#THE TENSION THE ABSOLUTE TENSION

[ma1dmer]

omg its Nathaniel!!! anyways i cannot stand to look at this any longer, i am so rusty but i wanted so badly to write something that captured how lovely that kiss looks...

Nathaniel slumps against the exposed brick wall, wincing as his bruised back and shoulders meet the rough grit. Unpleasant even through the thick layer of his jacket. He makes no effort to move away. He swallows and finally catches his breath for what seems like the first time tonight. Speaking of. Tonight had been a disaster. The kind of disaster that would play in his head for quite some time, providing a nice backdrop for the next few months of self-imposed paranoia and misery. Fun!

His hands shake as he brings an unlit cigarette to his lips, he ignores the bloody imprint left on the paper, not caring much to catalogue whether it was his or not, and if it was where exactly it came from. That'd be a tomorrow problem. Just as everything else. Tomorrow, when the adrenaline had fully worn off and everything ached sharply. When the fact he made it out alive to begin with, settled nicely over his shoulders like the blade of a guillotine.

He hears the rush of footsteps somewhere from the floors above, closes his eyes and braces for the worst as he fishes out his lighter, not remotely ready for another fight but not having it in him to keep running. When he opens them again he catches Ryder right as he skips down the last few steps, white knuckling the railing, dark eyes wide and frantic. Their gazes meet. And whatever tension seemed to line his face eases out of him with a long exhale. He stares at Nathaniel as if he wasn't quite expecting to see him down here.

"Shit" He sighs out, dropping to sit on one of the steps, close enough to Nathaniel that their knees bump together. Close enough that Nathaniel could touch him. Ryder looks up at him, dual coloured strands sticking to his sweaty forehead. Nathaniel's fingers twitch at his side with the urge to push the strands away from his face. He doesn't. “That was-" "Let’s not" Nathaniel cuts him off quickly, waving away the smoke he accidentally blew towards him. He stops finally to give him a pointed stare.

"Did you pack up everything?" He asks instead. He knows they'll have to talk about it, if not for each other, for the report they'll have to make if they wanted to see any money from this shit show of a job, but Nathaniel was just not prepared for it right now. Ryder's lips press into a thin disapproving line. Without his usual smile, he looked more his age, Nathaniel thought absently, more of the trained professional killer he was, rather than the reckless college kid he sometimes liked to portray himself as. "I did, but didn't have time for anything else" he answers curtly. Nathaniel thinks for a second. "Well, we'll just have to add a bribing section to our plans next time" he shrugs. Ryder's ensuing snort is dry and humourless. "You don't say"

When Nathaniel shifts forward again, Ryder catches his grimace of pain before he can turn away. "I could help patch you up" he says before Nathaniel can tell him to drop it again. He sighs. "You will" he smiles as much as he's able to now, he hopes it comes across playful. "Just-" he swallows. "Just give me a second" he hates being like this, hates being seen like this, knows he should be way past this point in his career. He wasn't some newbie biting off more than he could chew. He knew the truth of course, even if he hated nothing more than to admit it. He'd gotten comfortable and careless and more importantly he'd learnt to rely far too much on someone else. He pushes that bitter thought as deeply into the crevices of his mind as possible, before it starts to fester. Not tonight.

"Thank you for coming for me" he says instead of spiraling. Ryder takes a second to look at him, eyes searching around his features for something that Nathaniel hopes he doesn't find. He nods finally. slowly, a silent aknowledgement. "I think I need a drink after all that" he leans back, stretches out his legs and pushes his hair out of his eyes. Nathaniel has never felt more thankful to have a subject change so quickly, realizes he'd been letting the cigarette burn between his fingers all this time, throws it away with a flick of his wrist before the flame reaches his skin, not caring much about the potential fire hazard.

"Deal" he says forcing cheer onto the monotone of his voice. "On me today" he says eager to get out of there, smile more steady now. "I could kiss you just for that" Ryder sighs out happily as he slaps his hands on his thighs and stands up. "And you'd have no objection from me" Nathaniel responds, easy and quick. They look at each other for a long bit. Tense and winded and fraying at the edges.

It’s not clear who moves first. If its Nathaniel or Ryder but they meet somewhere in the middle. A clash of lips and teeth and Nathaniel exhales in relief, his arms wrapping around Ryder's waist, beneath that ridiculous cropped jacket he'd made fun of at the start of the night, a thought so ridiculously far away from their current state that it makes him want to laugh. ("it's vintage" Nathaniel can still hear Ryder's complaint in his head) Ryder walks them backwards, hands at the back of his neck, until his back meets the wall, Nathaniel quick to follow and press himself fully against his front. It's all messy and lacking the finesse of their previous impromptu kisses. A give and take of touch and feel and taste, their breathing coming up in short claustophobic huffs.

Ryder pulls away first, thumping his head back against the wall in the process, which Nathaniel does laugh at. Quick against the corner of Ryder's mouth before he traces the line of his jaw with his teeth, tasting his sweat and the bitter tang of his cologne. He cups the back of Ryder's head, hopefully stopping him from hitting his head again, hopefully messing his hair up even more. "We should get going" he says lazily his words slightly slurred now that he feels his body cooling down. "We should" Ryder mirrors his tone when Nathaniel drops his head on his shoulder, breath hot against his neck.

smoochies

@thatsushichick @scr1ptor @baberahamlinkin

[sheikfangirl]

Meeting Zelda in person for the "first time" ❤️

Link answered her question with a smile and a very, very tight hug.

The emptiness he felt waking up alone in the shrine of Resurrection, somehow knowing he "lost something...or someone"...it vanished instantly once he hold Zelda in his arms. He knew. and his heart felt full again.

Zelda can't believe Link is really is here. Alive, breathing, holding her. Knowing who she is.

The next shot of the sequence would be them slightly parting, Link takes Zelda's hand in his and rest them on his heart, saying "Yes. I remember you."

https://www.tumblr.com/sheikfangirl/744448441879576576/yes-i-remember-you-happy-7th-anniversary?source=share

Extra Note

I always pictured the follow up to "do you really remember me" like the iconic Final Fantasy VIII Rinoa & Squall's reunion scene. FF8 is a milestone game title in my life. I doodled this in homage of the game's 25th anniversary celebration. Happy Anniversary FF8!! You are an imperfect game, and i dont care. I love you ❤️

[aeide-thea]

Stained glass by Constantine Woolnough, 1858 Church of St Mary, Dennington, Suffolk Photography by Simon Knott

[keii]

Drew a nalu sketch bc for some reason my old ass art of them is making its rounds again on here lol

[peace-hunter]

tfone au where OP is created as the last of the primes but way after them, a sparkling born at what were thought to be the last days of the war against the quintessons, the beginning of a new generation of peace after eons of war. a child meant to be loved and raised knowing nothing of war nor sacrifice.

he's kept mostly out of the spotlight by his siblings, who don't wish to expose him to everyone's optics so young, and want to wait until the war is done and over to properly introduce him to their people.

except of course the primes are betrayed and murdered by sentinel, the war is lost and everyone who knows and cared for the truth is either banished or outright killed in order to suppress it.

and the high guard, the ones the primes trusted the most, the ones that were supposed to protect them, the ones who failed in their most important duty, have to make a choice. to take the last prime, their last hope, with them to the surface, a hostile environment where there's little to no supplies and where they'll be hunted down by both sentinel and the quintessons as the biggest threat to their regimen.

or hide him in plain sight. place him where sentinel won't think to look for him. one more sparkling among many. and hope it will be enough to keep him alive. pray to primus that he'll protect his last child long enough for them to come back for him when it's safer (even if most of them have already lost their faith on him when he allowed the rest of his children to be massacred like that)

they almost lose their resolve when they realize they will have to take the little one's cog away in order to make him blend in with the rest of the newborns (and oh do they burn with murderous intent when they see what sentinel has done to their people but it's not the time yet-) but in the end they decide an impaired little prime is better than a dead one.

and so in the chaos of thirteen dead primes and a sudden energon crisis, a little sparkling who very few mechs really knew about and even fewer had seen completely vanishes. and in the depths of iacon a mech in charge of a new batch of newborns scratches their helm in confusion as they realize they must have miscounted the first time.

optimus prime is quietly erased from any official records by sentinel, written off as dead when they find a sparkling's frame mangled beyond recognition after an attack on the base of those rebels that insist on being a thorn on his side. killing the sparkling hadn't been precisely in his plans, he probably could've found some use for it after all, but he's not particularly upset about it either.

and orion pax grows up with an ache on his spark that tells him he's missing something far more important than a t-cog and dreams of gentle and loving hands, cradling him against the frames of mechs he cannot recall the faces of.

[september-skeleton]

andrew garfield chicken shop date video of all time to ME. somehow simultaneously has the most (seemingly) romantic and natural chemistry while ALSO being the one that most blatantly acknowledges and almost criticises the pretence and orchestration fundamental to the format of the show. like it’s inherently paradoxical which makes it so FASCINATING. despite their flirting and dropping lore of their real life previous encounters (quote unquote meet cutes thanks for that one mr garfield) they also explicitly mention the facade of the show AND break the fourth wall- when he repeatedly touches the boom mic between them, and when they keep looking at the camera.

they deliver more successfully than ever on the central idea of the show while also actively deconstructing it! while breaking its established conventions! absolutely insane media experience 10/10

[finngualart]

lord, make me an instrument of your peace where there is hatred, let me sow love where there is injury, pardon where there is doubt, faith where there is despair, hope where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness, joy

[sixth-light]

Getting in before S3 airs with a stray thought: Moghedien is absolutely gonna murder the hell out of Liandrin because the show is not going to be interested in fucking around with All The Bad Ladies Are Punished With Slavery Forever Because God Forbid We Kill A Woman, but, and this is important, she's going to do it in a way that leaves Nynaeve forever unsure whether Moghedien is now her #1 enemy because she killed Liandrin or because she killed Liandrin before Nynaeve could. Can you imagine the energy that's gonna bring to Moghedien being her secret prisoner in the middle of a town full of Aes Sedai? I can and it's great.

[kallousness]

[bixels]

What did/do you like about Pharah?

Uh, gameplay-wise, I really love characters in shooters who rely on three-dimensional movement techs. Chaining together hover and jump to stay in the air for as long as possible and keep momentum is so satisfying, and picking enemies off from the sky made me feel like a bird of prey. I was a good Pharah main.

Story-wise, there unfortunately isn't much to canonically go off because Pharah is so underutilized and neglected. Her personality's pretty boilerplate "heroic hero" (she's literally inspired by Captain America).

But it's the crumbs/bits and pieces that I really latched onto. Pharah's a confirmed lesbian; her short story with Baptiste implies she harbors a crush on Mercy (fucking thank you.). She's biracial Egyptian/First Nations. She has major mommy issues, having grown up both admiring and resenting Ana. She's the bridge between Old Overwatch, inspired by the idealized heroes who surrounded her childhood, and New Overwatch. She's one of the only inter-generational characters in the cast; someone whose experiences span the gap, which is why I seriously believe Pharah would make a great main character.

There isn't much to go off of, though; she's a very uncomplicated character (she's a soldier for a private military corporation, lol.). But that just means she's a blank slate character, so I've seen fanfic writers run wild and create some really interesting takes on her. My favorite interpretation of her's a dense, herbo gym-bro type (a lot of her liens are about work outs, exercising, and playing sports) who's easily excitable under her seemingly self-serious, armored visage. We see how she tends to gloat and hype herself up when she's on a streak too, so Pharah definitely has a competitive and boastful side under her more professional and militant performance.

Now Mercy? Mercy is a real complex character.

[dykedvonte]

I hate the stretch lines in the front of Curly's uniform because that means the devs rushed to make a model in like a month or so and thought "They gotta at least know he has huge knockers, gotta know he's got back pain." Cause like what is the thematic importance of his tits having overhang?

What responsibility is that representing? Breast reduction? It shows an inherent greed in his character due to the excess and heshouldletmeholdone and that he clearly is blinded cause if he tries to look down his damn ladder all he's seeing is his own cleavage.

[hoaxghost]

shout out to the anon who asked for Curser X .Zip content ages ago, with an extra dose of spice

[abirddogmoment]

Honestly obsessed with her beautiful extension and smooth gait

[generallyjl]

the long, long shadow of ally beardsley falls once again over the dome, regardless of their physical absence...

LET'S GET SLAMMED DOWN BIG STYLE, FOLKS!!!!

[runefactorynonsense]

Melotober - Day 11 - Dream

Chosen Earthmates

[mythmerth]

sometimes the best thing you’ve ever read is 200k words worth of sex spell induced smut fan fiction and that is completely acceptable