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#grace gamma
lunarpleurodon · 2 years
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COR concept art log #1 🥰🥰
theme song is arandano by niru kajitsu (specifically 𓆑 ‘s cover)
i went a little heavy on the ajin references....... it’s been a big inspiration in my art and writing and i think grace and kei are very similar as people lol
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dotwpod · 5 months
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(317) Time Travel Radio 1980 Pt 2
Time Travelers! Here we go – the long over-due ‘Time Travel Radio 1980’ part 2. We dig a little deeper into the musical archives for this one, and hope you hear something you’ve not heard in a while, or something totally new. Either way, you’re in for a treat. Set your calendars for 1980, and don’t mind the glitter…\,,/ d(> _ <)b \,,/ Playlist:0:00:00-0:00:59 TTR Intro0:01:00-0:04:16 Snortin’…
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kociamieta · 9 months
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Your angelic art is beautiful. Thank you for gracing this earth with it
thanks thats so kind. hands you a paper bag with this creature in it . please take good care of it. it requires a steady diet of gamma rays and tales of worlds gone by
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theblueflower05 · 1 year
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OH UR IN FOR IT NOW
thoughts: jake sully cockwarming human reader and she keeps squirming around to cum but he’s so much bigger that he can just hold her still while she whines and pouts
(also i know he’s so cocky and condescending with his dirty talk)
Oh oh oh. Fuck yes.
Listen. There is something so sexy about Avatar/Na’vi x Human smut. I don’t care. It’s going to get me going every time, I eat this shit UP.
@hinataashoyos kills this dynamic and if you want to read some absolutely delish Jake content- please give her blog a follow.
And I loveeeeee the idea of Jake and his little human fuck buddy.
Because like. You’re everything he’s attracted to- just his type. You’re petite with killer curves, a rack and ass to die for. The sweet florally perfume you wear makes him dizzy with want and the gloss you have perma swiped across your full lips sparkles in the fluorescent lights of the labs that you can usually be found in.
He eats girls like you up back on Earth. Even in his chair, he knew he was a panty dropper.
Smut under the cut
But you’re different. You’re sharp as a tack and come from a good family back on terra firme. Fancy college degrees under your belt, all paid for by mommy and daddy’s money. A social butterfly. Hell, he bets you’d been a sorority girl. Kappa Kappa Gamma, or some nonsense of that nature.
You’d never go for a disabled ex-military grunt like him- or so he’s convinced himself.
You work in close quarters with the rest of the Science lame brains, are close with Grace and Max.
Xeno-Cultural Anthropologist, he learns your title early one.
You’re here to help crack the code around the Navi- deeply fascinated by their rich culture. Diverse clans, and multilayered language. Besides Grace, you’re about the only RDA human let within 100 miles of Home Tree.
Your accolades and experience, at your young age, are stacked. All of these things should make you a stuck up priss-
And yet you’re not. Not at all.
The more he gets the know you, the worse his interest in you gets.
You’re funny, in a goofy way that doesn’t match your sharp vernacular. Your frequent jokes are vulgar and down right dumb.
And helpful, you never make him feel stupid the way the others do. You’re more then happy to sit down with him after a long day of him being linked out in the Jungle- you’re just about the only reason why he’s finally starting to grasp the language.
And so so sweet. You don’t make him feel useless or infantiled in his chair; you treat him like the capable grown man he is- but make him meals like you do all for all your friends. Help him with his laundry. Bring him electrolyte drinks when he’s half asleep doing his video logs.
A couple months in, and Jakes interest has spawned into a full fledged crush.
When Grace swoops him away fro Quaritch and his influence- you go with. All the way up into the Hallelujah Mountains.
The extra close quarters and isolation just makes it worse.
The pajamas you wear to bed aren’t skimpy or sexy in nature- but damn do you look good in the small shorts and obscure band tee that falls to your knees.
He nearly loses his shit when you bend over one morning, your wide ass on display. The tiny sleep shorts do nothing to cover the plush cheeks and he’s never wanted to dig his teeth into something more.
You act like you didn’t see him discreetly hide his blushing face in his cup of coffee.
The same way that he acts like he doesn’t see you ogling him in Avatar form. You all but drool over the smooth blue skin and endless muscles.
He wonders if that’s the only way you’ll have him, in a body that’s not his.
It had all come to a head pretty soon after that.
At the core of it; the two of you are travelers, stuck on a foreign planet. All it takes is a particularly lonely night; one where some how the two of you had gotten a moment alone, for all of the emotion to bubble up.
You’d ended up in Jakes lap, in his chair. Grinding down onto him, your tongue down his throat as he wrapped his strong tattooed arms around you.
Safe to say you want Jake Sully however you can get him.
It’s a free for all after that and Grace straight up has to tell you guys to cool it down after stumbling upon you and Jake, him in his Avatar form, in the trees just behind the bunkers. His head had been buried between your naked thighs- your face blushing behind your Exo Mask. Grace had not been impressed.
“Between you two and Norm and Trudy, it’s like I’m living in a fucking frat house. Cut it out, before I citation all of you for interpersonal relationships. I swear, we’re supposed to be grown ups here, guys- ever heard of workplace discretion!”
Graces threats are empty, but Jake knows you respect her enough to take em to heart.
So it turns into a game of sorts.
The two of you try to get each other off as often as possible. As fast as possible. As hidden as possible.
All the sneaking around makes him feel like a teenager, alive and exhilarated when he’s in both of his bodies.
But he hates the quickies. He wants the time to worship your body thoroughly.
He jumps at the chance- when Norm rides along with Trudy to take Grace back to Hell’s Gate. She’s a higher up, after all. She has mountain’s of paperwork and reports she needs to do. That’s fine.
That means he gets to be alone with you.
He savors the night. The trailers are a tight fit for his Avatar body, but he pushes the bunk beds to an opposite wall and the two of you make a nest of sorts on the cold metal floor. All the pillows and blankets you can find to cushion yourselves.
You lie next to each other, facing one and other- as you explore each other with slow groping touches in the low light. Only the computer screens left on to illuminate the space.
It’s like neither of you can get enough.
His large calloused hands run along your curves- all that soft supple skin. Your plush breasts and doughy thighs and ass. You feel so good- you truly might be the only soft thing on the rugged planet of Pandora.
Your petite hands are eager too. You trace his arms, his broad shoulders, his tapered waist. Your wide eyes follow the path of your fingers.
“Holy shit, Jake. You’re built like a brick shit house- where did all this muscle come from?”
He chuckles at the awe in your tone. “Trainings been intense- Neytiris been riding my ass lately. I’m up before the sun rises in those trees”
“Remind me to thank her next time I see her” you mutter distractedly as you squeeze at his defined bicep.
It’s insanely good, but then again it always is.
Jake tastes your spit, and you hard little nipples and your dripping cunt. Feasting himself on your skin slowly.
The more orgasms he can wring out of you- the easier it will be for you to take his cock. He needs your body as loose as he can get it.
After what feels like hours getting fucked with his huge fingers, and rough textured tongue, you’re begging for him.
You can take it. You want to be full of him, you whine the words with big teary eyes that you know he can’t refuse.
He fucks into you slow- watching as you take him. Your pussy always looks like she’s going to break. Stretched to it’s limits, lips puffy and enflamed as his cock sinks in. The contrast of his indigo skin and your human flush is fucking hypnotic.
This isn’t the first time he’s fucked you in this body and it won’t be the last.
Every round seems to be better then the last- louder. Wetter. More passionate. You’re full of so much cum, there’s no way that your tiny womb could hold it even if it tried.
Na’vi libidos are something else.
He has stamina that he didn’t even know existed. After round three you’re out, all but asleep in his arms. Limp and ragdoll like in his oversized arms.
“You can keep going” your voice is paper thin and far away. Jakes not sure how you’re even coherent at this point.
He takes you into his lap, gently, but keeping you stuffed full to the brim with his cock.
You whimper and bury your messy face in his huge sweaty chest.
“I just need one more” Jake reassures you, petting your hair, stroking down your back. His hands are large and soothing, it’s so easy for him to touch all of you at once. “You don’t even have to move all that much, baby. Just let me come one more time, yeah?”
You nod, and really it’s just your head lulling in his clavicle. You’d lost the ability to control your muscles hours ago. “Yeah, mhmm”
Jake doesn’t even need to bounce you. Just having your pussy wrapped around him, tighter then anything he’s ever felt, is enough.
You sit on his lap, his cum flowing out of you. Down your thighs. Onto his own groin. And warm his cock.
It’s erotic and intimate and as he holds you close he thinks about Neytiris words. Tsaheylu- the sacred bond. He’s felt it with direhorse- and his ikran. A part of him wishes that he could feel it with you.
When he empties the last of his milky, iridescent cum inside of you and you pull back from his chest enough to give him a small smile, he thinks that no.
This is enough.
I LOVE YOU JAKE MOTHER FUCKING SULLY UGHHHHHHHHH. I swear he fucking remixed the game in the first Avatar. I will never ever ever get over him.
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tinyproprodigy · 3 months
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𖤐 ִֶָ 𓂃 🧷
"Staggered to meet you"
Neito Monoma x reader (F)
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Neito Monoma swaggered into the Gym Gamma training arena, his blond hair perfectly coiffed and his U.A. uniform impeccably pressed. Flashing his trademark smirk, he scanned the crowd of students until his gaze landed on you - a relatively unremarkable member of Class 1-A.
"Well, well, if it isn't little (Y/N)," he drawled, sauntering over. "I was hoping to spar against one of the elite students today, but I suppose you'll have to do."
You narrowed your eyes as Monoma lazily twirled a lock of hair around his finger. His incessant teasing and constant attempts to rile up your class had become tiresome. But today, you were determined to wipe that smug grin off his face.
"Bring it on, Monoma," you retorted, cracking your knuckles. "Maybe you'll finally get that ego of yours knocked down a few pegs."
Monoma let out a derisive laugh. "My, my, such confidence! Though I can hardly blame you for being starstruck in my presence." He assumed a fighting stance, his eyes glinting with Challenge. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
The match began, and almost immediately, Monoma's copied quirks gave him the upper hand. Bursts of fire scorched the arena floor as he unleashed a barrage of attacks. You dodged and weaved, biding your time as he continued his relentless assault.
Then, just as Monoma began to tire, you saw your opening. With a speed he didn't anticipate, you closed the distance between you, your fist connecting squarely with his chiseled jaw.
Monoma's eyes went wide with shock as he stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet and crashing to the ground in an undignified heap. The entire class erupted into raucous laughter and cheers as the great Neito Monoma found himself flat on his back, staring up at you in disbelief.
"Impossible..." he mumbled, gingerly prodding his soon-to-be-bruised jaw. "How could I, the elite Neito Monoma, be floored by someone from the inferior Class 1-A?"
You offered him a sarcastic smile and a hand up. "I guess all that ego finally caught up to you," you quipped, trying (and failing) to stifle a giggle at his ruffled appearance.
As the days passed, Monoma found his thoughts continually drifting back to that fateful sparring session. No matter how he tried to rationalize it, he couldn't shake the image of you standing over him, your (h/c) hair tousled and a triumphant grin on your face.
It was... oddly captivating.
He started noticing little things about you that he'd never paid attention to before. The way your nose scrunched up when you concentrated in class. The melodic lilt of your laugh as you joked with your friends. The confident sway of your walk as you strode down the hallway.
Monoma caught himself staring more than once, only to be met with a quizzical look or a teasing remark from his classmates. He tried to brush it off, but the truth became increasingly difficult to ignore.
Neito Monoma, the self-proclaimed "elite" who looked down on Class 1-A, had developed a massive, all-consuming crush on you.
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks one afternoon as he watched you sparring with Midoriya. You moved with a grace and power that
left him slack-jawed, and when you caught his eye and flashed him a lopsided grin, his heart did a traitorous little flip in his chest.
Monoma was officially smitten.
From that day on, his attempts to get under your skin took on a new, almost flirtatious undertone. He went out of his way to seek you out, always finding an excuse to be in your vicinity. Mundane things like watching you take notes in class or eat your lunch suddenly became fascinating displays worthy of his utmost attention.
"Eyes up here, Monoma," you'd tease whenever you caught him staring, causing his cheeks to flush a vivid shade of crimson.
His classmates mercilessly ribbed him about his not-so-subtle infatuation, but Monoma couldn't bring himself to care. He was a man on a mission - a mission to win your heart, no matter how bruised his ego became in the process.
After all, he reasoned to himself, a little humility was a small price to pay for the affection of someone as amazing as you. And if getting knocked down a peg or two was what it took, then Neito Monoma would gladly kiss the ground you walked on.
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myosotisa · 9 months
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Chasm - e.m.
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Eddie Munson x fem!Reader
‖  summary: You're a researcher working at one of the fault lines throughout Hawkins, studying the closed and dormant gates to an alternate dimension. While you're alone on site, one of the gates wakes up again.
‖  tags: horror. i cannot stress this enough. this is unsettling and creepy and angsty with slight sexual tension. in line with the content in the show. post season 4, canon compliant. emetophobia warning. dubcon kissing. forced consumption (writing it made me gag just warning you. but im also kind of a baby so). no y/n, she/her pronouns used. flayed!eddie infects you. open ended ending. also steve is there sometimes. there's a ton of background lore that is only vaguely explained lol
‖  word count: 8.3k ‖  read on AO3 ‖  the song ‖
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None of the rifts have shown any activity in over a year. Months and months of dead readings and no signals. Just waiting.
So what's a girl supposed to do when your EMF meter spikes alone on site? Sit around and wait for a crew to suit up and march their way over to the fault you were at? No fucking way. No chance.
You report in about the sudden spike in gamma radiation and tell them you're going to find the source. The project lead tells you to stay put and wait for assistance, as expected.
Your radiation gear was already halfway on. Oops, sorry boss, didn't hear you.
Handheld voltage meter in one hand, audio recorder in the other, and a pocket full of glow sticks, you push out past the plastic tarps and into the humid night air of Indiana summer.
The readings bring you west, toward the condemned trailer park and the "start" of your fault line. You crack a glow stick and drop it every few feet, marking your path. When the reading jumps up, you make a '+' sign with two at the spot before continuing forward. It was hard to say without exact measurements, but it seemed to be increasing at equal intervals. Like frozen waves on the surface of water.
"I'm approaching the Forest Hills sign," you say into the receiver, your own voice the only sound in the night air. "Current readings are…" You bring the meter up, using the light hanging from your neck to read the display. "Approaching 70 mv/m of high frequency radiation, roughly 31016 Hz. The next… 'Layer', for lack of a better term, will most likely breach Safe EMF levels, not considering the potential protection of the suit."
Lowering the meter again when it gives a beep of warning, you tuck it under your arm and crack another glow stick, leaving a '+' at the boundary to the trailer park. "I'll probably need treatment when I get back to base – as long as I grab a reading from the source and get out quickly, there won't be lasting damage. You hear that, Dr. Pierce?" You say through an over-confident huff, readjusting your arms to keep moving forward. "I'm well aware of the risks and take responsibility for my own actions."
The park itself looks like a bad dream at night – trailers abandoned hastily with doors still hung open and belongings scattered along the ground. Between the sudden fault opening and the bureau rushing in, the existing residents had been given very little time and grace to move into temporary housing across town. And it looked every bit like an entire community of people had just up and disappeared.
The suit you were in didn’t exactly help coordination, so you moved slowly and carefully over and around discarded objects along the dirt. Clothing, kitchen utensils, a quilt, a stack of newspapers, a child's toy. All left untouched for over a year.
Clearing the corner of one of the empty trailers, you catch sight of something strange.
“The fault itself has looked normal up to this point, no activity. But I can see the source now. It’s… It appears to be glowing red, fading in and out in a constant cycle.” Approaching even slower than before, you watch intently as the glow grows and then retreats again. Like waves on the shore.
The meter gives another shrill alarm – making you jump nearly out of your skin as you swat at it with the recorder. “Jesus Christ!” It quiets with a sinking pitch in your hand. 
Before checking the reading, you quickly make another ‘+’ with glow sticks, digging them into the dirt a bit in an attempt to keep them from moving. Still down on one knee, you bring the meter up to your flashlight again.
“The meter is now reading 110 mv/m, same frequency. I’m roughly… 12 feet out from the source now. There’s a, uh, humming sound. Not sure if the recording is picking it up. And feeling pressure on my eardrums,” you explain into the device, eyes locked on the glow ahead. “I’ll continue to approach – see if I can get a closer reading. If it jumps above 150, I’ll fall back.”
Pushing to your feet again with a huff, you readjust your full load and press forward slowly. The closer you get to the source, you can see that the fault rapidly grows in size. The space between the edges looks large enough to fit a car as it rounds out at the end – a red pond in the ground.
“I can see the source clearer now. The glow is coming from within – there’s a…" You take a few steps closer, squinting to get a better look. "It appears to be an opaque membrane covering the space between. The glow is coming from behind it. Still cycling at an even rate, no change.”
The meter in your hand gives its shrillest warning yet, scaring you badly enough that it goes flying out of your hand; it hits the ground and flips closer to the edge. “Shit, fuck!”
You shuffle forward and drop down onto your shaky knees, grabbing for the meter as it continues to let out that grating alarm into the night air. Smacking it once more, the sound cuts off abruptly, giving you a chance to breathe.
Bringing it up to your flashlight, your eyes go wide as you lift the recorder again with your other trembling hand. “I’m nearly at the edge now, only a foot or so away  – EMF reading 187 mv/m. Rapid increase from the last point.”
Movement in your peripheral vision catches your attention, your head snapping toward it.
“There’s… What the fuck?" You pause, tempted to rub your eyes to make sure you're really seeing what you're seeing.
"There’s movement below the membrane. It… It’s just a shadow, I can’t tell what it is, but the movement is rapid and the… The humming is getting louder.” Your heart is pounding now, a cold sweat breaking out across your skin beneath the suit. 
“Going to retreat back to base,” you say, mostly attempting to reassure yourself as you slowly back away from the edge. “Final reading was 189 mv/m at 31016 Hz.”
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There’s a crackle of static right before a thumb presses the pause button roughly, silencing the recorder in the center of the table.
“Is that all?” General Richard Highland asks, sounding impatient as he leans back in his conference chair. “That doesn’t tell us anything about what happened to her.”
“No, sir, there’s more.” Private Steve Harrington insists, inclining his head toward the dirty recorder he had delivered. He’s standing by the edge of the table at attention, hands clasped in front of him.  “The recording keeps going.”
Dr. Pierce leans forward from his seat, giving the General a stiff look as he presses the play button again.
There’s a few more moments of static before the woman’s voice fades back in, layered beneath the hum of attempted interference.
“I’m definitely gonna need that rad treatment, Dr. Pierce. My badge is that warning color, even beneath the suit,” she continues with a shaky laugh, the sound of plastic shuffling behind it. “Hopefully I don’t lose my hair or something, but that’s… What?” 
The table of scientists and military personnel sits in tense silence as her voice cuts out again. Half of them are on the edge of their seats, the others showing off a measured calm or disinterest. The general looks particularly annoyed and impatient, while Dr. Pierce looks almost like he wants to throw up.
“There’s… Something’s happening – I don’t–” 
An abrasive crackle echoes out into the room, loud enough to send nearly everyone into a wince, before the recording cuts back in with the sound of screaming. 
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?! SHIT – I’ve gotta get–" A burst of interference sounds, followed by a metallic grating, like a ship groaning beneath the weight of the ocean.
Her panicked voice comes through, sounding further away than before. "FUCK! It – It’s got my ankle. Let go, you fucking piece of –! SHI–”
The recording cuts out to a buzzing hum.
No one moves for a few moments. Not until Private Harrington steps up to silence the recorder. “We found this recording, a lab issue EMF meter, and a broken flashlight at the edge of the fault." He explains, producing the other two items from the pack resting at his feet. "It was dormant when we got there – solid again.”
“So it just…” One of the other scientists starts, looking at Dr. Pierce uneasily.
“Dragged her through and went back to sleep.” Dr. Pierce confirms solemnly, his gaze locked on the dirty recorder.
“It’s never done this before?” A 2nd scientist, new to the project, asks. The others shake their heads. “So what do we do?”
All eyes turn to Dr. Pierce, who looks like he’s seen a ghost.
“We wait for it to wake up again.”
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Wake up.
Come on, little lamb.
Wake up now.
Looks so peaceful.
But you’ve got to wake up.
WAKE UP.
There’s something wet on your face.
Feeling is slowly returning to your body, your eyes closed and too heavy to open. But there’s something dripping on your cheek – droplets running down toward your mouth. Sticking to your dry lips for a moment or two before falling off. You’re on the ground on your stomach, your cheek squished against something that feels like mud.
Your brain has yet to kick on fully as it tries to regain consciousness through a pounding ache, resonating with the throb of your left leg. It feels like you’re still wearing the rad suit, but the head piece is gone and it might be ripped in places – mud seeping in to touch your skin.
It’s almost like you’re sinking.
Eyelids fluttering open and you’re faced with a desaturated swamp. Like someone came through and sucked half the color out of it.
Lifting one arm is difficult, suctioned into the mud you’re laying in. Once you’ve freed it enough, you’re able to push off the sticky, wet sludge beneath you enough to roll over onto your back.
“Sucks, doesn’t it?”
You sit up with a start, your abdomen screaming in protest as your brain swims. Blinking through the blur in your eyes, you struggle to see anything at all in the dark – only momentarily granted sight by the flashes of red lightning overhead.
“Who’s there?” You call out into the dark, an attempt to sound brave, but your voice trembles as your eyes rapidly flit back and forth.
“Over here.”
The lightning flashes once more as you whip your head toward the voice – showing the silhouette of a man standing a few feet away. From what little you see, he’s tall and slender, head tilted to the side like he’s curious. There’s no chance you can see his face or anything else about him.
Until he’s in your face, crouched down right beside you – crossing the space and appearing in the span of a blink. It gives you a start, attempting to back up but getting caught up in the mud still suctioned to your lower half.
Your fear seems to bring a small smile to his face, plump lips tilting up at the corner. He looks so familiar… Long curly hair draped wetly over his shoulders, the sparse bangs across his forehead, and the soft turn of his nose. Curiosity gets the better of you as you lean in again slightly, squinting your eyes a bit more in the dark to see him better.
“I know you…” You insist softly, causing his eyebrows to raise slightly in surprise. “How do I know you?”
“No clue, because I’ve never met you in my life.” He replies, lips parting in a grin. “And I’m good with faces – ‘specially pretty ones.”
His response catches you off guard as your brain continues reeling and struggling to intake information, which is normally your forte. There’s a million questions on the tip of your tongue and you have no idea where to start.
“You’ll probably need to lose the suit if you want to get out of that shit,” he continues when you don’t respond, motioning to your stationary legs with a wave of his hand. And he’s probably right, with the way the mud beneath you is stuck tight to the shiny plastic. Your best hope is to try to use the suit as a stepping off point to get to stable ground.
“Where should I step once I pull out?” You ask, hoping he’ll understand your goal.
A blink and he’s gone again – another flash of red light placing his silhouette off to your left. “Think you can make it to here?” He responds, voice raised slightly and sounding like he’s teasing you or challenging you. It makes your competitive side flare up on instinct – a frustrated huff leaving your nose as you plan your escape.
Opening the front of the suit, you slip both arms out and let the upper half fall flat behind you. Pulling out both of your legs next, your butt sinks deeper into the ground, nearly sending you off balance as you quickly shift your weight forward onto your knees, using the suit as a stepping stone. It starts to sink, mud coming up over the edge and inching toward your knees, so you have to move fast.
Pushing to your feet makes it sink faster, wet sludge touching the side of your ankle just as you push off in a jump toward where the man was standing.
You land on the ankle that had been grasped by the tentacle, not realizing the throbbing meant it’d been twisted. It makes you cry out in pain and fall forward, directly into the man’s chest.
“Woah there!” He says in surprise, grasping onto your elbows to keep you sort of upright. Between the aching pain and the tears pressing at your eyes, you just barely manage to notice how cold and clammy he is – especially where his hands grip your bare biceps.
Rocketing back, you press your weight onto your good leg and put some distance between the two of you again, your dirty arms crossing over your tank top and smearing it with mud. “Sorry, my, uh, ankle…” You offer awkwardly, still not even sure who you’re talking to.
“Don’t worry about it, angel. You good?”
He actually sounds like he cares. Like he’s concerned for you. Who is he? 
“I’ll be fine,” you insist stubbornly, swallowing down the lump of tears in your throat. Free from your precarious situation, at least partially, you struggle to figure out what to address first. “How are you doing that? Like… Teleporting? Or are you just moving really fast?”
He chuckles softly, shaking his head. “What–,” he disappears in a blink and then you feel a burst of air on the back of your neck, making your hair stand on end, “this?”
You lurch forward before turning around to level him a glare. “Yes, that – don’t do that.”
His hands tuck into the front pockets of the leather jacket he’s wearing as he shrugs, looking quite pleased with himself. “Sorry, angel, didn’t mean to spook you.”
Then silence falls, both of you eyeing each other – you suspiciously and him curiously. The extended pause makes you think you aren’t going to be told how anytime soon.
A breeze kicks up, rustling the branches of the trees in the surrounding swampland and sending a shiver down your spine. Suit lost, you’re down to a tank top, jeans, and a pair of no slip shoes (which were required for people working in the field for some reason). You were dressed for the humid interior of the field site tent in summer and it appears that you have landed yourself in a place where that is not enough.
Taking advantage of the silence, you try to remember everything you can about your studies into the ‘gates’ from when they were open. Very little was known beside second hand accounts and old data – some of which may not even be accurate anymore given the nature of the fault lines. If there was anywhere to start, it would be trying to find the gate you’d been dragged through.
With any luck, you could go right back to your dimension.
But that didn’t account for him. The pale, wet, unsettling-yet-somehow-charming guy that was still staring right at you.
“How long have you been here? Do you know?” You question cautiously, not wanting to upset him in any way.
“That depends, what year is it?”
Your heart drops into your stomach, completely at odds with the continued grin on his face. It looks almost manic now – like every time he sets you off balance brings him great joy. Deciding you’d actually rather not know how long he’s been in here, you move on.
“Have you been alone this whole time? Or are there other people here?”
His grin spreads, like he’s in on a joke you’re not aware of. “I haven’t been alone, no.”
This piques your curiosity again, adjusting your weight on your good leg. “Do you have a community here? How many of you are there?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?” He suggests, taking a step or two away from you, his hands still tucked into his pockets.
The idea is tempting, if only to learn more about what is going on here, but there’s something nagging at the back of your mind. Something you should be remembering. Something you’re missing. Plus, for all you know, this man does not have your best interests at heart.
“I should probably try to find the gate that brought me here,” you say, slightly regretfully. “See if I can cross back over.”
“Oh, right,” he responds, tapping his forehead with his palm like it should’ve been obvious. “Yeah, I can show you the way.”
This surprises you again, slight concern causing you to stand up straighter. “You can?”
“Sure thing, the closest one isn’t far,” he motions behind him with a tilt of his chin, taking another step back. “Come on.”
So you follow the strange man into the dark, limping after him on your twisted ankle. The mud starts to dry on your skin, hair, and clothing – crusting over and hardening in places. You pick at pieces as you walk, letting the chunks and flakes fall to the ground behind you. From what little you can see, there are vines everywhere along the ground, weaving between tree trunks and layering over each other in place. The man seems to step over them – and you can’t tell if it’s on purpose or a coincidence – but you make a habit of not touching the vines just in case.
It’s unsettlingly quiet here. Every once in a while you’ll hear what sounds like an animal – a howl, a chittering, the thump of feet on the earth. But they are few and far between, leaving mostly just the rush of wind through the trees and a sort of muffled silence, pressure on your ears.
Your paranoia kicks up as the quiet continues, suspiciously eyeing the back of your escort as he leads you forward. For all you knew, he wasn’t leading you anywhere near the gate. You have no reason to trust him beyond the fact that he helped you get out of the sludge you woke up in. He was in this dimension after all, clearly familiar with it. That had to be a red flag if anything, given what little you actually knew about it.
So much was classified beyond your reach – the bureau was very specific with what you were allowed to read and know and what you weren’t. Given the dormant nature of the fault lines, it hadn’t been necessary for you to learn too much about the dimension on the other side. Most of what you studied and knew was about the gates themselves.
Even with the bureau being as paranoid and obsessive as it was – a lowly field researcher getting dragged to the other side and needing to survive hadn’t seemed to be on their radar.
The pessimistic part of you not-so-helpfully supplies that was probably just because they weren't very interested in your survival at all. They’d probably prefer it if you died here. If anything, your exposure to the other side made you more of a liability.
Maybe one they could experiment on, if you got lucky and survived.
This train of thinking isn’t helping anything. You could worry about what your life would become if you made it out.
Walking up to the lifeless and solid gate turns that into a very tentative if.
“Looks like the door’s shut tight,” Eddie offers vaguely, rocking back and forth on his heels as you circle the hole in the ground, like seeing a new angle will change something about it.
The opening looks largely the same as the other side, in the center of the abandoned trailer park with the forest surrounding. Your arms are covered in goosebumps as the breeze hits harder in the open field, no longer buffered by trees on all sides. On the bright side, it is slightly better lit here and you can see your companion a bit clearer now.
“Do you know how these things work? Like how and why it opens and shuts?” You ask desperately, looking at him from the other side of the crevice.
The corner of his mouth tilts up minutely, his shoulders shrugging. “Yes and no.”
The scowl returns to your face, frustration mounting as another shiver of cold racks your body. “Are you intentionally being unhelpful? Or are you just an idiot?”
His lips part in a surprised ‘o’, his eyebrows raising like he’s impressed. “That hurts, angel. I’m no idiot, and I think I’ve been plenty helpful. After all… I could’ve just left you to drown out there. Or maybe led you into a trap. Or left you for the dogs.” He taunts, returning to a toothy grin. The question of if he has your well being in mind gets more and more clear with a resounding no.
A fearful jolt runs down your spine as you stare him down, trying not to let your fear show. Grappling tightly to your anger, you taunt back, “Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you?”
A blink and he’s gone.
Your entire body goes on alert, tensing for attack as your heart starts to pound against your ribs. Eyes searching the immediate area in front of you come up empty. He’s either behind you or far enough you can’t see him in the low light. You never got an answer as to whether he’s moving quickly or teleporting or exactly how far he can get in the time you blinked.
He’s either long gone or… Trying to surprise you.
As soon as you have the thought, the hair on the back of your neck stands up – like some kind of unconscious sense of danger.
You turn in a quick 180 and he’s right there. Only a foot away from you with a sadistic sort of smile on his face. Your breath catches in your chest as it feels like a fist grabs tightly to your heart, suddenly much more terrified of the man in front of you.
That appears to be the way he prefers it.
“I think we can help each other.”
You blink at him, muscles pulled taut and ready to bolt as you try to figure out what the fuck he’s doing and what the fuck he wants. “What?” You question, your voice coming out a bit breathy and scared.
“I said, I think we can help each other,” he repeats calmly. “You help me, and I can help you get back home.”
“Why– What– H–how could I possibly help you?” You sputter, trying not to sound as terrified and confused as you feel.
His grin turns cheeky again, slightly less unsettling than it was a moment ago. “It won’t take much, angel, scout’s honor.” He says as he lays a hand over his chest. “You help me, then you’re free to crawl right back over to the other side and continue your life.”
Disbelief and uncertainty nags at you as you fidget in your spot, wanting desperately to put some more distance between the two of you but nervous to offend him. “So you can open the gate? You just want something in return?”
He shakes his head emphatically, appearing to be genuine in his denial. “I can’t but I know who can. They opened it before you were brought over.”
“And they would open it again? Just because you asked?” You question suspiciously, studying his facial expression for a sign that he’s pulling your leg again.
“Let’s just say that me and them have similar goals and leave it at that.”
There are 100 more questions on the tip of your tongue, but with the potential of getting back to your own dimension on the table, you’re reluctant to press too hard. He seems to recognize the battle you’re fighting with yourself as he laughs to himself. “You know what they say about curiosity, angel.”
An annoyed exhale punches out of your nose. “And I assume in this case that I’m the cat.”
“Bingo!” He says happily, tapping the end of his nose with his index finger. “So what do you say?”
There is so much you want to say. So many questions you want to ask. So much more info you need. But beggars can’t be choosers, you suppose.
“What would I need to do?”
His smile goes sharp again. “So glad you asked. I’d just need a kiss.”
A beat of silence. Then your expression drops in disbelief and disappointment. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Dead serious,” he insists, laying his hand on his chest again as he regards you intently. “And it’s gotta be real – gotta kiss me like you mean it. None of those little pecks you give on the cheek.”
A strange swirl of intrigue and revulsion mixes together in your gut as you continue waiting for the punchline. The ‘just kidding, your face was priceless’. But it doesn’t come.
“Is this some kind of sick joke? Been so lonely out here that you have to twist the arm of a desperate girl just to get some–”
“Hey.” He interrupts, his tone intense and cold. It shuts you up immediately, though you can’t say why. “Don’t be mean, angel. This isn’t just me trying to take advantage of you. It has a real purpose.”
The dubious look you give him makes him crack another small smile. “Cross my heart and hope to die, I’m telling you the truth.”
“And am I allowed to know what this purpose is?”
He shakes his head again, displacing the curls draped over his shoulders that still appear to have not dried at all. “I’ll tell you when it’s done, how about that?” He offers, using your curiosity against you to try to sweeten the deal.
Really, it’s a no brainer. Sure, he’s a strange person that lives in an alternate dimension that has some strange abilities. Sure, you know next to nothing about him despite that itch in the back of your head telling you that you know him somehow. And sure, this could be a huge mistake. But having to kiss this admittedly-attractive dude just to get out of this nightmare dimension and get back home? The choice is simple.
Which only makes you more certain there’s a catch you aren’t seeing.
“Fine. If you swear I’ll be able to go home, then I’ll do it.”
His expression brightens excitedly, a sort of childlike joy appearing on his face. It’s different from any of the expressions you’ve seen on him so far – like genuine surprise. “You will?”
“Yeah, sure.” You reply, trying to brush it off as nothing. “Not like I have a lot of other options here.”
His excitement fades slightly, though he still looks pleased with the outcome. “Glad you made the right decision.”
An unsettling silence falls as the two of you study each other once more, now much closer than the last time. Fear and anticipation builds steadily as you find yourself glancing down at his lips – realizing you’re about to know what they feel like on your own.
“Do we, uh,” you pause to clear your throat as you awkwardly break the silence. “Do we do it now? Or… What?”
He takes a step closer, entering your personal space. His voice is lower, stickier, and richer when he responds. “Do you wanna do it now, angel?”
You suddenly feel like a fly stuck in a honey trap – eyes widening as you struggle between wanting to further close the distance and to run away from him. “Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose?” Though you meant it to be nonchalant, it comes out as a nervous question.
The uncertainty in your voice only seems to make the man crack another amused smile. “I suppose so,” he replies softly, gently teasing you as he gets even just a little bit closer. You can feel your heart pounding in your neck, constantly flipping back and forth between fear, interest, nerves, and embarrassment. Looking at you through slightly lowered eyelids, he leans in toward you. Close enough you can feel the exhale of his breath on your face.
“Kiss me like you mean it, angel.” He reminds you quietly, the tip of his nose nudging against yours as your eyelids flutter closed instinctively. “Don’t forget.”
Then his lips are pressing to yours. You make a small noise of surprise, both in that you weren’t sure if he was actually going to do it and because he’s so cold. But his lips are plush and soft as he places your lower lip between his own. As promised, you kiss him back, trying not to think about how strange it feels that he’s cold and the situation you’re in – focusing on the gentle pressure of him as he steps even closer and brings his hand up to cradle your jaw.
It’s gentle and sweet as you find yourself starting to forget the reality of it all. Your hands find the edges of his leather jacket, tugging him closer as he hums happily. His other hand finds your waist – cold through the thin fabric of your tank top.
Teeth nip lightly at your lower lip and you make another small noise of surprise, a flash of heat through your chest at the pleasant feeling. It distracts you further – not even questioning the adventurous flick of his tongue against your mouth. You part your lips on instinct; his hand flexing happily against your jaw as he tests the waters to run his tongue along yours.
You return the gesture, encouraging the touch as you breathe heavily through your nose. You’re running low on air and will need to part to breathe soon. You’re surprised to find that you aren’t really sure that you want to stop to do so.
He seems to recognize the impending need too; his lips pressing against yours more insistently, like he’s getting what he can before it ends. His tongue ventures past your lips one more time, pressing further than he had before. Is… Is his tongue longer than normal?
In the same moment that he pulls away from you, the hand on your jaw claps over your mouth to keep it shut. And there’s something in your mouth.
There’s something moving in your mouth.
You make a high pitched noise of panic as your eyes double in size, looking at him in terror while he holds you tightly to his front and keeps his hand firmly over your mouth. “Ah, ah, angel. You gotta swallow it.” He coos, his palm clammy and cold against your slick lips.
You shake your head as well as you can with his grip, making noises of protest as you struggle to keep the smooth, wiggling object from sliding down your throat. Your hands grab at his wrist and forearm, trying to pull him off, but his grip is too strong. Begging him with your eyes, sharp and stuttered breaths coming out of your nose as you hyperventilate, he just gives you a sad smile. “It’s not that bad, I promise. Just gotta swallow and it’ll be over – don’t make me plug your nose.”
Painful tears poke out of your eyes and start to descend down your cheeks, nails digging into his skin to try and get him off. It seems not to affect him at all, his other hand giving your waist a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, baby. It’s gonna be okay. This is it – you won’t have to do anything else. Come on, angel. You can do it. Just swallow for me.”
His words of encouragement make your head spin in confusion, panic mounting as the outcome seems inevitable. More tears pour down your cheeks as you choke on a sob, inadvertently allowing the object to slide down your throat. 
“There we go,” he sighs in relief, grip on your face loosening, “Good girl.”
Somehow he knew that you’d swallowed it because he releases you right as you start to cough roughly, stumbling away from him and bending forward. You can still feel the strange coating from the creature on your tongue and down your esophagus – thick and wrong as you cough and gag.
Get it out, get it out, get it out, GET IT OUT, GET IT OUT!!
“What was– How do I– I’ve gotta–” You stammer, stumbling over your words as you tremble wildly and gag, your body responding to your panic by wanting to reject the new contents of your stomach.
He appears right beside you again, gripping both of your wrists with his hands as he forces you upright. “Don’t throw it up.” His voice is a command, his expression intense. “If you throw it up, I’ll have to force feed you another one. And trust me, it’s way less fun the 2nd time.”
Tears continue to pour from your eyes as you rapidly shake your head. “What was– What is– Why are you doing this? What was that thing?”
“Calm down, angel, please calm down,” he begs, starting to look distressed himself. “It’s gonna be okay, I swear, it’s gonna be fine. You’re a part of something bigger now. It’s all going to be okay.”
You try to pull out of his grip on your wrists, alternating between yanking back and rushing forward to push him away. “What the fuck does that mean?! What have you done to me?!” You shout through your tears, white hot panic spreading through your body. “It’s not too late – I can still, I can still throw it up, I can…”
He drags you in, wrapping you up in a tight bear hug with your arms trapped between the two of you. He shushes you, standing steady against your weakening struggling against him. “Shhh, shh, it’s alright, angel. It’s okay. You’re gonna get to go home, okay? We’re gonna get to go home.”
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“Sir, we’ve got activity.”
Dr. Pierce pushes out of his desk chair fast enough to make his head spin – lack of sleep and too much coffee weakening him beyond measure. He’s barely left the main building since you went missing.
Since you were dragged through.
There have been constant patrols of the fault line you disappeared into, hoping for any sign of it waking up again. It was on his order and against the wishes of General Highland. She’s a level 1 researcher. She knew the risks. It’s not worth the cost.
But you didn’t know the risks, not really. Pierce knows he didn’t do enough to prepare you, to warn you. He didn’t do enough to protect you.
This is his fault.
He’s not the only one buzzing with anticipation as he exits his darkened office; several other scientists and field agents are reacting to the news of activity with a rush. Not everyone will be allowed to go to the site, as it would be a madhouse, but several live cameras and other surveillance equipment have been set up in the area. At least a quarter of the bureau across the country will be intently watching whatever happens next.
Pierce says nothing as he makes his way for the garage and the people he passes know better than to approach him now. He can still feel their eyes – judgemental, curious, concerned. He’s felt their eyes for days.
There are several SUVs already prepared by the time he arrives, most already full of people who were approved to be on site in the case of reactivation. He recognizes the soldier standing by waiting for him as Private Steve Harrington, the same man who brought in the recorder originally. He’s one of the few people at the bureau with prior knowledge of the other dimension despite his low rank.
“Sir,” he greets with a respectful head dip, opening the backdoor of the SUV for Pierce as he approaches. Pierce returns the gesture before climbing into the backseat, sliding across the bench to the opposite side. Steve gets in after him, his bulky gear forcing him to sit far forward on the bucket seat as he slams the door closed behind him.
It only takes another minute or so before the caravan lurches and begins to move, following after the identical black SUV in front of it.
The walkie-talkie on Steve’s shoulder kicks to life quietly, a short and concise signal coming through that Pierce doesn’t understand. The exhausted scientist looks over curiously as Steve murmurs an, “Affirmative,” into the device before clicking it off.
“Any news from the fault?”
Steve glances over, surprised to be addressed, before he turns back to look out the front windshield. “Nothing yet, sir.”
Pierce keeps an eye on the soldier as they travel – watching with intrigue as the man continuously searches the vehicle’s surroundings, like he’s expecting an attack.
“You seem on edge, Steve.” He straightens in response, looking even more uncomfortable at being referred to by his first name. “Is it because the gate is active?”
A muscle in his jaw rolling with tension, Steve keeps his gaze firmly forward as he responds. “It doesn’t supply a good feeling, that’s for sure.”
“And yet you still volunteered for the theoretical strike team to go through?” Pierce wonders aloud, phrasing it like a question.
There’s a tense moment of silence before the private answers. “At least I already know what to expect on the other side.”
The two don’t interact again for the reminder of the drive.
The SUVs all pull into the vacant field beside the field tent in a line, the leader of the patrol team coming out to meet the first vehicle. Pierce watches General Highland step out of it and start to converse with the uniformed woman. By the time he makes it way over, he seems to be catching the tail end of the conversation.
“We have each unit spread out in even intervals along the fault; so far there has been no change since it first activated.”
“And they all have their protective equipment on, I presume?” Dr. Pierce cuts in, surprising the patrol leader and earning an annoyed look from General Highland.
“Yes sir,” she responds with a head nod. “I was just telling the general that they’re all outfitted with gear to protect them from the worst of the radiation, but it would still do good to regularly swap out the unit in the center, where the worst of it is.”
Pierce agrees with a stiff nod, not waiting to hear the general disagree before he turns to look back. As he expected, Private Harrington trailed him over, waiting a respectful distance away as to not eavesdrop. “Harrington.”
Steve turns at the call, jogging over to Pierce. “Sir.”
“Suit up. You’re coming with me to the source.”
“Yes sir.”
The pair of them push into the field tent, currently staffed with 15 more people than usual. There are researchers and scientists bent over displays and documenting readings, soldiers standing by with weapons, field agents watching over the researchers shoulders. Pierce walks past all of them, parting the way as he does, and starts to strip off his lab coat while pulling a radiation suit off the rack. Steve follows suit, removing a majority of his gear to reequip on top of the plastic suit.
The buzz of excited chatter is nearly grating on Pierce’s ears as he goes through the annoying process of putting on the PPE. But he misses it when it suddenly cuts off, directly after one of the researchers announces, “We’ve got a spike in activity!”
Pierce looks over at Steve, who is still clipping things to his belt again. “We’ve gotta move.”
“Yes sir,” Steve repeats once more, gathering the bare necessities in his arms to try to equip as they move. The pair of them push out the other side of the tent and set into a jog towards what used to be Forest Hills Trailer Park.
They pass a few pairs of outfitted people as they move – soldiers patrolling and scientists maintaining the monitoring equipment placed along the fault. None of them interact as the pair jogs past, heading for the end of the fault line. They can see a small group ahead – presumably gathered closer to where the spike in activity happened.
“Make some room!” Steve barks out as they approach, the gathered group moving further away from the fault line in response. Some look back to see who is coming while others keep their eyes locked on the glowing source beyond.
“Keep at least 10 feet back from the fault at all times,” Pierce orders the group as they pass. “Stay in pairs, don’t go off on your own. We have very little idea what we’re dealing with here, but we have reason to believe there are things that will try to drag you through the gate. If something comes out, fall back and call out. Don’t let your partner get grabbed.”
There is some murmuring in response, but no one openly disregards the order, starting to pair off as a few people move further back along the fault line. Pierce approaches a pair hunched over a meter near the source, keeping his eyes on the glowing red below. “What are we looking at?”
“It’s fluctuating slightly; was 116 mv/m at 31016 Hz at peak.” The researcher responds, keeping a close eye on the EMF before them. “Nothing close to the reported 189 mv/m. We might not be looking at full activation. Or maybe it’s building up, it’s hard to say.”
“Wait,” Steve cuts in, holding a hand out for the researcher to pause. “Do you hear that?”
They all fall silent, listening closely.
Then Pierce hears it – the hum from the recording. The one you were talking about hearing.
The scientist gives him a nod of agreement before looking back to the researcher. “Any sign of movement from the other side?”
“Not that we can tell from here,” the field agent answers for them. “We’ve been following the guidelines to stay back so it’s hard to catch anything from here.”
“Radio? Portable EMF?” Dr. Pierce asks, and the field agent presents both. He takes them and then looks back at Steve. “We’re moving up.”
Even behind the protection of the face shield, Pierce can see the tension in his expression. Regardless, the private still answers with a confident, “Yes sir.”
Keeping the meter within eyesight, the two push ahead, closer to the large opening at the source. Pierce watches it tick up with each step closer, crossing the 150 mark as they get within 5 feet of the edge. Looking out across the opening, the glowing membrane pulses and hums with energy, louder and louder as they approach.
There’s very little movement on the other side, but every once in a while Pierce catches a glimpse of a dark shadow moving beyond.
“Never gets any less unsettling to look at,” Steve murmurs beside him, shifting his weight between his feet as he keeps his eyes locked on the unbroken membrane.
“Dr. Pierce, we’ve got another spike!” The researcher calls from behind, voice sounding a bit concerned. “We’re edging 170 now.”
The humming increases steadily along with a slight vibration in the ground beneath their feet. Steve steps up beside Pierce, a hand out like he’s ready to drag him back from the edge, as Pierce stares into the membrane intensely.
Come on. Come on. Come back through. Just be alive. Come on. Please be alive.
A more defined shadow moves along the edge closest to the trailer and doesn’t pull back. “We’ve got movement!” Steve calls back, alerting the nearby units as Pierce’s hand flies out to hush him. They both watch with a certain level of horrified fascination as the shadow grows defined enough to make that section of the membrane appear black before it begins to tear.
A bare hand extends out of the membrane, blindly grasping for the nearby edge. Steve twitches forward, like he wants to go and help them, but Pierce holds him back wordlessly, leaving them both standing perfectly still as another hand appears and grabs onto the edge.
The person uses the grip on the edge to pull themselves through – a woman in a filthy tank top and jeans struggling to pull herself onto the flat ground. As soon as she is through, she quickly turns around on her knees and reaches back through the membrane.
You’re… You’re actually alive.
Several soldiers approach slowly with their rifles out, aiming at you as you take hold of someone else’s hand and start to pull them through. A pale man with long, messy hair appears from the other side, holding on tightly to you as you help him reorient to the change in perspective. “No way…” Steve whispers, standing frozen as he watches them start to sit up and look around.
“Dr. Pierce!” You call happily once you spot him, waving at him like you’re excited to see him. There’s a huge smile on your face, a stark contrast to your utterly disheveled appearance. “I made it! I’m back!”
The soldiers continue to keep their weapons trained on the newcomers, watching for some sign of aggression. You slowly get to your feet, offering your hand to your companion and helping him up too. Steve takes a few mindless steps towards them, Dr. Pierce no longer stopping him. “Eddie?” He calls uncertainly, like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “Eddie, is that you?”
The man’s head perks up, looking in Steve’s direction. “Harrington?” He replies, sounding just as uncertain and confused. “Is that you in there?”
“Eddie, as in Eddie Munson?” Dr. Pierce asks Steve, still unmoving as he stares at you, seemingly unharmed.
“Yeah…” Steve breathes out, still looking stunned. “And he doesn’t look like he’s aged a day.”
You and Eddie start to walk over when a soldier barks at you to stay back, both of you nervously putting your hands up as you look between the armed soldiers, Steve, and Pierce.
“It’s me, Dr. Pierce. It’s really me.” You insist, looking at him pleadingly. “And this is Eddie, he helped me find my way back. He saved me.” You add, motioning to the man beside you. The two of you are close together; you stand slightly in front of Eddie, like you’re protecting him. Eddie just offers a sheepish smile and a shrug, like it was no big deal.
“Sir? What do we do?” One of the soldiers asks, glancing in Dr. Pierce’s direction.
The two of you look exhausted, dirty, hungry, but… Harmless. No worse for wear despite the time spent on the other side.
“Bring them in.” Pierce orders. “No excessive force. They’ve been through a lot.”
The soldiers nod, lowering their weapons and urging you both to come forward. You look particularly relieved, while Eddie appears mostly unphased by all of it.
“Thank god, I need a shower so badly.” You announce with a happy laugh, walking toward them as you shake your head and make a disgusted face. “No one smell me, I’m begging you.”
If anyone finds your behavior unsettling or strange, they don’t say so. Everyone mostly looks relieved it didn’t turn into some kind of fight. While there is something off about how you’re acting, Dr. Pierce can’t find it in himself to feel anything besides relief at your return.
Steve stands motionless and tense as Eddie approaches, looking every bit like he’s seen a ghost. There is no excitement, no relief, no… Trust. Like this is all a bad dream and he just wants to wake up.
Just before you and Eddie pass the two of them, you flash another excited smile. “And not a moment too soon – I’m so thirsty.” You look over at Eddie, who nods in agreement, before you continue walking toward the field tent in the distance, flanked on either side by armed soldiers.
Eddie stops by Steve, giving him a tilted smile. “Hey Harrington, didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I could say the same to you,” Steve replies, his tone apprehensive and flat. If Eddie catches on, he doesn’t show it, just continuing to show that same smile – like he knows something you don’t.
“What can I say?” He offers with a shrug and a wink before he continues to trail after you and toward the growing crowd beyond. “It’s good to be back.”
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thanks for reading, please let me know if you liked it!!
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nasa · 2 years
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12 Great Gifts from Astronomy
This is a season where our thoughts turn to others and many exchange gifts with friends and family. For astronomers, our universe is the gift that keeps on giving. We’ve learned so much about it, but every question we answer leads to new things we want to know. Stars, galaxies, planets, black holes … there are endless wonders to study.
In honor of this time of year, let’s count our way through some of our favorite gifts from astronomy.
Our first astronomical gift is … one planet Earth
So far, there is only one planet that we’ve found that has everything needed to support life as we know it — Earth. Even though we’ve discovered over 5,200 planets outside our solar system, none are quite like home. But the search continues with the help of missions like our Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). And even you (yes, you!) can help in the search with citizen science programs like Planet Hunters TESS and Backyard Worlds.
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Our second astronomical gift is … two giant bubbles
Astronomers found out that our Milky Way galaxy is blowing bubbles — two of them! Each bubble is about 25,000 light-years tall and glows in gamma rays. Scientists using data from our Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope discovered these structures in 2010, and we're still learning about them.
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Our third astronomical gift is … three types of black holes
Most black holes fit into two size categories: stellar-mass goes up to hundreds of Suns, and supermassive starts at hundreds of thousands of Suns. But what happens between those two? Where are the midsize ones? With the help of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, scientists found the best evidence yet for that third, in between type that we call intermediate-mass black holes. The masses of these black holes should range from around a hundred to hundreds of thousands of times the Sun’s mass. The hunt continues for these elusive black holes.
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Our fourth and fifth astronomical gifts are … Stephan’s Quintet
When looking at this stunning image of Stephan’s Quintet from our James Webb Space Telescope, it seems like five galaxies are hanging around one another — but did you know that one of the galaxies is much closer than the others? Four of the five galaxies are hanging out together about 290 million light-years away, but the fifth and leftmost galaxy in the image below — called NGC 7320 — is actually closer to Earth at just 40 million light-years away.
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Our sixth astronomical gift is … an eclipsing six-star system
Astronomers found a six-star system where all of the stars undergo eclipses, using data from our TESS mission, a supercomputer, and automated eclipse-identifying software. The system, called TYC 7037-89-1, is located 1,900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus and the first of its kind we’ve found.
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Our seventh astronomical gift is … seven Earth-sized planets
In 2017, our now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope helped find seven Earth-size planets around TRAPPIST-1. It remains the largest batch of Earth-size worlds found around a single star and the most rocky planets found in one star’s habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the presence of liquid water on a planet’s surface.
Further research has helped us understand the planets’ densities, atmospheres, and more!
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Our eighth astronomical gift is … an (almost) eight-foot mirror
The primary mirror on our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is approximately eight feet in diameter, similar to our Hubble Space Telescope. But Roman can survey large regions of the sky over 1,000 times faster, allowing it to hunt for thousands of exoplanets and measure light from a billion galaxies.
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Our ninth astronomical gift is … a kilonova nine days later
In 2017, the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and European Gravitational Observatory’s Virgo detected gravitational waves from a pair of colliding neutron stars. Less than two seconds later, our telescopes detected a burst of gamma rays from the same event. It was the first time light and gravitational waves were seen from the same cosmic source. But then nine days later, astronomers saw X-ray light produced in jets in the collision’s aftermath. This later emission is called a kilonova, and it helped astronomers understand what the slower-moving material is made of.
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Our tenth astronomical gift is … NuSTAR’s ten-meter-long mast
Our NuSTAR X-ray observatory is the first space telescope able to focus on high-energy X-rays. Its ten-meter-long (33 foot) mast, which deployed shortly after launch, puts NuSTAR’s detectors at the perfect distance from its reflective optics to focus X-rays. NuSTAR recently celebrated 10 years since its launch in 2012.
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Our eleventh astronomical gift is … eleven days of observations
How long did our Hubble Space Telescope stare at a seemingly empty patch of sky to discover it was full of thousands of faint galaxies? More than 11 days of observations came together to capture this amazing image — that’s about 1 million seconds spread over 400 orbits around Earth!
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Our twelfth astronomical gift is … a twelve-kilometer radius
Pulsars are collapsed stellar cores that pack the mass of our Sun into a whirling city-sized ball, compressing matter to its limits. Our NICER telescope aboard the International Space Station helped us precisely measure one called J0030 and found it had a radius of about twelve kilometers — roughly the size of Chicago! This discovery has expanded our understanding of pulsars with the most precise and reliable size measurements of any to date.
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Stay tuned to NASA Universe on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with what’s going on in the cosmos every day. You can learn more about the universe here.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!
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One of my favorite Black characters is Jackie McGee from Immortal Hulk (2018-2021).
A reporter with the Arizona Herald, we're introduced to her when she's investigating the return of the Hulk. She's the most important character in the series after the Hulk, and really awesome!
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Interviewing a priest about a Hulk siting in issue 3
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In Gamma Hell with Devil Hulk in issue 11 (art by Joe Bennett and colored by Paul Mounts for both, dialogue by Al Ewing).
Towards the end of the series, she learns that because of her exposure to Gamma radiation, Jackie is now a Gamma mutate with the power to basically see Gamma radiation/Gamma ghosts.
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Jackie discovering/using her powers for the first time in issue 42, art by Rachael Stott, dialogue again by Al Ewing.
Jackie is one of the main POV characters of the series, and serves as sort of a grounding character providing a more normal human perspective to everything going on, seeing as pretty much every other character is like, a long-time superhero or whatever.
She's such an amazing character and one of the best parts of an awesome comic, watching her get closer and closer to the story she's supposed to be reporting on even after she loses her job and getting in more and more dangerous situations even though she's terrified because she needs to know the whole story is so !!!!
She ends up publishing a book about her time with the Hulk, but she hasn't been in anything since Immortal Hulk ended, which is a shame.
Oh I love that dialogue. "Mine is dismissed... If I'm lucky." Because she's speaking complete facts. It gets said in so many pieces of media, and by us all the time. Having your anger received with grace and acknowledged as valid (and forgivable) is a privilege fr. Everybody doesn't get access to that in the same way. Damn, and they slipped her in and out of the comics 😭 actually maybe it's better Marvel movies don't have her rn.
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junhecas · 10 months
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Do you think she feels it?
The first time Renko ate the flesh of her own, of course, was gentle. Yukari seemed to know how to make it seem like something other than it was, perhaps an extent of her power or perhaps a skill learned the hard way, during all the miserable time spent away from each other. But over time, she felt something shift in her mind. Not only had she become okay with it, that had happened long ago, but now...she started to want it. A carnivorous desire that had never gripped her before, wanting to sink her teeth into something real. All she had known for her whole life was fake, compared to this even the best meal she had before Yukari found her feels like cardboard in her memory.
Do you think she feels it, when her body begins to betray its origin? When her bones ache and warp, eyes and teeth just underneath her skin, aching to break free, to feel the light of the moon? Because, certainly, there was no room under the sun for her anymore. She is pale, and thin, eyes wider than they had ever held themselves, but she is alive!
Her mind no longer has room to care if she's found. When she's told another unfortunate soul had wandered past the boundary of artifice and organic, her feet hit the ground as soon as she leaves the conversation. She's running through the trees, laughing and out of breath all at once, almost on all fours as she propels herself faster and faster by grabbing the trunks of trees and pushing herself forward. As soon as her handclaws grace warm flesh, it's over.
Do you think she feels it? When her hands are betwixt the ribs of a man she does not even register the face of? When she hears a soft crunch of detritus and snaps her head back up, blood flying from the corners of her mouth, only to be met with the saccharine smile of her beloved? The woman she had chased to the end of the known world, into that which is truly unknown. Do the new eyes protruding from her skin see different wavelengths; ultraviolet, gamma, infrared? Do her sharper teeth form a different smile, after a short exhale of relief, of happiness?
I hope she does. Feeling is the act of living, after all. This is what she wanted.
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lunarpleurodon · 2 years
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COR concept art log #2
theme song is galleria by hiiragi kirai
Grace’s playlist has the original song using flower while Glenn and Killian’s use miyashita yuu’s cover. i think the squeakiness of flower’s vocals that kirai tunes in their music really fits Grace’s point of view in the Diamonds arc... it sounds kind of helpless and angry, while miy_yuu’s cover is more desperate and full of struggle. perfect for each character!
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zombiecicada · 5 months
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Headcannons for yamikage?
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Trigger warning for darker themes and child abuse/neglect
Such a complex basket case.
-Yamikage identifies as male and uses he/him pronouns. He will never let this fact about him see the light of day, but he did experiment with she/her pronouns at one point in his lifetime. This experiment did not last. Sexuality wise, he is demirose, requiring a deep bond and a lot of trust with someone to experience any kind of attraction with anyone.
-His full legal name is Yamikage Kubo. He never introduces himself by his full name (if he introduces himself at all, getting him to talk to most people and try to make unnecessary introductions makes pulling teeth seem easy) and hates his last name with a passion. He also does not like being called ‘Yami’ by anyone other than Gamma, and will instantly correct someone that his name is Yamikage if you try and call him that. Currently, he is equivalent to being forty seven years old.
-Yamikage is the youngest of three siblings, and has an older brother and an older sister. His father is a legendary ninja amongst the ninja circles and overall the clan Yamikage hails from is both extremely powerful, but also has a very high reputation. Yamikage’s father is a star warrior, having served the Ninja Task Force for many years, long before they ever joined forces with the GSA and started actively participating in the war. He was forced to temporarily take leave from the force after his wife, the leader of the village, passed away. He returned to assume all her duties and the care of his three children. Yamikage is not close with any of his family members. His siblings have a long history of mocking and picking on their little brother, pulling multiple pranks on him that ranged from leading him in the woods to show him ‘something cool’ only to abandon him so he’d get lost, to actively trying to scare him with things and scenarios that they knew he hated or feared, often ending with him actually getting hurt. His father always looked the other way after telling Yamikage once that if he didn’t like how he was being treated he would have to stand up for himself and fight back, fights he always lost as his siblings were both a good deal bigger, older and more experienced. Yamikage’s father had a very sour opinion on Yamikage, and has told Yamikage to his face that he wishes Yamikage had not been conceived, had he not been born his wife, Yamikage’s mother, would not have passed away due to the pregnancy complications. He tried his hardest to go low contact with his family prior to his betrayal. Relationship wise, Yamikage had a very on and off dating relationship with Gamma, who he had planned to ask to be his boyfriend. He also got engaged against his wishes to his now ex-fiancée.
-Being born a star warrior from a young age Yamikage was to join the Ninja Task Force and fight alongside the army. Yamikage, not wanting any attention, much less to be an officer, purposefully did just below average during basic training. Enough to pass, but not enough to be considered for any extra training, even if in truth he was an extraordinarily skilled strategist and had considerable combative abilities as well. Truth be told, he did not want to be here, he didn’t like any of these people. The one saving grace was this got him away from his father and siblings, and as long as he did his assigned work he was left alone. Well, almost. The thing about that kind of plan was that it only worked if he actually was left alone, and a certain red sefortian refused to let him just brood alone in some corner on his time off. If you were to ask him, he really was not sure why he ever decided to give Gamma any time of day, but soon their interactions became almost daily.
-Yamikage’s favourite things to do are practice his various ninja skills alone, play strategy games with Gamma, and his and Gamma’s ‘war’ where they will try and tap each other playfully. Gamma was never fast enough or sneaky enough to catch Yamikage off guard. He will deny it till the end of time, but he’s actually a pretty big fan of romantic comedy novels. His favourite being a popular series that is well known for being horrifically bad. He’s also a pretty big fan of calligraphy and even knows how to craft certain pieces of jewelry.
-Yamikage’s favourite snacks are dango, thought he will eat just about anything due to growing up on the tail end of a famine on his home world. A lot of Yamikage’s comrades were disturbed to find that he had no problems eating demonbeast meat during the war.
-Ability wise, like most of his kind he has control over the chakra produced by his body. Specifically his ninjutsu focuses on the control of wind and shadows. He’s much more skilled than he’ll let on. He also has a few other ninja abilities and skills, like short distance teleportation and scaling vertical walls. For weapons he has his katana, alongside several throwing weapons and various other ninja tools.
-It is as only after his steady descent into darkness that he started putting the work and effort into climbing the ranks. He became the Ninja Task Force’s star strategist, alongside one of its stronger warriors. He finally played the part of being the perfect child his father always wanted, and he despised every single second of it. But it eventually got him the rank of the task force’s second in command next to the Ninja Task Force’s leader Fiona. His father finally saying he was proud, even that he was sorry for his earlier treatment, came far, far too late. It was shortly after that Yamikage snapped entirely, executing the plan that had been festering in his mind for years. He targeted the GSA’s star strategist, and finally tried to kill Arthur, Meta, and Fiona in an ambush that ended with several hundred casualties, including the death of Arthur’s brother Bedivere who went in Arthur’s place and fell into the trap meant for him.
-Yamikage is smaller than the average member of his species, and was born premature. Besides that, his only other physical health trait is the scar on the left side of his face, which does not cause any impairment to his vision. Yamikage has always been socially withdrawn and quite severely depressed, but during the years after Gamma’s discharge from the army, he started to experience several symptoms of psychosis. He stared hallucinating moments of Gamma being back, overly intense bad ideas and voices in his head argued with him that punishing everyone around him would make him stop feeling this empty, and he started to sleepwalk a lot, something he hadn’t done since he was a child. Yamikage still experiences delusions daily, but rarely reaches point of truly being detached from reality and is vaguely aware in the back of his mind that what he is experiencing isn’t real.
-He is ambidextrous, but prefers the use of his right hand.
-After the events of his betrayal, the Ninja Task Force between Fiona’s severe wounds preventing her from properly leading, no second in command to take her place, and the absolutely tarnished reputation of the ninjas, was disbanded and the GSA lost the support of the ninjas. Alongside such, Meta Knight was also severely injured, Dragato was captured and Bedivere was killed. Not satisfied with the damage done, Yamikage continued for several years to further sabotage the GSA, playing his hand in the events that resulted in the recorded deaths of both Jecra and Garlude. He didn’t stop until the GSA was effectively wiped off the face of the universe in the Final Battle. Falspar has not seen or heard of him since that battle, but has a pretty strong suspicion that he is in fact alive. And he wants nothing more than to bring him to justice, or rather, albeit something he cannot admit out loud due to his image, let Nonsurat use him as a training dummy until there’s nothing left of him. Little does he know that Meta Knight and Wolfbell encountered him on Popstar.
-His theme song is Sleepwalk by Forrest Day.
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My Thoughts on Santalla
lul bad just use Eyja instead
Are they gone? Did I bait them into trying to find the upvote button on tumblr? Good good.
Now I'm going to do a lot of work arguing Santalla from a position of general good faith and wanting to encourage others to experiment with her. That cannot be done without acknowledging that her class, the Splash or AoE Caster, is one of the worst in the entire game. They have very high DP costs, limited range, and pretty low attack speed. This results in a pretty poor DPS even for a class that's meant to manage crowds of enemies. I'm sure we can all post funny numbers about how Eyja does like 8 billion damage. Let's push past that for now. Splash Casters still have their perks. Santalla HP: 1,640 (+155 from Module) ATK: 770 (+90 from Trust) (+32 from Potential 4) (+70 from Module) DEF: 123 RES: 20 Redeployment Time: 70 seconds (-4 sec from Potential 3) DP Cost: 33 (-1 from Potentials 2 and 6) (-8 from Module) Attack Interval: 2.9 seconds Talent: After being deployed for 20 seconds, this unit gains ATK +15% and Status Resistance (+3% ATK from Potential 5) (-5 seconds and +5% ATK from Module)
Let's start with a discussion of the basics. The stats. While not super notable, she is the bulkiest of the 5-star Splash Casters, having better HP and DEF than all of them. She's a little less bulky than either Mostima or Dusk (and considerably less if its Module X Dusk, which it won't be), but this isn't a tanking class so its not a major deal.
Her offense is the key part of the show here. Her ATK with just her trust bonus is 860, which doesn't stack well against Lava's 888, Leonhardt's 863, or Skyfire's 874. Mostima's 939 and Dusk's 1,028 ATK seem to have pigeonholed Santalla into a bulky, unoffensive position.
Santalla's talent is an incredible saving grace here. It's easy to activate and will always be active when her skill is up, and the resulting 15% ATK boost puts her effective ATK at 989, making her more comparable with the 6-stars. The key here, when compared with Leonhardt's, Skyfire's, or Dusk's talents is the general ease of this talent. 20 seconds sounds like a lot, but at Mastery Level 3, her S2 has a 20 second charge time on deployment, so its downtime that's already covered.
If you were to push Santalla to her peak performance, here is how her ATK would compare to the others:
Santalla: 1,183 Lava the Purgatory: 950 Leonhardt: 1,013 (He will always have one stack of his talent due to how video games work: with 8 enemies in range his ATK is 1,351) Skyfire: 977 Mostima: 1,055 Dusk Module Y: 1,144 (Potential max of 1,556 with 18 kills) Dusk Module X: 1,142 (Potential max of 1,690 with 24 kills)
Truthfully, the raw attack stat isn't the most relevant thing on the block. But it does give a decent indicator of what exactly Santalla is working with, and the fact that she can hang with the 6-stars while off-skill is genuinely really impressive, although Leonhardt is probably a little bit better than her at that.
Also worth noting that she gets Status Resistance from her talent. This is cool. Not like, the most insane thing in the world but getting less owned by status occasionally comes up.
From this point forward, I will be discussing what I consider Santalla's base (Max Level and 100% Trust) and near max power (all the goodies, except for potential BUT you get whipped cream to use as you like), and that her talent is always active. This is to give players who maybe are a bit worried about investing her module some idea of how much it impacts her. For the latter, keep in your head that her ATK with her talent up is 1,116.
Her base DPS, assuming she is attacking an enemy with 0 RES, is 341 damage per second. With her module, this increases to 384.
Skill 1
I'm not going to go over this one in detail. No one is wowed by Swift Strike gamma. But to go over what it does to her DPS briefly: +45 ASPD is enough to reduce her attack interval to 2 seconds flat. At base, Santalla's ATK will go up to 1,376, giving her a DPS of 688, about a 102% increase. With her module, she will have an ATK of 1,534, resulting in a DPS of 767, or a 100% increase.
This makes sense. Since Santalla's talent already gives her a decent ATK buff, the improved ATK buff from her module will create a little bit more diminishing returns, and on the whole, the DPS increase is than the expected amount at 210%. On a whole, if you raise this all the way up, Santalla does double damage over 35 seconds. Probably not jumping out of your seats on that one.
Skill 2
Oh boy, this skill. This skill has a lot to cover, let's start with the description.
[Attack Range expands, Attack Interval shortens massively, and attacks now summon icicles over random areas within range. When the icicles fall, all enemies in the area are inflicted with Cold for 1 seconds and dealt 90% of Santalla's ATK as Arts damage.]
Going over it in detail: -Santalla's range expands to include the 4th row, identical to Marksmen snipers -Her attack interval is reduced by 2.4 seconds, all the way down to 0.5 seconds. This means she will attack twice a second, getting in 30 attacks over her skill duration. -Randomly is both correct and not correct. It's time to bring in diagrams.
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Icicle falling is semi-random. One icicle will fall in column B (the left column), followed by an icicle in column D (the right column), and finally by an icicle in column C (the middle column). Using the diagram as a metric, you can consider it like this:
Random(B1, B2, B3, B4) THEN Random (D1, D2, D3, D4) THEN Random (C1, C2, C3, C4). (Yes, she can target her own square, this is a reminder to always double check your thinking lol) -Her icicles explode with a radius of 1.5 tiles. To explain what this looks like:
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Here is an Attack on "C2". Fortunately, Santalla's effects make it really easy to visually confirm this. Even as she is slaughtering Originium Slugs.
-Cold for 1 second might initially give the impression that Santalla needs to chain together back to back hits with her skill in order to inflict and sustain freeze. This isn't true: she does however need to score a hit within the next two hits.
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I would watch the first six seconds or so on 0.5x speed and count. Santalla is allowed to miss one of her hits and still keep her cold and freeze going. This is going to be really important once we talk about how her probabilities work.
-Each attack will deals damage equal to 90% of Santalla's ATK. This is a modifier applied after her attack buff from her talent, but BEFORE Res is applied. We'll be talking about her damage primarily in 0 RES situations, but this will be important later on for an example. For now, at base, Santalla's icicles will do 890 damage, and with her module they will do 1,004 damage. This is an 11.1% decrease in damage.
With all of that out of the way, phew, let's talk about the skill as a whole. This is a crowd control skill that looks to freeze enemies with multiple icicle hits. This is a pretty nice idea actually. Freeze is a really powerful source of crowd control and an enemy could theoretically be pinned down for the entire 15 second duration. Critically also, being Frozen reduces enemy RES by 15, giving Santalla some sneaky extra damage. This naturally relies on quite a bit of luck though, and enemy position is really, really important.
In particular, you might have been clever and noticed a connection between her attack pattern and how many hits she needs to land to Freeze an enemy and sustain the Frozen condition. The initial hit needs to land, and then one of the two next hits also needs to land. This means that, for any given enemy in her attack range, they need to be hit by an icicle from a different column in order to be frozen.
This also plays very weirdly with enemies outside of her attack range. Since the icicles have an explosion range of 1.5 tiles, she can hit enemies outside of her attack range, but whether she can freeze them or not is actually dependent on where exactly they are outside of her attack frame.
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Geometry is fucking sick y'all.
Due to the rules of how this works, Santalla cannot actually freeze enemies outside of her attack range if they are on either side of her attack range. The only icicles that can hit those areas are all from the same column, so it's not viable. Only at the very front and directly behind her attack range are viable options, and its pretty specific both in location and which icicles have to fall. But it is technically possible.
Since we know the rules and can properly map out how each icicle will impact the map, we can do something really interesting: we can calculate a general probability as a guideline for how likely an enemy is to be frozen when in any specific tile. Do note for this I am assuming the enemy is in the center of the tile and not moving. This is a guideline, I am not smart enough to brain out every possible solution and factoring in movement is about my brain grade.
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We can discount the middle tile of icicles because those won't factor in here. Assuming out helpful little enemy in C3 was hit, what are the chances that Santalla will freeze him with her next two attacks? Well the left column and the right column have three viable options out of four, so this is pretty simple to figure out. We only need one to hit, so we can include all solutions that include a positive left and right hit (56.25%), all solutions that include a positive left and negative right (18.75%), and vice versa (18.75%). The only solutions left are two negative hits (6.25%) which is out failure rate, giving us a success rate of: 93.75%!
(This is assuming all squares are weighted equally.)
Since the spread is symmetrical, we only have to test for 8 different locations. B1 and D1 are essentially the same but flipped after all.
B1/D1: Only hits in C1 and C2 are positive. This gives us a 50% chance. B2/D2: C1, C2, and C3 are positive. 75% chance. B3/B4: C2, C3, and C4 are positive. 75% chance. B4/D4: C3 and C4 are positive. 50% chance. C1: B1, B2, D1, and D2 are positive. 75% chance. C2: B1, B2, B3, D1, D2, and D3 are positive. 93.75% chance. C3: B2, B3, B4, D2, D3, and D4 are positive. 93.75% chance. C4: B3, B4, D3, and D4 are positive. 75% chance.
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The cool thing about rectangles is they are symmetric both ways, which makes the actual math part of this a lot easier. In general:
The closer to the center of the attack range an enemy is, the more likely they will be frozen and remain frozen.
There's one little quirk though I forgot to mention. While icicles will fall randomly in her attack range, they will not fall in squares that are considered out of bounds such as squares occupied by a wall. I mean come on, there couldn't be a map that could be abused with, could there?
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Let's say we are sick and tired of that bastard Sarkaz Guerilla Fighter, and he's parked in the center of the first row, and we park Santalla right below him.
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Suddenly the top two rows are out of bounds, so when Santalla uses her skill, she will only attack six squares. What happens to the poor Sarkaz Guerilla Fighter who is sitting in C2?
Well C2's positive hits are B1, B2, D1, and D2. Those are the only squares Santalla can hit. So Santalla will perma-freeze the Sarkaz Guerilla Fighter and hit him with all 30 of her attacks of her skill!
(2 * (Damage * 0.5)) + (28 * (Damage *0.65)) is the formula that will tell us how much damage the fighter will take.
At base, the Sarkaz Guerilla Fighter will take: 17,074 damage. With module, the Sarkaz Guerilla Fighter will take: 19,288 damage.
We did it gang. We killed the 10,000 HP Sarkaz Guerilla Fighter because this stage gives him a hidden HP buff. Santalla is the greatest.
Well...no. Even if you can guarantee all 30 hits will lands on an enemy with 0 RES, your total skill damage comes out to 26,700 and 30,120 damage respectively. It is a genuinely pretty impressive DPS, sitting at 1,780 and 2008 respectively, but this requires not only good positioning but also very intentional knowledge of the map. There will be maps where it is simply impossible for Santalla to do this.
You might be wondering what the chances of an enemy in tiles C2 or C3 are of getting hit with all 30 attacks from Santalla's skill. Fortunately, that's very easy. We take the success rate on any attack (75%) and multiply it by itself the number of times we need. 0.75 ^ 30. That can't be that bad right?
0.018%. It's pretty low. Comparatively, you might ask, what are the chances a corner tile enemy is never hit? Well we thankfully can avoid all right-side hits, as those will never hit an enemy on the left side. 10 are automatic misses. The remaining 20 are 50/50s. 0.5 ^ 20.
0.000095%. So okay, to be entirely fair, its really unlikely you will just never hit an enemy. Santalla will generally do _some_ damage and inflict Cold. If you can deploy blockers to keep enemies from leaving her attack range, chances are she's going to do decent work.
The big problem with this skill, the reason I made all the graphics and did the probabilities and what not, is that Santalla is inconsistent. Unless you're smart and use her wisely, there's a good chance that she can not perform to what you need her to do. Figuring how much of an impact she'll have on average is frankly a level of math I'm not qualified to do, but you have to construct her greatest scenarios deliberately. She's not quite plug and play.
Conclusions
There's probably an argument that whatever you want Santalla to do, Gnosis can do better. That's likely true. He's way more consistent at locking down large crowds of enemies with freeze and maintains a pretty good sum of damage on them too. But I think Santalla is the kind of operator who while inconsistent, is going to be fun to optimize and make work. Getting Santalla to work is rather rewarding thanks to the combination of her good DPS and a powerful 14.5 second permafreeze. But you won't always be able to make that happen, and I think planning around her inconsistency will also be an important part in managing her viability.
I think its actually a really good idea to pair her with Gnosis. The massive Fragile debuff Gnosis provides happens at the very end of the damage calculation, which is quite impactful. Santalla can be comboed with other strong crowd control operators too, such as Magallan (lesbians for life), and Saria.
Plus I'm sure if you do the dumbshit buffing set-ups she can take out Patriot. Chop chop. Make it happen.
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grimfox · 11 months
Text
cosmonauts
pulsing stars are scattered 'cross
the open, gentle void.
i feel your heartbeat in the echo
of the universe's joy.
all forces flow from your love,
weakest gravitation's getting stronger.
you electro-magnetize my eyes
to gaze into you longer.
past event horizons
tumbling ever faster, into stellar you.
the view is brighter than the violence
of a gamma ray burst group.
irradiated, i remain
aglow for nova's odd creation,
spraying colors into spaces,
shining bright in revelation's
blatant ancient graces.
make this waste a verdant place to play in.
i'm embracing your oasis
sating every taste for staying.
dreams, our native tongue,
your words, the stars of constellations
mapping out the fate of what
we orbit in our warm space station.
panic vacant in the vastness.
laughing past La Grange points rising
we go rogue, escaping blackness
of the universe's dying.
climbing our own energy
we flee past the observable
and tunnel through the fabric of
a universe turned beautiful.
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atomicstarcat · 2 years
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Cuties!💖💖 Hiro and Gamma are the most precious brothers to ever grace this earth🤧🤧
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WEBCOMIC DIRECTORY
Half the reason I created this tournament is so I could find new webcomics to read, and I know a bunch of you are following it for the same reason.
So: Here is a directory of every webcomic that was submitted!
Please note that this list is Very Long, so (1) I have not read most of these webcomics and can't vouch for their content, and (2) I have not tested any of these links, but I can fix any errors if you point them out.
Comics are listed in alphabetical order, with the featured couple(s) or poly ship(s) in parentheses. Broken into two parts because Tumblr only allows 100 links per post and there are 140 comics.
180° Angel (Sam and Lilith)
2 Slices (Ruka and Rio)
A Week in Warrigilla (Hazel and Willie)
A&H Club (Adrian and Hildegard)
Alice and the Nightmare (Edith and Quinn)
Alien Heart (Ivy and Rosa)
Always Human (Sunati and Austen)
Balderdash (Georgie and Afia)
Band vs Band (Honey Hart and Turpentine)
Blindsprings (Ember and Irelia)
Boyfriends (Jock, Prep, Nerd, and Goth)
Bugtopia (Arachne and Scarlet)
Burn Away (Abella and Edie)
Charity Case (Sylvia and Jerry)
Circuits and Veins (Ai and Aki)
Console Her (Claudia and Ava)
Cucumber Quest (Almond and Peridot; Piano and Ametrine)
Cursed Princess Club (Nell and Jolie)
Dame Daffodil (Charo and Alesea)
Daughter of the Lilies (Lyra and Margot)
Dead Winter (Lizzie and Alice)
Dicebox (Griffin and Molly)
Dirt Creek Runs Red with Blood (Ines and Sarepia)
Dom&Mor (Dominique and Morgan)
Dresden Codak (Kimiko and Elith)
Drop-Out (Lola and Sugar)
Dumbing of Age (Becky and Dina; Jennifer/Billie and Ruth)
El Goonish Shive (Ellen and Nanase; Catalina and Rhoda; Diane and Lucy)
Eldritch Darling (Ina and CJ)
Encore! (Quinn and Hana)
Ennui Go (Izzy, Darcy, and Tanya)
Errant (Sarin and Jules)
Facing the Sun (Aarya and Liza)
Finding Wonderland (Alex and Lucky)
Flowers For the Arsonist (Lucia and Paige)
Four Leaf (Carla and Lina)
Gals (Croix, Sam, Lux, and Charlotte)
Ghoul Crush (Sison and Laguna)
Girly (Otra and Winter)
Glitterlaced (Goldie and Luck)
Go Get a Roomie (Roomie and Lillian)
Guide to the Land of Monsters (Arnatuk and Tove)
Gunnerkrigg Court (Kat and Paz; Zimmy and Gamma)
Hard Lacquer (Claire and Robin; Claire and Petra)
Heartstopper (Darcy and Tara)
Heir's Game (Sevilia and Ilianna)
Her Tale of Shim Chong (Shim Chong and Madam Jang)
High Class Homos (Sapphia and Odette; Sapphia and Marla)
Homestuck (Rose and Kanaya; Calliope and Roxy; Vriska and Meenah; Vriska and Terezi)
How to Be a Werewolf (Marin and Marisa)
I Love Amy (Amy and Bibi)
I Want to Be a Cute Anime Girl (Cheryl and Delilah)
I'm the Villainess but the Heroine's Trying to Capture Me (Nelly and Nancy)
In My Heart (Wantanabe Yuki and Sasaki Mari)
Isadora (Isaline and Theodora)
It's Okay to Like Girls (Sophie and Olivia)
Kidd Commander (Phineas and Agatha)
Kill Six Billion Demons (Allison and Ciocie Cioelle)
Kiss It Goodbye (Aruka and Yukimi)
Lady of the Shard (Radiant Goddess and Acolyte; Radiant Goddess and Old God)
Lesbiampires (Daphne and Veronika)
Lore Olympus (Athena and Hestia)
Mage & Demon Queen (Malori and Velverosa)
Matchmaker (Kimmy and Marlowe)
Missing Monday (Foyle and Monday)
Monsters and Girls (Lili and Sera)
Motherlover (Imogen and Alex)
Moving In (Jackie and Riley)
Muted (Camille, Nyra, and Dendro)
My Dragon Girlfriend (Dani and Christie; Callie and Olive)
My Sweet Archenemy (Mad Spade and Miss Sunshine)
My Wish Is to Fall In Love Until You Die (Shiina and Mimi; Seiran and Ari)
Namesake (Selva and Alice)
Nano List (Chacha and Zavi)
Never Satisfied (Neith and Isra)
Nevermore (Lenore and Annabel Lee)
Night Owls and Summer Skies (Emma and Vivian)
Not So Shoujo Love Story (Rei and Hanna)
Octopus Pie (Jane and Marigold)
Offbeat (Beau and Julie)
On a Sunbeam (Mia and Grace; Alma and Char)
On Borrowed Time (Rune and Dielle)
Osora (Celia and Catalina)
Remaining links in part two!
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sketchfanda · 7 months
Text
Kirishima's Mystique:Jade Gammazon Woman in the Mood
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Folks of Mustafu city streets were turning their heads and dropping their jaws, man and woman alike at the sight that walked among them and really why wouldn’t or shouldn’t they? Even in this day and age of Quirks where you'd likely have a distinct, unique appearance ranging from alien to full on furry, this woman was an absolute unit in how she stood out. 6 foot 7 of bombshell curves and powerful, sensually exquisite muscles with skin a rich emerald/jade green, this was none other than famed pro hero and attorney at law, Jennifer Walters, codenamed She-Hulk, cousin to one Bruce Banner, famed scientist in the field of Gamma Radiation and the equally famous Incredible Hulk. Currently in Japan on a trip for business related matters and well...pretty damn bored out of her mind.
Jennifer Walters, Hero Name: She-Hulk!! Quirk: Gamm-azon!! Like her walking rage factory cousin, Jen posses a super strength trasformation based quirk that'd been artificially kickstarted into activation by a transfusion of his blood. Making her capable of turning into a 7 foot plus statuesque stunner capable of bench pressing tanks and leaping tall buildings in a single bound especially when fuelled by adrenaline and or rage!
Now it wasn't to do with her lawyer work of course, never a dull moment with that, nor was it related to the heroics field. No Jen you see hadn't quite found anything during her stay that could get her adrenaline pumping and that, for this Gamma-zon, was a problem. Given the nature of her quirk, she often needed to relax by venting excess energy, often through intense physical activity such as combat, training....or sex. And thus far she hadn't seen action on any of those fronts that could really get her going.
That is until she paused as she beheld the immense and impressive architecture of Silverman's Pinnacle of Physique, a highly rated and recommended gym especially for those with physical type quirks. Jen couldn't help but smile, a twinkle in her jade eyes as she thought maybe the day might not be a total loss after all. A quick run to and back from her hotel and she was gracing the PoP with her presence, dressed and ready to pump some iron while dropping jaws. Wasting no time as she decided to start off with the weight training section, picking up the heaviest set of dumbbells she could get her hands.
It was no small surprise she was making heads turn and jaws drop, and why wouldn't she? Men and women alike just had a natural reaction, nevermind that she was THE She-Hulk of all people, as she sat on a bench and picked up a pair of the heaviest dumbbells she spotted and started on her reps. Her glorious jade biceps pumping and swelling with every curl as she focused on working herself up a sweat. Her attention briefly diverted as she found she wasn't alone on the bench, seeing a redhead dude with shark teeth a few feet from her also pumping iron.
She had certainly found him easy on the eyes and his workout gear ensured she got a more than decent glimpse at his own muscular form which rather suited his face, a nice blend between handsomely macho and angelface pretty. Wondering why he seemed familiar but unable to place a face or name as well as unaware this was local pro Eijiro Kirishima, aka the Chivalrous Hero Red Riot, who had somehow managed to go through his daily routine at Silverman's thus far at least without running into someone among the oh so fine female patrons and staff that might've wanted a little "private workout". Thankful that he wasn't making a clown out of himself fanboying over the fact that THE She-Hulk herself was here at the gym, right next to him, after all being a red blooded hot blooded guy, it'd be easier to ask him when had he NOT crushed on and fantasized about her? Knowing his bubblegum girlfriend duo, they'd be relentless with the teasing but to say nothing of the ideas they'd be planting in his head.
So instead the hard-headed redhead set about on his bicep curls as he picked up where left off on counting his reps, Jen doing much the same as her pace had a little more speed, subconsciously looking to catch up to and match up with him. At first it was all just looking quiet enough between the green and red duo as they found themselves seemingly in sync, performing the same workout routine but if one were to look closer then they would find it was a different story under the surface as time went on. Nobody was sure when and how exactly it happened but Kirishima and Jen began to turn their workout into a competition, each trying to outdo the other whether it was having higher numbers in push-ups to pull ups or press lifting the heaviest weights their bodies were capable of committing. Even some combination as the Herculean shark teethed himbo and the jade green Gamma-zon were caught up the momentum by their own sense of pride and determination.
Onlookers, eavesdroppers and passers-by among staff and members alike were in awe at this battle for physical fitness supremacy as the red and green powerhouses seemed to show no signs of stopping. As the old saying goes, who dares wins and right now who dared to not step down and admit defeat was the aim and name of the game as their bodies were sweating, adrenaline rushing as they did any and every exercise they could with any and every machine or set available on hand. One would think it was akin to witnessing a scene from a nature documentary involving an alpha male and female battling to assert dominance and mark their territory with the chivalrous hero stepping up against this invasive bombshell nut then things got well, how shall we say? A little more primal than anyone had thought or expected of course.
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At one point, the brawny duo unintentionally seemed to reach an impasse, calling a temporary break as exhaustion from all their effort and exertion had finally caught up to them. Deciding to take a break and catch their breaths, replenish their energy with maybe a quick snack and some way to unwind as they briefly went their separate ways. Only for the She-Hulk to pause midstride n her way to the juice bar as she saw Kirishima was looking to use the steam room, her brain flicking the switch to a lightbulb for an idea. A wonderful, awful idea so awfully wonderful and awfully wonderful that it was could only have come from her libido as she subconsciously licked her lips sensually, thighs pressed and rubbing together as her muscles clenched and flex.
Call it spur of the moment brought about by the spirit of competition or just the fact that it'd been WAY TOO LONG since she lost got any but Jen had what she thought was just the trick to get herself the win over that, she had say, hunky sturdy piece of manmeat. Kirishima of course unaware of the pending trouble coming his way as he sat in the steam room, towel around his waist as his wild spikey man of red hair was in its relaxed natural state. Calm breaths escaping him as he sighed with contentment from the warmth and moisture soothing his aching joints and muscles and certainly thankful he hadn't popped a boner in his shorts which was a feat given who'd he been in physical proximity to. But hot damn what a woman, that was for sure, he had to wonder if there was something about ladies with exotic skin colours and thicc muscular bodies that just did something for him.
He wasn't lost in thought for long of course as he heard the door open and shut, signalling that he now had company with him but he felt suspicious as he heard the clicking of the lock being set. His vision waiting for the steam to clear only for his eyes to bug out comically and his jaw to drop as he found Jen now standing right in front of him, revealing herself as the perpetrator as she grinned a cheeky grin while holding the towel wrapped around her torso. The only layer of modesty keeping Kirishima from seeing a sight most men but especially Mineta would give an arm and leg but of course the towel's size ensured that he was still getting a fine view of the valley of her emerald green cleavage and a good chunk of her hips and thighs which could give Mirko a run for her money. And of course she fully well knew this as her green eyes snuck a glance at the towel around his waist showing signs of a rising tent about to be pitched.
Kirishima:*Trying in vain to keep his groin from getting a raging hard-on, no easy task when you had a six foot plus green skinned Amazon near naked in a steam room with you, mind.*"What the hell lady?! This isn't a co-ed room ya know!!"*Sure that was stating the obvious but can you blame him? Frankly it was pretty clear from the look on her face she damn well knew that, why else would she lock the door?! This woman clearly had ulterior motives and she was playing on them at this very moment!!*
Jen:*Cheeky bitch that she was, couldn't help but shoot a trolling sensual smile the hardheaded redhead's way as she casually flexed her arm. Taking delight in how his eyes were glued to her pumped, swelling bicep, he was definitely a man with taste, licking her lips at sensing the hard-on he struggled in vain to keep down.*"Hmm I'd say it's obvious handsome but sure I can spell it out for you. I'm here to settle our little competition and what better way than a little game of stamina chicken as I like to call it. You, me, right here and now are gonna fuck. Long, wild and hard as we can until one of us calls it quits and backs down first or exhaustion gets them. What do you say beefcake? you man enough?"*With that smart-ass quip of course, the jade green Giantess removed her towel, casting it aside along with her modesty as she fully exposed herself before Kirishima. Striking sultry combinations of pin-up and bodybuilder poses as she relished having his obvious erotic attention.*
Kirishima of course was naturally left stunned speechless at the sight of a nude She-hulk right before his very eyes, inches of emerald Amazonian muscle and skin from head to toe laid bare. It was pretty much tit for his self-control as it went bye-bye while his libido took the wheel, flipping a few switches that sent him into that primal state of mind Mina and Maya loved oh so very much. Simply standing up and letting his towel drop to the floor as it was now Jen's turn to be shocked and surprised, silently gasping as she felt her pussy begin to dribble down her thighs at the sight of his raging hard cock. Inches of pulsing length and girth primed and ready to go as the two powerhouses simply stared at one another's naked forms.....and then commenced with making THE FUCK!!!
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What followed was a marathon of primal, passionate, animalistic and passionate mating, curious and confused staff and patrons alike puzzled and confused at the heavy thuds and other assorted noises coming from the locked steam room. Unaware that inside was none other than the Red riot and She-hulk going at it with enough lust and abandon to put porn stars to shame as their naked muscular forms glistened with sweat. The steam room's walls and ceilings filled with the echoes of their lewd skin slapping, ass clapping, pelvis pumping primal rhythm along with their moans and grunts of passion as they engaged in their latest position. Jen howling with delight as she found herself hoisted up in a full nelson position, Kirishima's guns hooked around her powerful legs as her own hands grasped his shoulders.
How she fucking loved it, who knew Japan had been housing a pornographic champion like this within their country as days to weeks of pent up desire were being satisfied, her green tits bouncing and her emerald booty jiggling with every thunderous impact of their loins. Her washboard abs swollen from the depth and fullness of his shaft as it hammered away at her womb, his balls slapping her clit as her pussy juices rained down to join their sweat puddle on the floor. Just when she thought this guy was ready to call it quits, he was still at it, not to mention he hadn't gone soft yet or pulled out once. The number of times he had cum so far counted on one hand with fingers left over while hers were too many to count and of course he hadn't pulled out once so far.
Hell they were still going at the same pace and intensity they had started off with, having commenced with a sloppy 69 before Jen found herself laying on the bench upside down, head hanging off the edge as she had gotten a full force facefucking. To say nothing of how delicious his man juice was, nevermind the thrilling sensation when he fucked her doggy style and in a mating press like some goddamn caveman. Of course his hands showed their appreciation for when she rode him cowgirl style as they gave one another as good as they got, their competition forgotten in the heat of sexual passion. Showing no signs of stopping as seconds continued to pass into minutes which would become hours.
Now as to how and why any of the staff had yet to intervene and stop this lewd misuse of their gym property, you could thank Silverman gym's horny nympho owner Mo Hani of course. The kinky Japanese-Brazilian stunned observing this spontaneous rut along with Mina and Maya who had come along not too long ago looking for their precious himbo. Delighted to find he had found and made a new sex friend as they enjoyed the show, making plans to meet Jen personally and ensure this wouldn't be a one time sort of thing. Hani meanwhile was wondering when to make a move herself, already getting wet from a potential future Sexercise session with the sturdy chivalrous stud.
For both Jen and Kirishima of course, they continued going at it for as long as possible. Unaware their heat of the moment would see to a very wild, lewd future for the both of them. And oh how sweet it is, you might even say? It's Plus Ultra....
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