#Desert Dreams Wall Art Collection

[aurora--sky]

🎄DECK THE MODS - December 20, 2024✨ | Polskie Tłumaczenie

Tłumaczenie 🎄DECK THE MODS - December 20, 2024✨ ➝ data tłumaczenia: 27.12.2024

Tłumaczenie trzeciego (20.12.) wydania Deck The Mods! od @imtashamonet. To wydanie zawiera:

Trzy nowe poduszki 🎨 Dodaj odrobinę przytulnego komfortu do domów Twoich Simów!

Kolekcja sztuki ściennej „Marzenia o pustyni” 🌵 Przenieś piękno krajobrazu pustyni na swoje ściany.

Kolekcja farb ściennych i tapet „Geometria Ziemi” 🌿 Świeże, nowe wzory i kolory inspirowane żywiołami.

tłumaczenie nie będzie działało bez moda

tłumaczenie należy włożyć do folderu z modem

➝ zgłoś błędy przez formularz lub ask ➝ gdy tłumaczenie nie działa ➝ lista moich tłumaczeń ➝ co aktualnie tłumaczę/aktualizuję ➝ tou ➝ kup mi kawę

📂 POBIERANIE 📂

Throw Pillow Collections - SIMFILESHARE Desert Dreams Wall Art Collection - SIMFILESHARE Earthen Geometry Wall Collection - SIMFILESHARE

[premiumbitch]

UNIQUE HOBBY IDEAS TO SCRIPT ٠ ࣪⭑

(inspired by @deminetly <3)

ART & DESIGN:

Textile sculpting – Shaping fabric and fibers into intricate art pieces.

Making artisanal perfume – Experimenting with essential oils and rare scents.

Cyanotype printing – Creating blue-tinted prints with sunlight and special chemicals.

Hand-painted book edges – Adding hidden designs to the sides of books.

Architectural sketching – Drawing detailed blueprints of imaginary or real places.

Reverse glass painting – Painting images on the backside of clear glass panels.

Making mini dioramas – Crafting tiny, realistic scenes in boxes or jars.

Creating art with unconventional materials – Coffee stains, pressed flowers, or even rust.

Wax seal crafting – Designing and making custom wax seals for letters.

Weaving tapestries – Using a loom to create textile wall art.

Handmade paper-making – Recycling scraps to craft textured, unique paper.

SPORTS & MOVEMENT:

Aerial hoop (Lyra) – Performing acrobatics on a suspended steel ring.

Extreme pogo-sticking – High jumps, flips, and tricks on a pogo stick.

Sandboarding – Surfing down dunes in the desert.

Equestrian vaulting – Gymnastics and dance moves performed on a moving horse.

Ice sailing – Gliding across frozen lakes with a sail-equipped sled.

Underwater hockey – Playing a sport with a weighted puck at the bottom of a pool.

Capoeira – A blend of martial arts, dance, and acrobatics with Brazilian origins.

Jump rope tricks – Learning advanced freestyle or double Dutch techniques.

Parkour with wheelchairs – An adaptive and extreme sport variation.

Rock balancing – Stacking stones into gravity-defying formations.

Slingshot shooting – Precision aiming with handmade slingshots.

MUSIC & SOUND:

Sound design – Creating custom sounds for games or movies.

Synthesizer programming – Tweaking electronic sounds with analog or digital synths.

Composing soundscapes – Designing immersive ambient music inspired by nature or emotions.

Learning overtone singing – Producing two vocal notes at once.

Sampling old vinyl records – Finding unique loops and beats for music production.

Conducting – Studying orchestral directing and leading musical performances.

Building DIY instruments – Creating unique sounds with handmade tools.

Music visualizations – Designing interactive graphics that react to sound.

Throat singing – Practicing Tuvan or Mongolian singing techniques.

TECH & STRATEGY:

Glitch art creation – Manipulating digital images into trippy visuals.

3D printing miniatures – Designing and printing tiny sculptures or models.

Algorithmic art – Generating visuals using coding and AI.

DIY prosthetics – Learning how to create custom limb enhancements.

Rube Goldberg machines – Designing absurdly complex chain-reaction machines.

Building battle robots – Engineering small, remote-controlled combat machines.

Soldering & circuit building – Creating tech-based DIY projects.

Urban survival skills – Learning how to live off the grid in a city.

Brainwave hacking – Experimenting with binaural beats and neurofeedback.

Playing ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) – Solving mystery games that blend real life with fiction.

NATURE & OUTDOORS:

Foraging & wildcrafting – Finding edible plants and making herbal remedies.

Cave exploration (spelunking) – Navigating through underground tunnels.

Mushroom cultivation – Growing rare and exotic fungi.

Aquascaping – Designing mini underwater landscapes in aquariums.

Bee-keeping for urban areas – Raising pollinators in city environments.

Tree shaping (Arborsculpture) – Training trees to grow into artistic designs.

Tidepool exploration – Studying the tiny creatures left behind by ocean tides.

Fire-making with primitive tools – Learning ancient survival techniques.

Creating miniature greenhouses – Designing tiny glass ecosystems.

Meteorite collecting – Searching for and identifying fallen space rocks.

MIND & STRATEGY:

Lucid dreaming training – Learning how to control your dreams.

Deciphering ancient scripts – Studying and attempting to read extinct languages.

Memory palaces – Training your brain to store and recall vast amounts of information.

Speedcubing – Solving Rubik’s cubes and other puzzles in record time.

Origami tessellations – Advanced geometric folding patterns.

Cryptography – Learning to encode and decode secret messages.

Art of persuasion (Rhetoric) – Mastering the craft of convincing others.

Studying microexpressions – Understanding unspoken emotions through facial movements.

Learning uncommon board games – Mastering strategy-heavy games like Go or Shogi.

Shadowgraphy (hand shadow puppetry) – Creating elaborate shapes using only hands and light.

MISCELLANEOUS & FUN:

Faux stained glass making – Using resin or colored glue to create window art.

Bookbinding – Crafting and restoring old books by hand.

Designing labyrinths & mazes – Drawing or physically building intricate pathways.

Taxidermy art – Preserving and artistically displaying specimens.

Guerilla art installations – Secretly placing meaningful art in public spaces.

Mechanical puzzle design – Creating mind-bending, interlocking objects.

Marionette puppetry – Crafting and performing with handcrafted puppets.

Underwater basket weaving – Yes, it’s real and requires immense skill.

Historical reenactments – Dressing and acting as figures from the past.

Creating custom tarot decks – Designing personalized cards with unique meanings.

Hosting secret dinner parties – Themed, invite-only underground gatherings.

Tattoo machine building – Constructing professional-grade tattoo guns.

Dumpster diving for art materials – Repurposing found objects into creative pieces.

Experimental baking – Making desserts with unconventional ingredients or methods.

Practicing hand lettering – Designing artistic and aesthetic text styles.

[simstorian-blog]

Residential Floorplan Suggestions

New York City: TWO

(CC List + Links)

World Map: San Myshuno

Area: Spice Market – Waterside Warble

Lot Size:  30 x 30

Capacity:

A Dive Bar

An Internet Café

A Pizzeria

A Tattoo Parlor

Bonus: 6 residential rental units floorplans completed – not assigned

Gallery ID: Simstorian-ish

Packs Needed

Expansion Packs

Cats & Dogs

City Living

Discover University

For Rent

Get Together

Get To Work

Growing Together

High School Years

Horse Ranch

Snowy Escape

Game Packs

Dine Out

Dream Home Decorator

Jungle Adventure

Outdoor Retreat

Parenthood

Spa Day

Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

Strangerville

Vampires

Stuff Packs

Crystal Creations

Home chef Hustle

Laundry Day

Moschino

Kits

Castle Estate

Courtyard Oasis

Cozy Bistro

Desert Luxe

Recommended Gameplay Mods

(Please read through what each mod has to offer before deciding if it fits your gameplay style or not.)

Carl’s Dine Out Reloaded

City Vibes Lot Traits

Functional Tattoo Parlor

Functional Venue Lot Traits

Lock/Unlock Doors for Any Lot

Spawn Refresh

Use Residential Rentals shared areas as Community Lots & Create Multi-Purpose Community Lots

Build Mode

CharlyPancakes

Chalk Pt.2 (Tiles)

Felixandre

Chateau Pt. 1 (Stone Foundation)

Chateau Pt. 2 (Doors, Metal Pieces, Tiles, Walls)

Colonial Pt. 3 (Fence 2, Plaster Foundation 2, Railing 2)

Florence Pt. 1 (Fresco Mural)

Grove Pt. 4 (Plaster Column, Plaster Floor)

London Interior (Dining Chair, Stool, Walls)

Paris (Cartouche Large, Corbel, Swag)

Schwerin (Terracotta Female)

SOHO Pt. 2

SOHO Pt. 3

SOHO Pt. 4

Harrie

Brownstone Pt. 2 (Traditional Door Frame – Med, Traditional Door – Med, Traditional Window 2 - Med)

Coastal Pt. 2 (Column)

Klean Pt. 3 (Concrete Floor, Painted Walls)

Kwatei Pt. 1 (3x1 BiFold, Double Arch, Single Interior Door)

Mutske

Stairs Add-on

Lijoue

Louer Collection (Iron Fence, Railing, Stone Stairs)

Peacemaker

Bistro Expanded (Awning 1x1)

Graffiti Mural 01

Pierisim

Winter Garden Pt. 2 (Double Door High, High Window w Bottom x2)

Sooky88

Checkered Marble Floor

English Country Wall Set (Subway Tiles, Subway Tiles w Wallpaper)

Scandinavian Wall Set (Plain w Tiles)

Syboubou

Neighborly 1 (Ceiling Outdoor Light, Mailbox)

Neighborly 2 (Interphone)

Buy Mode

AroundTheSims4

Laundromat (Seating x3 – Metal Base)

Tattoo Parlor (First Aid Kits, Gloves, Ink, Ink Display, Light, Saddle Stool, Tattoo Gun)

Cepzid

Functional Tattoo Chair

Felixandre

Berlin Pt. 1 (Curtain – Tall)

SOHO Pt. 1

Harlix

Baysic (Coffee Table, container, End Table, Kitchen Cabinet, Kitchen Counter, Kitchen Island, Kitchen Sink, Kitchen Trolley, Kitchen Accent Counter 1-3, Sofa)

Jardane (Leather Pouffe)

Kichen (Cabinet, Cups, Glasses, Plant, Shelf)

Kichen 2.0 Pt. 2 (Glasses 2 & 4)

Harrie

Shop The Look 1 (Armchair, Coffee Table)

Shop The Look 2 (Ceramic Side Table)

Shop The Look 3 (Circular Cushion)

Spoons Pt. 2 (2 Tile Glass Pedastal- Short & Tall, Counters, Espresso Bar, Island, Pastry Platter, Pizza Board, Shelving)

Kiwisims4

Blockhouse Dining (Booth Seating)

KKB

The Chilling Home (Module Bar Stool)

LittlleDica

Greasy Foods (Napkins, Salt Shaker, Stalls Door, Stalls Wall, Vents, Wet Floor Sign)

Modern Kitchen Stuff (Soft Breeze)

Rise & Grind (Décor Mural 2, Décor Syrup Bottle, Décor Wall Painting Menu, Dining Tables – All, Wastebun Counter)

Max20

Happily Ever After (Sign of Attention)

NANDO

Fashion Store (Ceiling Lamp)

Pierisim

Coldbrew Coffee Shop Pt. 3 (Menu, Paper Cup, Tea Box, Tips Jar)

MCM Pt. 1 (Simstudio Display)

MCM Pt. 4 (Kitchen Island)

Ravasheen

Shake and Shimmy Dance Floor

Shop Chef (Drink Dispenser)

Severinka

Industrial Light II

Simkoos

Clutter Dump Pt. 2  (Boba Notepad, Boba Stacked Cups V1, Cafeteria Straw Dispenser)

SimspirationBuilds

Toffee Pt. 1 (Art)

Syboubou

Catherine Sushi Restaurant (Wall Shelf 1 & 3)

Contemporary Haven (Armchair, Artworks, End Table, Sofa 3P Left)

Macaron (Counter Display)

TaurusDesign

Lilith Chilling Area Pt. 1 (Bartender Kit, All Drinks, SulSul Sign)

Tuds

Cave (Panel Light 2 x 4)

IND 01

IND 03

Turn Couch

Wondymoon

Fraxinus AIO Computer (DL on Patreon)

DO NOT REUPLOAD MY LOTS.

DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

DO NOT PLACE BEHIND A PAYWALL.

Tray Files: DOWNLOAD

[fancyfeathers]

The Moon Will Sing (Yandere Rex Lapis/Zhongli x Goddesses!Reader) (Normalized Yandere AU) (Sneak Peek) (+Art)

A/N- the full fic may not be published for quite sometime, but if you wish to read it early let me know and you can be one of my (first) beta readers or you can let me know if you wanted to be added to the tag list for when the full fic gets published

(TW- kidnapping, restraints, extreme isolation, semi torture, dehydration, starvation, marking/body modification)

Inspired by this post

(Edit- the full fic has been published, read it here)

You sat on the hard cold ground, it felt like ice in here despite this cave being carved out by the lord of geo himself. Speaking of the lord of geo, you haven’t seen him since he locked you in here, how long has it been? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? You didn’t know anymore. Your clothing was tattered, you sat here half naked, and that was putting it nicely. You may not need to eat but it was still unpleasant not to, one of the cons of you choosing a mortal form.

That’s not the worse of it, you can forget that when you sleep, escaping to your dreams. The dreams are full of the days where you would lay in the field with your sister and watch over your people in their village. There is only one thing you can’t escape, the constant pain in your body, every time you move the searing pain that rips at your wrists ankles, even in your dreams you can escape that pain, it ruins the happiness you get from those memories. 

Chains…

Enchanted chains…

A special gift from Rex Lapis himself…

The chains linked around your wrists and ankles and attached to the floor of the cave. Sure they were long and if it was just that you would be able to pull yourself to the wall to have something to lay against, but it’s never that simple. Every time you move the chains surge geo energy into your body, it feels like you bones are shifting like tectonic plates during an earthquake. Even breathing hurts now, you wouldn’t be surprised if it was due to to the geo energy literally grinding most of your ribs to dust. A mortal would be dead by now, but not you, you just went through the same pain, and it never ended. You could only lay here, on your back, and stare at the same spot on the rock ceiling as dust and dirt collected on your body. But never any water, this place was bone dry, fitting for a place meant to hold the goddess of rain and moonlight.

Then there was the silence, it was maddening. The first few days, or maybe weeks, you sang to break the silence, keep your sanity, but most importantly fulfill your godly duties. But that was Celestia knows how long ago, you could only hope your sister was doing the best she could to watch over the day wherever she was now, because now you could only guess how violent the night has become in your absence. The night was already unsafe, but without the light of the moon, it was deadly.

A soft steps echoing in the cave snapped you out of your thoughts of simply reminding yourself to breathe in an out since it has become such a task. But now there was only one thought in your mind, after all this time he had finally come to see you again in this stone cage he made for you.  You could not even turn your head to look at him in fear that your neck would break from the pulses from the chain, nor could you give him one of your usual witty greetings due to your throat being as dry as sand in the Sumeru desert in summer from the lack of water or even moisture in this cave. 

You could only see him when he stood right beside your broken body, gazing down at you, but you were to weak to even make out the details of his face. He stared at you for a long time before kneeling down so that he could get a better look at your limp form. You could finally make out his expression, calm as ever, but it was unsettling for you to witness. He was ever so calm as he reached out his clawed hand and ran his finger along your cheek, collecting the dust that had landed on your skin. He looked at the dust on his fingers then back at you, like how you would treat a vase on the shelf you had forgotten to dust off. 

“Oh my dear…”

He sighed as he reached down with his hand to graze over your arm, down to the chain that was sealed to your wrist without a lock. Suddenly he gave it a pull which resulted in a bloodcurdling scream ripping from your throat as your felt the surge of geo energy surge from the chain into you arm and your bones began to rub against each other and snap like twigs. As he does this you can feel your arm rapidly repair itself and breaking it again as your limb begins to change, the skin turning black and where you could feel the surges, golden markings begin to form the same one the Geo Archon bares himself.

“It seems perhaps the punishment was too strong for the crime.”

[cha-melodius]

Thanks to @rmd-writes, @indomitable-love, and @three-drink-amy for the tags to share my winter/holiday-themed fics! I'll be reblogging a couple of these that have their own cover art over the coming weeks, but this is a good excuse to collect them all in one place! I have... quite a few, especially after last year lol.

Red, White & Royal Blue

The Spirit of Giving T, 2.3k; Neighbors AU, Henry pisses Alex off by signing up to make enchiladas at their co-op holiday party.

May Your New Years Dreams Come True T, 3.1k; Office AU, Henry and Alex participate in a competition to see who can bring the hottest date to the office NYE party.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

You Must Be A Christmas Tree (You Light Up The Room) T, 20k; Roommates AU, Napoleon agrees to be Illya's fake boyfriend for his design house's holiday party.

The Makings of a Perfect Christmastime T, 22k; 1960s non-spy AU, a screwball romantic comedy of errors based on the 1945 movie Christmas in Connecticut.

In the Morse Code of the Brake Lights T, 18k; Modern AU, Napoleon and Illya are strangers who share a rental car across the country (and fall in love) after their flights are canceled, feat. demisexual Illya.

A Home for the Holidays G, 1.3k; Canon-setting, Napoleon and Illya decorate a Christmas tree (well, Napoleon decorates, Illya complains).

Consider the Price to an Elf G, 3.1k; Modern AU, Napoleon looks after his boss's daughter and gets a crush on Illya the mall-Santa photography elf.

Another Christmas Song (This Time I’ll Sing Along) G, 2.8k; Neighbors AU, Napoleon is extremely crabby about carolers and Illya starts serenading him through the wall.

How’s About Cookin’ Something Up With Me? T, 4.3k; Teachers AU, Napoleon helps Illya bake cookies for the annual staff holiday party.

Lokius

Got My Love to Keep Me Warm G, 1.3k; Canon-setting, Loki and Mobius get temporarily stuck at a German Christmas market.

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel G, 1.9k; Office AU, Loki and Mobius flirt at the ugly holiday sweater-themed holiday party.

Cold Light M, 3.7k; Modern AU, Loki & Mobius' lives become inextricably entangled when they meet on a deserted Norwegian road (truly just a winter fic and not a holiday one, but I'm including it anyway).

Not sure who has holiday themed fics who hasn't done this, but tagging @clottedcreamfudge, @dumbpeachjuice, @cricketnationrise, @14carrotghoul, @celaestis1, @welcometololaland, @everwitch-magiks, @myheartalivewrites, @leaves-of-laurelin, @nicijones, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @mirilyawrites, @heytheredeann, and literally anyone else who has written a holiday or winter-themed fic of any kind, please share the love and tag me!

[cdr2002]

Mortal Kombat Odyssey Bio: Shujinko

Born in the village of Lianhua, Shujinko was raised hearing stories of the heroes of Earthrealm. The Thunder God Raiden, the Great Kung Lao, a warrior who the young boy deeply admired, and the living legend of his hometown, the Outworld martial arts master Bo’ Rai Cho.

An orphan, Shujinko was essentially raised by the community collectively, and would frequently ask to hear more of these stories from any adult willing.

He eagerly took in the tales of various battles against the forces of Outworld, and in particular, the sinister sorcerer Shang Tsung.

Shujinko admired the warriors of the Order of Light who trained in the village, dreaming of becoming a hero of Earthrealm like and defend his realm from those who would threaten it and the freedom of its people.

He shared this dream with many of his peers, including his best friend Apep. The lot of them would often play-act great battles in Earthrealm history, with Shujinko holding a particular fondness for assuming the role of the Great Kung Lao.

To pursue his goal, Shujinko volunteered to train in martial arts and self defense under Master Bo’ Rai Cho, deeply honored and excited to learn under the tutelage of his local hero, especially since Apep and many of his other friends were training with him.

However, despite his aspirations, Shujinko was restricted from leaving the high walls of his village. Lianhua, due to being a prominent place of residence for Bo’ Rai Cho, would occasionally fall victim to attacks by Outworld forces under order from the Emperor Shao Kahn to assassinate the fighting master as punishment for his desertion of the tyrant’s empire, and to put an end to his ability to train Earthrealm warriors.

Bo’ Rai Cho was more than capable of defending himself however, and with aid from the village’s guards, these attacking forces never managed to breach the gates. Occasionally the more stealthy assassin or spy would get through, but they would be swiftly sent running back to Outworld by Bo’ Rai Cho himself.

The villagers did their best not to live in fear, and and tried to inspire hope in the children. The attacks and the faith his elders had in him further drove Shujinko’s desire to become a hero.

But he could not go out into the world. He was too young. Bo’ Rai Cho felt that he wasn’t ready to go out into the world, not capable of defending himself against any threats he might face.

So the young Shujinko was stuck. He tried not to let it bother him, but it did get to him at times. He started to wonder if he would ever achieve his dreams.

One day, the answer came to him in a flash of light.

A glowing mystical orb named Damashi appeared beofre the 13 year old boy. He claimed to be an emissary of the Elder Gods, here to seek Shujinko’s aid for a grand quest that would take him across the realms to gather ancient artifacts known as the Kamidogu.

Though initially hesitant, Shujinko was overcome by the excitement, the recognition, the adventure, the possibilities.

Shujinko eagerly accepted, and to assist in his quest, he was granted the power to take on the skills and powers of other warriors and make them his own.

With this, he could achieve his dreams.

Author’s note: The full story of Shujinko’s adventure will be told in my upcoming story, Mortal Kombat: Odyssey Across the Realms, which you’ll be able to find on my fanfic.net: https://m.fanfiction.net/u/13042529/

I will make another post when the story officially starts.

Alternate colors

[imtashamonet]

🎄 DECK THE MODS Release #3! ✨

Hey everyone! Apologies for the late posting today - had to make some last minute changes (chronic procrastination strikes again 😅).

But we've got some lovely new build/buy CC for The Sims 4 today! Three new throw pillow collections to cozy up your spaces, the Desert Dreams wall art collection, and the Earthen Geometry wall paint & wallpaper set.

Available now on Ko-fi or Patreon (@imtashamonet)!

[s-lycopersicum]

multiples of 4^^

Of course!

4. what’s an inside joke you have with your family or friends?

This was a long time ago but, back in high school, me and a friend would refuse any requests with the cheapest, most obviously false excuses we could come up with, before immediately complying.

I think it all started when a teacher asked for something and he denied with "I can't feel my legs" as an excuse, whilst standing up. Afterwards, we were just trying to one up that one.

8. any reacquiring dreams?

Nothing specific, but I often dream of messaging people in that half asleep state, early in the morning. Waking up always start with the realization that "I did not type that out. My computer is turned of, my phone is to the side, and I don't have internet in my dreams."

For some reason, "my dreams don't have wifi" is what snaps me out of it every time.

12. what’s some good advice you want to share?

Oh, um... If you're trying to grow plants but aren't sure of how to water them, err on the side of underwatering. Most plants can more readily handle a drought over a flood. If you're still unsure and can afford two of them, try different watering schedules for each one and wait to see the results.

16. if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Um. I, uh, well... Anything? Ahaha... Maybe size and build... a bit smaller. and cuter.

20. favourite things about the night?

The night is cold, dark, and silent, and it brings you many sights, of the beautiful moon and the starry sky. Walking around the city at night can also be a strange experience, in a comforting way. You are physically alone in the deserted streets, but the lights in every window are a reminder of how surrounded with people you are, each with their on lives.

24. what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for?

Hm... Nothing big comes to mind right now. I'm certainly proud of some things I haven't done, but boasting about those seems a bit... uncouth.

28. do you collect anything?

Does the well-catalogued art of anime girls in my computer count? Okay, I lied a bit, it's not that well-catalogued...

32. how many tabs do you have open right now?

Only nine! I'm more of a "drag it to the bookmarks bar" type of person.

36. are you an open book or do you have walls up?

There are a few walls up, but I will talk about most things... If I'm asked first, that is.

40. any bad habits?

I've heard that a full cup of strong coffee on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is not Good For You, but skill issue tbh

[fishthegenderwitch]

Stuff I learned June 3-23

so I fell asleep earlier after posting about my scrushy crawlnut migraine times, and woke up a lil bit ago, still migrainily.

I took some Advil, Tylenol, water, and now I can tell you guys about the day I had. (Might be a contributing factor to a hurty brain. i took in a lot of information.)

Under the cut: what I learned today about the uses of kudzu (it evolved to be used plentifully by humans, which is why it grows so quickly and abundantly!), plastic upcycling, and the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland.

I learned a great deal about the uses of kudzu, in the process of educating a friend about it. Kudzu has been used as a form of erosion control and to enhance the soil. As a legume, it increases the nitrogen in the soil by a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It’s used in many food dishes, including as a jelly from the flowers (which apparently tastes like grape jelly), a starch, and a tea. The starch is flavoured as a summer drink in Vietnam, and used as a thickener like cornstarch.  Nearby bee colonies may forage on kudzu nectar during droughts as a last resort, producing a low-viscosity red or purple honey that tastes of grape jelly or bubblegum. (I want to try this so bad!) It’s used in traditional medicines, and has a lot of food nutrition. It’s used as a fibre for baskets. Clothing, and paper usage. Soap, lotions, and ethanol. It’s super duper useful. This was before I even got to work, I learned all this knowledge.

At work, a coworker rushed out of the donation centre to show us a book about the tour at the the Wieliczka Salt Mine in the town of Wieliczka, near Kraków in southern Poland. Holy heck you guys! The sculptures! The art carved directly into salt! The history! Never in my dreams would I have imagined that humans had created this as a thing, without being shown. I did not take photos of the book, but I will add them tomorrow when I’m back at work. There’s a historical tour of how the first miners mined the salt, the tools and structures for support they had, there’s a green lake! :D

THEN, there are the carvings and the grand halls and the tunnels. Finally, the WAYS that the salt erupts from the walls and surfaces: in stalactites, stalagmites, King’s Hair curls, crystals, and amazingly geometric shapes. When you think “salt mine”, most people think of the salt deserts in the US (or at least, the three customers in the store that I pestered to look at the book all said this.)

ADDITIONALLY, today I talked with a customer who comes in every weekend about cleaning up plastics from the Great Lakes. He’s a photographer, and doing a work right now based on that, so we discussed the uses of plastics as recycled/upcycled products, which I’d watched multiple videos on last night and in the morning. Brothers Make, a southern UK based business run by brothers Jonny and Matt, gather plastic trash from the beaches (and have it collected by friends and family) and turn it into furniture, jewelry, and useful tools.

“In 1950, 2.5 billion people produced 1.5 million tonnes of plastic. In 2016,  7 billion people produced over 320 million tonnes of plastic.

- sas.org.uk (2020)“

Their YouTube channel has a ton of videos on the things they’ve made along with the fascinating process of cleaning, shredding, melting and molding plastic, along with how you can do it at home!

[hmeweekly]

week 12

Research:

i.academic research

Malekpour, M., & Motamedi, S. (2021). The Liminal and the Surreal: The Space of Limbo and Dreams in Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 9(1), 320–345. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2021.342

By using these Freudian methods of investigation, surrealists were able to agree that somatic and organic stimuli contribute to the vivid causes of dreams, which in fact exhibit meaning beyond the sedative state (sleeping).

ii.creative practice

lullaby of uncle magritte（2016）by Michael Cheval

Surrealist artists seek to explore the unconscious mind as a way of creating art, resulting in dreamlike, sometimes bizarre imagery across endless mediums. The core of Surrealism is a focus on illustrating the mind’s deepest thoughts automatically when they surface. This thought process for creating art known as “automatism.”

iii.technique research

Bowker, D. (2013). Surreal Photography Creating the Impossible. Ilex Press/ Ivy Press.

hysical photographic techniques can be just as effective in producing an otherworldly, dreamlike image as hours spent in Photoshop. Photographer can use different lenses(fisheye and tilt-lift), filters, and exposure times(long exposure)— individually and in combination— to achieve a range of fascinating surreal effects.

Project Progress:

I suddenly think of a idea of adding more dynamics into my final part of lighting design to create more senses of surreal preposterous. It is about several red particles floating upwards and its motions interrupted by high-frequency flashes of white light. This dynamic is placed on two walls so audience can feel strong impact about noticing this when they’re focusing on scroll down blue and white light curtain in front.

Week 11

Class Reflection:

The treatment of audio endings was recognized.

Research:

i. academic research

Mønster, L. (2018). Dream Poems. The Surreal Conditions of Modernism. Humanities (Basel), 7(4), 112–. https://doi.org/10.3390/h7040112

As regards literature, psychoanalysis has especially influenced Surrealism, which is the modernist movement that has most strongly adopted the dream. Therefore, the concept of Surrealism is important in the discussion of the relationship between dream poems and reality. Significantly, the word Surrealism can be translated into ‘super realism’, which implies that the connection to reality is not denied; on the contrary, it is emphasized, but at another level. This is a level which, according to Freud, is often thought of as ‘under’, but is nevertheless said to be ‘over’ or ‘super’, and as a result of this metaphor alone, it holds a positive value. Breton’s first Surrealist manifesto of 1924 defined the term as follows: “Surrealism is based on the belief in the higher reality of certain forms of associations which, before Surrealism, remained unaffected, in the almighty dream and in the unintelligible play of thought” (Breton [1962] 1972, p. 36). Inspired by Freud’s interpretations of dreams, Surrealism explores and gives a voice to the subconscious. In Surrealism, poems and dreams unite as catalysts for what the Surrealists perceive as the authentic reality of the human being. Automatic writing and dream poems become key literary forms of expression in an art that denies a traditional realistic aesthetic, and instead requires that language adopt the mysterious and illogical character of the dream.

ii.creative practice

Philip C. Curtis; The Wanderers; 1960; oil on board; 17 15/16 x 33 7/16 in. (45.5 x 85 cm) Framed: 22 1/16 x 37 5/16 in. (56 x 94.7 cm); Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Virginia Ullman

A group of different scale people who wear colorful gowns are walking in various directions on the red desert. Surreal free spirit is shown by unusual body size and non-uniform formations. Blue-green sky and red ground provide a sense of wildness to audience.

iii. technique research

Sinclair, Jean-Luc. Principles of Game Audio and Sound Design : Sound Design and Audio Implementation for Interactive and Immersive Media, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020.

Delivery of stems is quite common and often expected when working with linear media. Stems are submixes of the audio by category such as music , dialog and sound effects. Stems make it convenient to make changes to the mix, such as replacing the dialog, without needing to revisit the entire mix. Having a separate music bounce also allows for more flexible and creative editing while working on the whole mix to picture. It also makes sense to structure our overall mix in terms of music, effects and dialog busses for ease of overall mixing. Rather than trying to mix all tracks at once, the mix ultimately comes down to a balance between the three submixes, allowing us to quickly change the relative balance between the major components of the mix.

week 10

Research:

i.Academic Research:

Hamer, R. D. (2023). Surreal space in René Magritte’s Le Blanc-Seing (1965). Journal of Vision (Charlottesville, Va.), 23(5), 8–8. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.23.5.8

The impossibility of surreal experiences is able to be created by utilizing the visual brain's prioritization of object integrity and continuity.

ii. Creative Practice

The Reckless Sleeper by Rene Magritte, 1927

By giving concrete form to the abstract notion of "dream" - the stone slabs in which the objects are embedded - Rene creates for the viewer a surreal image built on illogical connections. The depressing color palette awakens in the connoisseur a deep sense of confusion and unease.

iii. Technique Research:

Foot light is used especially when dancing kids are wearing hat on the stage in order to show their face expressions.

Project Progress:

Finished.

Week 9

Class Reflection:

Milestone Presentation. Darrin suggested me to link start clip of the music to its end as transition. Nik affirmed the application of blackout in the closing section.

Research:

i.Academic Research:

Surrealism: Key Concepts, edited by Krzysztof Fijalkowski, and Michael Richardson, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=4556595.

Surrealists developed their own philosophies of the dream, which include “The dream does not remind us of the past but of the future; surrealist works are souvenirs of the future” “Whereas images metamorphose in the space of the dream, events are magnetized in the temporality of wireless time, outside the linear course of history”.

ii. Creative Practice

Through Birds, Through Fire, But Not Through Glass by Yves Tanguy

It depicts Rock-like forms and a strange tower of balloon-shapes, wheel-spokes and stones are inhabiting this overcast dreamscape. “Inconsistent gravity emphasizes the unconscious surrealism in the painting. There is no logic in the gravity of the piece. Objects that shouldn’t be able to stand up are standing. Things stacked on other things which should have no value of balance somehow stay upright. ”(Chisham, 2014) In surreal painting, stuffs do not obey a same discipline. For example, this audio contains a lot of sound effects that point to a specific direction. But this orientation was not always delivered in my project.

iii. Technique Research

Surrealism: Theatre Conventions by Justin Cash

The plot and structure of a surreal experience could be designed as:

– avant-garde, experiemntal, unconventional

– antithesis of the realistic well-made play

– plays consisted of numerous quick scenes (similar to surrealist films with an “irrational juxtaposition of images” – Jerry Crawford)

– use of music and song

– deliberate abandonment of clarity, order and rational thought*

Project Progress

I remade the end of audio media as Darrin suggested and made a responding light animation for it (a solid blue insertion and its 0.4s release). I also lower the brightness of the 52s-58s part to let the effects more fierce-looking.

Week 8

Class Reflection: Known what to do in assignment three. Keep working on studying of the concept “Surreal”. Learn about using Powerdrill to extract and manage references. More reflections on project had been encouraged.

Research：

i.academic research

Art by Salvador Dali

surreal artwork is created when creator irrationally link objects ideas.

ii. Creative Practice

Swans Reflecting Elephants by Salvador Dali

The swans’ reflection in the lake is twisted into elephant to create double images and visual illusions which are out of rational cognition as surrealism to audience.

iii.Technique Research

Surrealism: Theatre Conventions by Justin Cash

This article states how surrealism is delivered in 3D space like a theater. Core stagecraft includes:

– vague scenery, often not specifically denoting a locale

– use of mask

– symbolism evident in scenery

– characters as puppets (non-human)

Project Progress:

I had finished and made some slightly adjustment for all the five minutes of my work this week, including some timeline proofreading to make the whole audio-visual experience smoother. I have noticed that some classmates felt boring of the middle section of my work in last week’s Capitol Theater test, so more dynamic shifts were edit into it.

Week 7

Class Reflection

Nik commended that my work was beautiful but possessive. Asymmetrical pattern of lighting design was also been recognized. Involve the whole threater as integrity to showcase lighting was also a good point to keep.

Darrin suggested me to reduce lighting area at the soothing rhythm section so a stronger contrast would make later. I took this advance and it worked well.

Research

i.Academic Research

R. Hemer, S. (2016). Emotions, senses, spaces : ethnographic engagements and intersections (S. R. Hemer & A. Dundon, Eds.). University of Adelaide Press. https://doi.org/10.20851/emotions

Anxious emotions can increase pain, weakness, and hopelessness; can even lead to suicide; can increase medical costs; and can disrupt patients' quality of life and therapeutic success.

However, there is no general agreement on the contributing biological or psychosocial basis of anxious emotion. “Possible explanations for the associations have been suggested, including a direct effect on neuro‐endocrinological and/or immunologic systems or an indirect effect via changes in behavior. Potential physiological pathways have been shown to contribute to the cross‐talk between AE and the development, progression, and control of cancer, including the sympathetic nervous system, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, stress hormones, cellular immunity, inflammation, angiogenesis, invasion, anoikis, and changes in gene expression, as well as telomere length and telomerase activity, which could interact with the tumor microenvironment to promote factors favoring tumor growth.28–30 The most likely biobehavioral mechanisms underlying the relationship between AE and survival include poor adherence to anticancer treatment, fewer social networks, and disruptions of circadian rhythms such as sleep/activity”

Medical methods to determine anxiety emotion include ultra‐short verbal questions, abnormal nutritional status valuation, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Distress Thermometer, and Psychological Distress Inventory.

ii.Creative Practice

The green lights follow the same rhythm and make repeated movements on the track, giving the viewer an assumption of inertia. The vocals then interrupt the repetitive electronic sounds and the lights change from a long green strip to a white mass, breaking the established assumptions to create a sense of awe.

iii.Technique Research

Descottes, H., & Ramos, C. E. (2011). Architectural lighting : designing with light and space (1st ed.). Princeton Architectural Press.

“Differing rhythmic densities of light have the capacity to link or fracture spaces in sequence. An abrupt change in density will solicit a jump or pause, while the continuity of related densities will encourage uniform movement and experience. Furthermore, densities of light can create a sense of either monotony or playfulness within a space. The redundant use of one fixture type or lighting condition can easily provoke boredom, but a variation of densities can enliven an otherwise mundane space.”

Use different rhythmic densities of light to create senses of either monotony or playfulness.

Project Progress

This week I had work through the 1min45s-2min58s of the audio clip. This piece was created using a sound-association method and adapted to take into account the audience's attention span and viewing position.

The last slow section of music is interrupted by an upbeat electronic sound like a phone ringing, and I arrange blue, purple, orange and yellow flicker presets for the left and right walls and adjust its period to 2 to indicate this insertion. This ringtone was repeated twice, the first time it was played in its entirety, but the second time it was interrupted as well. So, I set a 0.5 second release for the first segment and zeroed out the release for the second segment to differentiate.

For the next metal-like friction sound, I set the front ceiling to a silver wave effect for expression.

Next was a section of back to front like machine loaded stereo, I added blue and purple wave qualities to the walls on either side and changed the direction to forward. with the 0.1period loop, it was just right for the tempo of this electronic sound.

Because the previous lighting animation drew the audience's attention to the front of the theater, and this sound effect is articulated with the previous one, so I set the lighting animation after 2:15 to ProArch. Because this sound effect reminds me of laser rain, I set the lighting animation to a black+colored wave to simulate a light transparency flicker.

The electronic synthesized sound at the beginning of 2:21 was imagined by me as being in a cold-colored mechanical engineering, so I represented it with blue flicker animations on both sides of the wall.

The tapping sound inserted in the middle of the similar sound effect at both ends was very much like the sound of a heavy landing and was accompanied by a gradual upward movement of the sound position, so I imagined it as a person going up the stairs and made an orange horizontal bar to switch the lighting.

To hint to the viewer that the mutation is about to happen, I added a purple color to the lighting animation of the second similar sound effect to differentiate it from the first animation.

To match the sudden loud human hiss, I added color fast cuts of 0.2 and 0.3 seconds respectively to ProArch, while extinguishing the wall lights on both sides to draw the viewer's attention to the front.

Week 6

Class Reflection

I discussed about our Pharos Designer 2 drafts with some classmates. Some of them agreed that my chosen audio caused them feel anxious.

Research

i.Academic Research

Rohaeni Rohaeni, Fatma Hetami, & Bambang Purwanto. (2019). Anxiety and Defense Mechanism as A Means of Constructing Psychological Thriller in Hawkins’ “The Girl on The Train.” Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture, 8(1), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.15294/rainbow.v8i1.27917

“Anxiety will occur when an individual experiences an unconscious conflict or unpleasant situations. It relates to id, ego, and superego. When anxiety occurs, an individual automatically uses a defense mechanism to defend themselves against that anxiety.”

ii. Creative Practice

Miyazaki, H., & Suzuki, T. (2001). Spirited away. Studio Ghibli.

Wu, C.-I. (2016). Hayao Miyazaki’s Mythic Poetics: Experiencing the Narrative Persuasions in Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. Animation : an Interdisciplinary Journal, 11(2), 189–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746847716643777

By alienating the human parents into pigs, the director creates a strange adventure for the audience by enlarging the size of the characters in the anomalous world and contrasting them with the heroine.

iii.Technique Research

This video provides some interesting lighting color schemes.

Project Progress

I’d done 1:45 of the whole 5:27 audio. I use orange and red flicker to match the impatient friction sounds, and varying shades of blue wave to match the slow electronic sounds

Week 5

Class Reflection

The first class was ask to provide first project draft and professors would give feedback. I watched some of my classmates’ work and discussed with them. I decide audio choice of my project after the class.

The second class located at the Capitol Theater for students to test our drafts. The biggest most common problem of our works that exposed in this lesson was that low-saturation colors tend to be so close to white light that it doesn't perform well. Another problem that stood out in my work was the use of multiple lights that resulted in too much brightness throughout the theater, thus interrupting the immersive viewing experience for the audience.

Most audience agreed that the feeling of my work did not match with “astonishing” feeling. Some suggested “brutal” but the sound effects also make people giggle. “Black out” was advised to use more for separating scenes. The emotion of the piece was difficult to characterize until the overall production is complete.

reconsider word choice, such as strange/peculiar/dissonant/anxious/thrilling/fretful.

Research

i.Academic Research

Soloski, A. (2016). Neighborhood Watch in a Fretful South Bronx. The New York Times, C2–.

When “Fretful” is used to describe a performance, it points out that characters are suffering from some bothersome. Fretful feelings delivers by character’s teasing, scrapping, struggles and grievance. It is often related to anxiety and restlessness but not in a serious level.

ii. Creative Practice

Knowhere

Knowhere is a fictional city in Marvel related media. The location consists of intertwined mining machines and urban buildings that float through the universe, lacking flora, fauna, and land. I choose it as this week’s creative practice because it is highly mechanized which is very similar to my chosen audio.

The major light sources of its related scenes are ample orange and white spot lights that are embed on dark architectures. Foggy blue light is also used as background fill light. All the setting above make audience impressed by the city's massive size and highly developed.

iii. Technique Research

Schiller, B. (2020). Living the Lighting Life: A Guide to a Career in Entertainment Lighting. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429328787

Part IV The Creativity-24 Creative Inspiration

This chapter tells a method to start lighting design by getting inspired by nature. Replication in creative work may not be a direct recreation of the observed nature moment but emulating the feeling or pattern.

Project Progress

I’d done 48s Pharos Designer document of my chosen audio Rivage. Presets like “Wave” “Stroke” “Color” “Sparkle” were used to simulate fast switching of sound effects. Below is my week 5 Test.

After the draft test, I reduced the range of lighting in some sections, made sparkle part re-match with the sound effects and enhanced color contrast in the second flash section.

Week 4

Class Reflection

This week we went through the presentation. I aimed to do “astonishing” but my understanding was more like “surprise”. It’s not easy to create a 3-minute sound clip for a beginner so I decide to use existed music/sound.

Research

i.Academic Research

Sievers, B. R., & Wheatley, T. (2021). Rapid dissonant grunting, or, but why does music sound the way it does? The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 44, e111–e111. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X20001284

“…we propose that connections between sound, movement, and emotion are an additional source of functional fixedness. If one function of emotion is to bias agents toward context-appropriate action (Frijda, Kuipers, & Ter Schure, 1989), then the path from action predisposition to functional fixedness is short. If high-arousal states make characteristically low-arousal movement difficult (and vice versa), and if high-arousal movements produce sounds that distinguish them from low-arousal movements, then sounds should credibly signal both the movement that produced them and the sound producer's state of mind. Rapid dissonant grunting is, therefore, bad lullaby material – not because it fails to signal attention, proximity, or responsiveness, but because it signals that the caregiver is in a high-arousal state inappropriate for the context (e.g., bedtime).”

“Supporting this account, we have shown that music and movement share a dynamic structure, such that the same combinations of music and movement features express the same emotions across cultures (Sievers, Polansky, Casey, & Wheatley, 2013). Furthermore, harsh timbres and spiky movement contours (both quantified using the spectral centroid) are reliably used in the expression and perception of high-arousal emotion (Sievers, Lee, Haslett, & Wheatley, 2019). Interestingly, Filippi et al. (2017) have shown that harsh timbres are used to express high-arousal by many species of terrestrial vertebrate, suggesting the sound–emotion connection is evolutionarily ancient, fitting the proposed timeline of the credible signaling hypothesis.”

ii. Creative Practice

Light Painting by Janne Parviainen

Light Painting by Janne Parviainen

Helsinki-based artist Janne Parviainen creates these magical light paintings using a very long camera exposures. "Light painting and li

4RTGALLERY.BLOGSPOT.COM

"Light painting and light drawing are ways of photography where photo is manipulated with different kind of light sources while the camera is exposing on a long exposure time in a dark or lowly lit place. The idea of the light painting is that all photos should be straight from the camera, without any post editing such as Photoshop, etc."

Janne Parviainen chooses an abandoned mansion forest as his shooting location. He paints suspicious characters and skeletons with colored flashlights to prompt audience inquiry and speculation.

iii. Technique Research

Setting luminance differences between primary and secondary figures to highlight the major.

Project Progress

Finished the presentation part.

Week 3)

Class reflection

When sounds relate to haptic, play the specific sound will awaken skin’s memory of be touching (By interviewing noimpossible vest volunteers)

Research

i. academic research

Dobbins, Alison C. Projection Design for Theatre and Live Performance : Principles of Media Design. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.

Even though the book doesn't directly mention lighting design, but instead talks mostly about the differences between designing for film and theater, I still gained a lot of design knowledge from it. For example, The author suggests readers to start develop their works’ visual style by learning semiotics. In semiotics there are three types of signifiers: icon, index and symble. Among them, symbol requires audience to cultured lean about resemblance between signifiers and signified. As a designer of multisensory experience, my project must avoid “symbol” because it is against the principle of perception.

In addition, Dobbins also states that “theater is the eternal present.” “Creating motion in your workroom will feel very different from watching the same motion in the theatre.”

ii Creative Practice

Artist: Jeff Ravitz

Work: Lighting design for Bruce Springsteen’s performance(start from 2:06)

The color palettes of teal and orange shocked me at the start. Teal background looks ethereal and airy, orange spotlight on the singer looks warm and nostalgic. They are contradictory due to great gap between color temperature but luminous intensity make them so harmonious.

iii. Technical Research

Dunham, Richard E.. Stage Lighting Second Edition : The Fundamentals, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=5569457.

Movement and Light

“The period of time (or timing ) when one cue changes into another becomes a major component of a successful lighting design. This is called a transition and we commonly refer to each change between cues as a crossfade. If done poorly, this can be distracting; if done well, transitions play a major factor in enhancing the effectiveness of actors as they proceed toward the climax of a given scene.”

Project Progress

Delete the old plan and restart a new one because the previous one is more like a film score.

Week 2)

Reflection:

Visiting Capital Theater make me notice influence of blind spot to audience. Main capital animations concentrate on the first half of the showroom, within less important ancillary details at the back half may contributes better watching experience rather than light design that ask audience to turn their head backwards.

Research:

i.Academic research-Surprise as a Design Strategy by Ludden, Schifferstein&Hekkert

“The familiar element of the product forms the basis for an expectation about its other elements. Subsequently, the new element will disconfirm this expectation.”

ii.Creative practice

Anthony McCall. You and I - Horizontal II (2013)

McCall shows some of the rarer forms of light by varying the angle and speed of movement of the projector.

iii.Technical research

Lighting Techniques - Lighting Concepts - Design Lighting Distribution Sytem - e-light (uncg.edu)

Light effects from different emission angles.

Project progress:

/

Week 1)

Reflection:

Sound: Sound is defined as “Sensation due to stimulation of the auditory nerves and auditory centers of the brain” in Webster's dictionary. Therefore the meaning of a sound to a specific person depends on both their biological instinct and cultural symbol recognition. According to various pitches, durations, loudness and timbre, sound conducts scales of temporal, spatial and conceptual. 

Colour: Colour reflects both environmental signals and subjective emotions. In performance, colour can convey characters’ emotion, setting mood for the whole scene, guide audience attention to focus on specific people or stuff, establish time and places.

Kennen:To know something based on experience means that the audience skip logical inference and centre on their feelings only.

Research:

i.Academic research-Black on Black by Eugene Thacker

Through Eugene's introduction to black in the history of philosophy and art, I learnt that black can symbolise "before the origin of the universe", "solitude, privation, absence" and "non-interference". It's flat and full but an empty, infinite depth at the same time. Sometimes black is not pure emptiness, and as one observes black, shades of other colours become apparent.

I thought it might be possible to use these black qualities to create contrast in my performance design. For example, by playing an intense soundtrack when all the lights are extinguished to simulate a pure black environment, the viewer is prompted to think that a conflict is taking place on the other side of the room that is not being detected, creating a dual narrative effect.

ii.Creative practice

2:20-2:48

This is the beginning of a programme about Chinese artefacts, and I think it's exhilarating. Although it's only 20 seconds long, it undergoes three atmospheric shifts of seriousness-austere-aroused indignatio. At the beginning, the sound of horns and the transparency of white vertical beams shifting from top to bottom created a sense of formality; then the host appeared, and the sound of swords and blades clashing rang out, brightening the audience's eyes; finally, the long soprano tones of Chinese folk instruments were played, and the LED screen was dominated by red and yellow boxes, which signify Chinese traditional culture The LED screen is dominated by red and yellow boxes, which signify Chinese traditional culture, and the white light beams swing around the circle, and the whole atmosphere goes from climax to calmness.

iii.Technical research

I watched three Capital tutorial videos on Canvas so I know how to change background colour and manage timelines in Pharos Designer 2.

Project Progress

I started to write the background music of my project. The theme is about an encounter between two ancient Chinese armies, which takes place on a large plain with mudflats, reeds and small highlands. The music will use some Chinese folk instruments such as guzheng, flute, xiao, Chinese drums, etc., as well as some ambient sounds such as wind, streams, horses' hooves, cold weapons clashing, etc. The style of the music will be more on the side of the Chinese style, but also on the side of the Chinese style of music.

The style of music will be more astonishing, exhilarating and hysterical. At first, the tune is light-hearted and neither army is aware of the other's presence. Gradually, ambient sounds such as horses' hooves running on water, and reeds rubbing against armour appear, and the instruments (especially the lute) sound suspenseful to create the appearance of traces left by the enemy. Then the rhythm of the drums kicks in, and the atmosphere becomes serious as both commanders send out scouts to spy on the army.

[sixteenth-days]

From the Archives Masterpost: Updated AGAIN

so yeah it's been a BIT since i made a new masterpost, and there has been so much since then. so let's do this again from the top!

The art masterpost is now here, I had to put it in a Google Doc because it hit a limit for links.

THE MAIN FIC SERIES:

Test Recording: One, Two, Three: The newly hired Archivist familiarizes himself with his office.

The Statue Garden: Statement of Cleo, regarding a book of statuary.

Werewolf Games: Statement of Scott, regarding a camping trip and a disappearance.

End Condition: Statement of Scar, regarding his death.

Elephant's Foot: Statement of Zedaph(?), regarding a mousehole in the wall of his lab.

Stargazer: Statement of Pearl, regarding her dreams.

The Anniversary: Statement of Lizzie, regarding a wolf in the woods.

Blight: Statement of Shubble, regarding a disease in her family's crops.

The Not Deer: Statement of False, regarding the disappearance of her roommate, Gem.

The Joe Hills Podcast: Statement of Joe Hills, regarding his own backstory.

Slumber Party: Statement of the collected Archival staff, regarding a night spent in the Archives.

Supplemental: Moonsick: Supplemental audio to Slumber Party, recorded by Pearl, never archived.

The Art of Escape: Statement of Ivory, regarding an escape from solitary confinement.

Red Light, Green Light: Statement of Grian, regarding the deaths of twelve people in an incident that never happened.

Skittering Things: Statement of Stress, regarding a bug.

Assorted Supplemental Recordings: A collection of bonus recordings appended to formal statement files.

Research Questions: Statement of Impulse, regarding an encounter with the entity known as Zedaph.

Immersive Storytelling: Statement of Ren, regarding an ARG.

The Wastes: Statement of Cub, regarding a book of poetry.

Golden Eagle: Statement of HBomb, regarding the actions of his friend False during a group tag game.

Ornithology: Statement of Grian, regarding... feathers.

Supplemental: PTO: Supplemental audio to Ornithology, recorded by nobody in particular, never archived.

Camera Obscura: Statement of Martyn, regarding something that was watching him.

Concerns from the Academic Record of Mr. Tango Tek: Statement of a professor of architectural design, regarding his concerns about a particular student.

Freezing Point: Statement of Scott, regarding a problem with his house's heating.

Gelatinization: Statement of Jevin, regarding a cookbook.

The Vigil: Statement of an unknown traveler, regarding a monument in the desert.

The Vital Importance of a Good Night's Sleep: Statement of Bdubs, regarding his problems sleeping.

Deckbuilding Basics: Statement of unnamed, regarding an encounter with Beef, a trading card collector.

Ad Astra: Statement of Grian, regarding a visit to a certain library.

OTHER FICS NOT IN THE MAIN SERIES:

Interlude from Another Reality: Taxidermy: A pair of scenes in a timeline where Joe's the Archivist, and everybody else is shuffled around too.

mouse hole/black hole: A character study of AU Zedaph, making heavy use of formatting fuckery.

Beautiful Things: Likewise, a character study of AU Stress.

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - Part 0

Masterlist

Glossary

A-World

home of an alternate version of our Ateez

a city made up of a maze of cement walls and deserted side roads

their hideout is an abandoned factory/warehouse

Ateez viewed their music and dance as dull and insignificant due to their belief that it couldn't have an impact on people

the members were about to part ways indefinitely before their journey to the Z-World began

Z-World

Halateez's/Black Pirates' World (also referred to as Strictland)

the 4th Industrial Revolution already took place and led to a 200 year average lifespan and 40 years of education

the central government, aka the Sciensalvar political party, led by 'Z', wants absolute power

-> to remove all possible unpredictable variables keeping them from achieving this, they developed a self-learning A.I. system

-> their ultimate conclusion drawn from this system's gathered data: the only thing keeping them from achieving absolute power is human emotions

-> as a result, they prohibited all forms of art and emotional expression

Cromer

For more details and a full list of its abilities, click here

appearance of an hourglass

enables travel between realities and into another's dreams, as well as teleportation while in direct contact with the object

Sciensalvar

The name "Sciensalvar" is likely just a combination of "Scien" from "science" and "salvar" which is Spanish for "to save, to rescue" - saved by science

In the A-World:

"religious" organization founded in 1999, led by Henry Jo (a scientist of some kind)

ideology: humans are a collection of energy, science can resolve uncertainties of the future, the energy in the Cromer can save humanity

never appeared outside of the Fever Epilogue Diary Version

In the Z-World:

pseudo-religious scientific organization spearheaded by 'Z'

invented the AI simulation for the 'best solution'

created a political party under the catchphrase: "The pursuit of a peaceful world without religious conflict and terror through emotional control."

said party grew in size until they were powerful enough to pass the 'Emotional Regulation Act' which lead to the solidification of the class system to the point where 'defective' people are now being 'disposed of'.

Android Guardians

only exist in the Z-World

tall, wearing white masks, decidedly non-human

burn people's memories as an energy source

-> the resulting smoke gets them drunk

-> this new energy market was created by the government's A.I.

their mission: obtain the Cromer, capture Ateez, the Black Pirates/Halateez and their supporters/sympathizers, as well as anyone deemed 'defective'

take orders exclusively from the Head Guardian, Z and presumably also the Sciensalvar party

guard the prison island (a bunker formerly used as an art gallery) and Z's hideout due to their non-human nature which prevents emotional corruption by revolutionists

Halateez/The Black Pirates

resistance fighters in the Z-World

mission: overthrow the government and free people's minds by returning the arts to Strictland

-> use the prohibited arts as a weapon

-> the alternate version of A-World's Ateez and their supporters

Left Eye

lives in Z-World where he used to run a boutique after studying fashion design

his daughter was killed by a speeding car while trying to save a flower on the road

-> she died slowly while passersby ignored her, too focused on moving forward

the yellow fumes of the Strictland dump made him hallucinate his dead daughter, trapping him

-> the Android Guardians found him there and made him the dump's new manager

he later becomes an ally to the revolution

Thunder

originally a group of elite students at Prestige Academy in charge of reporting any students who show emotions who have now joined the resistance

their leader: a girl resembling the one Seonghwa saw dance back in the A-World who dropped a bracelet inscribed with the words 'Be Free', she was inspired by the Grimes Siblings (who first helped Ateez when they arrived in the Z-World) to join the resistance

as the elitest of the elite who were supposed to be the future leaders of Strictland, they have access to top secret information on Z and are willing to share it with the Black Pirates to free everyone

their home base is located in a forest village away from all surveillance

[simstorian-blog]

Planet Honey Pop!

(CC List + Links)

[NOTE: The light switch to the Ravasheen Hidden Lights is on the bubble tea kiosk half wall on the ground level.]

World Map: San Myshuno

Area: Fashion District

Lot Size:  30 x 20

Amenities:

Arcade

Gaming/Internet Café

“Manga” Reading Area

Retail

Rooftop Bar

Thrift & Bubble Tea Store

Gallery ID: Simstorian-ish

Packs Needed

Expansion Packs

Cats & Dogs

City Living

Discover University

Eco Lifestyle

Get Famous

Get Together

Get To Work

Growing Together

High School Years

Lovestruck

Snowy Escape

Game Packs

Dine Out

Dream Home Decorator

Spa Day

Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

Strangerville

Stuff Packs

Moschino Stuff

Kits

Desert Luxe

Recommended Gameplay Mods

(Please read through what each mod has to offer before deciding if it fits your gameplay style or not.)

Arcade Lot Trait

City Vibes Lot Trait Collection

Functional Arcade

Lock/Unlock Doors for Any Lot

MC Command Center

Spawn Refresh

Build Mode

Hamsterbelle

Mini Space Hamster Set (Railings, Stairway)

Felixandre

Paris Pt 1 (Awning Open Long & Short)

Harlix

Harluxe (Laminated Wall)

Tiny Twavellers (Mural Wallpaper)

Harrie

Klean Pt. 2

Klean Pt. 3

LittleDica

Rise & Grind (Fence 2, Wallpaper 1)

MoonSimmers

Bonaerense Set (Mosaic Floor Small, Trim Granitic Mosaic Floor)

Nempne

Cover Sheet Ceiling Tile

Pierisim

Tilable (Plaster)

Syboubou

Classic Elevator (This is NEEDED)

The Royal Geek

Vintage Life Flooring

Buy Mode

AroundTheSims4

Museum Exhibition Shop (Bag, Bag Wall Display, Poster Rolls Display)

Cepzid

Arcade Room Pack (Only the Games)

Felixandre

SOHO Pt. 1 (Mirror Slim, Round Sink, Toilet & Remote)

SOHO Pt. 4 (Lounge Seating, Lounge Table, Planter, Shelving & Poles- ALL, Stool)

SOHO Pt. 5 (Duffle Bag, Kelly Bag)

SOHO Pt. 6 (Jute Rug 4 x 3, Postcards)

Hamsterbelle

Cyberpunk Neon Lights (SpunkyMoney, Tengu)

Floor Light Décor

Hanraja

S015 (Desk Chair 3 LOW)

S019 (Desk, Desktops)

Harlix

Kichen (Glasses)

Kichen 2.0 (Glasses)

Livin’ Rum (3D Wall Art, Coffee Table, End Table, Shelves)

Ledger Atelier

Bar Counter (DL Attached Bellow)

LittleDica

H&B Store (Aisle Sign Lit, Lit Letters – ALL, Stage Light 8)

LustrousSims

Simlish Bookstore

NANDO

Fashion Store

No Style x Woodland

Cöfkeksa Lounge Chair

Tamsusja Booth Corner

Peacemaker

Kassova Sectional

Pierisim

Stefan Living Room (Curtains & Rod - TALL)

Unfold (Dining Table, End Table)

Ravasheen

Easy Peasy Lumen Squeezy Hidden Lights

Shake & Shimmy Dance Floor

RusticSims

IRL (Dining Chair, Taburete)

Sundays

Kediri Pt. 1 (Throw Pillow- Solids)

Sumba Pt. 2 (Wardrobe Dresser II- Small)

TaurusDesign

Lilith Chillin’ Areas Pt. 1 (Drinks - ALL)

Tuds

Beam Kitchen (Table Bar 1x2)

DO NOT REUPLOAD MY LOTS.

DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

DO NOT PLACE BEHIND A PAYWALL.

Tray Files: DOWNLOAD

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

calculated ii, m | jjk

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: You pride yourself in being cool, calm, and collected... and then Jeon Jungkook knocks you down a peg. Well, you’re still the head Calculus I TA. The noona. The responsible one. The one who would definitely not misunderstand a situation and then end up fucking in a stairwell... right?

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; intense smut (fem reader, semi-public sex, nipple play, tit slapping, fingering, wall fucking, dirty talk); jealousy; fluff; non-idol!AU - university!AU; dom!Jungkook x sub!noona!reader, ft instigator Jimin again, lol

--

part i | part ii | part iii | part iv

-

You weren't a jealous person by nature. 

Mostly because you had no tolerance for lying, dishonesty, or deceit. In the off chance an ex cheated on you, you dropped them like hot coal and moved on, easily, without so much as a text. Was that the best way to end a relationship? Definitely not, but you did it anyway. 

It got you a notorious reputation, to say the least. 

So, why, as you're collecting the latest Calculus I exam and students are rushing down the steps to run to their next class, were you absolutely fuming as you spy Jeon Jungkook, tongue between his teeth, talking to a girl who looked like she was going to pass out from arousal by being in his vicinity? Why was your blood boiling, knuckles turning white as you clutch the obscenely thick stack of paper, your only thought being, I'm going to fail this fucking punk ass bitch, just you fucking wait–

"Do you need help?"

You turned your head sharply, missing Jungkook's teasing gaze as Kim Namjoon held his hands out, giving you a sheepish smile. Namjoon was the head Calculus III TA, but he was helping out today since the other Calculus I TAs couldn't make it. 

"No."

Namjoon's smile faltered. 

"Last time I let you carry these, you dropped them all."

Namjoon laughed sheepishly. "Ahahaha, yeah that did happen, huh?"

You felt bad for snapping at him. It wasn't Namjoon's fault Jungkook was an asshole. It was not Namjoon's fault Jungkook was looking like a goddamn meal in his untucked black dress shirt, ripped black jeans and heavy black boots, his long dark hair half-pinned back with a wispy curtain of black partly obscuring the right side of his face. Not that you cared. At all. You two fucked one time. One, very hot, very intense, very wild time during Calculus I office hours in this very math department building, a few floors above, just last week.

Did you have dreams about it?

...

You shook your head roughly, breaking out of your thoughts. "Come on. Let's go get some coffee. I'll buy," you said, softening your tone this time, grabbing your bag as you hoisted the stack with one arm. You began to walk out, Namjoon following you with his extra-thick backpack.

"I can help you grade. I have some time before my next class."

You laughed. "You, Kim Namjoon, double Literature and Music major and head TA for Calculus III and Physics II, have time?" you teased, seeing his ears turn red. 

He chuckled awkwardly as you two made your way to the vending machines. "Okay, I don't have the most time, maybe an hour, but there's a key, right? I'd like to help," he added cheerfully. "Since you're carrying it all."

You smiled and stopped in front of the vending machine, struggling to grab your wallet from the back pocket of your black skinny jeans. Your hands kept getting caught in the long sleeves of your cream sweater. You frowned, trying to balance everything. 

"Need help?" Namjoon asked, seeing your brows furrow. He reached for the stack of exams, but you pulled them away from his grasp. 

"No, no, I just can't get my wallet. It's in my back pocket."

"... Uh, I could pa–"

"Namjoon, it's an ass. Just take it out. I won't call the police."

He gave you a hesitant look, but you jerked your head impatiently.

"Fucking do it. You're making it weirder," you muttered.

He shrugged and yanked your black bifold wallet out of your back pocket. 

"Whatchu want?" You looked into the lit-up shelves, scanning. "Get me a green tea."

Namjoon opened your wallet to grab some bills. He raised his eyebrows. 

"I use the same brand myself."

"What?"

You turned your head to see him snickering, pointing to the condom in your wallet. You rolled your eyes at his immature reaction. 

"People get laid; get over it," you remarked coolly, but you were smiling anyway because Namjoon had cute dimples that made you laugh too.

He fed some money into the machine. "You should change it out every once in a while, though. Body heat can cause the latex to break down over time."

"I put it in there last week," you said absentmindedly, watching the green tea and the hot coffee Namjoon ordered plunk down. He raised his eyebrows again, but you gave him a pointed look and turned around, presenting your jean-covered butt.

"Put it back."

"What if I need a condom? Can I have it?" Namjoon sniggered.

"Put it back before I kick your ass," you shot back, turning your head to glare at him. A blur of black rushed past in your peripheral vision. Your eyes flickered to the direction of the movement at the same time Namjoon jammed your wallet in your pocket.

You turned back around, cocking your head into the direction of the offices. Namjoon carried the drinks, laughing behind you. 

"That would have been weird if anyone was around," he remarked to the deserted hallway. 

You shrugged. "Who hangs around the math department besides nerds like you and me?" you muttered, somewhat bitterly.

"Touché."

-

"You said you needed a ride," you muttered, watching Park Jimin stretch his legs out. It was already completely dark outside. Jimin always practiced such long hours that you often wondered if he slept. Did he even know what sleep was? The fine arts building was empty besides you two. 

"I do!" Jimin protested, going into a split that made your own crotch hurt, at least mentally. "But I have to cool down first. It's important!"

You sighed and slid down to the floor as Jimin did his routine. He hummed along as you stared at the bright lights on the ceiling. Your backpack was in the car. You played with the pink bunny keychain on your keys as you waited. 

"How did Jungkook go?" Jimin teased, tone playful.

You scowled in response.

"Ouch, that bad huh?" Jimin's head popped into your vision as he bent over backwards. "Does he have a bent dick or something?"

You rolled your eyes. "He's fine," you mumbled. "Just an asshole."

Jimin sat down, placing the soles of his feet together and pressing on his knees. They went all the way to the floor. You winced as you watched, but he seemed fine. 

"What'd he do?" 

You twisted your mouth to one side. "Doesn't matter. Don't care."

Jimin looked up. He gave you that look mothers give their children when they know they're lying. You relented, grumbling.

"Flirting around right in front of my face."

Jimin blinked at you. "I thought you guys were just fucking?"

You looked away to the mirror of the dance studio. "... We are just fucking. Did, rather."

"Are you jealous?" Jimin gasped in disbelief, scooting over to you gleefully, forgetting about his cool down. "You are!"

"I am not, Jimin. Shut up."

Jimin giggled. "Wow, one fuck and you're in lo–"

You spun around sharply and clapped a hand over his mouth, glaring at him. Jimin's eyes widened at your sudden reaction, blinking at you. You climbed to your knees, towering over him.

"Shut up, Jimin."

"The fuck is going on?"

The clear, silvery voice thundered across the dance studio practice room. You froze, whipping your head around to see Jungkook, in all-black, his pretty features twisted in rage, glaring at you and Jimin on the hardwood floor.

Fight? 

Or flight?

You scrambled to your feet and ran. Straight up bolted, right past Jungkook, not hearing him shout at Jimin, completely forgetting you were supposed to take him home.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Jungkook roared, advancing, shoulders shaking. 

"Nothing," Jimin snapped, getting to his feet. "Just like you, apparently. Look how fucking fast she ran from you!"

Jungkook grabbed Jimin's collar, shaking him forcefully. "The fuck are you talking about?" he growled, nearly spitting in Jimin's face. "She doesn't even like me, you idiot."

"You're the idiot," Jimin spat back, shoving him hard in the chest. "She literally just admitted to liking you right in front of me!"

Jungkook froze. "W-what?"

"She just now told me she was jealous because you were chatting up other girls," Jimin hissed, looking at him disdainfully. "I would have never helped you if you were going to treat her like a piece of meat."

Jungkook's face fell, anger crumbling into sudden comprehension. "I-I didn't..."

He turned away from Jimin, dropping his car keys as he chased after you, steps much faster and lighter than your erratic stumbling though the fine arts building, nearly tripping on the stairs. You were running so fast that you were making yourself winded, chest so tight you couldn't even breathe. 

Jimin sighed and picked up the fallen car keys. 

Jungkook jumped over the stair rail, making you recoil and spin around, running back up the stairs. He took them two at a time, slamming a hand against the wall to cut you off. You turned the other way and he stopped you there too, so you ducked under, trying to run. His strong arms grabbed you by the waist and dragged you back, struggling for dear life, hands clawing at the air. 

"Stop, stop," Jungkook was panting, but you started squirming against him instead, flattening your torso to try to slide out. He forcefully grabbed your shoulders and shoved you into the wall. You hissed in pain, seeing stars from your lack of oxygen and panic. He held you there, wheezing, grip so strong it almost hurt, as if he was afraid you would run away again. 

You felt wetness on your face. You started, touching your cheek. Tears blurred your vision. Jungkook lifted his head, his long black hair tousled and wild from chasing you and, even now, he was handsome. Even now, he made your heart stop. 

And then you realized that he, too, was crying. 

"J-Jimin..." Jungkook gasped. "Asked me to d-drive him home..."

You sobbed, trying to blink your tears away. "M-me too..."

Jungkook chuckled wetly despite the situation. 

"Hah... that bastard..."

You tried to twist away, but Jungkook pushed you into the wall with his chest. 

"D-don't..."

And now you were really crying now, so pathetic, so dumb, so stupid you wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, hide your face and your feelings and pretend they didn't exist. 

"Don't..." 

Jungkook's deep voice vibrated your torso as you furiously wiped your face with the sleeves of your cream sweater, stuffing your eyes with the fluffy material, trying to press them away.

"Don't cry, noona... I can't take it..."

And then he was kissing you, soft kisses on your tears, dripping his own onto your cheeks, and then your lips were on his, so full, so nice, so right, your arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer. Everything way too fucking wet, but it didn't matter because his tongue was against yours and you were sucking on it, shivering, whimpering his name, trying not to be pitiful, but what were you supposed to do when he made you feel this way, like you wanted to die in his arms right now? 

He whispered your name too, so softly, so desperately that you thought it was just a dream, but he had you against the wall, hands sliding up your sweater, onto your skin, so warm, stroking it and pressing his fingers into your waist, so familiar, teeth nipping at your lower lip.

"J-Jungkook..." you choked out. "We're in the middle of the stairway in the fucking f-fine arts building..."

"Don't care," he murmured, unhooking your bra, his dark hair brushing against your face. You gasped as his palms covered your already hard nipples, his moan against your lips. "Have to remind you you're mine."

He kissed your face again, massaging your breasts, resting his cheek against yours, letting you feel his smile. You closed your eyes, trying to even your breathing.

"Hah... I'm so ugly right now," you mumbled, cursing your weakness, frustrated that only a single meeting with Jeon Jungkook could turn you into this. You didn't believe in stars aligning or any of that romantic bullshit. But the instant Jeon Jungkook pressed his body against yours, you fucking knew. You absolutely knew there was no other body for you, no other body you wanted to dream about, no other person you wanted to touch, no one else you wanted but Jeon Jungkook to force you to your knees and make you look at him, pulling on your nipples, whines leaving your throat as he yanked on them, your own hands pushing your sweater and bra up so he could stare at your body and watch how he ruined you, turning your nipples pink with abuse.

Were you crazy? Probably. 

Jungkook spread his legs, leaning down, dark hair half-obscuring his face, lips parting.

"So beautiful, noona..." he breathed, swallowing hard. "You're the only one for me."

You scoffed at his words, hastily wiping your eyes. He pulled at your nipples hard, twisting them and making you yelp in pain. 

"Look at me when I speak to you," Jungkook commanded, raw and deep. Voice strained from crying, but his eyes remained dark, flint-like, shaded by his long hair. His eyes traveled down your body, to your knees against the floor, to your nipples straining in his fingertips, to your shaking hands holding up your sweater, to your face, your icy glare rippling through your drying tears. He drew in a long breath, making you wait for him. 

"There is no one else," he growled firmly above you, staring into your eyes, right at your soul. "Absolutely no one. I don't care if they're ripping off their clothes and throwing themselves at me, I will always pick you over them. I will always want you over them. I will always, always desire you under me above all others."

You chuckled darkly, feeling his grip tighten. 

"We fucked once, Jungkook. Once," you muttered bitterly. He pinched your nipples sharply and you sucked in a breath, wetness pooling in your panties. 

"Once is enough," he replied firmly. "Once is enough to know there is no other human being on Earth for me."

Maybe you were both crazy. 

He yanked your nipples harder this time. Your body jerked in pain, pressing your thighs together to get some relief. 

"Get up."

You got up shakily, with his gentle pulls in your nipples, wincing. Jungkook removed his hands and you sighed in relief, only to be silenced as he pushed up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, breathless as you saw his shapely forearms, the right covered in tattoos. He pressed his right forearm against your collarbone and you released your sweater as he held it up.

"Hands on the arm."

You placed your hands on his forearm, one on his wrist and the other just under his elbow. 

"Look at me."

Your eyes flickered up at him. Part of his hair covered his right eye. The rest of his forehead was exposed, brows furrowed, brown eyes intensely on you. His chiseled jaw clenched, lips so pink and pretty you wanted them on you. Your chest was completely exposed, your red nipples hard and poking out in the cold air. 

Then he slapped your tits with his own palm. 

You gasped sharply, skin stinging, nails digging into his skin. The sound rang in the empty staircase. Your knees shook, panties wetter than before. 

"Who is he?"

You swallowed, blinking rapidly. Your nipples prickled with pain but all you could think about was wanting more. "Who?" you croaked.

He smacked you again, right on the other nipple, and you bit your tongue, head pushing into the wall behind you, hissing. Fuck. He wasn't hitting you very hard, but he had a huge palm, expanding the surface area of the sting.

"The guy who touched your ass without my permission," Jungkook snarled, flicking your nipple hard. 

Your eyelids fluttered, knees buckling. Fuck. So good. You clutched into Jungkook's arm, panting. His arm was like iron, unmoving. 

"Namjoon?" you replied, confused. "H-he was just getting my wallet."

Jungkook narrowed his eyes. Then he raised an eyebrow and his hand, slowly spanking your tits, making sure to hit your swollen, aching nipples each time, getting you wetter and wetter with each slap. 

"He wants to fuck you," Jungkook hissed into your face. 

You were moaning far too loud, rubbing your knees together, your soaked panties bunching up in your jeans as Jungkook continued, his nails gazing your flesh, leaving red marks and pink skin in his wake. 

"B-but I don't want to fuck h-him..." you managed to get out in between your moans.

Jungkook pressed his palm flat against one of your breasts and rubbed hard. Your eyes rolled back in your head, nipple throbbing with pain as he forced it around and around. 

"Really?" he sneered, putting his face close to yours as he released your breast and moved to the other, placing his nail on it, scratching lightly. Your hips bucked and a desperate whimper fell from your lips. "Who do you want to fuck then?"

Your eyes locked with his, his impossibly dark, reigning eyes. 

"Only you."

He pinched your nipple, hard. You wailed, almost falling, but he held you firm. 

"Say my name."

So deep. So in control. 

"Only you, Jungkook."

He dropped his right arm and roughly pinched both your nipples, silencing your scream with a suffocating kiss, his clothed chest ramming into your torso. You groaned into his mouth as the rough fabric of his dress shirt touched your sensitive nipples, whimpering as he removed his hands to hold yours. Held them tight as he shoved his tongue into your mouth, thrusting into it, fucking it as if it was his cock. You took it all, fingers intertwining with his, whole body shivering. 

He pulled your hands up to his chest, breaking apart for a second. 

"Take it off," he panted impatiently. "Need your skin on mine."

You fumbled with the tiny buttons, far too small with how hazy your head was right now. You were rapidly losing your temper, finally just shoving your fingers into the placket and ripping it apart, causing the black buttons to fling everywhere. You pushed the sides of the dress shirt aside, sucking in a breath seeing his toned chest and abs, wrapping your arms around his waist and pulling him to you, pressing his hot skin against yours, moaning as your abused nipples touched his chest. Jungkook was chuckling, looking at the fallen buttons.

“Are you going to pick those up later?” he asked, amused.

“No,” you snapped.

“Someone will know.”

“You obviously don’t care.”

Jungkook laughed, rumbling and sexy and so very wonderful. “I most certainly do not.”

He let you press your cheek against his collarbones, hands splayed on his back. Tracing his muscles, chest heaving from too many emotions and too much running. You ran your nails down his back. His breathing hitched and he placed a large hand on your head.

“Were you jealous?” he purred, petting your hair. “Because I was talking to that girl after class? Is that why you ran off with that Namjoon guy? To make me jealous too?”

“No,” was your haughty, tight reply.

He hummed. “Really?”

His hand slid down, down your shoulder and to your bare skin. He dug his nails into the small of your back, raking them up. You whimpered, clinging to him tighter. His head dipped low against your ear, voice dropping several octaves.

“Because I was very, very jealous,” Jungkook growled, teeth snapping, every word rousing your lust. “All I could think about all day was how to punish you. My beautiful, slutty noona.”

You sunk your nails into his back, snarling right back.

“It’s your own fault for being so fucking hot that every single person who encounters you has a full-blown orgasm every time they see you, you punk ass bitch.”

You didn’t have to see his face to know he was grinning. “You didn’t. You told me to leave.”

“You didn’t know what was going on in my pants,” you shot back.

“I found out, didn’t I?”

Was it possible to want to choke someone while also wanting to be choked by them? Because that’s how you felt right now, listening to Jeon Jungkook’s stupid, sexy, smug voice in your ear.

“Shut up.”

You felt Jungkook’s body stiffen. Slowly, slowly, he backed up, out of your grasp, his hands leaving your back. You frowned, narrowing your eyes. There was a darkness in his, glaring down at you through his lashes. His lips were slightly parted, no longer smiling. You didn’t waver. His hand came up and took your chin, grip tightening into your cheeks until it was uncomfortable, tipping your head back into the wall. Lips hovering over yours, so close that he could kiss you, but he wasn’t doing it.

“Okay.”

The affirmation made your blood run cold with his unforgiving tone. He placed his lips on yours, but instead of kissing you, he breathed into your mouth, a hot, erotic stream right into the back of your throat, forcing yours back, making you inhale him. You moaned softly, but he retreated just as fast, hooking one arm around you, arching your back forcefully.

“J-Jungkook, what–”

Then he latched his lips onto one of your nipples, flicking it with his tongue, his hand around you rubbing the other as the other gripped the button of your jeans, popping it open. You cried out, hitting your head on the wall, bruising yourself as he yanked the zipper down, shoving his hand under your panties into your tight-jeans. Your nipples for far too sensitive to take more pain and yet Jungkook gave it to you, sucking and rubbing them simultaneously as he shoved one, two fingers into your slopping wet pussy, your moans echoing in the stairway as you stared up, head throbbing. Shocks of pain and pleasure traveled throughout your body, and still he shoved a third finger into you. Your body jerked, trying to spread your legs to accommodate him but your jeans were too tight and he was fucking you too hard, each thrust raising you to your tiptoes. He didn’t even have to stimulate your nipples anymore – they were just rubbing against his teeth and hand by the sheer force of him fingering you.

“A-ah, J-Jungkook, please…” you groaned, grinding into his hand, biting your lower lip hard to try and be a little quieter. “P-please, it’s t-too much...”

His eyes flickered up to you, glaring. You told me to shut up, they said.

“I’m s-sorry…” you panted out, gritting your teeth. “P-please…”

Jungkook detached his mouth, curling his lip. Hand leaving your nipple, tangling into your hair. “Are you really sorry, noona?” he drawled, yanking your head back and exposing your neck. “Are you?”

You whimpered, nodding tightly, his hand still in your hair, forcing you to tug on your own.

“Y-yes, Jungkook,” you breathed, feeling him release your hair. “I’m sorry…”

He smiled at you, an icy smile.

“That’s good.”

You felt him yank your pants down with his free hand, shoving them down to your knees. You almost tripped, but Jungkook grabbed your ass, fingertips digging into you so hard you were sure they would leave marks. He yanked you up, shoving a knee between yours and forcing your legs open. Your eyes went wide, his three fingers flexing inside you. His dark eyes boring into yours, a slow smirk forming on his lips.

“I’m still going to put another finger in you.”

He shoved a fourth into you, forcefully, and now nearly his entire hand was fucking you, pounding you into the wall. Your arms flew up to wrap around his shoulders, desperately holding on as he filled you, pushing his fingers against your walls. You gasped, clenching around his fingers, and Jungkook grinned, watching your face as he pushed you to the edge, feeling so stretched out, so embarrassingly wet that the sounds of your pussy were louder than your noises.

“Fuck, your pussy sounds so sexy,” Jungkook groaned. “Listen to that dirty pussy suck in my fingers, so fucking desperate for my cock.”

You shoved your head against the wall and squeezed your eyes shut, legs straining as you came, muscles spasming and the moan of his name racking through you, your throat already hoarse. He ripped his hand out of you and slapped your clit. Your knees buckled and you whined loudly as he gripped your ass with one wet and one dry hand, spreading it forcefully, pressing you against the wall.

“Take one leg out of your jeans,” Jungkook snarled.

You winced, pussy throbbing, giving him a what-the-fuck look.

“Do it.” He was not going to repeat himself.

You awkwardly kicked one of your sneakers off, untangling your right leg out of your pants. Now you were mostly naked in the fucking stairway with an almost shirtless Jungkook towering over you. Your poor sock fluttered to the floor, lost due to the tight ankle of your skinny jeans.

Jungkook grabbed your calf and pushed it up and out, effectively forcing you to stand on one leg.

“Jungkook, what–”

He hissed, staring at your glistening, puffy, red pussy lips, your hole opening and closing from the aftershocks of your orgasm.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “Fuck.”

Jungkook leaned you back into the wall, snaking his hand between your legs, moaning with you as he touched your swollen clit. Slow, languid, deliberate, rubbing your clit in circles, melting you, your eyelids fluttering closed at his sudden sweet movements.

“Wanna fuck you just like this,” Jungkook breathed, inhaling your scent. “Just like this, against the wall, in this fucking stairway, your leg around my waist.” He pressed harder, earning a wretched whimper. “Want someone to find us and see you bouncing on my cock, fucked out and screaming my name.”

Your legs trembled, trying to close, but he held them open, teasing you, drawing your next orgasm out of you, slow this time, building you into a frenzy.

“Just do it,” you gasped. “Just fucking do it.”

“I want to,” he hissed back, rubbing faster. “I didn’t bring a fucking condom.”

You chuckled despite yourself, hips shuddering into his hand. “Didn’t think you were going to fuck Jimin or something?”

Jungkook narrowed his eyes at you and pinched your clit. Instantly you yelped, your standing knee buckling, but his own slammed against yours, locking it in place. You gasped at the pain, your pussy clenching around nothing as he furiously rubbed your clit. Your insides curled and you gulped for air, feeling the pain and pleasure rise into a crescendo.

“What if I stop, noona?” Jungkook barked sharply. “Since you’re being such a fucking brat.”

You clenched your jaw, trying to push back your own orgasm, relishing in his anger.

“I have a condom,” you panted, giving him an open-mouthed smirk. “Keep one in my wallet now, j-just for you, Jungkook.”

You saw something in his eyes change, something between an amused sparkle and an agonizing lust.

“Is that so?” Jungkook purred, bringing his face close to yours. His breath lit your skin on fire, the tense knot closing in on you fast as he rubbed you even faster, so fast that it felt like a vibrator on your aching clit. “So, you can always be prepared for me? So, I can take you wherever, whenever I want?”

You bit your lip, nodding, eyes glazing over as the first wave crashed on you.

“Fuck yeeeeees, Jungkook, whatever you fucking want,” you moaned, back arching, legs shuddering, letting him rub you as your hips jerked. Viscous liquid dripping down your thighs, pussy pulsating wetly, hands flat against the wall. He was going to be the death of you, making you agree to such crazy things in the middle of your fucking orgasm.

Jungkook let go of your leg. You leaned against the wall, trying to catch your breath, pretty sure all this was going to get you expelled. Even if there was no one in the building, someone down the street probably heard you by now with how loud this was becoming. You heard rustling under you, Jungkook going through your pockets on the floor to find your wallet, pulling out the condom.

“You’re actually insane,” you panted, blinking slowly as you watched Jungkook unzip his jeans, shoving them down. “I can’t even stand.”

Fuck, even just him pulling out his half-hard cock was already getting you wet again. Jungkook smirked at you, seeing your eyes on him. He stroked the length slowly, running his large hand over it. You frowned at him, tapping your hand against the wall in annoyance.

“I’m giving you a break,” he murmured, staring at your body as he gripped his cock, pumping once. He gasped, breathing your name.

“At least let me touch it,” you pouted, not even sure how you were still upright. Just pure lust, apparently.

Jungkook looked at you through his lashes, lips parting, tongue darting between them. He thrust his hips into his hand. You stiffened, seeing his wanton, arrogant expression. He wasn’t going to let you touch it. He was going to make you watch, frustrated, as he stroked himself to full hardness.

“Jungkook…”

He cocked an eyebrow at you, rolling his body into his hand, moaning softly.

“Jungkook, please…”

His tongue danced between his lips, moving his hand up and down slowly, rocking his hips into his cock, enjoying your pleading tone, your hands clenching into fists, your body heaving at the loss of him.

“Jungkook, come on,” you whined, spreading your legs, watching the angry red head disappear and reappear in the curve of his fingers. “I want you. Please.”

He took a step towards you, still stroking himself. “Yeah?” he breathed. Another step. And another. He still didn’t tell you that you could touch him yet, so you kept your hands at your sides, switching between his dark, lustful eyes and his rapidly hardening cock thrusting into his hand. “You want me, noona? You want to touch my cock?”

And now Jungkook was right next to you, still jacking himself off, the velvety, thick head rubbing against the smooth skin of your thigh. You moaned as you felt his pre-cum smearing onto your skin, adding to his lubrication.

“Y-yes,” you whispered, eyes glued to his cock rubbing against your fucking leg. Fuck, you wanted it in your mouth so bad. “Let me touch you, Jungkook.”

He leaned forward, lips brushing against your ear, his dark locks brushing against your cheek. His voice was a deep drawl, low and teasing, breath hot against your skin.

“Tell you what,” Jungkook purred. “I’ll let you put the condom on.” You whimpered, disappointed. “And then I’ll fuck you against this wall, nice and hard and fast, not stopping until I cum because of that delicious, sweet, tight pussy of yours.”

If you had any sanity left, it rapidly disappeared as you nodded hastily, wordlessly holding out your hands as Jungkook dropped the condom in your palm. He calmly removed his hand, his thick, fully hard cock erect as you slid the condom down, moaning as you felt the traces of his veins and muscle pulsing under your hands. Once you were done, Jungkook pushed your hands away, not giving you a chance to disobey him.

You pouted. “You’re a jerk.”

He grinned at you, lifting your leg and pinning it to your chest. “And you’re about to get fucked.”

In less than a second, Jungkook thrust his hips up and into you, tearing a gasp from your throat as he rapidly entered you, peeling apart your soaking, abused walls. You bit your tongue, grabbing his dress shirt as he rolled his hips into you again, groaning as he felt you clench around him.

“That’s it, noona,” he exhaled, slamming his hips into you. “You better fucking hold me tight. If I slip out, that’s all the fucking you’ll get from me.”

You whined, feeling him start a bruising pace, hands clamped onto your ass. Whether he was lying or not didn’t matter because you were squeezing your pussy for dear life, crying out as he thrust into you over and over, so full and overstimulated you didn’t know whether to focus on your aching, raw pussy or his cock periodically throbbing inside you, swelling against your walls.

You hooked your leg around his waist, changing the angle, instantly feeling him ram his cock into a deeper, more pleasurable spot. You tipped your head back, eyes rolling up into your head as your mouth opened, tongue sliding out. He pounded you relentlessly, your shoulder blades smacking the wall. Your swollen clit rubbed against the base of his cock repeatedly. Your body was going to ache all over tomorrow, but you still rose your hips to meet his, so drunk on the feeling of his cock stretching you out that nothing else mattered. You came suddenly, wailing Jungkook’s name, pussy spasming and squeezing him but he set his jaw and fucked you even harder, using every ounce of his energy to keep his own orgasm at bay.

“Who owns this body, noona?” he ground out. “Tell me, who owns this fucking body?”

You had to claw for your words, throat so strained your voice was thin. “Y-you do, Jungkook, oh fuck, oh fuck…”

“That’s fucking right,” he growled. “If you cum, it’s for me and only me. No. One. Else.” He punctuated each word by slapping his hips into you, sliding you up into the wall so gravity crashed you back down onto his cock. You moaned, helpless, as he hissed, shoving his face into your tits to moan hotly into your chest as he came, violent, thick jerks of his cock shuddering into you. Quickly, he gripped your hips and pulled up, hissing as half of his cock slid out, cum leaking out of the bottom of the condom and splatting onto the floor.

“Fuck,” he gasped. “Fuck.”

You could barely register anything as he hoisted you onto his shoulder, cursing loudly. Jungkook leaned against the wall with one shoulder, panting, the other half-carrying you, arm wrapped around your waist. The only thing that brought you back to reality was the fact that your bare ass was in the air and your pants were hanging off one leg.

“Jungkook,” you croaked. “Let me down.”

He lowered you, still leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath. His hair covered almost his whole face, sweaty and glistening. He wiped some sweat off his chin with the back of his hand, flicking it away carelessly.

You pressed your back flat against the wall, using at as leverage to pull your pants back up, wincing at the now familiar cold feeling of your soaked panties meeting your abused pussy. You crouched to collect your sock and your shoe, wincing as pain radiated up your back.

Jungkook chuckled, watching you struggle with your sneaker. “Want help?”

You grunted, shoving it on. “Can we stop fucking in random ass places at school?”

“You said I could fuck you wherever I want, whenever I want,” he teased, giving you an open-mouthed smirk.

You readjusted your bra, putting it back on. You found the two bits of condom wrapping, shoving it in your pocket. “I did, but I want to see you fully naked for once, you punk.”

Jungkook laughed, rich and full. “I support this idea if you’re also fully naked.”

You made a face as you got up, trying to keep your steps steady so you didn’t seem like a drunk idiot. Or someone who just got railed by Jeon Jungkook.

“Give me the condom.”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “I was going to drop it here. Mark my territory.”

You narrowed your eyes at him and took it from him as he extended his hand out. “Your buttons did that for you already,” you remarked, tying it up.

He smirked, zipping up his jeans. “You owe me a new shirt.”

“And you owe me new panties, again,” you shot back. “Where are my replacements?”

He shrugged, running a hand through his hair to push it back. Fuck. Open shirt, half-exposed forehead, smug-as-fuck Jungkook got you wet just by looking at him.

“Guess we should go shopping sometime.”

He smiled slyly, patting his pockets. His expression abruptly changed to confusion. He pulled out his wallet and phone, frowning. “Where are my car keys?” He furrowed his brow, looking at his phone. You found your keys and wallet still with you, surprised that they didn’t fall out of your pants. You phone was in your backpack, still in your car. He swiped at his phone, reading his messages.

Jungkook groaned. “I dropped them and Jimin took my car. Bastard.”

Fuck, his fucking deliciously toned and tan chest was distracting you. “I still have my keys,” you muttered, staring at his abs. Suddenly you started, realizing he was advancing on you.

“Oh?” Jungkook purred, opening his shirt wider. The fabric tumbled off his right shoulder, exposing his tattoos. His long dark hair covered part of his right eye, brown orbs glimmering with mischief.

“Wanna take me home, noona?”

Welp.

-

part iii

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masterpost

[insomniac-dot-ink]

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Headlights Girl

Most humans carry the night with them. Even during daylight hours, they can shut out the sun, turn off the light, recede into themselves and into that soft secret place behind their eyes.

Did you know certain animals don’t have eyelids? Gecko’s have nothing between them and the violent sun which wishes to cook the colors of their world. They have to use their tongue. Dust and sand and rain, can you imagine? I was obsessed with lizards as a kid.

I stacked up books on snakes and lizards and skinks. I traced the way that sand snakes crested across the land, sideways and wrong. I put glue on the pads of my hand and tried to climb the walls of my room— I didn’t even get one handhold up. I went to the zoo and peered into their cages, up on my tiptoes, trying not to smudge the glass or breath too hard. I tried make out their triangle heads and slow tongue-flicks, but they shrank away from my gaze deep into their cages into the nooks and crannies. Most things do.

Most humans carry the night with them, right there behind their eyelids is an entire world of darkness and sleep. I have something else inside me, not quite, not soft, not secret. They called me “headlights girl” in the newspapers.

There have been stranger kids born in the age of spirits. I checked. Every morning of fifth grade, I scanned the papers for small articles and mentions of “oddities” growing into anomalies.

A boy with fire on his breath. A girl with leaves sprouting from her head. A kid with antennae that could taste the wind. There are stranger things than me in the age of beasts and magic. My father calls it the “Epoch of Bastards,” sons and daughters of flickering fire elementals and wind ghosts who seduced half-asleep ladies from their beds.

He doesn’t look at me much. And I know what he means. I know what he means when he calls it the Epoch of Bastards. Growing up, I played in my little puddle of carpet on the floor as he blustered in and out of rooms like gale force winds. He’d be looking for his keys or left shoe or wallet since he was going out, out, out. I think I missed him at first, in the way you miss strangers you’ve never met.

Later, still on my puddle of carpet, still on my island, I would glare at him with that sour, acid taste in the back of my throat. Acrid, smoky, I would barely blink as he passed; he’d jump when he turned too quickly and accidentally fell into my path. Later still, I would begin to wish they were both like that—blustery and calling people names.

It sometimes felt better than hearing my mom weep to herself on the couch. I wish she’d do it in her room or outside or anywhere else than that theatrical sobbing in the middle of the house, a naked heartbeat to the place. She spoke to her friends on the phone in that same watery voice, handkerchief in hand and sniffling, she spoke to them more than me.

What else am I supposed to do? This isn’t how it was supposed to be. They could barely afford to send me to That School. I didn’t want to be there either.

We weren’t the same, not really. None of us are the same age and most everyone else stayed in dorms where they bonded with secrets and whispers and hiding from matrons under flat mattresses. It wasn’t the same.

They called me The Lighthouse and Car Face and Nightlight. Sometimes they’d give me a few bucks to close my eyes so they could see my face. I did it. They’d laugh and reassure me I was as ugly as you’d think. Or beautiful. Or perfectly average-looking or have a pig-nose or blackhole for a nose. I’d never seen anything but the blinding light of my own eyes in the mirror so I could never contradict them.

A boy with antlers handed me a twenty for a kiss in the 6th grade. I closed my eyes for that too. It was chapped and dry and he runs away with a screaming laugh afterward. There are stranger kids than me, I reminded myself. So why do I feel so much stranger than the rest of them?

I’m 16 when I heel-toe my way down the stairs toward the front door. A duffel bag slung over my shoulder stuffed with a collection of loose clothes, change, a bath towel, sewing kit, a bible written in a language I don’t speak, all the tampons in the house, and a Swiss-army knife.

I hoped to stuff as many cheddar-cheese sandwiches in my sack as possible before the midnight bus came, but he’s at the kitchen table. I don’t think either of us expected it, like running into your teacher at Target and you’re both buying the same brand of toilet cleaner. There’s a beer in front of his idle hands and he glances at the bag on my shoulder.

He sighs like I cut him off in traffic.

“Gimme a moment.”

My father leafs through a wad of cash he kept in a safe in the garage. He hands me almost three hundred bucks and we nod at each other. I’m out the door before the midnight bus arrives.

I watch the headlights of the bus approach through dense summer night and think it must be like looking at like, the glow of my eyes against its eyes. Can a bus be your father? Can your father be a man after all this time? Will your mother come looking for you?

I get on the bus and kick my feet up against the seat in front of me. Scrunched into a ball, I cross my arms over my chest, and watch the trees turn into flickering bodies of shadow with each passing mile. ------------- My feet move like tides. They toss me against nameless city streets and toward empty forested slices of land. I taste the painted deserts toward the west. I dip my toes into the largest cities with lights brighter than my own. I graze my palms on neon signs and hunch my shoulders against brick walls of back alleys.

No one touches me. They don’t come close enough when I open my eyes and they see nothing but heaven or devils or an absent lightning-God father that will smite them.

I find my way to the ocean; beaches where other stragglers gather. I don’t talk much, I don’t like to, and people stare at me whether I’m speaking or screaming and clamping down on my jaw so hard it aches. Sometimes I get yelled at: Turn that off! No phone lights in here. You’re blinding me, bitch!

I’ve never seen a movie in any theatres, but I can imagine what it’s like.

I like the ocean cities best with their pale buildings built into cliffs, narrow winding white paths, and crushed seashell parking lots. I like the tang of salt in the air and the way my hair crinkles from the ocean water as it sun-dries. I camp out on beaches and bum cigarettes and hotdogs off strangers. I’m good at taking care of myself once I get in a rhythm.

Sometimes, or often, I dream of sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I dream of descending on pointed ballerina-feet to the silted black bottom. I am weighted down through the cold to where no human has ever been before. I open my eyes there, I open them all the way, lightning-bright, and in my dreams, the salt doesn’t sting. It doesn’t hurt, instead, I light up the world, the whole untouched world of whales and fish and terror and maybe I do something good then. Maybe I do something good and bring the sun to places that have forgotten it.

I meet Mags on the beach. She’s got one eye and five teeth and carries around string and scissors everywhere. She smells like seawater and roasting kelp, dank and crusted over. Her clothes are neat despite her leather-cracked skin and her arms and neck are covered with tattoos of shipwrecks. She cackles and pulls me aside the first night we meet.

“What’s your name?” Her voice is old creaking wood. I am quiet. “I could give you one.” She offers with a grin that is more empty space than anything.

I shake my head. “Nana.”

“What do you like, kid?”

I shake my head again.

Mags likes me more than I deserve. I pocket her last pair of socks when she’s not looking. She never mentions it and drags me down to the community showers to get clean with soap and shampoo. She takes me to the soup restaurant for something that isn’t burnt or freeze-dried or from a convenience store. She cackles, she spits when she talks, people glare at her as well.

I think she’s normal, not touched by the spirits, but she likes me more than most people and I don’t know why.

“You like art, kid?”

I snort. “No.”

“Why not? You broken?�� Yeah. Probably.

“How am I supposed to know?” I snap.

“Lippy-wild thing. Come on, I’ll show you something worth your forked tongue.”

She heats the needle before she uses it, red hot and untouchable. She dips it into deep black inks, only black and sometimes red, she calls them the only colors that matter. She shows me how to prick the skin with color and movement. She shows me on her right foot first, all over those fine little bones that must hurt, in and out, a little bloody.

It takes her six hours to make a little shipwreck right above her big toe. It’s a schooner going under and I’m the only witness to the way she makes the waves come to life and crash against its sides. I can’t look away and I forget to blink. She didn’t seem to mind.

She washes another needle. She heats it red-hot. She dips it in ink and hands it to me.

I practice all over my thighs first, there’s enough meat there and it’s easy enough to reach: a lizard design that looks like nothing but squiggles, a wobbly stick figure on a skateboard, a tiny smudged skink with its tongue out. I practice designs in the sand. Mags takes me to the museum on Sundays. They’re free on Sundays.

Something stirs in my chest, even as the guards yell at me about how flash photography isn’t allowed in the museum. Even as I’m shooed out of exhibits for ruining the paint. Still, an ache so old it rots roars to life in my chest.

I stab in and out, gentle, a collection of stars right above my right knee. A winding sand snake next, and then finally, something good, something that gives people a reason to stare. I make it in the mirror: a ghost on my collarbone. Shadowed and intricate and simple, I put a ghost right above my collarbone and it bleeds more than the others.

I don’t want to leave the ocean city. Mags says she has to keep moving though. She gives me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“You're a gem, kid. You’ll knock ‘em all to the pavement.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “You’ll be back?”

She cackles. “Wouldn’t miss it. You know me.” She winks as she turns to the bus, my second father. “You think I’ll miss your great becoming, kid? I’ll be back.”

I want to make her pinky-promise like I’m a kid again and begging one of the other kids to tell me if I’m actually beautiful when I close my eyes. I can’t do that; I wave as she totters up the steps of the bus and is taken away with the tides of her own feet. ------------ I get an apprenticeship. Technically, Mags talked to them first and I just followed up when I had nothing better to do.

I didn’t think I’d like it much, but coach surfing and camping out on beaches is a tiring pastime. Penguin Davies and Bitch-Annie run a tattoo shop together. Davies walks like he’s never encountered land before, and Bitch-Annie has a throw-pillow that says “If you don’t have anything nice to say then come sit next to me.”

Davies is nothing but birds and dizzying M. C. Escher house-designs up and down his chest and arms. Bitch-Annie has topless mermaids and pinup girls across her shoulders and legs. She’s been asked to leave a number of stores before the children start staring or thinking thoughts.

Neither of them had ever met someone like me, it’s not that type of town. I rankle at most their questions, a cat meeting a steel brush. I brush off anything more personal than my favorite type of soda. Bitch-Annie calls me “Shadow” and I think it’s a joke. Davies says I must be possessed by the ghost of a dead star and now I’m nothing but a blackhole: take everything in and let nothing out.

Neither of them lets me touch a needle in those first six months. They have me practice on pig skin and stand by their shoulder as they work. I feel like a dental assistant except I’m the hanging light above shining into open mouths instead of anything with a pulse. I stand at their shoulder as they draw thick lines and thin dots and make hearts and wolves and names of dead lovers come to life.

They ask me to stop blinking and stand still. I almost walk out and find a new cliff to crash against, almost. No one had ever expected me to show up to something before. No one cared if I went to school or when I got home. And no one kept any tabs on me after I took that first bus. That’s how I liked it.

I should’ve left, it didn’t mean anything to me, not really. But Bitch-Annie stomped up to my attic-apartment one morning and threw pants at me.

“Get up, Shadow.” She was sterner than Mags, no hint of humor in her eyes. “I told you 9am so I expect 9am.”

“The fuck!?” I am eloquent in the morning.

“Pants, shirt, shoes, and bra if you don’t want the desk idiot staring at something other than your eyes all day.”

I grumble. I put on everything but the bra. No one ever expected me to be anywhere before. I tell myself I’ll just try it out, no harm in having a bit of a savings anyway. No harm in seeing what the fuss was about.

I wasn’t an artist of course. I didn’t understand what everyone else was seeing when they looked at the “old masters” paintings of water or war or lovers pulled apart. I didn’t feel anything in front of stain-glass windows in churches or mosaics on walls. Maybe there really was something wrong with my eyes. I don’t let up though. I put on pants for this, after all.

Penguin Davies hovered by my shoulder now.

“Mm.” He rumbled deep in his chest. He’d gone grey at an early age, he had tired eyes and quick hands. The desk kid said he’d been in medical school once, a surgeon. Davies muttered a lot, stared off into space too much, and laughed like it was always a surprise

“Perfectionist,” he muttered at me now as I start over on a crappy unicorn design. “The line’s barely off. You’re being a perfectionist, Nana.”

I scowled over my shoulder and let the full weight of my light hit him across the face. “Got a problem with it?” He chuckled darkly. His grin is crooked like a broken door handle. I tried to hide my work from him with my shoulder. “It’s not done yet.

“Look at you go. You know who makes the best artists, Nana?” He was always a bit of a philosopher. Maybe he used to study that before medicine.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. I’m working on it.”

He gave my shoulder a light push. “The ones that don’t quit.”

They let me touch a needle gun before the new year. I tell myself I’ll only sign my new apartment lease as an experiment. I don’t have to actually stay. I’ll just run from the ink on paper and hope no one chases after girls with eyes that glow.

I don’t break my lease. I draw cartoon heroes in speedos on tipsy college girls who swear they’re sober and erotic vampires on the chests of men getting their first divorce. I have to give two refunds for a duck that turns out lopsided and a tattoo of someone’s dog which I swore really was that ugly to begin with.

There was one at the end of that next year though, another college girl with nothing but doors ahead of her. She asked for a stick and poke, that was what I’m best at anyway, she asked for a butterfly. Butterflies were easy, I could do the little ones in my sleep. She wanted one all across her back, she said I could make it look however I wanted. So I did. Wings like fringed shawls and straight heavy lines combined with wispy swirling ones. It’s dark, black ink with red highlights and gray shadows under each wing to give it movement and flight.

I hide my smile when she goes to my bosses and points at it while jumping up and down. The best thing she’s ever seen. She should pay us double. Where did you get this girl? I try not to blink so they can’t see the wetness under my eyes.

Sometimes I still stand by the bus stop to check who’s coming off. I don’t expect to see Mags again so soon, but sometimes I want to show her: Hey, maybe your work wasn’t all wasted. Maybe I did start to become.

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