#insert that one cellar comment

[heart-select]

It's interesting to realize the dynamic of Diluc probably being withheld information a lot growing up for the sake of keeping innocence (Crepus making his own dealings with the fatui. the capabilities of the winery. Kaeya's origins. Corruption within the KoF etc.). In the end, its information he got but only after a lot of cost because he wasn't given equipment how to deal with them, esp so abruptly all at once after tragedies

[hazely-sims]

Get to Know Me - Sims Edition

I was tagged by @papermint-airplane and @petrolstationflowers! Thank youuuu 🧡

What’s your favorite Sims death?

I generally don't allow my sims to die of anything but old age, but I would like to try out all the different deaths and ghosts at some point. The haunting curse ghost looks especially cool.

Alpha CC or MaxisMatch?

A mix of both? I tend to use Maxis-type clothes and furniture with textured patterns. I like most of my stuff to be fairly gameplay-friendly as well and it bothers me when there's clipping with sims animations so I don't use too many alpha clothes.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

Not generally, but I find that most EA sims are just very skinny? I had the pregnancy weight-gain mod installed, but the results were so extreme that I removed it and cheated the weight myself.

Do you move objects?

I mainly use it for storytelling, but is it even possible to play this game without using move objects sometimes?

Favorite Mod?

What an impossible question! If I had to choose one mod I can't live without, it'd be NRaas MasterController, but in terms of gameplay mods, I'm really enjoying adding new recipes and harvestables to my game these days. That's a lot of different mods together, so maybe I'm cheating a bit with that answer, haha.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

The first sims game I was ever able to successfully install was Sims 2 and I think it was a "Deluxe" package that came with Nightlife? I don't remember what my first pack was for Sims 3. Maybe Late Night as well?

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing

It's an adjective, isn't it? Like 'alive.' Listen, I get that it's probably supposed to be the other one, since they have some weird theme of using verbs as adjectives. But 'live' is already an adjective, so no-one is going to say it that way.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

How can I choose just one?? I do obviously love Rose a lot. She's adorable.

Have you made a simself?

Oh yes. Honestly I'm shocked so many of you don't. I automatically insert myself into every fantasy hahaha I am very self-absorbed.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

I don't even really remember which ones there are as defaults in Sims 3? I don't particularly love any of them.

Favorite EA hair?

Hmmm I enjoy the long male hair from Supernatural, especially on beardy men. And I also really like the 'modern braids' female hair from the store.

Favorite life stage?

Like most people, it's YA, sorry.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Definitely gameplay. I am trying to be a bit better at building, but it's such a slog.

Are you a CC creator?

I have dabbled, so I suppose, technically yes.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I don't know about a 'squad' but I'm pretty sure I have friends. I don't discord or anything, so if we're commenting on each other's posts, then I consider us friends? Hopefully that's okay lol

Do you have any sims merch?

No, is that like a thing?

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

No, I have no interest in trying to play the game in a way that's entertaining for other people. I do that the rest of the day; sims time is just for me.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I've put a lot more effort into aesthetics recently. Setting things up takes more time but I get a lot more enjoyment out of the game once it's done.

What’s your origin id?

I guess I probably have made one at some point but I have no idea what it is and I don't think I've ever used it. It's also just as likely that I actually don't have one.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

So many impossible questions 😭 There's no way I can choose only one, but these days I'm always eagerly anticipating posts from @nightospheresims, @sim-songs, and @nectar-cellar.

How long have you had simblr?

It's complicated, haha! I had a simblr way back in... 2011-2012-ish? It was a messy time on simblr and in my life so I was never really able to develop a healthy relationship with it and I eventually deleted my blog after being inactive for a long time. Then after continuing my legacy story just for myself at a snail's pace for about a decade, I decided it was time to share with y'all again, and I opened this blog in October 2021.

How do you edit your pictures?

Reshade is first, and if a shot is taken outdoors and it's for a gameplay post, then sometimes that's it. If it's a bit darker than I'd like, I might apply all or part of this action using Photopea. Sometimes even more than once if it's really dark.

If it's a storytelling shot, I'll then also do manual debanding by selecting an area, copying it to a new layer, applying a gaussian blur, and then erasing around the edges to clean it up. It's tedious but also relaxing? And very satisfying in the end.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

Sims 3 has so many bangers but I love Ambitions a lot even though it's a glitchy mess sometimes. It's just so much fun.

I am never totally sure who's done this but I'll tag @pudding-parade, @echoweaver, @oasislandingresident and @frostedshore. No pressure of course! 🧡

[thecameronchronicles]

Trophy Wife

TW: Age-gap (TR/MC is above eighteen). Language. Smut. Cheating. Praise kink. 

SUMMARY: When Ward learns the truth of your marriage, he seeks to comfort you…

WORD COUNT: 1800

REQUESTED:

Anonymous asked:

Younger reader cheating on her husband with 🤤Ward🤤??

Trophy Wife

This wasn’t the first time in which you’d met or even seen Ward, but it was the first time in which you had been invited to Tannyhill. You were beyond mesmerized by the estate itself, but even more enchanted by the owner of the property as he wore that brilliant smile and consistent warmth that was showcased to each and every one of his guests. But tonight was reserved for that of you and your husband, a recent hire that brought you to North Carolina over the summer, as you were welcomed to the dining room table with the explanation of dinner now awaiting you. 

A selection of food styled more as a buffet than a simplistic dinner would be the means behind pleasant conversation as his wife, Rose offered you comments in regards to your dress and recent haircut. You would thank her while being rushed with guilt in how you sourced for her husband’s kind eyes and how you wished to have them fall to you for even a second. And this was because he was kind, something you didn’t have in your own husband. You convinced yourself it was the immaturity that separated your spouse from Ward, and yet, you know deep within your bones that it was simply because you’d chosen wrong…

The pleasantries of dinner were heavy in continuation as the men discussed the property, the job, sports, and family, before Ward began to pick up on the way you were treated. Any conversation or an attempt to have one would be belittled or disregarded until he would insert you in asking for your opinion. You tried to hide the illumination of your expression, but it was too appreciated to shield. Instead, you offered a sweet smile along with your answer before feeling anything but an exclusion by the warmth of his own approval facing you.

But after dinner, you would handle the repercussions. 

“If I wanted you to be a whore, I would have had you do it to get me the job. Do you have any idea the shit I’ve had to do to give you this life?” As you tried to look away, he would grab your jaw, “I have given up everything for you…the least you can do is not open your legs for the first guy who smiles at you just because you’re feeling pitiful of yourself-”

“Mister Cameron…” You spoke quickly as he had heard the entire exchange, having validated something he had worried about, before he offered that signature grin. 

“Would you mind helping me in the cellar? I want to pick the right taste to commemorate tonight...” He offered to you as your husband fought the disapproval behind respected agreement. 

“Go on then, honey…go pick out a wine…” He endorsed, feigning care in a kiss to your temple before he returned to Rose and Wheezie, still sitting at the table. You were more than eager to follow the patriarch of the Cameron family for a multitude of reasons, but of the most ethical and inconsequential having been the reprieve it offered you from your own suffocating marriage. 

“Red or white?” He offered as the door to the cellar closed behind you. 

“I’m not picky.” You confessed, when in truth, you wanted something stronger than grapes having been set and over time. 

“You really aren’t are you?” You shrugged as he searched through the bottles before pulling out one from a more concealed rack. 

“Here we go…” He pulled out a specific wine from the year you were born, a detail you didn't know if it had been intentional or not, before he offered it to you with a glass now turned over in use. 

“What about them?”

“I think you deserve a toast all your own. It takes a lot to be a part of a marriage and I don’t think many men your age understand what it takes…But you’re a good girl.” Your heart leaped at the kink quelled unintentionally by his words as it brought a shy smile to your face, something that didn’t go by unnoticed. 

“And you deserve to be taken care of…” He slipped closer to you, motioning you to keep drinking. 

“And you deserve to be respected…” He moved even closer as you swallowed hard. 

“And adored…” Before you could understand, his lips were pressed softly to yours. 

“It tastes even sweeter in your kiss…” Your lips parted in a deep exhale before he returned to you once again, this time, with a kiss more passionate as your glass was set on the table at your back before you felt his hands on your hips. 

“What about Rose?” Your rationality broke behind your kiss as his fingers pulled the straps of your sundress to your elbows. 

“Everything that looks perfect in an illusion, sweetheart…and I think you know that better than anyone…But do you think you can be a good girl for me and stay quiet so I can make you come?” As your eyes widened in a mix of horror and desperation, he drove a soft hand to your cheek. 

“Because I will…” You could only nod as he guided you onto the table, a surprise strength making you gasp, before your shirt was lifted around your hips. 

“Take ‘em off for me, sweet girl…I want to see how wet you are for me.” You obeyed once again, slowly gliding the lace from your hips as he clenched his teeth. 

“He doesn’t deserve you, sweetheart…He doesn’t know how to appreciate you…” As you shuddered to his lips making contact at your thigh, his eyes flashed up to you. “I bet he has never taken his time with you here has he?” You blushed as he deduced the truth you left unspoken. 

“He has never tasted you?”

“He says that is only for guys who can’t fuck…” You explained as he smirked. 

“We’ll I’m above to prove him wrong in more ways than one, sweetheart…Open wider for me, okay?” You obeyed as he pulled each of your legs over a designated shoulder and proceeded to drive a tongue between your needy folds. It wasn’t the first tongue you’d had run these circuits, but it had been the first that knew what he was doing. 

“Mister-” He withdrew to the sound of his name. 

“I think I deserve a title a bit better, sweetheart.” You nodded. “Daddy is gonna take care of you.” Your eyes rolled as he returned to you, the name leaving your lips in low repetition that climbed higher in accordance to the pleasure building inside of you. 

“Fuck!” He smirked, rising from between your legs as you had been brought close. 

“A fuck is quick and selfish…You’re worth so much more than that…” Your eyes followed him as he brought your fingers to the buttons of his pants. 

“You deserve to feel every pleasure your body can feel…and I intend to show you all of them…” You nodded slowly. 

“But to start…His bitter words…let me make them sweeter for my good girl…” He kissed your lips with a kiss that reclined you onto your back. Your hands were gluttonous for him, running through his hair and down his arms that tensed as he pulled you lower against him, enough to feel the strong cock at attention between your legs, still concealed, but beckoning for pleasure he denied himself to focus on you. 

“His touch…I’m sure has always been unkind…” He ran his fingers to the base of your dress, lifting it over you, before being able to appreciate your physique, a trace continuing until he came to your hips. 

“You are so beautiful and you deserve to be told that-to feel that…”

“I do…” You confessed. 

“Good girl.”

“Please…daddy…” He smirked down to you, the title still foreign from your lips, but a quick comfort you were adjusting to rather swiftly as the fire in his eyes matched that in your stomach as you spoke it to him. 

“You’re such a good girl, aren’t you? Dutiful. Respectful. Quiet. Behaved. Undeserving of a man who doesn’t know how to reward you for such things?” His cock was now between your folds, but only to tease you with the offering. 

“Please-”

“And you beg so pretty too, don’t you, sweetheart?” You nodded. 

“So who am I to deny you?” The sudden fulfillment of his cock stretching you wide had been enough to make your eyes screw shut. He outweighed your husband in every skill set, making you forget your vows or even the fact you’d even made them to begin with, something that worsened with Ward’s kind words. 

“Does that feel good for you, sweet girl?”

“Oh yes…yes, daddy…”

“Good…I’m going to go a bit faster to hit that spot just right for you…THIS spot…” Your mouth pulled wide as he knew of it well, driving your eyes into yet another roll as he continued. 

“Daddy-” A hand came to your jaw. 

“Sweetheart, I don’t want to have to discipline you for being too loud…I’m the one earning those pretty little moans because God knows he’ isn’t making you feel this good…so you need to stay quiet for me.”

“I'm sorry…yes…” His hand came to your jaw in a soft authority. 

“Yes, what baby?”

“Yes daddy…”

“Good girl…” His motions quickened before he felt you wrap around the edge, one that worsened as his finger came to your clit. 

“I want you to come for me, my sweet girl, and I want to go toast to a bullshit partnership, all while wearing you…All while he smiles in thinking he has you…but you’re really mine…aren’t you?”

“Yes daddy…yours.”

“And because you’re such a good girl, you get to come…”

“Please…”

“And you get to make me come…”

“PLEASE!” You were pulled towards him, bra removed so he could massage your breasts and tease your nipples as you spilled over him,your name cast in a grunt into your shoulder as he found his own release rather quickly. 

He would help you redress, a new tie made of your dress and an assistance of a zipper descended to put it back on your frame, as his hand slipped softly across your cheek. 

“You’re my good girl?” You nodded. 

“Then take that upstairs for me…I want to clean up this little mess you only make for me from now on, understand?”

“Good.” He kissed you once more as you returned to your husband, feeling excited to do so for the first time since you could remember, all while knowing you gained a secondary victory in being nothing more than his trophy wife, free to explore your own pleasures, and you intended to…often.

Taglist: @hopebaker @iovdrew @penny4yourthoughts @magnificantmermaid @pickingviolets @lovedetlost @trikigirl271 @maybankslover @slut4starkey @slvtherinseeker @obxiskewl @obxxrxfes @bluesongbird @slut-era @ailee-celeste @rafesbae @camilynn @bethoconnor

[middleearthpixie]

Master List

So... I write things. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. If you'd like to be tagged in any of them, let me know!

Also, if you enjoy something, please reblog to your heart's content! Comments are always welcome as well!! <3

You can find my stories here and at AO3.

Fandoms I Write For:

Lord of The Rings - Boromir, Éomer, and Haldir (I've not tackled him yet, but want to. hee hee)

The Hobbit - Thorin, Dwalin, Frerin

And in the near future - The Boys - Billy Butcher

Please read my note on requests before submitting. 😉😀

Note: All dividers were created by @cafekitsune

Multi-Chapter Works

Damaged Goods - Ray Levine x ofc Theo Bailey (Stay Close AU) Complete

The Hobbit

~ Thorin ~

I'll See You in My Dreams ~ Thorin x ofc Noelle James (Modern AU, sequel to Where I Belong) Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 12 | 13 |

The Ties That Bind ~ Thorin x ofc Eirlys of Mirkwood (Post-BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives) - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |

~ Completed Works ~

Something in the Night ~ Thorin x ofc Nina Carren (Post-BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives)

Brilliant Disguise ~ Thorin x ofc Josephine (Sophie) Asharm (Post-BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives)

After the Fire ~ Thorin x ofc Jasna Stoneham (Post- BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives)

Miss Fortune ~ Modern!Thorin x ofc Alex Prescott -

Playing With Fire ~ Modern!Thorin x ofc Leda Andrews - (Pub AU)

Where I Belong ~ Thorin x ofc Noelle James (modern NYC/DoS/BOTFA AU)

More Than Meets the Eye ~ Thorin x ofc Arielle Farran (Post- BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives)

Someone to Watch Over Me ~ Thorin x ofc Seren Gilwynn (The Hobbit, Slight AU)

In Time ~ Thorin x ofc Amara (Post-BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives)

~ Frerin ~

Seven Days ~ Modern!Frerin x ofc Syd Prescott - Complete

Better Days ~ Modern!Frerin x ofc Elena Madison - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |

Lord of the Rings

~ Boromir ~

Promise Me ~ Boromir x ofc Gabriella (LOTR AU Where Everybody Lives) -Complete

Living Proof ~ Boromir x ofc Kaia (LOTR AU Where Everybody Lives) ~ Complete

Letter to You ~ Boromir x ofc Nora (LOTR AU Post-War of the Ring Where Boromir Lives) ~ Coming Soon!

One Shots/Drabbles/Shorts

~Miscellaneous Shorts~

How Will I Know ~ Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, (Modern AU) ~ This ties loosely with In Time, and The Cellar & Other Stories.

~ Dwalin ~

(Oldest to Most Recent )

Durin's Garage AU - Good Trouble - Updated 10/25/2022 - This WILL be updated in the near future!

The One Where Zana & Dwalin Spend Their First Yule Together

The One Where Zana Faceplants

The One Where Dwalin is Totally NOT Jealous

Meet the Fundinsons

The Morning After

The Cellar

~ Thorin x Reader Inserts Master List ~

The Getaway -Modern!Thorin x reader

Monday - Modern!Thorin x reader

Durin's Garage AU ~ The Chance You Take - Modern!Thorin x reader

Yule - AU!Thorin x reader

~ Asks Master List ~

A Walk in the Woods - Thorin x reader (Post-BOTFA Where Everybody Lives)

Absolute Beginners ~ Thorin x reader (Post-BOTFA Where Everybody Lives)

In This Moment ~ Thorin x reader (Desolation of Smaug Slight AU)

Blind Date ~ Guy of Gisborne/John Porter Crossover AU

Stroll ~ Guy of Gisborne/John Porter Crossover AU Part 2

Dessert ~ Guy of Gisborne/John Porter Crossover AU Part 3

Lockdown ~ Guy of Gisborne/ John Porter Crossover AU Part 4

Cake ~ Guy of Gisborne/John Porter Crossover AU Part 5

Hot Apple Cider ~ Thorin Oakenshield x Reader (Post-BOTFA AU Where Everybody Lives)

Fireworks ~ John Porter x Reader

The Fountain ~ Lindir x fem!reader

The Escape ~ Thorin x ofc Carys Greenleaf

The Escape, Part Two ~ Thorin x ofc Carys Greenleaf

The Harp ~ Thorin x fem!reader

Fair Enough ~ Éomer x fem!reader

~ Challenges Master List ~

The Courtyard - Dancing/Dipping Partner

A Kiss in the Rain - Kissing in the Rain

Bed of Roses - Rose Petals in the Bedroom

Showstopper ~ Modern!Bard x ofc Aislinn Dale (Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2022)

The River ~ Thorin x Fem!dwarf reader (Gates of Summer Exchange 2022)

A Bit of Home ~ Thorin x Fem!Reader (FotFic Pinup Calendar 2023)

Midsummer Night ~ Frerin x Belladonna Took (Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2023)

Long Walk Home ~ Boromir x ofc Eleri (Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2023)

The Woods ~ Boromir x ofc Kaia (Tolkien Pinup Calendar 2024)

Second Time Around ~ Boromir x ofc Brynne (Tolkien Pinup Calendar 2024)

The River ~ Fíli x ofc Vanessa Adams (Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2024)

Two Hearts ~ Boromir x ofc Sarina (Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2024)

~ Armitage Summer Splash Master List ~

WEEK 1

Make Me ~ Prompt #1 ~ Thorin Oakenshield

Bygones ~ Prompt #2 ~ Lucas North

The Note ~ Prompt #3 ~ Ray Levine

The Other Woman ~ Prompt #4 ~ John Porter

In Vino Veritas ~ Prompt #5 ~ Guy of Gisborne

Now or Never ~ Prompt #6 ~ Ray Levine

Misunderstanding ~ Prompt #7 ~ John Thornton

WEEK 2

The Tavern ~ Prompt #8 ~ Guy of Gisborne

Brewster's Place ~ Prompt #9 ~ John Proctor

Runaway ~ Prompt #10 ~ Raymond de Merville

Middle Earth’s Next Top Model ~ Prompt #11 ~ Moodboard

Stolen Moments ~ Prompt #12 ~ Thorin Oakenshield

Waiting ~ Prompt #13 ~ John Porter

Hurt ~ Prompt #14 ~ Lucas North

WEEK 3

The Lake ~ Prompt #15 ~ Raymond de Merville

The Visitor ~ Prompt #16 ~ John Proctor

Quiet ~ Prompt #17 ~ Thorin Oakenshield

Angel ~ Prompt #18 ~ Guy of Gisborne

Inked ~ Prompt #19 ~ Lucas North

Vampire ~ Prompt #20 ~ Claude Becker Moodboard

Body Swap ~ Prompt #21 ~ Ray Levine Moodboard

WEEK 4

Family ~ Prompt #22 ~ Thorin Oakenshield

Pizza - Prompt #23 ~ Raymond de Merville

Hit & Run ~ Prompt #24 ~ John Proctor

Fifty ~ Prompt #25 ~ Ray Levine

Leap of Faith ~ Prompt #26 ~ Guy of Gisborne

Homecoming ~ Prompt #27 ~ John Porter

Sweet Dreams ~ Prompt #28 ~ Lucas North

WEEK 5

Vacation ~ Prompt #29 ~ John Proctor Moodboard

Magic Kingdom - Prompt #30 ~ Raymond de Merville

[serickswrites]

Anniversary III

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Warnings: pet whump, stress position, noncon

“Oh, my pet, you are so lovely,” the Master began as they came into the Pet’s room. The Master had shown this as the last room on the tour. Told the Pet it was theirs and theirs only. The four poster bed was filled with soft down filled pillows, the mattress soft enough to sink into. The view of the gardens was breath taking. This room was far nicer than any the Pet had stayed in before. 

And so each morning the Master knocked on the Pet’s door, ordering them out of the room and to specific rooms for various purposes. Mostly it involved a lot of kneeling while the Master sketched them in different light. Some days they followed the Master through the house carrying their wine goblet, always making sure it was full, fetching bottle after bottle from the wine cellar. 

The Pet realized that the Master rarely let Lover interact with them. Or rather, Lover seemed less interested in the Pet. Sometimes they’d come by early in the morning, a breakfast tray in hand, or in the evening, mug of steaming tea on a tray with biscuits. 

“The Master isn’t always good at remember to feed their pets,” Lover commented one day as they set a full breakfast tray on Whumpee’s table. “It’s rather unfortunate that I have to bear that responsibility. Though you are awfully cute,” they ruffled the Pet’s hair as they left. 

The Master had entered the room before Whumpee had finished putting away the book the Master had given them from the library. They hurried to kneel at the Master’s feet. “Nowhere near as lovely as Master.” Whumpee tried to sound as sincere as the Master wanted them to. The Master loved to be complimented, praised, and fawned over. 

The Master snorted. They grabbed Whumpee’s face by the chin and lifted. “We really need to work on your sincerity. Alas, that is a problem for another day.” 

“Th-thank you, Master. Sorry, Master.” The Pet sounded quite contrite. They did not want to be punished. The would do anything to avoid punishment. 

“Get on the bed,” ordered the Master. 

The Pet scrambled up onto the big bed, spreading their knees and arching their back. The Master sketched them like this for many days. They ran their hand down their chest, looking up through their lashes at the Master. 

The Master bit their lip, “So lovely.” They set the package on the bed next to the Pet. “And all mine.” The Master fisted the Pet’s hair and pulled them in for a kiss. The Pet was still beneath the Master’s touch. This. This was new. “Kiss me back. Now.”

And so the Pet kissed the Master. Kissed them fiercely, as they imagined Lover did. The Master moaned into the Pet’s mouth. “And now we get to do something Lover never let’s me do!” The Master ripped open the package. “Lay on your stomach and arch your back.”

“Master?” The Pet was uncertain. They didn’t like the look in the Master’s eye. 

With a growl of frustration, the Master shoved the Pet onto their back and flipped them over, pinning them down with a knee. “When I order you to do something, you do it. No questions asked.” 

“I’m sorry, Master. So sorry, Master.” The Pet apologized frantically. They didn’t want the Master to hurt them again. 

The Master leaned down and kissed the back of the Pet’s head. “Don’t worry, little pet. I want this to be as good for you as it is for me. I’m going to prep you.”

The Pet could hear the sound of a lid opening and something being slicked up. Oh. Oh no. The Pet sucked in a deep breath as the Master’s fingers pressed against their entrance. “Now, I know where you were before would have tested you. Perhaps taught you a few things. But,” the Master inserted another finger and began to scissor their fingers inside the Pet, “I like to do all my own prep work.”

“Yes, Master. Master is so kind to me.” The Pet sobbed quietly into the pillow as the Master continued to finger them, touch them, before finally pressing into them. 

“I’ll make this as good for you as it is for me, my Pet,” the Master sang out as they moved. 

The Pet nodded, not trusting themself not to cry. 

Tags: @freefallingup13 @endlesscyclezz @zoewhumps 

[iammyownvariant]

Reader (Ghosts BBC, Mentioning of Alison/Mike and Alison/Thomas)

SUMMARY: You grew up in a wonderful big house full of ghosts. But why did you see them anyway? Reader Insert Series: BBC Ghosts AN: As I haven't the time to fully write out this idea, here's a shortened version of a prompt that has been playing inside my mind. Based on a post I viewed recently: I have always thought that if I'd been Alison, I'd be scared to death about getting pregnant or having a miscarriage and seeing that ghost child all the time. Now I could write something angsty about this, or something funny. I decided to go for a different route and wrote how it would be to be born in that household, with Alison and Mike as your mum and dad. (So no miscarriages or creepy things, just growing up with ghosts). Enjoy! PS. If anyone feels like picking up this idea or exploring elements of it, please do <3 -- -- Seeing ghosts was a normality to you. As you grew up, you saw them around the house and they were your friends. You saw them in school, saw them in the streets and basically everywhere you went. And you more than often became friends with them.

So this was how mum felt, hmm?

You could not say that you led a normal life. Seeing the ghosts and interacting with them wasn’t the oddest thing of all. No. The oddest thing you found, was something only revealed to you at a much later date, when you were already grown. But let’s cut back to when you were little.

You grew up in a wonderfully big home that your mum and dad had inherited by pure luck (or was it misfortune?). The house cost them everything and more than often people had wondered why they had started having kids during such a stressful period in their lives – because the home was still a bit of a wreck when you were born.

The house was large and wonderful and yours. You had never known any other place and you felt no need to ever move elsewhere. You loved it here. It was a certain love that made your mum and dad all the more determined to keep the place no matter what.

Apart from living in a fantasy-like building, your life was pretty normal.

Except for the ghosts.

The first time your parents noticed you saw them was when you were just a toddler and your father freaked out because you seemed to be talking to someone who wasn’t there. Your mum, being able to see them after a nearly-fatal accident, confirmed his fears though. You were playing with one of the ghosts that inhabited the house. Your parents thought it was a one off, until your sister was born four years later and she exhibited the same signs as you had.

Thus, the theory that seeing ghost was inheritable came into existence.

But as you had been seeing them since you were born, you held no fear of the inhabitants of the house. And there were a lot of them. It meant you were never alone. It was soothing in a way. Whenever there was something wrong or you felt sad or down, one of the ghosts was bound to cheer you up.

You especially loved Humphrey as a child. You loved his soothing voice and the tales he would tell when you couldn’t sleep. Truth to be told, you had a bit of a crush on the late Sir Humphrey Bone as a kid, thinking his face to be really pretty. So pretty, you often helped when his head and body were apart. You would go searching for another of the ghosts to pick up his head and put him back together whenever he lost it again. Though sometimes it would just be his head on your nightstand. Others might think this depravingly morbid, but it brought you a sense of safety, knowing he was there watching you. It chased away any bad dreams.

You often held sleepovers with Kitty. She was a lovely giggling young woman, and she loved to play hide and seek with you and your sister in the grand garden surrounding your home. The three of you would often giggle way into the night when either your mum would come to tell you to please go to sleep – or Robin joined in and did some of his caveman word games with the three of you – which made the evening all the better (no matter how often Kitty would exclaim that it was supposed to be a girls night only).

Having the ghosts around wasn’t always fun though. For instance, when you were a teenager and were playing dressing up and imagining all the boys who would swoon over you, only to see a head stick through your wall and telling you off. Auntie Fanny was a real pain sometimes, always talking about how you should be decent, how you should dress, how to hold your fork and knife during a dinner with guests. It was frustrating but she always managed to get on your nerves.

Your sister didn’t fare much better with her and suffered the same mouthiness of the former lady of the house. It didn’t help that the ghost woman still jumped out of a window in the midst of the night either. Your sister failed one of her exams once because she couldn’t focus on learning the material because Fanny Button kept her up each night with her screams. It was thanks to Thomas’ support that she was forced to focus on her schoolbooks and thanks to the other ghosts (and mum, who was pretty much threatening them to do as she said) to keep Auntie Fanny in check. In the end, your sister had changed back to a different room. The previous one she had occupied had been chosen by her because of the epic royal bathroom attached to it. Now she slept closer to yours again and took to using the shared bathroom without complaining. You didn’t mind, you liked having her close again.

Out of all the ghosts, you found the Captain to be the most tiresome as you were young. He was always drilling on about what you and the others should do. Always focusing on schedules that you should follow. Telling you off like you were a soldier.

Pat was way kinder, and often a bit too soft. You knew he often hung around your younger sister, because she was more outgoing than you were and he loved to be outside in nature. He helped her do all sorts of tricks, climb trees, shoot a bow and arrow – dangerous stuff even. But he taught her to do it responsibly, despite what you may expect of a man with an arrow lodged in his throat.

And then there was the one who frightened you like no other. Not even the plague citizens living in the cellar, who always kindly helped you with whatever issue you came to talk about. Yep, one of the ghosts scared you for a while: you usually tried to avoid Julian. As you were young, you thought he was an old man, wearing no pants, and he had a mean streak to him – jealousy you often found. He didn’t particularly seemed to like kids either, so you were fine with him going out of your way. As you grew older you realised Julian wasn’t actually as bad as you thought him to be. He even saved your life once or twice by pushing away or picking up a dangerous object that might have injured you otherwise. He was watching over you, like all the others were. And as you grew into a teenager and passed that sweet 16, you noticed a different gleam in his eyes. Julian changed. He became more gallant, more of a smooth talker when around you. But that behaviour ended quite abruptly, although the gleam of admiration never left his eyes. You wondered what had frightened him so to stop his advances on you. Whatever it was, you were grateful. Julian was not your type and never would be. (Later on you found out he had been challenged to a duel by Thomas who wanted to defend your honour, as child of the lovely Alison).

And then there was Jemima, she was the best friend of you and of your sister. As children she was just amazing to play with. First, she was older, and knew cool games you and your sibling had never heard of. Then, you grew to be the same age and she was the coolest girl you would ever know. And then, you grew older and she grew quieter. But you never ceased your habit of singing chilly songs with her.

You were a child, growing up between ghosts, and you felt safe between them. And though your father swore he could see them, most of his interactions with the house ghosts was initiated through you or your sister. He just didn’t possess the gift. But he was the greatest dad there ever lived. He loved doing stuff with you and your sister, going out, do fun things. He was a swell dad, filled to the brim with love for you and your sibling. He’d do anything to keep the two of you safe and happy and clothed and fed – even if things financially didn’t always go well for your family. You loved him to bits.

Your mum tried to warn you of the dangers of seeing ghosts. How those who could not see them would think it weird – would think you to be weird. You minded her words and sensibly, didn’t let anything show while in school. Even though, you were troubled with the ghost of a former teacher who kept sitting at a way too small child’s desk next to you and pester you throughout the lessons. You were glad when your mum told him off, some day after lessons. She had to sneak into the school with you. Oh boy, you had loved her firm voice, her confidence, and the fact that the ghost stuck to a different classroom from then on without coming near you again.

Your sister had a bit of a harder time. She let herself be distracted by the ghosts of a few children who had died in a school fire ages ago. While you had gotten away with explaining to them how you could not talk to them while others were around, your sister didn’t mind that rule though, and your parents struggled more than once with comments on how they should take your sister to see a doctor about this. Eventually, your sister learned, as she grew older. But more than often she would ignore what others thought of her and still communicate with the dead whilst other living beings were around.

But despite the fortune, or misfortune, of seeing ghosts, your life was pretty normal as you grew up. You loved all house ghosts for different reasons.

While Mary was easily one of your favourites, she was also a bit daft to the modern ways. Simple, might be a better word. She often promised to help you with your homework, but she never could attribute anything that you didn’t already know. So you often had to distract her with small tasks or tell her to hang out with Kitty or Robin instead.

And when Mary was gone it would be Thomas who would take over. Although he was easily distracted by art and snivelly poems, he would always try his best to focus and help you and your sister through each demeaning homework task. Sir Thomas Thorne was always nearby when you needed him. He had the tendency to sing songs to you as a baby, create old fashioned nursery rhymes when you were a toddler, play silly games with you as a child, motivate and guide you as a teenager.

In hindsight, you should have seen it coming. With all the care he held for you, with the warm tingling feeling it gave you whenever he was around. You should have known. And when you were a teenager and dated that ghost boy from two blocks away, it was Thomas who completely lost it and told you the boy would be no good for you, and that you deserved someone better. Someone more permanent. Someone alive.

Your mother and Thomas had a huge fight then – ("Someone more permanent than a ghost? That's rich coming from you!" your mum had shouted) all ghosts were listening in. But your dad was none the wiser. And so were you. Because you did not catch all references, and you did not understand each jab and insult thrown like a ping pong ball. And when your mum sat with her hands in her hair and Sir Thomas’ arm wrapped around her shoulder, you thought they had just made up. And then your father came in and he gave your mother solace. They hugged for a long time, and Thomas had just gone into the adjacent room. But that was all there was to it.

Of course it wasn’t though. Because your mother was strong. Darn strong. You loved it about her. The whole attitude she had, the air with which she wandered around the home and instructed the ghosts like she owned them. Your father said it hadn’t always been like that, that it had grown over time. In the beginning she had been ill-at ease, easily manipulated by the inhabitants of their home, had been often looked at funnily and ruined many a great business deal for talking or listening to the ghosts. She still did that – listen to them. She still embarrassed herself and your whole family along with it. Like that time you were at a beach party with family and friends and she had an entire conversation with a family of the 1960’s who were dead. Yeah, you’d rather not think back on that.

Or the one time one of she reported a crime to a dead officer.

Yeah.

But your mother was your hero. She was strong, fierce, and always stood up for you and your sister.

To find out a much deeper and darker truth then, about your family, was world shattering. And it was all because your sister had been in an accident and you came home to find Thomas in all states. And when you asked the other ghosts what had occurred they told you he was crying about his child. And that’s only when the pin dropped and you realised why this man was always working in your best interest and being so darn warm and kind for a person who was dead. Because you'd not missed the many times he showered your mother with affection. Or the way she would smile at him when he gave her another compliment. Or the way they would be just a little...too close. Could your sister be the child of a ghost? Impossible, right?

And you confronted your mum about it.

And she broke down.

Alison Cooper confessed to you, while your father was away at work, that she had been entangled with the ghost of Sir Thomas Thorne after a few heavy drinks and a way too fun party held at their home. Apparently, she had been incredibly drunk and had said things she otherwise wouldn’t have admitted. What happened should not have been possible by far. But Thomas had been able to actually feel her, and Alison had believed that no ghost could actually cause consequences with a human who was still alive. Perhaps her near-death experience had thrown something into the mix. We would never know. But Alison found herself pregnant after days spent without a touch by your dad, Mike. The first thought had been to terminate the pregnancy, but remembering the dove that still liked to terrorize their bedroom, Alison had grown scared. She realised she could not terminate the pregnancy or she might be faced with a ghost of her own baby. And you realised this was not your sister she was talking about. This was you.

So instead, Alison had pleaded Thomas to keep their secret (which he had done poorly and every ghost knew what had truly occurred, but luckily your dad could not interact with them), and your mum seduced your dad. They were already married, there were no contenders, your father believed you were theirs and never held a doubt. In hindsight, it explained your paleness- and the seeing of ghosts. It had been deemed the impossible, and for a long while, Alison thought and hoped that you were a child of Mike’s after all.

Mike took it all up really well, with you being what is called an accident. He was instantly smitten – as were all of the ghosts to be honest. Alison thought things would work our after all.

But then, when Mike wanted to have another kid, and though they tried, it took three years and a lot of desperation to admit to seeing a doctor. And then they were faced with the terrible truth that Mike wasn’t fertile at all. The news was delivered to your mum first, with Mike away and only the house ghosts listening in. It was a shock to all of them, mostly to Alison who had been pointed at the result by another ghost doctor. She managed to hide away the evidence, the true results, and together with newly found ghost friends she made at the hospital, fabricated a new lie. Mike was never to know that you could not possibly be his.

So instead, Alison was persuaded by Thomas and her undying love for Mike. He wanted another baby, she wanted them to be happy. Deal done. Thomas fathered a second ghost-seeing child with your mum. Your sister. The one who was recovering in hospital after a nasty car crash. (And luckily, she got out alive and safe and you got to hug her again tightly because no matter what, your sister would always be closest to you - all ghosts in spite).

So there you were, hearing your mother’s confession. The understanding dawning upon you that you did not see ghosts because of just your mum – but because you father was one. It all made so much sense. And it took a lot of strength to keep your mouth shut about it to Mike, your father.

Your real father, Thomas, you found, was understanding. And you were glad more than once that he could not interact with Mike. You had warned him that you would keep calling Mike dad, even if he wasn’t biologically. And Mike remained none the wiser. You still loved your non-biological dad as fiercely as you had before. You’d just glare a lot more in Thomas’ direction for a while.

In the end, you ended up marrying a young ‘living’ partner. You made sure that both Mike and Thomas were leading you down the aisle – even if Mike was never to know it. All Ghosts loved it, loved how you recognised Thomas to be your father. They also loved it how you never once dropped the truth on Mike or let him down. In your eyes, he would always remain on a pedestal as the perfect dad. It just so happened that you had two now.

As you somehow had expected, Alison died too young. An accident out of love, one of the ghosts had said. (She was furious at Thomas for many years to come, but she could not help but love him still.) During the years she was angry at Thomas, she tried to convey a message to Mike. She wanted him to know the truth, but he hadn’t understood her dying last breath, and he hadn’t understood her hauntings. ("It say's Thomas... dad? dad? Wait a minute, isn't Thomas one of the ghosts? Yeah, of course he is dead. Duh!") And he seemed delighted that she was still there, even as he started dating a new woman and ended up marrying her. (Alison was okay withit, but only after smashing a few vases and making that new woman's life a living hell). It was no wonder your dad wanted to move elsewhere quite soon after his second marriage. I mean, living with your deceased wife and your new crumpit was a bit weird, right? Your dad, Mike, handed the house to you and your sister. She chose not to stay and lived her live elsewhere, visiting occassionally, while Mike and his new wife settled somewhere close by. You remained in the huge mansion with your husband and your children, enjoying the way the ghosts watched over them as they had watched over you, feeling safe and happy. Because with these ghosts you were at home.

[doctornerdington]

WIP names ask game

Tagged by @pennypaperbrain

THE RULES: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Anyone can send me an ask afterwards (or a comment in this post) with a title that most intrigues/interests you, and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it if it’s an art piece!

Oh boy. It’s allllllllll WIPs these days, friends! And progress is halting. Here we go. (Tag! You’re it! Yes, YOU!)

How to Leave a Dying Man (original WIP; creative non fiction book-length memoir ;I’m so sorry hahahaha not really; an expansion of my essay.)

Stardew AU (Johnlock comfort fanfic)

Letters project (a thing I’m doing with @unreconstructedfangirl -- don’t think I’ve forgotten!)

“Phasma femslash thing” -- this is nothing but self-insert pornographic wish fulfillment, hundreds of words on why I think Phasma is queer and should fuck me. 

Goblin Market AU -- Cersei/Brienne fanfic that I will probably never write, but I’ve got 3283 words and the premise is frankly excellent. Maybe I should return to it. (There’s not enough fanfic in verse? Why am I always doing this? There are literally TWO readers.)

Chef/sommelier AU. Begins with rivalry and one-upmanship, progresses to glorious hate sex IN THE WINE CELLAR; blooms into a true meeting of the minds. Intellectual foodie porn. Currently Johnlock but honestly I’m not bothered. Maybe original F/F(/F?) would be fun?

Ethan/Dorian Penny Dreadful fic. I’ll never finish this. That finale killed my love, and I’m still enraged.

Yellow Wallpaper story -- about a woman who begins to hear voices in her nighttime podcasts as she tends her new baby. Is this fanfic or plagiarism or homage?

Molly Hooper pegs Sherlock in the Victorian Morgue. I think this speaks for itself? Possibly the fic I am most likely to finish. Accountability, please.

[9thbutterfly]

I wanna know about all your projects! they sound so interesting! but if I have to chose tell me more about goblins please? or nettle patch?

Goblins:

One of my many Kivailo world stories - how do I quickly explain the Kivailo world? Teenage/early twenties me grappling with the question of “could something like the nazis happen today?” and creating the most fucked-up country I could come up with. (And later mostly losing my interest in it because I realised the real world is at least that fucked up, if not more.)

I think plot-wise Goblins is the most interesting of the Kivailo world stories - it has “overcoming a lot of internalised homophobia and falling in love with another woman” and “rapist going from being an utter asshole to somewhat decent and saving some people’s lives (but still being a rapist because you can’t make that un-happen)” and “cute little girl and kindly old grandpa hide a person from genocidal government”.

Unfortunately it is an unedited and unfinished NaNoWriMo story... let me see if I can find a good bit that isn’t a complete mess of typos and notes to myself...

The little girl, standing in the hallway with her arms wrapped around the old man’s middle, was crying now. “But the goblin!” she sobbed into the man’s stomach. “They’ll see the goblin.”

Jonathan had already opened the door, and Julius followed him through before he had fully processed what the girl had said. But as soon as he had stepped onto the stairs leading to the attic, he understood.

He didn’t need to see – he knew as soon as he smelt it. The faint stench of urine and sweat, the smell of a human confined in a small room. Without thinking, he pulled the door shut and grabbed Jonathan’s jacket to spin him around and pin him against the wall. “You’ll keep quiet.” He whispered. “You won’t breathe a word, to anyone, or I’ll – I’ll tell everyone you’re gay.”

He was grasping at straws, voicing the one threat that popped into his mind, the one that might scare someone even if it had no basis in fact. Jonathan had full five months of military service left, and to spend these five months with everyone believing him to be gay would be a nightmare, perhaps even worse than what Julius had lived through when Daniel’s existence had become known.

But it seemed his random threat had hit home. In the dim light of the bare light bulb, Jonathan gasped, “No, please -! How did you -?” He snapped his mouth shut and bit his lip as if he had just realized that he’d all but confirmed Julius had been right. Julius himself nearly let go of Jonathan’s collar and stepped back, so shocked by the discovery that he almost forgot what was at stake. But the wave of sudden disgust, the disturbing idea that Jonathan might think he’d grabbed him to kiss him, still didn’t wash away the knowledge of what they would find at the top of the stairs – what the little girl had been crying about.

“Never you mind,” he grated. “You just keep your bloody mouth shut. And your hands and eyes off me, just so that’s clear.” He loosened his grip for a moment, then tightened it again. “Is that clear?”

Jonathan nodded, his eyes wide, his mouth working silently.

“You’ll stay quiet?” Jonathan nodded again, and Julius let go  of him and continued up the stairs.

The attic was filled with a jumble of old furniture and cardboard boxes. A dusty wardrobe and a stack of boxes formed a wall next to the stairwell, with just a tiny bit of space to crawl to the other side. Julius got down on hands and knees to slip through. There was a mattress there, with a tangled nest of blankets and quilts, a covered bucket in the corner, an all too familiar sight for him, and balls and bits of string littering the floor. In a swift movement, he pulled the wardrobe door open.

The Kivailo cowered inside, shrinking back into the corner at the sight of Julius. At first glance, he seemed to be a middle-aged man, but as Julius put a finger to his lips, signalling for quiet, he thought he was probably not all that old, thirty at most. The Kivailo stared at him uncomprehendingly until Julius shut the door.

“Well?” he called to Jonathan. “Are you going to come, or what?” The other soldier quickly hurried up the stairs.

“The girl’s play room, I’d say,” he commented as Jonathan stuck his head through the gap in the boxes. He made a show of opening the wardrobe again and peering inside, catching another glimpse of the Kivailo’s terrified face, then shrugged, closed the wardrobe and poking a couple of boxes.

“It smells…” Jonathan started, but Julius wasn’t going to let him finish. “She probably left some snacks up here until they rotted. You know how children are. Come on, let’s check the other side.”

“Julius,” Jonathan said quietly as they poked around between the odd pieces of furniture on the other side of the stairwell, a crib, a rocking chair, some dilapidated cabinets, with a sewing machine and a typewriter standing on top. “There’s got to be…”

“I said, not a word,” Julius cut across him. “And I mean it.”

Jonathan’s eyes went wide, as if he just now understood what Julius had meant. “You’re…”

“Not a word,” was all Julius said, and he turned and clattered down the stairs, waiting for Jonathan to follow before he opened the door.

They had only just closed the door again when Officer Needs-A-Name came up from the cellar.

“Nothing to report, sir,” Julius said. “Just junk and a play space for the girl.” He jerked his head at the child and her stony-faced grandfather.

“I got nothing, either. On we go, then.”

He was as bored with these endless raids as the soldiers were, Julius suddenly understood. And he didn’t really expect to find anyone. He shot Jonathan another warning look as he followed the officer, then, when the older man was out the door, dropped to his knees next to the girl, just for a moment, just to whisper, “Don’t worry about the goblin. I used to have one in my house as well.” Before she or the old man had time to reply anything, he rose and followed the others out of the house.

Nettle Patch’s full title was “Out of the Nettle Patch into the Brambles” (no connection to The Bramble Prince, though), and it was supposed to be a fantasy story in which a bunch of farmers and craftspeople (just normal people, who do not turn out to be secretly royalty) save the world from some sort of supernatural threat... except I never really figured out what the threat was supposed to be, so it didn’t really go anywhere. So the whole thing is kind of a mess consisting of lots of backtracking and notes to myself and typos (again, unedited NaNoWriMo) but I liked the bit where a very shy teenager who is totally not a self-insert gets volunteered for the Quest.

His mother sat down beside him, and poked him with a sharp elbow. “Sit properly,” she reminded him sharply but quietly, and he slowly unfolded himself from his preferred posture, with knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around them, and crossed his legs like everyone else was doing.

“Well, Denneb,” his mother said. “These fine folks here are heading off across the mountains to find some lady that stole something from the temple, and they are going to need some help – they don’t speak the language, of course, and they also don’t know much about finding food in the forest, or about sleeping out of doors, like you do, so I thought it would be lovely if you went with them to help them. And it would be good for you to see a bit of the world, too – you can’t spend all of your life up here with your grandfather. I mean, I would prefer it if you just came down to visit us all a bit more often, and went to the village like everyone else, instead of sending you away, but if that’s what it takes to get you to come out of your hood a bit, then so be it. And how will you ever find someone to marry, if you always hide up here? You can’t marry a bear or a tree or something. And you’re really of an age to start looking for a nice girl, or a nice boy I suppose, Mother knows this family produces enough children that there’d be a few for you and a husband to raise, if you’d rather have one of those than a wife. But a wife would be lovely, of course, so you could have babies of your own.”

“Wait, what is this? Why does Denneb get to go over the mountains and look for a wife?” Nonnol suddenly appeared around the corner of the house again, skewers with marmot meat in her hands. “I want to go over the mountains to look for a wife.”

[aion-rsa]

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 5 Review: Detective Amenadiel

https://ift.tt/3javrER

This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

“For now I’m going to stick to police work and avoid anything God related.”

Religious imagery, innuendo, and irony have long been part of the Lucifer gestalt even though the investigations rarely take the detective and the Devil anywhere near houses of worship. When they do, however, the depth of spiritual growth woven into the narrative typically reveals a profound level of character development. With that in mind, season five’s fifth episode “Detective Amenadiel” covers so much emotional ground and seems to provide closure to Chloe and Lucifer’s relationship problems that it’s easy to forget eleven episodes still remain in the season. 

The abandonment and deception themes remain focal points, and though there’s always the danger that some threads run too long, here we get some resolution with the most compelling arc of all – Chloe’s feeling that, like Lucifer, she’s been manipulated by God for His own purposes. However, it’s Amenadiel’s role in bringing Chloe and Lucifer back together that really drives the episode.

Putting Lucifer in a convent full of novitiate nuns just seems too easy, and the opportunity for off-color remarks and snide comments about his Father almost too juicy to ignore. But this investigation finds Lucifer sidelined at the precinct with Dan doing the boring detective work while Amenadiel goes into the field with Chloe to not only solve the murder of Sister Victoria of the Sisters of the Divine Path but to discover the truth behind Lucifer’s vulnerability around the detective. The sisters’ seeming lustful attraction to Amenadiel works because it’s so out of character for Lucifer’s brother, and once Sister Francine admits that when she looks at Amenadiel she feels closer to God, the pieces to the puzzle begin falling into place.

Read more

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It’s certainly understandable that those unfamiliar with the show might accuse the writers of promoting anti-religious values, but therein lies the fundamental irony of Lucifer. Once we get past the misconception that the nuns find Amenadiel sexually attractive, it becomes apparent that the powerful emotions they feel when they gaze upon his angelic face is actually their love of God reflected back at them. It’s this revelation that ultimately leads to Amenadiel’s conclusion that so beautifully reunites the Devil and the detective. Though he’s ordinarily on the periphery of most murder investigations, it’s Amenadiel’s inductive reasoning that leads Chloe to finally understand the true nature of her relationship with Lucifer. Sherlock would be proud. 

The impact goes deeper still once Lucifer and Chloe really open up to one another, but what gives this mini-arc its power is that along with Lucifer, we’re given hope that the relationship can be saved. “I want us to be together,” she tells him, and what makes this scene so poignant is that Lucifer doesn’t yet know he’s been relieved of his obligation as Hell’s warden. He’s learned from Dan that there are no shortcuts toward obtaining anything meaningful and selflessly tells Chloe to take all the time she needs even though he believes time is something he doesn’t have. 

Of course, it’s Amenadiel’s explanation about Chloe’s unique ability that compels her to accept the most startling truth of the situation – instead of thinking about herself as a manipulative gift, she now understands she’s been given something even more important in this scenario. The resolution of this tragic conflict is handled beautifully, and while Lucifer’s penthouse has provided numerous opportunities to present his devilish side, here, sitting alone at his piano playing a plaintive tune, the space takes on deeper meaning. Once Chloe sits directly next to Lucifer on the bench, his emotional vulnerability is unmistakable and the power that she’s always exerted over him, intentional or not, now becomes something they share. When she shows him the truth that “You choose to be vulnerable around me,” Chloe opens a door for their union to ascend to a much higher level.

Though detective Amenadiel doesn’t impact Mazikeen and Linda resolving their troubled pasts, the decision they make to help each other is just as captivating as Lucifer and Chloe’s story. It’s fascinating to watch the wall Maze has built around herself slowly dissipate as Linda relates her own guilt ridden history. It wouldn’t be Maze, however, if there weren’t some speed bumps along the way, and though she storms out after Linda bares her soul, we know she’ll be back. And when she does return, Maze has her own bombshell to drop in a way only Maze can.

We’ve watched as Dr. Linda puts her own emotional baggage aside to help any number of the celestial crew cope with the vagaries of life among the human race, and it’s become clear that something from her past has returned to negatively impact her relationship with Amenadiel and Charlie. While Chloe’s understandably been caught up in the drama surrounding her issues with Lucifer, and quite honestly has never really been that close to Linda in the first place, the bond the doctor and the demon have formed reaches a new level here. Once Linda reveals her teenage pregnancy and subsequent decision to give up her baby, Maze takes charge and the counseling roles reverse. “Is that why you think you’re going to Hell?” she asks, and though this afterlife scenario that Linda conjures up in her head has provided some interesting possibilities, the reality takes an unexpected turn.

She is, after all, a private investigator by trade, and when Maze lets slip that “she seems good,” we know Linda has a huge decision to make that could have far reaching effects on her life moving forward. Of course, there’s no question that Amenadiel will totally support Linda should he learn the truth, but the dilemma now centers around whether or not she should insert herself into her daughter’s life. Maze wouldn’t be Maze if she didn’t attempt to squeeze some information out of a witness, and for a moment, it’s unclear how far Maze will go questioning Adriana. And though it appears this mini-arc could resolve itself here, Linda suddenly realizes that this whole meeting is really about the ultra emotional Maze working out her issues with Lilith, leaving Linda and her daughter as potential collateral damage. 

The rather pedestrian murder-of-the-week follows the trend of cases that revolve around somewhat simplistic motives, but that really matter because Lucifer has become so much more than a police procedural. Yes, the secret room in the cellar has a certain Rosemary’s Baby cultish feel to it, but the highlight of the murder investigation occurs when Amenadiel allows Hank to shoot him multiple times before revealing his majestic wings. He tells the killer to “have faith,” and whether this is meant as preparation for prison or Hell isn’t really that important. He’s made it clear that he needs to help make the world a better place for his son, and while getting a murderer off the streets is certainly a good thing, Amenadiel establishes an even more significant role through his involvement with Chloe and Lucifer.

“You need to give your daughter the choice,” Mazikeen suggests to Linda, advancing the idea that remaining in the background constitutes a level of deceit. In this new age of split seasons and much hyped mid-season finales, “Detective Amenadiel” keeps the momentum going, and though the Lucifer/Chloe problem appears to be settled, at least for the time being, there’s still plenty of personal discord to fill the remainder of season five’s first half. Now, let’s see if we can get Maze sorted out and back on track. 

The post Lucifer Season 5 Episode 5 Review: Detective Amenadiel appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2ErASjE

[fantastic-nonsense]

Winners and Losers of the 6th Democratic Debate

Winners:

Biden: Surprised the hell out of me and actually sounded competent and actually put together tonight. Still had some really weird and skeevy af answers, but overall came out sounding pretty good. Points deducted for unnecessary shouting, being dragged by Bernie a couple of times on his foreign policy, his inability to articulate his record on military policy, and the really odd and awkward segue into the story about the kid with the stutter. 

Warren: Liz desperately needed a comeback night after her drop in the polls and god did she deliver. She sounded coherent and put together, was on message, was far more aggressive than she had been in previous debates (but effectively so and not needlessly so), and played as a very effective first round to take out Buttigieg so that Bernie and Yang could take the slam dunk shot and victory laps respectively. She was also able to effectively articulate pretty much everything, including a very well done answer on how she would exercise executive power in a divided Congress. 

Bonus points for her responses on corruption/how corruption keeps progressive policies from getting passed and her response to the “are you too old to be president” question with “Well I would be the youngest female president ever elected.” Points deducted for not being able to answer Buttigieg's ‘are you corrupted Senator’ question, the slightly odd repetition of the “selfie line” line, and the slight zone out during the closing statements.

Bernie: also sounded far better and more coherent than he has at the past few debates. Simultaneously played peacemaker/argument-finisher and agitator to great effect. Highlights: getting the slam dunk on Buttigieg after the Warren-Buttigieg fight, shutting the Biden-Klobuchar fight down, and his comments on Israel-Palestine. Multiple points deducted for giving the mods the complete runaround on healthcare and not saying what he would do if he couldn’t get his bills passed in the Senate.

Middle of the Pack/“Almost Winners”:

Yang: I will never be convinced to vote for him, but having fewer candidates on the stage definitely worked to Yang’s advantage. Generally speaking, he had fairly compelling points and was able to articulate his thoughts quite a bit more. However, I’m dinging him significantly for all of those times that he stopped and visibly waited for applause; it came off as very Jeb “please clap” Bush, and I’m not about that life. He also completely missed the point on multiple occasions and reminded me that he’s not a politician with no political experience, and thus no real practical understanding of how to wield political power. I’m glad he’s there for the issues he’s articulating, but I would never vote for him for a federal-level office before he has served at a local, county, or state level.

Amy Klobuchar: okay before I get into her performance can I just say how weird it is that she’s polling at like 2% nationally and has had the most/second most speaking time at 2 debates in a row now??? Anyway Klobuchar was basically…the same, which means that she was kind of obnoxious and inserted herself and her opinions into everything, as usual. Lots of focus on “I can get it done” and “we need a Midwesterner” and obviously forced jokes (like Amy, I get it, you’re the “hello fellow kids” candidate, but you really don’t need to go that hard by name-dropping the “Notorious RBG” on live national television), not a lot of focus on how to actually move us forward into the future. She got some good shots in and sounded forceful, but nothing particularly substantial was said. Highlight of her night was her absolutely ending Buttigieg over the question of his experience. So she did much better than she has in previous debates, but not enough to actually put her into the 'winners' category.

The Losers:

Buttigieg: tonight was Dunk on Buttigieg night and he was obviously not prepared for it. He was able to semi-effectively combat Warren, but he had no response to Bernie and Yang coming after him using the opening provided by her attacks and Klobuchar coming back around to solidly end him. Also the “wine cellar” moment is already meme-ing its way around Tumblr and Twitter, which is not going to help him a bit either. He gave his usual “sound good but incredibly vague with no concrete answers” spiels, and still doesn’t seem to understand why universal public services should be free to everyone and not just poor/middle-class people; I don’t care if I’m paying for a rich kid to go to college or get healthcare, because they in turn are paying for me to go to college and get healthcare. Public services are for everyone to enjoy and profit from, not just poor people. He had multiple good moments, but they were overshadowed by his bad ones.

Tom Steyer: the entire time I just kept thinking “why are you here and peddling your false ‘I am the only one who has done anything’ nonsense???” Steyer imo came off as passionate about the issues and willing to put his money where his mouth is but condescending, pretentious, and dismissive of the work that everyone else on stage has done to advance various issues. Not a good look, but also not terribly surprising.

General Thoughts:

This debate was so much better and far more substantive than previous debates. The moderators weren’t particularly great, but they asked really meaty and tough questions and did hold the candidates accountable when they were giving the runaround. I particularly loved how this debate focused more on foreign policy, the area over which the President traditionally holds the most direct influence. Still waiting on some substantive questions on women’s issues other than abortion and birth control.

I’m so tired of watching Bernie and Biden yell at each other. Someone please save me.

Booker, Castro, and Steyer need to drop now. I'm content to put up with Yang until Iowa (when he obviously needs to drop out), and obviously Buttigieg isn't going anywhere until the first four states (at least) have voted. 

As predicted, Biden, Sanders, and Warren are and continue to be the three frontrunners and the race is very likely to end up as either a three-way race to a contested convention or a Biden vs. Sanders or Warren (depending on which progressive candidate can garner more votes). I don't see Buttigieg managing to overtake Biden as the leading moderate in the race after tonight, which dings my original prediction that the race was going to end up as Biden and Buttigieg vs. Sanders and Warren fighting between whether the moderates or progressives were going to win the primary.

What really depresses me about Warren asking for forgiveness for getting too heated over issues is that it's such a female thing to do, especially female politicians, who constantly have to apologize and explain their angry words and confrontational speech where everyone accepts it wholesale from men and male politicians. That wasn't interview-level cringiness, that was a genuine belief that she should apologize for sounding angry.

Also the fact that the two women on stage both asked for forgiveness (and both for “getting too emotional over the issues”) and all of the men shrugged and were like ‘gifts! Buy my book.’ That last question is going to get analyzed quite a bit in the coming days, and it’s hopefully going to spark some conversation about the different standards we hold male and female politicians to

PBS noting in their post-debate discussion that Biden, Sanders, and Warren all came from less money than Buttigieg and that they didn't earn their money until their 40s when discussing the Warren-Buttigieg "you're worth more than I am" moment like lmao go off

[swinterr]

VALERIE III

People in Twitter are twitting about a video of Val’s reaction when she saw Shawn and Camila, she received mixed comments about her reaction.

Her parents are really protective about her, even her siblings mostly Vernon. Her Dad and Mom doesn’t understand what’s happening between them, they all thought that Shawn is gonna be Valerie’s forever.

Of course Shawn saw the video. He’s not stupid, he knows that he’s hurting Val.

He also saw the message Valerie send him but he didn’t read the it because he knows he cannot stop himself on answering back.

He loves Valerie so much, but he has to do this.

When he first play the video the first came to his mind is that Valerie looks so pretty, very pretty. Valerie isn’t really like those blonde, long legged, orange tan (well she is tan but not oramge tan). She looks like a goddess. She’s perfect.

Then he saw Vernon from the background, Shawn gets along well with Valerie’s family well but Vernon is the hardest one to get along. He is scared genuinely of Vernon.

The time when Brian told him that Valerie broke up with him, he excused himself on sound check saying he wasn’t feeling well. He went back to his hotel and cried holding Valerie sweater in his chest.

He cried for the half of the day. He only went out when it’s Q&A.

He really wants to fix this but he can’t, it’s too fucked up to be fixed. He feels so powerless.

-

Valerie feels awful when she got back home.

She didn’t ate dinner instead she spend her whole evening, well half of it, on the gym boxing with Vernon is a good exercise but she did her exercises alone, she did it without a trainer while Vernon does cardio. Actually she didn’t even do her exercises, she just keeps punching the punching bag until her knuckles bleed, until they severely bleed. Her mom has to take her to the nearest clinic to aid her bloody knuckles.

“Val, you’re knuckles are going to bleed if you keep doing this. Stop it you’re hurting yourself.” Vernon tried reasoning with Valerie, growing more and more concerned about her and her new obsession with puching the punching bag carelessly.

“No, it’s either I ruined this punching bag or I do more stupider sh!t than this.” Valerie’s voice is quiet and cold, She always had a my-voice-is-so-soft-and-I-will-not-raise-my-voice-on-anyone-bc-that’s-rude-attitude.

“Can you at least where gloves, hand wrap is not enough you know.” Vernon reminder her.

Valerie didn’t listen and brought her fists close to her face, finding her aim and released all of her pent up anger, frustrations and pain out through quick, sharp punches, showing no mercy on the already worn punching bag wanting to release all the pain she felt in the past few weeks. Sweat glistened every inch of her body, especially in her face.

Vernon can’t even distinguish if that even is sweat or tears, her curly hair sticking to her back, arms and all angles of her face.

Val could her Vernon stopping her in the background but she didn’t listen.

Soon the punching bag falls from where it’s hanging. And Valerie knuckles are bleeding.

“Dammit Valerie! You’re bleeding! Mom!” Vernon shouts.

Ever since Val and Shawn broke up Vernon is more over-protective of Val.

She really wants to go back to Toronto, but Toronto has too much memories for her to handle. She wishes that Bella and Gigi are here with her. She’s lucky enough to have a thought, loving and caring Anwar Hadid by her side.

Gigi, Bella and Anwar (even though they live near), Aaliyah, Ana, Lauren and Dylan (her friends back home), Kiera and Darius (her dorm mates) are texting her everyday saying that everything gonna be alright and Shawn’s a dick.

She can’t wait to go back to Massachusetts and receive pity looks. Insert sarcasm.

She just needs to wait few more days until they are schedule free.

Valerie hadn’t spoken to anyone since they came back from downtown Los Angles (besided her mom and Vernon who approach her). She is currently laying in her king sized bed.

Staring at the clock, watching it tick by. 11 o’clock in the night, she should be asleep by now but her mind is somewhere far away. Far away from all this drama and chaos that is currently happening in her life.

Sobbing her heart out. Puffy eyes and runny nose are they best description of Valerie right now. Maybe a fever in the morning too.

She never wanted to end their relationship like this. To be honest they can survive this relationship, Valerie is just tired of being treated like this.

Don’t get me wrong, Shawn’s a great boyfriend but he focuses on his career more than their relationship.

People though they are perfect for each other. She thought that Shawn will be THE ONE. Her grandparents from her mother and father’s side already met and approve of Shawn even the ones who live in Florence.

She genuinely believe that they are ment to be together but jealousy got her. Her insecurities got her.

Her heart still aches profoundly with pain. She miss her so much but it’s so unfair that he moved in that quickly.

Valerie, Shawn and Camila are trending right now. Everything seems so chaotic. Her sobs still fills her big room.

Instagram stans are making up the craziest sh!ts right, some makes her laugh and some are true that makes her cry hard.

@queenval

@queenval to be honest val is the greatest thing that ever happend to shawn. i love shawn sm but he stupid!!

50,234 likes

Shawn is the greatest thing that ever happend to her.

Shawn’s fans been calling him out because of his stupid moves. Many of her fans are still supporting Valerie even if they are not together anymore.

Valerie shakily reaches for her phone she usually listens to His music when she’s sad, but at this state listening to His music will make her more sad than ever.

Malibu Nights by LANY played. Is it ironic that she is listening to Malibu Nights heartbroken and she really wants to go to Malibu. Its just a 40 minute car ride. She can survive right?

She brought a beach house recently somewhere in Pacific Coast Highway. She brought it the exact day Shawn left Canada to continue his tour, Valerie brought the house because when she will visit Shawn on his tour this will be their hiding place.

People say that Valerie have it all; Brains, Beauty, Wealth but everything means nothing if you aren’t happy right?

Decided to spent the rest of her days in Malibu. Valerie picked this big ass box that has been sent to her by a company. She didn’t even bother to read what company it is all she knows that is a clothing company. Few shoes, hoodies and her underwears on her bag.

She dressed herself into a pair of jeans and a shirt, hoodie on her arm incase she’ll needs it.

Everyone is asleep so this should be the perfect time to sneak out, she closed her room door quietly as she held the big box on her hands, struggling to balance it and keys and a Gucci bagpack filled with he laptop, personal needs, medicines and this tiny vape pen she got from Anwar.

Valerie isn’t the type of girl who does wild stuffs, stuff like normal teenagers do. Maybe that’s the reason why they broke up, she’s too boring for him.

Well now that they are over, Valerie wants to do the things she didn’t do when they were together. Things teenagers would do.

Now she be vaping, she wants to have tattooes too. Val got a rose tattoo behind her ear on her 19th birthday. She wants to add more.

Valerie successfully got down from the 3rd floor, her room, to the ground floor.

She wants to do things that she hasn’t done yet. She opened her parents wine cellar and pulled out a bottle of Pinot Noir with a three bottles of beer and a big bottle of her father’s whiskey.

She didn’t really want to steal this alcoholic beverage but she know that many shops out there knows her and has a high possibility that they will post pictures about her underage and buying drinks.

She puts the bottles on her bag, wanting to go to Malibu quickly, she runs towards their garage, mentally kicking herself for having a loud foot steps.

For Valerie if is she’s sad or disappointed she chooses to be alone. Being with herself alone is always the best part of her day or best time of her day.

Valerie picked the black Mercedes-Benz G wagon.

She puts her things in the passengers seat and zoomed off to Malibu.

She felt tears start to form as the now familiar burn caused her to shut

her eyes for a moment and stop at the side of the expressway she like crying. For her crying is good for her mental health because crying can help reduce pain. Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes feelings of love and Endorphins help relieve pain. These two make people feel good and may also ease both physical and emotional pain.

But sometimes crying too much can also be bad for her, too much crying can lead to depression and she doesn’t want that. All she wants is to move on and live a happy life.

But moving on takes a lot of time.

The whole drive was quiet except for the radio and her quiet sobs.

She stopped on Target along the way to pick up some food for the next few days.

Valerie pulls up on the parking lot. The Californian cold wind creeps on her arm, regretting not wearing a hood and leaving it at the car.

Valerie pulls out the vape pen as she walks along the entrance of Target, she holds it to her mouth, tasting the vanilla flavored vape before releasing it. She lets out a deep sigh with some vapor leaving along her mouth and nose she continues this few times and stopping as she enters the shop.

She just pick up fruits for breakfast, pasta, vegetables and chicken for dinner, chocolate flavored milk, a gallon of water and eggs. She likes cooking, she doesn’t buy a lot of processed foods and microwaveble foods. She payed the cashier keeps giving her looks, is it because the cashier knows her or because she is the front page of one of the magazines on the counter.

“Is this you?” the cashier ask as she types something on the computer.

“Nope.” Valerie answers back as puts the goods she brought on a biodegradable bag and puts it back to the cart.

She walk back to her car and few teenagers curiously stares at her. She struggles to put the groceries on the car because it has a big tires and obviously a tall car competed to her 5’6 self.

She finally sees her house on the view.

Her gates open, headlights giving her the view of her house as well as the Pacific Ocean. The entryway features a reclaimed European fountain and big door that open to opulent interiors.

Her house looks so homey yet loney. She is used to go on a vacation with her family or family or with Shawn.

She inserts the keys while struggling to lift her heavy backpack filled with alcoholic drinks the big box and groceries she brought are stacked upon each other.

She enters her new house, she walks on the hardwood floors pushing the box with the groceries on top, she stares at vaulted ceiling and sees a Indian stone fireplace and custom designed sitting area.

For her, a house with a fireplace and a big couch is a must.

The balcony is a sliding door that has a view of the Malibu Coast.

Valerie finally fixed her clothes on her closet, turns out the box is from Gucci. Now she has a Gucci filled closet. Yey!

Her refrigerator is filled with groceries. Yey!

It’s already 12:34 am and she is still wide awake. She sits on her couch as she finds for her cell.

She looked everywhere, her hoodie, her bag, her car, on the closet even the refrigerator.

She left it on Bel Air. Yey!

She doesn’t have anything to do she she just drinks the alcohol she brought lol! Her TV still doesn’t have any channels and her house doesn’t have a wifi.

Valerie drinks the vodka shot in one gulp, ignoring the burning sensation in her throat caused by the strong liquor.

“I love you so much why did you do this to me!” she gulped the vodka down.

“I wish I didn’t love you! But I did I’m so stupid!” she gulped the other one.

“I don’t wanna date anyone anymore!” and another one.

Despite this, Valerie’s body feels more relaxed and her mind feels lighter and more problem free. It took her couple vodka shots for achieve this but it was worth it.

The bottle is nearly empty so she just decided to drink the bottle.

It’s a quarter past midnight. The buzz has worn off, now she is just dead ass drunk.

She miraculously arrived at her room, passing the stairs and remembering her room is a miracle.

As much as she wanted to sleep she washes her face and brushed her teeth and changes in a bougee Gucci pajama and sleep on her big bed with the view of the sea like a baby.

Alcohol can really make you forget everything temporarily even pain.

taglist:

@night-girls-world

@alinashawn

@feliciaceciliamariajacobsson

-

I FINALLY POSTED THIS. PLEASE LOVE ITT HEHEEH

[orcadigitals]

Helpful Air Conditioning Tips For Maintaining Your AC Unit Spring is here, and itҳ time to get your air conditioning system ready to handle the hard work of summer. When it gets hot, your ac unit is a blessing for sure. No one is comfortable when they are sweltering in the heat. Central air is one thing most of us tend to take for granted until it stops working, and these Air Conditioning Maintenance Tips are sure to help. An air conditionerҳ coils, filters, and fins require consistent maintenance for the unit to work efficiently and effectively during its lifetime. Ignoring necessary maintenance ensures a steady decline in air conditioning performance while energy use steadily increases. By keeping your airconditioning system maintained, you can not only extend the lifespan of the unit, but youҬl also save money on energy while also expanding its lifespan. This in turn will save on costly early replacement. Inadequate maintenance can spell the death of your airconditioning system over time. By allowing your ac filters and coils to get dirty, you can cause the system to not work at peak efficiency. Then the compressor or fans are likely to fail prematurely. Air conditioners need a bit of love and attention to ensure that the ac unit operates at the highest efficiency. The best time for maintenance is just before you start using the system to cool down the house. Set out below, we will look at some of the most common air conditioner maintenance tips to keep your home cool and comfy. AC Maintenance Tip #1 ֠The Importance of Changing Your Filter A new filter helps optimize airflow, which keeps the air conditioner running efficiently. This enables you to avoid potentially costly repairs later on. Your basic air filter needs to be changed every 30 days, while the thicker pleated filters typically have a longer lifespan. Noting replacement dates on your calendar will help remind you to change your filters on a regular schedule. The filter in your HVAC system ought to be changed a minimum of four times a year. If you live in a dusty part of the country or have pets in the house, you may consider changing your filter more frequently. Always make sure that you replace the filter with a new filter that has the same airflow rating. Be mindful of air purifying filters or HEPA filters as they can drastically reduce the airflow in your ac system. Because of the reduced airflow, the indoor coil can freeze. Locate the filter housing on the indoor furnace/air conditioner. Quite possibly, you might need a screwdriver to turn the latch and open the filter housing door. You then need to remove the old filter and insert the new filter. Be sure to match the airflow direction arrows on the filter with the arrows on the unit. Close and latch the door. AC Maintenance Tip #2 ֠Clean your condenser Important: Shut Off Power First! Because there is high risk of working around electrical power. And the fact that the air-conditionerҳ parts move and can be dangerous, itҳ essential to turn off power to the system entirely. On the exterior condenser/compressor, search for an outside shut-off box near the device or turn the power off at the breaker box. Another essential maintenance step is to keep your condenser cleaned. A thorough spray with the garden hose once a year or more often if needed will help dislodge grass clippings, leaves, dirt, and other debris to improve airflow. Although these ac units are designed for outdoor installation and most can handle a spray from the hose, be sure to check your ownerҳ manual first or consult an HVAC professional. It is most vital to turn off the power at the circuit panel before cleaning. And leave it off for at least half an hour after youҲe done. Rain doesnҴ typically wet the fan motor inside the condenser, but the hose spray might. DonҴ try to clean your condenser with a brush. The the fins are easily bent. Bending the fins impedes airflow and reduces efficiency. Remove All Visible Debris From The AC Unit Remove the fan cage on the outer condenser/compressor unit. Using a wrench or screwdriver, remove the fasteners and lift the enclosure or fan grille off the top of the ac unit. Clear out all accumulated leaves and other debris from the interior by hand or with a wet/dry vacuum. On the exterior condenser/compressor, open and remove the fan cage from the unit. Also, while using a screwdriver or wrench, remove the fasteners as well and lift the fan grill or cage away from the top part of the ac unit. This action can be done by hand or with a wet/dry vacuum cleaner. This will remove all leaves and various other caked-on debris from the interior. Clean And Straighten Bent Fins Take off the outer covers and use the brush attachment on a shop vac to eliminate all caked dirt. Then, spray a gentle stream of water from your garden hose; spray the water through the fins from the inside out to eliminate any built-up dirt or debris in between the fins. Never use a pressure washer because extreme pressure can harm the fins. If the fins are filthy, utilize a commercially available fin cleaning spray (offered by your local home-improvement store; (read and follow the manufacturerҳ guidelines. Aligning The Fins Bent fins can significantly decrease the efficiency of your ac unit. Considering that any decrease in airflow via the fins can reduce efficiency, it is crucial to carefully straighten bent fins using a butter knife or a readily available fin-straightening device. Be very gentle so that the tubing embedded within the fins is not damaged. AC Maintenance Tipࣳ ֠Keep Area Around Air Conditioner Condenser Clean Keep the surrounding area around the condenser clear of weeds and keep lawn furniture and other items at least a few feet away. This will promote good circulation around the unit and allow easy access for service personnel. Many people plant shrubs around their condenser to hide it from view and help it blend into the landscaping. Growing plants around the condenser can be a great idea. However, if you decide to have shrubs around your condenser, keep them trimmed back so that you have at least a couple of feet of clearance around the unit on all sides. Your air conditioning unit has to breathe freely to operate at maximum efficiency. But properly positioned shrubbery serves more than a decorative function. It can also shade the condenser from the hot sun to protect the finish, improve efficiency and even help prolong the life of the unit.Evergreen shrubs are best for this purpose because they donҴ lose their leaves in the winter. Advanced Planning Is A Great Air Conditioning Tip If youҲe going to plant new shrubs, look into the future and keep the mature size in mind as you determine planning locations, and remember to leave enough space in the back of the unit for accessibility. Do you have pets that spend a lot of time in the yard around the condenser? If so, it is recommended by experts to install a protective fence around the unit. Protective fencing will help keep both your pet and your condenser safe. Choose a fencing material that wonҴ impede airflow. And be sure to include a gate and leave enough clearance around the unit for accessibility. If you cover the condenser in the winter to help keep it clean, the best way to go is to only the top of the unit to allow for adequate airflow through the sides, thereby preventing moisture buildup, which can damage the unit. Be sure to remember to remove the cover before you turn on the air-conditioner in the spring. Itҳ also crucial to be sure your outdoor unit is indeed an air conditioning condenser and not a heat pump because you should never cover a heat pump. Check The Level Of The AC Pad If the condenser unit is out of level, it can cause the condenser to fail earlier than its natural life span. Over time, the platform upon which the condenser unit sits can begin to lean as the soil settles beneath it. Check the condenser for levelness and use rot-resistant shims to bring it back to the proper height. But, if you have a heat pump system, itҳ okay if the pad slopes slightly away from the foundation of the house to allow for defrosting in the winter. Clean A Plugged Evaporator Drain Inside your home, warm, moist air from your residenceҳ inside is circulated through the evaporator coil. The cold coil takes in warmth from the air, cooling it before the air is flowing back into your home. The moisture buildup in the air condenses on the evaporator coilҳ surface as liquid water, trickling right into a pan below. The water moves into a drainpipe tube that is generally routed right into a cellar floor drainpipe, utility sink, or outdoors from the pan. With time, mold and algae can accumulate and also potentially clog up the drain hose. If the drain is either flowing slowly or not flowing at all, it will need to be unclogged. A clogged drain can either trigger damages by spilling out all over the floor or, if the unit is equipped with a drain float, cause the system to quit cooling to avoid flooding. Locate Drain Line Exit First things first! You will need to locate where the drain line leaves the evaporator coil enclosure. Under normal circumstances, the drain is usually a one-inch PVC pipe. Follow it to the end of the pipe, where it drains out. Most times, the line drains outside near the condenser unit. In other circumstances, it can drain into a floor drain in the basement or a utility sink or, in the case of a unit located in an attic, down an outside wall. When you have found the drain line location, use a wet/dry vacuum to clear out the drain. Be sure to take out the paper filter from the wet/dry vacuum so as not to wreck the filter. Hold the tube of the wet/dry vacuum to the end of the drain line. You can utilize duct tape or hold a cloth around the gaps. Then turn on the vacuum cleaner for a couple of minutes, then turn it off. This process will remove the drain of any growing organic matter. Maintenance Tips For Central Air Conditioning Systems While these simple DIY steps will help keep yourAC system in top running shape, keep in mind that there are upkeep things, some maintenance tasks that just a qualified HVAC technician will certainly have the ability to do. For example, a slow leak in the refrigerant line in your air conditioner system can result in costly compressor failure. However, your average homeowner does not have the equipment or necessary skills essential to inspect the refrigerant levels properly. Clean Air Ducts Are Essential Also, the importance of clean ac ducts and proper airflow cannot be overstated. These are essential to a well-functioning system, but most homeowners lack the necessary skills, tools, and equipment for the work. The bottom line takeaway? While some airconditioning recommendations are twice a year, a savvy homeowner can do simple tasks and maintenance. However, itҳ still essential to have an a/c specialist technician inspect the system periodically. The recommendation by experts is twice a year: Spring and Fall. A professional inspection also helps to catch and to resolve most minor problems before they have a chance to morph into a significant and expensive ordeal. These ac maintenance tips will help you keep your air conditioner at peak operating condition! These helpful air conditioning maintenance tips have been provided byBlake Heating and Cooling Griffin GA The ArticleAir Conditioning Maintenance Tips From Expert Technicians was found onhttps://limitsofstrategy.com The ArticleAir Conditioning Maintenance Tips From Expert Technicians First Appeared ON :https://gqcentral.co.uk The ArticleAir Conditioning Maintenance Tips From Expert Technicians appeared first onhttps://orcadigitals.com https://orcadigitals.com/air-conditioning-maintenance-tips-from-expert-technicians/

[architectnews]

House of Youth, Pforzheim

House of Youth, Baden-Württemberg Building Development, German Music and Dance Studio, Architecture images

House of Youth in Pforzheim

1 Mar 2021

House of Youth

Design: VON M

Location: Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

In 2020 rap is dominating charts and streaming lists – not only in Germany, but also in other countries. This rise is closely linked to the development of Hip Hop as an overall culture since the late 1980s and especially since the mid-1990s. With regard to Germany, the history of Hip Hop here has always been one of the houses of youth.

The open and free culture of these places has enabled the eccentrics of those times to try themselves and their art, to rap, to play records, to dance and paint, and to organize jam sessions. For this experimentation you need the corresponding open-minded personnel and adequate rooms, which the youth center staff can fill with their creativity. A framework that allows variety and colourful mixtures and – at the same time -guarantees a certain stability.

In Pforzheim, the Stuttgart architectural office VON M has created such a framework. The local House of Youth on the edge of Benckiserpark is located not far from the city center on Westliche Karl-Friedrichstraße. The Benckiser family from Pforzheim, who had become rich and wealthy through their steel construction enterprise, once built a villa here, and in 1918 they donated the garden to the city – with the condition that it may permanently be used and maintained as a public park.

The villa was severely damaged during the Second World War and finally demolished in 1945. On its foundation walls, however, in the northeast corner of the park, a House of Youth was built in 1949. It clearly shows the characteristics/features of the International Style reimported by the American liberators and was largely built with US public funds. Above all the goal also was to create a place of enlightenment and thus a permanent fight against fascism.

An anti-fascist house that also shows this intention in its architecture. One has to be aware of this when people today often proclaim that anti-fascism is a kind of leftist terrorist organization.

The single-storey building is based on the foundation walls of old vaulted cellars of the historic Villa Benckiser, parts of the foundation walls have also been reused. In 2016, the almost seventy-year-old house was to be modernized and extended. But instead of making the park smaller with such an extension, the VON M team decided to add another floor to the existing building.

For this purpose, the architects placed a kind of steel table on top of the existing building, with its legs piercing the roof and standing stably on new point foundations that were elaborately inserted between the old foundations. On this table, inexpensive prefabricated elements were erected, which form the extension on the new second floor. Along a long, light-flooded white corridor, the offices of the employees inside as well as those of the management are lined up, as well as rooms that can be used flexibly due to their equal floor space. Mirrors on the walls, ceiling heights and room layout make it clear that a wide range of activities are possible, from yoga to playing console games together and expressive dance. The necessary toilet facilities are also located here.

The ground floor forms the heart of the house. The central room, which stretches from north to south and is generously exposed to natural light on both long sides, is divided by a stage. It functions as a connecting element in both directions as well as it can be closed in either direction. Thus, either a small or a large hall with a classical stage configuration can be created. The stage finds its counterpart in the spatial counter furniture on the north side of the hall, which offers storage space as well as the necessary gallery for the stage equipment.

The architects have placed the new columns necessary for the stability of the extension in the corresponding alignments of the column templates between the large windows. One realises that the building has to be solidly robust for operation. All materials used in the interior have been chosen to meet the extremely tight budget of the project, and to withstand the predicted lack of care of the young people and children.

Like the supports, the walls are white, and are complemented by a system designed by the architects, which allows posters, pictures and billboards of various formats to be hung up without affecting the walls and thus not having to renovate them in the near future. The black colour of the mastic asphalt floor, which has the charm of a kind of a relative of the classic terrazzo, is countered by black painted acoustic panels of the ceiling. From here, through a ground-level exit to the terrace to the west, the park itself can be used for various activities.

In the north, the building swivels 90 degrees to the west, which pleasantly embraces the terrace and at the same time – somewhat removed from the actual activity of the operation – offers space for noise-intensive rehearsal rooms. At the intersection of the two building tracts, one of the two staircases leading up to the second floor has been accommodated and a reception hatch accessible from the hall’s counter has been established as a nice little feature.

In the southern part of the building there are rooms for the groups of younger children, a large meeting room for staff, further flexibly usable group rooms, the urgently needed storage space for various materials, and a second staircase connection between all floors of the building.

This dialectic between inexpensive and robust materials on the one hand and their aesthetic use on the other has also been taken into account of by the VON M architects when cladding the house. The entire heightening is covered by perforated and multipleedged sheet steel in dark grey. Due to the vertical, irregular folding of the industrial material, – when viewed from the inside-, the shell almost has the appearance of a slightly falling textile curtain. The exterior walls of the plastered old building are painted in the same dark grey colour. In addition, since some recessed wall reliefs remain untreated, the different time layers of the building components are clearly visible, showing that the colourfulness of the building clearly forms a great and whole.

Between cost pressure, the constraints of building with existing structures and the demands on the chosen materials, VON M has accomplished an impressively stable frame made of black, white and grey, in which the colourful variety of activities of a youth center has come into play. In its formal and colourful reduction, the house itself withdraws in order to let life fill it with all its colourfulness.

German original text: David Kasparek Translation into English: KMM

Photos: Zooey Braun

Design: VON M

House of Youth, Pforzheim images / information received 010321

Location: Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

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[isaiahrippinus]

Does Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes Partnership Send the Wrong Message to Wine Drinkers?

Last week, the Australia-based global wine conglomerate Treasury Wine Estates announced a multi-year partnership with rapper Snoop Dogg to bring a California red blend to market under its 19 Crimes label. For those unfamiliar with 19 Crimes, the brand is a supermarket staple that’s known for bringing Australia’s early convicts-turned-colonists to life on its augmented reality labels.

From my perspective, the partnership between a black man and a wine brand associated with “criminal” activity is troubling — and tone deaf — given the dangerous, tired stereotypes associating people of color with crime. As just one example, black men have a higher risk of being killed by police than white men, according to the National Academies of Sciences, so the perception can all too easily have real-life consequences.

In his past, Snoop Dogg has been associated with gang violence. He was acquitted in a murder charge, and pleaded guilty in a weapons charge. But in recent decades, criminal activities took a backseat to his smooth West Coast rap flow, and he is still one of the biggest rappers making music today. So why would a successful black star — who has a television show with Martha Stewart, a family-friendly cookbook, and a gospel album — want to revisit his criminal past, partnering with a wine brand whose labels are animated portraits of convicts?

As Snoop says in the launch press release: “I’ve been a fan of this wine and I’m excited to unveil my ‘Snoop Cali Red’ this summer and share the experience with all my fans. It’s one of the most successful brands in the market, so I’m more than eager to bring this collaboration to the world!”

Let’s look at the bigger picture. The wine world doesn’t need another celebrity-endorsed wine. It already has so many, although very few are helmed by black men. In that category, there’s Intercept Wines by the former NFL player Charles Woodson, and Wade Cellars by Dwyane Wade, the former NBA player. Meanwhile, Earl Stevens Selections, by rapper and actor E-40, has been making wines for almost a decade. The difference here is that 19 Crimes wines are sold globally, so Snoop Dogg’s face will be on bottles all over the world. From a branding perspective, there’s certainly an appeal to that global visibility.

Given that context, what do black wine drinkers and wine professionals have to say about the partnership? I decided to find out.

Jermaine Stone, president and CEO of Cru Luv Selections, says he believes that Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes partnership will “expose wine to a larger audience and encourage them to drink wine, and it will be huge for black culture to give wine a try,” he says. “We should give Snoop Dogg the space to be an artist and be bold which black artists aren’t allowed to do. I think this is a good start for Snoop Dogg in the wine world.”

That’s in contrast to other perspectives. Marketing professional Sabrina Jackson, of Social Sab, and a longtime wine drinker, says she believes this partnership is a “complete contradiction of the brand Snoop is trying to project. It will not last…he’s not serious about the world of wine. A simple Google search of ‘insert celebrity name’ and the word ‘wine’ — and one can deduce the celebrity’s hobby of wine, or not. Snoop is no wine enthusiast.”

Jean-Wesley Michel, a design consultant with interiors firm Calligaris and a wine enthusiast, says he doesn’t like seeing a black man associated with crimes — even on a wine bottle. “Snoop is too old for this type of partnership,” Michel says. “His brand is bigger than this.”

One black sales representative for a major distributor, who spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to comment on the company’s behalf, says he “[H]ates the idea and feels [Snoop] is doing it for the money. If it is a hip-hop thing, André Mack would be a person to collaborate with,” he says, referring to the award-winning sommelier and winemaker of Maison Noir Wines. Mack would indeed make a smart partner for Snoop if connecting hip-hop and wine was the goal of the initiative, as Mack has always used hip-hop and rap as metaphors for his wine names. And such a partnership would lack the negative association that’s hard to escape in a name like 19 Crimes.

But others see the collaboration as a way to introduce more black people to wine. Steffni Bethea, the owner of the Purple Corkscrew Wine Shop & Tasting Room, in Avondale Estates, GA, says she has pondered the question, “Is this good marketing or exploitation?” But in the end, “I decided that I don’t have to decide,” she says. “Snoop will usher in a new wave of wine drinkers just as rappers before him did with Moscato.”

Bethea continues: “Having been an on-premise and retail wine provider for eight years, I’ve personally seen those very same ‘Moscato’ palates expand, over time… I welcome the opportunity to receive more wine drinkers into the fold, and to expand their palates when ready.”

Only time will tell whether Snoop Dogg’s partnership with 19 Crimes is a sales hit, and if it successfully brings new audiences into the wine fold. But I agree with Bethea, who concludes: “Will I be drinking, Snoop Cali Red? Probably not. But, everything ain’t for everybody!”

The article Does Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes Partnership Send the Wrong Message to Wine Drinkers? appeared first on VinePair.

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[johnboothus]

Does Snoop Doggs 19 Crimes Partnership Send the Wrong Message to Wine Drinkers?

Last week, the Australia-based global wine conglomerate Treasury Wine Estates announced a multi-year partnership with rapper Snoop Dogg to bring a California red blend to market under its 19 Crimes label. For those unfamiliar with 19 Crimes, the brand is a supermarket staple that’s known for bringing Australia’s early convicts-turned-colonists to life on its augmented reality labels.

From my perspective, the partnership between a black man and a wine brand associated with “criminal” activity is troubling — and tone deaf — given the dangerous, tired stereotypes associating people of color with crime. As just one example, black men have a higher risk of being killed by police than white men, according to the National Academies of Sciences, so the perception can all too easily have real-life consequences.

In his past, Snoop Dogg has been associated with gang violence. He was acquitted in a murder charge, and pleaded guilty in a weapons charge. But in recent decades, criminal activities took a backseat to his smooth West Coast rap flow, and he is still one of the biggest rappers making music today. So why would a successful black star — who has a television show with Martha Stewart, a family-friendly cookbook, and a gospel album — want to revisit his criminal past, partnering with a wine brand whose labels are animated portraits of convicts?

As Snoop says in the launch press release: “I’ve been a fan of this wine and I’m excited to unveil my ‘Snoop Cali Red’ this summer and share the experience with all my fans. It’s one of the most successful brands in the market, so I’m more than eager to bring this collaboration to the world!”

Let’s look at the bigger picture. The wine world doesn’t need another celebrity-endorsed wine. It already has so many, although very few are helmed by black men. In that category, there’s Intercept Wines by the former NFL player Charles Woodson, and Wade Cellars by Dwyane Wade, the former NBA player. Meanwhile, Earl Stevens Selections, by rapper and actor E-40, has been making wines for almost a decade. The difference here is that 19 Crimes wines are sold globally, so Snoop Dogg’s face will be on bottles all over the world. From a branding perspective, there’s certainly an appeal to that global visibility.

Given that context, what do black wine drinkers and wine professionals have to say about the partnership? I decided to find out.

Jermaine Stone, president and CEO of Cru Luv Selections, says he believes that Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes partnership will “expose wine to a larger audience and encourage them to drink wine, and it will be huge for black culture to give wine a try,” he says. “We should give Snoop Dogg the space to be an artist and be bold which black artists aren’t allowed to do. I think this is a good start for Snoop Dogg in the wine world.”

That’s in contrast to other perspectives. Marketing professional Sabrina Jackson, of Social Sab, and a longtime wine drinker, says she believes this partnership is a “complete contradiction of the brand Snoop is trying to project. It will not last…he’s not serious about the world of wine. A simple Google search of ‘insert celebrity name’ and the word ‘wine’ — and one can deduce the celebrity’s hobby of wine, or not. Snoop is no wine enthusiast.”

Jean-Wesley Michel, a design consultant with interiors firm Calligaris and a wine enthusiast, says he doesn’t like seeing a black man associated with crimes — even on a wine bottle. “Snoop is too old for this type of partnership,” Michel says. “His brand is bigger than this.”

One black sales representative for a major distributor, who spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to comment on the company’s behalf, says he “[H]ates the idea and feels [Snoop] is doing it for the money. If it is a hip-hop thing, André Mack would be a person to collaborate with,” he says, referring to the award-winning sommelier and winemaker of Maison Noir Wines. Mack would indeed make a smart partner for Snoop if connecting hip-hop and wine was the goal of the initiative, as Mack has always used hip-hop and rap as metaphors for his wine names. And such a partnership would lack the negative association that’s hard to escape in a name like 19 Crimes.

But others see the collaboration as a way to introduce more black people to wine. Steffni Bethea, the owner of the Purple Corkscrew Wine Shop & Tasting Room, in Avondale Estates, GA, says she has pondered the question, “Is this good marketing or exploitation?” But in the end, “I decided that I don’t have to decide,” she says. “Snoop will usher in a new wave of wine drinkers just as rappers before him did with Moscato.”

Bethea continues: “Having been an on-premise and retail wine provider for eight years, I’ve personally seen those very same ‘Moscato’ palates expand, over time… I welcome the opportunity to receive more wine drinkers into the fold, and to expand their palates when ready.”

Only time will tell whether Snoop Dogg’s partnership with 19 Crimes is a sales hit, and if it successfully brings new audiences into the wine fold. But I agree with Bethea, who concludes: “Will I be drinking, Snoop Cali Red? Probably not. But, everything ain’t for everybody!”

The article Does Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes Partnership Send the Wrong Message to Wine Drinkers? appeared first on VinePair.

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