#I am allowed one (1) doodle between assignments

[cardbored-box]

Based on that one scene where Trey breaks into Yuma’s house and starts infodumping about alternate dimensions unprompted, I like to think he’s really into conspiracy theories and stuff like that. His brothers are unsure how to feel about it.

[edoro]

so last year i decided to go back to my roots. way back. ‘high school’ back. owing to the general crushing miasma of my life circumstances and brain at the time, when i was in school, i didn’t really pay attention in class or do assignments or take notes. what i did, instead, was write absolutely dreadful (quality and content-wise) fanfiction, by hand, in the same notebook i also occasionally did take notes in (and also stored every single piece of paper i was handed between the front cover and first page of)

(no. that was not a functional organizational system. yes, it is an actual miracle that i graduated and the only reason is because i’m extremely good at standardized tests.)

and i was SO productive! i would fill up so many notebooks! and then it just dropped off and i have never been that productive again. so, i said to myself, i said, What If I Started Doing That Again?

so i decided to just grab an empty notebook and start writing. outlines, bits of scenes, however much of an idea i could get down on the page. i suffer a lot from Blank Page Anxiety Syndrome with a word or google document, but with notebooks, 1) my handwriting is already terrible 2) i can doodle and scribble and write notes in the margins and just mess em up and 3) the more messed up and battered a notebook is, the more satisfied i feel. and the more fucked up the notebook is, the less pressure i feel for the words in it to actually be any good.

this turned out to work really well for getting ideas out of my head and onto the page, but didn’t result in being able to share it much, see point number 1 about my handwriting (i have motor control issues)

so i decided to do something a little insane. i decided that i was going to institute a 2 draft writing process. FIRST i would outline an idea (i tend to do successive outlines until i come up with something blocked out Important Scene By Important Scene, grouped into conceptually related chunks i call ‘chapters’ but which absolutely does not tend to reflect the actual chapter count i end up with), THEN i would start writing according to my outline (which would inevitably be adjusted frequently as i told the story to myself), and THEN once i had a completed written first draft, i would type up the SECOND draft, and publish that one.

and this has worked really well actually! this is how i wrote every human touch, which i’m still very proud of. and it’s how i’ve written most of a doorstopper novel’s length fic about Hunter’s Slowburn Trauma Reveal In The Owl House.

and it’s how last night i sat down to finally start typing up another chunk of my 2nd draft and ended up doing 7.5k goddamn words in one day, which is an absolutely bonkers level of writing in a day for me.

the combo of notebook writing allowing me to just get words down and block out the scene without getting too bogged down in worrying about the quality, and then having the basic building blocks already in place so i can move stuff around and deviate as needed when i start typing means that i am just like, actually very close to finishing a very long fic and being able to publish it, and i’m just really excited about that... and hoping i can transfer this process over to original writing, too.

[tamakeey]

there are children present (pt. 1)

doctor! ushijima wakatoshi x doctor! reader

ushijima is was your typical pediatrician at the miyagi health clinic

the only difference is he’s 6′2 and very beefy which is pretty funny when he’s surrounded by kid-size furniture everyday

his rough exterior scares his patients at times but everyone in the pediatrics department knows he’s a real softie on the inside

everyone until y/n joins the pediatrics team at the miyagi health clinic

on her first day of work, y/n lost her way around the big building 

she looked in all directions hoping someone would see her confused stares and help a poor girl out

luckily ushijima spotted the girl while she was looking down at her phone, seeing the message her supervisor had sent her yesterday about the wing she would be working in

however, in y/n’s eyes, seeing a giant walking towards her with an intimidating aura made the girl shiver in her hospital clogs

as ushijima grew closer to her, she flinched in fear, and began chanting words along the lines of “pls spare me”

when ushijima saw her visibly shaking in his presence, his face morphed into one of confusion

in his mind he was questioning do I really scare people that much

 he took a deep breath and mustered up the most gentle, nurturing voice he could to speak to the woman

“I apologize if I startled you, it was never my intention. you just looked lost and I thought you would need some of my assistance” ushijima said shyly

y/n feels terrible having misjudged his intentions and forms a look of guilt on her face after hearing him speak to her, having a minor yachi panicking moment

“I’m so sorry, I’m just nervous around new people. I would greatly appreciate some help finding my way to the pediatrics department please. I would hate to be late on my first day” y/n responds while craning her neck upwards to look at the tower man

ushijima nods, letting out a quiet “follow me” as he led her to the department he works in everyday

as they arrive to the pediatrics department, y/n is in awe at the miniature chairs and table fit for toddlers, chalkboard cluttered with doodles, and small toys in the waiting area

suddenly she hears the receptionist greet ushijima from the counter 

“ahh hello yamagata, I see you came into the office earlier than usual today” ushijima replies stoically, proceeding to scan his card into the door, allowing him access to the department

y/n begins to question how he has access to the pediatrics department, believing he worked in a different department and only helped to guide her to where she needed to go

as she goes in, she is greeted by her supervisor

however, she did not expect for her supervisor to be a grumpy old man with the bushiest eyebrows she has ever seen

“hello, you must be y/n. I am your supervisor tanji washijou. I see you have met our top pediatrician, Dr. Ushijima Wakatoshi” the elder greeted the poor girl whose soul has suddenly left her body

not only did she misjudge ushijima when he was trying to help her, he’s also her coworker

“you will be assigned a nurse who will be your partner working here. your patients are now their patients, so it’s best to get to know your nurse as you will have to work together to help the patients that come in” washijou continues

the girl nods as she follows washijou down a long hall to an office area where she sees the room section off into cubicles that are labeled with a name plate for each pediatrician

y/n spots the cubicle that has her name plastered on one of its walls and walks towards it

“I see you have found your cubicle, this is where you will work when you have no appointments, whether it’s looking at documents and analyzing test results, all that will happen in here” washijou explains

y/n nods signifying that she understood the elder’s words and began looking around her cubicle, imagining the personal items she may store here to make it feel cozier

washijou brings her out of her thoughts as he walks out the door, informing the young woman that he will be bringing her assigned nurse to her cubicle so they could get to know one another. 

as y/n is unpacking her work bag, she hears the door open which causes her to see who is entering office area

she sees two men walking towards her, one immensely tall and the other shorter in comparison to the giant he stands next to

the shorter male has noticeable ash blonde hair with darker tips, although he looks tough, she notices a comforting aura surrounding him which makes her less frightened than her previous encounters

the taller male, for sure intimidated the poor new girl he’s 6′2 with dark ginger hair and although he is on the lankier side, his resting face is what causes the girl to avoid his piercing stare

as they stop in front of the girl, she realizes these are the nurses that have been assigned to her 

“hello, my name is semi eita. I am a registered nurse who has been here for a few years. I look forward to getting to know you and working along side you” the shorter male introduces himself

y/n notices his gentle, deep voice that has put her in a calmer state as she replies “good morning, I am y/n y/l/n, I am excited to work with you as well and hope we can build a closer bond as we work alongside one another” 

noticing the poor girl fiddling with her fingers as she glances at his taller counterpart, semi begins once again, “this is kawanishi taichi, he is currently fulfilling his residency requirements under my supervision, so he will also be working fairly close beside you” 

“I look forward to working with you” kawanishi speaks for the first time in his lazy tone while bowing to the girl

“thank you, I hope to provide a good learning experience for you” y/n responds, bowing back to the tall boy

soon, the door is being opened again, and y/n sees ushijima walking in with a tall red head wearing blue scrubs

“I’m just saying wakatoshi-kun, the content within the jump magazines are more amusing than the ads” the tall red head asserts

ushijima nods and then approaches the trio standing at y/n’s cubicle

“hello Dr. y/l/n, this is my nurse tendou satori. I apologize, he’s a little bit on the loud side” ushijima says quite bluntly

“wakatoshi-kun, that’s very harsh to say. I’m hurt” tendou replies

y/n giggles before responding back, “pleasure to meet you tendou, I hope to be able to get to know you better while working in the same department with you” 

the rest of the day was spent with the five getting to know each other due to the slow day in the office and none of them having any appointments for the day

during the next few months, y/n is forming close bonds with those she met on her first day (minus washijou) and adjusting to her job phenomenally 

getting to know her patients, noting all their symptoms, and diagnosing them in a fairly quick manner 

leading her to be fairly popular in the office as many parents are bringing their children to her office

ushijima, although very efficient in analyzing his patients’ records and diagnosing his patients very quickly, struggles with communicating to them in a manner that would not scare them off

especially today, when one toddler in particular was not fond of his scary appearance

the little boy had walked into the checkup room, holding his mother’s hand

his bangs cut in a slant direction (they’re basically uneven and looks like the hypotenuse of a triangle, I suck with descriptions so I’m hoping you all know I'm talking about shirabu LOL)

when tendou walked in to take the child’s temperature and blood pressure, the child was struggling to remain calm as a towering red headed male with crazy eyes kept looking at him dead on

after taking the necessary data on the child, tendou says quite animatedly “alright shirabu, Dr. Ushijima will be with you shortly, make yourself comfortable and help yourself to some books in the bucket”

shirabu’s mother hands him a little book which leads him to flipping through the pages and pointing at the cute animals within it

once an a while having to blow his uneven bangs out his eyes

all of a sudden the door opens and when shirabu looks up, his whole face pales and tears begin gathering in his eyes

 to shirabu, a giant, mean looking man stands in front of him, ready to yell at him, kill him, or anything horrible in-between

before ushijima could let a word out, shirabu begins to sob loudly on the examination table

ushijima stops walking towards shirabu, as his mom reaches out to console him

as shirabu’s mother is trying to comfort him and tell him how ushijima is here to make sure he's healthy, shirabu continues to sob louder and repeatedly scream “but he’s so scary”

ushijima freezes on the spot 

usually when children are frightened of him their parents are able to calm them down 

but shirabu is relentless and stubbornly continues to cry to his little toddler bum’s desire

ushijima excuses himself from the room, stating that he will be back shortly, shutting the door behind him

outside the examination room, ushijima was silently panicking

why was I cursed with such a big body

why do people always think my facial expression is scary, it’s just my resting face

I’m not mad at least 98% of the time

I just want the kids to feel safe and comfortable to tell me their problems so I can fix them as fast as possible :(

as he was having an internal conversation with himself, y/n walks by and notices the distress on his face

she begins to grow concern for the man, she’s grown to know as a giant teddy bear

yes she caught feels for him within the past few months

semi and kawanishi never let her live it down, making it their mission to fluster her on the subject at least once a day

she walks over to the conflicted giant, but not before noticing the three nurses around the corner staring at her with a smirk on each of their faces

ofc tendou is in that upside down position (y'all know which one I’m talking about)

rolling her eyes at her three spectators, she turned back to ushijima to deal with his internal crisis

“Ushijima, did you need help with something?” y/n asked as she approached him

“no, I do not understand why my latest patient is so afraid of me. I did not even get to speak a word before he started screaming. usually I at least get one word in” ushijima replies as the cries of shirabu could still be heard through the door

y/n winces at the boy’s shrill cries but is also impressed that it is able to resonate past the wooden door

“did you want me to try to talk to the patient first? hopefully, get him to ease into you” y/n offered

ushijima nodded curtly, handing y/n the patient’s information which she glances over fairly quick

y/n takes a deep breath and opens the door, which causes the cries to come at a higher volume

shirabu opens his eyes after hearing the door open, thinking the scary tall man came back to kill him only to be greeted by a smaller woman with gentle eyes

the child halts his cries, but the tears keep falling silently

y/n grabs some tissues from the counter and wipes the poor boy’s face which is red from all his sobs

she crouches down to the boy’s height and smiles gently at him

“hey little guy, I’m Dr. y/l/n. I heard you’re being a brave little boy visiting the doctor today” y/n speaks in a nurturing voice

shirabu nods shyly, still tucked away in his mother’s arms

“I promise you Dr. Ushijima is nothing you should be scared of, he’s the best doctor in the building who will help you feel better” y/n explains gently to the boy who shakes his head in his mother’s shoulder

“he’s giant and scary” shirabu speaks for the first time while fiddling with his smol bby fingers

“I'll let you in on a secret little guy” y/n whispers towards shirabu

being the curious child he is, shirabu lets go of his mother and scoots his little bum towards the edge of the examination table to listen in on the secret 

“Dr. Ushijima looks scary, but he’s really gentle and soft. just think of him as a soft teddy bear because really that's all he is” y/n whispers making the little boy giggle thinking of the tall mean doctor dressed as a soft bear

“with that said, will you be okay to see Dr. Ushijima now?” y/n asks

shirabu nods with the picture of his doctor dressed as a bear freshly engraved into his mind

y/n nods and bows to shirabu’s mother before stepping out of the examination room to fetch the giant pediatrician

“he’s ready to see you now, he might actually be very excited” y/n informs ushijima

ushijima nods, takes a deep breath, and walks into the room shirabu is in

shirabu look up to the tall doctor, eyes still slightly glassy from his previous crying session

although he is still shaking in his child boots (shoes? sneakers? whatever shoes your heart desires) 

he refrains from screaming out, imagining the big man as a teddy bear like he has been for the past couple minutes

“hello, I am Dr. Ushijima and I am here to help you fix your problems” the giant doctor voices out, still nervous on the inside

after half and hour of speaking to shirabu, ushijima concludes that the poor boy just jammed his fingers and just needs to tape them

“may I ask what you were doing that caused you to jam your fingers?” ushijima asks gently

the boy shakily replies “I was setting the volleyball to my friend but my timing was off” 

ushijima eyes light up at the mention of volleyball as he ask incredulously, “you play volleyball?” 

the child nods timidly as ushijima gets a glint in his eyes that is unfamiliar to the poor boy

“I played in high school, I was a wing spiker” ushijima replies causing the child’s eyes to also light up 

“really, that’s so cool. I’ve been watching old clips from high school nationals and the wing spiker on shiratorizawa is amazing. he has so much power, I wish to set for him someday” shirabu rambles before he looks at ushijima and recognizes him from the videos he’s been watching

“WOAH YOU WERE THE ACE OF SHIRATORIZAWA FROM THE VIDEOS I WATCHED?!?” shirabu exclaims with stars shining in his eyes

ushijima chuckles and hums a positive answer causing the little boy to spitfire questions to the man such as:

how many points did you score each game?

did you ever break the floor with your serve?

has anyone ever broken a bone from your deadly spike?

shirabu’s mom began to scold shirabu for bombarding ushijima with too many questions making the poor toddler bow his head in shame and slap his chubby cheeks with his own hands as a self-punishment

ushijima seeing the poor inflict pain on himself began to panic and continuously ask the boy to stop hurting himself

“I would love to answer your questions sometime but I have a patient coming in 20 minutes but feel free to contact me through my email or phone number on the clinic website if you want to continue talking about volleyball. I see you have a great interest for it” ushijima says making shirabu look up adorned with red cheeks and starry eyes

shirabu nods eagerly asking his mom to help him use the computer when he gets home so he can talk to ushijima

“I also wouldn't mind coaching you on my off days.  I haven’t played volleyball in a long time so please toss for me sometime” ushijima says crouching down to the shirabu’s height and giving him a small smile

said boy squeals in excitement and claps his little hands together

“THANK YOU SO MUCH DR. USHIJIMA” shirabu exclaims, going in and giving ushijima a hug

shirabu’s mom could definitely be heard in the background lecturing shirabu on his manners and personal space

but ushijima doesn’t mind

in fact, he is touched that a patient feels so comfortable with him and enjoys his presence

releasing himself from shirabu’s hug he then speaks, “well then I’ll be off, I hope to hear from you soon” 

shirabu hops off the examination table and bows to the tall man and exclaims, “yes, thank you for everything, doctor”

shirabu grabs his mother’s hand and leaves the room as ushijima holds the door open for them

as ushijima walks into the office room, he sees y/n typing reports on the computer

he approaches her and taps her shoulder causing the poor girl to jump in her seat

“I apologize for startling you, I just wanted to thank you for helping me calm down shirabu earlier” ushijima shows his gratitude 

“it’s no big deal, I'm glad to be of use to the best pediatrician in the whole unit” y/n replies with a smile on her face

ushijima then notices his heart beat quickening and thumping louder than normal

he believes that anyone could hear its rapid beat without requiring a stethoscope 

[mcleaha]

hello lovelies ! i’m bøffy , i’m 20 years old , prefer she/her pronouns , and currently reside in the pst timezone ! uhh . . . i am posting this intro at nearly 5 AM my time , and i would be almost willing to bet it’s littered with errors and it’s . . . probably a bit all – over – the – place since this is very much a new muse ! however , with that being said , if you give this a like , i will definitely contact you via tumblr ims or d!scord ( 𝓲𝓷𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪 / 𝓮𝔁𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪#1384 ) to plot !

[  jasmine brown  . 21  .  cis female .  she/her  ] just saw MALEAH AMICK dragging their suitcase up the steps to CABIN 1B  .  good luck living with HER  ,  i hear that that they’re INDECISIVE  ,  FORGETFUL ,  SOCIABLE  & CREATIVE  .  Apparently they’re the ATTACKING MIDFIELDER .  let’s hope the upcoming season doesn’t affect their JUNIOR year of ART EDUCATION .

STATS:

name: maleah amick .

nickname(s): leah .

age: twenty one .

gender identity: cis female .

pronouns: she/her .

sexual orientation: bisexual / biromantic .

birthday: 26 february 1999 .

zodiac sign: pisces .

myer-briggs: esfj .

pinterest: coming soon !

HISTORY:

               born on the 26th of february 1999 in orlando , florida , maleah was the youngest of the three amick siblings . her mother worked as a prestigious board – certified pediatric surgeon at a local children’s hospital , and her father worked as a high school mathematics teacher and volunteered as the school’s unpaid soccer coach , a move that saved the program from ending due to budget cuts ( he claims he was roped into the position as a first – year teacher with no seniority , but while he’s reluctant to admit it , he eventually grew a passion for the sport he had previously known little about ) .

               with her mother’s long shifts and emergency work – related calls , she ultimately became closer to her father and two older brothers while growing up . most knew her father as a man who towered over them at 6’7” , ordering his team to run laps or practice drills ; however , maleah knew him as the man who would crawl around the living room floor playing barbies with her or would prepare fruit and herbal teas as she twirled around dressed as a princess , declaring it time for a royal tea party . just as easily , she could be found exploring the great outdoors or playing whatever sport was currently in season alongside her brothers .

               she practically followed in her brothers’ footsteps . as they approached high school , each brother chose one sport to specialize in , hoping to secure a position on a college team and eventually on a professional team . maleah did not have professional athletic goals , but although she had immaculate grades with limited effort put towards academics , she knew extra – curricular activities were important for college applications . thus , when it was maleah’s turn to choose which sport to pursue , rather than having to weigh the pros and cons and make her own decision ( or perhaps , fearing that she would make the wrong decision ) , she simply chose the sport that her brothers had previously chosen : soccer .

               her high school coach knew the perfect position for maleah . years of informal practice with her brothers in the backyard had enhanced her skills . she had learned how to evade skilled high school defenses by pretending as if she was heading in one direction before bolting in the other .  soccer was one of the few areas in life in which she possessed enough knowledge to make quick and effective decisions ; she could read the field and immediately determine the best course of action : dribble , pass , or shoot . ultimately , she possessed the vision and the creativity necessary to secure playmaking and goal-scoring opportunities for her team .

               with a line of college scholarships , both academic and athletic , waiting for the attacking midfielder’s choice ( unfortunately , none from either of the schools her brothers played for ) , the time came for maleah to make a decision . as deadlines for summer practices , class registration , and tuition payments crept closer , she finally determined a means of deciding . she numbered her offer letters , 1 through 13 , and allowed a random number generator to make the decision for her . thus , mere chance ( or perhaps fate ) led maleah to hollis university .

               her first semester at hollis was . . . rough , to put it lightly . while most freshman shed a few tears as they watched their parents’ car drive off into the distance , homesickness lingered in maleah’s life . coasting through high school with limited effort had done her zero favors ; with no effective study skills , her grades dropped dramatically . between soccer and trying to salvage her grade point average , a social life was virtually out of question . ultimately , she found herself on academic probation , unable to play soccer , for her second semester of freshman year at hollis .

               luckily , she was able to develop effective study habits , and even discovered along the way that maybe pre – med was not the best major for her . when asked what she wanted to do , maleah gave an entire list of generic answers – “i want to help people” and “i want to make a difference” came up quite often , but nothing specific enough to point her in the right direction . thus , she changed her major almost every semester , desperately seeking for the right fit . in the meantime , though it took several letters petitioning her temporary removal from the team , she was able to resume playing soccer during her sophomore year .

               as junior year approached , maleah was almost certain that she was back in her coach’s good graces – no longer viewed with a sense of skepticism . she had proven herself capable , finding her name on the dean’s list nearly every semester and assisting her team in numerous wins throughout the soccer season . however , with hollis’ soccer teams’ restructuring , maleah can’t help but question if her coach views her as a valued athlete or a liability .

PERSONALITY:

               two words : social butterfly . almost to a fault . even if someone has expressed quite literally zero interest in talking to her / getting to know her , she will still make an attempt . kind of a . . . people – pleaser , in a sense , she just wants to be well – liked ?

               avoids ! conflict ! at ! all ! costs ! generally just . . . tries to avoid people or situations that upset her . not very prone to like . . . yelling or crying , but those close to her can definitely sense a change in her demeanor when she’s upset ? just . . . a lot more tense , probably lots of eye – rolling and just . . . subtle , quiet signs that she is over whatever the problem is .

               kinda . . . chill , mellow , easygoing ? she very much lives in the moment , and tries not to stress too much about the future . always down for a drink , a party , whatever – genuinely just around for some fun and some friends !!!

               the kind of person who genuinely gets excited over like those fun facts and jokes that are on popsicle sticks and whatnot – absolutely must share the information with everyone within earshot . honestly , those jokes are very . . . on point with her own personal sense of humor jflakdsj .

HEADCANONS:

               she suffers from a terrible case of youngest child syndrome . ultimately , without guidance , she’s terribly irresponsible . she’s always having to run extra laps because she sets her alarm too late to make it to morning practices on time . she’s always receiving overdraft fees for spending more money than is available in her checking account . forgets everything – from homework assignments to names to grabbing her keys before locking the door on her way out . just . . . imagine a child asking for an adult’s help and her looking around until she comes to the realization that “ oh , shit , i am an adult ” .

               she’s practically always doodling – in the corners of notebooks , on napkins while eating lunch , on her clothing , on her own skin . she loves making art , particularly drawing or painting portraits or nature . ( ultimately , she only decided to incorporate this into her choice of major after hollis threatened to not allow any further changes to her major ) .

               she has a . . . unique sense of style . she has a passion for thrifting and upcycling . practically lives in hoodies and t – shirts that she has purchased from secondhand stores and cropped herself . always adding cool iron-on patches to her clothing . she should be listed as your emergency contact if you’re prone to ripping your clothing because she can definitely fix it .

               she probably thinks she’s good at trash-talking on the field , but she actually sounds like a second grader ( and that’s being kind ) . if you looked at her browser history , there’s probably at least one record of her actually googling “ best soccer trash talk ” .

CONNECTIONS:

friends !! friends she’s met through courses throughout her adventures of attempting every major possible , mayhaps soccer friendships that continue off the field , mayhaps that complicated emerging new friendship state for some who are new to hollis ! unlikely friends ! best friends !!! quite literally those unbreakable ride – or – die friendships !

muses !! i feel like every artist needs that little dose of inspiration , even if it’s simply the inspiration of a work – in – progress portrait throughout the duration of camp ! complaints of “ stop moving ! ” and her stopping every ten minutes to ask what they think and probably at some point , her flinging a brush dripping of paint in their direction (if things didn’t end in an all – out paint fight djlfakds ) .

enemies !! honestly i’m sure there is ?? so much ?? potential for this , bt . . . mayhaps someone’s just . . . fed up w her irresponsibility ? thinks she doesn’t take her soccer position seriously ? maybe someone doesn’t think she takes anything seriously ( they wouldn’t be . . . wrong tbh ) . maybe someone from cali takes that “ california vs florida ” feud a little too seriously jflskdja . idk there’s always bound to be personality clashes !

exes !! relationships that ended badly , so she actively tries to avoid them and who even knows what happens when she’s forced to acknowledge their existence at some point at this camp !!! maybe relationships that ended on mutual terms so they’re still p chill with each other ?? maybe ended relationships that never quite got closure so there’s still unresolved feelings !!

hook-ups !! they are . . . college students . they are . . . college students stuck at a camp all summer . idk i feel like this one is pretty self – explanatory jflakds .

honestly i am tired & want to sleep , bt genuinely i am up for & open to anything ! good influences , bad influences , unrequited crushes , requited crushes , idk the world is y(our) oyster !! these are . . . rlly just some ideas to get the whole process started bc i am actually terrible at . . . thinking of plot ideas on the spot . always open to jst . . . doing a thread and seeing how things naturally flow too !

[haikyuupenpals]

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I’m a minor, can I still participate?

Yes, but minors must have their parent(s) or guardian(s) permission to share their address. Since minors are allowed to participate, no NSFW content will be allowed in the letters, and we ask you to be respectful to your pen pal. 

On the sign-up form, there will be a place for you to indicate whether you are willing to be matched with an adult, a minor, or either. You are welcome to request not to be matched with an adult / minor for any reason.

Please review our Minor Policy for more information.

What if the mail services in my country are experiencing major delays or other issues?

Postal services worldwide have been affected by the current situation. There are no deadlines for when letters need to arrive, so please don’t let delays stop you from signing up if that is your only concern! However, if mail is frequently being lost or destroyed in your area, or if you have health concerns about receiving mail from your local postal service, please consider carefully when deciding to sign up. 

I can’t send a real letter - is there an option to send an email instead?

Since this event is specifically focused on sending real, physical letters to your pen pal, we won’t be having an all-digital option. Logistically, it’s just too complicated for us two mods to run both a physical letter sending event and a virtual letter sending event at the same time. We apologize if this means that some of you won’t be able to participate. 

What if I need to drop out of the event?

Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to drop out! We get it—life can get in the way, and it's totally okay if you need to drop out for any reason. We will find a new pen pal for your assigned partner.

Pen Pal Sign-Ups

How do I sign-up?

You can sign-up through this Google Form! Sign-ups will be open through July 13th, 2020 (closing at 11:59PM Pacific Time). The form will take approximately 15 minutes to fill out. 

Is there an option to only send a letter within my own country?

Yes! The sign-up form will ask for your country of residence (i.e. where you’ll be sending your letter from), and whether you’re willing to send an international letter. If you answer “no,” moderators will match you up with a pen pal within your own country. If there are no participants from within your country, mods will contact you during the matching period. 

Do I have to provide my legal name?

No. You will be asked to provide a name for your letter address, but this does not need to be your legal name. Any moniker will work. 

In addition, the name you provide for your address does not need to be the same as the name you ask your pen pal to address you by, or the name you give the mods for internal communication. You can provide different names for all three of these situations, if you’d like to.

What are you doing to protect my personal information?

Please refer to our Data Privacy and Protection policy for the full explanation on how your data is being used, protected, and distributed to your pen pal.

Pen Pal Matching

How will pen pals be matched?

After sign-ups close, pen pals will be matched up in a 1-to-1 scenario. You’ll send a letter to your pen pal, and your pen pal will send a letter to you. This was chosen to make any necessary partner switching a little easier and to minimize the amount of personal information being shared.

Moderators will try to match you with a pen pal that has similar interests to you based on what you wrote in the sign-up form, but we may not have an exact match (especially keeping in mind your mailing preferences). One of the goals of this exchange is to introduce participants to new people, so it’s likely that you won’t know your recipient. We encourage you to introduce yourself in your letter and ask questions! 

When can I talk to my pen pal?

If your penpal has shared their social media handles, you are welcome to reach out as soon as matches go out to ask for clarifications, optional gift preferences, or just to chat. If no social media handles have been provided, you will have to communicate the old-fashioned way in your letters! 

If you don’t have your penpal’s social media handles but need to ask an important question before letters are sent, please reach out to a mod, and we’ll help facilitate communication.

Will I be able to switch pen pals?

We will do our best to match all participants with awesome partners. However, we understand that sometimes, partner switches need to happen. After pen pals are matched, there will be a short period where, if necessary, you can request to be matched with a new penpal. Please only request to switch partners if absolutely necessary. 

Once all partnerships have been finalized, addresses will be sent, and you will no longer be able to switch pen pal partners. This is to minimize the amount of people who get access to confidential address information.

How will addresses be distributed?

After pen pal partners have been finalized, we will send addresses via email using GMail confidentiality mode. This will allow us mods to delete the email and the confidential information it contains after the event is complete.

If you are a GMail user, confidentiality mode emails will not look significantly different from normal emails. If you are not a GMail user, your email will include a link where you can view the email. Follow the prompts to verify your email and view your partner’s address.

Letter Creation

What do I put in my letter? 

You can write about ANYTHING, with the exception of NSFW content. There’s no minimum word count, the only requirement is that you send a letter to your pen pal! We encourage you to ask each other questions, share headcanons, write drabbles, scribble doodles in the margins, or plaster your letter in stickers. Let your pen pal know what your favorite arc or episode is, relive your favorite moments from Haikyuu!!, or send photos of your keychain collection or cosplays. As long as it is SFW and fits in your envelope, feel free to send whatever you’d like.

If you’re comfortable, we also encourage you to share your social media, Discord, or AO3 usernames, so that y’all can find each other online after the exchange is over!

Can I include gifts for my pen pal? Can I send a package? 

For this event, we’re requiring that you send a flat envelope to your pen pal. This envelope can still include little doodles, fic, stickers, and other small little gifts. If you’d like to send a package, in addition to your letter, you may choose to do so.

Do not feel obligated to send a gift to your pen pal. The only requirement for the event is to send a letter! This is not a secret santa event, but rather a pen pal letter exchange.

We have chosen to require a letter in a flat envelope to be sent for three main reasons: equity, ability to moderate, and current postal delay. First, we know that not everyone can afford to send a package -- requiring a letter makes this event more accessible to all people, without feeling obligated to send something extra. We also don’t have a structure in place to be able to moderate the packages people are sending. Finally, postal services around the world are seeing mail (and packages especially) being delayed. We don’t want your recipient waiting months and months for your gift to be received. 

That being said, if you’d like to send a package, feel free to send one in addition to your letter! You could even mention in your letter that your pen pal can look forward to an additional package arriving. These will not be moderated in any way by the Sincerely, Haikyuu!! team, and we advise you to coordinate with your pen pal, if necessary. 

If you are sending a package, make sure that you’re checking current postal guidelines, and be wary of sending any perishable goods with the current delay in shipping. Also check if the address provided by your pen pal is a P.O. box, as not all P.O. boxes can accept packages.

Letter Sending

Do letters need to be tracked?

We will have a Google form for participants to fill out to confirm that letters have been sent, but we will not require tracking for individual letters. 

If you choose to send your pen pal an additional package, you may think about adding tracking to that package. 

What happens at the end of the letter creation period?

All participants will be expected to confirm that they sent their letter (or communicate extenuating circumstances so that we can inform your recipient that their letter is delayed). This check-in will be a Google Form that will be distributed at the end of the letter creation period. Once you’ve received your letter, the event is complete!

Am I supposed to write a letter back?

Only if you want! It’s not required for the event, but if you want to mail a letter back to your pen pal, you can! 

The primary goal of Sincerely, Haikyuu!! was to create a one-time pen pal exchange between fans of Haikyuu!!, not create long-term pen pals, but if you enjoy exchanging letters, we encourage you to continue!

I never received my letter! 

 Mail services all over the world are experiencing delays right now. Your letter may just be stuck somewhere in between you and your pen pal’s home. If you’re still worried about the state of your letter, please contact the mods!

Mod Contact

Who is running this event?

The mods for this event are Ry (rythyme) and Zoe (SoVeryAverageMe). You might know us from SportsFest 2018, an event we co-created and moderated.

During SportsFest 2018, we mailed out postcards with a personal note from the mod team to any participant that wanted one, as a souvenir from the event. (Even the postcard design itself was created by a Sportsfest participant!) Seeing everyone’s reactions to receiving them remains one of our favorite memories of the event, and we’re hoping that this pen pal exchange can inspire some of the same positive energy! 

I have a question that wasn’t answered!

If we haven’t answered your question here, you can contact the mods through twitter, tumblr, or directly by email at: hqpenpals@gmail.com

[chaotic-yeet]

every single fucking one yobi

Hey Strawberry, you asked for this

Do you ever doubt anyone else's existence other than your own: Not really no

On a scale of 1-5 how afraid of the dark are you: 5+ I have nyctophobia so it's extremely bad for me

The person you would never want to meet: Does knowing them and no longer speaking count? An old friend of mine, I hope I never see her again

What is your favorite word: I'm actually not sure, I have a few ones I like to say because I pronounce them wrong, but I don't think I have a favorite

If you were a type of tree, what kind would you be: Maybe a birch tree? They're my favorite kind in minecraft sooo

When you looked in the mirror this morning, what did you first think: "Damn I need to wash my face more"

What shirt are you wearing:. A Mammoth one! It's dark gray, has a bear on the back and front chest area, and has blue, pink, and purple fade on it (the bi flag!)

What do you label yourself as: a fuckin bastard or dumbass thats what

Bright room or dark room: I have sensitive eyes so a dark room, but with either soft light or nightlight, I hate complete darkness

What were you doing at midnight last night: Talking to @the-strawzish-clownfish , while being on call with @psychotic-roach he had fallen asleep

Favorite age you've been so far: 13 probably, which sounds weird, but my mental health got better that year (it didn't stay that way but eh)

Who told you they loved you last: @psychotic-roach !! And I love you too (once you read this :D)

Your worst enemy: Myself and an old friend I mentioned in like, question 3

What's your current desktop picture: On my main laptop it's a Marble Hornets fanart (that I adore) and on my Chromebook it's some space doodles in the bi colors

Do you like someone: Fuck yes I do, @psychotic-roach you're fucking great and deserve the world

The last song you listened to: Deku Palace remix! I'm a huge EDM/ Trap fan, combine it with Zelda music and I'm hooked!

You can press a button to make one specific person explode, who would you pick: Old friend from before

Who would you really just love to punch in the face: Many, many people

If anyone could be your slave for the day, who would it be and what would they do: Well probably a close friend of mine, and I'd have him play smash with me and make pancakes with me (basically beg him to hang out even though it's quarantine so we can have fun again)

What's your best physical attribute: Probably my hair, it's dyed purple and used to be shaved

If you were the opposite sex for a day, what would you look like and what would you do: I'd probably look the same just taller and less curves, and I'd probably jerk off or go on some 3am walk because fuck it I can

Do you have a secret talent: I don't think so, I have a shitty memory, but not when it comes to naming ninjago episodes, @the-strawzish-clownfish can verify

What is one unique thing you're afraid of: Touching Rays, any kind, especially the ones at aquariums that come up to the tank wall that you can pet

You can only have one kind of sandwich, every ingredient is at your disposal: Well call me white, but my usual, white bread turkey and shredded cheese. That's it. I'm super lame.

You just found $100 how are you gonna spend it: Save it, I always save hundreds without hesitation

You just got a free plane ticket to go anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately: Uh, probably Georgia to see some family

Basically an Angel says I'll give you lost of booze forever be specific: Uh, fuck I dunno I don't drink, Fuckin' Crown Royal for shits and giggles why not

An island in which you can make your own rules, what's the first: Stay on your own turf unless someone allows you to come in, unless it's emergency (and I know this rule will cause problems, it's a guideline at best)

What is your favorite expletive: Tie between Bullshit and Fuck, I absolutely love those two

Your house is on fire (but everyone is okay) what one object do you grab: Well, in my current room right now? My phone, I'll still have contact with people I love and have my art (the only thing I care about in here) with me too

You can erase any horrible experience from your past: Main one, I won't actually say allowed but Roach you know what it is, but one I can put on here, Probably some embarrassing thing I did, most like everyone else

You got kicked out of your country, where would you live: GERMANY! I love the German language and I'd absolutely love to go to Germany and live with it!

Death is a good dude and says you can choose who to bring back: My cat who died a few years ago, he was an awesome cat that didn't deserved to die at 6 years old

What was your last dream about: I have super long dreams, like so much goes on in them it's like a story, too long to type out, @psychotic-roach knows it. Long story short, Pirates and apartments under water

Are you a good (insert whatever): Am I a good, fuck I dunno let's do artists because it's easy. I think I do decent enough

Have you ever been admitted to the hospital: No, only when I was a newborn in the nicu because I wasn't latching right

Have you ever built a snowman: Nope, but my friend did and I watched. His snowman was tiny and got stepped on, my friend shed a few tears

What is the color or your socks: Not wearing any right now, but usually gray

What type of music do you like: EDM AND TRAP BABYYY IF IT'S LOUD I LOVE IT

Do you prefer sunrise or sunset: Sunset definitely, I burn easy so having the nice night air slowly come over with the stars is nice for me

Favorite milkshake flavor: Chocolate!

What football team do you support: American football? None. German Bundesliga teams? Stuttgart. We were assigned teams in my German class and that was mine! Stuttgart all the way!!

Do you have any scars: Yes, many. They range from self harm, to actual cat scratches, to me falling, and many more

What do you want to be when you graduate: No idea!

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Weight, I have bad self esteem so it's never enough

Are you reliable: Honestly, no. I have bad memory and I will forget if someone needs something

If you could ask your future self a question what would it be: How's Roach doing, and what's Oregon like?

Do you hold grudges: depends, mostly no, but sometimes yes

If you could breed two animals together and defy the laws of nature, what two would you breed: Uh good question, probably Cat and Opossum, really just to see what would happen

Most unusual conversation: Mental health stuff with my parents and therapist, more awkward than anything

Are you a good liar: Not really no depending on the person

How long could you go without talking: Well in quarantine all day, regular days though, maybe an hour at best, I absolutely love my friends, just only certain ones

What has been your worst haircut/ style: Back when it was longer than my shoulders and I wore it down. Except I never took care of it so it looked like shit.

Have you ever baked your own cake: Yes every birthday I make mine! I even had my friends help me with my most recent one!

Can you do any accent other than your own: maybe a southern one but no not really

What do you like on your toast: Nutella or cinnamon and sugar. I know, terrible for you

What is the last thing you drew a picture of: Uh me and @psychotic-roach and our pets but I'm self conscious about my art so I just didn't really show it to anyone (sorry Roach, I'm just super shy about my art!)

What would be your dream car: Me and my family had a running joke that I liked Tesla's, so probably a Tesla

Do you sing in the shower: No but I want to, I just don't like people hearing me sing

Do you believe in aliens: I believe we're not alone in the universe, weather it be new life billions of miles away or way advanced life a few galaxies away

Do you often read your horoscope: No, but astrology is fun to fuck with sometimes

What is your favorite letter of the alphabet: probably E or something, it's soothing in a weird way

Dinosaurs or dragons: DRAGONS DRAGONS I LOVE DRAGONS I'M A HUGE HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON NERD!!!

What do you think about babies: They're sweet sometimes, I'm honestly afraid of holding one or having to take care of one though

Freebie! Ask anything you can think of: I can't really think of anything so I guess just @psychotic-roach I love you!! @the-strawzish-clownfish thank you for these painful asks, they were fun :)

[ewankoseyo]

lunch cute || bambam imagine

A/N: An anon requested a number from a writing challenge a while ago, but I accidentally deleted the ask :’ccc BUT here it is anyways. Partially based off the “got7 as crushes you have” that I did. Please enjoy!

——

89. “You’re not interested, are you?”

You weren’t unpopular. But it also wasn’t like you had a constant stream of people lining down the block just to be in your presence. You had a small tight-knit circle of friends and got on well with the classmates you knew, but it was the last year of high school. Everyone knew that cliques and friend groups were established in the first year, and you only ever joined a new friend group in the years following if you were a transfer student trying to find your place.

Other than that, everyone knew where they belonged and knew who didn’t belong with them. Fraternizing with anyone outside of your friend group at this point in high school wasn’t necessarily discouraged, but it wasn’t welcomed either. So when one of your friends had suggested that you ask Bambam out on a date, you had just looked back at them like they had two heads.

“But you talk about him all the time,” your friend stated as they stabbed a piece of salad. “Every lunch, it’s always ‘in math today Bambam said this’ or ‘in math today Bambam did that.’ I don’t remember ever subscribing to the Bambam Daily.”

“You’re so dumb.”

“Hey! All I’m saying is that with the way you keep talking about him, I’m surprised you’re not already a thing.”

They talk as if such a thing was so easy.

“Because we aren’t a thing. And we won’t be,” you clarified as you opened your carton of milk. “We just have assigned seats next to each other in math, that’s all.”

“But you want it to be more, don’t you?”

You quirked an eyebrow at them. “Oh, and I suppose if I say yes, you’ll want me to march over to him right now and ask him out?” You nudged your head in the direction of where the boy in question was sitting.

Bambam and his six closest friends were seated in the center of the cafeteria. Now they were a tight group everyone wanted to get in on but knew they had no place in it. They were the cliché “most popular boys in school.” You had Jaebum, the handsome student body president, supported by his right-hand man and the top 1% of the top 5% of the graduating class, VP Jinyoung. There was Mark, the transfer student from America who had all the girls swooning over his English and was also the MVP of the volleyball team. Jackson, captain of the basketball team and founding member of the fencing team, was the guy that everyone seemed to have a story about. Youngjae was the best singer in the school choir and scored the lead role in nearly every school musical. Yugyeom was the leader of the school dance team and even won first place in the regional dance competition last year.

Then there was Bambam. Fashionable, extra, unpredictable, and loud Bambam. The one who always asks you for a pencil in class because he forgot his. Actually there’s really nothing school-related in his backpack. But he makes it up to you by making you laugh throughout the boring math lesson. Sometimes he leaves funny doodles for you in the corner of your notes and secretly takes snaps of the both you with silly filters. You wish math class was longer just so you could spend more time with him. That Bambam. 

You sighed as you returned your gaze from the powerhouse group of boys back to your friend, now looking at you expectantly.

“There’s a reason why we’ve been sitting in the same spot for lunch since the first year of high school.”

——

“...and that’s it for today’s lesson. Please be sure to review the formulas from last week for tomorrow’s quiz.” Your classmates groaned simultaneously at your teacher’s parting reminder as they packed up their things and slowly funneled out of class for lunch. “Mr. Bhuwakul, just so you know, tomorrow’s quiz is an individual quiz, not a group quiz. You can’t talk to your partner during the quiz, just like how you shouldn’t be talking to them as I am teaching a lesson. Especially if it has nothing to do with what the class is learning.”

“Will do, sir,” Bambam answered next to you with a mini salute, sporting his signature mischievous smile. Your teacher just sighed before turning his back to you two to erase the board. 

After packing up, you got up and pushed in your chair. “Well, see ya tomorrow Bambam.” 

“Wait!” Bambam had leapt out of his seat to grab hold of your hand. You looked back at him, meeting his eager expression. “Are you going to eat lunch right now?”

“Yes...?” You answered slowly, looking down at your lunch bag. 

“Would you like to join me for lunch?” 

“Pardon?”

Bambam pointed at you before pointing back at himself. “You, me.” He made a gesture as if scooping something into his mouth. “Eat together.”

“Yes I understood that but,” you looked around you, afraid someone was secretly listening to your conversation, before whispering. “...is that even allowed?”

Bambam simply laughed before taking your hand again and gently pulling you along with him. 

You could have easily shaken yourself out of his hold. You two never talked outside of class and you only shared math together. Why did he suddenly want to each lunch with you?

But you let him pull you along because you were curious. And you couldn’t deny the butterflies fluttering around in your stomach from his hand enveloping yours. It was soft yet strong, feeling like it was always meant to be there. You would let him lead you to the ends of the earth if it meant he’d never let go.

Walking with Bambam was nice because while you tended to get tossed around in the crowd during the lunch rush, Bambam’s tall and broad figure allowed you both to plow through everyone. You noticed students in the hallways staring and whispering to one another as you two passed them by, but Bambam paid them no mind. He might have been used to the attention, but you sure weren’t, hanging your head low so people couldn’t really see your face.

More classes began to let out and in the midst of the lunch rush, your hand slipped out of Bambam’s and you’d completely lost him. You looked up, attempting to see the familiar mop of brown hair in the sea of heads but to no avail. Feeling students push and shove passed you as you stood there searching, you decided to keep moving, soldiering on in the direction of the cafeteria with a depressed sigh. Lunch with Bambam sounded nice, in theory.

Suddenly you felt an arm wrap your shoulders. You looked up to see Bambam grinning at you playfully. The sun seemed to peak right behind his head, giving him a halo effect.

“Did you think you could lose me that easily?”

You just shook your head at him, not trusting your voice to form a proper sentence. With a light squeeze of your shoulder, he continued to guide you through the crowd. You subconsciously leaned closer to his side to avoid the masses, inadvertently catching a whiff of his cologne. Bambam seemed to have noticed you slowing down and tightened his grip on you slightly. Soon found yourselves in the courtyard next to the gym that students rarely opted to eat in. He lead you to one of the patio tables and took a seat, motioning for you to sit as well.

“So what’s for lunch today?” Bambam asked, taking out a sack from his backpack.

“Uh, chicken and rice,” you replied as you peaked into your lunch bag.

“Did your mom pack it for you?”

“Yes.”

It was quiet as the two of you dug into your meals, shooting each other short smiles in between bites. You wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. Your conversations in math class were never anything of actual substance, usually sparked by something funny one of you noticed in the class, resulting with the both of you in a heap of giggles you’d try to keep down.

Now was your chance to really get to know him.

“Bambam?”

“Hmm?”

You stifled back a laugh at his caught expression. He had just taken a huge bite of his sandwich when you called him.

“Don’t you usually eat lunch with your friends?”

“Are you saying we’re not friends?” Bambam smirked as he swallowed his food.

You could feel the blush creeping to your cheeks. “No! I mean—no, not what I’m saying. But you usually eat with Jaebum and the other boys.”

“Well that’s usually, but today I wanted to eat with you.”

“Oh. Well, why?”

He shrugged, taking another bite. “I don’t know, just felt like eating with someone cute.” You nearly choked on your food from this, earning a snicker from Bambam. He just handed you your water bottle and waited patiently for you to get out of your coughing fit before continuing. “I also realized that I wanted to hang out with you for longer than 50 minutes a day and without getting in trouble...if that’s okay with you?” His smirk had disappeared, now looking at you bashfully.

You returned the smile as you met his gaze. “Of course it is, otherwise I wouldn’t have come along with you.”

Bambam breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, because even though everyone gushes over my friends, I think they’re too butt UGLY to eat with.”

“Hey!” You giggled at this. “You guys know you’re like the most handsome guys at school. Jackson’s a freaking model on the side!”

Bambam’s cheeks met the corners of his eyes, he couldn’t stop smiling at you. He decided to press on. Maybe he’d get to hear you laugh some more if he did?

“Well if you like him so much, why don’t you go and eat lunch with him instead?”

You two continued on going back and forth like that for the rest of the lunch period. Bambam made you rank from lowest to highest who you thought was the most handsome out of him and his friends, sulking playfully when you ranked him as second most handsome (“I said, if you like Jackson so much, just go and eat lunch with him instead!”) He told you funny stories about each of his friends, in an attempt to tear them off the pedestal that everyone seemed to put them on, and likewise he asked about you and your friends. You were in the middle of telling him a story about how you’d lost your friends at a carnival when you noticed he was just staring at you, no longer showing any response to what you were saying.

“...apparently there was an idol there so I got caught up in a mob and—oh sorry, you’re not interested, are you? I know my stories can be pretty boring... ”

Bambam, just realizing he had been staring at you, vehemently shook his head. “No! You’re not boring at all, I just...like the sound of your voice, is all.”

Suddenly the bell rung, signaling the end of the lunch period. Bambam got up to toss his trash and pack up his things. You were frozen in your spot, trying to comprehend his words. Bambam was just throwing curve balls at you left and right today! The boy simply chuckled at you once again.

“As cute as I find your wide-eyed expression, we need to get to class.”

Your jaw was practically on the floor. “Wait wha—”

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to your class.”

“But my class is on the other side of campus,” you stated worriedly.

But Bambam didn’t care that he’d be running late, silently lacing his fingers through yours again with a smile and leading you in the opposite direction of his next class. He’d walk with you across the universe if it meant your hand would be in his along the way.

Because it was always meant to be there.

——

[thrashton]

Soaring light (chapter 1)

thank you for your lovely comments and messages for the prologue!! here’s the first chapter!

Name: Soaring Light

Fandom: Skam france

Pairing: Lucas Lallemant/Eliott Demaury

Tags: assassin!au, falling in love, angst, hurt/comfort

Summary: Do not get attached, do not waste time, do not engage in any physical contact… The list of rules were long, but Lucas had never been the one to follow orders. In fact, he might have broken all of them in just a week, all because of the piercing blue eyes staring at him from the assignment in his hands, and the charming, mysterious boy they belonged to.

Chapter summary: Lucas tries to be very subtle as he online-stalks Eliott. It doesn’t go too well.

——--

(prologue can be found at the soaring-light tag at my blog, just click on the tag on this post. tumblr don't wanna show my post in the search tag if I put in links... and on ao3 with the username thetimeisnow)

CHAPTER ONE Why were storms a thing? Who invited storms? Lucas was going to find out and kick his ass. It was stupid, the rain covering his sight was stupid. The way he can’t see in front of the road he’s driving on was stupid.

The whole day was stupid.

Lucas had spent five hours trying find Eliott Demoury, but there was no one at his apartment, no one at his registered working place and no one at his two favorite coffee shops. He had googled his name and regretted it in a second, because dousins - no, hundreds - of model photos of the perfectly sculptured face and the piercing deep blue eyes stared back at him and Lucas had let his laptop fall close with a groan.

He can’t be attracted to his assignment to kill. Well, technically, he could. It wasn’t in the rules. The contract just said he wasn’t allowed any physical contact with his targets, mostly to hide all traces of DNA. And to make sure he didn’t get attached, which was another rule. Well fuck him, just the picture of this man got his knees weak.

Lucas hesitated a moment, then sent a text.

-

To: Manon D.

Change?

-

Change of contract, that meant. Manon would know that. In their work of line you had to keep yourself short and never, absolutely never, give out any information over the phone. Especially not their private phone. Lucas knew he’d most likely get his brains blown out if he said too much and he would never risk one of his closest friends and colleagues life as well. His phone buzzed. Manon, quick with a response as always.

-

From: Manon D.

No thanks, got my dream man ;)

-

To: Manon D.

Ugh. Fine. Drinks tonight?

-

From: Manon D.

That’s a yes, thanks. I’ll tell Mika and Emma. See you at 8?

-

To: Manon D.

Lol, sure. Bringing the boys if they’re up. See you, sunshine.

-

From: Manon D.

Dickhead.

-

Lucas rolled his eyes. His ever the lovely friend and colleague, Manon. They had worked in the same business for two years before they realised they were both carrying the same burden. They had been on the same funeral, a funeral for an older man whose two sons were the target of Manon, and his new wife was assigned to Lucas. He remembered it like it was yesterday as they stood gaping, staring at each other in the church when the priest did his thing.

A smile appeared on his lips at the memory. Back then, it had been the shock of his life but now it was a fun thing to remind him how small the world was. They were going to meet at their usual bar, and Lucas had actually seen a few pictures of the blue eyed God in just that bar when he googled his name, so maybe his luck would turn tonight. He could use that as an excuse to get pissed drunk.

Perfect. Just what he needed.

He parked his car exceptionally well considering the storm raging outside. It was only 6pm, but the sky was pitched black. He gave the car window a good, long stare before he forced himself to get the door open. The few meters from the car to the door of the building he lived in felt like a mile and his clothes was drenched in rain as he stumbled inside, muttering angrily to himself.

Stupid ass weather. He was going to kick its ass.

His older neighbour greeted him from the stairs and Lucas threw up his hand in a reply, he didn’t really feel like speaking until he was in comfortable, warm, dry clothes. And a beer in his hand. Maybe a joint between his lips. Ah. Perfect.

Pulling on his sweatpants like his life depended on it, he hurried towards his bed. Where the magic happens, as his best friend Yann dramatically put it when he visited Lucas new apartment for the first time. Well, where his hand happened. Or, another correction, where his hand was supposed to happen. But how no matter how much he tried, what type of porn he put on, he couldn’t get those stupid fucking blue eyes out of his head long enough to concentrate on jerking off, and there was no way he was going to pleasure himself thinking of his next assignment to kill.

Fucking hell.

Eliott really got the best of him. He needed to get rid of this guy fast, so he could get back to his normal routines, so his body could see some hot, big tits chick on his phone screen and think that’s hot! and not but it’s not him. How was this even possible? He hadn’t even met the guy!

In conclusion, his visit to the bed was unsuccessful. Lucas groaned loudly, burying his face in his pillow. He couldn’t wait to get drunk. A week from now Eliott would be dead and Lucas would be rich and he’d get the fuck out of Paris. He’d bring Yann, Basile and Arthur and they’d go to Amsterdam, or something. Find a nice penthouse apartment where they could throw the best parties in Netherlands, bring the best people and smoke a ridiculous amount of weed.

Lucas phone rang. He glanced over at the screen the name of his best friend staring back at him. Yann would know if he ignored him, that guy could read him like a book.

“Yep”, he answered as he put the phone to his ear.

“We going out tonight?”

“Uh-uh. Manon, Mika and Emma too.”

Yann went quiet for a moment. “Emma?”

“Dude. It was years ago, pull it together.” He gave out a light chuckle.

“Fine”, Yann sighed loudly, “only so you get get your lonely ass out there.”

Lucas laughed at him and got up to a sitting position on his bed. “Do you know a Eliott Demuary?” he asked. That wouldn’t hurt, Yann didn’t know he did for a living. Lucas wanted to tell him badly, but he wasn’t going to risk his best friend’s life only to have someone to talk murder with, that would be dumb. Yann wasn’t stupid though, and Lucas suspected he had a slight suspicion of what he did during his days; not that he’d ever tell him, or that Yann would ever get it confirmed.

“Of course”, Yann replied and Lucas almost choked on his own spit.

Okay. That wasn’t the answer he expected at all. It took a few moment for him to pull himself back together and hide the sudden excitement in his voice as he tried to sound as carefree as possible. “Aha”, he said and shrugged, “how’s that?”

“Why are you asking?” Yann was hesitating.

Fuck. Maybe he didn’t sound as carefree as he thought. “You know, just saw a picture of him.”

“Yeah, he went to our school…”

Lucas frowned. “What? No?”

He imagined Yann nodding from the other line. “Yeah, he did. Literature, I think, not sure. Don’t you remember, everyone was talking about him?”

Lucas did definitely not remember, because there was no way he could forget a face like that. “Are you for real?”

“Yeah!” Yann exclaimed, “are you? Ladies were fighting to get into his pants.”

“Shit.” How did he manage to miss this? Lucas shook his head, no, it didn’t matter. Now he had a way in to complete his assignment and he should be very happy for that since Eliott apparently didn’t want to be found. “Cool. Awesome. Nice. I mean, have you met him recently?”

Yann was silent for a moment. “Are you crushing on Demuary?”

Lucas gasped. “Excuse me? I am not!”

“I don’t blame you. He’s hot and- Oh, sorry, forgot you’re still hiding in the closet.”

Lucas pouted and wished Yann was standing in front of him so he could shove a middle finger up his face. Yann knew he was - or maybe was? He wasn’t really sure himself - gay. A little gay. Just a tiny little bit. Like, dick is nice and all and titties isn’t as nice. Which, in conclusion meant; a little gay. “Unfair”, he told him, “was just asking.”

He could hear Yann moving around. “Well, haven’t met him in a while but I’ve seen him in town a few times. Seriously Lu-Lu, you didn’t know he went to our school?”

“I didn’t, I swear! I wouldn’t forget a face like that. I mean, Yann, have you seen him?”

His best friend laughed. “Yeah, I have. How about you spend some time crying over a picture of Eliott and I come over with some beer?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Great. I’ll be over in 45.”

Lucas ended the call without saying good bye. He had no time to waste when he only had 45 minutes to google some more information about this mysterious man, who apparently went to their school. Did that mean Eliott knew who he was? No, that would be impossible. If he hadn’t seen Eliott, Eliott hadn’t seen him.

He found an instagram account. With a stupid fucking riddle to solve. It took Lucas longer than he chose to admit to figure out the name of Eliott’s second account, but when he did; it was absolutely worth it. A majority of his posts were black and white art. It looked like doodles but there was real talent behind it.

Too bad he was going to kill the guy, he would really want to hear the stories about the numerous posts of raccoons. A short video caught his attention; Eliott in a black hoodie, staring into the camera with his lips pressed together and his hair in a soft mess on his head. He zoomed slowly until there was nothing else than his left eye covering the screen. Lucas found himself sighing, feeling like an absolute jerk about having to end this, clearly well liked and talented young man’s life.

Most of Lucas’ targets were old men. Rapists, embezzlement criminals or other scandals more often than not involving money. He’d never really felt bad about killing them, a lot of them deserved to die. Lucas never stayed to see if his job was finished after poisoning his targets; he learned early on that it was way easier to get caught that way. Instead, he showed up a few days later, or watched the news if his target was someone famous or well-known.

But Eliott. He couldn’t believe this man had done anything to deserve to die. 50k was a lot of money and the higher the prize, the worse the crime. That’s how it usually went, anyways.

And in that moment, trying to pause the video just when Eliott zoomed in on his eyes, Lucas fucked up. He liked the video. Panicking, he yelped, a high pitched noise he’d be embarrassed to even try to describe, and got up from his bed fast enough to make his vision blur. As a first reaction his brain thought of the brilliant idea to throw the phone away from him to keep him from making more mistakes, but then he realised that shit, he need to unlike the video before Eliott noticed. He stumbled after the phone, tripping over a shirt on the floor and hit his toe in the foot of the bed at the same time. Ignoring the pain radiating through his body, he reached over the bed in panic and clicked on the red heard so fast and intensely that he accidentally disliked and liked it again.

Lucas wanted to scream. With an surprisingly steady hand, he finally managed to to unlike the video and sank down on the floor with a loud groan of disappointment. Shit. What the hell. Being subtle wasn’t his best personality trait, obviously.

Eliott had a lot of followers, someone liking his video wouldn’t matter, right? That was, of course, if his theory that Eliott didn’t know who he was, was correct. Lucas considered blocking him but quickly threw that idea aside; the video was worth seeing a few more times.

The doorbell rang. Yann. Had it been 45 minutes already? Apparently it had, because Yann was standing with a big grin and beer in both hands as Lucas opened the door, still sweaty and his heart beating like crazy in his chest.

“You look like you just ran a marathon. Which I know you wouldn’t.”

“Fuck you”, Lucas smirked at him, giving him a helping hand with the beer. “I accidentally liked one of Eliott Demaury’s posts on instagram. It was stressful.”

Yann let out a snort. “When he sees it, he’ll show up with flowers and a ring and propose right here, I’m calling it.”

“I unliked it. And liked it again. And then unliked it again.”

“Even I am slightly embarrassed for you now”, Yann laughed, “let’s drink to forget about it.”

Lucas smirk grew, it sounded like a good plan. Little did he know, forget about  it was the least he would do that night.

[vexation-virgil]

Colors (Part 4)

Fandom: Sanders Sides (Soulmate AU) Pairings: Prinxiety, mentions of Logicality Warnings: General angst, cursing, mentions of death, mentions of past suicide(Again, if there is anything that needs tagged, let me know!) Summary: Everyone knows when you meet your soulmate, the world is supposed to fill with color for the both of you. Unfortunately for Roman Patrick, that is not always the case.

Taglist(!!): @pendragonqueen09 , @anaveragegayfan , @stillebesat

A/N: There is some SERIOUS stuff in this chapter so please do not take the warnings lightly, I don’t want anyone to feel triggered or hurt by this chapter.Thank you.

The next chapter will have some more Logicality so wee! Enjoy and thanks for reading!

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 You are Here PART 5 PART 6 PART 7 PART 8 PART 9 PART 10  PART 11 PART 12

Roman made it through the next day with a revived, upbeat spirit. The promise of time spent with his soulmate was enough to have him singing Disney songs in the morning, doodling in classes, and forgetting his lines during rehearsal because his mind was an hour ahead of himself in the library. That and he had been practically dancing through the halls all day. His attitude had changed enough that even his brother had mentioned it while they were eating, in passing commenting on the sudden mood change and what it could mean - only to be shushed by Patton and told to enjoy it.

(He was proud to say that he’d managed to tone himself down enough to not scare Virgil off from seeing him that afternoon. He still took his seat at the front of the class and only blocked Virgil from leaving the class long enough to confirm their plans for meeting. No more creepy staring reputation was the goal, after all.)

That didn’t keep him from nearly sprinting towards the library after Mr. Sanders called for the end of rehearsal - with a very pointed reminder to study the lines. He slowed the closer he got, catching sight of lavender hair hanging over a book at a table in the back of the library and a pencil rolling between Virgil’s fingers as he concentrated on the text in front of him. Roman placed a hand on the other to announce his arrival after noting the headphones covering his ears, causing Virgil to jump and drop his pencil. Virgil slid the patterned headphones off of his ears and glared up at Roman, “I’m almost positive there is a better way to announce showing up, dude.”

“Well, I would’ve used a different method if you hadn’t had your ears covered by those ginormous headphones, Grumpy,” Roman informed him matter-of-factly as he dropped into the seat beside him and started pulling out the assignment they had agreed to work on.

Virgil rolled his eyes and dog-eared the book before shutting it. “There wasn’t anything playing on them,” he admitted. “I can’t focus when I’ve got music playing. But they keep people from talking to me so I tend to keep them on anyway. Not a big fan of conversation if you couldn’t guess.”

Roman snorted. “Yeah, I think I could’ve figured it out,” he said with a small smile on his face. “Though, honestly, I would’ve blamed it on our rocky start.”

“Yeah, well, forget it, Princey. New start or whatever. Let’s talk about The Color Study. The first of six soulmate stories we’ll be reading and writing about this semester. I can’t believe how many they’re making us read this year.”

If Roman wasn’t mistaken, he could hear something similar to annoyance at the mention of soulmates from Virgil and the smile on his face quickly dropped to a frown. “You don’t seem very pleased about that. Those are some of my favorite stories. Romance and true love and all that fun stuff. How do you not love all that? How do you not want that?”

“Because it all ends in heartbreak and depression and someone being alone. Why does anyone want that?”

That made him blink. “It doesn’t always end like that. My friend’s dad died and his mom was just as bubbly and happy as always. She knew their time had come to an end. She was just happy she got the time she did with him. Most people continue to live complete lives with their soulmates, anyway, and die within years of each other.”

“Yeah, okay?” Virgil said, voice sharp. “Not everyone gets that. Not everyone’s time comes to an end when they’re ready. Not everyone gets a happy ending. Life isn’t some fucking story, alright? My dad is stuck here without my mom because she decided she didn’t want to keep going. My dad isn’t allowed to go because my mom begged him on a little piece of paper not to follow her. I was afraid he was going to anyway.” Something darkened on Virgil’s face and Roman watched his spine straighten out. “I don’t want to do that. Ever. We’re done talking about it. Just give me your paper so I can start marking it up.”

Roman opened his mouth to come at him with a rebuttal, ask how he intended to keep himself from seeing when the time came but snapped his mouth shut when he thought about the possibility of Virgil completely shutting him out. Maybe his soulmate had already been able to pull it off. They traded papers and slipped into silence, their argument looming over their heads the rest of the afternoon.

When Logan showed up to bring him home, Roman’s mind was spinning with the gained information. Virgil didn’t want a soulmate and seemed nearly sickened by the idea that people did want that because he’d had to watch his father suffer after losing his. Roman couldn’t say he particularly blamed him. He remembered Logan panicking when he decided to spend a week at a science camp and realized two days before he left that he was going to have to go without Patton, the idea of leaving his soulmate behind for even a short amount of time shattered his typically steely exterior.

It wasn’t easy to imagine having one of his parents without the other, either, especially unexpectedly. Patton’s father had died with they were young but they’d been expecting it after a terminal cancer diagnosis. They’d been able to prepare for the inevitable loss. If Roman had put the pieces together correctly, they hadn’t been expecting the death of his mother. It had come abruptly and painfully quick through her own hand. The thought made Roman’s stomach turn.

There was also the question of whether or not he could actually force himself to not see the color. Had anyone ever done that before? Was it even possible for someone to do that? Even if it was, would the other still see color if their soulmate was so against the whole idea? Roman hoped. He hoped and he hoped and he hoped.

“You’re quiet,” Logan said, voice cutting through the silence in the car. “I was hoping your improved mood would stick for longer than one day. Do you… Have something you would like to talk about, Roman?”

It was sweet to see his brother trying to talk to him about his feelings, something that he typically reserved for when Patton was around to run interference with Logan’s far too logical thinking. “No, nothing. It was just a long day,” he told him, though he followed with a short pause. “Actually, I had a question. I was speaking to a classmate about a particular story we had to read and it seemed to me that he doesn’t believe in the whole… Soulmate thing.”

“That’s illogical. That is not something that is deniable in this life. It is a proven fact that soulmates exist and that they are how we are able to see the full spectrum of life.”

“Right, yes, I know that, obviously, but he said that he doesn’t want one. At all. Do you know - with all that science in your head - if it’s possible for someone to ignore that connection? To ignore the color if they truly don’t want a soulmate?”

“You know that this is not my area of expertise, Roman,” Logan grumbled, glancing at him sideways. “But, as far as I am aware, no one has truly studied this. There have been very few people in this world who did not want a soulmate, even fewer who did not want one so strongly that they were able to ignore the connection. Though, if Pat was here, he would tell you that nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it.” Roman hummed and his brother continued. “I, also, do not believe that it is completely impossible that someone would be able to push that down far enough for it not to resurface immediately after meeting their soulmate. It would be a fascinating study if one was to find someone like that.”

Roman nodded a bit as he listened to his brother branch off into the details of such a study, though he was stuck on the idea that it was possible that the feeling could be shoved down far enough to not come up. He was stuck even more on the word immediately. The word came with the suggestion that they could come up with time, with a connection, and the hope sizzled in his stomach. Perhaps all was not lost, perhaps he was not one-sided, perhaps it would all work out in the end.

Roman had hope.

[gayspacerockblog]

Questions for the Writer

1. If you had to live in one book/series, which would it be? Why?

I’d live in the His Dark Materials series. The concept of daemons is one that had a strong impact on me from a young age. The world that Philip Pullman has created mirrors our own, playing off very human concepts in a semi-human universe. The magic that exists in his world is very nearly a science, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Plus, who doesn’t want to ride an armored polar bear? I have Iorek Byrnison forever inked onto my skin beneath some beautiful northern lights. 

2. How do others describe your writing style?

My writing was once compared to Ursula K LeGuin, and I couldn’t have been more honored by the comparison. I have many books of hers still on my to-read list, but her grasp on fantasy is really impressive. I’m especially interested to read The Left Hand of Darkness where she blurs the concept of gender with a very interesting take on human morality. 

3. Who do you first share your ideas and writing to?

My fiance is usually first to hear of my newest ideas, often resulting in ideas for collaboration since she is a talented artist across many mediums. I allow only a couple of people open access to my Google Docs for leaving feedback. 

4. What is your favorite movie based off a book?

This is hard, because almost always I end up being the person to say “Eh, the book was better.” or “Can you believe they left that part of the book out of the movie?! They ruined everything!” Anyway, one film adaptation I was especially happy with was Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. I felt like John Cusack played into his role perfectly. However, I also loved Hitchhiker��s Guide to the Galaxy and was not disappointed by the movie at all. No complaints.   

5. Is there a book that turned you to writing? If so, which one?

Harry Potter may have done the trick. I was 7 years old when the first book came out, and my mom had pre-ordered my copy. Every time the next book would get released, I would re-read all the previous books and then read the new one (often in the span of a single day). Those books shaped my expectations for literature at a young age and I credit JK Rowling with my ambition to become a published author myself. Her personal story is equally impressive, as I learned when I got older, and she is more formidable than the entire Harry Potter franchise. 

6. When did you begin writing?

I began writing quite young, but got serious about it in 3rd grade. My teacher for that year had seen my potential, taken me under her wing, assigned advanced reading and writing tasks for me, and encouraged me to pursue my writing outside of school. Reading had always been a passion up to that point, but I was never given the hope that I could write my own book someday. 

7. Favorite genres to fantasize about? I love unconventional fantasy; unexpected narrators, unexpected perspective, unexpected personalities from characters you’d thought you had pegged. One book that recently impressed me (a random free e-book that I ended up falling in love with) was Sam Farren’s Dragonoak: The Complete History of Kastelir. In addition, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked series made me shed my love of Wizard of Oz because his re-telling was so much more compelling and I cared so much more about the characters through his interpretation of my childhood favorite. 

8. Describe your current WIP in a haiku?

How dare you make me write poetry.

Love ruins all plans. Why are we even fighting? Are all dragons bad?

9.  How many WIPs do you have?

I’m currently writing a YA fantasy novel, while planning for a sequel. I have finished a rough draft of a children’s book and have been harassing my fiance to start the artwork for it. I have another YA sci-fi novel that has been sitting on the back burner for several months, but I still love it. Yet another in-progress novel based in my hometown of Portland, but with heavy fantasy and steampunk elements. Two other graphic novel projects that are coming along slowly but surely, with artists who may or may not be working on their commissions. Did I forget anything? Perhaps. 

10. Which story is your baby?

Burying Dragons is my biggest daily comfort and headache. I am always adding notes, revising, connecting my endless stream of excerpts with an actual story line, doodling my characters and my world. I feel that I am raising a child and have no idea how it will turn out, but it’s mine so I love it anyway. 

[boardwalk-absurdist]

All the numbers! 😊

Aaahhh thank you~ I haven’t done one of these in forever but I love them, so let’s go (under the cut)!

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? Coffee mugs~ I have one standard reliable water bottle that I carry with me, but I love me a clever/cute coffee mug.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? Chocolate bars, natch.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy? Cotton candy~

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? Usually stuff like energetic, bubbly, and smart. They used to say gifted but around 4th grade they weren’t allowed to say that anymore.

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? None of the above, I don’t drink soda. The bubbles hurt my tongue.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? Oh man this is an eternal struggle tbh. I think I usually dress a bit more grunge or boho, but I want to be pastel and goth as well? The others I could take or leave.

7. earbuds or headphones? Earbuds, as long as they aren’t those Skullcandy kind with the squishy part that you jam in your ear canal. I hate those.

8. movies or tv shows? Depends on my mood and how much time I have.

9. favorite smell in the summer? This may be weird, but like…sun sweat? You know when you’re laying out comfortably in the sunshine and there’s a nice breeze and you sweat a lil but it’s like just warm? Also the ocean, I love the beach but I live nowhere near one.

10. game you were best at in p.e.? Uh, avoid competitive people as much as possible by running in the opposite direction from the ball? Walk laps rather than play the game? I did not like gym class.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? Nothin’. Sometimes I’ll have a donut or poptarts or pain au chocolat but usually it’s a lotta nothing.

12. name of your favorite playlist? “Players musicals”, a spotify playlist with songs from the 4 musicals my college theatre group did while I was there. Or on my iTunes, I have one called “Power Up” that is all my pump-up jams.

13. lanyard or key ring? …both? I have a keyring on my lanyard.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy? Ooh, the Haribo gummy frogs. With like the white part on the bottom? Idk what that shit is but I love it.

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I know it’s a play but we did read it, and I loved it. Alternatively, maybe Brave New World? I found that one fascinating.

16. most comfortable position to sit in? Curled up sideways in an armchair or with my legs thrown over one arm and my back against the other.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes? In the summer, I always pick one pair of sandals with a fun pattern so I get cool tan lines on my feet. Otherwise, Merrell Mocs 5evr.

18. ideal weather? Sunny and dry, maybe with a light breeze, and in the mid- to high-70s. Either that or clear, sunny, and between 15 and -15 for like a perfectly brisk day.

19. sleeping position? I usually sleep on my side with my top leg flung out so I’m like half on my stomach. But I can’t actually sleep on my stomach cuz I have titties and they are Not Comfortable.

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? Literally anywhere and on anything. I doodle and write on p much any surface I am given.

21. obsession from childhood? …uh. There were several. But I guess Jerry Lewis was the biggie/most embarrassing.

22. role model? That’s a tough one. Probably Bonnie Bassler.

23. strange habits? I eat most foods around the outside and save the center for last. Like poptarts, waffles, sandwiches… I also have a tic where whenever I have my car in neutral I jiggle the stick shift back and forth to like prove to myself that I am in neutral. I’m sure there are more that I’m unaware of that I just think are normal, so hey, if you know me irl and you know of a weird habit that I missed, send it my way.

24. favorite crystal? Idk. Does tiger’s eye count? It’s my favorite semi-precious stone.

25. first song you remember hearing? LORDT I have no idea, probably a Bruce Springsteen song.

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather? Lay in the sunshine. Or swim outside.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather? Play in the snow.

28. five songs to describe you? These are more songs describing what it feels like to be me, but: “Fear and Loathing” and “Teen Idle” by Marina and the Diamonds, “I Wanna Get Better” by Bleachers, “Yo Girl” from Heathers, aaaand “Carmen” by Lana Del Rey.

29. best way to bond with you? Work on a show together.

30. places that you find sacred? Difficult to say. I guess anywhere that feels like a liminal space.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? Ooh okay so I have this black cropped sleeveless hoodie that says “never trust the living” on a tombstone and has a skull, I like to pair that with some burgundy high-waisted short shorts and tights with embroidered skulls and butterflies. Then those go with my platform black and white sneakers or my 6 inch platform boots with flames on the heels.

32. top five favorite vines? rOaD wOrK aHeAd?; I AM THE SAND GUARDIAN; …wow; “little diddy”; and either happy crismus or WELCOME TO BIBLE STUDY

33. most used phrase in your phone? Probably “fair enough”

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? “if you needed brain surgery, would you go to a general practitioner? No? THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL BUYING FISH FROM THE GENERAL STORE” fishtopia may finally be dead but that fucking commercial lives on

35. average time you fall asleep? Like midnight?

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing? I can has cheezburger?

37. suitcase or duffel bag? Depends. If it’s just for a few days, duffel bag. But I prefer to travel with a suitcase for anything longer than a week.

38. lemonade or tea? Lemonade

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? Uh I guess lemon cake?

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? Oh! One time this girl tackled this dude allegedly cuz he wouldn’t share his beef jerky. The school was put on a code yellow while the security guard separated them.

41. last person you texted? Myself, to send some gel pictures from my phone to my laptop.

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets? Jacket pockets. I have shitty girl pants pockets.

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? why must you hurt me in this way. I have a denim jacket that I adore, so I guess that one? But I really appreciate the aesthetic of bomber jackets.

44. favorite scent for soap? Irish Spring. am cermet

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? I guess sci-fi.

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in? I sleep in my underwear.

47. favorite type of cheese? Cheddar or Gruyere.

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? No clue. Strawberry, maybe?

49. what saying or quote do you live by? “Once you’re in it, it’s okay.” - This is How, Augusten Burroughs Alternatively, “How unlikely! Yet here we are.” - Spaceman of Bohemia, Jaroslav Kalfar 

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? An inside joke with the Brit, I think. 

51. current stresses? oh the thousands

52. favorite font? Currently I’m really feeling Book Antiqua.

53. what is the current state of your hands? Uh, fine? Clean? My nails are Ready for some new polish.

54. what did you learn from your first job? How to scoop ice cream.

55. favorite fairy tale? I don’t think I have one.

56. favorite tradition? So in my family, we have a routine for putting up the tree (we have a fake tree that we use every year). My dad puts the tree together, my mom rearranges and bends the branches to make it look more realistic, my dad puts the lights on, and then my little brother and I decorate it with all the ornaments. It’s a lot of fun and my favorite part of Christmas.

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? An abusive relationship, getting help for depression/anxiety, and my mom’s attempted suicide.

58. four talents you’re proud of having? I’m a p good writer, a decent swimmer, I can do cross-stitch/needlepoint, and I am very good at taking tests/learning.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? “Eat an entire ass.”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? Slice of life goofy high school comedy. Like Ouran, or the lighter parts of Fruits Basket.

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.? There’s a line in @scifigrl47‘s fic “Hollow Your Bones like a Bird’s” that has really stuck with me over the years: “It is the farthest from death that I can get, to decide, second by second, not to jump.” In a similar vein, the line “I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spat it out” from the original Avengers movie really made an impression. On a funnier note, the lines “I’ve frequently not been on boats” and “One can hardly eat cucumber sandwiches in an agitated manner” from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Importance of Being Earnest respectively never fail to make me laugh.

62. seven characters you relate to? Lordt that is so many. Okay. Alissa Meson from the Truth series, Chidi Anagonye from The Good Place, Lee Fiora from Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket, Shiloh Wallace from Repo! The Genetic Opera, Augusten Burroughs in his memoirs (not technically a character but I relate so hard), and Bo Burnham’s stage persona (it COUNTS dammit).

63. five songs that would play in your club? “1, 2, Step” - Ciara, “Night Fever” - The BeeGees, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” - Journey, “Chelsea Dagger” - The Fratellis, and “Damn You Look Good And I’m Drunk (Scandalous)” - Cobra Starship

64. favorite website from your childhood? Quizilla, RIP

65. any permanent scars? Several on my hands (they used to be cat scratches but I picked at them so much they scarred up), two punctures from my cat biting me on my right inner forearm, and one biggun on my left asscheek from when I fell out of a tree and had to get 6 stitches.

66. favorite flower(s)? Poppies, lavender, fireweed, and forget-me-nots.

67. good luck charms? Not really? I have jewelry that I wear every day but that’s more a habit/ritual rather than for luck.

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? LORDT okay so I worked at an ice cream shop two summers in a row, right? There was this DISGUSTING cranberry stout flavor, and a p gross ginger one, plus every time someone ordered a weird milkshake we’d make a little extra so we could try some. One time someone got like a large stout (the regular, not the cranberry, which was still nasty) and pumpkin milkshake with malt. It was horrid.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? It takes as much pressure to bite through a human finger as it does to bite through a carrot.

70. left or right handed? Rightie.

71. least favorite pattern? Uh. I guess paisley? It doesn’t really do anything for me.

72. worst subject? Organic chemistry or physics.

73. favorite weird flavor combo? Oooh so nutella and honey is DELIGHTFUL if you’ve never tried it. Also those parmesan bread bites from Dominos taste real good dunked in the icing that comes with the cinnamon twists.

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? Like a 4 or 5.

75. when did you lose your first tooth? I genuinely do not recall.

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)? Scalloped potatoes with cheese.

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill? Idk I kill all my plants. I have a lil sempervivum that I’ve kept alive for a few months though~

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store? Grocery store sushi.

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo? Lmao they both are bad but I’ll say driver’s license.

80. earth tones or jewel tones? Jewel tones.

81. fireflies or lightning bugs? Are they not the same thing? I call them fireflies.

82. pc or console? PC. I grew up without a console so I lack the intuitive understanding of their control mechanisms that most people seem to have.

83. writing or drawing? Writing.

84. podcasts or talk radio? Podcasts.

84. barbie or polly pocket? Barbie I guess?

85. fairy tales or mythology? Mythology.

86. cookies or cupcakes? …cookies.

87. your greatest fear? Disappointing people who took a chance on me.

88. your greatest wish? If I tell you, it won’t come true.

89. who would you put before everyone else? My little brother.

90. luckiest mistake? Not applying for summer internships. Instead I just talked to the one microbiology professor and she offered me a summer job in her lab and it’s because of her that I’m at the school I’m at for grad school and have experience and all that.

91. boxes or bags? Uh. Bags I guess? Easier to carry.

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? Sunlight.

93. nicknames? My parents call me Squirrelle. Some people call me T (my real name starts with a T).

94. favorite season? Spring, I think. It’s so nice to come back out of the cold.

95. favorite app on your phone? I guess fb messenger, I use it the most.

96. desktop background? It’s a colored collage of Jareth and Sarah from pika-la-cynique’s “Girls Next Door” massive crossover series on dA.

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized? I dunno, like a handful? Some are totally useless.

98. favorite historical era? Probably the 80s.

[luci-is-a-devil-]

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

(Notes! Another markhyuck story whoops. This is only part 1!)

1,091 Words

Mark walked into his last class of the day, just wanting to go home. Who could blame him? He’s been stuck in this hell hole since seven this morning.

Luckily his last class was art, and his teacher did not give a fuck about what they did.

Everyone had assigned seats and was allowed to bring one thing for their table. Mark had decided to bring a dry erase board with a bunch of markers.

Jisung had gotten into a recycling phase and was monitoring his use of papers. Therefore, this was a good alternative.

The only rule for their one object was they had to leave it at art class all day and then bring it home. Mark often got other people writing on his board but it didn’t bother him. He found it amusing when his schoolmates drew different penises over the board.

The best one had to be the most realistic drawing of a penis he’s seen. It looked so real that mark was a little worried when he came in, they had found skin colored markers so it was colored in too.

But today it was different, there were no phallic shapes, or small doodles.

Today there was writing sprawled across the dry erase board. The letters were close together with huge space between each word.

‘Why is blood used to summon demons?’

Under it was a pentagram, with his red marker drawn over it. As if it was supposed to be blood dripping out.

Knowing that he should be creeped out, but he wasn’t. It was high school, there was going to be odd teenagers here and there.

Taking his blue marker, he scribbled back a reply. Knowing that the chance of someone replying was slim to none.

'Blood is thicker then other liquids. And it ties the demon to the human for the contract’

Looking at his writing and deciding that it needed a smiley face.

Now that that was done mark moved onto his actual art project. Drawing a picture of his family.

(His stick figure one was rejected, because that’s not real art apparently.) ————————————-

The next day, mark knew it was dumb but he was excited to see if he had gotten a response.

He had thought about it last night and why didn’t they google it or something?

Speed walking into the art room, and plopping down on his chair he reached for his dry erase board.

'Silly mortal! Who do you think you are! I am great demon!’

Scribbled across the board in the same writing as yesterday. This was not what mark was expecting.

Looking at the writing in disbelief, who thought this was funny? Jisung had better jokes then this. (And that’s saying something)

Taking out his blue marker once more, he had to write in the corner of the board. The only blank space available since this 'demon’ didn’t know how to write in a straight line.

'Yeah, and I’m the queen of England. I am the great human!’

And that was that, or so he thought. When the bell had rung and he was putting away his family portrait, he glanced at the board.

The writing had changed, his response was gone. New writing was scribbled across.

That wasn’t possible? Nobody had come to write on it. It had been next to him the whole time.

'I am the great Donghyuck! Thousands of years old! You are not the queen!’

Okay, apparently this 'demon’ did not understand sarcasm.

“Mark! The bell had rung!” His teacher called.

In a split second mark slipped the board under his arm and left the room with it.

Trudging to his house whilst beating himself up mentally for binging a possibly possessed board home with him.

Opening up the front door, and continuing to walk around. Deciding where to go, if he wanted to continue speaking to a demon or play it safe.

“Mom, I’m home!” He yelled. Knowing that she was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for their family.

“Welcome back! Do you have homework?”

“Yeah, I’m going to my room now.”

Looks like his choice was made for him, or well just where he was going to converse with a demon.

Going to his room, not to do homework though. Closing the door behind him and then sliding down so his back was against the door.

This time pulling out a purple marker, mark decided to ask this 'demon’ the important questions.

'Can you help me with homework?’

Waiting to see if before was a fluke or just a prank, when there was no response mark let out a breath of relief.

It would have been nice to get help with his work but it was for the best that his dry erase board wasn’t possessed.

Getting started on his work, without the help of a demon. Speeding through his work, trying to minimize his suffering time.

Huffing out a sigh mark dropped his pen, he had finally finished.

Letting his head tilt back, resting in on the door. Sticking his hands up in the air, hearing his bones shift back into space after sitting still for so long.

Closing the notebook he had been writing in, stuffing it in his backpack with the rest of his now finished work.

“Mark! Dinner!” His mother called, from downstairs. Letting out one more sigh, he braced himself to stand up.

Standing up, and then shifting his weight to his left side of his body when he realized his foot was asleep.

Lifting his foot up to wiggle it, trying to return feeling to his limb. When the numbness started to disappear, he turned around. Going to open the door so he could eat and then finally go to bed.

When he felt his foot step on something, looking down to see the damage he caused. Picking up the dry erase board so he could look over it.

Flipping it around so the part that you wrote on was facing him, he looked at in shock. In bright red the demon had actually responded.

'Seriously? I have my own work to do. Humans, always asking for dumb things’

Looking at the words, he had managed to find a portal or something to the demon world and he asked for help with homework. He deserved that.

'What the difference between demons and the devil?’

Leaving his own question on the board, he placed it on his bed and then rushed downstairs, going quickly so his mom wouldn’t question his lateness.

What was Mark getting himself into?

[waltereliabticas]

Hello. This post is an image dump of the type of art I make, and the artists I am influenced by. Without further to do:

Illustrations

1. “Mr. O”. 9x12. Pen and Ink on Bristol. 2010.

   This was the first assignment exercise on using the pen and ink materials. The professor allowed us to choose the subject matter, as long as, we used 3 words they picked: Osaka, new, doodle. The professor spoke about visiting Osaka, Japan and their experience. The story and his personality led me to a story: A mad scientist obsessed with a long lost college professor, decides to make clones of his mentor using the newly discovered O-Germ. The clones are a success, until a mutation occurs in the O-Germ, and the O-zilla is born. It releases odors that bring the doomsday clock 1 minute till midnight. When all is doomed, a mysterious person named Mr. O arrives on the scene. With his bike, a highly concentrated mint bomb, and ramp, Mr. O burst forward the monster’s mouth.I had a lot of fun working on this. I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out, but it was exhilarating. The professor found it humorous and proclaimed “I want to keep this!”

2. “Murphy Brown Mountain”. 10x13. Pen and Ink wash. Cold pressed illustration board 2012-13.

   This one was part of a series. The professor had us pick a piece of paper out of a hat with a subject. The word I got was “Just a dog(same dog)". I decided on my dog, Murphy Brown. Since I was quite fond of him, I wanted the piece to be how I view him. It doesn’t look like him exactly, but I decided to let the process happen. He was put down for his condition last year. This piece became not only a tribute, but a testament to his strength throughout his life.

3. “George Tiller”. 9x12. Pen and Ink with Watercolor on Arches hot pressed paper 140. 2016.

This one was for a project for my advanced illustration class. We were to pick a controversial figure in history(had to be real person), and create a good, bad, and ugly portrait. The person I picked was the late term abortion doctor George Tiller. He is known as being a strong voice and symbol for abortion doctors in the US. Shun by his medical community and community, Tiller believed the work he did was helping women that had no where else to turn to. “Abortion is about women’s hope, dreams, and potential the rest of their lives. Abortion is about survival for women.” In his hometown Wichita, Kansas, he practice late term abortions with strong opposition from pro life radical groups such as the Evangelist group Operation Rescue. There is a violent history of terrorism/assassination enacted upon doctors like Tiller. Throughout it, his clinic was fire bombed and Tiller himself was shot. He was known as “Killer Tiller” and dehumanized by media. This did not stop his practice. He constructed bullet proof windows at his clinic and car. A plaque was placed with the title: “Hell no, we won’t go.” Eventually, the government had to escort him to work in body armor. On May 31, 2009, Tiller was assassinated by anti-abortionist extremist Scott Roeder during Tiller’s church service. To this day, only 5 clinics perform abortion throughout the country with violence still alive.  

This piece is his good portrait. I wanted to capture the unwavering integrity Tiller showed throughout all that happened to him for the sake of “women’s survival”.      

Sculpture work

4. “Herpie Pool” Installation sculpture. Sculpey clay with acrylic. 2012.

This project was for a site specific installation. We were to find a place anywhere on the school’s campus, with sanctions by the school, and transform/alter it.  I was having difficulty with the idea at first. I had finished a serious and personal project that took a lot out of me, and I wanted this piece to be a work people would find relatable and exciting for me. I originally wanted it to be about students and their school experience of work with debt, but I didn’t want to do another depressing piece. I was eager to do a fun and humorous piece. I was walking around campus and came across the long mirror pool at the front of the college. It is informally known as the “Herpes Pool” because there was usually filth and trash floating by. I decided to use this space. I imagined the pool must’ve been so dirty that if one were to step inside, their bodies would mutate. With that idea in mind, I decided to sketch out what kind of mutations would happen. I realized that it would be fun to bring these drawings into 3 dimensional form using sculpey clay to create figures having a pool party. I did 9 figures non-stop with some help from my mother on the hair and fabric. After I finished painting them, I quickly realized they were too small and heavy to float. So I bought items to help them float. It was rigorous, but it was a delight to make sculpture figures that the whole process was a labor of love.

2. “Sacred place revised”. Mud clay and acrylic. 2014  

This piece was for my ceramics class. We were to make a ceramics cylinder sculpture, and decorate it. I decided to base it on my cultural heritage. It served as a sacred object. I placed an Ipod inside that played recordings of myself reciting poems from poets of my family’s country in whispers. Inside with the ipod is medicinal seeds used to cure illnesses. My illness was alienation of my family’s homeland. So the vessel served as a place of healing. The sculpture’s human form is based off poses I did for reference and the flowers, leaves, and symbols were reflected of my experience visiting the country once. It was heavy.(emotionally and physically) It was a great labor to do, but it felt wonderful in process and after.

Artists that influenced me:

Yuko Shimizu

“Blow Up 1: The Bubble”, Chinese Brush with Blackstar ink. Personal work. 2010.

Blackberry Hunting in Fjord. Brush with Black Star Ink. Originally appeared on PLANSPONSOR. 2014.

Yuko’s work is a delight to witness. Her work is mainly done in brush with black ink, and then altered in photoshop. What I enjoy is she is about details plus action. She hits you with information overload, but her composition is controlled, so nothing is too busy to understand. Just like her composition, so is her communication of forms. You can tell when something has rough texture such as rope/belts or the whorls of clouds. She loves texture. Her brush work has a roughness to it, but I likened it character. She also has a taste of patterns and shapes that have a comic influence. In her illustrations, you’ll see characters wearing striped shirts or ziptone dots packed inside speech bubbles. The figures themselves are in some sort of action or at least a part of the illustration has action in it like a Kurosawa film. Figures work in groups to grab cherries on a cliff, or they are being shot out of a pool with water splashing everywhere. All this action going on is something I want to create in my own work. She’s pretty renowned in the illustration world and rightly so.

Richie Pope

“Stop and Frisk”. Digital. 2013.

“How Cats Find Their Way Home”. Digital. 2014

Richie Pope’s work is a blend of representation and abstraction. He experiments with marking making, shapes, and colors. There isn’t any sort of strong linework, but interesting forms and compositions. His work is mainly editorial, but he has done comic work. What makes him great is his social views; He isn’t shy about letting people how he feels about certain issues happening in the states, and his work can reinforce it. His ideas also take on interesting interpretations and execution is on point. The stop and frisk illustration shows just how violent, racist, and pervasive it is on a helpless someone. It isn’t complex, but the straightforward and harsh tone makes the impact. His work usually has a simple method in introducing the idea, yet it’s done in a sophisticated manner. The cat illustration about cats having an internal compass has a playful quality. He carries a good balance between playful and social work.  

[someaxolotl]

Registration

I made my way back to the gathering hall. Out of everyone I’ve met here the only one who didn’t strike me as insane was Silv and still he’s kinda off. I really hope there's more sane people here…

…

Honestly, it’s not hard to find my way back… granted it’s perhaps the largest building in the area… 

…

...why did I walk… I could have just jumped. Eh oh well.

…

I’m here, it’s just as busy as last time. Great, where do I need to go?

“Excuse me are you miss Veronica.” I feel a tap on my shoulder.

“Ahk!” I instinctively spin while drawing my pistol.

I’m pointing my gun at what seems to be a young man with light blue hair and a bright smile. “Heh, I’m sorry miss I didn’t mean to startle you. You can put the gun away now, I mean you’ll definitely miss. I probably already know the answer to this but you are miss Veronica right?”

“Yes, yes I am.” I holstered the pistol “Did Nim send you?”

“Oh, you’re inquisitive aren't you! Yes, Nim gave me orders to look for you, now would you please follow me.”

…

We ended up in what looks like a fairly spacious office room, there’s a large wall of files and books and a purple crystal in the corner.

“Please take a seat, I’ll let Nim know you are here.” The receptionist walks over to the crystal and taps it. “Nim, she’s here.”

The crystal shines and Nim suddenly appears. “Oh hiya, Veronica. Good to see that you’re okay.”

“Whaa…”

“Wait, why are you confused?” Nim thinks for a second. “Oh! Ok so as I said I’m an AI, normally I can manifest in any electronic device that is connected to Abysia’s network. These crystals allow me to manifest semi-physically.”

“Wait… can you do multiple things at once?”

The receptionist chimes in. “Nim can run basically an unlimited amount of tasks at once. The processors that run her are pretty strong. Now, shall we discuss what we are supposed to?” ...He’s still incredibly cheery.

“Oh, yeah whoops, Veronica this is Gwyn. He’s going to be who personally manages your activities through Abysia.”

Gwyn bowed. “I look forward to serving you. We are currently in my office, if you ever need my assistance I’ll typically be here.”

“While you were being treated, we registered you, so we need to tell you some information and give you some things. Gwyn?”

“Got it!” Gwyn’s figure fades and suddenly he’s floating towards the top of the shelf. He pulls out a box and a file and then appears where he originally was. “Here you go Victoria.” He hands me both items.

The file says ‘Welcome, Veronica’ and the box says ‘apologies’

“Thank you, Gwyn. Now Veronica, open up the folder.” Within the folder are a card and a few papers “Although your abilities are on par with a rank 4 or 5 until you complete an assignment or two your current rank is rank 1. You just have to reach the assignment requirements for each rank till you hit 4. While you work on ranking up you’ll be paired with 2 others which will be assigned tomorrow before your first assignment.”

“If you look at your card Veronica you’ll see a room assignment number, your dormitory is marked on a map within the file. Your card also allows you to access your room along with shopping and other services. Speaking of shopping there’s also a voucher for a free item from any crafting guild.”

Nim looks somewhat embarrassed. “Normally the voucher is limited to smaller crafting guilds but yours is unlimited as an apology for sending you to the hospital. Now if you want, open the box.”

I opened up the box and inside was a small device. “Oh, thanks… now what is it?”

“That’s a collaboration between Soma, ARO, and the administrative guild. It’s called an Abyscreen, it’s the latest innovation in smart devices. It can keep track of your location, vitals, abilities, assignments, teammates, and a bunch of other stuff, but best of all,” Nim’s voice emanates from the device. “it also includes a portable me!”

Gwyn steps forward. “That should be all for now, thank you for your time, Veronica. Now I suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day. If you have any more questions my number should be in the Abyscreen, farewell.”

Nim smiles and waves. “Bye, Veronica!”

…

As I walked out of the hall, I started to look at the map. My room is a ways away in the residential district… I guess I’ll jump there… Concentrate… and “jump!”

…

Any free item from a crafting guild… That’s going to be annoying to choose. 

…

The Abyscreen is nice, I set that up later.

…

...I should probably buy more clothes…

…

Here we are… and landed. Ok, this place doesn’t seem bad, at least compared to where I’ve stayed in the past… I’m room 143.

…

I swipe my card and the door unlocks. It’s a fairly plain room, a bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a couch. Not bad.

I should probably do an inventory of what I have…

…

Ok, let’s see, in my bag there's a change of casual clothes, the file, a journal, and a blanket… I’m currently wearing traveling clothes, a knife, a pistol, a bracelet, and a necklace… and in my pockets is the Abyscreen… I don’t have any food… Great… I also don’t have money…

...

I wonder how big the fridge is… I opened the fridge and there’s a basket with some fruit and snack bars inside. ‘Please enjoy our welcome basket! -Administration’ and there was a doodle of Nim on the back… cute. I guess that solves the food problem.

…

I ate like 5 apples… whoops… Anyway, I should set up the Abyscreen, shower, and then sleep.

…

…

…

Ok, that’s everything… I really sleepy for some reason…I’ll lie down

[shystarlightfire-blog]

Processes and Ideas Behind Assignment 1

Background Information of the Dancer

Dancing was introduced into my life since the age of 7. Ever since, dance continued to play a huge part in my life as I constantly aim to achieve better standards. When people around me asks what best represents me, my answer is simply “Expression through dance”. Similarly, the answer to the question ‘Where is art in your life?’ would be the art of expression through dance. Being a professional dancer has always been my dream, but practical considerations have led me into the National University of Singapore. As an art enthusiasts since young as well, I enjoy combining the things I take interest in within my artworks to express who I really am. As I came to know about NM3205 Digital Culture and Art, I recognised the potential to which this module could possibly allow myself to portray an art piece in a way I like.

The Context and Concept

I believe that embodying beautiful lines is what makes one an amazing dancer, one who stands out from a crowd because your visibly lengthened silhouettes as you dance. With this idea of dancers’ lines, I decided to set it as the context on which my piece will build on. In this piece, I aim to bridge the context of dancers’ lines to the digital art and culture environment I live in today. With the context in mind, the concept of a contemporary dancer in a crossword landscape will be brought out. Put simply, the contemporary dancer reflects who I am and my identity, while the crossword landscape signifies my surrounding influences today because of Digital Art and Culture.

The Crossword Puzzle

I wanted something simplistic to represent ‘my surroundings’. The lecture on Subjective Cartographies was where I began my exploration. A map could be the key to represent external influences of my life in the present. Therefore, I decided to adapt the everyday crossword puzzle that we see in newspapers as the map. Essentially, crossword puzzles are linear in nature. Overlapping with the context I explained earlier, this art work would integrate this intersection and similarity between the context and the crossword puzzle.

Linearity

The artwork, entitled ‘Linearity’ aims to exhibit a reflection of myself, as a unique identity at different stages of my life as well as what I like and aspire to be in the area of digital art or in any other aspects of culture. I believe that influences through the younger stages of my life have led to how my environment has steered me toward the path of digital art as well as how I am today.

Concepts of Linearity

Mentioned earlier, one of the concepts that inspired me to create this piece would be the idea of mappings. I have integrated 2 forms of mapping in this piece. One would be the crossword puzzle (as explained earlier), and another to represent different periods of my live: the past, present and future. I applied this concept in the form of the three panels, with each panel symbolizing a different time of my life. Each panel is represented by a specific colour. The white panel represents my past, as the colour symbolizes purity and innocence. Pink colour depicts as ‘the present’ time to symbolize who I am as a person now (pink is also my favourite colour!). I decided to use a glitched background for the panel for the future, as it depicts how the future is confusing and it exemplifies the uncertainty of the future.

Textual content laid out using the crossword puzzle are always placed according to the panels. Hence, there is easy inference towards the way I am, what I like and what I want to do/ become through the past, present and future. The way I am has been depicted using black colour, what I like depicted using silver colour and what I want to do/ become is depictured using gold colour. The different use of colour represent as legends on a typical map.

Besides the panels, I chose to use a picture of myself in a dance pose, showing extended lines, as the center piece of my artwork. It is able to clearly depict the technicalities of being a dancer as well as reflect the changes I have been through as a person. Dance has truly made me stronger and confident in many aspects of my life today.

Lastly, the use of tracing paper deliberately aims to act as a third layer. The second being the dancer cut out while the first layer being the time panels. The use of layers seeks to represent how my identity today has been shaped multiple times through vigorous and intensive on-going processes. These different experiences are what led me into appreciating life and art better through a digital culture.

Prior Inspiration

Linearity was inspired by ‘Images of Contemporary Women Revealed through Textual Portraits’ by Kristine Mitchell. I love how the visuals was put up in a meaningful yet minimalist way. The use of letters and words are a simplistic yet objective way in putting across a message you want to show through your artwork.

(http://mymodernmet.com/leslie-nichols-textual-portraits/)

When I was younger, I loved doodling and drawing on my little sketch pad. Creating a 2D art piece would always remind me of those fond memories, a period before any intervention of digital culture and art. I feel that going back to where I started holds a significant value. Also, I have selected to use an A4 size because A4 is the most common sized paper which we use as students. This gives a sense of commonality. Congruent to reality, we may be unique individuals, but ultimately, we are still only one part of society, one part of this digital culture. It is how we use this commonality to differentiate ourselves that matters.

Conclusion and Choice of Medium

In conclusion, Linearity depicts a mathematical relationship between parallel lines and this is exactly what I wish to portray. The idea of a parallel relationship between the dancers’ lines and linear nature of crossword puzzles.