#Adding t on top of it would be way trickier

[yakamozarda]

One thing that fucking pisses me off about people going against gender affirming surgeries is that. Not even every trans person wants them or can get them in the first place but not passing can cause a lot of problems with your daily life and paper work. Like if you really wanted less people to get surgeries etc you could just. Make it easier to trans people to exist without passing???? Ofc if someone wants the surgery it is their fucking choice but if these people who oppose the surgery really cared about people they would go another route

[mimilind]

Stranger of the Falls - Part 1

Pairing: Boromir x Reader

Rating: T

Chapter Word Count: 2400

Parts: [ Next Part > ] [ Masterlist ]

Full story: [ AO3 ]

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1. The Stranger

The Eastemnet was unnaturally empty and it felt eerie to drive along the narrow road, the reins in one hand and a long dagger in the other. The shepherdesses had seen a band of orcs in the vale that night. You knew those monsters were afraid of daylight but had brought the weapon just in case; better safe than sorry.

Soon a familiar rumbling sound began, steadily growing louder, until you rounded a corner and saw the mighty waterfall ahead. You would never get tired of the sight. A fine mist lay perpetually in the air and when you got closer a vibrant rainbow formed across it.

But you had no time to stop and admire the beauty of the Rauros Falls; just below them was your favorite bog moss patch and after the long winter you thoroughly needed to restock your supply of the absorbent material.

You had nearly filled your cart when a movement from above drew your eyes. Realizing what it was, you sharply drew in your breath. A boat? What idiot was riding a boat down that sheer drop?

That was all you had time to think before the boat crashed down, throwing the man it carried into the shallow part of the river while the rest of the vessel continued unperturbed.

You darted forward, catching him before the water sucked him down, and with all your strength you managed to haul him ashore. 

Frowning in concentration you swiftly examined the man. At first you thought he was dead, but then your experienced fingers found a pulse; weak, barely perceptible, but there. He must be within an inch of his life. His face was pallid and he had a long, ragged gash over his forehead where he had hit the rocks of the river bed, and from his chest and stomach several cruel, black arrows protruded, one of them broken. 

“Orcs,” you hissed between your teeth, nervously glancing around you, but thankfully the plains were empty. He must have been assaulted somewhere above the Falls.

You were grateful there was no safe way down the sheer cliff on this side of the river.

You returned your attention to the stranger. His wounds smelled oddly chemical. Some sort of poison you surmised, something that had petrified him, for as far as you could tell the arrows hadn’t pierced any vital organs. That meant he might live if you could get them out fast enough.

Knowing it would be a close call, you still never hesitated. You were a healer, and a patient was a patient, even if it was a stupid stranger who had tried to ride a boat through a swarm of orcs and down the world’s tallest waterfall. 

The man was big; tall and broad shouldered, and there was no way you could lift him into the cart by yourself, but with the help of the horse you finally managed to pull him on top of the soft, damp pile of moss. You wiped the sweat off your forehead and hurriedly drove home.

Back in the village, the palisade guards helped you lift the man into your house and put him down on your combined kitchen- and examination table. 

“Must be a rich fellow,” said Torsten. “Look at that golden belt and the embroidery on his tunic sleeves!”

“If you heal him, he gets to pay the belt,” Vidar decided, ogling it greedily. “And if he dies we get it anyway, obviously. For trying.” 

“Leave,” you ordered. You needed peace and quiet around you.

As soon as the door closed behind them you began working. You slid off the man’s long surcote and cut apart the tunic and shirt he wore underneath, wincing as you ruined the beautiful garments but there was nothing for it. Perhaps they could be mended later.

Then you started with the arrows, pulling them out one by one, thankful he was unconscious and unable to feel the pain. The broken one was a bit trickier to extract and you hoped you got all the splinters out.

You cleaned the nasty injuries with strong mead, adding a thick paste of honey, yarrow and other herbs to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. You covered them with wads of dried bog moss, the last of your old supply, and finished by wrapping his torso with snug linen bandages.

After working with such concentration you almost felt lightheaded when you paused to catch your breath, but there was no time to rest. You still had a lot to do if the stranger would survive. 

You took a quick detour to the kitchen, downed a cup of mead and put a slice of hard bread in your mouth. Then you continued, chewing on the dry food as you started on his head. 

A huge bump had formed and the entire area was red and swollen. You could not do much more than smear yarrow paste on it, hoping he hadn’t hurt his brain in the fall.

You checked his vitals again. By now, a little color had returned to the man’s face and the pulse was stronger. Whatever poison that had been on the arrow heads must have stopped affecting him as you got them out. 

His erratic breathing indicated he was on the verge of waking up. 

You returned to the kitchen, preparing a potion of poppy seed tincture, and willow bark for the pain, and mixed it with a nourishing broth. The man had lost a lot of blood; he needed his strength back. You also brought more mead.

Back at the table, the man’s left eyelash fluttered and opened. Immediately his whole side began to tremble as he struggled to move, and he slurred in an unknown language with his mouth twisted in a crooked grimace.

You knew from the frantic pulse on his neck that he was panicking, and no wonder. First nearly killed by orcs, then sent down the Falls, now unable to move. 

You tried to calm him, patting his quivering hand while mumbling in a soothing voice until he became still. Then you coaxed a spoonful of potion into his mouth; with luck, it would put him to sleep. 

But he had a hard time swallowing it.

That was not a good sign. You recalled old Ulf who used to be the village blacksmith; he had become crippled for life from a horse hoof in his face while shoeing it. Afterwards he was only able to move half of his face and body, and struggled to speak and swallow, and though he got slightly better with time he never fully recovered.  

If this stranger survived, it was possible he would end up the same way. 

You slipped more potion down his throat and followed it up with mead. He had stilled somewhat and his only open eye was beginning to roll back into his head. Then he went limp as the effect of the herbs and alcohol kicked in, and fell asleep.

The worst was over; now all you could do was wait and see. If the wounds did not fester he might make it.

You stretched your aching limbs. You could use some rest too, but duty called. 

Vidar was still lingering outside. “Did he die?” He sounded imprudently hopeful.

“Not yet. Get Torsten; we need to move him to the bed.”

The guards helped you carry the man to the only bed in the room, which happened to be yours. Normally patients would be brought to their own home after being treated, but this one obviously had nowhere else to go. You did not mind; you had a comfortable chair by the fireplace where you often slept.

The stranger stirred in his sleep and his left eye twitched. Again he mumbled something incomprehensible through his lopsided mouth.

“Is he a foreigner?” asked Vidar.

“Of course he is, you fool,” Torsten retorted. “Who in this land has dark hair like that?”

You regarded the man. It was true, he did not look Rohirrim. Was he from the north? You were not good at geography and did not know much about what kingdoms there were up there. He had costly clothes and his high boots, which you had removed to make him more comfortable, were of excellent quality. Though his palms were calloused, those marks must come from weapon use rather than labor, and his strong build was an indication as well; his wide shoulders and bulging arm muscles could have had ‘swordsman’ written on them. Was he a prince perhaps, or a high lord? 

But there was no time to idly wonder about the stranger’s origin, you still had a wagonload of bog moss that needed to be taken care of. “No rest for the wicked,” you told Vidar. “Will you help me unload my moss?”

When you were finally done it had grown late. Your stomach was growling but you were too tired to prepare a meal, instead you slumped into the chair and immediately fell asleep.

※

You woke early as was your habit and turned your head to look at the patient. Had he survived the night?

He had. Both his eyes were open now, albeit the right one just barely. He was moving the fingers of his left hand with an air of concentration, as if to test his limits. Despite his efforts he only managed a tiny wiggle and his features grew increasingly frustrated and desperate.

You felt sorry for him and what he must go through; it must be extra hard for a warrior to become paralyzed.

Your stomach growled and the sound drew his attention. You were surprised by the intensity in that one-eyed gaze. Yesterday he had been in shock, and later drugged, but he was perfectly clear headed and aware now.

His eye had an unusual gray color, in stark contrast with his dark brown hair and beard. The same color as the Falls where you found him.

He moved the good half of his mouth to speak. You still could not make out any words, but his voice was pleasant, deep and mellow. 

Upon hearing himself a faint blush crept up his cheeks and he immediately silenced. 

You went over to the bed, checking his forehead for a fever and whether his bandages needed changing. They did; dull red spots were blooming on the linen both on his head and chest.

“You were gravely hurt, my lord.” You told him where you found him, what injuries he had and how you’d treated them. If a patient knew what had happened to them, that could often ease their stress. This man had been near death. Coming to terms with such a thing wasn’t easy. 

The man did not reply and shifted his gaze away from you. 

“Do you understand?” you asked. You were using the common language but perhaps he did not speak it. Or maybe he just did not want to slur again and embarrass himself. 

You continued speaking, whether he understood or not. It was a bit like soothing a wounded animal; they did not know the words but the tone calmed them. “I am going to change your bandages now.” You did so, explaining everything you did, and apologizing for the pain. 

He uttered not so much as a grunt when you changed the bloodied bog moss and rebandaged his arrow wounds. Did he not feel it, or was he just stoic? If the former, that was worrisome; loss of sensation often meant the paralysis would last.

Then you saw a growing damp patch on his pants. 

He had noticed it too and blushed furiously, an expression of deep mortification passing over his features. He squeezed both eyes shut and turned his face to the wall.

You took it as a good sign. He obviously could not control his bladder yet, but since he knew what had happened he must feel it, and that gave you hope he would regain more mobility in time. 

You pulled the blanket higher, and under its cover you peeled off his soiled garments and cleaned him. While working, you told him what you had been thinking, partly to take his mind off the uncomfortable situation. “You see, my lord, someone who hurts their head and cannot feel a thing afterwards, they will often not get better. But I believe your senses are intact which means you are not so ill-fated. Even if you will never be completely healed, you might very well be able to learn to walk again – perhaps with a cane.” You put a bedpan strategically between his legs. “There, all done. Worry not about this, my lord; I have been a healer nearly all my life and there is not much I have not seen.”

Your stomach reminded you that you still hadn’t had breakfast. “Time to prepare something to eat.” You made gruel for both of you, but topped off your patient’s share with more poppy tincture and willow bark. As you brought it back you explained its contents and the calming, painkilling effect. 

“Swallow this,” you bid, holding a spoon to his lips.

He closed them into a thin line.

“Come on,” you goaded. “It tastes a little bitter but you can wash it down with mead.”

He did not obey. Instead he looked at you. Both his eyes were open now, but only the left one fully. 

His gaze was the most dejected you had ever seen. Filled with bottomless darkness and despair, as if everything, absolutely everything, was lost to him. He had given up. 

You read death in his eyes.

It frightened you a little. What had happened to this man to make him abandon all hope? Well, apart from nearly getting killed, obviously.

His hopelessness filled you with sympathy, and somehow he must have sensed that for his forehead suddenly creased and he turned away again. He did not want your pity, that much was clear.

With a sigh you left him alone. With time his hunger and thirst would make him weak and his pain become unbearable. Then he would hopefully accept the relief you offered.

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A/N:

This fic is dedicated to Scyllas_Revenge who made me realize what an interesting character Boromir is. But I also wrote it for me. :) I have a thing for hurt, silent, stoic warriors…

Feedback is much appreciated!

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Parts: [ Next Part > ] [ Masterlist ]

Full story: [ AO3 ]

[anthonybialy]

Drama Through the End of the Stefon Diggs Era for Buffalo Bills

Stefon Diggs’s watery blue cheese was inferior to Rootie’s in every way.  And his hot sauce tasted like private label Tabasco.  I'll respect his standard of honesty. He’s Houston’s problem as of yesterday, so they can brace to determine the difference between merely venting and demanding another work transfer.

The cessation of constant simmering drama shocked in specifics even if everyone expected it at some point.  Like the prototypical American Chopper argument, the fact this particular bout of one-sided bickering really ended the partnership was the only striking part.

Postponing gratification is fulfilling.  We’ve got awhile to convince ourselves.  I’m so thrilled about a draft pick next year that I’m not even going to feel depressed about waiting virtually eternally to redeem it.  An ice cream pint in the freezer’s corner is fun to discover when you thought you were out of frozen desserts.  It’s sadly your second flavor choice, so don’t expect sea salt in your caramel. 

Fittingly ticking off someone was part of the trade’s return.  Considering the meager return, it has to be.  The Bills sent Diggs to Texas but not the team where his brother plays out of Jerry Seinfeld-style spite.  Squashing a family reunion may not be the reason he’s a Texan unlike his Cowboy brother.  But enjoy a petty fantasy at this trying trade time.

There’s going to be some running around the house after liberation from oppressive forces, so let Josh have his Kevin McAllister moment.  There will be no ensuing lesson about the importance of treasuring family.

The suspicion that Brandon Beane would’ve never made the deal without the kingpin quarterback’s blessing defines this team’s direction in case it wasn’t abundantly clear.  Josh Nelson Allen must move the offense himself.

Deciphering art is easy once you’ve tried to break the code of Diggs tweets.  The inscrutable communiques felt like listening to a numbers station without possessing a one-time pad.  The only certainty was that he was putting pouting into words.  Bob Dylan lyrics look like hotel fire evacuation instructions by comparison. 

Drafting a wideout is the universe’s most pressing task.  Other teams know the secret.  Trades involving draft order will be trickier following this one.  It’s tough to bluff when everyone knows exactly what cards the Bills hold and also don’t.

This has to be the first in a series of moves to add younger talent to the receiving corps, according to my desperate emotions.  Beane is in danger of resembling Michael Scott doing a drumroll.  He doesn’t have to make more moves involving the position today.  But lack of immediate transactions doesn’t mean they’re forthcoming, either.  Panic just in case.

Trying to rationalize diva stylings was easier around the time Diggs was in the best ever Bills receiver discussion.  Warnings from jilted Vikings fans were taken under advisement.  Hissy fits are easier to tolerate when the source is catching footballs.  But a declining role under a new coordinator led to getting dropped following Diggs doing the same.  It’s unfortunate his last play for Buffalo was such a letdown, although cringing at the final impression might make the breakup easier.

I was not expecting the obvious outcome to occur on any random day.  Anyone who thinks Diggs would never be traded is unfamiliar with the Marcell Dareus precedent.  Beane has shown a willingness to pay for avoiding aggravation.  Increasing a cap hit in response to sliming the franchise’s savior employs the same principle as forking over for airport lounge access.

Winning makes a locker room full of brats bearable.  Chemistry means playing well enough to justify putting up with behavior that’d make Kathleen Battle blush.  But it suddenly gets harder to tolerate negative vibes from the erstwhile top option.

Diggs was fittingly a good actor.  His fake throwing to fans in the M&T ad was a charming pretend interaction with receivers who weren’t anywhere close to him.  If you’re seeking a sign, the Allen/Diggs infinity ones are obsolete even though they were supposed to be immune by virtue of removing the year.

Like what’s supposedly eternal, forever has a time limit.  None of the letters in BFF mean anything.  Forget the dead cap space: what about my t-shirt elegantly depicting the first Allen-to-Diggs touchdown graciously drawn by Buffalo Bills social media personnel after the broadcast cut out at a most inopportune time?  I still haven’t located the form to apply for a refund.

One can’t discount the emotional element even in a business of cold statistics.  In this case, it was sent away.  Fans form connections with players they admire.  Some players respond by admiring themselves.

As personable as Diggs could be, he found a way to create tension like it was separation from a cornerback.  That at least applied up until partway through last season.  The franchise doesn’t have to worry about placating a fragile worker via ample attention, especially since he wasn’t earning it anymore.

The Jersey Shore shifts from New York to Texas.  Houston receives a kabuki actor as a present consideration.  The big deal’s big deal offers no surprises even as he does surprising things.  The overall situation is predictable even if individual moments are imbued with havoc.

The question with Diggs is always if the yards he produces are worth the theatrical production.  He’s got a future on Broadway if he’s willing to work behind the scenes, so forget it.  The Bills made an economic calculation weighing benefits versus costs.  When the latter outweighs the former, it’s time to stop buying.

It’s not like offstage was the only place he put on a show.  The rest of the cast enjoyed the play.  Both Allen and Diggs benefitted from a classic pairing, as did fans.

But who helped more?  One person voted for himself and got no other support.  Determining who contributed the biggest percentage can seem like a silly debate right up until the second step proclaims the first is less important.  Diggs received luck along with footballs.  He credits himself for how the roulette wheel spun.  The Bills heading to Houston this season gives Diggs one more chance to create a spectacle.  Pass routes may or may not be part of it.

[t-lostinworlds]

Not Going Anywhere (Tom Holland)

a/n: finally! lmao. gosh, i haven’t posted a fic in a while and im scared lol. also, i’m sorry for the lack of fics recently, i’ll try and be better with it. anyway, i’m not going to babble any more asdfghjkl hope you guys enjoy this one!

pairing: tom holland x actress!reader warnings: emotional scene, blood (fake), gun shots (kinda fake), character death (very fake lmao), lots of crying, and tom just being a wholesome boyfriend. word count: 7.5k+ requested:

first off, thank you angel! 💓 you’re too sweet omg 🥺 requests are a bit tricky for me ‘cause it depends if i get inspo or not but i did with this one haha so second, i’m so sorry this took soooo long. i hope i did it justice and that you like it love! 

masterlist on bio & pinned post

-:-:-:-:-

It was the last scene of the day but neither you nor Tom were too keen on it. Both of you read the script, of course you knew this was a long time coming. This scene has been sitting in the back of your heads from the moment you both decided to take on the roles but still, it never really does prepare you mentally no matter how much you try.

Death scenes are always tricky to shoot, depending on what the undertone is. It can be a slightly easy one, the death of an enemy in which you'd channel relief, pride, a sense of accomplishment—maybe even in a sadistic, evil sense, happiness and joy. Or it can go around the hard route, the death of someone you love. There are so many ways you could go about it, so many emotions you can tap into. You can have regret, guilt, hurt, sadness, anger, fear, loss, and the list goes on.

It would've been easier to act it out with a regular colleague or a friend, easier to separate from reality and to snap out of it when they call cut. It'd be less daunting if that was the case. But when it's done with someone who you love off screen, a person who you can't ever imagine a world without, to get your mind to a place where you'd have to picture losing them, then it gets even trickier, much, much harder.

Couples don't usually do movies together that often, it can become unprofessional as some would say, but that wasn't the case with you and Tom. Both of you have been praised so many times with your individual works as you two can stand alone and carry a role with nothing but award winning performances. But whenever you two share a screen together, then it's an even bigger force to be reckoned with.

It's always a director's dream to work with you individually and as a pair. You were a match made in heaven off and on screen, the one-take-wonder duo. You two just bounce off each other so well no matter the roles you play, may it be enemies, acquaintances, lovers, past lovers, co-workers, and so on. You two share a look and it all clicks, then everything just falls into place.

You two get it done right away in the right way.

You love working with Tom, love seeing him do his thing in the flesh and you enjoy watching all the breathtaking and raw performance he gives. Plus, you get to spend time with your man, a gift with how conflicting your schedules can get sometimes. Not to mention, you get to do what you love together, a fun time on set as you make the most out of it while staying at the top of your game, be each other's cheerleader while maintaining proper professionalism.

But when it's heavy and emotional scenes like this upcoming one, you do find yourself wishing that it wasn't with him.

"How do I look? Still gorgeous I hope," Tom joked the moment you entered the set, posing over dramatically with one hand on his head, the other on his jutted out hip and a duck face to match, sporting his dirt—with specks of blood—covered and torn outfit. What he wore was a white shirt, black pants, black boots and a gray coat combo. While you on the other hand, wore dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt, a gray zip up hoodie that was fully open and a black leather jacket over it.

On a normal day, his silliness would've made you roll your eyes with a laugh, but today, it didn't even manage to make you crack a smile. In fact, a frown made its way onto your lips at the sight of him all dirtied up, a purple bruise under his left eye, a couple gashes on his cheek and a cut on his bottom lip to complete his beat-up look.

"Stop trying to ruin my Zen," you grumbled, crossing your arms over your chest with a pout on your lips. It was already dark inside your mind, emotions at the ready for when they call action. And seeing him be his dorky self, trying his best to make you laugh, just being the sweet boy who owns your heart, it wasn't at all helpful in a sense that with what's coming, it makes you think what life would be like if those adorable traits of his would become a memo—

"I'm not," Tom chuckled softly as he slowly made his way over to you. Once he reached a close proximity, his warm palm found its way to rest on your cheek. His touch was gentle, thumb caressing your skin comfortingly, a loving smile making its way onto his lip as he kept his gaze steady on your troubled face. "Just making sure you don't get too into your head, darling."

Tom's eyes held nothing but utter concern because he knows you like the back of his hand, knows how you work. With actors, it's always taxing mentally and emotionally when it comes to scenes like this, but with you, there's an added weight. Because, one, you always go that extra mile, to dig much deeper into your thoughts, to make your brain work harder at channeling emotions on command and in a quick switch. That's what made you known to be such an incredible actress, pure talent mixed with hard work of course.

And two, you were doing the scene with him, your real life lover. For you to see his face and watch him slowly wither away, Tom can't even stomach the thought of what you could possibly be feeling, what kind of thoughts were swimming inside your head. He can't even begin to imagine if it was the other way around. He absolutely admires your strength for holding it together because if it was him, he would've already been balling before he could even get out of his trailer.

With that said, Tom was worried to the bone. It always pains him to see the struggle you go through to get your mind there. He hates seeing you in a state that wasn't pure happiness, even if it was all acting.

"It's really hard not to," you whispered, flashing him a small smile as you leaned into his touch. Tom's heart broke at the soft shake in your voice, a sigh coming out of his lips as he moved closer to press it against your forehead. His strong arms found their way around your form to give you the warmest hug he can muster without getting all the dirt and the little bit of fake blood he had on him, on you.

"I know, angel, I know," he whispered against your skin, giving your waist a gentle and loving squeeze that made you close your eyes with a shaky breath.

Tom has had a fair share of tough, emotional scenes, of course he understood. Some of them were even done with you, though none were as tragic and heavy as to what lies ahead.

He knows how hard it is to not let those dark thoughts cloud most of your mind. He's been guilty of failing at it a couple of times. Some scenes just affected him in real life before he could stop it. Tom so badly didn't want you to experience the same. He doesn't want you to go far too deep for the sake of your mental state, especially with how much worse this scene is going to be compared to previous stuff you've done. But there's not much he can do other than to be there for you to help you get through it and to make sure to snap you out of it before it gets way out of hand.

"You two ready to go?" Jessica, the director, interrupted with a sympathetic smile. You unwillingly broke away from Tom's embrace to give her a small nod.

"Don't think I'll ever be ready but let's get this over and done with," you breathed out. She watched the two of you for a moment, the gloominess in the atmosphere too obvious for anyone to miss. It's always like that with emotional scenes, the set catered to help the actors be in the zone, but it's a lot heavier this time around. When it's a real life couple, the difference is huge.

With a soft, understanding smile, she reached over to you and gave your shoulder a squeeze. "Two more minutes and then we start." Jessica nodded at the both of you curtly. You and Tom flashed her grateful smiles to which she gladly returned.

Once she walked away, Tom's gaze landed back on you, slight dread and concern glowing in his eyes but a reassuring grin played on his lips. He was trying his best to stay calm about it, even though he wasn't looking forward to it as well. He just didn't want to add more to your already worrying mind by looking too frantic with his concern.

"Come here and give me one last kiss."

"Don't say it like that," you groaned, squeezing your eyes shut as his choice of words weren't exactly the best.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, darling," Tom rushed once he realized how it sounded like, rubbing your arms comfortingly and giving it a gentle squeeze, silently urging you to look at him. Once you opened your eyes and met his gaze again, he tilted his head to the side with an adorable pout. "Can I have a kiss? Pwetty please?"

You shook your head at your man with a sigh, the corners of your lips lifting just a little as you met him halfway for a short but sweet, loving kiss.

"You've got this, okay?" he whispered once you pulled away, his breath hot against your lips as the tip of his nose nudged yours tenderly. You flashed him a small yet thankful smile, nodding in response before leaning close again to give him a quick peck.

"Places you two!" Jessica called out.

Tom's hands found yours, his fingers delicate as he lifted them up to his lips, a kiss on each of your knuckles and another reassuring squeeze before he lets you go.

You treaded your way towards your first marker, Tom's just a couple feet behind you. You looked over your shoulder in hopes to find his eyes before everything starts, a wash of relief coating your body once you saw that it was already set on you. You two shared a look, Tom flashing you one of his many charming grins—one that you adore so much—in reassurance, throwing in a thumbs up as he put his right foot forward. You did just the same, only breaking his gaze when you felt someone tap you on the shoulder.

You turned to one of the crew who handed you a Glock filled with blanks, a soft thanks escaping your lips followed by a deep intake of breath. You closed your eyes before exhaling slowly, clenching and unclenching your fist around the gun as you slowly slipped into character.

The two of you were undercover agents, partners turned recent lovers to be specific. The start of the scene was that you've just managed to get Tom out from his unfortunate capture, the abandoned warehouse where he was kept and you just escaped from, situated behind. You've managed to take out all the guys in the warehouse together but you have no idea if someone had called in backup so it was needed and safer to get as far away from the place as soon as possible. Hence why you two are going to be running from point A to B. But once you reach point B, then the scene happens.

"Ready and action!"

You took on a sprint, chest heaving as you kept looking back to make sure Tom was following. He was running just loosely behind you, a slight limp in his movements given that he isn't in the best of conditions due to the kidnapping.

"Come on!" You slowed down a little to wait for him, offering out a hand for him to take. He was so close to reaching it when his gaze shifted from your hand to somewhere behind you, eyes widening at the sight.

"Look out!" Tom exclaimed, hand quick to grab your outstretched one to pull you into his body. Both his arms wrapped around you tightly as he turned around in one swift motion so that your places were now switched. Then you heard five deafening gun shots, Tom's body jerking the same number of times before he slowly leaned forwards, his body getting heavier as his weight slowly rested more on you.

"No!" you shrieked, one hand wrapping around his torso as you lifted the other one hurriedly to aim your gun at the armed person behind him, pulling the trigger a couple of times to let loose of the blanks. You heard a thud next, an indication that the person has been taken care of.

Tom's whole body slumped, you struggling to hold his weight as he gradually slipped from your grasp, your heart beating rapidly against your chest when you felt something damp coat your fingers that were rested on his back. Your gaze landed on his face with wide eyes, calling out his character's name a few times as you tried your best to let him down on the pavement as gently as you can manage.

Tears welled up in your orbs, your throat closing up as you kneeled beside his body, anxiously checking to see what was wrong even though you already knew that everything was wrong. You took off your jacket hurriedly, bunching it up and placing it under his head for support. A sharp pain squeezed at your heart at the sight of him struggling to breathe, coughing out blood while he willed his eyes to stay open, his white shirt slowly turning crimson.

"No, no, no," you croaked, letting go of the gun to cup his face, fingers trembling as you tried to keep his head steady. Frantically, you reached into your pocket with your free, blood-covered, shaking hand, taking out the phone and hastily dialed zero to send out a distress signal.

Tom lets out a groan laced with pain as his eyes scanned your face, muttering out your character's name to get your attention, voice barely audible.

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm right here," you whispered as you met his brown orbs, a soft smile on your lips as you dropped the phone so you can tend to him with both hands. You brushed away the hair that managed to stick on his sweat-littered forehead, his blood from your hand tainting his crown, not the best of sights to see.

Tom's eyes started to gloss up as he kept letting out ragged breaths. You let out a broken sob as the heartrending sound filled up your ears, squeezing agonizingly at each vein in your heart. "S-Stay with me, please," you stammered, his skin turning a bit colder against your warm palm, your breathing turning shallow as you struggled to keep your own self together.

"Help! Please help!" you wailed, looking around the empty place frantically before your gaze landed back on the man in your arms, life slowly slipping from his grasp. "You're going to be okay," you repeated over and over, unsure if the words were said to reassure him or yourself.

The feeling of your jeans getting wet at the knees from the blood that pooled on the ground made you let out a broken cry of despair, eyes scanning his body for only a moment, the sight of red making you want to hurl. And you were too scared to look away from his eyes for far too long, scared that things will take a drastic turn in a split second.

Slowly, weakly, Tom lifted a hand up to cup your damp cheek, thumb caressing your skin as a small, tired smile made its way onto his lips. This made you cry even harder, your nimble fingers curling around his wrist, turning your head slightly for a second to give his palm a warm kiss.

"R-Remember when I-I said I'd t-take a bullet for y-you?" he sputtered, though the smile on his lips was still there, charming as always, his thumb capturing the tear that escaped your eye before it could have the chance to land on your skin.

You bit your bottom lip to suppress a whimper, shaking your head at his ability to make light of the situation. You let out a shaky breath. "I do, I remember. To prove how much I mean to you even when it's not necessary."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, running his thumb over your cheek, a few tears escaping his eyes as he scanned your gorgeous face distorted in utter distress, as he stared at the pain that glowed inside your beautiful orbs.

"N-No, there's nothing to apologize," you breathed out, your thumb grazing the apples of his cheeks as you stared right into those brown eyes you've grown to adore and more. "You saved me," you sobbed, flashing him a small smile laced with gratitude. "You saved me."

Tom nodded slowly with a hum, eyes staring right back at yours with the utmost adoration coating them, although in a few short seconds, it was quick to be replaced by worry. "You n-need to g-go," he hissed in pain, his hand grabbing your wrist to try and pry you away from him. It still wasn't safe to stay and he wanted nothing more than for you to be as far from harm, well and alive.

"No! I'm not leaving you here," you protested, a sob tied at the end of your sentence as you took his hand and placed it back on your cheek. And he held it there, channeling all the strength he had left for him to feel your skin for a couple moments more. "Help is on the way just, s-stay with me," you croaked.

Tom's breathing started to turn labored, his head falling back gradually as there was not much strength left for him to keep it still. "Hey! h-hey, look at me," you rushed, command in your tone as you went to hold his face with both hands, keeping his head steady only to see that his eyes were slowly fluttering close. "Keep those eyes open! Keep those eyes open," you said through gritted teeth, your man listening to your voice that was filled with desperation as he met your gaze again.

"P-Promise me—" Tom interrupted himself with a cough of blood, letting out a soft groan before his eyes were back on yours. "Promise me, y-you'll find h-happiness."

"N-no, don't say that, you're going to be okay." You shook your head desperately with a whimper.

"Promise me," he repeated, voice firmer this time.

Your bottom lip trembled. "I promise, just h-hold on, p-please," you choked. "Somebody! Please h-help! Please!" you yelled at the top of your lungs, urgently looking towards nothing, a sob following suit as your voice broke, hope slowly leaving you.

"H-hey, sweetheart, l-look at me," Tom called out as he tapped your cheek weakly. A whimper escaped your lips as you met his gaze once again, the emotion that shined in them so clear as day. He knows that it was time, and the certain look he was giving you made you understood. Although, you still shook your head in pure denial, muttering protests after protests under your breath as you gave his hand that rested on your cheek a tight squeeze while you kept the other steady on his face, horrified to let go even for a split second for he might be gone when you do.

"I love you," Tom breathed out, voice soft but the truth loud and clear. It was the first time he had uttered those three words, and you so wished it was done in a much, much more different circumstance. You leaned down to swiftly capture his lips in a bitter-sweet kiss, a sigh coming out of him only to be mirrored by a soft cry from you.

"I love you too, oh so much," you whispered to no one but him and him only, pulling away to meet his eyes, a certain glow now coating them at the sound of those lovely words filling up his ears. A satisfied smile made its way onto Tom's lips, his eyes locked with yours, glowing with utmost love.

But as Tom took in one deep, sharp breath, you held yours, only letting it out in a form of an excruciating sob once he completely stilled in your arms. His hand slowly slipped away from your face until it fell limp on his side, his chest laying flat, no more sign of any movement.

"No, no, no," you cried, tapping his cheek to get him to move again but to no avail. You shook your head frantically, your tears blurring your vision some more, heart in your throat as the droplets coated his face at a faster pace. "No! P-Please!" you screamed, cupping his face with trembling hands, letting go for a moment to hold his shoulder, shaking him harder in utter anguish. "C-Come back! P-Please! Come back to m-me." Your fingers found its way back to rest on his cheeks as you choked in short breaths, his eyes wide open but already dimmed, those bright, brown beautiful eyes somewhat turned gray.

"Don't leave me please," You croaked out, voice now hoarse from all the crying you've done. "I can't live without you. Please, come back to me," you whispered one last time, taking a few seconds more to stare at his face, looking at him as a flicker of hope coated your eyes for a split second before it completely died out. You dropped your head onto his chest and let out deep, broken sobs, choking in sharp breaths in between each sound that only made things more heart wrenching to hear.

It was so hard for Tom to keep his own tears at bay, a stinging, horrible feeling gripping at his chest as you cried your heart out. To watch the absolute hurt across your beautiful features, the desperation on trying to "bring him back" was too much of a painful sight to see. If he had a choice he would've opted on closing his eyes, but Jessica had specific instructions to keep them open, to make it more realistic, more effective in a sense that it would pull at the viewer's heartstrings a bit more.

But my God it was so hard to watch you be in so much pain and lay completely still, the heartbreaking sound of your sobs, the way you begged, it was absolute torture, especially when he can't do anything about it just yet. And the way your touch was frantic, desperate, it was hurting his heart harshly, agonizingly and he so badly wanted it to end because he can't take any more of just watching you go through so much pain. But most especially, he wanted it to end for your sake.

At the sound of your own cries, lungs burning with your head pounding, ears ringing, chest too tight and filled with utmost pain, you didn't even notice Jessica call out cut. The moment you knew it was all done was when you felt strong arms wrapping around your form that was still shaking with sobs.

"Hey, hey it's okay, it's over darling," Tom rushed as he sat up quickly, prying you away gently so you could meet his eyes. It broke his heart to pieces when he saw the hurt that still coated your orbs, though he was glad to see the relief slowly seeping back in once you blinked away the tears. You finally snapped out of it once you were able to take a good look at him, your bottom lip trembling as you tilted your head to the side, as if to examine if he was actually real. "I'm okay, see?" Tom hummed, voice gentle as he took both your hands and placed one on each of his cheeks, his skin warm against your touch. "I'm here my love."

All you could do was nod with a breath of relief, body falling forwards so you could sink into his arms, not a care in the world about the fake blood that drenched him. You just needed to be close to him.

Tom sighed as he pulled you tighter in his embrace, pressing his warm lip against your crown in the process. "Breath my darling angel, it's over," he murmured, followed by sweet nothings as his hand ran up and down your back comfortingly, your breathing slowly growing calmer at the tender sound of his voice.

You stayed like that on the ground for a minute, Tom only pulling away slightly when he heard footsteps approaching. "Do we need another take?" he asked dreadfully as he saw Jessica make her way over. He desperately didn't want you to go through that all again but it was out of his control. And if another take was needed, he's going to have to ask for an hour break, for your sake.

You lifted your head up just in time to see Jessica shake her head no, gesturing towards the both of you as satisfaction coated her face. "It's already the best for me. I mean, they call you two the one-take-wonder duo for a reason. And I've got tears in the crews' eyes to further prove my point." With a knowing look, she added, "But you two can watch it back if you like."

Tom turned to you, hand going up to wipe the couple more tears that littered your skin, touch sweet and reassuring. "Do you want to?" he asked softly.

You gave out a small nod. "Yeah, maybe I can do things better," you sniffled.

Tom scoffed loudly at that, gawking at you with wide eyes, taking full offence of your own words for you. "Are you kidding me? That was already amazing," he stressed. "Quit being so overly critical of yourself, darling," he added, taking both your hands in his comfortingly.

"Thank you bubba," you whispered, looking at him with an adorable pout, eyes glowing with the utmost gratitude that Tom felt his heart melt ten times over, especially with the nickname.

He flashed you a bright smile. "Now, let's get you off this wet floor." And that he did as he helped you up, pulling you in for another warm hug once you've got your feet under you.

Crew members quickly crowded you both as they helped you out of the now wet hoodie and coat, giving you each some water and two big, black warm jackets to compensate for the cold. You and Tom then made your way over to the director's chair right after.

You now stood beside Tom in front of the monitor as they started to play the clip back. Both your arms were fully wrapped around him, cheek pressed up against his chest as he slung his arm over your shoulder. His heart was turning soft at how adorable you were being, although he felt a sense of worry as well, since it seemed like you were scared to be too far away from him.

Even when they were fussing around the two of you, he saw how you kept giving him a glance, like you were scared to let him out of your sight. And once they were done, you were quick to grab his hand, as if you didn't want to feel the absence of his touch for far too long. So, he made sure to keep you as close as he can, giving you random kisses and squeezes in comfort from time to time, to reassure your mind that he was, in fact, here.

"Whew, look at you go," Tom praised, staring in pure awe at the monitor as he rewatched your performance, giving your arm a loving squeeze with a kiss on the forehead to match. "You make me look so talentless, love."

"Shut up," you said in pure disagreement given that his performance was breathtaking just as always. He did make things more real, made it hurt even more the way he portrayed dying so well. Your own performance improved because of his. As said in the beginning, you two just bounce off each other so well.

You peeked at the monitor for only short moments as you can't bear to watch it back fully, snuggling into him every once in a while with your eyes fluttering close. Tom was quick to notice this, giving you another peck on the forehead to remind you that it was okay, that things were alright. You hummed at his sweet gesture, squeezing his torso lovingly in return.

"Damn," Tom gushed once the clip ended, wiping away the stray tear that slipped with the back of his hand before turning to you with nothing but utter pride in his eyes. "And the Oscar goes to..."

"Stop," you whined, burying your face on his chest shyly, prompting a hearty chuckle from him.

"One-take-wonder duo I tell you," Jessica admired, giving you both claps on the back before she lifted up her megaphone. "That's a wrap everyone!"

Loud cheers and applause filled the air, Tom giving you a tight, warm hug as you both slowly relaxed in each other's embrace, glad that the day was almost over. You then made your way to where your teams were sat. Both of you were quick to notice how most of them were smiling proudly at the two of you with a bit of shine in their eyes.

"Harry," Tom gasped as soon as his brother came into view, Harry's face red with a faint sniffle coming out of him. "Were you crying?"

"No," the young lad grumbled, turning away in hopes to hide the way he wiped his face but still failing miserably.

"Oh Harry come here," Tom lets go of you for a moment to tackle his brother in a bear hug, making smooching noises as the older sibling tried to give the other a kiss on the cheek, Harry squirming like his life depended on it. You couldn't help the soft laugh from escaping your lips at the sight of the two boys, Tom's head perking up at the sound, a bit of relief coating his features as he tilted his head at you with a smile of his own.

"Get off you div," Harry groaned, pushing Tom away playfully, the older lad laughing before pulling away from him. "It's not my fault you two made it look so real. I genuinely thought Tom died for a second."

"Aw, thanks bro—"

"Correction, Y/N made it so real. The moment you started crying," Harry paused, blowing out his cheeks with a shake of his head, turning to you with both hands up in surrender. "I went."

"Thank you Harry." You shot the young lad a tired but grateful smile, giving him a quick but lovely hug.

"I'll let that pass for now because I do agree," Tom said, shooting his brother a playful glare before he made his way back to you, arms taking home around your waist as he looked at you adoringly. "You were incredible my love."

You smiled at him, leaning closer so you could give him a sweet kiss, just to show more of your gratitude. Tom hummed in pure satisfaction against your lips, giving your waist a tender squeeze before pulling away.

"Let's wrap up the day shall we?"

With that, the two of you made your way over to the wardrobe trailers to get out of the dirty work clothes and into comfier ones. Once out of the trailer, you now wore a pair of black leggings and Tom's pink hoodie to which he insisted on letting you wear over your tank top, given that it was starting to get colder out. He, on the other hand, wore his black sweatpants and a tight maroon t-shirt, handsome as ever but the make up on his face—the bruises, cuts, fake blood—were a bit of a distraction, feeding more thoughts to your still troubled mind.

"Come here, love." Tom beckoned you over once he noticed how you stared at him with a certain look in your eyes and a matching frown. His warm hands found yours, pulling you closer to him so he can give you loving kisses all over your face, all sloppy, loud and sweet. He only stopped when he was satisfied with the little giggles that escaped your lips. "Stop thinking too much, darling."

You flashed him a smile, nodding to say that you understood. "Are you not cold?" you asked in concern, slight guilt swimming in your orbs given that you somewhat stole his hoodie. Tom chuckled with a shake of his head, slinging his arm over your shoulder to pull you closer to his side as you then made your way to the make-up trailers.

"As long you're here beside me? My human heater? Never."

***

It was finally time to get back to the hotel.

You and Tom sat at the very back of the van, your head rested on his shoulder while his head rested atop of yours. You've been nothing but silent the whole ride, Tom not pestering you much because he knows you were drained to the bone. He just gave you occasional squeezes on the thigh, his fingers sometimes drumming some random beat just to distract you a little for what was going on inside your mind.

The moment your shared hotel room door closed, lock clicking in the process, Tom dropped your bags on the floor with the loudest sigh of relief.

"Shower together?" Tom offered with a wriggle of his brows, jokingly of course as there was no malice in his intent. You both were too tired for it, a simple shower would suffice.

A sweet smile made its way onto your lips as you nodded, taking up on his offer.

Tom moved over to you to give you a short kiss, mumbling a 'wait here' against your lips before pulling away and disappearing into the bathroom. He came back out not long after sporting nothing but his black boxers, beckoning you over with an open palm to which you gladly took. Hot steam met your skin as you stepped inside the en suite, Tom stopping by the sink as he turned to face you.

"Arms up," he said, your brows furrowing in confusion but you did as told anyway. Once you have both hands in the air, Tom took hold of the hem of your—his—hoodie and lifted it up your body, a pout making its way onto your lips once it was off. He gave your jutted out lip a peck, chuckling at the slight confusion on your face before he went to take your tank top off next.

"I'm not a baby anymore Tom. And I didn't lose any limbs," you pointed out with a soft giggle, top-half now naked in front of him

"Says who? As far as I know, you're still my baby." He shrugged, hooking his fingers on the hem of your leggings and pulling them down—along with your underwear—until he was squatted on the floor. He tapped your thigh lightly, silently telling you to lift each leg up one by one so he can take off the fabric fully. Now, you were left completely bare for him. You looked down at your man and shot him a pointed look, Tom meeting your gaze through his eyelashes as he lets out a sweet chuckle.

"Just let me take care of you love, you've had a long day," he hummed, giving each of your thighs a chaste kiss before he stood back up to his full height. He just wanted to let other things occupy your mind instead, didn't want you to sit too long and think about the scene you just did. Plus, he really did want to just take care of you, to show you the utmost love and affection as you deserve nothing but all and more, especially after today.

Another sweet kiss landed on your lips before he got rid of his boxers next, taking your hand soon after as he guided you inside the glass shower box, pulling you right under the hot water. And take care of you was exactly what he did as he helped you wash up as well. You've told him a couple of times how he was being a bit much, especially when he stole the loofa off your hands to do it himself, shampooed and conditioned your hair. But he simply repeated the same thing over and over:

"Just let me take care of you."

A few more giggles and chuckles with a couple sprinkles of making-out later, you two got out of the shower and dried up. Then after that, Tom gave you one of his shirts to wear—paired with only your panties—and helped you blow dry your hair so you could take a quick nap, an easy breezy task for him since it was not the first time. He's done it before on various occasions.

Once you were soundlessly asleep—after a few more kisses from him as he tucked you in because yes, your boyfriend is extra—Tom took it upon himself to order in some food, that way you'd have something to eat when you wake up, knowing that you probably wouldn't want to go anywhere to have a meal. He sent Harry a text in the process saying that the two of you would be staying in for the night in case the team wanted to go out for dinner.

In his gray sweats and white t-shirt, Tom sat down on the couch right by the window near your side of the bed, pulling out his computer to get a bit of work done while he waits. He didn't want to risk waking you up by slipping in beside you, didn't want to disturb your blissful sleep.

He kept giving you glances from time to time, just to check up on you, his heart growing bigger whenever he does so. Warmth just spreads across his chest each time he sees your beautiful face with nothing but slumber and peace coating your features.

The food arrived about thirty minutes later, Tom setting his laptop down to open the door, room service strolling in with fresh and hot food. He closed the door after he tipped the guy generously, walking over to the table to take some chips off the plate, humming at the wonderful taste.

Opting on letting you sleep for a couple minutes more, Tom went back over to the couch. But just as he was about to sit back down, he heard you let out a troubled groan in your sleep. Surely enough when his gaze landed on you, your face was now contorted in pure distress, brows knitted together as you shifted on the bed, one hand desperately clinging on the pillow while the other on the white sheets.

"Tom!" you yelped and bolted straight up, eyes frantic and chest heaving as you looked around the room for him.

"Hey! Hey." Tom was by your side in an instant, the bed dipping as he sat down, his hands cupping your face gently to make you look at him straight in the eyes. "Darling, hi, I'm here," he whispered with a sweet smile, heart aching at the sight of fear and the fresh sets of tears that now coated your eyes.

Your bottom lip trembled as you stared at him for a couple seconds, moving closer towards him so you could bury yourself in his arms. "I'm sorry," you mumbled against his chest, both your arms wrapping around his torso as you let out uneven, shaky breaths.

"Nothing to apologise for angel. It was just a nightmare," he murmured, rubbing your back sweetly as he swayed you side to side. "It's okay, you're okay." He held you like that for as long as you needed, whispering sweet nothings into your ear in hopes that it'll help you calm down. Tom only loosened his hold around when you softly pulled away, breathing now calmer, sniffling close to none.

"Want to watch a movie while we eat? The chips are really good," he said, both hands now holding your face, thumbs caressing your cheeks tenderly as he wiped away the little tears that sat on your skin. "Spider-Man: Far From Home so we can nitpick and criticize my performance together?" he added jokingly, earning a soft giggle from you as you nodded.

With half of the food gone, you were well into fifteen minutes of the movie. There were a couple of pauses done of course. Now you were snuggled up cozily beside him, your head on his chest as he rested his back against the stacked pillows. He had one arm over your shoulder to keep you close, fingers grazing up and down your arm soothingly while his eyes were set on the screen in front, his warmth comforting you in more ways than one.

The whole pole sequence in Venice was when he felt you start to shift in his arms, a shaky breath coming out of you when you saw him hit that wall as he got drenched in water. And then you spoke,

"Tom, what if—"

"Stop it right now and don't even finish your sentence," he scolded, already knowing where you were going with this. You pulled away from his embrace and sat up straighter just so you could have a full look at him, a deep frown already on your lips.

"You do your own stunts," was all that you said, but Tom already knew what you meant by it, didn't need you to explain further.

With a sigh, he sat up as well, touch tender as he ran it up and down your arms. "Darling, I am being careful with the stunts, you know that. And when it's something too dangerous, you also know that I refuse to do it," he said. "Plus, you're right there to stop me when I'm pushing myself too hard. You're looking out for me too, my love."

Even though you gave him a nod, Tom saw how that still didn't ease your mind, saw it clear in your eyes. He couldn't blame you either knowing how that scene made you think the worse of thoughts. He understood you completely, knowing that if the roles were switched, he would be behaving just the same if not much worse with how overprotective he is of you. He'd probably wrap you in a bubble to be honest, to make sure you're as far away from harm as possible and that nothing was going to happen to you.

"Come here," he hummed, taking your hands and pulling you close until you were straddling his lap, giving your fingers warm kisses before he placed them, flat against his cheeks. Tom's warm palms found their way under his shirt that you wore, settling his hands right on your waist, his thumb running over the swell of your belly fondly, skin touching skin, makes you feel much closer to him.

Tom gaped up at you with nothing but absolute love in his eyes, a glow that's made your heart grow warmer, a look that's added more sincerity to his words. "Nothing's going to happen to me okay? You're going to be stuck with this very handsome face for a long, long time."

You giggled at that, dipping your head so you could capture his lips in a kiss filled with the rawest of emotions from gratitude, happiness, adoration, passion, love. Tom didn't need words for him to know that you were thankful for him, that you were so happy to have him in your life, he can already feel it. Your actions will always speak louder volumes, justifying all the emotions you needed to get across that simple words never could.

With a satisfied groan, Tom pulled you even closer, his hands snaking up your bare back, your shirt hiking up at his action. He felt up your warm skin deliberately, touch driven with passion as he nibbled on your bottom lip, wanting to taste more of you. You happily obliged with a soft moan, your fingers treading through his slightly damp curls as you welcomed him in. And Tom made his presence known through his touch, to remind you that he is here with you, that he will always be here, and that he is—

"Not going anywhere."

-:-:-:-:-

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[jesspanalaxygrl14]

Design Studio Font Sculpture Assignment (in Order)

1.Holding the wine

For this first one, I have taken an actual picture of me, holding a glass of wine (in black in white). I have used to trace over with the pen tool the picture to have a much clear way to continue. I have used the letter F for the following.

-       The wine glasses.

For the part that we usually hold the glass of wine, I’ve just copy and paste the letter F and bring them together. When I am satisfied with the among of F’s all stick together, I copy and paste them but this time, I have used the “reflect” method so it could be turned in a 180 degree and stick them with the other to create the holder of the wine glass.

After, I have modified the shape of the F, to make it a much rounded shaped. I have copied and pasted it and turned it in 90 degrees and put them as close together to create the bottom of the wine of glass.

For the top wine of glass, I modified the shape of three Fs to create a haft cylinder-shaped. Right after, I used the gradient to make it like the actual wine of glass that I was holding and to give the feeling that it was an actual glass.

For the red wine, it was a little trickier. I have destroyed the F in a way that I had to remove some dots of the letter, while using the pen tool, and change completely the shape to create a more liquid drink and used the gradient and change the colour to make it stand out from the rest. The same process was done for the liquid drop.

-       Hand

For my hand, yet again, I have used the letter F. I started with the pinky finger, just to make it easier. I have taken reference from the picture, once again and make the lines more of a grey colour. I have done almost the same process as the wine glass, oddly shaping the F to make them look more like fingers.

For the nails, I have once again, removed some dots of the F to make them more of a haft cylinder-shaped and added a red gradient.

I had copy-pasted the hands, so I would guide me to see where I had to remove some of the F from the wine holder, to make the fingers more visible.

2-Swans in Love

For this one, I have used the letter S and an Image of a heart just for guidance for it. Like the swans represents love and Valentine’s day for me, I thought it would have been an awesome Idea to match them together.

-       The Swans

I have used the top part of the S to create the head and the neck of the swan by using the image of the heart for guidance. For the bottom of the S, I had them look like the body and wings of the swan by bridging them together, changing the shapes (while looking at a silhouette of a real-life swan, from a side point of view). After finishing the body, I have used three Ss to create the wing and make them from big to small.

For the face, I had modified the letter to make them look like more of a beck, did the same process again, and change the colours to orange.

For the second swan, all that I have done Is that I copied and pasted the swan, used the reflect method to make them look the opposite way, and change the colours of it to make it look like a Flamingo Swan. Finally, I dragged the second swan to the first one to create the shape of a heart.

-       The Heart

For the heart, I had reused only one side of the heart to create only a haft of it. Only the top of the S has been used, while the other haft has been “erased” with the pen tool, used the gradient tool to the red (and later the pink) to make them somewhat stand out from the rest and not make them blend too much with the swans. I have copied, pasted, and reflect the other haft of the heart and create the full heart. I have repeated the same steps at least six times. The only ones that do not content gradients are grey and white hearts.

3-Infinity Stuff

I will be honest, I had the struggle to think with this one. I wanted to create a simple infinity shape while using number 8. But my original idea as been scratch-off later. For this one, I had used a tutorial for guidance and an actual infinity, because the 8 was not in the shape that I have wanted. This one reminds me of a type of notebook I used to love to use, an old classmate of mine gave them to me. A silhouette shaped, like for example, a butterfly-shaped one, with at least three different colours on them, for example, orange, blue and red. A friend of mine gave me inspiration for it.

-       Infinity

I have turned the 8 on 90 degrees to slightly change the shaped to make it took like an infinity symbol while using the photo as a better reference and to get the shape a little more like the symbol. I have used the pen tool to separate the number into three sections, uses the subtracts tool to fully separate them while following the tutorial. Each section had two or more colours of the rainbow while using the gradient tool.

After finishing it, I created two more of them, but changing the colours to blue and pink, while using the same step again with the pen tool, the subtract tool, and the gradient tool.

So, with those three infinities, I have created some sort of pattern by using the copy and paste method. Is where the rainbow appeared only once per line, just not overdo it with it, but used a lot more of the blue and pink. While doing the pattern, I have switched the other of the infinity, because it would have look repetitive if each line were exact same one as the previous.

I have left the top and bottom part of it blank because I did not want them too busy after all.

4-Easter Bunny Egg

For the last one, like Easter is right around the corner, I wanted to make an Easter theme one. At first, it was an easter bunny with easter eggs, but it quickly changes to a simple easter egg, decorated to look like a bunny inside of a basket. I have used the number.

-       Egg

For the egg, I had removed the circular-shaped by using the subtract tool. I slightly change the shape of the 0 to make it look like an egg. I change the colour of the egg to a pink one by using the gradient tool and adding shaped along with it.

For the decorations of the egg, I have used green to make the colour complement each other. I have a copy and paste the pink egg and simply change them to their opposite colour and string them to make them look like it was drawn on while using the gradient tool to shade them only if it was necessary. After, I have made the eyes, by choosing the colour pastel green and a more lemonade yellow, while using the gradient tool. I have created two more circulars shaped by the copy-paste method and change those ones to white with a small shade of grey by using the gradient tool, just to make them slightly pop out. For the nose, I have done the same methods as the eyes.

For the ears, I have used another zero to create them. Change the shape to make them look like more of a bunny ear. Later, used the gradient tool to make the gradient go from grey to pastel pink used for the egg to blend them together. For the inside of the ear, I have used another 0, and just fill it in the ear so it would not show the colour of the background while using the gradient to change to colour and add some shades into them. I had to copy-paste the final version of the ears and change the place of the ear from the layer, so it would not overlap the egg and make them look like they are behind the actual egg.

-       Basket

For the basket, I have stretch and modified the shape of the number to make it look like a flower pot or a basket. And later used the gradient for the brown colour and the shade. Finally, the blanket in the basket. Once again, I have changed the shape and I attentionally made them look like plants. I have made them blue and used the gradient to create shades.

I hope this was good enough. Because, I think it is :D

The link that I had used for the third one (tutorial) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-p3MojvdBA&t=362s

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Summer Romance and Cinema Nights (Sriracha, Part 12.)

Description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could let you far away from all the trouble.

Part Summary: Dating a local police Chief may be way trickier than it seems. But when he turns out to be a complete fool for you, you somehow know that you can work that.

A/N: FLUFFY JIM, YAY! Also, just btw, I would like to announce that the official two songs for this fic‘s couple are: Little Secrets by Passion Pit and 3 Nights by Dominic Fike. Two brilliant, catchy songs which excellently depict the mood!

Word count: 2.9 K

Tagging: @nemodoren​ @missdictatorme​ @creedslove​

Master list: H E R E ​

That other morning, somehow everything seemed to be just perfect - Hopper, for the first time in forever, woke up on time to shower and prepare on time. He had such a good mood that he opened up his windows in his car and basically yelled every lyric of You Don't Mess Around With Jim from the window. A bold move for riding though Hawkins at half-past seven in the morning. And even bolder when you acknowledged that Hopper couldn't sing for shit. He even bought a huge Puget of flowers to welcome Florence back in the office.

When he ran inside the office, the tune was still playing outside - the office was smelling like freshly brewed coffee and just baked donuts, that made Jim even swing his hips in the beat coming out of the car. He gently put the flowers in front of Florence, who just opened up her mouth, and he danced into the office while singing the chorus. She was looking at him and she was even more surprised when Hopper didn't even lit up a cigarette as he walked through the office. Was Jim actually put through lobotomy when she was gone?

Powell and Callahan just stood there, looking at the man any of them actually didn't know. Powell then poked Callahan's side - Chief must've gotten laid and it must've been extraordinary good because there wasn't any sane explanation for any of that.

"A good night with a lady in a warm bed, Chief?" - Powell teased Hopper with a knowing smile and both of the men almost choked when Hopper just hummed back.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you and your wife would be jealous if she knew." - Hopper patted his shoulder and with another of his terrifying signing, he turned around to go turn off the radio in his car. But just as his good mood came out of nowhere, just as quickly he was brought back to life when he patiently sat in his chair and waited for your promised call.

There was no other way to name the feeling inside of him - Hopper was just straightway nervous. There wasn't any other way to put that. He was his foot and when he wasn't tapping his foot, he was tapping his fingers into his desk. When he wasn't tapping his fingers into the desk, he was constantly fetching himself a cup of coffee - it was almost a miracle because Florence hasn't seen him coming out of the office as regularly as he did that day. A lot of coffee meant that he was peeing rather often - for the first time in a long time, he felt like a living, breathing person.

The call came - soon after one in the afternoon, his phone suddenly came to life. He almost jumped at the plastic box, letting the phone fall three times on his desk. And at that moment, his head told him to act cool. Like he didn't almost shit his pants when the phone rang.

"Um... Chief of Police, Jim Hopper, at the phone, Hawkins PD. What can I help you with?" - He asked and coughed a bit. If it wasn't you, he swore that he's going to kill someone. But then he heard a burst of your laughter and he almost hummed with pleasure. His mind told him that he's the cool guy now and there's no way he's going to laugh, smile, hum or grunt.

"You're funny. Really funny. Sorry, it took me so long, I was with my mom and brother... Long story short, boring noon at the household. What about the old mill near the town, half an hour from now? I'll give you five minutes in advance." - You spoke fast because you didn't have any idea of how much of time you've got remaining.

"Of course, Mr. Black. The old mill? You say that somethin' got lost? Yeah, I'll be there in thirty minutes." - Hopper answered loud enough for Florence to hear the response, hearing you losing your cool on the other end once again.

"In thirty-five minutes, not a minute late, okay? Don't forget I have my watch on." - You whispered in the end and ended up the call for good. Hopper immediately got on his feet and looked at himself in the window, slicking his hair back and readjusting the uniform, putting his sunglasses on to look even cooler. Then he stopped at Florence's dear, still seeing you there, drawing your small little pictures, eating a single donut all day long, with a bored face, waiting for a call.

"I need to go to the old mill...-" "Because old black lost something. Again. You yelled it loud enough." - Florence told him back, having a bored look on her face. The newest Harlequin added to the library was opened in her desk and she was almost halfway through it. Which was impressive.

"I'll most likely take my lunch break as well." - Hopper informed her briefly and feared her answer since the look she gave him was already furrowed enough. - "Since you once walked in exactly on time, why not?" - She mumbled in the end, ignoring Hopper from that moment on. He basically ran into his car, holding the hat on his head.

It was less than twenty minutes on a bike when you knew roads though the Hawkins woods, but it was almost thirty minutes by car, so he really had to try and drive like a madman. But it was worth it in the end - when he parked the car, you were already sitting in the car there, having only long basketball shorts and a tight black top on. You smiled and was on your legs in no time, running towards Hopper.

When you jumped at him, circling your hands around his neck, he was seriously trying his best to keep both of you standing on your feet. When you almost sucked the breath out of him, you stepped a bit away, watching your wristwatch.

"Two minutes earlier. I'm impressed." - You mumbled, pulling him for a kiss again, closing your eyes. Then, before he had the opportunity to answer something witty back, you caught his palm and lead him to the backseats.

The half an hour on the backseat was one of the most passionate he ever had. There wasn't much space, but you figured out how to pull his pants down to his ankles, how to pull down your shorts and you just pulled the top down so he could watch your boobs bounce as you leaned both your palms into the roof and cried out with pleasure. As always, Hopper was doing and saying things that made you more than a chuckle, having you laughing on his lap at one time.

Half an hour later, you were both laying on the back seat, breathing heavily. You never remembered sex being as good as it was with Hopper. But it was definitely mind-blowing. When he tried to put his pants at least partially up, you stopped his arm, grinning. Your leg was spread up to the air and it seemed like you're in pain.

"I have a spasm. Hold on a second." - You begged, still having the leg in the air. The least Hopper could do was to support your leg, so he caught it in the air. After a minute, you finally got dressed, still having that selfish grin.

"What's that about?" - Jim asked as he still tried to catch his breath. It was almost awfully hot in the car. And it definitely smelled like a damn good quickie.

"Every time you'll be driving Blazer, you'll see me riding you on the backseat." - You chuckled and climbed out to stretch your back. - "Seems to me like I'm already winning the little remember me game."

"You'll see about that. What about the movies, have you thought about that?" - Jim took out one of the cigarettes, closing the door behind you, leaning his ass into the car. He still had his shirt and t-shirt untugged, but he knew it can hold on a minute. He offered you from the pack as well, but you shook your head.

"How do you want to execute that crazy plan?" - You asked back, slowly smoothing his left arm before entwining your fingers with his. Jim took a second to think about that, lighting the cigarette up.

"Well, you'll go first and buy yourself a ticket. I'll go second so people would be less suspicious. I'll put on the grumpy asshole fave everyone knows and pretend to meet you in there. The rest is a mystery." - Jim answered thoughtfully and laughed, when you playfully punched his shoulder, laughing as well. He put his arm around your shoulder, bringing you even closer, kissing the top of your head.

"You really thought about that, huh?" - You mumbled, putting your arms around his waist, nudging your face into the shirt of his uniform. - "Nobody told me you're handsome, a good cook and clever. Almost too good to be true."

"Yeah, keep that talk to yourself, will you? We'll need some pretty good actin' if we're supposed to make people believe that." - Hopper answered back, puffing out a bit of smoke.

"Come on, no-one in the city actually believes that Jim Hopper, the asshole from downtown, would be able to pick up a college student." - You mumbled back, poking fun of him even further. - "I can do a survey to prove you, huh?"

"Oh, shut up, smarty." - Hopped answered back and this time, he was actually laughing. You laughed back, slowly letting go of him.

"So I'll see you at the cinema, then?" - You licked your lips with expectations, having the devil in your eyes. Hopper nodded. - "The last movie starts at 8:15. If you're not there, I'm going on my own, old man." - You laughed while you walked to your bike. Jim just looked at his boots, gulping down your sour comment. You meant it as a joke, but it was nothing but the truth. He was watching you riding down the hill before he finished the cigarette - after that, he finally tugged his shirt back and got into the car. 

You were right - how did it come that you were right so often? Just as he turned around to drive backward, he was seeing you riding him like crazy. And he smiled at that. 

Just as he told you, he meant to keep his word. Once 8:15 came, he was already turning the engine off. 

You, on the other hand, were in the line since 8:00. You put on your best denim jacket and a red t-shirt under it to bring out the colors even more. You were looking like a million bucks - and of course, none other than Steve and his asshole best friends noticed you. Steve was harmless and sweet when he was alone or around Aiden, but once he was hanging with Carol and Tommy, he was a disaster. 

“Look who we got here.” - Steve grinned from ear to ear when he saw you standing in the line, coming to you like a cocky son of a bitch he was pretending to be. You smiled back, straightening a bit. 

“Hey there, Steve. Carol. Tommy.” - You nodded to each one of them with a stiffened smile. These two were total assholes and jerks - Carol was the typical jealous bitch from your neighborhood who surely won't make it far in her life just because she always stuck her disgusting nose into the lives of other people and Tommy... Well, he hadn't got a brain, so his life must've kind of suck. 

“What are you doing here? Alone? On your own?” - Carol asked, nuzzling into her boyfriends' armpit. The rumors had it that she's fucking him since the seven grade, but you didn't care for your own good.

“I'm just going to see a movie on my own. You know, adults are fond of spending time on their own.” - You snorted back at her, seeing that bitch rolling her eyes while she chewed on the bubblegum. Soon, you were standing there with Steve only, because Carol hated you for some reason and Tommy H always followed her around like a tail.

“If you're alone, do you want me to... Uh... Join you?” - Steve asked silently, watching your face. You giggled a bit and smiled at him. Every time he was all alone and not under the influence of that bitter bitch and dumb jock, he was a sweetheart. You knew that since you knew Steve from the time he was six. - “They won't be mad. I don't feel like going out with them either.” - He swore and felt his breath smelling like beer and cigarettes. Which immediately brought back Hopper on your mind. 8:08. He still had seven minutes. 

“I was serious. I don't mind being on my own, Steve. It helps me with cleaning my head. You should go and enjoy... The New Star Wars.” - You looked at his ticket and smiled. You bought a ticked on the other movie and hoped that Hopper won't buy the wrong one. 

In the end, Steve nodded. You watched as his eyes controlled the situation around and after he was sure that Tommy or Carol can't see him, he offered you a hug. This one was a friendly one - you could tell from the smile he had on. It was the honest Steve Harrington smile. That was why you accepted. 

“Enjoy the movie... No matter what you'll be watching.” - He said before he ran off to the line for popcorn and some soda, finding Tommy and Carol still hugging. Oh, that bitch was definitely talking trash, again, but you didn't care. You took your place in the line as well, planning to buy yourself at least some soda. 

Hopper entered the cinema like a hurricane - he had a beige blazer you couldn't recognize, definitely some new jeans and a shirt you would've sworn that you haven't seen in the cabin yet. He was looking bald, the colors were bringing more life into his looks and you needed to say... That Hopper was looking fucking great. His blue eyes found you in a second, being almost the one to order, but he pretended that he didn't see you. 

Acting, you reminded yourself, you needed some good acting. You patiently waited for your Pepsi can and paid with a small smile, leaving to go through the corridor leading into the cinema, where you waited for Hopper. He almost freaked out when you suddenly came from behind the corner and let his popcorn go. 

“Hey there, Chief.” - You said almost unbelievably, letting a couple walk around you. - “I think I haven't even seen you outside the PD. How you're doing?” - You smiled and walked there by his side. Jim really knew how to act - he looked so bugged that you thought about doing something wrong. 

“I was good until now.” - He muttered out, bringing the popcorn closer to his body, nervously looking throughout the hall. You walked straight to the most distanced seats, looking at Hopper. 

“Jesus, come and sit next, everyone knows you're all alone here.” - You rolled your eyes and Hopper slowly followed you. You were a good actress when you needed to be one. You could act like a serious brat. Good acting from the both of you, indeed. 

“Move.” - Hopper grunted out angrily, acting like his night was just ruined. You sat next to each other in the back row, away from all the people that were for the movie actually. You both sat there without emotions in your faces, Hopper was chewing on his popcorn. He was waiting for the moment when all the people finally concentrate on the movie - and he also jealously watched a couple of teenagers at the other end of the row. He sighed. 

When the right moment finally came, it almost halfway through the movie and even you seemed to enjoy it since you laughed here and there. You jumped a bit when you felt a palm caressing your knee. In one moment, your face froze and your expression changed. You looked at the making out couple, the only other people sitting in one row with you, then you looked down on his palm before catching it into yours. From that moment, you had a contained smile on your lips as you moved your shoulder to Hopper‘s to lean into him.

At the end of the movie, you both let go, both your palms suddenly feeling fucking cold. And no-one noticed a thing. It might seem to be utter nonsense, but in reality, it was a bold and almost stupid move. If anyone saw that you're holding hands, you were dead. But no-one did. 

That night, you walked home - promising Hopper that you'll call him again tomorrow.

[rojnapat]

how to make a simple & fancy header and trick people into believing you have photoshop skills

aka photoshop for dummies

warning: this is so fucking long idek

a lot of people have been coming into my inbox and dms asking me about my headers-- and while i always take requests! (and still do!) i wanted to offer a tutorial because it’s SUPER easy to make. it legitimately only takes 10 minutes. 

now take in mind, to any pro or expert reading this tutorial: my experience with photoshop is basically me fucking around with it since i’m 13. so please don’t be mad if i commit any photoshop crime.

i’m going to explain step by step and as basic as possible, i’m assuming whoever is planning to use this tutorial does not really know how to use photoshop; and in my opinion, in these things, the devil is in the details! very minor easy things that become an habit quite fast make the difference between a shitty header and a good one.  

1. first of all, the version i use is photoshop cs6. i wouldn’t know to tell you if some particular things in this tutorial can be done in another versions: i’d say probably yes, definitely in latest versions, and older versions have most of this settings anyway. now what we’re going to do is open our photoshop and directly open a new project. there are other ways to do this but this is the easiest for me. we’re going to change the size of the canvas to 640 x 360, since it’s the recommended size tumblr gives us for mobile headers. 

2. now most people would directly open the picture file and resize the canvas, i personally just think this is easier. what i do next is to go get my picture, and simply copy and paste it in photoshop. in this case, i’m going to use robbe and sander from wtfock. you’re going to notice that naturally your picture is wayyy bigger than the canvas, but don’t worry, the whole picture is still there. you’re just going to click the arrow button, the first one in the left toolbar. make sure the layer of the picture you just pasted is selected, and then you’re going to press ctrl + t. after that, you just have to resize it, make sure to hold down shift while making it smaller or bigger, that way it wont lose the aspect ratio. after you have the picture where and how you want it, just press enter. (the canvas is very zoomed out because the og picture was really big, but dont pay attention to that) 

3. now this is where you just get to play until it looks fancy and you trick people into thinking you’re like a top notch tumblr edits blog. the first thing i’d tell you to take in mind is the placement of your icon in the actual header. make sure to position your picture so it doesn’t cover any important part of it (like, you know, their mouths in this case.) it’s something that you can just tell by eye so don’t go too far to test it either. you can add effects, filters, color it like a real photoshop expert would, whatever you want, but what i do here is simply to play with the ‘curves’ which change the lighting and make the picture look a lot better. (i told you, i’m a scammer) here’s where the tool is and there’s no secret to it. just move it around until you like how it looks. ctrl + z is your best friend. i personally like to go brighter to make it look softer, dreamy-like. 

4. here it gets a LITTLE bit trickier if you don’t know how to use photoshop at all. you’re going to need to download torn paper brushes, you can find the ones i use here. you’re also gonna need a tutorial on how to install brushes, which you can easily find on google... there’s like, a thousand, i promise. you’re going to create a new layer by clicking the small little button in the bottom, next to the trash one. after you finally have your brushes ready to use and you have the tool already active, just choose the color you want for the header, take in mind this is the color you’re going to use as your background on tumblr, as well. here i’m going to go with plain white, but i’ll add an extra explanation for this later in case you don’t want white, because as you have seen so far, i love talking. the brush is going to look super big compared to your picture; don’t worry. you can either resize your brush, or simply resize the layer the same way we did with the picture earlier. it’s a lot of trial and error until it looks how you want. i personally like the paper to take as little space as possible, some people like it to have enough space to add text, it’s all about your personal preference.

in case instead of white you wanted, let’s say, pastel yellow, all you need to do is copy and paste the hex color later when choosing your background while customizing. for some reason, when you first do it, it doesn’t look the same, but i promise you when you save it does. if you actually do know a bit of photoshop and you’re asking yourself, “isn’t it easier to just make it a transparency?” the answer is yes, it is, but for some reason it doesn’t work. at least for me. 

5. and finally, we get to the text. this again involves a lot of trial and error, and personal taste, playing around with the tools. there’s no right or wrong, but i’m going to tell you how i do it. i like to do a minimalistic / caligraphy font sort of contrast, which is pretty basic but it makes things look HELLA fancy for some reason that is unknown to me. so that’s all you do! click the text tool, and write what you want. i recommend you use separate text layers for the different fonts, so you can play around with the placement instead of being set to the default spacing between lines. the fonts i’m using here are signatrust and telegraphic. i’m pretty sure the later is a default one, but you can find signatrust or any font you want on dafont. finally i just added a shadow, you can also add outline, glow, play around with any effects by right clicking the layer and choosing the first option in the menu. use the arrow tool to find where you want your text to go... i’m sure you got the gist at this point. 

last but not least, don’t forget to save it as “png” when go to “save as”! 

here’s our final result, which i beg of you to not use, since it was a request from my dear @driesen-demaury​! i trust you can make your own now, or you can ask me to make one for you!

graphic design is my passion

( @asksander​, here’s what i promised! )

[hyperlocalmarketplace-blog]

The way to Create an Online Store

Hyperlocal Marketplace

The way to Create an Online Store

While using internet as big and much reaching as it is today every person should start thinking about possessing some sort of online presence so that up with the changing strategies to buying and selling. In order to create a web based store there are a few steps you have to keep in mind and you should be able to commence bringing in sales from throughout the country and possibly even the planet if you're interested in that.

Hyperlocal Marketplace

1 ) Come up with a name. If you already would like to create an online store it’s likely good that you already have some sort of name for your store yet is it a good name? Any name needs to be memorable in addition to instantly tell your customer actually about and what you will sell. With a brick and mortar store it is possible to afford a little mystery since people are more likely to wander throughout out of sheer curiosity. Together with the internet being all about quick gratification though the user is likely to get frustrated and just close this article; why try to figure out your personal store when they can go to the one that gives them exactly what they want? To create an online store is always to create an online presence, and to end up being most effective the user needs to really know what that presence stands for and is also capable of doing.

2 . Pick your products. Now that you do have a name picked out you have to discover what it is you are going to easily sell once you create an online retailer. There are many different options in this phase as you can sell things you built or things others manufactured. You can personally own the merchandise or go through a fall shipper that handles every one of the shipping and products. If you ask me the most successful online stores individuals that offer something unique for the user base; a product that is either special or highly sought after. Once you create an online store you should place this at the top of your own last and have a plan regarding how you are going to obtain your current products and how much you plan in selling them for, this will likely make the process go along a whole lot smoother.

3. Figure out style and design, color, etc . Just as significant as your name is your style and color palette. A store using a very muddy or also busy palette can blast even if you have the worlds greatest name. Think of it with regards to a real life store again. Should you go to a store and are quickly bombarded with bright colorings and flashing lights, except if you're in Las Vegas you won't stick around. You have to remember this when you create an online shop as you no longer have the actual act of entering an outlet it is a purely visual knowledge. You want to try to stick with just about all muted pastel colors or perhaps all vibrant saturated hues. With computer monitors throughout the nation showing information in different ways you need to make your color design and style as cohesive as possible so that it looks as similar as you possibly can from one monitor to the next therefore you have some sort of quality handle on what the viewer is usually seeing.

4. Choose a web host service. This is a crucial step up the process to create an online retail outlet as this can make or split your success. You need to select a hosting company that best fits anyone and your needs. Most Commerce en ligne solutions offer a wide variety of web hosting service packages and different perks using each package so be sure to do your research. One thing to always remember is whether or not they are pleasurable to work with because if your site will go down for any reason or perhaps you want to make changes you can't obtain on your own you will need to call these. So I recommend before choosing one particular for sure you should call all of the potential providers and have a chat with them. If they are friendly as well as informative I'd move those to the top of the list, but if you act like you get shuffled around contacting companies or never actually speak to a real person I'd proceed them to the bottom of the checklist. The hosting provider is essence your partner when you generate an online store and you must make sure you partner will be to assist you and have your best interest at heart.

a few. Market your store. When you've got the store up and running you must out some work involved with it; this is the stage where many stores start to fail. Someone purchases inventory and provides the store going but wants people to just find their particular store and the products to start out flying off the shelves. To generate an online store is easy, but for successfully run an online retail store is bit trickier. Ensure you get your store out there. Locate relevant blog posts or be a trusted member of a community forum relevant to your products. When people don't know your retailer exists they can't very well obtain it. One method that can help while first starting out is to devote a little money each month involving Pay Per Click ads; while they could not be the cheapest way to industry, they help when a web store is first starting out. When you create an online store you can even look to much cheaper methods inside your local area. Make a batch connected with T-Shirts with your logo as well as website on it and get relatives and buddies to wear them or receive permission to hand them out there at local athletic activities. Anything you can do to get your shop name and website on the market can potentially bring in new customers the two by direct contact and word of mouth.

6. Perform common upkeep on the store. As soon as you start to get customers coming in and also a little revenue flowing you should definitely don't start to relax an excessive amount of, yes the hard parts above but you still have to keep long term customers happy and to accomplish that you have to stay active with all the store. If I go to a web-based store and it doesn't appear to be the products or anything have been updated recently I generally may buy anything from there due to the fact who's to say the person is definitely even still in business with real life? It's very easy for an internet store to fall from the cracks and still be way up even though the physical store provides closed down. For this reason it is advisable to constantly be updating items and make your customers feel like you actually care about the store because if a person then why should they? A good way to do this is to attach a new blog to the store that you simply update every few days having either news about your providers plans or just little information about your days; this will aid form a sort of community close to your store and you'll start noticing regulars commenting on posts.

7. Start planning for durability. What I mean here is that when you've put all this hard work inside of your store, started moving solution and have a small community you must start planning what you can do beside keep them coming back. With a real store the reliability and also reluctance to go searching for fresh places keeps customers heading back but with online stores and the capacity to find a product nearly everywhere online you have to make your retail outlet extremely welcoming and comfy to get people coming back. Think of promotions you can offer to be able to customers who post most regularly in your blog, or techniques to improve your store with a new seem or wider variety of goods, just don't let the store find stagnant. After you create a web based store it is a full time job to help keep it up and running and maintain success, but there is not any other feeling like it when you are your own boss while each of the failure belongs to you, every single ounce of the success is you as well and that's a genuinely great feeling.

[karinoktober-blog]

How To Cook Beef In Restaurant Style (Spicy Recipe)

Step by step instructions to Cook Beef

With the wide assortment of cuts of hamburger accessible nowadays, it's a smart thought to know a portion of the distinctive cooking strategies you can use to set up every one. Here are nine distinct procedures for cooking hamburger.

Barbecued Skirt Steak Recipe

Barbecuing

Barbecuing is a cooking procedure that can utilize high, medium, or even low warmth, which implies anything from steaks to burgers to even an entire meal can go on the flame broil. Cooking on a charcoal flame broil is trickier than utilizing gas, yet it's moderately simple to create an eruption of high warmth for a brief timeframe utilizing charcoal, so even an amateur can barbecue steaks and burgers.

Cooking a dish on the barbecue takes longer, and since keeping up a charcoal fire for a while requires including coals occasionally and altering the vents to keep the temperature where you need it, gas flame broils make flame broiling cooks significantly simpler.

The best steaks for flame broiling are ribeyes, strip steaks, T-bones, and porterhouse.

Hamburger broil fixings in the moderate cooker.

Braising

Braising is a clammy warmth cooking method that utilizations lower temperatures and longer cooking occasions, which softens harder cuts of meat like hurl, brisket, short ribs and round (otherwise known as rear end broil). At the point when you hear the term braising, think pot cook.

Braising as a rule begins via flavoring the meat, at that point cooking it in a hot skillet before moving it to a secured pot with a modest quantity of fluid, similar to stock or soup, in addition to sweet-smelling fixings like onions and carrots. An acidic fixing like tomatoes or wine is typically included also.

A moderate cooker is an electric apparatus that is fundamentally a ledge braising machine. Simply include your carmelized meat alongside different fixings, spread, turn it on and leave. Slow cookers require a modest quantity of included fluid, as the discharged juices from the hamburger are commonly enough (yet adhere to the producer's guidelines).  Meat stew

Stewing

Like braising, stewing utilizes moderate, sodden warmth. But instead than cooking an enormous bit of meat, we cut the meat up into 3D shapes or other littler pieces first, as in hamburger stew or bean stew.

At the point when you get stew meat at the market, it's frequently comprised of trimmings just as different miscellaneous items, however it's generally comprised of toss and round, which are two of the greatest hamburger basic cuts and furthermore among the hardest.

You're not constrained to store-cut stew meat, however. You can buy your own hamburger toss or round and dice it up yourself.

Simply remember that stewing includes more fluid than braising. You could make hamburger noodle soup by stewing the meat and different aromatics and herbs, at that point include the noodles ultimately.

Prime Rib Roast

Simmering

Simmering is a dry-heat cooking strategy that utilizes either high temperature or a blend of high and low. The high temperature is the thing that gives the hamburger its mouth-watering, firm, dark colored outside, while the low temperature is the thing that cooks it to its legitimate doneness.

For littler dishes, you may just need a short eruption of high warmth to arrive at immaculate medium-uncommon. For a bigger dish, you would do the majority of the cooking at a low temperature and afterward burn it in an exceptionally hot stove, either toward the start or end of cooking.

Since meat cooks rapidly at a high temperature, there's little chance to separate connective tissues. In this way, the best cuts of hamburger for simmering are the delicate ones. Meals from the rib basic (otherwise known as prime rib) just as the short midsection, tenderloin, and top round are acceptable applicants. Sear meal until done

Searing

Searing resembles flame broiling topsy turvy. It's a high-temperature procedure where the meat is cooked just inches from the warmth source. Just, rather than over the fire, similarly as with flame broiling, the meat is arranged beneath.

Other than that (and the way that you do it inside, as opposed to outside on the barbecue), searing works similarly; and with similar cuts of meat: steaks, burgers, and other slim cuts, for example, skirt steak.

Like flame broiling, searing will dry out your hamburger, so brushing it with oil, or marinating it before cooking, is useful. What's more, be certain not to overcook.  Meat and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Sautéing

Sautéing is another speedy system for cooking meat. In particular, slender strips that are cooked in a hot skillet or wok utilizing a modest quantity of oil. The incredible thing about pan-searing is that all the fixings in the dish, including vegetables, similar to onions and chime peppers, are cooked together in a similar container.

Meat sirloin is an extraordinary decision for sautéing. Sirloin isn't exactly delicate enough to make a decent steak, however cutting it meagerly separates the connective tissue with the goal that it doesn't pose a flavor like a significant piece of elastic groups. Simply make a point to cut it contrary to what would be expected.

Grill

This method takes us back to the flame broil, however dissimilar to flame broiling, grilling utilizes low temperatures and wood smoke to cook cuts of hamburger gradually, over a time of eight hours or more. Like braising, the moderate, low temperatures separate the connective tissues in intense cuts of meat. Be that as it may, in contrast to braising, grilling utilizes dry warmth as opposed to wet.

Since it utilizes smoke, grilling works best on a charcoal barbecue, where pieces of hardwood, similar to hickory, mesquite, apple, maple, or cherry, can be added to the charcoal. With a gas flame broil, this is conceivable, yet you need a different crate and it doesn't work an incredible same.

The best hamburger cuts for grill incorporate brisket, ribs, and a few cuts from the hurl base. Indeed, even top round, eye of round, and tri-tip meals can be cooked with smoke.

Combo (Skillet/Oven)

Regardless of whether you start it in the skillet and finish in the broiler, or the opposite way around, the skillet/stove procedure is incredible for cooking steaks, especially when they're cut in any event 1/2 inches thick. Ribeyes and steaks from the short-midsection basic, similar to strip steaks, T-bones, and porterhouse, are great decisions for this strategy.

We utilize a combo procedure since we need a dull darker, delightful hull outwardly of our steaks, which is accomplished with high temperature. Be that as it may, cooking the steak altogether at a high temperature can overcook it, making it extreme and dry. A medium stove is ideal, as it guarantees the middle is an ideal medium-uncommon, while a speedy high-temp singe in a skillet, either previously or after, gives you that immeasurably significant outside layer. Ground meat and onions in skillet

Skillet

Last, yet not least, the skillet is an incredible method to cook ground hamburger for use in different plans, similar to spaghetti sauce, bean stew, tacos, or enchiladas. When all is said in done, it's ideal to add your ground hamburger to a cool skillet and afterward heat it gradually, as adding it to a hot skillet will make the meat stick and perhaps consume.

Abstain from congestion the container, and be set up to deplete off a decent measure of the fat that cooks off. Simply don't dump it! Empty it into a can or container and afterward when it solidifies, scratch it into the garbage.

[gentleoverdrive]

Celica wants a confession. Otherwise? No dice. Chapter 2

Originally posted in Archive of Our Own/AO3. Link here

Chapter 01: Should the student council members have after-school activities?

(Introduction narrated by Python) Zofia Academy –also occasionally referred to as Central Zofia, to help differentiate itself from the fancy-pants Zofia Academy for the Performing Arts located in the Novis Archipelago—An incredibly prestigious academy with a centuries-long history of providing the country with able leaders on most fields, a history that endures to this day in no small part due to the efforts taken by its respected headmasters… … or so we would like to say, but after the previous shithead in charge— meaning Desaix, of course— was dishonorably dismissed in light of his less than stellar track record coming to the surface, it’s been probably justified to call into question just how much of the academy’s good graces were a front as of recent times. Hey makes sense, if you ask me. Nevertheless, current headmaster Jorgensen (who’s waaaaay less of a shithead, even if he’s stubborn as a mule, thankyouverymuch) has made strides in correcting course. One of his first uses of the prerogative as head of this institution was to actively pursue talented candidates qualified for the scholarship programs offered to ten students per year. The second use, though, proved a bit trickier (ain’t that always the case?): In order to secure a potential returning student, he had to enlist the aid from said potential returnee’s closest friends. Man, I could totally go for the whole shebang on this little ditty. Hey Forsyth, d’you think Lukas has the scoop on it? Anyway, during the start of his third year as headmaster—oh joy— there were seven particular rugr—er, students that had become the center of attention for the Academy’s High School section. Of those, this story will proceed to fastidiously concern itself with the two that stood out the most and how their romance blossomed… and because they’re both as dense as a sack of bricks, hopefully it’ll be funny. Enjoy. Or don’t! Makes no real difference to me. I’m getting paid either way! Can we get some damn service in this cafeteria already? Can’t grade papers worth squat on an empty stomach, y’know? --- 2. Let’s talk briefly about Anthiese Lindenbaum “Good day, Ms. Lindenbaum!” A second year greeted Anthiese through her afternoon walk to the Student Council quarters. “Good day to you, as well” she answered with nary a delay in her timing, all while offering the slightest of nods to the student who previously greeted her. Anthiese Lindenbaum: While for most of her adolescence she remained in exile from the main Lindenbaum family, her academic success could not shine brighter if attempted. Even as the youngest of Dolph Lindenbaum’s six children, Anthiese was expected to prove her mettle before society. And prove her mettle she did, having done so with superb results in matters of literature, music, self-defense and countless other subjects. Anthiese Lindenbaum, truly a gifted young lady. Belying his naturally playful self, the young man walking at her left could not paint a starkest contrast to the heiress if he tried. Carrying a stack of books that partly masked his visage, the earnest, newly-minted Student Council President was not much for forced displays of gracefulness. Due to the order in which he arranged the tower of them, the tomes occasionally flailed around, resembling something akin to an intoxicated dancer. It was only natural that, after so long, a couple of them would find their way down from the makeshift tower perpetrated by this young man. “Agh!” He let out a groan of annoyance at the multiple sounds of books hitting the ground. Perhaps not the most refined of gestures, but if he wished to voice his dissatisfaction with the current scenario, this accomplished its job with flying colors. Following his down-to-earth expression of disapproval with the result of his failed literary babel, he began to scan the ground using his right foot. Such a display caused the onlooking students to let out a hearty chuckle at his expense. Not that he really minded (he minded a little). Suddenly feeling a hand right next to his foot, the President peered to his left to find a fellow classmate grabbing the books. “Sorry about that, McClelland. Would you terribly mind passing those books to the Vice-President?” “No, not at all, Pres” The young woman replied almost immediately, before handling the books to Vice-President Lindenbaum. After Anthiese offered her a grateful nod, Siobhan McClelland quickly retired from the pair’s path towards the Student Council room, allowing them to continue their route uninterrupted. “By Mila, she’s so beautiful” One female student acknowledged. “And despite his somewhat doofus side, the President is surprisingly cute as well” A fellow student acknowledged of the boy juggling with dancing literature on his way to their quarters. Despite pretending otherwise, both heads of the Student Council could hear the gossipy whispers going behind them just fine. --- 3. Alm Flowers is both an idiot and a reprobate (a cute idiot, though). Student Council Room. “By the gods! You’d think they had seen the Prime Minister or something with all the hemming, hawing and gossip going on back there”. The president vented while slowly placing the books in various places around his desk. Anthiese couldn’t help but to wonder, though: Was he breaking them down in categories? Personal favorites? Topics to get caught up on? “President, please mind your language” Anthiese’s retort was both stern as it was quick. “Even if it’s mostly limited to this academy, we are public figures after all, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, so try to carry yourself with some semblance of dignity, if you please” She carried on while inspecting one of the books on top of the stack as the president offered a nod as a way of apology. The book’s title was ‘36 Ways to convince your opponent he’s truly well-cooked’. Anthiese chuckled ever so slightly at the book’s name. As she quickly discovered, she had gained the undivided attention of the President without meaning to. The combination of his grin, his green eyes and how he cupped his cheeks to stare at her could only be described in one word and one word only. Adorable. Many people would prefer to go with goofy, but she could not get enough of it. As of right now, though, she could feel the temperature in her face elevate, and could only guess that her face was comparable in color to her hair. “Would… would you mind not staring at me in that way?” She tried her best to sound imposing, but the tone of her voice betrayed her by all accounts, so she used the tome she had just picked to partially cover her face. “Thanks for the pick-me-up, Ms. Lindenbaum!” The president said shortly before unleashing a follow-up devastating grin upon his unsuspecting associate. “What… whatever do you mean by that, President?” Anthiese replied, while redirecting her glance elsewhere, all to secure her survival to today’s onslaught of cuteness. “Well, thanks to the headmaster being a giant pain in the—uh, neck” Flowers wisely caught up with himself this time. He knew that he needed to mind his language in front of the Vice-President, given her more traditional education. “I’ve been cracking my skull open trying to memorize everything that needs to go into being a good Student Council President for this here school”. “And… can I level with you, Ms. Lindenbaum?” Alm put one more of the books down as he said that, his brow slightly furrowed. “Sometimes I kind of have second thoughts here about the possibility of not measuring up to the task” Anthiese tilted her head slightly towards her right shoulder as she threw a bemused stare his way. If she could sum up her current opinion of the President, is that he’s ever so slightly disappointed her through said declaration. The president pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a small sigh. “Part of my bone to pick with it is that it felt like little more than a popularity contest. Still sort of feels that way—I mean, I’ve been a student here, what, 3 weeks now? And to all of a sudden find myself thrust into this spotlight? Don’t you think it’s weird?” He resumed his book sorting while following on his thoughts. “I’m not going to quit, though. Don’t want to let my partner down” He added, while offering a little wink as a visual punctuation of sorts, which managed to sweeten up the Vice-President enough to elicit an additional smile. And just like that, her opinion of him shot ever higher. A reliable young man all things considered. “Makes sense that you feel that way, especially given that this is probably the first time such a weight has been placed on your shoulders” So far, Anthiese had acted as the spokesperson for the Student Council these past two weeks. “So please make sure you are ready to tackle this responsibility head-on as soon as possible” She added, while reaching for the teapot, hoping some of the Earl Diamond still remained from the one she brewed for the adjourned council meeting from this morning. “Yeah, it’s a can of worms waiting to get cracked open, for certain” Anthiese let out yet another small chuckle at hearing that expression leave President Flowers’ mouth. “Oh! I think that’s the first time I haven’t seen you do that hand-covering gesture you often do, Vice-Pres” Despite her best efforts, the Vice-President often had to engage in mental gymnastics to remain on top of herself, especially given the attention provided by her student council partner. “By all means, show the world your smile, Ms. Lindenbaum. Truly the gift that keeps on giving steady returns” for the vice-president, said comments had a certain novelty. It’s not as if she had never heard sweet nothings before, of course: People who knew who she was and, more specifically, what her last name was, always tried to pile them up while trying to get themselves into her graces. President Flowers, though, was different. He often mixed up two or more figures of speech, often with the sole purpose of squeezing out some sort of wordplay or, gods willing, a pun. The results often left something to be desired. The one just now finally sank in, though, and the shame of his truly dreadful wordplay finally started washing all over him. “Please just pretend I gave you a normal compliment” The president mumbled while burying his face deep in his hands in complete embarrassment. Anthiese could not help but to first puff her cheeks slightly and then burst into a small fit of most joyous laughter before regaining her composure and playfully pointing at him. “Never! You will have to make proper amends for that truly harrowing barb, President” Alm’s eyes peeked from between his fingers at her playful rebuttal. In the space of the last two weeks since becoming a member of the Student Council, Anthiese had picked up a couple of habits from having to endure the gauntlet which made up much of the President’s idiosyncratic sense of humor. “Well, if that’s the case, then…” Alm rubbed his chin, all while staring at the ceiling clearly trying to think of something. “Hmmmmrrrmmmm…” The green-haired youth was yet again actively furrowing his brow, so it seems like this time around, he was actually wracking his brains while trying to come up with a way to make it up to his classmate and fellow council member. What the president’s brain was concocting was privy only to him. Regardless of said process, the results would probably further leave her baffled. It was not an unwelcome occurrence, though, since it made her days all the more interesting. Since he was still coming up empty, he decided to try and reorganize his thoughts properly by opening the drawers on his desk and seeing if the contents therein could give him an in… before he could finish properly opening the drawer, he noticed a couple of things that weren’t supposed to be there. His right eyebrow slightly raised, this kind of thing took Alm for a loop. The only people who have a key for this drawer are himself and Principal Chun. Just who had gained access to his desk drawer? Then he noticed what the contents mentioned and his eyes widened: Courtesy movie tickets. And how they could’ve known that he liked the ‘Clueless Princes and the Freeter Dragon Girl’ series of novels so much? These two movie tickets couldn’t be a coincidence. He was stumped. A few steps away from him, Anthiese narrowed her eyelids while allowing a small, picaresque smile to form in her face as the President kept looking down, unaware of the plot she had concocted. Oh Alm, don’t look so shocked. Celica thought while playing with her hair. It’s the sort of thing that is often commonplace when you want to ensure something comes to happen, right? So what if someone has a trusty person available to them in order to easily gain access to such private places? Shouldn’t one use every resource that’s available to them when it comes to war? Do not think me so naïve, Alm Flowers. Celica couldn’t help but to chuckle when recalling when she gave Mae the go ahead to pick the lock of the President’s desk drawer and place the tickets there. Now that she saw how President Flowers had placed the aforementioned tickets in his uniform jacket’s inner pocket, she could barely contain her excitement at the prospects ahead as she started tapping her fingertips against each other. Without warning, his stare snapped back while raising his left index. Anthiese reverted back to the friendly, yet assuring demeanor she often displayed while around the President. “Say, do you have any plans for th—” “SALUTATIONS!” The doors of the student council were opened at full force, accompanied with said cheerful greeting. While only a word was uttered, it was obvious to all but the most secluded of students that the manner of speech, delivery and infectious pizzazz could only belong to one person. “Tsk!” Anthiese clicked her teeth at hearing that same entrance. While not completely foiled, her plan would have to be put on hold for now. --- 4. Who are the Jorgensen Siblings? “Oh, salutations Miss Jorgensen” Anthiese greeted the Student Council’s very own secretary. A lot of things in her everyday life had taken a turn for the strange, and a sizable amount of those came down to one emerald-eyed person in particular, but the secretary’s presence proved to be an anchoring presence… most of the time, at any rate. “Ah, Miss Clair” The President did his best to hold in his snickering. It would perhaps reflect poorly on him to point it out as such, but Miss Clair Jorgensen’s old-fashioned manner of speech was a little too much for him to handle at times. “What is it, President? Is something I have said today objectionable in any way, shape or form?” Her straight-laced tone just now made him feel a bit taken aback. “To what do we owe such an immature display? As someone who is now an esteemed representative of the student body, please remain mindful of your behavior, for your display just now was beyond boorish!” Clair added, clearly displeased with having been made an apparent mockery of. This gave the president pause… but after exchanging a short glance with Anthiese, he then immediately proceeded to take a deep breath while offering a small nod towards the Student Council Secretary. “Sorry, sorry. Very much not my intent, Miss Clair, I’m sorry. I’m simply unaccustomed to your manner of speech, even after having interacted with you in a day-to-day basis these past weeks. I do not, however, find anything objectionable about it” Alm stood up, while closing the book he had in hand and depositing it within his desk drawer. He cleared his throat before further elaborating. “Matter of fact, I like the way you talk, Secretary” He added, while running his hand through his hair. “It feels like you’re dancing with the words themselves when you speak, and I think that’s very cool” “I… is that so?” Suddenly, Clair Jorgensen couldn’t find her verbal footing and was for once glad to not see with the president face-to-face, otherwise, he would probably make fun of her face being a tangled-up ensemble of diverse degrees of embarrassment. Also of interest is that she avoided noticing Vice-President Lindenbaum’s less than friendly glare directed at her from the other side of the room. Then, a very loud guitar and drum combo noise started going off. Both Anthiese and Clair recognized the sound immediately… “G’ah! Sorry, forgot to put this thing on mute” The president lamented as his cellphone’s ringtone made its presence known to everyone in the vicinity. The ladies of the student council were less than surprised, though, since they’ve grown acquainted with this scenario as the president gets a lot of phone calls from several people once school is done for the day. His choice of ringtones is always telling as to whom was calling him at any given time. And the electric guitar, driving percussion, along with the free-wheeling harmonica, could only indicate the possibility of two people on the other end of the line. “Hello there? Gray, is that you?” Flowers couldn’t quite hear well, since there was quite a ruckus going on in the background from the other side of the line. “Oh? What?” He seemed genuinely bemused at whoever was speaking to him, when secretary Jorgensen tried to approach him, Flowers made a hand-gesture indicating that he needed a little time out. “OK... I see… Hmm… oh!” Alm cringed for a spell. “Yikes. Uh, alright, I’m on my way. Thank you for this piece of information, Miss Jenny” His succinct responses left the other two young women intrigued as to what had transpired. “Ms. Lindenbaum, care to accompany me on this? I just got a call from my friend’s cellphone, but the person on the other side claimed her name as… Jenny, I believe? Saying she’s a friend of yours. Something about our friends getting into a scuffle with a third party who, and I quote, ‘wanted to start some… uh, expletive deleted with them’ for no rhyme or reason.” Alm smiled awkwardly when realizing the less than clever swap he had committed just a few seconds ago. “Right! Let us go, then” Anthiese grabbed the council small notebook and her cellphone just in case. “Miss Clair, if anybody comes or calls—” “I will make proper annotations, President Flowers” Before Alm could continue, Clair had more or less taken up his number, to which he replied with a thumbs up and a wink. Nice catch there, Flowers. Hopefully you can keep this propriety momentum train going Alm thought while offering a small fist pump for himself as both Anthiese and he departed from the Room. Clair smiled to herself once the two freshmen left. Ah, President Flowers, you must simply stop being so inconsiderate. She thought, while quickly bringing her left index and middle fingertips on top of her lips.A few seconds after both Alm and Anthiese had left the room, the Student Council phone rang in the background, and before it could ring for a third time, Clair had already prepared pen and paper to take notes.“Hello, dear brother. To what do we owe the honor on this Friday afternoon?” Clair’s tone had become slightly more lax now that she was talking to her older brother and headmaster of Zofia Academy.“Well, truth be told, I wanted to speak with the young Student Council President, but given that I’m currently speaking with you instead, I’ll hazard a guess and proclaim that he’s currently absent once more”“A sharp deduction, even if the tone in your voice betrays your intent” She readied her pen. “Any chores that need to be tended from the desk of the headmaster, at this moment?”“Ah, not particularly. If I’m being honest, Principal Chun informed me that yet more talent scouts had been spotted at the general gate, asking details regarding one or more of Mycen’s protégés. Of particular note was their interest in Gray Mittleman” Regardless of the importance, the youngest Jorgensen sibling decided to apply aplomb and wrote down the information she felt necessary to communicate later on to both her immediate superiors within the Student Council.“Oh my, so your designs to make the status of this Academy soar are paying dividends. It hardly seems like the same Clive Tiberius Jorgensen that once embarked in a campaign to win the affections of his now bride-to-be”At hearing that name, the headmaster groaned. “I had, for a few days now, almost forgotten what my full name was, Clair” The deadpan tone Clive employed just now could cut through any surface. “Thanks for the reminder”Clair giggled at him. “And why would I avoid using it? It is your full name, after all” Clive Jorgensen sighed at hearing that statement.“You know, now I understand why Alm decided to keep you around as part of his student council”At that, Clair left out a sensible chuckle. “Enjoy your weekend, brother” And then promptly hung up.

[lydiaandarry]

{How To Dress Similarly To Your Favorite Cartoon Characters (Using Five Examples!)}

Hello there!

My name is Arabella but you can call me Arry, if it’s easier. I don’t know about you but I basically grew up on cartoons. I watched Cartoon Network all day and I used to get so much inspiration from cartoon characters that probably followed me into my older years. Personality and fashion-wise. Have you ever wanted to dress similar to one of your favorite cartoon characters yet not wanting to look like a cosplay or costume? Well, you’ve come to the right gal because that is exactly what I am going to be helping you with but before I get onto the five examples, we must go over some basic knowledge. Fashion can say a lot about a character, especially in cartoons where the clothes rarely change. It has to be iconic yet true to the personality being demonstrated in some sense. Five things go into analyzing and copying a cartoon characters style: 1) Color Palette 2) Aesthetic 3) Overall Impression 4) Fashion Items 5) How It Shapes Their Personality? These are five things we are going to keep in mind during our five examples. Let’s invade this topic.

(Daria Morgendorffer)

    Ah yes, Daria Morgendorffer. My sarcastic twin. I started with Daria because this character is one of the more easier ones to analyze and recreate. In fact, it has been quite common for fangirls of the television show to recreate Daria and Jane’s styles but I wanted to do Daria’s over Jane’s because I relate to Daria more. Starting with the first thing to think about when recreating a style of any cartoon character, color palette. A color palette is quite important especially when it comes to cartoon characters because these colors can be forever associated with this character. It’s like, if you see someone who usually wears all black with hints of red. That is a color palette, it’s something that you can associate with them subconsciously. Daria’s color palette includes green, yellow, black and brown if you include her hair. Now, you can become simple and see it just like that. Green, yellow, black and brown. But if you want to complicate it a bit and be more precise. Then her color palette would be dark greens (olives, forests, and dartmouth green). Dark yellow similar to mustard or occasionally an orange yellow. Chestnut brown or a reddish brown. You can limit your options to specific colors that will be more precise. The second thing to consider is her aesthetic, now Daria has a very laid-back aesthetic. Her whole running gag in the show is about how Daria doesn’t fall down to society’s standards when it comes to beauty as she doesn’t smile (unless there’s a special moment) and she doesn’t take as much time in her outfits as her younger and more popular sister, Quinn. Daria is very minimalistic as she isn’t one to horde a lot of clothing. She doesn’t wear makeup. Her aesthetic is being natural and effortless. The third thing to consider is the overall impression of their clothes to the world around them. Now this may seem odd but this is worth consideration because it depends on how you want to be taken. As people judge upon appearances and your clothes can say a lot about you. Daria’s fashion choices are usually attacked by her parents who think she could do a bit more effort and Quinn seeing her as outdated yet Daria doesn’t get a lot of criticism. Nor does she really face any backlash on how she dresses. It makes people not really want to be around her but she isn’t hated nor scorned. It’s a pretty simple style that is just there. The fourth thing to consider is fashion items, unless you are planning on copying Daria’s style piece by piece. It is great to really observe it and take pieces of it that may fit into her character yet is good for everyday use and not a cosplay. Remember, it’s all about inspiration. With Daria, I recommend oversized (possibly fit and flare) jackets or oversized, buttoned up cardigans. For tops, sweaters, short-sleeved mock necks, and graphic tee shirt dresses. For bottoms, mini skater skirts, skinny jeans, and culottes. For shoes, never forget the Doc Martens or chunky boots similar. And last but not least, the fifth thing to consider is how does her clothes shape her personality? The best way to answer this question is to look into Daria’s personality deeper, she doesn’t really care about small things and sees the world through different eyes. With this, she has priorities and standards, herself. Fashion is a lower priority compared to her wanting to make the right choice and choosing the right career. It’s a way to present herself but doesn’t make her stand out too much as she prefers to be known for her brains than her fashion. The clothes do not wear Daria, Daria wears the clothes. It’s just her.

(Rogue)

     I decided to go for something a bit more tricky next character and what’s more trickier than a comic book character who has been around since the 80’s? That’s right, you called it. Rogue from the X-Men. My Superhero twin. Brown hair, green eyes and all. It is no lie that recreating Rogue’s style would be great in those cold winters where I always dress wrong and is freezing my arse off. And since it is February, I thought why not include her. Although I will add some cooler alternatives if you live somewhere where it isn’t snowing. Comic Book Characters are fun to recreate their style because you can kind of cosplay yet it’s not cosplaying. I also love seeing fanart of people who draw comic book characters in casual clothes. It’s amazing to see that. I recommend looking at those fanart drawings if you are having a hard time. Rogue’s color palette includes green, yellow, brown, black and white. Now the colors kind of depend on what Rogue you are going for as 90’s Animated Rogue had a completely different vibe from X-Men Evolution Rogue. But I recommend going for similar greens (possibly ones similar used for Daria) for both vibe, yet feel free to go darker for X-Men Evolution Rogue. You can also try to incorporate yellow into X-Men Evolution Rogue’s vibe if you wish to but if not, get rid of it completely. Rogue’s aesthetic is hard to detect since she is a comic book character who has been in two very different cartoons but it is okay if you cannot detect an aesthetic with a character. I feel like X-Men Evolution Rogue fits into the more edgy, even potentially Goth aesthetic while 90’s Rogue is more sporty and slightly punk. It’s hard to detect because unlike X-Men Evolution Rogue, Rogue is rarely seen out of costume in the 90’s show. Similar to Daria, Rogue’s outfits don’t really leave an overall impression in the world she is living in as being a mutant is much more likely to give you backlash in her world. I think the only thing I can really get from Rogue is that her style is more likely to get you a sexy, devil-eyed hunk who speaks with French accent and is named Gambit. And who doesn’t want a Gambit? Now onto the fun part, choosing out similar fashion items. For 90’s Rogue, I recommend for jackets, they end at the waist and is faux leather (this is where you can add the brown). For tops, fitted sweaters, tee shirt dresses and mock necks. For bottoms, sporty shorts and fitted jeans and for shoes, sneakers and knee high boots. Don’t forget a fabulous headband. For X-Men Evolution Rogue, I recommend a longer dark jacket (maybe a denim jacket as well). For tops, fitted shirts, mock-necks, sheer tops with a cropped cami underneath, band tee shirts. With bottoms, ripped jeans with perhaps fishnets underneath, leather skirts, leather shorts. And for shoes, Mary-Janes or Doc Martens. Other than that, they go hand to hand with gloves, circle sunglasses, knee high socks. It is all about how you feel as the character. I mean, Rogue’s style basically shapes her personality as being reserved and not wanting to be touched. She wears a lot of layers and keeps covered yet keeps it fitted and sexy. She also has an edge that is shown a lot through her comic book appearances. Rogue’s style shows that you can be completely covered up and still be a babe. That you don’t have to show a lot of skin to be sexy but I mean she can’t show a lot of skin to be sexy because one touch and someone may die. But, if you don’t feel comfortable showing a lot of skin then Rogue is the rad gal for you.

(Velma Dinkley)

    Okay, now let’s say that you aren’t a loner or the sort of edgy type. I see you. Velma Dinkley has been one of my favorite characters since I was a young girl. She showed that you could be intelligent and be an equal to the leader. She had brains and was witty as hell. Now I may have grown up to be a bit more like Daphne in terms of fashion-mindset and clumsiness. My Velma comes out every once and then. Yet her colors are a bit harder to incorporate (wink, wink) into everyday basis because her color palette is red, orange and black if you include her glasses. I don’t see a lot of people wearing orange and red but it’s not that bad of a color combination. It mostly depends on what fashion item you are having red or orange in your outfit. If you are being precise, Velma’s color palette is a medium orange (slightly burnt at times) and crimson red. Like a cherry red, not too dark but not too light either. And with the glasses adding some black into her color palette, you can find ways to split the two with some basic black items in there as well, if it would make you more comfortable. Velma’s aesthetic is a nerd, she’s the bookworm, the brain of the group. She’s a nerd. Which ties into a lot of her aesthetic and how you can help it fit more together. Her aesthetic actually comes in handy because she’s very analytical and organized, meaning her clothes are probably going to be more neat and practical. Velma’s overall impression of her clothing by the world around her has changed throughout the years. It is rarely touched on until like the 2000’s where in the first two live action films, Velma is noted as being the less pretty out of the two of her and Daphne. Daphne continuously gives her advice on clothes or even once goes, “It’s never too late to learn how to use makeup”. And when Fred gets defensive when Velma notes how he has always somewhat favored Daphne over her, he goes, “Dorky chicks like you turn me on too!”. Noting how Velma is seen as poorly dressed. This mostly gives Velma’s character some depth as in the 2004 film “Monsters Unleashed”, when Velma develops a crush on museum owner Patrick Wisely, she becomes shy and scared of intimacy. Daphne’s solution to this is to give Velma a makeover that results in her feeling more uncomfortable and less sexy as it is more like Daphne than Velma. This scene is recreated in the 2008 film Mystery Begins where the Gang goes undercover in high school with different looks and Velma is yet again the uncomfortable sexy girl. Yet this never breaks Velma’s spirit and she always goes back to her natural look. For fashion items, Velma is a bit more simple as you can basically wear almost anything as long as it fits into her aesthetic and color-palette. For jackets, I recommend wearing fitted long jackets or maybe blazers if you feel more comfortable with a more professional, sleek look. Cardigans that are buttoned-up will also be an amazing choice for Velma. For tops, knitted sweaters, short-sleeved mock necks, mock knock sweatshirts, collared shirts. For bottoms, mini skirts, high-waisted flared jeans and potential overalls. For accessories, berets would be nice, knee high socks, and gloves. And for shoes, mary-janes or sneakers like Converse and Vans. How does Velma’s fashion shape her personality? Well, as talked about earlier, Velma has never felt the need to change or be someone she’s not. She is very comfortable in her own skin and her clothes. It shows that Velma can be comfortable and practical while holding an important part in the group. Her style shows never to judge someone by their clothing as there is always something more underneath.

(Sibella Count)

      Yes, another Scooby Doo character, forgive me. Sibella Count is a female character in the Scooby Doo film “Ghoul School”. Now let’s say that the character you want to recreate fashion off of is a lesser known, underdeveloped character who has only appeared in one film. Like Sibella. Well, then you have a lot of options! It is always good to take a character and remember the five things to consider. Sibella’s color palette is very diverse with a wide range of purples, reds, and some blues. You can throw some pinks in there if they have purple hues. Like a berry pink. Her aesthetic is the fact that she is Dracula’s daughter and a vampire so you can really play up the spook factor here yet keeping it sweet. You can also go very vintage with Sibella ranging from the 60’s to the 80’s as her style can be formatted into multiple different eras. Even the 50’s could be an option. Don’t forget that Sibella is also athletic so 50’s workout inspiration (as seen on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) would be great for Sibella if you do not like the sporty trends of the 80’s. As she is a volleyball player and dancer. The overall impression of Sibella’s clothing is mostly outsiders feeling that she is weird. Shaggy and Scooby are terrified of her at first because she’s obviously a vampire and they fear anything that’s not human. And the Calloway Cadets see her as weird and off-putting. Yet she usually wins people over with her kind-heart and outgoing personality. Fashion items are the trickiest for characters like this because she is only seen in two outfits and one is for exercise so I am going to give you a mixture of both. For jackets, I recommend knee length jackets that can hug in at the waist for shape if needed. For tops, long-sleeved mock necks, short sleeved mock-necks, crop tops, v-shaped tops with bell-sleeves. For dresses, I recommend a-lines with bell-sleeves or even ankle length, body hugging dresses similar to those who would be worn by Morticia Addams or Vampira and for more casual wear,  pinafores would be also be a great option. And perhaps a short-sleeved, v-shaped dress. For bottoms, cotton high-waisted shorts, sporty shorts, mini skirts. For accessories, anything red basically, red headbands, red belts, red scarves around the neck, a red bat backpack or satchel would be nice. Anything with bats would be great for Sibella. Knee high socks. For shoes, red mary-janes, red knee high boots, red sneakers. For that pop of glam. How does Sibella’s fashion shape her personality? Well, it’s very vampy which she is as she is the daughter of Dracula. It is also mature which fits Sibella as she is usually shown as being more mature out of the group and she is very confident.  She’s another case of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Sibella is unfortunately underdeveloped in personality due to only one appearance but this allows you to just have fun with it.

(Poison Ivy)

    And last but not least, Poison Ivy. Probably the hardest character to recreate clothing from as she is rarely seen actual clothing which is why color palettes are so important. This is also why I chose Poison Ivy over Harley Quinn due to her complexity of choosing fashion items that will recreate her style (although Birds of Prey have shown that they cannot dress Harley Quinn despite this). Let’s not waste any time and get onto this. Poison Ivy’s color palette is red, green, and black. Her color palette isn’t really the hardest thing about her, it’s more so her overall aesthetic and impression. Poison Ivy can fit into two major aesthetics, the glam of the 50’s/60’s. And the hippie era of the 70’s. 50’s/60’s can give you the much-needed shape and sexiness yet still keeping it classy while the 70’s can have you reveal more skin and be more flower-child like. I will be choosing fashion items for both aesthetics. The overall impression to Poison Ivy by the world is that she is well-dressed, sexy woman who has confidence and a lot of power. She is a very devious Batman villain who will do anything to rescue plants and sees herself as mother nature. This is a great way to incorporate flowers into your outfits. With Poison Ivy, it’s all about the shape. Onto fashion items. For the 50’s/60’s aesthetic, I recommend fitted jackets with straight jackets that end meet right at the hips to hug them. I also recommend that they have a V-Shaped opening. Cardigans are also great for this and do fit the time era. For tops, I recommend mock-neck tops that are fitted, bodysuits, fitted long-sleeved tops, these could all be one solid color or even have some patterns into them (stripes would be good). For bottoms, mini-skirts, knee length skirts, high-waisted shorts, and fitted trousers. For accessories, glasses would be cute if you wear them, sunglasses, berets, gloves, knee high socks and a bit of flowers in jacket pockets. For shoes, high-heels, knee high boots, and mary-janes will be fitting but you can always walk around the house barefooted. An odd suggestion for me is that I think you can really play around with lingerie when dressing like Poison Ivy, even if you’re single. Wear it for you. It will perhaps make you feel more confident and sexy. For 70’s, Jackets will probably be a bit more oversized and not as form-fitting. For tops, crop-tops, fitted sweaters, mock-necks, tied tops, cropped camis. For bottoms, high-waisted shorts, fitted skirts, flared skirts, bell-bottoms. For accessories, scarves in hair, flowers in hair, scarves around neck, knee high socks, floppy-hats. For shoes, platform heels or barefooted. And hell, if you want to be entirely 70’s, just go nude and paint flowers on your body. That’s very Ivy like. How does her clothes shape her personality? Ivy is very confident and independent and chic, with a dangerous layer. Her clothes show off that confidence and fierceness. It’s all about the shape, no matter how you want to dress it. And the hints of red will be great as red nail polish or red lipstick. She’s a very sexy character and her clothes show off that, even if she didn’t have her alluring abilities. She’s a great, powerful female character. And I am sure you will feel comfortable dressing up as her.

      Okay, that was five examples used on how to dress similarly or inspired by your favorite cartoon characters. I really hope that you enjoyed the post and if you did, feel free to follow our blog. I post a blog post on every Wednesday and Saturday. Also feel free to like and reblog! And remember fashion is all about having fun and trying new things, it shouldn’t be stressful. I’ll see you on Saturday. Peace out!

[ghchgc]

The mini tablet has lots of graphics processing power

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The last was chained, the others guarded. I hear them asking and demanding accommodation for ?Islam when they offer less than nothing to others.

[the-mountainsflame]

"Rose...?.... I'll kill th' bastards tha' did this t'ye....." (from Vira :3c)

My Muse has become possessed/corrupted. What would your Muse say to them to get them to snap out of it?

((and yet again this turned into a…thing, so, under a cut again!))

There was more yelling, through the walls.

It was too loud just like everything else was and her hands went to her ears again as the furred things flattened against her skull, even though the motion left the joints in her arms and in her hands protesting, as if filled with broken glass. She had, for a while, been so drugged that it hadn’t been a bother, at least while the healers attempted to assess her condition, but that also just meant she hadn’t been able to protest as they poked and prodded and put their hands all over her and all it had taken was one missed dose—

Even with her thoughts floating and polluted by those not entirely her own, she remembered throwing the medicine away from her and biting the arm of the person that had been trying to stick her with it. They had been quick to stuff her in a room, after, and the drugs had stopped, but so had the people, outside of the few soldiers that had clearly been assigned to ensure that she had at least the most basic things. (They eventually thought to throw clothing in after her, once; what was probably one of their uniform tops, at least, the Resistance’s beige almost blending in with the floor. With the sorry state her body and especially her flexibility was in, it had taken what felt like entire bells (and more than one instance of nearly passing out) to get it on, but…it felt…alright, once she did. Her entire body was wrong but she was still just enough human to want at least her chest covered.)

(The long, thick-furred tail and her size and the way she could barely stand before her back and hips hurt too much to deal with made the other half trickier, needless to say. She hadn’t bothered with it, no matter how uncomfortable it made all of them, including herself.)

The shouting had almost died down for a moment, but when it started up again it was with such ferocity that she whined and just pressed her hands harder into her ears, though she backed off with a wince when it finally provoked her own skull into pounding terribly at her efforts. She both knew the voices and didn’t; the smaller ones held her in this room, but the tall one, on the other hand, was mad about it. Very, very mad about it. It left her picking fights with them a lot and even when they did give in and let her come see her, even when she wasn’t visibly angry, that awful hate clung to her like an ash cloud and choked the fight out of anything around her. It was something more felt than described, and it always left Rose huddled in a corner with all rational thought obliterated and scattered to the winds until the tall one left.

(Whenever she could think for longer than a few minutes at a time, she was so lost as to whether she should be grateful or guilty about her leaving. The former always flooded her after, but the latter lingered like a bad taste even after that, even if she didn’t know why.)

The yelling subsided enough that she cautiously raised her hands, though the pads on her palms and fingertips still pressed a little against the rounded furry ears flattened against her head and brushed against the dark not-quite-mane running in a long line from skull to neck to partway down her back. Sometimes it…was just like this, she dimly remembered. Sometimes the small ones got the large one to stop talking and yelling and got her to go away, and though sometimes that was just a warning for the tall one storming downstairs towards the room, there was no footstep-sound to go with the newfound silence. As the quiet continued, she finally did lower her hands back down towards the bed, but the entire length of both her arms ached, and her hands and especially her fingers protested the motion as they protested every other motion or even hint of motion, stabbed through with the bone-deep pain of not being right. A rough tongue briefly shot across her…lips or whatever counted for them, but her entire face hurt where it had turned more mountain-leopard than Roegadyn, and so she immediately regretted it and toppled forward into the sparse bedding to rest her head on it. And that just made her spine hurt and her hip along with it until she finally sprawled in a miserable line across the length of the bed.

(Her tail twitched, and even that sent a jolt up her back, but it was little compared to the rest of it.)

…There were footsteps outside now, though.

She heard a few pairs, actually, her ears flitting up in response before she could even think about it. That was, until they sat back again at the sound of one of the attending voices—a healer, from long before. The memory of their touch was unwelcome and she growled, and when her tail lashed, she paid little mind to how it still hurt.

“No.” It was one of the only words she could say right now, but even in her current state, she knew that the others sometimes left her alone more when she tried to speak instead of snarling and growling at them. It was unsteady going, and she worked her jaw for a moment before trying again, more confidently and more loudly this time. “No.”

But still, the voices and footsteps approached her door, and she bared her teeth. The sound was too dull for her to tell if she had heard them before, but she dragged herself further back along the bed away from the door. It was just ilms of distance, if that, but she felt better for at least trying to move, even if it hurt. “No!”

But when the talking abruptly stopped just outside the door at her outburst, the ensuing silence didn’t last for long. Even then, Rose only caught snippets of the words. “—bites you—not fixing it—stupid idea, frankly, she doesn’t recognize—“

“—sure will remember me—don’t know what y’r talkin’ ‘bout—“

But the argument stopped, before long. And before Rose got any more warning than the scratching of the door handle, someone slipped into the room and closed that door behind them.

She flattened her ears further and growled, even managing to cough out another no, but the wiry short-haired figure standing at the other end of the room stayed put. And at the sight of them, something undefinable stirred in the back of her mind and she just cocked her head to one side instead of…insisting on the Hyur leaving. Her eyes narrowed and her head cocked further, but bizarrely, the sight made the stranger—were they though?—grin until it practically split their face.

(Her own expression was less that of a terrified animal and more a confused, if aggressive, one. She didn’t even realize that it might be a relief to some people.)

(She knew them she knew like she knew how to breathe but from where? Who…?)

“G’ mornin’?” But it was a question more than a greeting, and their hesitation as they took a couple steps towards her hadn’t gone unnoticed. They were holding something folded and dark, and her eyes went to it immediately. They saw that, too. “Ah, I…brought ya somethin’. ‘Ere?”

They tossed it underhand and she flinched back, half-expecting it to hit her with great force, but it fluttered far too lightly and half-unfolded in the air before it landed on her foot. She managed to work her aching body so she could grab it, and her hands met cloth…

“Dunno why they didn’ think a’ a skirt,” the Hyur awkwardly added, their eyes fixed on her. They almost looked upset that her first instinct was to bring it to her face to sniff, but they continued on without noting it. “Ye ‘n Sen’re ‘bout th’ same size, yeah…?”

Sen, Sen—dark skin darker hair singing arrows—

But the fragmented impressions fled as quickly as they had appeared, and Rose just worked the already-opened skirt around her waist without thinking about it. Not that the fastening didn’t frustrate her—oh, it did, and her hands hurt more for trying—but any time the Hyur tried to get close she growled, and even once had to tell them no again. It felt good to have it on, but the way their face had fallen at her admonition left something twisting in her gut and she suddenly found she couldn’t look them in the eyes.

“Well…” They tried, and quite hard, to bounce back from it, at the very least. “Least that’s somethin’. Y’ even got it on okay.” Their voice gained a hint of more genuine confidence now, though their steps were still cautious as they approached the bed again. (Though this time, she didn’t growl or warn them off.) “Though…th’ guards said y’ looked like y’ weren’t movin’ right. So…I talked t’ someone ‘n got somethin’. Here?”

Another thing was tossed onto the end of the bed, but it was small, tiny even, and glassy, the liquid contained in it catching the light as it flew and landed. But when Rose saw it and knew what it was, she irritably kicked it with a clawed foot and immediately turned over onto the bed, even if her shoulder audibly creaked with the speed of the motion.

“Rose!”

“No.” She was not to be so easily dissuaded, and she even slid the lone pillow over the back of her head. (It would have been hilariously juvenile any other time, but now, was merely sad.) “No drug. No touching.” Was that all they were there for? To make her behave for their healers like those men had forced her to behave while their twisted magic broke her body and tore at her mind? Rose’s heart beat an uncomfortable tattoo against her ribs at the thought. “No no no.”

The silence, only punctuated by the thudding of her lashing tail, dragged out longer than she thought, and she couldn’t see their face from here in the slightest. But…

“…C’n I at least come sit?”

Their voice was so much quieter now, and Rose hesitated for quite some time before just chuffing and inching over as much as she dared, with her aching body. She barely had to wait, before their weight sunk into the area she had just vacated.

Their voice was a little more emboldened as they spoke again. “C’n I put my hand on y’r shoulder?”

Another pause, but one followed by another chuff. (She knew them from somewhere and this felt right even if the touch made her twitch before she could think about it—)

They waited a few moments, keeping their hand where it was on her shoulderblade, but spoke again. “Rose…? I’ll kill th’ bastards tha’ did this t'ye…”

The venomous intensity of it left the longer, rougher fur on the back of her neck rising. (That tone sounded so much like the tall one’s that she immediately disliked it.) Still, she shuffled over a few ilms more, until her side was just touching the Hyur. “No.” She didn’t want them to go. Things were strange around them and she wasn’t sure she liked it, but she didn’t want them to go. And she definitely didn’t want them going after the bad men because they’d do the same to them too. “No. Vrrrrr-ah stay.”

(The name was more a half-growl than a word, but she had still tried and she squeezed her eyes shut as she was immediately assaulted with her own confusion. Vira Vira Vira why did she know that how did she know that why did she want them to stay—?)

(But they had been kind where most were distant or too pushy. They knew her, didn’t they? She remembered flickers, just flickers, of bare skin in dim camplight and lips on hers and it made her head hurt fit to split but she grabbed at more more even as it fled from her focus once more.)

There was silence, though, out of the Hyur again. The fingertips on her shoulder trembled, and she momentarily worried that she had said something wrong. But their fingers curled lightly under their palm as they rested it more fully on her back—more easily, too, even if their voice was small as they spoke back. “‘Kay. I…I c’n do tha’. F’r now.”

(It was the best she could ask for, then.)

@lynxden

[orbemnews]

U.S. and Europe Move Closer to Truce in Trump-Era Trade Spat: Live Updates Here’s what you need to know: Working on a steel pipe at the Iron S.p.A. factory in Assisi, Italy. Former President Donald J. Trump’s administration imposed steel tariffs on several countries in 2018.Credit…Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times The United States and the European Union said Monday they had begun discussions to resolve a conflict over steel and aluminum imports that was a major front in the Trump administration’s trade wars and a serious burden on trans-Atlantic relations. As part of a truce announced Monday, the European Union will not, as planned, increase tariffs on products like United States whiskey, orange juice and motorcycles, which the bloc imposed in 2018 in retaliation for duties that the Trump administration imposed on European steel and aluminum. The higher tariffs were scheduled to take effect June 1. The talks about steel and aluminum are part of an effort by the Biden administration to rebuild relations between the United States and Europe after the Trump administration treated the bloc like an adversary, sometimes threatening to leave NATO and citing national security as a justification for charging 25 percent tariffs on imports of European steel and 10 percent on aluminum. In March, the United States and European Union temporarily suspended tariffs on billions of dollars of each others’ aircraft, wine, food and other products as they worked to settle a long-running dispute involving Boeing and Airbus, the two leading airplane manufacturers. The United States also temporarily suspended retaliatory tariffs against British products like Scotch whisky that had been imposed as part of the dispute over aircraft subsidies. Some European officials had hoped President Biden would simply lift the Trump-era tariffs, which are unpopular with businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. But the administration is moving cautiously and is likely to seek something in return, mindful that the tariffs are welcomed in steelmaking regions like Pennsylvania. In a joint statement, Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative; Gina M. Raimondo, the secretary of commerce; and Valdis Dombrovskis, the top European Union trade official, said they would discuss how to address a global glut in steel products that poses “a serious threat to the market-oriented E.U. and U.S. steel and aluminum industries and the workers in those industries.” The United States and European Union are “allies and partners, sharing similar national security interests as democratic, market economies,” the officials said, adding that they would work together to “hold countries like China that support trade-distorting policies to account.” It’s May 17 and it’s Tax Day, the deadline for filing your 2020 taxes. The Internal Revenue Service in March said that Americans who needed it could take extra time to file their taxes. That time has arrived. The one-month delay from the usual April deadline did not offer as much extra time as the I.R.S. gave people last year, when the filing deadline was pushed to July 15. But the aim was the same: to make it easier for taxpayers to get a handle on their finances — as well as tax changes that took effect this year with the signing of the American Rescue Plan. Still have questions? Here are some articles that might help. How the Pandemic Has Changed Your Taxes New rules for a new reality, from stimulus payments to retirement withdrawals to unemployment insurance, could cut your bill or even generate extra refunds. The Tax Filing Deadline Was Delayed, but Read the Fine Print The federal government and most states pushed back the date to May 17, but others have gone their own way. It’s a good idea to double-check deadlines. The Tax Headaches of Working Remotely “Each state has its own rules,” one tax expert says. So if you worked in a state other than your usual one in 2020, here are some tips on dealing with the tax season. For Gig Workers and Business Owners, Taxes Are Even Trickier Now Filing taxes has never been simple for freelancers and business owners, but the pandemic has made it far more complex. A Break for Working Families The government is allowing people who qualify for the earned-income tax credit to use income from either 2020 or 2019, whichever will result in a bigger credit. Ryanair, the Irish low-cost airline, said it has seen signs that a recovery in air travel and tourism “has already begun.”Credit…Albert Gea/Reuters U.S. stocks are expected to slip when trading begins on Monday and most European equity indexes were lower, reversing some of Friday’s rally. The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.3 percent, led lower by energy stocks. On Friday, the index climbed 1.2 percent. The S&P 500 was set to open about half a percentage point lower. The Wall Street benchmark rose on Friday, but the increase was not enough to reverse a decline of 1.4 percent for the week, when faster-than-expected inflation data rattled markets. Traders are watching inflation data closely because if it shows signs of a substantial and sustained rise central bank policymakers might pull back on monetary stimulus. Later on Monday, the Fed vice chair, Richard H. Clarida, is speaking. On Wednesday, the central bank will publish minutes of its April policy meeting. Stocks Discovery shares rose 17 percent in premarket trading after confirmation it would merge with AT&T’s media business, including the WarnerMedia assets, to create a new giant company. AT&T shares rose 3 percent. The FTSE 100 in Britain fell 0.4 percent even as England entered the next stage of its exit from lockdown. Indoor dining and hotels reopened as well as entertainment venues such as museums and cinemas. But an increase in the number of cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in India has raised concerns about the easing of restrictions. Ryanair shares rose 0.9 percent after the airline reported a loss of 815 million euros (or $991 million) in the year through March but said that it expected a “strong recovery” in air travel and tourism in the second half of this fiscal year. “The recent strong increases in weekly bookings since early April suggests that this recovery has already begun,” the earnings release said. Taiwan’s stock index dropped 3 percent as the island battles its worst coronavirus outbreak. Its government imposed tougher restrictions, including closing cinemas and limiting the size of gatherings, and encouraged people not to panic buy essentials. Elsewhere in markets Oil prices rose slightly. The West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose 0.3 percent to $65.58 a barrel. Bitcoin fell to about $45,000 on Monday morning, though it recovered some of its losses from the weekend after Elon Musk said Tesla hadn’t sold any Bitcoin. The electric carmaker bought $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency earlier this year but Mr. Musk recently suspended plans to accept Bitcoin for car payments. The paper’s conclusions suggest that economic programs embraced by President Biden may be useful in raising wages.Credit…Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times Two economists at the liberal Economic Policy Institute conclude in a new paper that the government is to blame for the fact that pay for middle-income workers has increased only slightly since the 1970s. “Intentional policy decisions (either of commission or omission) have generated wage suppression,” write Lawrence Mishel and Josh Bivens. Included among these decisions are policymakers’ willingness to tolerate high unemployment and to let employers fight unions aggressively, trade deals that force workers to compete with low-paid labor abroad and the tacit or explicit blessing of new legal arrangements, like employment contracts that make it harder for workers to seek new jobs. Dr. Mishel and Dr. Bivens argue that a decades-long loss of leverage largely explains the gap between the pay increases that workers would have received had they benefited fully from rising productivity, and the smaller wage and benefit increases that workers actually received, Noam Scheiber reports for The New York Times. Drawing on existing measures of the relationship between unemployment and wages, Dr. Mishel and Dr. Bivens estimate that excess unemployment lowered wages by about 10 percent since the 1970s, explaining nearly one-quarter of the gap between wages and productivity growth. They perform similar calculations for other factors that undermined workers’ bargaining power: the decline of unions; a succession of trade deals with low-wage countries; and increasingly common arrangements like “fissuring,” in which companies outsource work to lower-paying firms, and noncompete clauses in employment contracts, which make it hard for workers to leave for a competitor. Together, Dr. Mishel and Dr. Bivens conclude, these factors explain more than three-quarters of the gap between the typical worker’s actual increases in compensation and their expected increases, given the productivity gains. Source link Orbem News #Closer #Europe #Live #move #spat #Trade #Truce #Trumpera #Updates

[betweenpaperpages]

Hear Me Still - Chapter Three

A new store-front is set to open on main street in Storybrooke and with it brings new resident Mr. Gold to the center of attention. While he looks forward to this new step in business, it is yet unknown if his deafness will set him back once again.

Beta: @ishtarelisheba

Read on AO3!

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two]

Chapter Three: Shut Down to A Whisper

A vintage apothecary case sat on the glass counter in front of Marcus. The cherry wood had been brought back to a gleaming shine while each hinge and drawer and been carefully revived to working order.

It was certainly a piece that Marcus had pride in. However, parting with the item wasn’t what left him standing opposite the pharmacist looking baffled.

Mr. Clark, the towns ironically, chronically ill pharmacist, sneezed once again where he stood in the shop.

Had that been sneeze number six or seven? His eyes shifted over to Jefferson who was speaking with a young woman with long black hair pulled back in two intricate ponytails, seemingly discussing a sword on the counter between them.

“I - I need to - t-t-o-o-o-” Mr. Clark sneezed into his handkerchief once again.

Marcus’ eyes darted over to Jefferson once again, his breathing picking up in speed, his thumb and forefingers rubbing together as he tired to calm his rising anxiety.

“Bless you!” Jefferson called, walking over to stand at Marcus’ side. He grinned as he leaned his forearm on his shorter friend casually. “Maybe you should talk to Dr. Whale about that, hmm?”

Mr. Clark tucked away his handkerchief as he nodded. “Yes well -- “

“Oh! Are you snagging up this piece?” Jefferson questioned, pulling away from Marcus. “ I had a friend with his eye on it for a while when it was listed online. He’s going to be disappointed to hear someone beat him to it!”

Jefferson reached out to snag the tag off the antique, gesturing towards the other counter. “Let me get you rung up.”

Mr. Clark nodded wordlessly and followed him over to the register without a word of protest, leaving Mr. Gold to his own devices.

xxxxx

The rest of the morning had gone fairly smoothly after that. The customers had adored Grace along with her baked goods. It really had added to the ‘small town’ atmosphere in just the right way.

While he wouldn’t consider it a booming success, he wouldn’t call it a failure either. The traffic of the town folk was steady throughout the day, all curious about the new shop and to see its wears. By the end of the day the shop had done fairly well with sales, as Marcus predicted, the smaller items were in larger demand. However, a first time customer could turn into a long-term customer, and with items being added on a weekly basis they would return.

With Jefferson and Grace at his side he was able to navigate the trickier tricker parts of communication with customers. Although Jeff shot him a look when he refused to sign while one was in the room. He had a feeling they would have a discussion about that later on.

Grace had even offered up helpful hints as to what each person had hobbies and interests in. When asked why she knew such details, she simply chalked it up to being a spy. The idea of little Grace dressed all in black being lowered from the ceiling of the National Museum of Natural History in order to steal the Hope Diamond only added to the humor of the idea.

The pair of them had been a dream team and Marcus couldn’t complain when it came time to get Grace home and fed dinner. He gave them both a tight hug before waving them off, promising that he would be home after the shop closed for the night.  

Marcus had sat down in the back for a short break after making a cup of tea when the high-pitched ringing of the bell above the door caught his attention. The sound was within his hearing rage, even without his hearing aids, so he had opted not to get an alert and notification system.

With a sigh he set his cup aside on the desk knowing it would end up ice cold and untouched, quickly heading out to the sales floor to greet the customer.

“Good —”

Marcus stopped short of his greeting as his eyes landed on the petite brunette that was currently browsing the shop. She didn’t seem to have heard him as she was absorbed in studying the objects and art throughout the shop.

Her chestnut brown curls framed her face as they cascaded over her shoulders, standing out in contrast against the light gray cardigan, layered over a floral blouse. The top was tucked neatly into a pleated black box skirt and while tights hid her shapely legs they lead down to a pair of tall stilettos.  

He opened his mouth again to speak just as her focus shifted, her gaze landing on him, finally picking up on the fact someone else was in the room.

“Hello!” she greeted, her smile large and warm.

Marcus was hopeless in doing anything but returning it in kind, his cheeks burning in embarrassment as he glanced away for a moment. He hadn’t meant to stare, but nodded in reply to her greeting.

“I saw your hours posted outside but I didn’t have a chance to come by earlier. You just opened today, right?”

He moved a tad closer to the woman, standing behind the counter as he lowered his gaze to her lips. She had a warm and rich accent with vowels that were just a bit to wide and open to catch everything she said clearly.

A nod seemed to satisfy her when he caught on to a few words, reaching behind his right ear to turn up the volume on the hearing aid, careful not to expose it from under his shaggy hair.

“I’ve only been here a couple minutes and it's already like I’ve taken a trip around the world! You have so many things here, there must be so many stories behind all if it.” Her lips spread into a smile with a light giggle following them.

“I’m Belle, by the way. Belle French.” She offered out her hand across the counter for him to accept, shaking his in turn. “You must be Mr. Gold. I run the library across the street.”

Marcus looked up to her eyes to make contact, finding the various shades and hues of glittering blue in them impossible to describe. He only had a moment to take them in before his attention dropped back to her lips, doing his best to read them; trying and failing not to notice how soft they looked.

“Do you collect all of this yourself? How far do you travel for your work?” Belle questioned, walking down the length of the counter, her fingers lightly ghosting over a few items on display. “Must have taken you a lifetime to bring all of this together…”

Belle stopped to observe a rather intricately detailed gold-metal clock that sat on the counter, steadily ticking as it tracked the minutes and hours across its face. With the hands reading downwards to display that it was five thirty-seven, it offered the appearance of a mustache.

“This is French, is it not?” she questioned, looking over her shoulder.

Marcus’ brows furrowed together until he caught onto the word ‘French’ and offered a nod of confirmation. Her warm voice was enjoyable to listen to yet her Australian accent threw not only his hearing off, but his lip-reading as well.

All accents caused people to have unique vocalizations but also different mouth positions when speaking… and reading an Australian accent was not something he had much practice with.

“France is on my list of places to travel,” Belle explained, “considering its my namesake it seemed an obvious country to visit.” She looked back to the timepiece, reading the hands once again.

“Oh shoot! I am so sorry, Mr. Gold! I wasn’t paying attention to the time at all, I’ve kept you past closing time.” Belle adjusted the strap of her purse where it was hanging on her shoulder before offering him another smile, heading towards the door.

His eyes flicked up across her face to read her expression only to be drawn back to her mouth, finding that it shared the same delighted look as the rest her.

“Looks like I’ll have to add your shop to my travel plans as well,” she noted with a chuckle. “It’s a great deal closer than France. Have a good evening, Mr. Gold.” Belle waved before she stepped out of the shop, the door closing behind her.

Marcus released a long breath that he hadn’t known he was holding, allowing himself to be in the moment to decompress the whirlwind that was Belle French.

Out of everything that Marcus had predicted to happen that day, one or two of them had come true; being left breathless and dumbfounded had not been one of them.

Chapter Notes:

An alert and notification system is typical a visual system (via the use of lights) to notify a deaf individual about an event or action. Most commonly these are set up as doorbells and fire alarms, but have also expanded into baby monitors, telephones, and other safety features.)

[81scorp]

My top 9 movies of 2019

Originally posted on Deviantart Jan 26, 2020)

Hey kids! Its that time again, when I talk about the movies I`ve seen in the cinema and rank them according to my own personal taste and bias. Why 9? Because I`m not a professional filmcritic who has time to see most of the movies that came out this year and sometimes other duties got in the way. So I only had time to see 9 movies in the cinema. And yes, two of these movies came out 2018, but they didn`t come to cinemas in my country until 2019, so they still belong on this list. M`kay? M`kay.

9: Destroyer (2018) Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman), a former undercover police officer arrives on the scene of a John Doe murder and informs them that she knows the identity of the murderer. The victim is a man from her past.Raw. That`s the simplest way to describe this movie. This is a crime movie, a type of movie genre that has a very broad appeal but it is also very unstylized, it`s the kind of movie that Michael Bay wouldn`t do.I have to admit that the biggest reason I saw this movie was because I wanted to see a film festival movie (I usually don`t go to film festivals.) and because it was highly praised by critics. Probably mostly because Nicole Kidman plays a character very different from the kind of characters she usually plays. She`s not even wearing glamorous make up, that`s when you know that an actress means serious business! Jokes aside, Kidman delivers a good performance. It also had a little twist at the end that took me by surprize. It`s a kind of movie that is easy to praise but hard to recommend. In some places it may be a little to raw for it`s own good, like a scene where Erin does something R rated on a bedridden former criminal in exchange for information. Still a good movie and I`m glad I saw it.

8: Alita: Battle Angel Dyson Ido, a White man with a japanese surname finds a female cyborg warrior in a junkyard with amnesia. Hijinks ensue. I feel bad putting it this low on the list, I wish I could have placed it higher but I also wish that it could have been better. Too many ideas squeezed into a movie not long enough to give these ideas enough room to stretch their legs and develop properly. It feels very sequel begging, is burdened by it`s high ambitions and Christoph Waltz`s character is stuck with a lot of expositional dialogue. On the other hand, Rosa Salazar delivers a good performance and the CGI on Alita is impressive. It takes a risk and commits to what it does and that is admirable. Who knew that you could make a good live-action manga adaptation by not pissing all over the source material? Even if it has some irritating flaws that a competent screenwriter could`ve avoided, I would like to see this get a sequel.Let`s hope that this is not a swansong.

7: Captain Marvel A digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson finds a female warrior from space with amnesia. Hijinks ensue. Standard MCU movie quality. It`s not better or worse than the average kind of MCU movie that we`re used to. This one was almost a tie with Alita, it gets a better spot because it has a better structure. It knows how and when to setup future sequels without intruding on the main story. 6: Ralph breaks the internet (2018) Unnecessary and necessary at the same time.Unnecessary in that the first one was such a self contained movie that said all that it could say and there really wasn`t much (if any) material left for a sequel. It felt like a believeable development for Ralph that he, after not having had a real friend for years, would be so possesive of Vanellope. But it feels like he got hit in the head with the dumb-dumb stick for the sake of the plot. His neediness could have started small and subtle in the beginning and then grow bigger and more noticeable as the story progressed. (There`s one scene in the first act that bugs me where Vanellope`s sad and Ralph could have been more empathic.) Necessary in that it has a good message about how friendship doesn`t have to end just because you live further away from each other. The princess scene was still funny even after Disney had shown almost all of it in the trailers. Personally I like this movie. I have a weak spot for movies that gives me the feels and this movie gave that to me in a scene where I felt it was earned. It`s good but not as good as it`s predecessor.

5: Shazam! Funny and silly in the right places and serious when it needs to be. An inellectual property, known for being silly, combined with the style of a director known for making horror movies creates an interesting result. This is how I wish the Superman movies from the 1980`s could have been. It has jokes in it like they did, but it also has heart. Heck, part of me wishes that Man of Steel could have been more like this. Casting Zachary Levi in the title role was a smart move, he knows how to balance comedy and heart. Glad it made money but it could probably have made more if Avengers: Endgame hadn`t come out so soon after it. 4: Missing link Sir Lionel Frost, a struggling investigator of mythical creatures comes in contact with a lone sasquatch who wants to find more of his own kind. Like Alita: Battle Angel I wish that this could have done better at the box office but unlike Alita I don`t wish that this movie was better, because it is already really good.(Maybe not quite as good as Coraline or Kubo and the two strings, but still.) And thats the tragedy of this movie, great quality but seen by very few people. Maybe someone should have started the Missing link challenge.At least it won a Golden globe for best animated feature. That`s always something. 3: Avengers: Endgame Avengers 4, or as I like to call it: Avengers 3 part 2. The impressive juggling act continues, now with time travel! Why not? they`ve had viking gods, shrinking superheroes and talking racoons in space, it was only a matter of time before they got to time travels.This time the impressive juggling act is much less about the number of characters and more about how the movie uses the time travelling to affect the characters and their inner journeys while also escalating the conflict in a way that feels natural. All leading to a satisifying, climactic third act battle. You did good Marvel, you did good.You can rest now Tony. 2: Frozen 2 The first Frozen felt (not unlike Wreck-it Ralph) like a self contained story that didn`t need a sequel. But unlike Ralph breaks the internet I was more welcoming to the idea of a sequel to Frozen. Why? Because when Frozen was made it had a very hectic production and there are traces of that in the finished movie. I felt that it could have been better. Now, the message is great but it`s narrative flow suffered. This time they had more time to make their movie. Personally I like it... a little bit more than the first one. Wouldn`t call it better than the first one but I wouldn`t call it worse either. On one hand it adds more material to a finished, self contained story, like in Ralph breaks the internet. On the other hand it does one thing better than the first Frozen: it saves it`s best part for second last instead of peaking in the first act, and "The next right thing" is a much better eleven o`clock number than "Fixer upper". Like it`s predecessor it`s stronger in the music department than in the story department. And like I`ve mentioned earlier, feels are my Kryptonite and this movie gave me the feels in a scene where it felt earned. And now, drumroll please, my number one pick for 2019 iiis... 1: The Lego movie 2: The second part Unapologetically silly in the best way possible. It really takes advantage of being a movie about toys that you can take apart and rebuild. Yes, it didn´t have that wow factor that the first one had with that twist at the end, but personally I didn`t expect it to be more twistier than the first one or even have a twist at all. At least not a big one.So, why is it so high on this list? 1: Because feels. 2: Because in the sea of jokes, silliness and a song that`s really gonna get stuck inside your head there was one character who added a little extra depth to a film based on a toy. Rex Dangervest, the "Cool guy" who shows up in the story is like a dark reflection of Emmet. He is the image that small boys and insecure, adolescent guys have in their heads of what type of person they should aspire to be. Rex says something about toxic masculinity and superficial maturity. Better than the first one? Debatable. As good as the first one? Maybe but certainly not worse. You can still feel the passion in the finished movie.

Maybe not as impressive as Moana or Coco, finding a clear winner this year was a little trickier than previous years, then again, since I only saw 9 movies this year I most likely missed out on a few gems. Maybe the winner in next years list will be easier to pick. And that`s my list, feel free to disagree.