#based on a sample size of two

[ghostradiodylan]

Broke: Drake no/yes meme template

Woke: Jake no/yes meme template

How my day went:

Regarding Jacob’s Live Slug Reactions at the fire pit

[necrotic-nephilim]

as an apology for being gone for a month, have a uquiz i spent a week making! pls feel free to reblog with which character you got, i worked way too hard on this silly little thing. there are eight different characters you can get that are varying levels of unknown, with comic recommendations for each character <3

[idlepollingofcybertron]

Working on Hot Rod Polls. But let's do a fun one for the New Year!

[curiositypolling]

okay gang we fucked up the first one. take two

*since apparently a few people were confused last time, try to make the percentage of the vote match the percentage of the option, if that makes sense

once again:

PLEASE DO NOT TELL PEOPLE PERCENTAGES OR GIVE ANY HINTS IN THE NOTES

also, for everyone saying to roll dice or do math etc, while that would work it does go against the Vibes of the poll, which are to do this based on guesswork and how you think Others are going to vote

pls reblog for sample size

[kariachi]

Ya know, I still don't know how The Librarians ended? Loved the show but I stopped watching mid-way through season 4 when I just, could not with the storylines any longer.

There is only so long I can roll with "most intelligent people in the world assume two of them have to lose their job because a third party walked in with an anecdote and enough judgement to sink a boat, drama ensues" before I just say 'fuck this' and walk away.

[ao3topshipsbracket]

Top Femslash Ships Bracket: Seeding

As promised, we're back with a new bracket! However, we're doing things a little differently this time. Rather than taking the data for seeding directly from a ranked list, we want you guys to be a part of the seeding process!

> Here is the Femslash Bracket Seeding Survey! <

This survey contains a list of over 100 ships, pulled from centreoftheselights's AO3 ship stats for 2023 and 2024, and Tumblr's year in review, as well as a few submissions that are not on either list but are considered iconic or historically important. It asks two questions: which ships have you heard of, and which ships do you view positively? The final seeding for the bracket will be based on a ratio of these numbers, from which we will rank the top 96!

A few notes regarding this survey:

Please answer as honestly as you can! Yes, that does mean going through a long list of ships twice in order to check all the relevant boxes, but such is the price we pay for accurate data.

Please only submit the survey once! While we normally delight in voter fraud, artificially boosting your favorite ship in this survey will only skew the results with no benefit; in fact, it could potentially hurt your chances in the actual bracket!

Do, however, feel free to reblog this post so we get a larger sample size.

The form does require that you be logged into a Google account; however, we are not collecting email addresses, and responses will be fully anonymous.

As always, this poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

We will be collecting responses until December 22, at 11:59 pm EST.

Take the survey here!

And, if you'd like to review the ships before you click through, here's the full list below the cut (listed alphabetically by source)

The 100 - Clarke Griffin/Lexa

Adventure Time - Princess Bubblegum/Marceline

Aespa (Band) - Kim Minjeong | Winter/Yu Jimin | Karina

Agatha All Along (TV) - Agatha Harkness/Rio Vidal

Agent Carter (TV) - Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli

Agents of SHIELD (TV) - Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson

The Amazing Digital Circus - Pomni/Ragatha

Amphibia - Anne Boonchuy/Sasha Waybright

Amphibia - Anne Boonchuy/Marcy Wu

Arcane: League of Legends - Caitlyn/Vi

Attack on Titan - Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart

Attack on Titan - Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Azula/Ty Lee

Avatar: Legend of Korra - Korra/Asami Sato

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg

Carmilla (Web Series) - Laura Hollis/Carmilla Kearnstein

Carol (2015) - Carol Aird/Therese Belivet

Criminal Minds - Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss

Critical Role - Beauregard Lionett/Yasha

Critical Role - Laudna/Imogen Temult

DC's Legends of Tomorrow - Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe

DC Universe - Pamela Isley | Poison Ivy/Harleen Quinzel | Harley Quinn

The Devil Wears Prada - Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs

Doctor Who - Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan

Dungeon Meshi - Marcille Donato/Falin Touden

Frozen - Anna/Elsa

Game of Thrones - Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell

Genshin Impact - Beidou/Ningguang

Genshin Impact - Raiden Ei | Baal/Yae Miko

Ghostbusters (2016) - Erin Gilbert/Jillian Holtzmann

Glee - Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray

Glee - Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce

Grey's Anatomy - Meredith Grey/Addison Montgomery

Haikyuu!! - Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka

Harry Potter - Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson

Harry Potter - Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley

The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV) - Dani Clayton/Jamie Taylor

Hawkeye (TV 2021) - Yelena Belova/Kate Bishop

Hazbin Hotel - Charlie Magne | Morningstar/Vaggie

Holby City - Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe

Homestuck - Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam

Homestuck - Terezi Pyrope/Vriska Serket

House of the Dragon (TV) - Alicent Hightower/Rhaenyra Targaryen

Jujutsu Kaisen - Kugisaki Nobara/Zenin Maki

Killing Eve - Eve Polastri/Villanelle

The Last of Us - Dina/Ellie

Legacies (TV 2018) - Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman

Legacies (TV 2018) - Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman

Life is Strange - Rachel Amber/Chloe Price

Life is Strange - Maxine "Max" Caufield/Chloe Price

LIttle Witch Academia - Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari

The Locked Tomb - Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus

Marvel Cinematic Universe - Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov

Marvel Cinematic Universe - Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov

Mass Effect Trilogy - Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni

Merlin (TV) - Gwen/Morgana

Miraculous Ladybug - Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant

Motherland: Fort Salem (TV) - Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn

My Hero Academia - Jirou Kyouka/Yaoyorozu Momo

My Hero Academia - Toga Himiko/Uraraka Ochako

Naruto - Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino

NCIS: Hawai'i - Lucy Tara/Kate Whistler

The Old Guard (Movie 2020) - Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko

Once Upon a Time - Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan

Orphan Black - Delphine Cormier/Cosima Niehaus

Overwatch - Fareeha "Pharah" Amari/Angela "Mercy" Ziegler

Overwatch - Lena "Tracer" Oxton/Widowmaker | Amelie Lacroix

The Owl House - Amity Blight/Luz Noceda

Person of Interest - Root | Samantha Groves/Sameen Shaw

Pitch Perfect (Movies) - Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell

Pokemon - Hanako | Delia Ketchum/Musashi | Jessie

Power Rangers (2017) - Kimberly Hart/Trini

Project SEKAI - Akiyama Mizuki/Shinonome Ena

Project SEKAI - Azusawa Kohane/Shiraishi An

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Akemi Homura/Kaname Madoka

Revolutionary Girl Utena - Himemiya Anthy/Tenjou Utena

Riverdale (TV 2017) - Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz

Rizzoli & Isles - Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli

RWBY - Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long

RWBY - Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee

Sailor Moon - Kaiou Michiru | Sailor Neptune/Tenoh Haruka | Sailor Uranus

Shadowhunters (TV) - Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra

Splatoon (Video Games) - Marina/Pearl

Star Trek: Voyager - Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine

Station 19 - Maya Bishop/Carina DeLuca

Steven Universe - Lapis Lazuli/Peridot

Steven Universe - Ruby/Sapphire

Stranger Things - Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler

Stranger Things - Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield

Supergirl - Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer

Supergirl - Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor

Teen Wolf - Allison Argent/Lydia Martin

Undertale - Alphys/Undyne

Warehouse 13 - Myka Bering/Helena "H.G." Wells

Warrior Nun - Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva

Wednesday (2022) - Wednesday Addams/Enid Sinclair

Wicked - Schwartz/Holzman - Elphaba Thropp/Galinda Upland

The Wilds (TV 2020) - Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe

Women's Association Football | Soccer RPF - Tobin Heath/Christen Press

Wynonna Earp - Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught

Xena: Warrior Princess - Gabrielle/Xena

[reasonsforhope]

"A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a real-time air monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants that are present in a room in about 5 minutes.

The proof-of-concept device was created by researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine at Washington University...

The results are contained in a July 10 publication in Nature Communications that provides details about how the technology works.

The device holds promise as a breakthrough that - when commercially available - could be used in hospitals and health care facilities, schools, congregate living quarters, and other public places to help detect not only the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but other respiratory virus aerosol such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well.

“There is nothing at the moment that tells us how safe a room is,” Cirrito said, in the university’s news release. “If you are in a room with 100 people, you don’t want to find out five days later whether you could be sick or not. The idea with this device is that you can know essentially in real time, or every 5 minutes, if there is a live virus in the air.”

How It Works

The team combined expertise in biosensing with knowhow in designing instruments that measure the toxicity of air. The resulting device is an air sampler that operates based on what’s called “wet cyclone technology.” Air is sucked into the sampler at very high speeds and is then mixed centrifugally with a fluid containing a nanobody that recognizes the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That fluid, which lines the walls of the sampler, creates a surface vortex that traps the virus aerosols. The wet cyclone sampler has a pump that collects the fluid and sends it to the biosensor for detection of the virus using electrochemistry.

The success of the instrument is linked to the extremely high velocity it generates - the monitor has a flow rate of about 1,000 liters per minute - allowing it to sample a much larger volume of air over a 5-minute collection period than what is possible with currently available commercial samplers. It’s also compact - about one foot wide and 10 inches tall - and lights up when a virus is detected, alerting users to increase airflow or circulation in the room.

Testing the Monitor

To test the monitor, the team placed it in the apartments of two Covid-positive patients. The real-time air samples from the bedrooms were then compared with air samples collected from a virus-free control room. The device detected the RNA of the virus in the air samples from the bedrooms but did not detect any in the control air samples.

In laboratory experiments that aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 into a room-sized chamber, the wet cyclone and biosensor were able to detect varying levels of airborne virus concentrations after only a few minutes of sampling, according to the study.

“We are starting with SARS-CoV-2, but there are plans to also measure influenza, RSV, rhinovirus and other top pathogens that routinely infect people,” Cirrito said. “In a hospital setting, the monitor could be used to measure for staph or strep, which cause all kinds of complications for patients. This could really have a major impact on people’s health.”

The Washington University team is now working to commercialize the air quality monitor."

-via Forbes, July 11, 2023

-

Holy shit. I know it's still early in the technology and more testing will inevitably be needed but holy shit.

Literally, if it bears out, this could revolutionize medicine. And maybe let immunocompromised people fucking go places again

Also, for those who don't know, Nature Communications is a very prestigious scientific journal that focuses on Pretty Big Deal research. Their review process is incredibly rigorous. This is an absolutely HUGE credibility boost to this research and prototype

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Raveeennn!!! When u said Malleus isn’t as popular in JP than it is in the English/int. server, who would you say takes up that #1 spot in the JP fan base? if you know.

[Referencing this post!]

It's hard to calculate for certain since there are no official Twst popularity polls (though there are several unofficial polls run by Japanese magazines or websites, with thousands of votes and mixed results) However, I have consistently seen Floyd in the top or second place spot overall, and he has a TON of yume works on Pixiv (~15.5k), whereas Malleus only has around 3.5k. Other popular characters include Jade at 12k, Azul at 10k, and Idia and Leona at 7k+. For reference, there are ~5k Ace yume works on Pixiv, which is more than Malleus despite Ace often badly losing to Malleus in EN popularity polls. This indicates that Ace may overtake Malleus in the JP fandom. I think it's also worth noting that, in 4 consecutive years of yumejoshi polling, Idia and Trey were the only Twst characters to appear in all 4 years whereas Malleus only appeared in one year (while both Octavinelle members and Ace appeared twice each). I've actually previously speculated on the cultural differences between JP and EN and why it might have resulted in Malleus being so popular in EN and Trey is popular in JP. In most JP character popularity polls (which typically feature only students and staff) I've seen, Malleus ranks 9th or lower. Meanwhile, it feels like you can't walk two steps in the EN fandom without running into a post showering Malleus with love. Malleyuu is the most popular reader insert ship on AO3 and, in one fan-run poll considering 46 characters, Malleus still won over 50% of the votes (though please note the sample size is much smaller than what you’d find in a JP poll). Second and third places (Idia and Azul) only got ~33% apiece by comparison. As you can see, there is a very noticeable gap in Malleus’s popularity between the JP and EN fandoms.

[freshstitches]

I finally published the project for my dice roll scarf that went viral last month. If you love dice games, you'll enjoy knitting this pattern.

The color work in this project is determined by an algorithm, a set of rules that determine the final outcome. There isn't an exact set of instructions for this project. Instead, the knitter uses four 10-sided dice or a random number generator to pick the length of the colorwork in each row. 

The result is a staggered stripe sequence along the edge of the shawl. There are trillions of unique outcomes, so no two projects turn out exactly alike. The pattern uses about 500 yards of yarn in total, but the amount of each color that you'll need is randomly determined. Before publishing, I wanted to find out the minimum and maximum amount of each color required to make the project and the probability of each outcome.

The knowledge needed to calculate the yardage was a bit beyond my skill level, but my friend Mary W. Martin helped me gather this info. I used an online probability calculator to find out the probability of each unique stitch count. The results are slightly different depending on whether you use four 10-sided dice (blue) or pick a random number (yellow), but 99% of all possible results fall within a very small range. 

It was an interesting little tangent, but not hugely important to the actual knitting pattern. I can, however, confidently say there is a >99.9% chance that you'll need a 2nd skein of the main color. If you want to know more about the math, you should check out my project notes on Ravelry. 

The thick and thin striped colorwork is created with a super simple "long stitch" technique. The pattern looks great in fluffy mohair or contrasting colors of basic wool and the instructions include some basic tips for substituting yarns or changing the gauge.

Finished Size: 18 x 68” (46 x 172 cm) rectangular wrap.

Yarn: Approx. 315 yards (288 m) of MC and approx. 264 yards (241 m) of CC. Yardage may vary, see notes on yardage below and yardage chart in photos.

• Main Color (2 skeins) - JMR Studio Worsted Weight Mohair, 245 yards (225 m) per 4 oz; 78% Mohair, 13% Wool, 9% Nylon.

• Contrast Color (1 skein each, both yarns held together) - JMR Studio Fingering Weight Mohair, 320 yards (293 m) per 100g; 63% Silk, 23% Kid Mohair, 11% Nylon, 3% Polyester Held with Lavender Lune Yarn Co. Suri Alpaca, 328 yards (300 m) per 50g; 74% Suri Alpaca, 26% Silk.

Yardage: The amount of each color used for this pattern fluctuates based on the random numbers used to determine the stitch pattern. MC uses approx. 233 to 315 yards (213 to 288m) and CC uses approx. 182 to 264 yards (166 to 241m). 99% of possible results fall within a much smaller range. The Yardage Chart shows the distribution of all potential yardage outcomes.

Needles: Size 8 (5 mm) straight needles, or size needed to obtain gauge. NOTE: Straight needles work best with long stitches. Circular needles with a thin cord allow the long stitches to tighten and stretch, making them harder to manipulate.

Gauge: 12 sts x 14 rows = 4 x 4” (10 x 10 cm) square in pattern.

Other Materials: 10 sided die or random number generator, stitch marker, scale, tapestry needle.

Generating numbers: In my sample, I used four ten-sided dice (D10) to choose a number between 4 and 40 sts. If you don't have dice, you can use an online app like RANDOM.org to generate your numbers. If you follow this link, you'll get a list of 63 integers between 4 and 40. NOTE: Each time you visit the link or refresh the page, the list changes. You can also just choose numbers as you knit.

Pattern is available on my website and on Ravelry.

[oshygoshy]

2:07 pm

word count - 570 words

warnings - none

a/n - omg this is based off my own experience working at bath n body works BRO. i was asking this older guy if he needed anything special today and he was like, "my wife! who's pretty special to me" like alskdfhskafash let me find someone who loves me like that

sakusa kiyoomi didn't particularly like nor care for shopping, instead opting for whatever athleisure was the highest quality, or whatever the newest brand deal msby signed with. (seriously, the amount of free nike promo the team got was kind of insane.) he especially doesn’t like the bright, heavily scented body care store you frequently shopped at. the loud music, cheery (read: plastic) decor, and strong, swirling scents messed with his head, causing headaches and itchy skin. and don't get him started on the testers...! just how many people could've potentially touched them by now?

"hello! are you looking for something special today?" an employee asked with a picturesque fake customer service voice and smile voice plastered on thickly. 

he gave a brisk nod at them back. "nothing much, just my spouse." he paused. "although, you could say they're very special to me," he said, icy exterior melting and a warm smile peeping through. 

she laughed, a genuine smile appearing on her face this time. “aww, cute! well, we do have a buy 3 get 2 free sale going on right now on our full-sized body care items, so maybe you could help her shop for something special," she said before heading off to greet another customer. 

he nodded absentmindedly, glancing at some of the select items. although the store itself was too much to bear, whenever you put something scented on yourself, it was much nicer. less overbearing compared to the store, and it was like a secret surprise every time he leaned in for a hug. would he smell a hint of vanilla or pear wafting against your skin today?

"omi? you're in here?" 

he was startled at your sudden voice. "huh? oh, yeah, you were taking a while," he explained, turning around to see you peering up at him. he didn’t see anything in your hands, so he supposed nothing piqued your interest. (this time, anyway…)

"whoops! got carried away looking at the samples,” you say, abashed, as you stick out your hand. he holds it in his palm obediently. “anyways, i'm done here. i didn't find anything i liked, so we can head out now," you say, leading him out of the store. 

“have a good day, you two! and good luck on your marriage," said the employee from before, smiling at you both. he nodded back, and couldn’t help but smirk a little as he felt your steps falter. 

“m-marriage?!“

“now now dear, let’s not bother the poor working lady,” he murmured low into your ear. you gave him a flat look in return. 

“omi-omi, please-“

“don’t call me that! you know i don’t like it.”

“omi.” you stop in your tracks, frowning at him. “if you’re going to go around announcing that we're married, why don’t you at least…i don’t know…propose to me first?” you say, raising an eyebrow.

(unbeknownst to you, the ring was waiting underneath his boxers back at your shared apartment.)

“yeah, alright,” he hummed. “just wanted to test it out first.”

you hug his arm, a small smile on your face. “you’re so cute! who would've thought you’re capable of being emotive, let alone adorable?”

he gently pushed you off his arm, using just enough force to loosen your grip on him. “fuck off. i take everything i just said back.” 

“nope! no take-backsies! you’re my cute little wifey now!” 

he sighed incredulously. “i’m the wife?” 

[tinydefector]

Rut cycle- Ratchet

Gen 1 Ratchet x human

Word count: 1.6k

Waring: smut, breeding, oral, size difference.

Masterlist

Ratchet masterlist

Rut cycle masterlist

______________

"Hey Rat, got your equipment!" A voice calls out from the entrance of the medical lab, multiple sets of optics shoot to the human who reads through the list of equipment that was needed.

Ratchet's vocals crackled with static as their sweet voice tortured his processor, the haze of his rut had made it nearly unbearable to be around any of the other mechs on base without him wanting to rip their helm off. His plating clamps uo agonisingly as he turns to the human.

Optics watch their every move as they walk through the lab, every mech's optics flicker over their form. Dimly he registered a medkit, blood samples and other equipment clutched to their chest.

A soft whine escaped his venting as the sweet yet nearly sickening scent of hormones waft from their frame. They smile, making their way towards the medical staff with the supplies. "Here those blood samples you requested, hopefully this can help you understand what about our biology seems to keep making you guys go into rut" they call out while checking over their list. “I wasn't able to get any Electrum samples after that fight with the Cons. There wasn't much left at the scuffle” they call back, Ratchet optics focus In on Perceptor and Hoist as the two begin sniffing the air.

Through the haze of full-blown interfacing protocols, Ratchet lefts out savage snarl peeled from his vocalizer at the collected optics of his cohorts. Hoist, Starscream, Perceptor and Shockwave back off, but they sling around the lab, trying to make themself look busy.

Dimly he registered supplies in tiny hands, he took them as softly as he could from them, his frame shuttering in delight at the slightest contact. A harsh keen escaped as servos servo lifted them up onto the table. It makes them laugh softly as they shake their head at him "Settle Doc, they aren't doing anything" they call out while moving about with different vials, looking at the different colours and liquids in them. Once again the others in the lab try sneaking closer.

Another savage snarl tore from Ratchet's vocalizer at the gathered mechs, plating clamping up as his servos dent the table. "Back, the lot of you!" he bellowed, a dampening field flickering with repressed urges. His Optics cycled rapidly between the crowd and their movements.

His vocalizer spat harshly "get out Now," he rasped through grit denta. The others didn't stick around after Ratchet snarled, all of them quick to leave the medical bay. A low keen escaped his vocals as he slams the door locked, servo pressed against the metal as he cycles another vent while pressing His helm against the metal trying to calm his systems down. He stands there for a moment trying to get a hold of himself before his optics shoot open as he marches himself back over to them.

A gasp leaves them as Ratchet grabs them by the hips pulling them closer "Easy Ratchet, easy!" They call out through a shaky breath as their fingers dig into the Ridge of his plating eyes focusing on his optics, watching the way they shift and flicker as he looks at them than the lab.

Ratchet shuddered violently at the proximity yet dared not release his deathgrip on their hips. Every part of his coding was calling for one thing.

Claim. Breed.

His helm nuzzled against them unconsciously, massive frame quivering with repressed force that could crumple their fragile body. The scent, the warmth and the softness has Ratchet keening softly into their shoulder, nipping and sucking the skin.

" That's bad huh?" They ask softly, one hand trailing his neck cables as they hold onto him, they knew the rut cycle was chipping away at Ratchet's sanity and restraint; they just hadn't realised How badly it had affected him. Their other hand moves his faceplate, leaning up catching his lips in a kiss as they hold him in place.

"Please." His voice box grated a ragged plea, servos trembling with a need to touch to claim. "Can barely contain protocols - damage you, never forgive myself.." His engines snarled in need. It's a miracle either of them make it to the medical berth, but the moment they do Ratchet is on them. A savage snarl tore free as he seized their delicate frame, servos tearing through clothing as if it was nothing.

His intake trails across their body kissing, licking and savouring the taste of their skin. His frame caged them against the berth, A guttural rumble leaves him as he admires their naked body.

"Ratch lay down now" they demand. He follows the command without a second question, servo guiding them to sit atop of his frame. their fingers run across the seams of his chassis and further down his body. "Mmm good boy" they praise, leaning down to press a kiss to his frame.

Their hand moves to his interface panel, running along the hatch. "Come on handsome, you know you want me on your spike you don't need to hold back anymore, let me look after you" they coo as they move further down his frame. A tortured keen ripped from Ratchet's ragged vocals His optics flickered, fields pulsing in need. His interface panel snaps open, Ratchet hisses as the pressure finally releases, a deep moan follows as smaller hands wrap around his spike.

His servos curl around their hips as they slowly work his spike with their hands and mouth. optics fixate on their backside as he squeezes the flesh of their ass, adoring the small gasp that leaves them. they pull away enough as transfluid runs down their chin and Ratchet's spike. They watch the way the shimmering liquid leaks and pools into the seams of Ratchet's frame.

"Use your words baby, can't help you if you don't tell me what you want" they chuckles as they press a kiss to the side of his spike, running their tongue up the length, lapping up the pretty pink fluid that leaves his frame. "Please - ah, please!" he managed to force through gritting denta, grasping desperately for a coherent thought. His spike throbbed in need with each touch.

His intake fluttered futilely, field pulsing arrant pleas for the relief he drags them back away from his spike. Spreading their thighs, his glossa runs between their thighs before he pulls them back onto his face. A deep guttural moan leaves him and he works his glossa into them.

Gasp and moans leave their lips as the hunch over face pressed into his chassis as Ratchet eagerly eats them out as if it were his last meal. "Inside - need to fill you up! Frag, need you" he mumbles against their trembling body.

Ratchet emitted a pained keen as he withdrew his glossa, spike throbbing with a need to fill and claim. He lets out a purr as he positions them, A stuttering exvent escaped his vents as he slowly presses in, his engine roars in delight, intake snapped open in a soundless cry, frame clamped rigidly as he begins to grind into them.

“fuck Ratchet!” they cry out as he holds them in place. His optics focus on their stomach bulging from the size leaving a very visible outline of his spike, it makes an old part of his coding coo in delight seeing them so full. He slowly begins to pull out and press back in each movement as he holds back snarls as he tries desperately to be gentle.

A desperate keen tore from Ratchet's vocalizer as they slowly rose, then sank once more upon his throbbing spike, transfluid already leaking from their body running back down his spike as he pulled them down hard. A sharp yelp leaves them which makes Ratchet cease up for a moment. “I'm alright, I'm alright, please don't stop feels so good!” They call out trying to reassure him.

His servos curled tightly upon straining thighs, guiding each plunge to fully sheathe his spike within them. Optics blazed transfixed on their body and how used they looked, stomach bulging, his transfluid gushing from them yet he hadn't even overloaded yet.

Another guttural moan leaves him as he frantically grinds into them, each thrust leaves them breathless, thighs quivering with each movement. Gasp and cries leave them as Ratchet ceases up, their name falls from his lips as he pulls them close. They whine loudly as transfluid floods their smaller body, gushing out onto ratchets' lap and the medical berth. A deep purr echoes from Ratchet's chassis as he holds them steadily against his frame.

Ratchet vented ragged exhalations as they lay against each other, condensation and sweat coating both their quaking frame moulded closely to each other, his little lover's breaths are just as ragged as they whine into his plating, cuddling close to each other as Ratchet holds them close.

His spike remained fully seated within them, throbbing and twitching involuntarily with aftershocks of interfacing. His Sensory nets drunk on the mingled scents now permanently coating their body. They smelt like him, and it made a part of him content.

One massive servo curled tenderly against the small of their back, cradling them against his chassis.

"Feeling better?" They tease softly, only to gasp as he pulls them back against his spike making more trans fluid gush from them. A deep rumble leaves him in delight. "More peaceful than I've felt in millennia," he rumbled softly, palming their stomach now swollen with transfluid

They tense and squirm before finally settling, snuggling back into his arms enjoying the warmth that radiates off his frame. "Mmm well work on the blocker tomorrow i wanna cuddle" they mumble to Ratchet.

___________

Let me know if you would like to be added to tag list (tagged for every fic)

Taglist

@angelxcvxc

@saturnhas82moons

@kgonbeiden

@murkyponds

@autobot79

@buddee

@bubblyjoonjoon

@chaihena

@pyreemo

@lovenotcomputed

@mskenway97

@delectableworm

@cheesecaketyrant

@ladyofnegativity

@desertrosesmetaldune

@stellasfallow

[poke-me-with-a-stick]

Can I ask for more Penguin Danny?

Your wish is my command.

Honestly, I've had this one snippet stuck in my head for a while, so thank you for the excuse to write it ✨

--

Danny sat huddled with a few of the smaller penguins, relaxing into their warm feathers as much as he could as he took in the situation developing before him.

About two months ago, a group of scientists geared up for the harsh cold had arrived in the Arctic. They had taken up residence in the frigid metal building Danny had spent some time in when he first got here, bringing life and warmth to their base that hadn't been there when the teen needed it.

At first, they kept to themselves. Taking water samples from the snow and ice pools that covered the territory. But it was only a week later that they moved on to examining the colony that had taken Danny in. They would pull a penguin or two away from the group, giving them fish and krill while they measured the small creatures and attached a monitor to the animal's sleek feathers, releasing them back to the group to loudly squawk their tales to the rest of the birds.

Eventually, they made their way inwards, away from the penguin hunting hunting grounds and towards their nests. It was then that they saw Danny for the first time.

It had been funny, at first. The coat clad researchers had frozen, before chatting frantically. With how long Danny had spent hiding out in the cold, he wasn't surprised that it took a while to understand what they were saying. It did filter in, though, the longer they hung around. Words that he knew, but didn't make a lot of sense in the limited context he had. Stuff like "baby" and "different" were obvious, especially when they gestured at him as they spoke. But other words, like, "unusually large", and "dangerous" confused him.

Was he a bit bigger than the birds around him? Yes, yes he was. But he didn't think he was unusually large for the species he was supposed to be. Then again, it's not like he had ever actually seen a baby emperor penguin before, so he had no real life reference. But they were big birds! Surely that meant they had big babies? And even if he was bigger than he was supposed to be, how was anything about this situation was 'dangerous'?

It didn't help his opinion of the researchers when they tried to move him away from the flock. Trails of treats were fine and dandy at first, and easily ignored by the teen seeing as he didn't need the same amount of food as an actual baby penguin of his size (perks of being able to feed on ambient ectoplasm). When he didn't seem inclined to follow the trail like some of the others, who had all come back squawking about the researchers manhandling them again, they tried a more straightforward approach.

The teen would never forget the day those puffy coats pushed gently through the throng of black and white bodies until they boxed him in on all sides. His panicked squeaky screeches had immediately attracted the attention of the birds, and those pesky puffy coats had some nice tears in them for the troubles they caused. After that, the researchers found themselves being chased by the entire colony if they came to close, angry screeches drowning out their own panicked yells and occasional yells of pain when a beak managed to find purchase.

As much as he appreciated the colonies fierce protection, the teen should have known that it would draw attention. Those researchers were out here for a reason, probably some sort of documentary on the wildlife that thrived in colder environments. Maybe something about endangered species or global warming. Whatever it was, it had them hanging around, taking pictures and writing in journals.

It should have been more obvious to him that something was bound to happen. Pictures, even when he looked normal to the mortal eye, could easily reveal a different truth. It didn't take long for pristine white coats to appear, scouting the area with ecto-trackers in hand a blasters holstered at their sides.

The confrontation a full month after the researchers arrived was a bit surprising, and it took everything in Danny's new fuzzy body to stop from launching himself at the men in black rip offs when they leveled their blasters at the colorful puff coats.

The puff coats were sturdier people than he thought, though. Instead of backing off, like anyone else would do, they argued. Blocking the easier paths to the nesting grounds, tampering with their equipment while they were distracted with whatever ecto readings they were getting, even resorting to throwing things when the came too close to trampling one penguin Danny had affectionately dubbed 'Steve'.

And now here Danny was. Cozied up with a decent group of mother penguins and their babies while the fathers took their turn to hunt. Watching as the guys in white ran around screaming. The cause of their screams? The child with a sword that was chasing them.

At this point in his (after)life, Danny shouldn't be surprised by anything. And yet, surprising things continued to occur. Maybe he should ask someone if he was cursed or something.

The penguins around him shifted, letting out warbles and startled peeps as they resettled. Danny shook himself, pulling his attention away from the potential murder occuring in front of him to look at the source of his new friend's unrest. And was once again reminded to not be surprised by the surprising things that occured around him.

The half Kryptonian child that sat next to him gave the teen a smile and a gentle pat before turning his attention to where his friend continued to swing his katana, catching one of the scanners and a bit of an agents hand with the wickedly sharp blade. The kid next to Danny winced and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Robin! Remember what Nightwing told you before we left!"

The sword wielding child tisked loudly, the sound muffled slightly by the snow that was beginning to fall, but resumed his fighting with a little more effort in not hitting the agents with his blade. The handle of his sword, however, was used just as effectively. The Kryptonian kid sighed, but didn't call out again, instead reaching out to pet some of Danny's fuzzy brown down feathers.

This was fine, Danny decided. It wouldn't be fine forever, but for now it was. And whatever came after this, he could always try throwing vicious penguins at it. It worked well enough the first time.

[rpgchoices]

The result of the DA romances survey (>2000 partecipants!) - Part 1

2273 people answered the survey, thank you so much! I truly did not expect such a big number and I am so humbled!

With all this data I wanted here to present the general results, and then work a bit more with correlations (ex. Zevran romancers... who did they prefer in next games?) in a part 2. So this part 1 will be a summary (with graphs) of the whole survey. The original survey was here on google form, I reopened it only to allow people to check how each question was written.

This first part is divided in:

General considerations on the sample size

General data

Dragon Age: origins (spoilers)

Dragon Age 2 (spoilers)

Dragon Age Inquisition (spoilers)

Dragon Age The Veilguard (no spoilers)

1. General considerations on the sample size

The survey was open from 16th November to 23rd November and 2273 people answered.

A consideration always must be done of the sample. In this case I wanted to underline that the places where I shared the survey and especially where it found track are well represented, while I definitely missed other portions of the fandom.

In general I shared the survey on tumblr (here), on twitter, on blue sky and on reddit. On twitter and blue sky I received a very small number of likes and retweet, while mainly the survey was shared on tumblr and it received comments here on reddit. Twitter, tumblr and bluesky are more correlated to a closer circle than places like reddit, so for completion sake: my rpgchoices tumblr is mainly about queer romances and videogames with queer content, my twitter is less DA-focused (actually only DA focused recently) and my bluesky is very very small.

Also keep in mind that people who have access to playing data will always have the correct data, because this sample size here reflects the online active fandom (mainly on reddit and tumblr) and not the general player base!

Another thing: I really regret not adding a question about age, gender and where you found the survey!

2. General data

The first question is, of course, which games did you play? People could choose multiple games at one:

I was quite surprised to see that Inquisition was the game most people played, but in general these was little difference between the three main games: DAI, DAO and DA2.

Veilguard (in violet) was divided between "Finished at least once" and "playing" and the sum of the two is 1998, which puts it just after Trespasser.

DAO DLCs are also the less played in general (with Darkspawn chronicles the least played), but with Awakening more played than DA2: Legacy and DA2: Mark of the Assassin.

Now, jumping into romances:

The majority of people seem to have a canon romance for each game (56%). 26% of people instead have different player characters for different romances (just like me!) while 15% of people mix it up!

Regarding the total characters that can be romanced in all the games (please ignore the colors, I messed the up... I am sorry):

For these graphs we can look right at the top and see that in both cases: Alistair is first. Alistair was the character that was romanced at least once and also multiple times the most. The order is the same for the first group of characters (in order): Alistair, Fenris, Zevran, Anders, Solas, Cullen, Dorian. The rest is relatively similar, with only some swaps.

For Veilguard (in violet) the numbers are smaller because the game is still new, so not many occasions to romance multiple characters. Lucanis in both cases was the most romanced in Veilguard and the one most romanced multiple times (126).

There was also another general question at the end, regarding other videogames with romances:

Congrats to the 5 people who played Hero-U rogue to redemption (it was adorable).

The question was framed with (for example) "Baldur's Gate games" so any game from 1 to 3. All these games have romances and are rpg, also if not all of them have queer romances.

Probably thanks to BG3 we have Baldur's Gate games in first place, with 1941 people (almost close to the full amount of the sample!) who played them, followed by the Mass Effect trilogy and Elder Scroll games.

If I can personally recommend games on the bottom half of the list: Pendula Swing (1920s urban fantasy, no combat, queer romances, female protagonist), Sorcery! (male or female protagonist, only 1 romance option who is a guy who tries to assassinate you, 4 games, text rpg, lots of choices, fantasy), Enderal (free pc mod for Skyrim with its own world, lore and story, one of the best game opening scenes ever if not the best, fully voiced, action rpg, queer romance, two tomance options) and Rogue Trader (isometric rpg in Warhammer universe, no knowlegde of the world or lore required, sci fi, turn based combat, multiple romances, queer romances, 1 d/s romance where you can choose to be dom or sub) are among my favorite games ever.

3. DRAGON AGE ORIGINS (spoilers from the game)

Alistair was the romance most favorited by people who answered the survey, with 38% of people choosing him, followed by Zevran (26%) and Morrigan (18%). A very small amount of people (3%) had no one as their favorite/canon romance.

Second fav romance was basically the same graph again!

Regarding the player character:

Female human Warden (Cousland) was the Warden that seems most played by the sample size, both for being considered the canon one (surpassing second place: female city elf, by almost double) and for being played at least once.

I also found it interesting that the order of female and male characters is the same. In general female Wardens are more popular (68%) but the order of popularity for origin being played at least once is still: human noble, city elf, dalish elf, elf mage, human mage, dwarf noble and dwarf commoner.

For what is considered canon, the order seems to change, with city elf male falling down the other elves, and human mage being even less popular.

There were also two questions about Morrigan and Alistair's destinies, but people let me know I missed some options, apologies! So take these with a grain of salt:

4. DRAGON AGE 2 (SPOILERS)

For favorite romance in DA2 we have Fenris taking even a bigger % of "fav romance" than Alistair in DAO (and keep in mind Alistair had less competitors!), followed by Anders (24%) and Isabela (15%).

Interesting for the second favorite romance it is the "No second favorite, only one favorite" that wins with 31%! This means that in DA2, a 31% of people just have a strong preference for one romance only.

Regarding the player character (Hawke):

(top graph) purple female Hawke seems to be the one that is preferred as canon Hawke, followed by purple male hawke. Red hawke (both genders) was the least chosen one.

(bottom graph) in general, Marian Hawke had a higher number of players (played at least once as) than Garrett Hawke, but the difference was not as big as we saw between female and male protagonists in DAO.

(pie graph) regarding the customization, the majority of people (51%) customized all of their Hawke, indipendently from gender and playthrough. A big number (33%) instead used the default Hawke, while others preferred a mix of the two (depending on gender or playthrough).

VARRIC!

39% of players would have romanced Varric in DA2 if he had been available! But interestingly this pie is divided in almost equal parts between yes, no and depending on how the romance actually was (which was the one I chose!).

5. DRAGON AGE INQUISITION

Solas was the most chosen romance (as favorite or canon) in DAI, with 25% of people choosing him. Dorian is second (18%) and Cullen third (15%). The no one (3%) is comparable to the same answer in the previous games.

Maybe unsurprisingly Sera was the least favorite romance among the companions (sigh... she is my canon one), with The Iron Bull also having very similar numbers to her (that surprised me, I admit it!). Josephine was the favorite female romance in DAI (11%).

As for DA2, when I asked about the second favorite romance there was a high number of "no second favorite" (19%), followed by Dorian, then Josephine. I think the fact that we do not have the same order as before (Solas, Dorian, Cullen) might mean that the Solas and Cullan romancer are very dedicated to their romance, especially Solas - who had only a 9% of people that chose him as a second favorite romance.

Regarding the Inquisitor:

Female elf (Lavellan) had an incredibly high number of people choosing her as their canon inquisitor, more than double second place (human female). The rest of the Inquisitors are not too different (a part from dwarves who again get the least amount).

For the question "which of these inquisitors did you play at least once" the order of the choices are pretty similar, with "female elf", "female human", "male elf" and "male human" (in this order) at the top.

Regarding the choice for Divine Victoria:

The majority (60%) chose Leliana as their Divine. In second place instead we had no canon Divine or a change based on playthrough. Vivienne (my Divine!!!) was the least chosen one (I am starting to feel some of my choices are very unpopular haha).

Now, for who did you leave in the fade:

It is pretty clear that (black and red graph, last on the right) Stroud was the easiest to leave in the fade.

(blue and red, first graph on the left) Hawke was also saved the most in games that had Loghain as the other option, with a similar percentage of people that chose to leave Loghain (82%) or Stroud (85%).

Surprisingly this flips (central graph, grey and red) when the choice was between Alistair and Hawke. Hawke in this case was the one left in the Fade, even if in less extreme % (67%), with Alistair being the one usually saved. Which checks out given Alistair was the most popular romance choice in DAO among the people who answered this survey.

6. DRAGON AGE VEILGUARD (NO SPOILERS)

And here the tentatively presented Veilguard results! I say tentatively because we are still very close to release, and a lot of people did not have the time to experience the full game or multiple romances.

In fact, only 11% of people completed multiple playthroughs. 46% completed the game at least once, while 31% are still playing it for the first time.

Regarding the player character, I only added questions regarding factions as they seem much more influential than elf/qunari/dwarf/human:

This was a multiple choice in case people tried different factions! Shadow Dragons, Mourn Watches and Grey Wardens have very similar numbers and are the top three. Surpringly, Veil Jumper was on the bottom (with Lord of Fortune being the least chosen).

Regarding the romances:

Before players started the game it seems like they had an idea among the characters who were romancable, with a lot of people being interested in the three male characters (Lucanis, Emmrich, Davrin) followed by Neve, Harding and Taash. Surprisingly, Bellara was even lower than "none/no spoilers".

In the first game, people followed more or less what they were interested in, with 28% of people going for the Lucanis romance, followed by Emmrich (19%) and then Davrin (16%). Following we have Neve, Harding and then Bellara, which this time surpassed Taash.

When we look at "who is your favorite romance" (graph on the left) we see that things changed based on expectation/who you tried to romance first.

Lucanis is not first anymore, but we actually have Emmrich (23%) as the favorite romance, followed by No one (19%) and only then Lucanis (15%). Davrin is in fourth place with 14%. The rest follows the same order as before, but all the female characters and the one non-binary characters are under "Multiple beloved equally" which is 9%.

Regarding the second favorite romance, maybe (because the game is so new) it is to be expected that the option that wins is "None/I only have one" with 36%, followed by Emmrich (16%) and then Davrin (13%). Interestingly, Lucanis fall to just a 7% under the "Multiple" (11%). I think (like we saw before for Solas and Cullen) it seems like the people who like Lucanis romance him and might not have a second favorite.

I hope you enjoyed this summary!! I cannot wait to make even more graphs and see what else is in this data!

[cebfilm]

double CPR during gyno surgery

Pre-Op Visit

Maria entered the clinic, her heart fluttering slightly as she signed in at the reception desk. The soft hum of fluorescent lights and the faint scent of antiseptic filled the air. At 23, she had grown accustomed to regular gynecological appointments for her polycystic ovarian syndrome, but today’s visit felt different. She couldn’t quite place why—perhaps it was the note she had tucked into her medical file.

Dr. Carter greeted her warmly, his voice steady and professional. “Maria, it’s good to see you again. Let’s take a closer look and discuss any changes you’ve been experiencing,” he said, gesturing for her to follow him into the examination room.

Maria settled onto the examination table, her legs resting in the stirrups, the cool sheet draped over her lap offering some modesty. She took a deep breath as Dr. Carter explained the steps of the examination, his tone calm and reassuring.

The moment felt tangible as he reached for a pair of latex-free gloves, snapping each one on with deliberate care. The faint rustle of the material was accompanied by the smooth stretch over his fingers, a prelude to the thorough examination ahead. “These will ensure everything remains sterile,” he said, flexing his hands briefly to ensure the fit was snug yet comfortable.

“We’ll start with a visual inspection of the external area,” he continued. He gently separated the labia, examining the vulva for any signs of redness, swelling, or abnormalities. “Everything looks healthy so far,” he said with a reassuring smile.

Next, he prepared a speculum, the gleaming metal instrument lubricated with a water-based gel. “I’m going to insert the speculum now. You might feel a bit of pressure, but let me know if it’s uncomfortable,” he said. Slowly and carefully, he guided the speculum into her vaginal canal, angling it to minimize discomfort.

Maria inhaled sharply at the cool sensation but relaxed as he spoke to her. “You’re doing great,” he assured her. Once the speculum was in place, he gently opened it to visualize her vaginal walls and cervix. A soft light illuminated the area as he examined the tissue for any irregularities.

“Your cervix looks healthy,” he noted. “I’m going to collect a sample for testing now. You may feel a slight pinch.” Using a small brush, he took a quick sample for a Pap smear before carefully removing the speculum.

Moving on, Dr. Carter explained the next step. “Now we’ll do a bimanual examination to check your uterus and ovaries.” He slipped on a new pair of gloves, inserting two fingers into her vagina while pressing gently on her lower abdomen with his other hand.

“This helps me assess the size, shape, and position of your uterus,” he said, his hands working methodically. “Let me know if anything feels tender.”

Maria nodded, wincing slightly as he applied pressure to one side. “There’s some sensitivity here,” she said.

“Noted,” Dr. Carter replied. “That’s consistent with your polycystic ovarian syndrome. It’s one of the reasons I recommend the upcoming procedure—to get a clearer understanding and provide relief.”

As he removed his gloves and helped her sit up, Dr. Carter maintained his professional demeanor. “You did great, Maria. I’ll explain what to expect during the surgery, and we’ll make sure you’re comfortable every step of the way.”

Maria nodded, her nerves easing slightly as his calm and methodical approach reassured her.

The Procedure

The operating room was cool and sterile, with bright overhead lights casting a stark glow on Maria as she lay motionless under anesthesia. The steady beep of the heart monitor punctuated the quiet efficiency of the medical team.

Dr. Carter stood at the head of the team, reviewing Maria’s pre-op notes one last time before they began. “We’ll be performing a laparoscopic procedure to address the ovarian cysts,” he explained to the team. Instruments were laid out meticulously on the tray beside him.

After making the initial incisions, the surgical assistant inserted the laparoscope, the camera transmitting a clear view of Maria’s internal structures to the monitor. Dr. Carter carefully navigated the tool to locate the cysts.

“There’s some scarring here, likely from previous ruptured cysts,” he noted. “Let’s excise the current ones to alleviate her symptoms and preserve as much ovarian tissue as possible.”

The procedure progressed smoothly as Dr. Carter worked with precision, excising the cysts and cauterizing any bleeding tissue. The team maintained a rhythm, their movements synchronized and deliberate.

Then, without warning, the heart monitor emitted a rapid, irregular beeping.

“She’s in ventricular fibrillation!” the anesthesiologist called out.

Dr. Carter immediately stepped back. “Stop the procedure. We need to stabilize her. Call for the crash cart.”

The surgical team acted quickly, tilting the operating table flat and removing the laparoscope. A nurse began chest compressions, her hands pressing firmly on Maria’s chest. “One, two, three…” she counted, maintaining a steady rhythm.

Dr. Carter took charge. “Prep the defibrillator and administer one milligram of epinephrine,” he ordered.

The defibrillator pads were placed on Maria’s bare chest. “Charging to 200 joules. Clear!” The shock caused her body to jerk, but the monitor still showed erratic activity.

“Continue CPR,” Dr. Carter instructed. Another nurse stepped in to take over compressions, her hands pressing down in precise, rhythmic movements.

“Administer another dose of epinephrine,” Dr. Carter said. “Charge to 300. Clear!”

Maria’s body arched again as the second shock was delivered, but the ventricular fibrillation persisted. Sweat formed on the team’s brows as the resuscitation efforts continued.

Sab’s Collapse

Meanwhile, in the observation area, Sab watched in horror through the glass. The sight of Maria’s lifeless body being shocked and compressed was too much to bear. Her breath quickened, her chest tightened, and before she could cry out, she collapsed to the floor.

A nurse rushed to her side, feeling for a pulse. “She’s fainted, but her pulse is weak!” the nurse shouted. Sab was quickly transferred to a nearby stretcher.

“She’s going into cardiac arrest!” another nurse exclaimed.

“Start CPR!” a second team sprang into action. One nurse tilted Sab’s head back and began giving rescue breaths while another began compressions. “One, two, three…”

Sab’s chest rose and fell with the breaths, but her heart remained unresponsive. The defibrillator was quickly wheeled over.

“Pads on. Charging to 200. Clear!” The first shock jolted her body, but the monitor still showed asystole.

“Epinephrine, now!” the nurse ordered. Another round of CPR followed, compressions deep and steady, interspersed with breaths.

“Charge to 300. Clear!” Sab’s body arched as another shock coursed through her. Her heart finally showed a faint rhythm, but her condition remained critical.

Dual Resuscitation

Dr. Carter, now splitting his attention between Maria and Sab, directed the teams. “We’re not losing either of them,” he said with determination.

Maria’s chest compressions continued relentlessly. A nurse alternated between compressions and rescue breaths, sweat dripping as she counted aloud. “One, two, three…come on, Maria.”

“Charging to 400 joules. Clear!” The defibrillator delivered another shock to Maria, and this time, the monitor flickered—a faint pulse began to appear.

“She’s back! We’ve got a rhythm,” Dr. Carter announced, but his relief was short-lived as he turned his attention to Sab.

Sab’s compressions continued as another nurse prepared a dose of amiodarone. “Administer the antiarrhythmic,” the nurse instructed, injecting the medication into Sab’s IV line.

“Charge to 400. Clear!” Sab’s body jolted again, and after a tense moment, her heart monitor showed a weak but steady rhythm.

“She’s back!” the team exclaimed.

ICU Recovery

The sterile, rhythmic beeping of heart monitors filled the dimly lit ICU. Maria’s eyelids fluttered open, the bright fluorescent lights stinging her eyes. She blinked slowly, her body heavy, her chest aching with every breath. The sterile scent of antiseptic surrounded her, and it took a moment for the fog to clear from her mind.

“Maria,” a soft voice murmured nearby.

She turned her head slowly to see Sab lying in the adjacent bed, tubes and wires attached to her as well. Sab’s face was pale but alive, her chest rising and falling steadily.

“Sab…” Maria whispered, her voice raspy and weak. Her hand, though weighed down by IV lines, reached out shakily across the gap between their beds.

Sab’s eyes met hers, brimming with tears. She stretched her hand toward Maria, their fingers brushing lightly. “You’re okay,” Sab whispered, her voice cracking with relief. “We’re okay.”

A nurse entered the room quietly, adjusting the machines and checking their vitals. “You gave us quite the scare,” she said gently, her gaze kind. “But you’re both stable now. Rest—you’re in good hands.”

As the nurse left, Maria and Sab turned their attention back to one another. Their hands stayed clasped, their breathing syncing as they lay side by side, tethered by their shared ordeal. Though the ICU around them was cold and clinical, the warmth of their connection filled the space.

They didn’t need words. Their intertwined hands said everything: relief, gratitude, and love. The soft hum of the monitors became a comforting rhythm—a reminder that their hearts were still beating, together.

[slytherinshua]

BEACH DATES WITH TWS !

genre. fluff. headcanons. warnings. none. pairing. boyfriend!tws x reader. wc. 614 (100 each). request. requested by anon. a/n. fun fact i love beaches sm the beach is my ideal date spot (if only i wasn't single 👹) so writing this was so fun :(

shinyu would have a mission from the second he stepped foot on the sand: to be the best looking couple. you had bought matching swimsuits in the past and your boyfriend is excited to finally be able to wear them. he sets up a comfy beach blanket with an umbrella, making sure his princess has the perfect spot to lie down. he’s constantly glaring down any other men who dare to even look in your general direction and admiring how pretty you look matching with him. he’d take a million photos to save the memory.

dohoon would immediately spot the beach volleyball net and beeline towards it like a cartoon character. he's so excited to show off his athletic skills, and also to beat the other couple who agree to play against you two. he's so cocky and confident at the beginning, boasting about how perfect his teamwork is with you. but he's painfully proven wrong almost immediately as he constantly goes for the ball that you had already claimed and ends up tripping over you many times. you have to give him a lot of kisses afterwards to cheer him up after your embarrassing loss.

youngjae would find a few pieces of driftwood where you were setting up and start building with them without any real idea of where it was going to lead. when you find the start to his little project, you suggest that he build a hut with it, and your boyfriend lights up at the idea. so you start your search for the best sized pieces of wood for him to assemble. he's so excited when it’s finished, and proclaims it as your first home together (even though it can barely fit a 10 year old’s body, much less 2 adults). 

hanjin would be so mesmerized when you showed him a cool conch shell you found on the shoreline. he joins in with you, of course, and you both start searching for the best shells, wading deeper and deeper into the water for a better sample size. you don't care that you both end up getting soaked, because you end up with a good-sized collection of shells. you start sorting them into different categories based on shape and colour, and hanjin loves every second of it. not only is he proud of how many you collected, but he stashes away the prettiest one in his back pocket to make into a necklace for you later.

jihoon would challenge you to a sandcastle building competition and be brutal trying to win no matter what. you’re both competitive and it all starts out when you get a cheating head start running for the shoreline. he steals your bucket of water and tools after that, constantly provoking you until you smash his sandcastle in retaliation. the squabble would end up with you underneath him, sand all over both of your swimsuits and hair. but he still kisses you nonetheless (and makes sure that you know he still won since you blatantly cheated).

kyungmin would pack a picnic to eat on the beach and carefully feed you. you can’t protest him since you know it’s his love language. he just loves doting on you and making sure you eat well— admiring how pretty you look against the backdrop of the ocean and clear sky. he forgot to bring any tools to make sandcastles, so he tries to substitute by digging out the wet sand from the shoreline and bringing it back to a safer distance. but it doesn't work very well and in the end he's soaked from the waist down with nothing but a lump of wet sand to show for it.

↳ tws taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @eternalgyu,, @seunghancore,, @sobun1est,, @talkingsaxy,, @talking-saxy

[mutant-distraction]

Macroctopus maorum is known more commonly as the Maori octopus or the New Zealand octopus (wheke in Maori). It is found in the waters around New Zealand and southern Australia.[1][2] M. maorum is one of the largest and most aggressive octopus species living in the New Zealand and Australian waters. They feed mainly on crustaceans and fish. Although they have a short life span, the females lay thousands of eggs and are very protective of them.

Macroctopus maorum is a large octopus and it is regularly described as a ‘robust’ species, it is a member of the Octopus macropus species complex. The morphological traits characteristic of this complex are a high number of gill lamellae, a robust conical copulatory organ and arms of varying length with long unequal dorsal arms generally four to six times longer than the mantle. Although being unequal, their arms are said to be long and evenly tapering and Macroctopus maorum are even known to regrow arms when one has been lost.[2] Being the largest member of its complex arm span is said to exceed 3 metres (9.8 ft).[3] They have four to six suckers on the first and second arm pairs which are usually about 40 millimetres (1.6 in) in size. Suckers are arranged in two rows down the arm length. There is thought to be no correlation between sexes and size of suckers; however, there was an increase in sucker size with body mass increase.[2] Coloration of this species can vary Macroctopus maorum can be distinguished from other species by the colour, they will be either orange-brown or dark purple-grey. The octopus has numerous small iridescent white spots on the web, arms and dorsal arm crown but there are no spots present on the mantle.[2] Macroctopus maorum has 12–14 gill lamella per demibranch, the mantle is described as broadly ovoid and exhibits a skin pattern of longitudinal ridges. Along the dorsum there are five rows of unbranched papillae and two more papillae appear individually above the eyes. Octopus papillae are camouflage specialised with the ability to change shape, such as by extending in and out from the body.[4] Male M. maorum have a small ligula, the ligula is a specialised arm tip on the hectocotylized arm which grips to allow the transfer of spermatophores. Within the complex O. macropus, Macroctopus maorum is thought to be the largest member. In a study estimating M. maorum size based on a sample of 90 beaks, the largest individual found had a body length of 2.0 metres (6 ft 7 in) and body mass of 12 kilograms (26 lb). Macroctopus maorum has an upper beak and lower beak, the upper beak can be used to differentiate Macroctopus maorum and Enteroctpus zealandicus as it has a lack of overlap in the ratio of upper hood length and upper chest length. Macroctopus maorum hatchlings are usually about 5.06 millimetres (0.199 in) in size, they have 7–8 suckers per arm and each dorsal arm will have 6–11 chromatophores

source: The Octopus Kingdom

Mathews Lyn