#I only put three pieces in the photo since I was still in the process of frying it

[sweetandglovelyart]

Christmas dinner 🎄

[ingravinoveritas]

craftyballoonwinner mentioned you on a post "anna always got to prove to us she still got her…”

I can't wait for @nightgoodomens and @ingravinoveritas takes on today. Something happened and while I'm happy to not have GM around the fact it was MS&DT ALL night makes my eyebrows raise.

@craftyballoonwinner It has taken me the last few days to process everything that happened on Friday, because to say that I am floored by what we got is a tremendous understatement.

We knew that Michael had been in London and had specifically gotten a house in Chiswick close to David's house since November of last year, for his run in Nye at the National Theatre. We knew that the second run in Cardiff ended on June 1st and that as soon as it did, Michael immediately came back to London. We knew that--schedules and work/family commitments allowing--they were likely spending a great deal of time together (despite only seeing three pictures of them over the course of that entire interval: The Macbeth photo, the blurry pic that Anna posted back in November, and the photo from Lapland last December).

The smallest pieces, flashes of something beautiful and bright yet still obscured, ensconced from public view. So much so that I never in a million years expected Michael to come to Pub in the Park--hoped, certainly, but the thought of it actually happening seemed like a distant dream, a dazzling impossibility.

But this past Friday was just...so extraordinary and lovely precisely because it was ordinary. It wasn't a press junket or an interview or Michael and David promoting something...it was just them. The two of them together, basking in the warmth of each other's presence. It was there even in the first picture I saw, and it permeated through every clip, every moment of them at the event:

The smiles. The ease and comfort they have around each other. The effortless love that just exists between Michael and David, and that is tangible in every dimension, as much on a screen as in real life. And when they were on stage together, it wasn't even that they played off each other so well--it was that Michael's last minute appearance didn't cause either of them to lose so much as a step. It was that you just knew that they couldn't have put any other two people up on that stage without prior planning and had that same chemistry, that charm and familiarity. And it was just so damn wonderful to see Michael and David looking so happy and joyful overall.

As for what happened with Georgia, I am just more confused than anything else. For the last month and a half, Georgia heavily promoted PitP, and both she and David billed her as a co-host. Every flyer, every piece of promotion that was shared (both by the PitP social media and Georgia) mentioned her as a co-host, along with David. She even did an interview on the Gaby Roslin podcast with David and Arabella Weir where she was again specifically referred to as a co-host and admitted not knowing her own Instagram handle, as well as saying that she would be active on Insta during the PitP event.

There is a strange irony to the podcast as well, given that David actually said "We're failing our hosting duties right here!" in the above linked clip, and what seemed like a joke at the time actually came to pass. For whatever reason, Georgia failed in her duty, the job that she signed up to do. Had it been because of all the attacks that David was a target of over the past week after the blow-up with Kemi Badenoch, Rishi Sunak, and the entire Tory party, that would have made sense. I would have completely understood if Georgia, who had also been targeted in those attacks, was feeling anxious or worried about her/the kids' safety and elected to stay home instead.

However...Georgia didn't stay home. She actually was at the event, as were several of their kids (Ty and Olive, from what I've seen). She was there, drinking and dancing, and somehow that made her abdication of co-hosting duty even more conspicuous and strange. It also makes it increasingly obvious that Michael's appearance on stage was a last minute occurrence and not part of the original plan of events.

So what actually happened? I don't know. None of us know, and it's likely we won't know until a later time, if ever. But in the real world, if you are given a job to do, if a contract is signed with a written agreement to do that job and you don't do the job, there are consequences. At the very least, it can negatively affect someone's reputation and reduce the likelihood of them receiving offers for future jobs. On the other end, you could be looking at potential lawsuits for things like breach of contract. And none of this even gets into disappointed fans or attendees who might've been hoping to see Georgia host and who could possibly now claim to be victims of false advertising because she didn't.

It also feels like a huge missed opportunity on the part of PitP, who could have potentially raised hundreds or even thousands of pounds more for charity had Michael been booked as a co-host, or even a guest. Regardless of whether Michael was there in an official capacity, though, I am just glad that he was there, and that we got to see the two of them together again.

The night may have lacked the glitz and formal glamour of the NTAs, but it more than made up for it with the relaxed domesticity we got to see between Michael and David. And now that Michael is hanging around London a bit longer, hopefully there will be many more memorable nights like this to come.

[fubbybebby]

Complete 2023 Furblet Teardown/Disassembly Guide

hi!! this post will be an image heavy teardown guide for the newest 2023 furby furblets. questions are welcome!

Be aware there will be skinning and disassembly below the cut!

You will need:

A PH1 size screwdriver

a stiff, strong, thin prying tool (like a very thin flat head screwdriver, a butterknife, a palette knife, etc.)

a second stiff tool to pull/push on tabs (i used a mini plastic curved scraper)

optional, but a small magnetic mat and a small container (or just 2 containers) to hold parts and screws so you don't lose them!

This is my volunteer model ooh-koo!

She is in complete working order, both before and after the teardown. There aren't many fragile parts inside furblets (they're surprisingly simple but clever!) but I still do not recommend following through with this disassembly unless you're absolutely fine with damaging your furblet. Furblets are NOT meant to be taken apart, and are filled with 1-way safety pins in the faceplate that cannot be removed without bending/breaking them out.

To start, remove all visible screws on the underside of the furblet where the battery compartment is. There are 6 total screws, two larger ones for the battery compartment and 4 smaller ones on the outside holding the bottom on to the furb. These screws are different sizes, don't lose them and put them back in the right places! The bottom of your furby should look like this now:

(i forgot to take a photo of this initially, so she is skinless here.)

After this, you should very easily be able to lift the plastic strip holding the fur into the shell. Part of it is tucked into a nook to allow slack in the fur for lifting it over the body!

After this, gently pull the fur up and over the body shell, and flip it over the ears. These are held in place by plastic clips so be gentle and don't force it off yet.

now for the most genuinely difficult part of the whole process, unclipping the ears

Holding the ear on the front and back to sandwich the pieces together, and being VERY gentle, slide your first prying object under the wide end of the white ear clips. This will lift it to allow you to pull the clips up over the barrier. While still leaving the pry in, use your second object and push/pull on the clip. Here I am pulling since my scraper is curved and it was easiest. The T shaped clip should pop right out, but may need a lot of finagling to get it there. I stretched the second clip and damaged it, so again be slow and careful!

Repeat this process on all four tabs! Now, the skin should only be held on to the furb by the face plate.

To open up and remove the faceplate, start by removing all three screws on the back of the shell. Again, I forgot the picture initially so she is already skinless here.

Now, pull apart the two halves of the shell. The microphone is wired from the center board to the back half of the shell, so don't pull too hard or you might rip the wires out!

Pay attention to your individual furblet! Mine has pink and purple components, remember or take a picture of the lay out so you aren't confused later. the pink and purple parts on either side just pop right out, and the button slides off the peg along with its spring. This will give you full access to the backside of the motherboard.

Remove the screws on either side, and it will release the whole center plate from the front half of the shell. There is a third screw on the bottom of the center plate, but this only separates the battery contact plate and the base plate of the motherboard (i wouldn't really recommend removing it since it's not relevant to anything you need access to) The whole center plate will now just slide out of the empty front half of the shell!

There is one additional piece kind of floating on the pegs here, and it's needed so the furb recognizes button presses to the mouth. Here it's the J shaped purple piece! This just pops right off and you can see all the safety pegs for the faceplate and mouth/gem buttons. To remove the pegs, you will have to manually bend the tabs holding the pegs in place. This WILL damage your furblet. Do not go further if you aren't wanting to break anything.

After bending the tabs out, the pegs should pull straight through, releasing the whole faceplate. At this point, the skin should come right off too! Here are the inside and outside parts.

Congrats! You've completed a disassembly. To put your furblet back together, just do everything in reverse!, however please note the following:

When reassembling, be sure to replace all spring parts in their correct positions! The ear mechanisms are reliant on all of these springs to work. For the inside, make sure the Y shaped brackets are on their correct sides, and that the end of the metal spring is INSIDE the furb, pushing against the bottom plate (the left side here has a small divot where the left side spring goes, the right side just kind of sits on top of the plate)

Similarly, when replacing the shell be sure to lift the ears all the way up and close the metal pins into the shell. This puts tension on the spring so they'll be able to pop out when the button on top is pressed. Test the button to make sure everything is working mechanically!

And that's all! This wasn't very difficult to do, but because of the actual inevitable damage caused by removing the face plate, i figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to make a guide of some sort. Please feel free to use and link this guide however you see fit, but please don't use my photos! Thanks for reading 🩵💙

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Surprise

Self-Aware! Nikolai Gogol x GN! Reader

Description: BSD! Nikolai Gogol is interested in the 'real-world' Nikolai Gogol. One day, he said he need your help.

Set after BSD gang got into the real world.

Fluff.

Warning: OOC, English is my second language.

Sequel to Shopping trip (What is cosplay?)

You are sure in three things. First, Earth is round. Second, gravity is a cruel force. Third, among your new friends/roommates/family members, Nikolai Gogol is the one, who is most interested in his real world counterpart.

Ever since BSD gang got into your world, Gogol has been searching for bits and pieces of information about your world's Nikolai Gogol. Well, to be fair, everyone has been looking for any info about their real world counterparts. But Nikolai was doing it more often than others.

 According to Fyodor, Gogol has started his search back in the app, when they only gained access to the Internet from your world. What was the reason for Gogol's interest? His answer was 'Simple curiosity'.

_____________________________

"[Y/N]! Birdy! I need your help!"

 Gogol almost barked in your ear.

You made an inarticulate sound, then dropped the box of cookies (you got them for Sigma) from your hands, spun in place and stared at Nikolai. You were breathing heavily, he scared you. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed the familiar golden glow of The Overcoat. In just one moment, the box of cookies was in Gogol's hands. He looked pleased with your reaction.

You glare at Gogol. You almost growl.

"Kolya! Did you really need to scare me like this?"

Ok, to be fair, white-haired male looked a little bit apologetic.

"Sorry, didn't mean to," In a second his expression become amused. "But, I must say, your reaction was priceless. Are you always reacting like this when you are scared? Maybe, we should watch horror film together?"

Gogol grinned and leaned closer to you. You looked at him with an expressionless look and booped his nose. 

Gogol wrinkled his nose, let out a chuckle and, after using "The Overcoat" again, put the box of cookies on the kitchen table. 

"Fine, will try not to scare you next time. But I really need your help."

Still a little bit grumpy, you raised an eyebrow.

"With what exactly?"

Nikolai scratched the back of his head and, a little embarrassed, muttered. 

"It's my turn to go to the mall. Can you please go with me? I still not very fond of the place after my last shopping trip."

Okay, you weren't petty, no, but you can't miss this opportunity.

"I told you to wear a disguise! And what did you say?" you tried your best in imitating Gogol's voice. "I want the rest of the free world to accept free me! My clothes also part of my freedom."

_________________________

It's been three months since BSD gang got into your world. During this three months, BSD gang were exploring your world. By exploring, they mean they were going with you on shopping trips, to the cinema, to the park and so on. Thankfully, Fitzgerald, somehow, manage to "move" his money from the app world to yours. And BSD Gang were in the process of creating ID's and other documents, so they can blend into your world society. Most of the characters already has it covered. They tried to find a job. Fitzgerald was one of the "prepared characters". And he brought a new house. Large enough to contain all of you. As he promised. So, at least, you shouldn't worry about money problems.

Two months ago, Gogol said, that he wanted to go with you to the mall. It wasn't the problem. But Gogol, who decide to go to the mall in his normal attire, was The Problem. You tried to convince him to change his clothes, to disguise himself. He didn't listen.

What should be a simple shopping trip to the mall became a "Take a Photo with a Cool Cosplayer" thing. Many people wanted to take a photo with Gogol. Some people called him a freak. One 'Karen' hit Gogol with her shopping bag, for been a 'satanist, who watched Chinese porn cartoons' and useless member of society'. At the end, you and Gogol go back home. The day was ruined. Since then, Gogol refused to go to the mall.

___________________________

Gogol glared at you, but, you have already known him good enough, not to be afraid of his glare. Nikolai huffed, but nodded, agreeing with you.

"Yes, I know. I should have listened to you. So... Will you go with me?"

You nodded. It's not like you have something to do. And, besides, you loved spending time with BSD gang. 

Nikolai grinned and clasped your palms in his. His hands were warm, you can feel it even though the gloves.

"Thanks, [Y/N], give me a moment to disguise myself."

Gogol let go of your hands and quickly went to his room.

______________________

You were waiting for Gogol near the front door. Soon he appeared. Instead of his normal clothes, he was wearing a simple brown coat, white shirt and black pants. His hair was still white, but, with a few hairpins, he made it look shorter. His scar was also covered. Gogol looked at you, like he was asking, 'How do I look?' You give him a thumbs up. Nikolai grinned. You take your backpack, Gogol takes some shopping bags and both of you left the house.

The walk to the mall was pleasant. Kolya and you were talking about many different things. Mostly, about your world. And Gogol wanting to be a performer.

"Kolya, I do know, that with your ability you can make a magic trick with sewing person in half more... interesting, but, I don't think the audience will like it." 

Gogol playfully pocked your cheek.

"Come on, Birdy, don't be a killjoy!"

"I am not been a killjoy, I just don't think that it will be suitable for a magical show for kids!" you looked at Nikolai. He gazed archly at you. Realizing your mistake, you cover your face with your hand. "You are messing with me, aren't you?"

Gogol leaned closer, you can feel his warm breath on your ear.  "What give you this idea, [Y/N]?" 

You blushed and start walking faster. You still heard Gogol's quiet laugh. 

______________________________

When you reach the mall, Gogol turned towards you and asked.

"Hey, [Y/N], is it okay, if I buy something in other shop before we go in food supermarket?"

You nodded and wanted to follow him, but Gogol put a hand on your shoulder. 

"Sorry, but I want to go by my own. Please, wait for me."

He didn't wait for your answer, and disappeared from your sight. You signed and looked around. You noticed a bookstore near you. You decide to take a look. 

You were simply looking at the bookshelf, when you noticed a familiar name.

Nikolai Gogol. "The Overcoat. Petersburg Tales"

You take a book from the shelf and open it. There were six novels by Nikolai Gogol. After thinking about it, you decide to purchase the book. Nikolai was interested in his prototype. Maybe, he would be interested in reading his works.

You manage to buy a book, hide it in your backpack and return to your meeting spot right before Gogol return. He was holding a full shopping bag. 

"Have you bought everything you want?" you asked. Gogol nodded.

"Yes. Well, let's go and get groceries."

_________________________

Day was pleasant. You two got groceries and grab a bite in the Food Court. You were enjoying yourself. Gogol was a nice enough company.

You got back home in the evening. After putting grosseris to the refrigerator, you take a book you have bought earlier. You called.

"Kolya?"

Nikolai hummed, looking at you. You handed him a book.

"Here, for you."

Gogol takes the book from you. His grin became bigger. He quickly put the book away. One moment later, he crashed you in his embrace. He was warm. You feel his breath on the top of your head.

"Thank you, Birdy, I appreciate it."

You gently pet his back.

_________________________________

A few days have passed since your trip to the mall. All this time Gogol was distant. He spent most of his time in his room. 

You tried to invite him to go for a walk with Kouyou and you, but he refused. He said, he has something important to do.

After a few more days, Gogol approach you himself. He was holding a gift box in his hand.

Gogol wink and give the box to you.

"There, for you."

You opened it. There was a scarf inside. You carefully take it from the box. Scarf was soft. It seems, he was handmade. Gogol's voice was calm and soft.

"I learned that Gogol from this world liked needlework. So, I sewed this scarf myself. Bought the materials when we were in the mall. By the way, tonight's dinner is also made by me. This world's Gogol loved and can cook. I made dumplings."

You smile and hugged Gogol. You whisper.

 "Thank you, Kolya"

 Gogol smiles.

 "You are welcome, Birdy."

After a moment of silence, you asked.

"Hey, Kolya, want to read the book I gave you earlier together? After dinner, in your room?"

Gogol's eyes shine with happiness:

"Will be glad to do it, [Y/N]."

 ____________________

 

After the dinner, Gogol and you went to his room. Together, you were reading the book you gifted Gogol. You were holding a book in your hands. You were sitting on Gogol's lap, with your back pressed against his chest. Kolya laid his head on your shoulder. He read aloud. The scarf he gave you was tied around your neck. You snuggle closer to Nikolai. You feel happy. 

____________________

A/N: "Petersburg Tales" - name for a six Gogol novels. The main idea of this novels - 'small person'. The novels are "The Nose", "Nevsky Prospect", "The Overcoat", "Diary of Madman", "The Carriage" and "The Portrait".

The facts about Gogol are true. Nikolai Vasilyevich loved niddlework. He made scarfs for himself and dresses for his sisters. He also loved treating his friends with homemade cooking. Dumplings were one of the best Gogol's dishes.

[natty-taffy]

the handmaiden - [natasha x reader]

Interactive fanfiction

series masterlist

Summary: Natasha's room is definitely not what you were expecting Previously, on your path: Chapter I.I.II.II

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ CHAPTER I.I.II.II.0

As she steps back inside her room, looking back at you expectantly, you don’t need to be told twice, immediately following track- you can’t believe she is really allowing you into her room, you don’t even know how to act.

While she closes the door, you take a moment to take a peak at the room around you- it resembles your room, as you should have expected, given that she is probably not one for frivolous modifications and you don’t actually have anything to decorate yours.

She does have a lot of plants- there are three vases by the window, one of a snake plant, another of papyrus, and a beautiful white jasmine vine, at the foot of her bed stands a big areca palm, practically stealing all the attention to itself. In the corner of the room that doesn’t have much direct sunlight, you can see a beautiful monstera plant, paired with a cast iron plant.

“You have such a beautiful room, Nat” You compliment her, you can already feel yourself relaxing at the peace that her bedroom exhales “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a plant mom, if only, maybe, of a cactus”

“Thank you” She answers with a small chuckle- there is still an edge on her voice “Do not ever call me a plant mom again- and I do have a cactus”

She points at the side of her bed, where, on the bedside table rests a small ball cactus, alongside a small metal panel, filled with photographs- you squint your eyes as varieties of the same blonde hair appear on the photos.

“Oh, is that Yelena?” You nod your head to the panel, smiling as she nods nervously- you had heard about her a lot, it feels nice to finally put her face into such an important name “She is so beautiful” 

“She is” Natasha answers, almost proudly. 

Before you can move on from the pictures, your eyes catch a small piece of paper- on the top corner of the panel, almost hidden by a picture of the Avengers. You can barely breathe as you stare back at a drawing of yourself.

You point at the yellowed paper, forcing the words out of your mouth as if they are made of sand “Is this-” 

Natasha silently leaves your side, approaches the small table and carefully, with touches that are barely there, unclips the frail paper from under the other. 

Before you can comprehend, she is already back at you, almost not offering the drawing for you to touch- you don’t think you could touch it anyway. It is very clearly your bust- maybe six or seven years younger- an age in which you hadn’t seen yourself yet, you wear your hair in a beautiful bun, and your smile almost shines within the paper. 

There is a russian inscription at the bottom of the paper and you’re left even more confused than before- can you speak russian?

“Are you okay?” Natasha’s voice pulls you back into her room- not as peaceful as you had found it, just a moment ago.

You’re not sure, so you don’t answer, instead, you ask her another question “When was this?”

“1918, come sit down” She barely allows you to digest the information, before she guides you to her bed. You frown at her, feeling lost again, and a small chuckle leaves your mouth.

“Nat, I’m twenty… something” Your answer is not the most credible one, given that you don’t know how old you truly are- perks of being raised as HYDRA’s lab rat- all you do know is what Bruce told you after your first battery of exams ‘the aging process of your DNA suggests that you have in between twenty-one and twenty-five years’ and, since then, you stuck with the one solid piece of information you have about yourself.

Natasha seems to be intricately choosing her next words, so you try to prepare yourself for whatever comes next “In the same way that Steve is thirty-something” She tiptoes around her own ideas before adding “In the same way I’m thirty-something- they probably dosed you a little higher than they did to me, I’m only a year older than you”

“Oh” You’re so glad Nat sat you down before, because your body goes immediately numb- you can hear her slowly speaking to you, and the melody of her voice doesn’t fail to calm you down, but you can’t bring yourself to pay attention to anything else. 

The one thing you had clung to for so long was not even close to the truth, you don’t even know anymore if you want to find it anymore, you want to be twenty-something- why didn’t you listen to her various attempts to protect you from this? 

Protect you- your cheeks are warmed up once again, your whole face gains back color at the simple reminder of her caring about you- about you being missed by her. Maybe, you ponder, finding out that you’ve had this much love surrounding you, even if only by her, even if you still don’t know much for certain, is worth sharing a little bit of the pain she has carried by herself for so long.

“Should I stop?” Is the first thing you hear after zoning back to her room, once more.

“Yes” You answer without thinking, but hurriedly fix it “No” And, after receiving a worried look, you take a breathe, nodding at her with more certainty “Just- follow my lead” 

Natasha smiles easily at you, nodding in agreement, waiting patiently for your pacing- it’s not like she hasn’t kept it for a century- she tries not to follow your movements too obviously, but she supposes you can’t blame her for being a little worried.

“We’re super soldiers, then?” You try to understand from how she explained it to you.

“Not quite” She grimaces a little, knowing you just needed one objective answer “We were the first people to be tested for the Super Sorum, so they a lot changed from ours to Steve’, we don’t have super strength nor super healing, but we have great reflexes and age at a slower pace” 

“Yeah” You nod, starting to piece the pieces of information together- your puzzle is starting to feel more complete at each word that leaves her mouth, finally. 

There was, however, one nagging question that has been bothering you ever since you saw the drawing- what do you have to do with Russia? 

Undeniably, you can infer that you have met there, under circumstances you still don’t know- so are you russian, then? Did you have a family back then, in 1918? And where does Natasha Romanoff fit into all of this?

Oh.

You suddenly feel as if a lamp has lightened up inside of your brain- Natasha probably has everything to do with Russia, in 1918- you are either right or have gone insane, at this point, for even considering such a thing. But all is fair after you found out you’re at least a hundred years old less than an hour ago.

“So, bear with me” You try to explain yourself before asking her “Do you happen to have anything to do with Anatasia Romanov?”

Natasha smiles like the sun of midday, it almost blinds you and warms you at the same time “Up until they turned me into Natalia” You can’t believe you’re actually right.

The one thing that rolls out of your mouth is “I am so sorry” Because what else could you possibly say to a girl whose family was murdered in front of her, who, then, was captured by the Red Room for God knows how long?

Surprisingly, her smile gets even wider “Of all people, you’re the only one who shouldn’t have to say this” And you don’t get the chance to even get surprised by this, before she’s explaining why “You’re the only reason that I’m alive”

“Why? Wait- Hold on, what was I, anyway?” You double-question her and she has to refrain herself from relishing how little you have really changed. You take the twinkle in her eyes as a green light to poke her a little “Besides your fling, that is- how was it that you said before? Your ‘everything’ ”

It’s her turn to blush, and she does beautifully so “Funny” With a cute little grin still adorning her lips, Natasha answers you “You were my handmaiden” And, in the same breath, adds in a more serious tone “My lover” 

“Handmaiden” You test the thought on your mind. 

You were a handmaiden, you lived in Russia, you were a teenager in 1918, and you were Natasha’s- then, Anastasia- lover. Your eyes are filled with gratitude at the same time they are with tears, both of them too abundant to not spill down your cheeks.

“I can’t thank you enough for telling me all of this, Natasha” You whisper in wobbly words “I imagine it can’t be easy for you, not one part of this”

“Don’t thank me, darling, I am so unbelievably sorry for withholding the truth from you for so long” The woman tries to blink her two traitorous tears away, her voice sounds so raw that they don’t even sound like Natasha at all- and, no matter how much she is right for telling you she is sorry, all you want to do is hug her until she calms down.

“You have been the light of my life for so long, even after all these years, the mere knowledge that I have been loved by you has always been my safe harbor” Her tiny, shaky voice spills every word as if she is a faucet just ready to burst “I just didn’t want to get to know the new you and risk forgetting about the one that I have always held so dearly in my heart”

There are a thousand things you want to tell her, all running through your brain, begging to be chosen- but none being actually able to leave your mouth, and you don’t think she would register them now, anyway. 

So you choose to follow your instincts and slowly approach her “I will hug you now, may I?” And, after all she does is nod profusely, you circle your arms around her- relaxing beneath her body, whose quiet sobs cause her to tremble slightly under you. You can’t hold your own tears at the peace that immediately takes over you at holding her in your arms.

“I have truly resented you” You whisper, hoping she would listen to you “But I hadn’t had the slightes idea of what you were going through- and yes, you could have treated me better, but sometimes you have to deal with your feelings in the only ways you can. I don’t hold you with a single negative feeling, take a deep breath now”

With two deep intakes, she recomposes herself quickly, only enough to tell you- still buried under your chest “How come you haven’t changed at all?”

You don’t know whose body is shaking, or if it’s them both, but you find enough strength to answer her, smiling at the premise of the thought “That we will only find out when we start unboxing everything”

Natasha, then, untangles herself from you- she is calmer now, her smile under her red nose and puffy eyes look like the very first sun rays in the morning, shily stepping in front of the clouds. She toys with your fingers, in what seems to be a nervous habit.

“Do I see you tomorrow, then?”

You smile back at her and grin at her antics, feeling impossibly brighter and tired- you might as well have been reborn.

“Is the sky blue, Nat?”

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

New paths coming soon!

[keystonepublishing]

There Will Come Soft Rains by @tunastime

Wedding Bands only need Three Gold Pieces by wisteriaworlds / @percivex

Where and How our Fires Burn by @plumelagoon

After a week of printing, cutting, and gluing, I have finally finished a long-held goal of mine to bind these three fanfics!

After the last mammoth bookbinding project, I wanted to do something simple for a change. So, I decided to bind some Rancher Duo fics for my personal enjoyment while using some of the cheapest materials and leftover stuff that I can find. While the overall binding process was comparatively simpler, there were also a few new tricks I use in the making of these ficbooks.

If I could sum it up, I would say that these ficbinds are a sort-of "working experiment". As in, experimenting in making, gluing, and putting what goes where at which sections of the book.

For starters, the endpapers of various feathers are just cut sections of present-wrapping paper I found at a store. I intended to use a different paper pattern for the inside cover/endpaper, but ran out of that and bought the feather one instead. Given how Jimmy is head-cannoned and written as a canary of death, it's serendipitously fitting.

I also went for simplicity at the spine; just a long piece of cardstock. Simple and effective, yet somehow it went wonky for one book when it came to gluing. Why? How? I don't know!

Experimentation was afoot from the title page alone. The first two fics are titled plainly, but I decided to place a semi-transparent visual of a feather at the last ficbind, just to test the visual look. I'd say it looks a lot more interesting and fits the fic's vibe, though I also like the simplicity of the last two title pages.

The front matter (or information page/s) was also a place where slight experiments were done, namely at keeping all the information contained to one page. If there is just too much info, can I make it a two-page spread without it looking like a boring wall of text? And lastly: is there enough room to add the AO3 logo and my own?

The second and third ficbinds use symbols as dividers between different sections of info, and the third ficbind has no logo - more on that later.

I then experimented on the first page: could I use pictures or visuals to set the mood for the fic? Each picture was taken from the internet and edited to fit the page, though it look me literal hours to find the right pictures to use in the first place.

The titles have a pop of red color to make for an interesting visual effect. Soft Rains and How Our Fires Burn also have drop caps at their opening paragraphs to see if it fits with the visual look and layout.

There Will Come Soft Rains was also the first time I did some fancy editing in regards to the letter-writing sections of the fic. The paper background was easy, but it took some time to find the exact fonts that could fit Tango and Jimmy's writing vibe. I also divided Tango and Jimmy's perspectives with thematic dividers - a cowboy hat and redstone block, naturally.

I then repeated the visual vibe at the opening pages for the ending. As Wedding Bells ended at the left page, the opposite right page was a singular photo that conveys the vibe of the fic's ending. Since the other two ficbinds ended at the right page, I tried to come up with a way of conveying the emotional touchstone of their endings and settled on a double-page spread of photos.

Setting the photos to that they seem to meet at the center was a bit finicky, and it ultimately did not print as a seamless whole. Still, I like the effect those photos give to the ending(s).

Same concept, but simplified at the End Notes. I ultimately feel the simplified visuals of the latter ficbinds ended up better than the complete picture of my first attempt.

Also, remember how one ficbind, Where and How Our Fires Burn, did not have the logos at the front matter / information page? That's because that fic was when I experimented with a colophon and placed the logos of AO3 and my own there. Thinking about it, I may not use this method if I want to make a simple bookbind that saves pages, but definitely will for bigger projects.

Full credits for all these fics to their writers!

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #326: WIND from the EAST

November, 1990

Earth's Mightiest Heroes have just fought their newest opponent. Now the Invincible Iron Man has to pick up the pieces. Good luck, Shellhead.

For some reason, the combination of the cover text and everyone being flat on their ass except one person who all hope now lies with against a fiendish foe gives this cover a retro feel.

I can't point to a specific example, it just has an older energy to it.

Anyway. Have you ever noticed that if you squint, the distribution of red versus gold on Iron Man's armor kinda sorta forms an I? With the Iron Panties and the chest piece forming the crossbars? A neat way to give him that superhero initial thing.

Last times in Avengers: Uh. There's been a lot of filler. John Byrne quit over editorial interference and there's been a couple writers since, all doing their own wheel spinning. So we get to the point where the most important last time in Avengers was Avengers Island getting sunk in Acts of Vengeance.

Remember how Michael O'Brien had spent a lot of money getting a new meeting room table for the Avengers, only to be told that Thor wanted to salvage something instead? Yeah, we open on the Avengers making a new meeting table.

It's kinda awesome.

Thor and Sersi forge the big A inlay, with Sersi heating up metal scavenged from girders of the mansion destroyed by the Masters of Evil and Thor Mjolniring the shit out of it.

The Avengers actually let Michael O'Brien help (probably to ease the sting of completely wasting his time before). O'Brien had a table top hand-carved from black basalt scavenged from the sunken Hydrobase.

So the new table is going to be a bit of the previous two bases. With the whole team chipping in to help assemble it. At least, everyone listed on the cover. Quasar has apparently dropped out between issues. Or Larry Hama doesn't want to write him.

But anyway, Thor and Sersi make the A sigil. She-Hulk gouges an A-shaped space in the basalt with her fingernails. Iron Man visits from the West Coast team just to put together all the communication and display systems for the table. And Cap supervises.

As far as throwaway downtime sequences go, I quite like this.

Since the Avengers are incorporating their history into the new table, Sersi decides to give Captain America a little gift. He had a scrapbook of Avengers adventures that was lost when Hydrobase sank. Sersi used a mysterious Eternal space-time bending process to recreate it.

That's nice of her.

While looking at a Daily Bugle photo of the Avengers fighting the Masters of Evil in issue #6, Iron Man almost says he was in that fight before doing a verbal backspace.

Iron Man: "Look at that front page photo from the 'Bugle'... the old Avengers battling the Masters of Evil! That was some fight we -- uh... I mean, you were in!" She-Hulk: "Sure, dude. That was the other guy in the tin suit, right?" Iron Man: "Absolutely. We are all well aware of the death of the original Iron Man..." She-Hulk: "... and you're just another anonymous employee of Stark Enterprises!"

I still have no idea why Tony is pretending he's not Iron Man to his Avengers friends. As a running subplot, it's not going anywhere. It's just repeating Iron Man saying that he's totally not the same guy they had three hundred adventures with and whichever Avenger he's talking to going 'riiiiiiight.'

Speaking of running subplots, there seems to be some conflicting writers on whether Jarvis suffered permanent damage to his vision after being beaten half to death by Mr Hyde.

Some writers still portray him wearing it. In this comic, Larry Hama has Jarvis call the eyepatch silly.

Anyway. Plot.

Big, buff black superhero Rage rings the doorbell of the Mansion construction site and says he's here to sign up to be an Avenger.

Jarvis tells him that one doesn't just show up and ask to be an Avenger. Factually incorrect, Jarvis. A lot of people do that. Like Hawkeye. But Jarvis also says that there's a lot of security checks and testing that one must go through.

Rage sees this as a runaround and just kinda walks in despite Jarvis.

Captain America comes to find out what the hubbub is and Rage asks the pretty legitimate question of why the Avengers don't have any African-American members.

Geez, this is a question that comes up somewhat frequently. You'd think that it would sink in or something.

In an in-universe sense, the Avengers just kinda form teams based on whoever is available. In an out-of-universe sense, it's a very legitimate criticism to lob. Why don't the Avengers have reflect the diversity of America better? Didn't the Avengers used to have a black chairwoman? What happened to her? Oh, an old white man manipulated her out of a job? That's a bad look.

Captain America responds, hey, what about Black Panther and Falcon! I have some black friends!

And Rage goes, they're not here, are they? And more specifically, he points out that Black Panther is a rich king. And that Falcon only joined the team because the government demanded they meet equal opportunity standards. (Wait, how do you know THAT?) Anyway, it sounds like Falcon is retired or something at the moment?

(Neither of them mention Monica. Who, y'know, led the team!)

Captain America: "You're beginning to tick me off, Rage... First off, nobody just walks in and gets to be an Avenger -- no matter if they're white, black, yellow, or green, for that matter!"

Again, factually incorrect. Starfox showed up from another planet and asked to join. And the only hurdle that required was for him to change his name because Reagan said so.

Captain America: "And just what can you do that qualifies you to be a super hero in the first place?" Rage: "What can I do? I've got super-human strength... I'm virtually indestructible -- And I believe in truth, justice, and the dignity of man."

He raises a good point.

And I like his look. The leather jacket look would definitely make him look unique on the line-up beside all the more superhero-y outfits. But having RAGE on the back of the jacket does meet superhero branding guidelines. Also, luchador mask. Pretty cool.

I don't love the codename Rage though. Superhero codenames that are just Noun are my least favorite.

Anyway, Rage accuses Cap of judging him by his appearance and thinking that he'd be bad for the Avengers' image.

Sersi and the rest of the Avengers wander out to see what's going on and Sersi sees Rage gesturing dramatically at Captain America.

So just as Rage is accusing Cap "I bet you think that I'll resort to violence at any second!", Sersi goes oh no, I bet that guy is going to resort to violence and full force blasts Rage with eye lasers.

Everyone remember that this is all Sersi's fault.

Despite Cap yelling at Sersi to not do this thing, Thor and She-Hulk assume that they're in a fight scene now and rush forward to escalate things further.

She-Hulk: "C'mon and pick on somebody your own size!" Rage: "Is that a challenge?"

Rage didn't start this. But he's not about to de-escalate either.

Cap manages to get everyone to simmer down.

Captain America: "There's been a terrible misunderstanding! Rage wasn't attacking me, he was trying to make a point... in fact a very valid point about perceptions!"

Sersi defends herself saying that she felt a lot of hostility in the scene before she eye lasered and Cap has to explain to the millennia old woman that conversations can be angry sometimes.

Rage decides that Actually, he doesn't want to be part of this "stupid organization anymore", which is more than valid.

Rage: "All you ever do is bash cosmic menaces off in some alternate reality or battle bad guys who have nothing better to do than destroy your headquarters! Nobody cares if super-villains fight super heroes! That don't mean diddly-squat to some kid in the inner city... I just want to use my powers to make life better for mankind, and if you don't know it, most of mankind is the little guy who never gets the benefit of your heroics!"

Then he slams the door behind him and walks off.

Hm. This is also something that comes up with the Avengers a lot. The idea that stopping alien invasions isn't Real. It's an argument that makes more sense as an out-of-universe argument than an in-universe one.

It doesn't matter to the little guy that the Avengers stopped a giant metal space man from eating the Earth? That's what we're going with? That's a dumb thing to say.

Benefit of the doubt, maybe this is more a statement of intent from Larry Hama about what kind of Avengers run he wants to do. As opposed to the cheap shot it usually is when some random person says that Avengers don't deal with Real Problems.

I do have to say, I like what Larry Hama did here by starting the issue with the Avengers being all chummy and building a table together and then assuming the worst of an outsider.

Paints the Avengers as maybe being a little clique-ish. Like maybe they need a new person to join and shake things up a little.

Anyway, Iron Man missed all of the Rage stuff but he shows up to tell them that Plot is happening.

Interspersed with the Rage conversation, there's been other stuff going on with Raymond Sikorski, National Security Council guy and liaison to the Avengers, arranging for Lt. Ramskov, hero of Chernobyl, to get a bone marrow transplant from Dr Estivez at Metropolitan General Hospital to treat his leukemia.

The man very heroically braved Chernobyl to shut down a steam pipe that was blasting radioactive vapor into the atmosphere, despite knowing his radiation suit would not be sufficient to protect him.

Problem though. Nobody told Dr Estivez so she is positively alarmed when a crane drops a man in a big containment suit with a radiation symbol on it.

She is further alarmed to hear that Lt. Ramskov has received experimental treatments at Tyuratam. Which is a space center and not a hospital.

These are legitimate concerns. But before you go thinking Dr Estivez is a total voice of reason, when she's giving Lt. Ramskov a look-over, she notices the containment suit is pumping sedatives and muscle relaxants into his bloodstream, she decides to disconnect the pump without asking why.

Granted, her objection is that she can't operate on a dude with unknown drugs in his system but... c'mon. Don't just pull things loose from a containment suit!

Without the drugs, Lt. Ramskov wakes up and starts glowing.

And then he melts through the floor.

... I feel like everyone in the room should get tested for radiation exposure.

Anyway, Sikorski decides this boondoggle should be the Avengers' problem and calls them in. And that brings us back around to Iron Man telling the rest of the team about Plot.

And as the Avengers investigate the hole in the hospital floor, it turns out I was wrong. Ramskov didn't melt through the floor. There's no sign of melting. No increase in the background radiation level. Iron Man sciences that it was quark manipulation what done it.

I don't have enough of a science brain to figure out what that means.

Ramskov's handler/escort, Ms Zhukova tells the Avengers that they better not kill Lt. Ramskov, Hero of the Soviet Union, on American soil! That'd be most bad!

Captain America has to tell her that the Avengers don't really make a habit of killing.

At least in these times. Superhero comics have changed.

Dr Estivez tells She-Hulk that the containment suit and the way Ramskov was kept drugged into a catatonic state leads her to believe that the Soviets were aware of Ramskov's abilities and were trying to keep America from finding out about them.

Ms Zhukova is shocked. Offended even.

And then there's an earthquake and the floor collapses, sending Dr Estivez, Ms Zhukova, and She-Hulk down into the pit beneath the hospital.

Well, She-Hulk is obviously fine. She fell through an entire building once, on purpose. The other two women might get hurt, though.

Iron Man and Thor leap into the pit and save the two normal women. She-Hulk declines being caught because "I could fall twice this distance and not muss my hair!"

And she falls to the lowest subbasement. Which looks like a sewer but She-Hulk calls it a conduit tunnel. She spots some footprints on the floor and goes looking for Lt Ramskov.

Thor and Iron Man want to deposit the two normal women back up in the hospital but both insist on joining the search for Ramskov. Zhukova because she is responsible for him and Dr Estivez because Ramskov is under her care and this is a medical problem!

So the two heroes land in the conduit tunnel and, like She-Hulk, start following the footprints.

Meanwhile, Ramskov. He is still hallucinating his backstory, miming turning a valve as he remembers trying to shut down the steam pipe back in Chernobyl.

But the flashback thickens! In his memory, he sees two mysterious figures in lead suits, dismantling a device attached to the reactor. Ramskov chases them because messing with the reactor could lead to a total meltdown!

... I thought Chernobyl had already melted down. But even still, it was not a situation that would benefit from being made worse.

Ramskov is still hallucinating backstory when Thor and She-Hulk find him. And since She-Hulk happens to be carrying a half-melted pipe she found, Ramskov sees the two heroes as the two lead-suited figures from his memory, who assaulted him with a crowbar and a wrench when he cornered them.

Ramskov punches She-Hulk in the head so Thor retaliates and Mjolnirs the Hero of Chernobyl in the helmet.

Meanwhile, Iron Man is walking with Ms Zhukova and Dr Estivez. The doctor repeats what she heard about Ramskov receiving treatments at the Tyuratam Space Center and now Iron Man is suspicious about this whole thing too.

He begins to ask if Ramskov is part of a special weapons program but then there's another earthquake. Iron Man tells the two women to stay put and goes to check on Thor and She-Hulk.

Where he finds them flat on their asses, as on the cover.

Ms Zhukova and Dr Estivez both refuse to listen to Iron Man, though, chasing after him.

Zhukova: "I cannot let them endanger the integrity of Ramskov's containment suit!" Dr Estivez: "He's still my patient, too!"

You could at least hang back a safe distance but no. They chase right up to where Iron Man is and where Ramskov is glowing and just making physics weep.

Iron Man: "Ramskov is emitting energy in wavelengths that don't exist on any scale! He's dismantling vector bosons and doing things to gluons that should never be done!"

That sounds bad!

Still reliving his memories, Ramskov tears open his containment suit as he tore off his radiation suit after it was ripped by the two men in the past times. Which just intensifies the energy he's putting out in the present.

I hope Thor and She-Hulk's gluons are okay.

Meanwhile, Rage is still in this book.

I figured he'd wind up joining the A-plot but it seems he's got his own subplot going on right now.

Rage walks up to a building that a drug dealer called L.D. 50 operates out of and tells some prospective customers to beat it because business is closing its doors.

Some of L.D. 50's men come out and try to shoot Rage with bullets from their guns for scaring off the customers and not gtfo-ing when they told him to.

Rage does his best Luke Cage, just walking through the gunfire.

I sorta wonder whether Rage exists because Luke Cage wasn't available to use. There's some overlap in powerset and the names rhyme. But Larry Hama is clear on what his inspirations for the character were and Luke Cage was not mentioned.

The muscle run upstairs to warn their vocabulary rich boss that some bulletproof dude is causing trouble. To his credit, L.D. 50 actually thinks of a possible way to deal with a bulletproof dude. Just throw him out a window.

But Rage didn't need to go upstairs to shut down L.D. 50. He pulled a Cage and now he's pulling a Sampson.

Rage: "This tenement was condemned by the city, but drug money bribed the inspectors and the misery of the people furnished it in luxury... It's about time it all came tumbling down!"

Then he shoves the load-bearing columns and the building starts to collapses. I can see why it was condemned.

I guess that's Rage dealing with the Real Problems tm that the Avengers don't have time for.

Next time in Avengers, the dimension of badly-drawn rocks, apparently. But actually next time, hopping back over to West Coast Avengers for some Great Lakes Avengers! Woo.

Follow @essential-avengers for more excitement noises. Like and reblog and comment and leave money for me under rocks. Any rock will do. It doesn't have to be badly-drawn.

[moongothic]

MCM Shelf Saga

Part 4 - A Shitshow of a Finale

[Part 3]

So, onto the drawers. First, there's a little bit of prep work to do

One of the drawers had not just bad stains on the bottom of it, but the bottom piece had never even been properly inserted into its place. So I did the good ol' trick of removing the whole bottom piece, flipping it around (to use the untouched bottom side as the top) and put it back in its place, this time all the way into the little slot

Worked great

And then I had to deal with the veneer damage I had caused to one of the drawer fronts

Since this was my first time even attempting veneer patching, I figured I should just try to focus on the worst bits of damage instead of trying to address all the damage? Because I was worried I'd just make it worse, so it'd be better to start small?

So I picked the worst parts and very carefully made made the worst chips bigger so I could cut out itty bitty veneer bits to fill them in with (there were a few more but I don't want this post to be a million photos long)

Once I had made sure the pieces would fit in by caaarefully filing them down to the right size, I glued them down, put some painters tape on top (to try to keep the glue from spreading), left something heavy sitting on top and just left them to dry

Once done, I came back to sand down the patches (since the veneer I had was a bit thicker than the original veneer)

And. Yeah. It's not great. Mind you, unlike in North America, I can't just go to a big store and buy whatever veneer my heart desires, the only veneer I could buy (as far as I know) was a set of three different veneer sheets the size of paper sheets. So I didn't have much options with matching the veneer at all. That all aside, it was my first attempt at veneer patching, and considdering that I think I did pretty decent. If anything I regret just not doing all the damaged spots because some of the dents are really bad even if they didn't go through the original veneer

But it is what it is

I decided it was good enough, and proceeded to tape the sides of the drawers for a cleaner(?) finish

And onto the staining

Still looks like shit

I think this was after the first coat??? Honestly it's been so long I can't remember, it must've been just the first coat

But, I kept on building up coats to get a darker and darker color on the drawer fronts

Once I figured it was dark enough I moved onto staining the veneer on the inside of the drawers, mainly in the hopes of hiding the paint stains that the paint remover and sanding failed to remove

It did not work

Fortunately, it's on the inside, ain't nobody gonna see it, it's fine, whatever, this project was going so fucking bad at this point I no longer cared

This was good enough

And it was onto staining the main unit.

Now unfortunately, due the place I was working in being so bloody cramped I couldn't get decent photos of the unit during the waxing process

I did attempt to make the inside of the unit look semi-decent by masking off where I wanted the wax to go, but... This ended up not working to my advantage, as I had taped just a smidge too close to the edges, meaning when I later put the drawers in, you could see small slivers of the raw wood peek out. So I ended up having to do lots of patching on the drawer-side of the unit. But whatever

Think these are photos of the first coat? As usual, looked like absolute shite

But I kept on going, building up more and more layers of wax until I eventually gave up and called it done

But, with the main unit stained, it meant that every piece of the shelf was finished! I could move onto reassembling it!

After some final touches

First, I had to deal with the brass rods that were used to hold up the shelves

Now at first I couldn't even tell for sure if they were brass or not, like considderng the age of the shelf I figured they should be, but when I asked my dad for a second opinion he was convinced they'd be just iron or steel

Regardless, these were original pieces to the shelf so I did want to use them, but as you can see, they were still covered in paint

I attempted removing them with just nail polish remover, since acetone does remove many types of paint, but it wasn't quite as effective as I was hoping it'd be. I also checked online if acetone could damage metals and it could actually stain/damage brass??? So I figured I'd try something else

Some people suggest using boiling water and baking soda to remove paint from metal, and this should be a safe option with brass (if the rods were brass). So I boiled some water, picked a big enough bowl that could handle hot water, put the rods in the bowl, sprinkled a healthy dose of baking sode on top, gently poured the water, sprinkled a bit more baking soda on top, and then left foil over the bowl to try to keep the dish warm for a longer time

And then I just let it sit for almost two hours

After which, I came back and gently rubbed the rods with a sponge and to my pleasant surprise, the paint residue did just slide off with a little effort

So the paint was removed, and the rods were already looking a bit shinier!

Now, I don't know what kind of a trick of light this was, but genuinely, in person at this point the cleanest, shiniest parts of the rods were looking like silver. I was becoming convinced that dad had been right and the rods were actually steel or something, and I had no idea if I could get them to look clean

But to my confusion, my dad was the one who was now convinced that the rods must be brass

I dunno, I was confused, but I figured, I have my brass polish stuff, I could TRY polishing the rods with them and see if they clean up.

They did

Immidiately proving that they were brass

So I just proceeded to polish the rods!

Shiny! Sparkly! I didn't clean them up as well as one could have, but they turned out plenty clean enough, nobody is going to see whatever staining remains on them

But with that done, it was time for assembling!

After getting some missing pieces!

See, when dad helped me disassemble the shelf on our patio, one of the tiny brass dowels that were also used to hold up the shelves had fallen off and under our patio. So that one was a lost cause and needed to be replaced. There was no way to replace it with brass and tbh it was going to be quite hidden anyways, so I asked my dad if he could get a small steel dowel to do the job. And he did, so that was one thing

The other, more important thing was the screws/bolts/nuts/whatever

See the sidepieces of the whole piece were originally attached to the sides of the main unit with bolts, but the right side ones had sunken in so deep into the wood, that the only way to detach the right sidepiece from the unit was by cutting the bolt off. So we were lacking half the hardware for the shelf

So we went and bought new ones, brought the whole thing up to my room and assembled it here. And all was good

Until I realized the top and bottom drawers couldn't go into the unit, because the bolts/nuts were much bigger than the original ones, so they stuck out too much and stopped the drawers from sliding in

Which was a problem

Now dad was able to cut down the ends of the bolts to make them shorter, but the nut was still a problem

But I looked at the sides of the drawers

And the top and bottom drawers both had channels on them right where they would've rubbed against the original nuts

I just had to make the channel bigger

Now the top drawer wasn't even that bad since the nut was at the back of the unit, so the channel I had to carve for it was only like 3 cm long or something

But it still sucked, because the only way I could do it was with a knife. It took hours. And it hurt my wrists so bad

But I managed to get the top drawer done, I could do it with the bottom too. It just had to go all the way across the side of the drawer.

Carving that shit out took me like 5 hours. I can not put into words how bad it hurt my wrists. Genuinely, so painful.

But I got it done.

Now there were a few other things that I didn't bother documenting but I want to note because I had to do those before this project was completed. First, when we brought the main unit to my room the side of it did get a scratch that I had to spend a few days patching. In hindsight I probably would've been fine if I had just brushed some wax over it, but I thought it'd turn out better if I sanded the scratched area first and then waxed it. It ended up being a lot more work than I wanted to, but it got done eventually. Also, as I mentioned before, I had to patch those small parts on the inside of the unit to make sure there wasn't raw wood peeking out from places I didn't want them to show (around the drawers). And, hilariously, the brass rods used to hang the shelves didn't actually want to fit into the holes of the sidepieces. Like I tried even hammering them in and they just did not fit, so I had to file down the specific holes I wanted to use until they were big enough that I could put the rods in and put up the shelves Last but not least, I used some candlewax on the groove of the sliding door and the sides of the drawers to make them slide smoother (worked great, easiest part of the project)

And I want to note that there's some things I could still do to this piece. I could get some fabric or felt to protect the insides of the drawers so they don't get dirty, and I really should get some clear wax or topcoat to patch the finish on the inside of the main unit (when I had to sand down the paint and revealed raw wood). But if I want to do either of these things, I can do them later. For now, this shelf is completed

It looks like shit

An absolute fucking shitshow

Complete and utter trainwreck

The brass turned out nice tho

Moral of the story: Never use any wood product that isn't Osmo ever again. Osmo would not have failed me like this. And I'd still argue it's better than how it started.

Thanks for coming along with me on this trainwreck

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

[flowerliker]

[A series of boxes are dropped off at Bryony's house, with no return address. None are particularly deep, but all are at least 60cm wide, three of them are around 1.5m long, and each weighs somewhere between 25-40kg. One of the two smaller boxes has "Open first" written on the top. Inside are two letters and a small tin, sitting on top of brown paper that conceals the rest of the contents.]

Letter 1, written in a plain, but very neat hand:

"Bryony, I hope this finds you well. I apologize for the multitude of packages, but trying to fit all of the parts into one box would have made it far too heavy. Everything is cut to pidovetail together, so a rubber mallet should be all that you need, though some wood glue wouldn't hurt matters, should you have it on hand.

"I know that you said I owed you nothing, but that does not change the fact that I simply wanted to make you something, and had the inspiration for a planter box. In gratitude, Alexander Cypress.

"P.S.: Sage wanted to send you something too, so some of his needles are in the tin. He most certainly can read, and we've begun making headway on the writing. I hope it's legible; he was very insistent that I not read it."

Letter 2, in much shakier handwriting:

"Thank you for the tea//It is very hard to be//Only good smell here

[This letter is signed with what is presumably a Leafeon's pawprint. The extra fur blurs it a bit.]

[Inside each box is a slab or post of dense hardwood, finished with a light stain. One slab is unadorned, and another has drainage holes, respectively labeled as "Back" and "Bottom". The remaining slabs all have bas-relief carvings. One side piece has a Budew, twirling around, only to end up as a Roselia upon completing his turn, and the other a Galarian Ponyta, standing with a relaxed, confident posture. The front has flowers running along the border, arcing down to form a wreath around the center. In it stand a young woman and a Sunflora, both beaming. The corner posts are bare for most of their height, but the top of each is carved into a subtly different Oddish.]

[A series of photos of the planter box fully constructed—Bryony has taken pictures from a few angles to make sure everyone can see all the details. It's set up in her plant nursery, against a wall made of floor-to-ceiling windows, but it's too dark to see much of the yard outside; this clearly turned into an evening project. A few potted plants of different sizes sit in the planter box, and there's a little potted orange tree with gold gift wrap still around the base standing right next to it. Some of the photos feature Pokémon wandering about it: a group of Oddish stacked on top of each other try to help a Roselia climb up into the planter; a Galarian Ponyta sits in the near background, his head lifted to watch from where he's curled up by a stove box containing a shiny silver Slugma, who seems less interested in all the activity. In one photo taken earlier in the day in the process of unpacking, a Sunflora standing in front of stacks of boxes and hardwood looks at the camera and eagerly points at her matching carving with one leaf.]

oh my goodness look at this!!!!! i got my nice camera out for the first time in a while so everyone could see all the little details, i feel like every time i look i notice something new!! amy and i spent a bunch of today dealing with the inkay situation but as soon as we had a moment i finally opened everything up and then roped them into helping me build it hehe, but i think i maybe could have done it on my own if i had to even though i am notoriously not very good at building furniture… not that it was not nice to have the help but everything really did just fit right together!!!

i put a couple of herb pots in it for now because i cannot bear to see it empty and unused, especially since i have it set up so it is the first thing i get to see when i go into the nursery, but i am going to wait until next month to actually start planting anything in it so i can fill it with sunflowers 🌻 my favorite flowers should go in my favorite planter!!!

oh my goodness i don't even know what to say, just thank you does not feel like enough. i think this is one of the kindest most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me. it's beautiful, alexander, i don't even know how to tell you how much i love it. thank you so so much.

oh my gosh and send sage my thanks too!!! i guess it should be expected that he is so thoughtful too hehe but i am very grateful for the gift and the letter!!! i could read it just fine and i am so so proud of all his hard work and progress, and i will not say anything else out of respect for him and his secrets hehe. i cannot wait to read more of his work!!!

thank you both so much!!! 💛💛💛

[zacharyja]

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Kyoto Imperial Palace and the Kyoto National Museum

Today began as most do with breakfast of the same bento box, though tomorrow it will be switched to a different type of bento box so I am hopeful for a better meal. I also bought a sandwich from FamilyMart yesterday so I just ate that instead. After that we went to our class meeting and then headed onwards to the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Once we got there it was pretty amazing to see the grandeur of the entire palace as well as how beautiful so many of the buildings were. The originals Kyoto Imperial Palace was built in 794, and has been rebuilt and renovated many times since then due to fires and age. It was really cool to walk where the emperor and the other Japanese officials had once walked, and it was insane to imagine being one of them and getting to live in a life of such luxury and good fortune. We also got to walk through the Imperial garden for a short while but that was honestly one of the most beautiful and serene pockets of nature that i have ever seen.

It was also interesting to hear about how they made much of the roof out of Japanese Cedar tree bark, which took hundreds of layers of bark and was a very time consuming process. However it was extremely durable and could weather the elements, and was also a sustainable practice as they only stripped the bark off the trees and it did not significantly harm them. Meaning the trees could then regrow the bark and be harvested again in about 10 years. After viewing the Imperial Palace with an english tour guide, we made our way over to the Kyoto Imperial Palace. However we were not allowed to take pictures or even have our phones out so I do not have any photos. The museum was centered around Sesshu Toyo, a Japanese monk and painter known as one of, if not the greatest masters of Japanese Ink Paintings who lived in the 15th century.

One of the pieces that I really connected with was called “Mt Fuji and Miho no Matsubara by Soga Shohaku. I really liked this piece, and most of them in the museum as I am a big fan of Japanese ink paintings in general. Though this one really stuck out to me and I felt i could resonate with it because of the depiction of Mt Fuji. Which seemed like a really unique way to display the mountain that I had not seen before. I thought that this take added a good sense of creativity to it while still keeping to the original Mt Fuji theme, and I was really impressed with the scale that the artist was able to achieve, making Mt Fuji look massive in comparison to the smaller rocks and trees down below. I also really like that it almost has 4 peaks, as this adds an air of three dimensionality that I have not seen in other Mt Fuji paintings. Overall I connect well with this piece of art and am impressed by the skill that was put in to make such an awe inspiring work of art.

After the museum we went to get some lunch. My friend Noah suggested we go to a small local place “nearby” which ended up being about a 20 minute walk and we were all pretty hungry to begin with so we were all shocked when we got to the google maps address and saw that it was nowhere to be found. However there was a small sign in the door of where the restaurant should have been, indicating that they had relocated and it actually had a small drawing of a map for how to find the new location. I can thank Rich and Noah for being able to translate that sign and leading us to the new location. The place was called Ito Chan, and served a variety of foods including Donburi and Udon. It was definitely a local hole in the wall type of place, and even had people smoking cigarettes inside the restaurant which is the first i’ve seen in Japan of people smoking indoors. I ordered Nikudon which was a beef bowl with rice and green onions and a miso soup. The food was really good and honestly worth the long walk. The outside of the restaurant was covered with orchids and other ornamental flowers and we originally thought it was like a combination flower store and restaurant, but after Noah talked to the employees we found out that all of these flowers were donated by the community as a gift for their moving to a new location which was really sweet to hear and showed they were thoroughly loved given the sheer amount of flowers.

After that we made our way back to the hotel and chilled out for a bit since all of our legs were a bit sore and we were tired. I ended up taking about an hour nap at the hotel and then woke up showered and talked to Luke to make plans. We decided to go to a custom ring shop that had perfect 5 star reviews and 5.2 thousand reviews, meaning they sounded pretty legit. We went to the place, called Glänta Kyoto Sanjo Kawaramachi, where you get to pick out the design, size, and finish of the ring and then they make it right in front of you. The experience was pretty cool and I am happy with the ring I got.

After getting our rings made we walked around for a bit before settling on a steak place to eat called Ikinari Steak, and I thought the slogan of “This is The Very Steak, The Big Cut of Steak” was pretty funny - bad translation I guess. We ordered some sirloin with rice, salad and soup and it was pretty phenomenal. They also gave us plastic bibs to eat with, which we laughed at but still wore as it was kind of funny. Though I was actually pretty glad to have it when I ended up cutting into my steak and splashing steak juice all over me, and the bib saved my shirt from getting drenched.

After eating we headed back to the hotel and that will be the conclusion for most of the major events of my day.

Academic Reflection

Today’s readings, an excerpt from the World of the Shining Prince, offered a great deal of insight into the ins and outs of Heian civilization. After walking around Kyoto for a while, I already get a greater sense of age and old-ness when compared to Tokyo. It was also pretty cool to read about the Kyoto Imperial Palace, as well as the social structure in which they could build their residences in close proximity to the Palace. I was also shocked in the reading to hear that the Emperor just walked up to the prison and freed everyone inside just because he felt like it. Which seemed like a wild move to let all of your cities criminals loose at once but who am I to judge the opinions of a descendent of Amaterasu. It is also very unfortunate that there were so many earthquakes and fires that destroyed much of the Palace and the city, as it would be pretty cool for it to have survived this long and still be standing like many other very old Japanese structures who were able to avoid such travesties. Overall, getting to walk in the footsteps of many previous emperors was a cool feeling, and reading the text about old Kyoto was very insightful and helped me to connect with our excursion at a deeper level.

[fantic-caballero-tips]

Fork spring replacement

After some reflections and trials [here], I decided to change the fork spring on my Fantic Caballero. Here are a few tips to help you with the process:

There is only one fork spring on the Fantic Caballero, and it is in the right fork tube.

This might be a good opportunity to change the fork oil. My dealer and the spring manufacturer recommend W10 oil (instead of the W15 recommended by Fantic).

The only supplier I found offering springs suitable for the Caballero scrambler is WIRTH-federn. The reference is WF5015-744P-1-1 [link].

Under this reference, you get 2 springs and spacers, but you need only one. You can resell the extra spring to another Caballero rider. Then it divide the cost by two and it helps an other rider.

Here's the configuration I found most practical for changing this spring: Use a rear workshop stand to keep the bike upright, and use a support under the engine to lift the front wheel.

You absolutely need a circlip plier like this:

The first thing to do is to remove the handlebar clamps to move the handlebar.

I also recommend unscrewing the two side screws of the upper fork crown to avoid tightening the fork tube around its cap.

Then, with the fork relaxed and the front wheel off the ground, unscrew the upper fork cap. You'll need a large socket. I advise against using pliers to avoid damaging the fragile fork cap (made of aluminum).

Don't worry; it won't pop out if the fork is really relaxed with the wheel off the ground.

Next, you need to raise the wheel to compress the fork, for example, by placing a box under the wheel, as shown in the first photo of this article. This will raise the cap, but you still can't remove it.

There is a circlip to remove (using the pliers) to free the spring:

This will release the spring and the preload system.

It looks like this:

The original spring is just below and can be easily removed :

The next photo represents at the top what you removed from your bike and at the bottom the 3 pieces provided by Wirth: the spring, a PVC spacer, and a thin washer.

The spacer can be placed in the fork; it will fit at the bottom. Then the flat washer. Then the spring, with the tightly wound part at the top.

The problem is that the spring should rest on the stop indicated by the arrow, but the inner diameter of the spring does not allow for a good fit (the original spring is smaller at this point for a perfect fit). So, you need to add a washer (not provided) above the spring.

I represent the internal workings. In blue are the parts connected to the fork triple clamp. In orange are the parts connected to the wheel axle.

On the left: the original fork. On the right: the fork with the WIRTH spring. Since this spring is not tightened at its end, you need to add a washer (in red in the diagram) for the spring to rest properly on its stop.

I consulted WIRTH about this, and they assure me that this washer, not included in the kit, is not necessary. However, all three people whose feedback I read about installing this spring also fabricated and installed a washer at this point. I was lucky to have one in stock exactly at the right diameters.

For reassembly, this is where it gets tricky. Keep the fork extended, with front wheel not touching the ground.

Then you need to be able to press the cap and the spring stop enough to put the circlip back in place. The easiest and most effective method I found to perform the operation easily and alone is with a ratchet strap.

It attaches to a triple clamp or the wheel axle and presses on the fork cap.

By tightening the strap, it presses the cap a few centimeters, and you can then put the circlip back in place.

It's in this configuration that you need to adjust the oil level to the correct height (13cm from the edge).

Then, screw the cap back on, then put the handlebar back in place.

Done! Congratulation!

This change really brings a significant improvement in comfort on rough roads for a reasonable cost. Great for Scrambler, Deluxe, Anniversary, and Flat Track, 125cc and 500cc. I'm not sure if it's suitable for Rally and Explorer.

A previous article about the Caballero suspension is available [here].

Find all my tips, tricks, advice, and reviews on [this page].

[fendsworld]

My Toes, My Knees, Doesn't Belong to Me: The Hyperdependence Pandemic

From a scholastic point of view, various frames of mind could be viewed to deepen one’s understanding of the massive shift the phenomena have purveyed. Among the collaterals are mainly as follows. One, experience has been intermediary or at least superficial. The intimacy of human touch and encounter diminishes. resulting in a soulless craft tied to its purpose. Which is merely to aid in function. Two, the artful prestige of having the process experienced feels dehumanized. Given the ease of comfort, the former bestows the people, and the very process becomes futile to execute. Besides the primaries of inputting a command , tools and devices opt to follow. Hence, the disconnect and the languid implications produce empty pieces. Three, reliance fostered complacency enough to stagger and plummet artistic means and pursuits. Which, in a way, regressed collective effort and enthusiasm in terms of work. Therefore, the impotence, it bears to the people contingent to it. Four, human disconnect became a norm and requisite in order to keep up with the increasing demands of the industry. Since products are of essence and not the artistic hues; haste work pays the roll, irregardless of the blandness. For appetite comes second to hunger. Five, manpower is demeaned by the prevalence of artificial intelligence and whatnot. Thus is threatened by the overpowering of the aforementioned. Indeed, there's nothing parallel to human aptitude. However, the pressures of strengthened exigency force the compromise - that impairs the plurality. Lastly, the artistic value is being redefined by the current status quo; challenging craftsmanship in essence. In corroboration, substance then happens to be of question and debate. Unto which is the standard and so how to deviate from it without making it much of a losing bet. All of these surmises, the brink of the paradoxical movement, democratization paved the way for. Liberalism was taken as a license to exploit and injure. Tampering it as an excuse for a crime unpunishable but despicable of all means. Nevertheless, it stands firm to absolve the menaces it induces as a matter of supposed polarity of good and evil. Perhaps one can not connive without the depths it scours to hold. Only it can afford to conform as to how it is opt to govern. I guess it's better to put it this way. The same fruit that appeased one's hunger could be the very death of one as well. We can only hope for us to end well. 

;

Peak Modernity: The Shallows of Men

On a personal note, I have once hopped on a trend and somewhat immersed myself with the system. Although it was just for some sort of fun, I utilized artificial means to come up with a material. It's one of those fleeting shenanigans I partook in. I just had to upload a file, and then the magic began. Shortly, a cartoonized version of myself showed up. It didn't consume much of my time and effort to seamlessly look like a pro in digitalizing my photo. Despite the ease, of course, there’s this lack it cannot fill. And that is my touch. A hint of me. Something quite attributory. I can't deem mine for that reason. Not an ounce of it. And I cannot be proud enough to display such grandiose knowing I did not make it. Hence, the dissatisfaction and guilt [in some way] of untoward fraud. Regardless of the common knowledge as to how things work, notwithstanding that clout-mosphere, there's just this pound of retreat in engaging with all these - granted the cause. As disrespect could still be inferred from the event. Which I believe is not what people would consciously heed to. Indeed, the sours kick in after the sweet, and I think this is just one of it.

[whennnow]

1920s Combinations in Lilac

July 18, 2019

[Image ID: a page of a 1920s magazine with an illustration showing a simple sewing pattern, a model wearing a finished garment, and three variations of the garment]

I spent the first week or two of June re-watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Netflix (which I HIGHLY recommend) and that put me on a 1920s kick and sent me scrolling through Pinterest and sighing dreamily over the fact that original patterns are so widely available online today. Most of them are in French, but I'll take what I can get.

I selected a simple "combinations" pattern from my 1920s Pinterest board, and dug out some lilac-colored broadcloth I've had stowed away for awhile (long story). Broadcloth is hardly an accurate fabric choice, but I'm trying to do some stash-busting and I figured this could act as a sort of "functional mock-up." And I must say that they do make excellent and incredibly comfortable summer pajamas/loungewear, since my bedroom gets really hot in the summer!

The scan is from a 1925 edition of "La Mode du Jour" and was posted on the Bibliothéque Nationale de France's "Gallica" website. I used the diagram pictured as a base, and just sort of guessed at how it should be drafted, measured out, and put together.

The body is composed of two main pieces, plus a flap at the crotch which buttons or snaps (so that you can use the bathroom without the classic romper problem of having to get naked). I made the top half of the body large enough that it slips on easily over my hips, then added an extra inch on each side of the bottom half (though in hindsight it should have been two or three inches), and made the whole thing long enough to go from armpit to slightly above mid-thigh. I sewed up the side seams, gathered in the waist/hips, felled all the seams and the top hem, and covered the gathered bits with some lace edging/tape I had.

Then I moved on to the crotch flap, which had left me a bit mystified. I ended up cutting out two squares wide enough to go up and down the slit I had cut to separate the legs. Each square was then folded in half and attached to the leg-slit-things. Those seams got a bit weird, but they did end up being felled down. (Note to self: take pictures and notes of your process.) I then attached some twill tape that had snaps pre-attached to it (I had a piece just the right length left over from… some other project, I guess). Then I felled the bottom seams from the short edge of one flap, across the leg, and ending on the other flap. It made sense when I did it, I promise.

Then I used an off-white thread and my sewing machine to do some decorative stitching modeled after the combinations the model is wearing. The thread color is a bit too close to the fabric to be seen from a distance, but it’s still pretty.

For the straps, I made detachable elastic and (silk!) ribbon straps from the instructions found here (or here on Pinterest). Or in the spirit of the instructions, anyways - I measured out my own elastic (ended up with about a foot for each strap), stretched the elastic to almost its full length, and used that to measure the ribbon length by.

Now, what did I learn in this project? Folks in the 1920s had this combination slip thing figured out - it’s not super flattering (and broadcloth is wrinkly), but it’s SO comfortable. Also, buttoning or snapping at the crotch is very convenient for going to the bathroom. Now, the front and back flaps on mine are the same length, which makes the snaps a bit difficult to get to (there’s a lot of reaching involved), so I’d suggest doing one long flap attached at the back and putting the closures at the front.

Stay warm, stay safe, stay dry.

[Image ID: a photo of Alex wearing the pale purple cotton combinations, cropped to only show the the neck to the knees]

[handinlovablehand]

Here are some thoughts/reflection/process things re: the Tallahassee comic. Since this is my art blog, I figured this was the best spot to put it! Lots of images and pretty long, so I've thrown it below a cut.

This is the first time I've seriously worked with Microns and a lot of 'em since... oh, lord, 2020. I'm pretty sure I've done some other stuff along those lines, but here are examples and an emulation of the style digitally:

(Respectively, May 2020, March 2020, and September 2020. Apologies for quality on the first two; I had to rely on old photos.)

Compare with this spread from the comic:

I'm still not super comfortable with backgrounds (or cars; all the shots at the beginning are framed VERY carefully so that I do not have to draw one), but you can see that they've gotten a lot better. The sparseness of the floor was intentional - I wanted to create the effect of an infinite-looking space, with the ceiling fan to provide depth. There's a bit more depth and weightiness than in that drawing of Karkat or the seagulls.

That's partially because the house is as much of a character in Tallahassee as its narrators. Aside from the space in the liner notes devoted to describing their environment, there's also quite a bit in the album itself. There isn't much physically happening in the notes, either, so I had to rely on shots of the house in order to fill panel space. Three cheers for symbolism and vivid imagery!

To pull up another page, I've also gotten A LOT better with natural environments in particular. I'm quite proud of that rose bush and the fence, although I could've taken a little more care while filling it in and the lighting leaves something to be desired.

Speaking of, my attempts at lighting are quite a bit more solid, but still not perfect. Consistency isn't great, and I have some qualms about the Alphas' hair and the shadow cast by the Alpha Male sitting up, but what can ya do? At least I'm drawing shadows being cast by things, haha.

I think the attic, the window shots, and "knocked down" panels look the best light-wise. I was trying to convey bright moonlight, and I think I did a pretty good job! I adore the curtains. A solid runner-up is the open door; I wanted to use it as a reverse light source, of sorts. In retrospect, I could have spaced the door shots out a bit more to make it feel more ominous.

Craft-wise, there's also a lot of improvement. Normally, I'd do a longform, easy-to-fuck-up project like Tallahassee digitally. However, I forgot my drawing tablet stylus in a very stupid place that I won't return to for a few months. So, I've been going back to pen and paper again.

I felt very confident right out of the gate, which is very strange considering it was the first time I'd used many of those pens for art in a hot minute! I actually did another casual-ish piece with Microns and gel pens in my sketchbook a few weeks before this, shown below:

but while I was VERY excited about my use of color, I wasn't super fond of the ink work. That's because I fucked up before I even started.

My sketchbook is, er, a sketchbook. The pages are pretty rough. I learned while working on the comic that technical pens are meant for use on smooth paper, and will often appear spotty/inconsistent on the rougher stuff. You can REALLY see it on the frame around the magpie. I switched to standard-issue copier paper in the comic, which plays much nicer with them. Sketch paper also frays brush pens. Oops! Guess that explains what happened to one of those poor, poor souls...

I got my first set of Microns in 2017-ish. I was really only interested in the fixed-width pens; I'd tried a brush pen earlier on and HATED. IT. With a burning passion. My hands have always been pretty unsteady, but it was worse when I was younger, so my lines looked godawful. The set came with a brush pen, though, and I made many valiant attempts to use it. In my sketchbook. Which inevitably frayed it terribly and rendered it unusable for most purposes.

I used the set quite a bit, but infrequently enough that I've still got most of them! My 005 is going strong, but the 05 is lost, and the 1 and 03 are not long for this world. I've known the 03 is on death's door for a while now, but the 1 just started giving out on me while working on Tallahassee. I tried to replace both, but instead ended up with a 2. It worked out, though; I used it to fill in large, dark spaces. I really should've been using an alcohol marker, hence the streakiness.

Back to the brush pen, I ended up getting another set in 2019 that was all brushes, but this time with colors! "It will be different now," I told myself. "I'm a better artist. I'm stronger, and I do colored lines digitally. So I will use a brush pen, and I will like it." I did not use those brush pens and I hated them. But I did end up with a mercifully unspoiled black brush pen thanks to those, and also a red.

All three of the brushes I've named make an appearance here. I used the frayed pen to texture the grass and the Spanish moss; it ended up perfect for soft, fluffy things. I used the healthy and whole one for the tree branches and the Alphas on the "knocked down" page to lend them a more organic feel. The red makes its appearance on the last page.

It's the staircase on the left. I drew the lines with the red brush, then VERY, VERY, VERY carefully colored around them with the black. The red lettering was done by writing it out in pencil, writing over them in red gel pen, then VERY, VERY, VERY carefully tracing around them with a black pen and filling things in. Do not do that. It is stupidly time-consuming. If I pull a similar trick next time, I'm just going to write with my white gel pen and then go over it again with my red brush.

For the sake of my sanity and yours, I will not discuss that process in any more depth. I will also abstain from telling you about the hellish nightmare that was trying to print copies to distribute as zines, because DEAR FUCKING LORD.

I've already spent an hour writing this, and I've got quite a bit to do today! So I'll end it off here. Thanks for reading this!

[byler-4-life]

what would be your theories on how a possible byler endgame could come about?? do u think the whole party would know ect or do u think it would be kinda a mutual love that doesn’t need to be shown off

Thank you so much for the ask!

Let me first start by saying that I am very confident that byler will be endgame. There's too many clues and subtleties pointing to it. Now, as for how it's actually going to come about?

Well, we have some good potential for at least two, maybe three, really big byler moments in Volume 2. First, we have the possibility of Will getting Vecna'd. Second, we have the all-important secret painting that he's going to give to Mike. Third, we have the heart-to-heart in Hopper's cabin that we've seen a leaked photo of.

Now, it may be that the cabin is where he's going to give Mike the painting, but that's not how I'm envisioning it. (sorry for the length)

SCENE 1: I'm thinking it's a long drive from Utah to Nevada to get El. I'm thinking maybe they're talking, falling back into the Mike and Will of old, making pleasant conversation, and then Mike notices the painting sticking out of Will's bag. Realizing he was kind of a jerk about it at the airport, he asks Will to show it to him.

Will does, after all it's for Mike. Mike is stunned to say the least. He's a little speechless, it's clear how much time and effort Will has put into this. It's his best piece of artwork thus far, and that's saying a lot. He suddenly notices Will is looking at him nervously. Mike has been silent for far too long. He quickly remedies that by thanking Will, telling him how much he loves it, how amazing it is. How much his skill has grown as an artist since Mike last received one of Will's works.

Will's blush is noticeable at this point, and there's something nagging at the back of Mike's mind that he can't quite place. But before this scene can go any further, there's an interruption (like all byler scenes), and things are left unsaid, for now.

SCENE 2: After they pick up El in Nevada, I think the main plot will start to pick up steam quickly, and byler will be pushed to the back burner. But not entirely. There's something that is still bothering Mike. Something he needs to tell Will. With words. Because Will cut him off mid-apology back at the house. Mike never actually got to say the words "I'm sorry". So, once they get to Hawkins, he finds a quiet moment to take Will aside in Hopper's cabin.

He apologizes properly this time, especially for his behavior at the airport. Says it was uncalled for, maybe even admits to being jealous. When Will asks what he would possibly have to be jealous of, Mike tells him what El said. That the painting was for a girl that Will liked. And Will, in a moment of adrenaline or bravery tells Mike..."Well, she was half right."

It takes Mike a moment to put the pieces together. The painting was for Mike. Mike isn't a girl, so that can't be the half El was right about. That only leaves that....Will likes him!? What!?

Now this is the part I'm unsure about. I don't know how Mike is going to react. I don't think it will be negative and hurtful. But I also don't think it's going to be reciprocal right away. Mike needs some time to process this. So I think his response will be somewhat neutral. He won't reject Will solidly. Maybe just tell him he needs time to think about this. Especially if he hasn't resolved things with El entirely.

Will is relieved that, a) Mike doesn't hate him and, b) Mike didn't actually say no. He takes these scraps for what their worth, and bides his time. Which leads us to...

SCENE 3: Will gets Vecna'd. I'm not sure if Mike will be the one to save him or not, but Mike will be on hand to see it. Will getting lifted high in the air, eyes rolled back in his skull. The others have told him that this is the moment when Vecna's victims get all their bones snapped and their eyes sucked out. Mike is terrified. He's going to lose Will. After all they've been through, yet with so much still left unsaid.

When Will is rescued, Mike is the first one there to embrace him, tears streaming down his face as he holds Will tightly. And maybe...just maybe this reminds him how important Will is to him. How much he needs him. How nothing would be the same if he was gone.

And that makes something click. Maybe he does have feelings for Will that are more than just a friend. Maybe he does like Will the way Will likes him. Maybe...just maybe...

And I think we'll probably leave off Season 4 there. I don't think we'll get full blown requited byler in Volume 2. I think it will happen in Season 5. The show still has to finalize breaking up m*leven and wrapping up various other plot points.

So yeah, that's how I envision it. I don't think they'd tell the rest of the Party right away. They'd want to test this out and see if it was going to work out first.

Sorry that your answer got really fanfiction-y in the middle there lol. The old fanfic writer in me came out. I'm tempted to turn this into a proper fic. I've written several byler fics in the past, but I haven't actually written in a while. Hmmm...

[random2908]

#it’s also this really fucking weird American intersection?#of still using cheques but also requiring everything to be corporate and online#like we don’t use cheques any more so this wouldn’t even happen#imagine having to do a Retina scan or someshit#to prove your identity to get a piece of paper anyone can deposit as your money#America#truly weird 

So, yeah, as I understand it, other countries’ banking for regular individual people is a lot more electronic and automatic than what we have in the US, a lot more similar to investment banking. So this probably is a very American story.

But in this case the reason it was a paper check is it’s own little story. Among the papers I had to sign for closing was one where I had to give the issuing office the routing number for my bank account; I had the option to not fill this out and just get a paper check. But I filled it out, because electronic transfer IS easier and probably safer. The next morning, they called back to say that was the wrong routing number, my bank had separate routing numbers for direct deposit and wire transfers, and I’d given them the direct deposit number but they were doing a wire transfer. So could I call my bank and get that for them, and then call them back? The thing is, this phone call happened as I was getting in the car to go to work. Banking in America mostly has, like, European-style hours: it is never open at a time when you can deal with it if you have a job. And I was literally on my way to work so my time to deal with stuff in the morning before work had run out. And furthermore it was a Friday so putting it off for a day really meant putting it off for three days. So I sort of half-panicked and said, in that moment, you know what, you’re sending me all these docs anyway, why not just write the check and put it in the envelope with the docs, rather than me having to call the bank from work, in my cubicle where everyone could hear, and then call you back from work, in my cubicle where everyone could hear.

So that’s how it came to be a paper check.

This came up again in a completely different context a week later, I don’t even remember why, and I found out that the wire transfer number was actually written in small print below the direct deposit number, so all I would have had to do was log into my account from my phone and I could have found it on my own, and it would have taken under two minutes--a short enough time that I could have just stayed on the phone with the issuing office the whole time. Oh well, now I know.

FWIW, to deposit it, I did have to show government-issued photo ID. But, uh, if I’d had my atm card on me it’s possible I wouldn’t have had to.

(I just moved states. My ID situation and my banking situation are both a little messy. When I deposited the check, I tried to give my passport as my photo ID since it was the only valid one I had, got side-eyed, and so gave my no-longer-valid out-of-state driver’s license instead, which the teller felt was more acceptable even if it wasn’t valid. My valid driver’s license, for my new state, arrived in the mail a week later--the process of applying for it is what had invalidated my previous ID. But it takes two weeks to get the new one in the mail, and in the meantime I had a letter in my car saying that was in process, but it didn’t have a photo on it so it was a valid ID only in the specific case of getting pulled over by the police, not any other context in which one might need an ID.

And then the other thing you have to understand about America is we don’t have any national banks. When you move states you usually have to open an account in an entirely different bank. There are some banks that operate in many states--my previous bank operated in about 6 or 7 states, and my current bank operates in something like 40--and some banks are very local and only operate in one town, but there are no banks that are legally licensed to operate everywhere in the US. So I’d also very recently opened this account, and my atm card had arrived in the mail like the previous week but I hadn’t put it in my wallet yet.)

My check for the sale of my condo is in an "Amazon Hub". I have to sign in to a locker with my Amazon account to get it. Absolutely furious.