#Shipping delays solutions

[apsfulfillmentinc]

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[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Canada Postal Workers Strike: This Will Close my shop entirely for now

okay so 95% of all prints and art that I mail to the states use stamp mail and lettermail.

Which means that a postal strike, the one that begins today, is going to essentially kill my ENTIRE business until it's over. I'm going to package what prints I can, see if I can route purolator solutions for the people who've already paid, and the whole shop is going to go on vacation mode so no one accidentally buys things I can't ship

Commission setup is probably going to keep on keeping on using alternate shipping methods, but please do NOT buy anything right now since I have little to no way to ship it at the moment

If you have recently purchased anything within the last week or so, I'm sorry to say you'll need to expect delays with whatever you've gotten

I... I don't really know what I'll be doing for income in the upcoming weeks. Relying on savings I guess. Depending on how long the strike takes I might promote the patreon a bit more but I don't really know now

[maenefa]

This kind of Denethor discourse is so frustrating to me that I am literally pacing back and forth like a panther in a zoo enclosure. Ugggggggghhhhh

A lot of people will tell you that the moral of The Lord of the Rings is “never lose hope,” and that Denethor is bad because he loses hope.

Please read THIS and THIS and especially THIS, which is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking meditations on LotR you’ll ever read. Tolkien’s ideas about hope are so much more radical than “hope good despair bad.”

Denethor—Tolkien’s Denethor, not Peter Jackson’s Denethor—is unsettling because he tries to hope, but his hope isn’t strong enough to save him. Here are his thoughts on hope, just a few days before his death:

The time will not be long. In what is left, let all who fight the Enemy in their fashion be at one, and keep hope while they may, and after hope still the hardihood to die free.

Denethor has a more “realist” worldview than Gandalf or Faramir, but he’s not a nihilist. He’s still hanging onto hope even though he’s grieving Boromir and he’s positive that Frodo is going to be captured by Sauron. He only breaks when Faramir is mortally wounded and he sees the black ships in the palantir. And I don’t mean he gives up, I mean his mind snaps:

And as [Pippin] watched, it seemed to him that Denethor grew old before his eyes, as if something had snapped in his proud will, and his stern mind was overthrown.

Tolkien repeatedly uses language like “madness,” “madman,” “he is not himself” and “his mind was overthrown.” It’s not subtle!

Denethor is having a psychotic episode. His culpability is reduced, either partially or totally; we can’t know for certain. But I don’t think that everything he says and does in his last moments is “the real Denethor.”

We can do our best and try to have hope, but sometimes life crushes us. How are we supposed to live with the knowledge that this can happen?

Tolkien was haunted by the idea of heroes who fail, heroes who are crushed by their burdens:

Frodo indeed 'failed' as a hero, as conceived by simple minds: he did not endure to the end; he gave in, ratted. (Letter 246)

….I think it can be observed in history and experience that some individuals seem to be placed in 'sacrificial' positions: situations or tasks that for perfection of solution demand powers beyond their utmost limits, even beyond all possible limits for an incarnate creature in a physical world – in which a body may be destroyed, or so maimed that it affects the mind and will. Judgement upon any such case should then depend on the motives and disposition with which he started out, and should weigh his actions against the utmost possibility of his powers, all along the road to whatever proved the breaking-point. (Letter 246)

Tolkien himself tended to judge Denethor harshly, but the character fits very well into the same template as Frodo: a “sacrificial” person who is pushed beyond his limits. The palantir aged him and weakened his mental health, but what truly pushed him over the edge was the wounding of Faramir: Tolkien says that Denethor “maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son.”

It’s easy to judge Denethor for using the palantir (although Tolkien said that he had the right to use it and Gandalf admitted that the palantir’s knowledge had often proved useful!) but what should Denethor have done differently regarding sending Faramir into battle? We know that the defense of Osgiliath was necessary because Tolkien had the Rohirrim arrive at the exact moment the Witch King is about to ride through the gate of Minas Tirith. If Faramir hadn’t delayed Mordor’s army, the Rohirrim would have showed up to a conquered city.

Denethor believed that it was necessary to send Faramir to Osgiliath… and he was right! But the pain of being responsible for Faramir’s death was too great for him to bear. You can say that his craving for information killed him, but it’s just as accurate to say that his love for Faramir killed him.

Gandalf tells Denethor’s servants that they were “caught in a net of warring duties,” and this is also true of Denethor. His duty as a father conflicts with his duty as the leader of Gondor, and the strain destroys him.

It may be true that Denethor’s need for control is a character flaw, but I wonder about his final use of the palantir. His son appears to be dying: why does he leave his side to go look in the palantir? I actually think this was a hopeful act: Denethor was hoping to see the Rohirrim, or some kind of good news about the war, some indication that Faramir’s death would not be in vain. But the palantir shows him that he sent his son to die for nothing.

It’s the tragedy of Denethor lamenting “I sent my son forth, unthanked, unblessed, out into needless peril” and dying before he can learn that the battle wasn’t needless… you can’t reduce this tragedy to a morality play!

Okay, I can’t deny that the palantir is a very topical analogy for the internet/smartphones/the tyranny of “data” in general.

But Denethor is so much more than a blackpilled internet doomer, and I will defend him forever.

[velvetvisionsaurora]

Pairing: Hongjoong x reader, Seonghwa x reader, Yunho x reader, Mingi x reader, Wooyoung x reader.

Summary: Five eight-year-old boys aboard the slave ship Crimson Serpent form an unbreakable bond with five-year-old y/n. before she's sold at auction. Despite their failed rescue attempt, they swear a blood oath on her teddy bear to find her. Fifteen years later, now feared pirates leading the ATEEZ

Warnings: Slavery/Human Trafficking, Separation/Loss, Violence, Eventual Smut. SA(not by any main characters) y/n gets switched to a real name but it has a purpose. More warnings to be updated.

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Masterlist

Chapter 2

The Promise

Dawn broke over The Crimson Serpent as Halazia's harbor came into view. After three months at sea, the port city's sprawling docks and rising tiers of buildings would have been an impressive sight under different circumstances. But for five young boys huddled in the ship's hold, the approaching shoreline represented only dread.

"We dock within the hour," Hongjoong reported, having slipped away from the navigator's cabin to rejoin the others. "Final chance to review the plan."

Seonghwa nodded, immediately taking charge of the tactical details. "Wooyoung creates a distraction in the galley—"

"Big fire," Wooyoung confirmed with uncharacteristic seriousness. "Cook's rum stores will help."

"—while Yunho and I move y/n to the delivery crate near the port-side loading area" Seonghwa continued.

Yunho gestured to a large crate they had prepared over the past week, drilling small air holes that looked like wood damage and lining it with stolen sailcloth. "I've marked it with the chalk symbol so we can track it."

"Mingi watches the dock for safe passage," Seonghwa added, "and signals when we can move her."

Mingi nodded once, indicating his understanding of this crucial role. His position assisting the gunner had given him the most comprehensive knowledge of the harbor layout during previous visits.

"And I create confusion in the navigation records to delay departure," Hongjoong finished. "Once y/n is safely hidden ashore, I'll meet you at the rendezvous point."

The plan sounded more confident than any of them felt. The "rendezvous point" was a vague location near the harbor market that Mingi had identified from his observations during their last visit to Halazia. What they would do once reunited, with a five-year-old girl to protect and no resources in a city known for its slave trade, remained a hollow space in their strategy.

"What about after?" Yunho voiced the question they'd all avoided. "Where will we take her?"

The silence that followed revealed the gap in their planning.

"North," Hongjoong decided suddenly. "Away from slave territories. We'll find work on a merchant vessel or in a fishing village."

It was a child's solution to an impossible problem, but none of them had better ideas. The fantasy of escape had sustained them through the final weeks of voyage; examining it too closely threatened to collapse their fragile hope.

"Where's y/n?" Wooyoung asked, noticing her absence from their circle.

"Still sleeping," Hongjoong replied. "I didn't want to wake her until necessary."

In truth, none of them wanted to face her questions. Their plan, desperate and full of potential failures, would be harder to execute if they had to contend with her fear alongside their own.

"We should tell her now," Seonghwa said, practical as always. "She needs to understand what to do when the time comes."

Hongjoong nodded reluctantly and moved toward the small nest of blankets where y/n slept. The sight that greeted him made his chest tighten: she lay curled around Mr. Hugs, one small hand clutching the teddy bear's worn ear, her face peaceful in sleep despite everything. For a moment, watching her breathe, he allowed himself to believe they might succeed.

"Y/n," he whispered, gently touching her shoulder. "Time to wake up."

She stirred, blinking up at him with momentary confusion before recognition cleared her eyes. "Joongie? Are we there?"

"Almost," he confirmed, helping her sit up. "We need to talk about today."

The others gathered around as Hongjoong explained their plan in simplified terms. Y/n listened with surprising composure, clutching Mr. Hugs but asking clear questions that revealed her understanding of the stakes.

"I have to be very quiet in the box," she confirmed, "even if I'm scared."

"Yes," Seonghwa said gently. "Until we come for you."

"And Mr. Hugs comes too?"

The boys exchanged glances. "Of course," Hongjoong assured her. "Mr. Hugs goes wherever you go."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied. "What if something goes wrong?"

The directness of her question caught them off guard. Children her age weren't supposed to anticipate failure so maturely, but y/n had already endured more than most adults.

It was Mingi who responded, breaking his usual silence. "Hide," he said simply. "Wait. We find you."

"Always," Yunho added, reaching out to squeeze her small hand. "No matter what."

The ship's bell rang, signaling all hands to prepare for docking. Their time had run out.

"Remember," Hongjoong said, locking eyes with each of them in turn, "whatever happens, we meet at the rendezvous point by sunset."

As they separated to their assigned positions, he felt the weight of leadership settle more heavily on his young shoulders. They were just children playing a desperate game against adults with all the power, but in that moment, Hongjoong believed completely in their ability to win.

Everything went wrong almost immediately.

Wooyoung's galley distraction succeeded too well. The fire he started in the cook's rum stores spread faster than anticipated, creating genuine panic rather than the manageable confusion they'd hoped for. As smoke billowed from below decks, Captain Redmond ordered all hands to firefighting duties—including the children normally exempt from emergency protocols.

Seonghwa and Yunho, attempting to move y/n to the prepared crate, found their path blocked by sailors rushing to form a water brigade. Worse, in the chaos, the first mate began shepherding valuable cargo—including the crate they had prepared—away from the spreading fire.

"Change of plan," Seonghwa muttered to Yunho, pulling y/n behind a stack of barrels as sailors rushed past. "We need a different hiding place."

Yunho scanned the area desperately. "The captain's boat?" he suggested, referring to the small boat kept for the captain's personal use.

Seonghwa shook his head. "Too visible. They'll check it during evacuation."

As they deliberated, the situation deteriorated further. The fire reached a store of gunpowder, creating a blast that rocked the entire vessel. In the resulting chaos, Yunho was separated from Seonghwa and y/n when a falling spar knocked him to the deck.

"Yuyu!" y/n cried, trying to go to him.

Seonghwa held her firmly. "We can't help him now." The calculated mind that characterized him even at eight years old forced him to make the brutal calculation: one boy injured versus a girl captured. "We need to move."

With the original plan in ruins, Seonghwa improvised. The ship was now approaching the dock in disarray, with the fire adding urgency to their landing. Port authorities were already swarming the waterfront, ready to assist with firefighting and crowd control.

"When we reach the dock," he instructed y/n, keeping his voice calm despite the mayhem around them, "run. Don't stop for anything. Head for the marketplace—the one with blue awnings. Mingi will find you there."

Her eyes widened with fear, but she nodded determinedly. "What about you?"

"I'll be right behind you." The lie came easily, necessary to give her the courage to run. Seonghwa knew he would likely be captured ensuring her escape, but accepted this as the logical outcome.

As The Crimson Serpent lurched against the dock, sailors threw mooring lines while officers shouted contradictory orders. In the confusion, Seonghwa guided y/n toward the gangplank, now lowered for firefighting assistance.

"Remember," he whispered, "blue awnings. Don't look back."

He was about to give her the signal to run when a heavy hand clamped onto his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're taking our merchandise, boy?" Captain Redmond himself stood behind them, his face twisted with rage and smoke stains. Despite the fire threatening his ship, he had not forgotten the valuable cargo y/n represented.

Before Seonghwa could react, the captain shoved him aside and seized y/n, who screamed and clutched Mr. Hugs tighter.

"Hwa!" she cried, reaching for him as the captain dragged her away.

“Dove!” Seonghwa lunged forward but was restrained by a sailor who had appeared at the captain's command.

"Get this one back to firefighting duty," Redmond ordered. "And find the others. I want all those little rats accounted for." He glanced at the pandemonium on his burning ship, then at the frightened girl in his grip. "At least I can salvage something valuable from this disaster."

As Seonghwa was hauled away, he caught a final glimpse of y/n's terrified face as she screamed for him. The failure burned worse than the smoke searing his lungs.

Hongjoong, realizing the plan had collapsed into chaos, abandoned his position at the navigation charts and fought his way through smoke-filled corridors toward the deck. The ship was in genuine danger now, with flames visible through several hatches and sailors abandoning organized firefighting for personal survival.

He emerged onto the main deck just in time to see Captain Redmond dragging y/n down the gangplank, her small form struggling against his grip.

"No!" Hongjoong shouted, running toward them. He was intercepted by the bosun, who grabbed him by the collar.

"Where do you think you're going, boy? Ship's burning!"

Hongjoong struggled frantically. "He's taking her! The captain—the girl—"

The bosun glanced toward the dock, saw Redmond with y/n, and grunted. "Captain's business, not yours. Now help with these lines or I'll throw you overboard myself."

Over the next desperate hour, as the fire was finally contained through the combined efforts of crew and harbor firefighters, Hongjoong worked mechanically while scanning the docks for any sign of y/n or the others. He glimpsed Wooyoung being disciplined by the cook, saw Yunho helping move injured sailors despite his own bloodied forehead, but neither Seonghwa nor Mingi appeared in his line of sight.

Most concerning, Captain Redmond and y/n had vanished into the crowded waterfront.

When finally released from emergency duties, Hongjoong slipped away from supervision and headed for their designated rendezvous point—a small alley behind the fish market with blue awnings. He found Mingi already waiting there, a darkening bruise on his jaw suggesting he too had faced consequences for their failed plan.

"The others?" Hongjoong asked urgently.

Mingi shook his head, not looking up. “Scattered. Watched."

“Have you seen-“ Hongjoong rushed out, but Mingi cut him off.

“No. No little shadow.” He said, gripping something tightly in his hand.

Hongjoong nodded, sitting next to his friend and waited as the sun began its descent, hope diminishing with each passing minute. Eventually, Wooyoung appeared, smelling of smoke and sporting a burn on one arm.

"Cook thinks I accidentally knocked over a lantern," he reported grimly. "Believed me because he thinks I'm too stupid to start a fire intentionally."

An hour later, Yunho found them, his tall frame hunched with defeat, a crude bandage wrapped around his head. "I couldn't reach them in time," he said, voice cracking. "I saw the captain taking her away." Mingi quickly moving to support his friend, physically and emotionally.

Seonghwa was the last to arrive, slipping into the alley as twilight deepened into true darkness. His face was streaked with soot, his hands raw from firefighting duty.

"I failed," he stated simply, the admission clearly costing him. "Captain took her directly to the auction house on Harbor Street. Private sale."

The five boys stared at each other in the gathering darkness, the magnitude of their failure settling over them like a physical weight.

"We have to go after her," Wooyoung insisted. "Break in, find her—"

"With what weapons? What plan?" Seonghwa challenged, his practical nature reasserting itself even in grief. "We barely survived today's disaster."

"So we just give up?" Wooyoung's voice rose dangerously.

"Keep quiet," Hongjoong warned, pulling them deeper into the shadows as a patrol of harbor police passed the alley entrance. "We can't help y/n if we're caught."

“Fifteen.” Mingi said, causing the four boys to look at him in confusion. “Guards.”

“Fifteen guards where, Mingi?” Yunho asks gently.

“Auction House” Mingi whispered.

Hongjoong sighed as understanding washed over him. Mingi didn’t get the bruise from a punishment. He got it from trying to get to y/n.

The harsh reality of their situation confronted them: five injured, exhausted children with no resources, no knowledge of the city beyond glimpses from previous port calls, and no realistic way to infiltrate a secure auction house guarded by armed men.

"What do we do now?" Yunho asked, the question directed at Hongjoong, who had naturally assumed leadership of their small group.

Before Hongjoong could answer, a distant bell tolled nine times. The sound seemed to mark the end of something—their childhood perhaps, or the brief period when they had been more than just surviving.

"We go back to the ship," he said finally, the words tasting like ash.

"No!" Wooyoung protested. "We can't leave her!"

"If we don't return by the night watch, they'll hunt us down as runaways," Seonghwa pointed out. "The whole harbor will be searching for us."

"And then we'll never find her," Hongjoong added softly.

The terrible logic silenced even Wooyoung's protests. One by one, they accepted the brutal truth: they could not save y/n. Not today. Not as they were—powerless children owned by a man who viewed them as property rather than people.

As they prepared to return to The Crimson Serpent, now secured with emergency repairs sufficient for the night, Hongjoong suddenly realized something was missing.

"Mr. Hugs," he said, patting his clothing frantically. "Where's her teddy bear?"

The others looked at him in confusion.

"Didn't she have it? When the captain took her?" he demanded.

"She did," Seonghwa confirmed, remembering her clutching it as Redmond dragged her away. "Why?"

"Because—" Hongjoong faltered, unable to articulate why this suddenly seemed important. The teddy bear was just fabric and stuffing, yet it represented everything they had failed to protect.

Mingi stepped forward, holding out his hand. In his palm lay a small wooden disk—the navigational star he had attached to Mr. Hugs' paw.

"Fell off," he explained simply. "During struggle."

Hongjoong stared at the tiny carving, then closed Mingi's fingers around it. "Keep it safe," he said.

They returned to the ship like shadows, using the skills honed over months of captivity to slip aboard unnoticed amid the ongoing repairs. The hold, when they reached it, felt cavernously empty despite being more crowded than usual with damaged cargo.

In the corner where y/n had slept just that morning, Hongjoong sank down, emotional and physical exhaustion finally overwhelming him. The others settled around him, maintaining the protective circle they had formed around a girl who was no longer there.

"I saw her," Seonghwa said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence. "As the captain was taking her away. She looked back—at the ship, at us—and she..." his voice, normally so controlled, wavered slightly, "she dropped something. Deliberately, I think."

The others leaned forward, hope flickering briefly.

"You waited to say this until now?" Wooyoung said exasperated. “We were just outside.” He groaned.

“What was it?” Hongjoong asked.

Seonghwa shook his head at Wooyoung’s dramatics. "I couldn't see clearly. But it fell near the base of the gangplank, in that pile of ropes."

Hongjoong absorbed this information silently. Tomorrow, they would search. Tonight, they needed to recover, to plan, to...

His thoughts were interrupted by Yunho's quiet sobs. The tallest of them, the gentle giant who had carried y/n on his back through the ship's corridors, finally broke under the weight of their failure.

"She trusted us," he whispered between tears. "She believed we would protect her."

No one contradicted him. No one offered empty assurances. They simply moved closer, shoulders touching, a physical reminder that while they had lost y/n, they still had each other.

"This isn't over," Hongjoong said finally, voice hardening with a determination unusual for an eight-year-old. "We failed today. But we're not giving up."

"How?" Wooyoung asked, genuine rather than challenging. "She could be anywhere by tomorrow."

"Then we'll search everywhere," Hongjoong replied. "We'll learn everything we can about Halazia, about the slave markets, about whoever bought her. And someday, when we're stronger, we'll find her again."

The weight of this declaration hung in the air. They were children, owned rather than free, with years of captivity likely ahead of them. Yet something in Hongjoong's voice made the impossible sound merely difficult.

"I'm with you," Seonghwa said quietly. Always the practical one, his support lent credibility to Hongjoong's vision.

"Me too," Wooyoung added, some of his characteristic brightness returning. "We'll be the best pirates ever and take back what's ours."

Yunho wiped his tears and nodded firmly. "No matter how long it takes."

Mingi, last to speak, simply placed the wooden star in the center of their circle. "Together," he said. One word that contained everything.

Dawn found them at the harbor earlier than their duties required, using the excuse of checking storm damage to search the area where Seonghwa had seen y/n drop something. The harbor was already bustling with morning commerce, making their task more difficult.

It was Mingi who found it, his sharp eyes spotting the small object half-buried in harbor mud near where the gangplank had rested. He retrieved it silently, wiping away the dirt before placing it in Hongjoong's palm.

Mr. Hugs stared up at them, bedraggled and missing one eye button, but unmistakable.

"She left him for us," Hongjoong realized, throat tightening. "She knew..."

The implication settled over them. Y/n had understood she was being taken away for good, and in her final moments of freedom, had left them her most precious possession—not lost in the struggle as they had assumed, but deliberately placed where they might find it.

"Why would she...?" Wooyoung began, unable to complete the question.

"So we wouldn't forget," Yunho answered, understanding immediately. "So we'd have something to remember her by."

Hongjoong clutched the muddy teddy bear, feeling something fundamentally change within him. This wasn't just a stuffed toy; it was a responsibility. A promise.

"We need somewhere safe to keep him," he said, looking around warily. If the crew discovered them with a toy, it would be taken and destroyed as childish contraband.

"I know a place," Seonghwa offered. "Behind a loose panel in the navigator's cabin. You can access it during your duties."

Before Hongjoong could respond, a shout from the ship summoned them back to work. The moment of communion with y/n's memory ended abruptly, reality reasserting itself with cruel efficiency.

Throughout that day, as they resumed their separate duties aboard the still-damaged Crimson Serpent, each boy found himself dwelling on the teddy bear and what it represented. By unspoken agreement, they gathered again that night in their corner of the hold, forming a tight circle around Hongjoong as he carefully unwrapped Mr. Hugs from the sailcloth he'd used for concealment.

The teddy bear seemed smaller somehow, more fragile without y/n's arms around it. One eye missing, stuffing leaking from a torn seam, fur matted with harbor mud—yet still recognizable as her beloved companion.

"We should clean him," Wooyoung suggested, reaching out to touch a muddy patch.

"No," Hongjoong said firmly. "Not yet. This is how she last held him. This dirt..." his voice caught slightly.

The others understood immediately. The grime wasn't just dirt; it was a final connection to y/n.

"What do we do now?" Yunho asked after a long silence.

Hongjoong looked up, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "We make a promise," he said with quiet intensity. "To Mr. Hugs. To y/n. To ourselves."

Something in his tone made them all sit straighter. This wasn't a child's game or fantasy, but something more profound.

Mingi, who spoke least but often acted most decisively, suddenly produced a small knife he'd stolen from the weapons locker. Without explanation, he drew the blade across his palm, creating a thin line of blood.

Understanding immediately, Hongjoong took the knife and did the same. One by one, each boy marked himself, then pressed their bloodied hands together around Mr. Hugs.

"We promise," Hongjoong began, voice stronger than he felt, "to survive, no matter what."

"To grow stronger," Seonghwa continued, "in body and mind."

"To learn everything we need," Wooyoung added, uncharacteristically solemn.

"To find y/n," Yunho said, tears threatening again but held back through sheer will.

"To bring her home," Mingi finished, the most words he'd spoken at once since they'd known him.

"No matter how long it takes," they said together, the synchronicity unplanned but perfect.

As they released their grip on each other, something shifted in the air between them. They were no longer just five child captives forced together by circumstance. They were brothers now, bound by an oath more meaningful than any formal ceremony.

Hongjoong carefully wrapped Mr. Hugs back in the sailcloth, handling him with the reverence of a sacred object. "I'll hide him in the navigator's cabin," he said. "But he belongs to all of us now."

"Until we can return him to y/n," Seonghwa amended.

"Until then," Hongjoong agreed.

As they separated to their sleeping spots, each carrying the weight of their new promise, none could have imagined how this night would shape the next fifteen years of their lives. They couldn't know that this simple oath, made by children with no power beyond their own determination, would transform them from captives to captains, from victims to avengers, from frightened boys to the most feared and respected crew on the seven seas.

All they knew, as they drifted toward exhausted sleep in the hold of The Crimson Serpent, was that something had fundamentally changed. The world had taken y/n from them, but in doing so, had given them a purpose beyond mere survival.

Above them, Halazia's lights glittered against the night sky. Somewhere in that sprawling port city, a little girl slept without her teddy bear for the first time in her life. And in the belly of the ship that had brought them all together, five boys began dreaming of a future none of them could yet imagine—one that began with a teddy bear and a promise.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Settlement: Thopperton upon the Clouds

artsource

A quaint little gnomish town that just so happens to be a wonder of artifice, the flying settlement of Thopperton can usually be found anchored above another village for trade or drifting over the wilderness as it makes it's yearly circuit across the countryside.

Recently however the town has become snared in an impenetrable cloudbank that no wind or weathermage seems to be able to breach for more than a moment. Opinions are divided as to whether the town should continue onward (Thopperton and the settlements it visits are reliant on eachother for food and trade, and too many delays risk causing a crisis) or stop until a solution is found (trying to travel without being able to see the horizon risks sending the ship astray, putting them further off their timeline)

Adventure Hooks:

If the party need a reason to want to visit a flying gnomish town beyond sheer curiosity, they could be seeking aid or instruction from one of Thopperton’s famous tinkerer’s workshops. Alternatively they could be tasked with delivering an important message/package to one of the nobles or merchants who’ve decided to keep a summerhome on the airborne settlement. The views are to die for after all.

An impromptu festival has broken out on the streets of Thopperton as the inhabitants look to lift the dour mood imposed by the oppressive fog. Colourful lights and music fill the cloudy streets with phantasmagoria, whole blocks and market squares have been turned into mazes of cloth, and every workshop has opened their doors for an improvised inventor’s fair

The source of the omnipresent clouds is “The Lady of Veils” a djinn who has grown fond of visiting the flying burg and decided to “acquire” it. Conquer is such an unfriendly word after all.  Disguised as a foreign dignitary she’s taken up residence in Thopperton’s most exclusive hotel, hosting a soiree that ensorcels the town’s administration while she works a spell to transport the whole settlement to her fey domain. Her servants move through the fog unseen, forcibly inviting those who strike her fancy and disposing of those who would try to stop her.

When the party inevitably DOES try to stop her, they'll have to face down not only the djinn but also the elemental she keeps as body guard and chariot puller: a giant winged bull made of roiling clouds called Thunderhead. Battling the creature across the city's rooftops is sure to be one hell of a way to cap off the adventure... if they don't topple the town first.

[yanderemasquerade]

Alien Yandere

Notes: Fem Yandere x Fem Reader

Alien Yandere sent to earth on a science mission with a focus on the human condition, classic stuff. Although originally excited for the assignment, she quickly finds herself irrevocably bored. Not only does she find humans obviously primitive, she also finds them distastefully predictable, and there's nothing more boring than that. Things start looking up though when her ships viewer finds you. From the comfort of her control room she can watch you go about your weird, chaotic little day, and it quickly became her favorite show!

Alien Yandere who feels something stir in her the longer she watches you. To her, you're as silly and ditsy as they come. She loves watching you bounce around, struggling to stay organized and on task, rarely following a routine even if that was the intent. She loves the stylistic choices you make even if they are completely different then feminine beauty standards on her planet. In her eyes you really are ~not like other girls~, and she can't get enough! You're so much smaller than she is, and so much squishier, and for the first time since she started this endeavor, she finds herself interested in human mating rituals.

Alien Yandere who wonders what you taste like, what assuredly adorable noises you would make, and what your skin would feel like against hers. She's never seen you interact that way with another human, and that's for the best, because she couldn't stand seeing you with someone else, even if it was with an inferior human. She supposes if it came to it, she could abduct your hypothetical suitor and dissect them, but how many times could someone disappear out of your life without you noticing? That's not a real solution, just a delay to the inevitable. There's only one real option, to take you back home with her!

Alien Yandere who just wants to take you back to her home planet and keep you! You wouldn't have rights there, of course, nor would you have any hope of learning the language. They could learn yours easily, and perhaps they would say simple things for you to understand like "good girl" or "go away", but they would never bother pretending that you were capable of meaningful conversation. She would have to keep you as a little pet, leashed in public so that you aren't a threat because humans have been known to be quite violent. Perhaps it wouldn't be your first choice, but she doesn't exactly respect your intelligence enough to consider your opinion worth heeding. You've been her's this whole time, you just didn't know it yet!

[blternative]

The Captain isn't exactly free of blame either, I feel like that gets lost a bit as you play and get sucked into Jimmy's mental breakdown at the end. He was aware that Anya was pregnant by Jimmy through means that weren't consensual, knew that she wanted to use the gun to protect herself from him but resorted to hiding it after finding that she couldn't use it because she didn't have the proper authority to get the code to unlock it but realized Jimmy would be able to.

Granted, Curly was in a bad position for the issue from the beginning, he's the only source of authority on the ship and the ship as a whole would've suffered from being down one member but he doesn't do anything to protect Anya, his solution is to talk things out with Jimmy then think of a further solution together, not pull rank and put him in whatever their version of jail would've been on the ship (probably just stuffing them in a cryo pod until they reach their destination). Loyalty to his friend blinded him to the safety of his entire crew and he wanted to keep tensions as low as possible, even when that friend was threatening to take him down with him if he wasn't protected or staging a murder-suicide so no one would know what happened.

Even with Jimmy dangling the threat of Curly's career being in ruins once the news is reported, Curly doesn't stop him, he only slows him down at best and even that doesn't work, Jimmy proceeds to then crash the ship in an effort to completely get away with his crime(s) at the expense of a few lives. Curly gets mangled beyond recognition, unable to do the most basic of actions on his own, and is forced to spend several months in utter agony while watching his crew break down and die or get seriously injured in front of him. He sees everyone die, or the process of their death, except Jimmy, who gets to kill himself out of Curly's view as the stasis activates and Curly freezes. But Jimmy fixes it! He saves Curly and is a hero!

Except, why would a defunct company bother wasting what little funds they have left searching for a ship that was only carrying mouth wash? If no one finds the wreckage in twenty years, Curly gets reawoken and suffocates (I'm pretty sure one of the characters said something about running out of oxygen before food); if he gets found then he gets the finger pointed at him for presumably intentionally veering the ship into a collision *while* spending the rest of his life in continued agony. It doesn't matter what they believe for how the crew died, Curly takes all the blame as he's not only the only survivor but the captain, not only did they all die in horrific ways but they burned through most of the cargo!

In the end, Curly did it to himself really, every problem that happens, every death a reminder that none of it would've happened if he had did the right thing. Every time Jimmy exercises his anger on him by forcing the pills down his throat and ignores his choked cries and tears, it was Curly taking responsibility for his actions, or rather lack of, that got them to that moment. Even if he didn't want to take responsibility, he still did, he had no choice.

It's why Curly was the captain and Jimmy wasn't, why he could've called himself captain all he wanted and no one (except Daisuke but, he's Daisuke) believed it, not even himself.

He never took responsibility for anything he did, he laid the blame for the crash on Curly and even for delaying the news of the company's bankruptcy even though Curly technically broke protocol and told them early; everyone died believing Curly was the one piloting even though by the time he got into the cockpit it was too late. He never took responsibility for assaulting Anya and subsequently getting her pregnant, instead choosing to hide the truth and secretly hounding her into "fixing it" to the point of her committing suicide so it truly was "fixed." He didn't take responsibility for getting Daisuke killed by having him crawl into the broken air vent and getting seriously injured, instead the truth of the events that lead up to it coming out as the kid lay on his bed dying, profusely apologizing for what in his eyes was a fuck up on his behalf.

Everyone else takes responsibility for the consequences of actions done by Jimmy. Anya takes responsibility for him getting her pregnant and "takes care of it" like he wanted her to, presumably before the crash even happened he was telling her this. Daisuke takes responsibility for knocking out Swansea and going into the vent, even though he was going off of Jimmy's commands. Swansea takes responsibility for not only trying to protect Anya (why he constantly carried the axe) but for falling back into alcoholism by coping with their fate, even though Jimmy was the one who opened the cargo hold.

Even when Anya is dead, and Curly is forced to lay by her corpse, Jimmy doesn't take responsibility for him being the reason she took that course of action, completely blotting the scene out of his mind until he's forced to look at it when picking up Curly, even then he only focuses on Curly.

At his end, he never feels regrets for his actions unless they're in the context of it affecting Curly, and even then its only because he didn't know how stressful the position actually was. He doesn't have remorse for assaulting Anya and pushing her into suicide, for getting Daisuke mercy killed by Swansea (he doesn't have anything to say about it beyond berating Swansea for being hasty) or pushing the old man into coming at him with an axe after he had his own mental break. He only feels remorse for being jealous of Curly and not realizing how stressful the role of captain really was until he was in the position himself, he only thinks Curly as a prestigious prick who cares about his own image and career and no one else's.

He gets to kill himself, consequence free, even being able to think of himself as the hero at the end, when everything that transpired over the course of the game was his fault.

I don't think Curly is as bad a person as Jimmy is, but hes still bad, he's too much of an optimist and wanted to keep trying to see the good in people even when it came to the detriment of his crew.

In short, fuck Jimmy but fuck Curly too.

[willtheweaver]

A writer’s guide to forests: traveling through the woods

Getting from point A to point B is something that both people in real life and the characters of your story will have to figure out. Whether as a means to get to a plot point, or as a part of the plot itself, travel presents opportunities for the writer.

Hack ‘n slash- Where paths are nonexistent, your characters will literally have to blaze a trail (the ‘blaze’ in this case has nothing to do with fire. Instead it is a trail marker made by carving a mark into a tree. The mark resembles the white patch seen on the forehead of mammals, most often horses.) Being the pioneer is slow going, especially if the undergrowth is thick and requires clearing. Cut bamboo can go through the foot, poison oak and poison ivy can give a nasty rash, and biting insects can make life miserable. And then there is the matter of marking the trail. A character on the run will not want to advertise their location and will do their best to keep their trail hidden. But for others, they will want to mark the trail. Stone cairns, arrows, blaze marks in trees, and even sticks and knotted grass can point out the path to other travelers. This can be helpful to others, but it can also present a danger. Thieves and outlaws can create false trails that lead travelers into a trap or ambush.

Game trails- Animals have their habits. They like to take the same path between places. Over time these develop into trails that crisscross the forest floor. For a character on the run, or those who needs to make haste, these are a tempting choice to follow. But be careful. Some animals are able to traverse terrain too difficult for humans (narrow ledges, near vertical faces, and the gaps underneath fallen trees are not fun places to be). And your characters may encounter more than deer or rabbits. Predator species hang out around game trails as they can be fruitful hunting grounds.

Existing paths and roads- Roads can range from simple dirt paths to paved highways. These will be the most direct routes between the principle settlements in your story. Prosperous areas will have well maintained roads with travelers and patrols using them frequently. Characters may also encounter watchtowers, farms, and inns along the way. Poorer regions, those affected by war, or more remote regions will have less well maintained roads, fewer travelers, and few to no amenities between towns. And if your characters can use the roads, expect hostile armies, outlaws, and highwaymen to use them as well. And where the roads go may be limited to the most populated regions, forcing your characters to leave the path if they want to get to isolated villages, caves, temples, or even a wizard’s tower.

Use the water- Of course, you can have your characters forgo land transportation and use the rivers, lakes, and seas. Rafts, ferry boats, and ocean going ships are all viable options. It should be noted that these are not perfect solutions. Rapids and waterfalls will force characters back onto land until they find gentler waters. Storms can delay or sink vessels, and cold winters will freeze water over. Of course, a frozen river or lake is just an excuse to get out the ice skates. Droughts will dry up streams and small lakes, and recent rains can turn placid waters into unsurvivable whitewater.

Up in the trees- Hate to burst your bubble here, but swinging from vines is something that only exists in fiction. If you try to do this in real life, it will not work out well…provided you can even find sufficient vines or fig roots. Of course, in your story, you are free to do what you want. Nothing is going to stop you…well except maybe for your readers and the critics who will pan you for using what may be considered an overused and unoriginal trope. Other options include bridges, cable cars, or even zip lines.

Taking flight- Of course, the forest will not pose an obstacle if your characters can simply fly. This can be achieved by characters that possess wings of some sort. They could have a winged mount, or they could hitch a ride on a vehicle like a helicopter or ultralight plane.

Underground- If in doubt, take a cue from moles and dwarves. Tunnels can serve the same function as roads, with all the benefits and drawbacks included. Of course your characters will also have to be aware that cave-ins are a real and present danger. These can be natural, or deliberate sabotage. And your characters best hope all the recent tunneling hasn’t awaken any ancient evils from long ago…

[lesmisshippingshowdown]

Introducing: POLL STEALING

Woah! The Les Mis Shipping Showdown, introducing a whole new gameplay mechanic when the tournament's already started? Say it ain't so!

Well. It's so.

Inspired by @hbowartournament (idk if they originated this idea, but it's certainly where I saw it), starting with the Round of 16 you will have the opportunity to earn back percentage points on any given poll by creating fanworks - fic, art, gifsets, fanvids, etc - for your ship of choice and letting us know about it. A full breakdown of how this works is under the Read More at the bottom of this post, and we'll also make a separate explainer post to link in each new poll.

To give you all a head start on your creations, we will be slightly delaying the Round of 16 poll drop to the evening (GMT/UTC) of Monday 10th March. Be there or be square!

This does, of course, also mean that we will be completely ignoring the entirely democratic results of our earlier poll and keeping each poll's running time at a week to give you the most time possible to get your fanworks finished and submitted.

Q: Why? Simple! I realised while searching for visual aids for the ships in the Round of 32 that this bracket contains a lot of surprisingly niche pairs for whom there's not actually a whole lot of content. 47% of the pairings that made the bracket have fewer than 150 works on AO3! So actually, this tournament could be a great opportunity to highlight & spur on a new outpouring of love for some of those rarer pairings, some of which haven't really been in their heyday since like, 2014. I kind of was operating along these lines already when begging you guys for fanart submissions every other day, but then I figured adding the competition element makes it more fun and gives you guys more of an incentive to participate!

Q: But my ship's just been eliminated from the round of 32 :( Now I don't get to play :( Fear not. Because I have a solution.

Q: Can I submit a fanwork I've already created? Ideally, new fanwork is the dream here, but we get everyone has time constraints and we're announcing this all pretty last minute. If you want to subtly rework the WIP you've had lurking in your Google Docs for the past 6 years, or tweak an artwork you already posted on here in 2013, we'll turn a blind eye. However, in the interest of both fun and fairness, we ask that you prioritise new, or at least newly updated, work (new chapters of existing multichapter fics count!) and do not just spam the tag with your entire back catalogue of 172,000 words of [insert ship here] fanfic. You can still post your back catalogue as propaganda, but it won't count towards the steal.

(PS. We're aware that some sections of this fandom have just had big creative output fests e.g. Valvert Week, and may therefore be all out of fresh ideas for this tournament. In the interest of not overworking you guys, if you'd like to repurpose any work - for any ship - published since February 1st, 2025 as a Steal Work, you are absolutely welcome to do so. Just be sure to send us a link and let us know that this is your intention.)

Q: Is there anything I can't submit?

Once again, we politely request no AI generated art or fiction.

NSFW is absolutely fine, but please ensure it is suitably tagged so anybody who wants/needs to avoid it is able to do so.

We know that with the presence of certain ships in this bracket (*cough* turnchetta) it's completely impossible to avoid parody/troll/shitpost content, and banning it would be antithetical to the point of some of these noble ships. Plus, some of the greatest creative works in Les Mis fandom history (*cough* the Enjonine rap) have been works in this vein. So you're welcome to goof around, but please be aware that at the mods' discretion we may discount anything we deem to be especially low effort or in particularly poor taste.

Q: You said the new round of polls doesn't start until March 10th - can I start posting Steal Works before then? Be our guest! If you've got things ready to go then you can post them as soon as they're done. Just make sure they're tagged appropriately (see under the cut) so that we know they're meant for this purpose.

Q: So how does all this work? I'm glad you asked! Please see below the cut:

(once again, all scoring & rules lifted absolutely wholesale from the hbowartournament. they changed the game with this and i'm not even kidding)

Writers:

Post a fic (or new chapter) of at least 100 words to AO3. The pairing of your choice must be the primary relationship tag (and remember this poll is for romantic relationships only)

Link your fic here, tag it #lmss steal, and send us a link to the post via asks/submissions. If your piece is part of a larger, previously established fic, please include in your message the word count of the new chapter.

Earn 0.1% for every 100 words, rounded to the nearest hundred

Artists:

Post your fanart to tumblr, tag it #lmss steal, and send us a link via asks/submissions.

Earn 0.1% for a sketch, 0.3% for linework, and 0.5% for a full colour piece.

Fanvid Editors:

Post your video to tumblr, tag it #lmss steal, and send us a link via asks/submissions.

Earn 0.3% per 10 seconds for an AMV/fanvid using existing footage, and 0.5% per 10 seconds for an animatic.

Photo/Gifset Editors:

Post your photoset/gifset to tumblr, tag it #lmss steal, and send us a link via asks/submissions.

Earn 0.1% per edited photo and 0.5% per gif/collage.

Playlist Curators:

Post your fanmix - consisting of at least 8 tracks (iykyk) - to Spotify (or create a YouTube playlist if you do not have a Spotify account).

Link your playlist here, tag it #lmss steal, and send us a link via asks/submissions.

Earn 0.1% per 8 songs on the playlist, rounded to the nearest 8

Earn 0.1% per 200 words of liner notes expanding on the selected songs

If you're struck by creative urges not listed above, just drop us an ask and we can figure out what category it falls into and/or approximate percentage conversion rates if it's something totally new.

No matter what you're posting though, the same applies - make sure to tag it #lmss steal so that we know it's part of this tournament, and send us a link to your post so that we don't miss it!

[adracat]

How is arcane copaganda? Serious question

For me, it’s about the framing and glossing over of the root of the Piltover-Zaun conflict and how certain characters, like Jinx and all the rebel Zaunites are handled. The show has a very centrist lens by painting them as reckless, destructive, mentally unstable, or too ‘extreme’ in their methods. They cannot have their freedom won, only by having it rewarded to them slowly on their oppressor’s terms (Sevika councillor seat etc) As Dr. King said, “Justice too long delayed, is justice denied.” The conflict also, whether intentionally or not, can be easily read as an parallel for certain historical conflicts. Palestine in particular can’t help but be made since Piltover controls Zaun much the same.

Copaganda is not always obvious but often asserts that it’s not the systems at fault but the singular bad apples we must blame. It says we must replace them with good cops instead. It’s narrative shorthand for actually thinking of a solution. Caitlyn does an atrocity on screen but we’re never given the same weight to her contrition. It’s glossed over so it feels shallow (Don’t come after me I like women who do atrocious things) but her position as a cop figure head can’t be divorced from how the show wants us to think Zaunites are the wild radicals who need an overseer state handing them scraps of freedom. It’s negligent and leaves a sour taste in my mouth after seeing an IRL genocide with that dynamic. I really don’t care about what you ship, genuinely, but I do wish we could have a nuanced discussion about a show with openly zionist voices being part of production. Dressing it behind a progressive shield doesn’t mean it’s not fascist messaging

[frostdemigod]

Lads, new endfield trailer dropped and we see some stuff. I'll put my entire thoughts and stuff under the read more for spoilers sake but also because I ramble a lot

A Surtr clone(?) and an Aurora clone

And I know they're clones for one reason. Just like Angelina, they were infected. Endfield has no cure for oripathy, at least from what I remember. So they would make clones and do memory transplants like Angelina did, but her files show that she is clearly her own person, she looks the same and has the memories and stories of the old Angelina, but she knows she isn't her.

Warfarin is alive, as mentioned from Angie's files, and she probably isn't a clone, mainly due to sarkaz having insane lifespans. Surtr would probably be the same if she wasn't infected. Oripathy isn't gonna spare her for 300 odd years, so her being a clone is probably a guarantee. Unless the oripathy meds had an advancement great enough to stall her infection for that long, until it became cheap enough to manufacture constantly. I know Eyja's oripathy got worse so Surtr isn't entirely safe, although her infection level is still pretty low in arknights.

But isn't this like. Super sad? Imagine seeing someone who looks exactly like one you shared memories with, spent time together with... They have those memories, and they look just like them. But they aren't the same person. They have their own personality and everything. They just have the memories injected in there.

They're not the people you used to know. They never will be.

I just find this like super depressing... the more I think about it the less I want to see the old ak cast in endfield, show me future generations like the new ch'en and stuff! That's cool! They lived a happy life and the family is still going! Continuing traditions, mentioning history, reminiscing about their ancestors. I love that idea! The world truly feels like it moves!!

But seeing someone you used to know as a ship of theseus situation... that like... really hurts man. Yeah they probably wanted to try the clone thing, but it isn't perfect. It's not like a robotic body you just plug in a program into and it's good to go. You're just injecting some of the past in there but they doesnt become the person the memories are from.

Like, am I weird for this incoherent rambling about the logistics of this? That I don't want to see characters I like basically cloned in this manner, because it gives me an inexplicable sadness about the situation. That our best solution to oripathy is a copy-paste method that we haven't even perfected yet as a "cure" or some medication to delay the inevitable.

The chances of Shana appearing in endfield are nonexistent. She doesn't even have a story appearance in arknights itself aside from her operator record. I know that if we do get more old cast, it would probably be the infected ones too, and this genuinely makes me happy in a twisted way. I don't want to see her like that. It'd hurt. So the chances being as slim as they are is soothing, but it isn't 0. That's what terrifies me.

Imagine I somehow was put in a couple century stasis and woke up and saw my brother the same as before. I imagine he went through the same as me, we talk, everything is normal. But then I learn that he isn't my brother, just has the memories and same body but his personality is different, his likes, dislikes, fears, it's all different... I'd be terrified man. I want to scream, run away, cry. It's like a skinwalker, some scenario straight out of a horror setting. Arknights is a terrifying setting as is. But this makes it much, much more eerie. So with every returning operator, the sadder the setting of endfield makes me.

[destinationtoast]

It's finished!! Only 1 year, 2 months, and 2 days after I started. XD And there are some new sex & kink tags:

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Multi, F/M

Relationships: Keeley Jones/Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt

Characters: Jamie Tartt, Roy Kent, Keeley Jones, Rebecca Welton, Leslie Higgins, Shandy Fine, Trent Crimm, AFC Richmond Players (Ted Lasso)

Additional Tags: Humor, Pining, Letters, Impersonation, Jamie ships Roy and Keeley, but is also very into shagging Roy, while they're both pining after Keeley, what on earth could the solution be?, thinking.gif, Polyamory (eventually), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Relationship Negotiation, Polyamory Negotiations, Threesome - F/M/M, Dom/sub, Praise Kink, Orgasm Delay

Words: 31,206

Summary:

“Why won’t you just talk to Keeley and try to fix things?” Jamie asks after sucking Roy’s cock.

Jamie hatches a mad letter-writing scheme to get Roy and Keeley back together. Which is a bit of a shame, because he's really enjoying shagging Roy. (Canon divergent as of mid-S3.)

read it on AO3

[azaliyas]

Hi! I saw this cute tik tok where Alhaitham is autistic and his weighted blanket was being washed so he was very grumpy snd couldn’t fall asleep so like kaveh decided to lay on top of him to try and emulate the blanket.

If it’s ok can you do that but alhaitham x reader, romantic and established relationship? Sorry if it’s confusing 😭

summary : alhaitham is a man of simple requests and simple needs, but when they're not met, like his precious blanket not being on him for the night, it can become quite the problem. luckily for him you, his amazing lover, have a solution that he will gladly enjoy (but he will never admit it).

word count : [ to be added later ]

genre : fluff.

cw / tw : none.

characters : alhaitham.

note : omg me?? posting?? what a rare occasion 💀 yes i'm not dead and i'm still writing! i just forget to post '^' anyway anon i'm sorry for the delay 😭 you have the right to bonk me if you want, i deserve it anyway ;-; this idea was so cute tho, i need to see that tiktok even if i don't ship haikaveh lol // i have more pieces ready they just need proofreading (if i can find the will to, otherwise to hell with that :D). on a serious note 1) i didn't understand much about weighted blankets so if this piece is off eeeeehhhh i tried 2) internet said that habibti was the right word, but if habibi is the one let me know please! hope you can enjoy this, sorry my sporadic appearances 🫠❤️

a few years into your relationship with alhaitham you learned quite the number of curious facts about the scribe that many didn't know — not because alhaitham kept them a secret, but only because of his reserved personality that didn't make him open up to the first person that was in front of him.

the scribe liked his coffee burning hot with no sugar and just a little sip of milk, enjoying it sitting at the same spot of the kitchen table every morning. he also liked working out mostly in the evening and take a shower right after. alhaitham loved sleeping on your chest, the sound of your heartbeat a comforting lullaby.

speaking of sleeping habits, alhaitham could only sleep with his weighted blanket wrapped around his body. because of this, the scribe was very attentive in washing it during the day so it would be dry for the evening. that was one of the first things you taught yourself to do in order to help your boyfriend, a gesture that had the dendro user fall harder for you.

at least, that's what you succeeded to do until today. the rain didn't allow the blanket to dry during the whole day, and so by the evening it was still dump. impossible to let it be used, even when you had hung out the blanket before starting cooking dinner for tonight. by the time you and alhaitham had to turn in for the night, it was still wet. and cold. defeated, you had to put the weighted blanket aside.

you found alhaitham standing near the mattress in your shared bedroom, pyjama on and ready to crash the bed and fall asleep. that was, but his blanket was amiss.

your groan came out sounding more like a whine noticing this scene. you cursed the rain while scrambling your thoughts trying to find a solution.

«it's fine.» alhaitham said, turning on his feet to look at you. you knew he was lying.

«it's not! how are you supposed to fall asleep without your blanket?!» you whined again, a sound of exasperation leaving your throat right after.

«i can put more blankets on top of each other. it's not a problem.» your boyfriend rebutted, walking toward the wardrobe.

alhaitham pulled out some blankets and started laying them on the bed one after the other. deep down the scribe knew it wasn't the exact same thing, but a weighted blanket had its purpose in the deep-pressure touch that brought calmness and comfort. and that deep-pressure touch was given by the heavy weight. by logic, more blankets on top of each other had to be enough heavy.

but for once in his life, alhaitham was wrong. it was a weird feeling, but not as weird as tossing around back and forth, incapable of sleeping for more than five minutes before waking up again. his movements and his grumbling had you waking up.

you turned on your side and faced your boyfriend, just in time to meet his gaze. he furrowed his brows as soon as he noticed you staring at him.

«sorry for waking you up.» he murmured, annoyance clear in his voice. not at you, of course, but at his incapacity of falling asleep.

you looked at him, eyes focused, and alhaitham knew you were thinking hard about something, but what that something was he didn't know.

without a word you dragged yourself on top of alhaitham, who laid on his back as you took place on his chest, your blanket wrapping around both your bodies. your head rested in the crook of his neck, your hands gently pressed on his chest, right above where his heart was.

«habibti... what are you doing?» alhaitham looked at you like you just grew a second head on your shoulders.

«well, the comfort of a weighted blanket is in its weight, right?» you asked, raising your head to look at him. alhaitham slowly nodded. «hence my position: i will act as your blanket for the night.»

to say the scribe was flabbergasted was an euphemism. he didn't mind your wonderful mind and colorful ideas, after all it was one of the reasons why he fell in love with you, but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if you the hamster running on your wheel wasn't actually high on something.

«it doesn't make sense.» he rebutted.

«this is where you're wrong, haitham. it does. weighted blankets have their purpose in their weight, that brings comfort thanks to the fact they mimic a hug, helping you release serotonin and dopamine, hormones that soothe you and help you sleep.»

you concluded your explanation with a satisfied smile, chin resting on your knuckles while you looked at your speechless boyfriend. it was a very rare occurrence to leave the scribe without anything to say, and almost all of the times it was because of you.

sighing and subtly rolling his eyes, alhaitham decided at last to try your idea and sleep like that — although, your chest was a much better pillow than the feather ones his head was currently laying on.

...

oh what a delight was to see your boyfriend's stunned face the next morning, the heaviness of sleep still clinging to his god-touched features as he was blinking away from the sun rays pouring from the window.

«don't.» he grumbled.

your smile turned into a knowing smirk.

«told ya!» you happily chimed.

© azaliyas 2023 do not copy repost translate or feed to ai

[rawmeknockout]

Hi!! I'm so excited your requests are open! I've had this idea in my head for forever, but unfortunately, my skills do not include writing. It goes like this: Shockwave has a lab tech, shy but typically thorough and diligent. Acceptable by Shockwave's standards. However, lately, the lab tech's work performance has been plummeting due to a persistent overcharge with no good outlet (heat cycles, my weakness). This is Unnacceptable™️ to Shockwave, so he decides to deal with the problem himself. Toxic decepticon work culture, of course. The lab tech's overcharge gets dealt with efficiently and rather roughly. Bonus points for choking!! The dubcon and power dynamics are just so delicious. I've sent you a tip on ko-fi! Kisses and thank you! 💋

Delays are unacceptable when it comes to Shockwave's work. He prides himself on being efficient, logical, the one steadily working cog in Megatron's war machine. Usually, you do not impede his work. You are one of the only Decepticons he will allow in his lab, other than test subjects when he can get them, because you do not slow his pace. Projects are started and completed perfectly within his strictly estimated deadline, weapons shipped out for approval and use by the only mech Shockwave would ever bow to.

But lately your work has been obstructed in a way that makes the lead scientist bristle. You are a fully capable and mature mech, you should know how to handle your own heat. It would be a hinderance to cast you aside as his lab assistant, reliable ones are so hard to come by, but your occupied attention has stretched his latest experiment passed the deadline. It itches at the back of his processor, a slowly building frustration he is usually unused to. He is tempted to dismiss you, but Shockwave is nothing if not resourceful. If you insist on simply bearing through the problem, a foolhardy solution he expects of less rational bots, then he must take matters into his own servos.

It is a few kliks he is willing to spare if it will allow his latest weapon to get through the experimentation phase.

"Lay back on the medical berth," Shockwave doesn't give an explanation, doesn't feel he needs to. You are simply an assistant, he won't spare more time than he needs to walking you through his thought process. You frown at him, a question clearly on your glossa, but you obediently hop up on the medical slab and lay back. Trained to follow orders and ask questions later, as any good assistant to Shockwave should be.

His digits curl around your ankle joints and drag you down the length of the berth, thighs parted around the bulk of him. Your intake gapes, already torn between leaning up and staying down as he had instructed. Further stupefying you, Shockwave retrieves a cable from his medical array, unraveling it from the side of his chassis. He doesn't bother asking for permission, digits finding the manual release over your own medical interface before plugging his cable into one of your data ports. He takes a moment to look passed you, single optic bearing down on information you can't see, clearly immersed in searching through your data. His sight refocuses on you when he's found what he's looking for.

"Remove your interface panel," Your mouth continues to uselessly flap open around words that you want to say. But you are still very aware of the fact he's your senior officer and leagues ahead of you in the Decepticon hierarchy. If there's anyone who can command you to bear your interface without express reason, it's Shockwave. You override your interface panel's release, also aware of just how charged up your array is. Mortification licks up your spinal strut at the slick sound of your valve platelets against the panel as it transforms away.

To further your embarrassment, Shockwave gives a cursory look-over of your valve. His single optic studies you like a new piece of tech, detached and inspective. You will yourself to lay back on the berth instead of tensed up on your elbows, your frame is stiff and awkward and impossible to rest comfortably in. You don't flinch when he transforms his own interface panel away without warning. He owes you no explanation as the lead scientist and he's not going to spare you any bedside manner, even if he had it.

Your valve is already so embarrassingly wet from your heat cycle, and you want to snap at him when he prods at the soft platelets with his claw-like digits. His servos are made for precise scientific work, not exploring the frame of a partner. He nudges your anterior node with the backside of one of his digits, just enough to send a jolt up pleasure up your spinal strut. It's akin to rutting against the edge of a countertop in how sensual it is; good enough only to get the job done, but there is no warmth from his touch. You offline your optics until he's deemed you sufficiently charged up to accept his spike, your fans venting air despite the fact this situation is more painful than arousing. Shockwave doesn't offer any forewarning before he nudges the head of his spike against your valve, startling the first sound from your vocalizer.

His hips snap against the back of your thighplating at once, burying his spike to the hilt. You hadn't expected gentle, but the stretch burns and has a warning popping up on your HUD. Shockwave ignores your frantic complaints, setting a steady, punishing rhythm. Drone-like in all he does, the scientist doesn't even seem fazed by the tight suction of your valve or the way you clench around him with the discomfort and pleasure. His single, dimmed optic bores down on you, watching you with mild interest. Your servos grip tight to either edge of the medical slab, a burning heat building in your core. In spite of his disinterest, in spite of the way he fucks into you like it's merely a task to complete, you brace your pedes upon the end of the berth and open your legs further for him.

You scramble to grab his servo in both your own, pulling and maneuvering his hold around your neck. Just the feel of his powerful digits around such a vulnerable spot has you pleading; "Please, please, please," leaving your vocalizer mindlessly. And for once, you see a spark of intrigue in his gaze. The same sort of curiosity when he's looking at a problem that evades him. He wastes not a klik more, squeezing around your throat tubing and forcing a static-filled moan from your vocalizer. His grip is tight, carelessly forceful, and it sends a hard shudder down your back.

The charge of overload ripples through your EM field before it washes over your frame, your frame arching up into his rough rhythm and cruel grip. Your legs twining around his waist to pull Shockwave in as deep as he can go. He, mercifully, fucks you through it, shallow thrusts working out every last bit of pleasure from you. Your just past the height of your overload when his transfluid spills inside your oversensitive valve, calipers rippling and milking his spike. A gasp leaves your intake, your vents, as he satisfies the infuriating heat of your cycle.

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Mind telling us how the dynamics of duos within teen Sector V are? Like 1/2, 3/4, 2/5, 1/3, 2/4 and so on lol. Just to get to know them and how they are as teens a bit better!

AHHHH SO!!!

There's a lot to say here, so I'll start with Nigel and go on until everything is explained?? Before reading, I don't want hate or anything plz, this is what works for this AU but I pretty much can ship anyone with anyone!

Let's go!

#1/#2

Nigel and Hoagie like to work in tandem on new 2x4 tech for teen operatives to use. Hoagie has the ideas, Nigel refines them (and avoids Hoagie from making them too dangerous or unstable) and they build them together. Nigel hasn't always been one for manual work but lately he found out it helps him not to think too much. And Hoagie's more than happy to help "Big Boss" relax!

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#1/#3

Kuki is Nigel's personal ray of sunshine (that's also why the whole school calls her that). She helps him to cheer up and see life in a different way, a more colorful and positive one. They don't even have to talk, Nigel just needs to sit next to her and plop his head on her shoulder and she knows it's time to work her magic on him! Also she somehow convinced him to have her test her "make up skills" on him. Don't ask why, that's how they roll. AND! Kuki's been in charge of taking care of Nigel's rainbow monkey plush since he left for GKND.

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#1/#4

Because of something that happen to Wally years before (which, don't ask, none of them want to talk about it), these two are now really close. Especially Wally found a good friend he can talk to when life gets too hard on him, he knows Nigel will be more than happy to listen to him go off without judging or forcing a solution on him. Basically Nigel KNOWS the root of all of Wally's problems and understands his feelings. They don't like to show how close they are around, but if they find each other alone, it's feeling time.

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#1/#5

They know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE around the school, no one is safe, not even professors or the principal himself. They could crush everyone in one move... but choose not too because were would the fun be? Sill best friends, if you didn't know their history you could easily mistake them for a couple. Well, they are in fact planning their wedding, been doing that for 2 years now, but it always gets delayed because one of them changes his mind about a minor detail. Do they even argue? Are they actually together?? What is going on??? Only they know.

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#2/#3

Just a quick note: Numbuh 6 is still there and they still keep an eye on him, but he's been moved to another sector when they all turned 13. Because of his love for anime and manga, Hoagie is actually learning Japanese with her, because he thinks it would be cool to be able to watch anime without subtitles or worse, the... dub... EWW! Also they like to watch stuff together that Wally refuses to because it has romance in it, like Toradora! or even Sword Art Online.

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#2/#4

Best friends forever. Kinda gay, but not all the way? Like IRL JD and Turk basically. They're so into anime and manga and videogames, they're NERDS but Wally usually hides it around people, Hoagie can't be bothered and you can spot him reading some manga no one even knew existed. They have a lot of inside jokes not even the others understand, especially the "chicken" one they've been keep going since they were 7. Also, they're meme masters.

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#2/#5

How the heck are they even dating? Like, he's an OTAKU and she's the QUEEN of the school??? But it works apparently, and everyone is jealous and MAD at Hoagie because really, he's one of the LAMEST LOSERS in the school, just... how... WHY?? No one knows. But them. He makes her laugh and she keeps him with his feet on the ground. Been going for *looks at smudged note on the hand* 7 YEARS????

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#3/#4

A ray of sunshine and the prince of darkness. Happiness and rage, rainbow and clouds, colorful and black. They seem like opposite worlds colliding, but the whole school knows they're dating now. Took a bit of time tbh, it has its ups and downs, but they look happy together, so, what else could they want? 2 years down, their whole life to go.

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#3/#5

They have the love for make-up and fashion in common. Kuki likes to test her make-up skills on Abby, who's more than willing to let her go for it because she's actually good! They like to hang out at the mall, sometimes they drag Nigel with them for reasons (the boy needs some good clothes).

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#4/#5

If Nigel's the one Wally can go to without expecting judging or answers, Abby's the one who can give Wally a solution for a problem he has. She loves the boy, wants all the best for him, it's just that sometimes... he's... really something to work with. Actually turns out these two are the best ones to put on a mission together. They know how to work things out.

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Sorry I have no energy to do all the drawings for all dynamics, so I did the ones that inspired me the most.

Hope you liked it!