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Dean criticizing his father | 1.20, 1.21, 1.22, 2.01, 2.03, 2.10, 2.11, 3.03, 3.10, 4.10, 4.19, 5.06, 5.13, 5.16, 5.17, 6.02, 8.18, 10.03, 12.14, 12.22
#john#i dont deserve what he put on me#parentification#compilation#good gifs with free tools challenge#1.20#1.21#1.22#2.01#2.03#2.10#2.11#3.03#3.10#4.10#4.19#5.06#5.13#5.16#5.17#6.02#8.18#10.03#12.14#12.22#dean and introspection
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TUTORIAL 1
Making Gifs With DaVinci Resolve and FFmpeg or Gifski
FULL TUTORIALS | RECOLORED GIFS
Want to skip the tedious traditional process of screencapping a scene frame by frame and coloring and captioning those frames in batches? Would you rather make high quality gifs in a video editor instead, with a huge toolkit of color adjustment options, applied shot by shot rather than frame by frame, all for the price of $0 per month??? This tutorial is for you!
EXAMPLE SETS
Operating systems: Mac, Windows, and Linux
Quality potential: High
Software needed: DaVinci Resolve and FFmpeg (or Gifski CLI)
Difficulty: Moderate to Advanced
Time: Example set took me 17 minutes
Competencies: Some general familiarity with video editors and using your computer's shell helps but isn't required to follow the tutorial. There is a workaround that allows you to avoid the command line entirely on Mac of Windows. Familiarity with recoloring tools is also great but not required.
LIMITATIONS: None, but do note that DaVinci Resolve has minimum hardware requirements.
See the full tutorial here!
#tutorial#ffmpeg and davinci resolve#good gifs with free tools challenge#cross platform#windows#linux#mac#ffmpeg#davinci resolve#moderate#advanced
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The Soddy
A CC Free Prairie Homestead
Lot size: 40x30 Price: §37,341 Lot type: Residential Location: Biscuit's Bastion, Chestnut Ridge
Homesteading and the settlement of the American west has always been a particular interest of mine and recently I've become very interested in sod houses! I toyed with the idea of recreating one in Sims but never had a good world or assets to work with. When I fell into my little building bender a few weeks ago I realized Chestnut Ridge was perfect for it and promptly hyperfixated.
This home is ideal for a couple or small family just trying to make their way in the prairie of Chestnut Ridge. The house can fit up to three sims and a baby or toddler, perhaps a bit snug for our modern standards but perfectly alright for the nineteenth century. Also comes complete with fertile fields, an empty chicken coop, a slightly decrepit horse barn, and a well stocked root cellar.
More info and download under the cut:
This house is heavily inspired by Prairie Homestead in South Dakota. When I started kicking around the idea of this build I started googling for reference photos and discovered this very cool historic site. I tried to match this build to its real life counterpart more than I usually do, as the interior that they have set up for that house was just so fun and unique feeling. The exterior is inspired by it, but sim lot constraints required more creative license. I highly recommend you look at some photos, it really is such an interesting place.
Sod houses, which were constructed by cutting hunks of the top layer of the grasslands (which were held together by the strong roots of the native grasses) were common throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and began to peter out in the early part of the twentieth century. They weren't the most luxurious accommodations, but did have the virtue of being warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Unfortunately as the walls were made from the earth, bugs could be an issue and I've given this lot the creepy crawlies bug challenge for ~realism~. It's also off-the-grid, and has a functional root cellar (meaning I put the fridge down there, have fun in thunderstorms).
This lot is fully playtested (might have been the most I've played in a while actually, I wanted to make sure the crib worked). Please please enjoy this build. I know I always say it but this one is actually my favorite, and making this work with the constraints of Sims 4 terrain tools was quite the undertaking and I'm so pleased with it.
If you use it please tag me in any photos, I love seeing what y'all get up to with my builds!!
Gallery ID: antiqueplumbobs
SFS | Google Drive
@publicvanillabuilds @twentiethcenturysims @maxismatchccworld @mmoutfitters
#ts4#sims 4#ts4 build#sims 4 build#ts4 vanilla#sims 4 vanilla#sims 4 cc free#ts4 cc free#cc free build#vanilla builds#ts4 historical#sims 4 decades challenge#decades challenge#ts4 decades challenge#antiquatedresidential
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💜 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 ♡ 𝑭𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑬𝑿𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑫 18+ 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 ♡
Hello lovelies! I hope you’re doing well today! Today, I bring you a different type of reading featuring an extended 18+ version. Since the extended reading option was the winner of my latest poll, I am really happy and excited to release this. Thank you so much for your endless support, I love you guys very much and I hope you’re having a wonderful week! ♡
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none of the images are mine unless stated otherwise
how to choose your pile. take deep breaths for a few minutes & look at each and every one of the piles separately. see which one brings you to a feeling, a place or a memory. take your time and feel free to come back to it later.
♡ ♡ ♡ pick a card masterlist & information
disclaimer. this is a general reading for entertainment purposes. tarot is a divination tool & is not a substitute for medical and professional advice, nor is it meant to be taken as such. i do not take responsibility for any choice(s) made by you or others regarding my readings.
amourdivine. 2021 - 2023 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.
PILE 001 | DAY VERSION
judgement • page of wands • nine of cups • two of cups
Scorpio energy here - either one of you may have Scorpio in 6th, a stellium the 6th or perhaps you’re Pluto dominant. It’s a significant planet here. Your love for one another on a day-to-day basis will shine through in the way you handle the adversities thrown your way, how you wake up each day with excitement and gratitude for what’s to come. It may have been difficult for the two of you to finally come together, but I see two people waking up with extreme gratitude for getting to be with one another. It’s honestly quite sweet, you’ll feel as if all the roads have led you to this person, to spend your life with them in the big and the small moments.
The love will be shown in the stressful moments, hand holding when one’s having a crisis, calming down one another and facing the challenges together. For example, if you’re regularly waking up to nightmares, your person will calm you down, they’ll accompany you to a doctor’s appointment and do their best to ensure you have good dreams.I heard “through thick and thin” - you’ll be doing and planning everything together. You’ll be in sync, so if one’s doing the groceries, the other will be picking up the kids from school. It has a feeling of telepathy to it, like your thoughts and emotions will be picked up on by the other. It’ll be a very teammate-y kind of couple, the couple that does not let the other go without support. You’ll be very present in each other’s day to day lives and there’s an element of fun to it as well, of trying to keep things lighthearted and romantic as well, like going on weekly dates, making sure to lighten up each other’s mood, check in often and give keep the love alive through these small gestures, consistently.
Speaking of consistently, that’s how I envision your daily life with your FS, through constant commitment, effort, gifts and displays of affection. Your relationship will be a safe foundation for your daily lives, regardless of what happens, it will be so present that you won’t ever feel alone or doubt your FS’s love for you.
channeled song: Colors of Your Mood by Between Giants.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NIGHT VERSION: YOUR 18+ LIFE.
PILE 002 | DAY VERSION
the sun • seven of wands • four of cups • the empress
Your daily life will have a lot of happy, positive elements. A lot of Leo and Libra here. You’ll make one another laugh a lot, cheer each other up. This person may be or may have been your best friend. I see an element of “inner child” here, a lot of dancing, giggling and nurturing one another. In your daily life, your person may help you stand your ground and you’ll be each other’s biggest cheerleader. Compliments and cheeky ways of flirting are ways where you’ll keep the flame alive, fighting together for a better future as well - you’ll stand up for one another a lot. If someone treats you poorly, like say, you’re walking by and you get catcalled or someone disrespects you at a grocery shop line, your person will say something. You’ll also naturally take on this role as well, because you’ll want to spoil one another a lot and fight to keep your love “young”. Perhaps family members or loved ones will be opposed to this relationship and the both of you will feel the need to prove everyone wrong, to show that you’re each other’s person and it’s the final say.
You will fight off the boredom of routine by keeping everything interesting and unusual. You may travel a lot with one another before having kids or prioritize your relationship’s success and joy above everything else. Even if the two of you don’t have much money, I feel like you’ll be very creative and come up with different ideas to spark up your joy. Both of you may intensely dislike routine or boredom, so you’ll make sure that neither one of you is left unattended, unsatisfied or lonely. I also feel that either one of you may have slightly jealous tendencies towards the other, so it’ll be important for the two of you to never leave it unaddressed or dismissed, but I think it’ll be mostly harmless and may make one of you pouty, which the other will find cute. I see a lot of spoiling here, not just material, like I mentioned, but showering each other in love every single day, especially through words of affirmation and a lot of cuddling. This is the pile of the clingy, obsessed-with-each-other couple. Quite adorable, to be honest. You won’t be afraid of the PDA.
Random message, but if you have any motherly or love wounds, I think you’ll be able to heal through the love you receive from this person on a day to day basis. As if you’ll come at ease and your heart will finally rest once the days pass you by and you realize your marriage is not like your parents”.
channeled song: Chateau by Angus & Julia Stone.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NIGHT VERSION: YOUR 18+ LIFE.
PILE 003 | DAY VERSION
the hermit • queen of wands • ace of pentacles • seven of cups
Your daily life will be busy in the pursuit of better opportunities. I think this person will encourage you to be your most authentic self with them. They’ll make you feel confident and in your power. This pile is giving me “power couple” vibes, like two people who own a business together and work tirelessly to make their dreams come true. It may be hard for you two to distinguish between one person’s dreams vs. the other, since you’ll both have very similar goals that will be aligned in the way you make choices. Your daily life together seems to be one full of really important decisions; you’re both perfectionists - and sometimes you’ll need each other’s push to simply do something instead of striving for perfection. I heard “done is better than perfect”. I also think you’ll both pursue a lot of intellectual stimuli together, maybe go to the movies or the theater together, museums and libraries. It seems that your daily lives will be very private, exclusive to the two of you, you may be the couple who doesn’t post much on social media but the people speak of a lot. I get the feeling you’re both important people, as I mentioned.
You may be in the public eye in some way. I’m guessing it has to do with your occupations. You can count on each other to only speak the best of one another. I think you and your FS will have a deep sense of loyalty and commitment that will naturally bleed into your day-to-day interactions and conversations. You’ll be the couple who plans the smallest of things together. It’s possible the two of you have similar placements or complementary ones, because the synastry here seems very easygoing, like it just flows naturally and two people are very committed to making it work, regardless. Even on a day-to-day basis, you’ll have interesting topics to talk about and you may be the kind of couple who ask each other’s opinions for everything, not out of codependency, but because they know that their FS has always something interesting to say. I see you spending time together in a more “lowkey” way. Your ways of demonstrating love to one another will be subtle but thoughtful, perhaps only noticeable to the two of you, almost like you’ve developed a secret language to speak to one another. You will get each other like no one else. Very clever and sweet.
channeled song: Cardigan by Taylor Swift.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NIGHT VERSION: YOUR 18+ LIFE.
PILE 004 | DAY VERSION
two of cups • four of wands • two of pentacles • ace of swords
Most of your day-to-day lives will be spent maintaining and looking after your stability, pile four. Regardless of how many times I shuffled, messages about money kept coming out. I think it’s possible you’ll either marry into wealth or become fairly wealthy after marriage and I feel like most of your routine will revolve around making healthy financial decisions with your FS. I think the two of you will be very, very protective over your family. Another message I got was about children, I think you’ll have plenty of them. It’s coming on very strongly that you’re possibly having big family - like three to five children, if that resonates for you, of course. I see it as a bit of a chaotic, but pleasant daily life regardless. Even if you’re busy looking after all that you have, I think you’ll aim to leave a good legacy behind and that will show early on in your marriage. You’ll be concerned about making good choices not only for the now, but for the future as well. You’re both very smart, witty people. I feel like you may also have a joint bank account, or some other way of holding each other accountable and looking after your material gains. I don’t see any “controlling” behavior here, but more so two people who are enthusiastic about how far they’ve come and how far they can go.
You’re both super hard workers as well. Honestly, it’s possible you may not spend as much time with them as you want to, but I think even when you’re away for a few hours, running errands or working, you’ll miss them. It’s got a feeling of two people who have never fallen out of love. I think you’ll be smitten with them for a very, very long time. I think you’ll also become an example of a healthy couple for your children as well. I’m sorry children are coming up so strongly (lol), but the energy of being busy, loving parents here is very obvious to me. You might become overwhelmed or overburdened by responsibilities at times, because I see here two people who sort of thrive in chaotic or busy environments and at times, you may have to delegate tasks or ask other family members for help. I think either one of you has always dreamt of building a big family and now that you have it, you want to do everything in your power to protect it, to cherish it. One or both of you is a natural provider and wants to give your loved ones all the best things in the world.
channeled song: Still The One by Shania Twain.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NIGHT VERSION: YOUR 18+ LIFE.
amourdivine. 2021 - 2023 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.
#tarotblr#pick a card#tarot reading#pick a card reading#pac reading#tarot#future spouse#future spouse reading#tarot readers#tarot cards#tarotcommunity#tarot readings#pick a pile#tarot pick a pile#pick a picture#divination#spirituality#divine counterpart#*
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A year in illustration, 2023 edition (part one)
(This is part one; part two is here.)
I am objectively very bad at visual art. I am bad at vision, period – I'm astigmatic, shortsighted, color blind, and often miss visual details others see. I can't even draw a stick-figure. To top things off, I have cataracts in both eyes and my book publishing/touring schedule is so intense that I keep having to reschedule the surgeries. But despite my vast visual deficits, I thoroughly enjoy making collages for this blog.
For many years now – decades – I've been illustrating my blog posts by mixing public domain and Creative Commons art with work that I can make a good fair use case for. As bad as art as I may be, all this practice has paid off. Call it unseemly, but I think I'm turning out some terrific illustrations – not all the time, but often enough.
Last year, I rounded up my best art of the year:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/25/a-year-in-illustration/
And I liked reflecting on the year's art so much, I decided I'd do it again. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some downloadables – freely usable images that I painstakingly cut up with the lasso tool in The Gimp.
The original AD&D hardcover cover art is seared into my psyche. For several years, there were few images I looked at so closely as these. When Hasbro pulled some world-beatingly sleazy stuff with the Open Gaming License, I knew just how to mod Dave Trampier's 'Eve Of Moloch' from the cover of the Players' Handbook. Thankfully, bigger nerds than me have identified all the fonts in the image, making the remix a doddle.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/12/beg-forgiveness-ask-permission/#whats-a-copyright-exception
Even though I don't keep logs or collect any analytics, I can say with confidence that "Tiktok's Enshittification" was the most popular thing I published on Pluralistic this year. I mixed some public domain Brother's Grimm art, mixed with a classic caricature of Boss Tweed, and some very cheesy royalty-free/open access influencer graphics. One gingerbread cottage social media trap, coming up:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys
To illustrate the idea of overcoming walking-the-plank fear (as a metaphor for writing when it feels like you suck) I mixed public domain stock of a plank, a high building and legs, along with a procedurally generated Matrix "code waterfall" and a vertiginous spiral ganked from a Heinz Bunse photo of a German office lobby.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/
Finding a tasteful way to illustrate a story about Johnson & Johnson losing a court case after it spent a generation tricking women into dusting their vulvas with asbestos-tainted talcum was a challenge. The tulip (featured in many public domain images) was a natural starting point. I mixed it with Jesse Wagstaff's image of a Burning Man dust-storm and Mike Mozart's shelf-shot of a J&J talcum bottle.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit
"Google's Chatbot Panic" is about Google's long history of being stampeded into doing stupid things because its competitors are doing them. Once it was Yahoo, now it's Bing. Tenniel's Tweedle Dee and Dum were a good starting point. I mixed in one of several Humpty Dumpty editorial cartoon images from 19th century political coverage that I painstakingly cut out with the lasso tool on a long plane-ride. This is one of my favorite Humpties, I just love the little 19th C businessmen trying to keep him from falling! I finished it off with HAL 9000's glowing red eye, my standard 'this is about AI' image, which I got from Cryteria's CC-licensed SVG.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked
Though I started writing about Luddites in my January, 2022 Locus column, 2023 was the Year of the Luddite, thanks to Brian Merchant's outstanding Blood In the Machine:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/26/enochs-hammer/#thats-fronkonsteen
When it came time to illustrate "Gig Work Is the Opposite of Steampunk," I found a public domain weaver's loft, and put one of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes in the window. Magpie Killjoy's Steampunk Magazine poster, 'Love the Machine, Hate the Factory,' completed the look.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/12/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk/
For the "small, non-profit school" that got used as an excuse to bail out Silicon Valley Bank, I brought back Humpty Dumpty, mixing him with a Hogwartsian castle, a brick wall texture, and an ornate, gilded frame. I love how this one came out. This Humpty was made for the SVB bailout.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/23/small-nonprofit-school/#north-country-school
The RESTRICT Act would have federally banned Tiktok – a proposal that was both technically unworkable and unconstitutional. I found an early 20th century editorial cartoon depicting Uncle Sam behind a fortress wall that was keeping a downtrodden refugee family out of America. I got rid of most of the family, giving the dad a Tiktok logo head, and I put Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes over each cannonmouth. Three Boss Tweed moneybag-head caricatures, adorned with Big Tech logos, rounded it out.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/30/tik-tok-tow/#good-politics-for-electoral-victories
When Flickr took decisive action to purge the copyleft trolls who'd been abusing its platform, I knew I wanted to illustrate this with Lucifer being cast out of heaven, and the very best one of those comes from John Milton, who is conveniently well in the public domain. The Flickr logo suggested a bicolored streaming-light-of-heaven motif that just made it.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/01/pixsynnussija/#pilkunnussija
Old mainframe ads are a great source of stock for a "Computer Says No" image. And Congress being a public building, there are lots of federal (and hence public domain) images of its facade.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/04/cbo-says-no/#wealth-tax
When I wrote about the Clarence Thomas/Harlan Crow bribery scandal, it was easy to find Mr. Kjetil Ree's great image of the Supreme Court building. Thomas being a federal judge, it was easy to find a government photo of his head, but it's impossible to find an image of him in robes at a decent resolution. Luckily, there are tons of other federal judges who've been photographed in their robes! Boss Tweed with the dollar-sign head was a great stand-in for Harlan Crow (no one knows what he looks like anyway). Gilding Thomas's robes was a simple matter of superimposing a gold texture and twiddling with the layers.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow
"Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes" is one of my best titles. This is the post where I introduce the idea of "twiddling" as part of the theory of enshittification, and explain how it relates to "reverse centaurs" – people who assist machines, rather than the other way around. Finding a CC licensed modular synth was much harder than I thought, but I found Stephen Drake's image and stitched it into a mandala. Cutting out the horse's head for the reverse centaur was a lot of work (manes are a huuuuge pain in the ass), but I love how his head sits on the public domain high-viz-wearing warehouse worker's body I cut up (thanks, OSHA!). Seeing as this is an horrors-of-automation story, Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes make an appearance.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men
Rockefeller's greatest contribution to our culture was inspiring many excellent unflattering caricatures. The IWW's many-fists-turning-into-one-fist image made it easy to have the collective might of workers toppling the original robber-baron.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men
I link to this post explaining how to make good Mastodon threads at least once a week, so it's a good thing the graphic turned out so well. Close-cropping the threads from a public domain yarn tangle worked out great. Eugen Rochko's Mastodon logo was and is the only Affero-licensed image ever to appear on Pluralistic.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/16/how-to-make-the-least-worst-mastodon-threads/
I spent hours on the sofa one night painstakingly cutting up and reassembling the cover art from a science fiction pulp. I have a folder full of color-corrected, high-rez scans from an 18th century anatomy textbook, and the cross-section head-and-brain is the best of the lot.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions
Those old French anatomical drawings are an endless source of delight to me. Take one cross-sectioned noggin, mix in an old PC mainboard, and a vector art illo of a virtuous cycle with some of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes and you've got a great illustration of Google's brain-worms.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/14/googles-ai-hype-circle/
Ireland's privacy regulator is but a plaything in Big Tech's hand, but it's goddamned hard to find an open-access Garda car. I manually dressed some public domain car art in Garda livery, painstakingly tracing it over the panels. The (public domain) baby's knit cap really hides the seams from replacing the baby's head with HAL9000's eye.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town
Naked-guy-in-a-barrel bankruptcy images feel like something you can find in an old Collier's or Punch, but I came up snake-eyes and ended up frankensteining a naked body into a barrel for the George Washington crest on the Washington State flag. It came out well, but harvesting the body parts from old muscle-beach photos left George with some really big guns. I tried five different pairs of suspenders here before just drawing in black polyhedrons with little grey dots for rivets.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/03/when-the-tide-goes-out/#passive-income
Illustrating Amazon's dominance over the EU coulda been easy – just stick Amazon 'A's in place of the yellow stars that form a ring on the EU flag. So I decided to riff on Plutarch's Alexander, out of lands to conquer. Rama's statue legs were nice and high-rez. I had my choice of public domain ruin images, though it was harder thank expected to find a good Amazon box as a plinth for those broken-off legs.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon
God help me, I could not stop playing with this image of a demon-haunted IoT car. All those reflections! The knife sticking out of the steering wheel, the multiple Munsch 'Scream'ers, etc etc. The more I patchked with it, the better it got, though. This one's a banger.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon
To depict a "data-driven dictatorship," I ganked elements of heavily beribboned Russian military dress uniforms, replacing the head with HAL9000's eye. I turned the foreground into the crowds from the Nuremberg rallies and filled the sky with Matrix code waterfall.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/26/dictators-dilemma/#garbage-in-garbage-out-garbage-back-in
The best thing about analogizing DRM to demonic possession is the wealth of medieval artwork to choose from . This one comes from the 11th century 'Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros.' I mixed in the shiny red Tesla (working those reflections!), and a Tesla charger to make my point.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world
Yet more dividends from those old French anatomical plates: a flayed skull, a detached jaw, a quack electronic gadget, a Wachowski code waterfall and some HAL 9000 eyes and you've got a truly unsettling image of machine-compelled speech.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai
I had no idea this would work out so well, but daaaamn, crossfading between a Wachowski code waterfall and a motherboard behind a roiling thundercloud is dank af.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers
Of all the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas self-owns conservative culture warriors fall for, few can rival the "banning junk fees is woke" hustle. Slap a US-flag Punisher logo on and old-time card imprinter, add a GOP logo to a red credit-card blank, and then throw in a rustic barn countertop and you've got a junk-fee extracter fit for the Cracker Barrel.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping
Putting the Verizon logo on the Hinderberg was an obvious gambit (even if I did have to mess with the flames a lot), but the cutout of Paul Marcarelli as the 'can you hear me now?' guy, desaturated and contrast-matched, made it sing.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now
Note to self: Tux the Penguin is really easy to source in free/open formats! He looks great with HAL9000 eyes.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/18/openwashing/#you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means
Rockwell's self-portrait image is a classic; that made it a natural for a HAL9000-style remix about AI art. I put a bunch of time into chopping and remixing Rockwell's signature to give it that AI look, and added as many fingers as would fit on each hand.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/
(Images: Heinz Bunse, West Midlands Police, Christopher Sessums, CC BY-SA 2.0; Mike Mozart, Jesse Wagstaff, Stephen Drake, Steve Jurvetson, syvwlch, Doc Searls, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaic36/14231376315, Chatham House, CC BY 2.0; Cryteria, CC BY 3.0; Mr. Kjetil Ree, Trevor Parscal, Rama, “Soldiers of Russia” Cultural Center, Russian Airborne Troops Press Service, CC BY-SA 3.0; Raimond Spekking, CC BY 4.0; Drahtlos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Eugen Rochko, Affero; modified)
#pluralistic#illustration#collage#fair use#creative commons#stock art#blogging#art#practice makes perfect
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'Smother Me'
pairing: dom!janis imi'ike x sub!regina george
words: 1,762
content warning: mommydom!janis, sub!regina, bdsm, d/s dynamic, armpit fetish, clit stim, vaginal fingering, cute beginning and ending, praise, degradation, fluffy at times, domestic bdsm?, they're in love
summary: unlocked - new fetish!!
The pair had just made it home from a run (much to Regina's satisfaction) when the blonde felt herself be tackled to the ground, a groan pushed out of her chest at the impact.
Janis clearly had residual energy that she used to essentially make Regina's life harder and prolong them both wearing sweaty work out clothes.
"What are you—what?" the blonde stuttered as she took the challenge and tried to grab the girls arms, wanting to take away her main tool of destruction.
Janis shifted back slightly so she was kneeling between the girl's legs, bringing her hands up in and wiggling her fingers in the much unappreciated tickle threat way.
"I swear to god no~!" the blonde raised her voice as fingers came into contact with her exposed midriff. She threw her head back in painful laughter as fingers made their way up to her ribs.
"You're such a bitch—stop" the blonde wheezed as she attempted desperately to push the girl away but the brunette persisted, moving to kneel by the girl's head so she had better access to her armpits.
Janis leaned over to the arm furthest from her, intentionally contorting her arm so that she lightly smothered her own pit into Regina's face, and began ticking at the sensitive spot.
"No that's the worst—" the blonde cried as blunt nails started to scratch at her body, an evil cackle breaking the brunette's wheeze.
Janis moved back down her body, continuing the truly sadistic assault. She peered back to look at the blondes face who had suddenly gone a little too quiet.
A deep smirk grew on her flushed face as she felt heavy breaths against her side, as if on a deep exhale. Her fingers stopped moving and instead turned into light gropes at the blondes hips.
She shifted slightly so that her underarm was more directly above the girls nose. There was a clear shift in mood when Regina softly wrapped her hands around the brunette's bicep, the contact being made mutual.
The blonde giggled softly as a revelation started settling in her mind. She continued to lightly sniff, holding back groans that threatened to escape her.
"You like that?" Janis purred her free hand moved to grope at a thigh. Shortly pulling away to shift them both into a more convenient and comfortable position.
The blonde followed as the girl sat in front of her, closing the space between them and nuzzling into her side. She looked up at the smirking girl in her slumped position, their height difference opposing for once.
"Mmmyou smell really good" she mumbled as she hid her face in the girl's pit unintentionally, being consumed by her smell once again.
Janis gave her a soft laugh, a hand drawing teasing patterns over Regina's chest and abdomen, letting her hand roam its way around the spent body.
"Thank you, baby" she hummed, a seductive and inviting look on her face. She looked the blonde with such a comfortable hunger protruding from her presence, Regina could feel it radiating off of her, making her giggle nervously.
The brunette's eyes flickered between the girl's lips and eyes, slowly leaning down to brush her lips against bite mark covered ones. Regina let her guide the kiss. It was full of heat but they had nothing to rush, the type of kiss that instantly knocked the breath out of the blonde.
She couldn't help but whimper against sure, confident lips, feeling herself be overpowered in the slowest possible way which sent her mind spiralling into submission.
Janis felt her eyes flutter at the secure feeling of power filling her mind and body. The kiss felt so natural and easy, her hand further hand coming up to stroke at the girl's jaw and rubbing at the nape of her neck comfortingly. She smirked into the kiss when she felt a content sigh leave the girl.
Just as Regina was about to deepen the kiss, the brunette pulled away. "You're a pervert" she teased, her hand trailing down to inner thighs once again now roughly groping. The smirk deepened when she caught a glimpse of fluttering eyes as her knuckles brushed against the girl's core.
"Can I taste you?" Regina asked, confident all of a sudden as she held some fierce eye contact. The brunette couldn't help groaning at the look in her eyes. They were so menacing in their submission, almost feral with want yet still controlled.
Janis raised her brows, surprise taking over her momentarily. Nonchalantly she slipped her hand between the girl's thighs, now mindlessly groping at her covered cunt. "You want to lick my armpits?! Regina George wants to lick my armpits?" the brunette teased, though she was genuinely taken aback by the question.
Regina rolled her eyes, shaking her head before swatting at the girl's upper arm. "Shut up! I asked nicely!" she exclaimed as one of her hands joined the one between her legs, resting atop of the larger one.
Janis let a chuckle leave her before collecting herself. "Good asking, go ahead baby~" she lifted her arm a little for better access, briefly looking down to watch how her hand massaged at the girl and how hips began to shallowly push up into her touch.
She bit her lip in anticipation as she averted her attention back to Regina's face. The girl took a fleeting sniff of the natural pit before pressing a few kisses against its length. There was something about the definition of her lat and armpit muscles that drew her in, along with obvious musk that her body produced.
Just as the blonde flattened her tongue against the bottom of the dip, the brunette strategically slipped her hand beneath the girl's sweats, softly rubbing her thumb over her clit.
A shiver ran through Janis at the sensation of the warm tongue being dragged along her underarm, a shaky breath exiting her lungs as Regina pulled away for a moment. A guttural hum was muffled in the muscle as restless hips searched for prominent pressure.
"Good slut~" the brunette mumbled, feeling a similar arousal settle within her too. Her attention darted between the blissed out look of the blondes face and the growing frustration that seemed to translate into her hips. The smaller girl scoffed when throaty whines made themselves known against her side.
"Tell me what you want, baby" she commanded lowly, her tone growing richer as that controlled headspace took over her.
The desperation in her eyes that looked up at her, her tongue eagerly drinking down her sweat burned into the brunette's mind. The stuttering breaths that tickled her underarm as Regina got into an intense rhythm of grinding against her.
"Smother me, mommy" the blonde breathed, falling into subspace and being unable to form a longer sentence at that moment. Instead of verbally communicating a physical need, she grabbed the girl's hand that played with her cunt and pushed in below her underwear, throwing her head back as she finally made direct contact.
Janis took this as her cue to grab the back of Regina's head with the arm that was being worshiped and push it into her armpit, forcing her there relentlessly.
"Did the slut forget how to speak? Does mommy smell that good?' the brunette taunted as two of her calloused fingers began to glide through the girl's wetness, collecting some from her leaking hole and bringing it up to the blonde's lips.
Janis hummed as the girl wordlessly tasted herself, too preoccupied by the more important essence by her nose. Regina groaned at the intensified aching at her cunt, the girl's odour acting almost like a sensitivity enhancer.
"Please just touch me" the blonde whispered against Janis' side, an embarrassed flush taking over her face.
"What exactly do you think I'm doing?" Janis continued to torment the desperate girl.
Regina groaned breathlessly. "I need more, mommy" she whimpered as she fought her hands from directing the brunette, knowing that she'd only delay any chance of a release that she'd get.
"There you go~" she encouraged lowly, her fingers now firmly rubbing at the girl's throbbing clit. She reveled in the primal sounds that were leaving the blonde, not having seen this side of her before.
Regina persisted with rubbing herself against sure fingers, the girl's tone settling directly in her core as she gently talked down to her.
The dual attention and pressure on both her head and her pussy pushed her deep into her safe, dumb space that she loved more than she could admit.
She felt her eyes roll as a finger slowly pushed into her entrance, the deep breath that she naturally took perfectly filling her with the girl's musk.
"Yeah, smell mommy~" the brunette purred, fingers pumping into the blonde at the same pace and intensity as the thumb on her clit.
A string of desperate moans were exhaled against her torso. She felt Regina really sink into the ground beneath them, all tension leaving her body as she lightly fucked herself on the girl's fingers.
Regina's hands found their way back to the girl's shoulder, gripping for stability rather than to feel her. A lewd moan climbed up her throat after she took a chesty breath of the sweat enhanced essence that the brunette was so glad to provide.
"So good, you're doing so well, baby~" she hummed breathlessly, noticing how the thrusts of the blonde's hips became shallower and more eager if it was even possible.
"Are you close?" Janis purred as she made no change to the rhythm in her hands, letting Regina hump up into her instead.
Regina gave a small whimper of "Uh huh" as she pressed a few more wet kisses to the girl's pit, chasing the intensely building releases that she felt at the core of her being.
Janis hummed in response, her way of communicating that the blonde had permission to do so (not you she would stop if she didn't, knowing her and seeing how deep in headspace she was).
Regina took one last deep breath against the dip just as she felt the knot inside of her stomach tighten and release, her thighs trembling prominently.
Janis helped her in riding out the high before she lowered her well loved arm, hanging it around the girl's neck.
The blonde looked up at her, spent with a blissful look on her face.
"Regina George armpit fetish questions mark?" the brunette teased with feigned worry before she felt another weak swat at her arm, both of them laughing contently.
#reneé rapp#renee rapp#pezberrywhoreee kink#mean girls#mean girls 2024#regina george#janis imi'ike#mean girls fanfic#smuttt#bd/sm kink#pezberrywhoreee#auli'i cravalho#one shot
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The useful post *Master List* (Part three)
This is a list in progress.
Part one || Part two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six
Languages 101
♡ Languages in General *Master List #1*
♡ PDF Workbooks for 30 Languages
♡ Do not use Duolingo
♡ Langblr Challenge *Master List #2*
♡ Russian, Korean & Spanish *Study Plan*
♡ Language Learning Tips
♡ Langblr Playlist
♡ Christmas Music in different languages
♡ Learning is Personal
♡ How to improve pronunciation
♡ 2 Months of Learning: Languages Prompts
♡ Learning languages and how to make it fun
♡ Linguistics and Languages: MEGA & Google Drive Pack
♡ Translations can be tricky
♡ See? Duolingo is not good 😌
♡ Language is too an instrument
♡ How slang spreads
♡ Singular & Plural across several languages
♡ Using mixed language as a tool
♡ Bloom Library
♡ 79 Languages
★ ✨ ★ ✨ Japanese ✨ ★ ✨ ★
♡ Harry Potter JP Ver. 1~7
♡ Websites for learning Japanese
♡ On'yomi or Kun'yomi??
♡ Furigana is crazy sometimes
♡ Japanese Reading Resources for Absolute Beginners
♡ くなる and くする
♡ Read in Japanese
♡ More reading in JPN
♡ Learn Japanese on the Toilet
♡ Dictionaries
♡ Kanji Vocabulary *Master List in progress*
♡ Cultural and Linguistic Nuances *this is very beautiful tbh*
♡ Phones in Japanese
★✨ ★ ✨ ★ French ★ ✨ ★✨★
♡ 100 Common French Verbs
♡ French Expressions
♡ Mildly Polysynthetic
♡ Adjectifs
♡ Notes on French Verb Tenses
♡ Preferences
♡ Cemantix
♡ Vocab Master List
★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ Russian ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★
♡ First lesson: Not everything is Russian
Korean ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★
♡ A very detailed Master List
♡ Korean
♡ Google Drive: Korean Free Learning Resources
♡ A Pop of Korean - One Page Master List
Linguistics ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★ ✨ ★
♡ Switching between languages
♡ Linguistics Master List #1
♡ Irish & AAVE (African American Vernacular English)
♡ Etymology
♡ Loanwords
♡ Generational Gaps
If you want to be here, write me. I'll check on your post and see if I can make it work 😉
#use it wisely#useful#use it#interesting#languages 101#useful 101#language learning#langblog#langblr#language#language goals#language blog#language study#language stuff#learning languages#russian language#japanese language#french language#learning french#korean learning#learning japanese#linguistics#lingblr
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Merlin BBC UK TV Show - Opinion Piece Part 10 - Horoscope Compatibility Between Bradley James and Colin Morgan
Apparently there are online software tools, that you can use to find the astrological compatibility between 2 people based on their birth dates.
I decided to make a more light hearted post here to explore the compatibility between Bradley James and Colin Morgan using this free website tool :
https://astro.cafeastrology.com/astro.php?page=comp2f
Bradley James:
Date Of Birth: October 11, 1983
Sun Sign: Libra
Colin Morgan:
Date Of Birth: January 01, 1986
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Inter-planetary aspects
The following aspects between planets concern the possible relationships between two charts, especially the emotional and romantic relationship, but also aspects on social, intellectual, and spiritual levels.
The values next to the orbs in the chart above are part of a rating system. Keep in mind that these figures serve only as a possible guideline to reveal which aspects may be considered easy or challenging. Analysis of a relationship is, of course, very complex. While some aspects can be considered, on their own, difficult for most people, some will have an easier time with them, and the same is true of easy aspects. As well, all relationships will--and should-- have a mix of easy and challenging aspects.
When analyzing compatibility, always use your own logic and intuition to put these influences together. This is the case for anything you read in the report, on the site, on other sites, and in books. These are guidelines and possibilities only, and are not meant to pass judgment on a relationship. Read more about these combinations on Cafe Astrology (Synastry/Relationship Astrology category), on other astrology sites, and in astrology books.
-148 Square Mercury - Venus
Challenging aspect: Their relationship can sometimes be agreeable, sometimes disturbed. They tend to like to share their ideas that are not always to the other's taste, so that they may have interminable discussions in order to convince each other of their mistakes, lack of judgement, or lack of taste. It's best to be aware of this bickering tendency to overcome it, as it can slowly eat away at a relationship.
+123 Trine Sun - Jupiter
Positive aspect: Here is a couple you like to be with. They are charming, agreeable and know how to entertain their friends generously and warmly. They go well together, and love each other in a discrete and sincere way, and appreciate the joys of life together.
-117 Square Mercury - Neptune
Challenging aspect: This relationship can somehow encourage illusions and the disappointments that follow. These two people can have a hard time understanding each other and if they insist on living together, the little deceptions or lies can add up and undermine the relationship. It's important to be clear and to clear up misconceptions.
-114 Square Venus - Saturn
Challenging aspect: This can bring difficulties to the union. Although difficult, it's an aspect that is often found in long term couples. Over the long term, it can be very difficult for Venus to feel natural and comfortable in Saturn's presence, as Saturn may at times appear too austere, cold, or distant, and can put Venus ill at ease.
+93 Trine Venus - Mars
Positive aspect: This is a union that is particularly based on physical understanding, passionate love. There is a lot of affection between them, and they need to express it physically. Plenty of attraction here.
+93 Conjunction Saturn - Uranus
Positive aspect: Favorable union, linking invention and originality with common sense and thoughtfulness. They might do great things together.
+91 Conjunction Mercury - Neptune
Positive aspect: Good spiritual understanding. This is the kind of relationship in which they finish one another's sentences. The connection encourages imagination.
-89 Square Mars - Saturn
Challenging aspect: It can be challenging for such a union to run smoothly, and if it progresses, it could easily become unbearable! Both parties must be committed to happiness in order for this to work. It is important not to frequently stop, thwart, or restrict one another.
+83 Conjunction Jupiter - Saturn
Positive/Supportive aspect: This is not a defining element of compatibility, but it is supportive. A favorable union, a joyful family life. Thanks to Saturn, this couple rarely enters any adventure lightly and instead tends to work out and think things through. Many plans may be made together.
+75 Sextile Mercury - Saturn
Positive aspect: If Mercury is looking for a mother or father in the spouse, then this aspect is very favorable. Saturn will give a lot on the intellectual level and in life in general.
+75 Conjunction Saturn - Pluto
Positive aspect: Favorable union. They help one another to achieve their ambitions and goals.
+70 Trine Venus - Neptune
Positive aspect: Favorable union, there can be shared artistic tastes and common sensibilities. There can be a focus on fantasy, gentleness, and romance or compassion and acceptance.
+69 Trine Venus - Venus
Positive aspect: Complete respect for each other's romantic style. They don't easily offend each other and instinctively understand what makes the other person happy. Conflicts arise, but they are generally smoothed over with ease, as there is good will between them. Very good aspect for a successful union. Love, gaiety, understanding.
+59 Sextile Sun - Uranus
Positive aspect: The Sun person will be enriched by this relationship with Uranus, which will lead to the discovery of a new world, original and full of change. They will go well together, but the Uranus person may resist marriage, at least on a formal level. In some cases, the relationship works better when the bond is not formalized, simply for the sake of the Uranus person's sense of freedom.
+59 Sextile Mars - Pluto
Positive aspect: Enormous physical passion. The sexual attraction is intense and insistent. They want to be around each other as much as possible. Their sexual relationship evolves with time, instead of dissolves.
+54 Sextile Venus - Saturn
Positive aspect: This union could be favorable and lasting, if Venus is really looking for a mature person to be with. There can be a certain level of self-consciousness together that is always present, no matter how long they are together. There is a lot of loyalty between them, and a feeling of responsibility for one another.
+54 Trine Mars - Lunar node
Positive aspect: This is one indicator that suggests the relationship will endure. The union or love, passion, grows and lasts.
+46 Trine Jupiter - Lunar node
Positive aspect: They are made for each other. They go well together, have intellectual understanding and confidence in each other, a harmonious couple.
+41 Sextile Saturn - Neptune
Positive aspect: Favorable union. Neptune brings dreams to Saturn if they're lacking, and Saturn brings common sense to Neptune when they're lacking.
______________________________________________________________
I SWEAR TO GOD I DID NOT ALTER A SINGLE WORD IN THE ARTICLE LISTED.
DOES THIS NOT SOUND LIKE THEIR RELATIONSHIP AS ARTHUR AND MERLIN.
NO WONDER PEOPLE SHIP THESE TWO !!!
ALL COPY RIGHTS BELONG TO CAFEASTROLOGY.
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5 Ways to Make Your Writing Sessions More Productive
Writing can be a truly daunting task, and sometimes it can be challenging to get into the right mindset to be productive. Whether you're a professional writer or just starting, there are certain techniques you can use to boost your productivity and make the most of your writing sessions. In this post, I'll be helping you add five beneficial ways to make your writing sessions more productive, so you can achieve your writing goals efficiently.
Section 1: Set Clear Goals
The first step to making your writing sessions more productive is to set clear goals. Without clear goals, it's challenging to measure your progress and stay motivated. Start by defining what you want to accomplish in your writing session. It could be completing a chapter, writing a specific number of words, or finishing a blog post draft, etc. Once you have defined your goals, break them down into smaller, achievable tasks. Create a to-do list and prioritize the tasks based on their importance. This will help you stay focused and on track during your writing sessions.
Focusing on one task at a time will also help you avoid distractions and increase your productivity. Take the time to plan your writing sessions, and you'll see a significant improvement in your output.
Section 2: Create a Distraction-Free Environment
Creating a distraction-free environment is crucial for a productive writing session. Eliminate any potential distractions, such as social media notifications, phone calls, or emails. Turn off your phone or set it to airplane mode, so you're not tempted to check it during your writing session. If you're writing from home, let your family members know that you're working on a project and need some quiet time.
Choose a workspace that is comfortable and conducive to writing.
A cluttered or uncomfortable workspace can affect your concentration and reduce your productivity. Ensure that your workspace is well-lit and has good ventilation. You could also consider playing some soft background music to help you stay focused, but make sure it's not too distracting. Creating a distraction-free environment will help you stay focused and produce quality work in less time.
Section 3: Take Breaks
While it may seem counter-intuitive, taking breaks can actually increase your productivity. Sitting in front of your computer for extended periods can lead to burnout and reduce your creativity. Taking regular breaks can help you recharge and get back to work with renewed energy. Plan your breaks in advance and stick to them. It could be a short walk, a coffee break, or a reading session to one of those unfinished books sitting on your bookshelf. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something that helps you relax and recharge. Avoid checking your emails or social media during your breaks, as this can lead to distractions and reduce the effectiveness of your break. Remember, taking breaks is not a waste of time. It's an essential part of staying productive and achieving your writing goals.
Section 4: Write During Your Most Productive Time of Day
We all have a time of day when we're most productive. Some people are morning people, while others are night owls. Identify your most productive time of day and plan your writing sessions accordingly. During your most productive time of day, you'll be more focused, alert, and creative. You'll also be able to produce more quality work in less time. If you're not sure when your most productive time of day is, try experimenting with different times until you find the one that works best for you. Writing during your most productive time of day will help you stay on track and achieve your writing goals more efficiently.
Additionally, I am currently developing a writing session routine generator that is designed to be highly customizable and supportive. My aim is to deliver a tool that will be of great benefit to all of my followers and users.)
Section 5: Use Writing Prompts or Outlines
Using writing prompts or outlines can help you stay on track during your writing sessions. Writing prompts can help you get started if you're struggling with writer's block. They can also help you generate new ideas and perspectives. An outline is a structured plan that outlines the main points of your writing. It can help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your writing is coherent and well-structured. An outline can also help you save time by reducing the need for extensive revisions. Using writing prompts or outlines is an effective way to stay productive and produce quality work in less time.
As a personal guideline, I make it a point to have an outline, particularly for my blog posts, unless I am engaging in freestyle writing.
Conclusion
Writing is a challenging task that requires focus, discipline, and creativity. By following these five techniques, you can make your writing sessions more productive and achieve your writing goals more efficiently. Start by setting clear goals, creating a distraction-free environment, taking breaks, writing during your most productive time of day, and using writing prompts or outlines. Remember, productivity is not about working harder, but about working smarter. By implementing these techniques, you'll be able to produce quality work in less time, and achieve your writing goals with ease.
TheWriteAdviceForWriters 2023
#writingtips#creativewriting#writingadvice#writingcommunity#writersofinstagram#writingprompts#writinglife#writinginspiration#amwriting#authorsofinstagram#writersblock#writingcoach#writingchallenge#writingworkshop#writingprocess#writingmentor#writingstruggle#writingmotivation#writingresources#writingguide#creative writing#writeblr#thewriteadviceforwriters#writers block#writing tips#writers on tumblr
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More than a Clone
Pairing: Fives x Reader
Words: 9 145
Warning: Angst, mention of death, SMUT (so minors go away!!!), fluff (is that a warning?), idiots in love
Summary: When Fives comes to you after a particularly bad mission you try your best to take care of him.
A/N: This has got to be my filthiest piece yet that I published for Star Wars. I hope it fills the category of angst I have been asked for recently and the ammounf of fluff is enough ;)
Tags are open.
It has become some kind of a tradition now. It was like a lucky charm for him for next missions, he joked. He would comm you the same day he would be back. Or night. It was never really sure with them. A simple question: "Are you free?”. A simple enough question, giving you a way out. He gave you that power to say no. To find something else to do, to pretend you never saw the message or just lie. But you never did. How could you? You couldn’t say no that first night at 79 and you can't say no, now, almost two years after that night.
You didn’t even want to go out that day. But your friend needed a quick hook up, a way to get her stress out of the system. And so you were left alone at the bar not even 20 minutes after you both came to the Clones’ bar. Her, wrapped into the hands of someone from the Coruscant Guard. You, at the bar, simping from your glass of tequila and orange juice. You should have left, but whatever was the reason, you decided to stay, just a bit longer. And get a drink.
“Is this seat taken?” You turned your attention from the glass to the man to your right. He was still in his armor. A blue one this time. He looked slightly different than the man that ‘stole’ your friend. His hair seemed just a bit longer, but still kept tidy, but a goatee was sporting his chin and you spotted a number Five tattooed on the right part of his forehead. He sent you a challenging smirk and you shook your head, letting him join you.
You would be lying to yourself, if you didn’t find them attractive. Those sharp jaws, the eyes that drunk everything around them. The bodies of the soldiers and voices as smooth as honey. Yes, they are very handsome, but you weren’t really looking for a one night stand, And from what you heard of the Clones, it was exactly what they were looking for. Not that you blamed them really, not with the war and their way of life. Not to mention that the Republic saw them as nothing more than tools. Which pissed you off greatly. And so that anger made you ask that question, before he was able to say anything more.
“Can I buy you a drink?” He looked surprised, but a booming laugh a second later confirmed your opinion that they were really handsome, especially when smiling. And so you talked for literal hours. Few drinks later and you ended up in your apartment. When you woke up the next day he was still there. He looked so peaceful and innocent, that you couldn’t help but smile at the man. The sex was amazing. More than so. Another rumor was true. The Clones knew what they were doing, and they were definitely not selfish in bed.
You made him breakfast that morning. A smell of coffee got him out of the bed. To your surprise there was nothing awkward between the two of you. He walked towards you, kissed your cheek and accepted both the coffee and food. You proposed a shower with unlimited hot water, and you repeated the night before. This time, however, with less alcohol in your system. It was comfortable, it was fun, it was easy with him. He was honest with you from the moment you bought him that drink and you respected that. And you never expected anything from him. Especially not his visit after he landed on Coruscant a month later. He looked sheepish and was ready to leave, but you invited him in and it was then you two decided to make it a thing. An agreement. Friends with benefits. You were both adults and the sex was good, so why not. At least that's what you thought that day. And for the next couple of times he came.
Until your heart decides to get involved. Fives was easy to fall for. Not only was he incredibly handsome, but he was just a great guy. You could talk for hours whenever he came. He would make you laugh, even after the worst days and he was a great listener. Not to mention his incredible sense of humor. He was the whole package. But he wasn’t yours to think like that. You made a deal. Sex no attachments. And so not to lose him it has been almost a year with how you fooled your heart into believing that you were not totally in love with Fives,
But tonight it was different. Something was different. He didn’t send the question. He didn’t give you a way out, despite knowing you wouldn’t say no. He was away for almost a month again and when you got a “I need you” text you were sure something went horribly wrong. He told you many times how sometimes it was much harder to live on, seeing his brothers die. You didn’t even try to pretend you understood. You didn’t. He acted all tough, but deep down you knew he was just human. Just a man that was slowly breaking from the heavy weight that was put on his shoulders. You learned to read how his missions went by the way he fucked you.
If he’s hurt both physically and emotionally he will take you to your bed. And it would be soft and almost methodically. When the mission is barrable he would leave the choice to you. He would devour you where you stood and where you finished? That was never really known. You did have a rule though. No sex on the kitchen table. Not after you two broke it one time, when he was too eager after not seeing you for over two weeks. There was a pattern with him that he never realized, but you learned. It was also for you to know, if you had to take care of him after the sex or you could just snuggle in and pretend you didn’t love the man that would never be yours.
So you waited for him to come. You readed yourself and also made him something to eat. In case he was hungry. He loved your cooking. He admitted to it once or twice, and you always made sure you had something in your fridge to make for him in the morning when he had to come back to GAR. Not because you felt like you needed to, but because you wanted to. Because he deserved to eat something more than rations from time to time.
You almost jumped to your feet, when you heard a knock at your door. That was also new. You gave him your key. In case he ever wanted to come over and couldn’t contact you. In case he needed your flat just to run away from everything. He found it unnecessary, but you insisted and so he used that key ever since. But not today.
You forced yourself to stop the gasp that was close to leaving your lips. There he was, leaning on the wall, just behind your doors. His helmet still on, the armor all dirty and bloody. That never happened. If he came over in armor - because he knew how much you liked it - he always cleaned it up a bit. It only meant that he came to you right from the transport. Despite the helmet you could feel his eyes searching for yours and you tried a soft smile, before letting him in. He just walked into your apartment and stood there, like a lost puppy, like it was his first time in your place. Like he didn’t know why he came here in the first place. He just stood there. His arms down over his body, his head slowly tilted down, his back, always straight and proud, was now bent.
Not saying anything, afraid of ghasting him, you moved around to stand in front of him. For him to see you, to see what you were doing, to see your movements. And so as slowly as approaching a terrified animal, you unclipped his DC-17 blasters, putting them away carefully. But not too far, for Fives to feel safe. Systematically, just like he showed you a couple of times, you started to take off his armor. Starting with his pauldrons. Carefully you folded it and put them away, on the couch, not really caring about the possible grunge they would leave on the fabric. After that you took care of his ammunition pouches, and two holsters to get to his kama, that you always made fun of as a pretty little skirt he got there. All your moves were gentle, slow and thought through. He hasn’t moved an inch, he didn’t look up, didn’t stop. He just stood there and let you do it.
Taking off the actual armor was the tricky part. You had to know where to start, as inclipping the parts in the wrong order would mess it all up. And so you took your time taking it off. He stood out of the armor when you asked him softly, but other than that he hasn’t moved much. And as he was left with just his black on, your hands slowly moved to his helmet. His hands clasped your wrist and you froze. Despite being unable to see his reflection, you could sense the termour inside of him. He was clenching your wrists stronger with every deeper breath he took. You ignored the pain and obvious marks that would appear later on that night from the force he was using. You were sure he wasn’t doing it on purpose, there was something heavenly pushing him and you let him go at his own pace.
You swallowed when he nodded and let go of your hands. Slowly, carefully, lovingly, you took the helmet off and your heart broke seeing his red, swollen eyes and tears that were falling down his cheeks. You have never seen him cry. Never even seen him upset enough to be close to that state he was in. He was the strongest man you knew and you were scared to think what had happened this time to make him break like that.
The helmet joined the rest of his armor on the couch and your fingers softly ran along his jaw and down the path of his tears. Your lip trembled when he closed his eyes and leaned into your touch, his cheek leaning on your palm. You weren’t sure how long it took, before a sob broke out of him and you had to catch him before he fell. And you let him cry, his face hidden in the safety of your neck.
***
There was nothing that would take you away from Fives. Not even pain in your knees, from kneeling all that time. You didn’t care, all you wanted was to be close to Fives, to be what he needed you to be. And so you held him, even after his sobs stopped. Even when he stopped trembling, and his fists did not clench your arms anymore - leaving yet another mark.
“It was a nightmare come true”, he finally started and you listened. You let him talk, afraid to make any noise in case he changes his mind. “Krell was merciless, brutal, dangerous…” He pulled away and looked away, standing up slowly from the floor. You watched him extending his hand towards you. You accepted it and with a grimace, you tried to hide, got up from the floor. “Rex promised he would do anything to make sure that Dogma won’t be prosecuted.” He sighed and pulled your back towards his chest, hugging you strongly. His face was back on your neck, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Heavy is dead and I know that it was Krell’s fault, but I can’t help but blame myself for that!” You flinched at his broken voice and you encircled his fingers with yours, resting on your stomach. His words didn’t make sense to you, but it didn’t matter. He needed to take it off his chest. And so you encouraged him, trying to make him relax, showing him you were there. “It was Tup’s first ever mission and this fucker made him a part of our execution squad!” You froze at that, turning around to look at him. Execution squad? Your eyes widened and you opened your lips to say something, anything, but no sound came out. “The boys didn’t follow the order. They all said a collective fuck you to that bastard, and I have never been more proud of my brothers!” He smiled at you softly, connecting his forehead with yours, once again closing his eyes, enjoying the proximity of your skin. “I’m hungry.” You looked up at him and nodded. You would give him anything at this moment. Anything he would ask for. Especially if it was something as silly as food.
“I made your favorite”, he pulled you into a quick kiss and followed you to the kitchen.
***
“Let me at least clean it”, he whispered in your ear, pulling you to his chest. You blushed. It felt so domestic to have him now hug you like that. You would be so happy to induce in that fantasy, if Fives didn’t just come back from Hell. No. He wasn’t himself. He needed someone close. You realized that Clones really needed contact somehow. Whether it was a hug, a kiss, or sex. Anything that would make them feel human. Especially after what Fives told you during the dinner. You knew he couldn’t tell you everything, but what he did was enough. How General Krell wanted to execute them, despite saving so many lives. How he had to watch his brother die saving him. How they were put against each other. Brothers against brothers. And you were glad that Krell was dead, because you weren’t sure if you wouldn’t go looking for that son of a bitch to just… Eh…
But what scared you the most was the realization of how close you were to losing Fives. You know, he wasn’t your to worry about, and yet the solemn idea of him not coming back to you terrified you so much. And yet he spoke of it, like it was nothing. You knew Clones dealt with the fact that they are nothing more than tools to the Republic. But it angered you to see most of them actually believing that they are nothing more than just a number. And it made you so very happy to hear that Fives wasn’t one of them. Because to you, FIves was never it. Never a number. No, he was as human as you were. He had the same kind and joyful soul, the same twitches and nervous ticks as any other person. And the same beating heart, you had a chance to hear, after you both were too spent to move. He was not a number. He was your Fives, even if you knew he would never be truly yours.
“It’s OK. Go take a shower, I’ll finish here quickly.” He smiled softly at you and kissed that soft spot under your ear. “Make sure to use all of that hot water.” You shouted after him and your heart quickened hearing him chuckle at that. He needed to relax. He needed to take his mind off Umbara and just be himself even if just for a night. He needs to be taken care of and he came here for this. You didn’t know why he chose you. But he needs you and you will make sure that he will be taken care of, in any way possible. Even if it drove you deeper into your despair. Today was about him, damn your broken and hurt heart. Damn it all.
***
He did take some extra time in the bathroom and you can’t help but smile at that. You were sure to find one less bath bomb in there, but hey what are they there if not for that. One thing you learned about Fives was that he loved morning showers, but what he adored even more were evening baths. You normally took them together after one of many rounds, but yeah Fives loved to take extra long baths whenever he came to see you. And today apparently he really needed it as it took him almost an hour there. And you smirked seeing his adorable, shy and awkward expression when he came out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist.
“I will buy you back the bomb…” He started awkwardly and you chuckle, standing up from the bed and walking towards him. Oh, you would never get tired of seeing him like that. All his glory just for you. His well-built chest glimmers in the water, the scars that adored his Adonis body, only added to the perfect look. Maker, bless Jango Fett for his genes. And bless Fives for sitting next to you that night. He froze when your hand slowly cared over his arms and shoulders. Your fingertips, oh so softly, drove over scars there only then followed by your lips.
You’ve never done it before. It was never like that. You two had fun every night he came. But there was an unspoken rule between the two of you that sex was it. There were no tender gestures, no romantic feelings involved. You knew. You were more than aware that you were breaking that promise. Crossing that invisible line of being just friends. The small, selfish part wanted to make that move. To show him the pieces of normal he could have if only he believed. You wanted to cherish him, like he was supposed to be cherished. But you kept telling yourself that it was mostly for him. This night was all about him, because he needed it. Because he deserved it.
You closed your eyes when he whispered your name. But you didn’t stop. A kiss after another. No scar would be left unnoticed by your loving lips. Your hands slowly raised to his neck, your fingers circling at the nape in the hair there. You couldn’t help the proud smile, when you heard him exhale softly at the gesture. You felt a sharp scratch of his goatee, when he moved his face a bit, wanting to feel your touch even more.
“Will you let me take care of you, Fives?” You pulled away and looked him square into his beautiful, brown eyes. You stopped the little sob, seeing the vulnerability in that stare. The way he was silently begging you for more, so much more. Unsaid plea of a broken man, who was too afraid to ask for help.
“You don’t have to, Mesh’la. I can…” But you shut him up with a light kiss. Almost feather like, he was sure he missed it, or just dreamed of it. You caressed his face, with the back of your hand, cupping his cheek and planting soft kisses onto the both of them. Slowly, you turned around, moving him backwards into the bed and to your surprise he let you.
Fives knew what he was doing. And you always let him do what he was the best at. Making you feel all good and exhausted after all. You were never the one to take the first step either. Even buying that drink was something new for you. But Fives never minded. He loved being in charge and wasn’t afraid to show it. You were a great fit. He was dominating and you submitted to anything he wanted.
But not tonight. This time you wanted to take care of him for once.
You pushed him slowly, when his calves touched your bed. He sat down, smirking at you, but the adoration in his eyes only gave you more courage to act upon your plan. And so getting rid of all the negative thoughts from your head, you started to slowly undress. You slipped the silky robe you changed into, leaving only in a blue set of underwear, you were keeping for a special occasion. The way that man was devouring you with his eyes, was almost enough to make you come here and now. But it only encourages you to go further. And so instead of undressing, your hands started to slowly play with your own body. Fingers touching up and down your stomach, hooking at the material of your underwear once or twice in the process.
You closed your eyes and tilted your head back, wanting to give him the show of his life. He mentioned once that he would die if a girl ever stripped for him. You weren’t really sure what you were supposed to do, but you decided to just play around. Play with yourself. And that you did. One of your hands raised to cup your clothed breast, squashing and pinching the nipple there. You straightened and a quiet moan left your lips. Your other hand slowly lowered down your panties, disappearing in the fabric. Your fingers circling in the nib there, your breathing quickened, when one of the fingers easily slipped into your pussy. Who would have thought that the mere thought of Fives watching you would be so arousing. You added another finger and another moan left your lips, arching your back even more, with every thrust of your own fingers. You have done it so many times to yourself. In the privacy of the bedroom. But it has never felt so good. You never did it in front of anyone. Especially not in front of the men you loved from the bottom of your heart.
You froze, however, hearing his low, husky voice whispering your name. You opened your eyes and looked down at him and if you weren’t as aroused as you were at that moment, the look in his eyes may have scared you. It was primitive, it was hungry and dangerous. His hand has landed on his covered cock and you noticed a tent growing there. You tilted your head and smiled innocently, taking your hand out of your underwear and without a thought in mind, you licked your fingers, already covered in your juices, still looking at the Clone in front of you. Those fingers disappeared in your mouth and you made sure to make a show of sucking them clean. Just for him. He shifted uncomfortably, not daring to look away. You weren’t sure he even blinked this entire time.
The towel rounding his hips was getting too small to hide his arousal. And so you decided to end the chore and help him out. And so, very slowly, you slipped out of your bra and your wet panties, making sure that Fives noted how wet you already were for him. Yes, you wanted him. There was never a time since you knew him, when you didn’t want him.
Slowly, taking your time, you crawled to him and starting from his calves, you started to raise your hands up his thighs, planting some soft kisses here and there. Your hands traveling up under the towel, doing his job, when you tiptoed around his already hard dick, making sure not to touch him yet.
“Please”, he whispered, and you were sure you could just die now. You have never heard a more beautiful sound in your entire life. The whimper you just heard only made you want more. More of him, more of his touch, more of the way he looked at you, more of his sweet noises. More of making him feel better. And who were you to be cruel. Especially to him. To your Fives, to your Love.
You undo the towel and let it slide on both sides of his hips. You looked at him like it was the first time. You swallowed hard, and your tongue wet your lips seeing the drop of pre-cum already at the tip of his already hard cock. He was beautiful, hard and red. The long vein in the side only gave it a better overview. Carefully you pushed his thighs apart and climbed between them, your hands still caressing the soft skin of his thighs. Slowly, to make sure you didn’t do anything, you took him in your warm hands and gently stroked his length. You didn’t need much for your confidence to grow. When he closed his eyes and pumped his hips, you knew you were doing something very well.
Pushed by your growing confidence you leaned and planted an open kiss to the tip of him. You chained kisses all around the head, trying to be careful, trying to focus on his pleasure and not the wetness between your own legs. It was kind of embarrassing, how easily this man made you all ready for him. Just a look of him was enough for you. And if you didn’t love that feeling deep down inside you, you would have been terrified.
When you pulled the swollen head of him between your lips, his eyes snapped open, his stare darkened, watching your every move. Mesmerised, excited, spent almost. You let your tongue slip up, drinking up his pre-cup, enjoying the bitter taste of it, more than you thought you would. It was surprising really, that you have never truly wanted to do it before. He never really pushed you to do it. He was more than happy to get down on you and whenever you even tried to, he always took control over the situation. And so you decided to enjoy it as much as you could. Feeling bolder, you slid your tongue over him, licking around it like you were enjoying the most delicious lolly. Unable to control himself, his hands traveled from the material of your bedding to your head, his long fingers sinking into your hair as he moaned loudly at your movement.
When you looked up at the sound, you almost lost it completely. Here he was. One of the strongest men you have ever met. The soldier of the Republic, the Arc trooper, a Sergeant. Man trained to be a soldier looked pretty damn blessed, his eyes closed again, his chest raising with each breath. It was mesmerizing to see him like that. To know that you were the reason why he looked like that. Yes, you were definitely doing something right and so you let yourself go. You let yourself be what he needed the most that night.
Carefully watching over your teeth, you slowly sank down onto his length and enjoying the first few seconds of tasting him in your mouth, you started to slowly slide him in and out of his mouth at an almost antagonizing pace. Before he would get lost in the sensation, one of your hands traveled to the base of his cock and took care of what you were unable to take. Your second hand slid over his well-built thighs and not long after your fingers put a gentle pressure on his sac, making sure that no part of his body would be forgotten about. Your fingers gently stroked his balls, rolling and tugging enough to make him squirm underneath you.
You moved slowly, leaning forward to take even more of him, when your mouth started to get accustomed to his size. Groaning softly, you take him once to the back of your throat, trying to control your gag reflex. The second and third time you did it it brought out a growl from him. Enjoying it more than you thought you would, you let go of his ball and found his other hand, which still rested on the bed, and moved it to the other side of your head.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you”, his voice was breathy, you knew he was at a verge of losing any sense of control, so his words melted you. Even in the state he was in, he still cared and worried about you. And so you nodded and moaned, sending vibration down his cock, making his hip raise, hitting that one spot in your throat. The moan that left his lips was the loudest one you’ve ever heard and you haven ever been more proud of yourself than at that moment. Both of his hands clutched at your hair and moved your head the way he liked it. He fucked your mouth the way he secretly always wanted. The way you secretly always wanted. And so you let him. You relaxed your throat as much as possible and you took him deeper, taking all of him in, feeling tears in the corner of your eyes. But you didn't dream of stopping. Especially, when his fingers clenched at your hair and his moves became hectic. He was close, you could feel it at the way he clenched in your head. And so you added the movement of your tongue, to stir him up and you felt him trying to pull you off him. “Sweetheart, I’m close, if you…” But he stopped, when you slid down on him again, taking all of him in and it was then he lost it. Leaning back a bit, he came, spurring his warm, thick cum down your throat. His eyes were closed, mouth opened, face painted in ecstasy, you were sure you have never seen him in. And so you drank all, pulling away from him, only when you were sure not even a drop would fall.
You lazily sat on the bottom of your feet and watched him. Admiring his completely blissful state, the way his chest raised with each of his breaths. How his beautiful eyes were closed now, and his hands were now laying on his chest, trying to control his beating heart. He was completely spent and never looked more beautiful to you. There was a thought that crossed your mind for a second, too afraid to even propose it out loud, afraid you have already got more you bargained for this evening. But seeing how despite just cumming, his muscles were still as flexed as ever, a brilliant idea in your mind was born.
“Will you let me take care of you a little bit more, Fives?” His eyes shot open, hearing your soft spoken words. There you were sitting between his thighs. Completely naked, after giving him the blowjob of his life, still ready to pleasure him in some way. He wasn’t sure what was happening but any reason has left him. He sat up and pulled you into a searing kiss, grasping your neck a little harsher than normally.
“I’m not sure I can go on for a while, Mesh’la”, he murmured between the kisses and you chuckled, caressing him softly through his chest. Your fingers chasing every scare visible there with as much gentleness as it was possible.
“I want to try something…” You looked away, feeling shy. It was silly really. You just sucked this man clean and yet the idea you had made you so nervous. Somehow it was even more intimidating than what you just did. It would surely cross any of the lines you drew in the last months between the two of you. You were playing it all out. If he decided to leave you’d let him, only blaming yourself for that. But the push was too much for you. “Would you let me…” You swallowed and looked at him, not missing the smug smirk on his lip that disappeared the moment you worded your request. “Would you let me massage you?” He raised his brow and pulled away softly, not expecting that. He tilted his head at your shy and embarrassed expression and smiled softly. Caressing your cheek gently, he nodded, kissing your forehead, in the way you only ever seen lovers do.
***
“Are you comfy?” You asked, when FIves layed down on your bed, a shit covering his lower part. He had a soft smile on his face, when he looked at you sideways, nodding softly. I have some oils, if you’re OK with me using them?”
“I didn’t know you like messages?” He asked, looking at the way you were organizing yourself some free space, getting ready to bring him even more pleasure than you already have today. He didn’t know what brought this on, but selflessly he wanted it to never end. When he contacted you today he never dreamed of a day like that. He just needed to see you. It scared him how the first thing on his mind was you, when the Umbara nightmare was finished. How all he ever wanted was to be with you, spend that night in your apartment, in your arms, listening to your sweet sounds and enjoying whatever you cooked for him. You have become someone important to him. And it scared him, but he was too broken tonight to care. You wanted to be there for him and he selfishly let you.
“Not much messages per se, but I like being oiled up a bit from time to time.” He chuckled softly and you smiled at the sound. You walked towards him and looked at him. His back was sculptured but not overly so. The skin was covered with some questionable and worrying scars, but until he was ready to talk, you never asked. But Maker, he was lovely, the most handsome man you have ever met. And despite him being a Clone, you were sure you would be able to distinguish him from his brothers. Easily. “If you feel uncomfortable at any moment, please let me know, Fives.” He opened his eyes and your heart quickened at the adoration and softness radiating from him. You only got a soft smile on his lips as an answer, and his eyes flattened closed as a symbol of complete trust and you almost teared down at that.
Taking one of the flasks, you tilted it, until the oil was smoothly pouring on your hand. Rubbing them together, you position yourself next to him and connect your hands with his back. Softly you start to rub the oils into his skin, messaging over his flexed and tired muscles. You smile under your nose, seeing how he relaxes with each and every one of your moves. You use a bit more force to dig your thumbs into his shoulder, and almost take a step back when he hisses, but then relaxes a bit and a satisfactory groan leaves his lips at your moves. You try to make sure you don’t leave any part of his backs untouched. You move from his shoulder blades to his neck taking care of some extra tensed places there, trying to ignore the moans that leave him.
You want to ask him if he wants any change, if there’s any way you can make it feel better for him, but you are too focused on your actions, on the way his skin glows from the oils you used on him. How his muscles relax under your magical touch. You are so focused on the tenses area of his biceps that you do not notice how his eyes are no longer closed. Focused on your face, following the way your hands do the magic, he can’t think of how much he adores you at that moment.
How he has never looked at any other woman the way he looked at you now. How he never felt anything like that to anyone in his short life. He loves his brothers and deeply cares for each and everyone of them. But there was this weird feeling in his stomach whenever your time together gets to the end and he needs to leave you again. He found himself thinking of how his life would look if he left the army and ran somewhere far far away with you. There were times, like tonight, where he thought that you may feel the same way about him. Feel the same weird sensation in your stomach when you say goodbye to him. That maybe there are nights you stay wide awake thinking about him and worry if he would ever come back.
He never forced you into anything. Even his advances were open. He always gave you a way back, a possibility to say no. Despite always saying he was more than just a number, he knew damn well that he was just a Clone. Soon to become a relic of the Republic, when the War would be over and they would not be needed anymore. And yet he let himself hope that you saw him more than a Clone, more than just a soldier of the Republic. More than a one night stand.
And yet, he couldn’t blame you if you didn’t. You had an open arrangement. He wasn’t even sure if you weren’t seeing anyone in the same manner as you did him. He would lie if he tried to admit he wasn’t jealous at the thought. But you weren’t his to feel that jealousy. It was him after all that that proposed the friends with benefits arrangements. It was him that talked of no emotions, not attachments. It was a way from him to protect you, but himself as well. He could die any minute and he would hate for you to cry over him. He would hate to be distracted by someone when he was fighting for his life. But the more time you spent together, the more nights were spent thinking about you. And he found that those nights were like a getaway for him. THinking of you meant he wouldn’t think of the War. Of the deaths of his brothers. Of a death following him around at every battlefield. You made him forget and hope. A dangerous thing, hope. But it gave him a sense of calmness he has never felt before.
He followed your movements and smirked when you removed his towel. You have seen him nake numerous times. he has fucked you any possible way and yet you would still feel flustered on occasions. It was adorable and he couldn’t help but feel his cock twitch at the way you bit your lip. He shifted softly and shook his head at you, when you gave him a questionable look. You push your thumbs harshly into the round muscles of his butt and move around to stand at the bottom of your bed. Chuckling at the way he spreads his legs a bit when you lower down from his back and butt to his thighs. You pour more oil on one of his legs and dig your knuckles and his thighs and calves, moving your fingers up and down his legs. Mirroring the same motions to his other leg as well. You weren’t a professional, but hearing his content sighs, you were more than happy to do it as long as he would look and feel so relaxed. It was more and more difficult to find a tensed and flexed muscle.
“Turn for me, Fives.” He opens his eyes and for a second you thought he had fallen asleep. He turns, not caring for the sheet to fall down, leaving him with completely nothing on. Following your actions from before, you poured some oil on and started to rub it into his chest. Slowly working your way around his neck, shoulders and not forgetting to his nipples a gentle brush once or twice, making his sigh with delight at that. He once again closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation even more, giving you a way to concentrate at the task in hand rather than him. And so you focus on his legs again, happy to see him so relaxed, so trusting with your every touch. You round the bed and work down his stomach, this time, however, not following down to his thighs. He opened his eyes and leaned on his elbows to look at you. You become more bold with him and bring your fingers right where his waist dips and create that faint v-line you learned to love so much through all these nights. He growls as soon as your nails caress the top of his crotch, which has once again become semi-hard.
“Cyare”, this one was new. You never heard him say it. You wanted to ask him what it meant, but you didn’t want to end the moment. And from the way he spoke it, you were sure it wasn’t anything bad. After all it was all breathy and deep low, almost as if he was warning you. But you only felt more and more encouraged by the way his pupils dilated again and his chest started to rise and fall quicker now. And so you slowly and carefully strangled his waist, sitting just a touch away from his cock. He raised his brow, hands landing on your waist to hold you close to him, but not in any controlling way. It was just there, a soft touch, to hold you safely to him. He let your hands wander his chest, your nails digging harsher at his ribcage and he closed his eyes hissing at the intoxicating mixture of pain and pleasure. If he only knew, his girl could be such a minx.
His hand circled at your nape and pulled you closer. Your lips inches away, but he lets you take the lead. At least for now. Until he loses any composure he still holds somehow. And you’re not making it easy for him. The way your hips lift and you land on his length, moving up and down giving him and yourself a resemblance of what it would be, if only he moved just a bit and just shoved his cock into your wanting cunt. The warmth you were giving him was driving him wild. He leaned down and bit down on your shoulder, leaving a mark there for sure.
“Will you come like that for me, sweet girl?” His voice was so low, so close to your ear. His hand on your waist kept you on top of length, increasing your speed just a bit. “Will you make yourself feel good using me like that?”
“I want to make you feel good, Fives”, you moaned quietly, your hands landing on his shoulder keeping you steady. He hid his face at your neck and started leaving open kisses at any part he found bared to him. He lowered his head slightly and took one of your nipples to his mouth, biting softly, enjoying your quickened breathing. One of his hands moved from your waist to your breast and squeezed it harsher than normally, making your back straighten, pushing into him even more.
“You have no fucking clue, what you do to me, sweeheart!” He bit down at your nip and you sobbed at the harsh sensation that brought between your legs. You were getting more and more wet and ready to finally cum tonight. You were so worked up from all these actions. Walking around naked didn’t help to decrease the ache between your legs. “Come for me, Mesh’la, I want you to come, before I have my way with you.” If his dick between your thighs was not enough to make you see stars, his words certainly did. And so you came, screaming his name, not caring about your neighbors and they may think at that moment.
Before you were able to come back from your high, you felt him moving you around and you were laying under him. He leaned on his elbow and kissed you softly at lips, patiently waiting for you to come back to him. He trailed soft kisses down your neck and shoulders, his hands caressed your sides, going down your legs. His fingers leave gentle touches to your skin.
“I want you so badly”, he whispered, worshiping your body with kisses. You arched your back to him, when he was slowly going down kissing your stomach, his hand going down to play with your wet and already ready for his pussy. His index finger slighting inside of you, with his thumb joining to find your nub. Adding another thinger you moan out loud and hear him curse under his nose at how wet you were.
“Take me then, Fives. I’m all yours”, he stops and looks up at you. Your words nagging at something inside of him and he can’t help but kiss you fiercely but lovingly at that. For this one moment, for this one night he can think you two are lovers. He can hope you love him as much as he loves you and you were just two simple people enjoying the night. There was no War, no GAR, no Republic. Just the two of you. And so he lifts himself, ready to go and get a condom, but you stop him. His eyes widened at the silent implication. They way your cheeks blush, and fingers dig into his wrist he knows what you mean. But this would be the first one. You always used protection. Just to be sure. “All yours.” and there was nothing that would be able to hold him back anymore. He lines himself with you and snaps his hips up against you and fills you completely in one swift move. You want to scream in pleasure but nothing comes out. Just a sigh of ecstasy, at finally feeling him inside of you. Completely bare, completely yours.
He pulls back and slams back in, enjoying the way you were clenching around him, getting attached to him. No matter how many times he would fuck you, you still felt so incredible, so tight, so perfect.
“Haar'chak!” He mumbles, keeping the steady pace, thrusting at you again and again. “You belong to me. This cunt knows to whom it belongs already! You are mine!” he maneuvered slightly, hitting that one spot perfectly, making you bite down onto his flesh, unable to stop the sobs of pleasure from escaping you. He leaned down and pushed even deeper, letting you wrap your legs around him, to keep him as close as it was physically possible. His hand was back between your legs working his own magic, getting you closer and closer to your climax. “I’m sorry, but I won’t last much longer”, he mumbled, looking at you from above.
“Me too, Fives. Come with me. Come for me, Fives!” And who was he to negate you. To say no to those beautiful sounds you made, to the way you clenched around him and begged him to fill you up like only he could. To leave you wanting for no one else but him. And kissing you hangrily he came, spilling inside of you. Loving how your legs were pulling him closer to you, how you searched for his touch, how you wanted to feel him. And despite never feeling as good as he felt now, deep down there was some ache that he couldn;t get rid of. An ache that made him unable to fall asleep that night.
***
He watched your chest rise and fall steadily. You were asleep and so beautiful. Laying there, completely spent, after a whole evening just tending to him. Becoming someone he never thought you would become. He softly touched your cheek and smiled sadly. He loved you. And that was the ache he felt. He loved you in a world he shouldn’t love anyone. He became vulnerable with someone, when the future was unknown. He crossed the lines he himself drew. And he hated himself for that. He couldn’t do that. Not to you. You deserved something much more than just a Clone prepared to die at every given moment of this forsaken War.
And so he let himself stare at you a bit longer. Trying to remember that moment until the end that would definitely come for him. Sooner or later. And when it did, he would think of your soft body tangled around him. Your beautiful face and lips that drove him wilde. You were everything he wished he had, and hoped to have if he was just a common human being.
For the first time he regretted sitting next to you that night. He regretted letting you buy him that drink. He should not have gotten to your apartment that night and definitely should not have come back again and again, making that damn deal. He regretted what was about to come, what he knew he should do. You two have become too attached. It was dangerous for you. Damn his own emotions and broken heart. He had to let you go. He needed to be a better man.
***
When you woke up you never felt better. You had Fives happy expressions as a memory of last night. The way he showered with you after the sex, how he laid there and just hugged you, letting you fall asleep on his chest. You loved him and last night gave you hope that maybe he saw something more with you than just sex.
So when you opened your eyes and didn’t feel his warm body next to yours, you felt a pinch of anxiety and fear that maybe you all but just dreamed about it. But the ache between your legs and the overall lack of energy despite sleeping so well, convinced you that last night did indeed happen.
Trying not to think about how his side of the bed was weirdly cold you went to the bathroom quickly. Looking at the mirror you blushed seeing the marks left on your neck and shoulder by his mouth and teeth. No, yesterday definitely happened, but you kept on feeling this weird sensation in your stomach, that you couldn’t get rid of.
You stumbled to the kitchen for coffee and it was then that you realized what that awful feeling was. It was a heartbreak. There was no sign of Fives. His armor was gone and so were his clothes. You looked around, hoping he was sitting somewhere, tempting you for a round two with his armor, but there he was nowhere to be found. He was gone. He just disappeared.
He’s never done it before. He would always say goodbye, wait for the two of you to drink coffee together and eat breakfast. Even when he got called, he would wake you up and let you know he had to go. Never since you met him, did he just leave with no words. You just started there and looked around unable to comprehend what was actually happening. You thought last night was something special. You thought he may even feel the same way about you. The way he looked at you, the way he kissed you and touched you, it was like nothing else before. Falling asleep yesterday you were excited to wake up in his arms, happy and giddy with anything that the day would bring.
But that feeling was gone. You felt your heart break. Tears appeared in your eyes, when the realization hit. He was gone, because you drove him away. He came to you, because he needed to fuck you to forget about his mission.He came to get what he always came here for. After all, you were friends with benefits. And you destroyed it with your stupid feelings, your idiotic hope and immature fantasizing. You lost your friend and the love of your life, because you couldn’t just hide your emotions.
You just wanted to disappear, unable to actually do anything, you stood there, letting the tears just fall down your cheeks, so focused on the pain you felt at that moment, that you missed your doors being opened and closed.
“Cyare?” You looked up alarmed to hear the voice, you thought you’d never hear again. There he was. In his full armor, his helmet on his belt and two bags of what must have been groceries in each of his hands. He put them away on the kitchen table and almost ran towards you. “Sweetheart, what happened?” He asked, cupping your face in his hands. You looked at him unable to think properly. And so you sobbed even more, hugging him close to yourself, hiding your face at his armored chest. “You are scaring me, love. What’s happening!” He asked softly, caressing your back gently.
“I… I thought” you sniffed and looked back, almost ashamed to think that he would have left without even saying goodbye. “I thought you just left. I thought…I thought that I destroyed what we had. I thought yesterday was too much for you and…I thought you were gone forever.” His look softened and he leaned down connecting his forehead with yours and closed his eyes.
“There was a moment when I woke up, when I truly thought what we did was a mistake.” He didn’t let you go even when he felt you freeze. “I thought that letting ourselves cross the lines we drew would only bring us pain, but…” He chuckled and pulled away, planting a chase kiss on your lips. “We are at War, Cyare. I am more than just a Clone. And you are more to me, so much more. You make me feel human. And I realized that leaving you would only bring both of us pain and misery. But, Mesh’la” he looked at you and sighed. “Being with me will not be easy. This needs to be kept a secret. At least until the War is over. I can’t be that perfect man, I won’t be here more than I will. I am always going to be a soldier first, so if you…”
But you didn’t let him finish. Still, with tears in your eyes, you launched at him and kissed him square on the mouth, making him smirk at that.
“I know who you are, Fives! And I have fallen in love with you knowing I can never be a number one in your life. So I will wait. Wait for you until the War is over. Keep you as my little secret and when you get rid of all the Separatists, I will tell every soul how much I love you!” His eyes widened and he hugged you, kissing you softly.
“Then I’ll wait and when all this is over I will truly show you how much I love you!” He kissed your forehead and smiled. “And now I bought everything for that one breakfast you made me the first night I was here…” You laughed out loud at his sheepish look and let him into your kitchen and your heart forever.
#star wars#the clone wars#fives#arc trooper fives#clone trooper fives#tcw fives#fanfiction#star wars fanfiction#smut#angst#fluff#idiots in love#idiots in denial
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Supernatural | 1.07 Hook Man
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HAPPY TURTLE TUESDAYYY TMNT FANDOMMM!!!! I have a treat for y'all artists who love to make TMNT OCs!!! If you love the 2012 era, you're gonna love this one too!!!
A FREE TO USE TMNT DARK HORIZONS FLASH GAME CHARACTER SELECT TEMPLATE, MADE FROM THE ACTUAL GAME SPRITES!!! (Scroll below for the Google Drive of the files, credits first to the artist though sorry! :D)
(ft also the fancy animation particles for when you get to this menu, for those who wanna add it too! (( the GIF is the raw version, without the effect settings/scripts added in Flash tho.)))
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND!! I DID NOT CREATE THESE ASSETS, NOR HAVE I DRAWN THEM
(I am an artist posting this, who has replicated the game's art as a fan, so I want to disclose clearly, that these are NOT MY WORKS HERE.)
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give all the credit to the SENIOR ART DIRECTOR working on this Flash game, Damian Aliberti and his team of artists from Quadramma (I could not find sources online that confirm who are said artists unfortunately, so I can only credit the art-director for now)!!!
He even made a page about this project, for his portfolio! Check it out, it's AWESOME!! (CLICK MEE / TAP MEEE)
^I didn't know they planned to bring this to mobile, so you can predict that I'm happy, that this game is still seemingly loved by the Italian studio that made it seemingly. x) (I can only assume they're Italian, due to the file-names, don't quote me on this though, barely any info exists on this Flash game as you can predict LOL)
GOOD NOW THAT YOU HOPEFULLY READ WHO MADE THE PRETTY ART: CLICK ME OR TAP ME FOR THE GOOGLE DRIVEE (drive provides the GIF, a PSD, SAI2, PNG and MDP file!! [the joys of owning several art programs, making this much more accessible to people :v])
btw, also like..Maybe not use this for commercial/profit purposes though, that'd be profiting off resources you didn't make, and that are copyrighted. I don't think that's legal. :"v
NO CREDIT REQUIRED. COMPLETELY F2U. I did not after all make the assets, nor will claim so. :V as I mentioned, I extracted these from the actual game, which is why these are all so crisp and nice looking, instead of me using a snipping tool like 2 yrs ago for my fun challenge of recreating the game's artstyle LOL
I do NOT claim these assets or the art I've extracted as my own, this is all purely from the game, and very obviously, these are I guess, owned by Nickelodeon, so I ask you ofc do not...Do some legally questionable things w/ this stuff sdfklsd, pls behave fans, I'd rather not get reported for something I didn't do for providing this to the internet. xD
--
Whilst credit would be nice, and linking back to this would be even nicer for other fans who might just like me,, wanna replicate this cool game's aesthetic sdfskldglk, it's optional, completely LOL. It did only take like 2 hrs to piece this stuff together, to look like a real screenshot thank god. xD
FEEL FREE TO SHOW ME IF YOU ALSO DRAW IN THE GAME'S STYLE OR WANNA BANTER ABOUT TMNT OCS OROROR YKNOW USED THE THING AND WANT ME TO SEE ITTTT I GLADLY STARE AT TMNT POSTS NO MATTER WHAT ERAAAAA~
I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO APPRECIATE THIS GAME'S ARTSTYLE NGL. THAT'S ALL I WANT. And if more ppl also would wanna draw in it it'd make me so happy. I am like...The most acoustic TMNT fan out there man, I have the weirdest wishes in mind xD
Hope anyone wants this orrr like needs it orr dreamt of doing this too orrrr just never thought about doing it, but now that a free template is out there, someone might also wanna do it!! I love whenever like- fandom templates and stuff is made. I plan to maybe make this a Toyhou.se code too, since I do have the raw files of the games and could try to see if I can replicate the animations and stuff and make it non-premium and premium!
(Maybe I should make fandom codes more often in general tho at the topic of that, did it before for Terraria and helped out w/ a Monster High code, to give it a mobile compatible version LMAO)
If anyone or me figures out the artists behind the sprites, I'd gladly show them too, bc GORGEOUS GAME MAN!!!! THEY DESERVE ANY PRAISE THEY GET FOR THE ART AND THE GAME ITSELF ANSAHSHAJS, here I go again I swear, I'm done yapping now. I should participate in internet olympics when it comes to writing essays in every post I ever made. xD
#free to use#f2u#tmnt base#tmnt#tmnt 2012#teenage mutant ninja turtles#flash games#f2u base#base#template#free template#oc template#art template#character template#fake screenshot base#no credit needed#art base#fainthed#fainthed cherry#o0cherrypie0o#o0fainthedcherry0o#dew it#draw some stuff w/ this hellyea
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50 Days of HypnoFetish - Day 8: Cognitohazards
Alignment: 70% Top, should be higher but that god damned Silver Crystal is too powerful.
Imagine, if you will, the most entrancing object in the world. Something which is so powerfully hypnotic that there is not a single thing that you can do to prevent yourself from being ensnared by it. Once is is present, your eyes are caught and captivated. Your mind is no longer your own. You are open, vulnerable... helpless.
That is the concept of a cognitohazard. Though if you would like, a more suitable term may actually be "Fetish". Specifically the dictionary definition:
IE: an item imbued with power that takes a hypnotic focus and turns it into an object which either has magical power, is regarded with extravagant trust/reverence, is an object of obsessive devotion, is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification or is just a fixation.
I will not play with option 1.c, but if there are those out there who want to make it so your partner cannot climax until they see their fetish, then you go ahead and take that one for free. Tell them Miss Dawn sent you.
I am much more interested in 2 and 1a and 1b.
The thing that makes a cognitohazard hot in comparison to a typical eye-focus tool is that there is an energy shift the moment the tool is brought in to play. Even the implied presence of it can alter how a scene is progressing. It's like bringing a nuke to a water gun fight.
Teasing the fact that there is an instant win on the table can be fun for getting reactions. Particularly if one is paired up with a brat. It can be a way of promising a partner that soon they will be peaceful and still and blank.
I also just like the way people react. Their face being stripped of all power and energy in a moment. Focused intently. Captivated. Bespelled.
It's so good.
At Beguiled 2022 I purchased a fairly large purple crystal from @enscenic which I believe was originally a dangling piece of a chandelier. I attached it to a chain and have trained it so that when Sleepyhead sees it she is instantly pulled in, her thoughts becoming trapped inside the "crystal".
Watching how quickly she can go from animated to fully entranced is just lovely. I simply cannot get enough of that power rush. There is a time and a place for a slow and sensual seduction as soft sounds swiftly sway the senses... and there is a time for an artifact so powerful that it must be hidden.
Originally this trigger was fairly open, but Sleepyhead once saw it laying on my bedside table and collapsed onto the bed in a manner I was not prepared for. I felt deeply irresponsible when that happened and with prompting and aid from Daja I locked it behind the term "held with intention."
Now, "playing within the rules" is a big theme of my play style. It's a reason why I cannot be 100% in charge. I need to work within framework. It's a weakness of mine. But it is a weakness which I often turn in to a strength.
Once I know what the rules are, I am allowed to bend them and see how flexible they are within the boundaries of good fun.
There's "Do not touch below my waist" "So let's see how high up your thigh I can touch" bending of rules, which is seeking to violate the spirit of the boundary and is unacceptable.
Then there's "You are not allowed to drop for this magical item without the permission of intention." "...so if I leave it on my bedside table and see you notice it and say "you know, I left it there, knowing you would see it...", that still counts as intent, right?" that's playful and trying to stretch the limits of the game.
The difference, I suppose, is honoring the spirit of the limitation. With this one it's "I want to make sure you are safe and only drop to this magical and irresistible talisman that overwhelms your thoughts when I want you to."
I get to select when I want that. It's not my fault you assumed that would only happen by me overtly showing it to you.
One day of this challenge is going to be Fae Play. I am looking forward to explaining in depth why I am Fae.
Now I could talk about the fun I have in this arena, and I will on another date, but let's stick to cognitohazards.
There's one that is so powerful that it could knock me out from Top Space. Just seeing it was enough to bring me deep, regardless of headspace. Which is a remarkable accomplishment.
It's a replica of the Silver Crystal from Sailor Moon.
It requires intention these days, but if you ever wish to turn a sweet and soft ginger into a puddle, show her that.
Intention can be using a pause trigger to make my mind and body freeze in place, take my hand, place the chain of the crystal in my fingers and unpause with it right in front of my face.
Heavens that one got me.
It's a remarkably effective tool.
Oh and there are 2 of them. Both Sleepyhead and Daja own one. Once they teamed up in a hotel room to show me both at once. A top tier moment in a sweet Sunrise's life, I assure you.
They are my favorite. And though there are other tokens which have power imbued into them, I only have one cognitohazard and keeping that mythology imbues it with power. It makes it understood that this object is powerful and controlling and irresistible.
Very much like a fetish. Its power comes from the belief and the belief is reinforced by the use.
I adore them.
Here's what they each look like by the way.
The Silver Crystal that Daja and Sleepyhead each own:
And my purple crystal:
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Day 7: Forehead Stimulation
FULL SCHEDULE MASTER POST
Day 9: Music Control
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Hello and happy holidays! 🥂✨ Over the past couple months of semi-hiatus I’ve had time to reflect on what’s next for me here—specifically, how I want to best enjoy my free time in this game and community—and I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want to do.
Lots of rambling on that below the cut, but tl;dr you can expect me back with more build projects and new gameplay kicking off in 2023! 💗
I’ve had a few folks ask about what my next story will be after wrapping up La Boca Cerrada this fall, but tbh I don’t think I’ll actually tell another story quite like that ever again...? (A sigh of relief for some, surely!) I mean, never say never and all that, but for me, LBC has been a unique experience: a story I just couldn’t get out of my head, characters and scenes I couldn’t stop seeing play out in the Sims. There’s nothing like it simmering on the back burner.
I’ve learned a ton from the experience: mods like TOOL and Pose Player, but also just like the completely absurd level of determination and stick-to-itiveness required to tell a long-form story start to finish via 2–4 posts per day over the course of literal years. It’s been a journey—one I'm proud and grateful to have taken with you—but not a path I'll be looking to revisit anytime soon.
So yeah! What comes next? Every pack release post Discover University I haven��t really explored past build mode. With the quality of some of the more recent releases that uhhhhh hasn't really been a big issue. 🥴 But I’ve been wanting for a long time now to play in Evergreen Harbor, so that’s exactly where I’m headed! I’ve been having fun for awhile now setting up a save there for my own spin on the Build a City Challenge, and while I have a few background details in mind, I'm going back to my gameplay-driven storytelling roots. Which—fingers crossed—should require a lot less planning and posing and other time-consuming stuff, hopefully leaving me with a better balance of time for build mode projects as well. Speaking of which... 👀
#whyeverr speaks#or really#whyeverr rambles#surely I've used that tag a time or two before#an update for those curious#and a tease of what's to come 😊
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hello chrissie! I hope you're having a good day!
do you have any tips on gifmaking for someone who wants to start?
Hi Nonnie, thank you so much for your ask, I hope you're having a good day, too 🥰
Tbh, I always feel like I am not really qualified to answer these questions, because – unlike me – most of the wonderful gif makers on this site use photoshop and if you have access to that software, I would always recommend using it because it’s easier, faster, the outcome is so much better and the opportunities it offers are endless. (There are a lot of beginner tutorials on this site if you search for gif + tutorial in the search bar 😊)
However 😉 If you don’t have access to photoshop or your cpu can’t handle it or you are simply overwhelmed by the vastness of the program, you can always try GIMP 😊 It’s opensource, you can download it legally for free and it runs on all platforms. The main drawback is that it doesn’t have the timeline feature, which means that you have to edit every single layer separately. (The program literally wasn’t designed to create gifs, it’s just that a few clever people found a way to work around that 😆)
I would recommend starting with this tutorial here. It explains how to create a gif in GIMP in general, how to create screencaps, how to import them, how to resize, how to crop and how to export your gif.
As for the really fun part (editing your gif), I think for a beginner it would be easiest to concentrate on three basic steps: brightening up the gif, adjusting the colours, and sharpening the gif. You’ll find all the editing tools that you need for that under “Colours/Colors” in the menu bar.
The brightening/contrast tool of GIMP can give weird results, so it’s usually easier to use the exposure tool, but that’s just my personal opinion.
As for playing around with the colours, the tools that you would want to look into first are “curves”, “levels” and “components -> channel mixer”. The channel mixer isn’t nearly as good as the one in photoshop, of course, but it makes me so giddy that GIMP finally has a proper one implemented 🙃
Also, if you’re just starting out, I would always recommend working with the largest quality source material that you can find (at least 1080p). I spent most of last year giffing really low quality vids because I’ve never been able to resist a cute Oscar moment, but if you’re just learning how to gif, the quality issue might become really frustrating, especially in the beginning.
And of course, the most important part: Allow yourself to have fun playing around and trying new things 🥰 Every new gif poses a new challenge, so don’t be discouraged if a certain editing step doesn’t result in the outcome you’d expected, you’ll soon get the hang of it 💜
I hope this was at least a little helpful 🥰
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Things I've learned and realized writing the fics for Inky's one-week challenge:
I'm a very slow writer; I genuinely struggle writing at least 500 words in one sitting. On good days, I can do 200 words. Inspired, maybe more. Ficlets like ekphrasis and others take me an entire day to finish. It's probably because I start writing with only a vague idea of how to go about it, or I only know the mood but not the details. I'm self-aware enough to be cognizant of my strengths and weaknesses, and I tend to stick to what works for me.
I've always wanted to write lengthy fics! But I never was the kind of writer who could hit more than 10k-word one-shots. My style doesn't lend to that kind of length. When I saw Inky's challenge and read that the max word count per entry is 500 words, I thought to myself, Ooh, I think I can do that. Regardless of the prompts -- though they help too; dialogue and AUs lend to a broadness that appeal to my rigid brain. A 500-word fic means in most cases a one-scene fic. Which frees my mind of context necessary to establish a setting. I don't have to come up with an elaborate backstory and/or explanation why this detail is like this, that detail is like that -- AUs as a trope can fill in the missing pieces to make your fic coherent.
My first fic entry was something that I plan on writing in the future, so it's easy to write it, but it still took me longer (but still within the range of my speed). My second, third, and fourth, I tried something a bit different: I used StimuWrite, an app that helps you focus on writing -- it's also known as a writing tool useful for people with ADHD.
It has a simple UI, with a word count goal and emojis that appear whenever you type words. I chose these settings: darker background (it doesn't hurt the eyes) and typewriter sfx for that legit typing feel. I may put in a bgm from youtube or something, but sometimes I just want to listen only to the sounds of typewriter keys.
I tried StimuWrite before, but it didn't work for me. I gave it another chance this time, and oh lord it's very effective???!???!!!!! I finished 3 fics in under a day. So last Sunday I wrote give or take 2,000 words, which truly blew my mind. As an aside, I recommend you try StimuWrite; it might be effective for you too.
Because of that surprising writing streak, I continued using the app for the rest of the fics. And that writing streak persists! I feel relieved, I feel elated, I feel like I can do this. It's as if my brain loosened up enough to let me do what I want. I'll definitely use StimuWrite in my other fics too --
-- with some conditions, of course. All I know right now is that it works for me if I have a target word count in mind (under 600) and that it's only concentrated on a single scene. So I could focus on one scene whenever I open up the app. But that means that I have an outline of my fic, which isn't a problem for me because I like the mental exercise of outlining. I hope that this would help me come November, as I'll participate in Nanowrimo with my original story project.
Another point I've realized is that limiting yourself with a word count improves your editing skills. I do edit and revise my fics -- but they're mostly in the sort of 'i'll delete this passage because it no longer fits' and 'i'll rephrase this because it sounds awkward'. But in the cases of my sixth and seventh event fics, I had to pare them down because I exceeded the word count requirement. Initially I was reluctant to remove passages but I had to. So I did. I removed some bits and details of the story but rephrased others to still fit them in. I have to shorten some scenes -- and this is revelatory to me somewhat -- which is actually effective for fast-paced action scenes that needed fewer words but with the largest possible impact. Sometimes, shorter is better. It made me productive, for one.
Anyway, this got long wtf? I don't even know if I was coherent about it. There are still a lot of things I'd like to improve on -- such as relying less on my crutch words and metaphors. I haven't the opportunity to read a lot lately, so I need to try at least one page a day. The book I'm currently reading has been sitting on my desk for months. Back then, when I said I wouldn't make a list of read books per year to stop pressuring myself, I didn't mean not to read books at all lmao.
I don't know how to end this post so here's a gif of a puppy on a bowl:
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