#Interactive Artefacts

[tskva]

SHADOWHEART & THE ARTEFACT.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #shadowheart #these are some interactions u get when u use the artefact in her inventory

[covertblizzard]

Kyle and Barda at the art museum~

#kyle rayner #barda free #green lantern #big barda #mypost #dc thoughts #this whole 80 page thing... most of the time i'm like... do you even KNOW what you're writing??? #(including this story) #but their interaction was cute #and kyle's whole 'OHNO THE ART' is funny #also valid they're basically cultural artefacts sort of they're IMPORTANT #(not as important as LIVES obviously busbdfgjksdfg but important) #i don't know if the writer meant it also but the art can teach us things displayed in the second pic -- good stuff

[auschwitzdoposmoderno]

Artefacto Auschwitz do Pós-Moderno em funcionamento.

#artefact #new media #new media art #art #interaction #art interaction #auschwitz #media-arte digital #mad

[deepfrost-citadel]

"You know," Xisuma said, peering cautiously over Cub's shoulder at the museum's latest addition, "When you said you wanted to show me a new exhibit, I wasn't expecting…" He trailed off.

Evil Xisuma glowered at him from inside their enclosure.

"…This."

To say Evil X looked a little miffed about the situation would be an understatement. At least Cub had done a nice job decorating, Xisuma thought, between the blackstone and crimson wood, Evil X looked right at home - if they weren't sitting grumpily in their 2-by-1 lava pool, surrounded by the mangled remains of whatever Cub had put in there for enrichment.

"Surprise!" Cub grinned, doing jazz hands at the enclosure, "I know what you might be thinking-"

Xisuma doubted that somehow.

"- 'Cub, Evil Xisuma hasn't done anything this season! They aren't a historic artefact! They shouldn't be in a museum!' But!" Cub wagged a finger triumphantly, "They are important to the history of Hermitcraft as a whole. So really, if you think about it, they definitely belong in a museum."

"… Okay?"

"Glad we're on the same page."

Xisuma wasn't sure if anyone was ever on the same page as Cub. Except maybe Scar.

"Now! As you can see, I've been decorating their enclosure, trying to add some interactive elements for guests and such." Cub pointed towards a line of redstone lamps at the top of Evil Xisuma's enclosure, "These show you how much electricity they're generating when they do their lightning hands thing. I'll be honest with you, it's broken a few times already so it's still a work in progress-"

"… Is that what all the lightning rods are for?" Xisuma frowned, eyeing the entirely lightning rod-ed ceiling.

"It is indeed!" Cub said, ignoring the twinge of concern in Xisuma's voice, "Well, a little. Mostly it's a safety thing, it wouldn't be good to have guests being electrocuted, now would it?"

"I suppose not… And it definitely works?"

"Oh yeah, it's been very thoroughly tested. Hey, Evil Xisuma," Cub walked up to the glass and tapped on it a few times, much to Xisuma's silent horror, "Wanna show X how the lightning rods work?"

In response, Evil Xisuma stuck their middle finger up at him and yelled something muffled to almost inaudibility that sounded a little like: "When I get out of here, I'm going to rip your head off and use it as a coffee mug, you stupid e-boy twink."

The pair on the other side of the glass blinked.

"… That's a no then." Cub turned back to Xisuma, "They do this a lot."

"They certainly do," Xisuma nodded faintly.

"You can probably tell the glass is uh... Mostly noise-cancelling, had to install that because Helsknight is in the next enclosure over and he's still hibernating. You know how Wels gets when you wake him up early, don't wanna find out how that guy is."

"… Of course," Xisuma sighed, pinching the nose bridge of his helmet, "Do I want to know how you got hold of those two?"

Cub laughed in the slightly unhinged way that gave Xisuma visions of Cub spending several weeks toying with the evil hermits as he hunted them for sport, "Nah man, it's not an interesting story."

Somehow, Xisuma doubted that.

"Anyway," Cub said, changing the topic before Xisuma could ask if he knew there was still someone's blood on his left sleeve, "What I really called you for is that I need an Evil Xisuma expert, and you're the man to ask about all things Evil Xisuma."

"Except for Evil Xisuma."

"Except for Evil Xisuma, yes." Cub nodded sagely, "So. Obviously I wanna make sure everything is nice for our new residents, give them plenty of enrichment and all that, but it hasn't been working out so far."

"I can see that."

"Soo… Any suggestions? What kind of thing does Evil X like? Food? Blocks? I dunno, fake derpcoin or something?"

Xisuma hummed, tilting his head in thought as he gazed at Evil Xisuma, who had clambered out of the lava pool to press their hands against the glass and give Xisuma the saddest, most pathetic puppy dog eyes their LED screen could muster (which, admittedly, were very sad and pathetic) in a silent plea to not leave them here with that madman, they'll be good for realsies this time they promise-

"Well," Xisuma said, turning to Cub, "They like to knit, so maybe they'd like some wool… Oh! And if you can find any old Wormman merch, they'll love that too."

Evil Xisuma's head hit the glass with a despairing thunk.

#hermitcraft #xisuma #cubfan135 #evil xisuma #my writing #dont ask me what possessed me to write this the answer is i have no idea #anyway the museum continues to contain both normal things and creatures

[unrealcity-if]

a cyberpunk interactive fiction

demo: prologue 1&2, 20k. play here.

Streets, empty - gnarled roots burying deep below the city. The gleam of teeth, an endless buzzing like flies. Dry, dead rock. There was water here once. Now toxic sludge seeps into the dirt, leeching life from the land. They staked metal, twisted it into the dead earth to block out the sky. They know that is too late, but they try to defy fate all the same.

Esurio is a city divided. You know this all too well. As a smuggler of black-market tech into the city from the outlands, you would like nothing better than to be free of Esurio once and for all. Yet the city seems to pull people in, and after a job gone wrong you find yourself entangled in a net of lies, inexplicably strange murders, and the one question that no-one knows the answer to -

What lies below Esurio?

[features]

pay off your debt through smuggling goods into the city

run from law enforcement

investigate strange murders, while trying not to end up the next victim

regret every life decision you have made

uncover what lies below the city?

meet (and optionally romance) 5 companions - 2 gender selectable

finally free yourself from Esurio?

[companions]

[ros]

Argo [nb] they/them, asexual :

If there's anyone in Esurio that you trust, it would be them. They've been by your side since you were young : first as friends and then (literal) partners in crime. When they were younger, they dreamt of changing the world. At some point they buried that dream. For now they keep to smuggling, hacking, and breaking every speed limit possible.

Appearance - shoulder-length coily dark brown hair, medium brown skin, dark brown eyes. prides themself on wearing the most colourful jacket they can find, and wouldn't know colour or outfit coordination if it hit them in the face.

Sora [f/m] she/her or he/him :

A private investigator with a moralistic streak. They attempt to fill in the gaps left by law-enforcement, dealing in all kinds of information, and know practically anything on anyone, while remaining a perpetually shadowy figure themselves. Motivated by curiousity and an alarming lack of self-preservation instincts, they're determined to uncover the truth about Esurio at all costs.

Appearance - straight, dark brown hair that flops over their brown eyes. olive skin. always wears a leather jacket and heavy boots: dresses practically. carries gadgets + a notepad in their bag: they are prepared for anything, especially a high speed pursuit across rooftops.

Brontë [f/m/nb] she/her, he/him, or he/they :

A failed musician with a trail of poor decisions behind them. They were going to make it big in the underground music scene, until, one day, they weren't. Cast-out and adrift, they're cynical and conflicted, a perfect example of a delicately poised balancing act. It's only a matter of time before they fall.

Appearance - wavy blond hair, dyed purple at the ends, reaching about chin length. pale, freckled skin and green eyes. wears light jackets, oversized tshirts, boots that are falling apart, and as many bracelets as possible.

Asha [f] she/they :

She ran with Argo, Jaya and you for several years, after her illustrious political family abruptly fell from grace and she had to look out for herself any way she could. A skilled mechanic, and never one to back down from a fight, she bounces from person to person, always living life at high speed. After Jaya's disappearance, she split from the group, and you haven't spoken to her since.

Appearance - straight, shoulder-length black hair. dark brown skin and dark brown eyes. wears work overalls most of the time, and is frequently covered in smudges of oil fromch her work as a mechanic. else, she dresses casually and comfortably - loose shirts, ripped jeans and a necklace.

Cas [m] he/him :

An artefact dealer in the outlands. You know his name, and not much else. He seems to float from place to place, avoiding strong attachments. Never talks about his past, his strange dreams, and pretty much anything personal. Knows what to do in a crisis, though, and is frequently the voice of reason.

Appearance - straight, short light brown hair, fair skin, eyepatch over his right eye - his left is brown. wears glasses. Always in a fashionable long dark coat and heavy boots: somehow manages to look constantly poised and well put together despite Esurio's characteristic humidity.

[other]

Acheron [nb] they/them :

They control much of what flows from the outlands into the city. After they rescued Argo and you from capture by law enforcement, you have been working for them in order to pay off your debt to them. They're level headed and ruthless, and you can't work out what makes them tick.

Jaya [f] she/her :

She was part of the underground smuggling group involving you, Argo and Asha, until she disappeared abruptly and everything went to shit. To this day, you've been unable to find out what happened to her. But thats in the past, right? [option to have been in a past relationship with her]

Valentine [nb] she/her and he/him :

Practically anyone in Esurio knows Valentine, or has at least heard of her. She's the person to go to for weird tech, fast cars and a way to vanish quietly. Despite her notoriety, and her fame as a guitarist, she always seems to be able to work just under the radar of the authorities.

[content warnings]

17+ (may be subject to change). violence, slight gore, horror aspects. implied sexual content.

#interactive fiction #cyberpunk #interactive novel #interactive game #twine game #twine wip #twine if #i am so nervous !!

[signedkoko]

Howdy!

Could I ask for romantic headcanons for what initially makes Blitzø, Stolas and Millie fall for the person they're interested in?

Hope that makes sense lol. Much love to you <3

Blitzo | Millie | Stolas [Romantic]

In which their initial interest in you begins to flourish

It was a tough mission, one far before Blitzo had formally established IMP

It was just him and his gun, payed hefty cash under a table to take care of a target

He hadn't expected the target would notice him, and the tables would turn so quickly

With his back pressed against the floor, and a gun placed firmly into his skull, he surely thought that was it

But the first shot was drawn not by the target, but another demon wielding an old shotgun

Blood was everywhere, splattered across the ceiling, himself, and you

And good lord, did that crimson ever bring out the colour of your eyes

One of those stupid slo mo scenes in his mind, at least until he realised you'd killed the target before he had- and- wait, why were there two of you?

" Good call on the client for bringing in a backup plan, huh? You ain't bad but you could be better. "

You had helped him back home after that, and to his surprise, split the cash amount equally, citing something about how bait was just as important as the kill

Since then, you were the only thing on his mind, and his new shining obsession

Growing up in Wrath, Millie was well acquainted with those around her, and found it easy to spot someone who wasn't local

And boy, you were anything but local

The delivery person who dropped off supplies for the ranch from various rings, you looked nothing like the folk around here, far more...modern

Eventually, she happily took up the 'chore' of handling drop offs and pick ups just for an excuse to talk to you, and learn about you

Your stories of the other rings drew her in, feeding the yearning she had to adventure amongst them

Her parents preferred to keep their rowdy girl home, where it was safer, but when you offered to take her with you on a delivery to the pride ring, she begged her parents until they reluctantly agreed

Not that it mattered, she would have snuck out if she had to

You brought her up to the pride ring, showed her the sights and even let her speak to one of your other clients, IMP

Thanks to you, she eventually got a job with them, and she still insists on taking care of any of IMPs drop offs

Stolas often felt isolated in the place he was pretty much forced to live in and continue to work from day in and out

Always the same faces, the same servitude, the same job, nothing ever changed

The only people he got 'close' to were other royals, since everyone else had to bow their heads to him and followed the speak when spoken to mentality

But like every royal, there were a few ceremonies and festivals he had to attend to where he got to interact with the denizens of hell in a more refreshing manner

That was where he met you, at the winter solstice celebration, which was annually held in the pride ring

You were a descendant of the former event runner, now tasked with welcoming the prince and shifting the temperature cycle of hell through an ancient artefact

Stolas found you far more welcoming than the last, having invited him into your home the day prior so he didn't have to travel so early, and asking him many questions of how his experience of it was in the past

This year, he opened the gate to the mortal sky far wider, and for longer, as a small gift to repay your kindness

He hopes you consider a summer solstice event, so he can see you more than once a year

Author's Note - Thank you so much for requesting!! I decided to be a lil creative and make something neat up, I hope it was to your liking!

#koko writez #hazbin hotel #helluva boss #hazbin hotel x reader #helluva boss x reader #reader insert #x reader #millie #millie x reader #blitzo #blitzo x reader #stolas #stolas x reader

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

BLOG DIRECTORY AND ABOUT - Check Read More! 

this is a fanart blog! I’m not affiliated with Moulinsart or anything official, and I don’t make any money from this blog. It’s entirely for laughs, even when the posts aren’t funny. I try and keep the content on this blog safe for work, there will be swearing and mild injuries every now and then. Let me know if you want anything tagged.

pronouns are he/they. I’m British Chinese, and I’m an animator. I will always leave asks on for this blog, but I might not be able to reply to all of them! I will try my best to respond to as many as I can.

I know a lot of right wing weirdos use Tintin imagery to push their shitty politics so if you’re one of those people kindly fuck off! I’ve also seen people repost my art to other platforms, if you want to share my stuff outside Tumblr please ask first, wait for explicit permission and link back to my blog.

I also never post anything shipping Haddock and Tintin together romantically. I have the tag blacklisted too, I don’t mind interacting with people who ship this but I’m just not interested in interacting with the pairing as I find it super uncomfortable.

Instagram (@professorcalculusstanacc)

Animation

Comics

My Stories

French Translation of My Comics by ironiebd

Post-Canon Characters - Where Are They Now?

- Archibald Haddock

- Chang

- Tintin

- Martine Vandezande

- Zorrino

The ProfessorCalculusStanAccount Post-Canon Timeline (in chronological order):

- St Benezet’s Basement

Tintin and Chang go undercover in a Catholic boy’s college to investigate a series of student disappearances.

(X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

- The Golden Palm

Tintin goes undercover at a film festival disguised as Hollywood starlet Marlene Katz to fight off the mob.

(X) (X) 

- Call of the Songbird

On a backstage tour of the Museum of Art and History, Tintin steals an ancient Chinese whistle to return it to its place of origin after Chang laments how European museums are full of stolen artefacts.

(X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

- The Beast of Loch Broom

After falling out with Tintin, Captain Haddock decides to take Chang under his wing to go monster hunting at a loch he used to visit on childhood holidays.

(X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

- The Gypsum Maw

Tintin is sent by his editor to interview a caver who is stuck in an unregulated cave.

(X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

- White Boy Goes Dancing

tintin finally goes to the club with chang

(X) (X) (X)

- The House of Glass

Calculus is the judge of an international flower show where the plant used to make Rajaijah madness juice is on display.

(X)

- Tintin Takes the Tube

During the London Blitz, Tintin, Chang and Haddock go to check on Chang’s uncle in Limehouse. Haddock uncovers a Nazi plot in some London Underground service tunnels.

(X)

- Unnamed Area 51 story

Chang and Tintin have a midlife crisis and decide to break into Area 51 after a bunch of alien sightings flood the tabloids, and get into trouble with the US government.

(X)

- The Goddamn Moustache Saga

Haddock really fucking hates Tintin’s new look. Bullying ensues

(X) (X)

#Fanart #animation #2d animation #gif #gifset #professor calculus #cuthbert calculus #captain haddock #archibald haddock #tintin #Adventures of Tintin #pinned post

[delirious-donna]

Ghosts of the Past [Extra Drabble]

story summary: Your best friend lets you crash at her place over the spring break since you have nowhere else to go. Little did you know that it isn't actually her place. Instead, it belongs to a tall (grumpy) hot guy who finds you in his apartment–her brother.

an: I decided that it would be cute to write a section from the POV of the couple that Kento and reader meet in the museum. I’ve grown very fond of this couple and I hope you’ll enjoy this extra little piece of the story.

warning: none, SFW, fluff and humour

Series Masterlist

The museum was full of its usual hustle and bustle, even more so given the holidays, and it was a pleasure to be a part of the hubbub.

Felicity scanned the crowds with a keen eye, smiling at the energetic children—some more rambunctious than others—accompanied by parents trying to corral them into some semblance of order. She well remembered when her own brood were this age, and the hours spent in this much-loved building keeping them amused during school holidays.

A hand slipped into hers, more familiar than any other and Felicity squeezed the fingers of her beloved husband, glancing at him with a love that had never diminished even after all these years together. She counted her blessings for having met her soulmate so young, and for the family they had raised, as well as the fun and laughter they continued to share.

The pair perused the museum that they knew like the back of their hand, winding through the galleries and stopping to spot new artefacts and displays. This was still one of their favourite pastimes, there was always a discovery to make and even on days when it felt like they had seen everything the museum had to offer, there was always people watching to fall back on.

Much to Howard’s feigned disapproval, Felicity adored watching people. Since their children had grown up and flown the nest to build their own families it had become a ritual of sorts to indulge her social curiosities in public places such as these. There was something special about witnessing the complexities of real human relationships that scratched the itch far more than any TV drama or soap opera ever could. Friendships blooming over shared interests, young minds being educated through fun interactive education, families finding their feet with the addition of children in tow, tired parents happy to see their kids entertained to give them a moment of peace, and best of all, romance blossoming in the most unlikely places and ways.

Today was no different, with new delights to be found in every room, but it wasn’t until they neared the new photography exhibition did Felicity feel the buzz of excitement that often signalled a special find.

“You’re like a bloodhound, Flic,” Howard chuckled with a playful roll of his eyes. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and secured his wife’s arm through his own.

“Pfft, nonsense. I’m simply drawn to where the universe wants me to be.” She didn’t believe the sentiment, but she’d be damned to admit he was right after all these decades together.

The pair admired a large mural of a cheetah made up of hundreds of thousands of tiny black-and-white images until her attention was drawn to the room by their left. There were only two occupants, a young man slowly edging around the room and an equally young woman resting on the leather seat in the middle.

Felicity watched whilst the young woman never took her eyes off the man perusing the photos on the wall. Her gaze was intent but there was a softness that infused her features with what appeared to be fondness. Perhaps even attraction? The young man, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to being the focus of the woman. His posture was stiff, hands clasped behind his back with a slight rock on the balls of his feet when something interested him.

If this wasn’t a budding romance, she’d eat her hat. Felicity tugged gently at the cuff of Howard’s shirt sleeve, nodding her head in the direction of the young couple and was met with a sigh of resignation.

“Leave them be,” he hissed, though there was no heat to his tone. Despite the words, he too began to watch as the young woman moved towards the man and started to speak. They were too far away to hear the conversation, but it was obvious after a moment that it wasn’t going well.

The couple watched on whilst the woman’s expression turned to shock then irritation. Whatever the man was saying, it wasn’t going over well, and when she strode off to the other side of the room, Howard could only feel sympathy for the young man. He looked genuinely perplexed, a hand scratching at the back of his neck as if the skin prickled from the exchange.

Felicity leaned into her husband to speak close to his ear. “Doesn’t that remind you of anyone?” She chuckled, turning twinkling eyes up at him and he felt a swell of love wash through him. It did remind him of someone, himself, and the young woman would be Felicity, his Flic.

“He looks as baffled as I felt back then. You always seemed to be mad at me for something I didn’t even realise was wrong,” Howard admitted with a shake of his head.

“I was, though it hardly matters now. The only thing that truly matters is how he deals with it… will he turn on his heel or will he try to resolve the issue?”

It was obvious that the wheels inside the young man’s head were turning at an astonishing rate, but he wasn’t moving, and Felicity’s shoulders slumped sadly.

“Give him a moment,” Howard chastised, pointing towards the man’s hand. “Don’t you see how he wishes to reach for her?”

He was right. The man’s hand was stretching, reaching as if what he wanted was just out of reach. It dropped as quickly as it happened, but only because he took the tentative steps to move alongside his object of affection.

“I always reached out for you, just as he did for her. Maybe they’ll make it,” he whispered co-conspiratorially.

“He’s confused, darling. I don’t think he quite knows what he wants, only that he doesn’t have it yet. Come on,” she said, moving them towards the young couple.

The woman was near yelling, yet the man simply looked on in confusion. So badly she wished to grab them both by the ear and turn them to face one another. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife and it was like stepping into a memory of her past, familiar and amusing. Back then, it had been far from funny but with the advantage of hindsight and a lot more life experience, she could view it for what it was.

“Oh, Howard, look there. Doesn’t that bring back memories?” Felicity called loudly, pleased when the pair jumped in surprise at being interrupted. They jerked apart like naughty children, and it only strengthened her belief that they both wanted something more than their current situation.

“They say that couples shouldn’t bicker, especially in public,” she said with a slight laugh. “But don’t listen to such rubbish. Howard and I used to snipe at each other regularly, and we’ve been married thirty-five years.”

The look of utter shock on their faces, especially the woman, was worth it. Along with the stammered explanations that it wasn’t what it seemed, that they weren’t a couple. So that was where the problem lay. Felicity wondered if it was down to one party in particular, and her gaze strayed to the young man.

A quick assessment painted a detailed picture. Young, handsome, successful, affluent given the timepiece on his wrist but maybe too invested in his work? She couldn’t blame him; society expected all youngsters these days to chase after unrealistic dreams. A career wasn’t the only thing that mattered in life, and from the expression he wore, he wasn’t as happy as he made out. A nudge in the right direction might do the trick. It would be a shame to see a bright young woman slip through his fingers simply because he was scared to try to make it work.

“My dear, when you’ve been around as long as we have, you start to trust what your gut tells you. I won’t say anything else except to offer this one piece of advice. Don’t go to bed angry, and don’t wait to go after what you truly want.”

Felicity offered a kindly smile at the young man, his jaw slack at the offered wisdom. She patted the woman’s arm once more as Howard led her away, but only after he offered his own incline of the head at the man. There was compassion in his eyes, and she knew that it felt like he was staring at his younger self at that moment. She knew that because it was the same for her, a ghost of the past come to remind them both where they started and how far they had come.

“Do you think they’ll make it?” Felicity asked once they were well out of earshot.

Howard sighed, turning his head back for a moment before replying. “If he’s anything like me then he’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.”

“You old softie…”

Taglist: @actuallysaiyan @pseudowho @desiray562 @bloombb @markleeisdabestdrug @kentoslvt @threezzyo @themossiestchick @thejujvtsupost @ratmilk14 @levin4nami @sweetpo1son @dabislilbaby @fandomsfanficsfantasize @hotvinimon @ryomance @justmanu @w-emma-fil @orikuu @sutaagaaru @venjrnjrbhrr19

#delirious writes #nanami x reader #nanami kento #nanami fluff #nanami kento fluff #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #nanami kento x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen fluff

[polakina]

his undoing

pairing: steven grant x reader

rating: explicit

outline: you found Steven adorable and attractive, he found you assertive and attractive. The two of you were an unlikely pair about to intertwine.

warnings: dom/sub tones, sub steven (yay), masturbation, edgeplay, flirting, teasing, unprotected sex, fingering, mirror sex, hand jobs

requests are open! hope you enjoy, petals <3

masterlist

II

Dusty antiques and floor cleaner perforated your nose as you unlocked the door to step into the museum. Being the first person through the door really made you appreciate the quiet, the complete silence that greeted you as you walked along the tile floor, shoes clacking against the cold, hard surface. It was calming, being alone inside the content confinement of history. There really was no place you’d rather be than here.

Setting up for the day and making sure to do a sweep of the building before opening it to the general public, all you had to do now was wait for your staff to arrive. Donna got on your nerves a lot more than you wanted to admit, her patronising attitude and cruel demeanour wormed its way under your skin like a scarab beetle digging beneath soil. But you had to remain professional for the sake of keeping your title as ‘the boss’.

JB was quite possibly the worst security guard you’d ever hired, but you couldn’t let him go, not when there wasn’t anyone else to take the position if you did. So he stayed, and he watched videos on his phone while absentmindedly ignoring the passing public entering the museum. The place had never been robbed, and no one had ever tried to steal anything. But perhaps that was what JJ needed to finally realise that he needed to take his job seriously. A little fake robbery to boost his security skills.

You’d thought about it half-jokingly, convincing a friend to act sketchy inside the museum and see if JB would notice and escort them out. But you realised that your friend would probably “rob” the whole museum before he even noticed that anything was missing. So it was most likely a better idea to put a pin in that idea. For now.

But then there was Steven. Sweet, quite, adorable Steven. He kept to himself mostly, but he was a major history nerd and the kindest person you’d ever met. Even though he only worked in the gift shop, you’d caught him multiple times with the kids that had come on field trips and wandered off to the gift shops to look at the stuffed toys and pretty pictures. He told them fun facts and gave weirdly adorable descriptions of how people were killed in Ancient Egypt, often using his hands to demonstrate. It amused you, but also warmed your heart to see his interactions, and just witness how lovely he was with everyone, and how genuine. All he wanted to do was talk about the artefacts, all day every day if he could. If there was a position you could give him where he could do that, you would. But there weren’t any open positions as of yet, which you had to sadly remind him of every time he got the courage to inquire to it with you.

But there was something else about him that you liked. You couldn’t quite place your finger on it, but it was there. Of course, you tried not to think too hard on it. Any sort of workplace involvements were strictly prohibited. Besides, you were his boss, you were everybody’s boss. It would be…so inappropriate. Right? Yes. So it was wise to just not think on it at all, pushing it to the very back of your mind.

Eventually all of your staff came in and went about their respectable jobs, Donna of course, micromanaging everyone else when she thought you weren’t there. You’d have to do something about that eventually, but right now you had a giant stack of papers the size of the sarcophaguses in your museum that were waiting for you to flick through and sign. So you made your way over to your office on the first floor to do just that, purposefully walking through the gift shop to get there even though it took you out of your way a little. You ignored the way your heart dropped a little to see Steven nowhere to be seen, but you could hear him shuffling around in the storage room behind the desk. There wasn’t any reason for you to actually seek him out, so you pushed on, forcing yourself to walk to your office.

-

You felt as though the stack of papers grew with every sheet you cast aside. Were they multiplying? They had to be. There was no way you still had this many to read. You needed a distraction, or some sort of way to procrastinate for a few minutes. Anything.

It was a blessing to you when your office door was knocked on. Four little knocks rumbling through the wooden door. Only one person you knew knocked like that. Quiet and quick, they were. As though the person who knocked almost didn’t want to be called in.

“Come in,” you said, loud enough to be heard through the door. Quiet whispers and feet shuffles were your only response until the door knob twisted, a little rusty at first. You reminded yourself that you needed to oil that door knob before you were trapped inside the office from a faulty door.

Just as you had guessed, Steven popped his head around like a little meerkat sticking its head out of a burrow. “Hello!” He greeted in his consistently sweet voice, accompanied by that adorable smile.

“Steven, hi,” you smiled back, pushing your chair back to stand up. “Everything okay?” You leaned forward as Steven walked over to your desk, halting just on the other side of it with a few files in his hands. He seemed…nervous? It wasn’t often that he wasn’t nervous around you, in all honesty.

“Yes, oh yes, everything is fine,” Steven was quick with his words, with the way he spoke. Everything always felt sort of rushed, as though the words were coming out faster than his brain could register them. It was a little chaotic, but it was Steven’s way and had been since he started years ago. “I just brought up those files you asked me to get from archives. I know you said you wanted them before I left yesterday, but I completely forgot. Sorry about that. I thought I might have been able to catch you earlier this morning, but it’s been a bit hectic with the different school trips and stuff.” Even you sometimes had a hard time keeping up with him, but you always managed to push through it.

“Steven, it’s fine, don’t worry. I forgot too, it’s okay. But you came at the right time, I finally have space on my desk for more files,” you gestured to the little square space of wood that you could see of your once empty desk. It was cute to see Steven’s eyes widen as he finally saw the sheer amount of paper already on your desk.

“Oh, shoot, I didn’t realise you- that you already had work here. I can bring it back later if you want? Or…never, since I really don’t think you want any more work right now. Sorry. I probably should have remembered that you have these papers to sign. I can just-”

You were already laughing before he’d finished his sentence. Not at him, no never at him. Just at how flustered he got, how worried of the size of piles of worksheets and letters and documents filling your office. If you’d organise and collated everything a little neater, you probably wouldn’t have as much to do as you’d think. “Steven, it’s fine, it’s my job to work the documents. Just as it’s your job to be sweet with our customers and be the bright smile they see as they come into the shop. Mine’s just a little more boring. Here, I’ll take the files, they look a little heavy.” You held out your arms for the documents and Steven blinked a few times and it took him a few moments to move towards you and hand you the files.

Your eyes focused on the yellow filed papers, but his focused on you. Your fingertips brushed his as you took the documents from his hands, and you could almost feel the way he recoiled from your touch. You tried not to think about it too much. But he did. His ears went a little red and his lips turned up into the tiniest smile. God, he was acting like a school boy. Even on the way to work, he played the words like a mantra in his head. She’s your boss. She’s your boss. She’s your boss. But it still couldn’t stop him from thinking. Thinking never did any harm, did it?

“Was there anything else? Or is that it?” You asked, eyes looking over his face and taking note of his red-tipped ears, his puppy dog eyes that often captivated you whenever you spoke to him. They were like a trap. A trap that he didn’t realise he was setting, but somehow you were always caught in it.

“No, no that was everything, I-I think,” he rushed out with a quick grin. Steven held his breath as you set the documents down and leaned over the desk once again, placing your hands flat on the surface to hold yourself up.

“Everything alright? You seem a little..flushed.”

Steven just shook his head, a little unconvincingly if you said so yourself. But you didn’t press into it. “I’m all good. Pretty swell, actually. I’ll-um, I’ll leave you to it then, get back to the shop so I don’t miss anyone.” With a final smile he was gone, the last you saw of him being the back of his messy curled hair disappearing behind the door and closing it swiftly behind him.

It was cute, the way his ears and cheekbones flared red whenever he was around you. Whether it was because he was nervous or...something else, you couldn’t tell just yet. But there was something on your mind, you could feel it. Maybe you’d figure it out by the end of the day.

-

She’s your boss. She’s your boss. She’s your boss. She’s your fucking boss-WHY WASN’T IT STICKING?! Steven repeated his mantra over and over again with each step down the staircase leading back to the gift shop. He couldn’t think about you, not like that. He had though. In the past. He’d thought about you often. Too often. It was the reason his ears went red when he saw you, but he prayed you never noticed that. It would definitely embarrass him if you did.

He found you…assertive. Sure, you were the his boss. But he’d had bosses in the past, and none of them were quite like you. You had a way of commanding and calming an entire room by just walking in, your voice had such an authoritative tone to it, he never wanted you to stop talking. It wasn’t an occasional thing, but there were times when you snapped. There were times when your superiors had called to discuss what had gone wrong, or what you had to do to improve the workplace. Or when your plans to expand the range of antiquities had been rejected because the artefacts were to be sent of for auction somewhere in the middle of Italy. You hadn’t been in a good mood for the entire week, and it had caused you to snap at everyone, including Steven.

But what was strange was that…he didn’t hate it. That was the weirdest part. It should have offended him, or made him angry that you would act so pissed off like that. But it didn’t. It made him feel something, alright, just not what he expected it to. The way it made him feel small, made him feel insignificant in a way that made him feel a little fuzzy on the inside. It was a new feeling for him. Well, not entirely new, he’d felt it for a few months around you. But the snap and the angry gravelly tone in your throat when you told him to “get the fuck out of my office, Steven. I’m not in the mood for you right now.” He left that office with a racing heart and an aching he couldn’t quite alleviate. Not in work anyway.

It was so unprofessional. He couldn’t have these ideas and thoughts running around in his head. He couldn’t be thinking of you being so…assertive with him, and him liking it. could he? It felt wrong. But then again, it felt so right. You had come to him later that day, less full of anger and more full of guilt than anything else.

“I need to apologise for how I spoke to you earlier. It wasn’t right, I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you,” you had said. But all that raced through his mind in response was no, please. Take your anger out on me. I liked it. He physically had to shake the thoughts away.

“It’s alright. You were stressed and I came to you with more problems at the wrong time,” Steven explained, shrugging it off with his ever present sweet smile. I liked it I liked it I liked it I liked it. It played in his mind repeatedly. He tried so hard to ignore it. But it played like a broken record. Over and over again. Reminding him of how much he liked being ordered around by you.

You hadn’t been that unhappy since that day. Steven couldn’t deny that it made him a little sad. Hearing your voice bellow, the way you intimidated people a little when your voice was raised. It was a tad threatening at times, but he loved it. He often wondered what you were like outside of work. Were you just as assertive there, as commanding as you were within these walls? What he wouldn’t give for just a taste of that in the right situation. Perhaps other men, other women, had experienced your kind of authoritative tone in closed quarters, followed your orders with complete submission. He was jealous of them, to say the least.

Fuck, he shouldn’t have thought about you while at work. Not as in depth as this. It was shaping up to be a little bit of a problem for him in certain places. And there was no way in hell that he was going to make it home without taking care of his little…problem. Perhaps he could sneak into the toilets before he left for the day.

-

It was a miracle you hadn’t gotten any papercuts from all the papers you’d been sifting through together. You were ninety percent sure that your arse had created a perfect indentation into the velvet seat you’d been stuck in all fucking day. Standing up, you stretched your legs and stretched your arms over your head with a soft groan as bones popped in your shoulders.

Your jacket had been discarded hours ago, the summer heat in London particularly unbearable this year, contrary to practically every year before. So it left you in just your simple white shirt, the top couple of buttons popped open to let the air flow and cool you down. Glancing at the clock above your office door, you noticed that it was around the time where staff would be leaving. Perhaps you would be able to catch Steven before he left to go home. So you made your way down to the main viewing area of which was now almost empty. Donna was packing up her bag and JB was nowhere to be found, as per usual. But neither was Steven, to your surprise. Surely he hadn’t left yet, he was always the last one here besides you, taking his time to walk around the museum, observing the artefacts like it was his first time in the museum.

“Hi, Donna,” you smiled politely as she turned towards you with her constantly present neutral expression. Was she always this gloomy? Jesus, you should probably talk to her about that.

“Hey,” she responded, her voice dreary and clearly bored.

“Leaving?” You asked, and she nodded in response. “Has Steven gone home, or is he still around? I didn’t see him on the way down.” Donna pointed to the staff room towards the back of the building.

“He’s been in there a while, I think. Not sure why, but I’m certainly not waiting around for him,” she gestured, tossing her bag over her shoulder. You nodded, waving a goodbye as she made her way towards the exit.

“Alright, no worries, see you Monday, Donna,” you rolled your eyes as she tossed a half-assed wave behind her. Now it was just the two of you, no one else was left in the building. You made your way to the staff room to see if you could find Steven and see whether he was leaving yet.

“Steven?” You called out. No response. Where the hell was he? Not in the staff room, and you couldn’t hear any movement or noise in the staff toilets. You pondered to yourself, wondering if he’d left without anyone seeing, but that thought shot down when you noticed his bag hanging on one of the hooks attached to the walls.

So you set out to find him. He wasn’t in the shop or its storage room behind the desk, he wasn’t wandering the museum and its artefacts. That only left downstairs; the archives or customers bathrooms. Making your way down the marble steps, you were grateful to see the lights on downstairs. He was here. Somewhere. So you called out his name again, and was pleasantly surprised when you heard…something in response. It wasn’t a word per se. More like a noise. But it was him, you knew it was. The noise came from the men’s bathroom, and you felt very weird about going in there, but you were more curious as to find out why he was down here in the first place.

As you neared the door that was left slightly ajar, the noises became clearer and turned into words. “Fuck fuck fuck,” was all you could make out. Was something wrong? Your hand reached for the handle to push the door open further, but it was as though some invisible barrier stopped you, halting your hand on the handle, frozen to it.

Your name. You heard your name. Not in a way where you thought it could have been intentional. No, it reached your ears as a sort of whimper. He whimpered your name. You really didn’t know how to react, but you had to control yourself for the present moment, ignoring how it made you felt. You were now even more curious, so pushing through your little frozen moment you pressed against the door and it swung open quietly.

You’d never seen a prettier sight. Truly, you hadn’t. If it was in a different location, perhaps you’d have preferred it more, but right now you didn’t care. Steven, pants unbuckled and unzipped, hunched over the sink with his hand fisting his hardened cock, was quite possibly the last thing you’d expected. His face was flushed, ears still that deep maroon red, pupils blown out as his mouth fell slightly agape, your name the only thing on his tongue.

He was gripping the sink so hard that his knuckles were the same colour as the white marble counter, as though he was hanging on for dear life. You bit your lip at the sight, leaning against the doorframe with your arms folded across your chest. You shouldn’t be watching this, it wasn’t right. But who better to find him than the name of the person he was calling out to as he got himself off. You tried so hard to ignore the dull panging sensation between your legs as you took a deep inhale.

“Has anyone ever told you how pretty you looked like this?” At the immediate sound of your voice, all of Steven’s ministrations stopped, even his breathing, you thought. He didn’t look at you, not wanting to believe that you’d walked down here to find him masturbating with your name falling from his tongue. “Because if not, then they need to get their eyes checked.” You pushed yourself off the doorframe and took a couple of steps in Steven’s direction.

“I didn’t realise you’d-wasn’t expecting you-shit.” It was sweet, the way he tripped over his words, the blush from his ears reaching his cheeks. You just smiled, making your way over to him slowly, as though he was a timid animal and you were doing your best as not to spook him.

“You weren’t expecting me to…what? Walk in here and find you jacking off to the thought of me?” you suppressed another smirk as Steven’s eyes widened and he turned away from you even more. “Oh don’t be all shy now,” you leaned in to whisper your next words directly into his reddened ears. “I happened to like it, Steven. The way you sounded, your little whimpers and moans. All for me, were they? Getting off to the thought of me a regular thing for you?” Steven just nodded, not trusting himself to speak as your lips brushed his ear. “I thought as much. If I’d have found out sooner, perhaps I would have been able to do something about it earlier.”

Then you heard it fall from his lips. The one word that would give both of you what you wanted. Please. Please, please, please. It was whiny, desperate, needy. Perfectly explaining how Steven was feeling in that very moment. “Oh, honey,” you mused, leaning against the counter and cupping his jaw to make him face you. “You want me to do something about it?” All Steven could do was nod, his puppy dog eyes searing into your soul. “Use your words, baby.”

“Please, touch me,” Steven practically begged in a small voice, leaning into your touch. You just smiled and leaned in, pressing your lips to his softly. He kissed you back with more force, more desperation. But this wasn’t up to him. Sure, this was for him. But that didn’t mean he was in control here. You just had to remind him of that.

He whined as your lips left his, his mouth chasing yours but to no avail because you’d already pulled away. “Easy, baby. You’ll get what you want. But only when I see fit, okay?” You expected to see disappointment in his eyes, but you were surprised when they lit up with what looked like excitement. “So you’re going to be good for me?”

“Yes, I swear. I’ll be good for you,” Steven promised, his knuckles on the verge of breaking with the force he gripped the edge of the sink. So you smiled sweetly, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips before releasing his jaw from your grip.

“Good boy,” you whispered, noting the way he quietly whimpered at the praise. You moved to stand behind him, your hands coming up to hold his waist, causing him to inhale sharply at the contact. One of your hands moved further around to his stomach and slid down past his slightly creased white shirt. “You want me to touch you here?” Your fingertips ghosted over the base of his cock, noting how it twitched at your slightest touch. He was sensitive, needing from not cumming yet. You’d interrupted him before he could finish, and now you were going to use that to your advantage. “Aw sweetheart, already so needy for me? I’ll make you feel good, don’t worry baby.”

The second your hand wrapped around his cock, the sweetest moan fell from Steven’s lips and his head hung between his shoulders. It sent a shiver through your spine and wormed its way down between your legs. You planned on pulling more of those pretty noises from him before this was over. Moving your hand up and down his cock at a slow pace, you felt his hips jut forward to meet your speed. But you knew he needed more. Faster, or harder, or something. But this wasn’t something you wanted to rush.

“Baby boy, if you want to cum you’re going to have to do something for me,” your words stayed vague, but engaging enough to catch his attention. He looked up and met your eye through the mirror. “I want you to look at yourself through the mirror. If you look away, I’ll stop,” you asked, but there was no room for negotiation, and Steven knew that. So he obliged, his eyes flicking between you and himself in the mirror, trying his hardest not to look down at the way your hand worked around his dick.

“That’s it baby, you look so good like this,” you whispered into Steven’s ear reaching up to press soft kisses along the side of his neck, all the way up to the sweet spot behind his ear, feeling how he shuddered under your touch. “Want you to see yourself when you cum, see how pretty you are.” Steven was still hunched over as he looked into the mirror, his body pressing against yours as his hands fought to hold him up.

Your touch made him weak. It made his head fuzzy with only thoughts of you. Just you. Your voice sent all his blood rushing to his dick, your words making pleads and begs want to roll off his tongue until his words were reduced to whimpers just for you. Just for you to hear and act on.

Nights he’d spent with his own hand fisting his cock, images of you running through his mind as they brought him closer to the pleasure you made him feel by just occupying his every waking thought. The way you carried yourself around the museum, your presence as you stepped into a room, the way your voice travelled along the winding marble clad halls. Whenever you called out his name for help, it made him feel needed, wanted, willing to be there for your every beck and call. All he wanted to do was please you, at the time, only professionally. But after a while it turned into something more. After a while, when your voice called out, mad or in need of assistance, he wanted you to call out his name like that for different reasons. To order him around, give him instructions. Tell him what to do, tell him what you wanted to do. To do to him.

But now it wasn’t his hand around his cock. It was yours. Your delicate fingers deftly stroking and squeezing his cock in all the right places to make him squirm and come undone from your touch. It was your voice right in his ear, speaking praises that made him weak at the knees. You’re doing so good for me. My good boy. You want to cum?

He almost couldn’t believe it to be true. And the fact that you wanted him just as much as he wanted you? it made it all the more better. It was bubbling in his veins, the pleasure on the verge of flowing through his body, clouding his mind with absolute heaven.

“Baby, you want to cum? Want to let go? Hmm? Tell me,” you pulled his words from him. He nodded, making eye contact with you briefly before remembering the rules and looking back at himself.

��Yes, yes please. Let me cum, I’ve been so good,” Steven begged, his words choking on the last syllables as your thumb ran over his reddened tip to draw a bigger reaction from him. His hips ground more into your hand, needing more friction. Just a little to push him over the edge. Your smirk told a different story though.

“Oh so needy to cum, aren’t we, baby boy?” You teased, revelling in his gaspy moan as you tugged a little harder, feeling him grow closer with each passing second. But your hand slowed, slowed enough to pause his impending sense of bliss. You heard a broken please and it sent the feeling straight to your pussy. You held him there, the sense of pleasure almost unbearable and unreachable at the same time. It was almost as though you were testing how long he could hold on for, how long he could refrain from coming undone until it was painful.

“No, please don’t stop,” Steven whimpered, looking at you once more, his eyes pleading and desperate, irises resembling melting chocolate as he molded against you, his limbs almost giving up on him. “Please, please don’t stop now. Let me cum, I’ll do anything.” His moans and begs like music to your ears as he tried to convince you to let him cum. God, you wanted to. But it was so much more rewarding to see him work for it.

Steven couldn’t deny that this had been one of his several fantasies for a while now. Your entire control over him, over his undoing. Only your words and your actions could determine when and if he was even allowed to cum. He loved it, your command, your voice filling his ears and seeping into his brain.

His eyes were pricking with tears by the time you felt it was an appropriate time to let him undo beneath your hands. He was such a beautiful sight, the top two buttons of his shirt undone to expose his neck and the top of his chest, his eyes already looked fucked out and you were nowhere near close to being finished with him. “You’ve been so good for me, Steven baby. So just for that, I’m going to let you cum,” you could hear his sigh of relief as he felt your hand move faster, the other hand reaching to cup his balls. It was all over for him then. “And after that, sweetheart, I’m going to let you fuck me. You want that?” You peppered kisses along the side of his neck and down his shoulder as his breathing started to turn to breathy gasps for air.

He came hard, all that pent up tension finally able to be released, his body relaxing, elated as he finally fell apart in front of you. In front of himself. You were glad you made him look at himself in the mirror, because it made it so much hotter to see him cum like his. You could see all of him, his face flushed, his chest heaving, his arms flexed. “There you go, pretty boy. You did so good for me. Such a good boy.” Your hands moved to his waist, spinning him slowly to face you. He looked at you, eyes blown wide with the wave of ecstasy washing over him. You smiled as you grasped his chin gently between your fingers, pulling him down for a kiss. Your lips melted together, Steven groaned as you pulled his bottom lip between your teeth, taking control of the kiss to which he immediately obliged.

Steven turned the two of you so that your back was against the counter next to one of the sinks. You pressed against the counter, Steven pressing against you so you were trapped between the two. Steven’s hands roamed across your body, hesitant at first in case you stopped him. But when you didn’t do anything to halt his wandering palms, he touched you wherever he could before you decided that he wasn’t to let himself roam freely.

His palms trailed up your hips to grip your waist, his fingerprints burning into your skin as they wandered higher and higher. You cupped the sides of his neck, trying to stay composed as his fingers ghosted over your breasts, moving to the buttons on your shirt. “Please, can I…” He didn’t even finish the sentence before you were nodding, pulling him down for another kiss.

“Of course, baby,” you replied, moving your hands from his neck to the counter behind you, using your strength to push you up onto the flat marble surface. It was amusing to see how quickly Steven situated himself between your spread thighs, settling snugly with your legs framing his hips.

You pressed your lips against his once again and Steven began undoing the buttons of your shirt until they had all been popped open. He pushed the shirt off your body and took in the sight of you, his eyes lighting up like a kid in a candy store. “Can I touch you? Please, I want to make you feel good.” His voice was so pleading, so small, you couldn’t help but flutter a little at how much he wanted you when it was so evident in his voice.

Your ankles hooked around his lower back, pulling him flush against your body as you linked your arms around his neck. “You want to make me feel good? Want to be good for me while you fuck me?” Steven’s knees went weak at the words. He wanted nothing more than that. Nothing. And neither did you. “Well, come on Steven,” you guided his hands down your body. “You can’t fuck me while I still have pants on, can you?” You leaned back on your hands and watched Steven work, watched his hands make quick haste of the buttons and zipper of your pants, quickly pulling them down your legs and tossing them onto the counter behind him.

His mumbles against your neck vibrated up the column of your throat, mumbles of how pretty you were, how much he wanted you, how pleading he was to touch you, to fuck you. It turned you on just to know how much he wanted you, wanted this. One of his hands roamed up your thigh, gripping your hip and pulling you flush against his body. Steven was already ready to fuck you, his cock practically throbbing with want. His unoccupied hand drifted to the apex of your thighs, feeling how wet you were through your panties. It made him hard to know that he made you feel like that.

“Let me touch you,” Steven pleaded, raking his finger lightly across your damp panties. “Please, I’ll be so good. I want to touch you so badly.” It was ungodly what this begging was doing to you. It sent flutters down your spine, through your entire body, eventually all settling in your pussy. As soon as he saw your nod of permission, Steven wasted no time, not even taking the time to pull your underwear off. Instead he just pulled them aside, glancing down at your glistening folds, a guttural noise erupting from his throat at the sight of you. Steven knew better than to tease, so he got right to the point. Your head fell back as the pressure of his fingers dragged from your hole to your clit, collecting your juices on his fingers. Using your own wetness, he coated his fingers and pushed one into your dripping hole. You gasped at the feeling of how thick just one of his fingers were. Already you felt the sense of euphoria filling your mind like a hazy fog. Too soon. It was too soon. You had to keep your control somehow.

“There you go, baby boy. Doing so-aah-so good for me,” you bit your lip to suppress a moan, holding out to hide how good he was making you feel. All Steven wanted to do was make you feel good, he felt as though it was his purpose. And fuck, was he doing that job justice. Your toes were practically curling as a second finger slipped into your core, his digits working harmoniously, brushing deep strokes in a curled motion to find a spot to make your eyes roll into the back of your head. He wanted to please you. He wanted to make you see heaven. He eventually found it. His cock was once again rock hard at the gasping moan that escaped past your lips as his fingers angled into a part of you that set something alight within your core. “Fuck, fuck…right there, Steven.” One of your hands held up your weight as it rested flat against the marble surface behind you, while the other gripped his shoulder, holding him close.

Steven used this closeness to litter your neck with kisses, his lips dragging along your skin, teeth lightly grazing the column of your throat. You felt his teeth gently nip at your sensitive skin, so you felt it appropriate to remind him of the situation. Your hand which once gripped his shoulder found its way into his dark curly locks, tightening your hold on his hair to which earned you a quiet whimper as you pulled his head back away from your neck. You made sure to remember that. “Careful, pretty boy. You mark my neck and I’ll mark your entire body so that every time you look in the mirror or see yourself naked, you’ll be reminded of me and what I did to make you feel good.” Your voice was dangerously low, teasing him, daring him. He couldn’t deny that it turned him on incredibly quickly. Embarrassingly quickly, actually.

It tempted him, but you both knew that if that were to happen, it wouldn’t happen in a museum bathroom. You’d want him in a more private space, where you could take your time with him, take meticulous care in learning every inch of his body. Much to his delight, you kept a firm hold of his hair, gripping it tightly as you pulled him into a kiss. His fingers worked faster inside you, repeatedly hitting that one spot that had your vision blurring and your legs shaking. He was good at what he did. It got you wondering how much experience he actually had here, or if he was just going purely of feel and observation.

He kept note of every noise, every moan and every change in your expression as his fingers stayed buried deep in your sopping hole. Your control and his obedience made both of you hornier than either of you cared to admit. It was clear that this was not the only time that you would be in this position. It was just the beginning.

As his fingers brushed perfectly against that deep pleasure filled part of you, you felt your muscles tightening, a rush of ecstasy trailing up your body at a hasted pace. You were on the brink of pure bliss, the tingling of electricity shooting through your nerves just aching to make you feel all that pleasure. And Steven was pushing you over the edge. It shot through your body like a bullet. Your muscles clenching and contracting around his fingers, your back curving into a slight arch as your grip on his hair became a steel fist, unmoving and unbreakable. You let out a moan directly into Steven’s ear, and if he was not already trying to cum on the spot, he was certainly trying harder now. He felt your juices around his fingers, your body pulsating with delectation.

For a second only your breaths could be heard in the room, but your praises for him soon followed. He could only revel in them, the words, the pet names, all reducing him to putty in your hands to play with and move as you solely desired. Your lips almost let a quiet gasp slip through as his fingers retracted from inside you, the empty feeling soon making you crave him once again, a little too quickly. His face was buried in your neck after you released his hair, kissing along the skin gently before mumbling something you couldn’t quite hear.

You didn’t need to grip his hair again to make him look at you. Your voice would be enough to get his attention. “Steven, if you want to say something, you have to look at me, sweetheart,” you pried, smirking when he lifted his head to meet your eye. “Come on, baby. Use your words, or you won’t get what you want.”

That certainly convinced him to tell it to your face. “I need you. Please. Need…more.” Steven was hesitant to say it, his ears tinting pink at the tips. It sent electricity through your veins, hearing his yearning tone adjuring for you.

“Oh, you want more? So desperate aren’t you? Desperate to fuck me, baby? You want that? Come on, say it. I know you can, sweetheart.” Your words were his drug. He was already addicted. Nodding, he admitted his wanting thoughts, “yes, want to fuck you so bad. I want to make you feel good. Please, let me do that.” He was yearning for you. Eager to please. Eager to earn your praises.

So you pulled him close, close enough so he felt your breath on his cheek. “Now that you’ve felt what it’s like for me to cum on your fingers, how about I cum on your cock next? And if you’re good and do as you’re told, I might even let you cum inside me.” The whimper that exuded from the man between your legs stirred something inside you. something akin to primal.

His second whimper only became vocal when you trailed your hand down between both your bodies and wrapping it around his wanting cock, twitching in your fingers at your touch that was not yet just a distant memory. “I will, I’ll do as I’m told. I’ll be good. Just please…” It was getting harder and harder to deny him, to hold off until you’d seen he’d had enough. Therefore, you had to give him what he wanted because it was what you wanted too, you wanted it desperately, you just had the willpower to hide that. Nodding, you watched his eyes widen with anticipation as you guided him closer to your still sensitive pussy. He wanted nothing more than to be inside you right now, his face truly said it all.

The second he felt his dick push inside your wet walls, the man practically crumbled before you. His mind went numb and all he could process was how good you felt around him, how perfect and fuzzy it made him feel as he buried himself deep inside your pussy. Nothing made him feel this good, and you had barely started yet. He wasn’t even fully inside you, not yet pushed to the hilt and his whimpers and moans were already filling the room.

You were feeling all kinds of things in this moment. Pulling him closer, it made him immerse himself completely inside your velvety walls and Steven released a guttural groan that seeped into your ear and melted like honey. Wrapping your legs around his waist, caging him in, you pulled your bodies flush together. Your pebbled nipples brushed coarsely against the sleek fabric of Steven’s crinkled shirt and it sent shivers through your spine.

Buried at the hilt, Steven was already on the brink of releasing deep inside of you, and he hadn’t even moved yet. The poor man wasn’t going to last long, but there was no way he was cumming without your permission. The punishment perhaps wouldn’t be as pleasant. “Can I move?” you heard him whisper against your neck, his arm wrapping around your waist to hold you against him, the other gripping the edge of the white countertop.

You nodded, biting back a gasp as his cock shifted inside you, dragging out slowly until only the tip stayed engulfed in your warm before he pushed back in. Quicker. Harder. His thrusts were desperate and wanting, every ridge and vein of his dick scraping across your walls and sending shockwaves through your core until your every thought only consisted of him. Just him.

“Doing so good, Steven. So good for me,” you praised, feeling him clutch your body a little tighter. “But come on, pretty baby. I know you can do better than that.” You trailed your lips up his neck, pressing soft kisses in your wake until you reached his jaw. It was at that point that you felt him move harder within you, a powerful pace that could very well break the marble counter you were sat atop. “That’s it, baby, just like that.” And he didn’t stop, eager as ever to please you, to make you feel the most pleasure in those very moments. His pace stayed the same, unrelenting and unchangeable. Already so desperate for release, Steven was entirely drunk of the feel of your pussy clenching a vice around his cock.

He hit something devastating inside you, and it made you grip him tighter, a shocked gasp slipping past your lips as he rammed the same spot repeatedly with perfect aim. Steven’s fingertips held you so tightly you were certain that bruises were going to be tattooed into your skin, but you didn’t care. Not when his cock felt so good, when his whimpers melted into your body and flowed through it like a lifeline current.

“Want to cum,” Steven managed to breathe out between each drag of his cock, his hand on your waist trailing down to your ass and pulling you further into him to meet his thrusts, “please”. He was free roaming along your body with his hands, letting them wander. The desperation in his touch, the grasp his hand had on you. Your arms were slinked around his shoulders, one hand carding through the hair at the base of his neck and gripping the locks that collected there. But once you felt his touch roaming along you, and his begs in your ear, you shifted the hand on the nape of his neck.

Instead to moved it around his neck to wrap around his throat, your fingers pressing gently against his pulse point until you felt the throbbing beneath your fingertips. “You want to cum, huh?” Your voice was low and deep and it had a gravelly undertone. It certainly caught Steven’s attention. There was nothing in his eye or expression that indicated that your hand was not welcome where you had placed it. In fact, there seemed to be a sort of excited twinkle in his chocolate irises. “You don’t get to cum until I say so, okay? You make me feel good, and if I feel you’ve done that well enough, then perhaps I’ll reward you.” There was no space for him to retaliate, or for him to beg to get his way. If he tried, there was a chance Steven wouldn’t get what he so desperately desired.

So instead he nodded, his lips parting as you gripped his throat a little tighter. Not tight enough to cut off his airway, just to make the blood rush to his head and make his eyes roll to the back of his head in bliss. “So are you going to behave?” you whispered, breath hitting his face as he looked back at you once again.

“Yes,” he breathed out. You smirked, moving to loosen your hold on his neck, “good boy”. Surprisingly, he caught your wrist in his hand before you could fully let go. Shaking his head, he asked you to not move it, “please…keep it there?”

Your eyebrow cocked, not expecting such a reaction. But you did. You held his neck, gripping it firmly as he fucked you, his cock moving in and out of you, scraping against your walls and hitting your sweet spot. Your other hand gripped his shoulder, nails digging into the tough bone of his shoulder. With your nose nudging against his cheek, it gave you all the access you wanted to whisper your filthiness directly into his ear.

You could feel it. The stirring in your core, the build up about to explode. It was in the way your legs closed tighter around his waist, the way your walls gripped him and how your breathing became uneven and ragged. Steven could feel it too. So he held you more securely, unyielding and persistent to make you see stars. The tip of his cock itched that spot inside you that you were unable to reach yourself, and it was continually and consistently brushed against hard. Until your eyes saw black spots in your vision and you cried out in pleasure, the first time you’d let anything particularly vocal slip from you. It was all Steven needed to hear to push harder and faster, never letting up until you were cumming on his cock.

He felt your juices flood him, drowning his cock in your pleasure, in your bliss. Eyes flitting down between your bodies, Steven watched as your wetness seeped out of you. Nothing could have turned him on more than that sight. It fuelled his everlasting need for you.

“So good, Steven,” you breathed, letting your head fall against his shoulder, panting heavily as your muscles slowly began to relax around him. “You did so good for me, baby.” You kept your legs wrapped around his waist, ankles interlocked to cage him in. “Now, do you want to cum too?” He was already nodding before you’d even finished your sentence. “Yes, yes please, let me cum. I need it so badly. I’ve been good for you. Please, I need it. Need you.” Need you. Heaven to your ears. So you obliged. Letting him take what he so craved as his reward.

His thrusts were just as powerful now, but slowed to a snail’s pace. It didn’t take much stimulation of your sopping core for him to release inside you, spilling himself along your walls and painting your insides white. Still buried to the hilt, he stayed exactly where he was, not moving an inch as he regained breath into his lungs. Steven’s hold on you loosened on you slightly, but his touch never left you. No words were exchanged, the room only being filled with the sounds of your heavy breathing. You’d both gotten what you’d wanted, what you’d craved for so long, and more. But somehow you still felt as though there was more between you. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. You’d only just started this, and there were no plans to end it so hastily.

“Feel okay?” you asked Steven, removing your hand from his throat and tilting his head up with one finger under his jaw to make him look at you. He breathed a quiet yes, leaning into your touch as you cupped his cheek with the same hand. “More than okay,” he responded with a small smile. “And you?”

You just smirked brushing your thumb against his flushed cheek. “Good. I feel good. Come on, we should get out of here, sweetheart. Go somewhere else, yeah?” His eyes lit at the prospect of leaving here with you. So he nodded, groaning as he pulled himself out of you and watched his release drip out of you. Cleaning up and redressing, you both revelled in the shared comfortable silence, pressing chaste, soft kisses to one another’s lips as you got ready to leave.

“We can’t let people know about this, ever. You know that, right?” You had to make it known that this sort of…complicated situation you shared could be detrimental to you both. “We have to act normally inside these walls. As though we’re just colleagues. I’m still your boss, and you’re still my employee.”

“I understand,” Steven said, nodding as he grabbed his bag and as you buttoned the last few buttons on your short. “But outside of work…?” His tone was hopeful, and it made your insides flutter at his optimistic voice.

You smiled, turning to look at him with an upturned pull at your eyebrow. “Outside of work, we can explore more of this,” you mused as you trailed a finger down his chest. “But you do acknowledge, I’m still in charge. Or do you need a little reminder?” Your eyes never left his, a little daring twinkle in your eye.

“I-I’ll remember. I promise. I’ll always obey you,” he swore, gazing at you with his pretty puppy dog eyes. You smiled, satisfied. “Good boy,” you praised, taking his hand and leading him upstairs, “now let’s go. There’s still a lot that we need to learn about one another. And the night’s not over yet, baby”.

The two of you walked out of the museum without leaving a trace of anything that had happened. Heading out into the dead of night, you were right about one thing. The night certainly wasn’t over yet, you had only just begun.

#steven grant #marc spector #jake lockley #moon knight #steven grant x reader #marc spector x reader #moon knight x reader #mcu #marvel #marvel x reader #mcu x reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic #marvel smut #moon knight fanfic #moon knight fanfiction #moon knight smut #smut #fluff #fanfic #fanfiction

[alice-apparently]

I think Agent / Subject / Catalyst are the three categories [CAT 1-3] in the case numbers.

Bear with me.

So aside from the dates, the case numbers are split in 3 parts, right:

CAT 1-3 (rarely combination of 2 numbers) -> category

*R (-> rank) A/B/C (sometimes combination of 2 letters from ABC)

DPHW (4 digit number)

* the case numbers for episodes #3 and #4 don't have the R for some reason

This is very much taking into account/based on the stuff from the ARG klaus.xls document btw, which has these exact 3 columns & features some of the episodes' cases where these match up exactly with the case numbers. [if you're interested, it's #2 line 80; #3 line 64; #5 line 75; #7 line 77]

Both category and rank are divided into 3 options, with some exceptions of cases having 2 applied at the same time. So now episode 9 gave us another nice group of three. And I thought, hm, maybe those ideas, Agent, Subject, and Catalyst, could match up with one these as a classification of the cases. And I think it does.

Based on the cases we had so far, I think category 1 is Agent, category 2 Subject, and category 3 Catalyst.

In my tmagp paranoia document with all my notes, I made a table sorting the cases according to the categories for a better overview and to be able to maybe spot similarities:

Let me explain what I think the classifications mean.

1 - Agent.

That's the most self-explanatory one I think. I'm not the first to make the comparison between avatar and agent, and not the first to point out that Needles acts like a TMA avatar.

Agent then is an active purveyor of fear/terror. someone deliberatly acting in such a way to spread it, to scare people. It is the person themself directly and possibly willingly causing the 'unsettling experiences' and spreading fear. Needles is the prime example.

It doesn't work quite so well with #1A, but I'd say the "he" that she interacts with acts as an agent, with him luring her to the cemetary and the unsettling way he is described there, but more importantly, with the laughter that follows, that he seems to enjoy what's happening, her fear. Her fear that's caused by him.

2. Subject.

Subject I would describe with "being subjected to something" or that "something just happens". A subject to fear. Maybe as a victim of sorts, but that's not quite it. Anyway, I think the cases in category 2 group together easily:

What's interesting is that all of the cases feature in some way a person entering a space and being affected by it/by something in a certain space. Or at least it is centred on a certain space. they are subject(ed) to the space.

In #1B it's the TMI ruins, in #3 the garden, in #5 the cinema, in #7 the charity store, and in #8 the service station. The person in #8 himself blames it explicitly on the place, the architecture, on the space he entered.

3. Catalyst.

Catalyst, I would argue, means a moveable object that works to spread fear. That is, a person with a certain object--or artifact, if you will--working together: it's a person with the object as a catalyst, it's the object through a person spreading fear.

To put it more concisely, it's cases of a person carrying an artifact and through them, allowing the artifact to affect other people.

We have the violin and the dice in episodes #4 and #9. In both cases the people who pick them up spread harm/misfortune by using them. In both cases the person first harms themself before learning they can/how they can instead spread it to others.

In episode #1B, which was in both category 2 and 3, RedCanary takes that wooden box/old wooden thing home with them. And it's that box, taking that box, that's linked to what's happening to them. Or what they do afterwards. Because we don't actually know what happens to RedCanary or what RedCanary goes on to do afterwards. We've kinda assumed that they just die, but maybe not? Anyway, my point is, old wooden box thing = artefact/catalyst.

Episode #2 is the biggest hole in this theory I think. Without knowing I probably would've put it as category 1, agent, with Ink5oul as the agent. But instead it's rather that the tattoo acts as a catalyst, through the artist. So far it rather has seemed to affect the artist herself rather than other people through her, except for the confrontation with her roommate. But, as @amelie-isnt-french pointed out, we don't know what she moved on to do afterwards. Maybe it would go on to affect other people. Maybe she just hasn't learned how to do so yet.

Or maybe affecting other people is not even a criteria at all. Maybe it's enough that the artifact comes into contact with a person and affecting them.

I'm aware that this theory isn't without flaws; both cases in episode #1, and esp. #2 don't fit into this as well as the others. But I think it still works.

That being said, I can go even more crazy.

You know that other ARG document, the chdb.xlsx, with the list of the gifted children tested at the Magnus Institute, the one that features Sam and Gerry, the one that's possibly the one Sam mentions in episode #8 through which he found Gerry.

Now my question on looking at this document, or you know, one of my questions, was what does the chdb stand for. I figured db might probably be database. the c could be children, because that's who were tested and listed. but the h? I had the stray thought at some point that it might be host. which I found very unsettling, but also didn't really work as a whole, like "Children Host Data Base"? nah.

But what if the C is not for Children. What if it's for Catalyst. Because Catalyst Host Data Base suddenly makes a lot of sense. We know that the TMAGP Magnus Institute is interested in "supernaturally active items" as the episode 9 statement giver tells us. They have been collecting artefacts/catalysts. Cf. also that old wooden box RedCanary found in its ruins. So they might have in the children been looking for potential hosts for them.

#the magnus protocol #tmagp theory #tmagp 9 #tmagp #tmagp spoilers #i don't know nearly all the arg info #so maybe there's more stuff that disproves this theory #or at least would go against it #if so please tell me

[novlr]

I’ve been reading some craft books and online posts about the world building because my story is an urban fantasy set in present day US, in a fictional town, and theres not a secondary world where the fantasy happens, it’s all in the real world, except the magic is a secret that only certain people know about, but all of the resources I find about world building only talk about fantastical worlds that exist by themselves and not the kind of more subtle world building that I’d have to do. Do you have any tips?

Worldbuilding for urban fantasy is the perfect opportunity to explore the mix of the mundane and the magical. It involves crafting a universe where the impossible becomes possible, yet is grounded within the familiar settings of our own world. This requires a delicate balance—immersing readers in the fantastical without breaking the spell of believability. Here are some essential tips on worldbuilding for urban fantasy writers.

Understanding urban fantasy

Before delving into building your urban fantasy world, it’s crucial to understand what sets this subgenre apart from other forms of fantasy.

Recognise the defining traits of urban fantasy, which typically include a contemporary setting combined with supernatural elements.

Familiarise yourself with the genre’s common tropes and themes, like hidden magical societies, the coexistence of magical and non-magical beings, and the contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Critically read successful urban fantasy novels to see how other authors have balanced the real and the fantastical.

Consider reader expectations for the genre, and the flexibility it has for innovation and subversion of norms.

Determine the tone and mood you want for your setting, as this will influence all other aspects of your worldbuilding.

Creating your magical systems

The magical systems in your urban fantasy will offer a unique flavour to your world, determining the capabilities of your characters and the challenges they face.

Where does the magic in your world come from—is it drawn from nature, ancient artefacts, parallel dimensions, or something else?

Decide if magic is commonly known or if it’s a secret kept from the general populace. If it’s a secret, why? And what are the consequences if it becomes known?

Develop the limitations and costs of magic, as these constraints can drive conflict and plot development.

Invent magical organisations, guilds, or societies, detailing their roles, influence, and how they operate in your story world.

Create distinct magical phenomena that occur within your urban setting, which can become landmarks or points of interest in your narrative.

Consider how technology and magic interact; do they coexist harmoniously, or are they in constant contention?

Creating realism in your urban setting

Realism in urban fantasy is about making the reader recognise and connect with the world you have created as something that is both other and familiar.

Include lots of real-world details, including accurate descriptions of city life, technology, and culture. Make sure you research for accuracy.

Use sensory details to make the urban environment come alive—smells, sounds, textures, and tastes that the reader can relate to.

Include social and political issues that resonate with contemporary society, allowing readers to draw parallels with their own experiences.

Develop a diverse cast of characters whose life experiences and backgrounds reflect the complexity of a modern urban society.

Integrate authentic dialogue that mirrors the way people communicate in modern life, including local slang and mannerisms, both real-world accurate and unique to your setting.

Consider the logistics of an urban environment, like transportation, law enforcement, and the economy, and how these are affected by the presence of magic.

Character development in an urban fantasy

Characters are the heart of your story, and the way they react to fantasy elements in their real-world environments will drive a lot of your narrative.

Create protagonists and antagonists whose motivations are shaped by the intersection of the real and the magical in their lives.

Develop backstories for your characters that explain their relationship to the urban setting and the magical elements within it.

Design character arcs that reflect the challenges and growth that come with living in a world where fantasy is reality.

Introduce secondary characters that highlight the diversity of the urban fantasy landscape, from magical creatures to human allies and adversaries.

Explore the psychological impact of a dual-world existence on your characters, including the strain of keeping secrets and the wonder of discovering magic.

Use character relationships to explore the nuances and complexities of your urban fantasy world.

Plotting your urban fantasy

Your plot is the vehicle through which readers experience your story world. Urban fantasy requires careful attention to pacing to give both elements equal weight.

Construct a plot that intertwines the urban and the fantastical, using the unique aspects of your setting to drive the story forward, rather than relying on the mundane.

Introduce conflicts that arise from the overlap of the magical and the mundane, be they societal, personal, or existential.

Use the setting itself as a character, with its own moods, secrets, and evolving role in the narrative.

Create set pieces that showcase the extraordinary within the ordinary—magical battles on the rooftops, secret meetings in subways, or enchanted parks hidden in plain sight.

Develop a pace that balances the exploration of your urban world with the unfolding of magical elements and plot progression.

Consider the use of multiple viewpoints to give a broader perspective on how the urban fantasy elements affect different characters and society at large.

Blending the real and magical

The key to urban fantasy is making the reader believe that magic could exist in their own world, interwoven with the everyday.

Introduce the fantastic elements gradually, allowing the real world to serve as an anchor for the reader’s suspension of disbelief.

Develop a set of rules for how magic operates in your world to maintain consistency and a sense of order.

Use recognisable landmarks and urban elements as grounding points, then twist them with your fantasy elements.

Establish the history of magic in your world and how (or if) it has shaped society and its infrastructure.

Consider the impact of magical events or beings on the everyday lives of both your characters and the city’s unsuspecting inhabitants.

Intertwine the real and the fantastic so that they feel inseparable, each substantiating the other’s existence.

#writing tips #urban fantasy #worldbuilding #world building #writers #creative writing #writing #writing community #writers of tumblr #creative writers #writerblr #writeblr #writing inspiration #writblr #writers corner #writing advice #helping writers #writing asks #tips for writers #help for writers #resources for writers #writing resources #let's write #story inspiration #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writer's block #writer stuff #writer #writers block

[micewithknives]

Top 5 archaeological sites in Australia that you feel people should know more about? Or top 5 Australian artefacts?

I feel like I’ve talked a bit about artefacts in a few recent asks, and also I feel like a lot of Australian archaeology (and as such, sites) are very underrated, particularly on a global scale. Its often acknowledged in Australian archaeology that getting international academia to recognise the importance of our country’s archaeology is very very difficult.

While there’s a million and one sites I’d love to talk about, I’m going to TRY and give sites that relate to different aspects and locations

This is probably going to be long, so...

1. Nauwalabila, Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II), and the Deaf Adder Gorge region, Northern Territory (Aboriginal)

Rock shelters in this region, and specifically Madjedbebe, are currently the oldest location of human habitation in Australia. Dating evidence from 2017 excavations provided an estimate of earliest occupation of 50 000 years at certainty, possibly extending back as early as 65 000 (+/-6000). It also has provided a lot of evidence for research into the extensive grind stone technologies of the Pleistocene.

2. Cloggs Cave and the Buchan region of the Victorian Gippsland (Aboriginal)

So much research has been done into this region in various ways. Josephine Flood focused her research on Bogong Moth usage (and festivals) within this region, providing some of the earliest accepted academic research in support of Aboriginal peoples’ claims of large scale Bogong Moth Festivals in Australia’s highlands (although the fac that no one really believed communities until then…………..). In 2021 grind analysis found Bogong Moth residue, making this the earliest stone artefact with evidence of insect food remains. And in addition to that recent 2017 research in the area investigated Holocene occupation with Aboriginal community members, with a focus on understanding the interaction of spirituality with the resources found in the caves.

3. Mabuyag Island, Torres Strait Islands, Queensland (Torres Strait Islander)

Mabuyag Island (alternatively known as Mabuiag or Mabuyaagi) has archaeological evidence of human occupation since 7300 years ago. The island is both associated with recent religious practices associated with he heavy processing of dugong remains, and totemic associations with these, which played a role in early 2000s into community lead and directed archaeological research into ritual and religious traditions and practices. In addition to this, Mabuyag is the location of the first archaeological excavations in Australia to find pre-colonial pottery fragments. The fragments at the two sites on the island were associated with Melanesian and Papua New Guinean pottery trade. The excavations relating to pottery on the island played an important role in our understanding of domestic and international trade in pre-colonial Australia, and also formed an influence for the recent excavations at Lizard Island, 300km south, which identified the first datable domestically made pottery technology found in Australia.

4. Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, NSW

Hyde Park Barracks is part of a collection of colonial heritage structures in Australia, relating to Australia’s time as a penal settlement. Hyde Park Barracks in particular were the location of the housing of convict men from 1819 to 1830, with the 1830s to 1840s also involving the site being a location of additional convict punishment, and the base for the Board of Assignment of Servants. Following on from a reduction of convicts to NSW in the 1840s, the Barracks became the Female Immigration Depot, and the Orphan Institution, later becoming the Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women.

This time period of women’s occupation provides some of the most interesting archaeological remains, as redevelopment and management of the site has found high rates of preservation within walls, and in areas below floorboards. This includes textiles and fabrics, papers, and other non-organic materials such as pipes (with their tobacco intact) stashed in what was once floor, wall, and ceiling cavities. Archaeological investigations in the area form one of the most detailed assemblages of artefacts relating to instituted women in the British Empire during the 19th century.

5. Notch Point, Western Australia (Multicultural heritage)

Notch Point is a site of varied and mixed archaeology, ranging from pre- and post- colonial period Aboriginal heritage, to diverse 19th century occupation of the region by Chinese, European, Malay, and Aboriginal peoples in association with pearling industries off the coast. In addition to this, the point is located on Dirk Hartog Island (otherwise known as Wirruwana), the site of the earliest European arrival in Western Australia in 1616, and contains archaeological evidence of both various early Dutch interactions with the island in 1616 and 1697, as well as French arrival in 1772, 1801, and 1818. Notch Point in particular also contains evidence of conflict between the predominantly Chinese population of the pearling industry, with white-Australian and European pearling masters, and pastoral agents. Its not a site that is widely discussed, but provides a fascinating overlay of the amount of varied cultural groups that can be present within Australia’s archaeological sites.

-

-

Honourable mentions to:

Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lakes which should 100% be on this list, but also I feel like I talk about it ALL the time and I wanted to mention sites that I actually don’t see discussed a lot. Theyre super important for cultural reasons, for archaeological reasons, and also for their role the development of archaeology, Aboriginal community consultation, and the role its played in developing repatriation practices in modern Australia. I have multiple posts about them HERE

Budj Bin Eel Traps in Victoria (same reasons, I’ve definitely talked about them before).

Juukan Gorge (and its destruction, im still horrified)

Harrietville Chinese Mining Village

Strangway Strings and The Peake Afghan Cameleer sites

Recherche Bay in Tasmania, and its 1792 French settlement sites

Homebush Mill & Mission Hall in QLD and Beowa National Park sites containing South Sea Islander heritage

#I feel like this constitutes a solid answer #i had fun #and hopefully people learn new things about Australian archaeology #and its diversity #sorry this took literally forever to answer #i got sick for a bit #and then its going to chill in my queue for a couple of days #archaeology #Australia #aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples #theres a mouse loose in a hospital #ask

[re-locative]

Research findings: How are people creating a sense of togetherness online?

The everyday inventiveness of translocal relationship maintenance

I'm excited to share some early insights from our latest study. Some of you may remember it from when it was distributed: a survey about how people who sustain relationships online create a sense of being in the same place, even at a distance.

Even now, online platforms are marching towards a future of standardised, formless, and profoundly placeless design. But relationships need place (Tuan, 1979), and people will continue to fashion new tactics to address their everyday needs. So, how do people in translocal relationships play with/around these technological limitations? How do they foster shared places on platforms that aren't designed for it?

That's what our study sought to uncover, and here's what we found...

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Our deepest thanks to all who participated in the survey! We had 44 respondents—almost twice as many as we were hoping for—and more importantly, we got a pretty broad slice of translocal connections across the world:

Our original focus was on long-distance families and romantic relationships, mainly because people conventionally assume physical closeness and cohabitation in those relationships. But in practice, the data we gathered contained accounts of all kinds of relationships, so we expect the findings to be relevant (in varying degrees) to many kinds of online connection as well.

Across the data, a few themes showed up repeatedly, and through an extensive process of coding and clustering, we've distilled it into five themes, or key drivers of practices in virtual placemaking:

1. Synchronicity ⌚

People seek to act in concert and in temporal proximity, to feel a sense of relatedness—be that by experiencing media together, collaborating on a project, or just feeling collocated via a background voice call. Voice calls often scaffolded these kinds of synchronous activities—sound is a great vector for conveying simultaneity/"at the same time."

2. Persistence 📌

We talked about synchronous interactions above. Asynchronous interactions, on the other hand, assert the "being in the same space." This requires virtual spaces to not simply disappear or refresh when the session is closed: you're able to leave artefacts for others to discover even when you're offline or "in the background," and they accumulate over time. That's a core trait of a real place (as discussed in past research).

3. Emotional connection/depth 🫂

We know from other research that long-distance couples favour text messaging. Verbal communication is paramount in relationship deepening because it supports precise expressions of care and affirmation. But it can be asserted by other expressions too, like offers of help, favours and gifts—implicitly or explicitly indicating that one has the other person in one's thoughts, as well as their interests, well-being, and goings-on.

4. Physical linkage 🔗

Despite the focus on virtual spaces, many respondents saw great importance in anchoring their bonds in physical space, and used technologies as windows, or bridges, linking those spaces together. Using video calls as "windows" to have meals together, virtual house tours where the smartphone acts as a surrogate for the person on the other end, buying the same game board and playing against each other by replicating each other's moves...our data was replete with creative ways of bridging physical divides.

5. Co-creation 🖼️📝

Collaborative narratives and creation uniquely allow for interactors to explore and cohabit a shared mental place, in which they have an equal stake and are emotionally engaged. It's a way of being psychically co-present through roleplay and active imagination. Our data was full of mentions of collaborative creative work and narratives, from Dungeons and Dragons to building worlds together to making art of imagined alternate realities.

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Other neat insights:

Rather than ever being confined to a single platform, almost everyone inhabited and interwove practices across different platforms/media types, each with its own utility, affect, and meaning: this is what Madianou calls "polymedia life." Think playing games on a virtual board while discussing it in a text chat, watching a show together on a streaming website while discussing it in a call, playing Wordle independently and checking in with the group chat to see what others thought, etc. This was almost universal across the dataset!

There were a lot of unique practices described in the dataset (i.e. instances where one respondent was the only person in the dataset who did that thing) - and yet it was never described as a practice we deliberately designed to solve a problem. This everyday inventiveness among people in translocal/transnational relationships has become the core of our research interest.

Lots of intergenerational connection (parent/child, grandparent/grandchild, aunt/uncle/niece) was evidenced - and a strong skew towards text chat, video calls, and voice calls for these. Video games are far more common among romantic relationships.

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That's all for this post—I'll be back soon (very soon) to talk about what comes next.

#research #long distance relationship #thematic analysis #phd #preliminary survey #findings

[galedekarios]

According to the forgottenrealms wiki, the city that the mindflayers are attacking in the trailer is Yartar, not Baldur's Gate like many assumed. Yartar is northeast from Waterdeep and it isn't very far from it, so it could be possible that Gale was looking for artifacts in that city or nearby and that's were he got abducted.

[continuing on from my post about when and where gale might have been abducted by the nautiloid]

this is actually a really interesting idea, anon! thank you for sharing it with me!

i took the time to look up how long it would take to travel from waterdeep to yartar and i think it would be feasible:

[source for the travel time. it's an interactive map of faerûn.]

also:

Yartar was an important way stop for caravans and traders traveling between its allied city of Silverymoon, and the great metropolis of Waterdeep. As such, many of its business catered to caravaneers, merchants and other Faerûnians that regularly traveled the roads of the North. [source]

the only thing that i'm not sure about is if he would have been able to travel alone such a great distance. for two reasons, mainly:

a) we do know that his condition affects things that are very important for him to defend himself as a wizard (general biological deterioration, muscle spasms, ringing in the ears, disorientation, concentration issues and varying levels of physical discomfort / pain). and it's something that gale admits as well:

player: i fail to see why you need me to help you this. you’ve done fine without me so far. gale: A fair point - however, until recently I was able to rely on a supply of artefacts stored in my tower in Waterdeep. A supply that has now run dry. The reality of the matter is that a lone wizard with a chronic impairment such as my own is not in the most ideal of situations with regards to self-defence. The manner of artefacts I need are not often found waiting patiently on a shop-keep’s shelf. One usually has to lift them delicately from trap-filled tombs or prise them from the hands of violent ne'erdowells.

so he would have been--if we assume he was suffering the effects of the orb after leaving his tower which housed no more artefacts to consume--essentially defenseless as a wizard and having no combat training, which is something that even during the game's events, he doesn't seem interested in (see his banters with lae'zel).

and b) the route would have taken him along a road that is probably a prime target for thieves and bandits, with it being a trading route and all.

as a small aside, we do have this line though:

gale: I've been threatened with the sharp end of a dagger before, but never with such a monster as Orin holding the blade. 

sooo... maybe?

desperation might have driven him to the point of making such a dangerous decision.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 meta #ch: gale dekarios #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #meta: mybg3 #perhaps he hired someone to accompany him? #bodyguard au with alton #i mean what #who said that #not me

[scribble-dribble-writes]

Plastic Hearts - (11)

<<<Prev Next>>>

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To make the feels shoot through the roof, I suggest to listening to:

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He stood outside your door. His hand hovering over the wood before he pulled it back to set his hair again to then place a soft knock. He wasn’t usually like this, making a fuss about the small things. But as he shuffled his feet over your welcome mat, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of this moment.

He had never been on a date. He stopped himself.

Was this a date?

This was merely a casual catch up between friends, wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it?

You pulled out the hot tray of cookies from the oven when you heard the knock. You froze, to then quickly scan your place again, to make sure it was clean or didn’t have any embarrassing thing hanging around. You placed the tray on the countertop and tried to remove the apron which had decided to get into a knot.

So you yanked it over your head to then realize it would have messed up your hair, so you scurried to your room, to look into the mirror and make it was alright. When it hit you that he must have been waiting for a while now, so you ran back and composed yourself as you stood in front of the door.

All your life, you’ve longed for this and now it was finally happening. But then, as you listened to your thoughts it puzzled you.

You wanted to spend more time with him, but would that reason categorize this meeting as a date?

Did he think this was a date?

You weren’t sure and as your fingers wrapped around the door knob, your heart began to beat faster with anticipation.

He heard the click of the door knob.

You caught the smell of the sea.

His eyes widened as he saw you, your yellow dress reminding him of summer.

The blue of his eyes cast a spell, washing away all the nerves you felt.

The delicious smell of cookies drew him in, ones he had missed for so long, the necklace began to thrum and so did his heart.

Because there was magic in his veins, you could tell, by the way his very presence made you feel like he was a part of your …

It wasn’t just the cookies, it was you, it was that ever since he noticed, without you, he felt like he lacked a part of his …

Soul.

He found your eyes and you smiled with the door open. Caught in a moment where the joy of each other’s faces was quite evident.

“Hi, Ken.”, you couldn’t help yourself from beaming.

He wanted play along, to greet you the way he would have done in Barbieland. But this was different. This was something new. So instead he got closer, to place his hand on your waist to lean down to whisper,

“Hi, Brie.”, to them place a kiss on your cheek.

"Thank you for inviting me.", he said as he straightened.

As you held the door open for his, you held on to the side of it, because you were sure your legs were going to give way, just like it had been in the janitor’s closet. He walked past you, his eyes taking in the details of your place but his gaze found it’s way back to you, you could see the stars that hung in his eyes as if he was looking at the moon for the first time. But it was also like he was putting you to the test, to see if his charm had an effect on you. You composed yourself but with every interaction you had with him, it was getting hard to feign indifference.

“So there’s been a change of plans, if you don’t mind.”, you led him to the living room.

“I’m just happy to be here.”, he responded as he perused through your artefacts and pictures.

He couldn’t believe it, this was better than a dream house. Your home had a personality that every wall, every glance, it felt like he was wrapped by your presence.

He picked up a liquid glass orb, it had a couple in it clad in winter wear with ice skates on. He felt you close to him and as you reached for the item in his hands, your fingers brushed and he didn’t care for the object anymore. He just wanted to hold your hand.

You toppled it to shake the snow globe and held it up for him to see the sparkles rain down. He let out a soft gasp as he cupped his hands around yours to hold it steady, his eyes entranced by this ordinary element but you could only focus on the shape of his fingers and how perfectly they fit around yours.

The joy in his face made you want to bring out all the knick knacks you had collected. Old radios, music boxes, kaleidoscopes, to spend an entire afternoon to show him all of it. But then you remembered what you had planned for the rest of this night. So as his eyes glistened entranced by the snow globe,

“I thought we could skip tea and head straight to dinner, I know the perfect spot.”, you said.

“Yeah, that’s alright.”, he said as he took a step back when he remembered the gift in his jacket pocket.

“Now that I know you have a liking for things like these.”, he placed the snow globe back on the mantle.

“I’m confident you might like this.”, he said it with a shy smile as he fished for something inside his jacket.

He took your hand and in it, placed a small teal velvet box that was shaped like a clam. His anticipation was evident so you didn’t delay to open it. When you did, an elegant natural pearl pendant sat gracefully in the middle. It’s sheen so glossy that it felt like it had never left the ocean waters.

He took the chain out of the box enjoying the feeling of seeing you happy because it made him feel like he was fulfilling his purpose. He was made for this and it was freeing that you let him express himself.

“I had been so afraid of the sea because all my life I’ve been comfortable on the beach. But there’s just something about the way the water catches the light that it’s mesmerizing, that I was sure I would overcome my fears to go for a swim. But I couldn’t.”, he narrated as he unlinked the clasp.

“So I went to the aquarium on my own and I realized how much of it I had missed. It was all right it front of me, every time I looked out at the waves and yet I was letting my fear dictate my every move.”, he held it up to you, asking for permission to help you with it. You nodded as you listened to his story and moved your hair to the side so he could place it around your neck.

“When I saw the diver pick up an oyster and bring it to the surface, to open it up and retrieve the pearls from within. I remembered holding it in my hand, this white bead that I had seen so many Barbies wear but nothing could come close to this. It was real and unique.”, you felt the edge of his fingers traced up the nape of your neck as he fixed the clasp. His soft breath sending goosebumps down your spine.

“It reminded me of you.”, he said sweetly, but your heart stopped. This felt like a dream, only that it wasn’t. You turned to face him.

“You make me glisten like the sea, make me want to become better and face my fears. But even in a world of plastic, you were real. I was a fool to not have seen you sooner, Brie.”, he frowned.

But your heart was full, he made it brim with happiness. So you slipped your hand into his and his fingers intertwined with yours.

“You’re here now.”, you said softly and he nodded like he wasn’t going to waste this chance.

“Now come on, I’ve got something for you.”, you smiled as you led him out the door.

---

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#barbie movie 2023 #barbie movie #ken barbie #barbie #ken carson #ryan gosling ken #ryan gosling #ken x you #ken x reader #ken x y/n #ken fluff #ken fic #Spotify

[useless19]

It's important to me that both Bowser and Luigi are idiots.

They're both good at what they do because they've had practice. Luigi knows his way around a pipe system because he's a plumber, and knows how to fight and survive because his secondary job is adventurer. Bowser is good at leading an army and surprise hostile takeovers because that's what he spends most of his time doing. The only reason Luigi is more emotionally intelligent than Bowser is because he's spent more time interacting with peers.

On the other hand, Bowser has a fifty-fifty chance at any given time to remember what can and can't survive being dunked in lava. Luigi can't hold a conversation about literature to save himself. Bowser has been fooled by at least three different people pretending to be Peach, despite pretty obvious physical differences, and the only reason Luigi has only been fooled twice is because he was the third one. Bowser somehow hasn't yet learnt that sentient evil artefacts will inevitably try to possess him, while Luigi still isn't suspicious of surprise invitations to remote manors.

They're idiots and that makes them so fun to write.

#bowser #luigi #bowuigi