to his length inside of you. it’s not enough.

“please, sir,” you moan into the pillow, voice muffled but reaching his ears anyways. your body moves back into his involuntarily, making him stop completely, buried in you to the hilt. 

“please what?” he says, smoothing a hand down your back to rest on the nape of your neck. he leans forward until his mouth is right by your ear, his breaths tickling your hair. “tell me what you want. beg for it.”

“please, please fuck me,” you gasp out, breath stuttering when he pushes against your neck. “use me, i’m yours.”

he snorts, pulling out almost all the way before burying himself completely again. 

“what a good little slut,” he starts up a harsh rhythm with his hips, grunting with the effort. “all mine. you’ve thought about this, haven’t you? while you touch yourself, you’ve thought about me. been saving yourself for me, hoping for me.”

“please,” you drawl out again. you’re not even sure what you’re begging for. for him to stop, for him to keep going and never stop, you don’t know.

“i bet you tell all your friends about me, how you want me so badly,” he continues, his breaths threaded out now, the first sign of him being just as affected by this as you are. “you’re going to tell them about this too, aren’t you? too bad they won’t believe you.”

he moves impossibly faster, burying himself impossibly deeper, hitting spots inside you that you didn’t think were possible. he folds himself over you completely, pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder like he can’t help it as he comes inside of you, filling you up. you follow him as he chases the last bits of his release, shaking underneath him and whining when he pulls out and flops down next to you.

you finally let your muscles relax as you collapse into the mattress. he’s panting in time with your breaths, his hand coming to rest against your waist as he pulls you closer to him. you calm down together, breaths returning to normal and heartbeat slowing to something closer to a steady beat than the jackhammering it was running at before.

“that was,” he starts, breaking the comfortable silence and grinning at you. “something.”

“we are so doing that again, chris,” you giggle, burrowing into his side as clarity returns to your brain. the press of your bodies against one another is a little gross with the sweat slicking your bodies, but you don’t care. after, that, you need him close.

“don’t you mean ‘sir’?” he says, arching an eyebrow at you. 

“say that again and you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

[hedgehog-moss]

Top 10 Best Trees in my local forest

10. I know I know this is a stump hence why it’s #10, but I love that it looks like the outline of a person’s body. A person that was drawn and quartered apparently. I should do a Top 10 Stumps one day, I’ve seen some cool ones!

9. Another stump, but I initially wanted to include this one in my top 10 as a tree, and then it was felled recently :( It was one of my favourite local trees because it had such big roots (larger than most nearby trunks!) that emerged from the ground here and there like undulating sea serpents. I was sad when it was cut but on the other hand it had the sweetest-smelling resin in the world. It was a very windy day so the smell travelled everywhere, and this tree’s fresh resin made the entire forest smell like candy floss.

8. I just like that this one looks like a busy giant centipede crossing the stream on its way somewhere. I’ve always wanted to use it as a bridge but so far I’ve not dared.

7. This one looks like it belongs in a jungle with these thick vines all over its trunk. I had the Playmobil jungle set when I was a kid and it was one of my favourite toys and I would have absolutely loved to find a jungle tree near my home.

6. This tree already looks cool during the day, but at night by torchlight these scaly-looking roots look exactly like a T-rex’s paw clawing at the ground. It’s a mandatory stop every time I go on a nighttime walk in the forest with my cats.

5. This one is unremarkable most of the year but then there’s 1 week every autumn when it just catches fire and it’s a happily-anticipated yearly event (for me).

4. Yes I’ve already made a post about the remarkable tree but I actually went to check it out since then, and it’s the most ridiculous story. 

See, there used to be a genuinely remarkable tree there and it was known as the King of the Forest. Then this tree was felled like 70 years ago but the road sign was already there, so they decided it would now refer to a nearby, nearly-as-cool-tree, which became known as the Queen of the Forest. Then the queen was also cut down. There were no other remarkable trees nearby but people still refused to remove the sign so a normal boring tree became the new remarkable tree. There’s a little sign next to it (otherwise you wouldn’t remark the new remarkable tree) explaining that this is the Viceroy of the Forest (yes, really!) and sort of summing up how this ordinary fellow came to be promoted. I didn’t take a picture of it, that’s how unremarkable it is, but I love the story behind its Viceroy title, it’s exactly this:

3. Now, this one is in the top 3 because it’s my cats’ favourite tree:

Its trunk has completely split in two and one half of it fell over but remained attached and now forms a very long arching “tongue” that touches the ground. My cats LOVE walking on it, it seems to make them feel very important, like a red carpet for cats. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos featuring cats doing their catwalk because they only accompany me at night... But look at this strange tree arch (it’s like six metres long!) and picture three important-looking cats walking on it:

2. This one is shaped like a harp!! A very beloved landmark in my woods, it makes me smile every time I walk past it.

1. This one is just excellent, green-tipped like a Caran d’Ache pastel pencil and with roots that look like they harbour a whole city of little wood sprites. (ft. a Pandolf for scale):

1. (it’s a tie) This tree might not be as cool or fun-looking as the others (although in winter it looks dashing!) but it’s the tree that marks the beginning of my land so it feels like a welcoming friend. For sentimental reasons it will be ranked first.

[intothegenshinworld]

Fate’s Destiny ~ Chapter 16 || Who is this Creator?

You somehow, not being able to explain it, had fallen into the Genshin world you know oh-so-well. You were no new player and had explored most of the nooks and crannies of the world. When you first had woken up in Windrise you wondered; it might be a dream, after all, you were behind your screen usually, and now- here? It made no sense, and the world was keen on keeping it that way.

Warnings: Spoilers for main story.

Word count: 1.3k+

Auteurs note: Posting all that's left in one go <3

↺ PREVIOUS CHAPTER || ↻ NEXT CHAPTER || MASTERLIST

You and Dainsleif walk side by side through the forest. With no one nearby and no sounds to cover your footsteps and heartbeat— you feel uncomfortable . You miss your cloak; miss your room; and miss playing video games when life gets tough. This is no longer fun, and you wish you could go back in time and never wake up in Windrise again.

Despite everything, Dainsleif is a comfort you treasure. His presence is enough to ease your mind. Whether it’s his sword or words that protect you, you’re thankful to have him continuously at your side. 

ㅤ

“Where are we going?” You ask as you tug his cloak tighter to your figure. Dainsleif looks lost. His eyes glance between the trees and the bushes, and his hand lingers on the hilt of his weapon. At the sound of his voice, he turns to you. 

“Nowhere.”  

You press your lips against each other, unsure whether to voice your thoughts. Then, after a moment of unbearable silence, you speak. 

“What about Kaeya?”

Dainsleif comes at a half and pain flashes in front of his face. His eyebrows are turned together and his eyes close tight. He removes the hand on his hilt, but the other is turned into a fist, tense and visibly stressed. Then, he opens his eyes again and his voice wavers. 

“There is no Kaeya.”

“Oh. Okay”

You mirror half of his troubled expression. You are certain you were supposed to head back to Wangshuu Inn. Instead, you’re walking away from it and towards the eternal night. 

ㅤ

The reason why you needed to turn around is on the tip of your tongue. You are so close to figuring it out. And then, it disappears. 

ㅤ

A red pixel passes by your face and it makes you frightened. 

“Dainsleif? Are we going to die?” 

“No.” He turns towards the darkness, “Death no longer exists for us.”

“It’ll be a full day until the calamity catches up with us.” Lumine’s confidence falters when she turns her back on it. Paimon, who flies at her side, seems to have lost her spirit. Perhaps it's the shock; maybe it’s something else. Either way, you worry for her. 

Two hands pull the cloak further over your head. Your eyes are cast against the wooden floors of Wangshuu Inn. The upper floor hadn’t been as crowded as the lower levels, but you must keep yourself hidden. 

Your legs are pushed forward when Lumine moves towards the stairs.

“If we’re to navigate the crowds, you need to keep your identity hidden. Everyone is scared, and if they see you, they might blame the calamity on a suspecting imposter.” 

“So what do we do? We still go to Mondstadt?” You ask. 

Paimon floats next to you. She curls her arms onto her chest, making herself small. “Paimon doesn’t think there are any other choices. Besides, the bard might know what to do.”

The hint of optimism at the end of her sentence sparks a tiny hope within your heart.

Lumine turns around, holding out her hand for you to take. Together you squeeze past the crowds, slipping past many concerned faces and hushed conversations. 

The calamity looks much bigger when you reach the bottom of Wangshuu Inn. It is swallowing up Teyvat whole—erasing all that it touches.

“Let’s go.” Lumine tugs you forward and away from the destruction. 

You look at the tipped-over carriage. A dark reddish liquid comes out underneath it. It is wine. The white fabric that once separated the inside from the outside had blown away, holding onto the single nail left in the wood keeping it from the winds. Shards of glass from the bottles are gone. There is no scent. Yet the liquid keeps pouring out. 

Kaeya, who is at your side, seems to have a frown on his face. You can’t quite confirm it because part of his face is hidden by his bangs, making only his lips visible to you. 

“It's okay. The others will come soon.” You say, trying to comfort him. 

He brushes the back of his neck as he turns to face you. “Do you think it'd be safe to wait? If we keep returning to the same place, something must be wrong.”

You look towards Liyue. It's nearly gone. Whatever is destroying it; it's coming for you next. 

“Maybe we can leave something so they know we were here?” You go through your bag. You’re certain Dainsleif would recognise the book you’ve been carrying around. However, tying some fabric around the nearby tree would catch their attention faster. 

Kaeya’s breath hitches and he grasps his chest.

With as much curiosity as worry you look at him. You can’t seem to decipher what he’s thinking. When Kaeya has gathered his thoughts, he takes hold of your wrist. 

“We need to get out of here.”

 You follow him onto the path towards Mondstadt, hoping this time you’ll meet Diluc and Dainsleif on your way.

“Lumine!” Paimon yells. 

The golden-haired girl stops in her tracks, finally giving you a break from the jogging. You wiggle out of her hold and place your hands on your knees, crouching forward as you try to catch your breath. 

The pixie exhales with frustration. “This is not working!”

Lumine glances towards the approaching destruction with as much panic as Paimon had. “What else are we supposed to do?”

“Paimon thinks we’re not moving forward, even when that’s impossible.”

“So you’d suggest not moving?”

“Maybe we should find another path or go back to Wangshuu Inn. Surely Xiao must have an idea of what’s going on?”

Lumine shakes her head defeatedly. “I don’t think that’d work. Something is wrong.”

When your lungs stop burning, you enter the conversation.

“I don’t think this was supposed to happen.”

Paimon and Lumine turn to you. You try to explain.

“This entire thing. It’s all wrong.” You gesture at yourself. “ Me … me coming here. It’s wrong. ”

Lumine glances at Paimon, then back at you. “What do you mean, [Y/n]?”

You can’t answer her. 

“Should we keep going?” Paimon asks at last. 

Lumine answers. “I don’t think we have any other choice.”

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

…

ㅤ

1’s and 0’s scratch through the landscape, turning old buildings into a string of code and blurring what you once believed to be real with imaginary. Your hands, like everything else, seem to give in. Your skin fades, losing all sense of touch as it does, and becomes ‘nothing’—deleting you from existence; something it should’ve done at the beginning of this distorted timeline.

At your side, Dainsleif continues to stand like a rock. He is unmoving against the ever-growing chaos. In his eyes, you can see that he’s faced this a million times before. After all, people fear the unknown. So the moment ‘death’ becomes a habit, you welcome it with open arms; knowing you can’t fight the outcome. 

“Dain?”

He looks at you. “[Y/n].”

“Thank you for being with me.”

Your hand squishes his with your remaining power. He barely feels the change in pressure, but reassures you with his light squeeze in response.

“Always,” he answers as he turns back again. 

Bit by bit, the world around you seems to crumble. The incoming darkness is not a void, it is the ‘nothing’ that comes after this ‘story’—the conclusion of your visit. 

“Will you find me the next time?”

You look into his eyes. There is a hint of familiarity in how they light up against the darkness. 

“Yes.” He vows.

“Even if I won’t know?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Dain.”

You face your future with light shoulders this time. You no longer feel Dainsleif’s hand grasp yours nor the effects of the world ripping apart. Your body has become what it once was. 

Nothing. 

ㅤ

And so the darkness embraces you. 

It is like closing your eyes. Painless, unanticipated; nothingness.

ㅤ

ㅤㅤ

…

ㅤ

And then…

If you liked this chapter and think I deserve a comment, please leave one behind! I appreciate it a lot and it'll make me more motivated to write in the future ♡

© intothegenshinworld. Do not copy, repost, translate or take heavy inspiration from my content. Thanks for reading.

[lou-struck]

Off The Clock

Sawamura Daichi x Reader

~On your drive home you are met with the unpleasant sight of flashing red lights behind you.

Genre: Fluff

WC: 1.1k

Warnings: Police officer Daichi.

A/n: I have had this little one shot finished for a while, but I’ve been a bit antsy about posting it. Please read the warning above.

This is the time of year where you grip your steering wheel a little harder and wish that your headlights were just a bit brighter. The trees just off the shoulder of the road hide all sorts of animals that could run out in front of your car at any moment.

It’s terrifying, so much so that you try in advance to finish your workday while the sun is still in the sky. But apparently, the universe had other plans. After an unfortunate coffee spill, you had to go back and print off several documents and sign each one. It really puts you behind schedule, and you end your day just as the last bit of daylight disappears over the horizon.

You hold your breath as you slowly creep past the dense shrubbery, your foot hovers over the break just in case you need to stop for wildlife.

You aren’t able to breathe again till the last bit of shrubbery disappears from the view of your side mirror. With a sigh of relief, you speed up just a bit to get yourself home. Glancing at the dashboard clock, you see that it’s about time for your Boyfriend, Sawamura Daichi, to get off of work at the police station. 

You wonder aloud if you would beat him home tonight; maybe you can surprise him with a movie night or special dessert. The idea of a cozy night in with Sawamura brings a giddy smile to your face as you continue down the road at a pace even a snail would envy.

You are pulled from your thoughts by the flashing red lights of a squad car behind you. With a groan, you pull off to the shoulder, wondering what exactly you did to get pulled over tonight.

Now safely on the side of the road, you see the officer getting out of his vehicle.

The still flashing lights shine in your rearview mirror, the glare too intense for your tired eyes to make out the figure clearly. Perhaps if it is one of Sawamura’s coworkers, you can convince them to let you off with a warning.

With your excuses resting comfortably on the tip of your tongue, you roll down the driver-side window and wait for the approaching officer to ask for your paperwork. 

The officer approaches ridiculously slow; each thudding step towards you hastens your thought process as you wonder. What exactly did you do to get pulled over?

Do you have a headlight out?

Did you run a stop sign?

Did you remember to renew your tabs? …actually, you are not sure about that last one. 

You hold your breath and try to compose yourself. As they stand just outside your window.

“License and registration.” The officer says sternly.

Wait, you know that voice!

Turning your head, you meet your boyfriend’s teasing gaze and warm smile. Your chest lightning significantly, and you no longer feel concerned.

“Sawamura,” you sigh in relief, “did you really have to scare me like that.”

“I got you pretty good, didn’t I?” he laughs, the sound rich and melodious in the night air. But even through the laughter, you detect the tiredness in his voice. “I just got off and saw your car. So I thought I’d pull you over to say hello.”

“Just to say hey?” you giggle, “I thought I was going to get a ticket.”

He removes his cap and runs his fingers through his cropped brown hair with a smile, “If I were to have given you a ticket, what do you think it would’ve been for?”

Your hands drum against the steering wheel as you head back through your mental list from earlier, Headlights, stop signs, tabs.

“Were my tabs expired?” you guess, innocently shooting him a little grin.

He snorts and shakes his head, “Definitely not; I renewed those for you last month.”

“Really” you blink in surprise, touched by his act of service. Thank you for doing that; why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice that they should’ve been renewed. “He smiles. “Do you want to guess again?”

“Do I have a brake light out?”

“Not that either,” he says

“Sawamura, if it’s not that, why would I have gotten a ticket?”

“Sweetheart,” he sighs, looking at you with loving affection. “It was your speed. Do you know how fast you were going?”

“My speed? You repeat back to him, “I was definitely not speeding.”

He laughs that wonderful laugh again, “No, you were definitely not speeding. Love, did you know that you can get a ticket for going too slow?”

Crap… He’s right

“Babe, you know how much I hate driving on this road at night.” you start to say, waving your hands exasperatedly. I didn’t want to hit a deer, and I_.”

His laughter cuts you off. And he leans up against your window frame. “I know; I’m just teasing you a bit. You look so cute when you’re flustered.”

Your cheeks heat up at his compliment; even the faint scar on his cheek is smirking at you in the moonlight. “Jerk, don’t tease me when I’m stressed,” you whine, hitting his hand lightly with your own.

He scratches the back of his head bashfully, giving you an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry; let me make it up to you. I can lead you home and make you dinner. Does that sound good?”

His offer is too good to pass up, and you nod excitedly. “Can you drive slow?” you ask just before he walks away. I don’t want you to get too far away in case something happens.”

“Of course,” he smiles. “Is your Bluetooth set up? I can call you and talk to you the whole way.”

He knows just what to do to make you feel better. 

“That would be great.” you laugh. “You are too good to me, you know that?”

“I’m just treating you the way you deserve to be treated, Love,” he says, pulling out his phone and flashing you a playful smile. “Now, let’s get going; if we leave now, we might get home by sunrise if you speed up a bit.”

Flipping him the bird, you stick your tongue out at him and watch as he slides into the front seat of his cruiser. Already eagerly anticipating his phone call for the short drive home.