#I printed a few sheets of these in advance as I was printing the ones for photos/myself and for my mom

[webslingingslasher]

hi j! what are cherry and peter doing right now??

comfortable silence.

peter's studying for an upcoming test and you're honed in on your current romance read. the main lead is cute, but nothing can top your peter parker fantasies.

'cherry?'

you finish your paragraph before looking at him, he's smiling a little too hard. 'you're so pretty.' you softly grin, feeling your lips curve up. 'and so is your handwriting.'

your eyebrows furrow at the odd compliment, you'll still accept it. 'thank you, lover.' peter clicks his pen a few times before finally coming clean. 'can you do me a favor? a really giant favor?'

you look down at your book and count the pages until the next chapter, you inwardly sigh and mentally commit before you bargain with him. peter's taught you there's give and take with love.

'can it wait three pages?' peter nods once, 'it can wait.' you give him a thumbs up and read a little faster for him, shutting the book with a satisfied smile once you reach chapter sixteen.

'what's the favor?'

peter turns back around, he looks guilty. he feels bad for asking. he holds up a blank piece of paper, you look at him for more context. 'we're allowed to use a cheat sheet for the test, one page only, front and back. i was wondering if you could do it for me?'

you pull a face, 'i don't know anything about what you're studying.' peter smiles and scrambles to pick up his notebook. 'no, no, i have it all highlighted. i just want you to copy it, i can't write that small and have it be legible.'

the task seems much more daunting than you expected. 'how much is there?' peter flips through the pages and lets out a deep breath, 'um, not much. just... basically everything?'

'oh boy.' peter took your boyfriend virginity and your real virginity, you can make a cheat sheet for him. it seems equal. 'pass it over, let me look at it.' once you have it in your hands you skim the highlighted areas, it would take some time and a dedication to splitting the sections to make it easier to read. you're already thinking of layouts.

'can i use my glitter pens?'

'absolutely.' the job just got easier. you nod confidently and agree to the ask. 'i can do that for you, petey. can i take it with me or do you need your book?'

peter rubs his lips together, he's staring at the holy grail that is super advanced something chemistry. he doesn't want you to take it but he's asking you for a favor so he's not sure how or if he can form the word no.

you do it for him. you're winning all the girlfriend awards today.

'nevermind, we'll keep it here.' peter visibly relaxes. 'but i need some markers, we're about to get real arts and crafty up in this bitch.' peter starts digging in his desk drawers, a box of markers tossed on the bed and a random textbook to follow as a makeshift table.

'i bet no one else's girlfriend is making their boyfriend's cheat sheet.' you start at the beginning and ask for more supplies. 'i need a ruler and a pencil. and the same color highlighters you used. oh, and that pen i like.'

peter's already collecting the tools, looking around his room for your bag. 'are your glitter pens in your bag?' you forgot you had them with you, the entire pencil case would be a savor right now. 'yes, but i left it downstairs.'

to peter, you're doing the biggest favor he's ever asked. he's willing to hunt and gather the supplies you need to make his life easier. 'on it. stay here and look pretty.' he's moving quick, you call out to him as he passes through the door. 'can you bring the whole thing, please?'

he doesn't respond but he comes right back up, pink bag in hand. 'where they at?' you point at the big pocket, your cherry printed pencil bag is handed over. (a gift from peter.)

'anything else? you want a coke, or a snack, or something?' you shake your head and start a header title for the first section, you're locked in. 'i'm okay.'

you highlight the title, there's another want brewing in your mind. 'actually...' peter perks right up, 'yes?' you pucker and tap your lips, your boyfriend is at your side and leaning down in seconds. three soft pecks, each one feels like an 'i love you.'

'you're sure there's nothing else you need?' he feels bad, it's a big ask. you've caught on and you're pushing him away gently. 'do you want me to do this or not?' peter nods quick and takes a large step back. 'i do, i just feel bad.'

'well, don't. and while i'm working on this you better keep revising, because you're going to bed at a decent time tonight, mister. and because you know how much i love the sound of your keyboard when you type.'

it's true, you've fallen asleep to the quiet clicking more than a few times.

peter bites back a smile. 'yes, ma'am.' you blow a kiss, 'good boy.'

peter revised, went to bed on time, and smugly showed off your work the following tuesday in class. 'see how organized this is, isn't my girl the best?'

peter passed with flying colors, he swears it's because of your cheat sheet and color coding. you tell him not to discredit his brain, he tells you not to discredit your work.

you compromise and accept the passing score with him because he swears it was built on teamwork. you think it's so you'll make him another the next time he asks.

and next time you'll be prepared with glitter glue. 

[c1qfxugcgy0]

adventures in QA

(previous post in this series)

My shop in Advanced Midbody - Carbon Wing (AMCW) at Large Aircraft Manufacturer (LAM) is at the very end of the composite fabrication building. Hundreds of people carefully lay up a hundred foot long slab of carbon fiber, cure it, paint it, and then we totally fuck it up with out of spec holes, scrapes, primer damage, etc. The people who write up our many defects are from the Quality Assurance (QA) department.

Every single screw and rivet on a LAM aircraft can be traced back to the mechanic who installed it. Back when even everything was done in pen and pencil, it was joked that the paper used to produce an aircraft outweighed the plane itself. Now that everything is computer-based, of course, the amount of paperwork is free to grow without limit.

(Haunting the factory is endless media coverage of an emergency exit door plug popping out of an Advanced Smallbody - Upengine (ASU) plane during a routine flight a few months ago. Unlike that airframe's notorious problems with MCAS, this was a straightforward paperwork screwup by a line worker: the bolts were supposed to be tightened, and they weren't.

As a result the higher ups have visited hideous tribulations on non-salaried workers. Endless webinars, structured trainings. Here at the Widebody plant we have received a steady flow of refugees from the Narrowbody factory, hair-raising tales of receiving one hundred percent supervision from the moment they clock in to the second they clock out from FAA inspectors who can recommend actual jail time for any lapse in judgement.)

A single hydraulic bracket Installation Plan (IP) is around four brackets. The team leads generally assign two bracket IPs per mechanic, since each bracket set is something like a foot apart, and while working on the plane is bad enough it's much worse to have another mechanic in your lap.

Let me list the order of operations:

One: Find where you're supposed to install these brackets. This is harder than you might think.

Firstly, it's a hundred foot long plank of carbon fiber composite, with longitudinal stringers bonded to it to add stiffness. The stringers are pilot drilled in the trim and drill center, a truly Brobdingnagian CNC mill that trims off the composite flash at the edges and locates and drills part holes for us. But there's a lot of holes, so you must carefully find your set.

A minor difficulty is that the engineering drawings are laid out with the leading edge pointing up, while the wing panels in our cells hang from the trailing edge. Not so bad, you just rotate the paper 180 when orienteering, then rotate it back up to read the printed labels.

A major difficulty is that the drawings are from the perspective from the outside of the panel. But we work on the inside of the wing (obviously, that's where all the parts are installed) so we also flip the drawings and squint through the back of the paper, to make things line up.

Large Aircraft Manufacturer has a market cap of US$110 billion, and we're walking around the wing jig with sheets of paper rotated 180 and flipped turnways trying to find where to put brackets.

Oh well, we're paid by the hour.

Two: Match drill the aluminum brackets to the carbon fiber composite stringer. I can devote an entire post to the subtleties of drilling carbon fiber, but I can already tell that this post is going to be a miserable slog, so I will merrily skip over this step.

Three: Vacuum up all the carbon dust and aluminum swarf created during this process. This step is not optional, as your team lead will remind you, his screaming mouth clouding your safety glasses with spittle at a distance of four inches. LAM is very serious about FOD. Every jet airliner you've ever ridden in is a wet wing design-- each interstitial space is filled with Jet A. There is no fuel bladder or liner-- the fuel washes right over plane structure and wing hardware. Any dirt we leave behind will merrily float into the fuel and be sucked right into the engines, where it can cause millions in damage. No place for metal shavings!

If you are nervous about flying, avoid considering that all the hydraulic lines and engine control cables dip into a lake of a kerosene on their way from the flight deck to the important machines they command. Especially do not consider that we're paid about as much per hour as a McDonalds fry cook to install flight-critical aviation components.

Four: Neatly lay out your brackets on your cart, fight for a position at a Shared Production Workstation (SPW) (of which we have a total of four (4) for a crew of thirty (30) mechanics) and mark your IP for QA inspection as Ready To Apply Seal.

Four: Twiddle your thumbs. Similarly, we have three QA people for thirty mechanics. This is not enough QA people, as I will make enormously clear in the following steps.

Five: Continue waiting. Remember, you must not do anything until a QA person shows up and checks the box. Skipping a QA step is a “process failure” and a disciplinary offense. From the outside, you can observe the numerous QA whistleblowers and say “golly, why would a mechanic ever cut a corner and ignore QA?” Well...

Six: QA shows up. Theoretically, they could choose to pick up the mahrmax you prepared for them and gauge every single hole you've drilled. But since we're three hours into the shift and they're already twenty jobs behind, they just flick their flashlight across the panel and say “looks good" and then sprint away. Can't imagine why our planes keep falling out of the sky.

Seven: Apply the seal to the bracket. P/S 890 is a thick dark gray goop that adheres well to aluminum, carbon fiber, fabric, hair and skin. Once cured, it is completely immune to any chemical attack short of piranha solution, so if you get any on yourself you had better notice quick, otherwise it'll be with you as long as the layer of epidermis it's bonded to. LAM employees who work with fuel tank sealant very quickly get out of the habit of running their hands through their hair.

Eight: Now you wait again. Ha ha, you dumb asshole, you thought you were done with QA? No no, now you put up the job for QA inspection of how well you put the seal on the bracket. Twiddle your thumbs, but now with some urgency. The minute you took the bottle of seal out of the freezer, you started the clock on its "squeeze-out life." For this type of seal, on this job, it's 120 minutes. If QA doesn't get to you before that time expires, you remove your ticket, wipe off the seal, take another bottle out the freezer, and apply a fresh layer.

Nine: Optimistically, QA shows up in time and signs off on the seal. Well, you're 100 minutes into your 120 minute timer. Quickly, you slap the brackets onto the stringer, air hammer the sleeve bolts into position, thread nuts onto the bolts, then torque them down. Shove through the crowd and mark your IP "ready to inspect squeeze out"

Ten: Let out a long breath and relax. All the time sensitive parts are over. The criteria here is "visible and continuous" squeeze out all along the perimeter of the bracket and the fasteners. It is hard to screw this up, just glop on a wild excess of seal before installing it. If you do fail squeezeout, though, the only remedy is to take everything off, throw away the single-use distorted thread locknuts, clean everything up and try again tomorrow.

Eleven: QA approved squeeze out? Break's over, now we're in a hurry again. By now there's probably only an hour or two left in the shift, and your job now is to clean off all that squeeze out. Here's where you curse your past self for glopping on too much seal. You want to get it off ASAP because if you leave it alone or if it's too late in the shift and your manager does feel like approving overtime it'll cure to a rock hard condition overnight and you'll go through hell chipping it off the next day. You'll go through a hundred or so qtips soaked in MPK cleaning up the bracket and every surface of the panel within three feet.

Twelve: Put it up for final inspection. Put away all your tools. (The large communal toolboxes are lined with kaizen foam precisely cut out to hold each individual tool, which makes it obvious if any tool is missing. When you take a tool out, you stick a tool chit with your name and LAMID printed on it in its place. Lose a tool? Stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye, pal, because the default assumption is that a lost screwdriver is lurking in a hollow "hat" stringer, waiting to float out and damage some critical component years after the airplane is delivered.)

One tool you'll leave on your cart, however, is the pin protrusion gage. There is a minimum amount of thread that must poke outside of the permanent straight shank fastener's (Hi-Lok) nut, to indicate that the nut is fully engaged. That makes sense. But there's also a maximum protrusion. Why?

Well, it's an airplane. Ounces make pounds. An extra quarter inch of stickout across a thousand fasteners across a 30 year service life means tons of additional fuel burnt. So you can't use a fastener that's too long, because it adds weight.

On aluminum parts, it's hard to mess up. But any given composite part is laid up from many layers of carbon fiber tape. The engineers seemed to have assumed that dimensional variation would be normally distributed. But, unfortunately, we buy miles of carbon fiber at a time, and the size only very gradually changes between lots. When entire batches are several microns oversize, and you're laying up parts from fifty plies and an inch thick, you can have considerable variation of thickness on any given structural component. So you had better hope you had test fit all of your fasteners ahead of time, or else you'll be real sorry!

And, if you're really lucky, QA will show up five minutes before end of shift, pronounce everything within tolerance, then fuck off.

And that's how it takes eight hours to install eight brackets.

[careydraws]

I'm super excited to exhibit at SPX this year-- I'm at Table J6!! I'm stoked to have my autobio comic collection, Just the Good Bits, at this show for the first time. I'm biased but I think it's fun and funny! I'll also have TAZGN sticker sheets, stickers, & romance novel prints, plus a bunch more fancomics and goodies.

If you're in the D.C. area, come check it out on September 14 & 15th in Bethesda, M.D.- it's one of my favorite indie cons. See you there!!

*I'm down to my last few copies of Angel Toxicosis, so if you know you want one, you can shoot me an email to reserve a copy in advance and pick it up at the show!

[weeb-warners]

Hello! Just wondering if I could ask a few questions about making a fanzine and organising recruitment of artists / timescale?

Hi!

Sure! The Anime-niacs Zine was my first I managed and moderated, but I can tell you what I learned.

Collect inspiration and check out other zines. If you are not closely familiar with zines, check a variety of them, to get a good idea of what you want and what is possible within the medium.

Make sure before you start the project you have software/sites available to edit the zine together and manage communications with the future participants. (or have friends who can help you)

I used Adobe InDesign, but there are free and online alternative too, like Affinity Publisher, Canva or Scribus. I only had digital release for the zine, but if you want yours printed check out what parameters you need to keep in mind.

For communications, I made a Gmail account so I can reach out to the applicants via email.

For day to day communications on the project, I made a Dicord server too. It helps to keep things in one place. It also open ways to have a more chill atmosphere and to people to befriend each other.

If you know what you want and how you want it, make an interest check post first. This helps you gauge interest and raise awareness about your project on socials.

The applications: I used Google Forms for my applications, it's the best. You can even make an Excel sheet organizing the applications.

Make sure you ask for basic contact information like email or a discord handle. Also ask for a few examples of their artwork or gallery, to gauge their skill level.

My zine, I thought would take 3 months to finish. But my personal life and the participants schedule didn't allow for that. Make sure you calculate the circumstances out of control. Always add plus 3-4 months.

During the project, make sure you have at least monthly check-ins, that helps the participants keep their works on track.

Always communicate. Update your participants often about the progress of the zine. Even if just to say, you were too busy to make advancements, it's always better than leaving everyone hanging.

Have multiple mods on the project, so things don't move to halt just because one person got too busy.

Keep outside interest up on socials during the project. Share little works in progress and teases. To build up hype before the release, have a few day countdown to the release with artworks.

Im sure theres more to keep in mind but I hope this helped! 💖

[rainbow-flavoured-skittles]

Hey Mom, Dead Mom

Chapter 2: No more playing daddy’s game, I’ll go insane if things don’t change

I suffered for this chapter. it was fighting me every single step of the way but it’s finally finished. I can rest now. this isn’t as dark as the last chapter but Cole is running away in this, so it’s still not very happy. also I did indeed make a couple of random ocs because how else was I supposed to advance the plot? they’re not returning any time soon. as always, this is cross posted to ao3

~

Cole got on the plane to MOSPA at exactly eleven in the morning on a Sunday. He traveled alone — Dad was unable to come with him. Other people at the airport gave strange looks to the unaccompanied twelve-year-old, reminding him of the looks he got after Mom died. “Oh, why is that little boy all alone? So strange,” and then they’d go about their day, not giving him a second thought.

The flight attendant in front of him right now was doing just that. “No parents?” She asked, face mildly concerned. 

Cole shook his head. “I’m going to visit my grandma, but Dad couldn’t come,” he lied. Cole was good at lying. He’d done it a lot these past few years; you couldn’t take care of yourself the way Cole had without at least some lying.

The attendant gave him a small smile. Maddy, her name tag read. “Well, if you need anything, just call.”

“Okay, thanks, Ms.”

Maddy nodded and continued walking, greeting the other passengers. Cole fidgeted in his seat. The fabric covering it was itchy and the seatbelt was too tight. The man sitting next to him scrolled through his phone, music blaring loudly, and the old lady behind him was snoring. Not even off the ground yet and this flight was already torture. Cole resisted the urge to groan.

It was only a two hour flight, Cole could do this. But he hated planes so much — always had. Not being on the ground made him feel ill, and every bit of turbulence was terrifying. At least he had the window seat, though that didn’t do much to soothe his nerves. Being able to see how high up he was might make Cole feel worse. 

The crackling of a speaker interrupted his panicking. The sounds it made were loud and screechy. “Please fasten your seatbelts and put all devices on airplane mode. We will be taking off shortly,” the announcements said. 

Finally. Cole dug through his backpack and found his book. Fish in a Tree, the title read. He’d found it at the school book sale but had never gotten around to reading it. Now was his chance.

He’d barely gotten past the first chapter before they took off. Cole actually felt it when they did — it was like getting severed from a part of him. He felt sick, though throwing up wouldn’t achieve anything. It would probably make him feel worse. Cole settled for putting the book down and staring blankly at the seat in front of him instead. He wouldn’t be able to focus on the book, or anything at all, not when his stomach was lurching so badly.

Just two hours, he told himself. Then I can collapse on a bed and sleep. He repeated those words over and over like a mantra. 

~

As it turned out, Cole was not able to immediately sleep once he arrived at MOSPA, because he had to check in. Check in, as if the school was a hotel. Or maybe a prison, which would be much more accurate.

“It’s great that you’re here, Nicholas,” the secretary smiled cheerily as she typed on her computer. “I’m sure you’ll love this school. We’re all one big family.”

Yeah, right. Every time a school said that they didn’t mean anything by it. In fact, it meant there was probably all sorts of bullying that went ignored. “It’s just Cole, not Nicholas. Nobody calls me that,” Cole said. He hated his full name — who agreed to let his grandfather pick it out? ‘Nicholas’ was an old-person name from at least a hundred years ago.

“Okay, then, Cole. I’ve got your dorm number and schedule here,” the secretary printed out a sheet of paper. “Do you need a map of the school?”

Cole shook his head. He had spent some of the flight looking at the floor plans and they were seared into his brain at this point. “I’ll be fine, thank you,” he hurried out before she could offer to have someone show him around. He didn’t want that kind of forced social interaction.

The dormitories were not hard to find, not with the giant sign that pointed to where they were. Cole opened the door, cursing when it was stuck, and shoved everything to the side before closing it again. He didn’t see a roommate anywhere, but it was a weekend, so everyone was probably out. That was good, it meant he had a couple hours alone; he could use the time to unpack and explore the school.

Cole shoved all his clothes into the closet and shoes under the bed. MOSPA had a strict uniform policy, so he wouldn’t be able to wear any casual clothing, nor his combat boots. That was a shame — he really liked those boots. They had served well when he got into fights. And they added another sorely needed three inches to his height, another advantage.

Any books that he’d brought were put onto the desk. Items such as stationery and notebooks were placed in drawers. Miscellaneous trinkets were placed in a box under the bed and his toiletries in another box. Cole pushed the suitcases into the corner. There wasn’t anywhere else to put them, but he’d figure it out later. Right now he wanted to take a nap and not wake up for a month. Screw exploring the school, he could do that tomorrow.

Cole closed the curtains, pulled the covers over his head, and went to sleep. 

~

MOSPA, as Cole found out in the span of a month, was its own special brand of hell. The students there hated Cole for always messing up and acting strange, as if grieving for a loved one was something to make fun of. The teachers hated him for not talking or making eye contact and always zoning out. Everybody seemed to agree that he was the weird kid who should be avoided at all costs. His roommate, a kid named John, disliked him enough that he asked to be put in a different dorm.

“Thanks for messing up again, Brookstone,” one of his classmates sneered. Brant Green, yet another asshole who existed to make Cole miserable. “You ruined the whole performance.”

It hadn’t been Cole’s fault. Another student had purposefully tripped him, causing him to fall and knock over several people. “Yeah, I did. What’s your point?” He tried not to flip off Brant. That would just cause more trouble, trouble he couldn’t risk. The teachers hated him enough already.

“How’d you even get into this school? I thought you needed to have talent to get in,” Brant spat. 

“Do I look like I want to be here? I hate this place,” Cole stood up and glared at the taller boy. Brant was a good head taller than him, unfortunately.

Brant didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Perhaps he’d thought Cole was going here willingly, though how he’d come to that conclusion was a mystery. He gave Cole another sneer and walked away.

Cole rolled his eyes and went back to his lunch. For all its faults, at least this school had good food. The chicken salad was pretty tasty.

A large group chattered next to him. One of them gave him the side eye. “That’s the Brookstone kid,” she said, loud enough for Cole to hear. “His dad’s a Royal Blacksmith. Isn’t it weird how he didn’t get any of the family talent?”

Cole scowled and looked down at the table. He stabbed his lunch with more force than was needed.

“Nicholas Brookstone to the office, Nicholas Brookstone to the office,” a speaker sounded. All eyes turned to him. Cole looked down at the floor and wondered if he could just die right there in the cafeteria. It would save everyone a lot of trouble.

A kid coughed from the table in front of him. Awkward, Cole thought. What had he done this time? There wasn’t anything recent he’d done to warrant this.

It took five minutes for the school to realise he wasn’t moving any time soon. They all went back to their conversations, and Cole snuck out the side entrance. He had always been good at going unnoticed.

Cole walked through the halls briskly and knocked on the office door. He was let in by the guidance counsellor, a lady in her forties with platinum blonde hair. “Nicholas, we need to talk about your behaviour,” she said as they sat down.

“I haven’t been in any more fights,” Cole said. It was true.

“Your teachers say that you don’t pay any attention in class and that you’re not following instructions. It has nothing to do with your peers.”

“I’m trying my best, okay?” Cole snapped. Why couldn’t anyone just listen for once? He was trying, he’d been trying for ages.

“Then how come your grades are so low? This is one of the top arts schools in Ninjago, Nicholas. We expect better.” The counsellor had a mask of false concern on. Cole kind of wanted to punch it off. 

“It’s not Nicholas, it’s Cole. And I am trying,” Cole gritted out. 

“Your grades are barely scraping fifty percent.”

“So?”

The counsellor frowned. “If you don’t start doing better, you may get expelled.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Cole said under his breath. Then to the counsellor, “I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” She might be suspicious of the sudden change of pace, but Cole couldn’t care less. He just wanted to get out of the office.

The counsellor nodded and fixed her glasses. “That’s all for today, Nicholas. You can go to class now.”

She didn’t even bother to get his name right. “Thanks,” Cole marched out the door.

~

Cole stared down at his exam results and wondered if he was dreaming. Forty percent average, the paper said. A fail. He’d managed to do so badly that his average wasn’t even fifty.

Dad’s going to kill me, he thought. Dad expected at least nineties, and this definitely wasn’t it. He’d be grounded until his thirtieth birthday, if he lived that long.

The only subject that had above sixty was visual arts. The teacher for that class was nice — he understood Cole’s struggles and gave him all the time he needed. It wouldn’t make Dad overlook all the other failures, though.

The paper crinkled under his grip. Cole blinked the tears out of his eyes and shoved the paper into his folder. His classmates were conversing all around him, comparing grades and bragging about what they’d gotten. The teacher sat at her desk on the computer. Nobody would notice if he went to the washroom and never returned, hopefully.

Cole got up and walked to the front. “Ms. Jackson, may I please go to the washroom?”

The teacher nodded distractedly and waved her hand. “Yes.”

Cole grabbed his belongings and slipped out the door. He hadn’t taken a hall pass, not when the teacher would notice it missing. She wouldn’t know he was gone, but she would notice the hall pass. The teachers here were strange like that.

He opened the door to his dorm and collapsed on the ground. How was he going to explain his grades to his dad, much less the teachers? He could already hear the lecture. “Your mother would be so disappointed in you, Cole. What happened to all that potential?”

Then again, Dad didn’t pay attention to him. Cole doubted he even remembered that he existed; Dad was too busy partying. Maybe he could burn the report card and pretend it didn’t exist.

Or… Cole’s thoughts drifted to a snide comment Brant had made a few months ago. “Why don’t you just run away? Nobody would miss you — we’d be happy to see you gone.”

Cole had ignored him at the time. It was just another uncreative insult from the stereotypical bully. But it wasn’t exactly a bad idea. As strict as the school was, Cole knew all the weak spots in its system. It was easy to sneak out and never return. And he’d been thinking about leaving and never coming back for ages. This was just the final straw.

“All right, then. Guess Brant gets his wish,” Cole said. No one responded, of course — he was all alone. But talking to himself was a habit. Cole got up and went to the closet, finding the duffel bag he used to use for camping. He blew the dust off and packed anything that seemed useful. A flashlight, multiple sets of clothes, a reusable water bottle, that box of granola bars he’d bought a month ago, all the cash he had.

More food would need to be picked up from the school cafeteria, he decided. And he’d need to find a sleeping bag somehow. But everything else was ready. Cole could leave during the night — he refused to call it running away, he wasn’t running from anything — it was easier that way. This was the best option, he told himself.

Cole snuck out as soon as it was dark. He didn’t need to avoid any roommates, thankfully — anyone who’d been placed with him had moved out. It took a few minutes for him to write a letter to Jay. His best friend didn’t deserve to have him disappearing without warning, though they hadn’t been best friends since before Mom’s death. He put it in the outgoing mail on the way out, sealed with a blue sticker. Jay would know what that meant.

He took the back exit and walked down the road to the bus stop. The city’s streets were dimly lit, people rushing past him to get home. A couple looked at him curiously but didn’t stop him. A drunk man sat down next to him on the bench as they waited. Dogs barked in the distance and a truck drove past. It was peaceful, Cole thought. The most peaceful he’d been in a while.

The bus arrived just after midnight. Cole got on and paid for a ticket to the next town over. He could find a sleeping bag and extra clothes there, and the further away he got the better. He was finally leaving MOSPA and his dad behind, and he wouldn’t be stopped by something as simple as not having basic supplies.

~

Running away wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. All the books made it seem easy — there was no mention of sleeping in alleys, or trying not to get mugged, or having to do odd jobs to get money. Thank goodness for Ninjago’s lax law enforcement; nobody would have hired a thirteen-year-old if the police were good at their job. Especially a thirteen-year-old who may or may not be on the missing persons list. Cole still wasn’t sure if anyone had noticed him missing.

Cole shouldered his backpack as he walked away from Jamanakai Village. He’d managed to find work at a local restaurant a few weeks prior and had finally saved up enough money to get somewhere else. He wasn’t quite sure where his next destination would be, but for now he planned to go back to the mountain range near Ninjago City. He deserved a break, and climbing was therapeutic. The city having a lot of people to pickpocket was just a bonus.

Jamanakai was isolated, unfortunately. It would be an entire day before Cole could get to a more urban area and find a bus stop. He knew there wasn’t a lot of point in travelling so often, of course, but Cole couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t keep moving, someone would find him and bring him back to MOSPA. He couldn’t let that happen. And it kept his mind off of Mom and Dad. Nope, not thinking of that today, Cole thought. It was a good day and he wasn’t going to ruin it.

“Probably enough money for a ticket to Ninjago City,” Cole muttered. “Then it’s just some hitchhiking.”

Not a difficult journey, really. Cole continued on.

~

The mountain was tall. And windy. And probably dangerous to climb without proper gear. Cole tried not to think of that as he pulled himself up the next ledge. He’d already had a close calls today, almost fell off before he found a foothold. Cole thanked Wojira that he hadn’t fallen to his death. If he was going to die, he wanted it to at least be dignified.

Only a bit more to the top of the mountain and then he could rest. Cole planned to camp there for the night and then go back down, hopefully without any major injuries. The broken ankle  still ached, and it had been months. He hadn’t been able to walk for two weeks the last time, and Cole wasn’t eager to have a repeat.

Huffing and sweaty, Cole reached the top. He climbed over the last few rocks and stopped, feeling pretty proud of himself, when he noticed the man sitting in front of him.

“Hello there,” the man said. He looked ancient, with deep set wrinkles and a long white beard. He took a sip of his drink and smiled.

Okay, that’s creepy, Cole thought. He had thought he was the only one climbing. How had he not noticed this guy?

“Wha— who are you?” The words exited Cole’s mouth without permission. He really should work on his brain-to-mouth filter at some point.

“Maybe that is a question you should ask, but first: why do you climb the mountain?” The old man looked at Cole with something like curiosity. Curiosity about what?

“Because it’s a good way to get exercise?”

“You can tell me the truth, Cole. I don’t judge.”

“How do you know my name? I never introduced myself,” Cole took a step back. Was this man some sort of stalker? Nobody knew where he was. If he got kidnapped, or murdered, no one would be able to find him. 

“Because I know you, Cole. I was there when you were born.”

“You know my Dad? Are you going to bring me back to him? Give me another lecture on how I’m a disappointment? I don’t need to hear it,” Cole crossed his arms and prepared to make a run for it. It would be suicidal to jump off the mountain, but he was a fast climber. The old man wouldn’t be able to catch up with him.

“I knew your mother. She was one of my students,” the old man stood and held up his hands in the ‘I surrender’ gesture. 

“Student?”

“I taught her to be a hero. Did you think that all the stories she told you were made up?”

Cole hadn’t thought about his mom’s stories in years. She used to tell him about great heroes who could control the very elements themselves, who tamed dragons and fought against evil. He’d loved those stories.

“You’re telling me that all those stories about ninja and dragons were real? Yeah, and I’m a giant purple unicorn,” Cole glared at the old man. This guy had to be crazy, spouting nonsense about real-life superheroes and monsters. Mom had told him those stories for entertainment and bonding, nothing more.

“You are stubborn. Also like your mother, I suppose. I can prove to you that all the old legends are real. You just have to trust me,” the man held out his hand. His face was a mixture of hope and worry and maybe a little bit of fear. Fear of what, Cole didn’t know.

Cole hesitated for a moment. There was nothing left for him back at home, if he still had one, and no one cared if he went missing. The only people he cared about were either dead or better off without him. His life truly couldn’t get any worse, and if this man had known his mom he couldn’t be too bad. Cole took the hand.

[a-concert-just-for-me]

I've been fascinated by music boxes ever since I was a wee tot, but never got one because I thought they could only play one melody. After learning about punch cards from the early days of computing (and more advanced looms), I decided to try making a music box based on a punch card. (I tried this, never to any great success, several times in elementary and middle school. This once included a robot for a science class)

I have heard RUMORS that you can speak on music boxes for upwards of an hour. Do tell, do tell. I am very curious and captivated 😇

I don’t really know anything about the history of music boxes (I’m such a fake fan! /j), but I do enjoy making them. It’s been a long journey of trial and error to figure out the most efficient way to do it, but I’m pretty sure I finally have my own process down now :)

Infodump under the cut

So! You want to make a music box, huh?

(This is where you say omg yasss girl that sounds like so much fun!!!)

Oh wow, very cool! I am happy to teach this class.

Well, of course to start, you will need a music box. Here are the options of programmable (well, with paper strips) music boxes.

Kikkerland 15

Grand Illusions 20/Murobox 20

Wintergatan 20 (custom)

Grand Illusions 30

Murobox 40

To explain the types of music boxes:

The first part is the brand name, then the number is how many notes they have. I’m only familiar with a few of them.

Fun facts:

1. Muroboxes are music boxes that you can program from your phone. They’re really cool, but super expensive! I’ll stick to my way, haha

2. There is a 60 note option on musicboxmaniacs ‘create’ tool (I’ll talk more on that site in a min), but there isn’t actually a 60 note programmable music box out there. It’s just for fun.

3. The boxes I have are the Kikkerland 15 and the Grand Illusions 30. I’ll explain more about them.

Kikkerland 15

Honestly I never use this guy. It’s 2 octaves, C scale (unless it’s transposed; I’ve never looked into it—more on transposed boxes in a second). No sharps or flats. Very limited in what you can do with it. But it’s very cute :3

Grand Illusions 30

Okay, here’s where things get goofy. So, this one is 3 octaves, and the strips are written in the key of C.

OR *ARE* THEY?

Actually, for some reason, the box is actually in the key of F!

(That means that if you were to punch the note of C on the music box strip, it would actually play an F!)

Here’s a scale I did of what the music box strips say:

And here’s what the actual notes are:

So how do you know how to write the music if the notes don’t match what the box plays???

Well, we have two options!

1. You could write it using the C scale and let the music box transpose it to the key of F for you (still sounds good most of the time)

2. Or if you want an exact 1:1 transcription, you could write the music using the F scale from the get-go. I usually use this option unless I intuit that a song would sound better transposed instead/it’s easier to write that way

Okay, you have your options on what key to write in, now what?

1. You can use musicboxmaniacs.com’s ‘create’ tool (I used this for the longest time—very tedious) and download the strips from there

2. You can use a music notation software (I use Musescore!), convert the song into MIDI format, upload it to musicboxmaniacs.com, and download the strips from there.

3. (Or, if you’re a freak, you can eyeball it and do it by hand on the sheets that come with the box. Idk man I’m not a cop but seriously what is wrong with you)

Done! Now assuming you’re not a freak, how do you convert what’s on your computer to actual music box strips in real life?

1. You could print out the guide strips on copy paper and overlay them onto the strips that come with the box (I think?) OR just glue it on top of a bunch of other pieces of paper until you get the right thickness. And then with either method, punch out where the ‘x’s are.

2. Or you can be galaxy-brained and let a cricut machine do it for you

Yes, you heard that right!!! A machine can punch all the holes for you!!! Someone made a python code that will convert DXF files to SVG files! Then you can put the SVG files into the cricut design space and print them!

I have a video on it here:

EDIT: there was a video here but I realized I accidentally doxxed myself in it 😆 I need to go back and edit it lmao

It’s just a tutorial on how to convert DXF files to SVG files, and then how to use the SVG files in the cricut design space to print out music box sheets

“Okay,” you say, “I followed the video…That’s cool and all…but what materials do I use? Your video seems a bit outdated and doesn’t even have a second part…”

YOU’RE RIGHT, IT IS, and I surely did not end up making that second part, lol. Let me remedy that.

After tons and tons and tons of trial and error, I’ve figured it out. My first method involved using posterboard, which kind of worked, but always made the songs stutter and stop.

Finally, I had the huge-brain revelation that it wasn’t a mechanical issue with my box like I’d thought for so long—the paper just wasn’t thick enough!!!

So now, the best combo I’ve found is this:

1. 12x12 Cricut mat

2. 2 pieces of 12x12 paper (thick ones!)

3. Elmers craft bond stick glue

4. Scotch tape

5. A scraper tool

Directions

1. Glue 2 pieces of 12x12 paper together. I use scrapbook paper, as it comes perfectly in that size! I usually do a pretty design on top, then a boring white on the bottom, as not to waste my pretty paper. But yeah, two pieces of that scrapbook paper glued together is the perfect thickness.

2. Let dry under something heavy.

3. Put the paper pretty-side-down onto a standard grip cricut mat

4. Tape down the edges of the paper onto the mat so that it doesn’t move at all during the cutting process (needs to be precise!)

5. Use a deep cut (cardstock+ is what I use)

6. Plug in your machine and let it do its thing!

7. When it’s done, remove the mat. Peel off the music box strips one by one, making sure to label them on the ugly side according to the order they’re in. This will save you soooo much confusion later

8. Poke out any holes that didn’t get cut all the way

9. Tape your strips together in the right order (make sure that if there are any holes that fall under your tape, to re-punch them!)

10. Test out your strips in the box! If it sounds like there are missing notes, make sure to go back and make sure they’re all punched all the way through/no tape is blocking them

11. Now that you have your beautiful song, you have to clean up your mess. Use a scraper tool to scrape allllllll the annoying little punched-out paper bits into the trash.

13. Now you’re all done! Put your stuff away and think about your next project lol

Thank you for the ask <3

[quacheta]

So a few months ago, there was at least one (1) person who got permission to, and started, the project of bookbinding AmevelloBlue's The Ghost in the Shell. And when they tried to print it, it was like 700-800 pages. Which is... a lot.

So I figured, since (1) I also love Ghost in the Shell, (2) I do typesetting semi-professionally, and (3) why the heckers not, I could probably get it down to a more reasonable size.

And I did. And then AmevelloBlue gave me permission to share it here, so.

The Drive Folder With All the Files.

File-specific information below. :)

(Please, for the love of Donnie's banana pancakes, read it. I am trying to answer as many technical questions in advance as I can, so people don't get overwhelmed or confused or frustrated.)

(But also it is a LOT of information, so if you need clarification please ask. This is for to be fun! Not scary!)

There are three parts.

GitS.p8: This is the straight PDF export, done in pages and not spreads. That means each page is its own page (a spread has 2+ to a page) and the pages are in order. If you want a pretty PDF to read on a device, this is what you want. If you want to run it through your own imposition software, this is also what you want.

GitS.p8_typeset: This is the imposition. That means the pages have been rearranged into signatures and spreads for bookbinding. There are 16 pages, or 8 spreads, or 4 sheets of paper (printed double-sided) to each signature. Each signature gets stacked, folded into a booklet, and then stacked on top of the next signature for sewing the book block. THIS IS THE WHOLE BOOK. If you want ONE file to send to the printer, in one straight run, this is what you want.

signatures (folder): These are INDIVIDUAL SIGNATURES. That means each signature is a separate file. If you want to do a test print of a single signature, this is what you want. If you want to run different signatures through different printers, this is what you want. If you want to do this piecemeal for any other reason, this is what you want.

(The last three signatures are three sheets of paper, not four. This is for the sake of balancing page count against structural integrity in the bound book.)

Why would you want different printers, you ask?

Because color printing is expensive. And I used color in the typeset.

The entire thing is designed to still be readable (and pretty!) in a regular, black-and-white printer. Because I wanted this to be accessible to everyone, not just people who can afford color printing. But if you want to split it, and send the signatures-with-colored-bits to a color printer, and save money by NOT sending the whole book, these are the signatures with colored bits:

0, 5, 7, 11, 13, 14, 25, 26, 28, 35

And if that's too many pages still, here are the signatures with the most important colored bits (i.e., the title pages and the illustrations):

0, 7, 35

All of the files are PDFs. All of them, specifically, are PDF/x-1a(2003), which means the color profile is CMYK only and all the fonts are embedded. So nothing should go screwy-whompus when you download it or send it to the printer.

TRIM SIZE: the pages are 5x7.5. This is (1) to allow printing on letter-sized paper more easily, and (2) to also allow for trimming of the book block without screwing over the margins. The imposition and the signature files have trimming / cutting guides (the little lines) for your convenience.

There are 36 signatures total, or 560-something pages (less than 200 sheets of paper, before folding, if printed double-sided). This is still a big book. Big enough that you will need to know about spine swell, and possible rounding and backing, if you decide to do the binding. Please keep that in mind as you plan your project.

EPUB: some people like to convert PDF book files to ePUBs for eBook reading. Due to how I designed the typeset, this is not going to be pretty if you try it with these. I am currently in the final stages of making the eBook for GitS, and will upload the ePUB to the drive folder as soon as it's done. It will not have the pretty background / border illustrations of the print file, but it will be neat and tidy and include the pretty title pages.

I... think that's everything?

[odiesdayoff]

Studying Pays Off

pair: edward nashton (professor!) x fem!reader (student but also not)

summary: Edward Nashton’s a tough professor, but you’re up for the challenge.

warnings: SMUT (MINORS DNI 18++++); oral sex (f. receiving); questionable student/teacher relationship (they are but they aren’t); age gap

slay. I’ve been posting this series on AO3 and decided to take it to my tumblr as well :)

part two

You heard horror stories about Professor Nashton. One of the two professors that taught advanced forensic accounting, a class that you needed to take for your major. Professor Ives was kind and very generous with extra credit. Unfortunately, the only class that you could take that fit into your schedule wasn’t with Professor Ives.

Most people complained about his lectures, usually long and boring and full of riddles that didn’t have much to do with the actual subject. He was strict about grading and the smallest error in a project might turn your A into a B. Unfortunately, you weren’t an exception to the normal borderline failing student that became the norm.

The thirty seconds that you stood outside of his room, too nervous to start your office hour session with him, felt like an eternity. It was common knowledge that nobody dared trying to go to his office hours. Students were too afraid to get on his bad side to even attempt to ask questions about the lecture. You were different, though. You were determined to get at least a B- in this class even if it meant spending an awkward few minutes with the man.

He didn’t look at you as you walked in and took your seat on the other side of the desk. You clutched your binder close to your chest, sheets upon sheets of printed-out homework and projects thickening it. You wrote your own notes over and around the notes that he gave you. You practiced everything that you wanted to talk to him about.

He wrote the grade with a large red marker on someone’s project. D. You hoped that it wasn’t yours. “I don’t offer extra credit if that’s what you came here for. And I will not be bribed by any means,” He flipped the stack of papers over, pushing them to the side and finally looking up at you. For a moment, you wondered what students might have tried to use to bribe him.

“That…That’s not what I’m here for, sir. I wanted to discuss the last project and what I could do better for the next time,” You opened your binder and nervously pulled the stapled stack of paper with a marked B- on the top out of the front fold. You offered the paper to him and he took it.

That project, in particular, getting a report from some made-up company and logging their accounts as well as any discrepancies, didn’t seem too difficult for you. You finished it with time to spare and found nothing wrong when you went over it, yet you barely passed. You began to wonder if you were doing everything wrong and you were in the wrong field.

He flipped through the pages faster than any person could possibly be looking at the content. You sat quietly, hoping that your breathing didn’t disturb his work. “While there aren’t many mistakes, the ones that you did make were those that should have been eradicated in basic accounting. It might be a problem with you rather than this individual project.” His facial features were soft, but that didn’t seem to translate to his harsh personality.

Your breathing halted, maybe you should have listened when you were told to avoid going to his office hours. Was he calling you stupid? “I’ve never had a problem before this class. Is there anything that I can do about that?” The voice in your head wanted to lean over the desk and slap the shit out of the man, but you knew that it would only make things worse for you. His words would get to you tonight when you were able to cry about it if you needed.

“I can’t fix what was broken from the start, I’m afraid,” he handed the stack of papers back to you and you took them with a shaky hand. At this point, you weren’t sure if the shaking came from anger or you fighting back the urge to cry. Your life’s passion, the one thing you were sure that you excelled at, he was telling you that you never had a chance. What an asshole.

You looked down at the papers in your lap, “Is there… any way to improve in this class? Even with my…problems?” You weren’t sure why this was such a blow to your self-confidence. You’ve had much worse said to you by your parents when you told them that you wanted to go into accounting. You nearly failed geometry and their hope for you fell down the drain.

He sighed as if this wasn’t literally the job that he signed up to do for a living. “Unless you want to dedicate your time to coming to my office hours every single time there’s an assignment to go over things, I suggest you drop the class before it affects your GPA too much,” He looked at someone else’s project and shook his head. It was like you weren’t even there.

And that’s exactly what you did for the rest of the semester. From the time that he started his office hours to when he kicked you out, you worked on your assignments. Maybe you were a bit delusional, but you started to wonder if he was finally warming up to you. Your grades definitely reflected a more positive relationship with the man. You were probably the only person in the class that had an A by December.

The final was in two days and you were still committing to your office hour sessions with Professor Nashton. “You intrigue me, Y/n,” He spoke out of the blue.

You looked up from your papers, “How so?”

He leaned back into his chair. It squeaked slightly, “Most students just give up after that first office hour visit. They…curse me out and then drop a shitty rate my professor review. But not you, Y/n.” He spoke along with his hands, “You never let me spend a class or office hour alone.”

“It definitely paid off. I think I’m one of the only people not either failing or borderline failing. Why do you grade like that?” You’ve been meaning to ask that question for so long, but it never seemed right. Now that you two felt like somewhat friends and he was getting personal, maybe he would find out.

He bit his lip, “This subject relies on precision. One mistake could jail an innocent person or let a guilty one roam free. Forensic accountants are crucial and perhaps the foundation of the justice system. Financially, that is. If I start my students with a work ethic that relies strongly on attention to detail and little mistakes, justice will be served in the future. Most of them just don’t want to work hard.”

You nodded along. You agreed with him to a point but thought that he should have been a bit less harsh in the way that he conducts this message. “That…actually makes a lot of sense. Maybe you should say that at the beginning of the semester,” You suggested.

He shook his head, “If they didn’t try before, it’s not going to make them suddenly start. Most people at this school are privileged little fucks that’ll go into their daddy’s firm once they graduate. Pardon my French. People like us work for our success.”

He wasn’t wrong there. Gotham University was built on nepotism and will always be that way, it seemed.

~~~

The final wasn’t bad, just as you had expected. It was exactly what you studied and discussed with the professor, so you were pretty sure that you got a decent grade. The other students filtered out of the classroom as soon as they wrote down their final number and rejoiced in their winter break starting. Once the last person left, you took the opportunity to talk to Professor Nashton one last time.

“How was it?” He asked, sorting through the stacks of finished tests all over his desk.

You shrugged, “It was good. Not to brag, but I think I got an almost perfect score.” This earned you a smile from him. You took a deep breath and adjusted your bag on your shoulder, “Now that we’re not technically student and teacher anymore, I wanted to let you know that I really enjoy talking with you. I work at this little diner by the Iceberg Lounge and if you’re ever in the area, you’re free to stop by. I’ll even throw in a free coffee and slice of pumpkin pie.”

“That’s very generous of you, Y/n. I’ll keep that in mind,” You had your suspicions that he was only saying that to be polite, but a small part of you wanted to see him again. Seeing him in a less professional setting and without the big label of instructor might do him some good.

Your winter break was uneventful. You worked, occasionally spent time with your friends, and avoided your family’s judgment throughout the holiday season. It wasn’t until the second week of January that things got interesting again.

Working at a 24-hour diner meant that you had to be available for work at all times of the day. You drew the short straw and found yourself behind the counter, completely void of co-workers and customers, at 2 in the morning on a Wednesday. You were halfway through Pride and Prejudice when you were startled by the doorbell.

Standing in the doorway was him. Your former professor in a large raincoat and informal wear. “What are you doing here so late?” You asked, smirking. You were relieved to have someone to talk to other than yourself and that he wasn’t some random creep.

“I could ask you the same thing. I couldn’t sleep,” He sat on one of the barstools and you turned on the coffee machine. If it were anyone else, you would’ve served the stale, hours-old coffee.

“What does your spouse think of your late-night diner runs?” You took a relatively hot slice of pie and placed it in front of him with a fork.

He took a bite of the pie, “Not married.”

You raised a brow, “I can’t imagine why not. You’re smart, attractive, and literally a tenured professor at an esteemed university.” You turned to grab a cup for the coffee.

Edward paused and looked up from his pie, “You of all people should not be saying that I’m attractive.”

“Why? Because you’re older than me?” You snorted.

“Because you’re beautiful. And frankly, I feel guilty even saying that.”

You poured the coffee in silence and placed it in front of him. He found you attractive. Now that there was no formal rule that could get him fired, you had all the opportunity in the world to mess with him. And by mess with him, you really just want to jump his arrogant bones.

“Are you sure that pie’s the only thing in here you wanna eat?” You put on your best seductive voice, making him slightly choke on his coffee. He glared at you, “Oh, come on. We’re not limited to roles anymore. We’re just two adults that know each other from university.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, trust me, I’ve shamefully thought about it before. It’s just-”

“Just nothing! I’m offering to get on this counter, lift my skirt up, and let you eat me out. Yes or no?”

He sat in silence for a second, staring. The gears in his brain were turning. He grabbed the plate and the cup and pushed them to the side, “Get up.”

This was a first for you. Sex with a professor and doing it at work. Despite it all, you sat up on the counter and showed yourself to him. He stared for a moment, nervous, before hooking his arms under your legs and diving in.

Other than the buzzing of the various machines in the diner, the only noises in the room were of Edward licking and the moans that you held back. You didn’t expect him to be that good, no man ever was when it came to oral. He found your clit after a few seconds and began to suck on it, not giving you a chance to register the sudden rush of pleasure.

“Fuck!” You moved your hand on the counter, accidentally swiping the coffee cup off. It shattered, but Edward didn’t look up or stop. It wasn’t like you were going to stop and clean it up now, anyway.

“Y/n, you taste so good,” He whispered into your pussy. You grabbed his hair and twirled it with your fingers.

He pushed two fingers into you and you felt the pleasure fully begin to coil in your stomach. You moaned and tugged on his hair. That only made him go faster.

With Edward relentlessly pleasuring you, it took not long for you to see stars. The walls were not soundproof and you had forgotten if they had security cameras or not, but that didn’t stop you from calling out his name as you came around his fingers.

He finally looked up at you with a goofy smile on his face. Your face was flushed and your chest noticeably rose and fell. Now, you were more confused that he wasn’t married. “How was that?”

[risingshards]

My web novel writing process!

I was asked by a friend to share my writing process with them and I figure it'd be good to share here too if anyone is curious about how I handle web novels! For non web novels...I'm still working on a process for that 😅 My webnovels are here for Rising Shards and here for Rising Shards: Evy & Stella.

Before starting web novel:

Prototyping

Setup

During web novel publishing:

Note taking

Early scene writing

Outline

Roughs writing

Second draft

Before starting web novel:

Prototyping:

Basically me tinkering around with stuff to figure out what I want to write, what I'm able to write, what I have the most fun writing, because with a web novel a lot of content is needed to keep up with releases so I have to make sure what I write is something I can actually like *write* without it being a drain on me or something I get bored a few chapters into and give up. I try to build characters or at least start to around here to figure out how they "sound." I like to study the stories I like the most and ask myself what exactly I liked about them, what I'd change, and stuff I could be inspired from for my own stories. RS is kind of hard to say how long I was in prototype phase since it started as a tradpub thing but after working at a publisher and then the pandemic happened, I reallllyy took some soul searching on how to best release it and if I wanted to keep struggling against the woes of traditional publishing.

Set up:

This part is a bit out of order for the pre-web novel process because I want to have some stuff written before I start uploading; so with that in mind when I have a chunk of writing that I'm satisfied with that's at least a few months ahead to start up, then I think about an upload schedule, get a cover mockup or commission one, then tinker around with like the aesthetic I want for banners and such.

Note taking:

This one I do daily pretty much no matter what, basically just jotting every random idea down in a notebook, google doc, or a note app. My notes can be fairly incoherent from my handwriting to the ideas jotted down but I figure it out lol.

Early scene writing:

Sometimes part of note taking, this is usually me just trying random scenes which sometimes become something and sometimes don't, but are good practice for character voice. They're kind of like sketches but in writing form.

Outline:

I outline my stories a bit ahead, but also know vague points way ahead. I like to think of it as a hybrid of TV season, manga, and anime structure versus a print novel structure (though I suppose print novels could very well have this structure, tradpub is just more unforgiving to anything outside the beat sheet for debuts from what I've seen. I don't go too far ahead as the story can change in the writing (I too am gardener/plantser and plantser works well for web novel). Since I use a more TV season like format, I like to get a list of my episode titles in advance and move things around as I go, knowing where like the season premiere and season finales go. I find outlining that way is a lot easier for my brain than just the three act structure, and allows for me to play around more with how things happen. For example, an episode list of the first batch of Rising Shards:

Sometimes I'll have to adjust the episodes a lot if I move one way later to earlier for continuity, but doing them episodically let's me finish my thoughts a lot more easily and it allows for the best pace for my characters. My episodes are between 5 chapters and 12, but I think most are around 8-9.

Roughs writing:

This is where the bulk of my writing gets done. I set up a daily goal like "finish chapter 34.1" and map out my targets for a month, then get rolling and try to get around 1k words in a daily session, but not stopping if I get more chapters done, or getting too bent out of shape if I'm not feeling it that day. I'm a big "talk to your characters" writer, so I get kind of trancelike and just let them tell me where a story is headed when I'm in roughs writing. I mostly write chronologically but things that are tougher like big fantasy episodes, action sequences, and now...sex scenes *gasp* I try to write in advance so I can spend more time polishing them. 

Uploads:

Once the roughs are finished, I upload them to my site Tapas, schedule their dates, and then make the banners, thumbnails, etc. I usually wait on descriptions because when I upload chapters at this point my descriptions are very "Character goes somewhere." and that's it lol

Second draft:

This is where I fix up the drafts and polish them to a more readable state, I tinker with chapters up to their upload date and then after too (I'm not full George Lucas special edition I swear I just catch typos and weird phrasings like a year later). Then after that I start outlining the next chunk of episodes, get excited about people reading scenes I really liked and also panic about the ones that are scarier (aka big twists I fear won't land, sex scenes *gasp*, really weird stuff I don't know how people will react to, etc.)

The whole process loops around so I'll be doing roughs on some main episodes, outlines on others, polish on others all going at once. I try to have at least a month ahead on uploads so I don't fall behind as well. 

—Chiral

[cricutnewmachinesetup]

5 Best Cricut Machine Reviews: Which One is Worth the Pick?

 A few years ago, you asked me what the Best Cricut machine is. I probably wouldn’t have answered. Back then, I was unfamiliar with each Cricut machine model, so I couldn’t give the best Cricut machine reviews. But today, after many years of crafting experience, I have tried almost all Cricut machine models.

On the contrary, I am only talking about the Cricut cutting machine, not the Heat Press. Since I have dedicated half my life to crafting, I think I am the perfect person to give YouTube Cricut craft machine reviews. Therefore, I would like to introduce you to different Cricut machine models and their key features through this blog. Also, I would like to share its pros and cons to help you decide before buying it. Let’s get into this blog to explore these models in detail.

1.  Cricut Explore Air 2

The Cricut Explore Air 2 is one of the oldest models in Cricut’s lineup. Also, this particular Cricut model is the most suitable one for beginner crafters. I always recommend novice crafters to start with Explore Air 2, and then further they can advise with the latest version. With this machine, you can easily craft stickers, and it is also affordable for everyone.

Pros:

Cuts 100+ materials

Compatible with 6 tools to score, foil cut, write, and more

Bluetooth wireless technology

Built-in tool holder

Extra storage to hold extra tools and accessories

Decent performance

Beginner-friendly

Cons:

Noisy

Unsuitable for pro crafters

2.  Cricut Explore 3

In all these best Cricut machine reviews, I can’t miss this amazing Cricut Explore 3 machine, which is one of the best machines available at an affordable price. However, the main difference I know about this model is its compatibility with Smart Materials. So, let’s see why you should consider it as the best option and why you shouldn’t.

Pros:

Works with 100+ materials + Smart Materials

Best fit for home inkjet printer for Print Then Cut feature

Cuts complex designs with accuracy

Bluetooth wireless technology

Cricut Manufacturer Warranty

Performs operations such as writing, drawing, foiling, scoring, and more

Smooth and quiet

Has adaptable cutter

Cons:

Can cut up to 100 materials only (less than Cricut Maker 3)

Less powerful than Cricut Maker 3 but better than its predecessor

Extra investment for extra attachments

3.  Cricut Maker

Here comes an advanced model, or we can say it is better than all Explore models. But it is suitable for those crafters who have a good budget and want something advanced. I don’t think the Cricut Maker model is the right investment. Let’s explore the best Cricut machine reviews to learn more about the Maker model.

Pros:

Works with 300+ materials

Performs different operations, including writing, drawing, foiling, scoring, and more

Works with 13 tools to cut, write, score, foil, engrave, deboss & more

Cuts complex designs with preciseness

Best for Print Then Cut projects

Seamless customer support via phone or chat

Cricut Manufacturer Warranty

Bluetooth wireless technology

Cons:

Outdated technology, meaning Cricut no longer supports it

Can’t cut Smart Materials

Slow performance and less power

4.  Cricut Maker 3

Cricut Maker 3 is an updated version of its predecessor. In addition, it uses the same process, and the Cricut app and attachments are similar. Only one thing makes it different from other Cricut models: it can cut, score, and engrave Smart Materials without using the cutting mat.

As a result, you can cut up to 12 feet. Also, in terms of speed, it cuts much faster than the original Cricut Maker.

Pros:

Works with 300+ materials + Smart Materials

Cuts complex designs with precision

Best for a consistent outcome

Compatible with Bluetooth wireless technology

Writes, engraves, embosses, draws, foils, and more

Suitable with a home inkjet printer for the Print-Then-Cut feature

Cricut Manufacturer Warranty

Online courses & beginner’s cheat sheets

Seamless customer support via phone or chat

Cons:

Expensive

Materials are costly

Too much investment for beginner crafters

5.  Cricut Joy

Okay, here are our Cricut Joy machine reviews to help you determine why this is best for you. Ever since I decided to write about the best Cricut machine reviews, Cricut Joy was at the top of the list. This is compact and looks really cute! In addition, it is designed for crafters who travel a lot and want a portable cutting machine.

Thus, let’s see why it could be the right choice for you!

Pros:

Works with 50+ materials

Writes, draws, and foils

Seamless customer support via phone or chat

Bluetooth wireless technology

Cuts design in detail with precision

Cricut Manufacturer Warranty

Compact and portable

Adaptable

Ideal choice for paper crafts

Cons:

Weak and small size

No USB connection

Extra investments for pens, blades, and engraving tips

FAQs

Question 1: Which Cricut machine is the best?

Answer: My overall best pick is the Cricut Explore 3. It is because I know Cricut Maker models are the best and most robust. But still, I’d say Explore 3 because it is also robust, and you can get this cheaply. It is a great tool for intermediate crafters, including beginners. So, if you want something cheap and basic, you should go with Cricut Explore 3.

Question 2: Which Cricut machine is apt for beginners?

Answer: If you want a Cricut machine for beginners, then you will need to use the Cricut Explore Air 2. This machine is designed for beginners and doesn’t cost too much. So, start using the machine and create anything with Explore Air 2 when you have no time. Overall, Cricut Explore Air 2 is the best for beginner crafters.

Question 3: What do I need when buying a Cricut for the first time?

Answer: If you are buying a Cricut machine for the first time, you will need to gather many other accessories. Thus, below are the items you will need with your Cricut machine:

StandardGrip Mat

T-shirt

Weeding Tool

BrightPad (optional) or Light Box

EasyPress or Heat Press or Iron

EasyPress Mat

Everyday Iron-on

Conclusion

Finally, this write-up covers all the best Cricut machine reviews. Be it Cricut Explore models Maker or Joy; I have given my honest reviews about all of them. So, the main aim of writing this blog was to help you decide which Cricut model is the best from others. As you move further into the blog, you will find a lot of pros and cons. Explore them in detail and make purchases accordingly.

Source: best Cricut machine reviews

[jewelboxtarotandart]

About JewelBox™ Art

J.E.Wells is a Sydney based Artist, Writer, avid Tarot enthusiast and the principal of JewelBox Art.  The JewelBox Tarot Collection is the result of over 30 years of study, and practical application, as a professional Tarot Reader.  The JewelBox Tarot Collection. Advanced Philosophy for the Tarot Professional.*  JewelBox Tarot – The Story of Flow*  JewelBox Tarot – The Natures of Time*  JewelBox Tarot – Card Night!*  JewelBox Tarot – Annotated Deck*  JewelBox Tarot – Classic Deck*  JewelBox Tarot - Divinely Guided (Forthcoming)  I have two passions in my life – Tarot and Art.  Both have been an integral part of my life personally and professionally for over 30 years, so far.  Through both of these mediums I have learned much about myself and what makes up life.  Since leaving school, when I was 15, I have been teaching myself all about everything.  I’m a self-taught Artist.  I’ve spent the last 30 years drawing and painting.  I held a Drawing position at Kentlyn Art Studio for a long time.  In this role I was employed to “draw for people.”  I’d draw what the client wanted to paint, and then I’d help them paint all the tricky bits.  In my next role, I ran Community Classes teaching others drawing, painting, and how to find themselves through creative exploration.  I write books!  My first book I wrote in 1996.  I had just moved interstate and was feeling very lost and very alone.  I endeavoured to write out a lot of my philosophical learnings in an attempt to find myself.  This resulted in a book called Truths.  A few years after this I wrote, and illustrated, a children’s book called, Mozart Finds Home, which was fun.  Even though, I did not publish my early works, I think these endeavours were good practice for me.  They definitely saw writing become a big part of my everyday expression.  Currently, I’m in the process of writing my sixth book – JewelBox Tarot - Divinely Guided.   The Tarot has captivated me for most of my adult life.  I read professionally for many years on www.psychic.com.au under the name Gem.  My writings about Tarot are a culmination of lots of study, and practice.  For years, I immersed myself in the old Golden Dawn classic texts.  I put the information into practice during my readings for others.  During this time, I felt as though the Tarot itself was reaching out to me.  I started writing everything down in 2011.  Soon after I began writing, I felt driven to paint my own images.  I painted 120 artworks in the course of this process which took me a little over one year.  The painting of my own deck seemed to heighten my connection to the Tarot even more. Over the course of time, since I began what has now become the JewelBox Tarot Collection, I have felt as though the Tarot itself, has ultimately taught me how to read the cards!  I ask the Tarot to help me with everything in my life.  Seriously, it even helps me choose what to wear to a party.  Sometimes, I just laugh at how it describes things to me! The JewelBox Tarot Collection will be relaunched in January 2024, with the exciting new addition of JewelBox Tarot – Card Night! all ready to go out into the world.   To celebrate  the launch of JBT -Card Night! the first two books in the series, JBT - Story of Flow and JBT - Natures of Time have been completely revised, and updated, with lots of additional information.  These new editions will also be released in January 2024.   2024 looks to be a fabulous year!  I’m pretty excited for it!  If you have subscribed via downloading my JBT Cheat Sheets I will keep you in the loop.  I plan to share JBT - Divinely Guided with you along the way of writing it. Kind Regards Jewells You can buy JewelBox Art as Art Prints, Canvas Prints, Metal Prints, Acrylic Blocks, Greeting Cards much more!  JewelBox Art is also available in Soft Furnishings and fabulous Home wares. Wearable JewelBox Art too! T-Shirts, Dresses and Scarves...Random stuff like Phone Covers, Sketch books, Journals....JewelBox Art is available for purchase on here. JewelBox Star Cluster NGC 4755, The Kappa Crucis Cluster or “Jewel Box” ClusterDiscovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1751-52)  Just bright enough to be seen from Earth with the naked eye, the Jewel Box was given its name by English astronomer John Herschel in the 1830’s, who thought the sparkling blue and red stars resembled a box of jewels. Like most open star clusters, the Jewel Box is made up of an array of sister stars, all formed from the same cloud of gas and dust with similar ages and chemical make-up. Located about 6,400 light-years away, near the Southern Cross in the constellation of Crux, the Jewel Box contains roughly 100 stars. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/jewel-box-stars/accessed 2nd October 2011 This image was produced by European Southern Observatory (ESO) by ESO/Y Beletskyhttp://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/starclusters/ accessed 2nd October 2011 Read the full article

[originalpackersandmoversblog]

Perfect thanks to Resolve Challenges Faced While Renovating to Your New Home!

Renovation Challenges

At the purpose once you shall revamp your house it is a troublesome errand to travel in spending plan. No matter whether you've got a coffee budget or high, the expense of a home remodel can rapidly leave hand and you will not have the choice to regulate it. I've experienced two little spending plan benevolent home redesigns within the previous four years, so I needed to share a couple of hints and deceives which will assist you with achieving and affect a remodel that works for your home and budget it might be ideal if you read the article and afterward begin to urge ready for the house remodel, it'll support you. On the off chance that you simply happen to settle on to maneuver as against revamping your house, are glad to assist also. it's better to rent packers and movers in Kolkata for your relocation assistance.

The Budget

Before we start, I even have to look at what a "spending redesign" implies. "Spending plan" isn't proportional to humble. Spending plan is that the greatest test once you prefer to revamp your home. At whatever point you experience money, it is a brilliant idea to understand the measure of your hard and fast salary or investment is run for the acquisition , whether or not it's essentially a supper out, or something significant like another stove. On the off chance that you're aiming to achieve an appointment together with your home, i like to recommend starting with a dollar aggregate that you're prepared to spend before you start choosing structure choices.

Right once I began my endeavor, I made a spreadsheet and incorporated all that I understood we expected to shop for. I said my ground surface choice (resolved to consolidate squander), lighting, nozzles, paint, edges, organizer gear, outlets, and switch plate covers, tile, grout, devices, which is simply a touch of something larger! I expected to form calls to urge refers to for materials and work, and even added cost to my spending sheets. Exactly once I completed my spreadsheet, I could see districts that were eating up tons of my budget , and a brief time later make changes by picking increasingly moderate materials, or deciding to expel things overall. just in case you are making some hard memories picking a home stylistic theme style check out this blog.

Time

Believing that the cash will update isn't continually a horrible thing, since time is your friend concerning orchestrating a redesign! Just in case you've got the cash, it'll generally be tempting to gut and upgrade your home simultaneously, anyway it'd be overwhelming to settle on tons of excellent arrangement decisions when you're figuring such immense quantities of things.

I will endorse you to travel with a couple of rooms and finish those before continuing ahead to varied zones. Most essential thing that folks believe is that it's hard to finish an attempt before moving onto the accompanying thing. Compose what is going to be the foremost noteworthy degree and roll in the hay first; else, it'd concede for a tremendous time period! On the off chance that you simply drive yourself to finish one foreseen before starting another, you will not got to sleep in a house stacked with divided rooms. In like way, from a spending position, starting with just a few of rooms is clever in such a case, that you simply run into unforeseen costs, you'll regulate them without conclusion work, apply for an additional credit augmentation, or make gigantic trade-offs in several spaces.

Coordinating Fabrics

Advance the entire room during a comparable surface – dividers, upholstery, window trimmings, and even the lampshades. One print wherever builds up a touch space, makes it feel combined and incorporates a big wow factor.

Concealing plans can expect a fundamental activity in making atmosphere and perspective. Dull shades will as a rule cause rooms to feel on the brink of nothing, despairing and encased. On the opposite hand, light concealed dividers and enhancements open up rooms, conveying another and enormous feel to your home. A comparable guideline applies to floors and rooftops, so remain with light, objective tints for these zones. Check out this blog on the way to Color Block in Your Home.

Do it without anyone's help

Plainly, this is often perhaps the simplest ways to affect forgot money during a home remodel. you'll altogether likelihood be unable to line up drywall, or maybe feel great laying tile, yet there are a few of belongings you can do to line up your space before a gathering comes considering the way that review that you're paying a gaggle for consistently, paying little brain to how gifted or incompetent the task. Just in case you'll demo the space, clean up, prepare surfaces (like scratching off mastic on the ground and skim-covering dividers), and paint, by then you're one step ahead.

For whatever time allotment that you simply have the supply to urge familiar with another capacity, and take the maximum amount time as is predicted to try to do it right, your confirmation is your most noteworthy asset. Just in case you do not have the devices required, renting them from an area ironmongery shop will regardless extra you tons of cash instead of utilizing someone to realize the work for you. In like manner, rental gadget due-dates are staggering motivations to end an occupation!

If you've got to try to do everything with none other person, realize that there are a few of belongings you shouldn't do yourself just in case you are not approved, as an example, trade or moving utility lines. If you are feeling that are skilled enough for an occupation like razing dividers and presenting load-bearing shafts, confirm to urge a permit. This may shield you from falling into trouble, and it'll moreover guarantee future inhabitants of your home. Check out this blog on some DIY's you'll take a stab at your home.

Pay Cash

It may sound direct, in any case paying for your endeavor with cash you begin at now will spare you tons of money you'd finish up paying in premium on the off chance that you simply apply for an additional credit augmentation or put things on a Mastercard that you can't quickly pay off. just in case you're updating to sell your home, it's going to look great monetarily to use for an additional credit augmentation once you know there'll be an appearance on your hypothesis, and therefore the credit are going to be paid off rapidly. Regardless, taking everything under consideration, paying in veritable money is that the most ideal way.

Reuse Materials

You can reuse a touch of the items like cabinetry or a few of machines and this is often in like manner the simplest technique to place aside money, If you would like quite paint and new gear to be content together with your kitchen pantry portals, by then realize that you simply can at the present forgot an enormous amount of cash by refacing approaches to vary the design and offer, or regardless, displacing the gateways anyway leaving the organizer body during a comparable spot.

Whether or not you cannot reuse anything earlier in your space, you'll buy material and establishments from salvage yards, Habitat for Humanity ReStores, and moreover at artifact deals. Recall about buy/sell/trade locales too! Sometimes people are moving and wish to sell faultlessly fine machines quickly, otherwise you may find yourself finding a store of wood left over from someone else's endeavor.

The pursuit for salvage materials are often tons of fun and include such tons of character to your endeavor.

Include Metal Building

To give your patio space another and complete look, you'll include a metal shed. Metal Sheds are anything but difficult to introduce on a coffee spending plan. Metal Sheds are often utilized as capacity territories, garden sheds, or a play space for your children. you'll likewise include a Garage or Carport territory for your vehicle leaving.

It is suggested to attach with movers and packers in Kolkata for Home Storage Service for your assistance.

[linkbuildingfreat]

How Can Businesses Develop Their Own Inbound Links?

The last part of my 5 W's and a H article might be the most significant. There are numerous bytes of accessible web-based data connected with third party referencing methodologies. In many regards, your prosperity originates from the nature of the pertinent substance on your site. Your industry peers and effective specialists will be anxious to reference your site on the link building services in india off chance that it is an important wellspring of pertinent data and you have accomplished a fitting degree of skill. Your companions will survey your site in something very similar or comparative way as is depicted in this article. They will survey the amount and nature of inbound connections to your website pages.

Here are a few ideas that both improve the value of your site content and assist you with building inbound connections to your site.

Distribute a "How To" or a "Survey" Article Somebody in your association should get a kick out of the chance to compose! Add your article to your site and distribute it! There are numerous sites devoted to distributing articles free of charge. Many permit you to incorporate a brief bio AND a connection to your site. The Article Banks site (articlebanks.com) contains valuable data and assets connected with distributing your article on the web.

Not certain what to expound on? Begin with your most well known watchword search queries and foster a theme that your clients regularly raise. You sell GPS gadgets - investigate the two most well known makers who likewise end up being famous web look. You are a CPA-what about a "main ten" rundown of individual expense misinterpretations? Give your all to make your substance exceptional, unique, valuable and engaging.

Convert your article to PDF design that web-based guests can download and print. Talk with your web designer about adding "email to a companion" usefulness.

Post in a Significant Web-based Discussion or Newsgroup Join a web-based local area pertinent to your site and become a standard, contributing part. Try to remember your site URL for the mark region of every one of your postings.

Post in a Significant Blog? You've heard the buzz on publishing content to a blog. Your site URL can be remembered for blog commitments however be cautious here. Web search tools are increasingly more delicate to "Blog Spamming.9 Chris Genge, a contributing Web optimization writer in the article "North of 125 (Genuine) External link establishment Methodologies", expresses "Despite the fact that publishing content to a blog is extremely popular nowadays, I figure it will go the method of connection ranches not long from now, particularly if/when the SE's confirm that it is simply one more instance of spamming. We are avoiding it…."10

Distribute in an "e-zine" Probably the most well known destinations pertinent to your business might not have a connection program. Offer rather to contribute a novel point to their month to month e-zine (email bulletin). Incorporate your profile and a site page connect.

Compose a tribute or survey for a confided in item/administration Numerous organizations are anxious to distribute tributes on their site. Request to incorporate a connection back to your pertinent page.

At last, try to follow your external link establishment progress. Make a calculation sheet for this reason. You will most likely need to circle back to your connection demands. Catch subtleties including the data you entered and the date you presented your solicitation. Graciously help connect accomplices to remember their obligation to connection to your site and guide them toward the inbound connection from your site to theirs. Run your #1 connection prominence and page rank devices to screen your advancement.

End In the event that you are at all keen on driving qualified traffic to your site and in creating associations with providers of corresponding items and administrations, you ought to invest some energy finding out about website page external link establishment techniques. In this article, we talk about the who, what, when, where and how's of Web optimization site page third party referencing. Third party referencing is a lot simpler on the off chance that your site is an important wellspring of effective data and you have accomplished an elevated degree of skill.

In the "How Might Organizations Foster Their Own Inbound Connections?" part of this article, I give a few ideas intended to assist you with accomplishing that end. In any case, they say "The overlooked details are the main problem." When it comes time to deal with the most common way of requesting and adding inbound connections to your site pages, there are many subtleties that will impact the achievement or disappointment of your program. You should cautiously pick your connection accomplices and catalogs and be ready to recommend the connection page area as well as the cosmetics of the actual connection.

At last, you should be both tenacious AND patient. It's fine to purposefully manufacture connections and fabricate a local area with free sites. Yet, there is developing proof that external link establishment in an "unnatural" way will impede your web crawler perceivability and nullify your endeavors. In this way, be cautious out there.

[kirby-the-gorb]

one last reminder about stickers (now that it’s actually october) and then I promise I will hush about them until whenever I decide to make new ones!

[skylarsblue]

Michael's reaction to s/o being sarcastic.

Oh boy, first request, let's not panic-

(TW: None, I think aside from me cursing, but, I cuss in practically everything I write) Michael Myers (OG)

Michael's a bit of a deadpan humor type. And he does have humor! I remember that whole ghost-sheet incident! As silent & plain faced as he is, he finds things funny.

His type of humor often involved sarcasm, though he doesn’t speak, his body language will often have an air of sass to them. Subtle changes in his facial expression that portray this.

Your sarcasm, when directed at others, amuses him. The more straight faced you remain the better. It’s even better if the person you’re being sarcastic with gets genuinely angry. The longer you hold your ground, the funnier. He wants to see you destroy someone’s soul with a straight face.

Now, sarcasm directed at him, will have a 50/50 shot of making him put you in your place. Something small and playful won’t bother him, but if you start bossing him around, acting like a brat (or his definition of one), he will make sure you remember he’s in charge.

With a sigh you wrapped Michael’s hand, carefully holding the gauze pad over his busted knuckles. Trying to ensure it wasn’t tied too tightly. “You’re gonna lose your fingers someday, you know that?” You muttered, knowing he wouldn’t respond. Michael stared silently as you snipped the end of the bandages, using some sports tape to keep the edge down. You used your teeth to tear open a bandaid, reaching to his jaw, gently pressing the adhesive strip on a small cut. His mask wasn’t fully off. He hadn’t gotten to that point of trust yet. He’d taken it off before, but he’d never leave it off, even when sleeping. Thankfully, you never pressured him, so he didn’t grow upset. You tossed the trash into the bin beside the sink and looked him in the eyes. “You gonna try and be more careful this time?” Michael did nothing to give you a response. You let out a scoff-mixed-laugh, rolling your eyes. “Thank you, Mikey. Your words speak so much, so poetic, really. Quite the encyclopedia!” You spoke, a small smile present. “Hey!” Michael flicked your forehead with his large hand. You rubbed the space with a pout. “Rude.” He let out an amused breath from his nose at your complaints.

Peepaw Myers (Halloween Kills)

Now this Michael is less lenient. He’s old. He has no patience anymore. He doesn’t need some young person being a little shit, expecting to get away with it. He is the Haddonfield Boogeyman! You do not sass Mr.Myers!

Unless you’re sassing someone else. Then he’ll just be amused. He doesn’t like when people interact with you, but, in order to afford all the supplies you use to patch him up, you need to be a member of society. He knows this. He doesn’t like it though.

Watching you get someone riled up while working customer service satisfies a want for mischief he has. An inner child somewhere in that dark, old soul is giggling away as you put a Karen in her place.

Being sarcastic with him will always get you punished though. Sometimes it’s a small warning. A low, quiet noise(a hum or growl). A change in his gaze. A small pinch on the ass. But, if you keep it up, he will bring out the brat tamer. Now, if that’s something sexual between you two, is up to you.

This Michael is roughest. He will not hesitate to grab at your throat after pinning you to a wall, leaning close and staring through your soul until you apologize for your insolence. He’ll smack you on the ass too, hard, it’ll probably leave a mark. And if it’s a kink thing? Bro, your legs are gonna be useless for a week.

You washed Michael’s most recently used knife in the sink. At this point, the blood washing down the drain had become a blur. You zoned out as you mechanically cleaned the blade of death & finger prints, trying to make it sanitary for kitchen use again. Michael was eating currently. Sat at his usual spot at the kitchen island. You’d called off work today, a few days in advance, wanting to make it a four day weekend. Things had gotten a bit stressful since October was nearing. Michael always got a bit antsy around the end of November, you wanted the bit of peace you could before shit hit the fan. You jolted when the phone that was mounted on the wall began ringing, thankfully not cutting yourself on the blade. You set it down, patting your hands dry before you walked over. Thinking nothing of it, really. Most people didn’t call the home phone, you were prepared to tell a solicitor to fuck off or whatever necessary. Michael’s gaze in your back felt familiar.

“Hello?” You answered, placing the phone to your ear. Your manager’s voice came through the speaker, making your ears hurt. He was a prick, really. “I need you to come in today.” He said. You turned the phone on speaker and leaned against the kitchen wall. “I already told you I’m taking this day off. You had half a week of warning.” You replied. Of course, the poor excuse of management then began rambling about how they were short staffed, how it was your duty to come in. You’d wanted to quit this job for a while, especially with a new position at a different location already being processed. Michael watched as your patience drained.

“Oh. My. God! You mean to tell me the lunch rush is difficult?! Oh what an absolute shock! I can’t believe you actually have to get off your ass and help your staff, what a travesty! Oh whoa is me, I have to do my job!” You spoke, voice dripping with a fake sympathy, absolutely mocking him. “Tell you what, Keith! How about you complain to your mom, because I’m sure she’d love to hear about what a little whiny bitch you are. I told you I’m taking today off! Whatever happens there, today, the day I’m off? Not my issue. Now excuse me,” you looked at Michael as a smile graced your face. “I think I will be making brownies. Buh bye!” Michael visibly perked up at the mention of chocolate. You chuckled. “I just got fired for sure. Oh well, you wanted to stab him anyway, didn’t you?” You asked. Michael sighed and you chuckled. “Just try not to track his blood in the house, will ya?”

Michael Myers (Rob Zombie)

This Michael appreciates your sarcasm the most. Even when it’s directed at him, most of the time, it amuses him. Because he has the same demeanor! Especially when he was younger. A blond ball of sassy angst.

Watching you be sarcastic with others is his favorite pastime when stalking you. The meaner you are, the more likely you are to actually get him to smile, at least on the inside.

Being sarcastic with him will essentially start a sass battle. It’s strange how much he can convey when he’s silent and stoic, but it really comes through. It’ll cause a back & forth that’s seemingly one sided. But you know Michael, it’s very much a two sided “argument”.

The more playful you get with it, the better. He enjoys it. If anyone of the Michael’s has an inner child that’s hurt? It’s this one, and he often enjoys when you can bring that side out of him, as long as you two are alone in your home. So play with him a bit. As long as you’re careful at what you poke fun at, he’s all for it, he finds it fun.

You rubbed your face as the woman complained about the costumes available in the Halloween store. This job was temporary, a simple part time second job to help pay for a newly purchased car that you finally managed to get. Still, retail was hell. This was why. You looked around as the woman continued her rant, eyes landing on a large figure barely poking out from behind a large yard decoration. It took everything in your body not to snicker. Michael somehow blended in perfectly amongst the haunted robots, like he was part of the merchandise. You knew he’d followed you that day, you’d been complaining about your job, and he wanted to ensure no one needed to be…taught a lesson, for lack of a better term. Now he saw what you were complaining about. Michael would’ve complained too, if he was in your position. He internally smiled when he saw your eyes roll back into your skull, a dramatic showing of your loss of patience.

“Are you even listening?!” The woman exclaimed. Her voice was scratchy and high pitched, like running knifes on a glass pane. Your gaze fell back to her. Blank facial expression, tired eyes. “Not really, no. Look ma’am, if you don’t like those costumes, don’t buy’em.” You shrugged. The woman let out a scoff. “My daughter wants to be an angel, I checked every angel costume you have, they’re all so, so, disgusting!” Your sigh held nothing but exhaustion. Michael listened intently as you leaned a bit on the counter. “My apologies ma’am, I am so sorry for the inconvenience…” “Thank you! Now, will you p-“

“Of me not giving a single fuck what you wanna complain about. I am so sorry that your POOR CHRISTIAN EYES have been subjected to cheap fabric costumes that show SKIN! God forbid your teenage daughter expose her LEGS! Oh! The smallest hint of shoulder and she’ll be called the town whore! I completely understand and sympathize. What can I do to get you to shut the fuck up and leave? Might I offer you to bring my coworker over so we can assist in taking Judas’ walking stick out of your poor holy-southern ass? Perhaps we can tell you where the nearest church is, so you may get on your knees and suck Jesus’ dick in hopes to cleanse your soul of this twenty buck FILTH of a costume!”

Her face was pure mortification. Jaw dropped low, eyes full of shock and disgust. It was glorious. Utterly beautiful. And your outburst managed to pull a silent chuckle from the stone-cold killer, Michael Audrey Myers. You leaned on the counter. “Now, you wanna get your daughter an angel costume or are we gonna have this problem again?” The woman let out a noise of offense. “I will never come back here ever again!” “Thank. Fuck.” You spat. The woman promptly left, storming off with her cheeks burning red with rage. You sighed and hid your face in your hands, groaning in exhaustion until the sound of something being placed on the counter made you look up. You huffed a small laugh. “Will that be all for you sir?” You asked as you scanned the Halloween candy. Michael held out three dollars, crumpled badly from his pocket. The three dollars you’d found missing from your purse. It was two dollars short but you put it in the cash register anyway. “Enjoy your candy, and I like your mask.” You replied with a smile, knowing the cameras would only make this seem like an avid Halloween fan buying candy. You leaned closer to whisper. “I get off in fifteen minutes. If you want, head home and cover the living room in blankets. I wanna binge pizza and horror movies.” You said. Michael’s pupils grew wide as he grabbed the candy and went to leave. You chuckled again and placed your chin in your palm, watching the clock, hoping fifteen minutes would go by faster.

[otp-holic]

Will this be the night? (ALSO IN A03)

A random piece of online advertising unleashes some movie memories of a Summer afternoon in 1932

1.5 Ks Fanfic + Pictures Inside. Part of the Never let us lose what we have gained series (AO3) Silly drabble born from my love of classic movies... that ended up not having anything to do with classic movies.

BROOKLYN'S KING'S THEATRE

Poster for Cary Grant's Retrospective. Printed paper 2025.

A poster for the upcoming month long celebration of the movies of Cary Grant to be held in Brooklyn.

Bucky is not expecting a vivid memory of the past to jump at him from a piece of online location-targeted promotion popping on his phone as he and Steve are wandering around the neighborhood on a random Friday.

But the 21st century works in mysterious ways and Google is kindly inviting him to check “Cary Grant: A Celebration”, a month-long chronological retrospective of all his movies taking place at a nearby hipster cinema starting… in half an hour.

He beams as a long string of memories of the both of them in different afternoons and movies plays in his head; how they counted the cents for the admission price, and how Bucky learned to sneak into the movie every time that did not add up to two full tickets.

“Buck, you’ve been smiling at your phone in silence for a whole minute,” Steve interrupts his daydreaming. “Should I be jealous? Worried?”

“Sorry,” he answers, still smiling about the memories. “I think I’m leaving you for Google, they see inside my one hundred years old soul; But I might give you another chance if you don’t mind a change of plans for the afternoon.”

“Lead the way, but can you give me some heads up?” Steve chuckles, more than used to Bucky’s ways.

He takes Steve’s hand to direct them towards the movie theatre and thinks about how much information he wants to share.

Although he is the one who still relies on the comfort of 30s and 40s movies whereas Steve keeps getting bolder with his options, Steve has always loved Cary Grant and Bucky thinks he’s going to appreciate his choice since this particular movie has a history (sad history, maybe) for them, so he debates on whether to tell him or not.

“We are going to the movies. But the real ones, not that shit on Netflix you keep choosing,” he settles for half-disclosure.

“Damn, mister life in black and white strikes again. Embrace the 21st century, Barnes, I think you’ll like it!”, Steve laughs.

“Hey, I embrace it more than you do! At least I look the part of a mid-thirties man from it instead of a fifty-year-old hiding in fucking khakis. Albeit a very hot one, I’ll give you that.”

They both laugh. It’s not the first time these remarks fly between them and having a routine, running jokes, and running pet peeves is very soothing after everything they have gone through.

They’re getting closer to the cinema now, and Bucky can already see the Billboard announcing the retrospective and a small queue forming upfront. He takes a side look at Steve to see if he has noticed and he can certainly tell that his curiosity has peaked.

“Surprise! Call it a win-win, it might be up my alley, but you used to love Cary Grant movies,” Bucky smiles as they reach their place in the queue and glance at the program for the afternoon.

‘This is the Night (1932)’, the poster says, ‘Cary Grant's feature film debut on the big screen’

Bucky is deep in nostalgia, remembering a summer day of 32 when they were waiting in line for the same film and how the evening turned out, but when he looks in search of his partner’s reaction, it’s not what he expected at all.

“Steve, you ok?” he asks, worried at seeing Steve frozen in place.

Steve nods. His whole face is deep red, but at least he is responsive. He looks ashamed and Bucky is shifting from worried to curious.

“Jesus, this movie,…” he chuckles now.

“You seem to remember, then. I thought you might.”

It was not a happy memory: Steve had felt really ill halfway through, looking white as a sheet of paper and about to die on Bucky. They had to leave the unfinished movie and run home, as per Steve’s request. But as far as Bucky remembers, nothing to be ashamed of.

“Why are you acting weird? Oh my god, Steven, are you allergic to this movie?”

The silence before Steve answers is a little too long and the queue moves forward.

“Shit, this is not easy to say and I’m sorry in advance.”

“Duly noted, but could you try to explain? I’m lost and I didn’t expect a full-on confession of something to be sorry about when I decided to follow Google’s intelligent advice to an unfinished movie. I just thought it was a good excuse for a change of plans. And kind of closure.”

Steve takes a breath and starts talking.

“I wasn’t honest with you, Buck. Back then…” he stops, searching for words, nervously musing on his beard. “Ah, I cannot believe this hasn’t come up at some point, but there it goes. I absolutely lied to you that day: I wasn’t sick or half dying and I am very very guilty of using my poor health to run away from that place and that movie, but I did the only thingI could think of.”

Bucky is at a loss for words, he’s still deciding if he is angry, curious, or somewhere in between.

“But… but you were feverish and white as a ghost and you said you had palpitations!”

Steve seems to think for a moment again and the bastard laughs so loud they get a curious look from the people behind. And taking advantage of the queue moving up again, he gets really really close to Bucky who honestly thinks he’s going to try to kiss himself out of the situation since it’s a bulletproof strategy.

But he doesn’t: He goes for Bucky’s ear instead, and whispers.

“I had a boner like you wouldn’t believe.”

Bucky gasps loudly totally taken aback while Steve takes a step back and looks at him in the eye more amused and hungry than ashamed, but still blushing.

“But hey, not all lies! I was somehow sick. And pale since my blood was… otherwise occupied. And I was barely 14!”

Bucky laughs at the dork. His dork. But the information is still making its way into his brain.

“Oh my God,” he exclaims as it starts to settle, “You piece of shit, you pulled the poor sick child card when you were just plain horny. I was worried to my bones as we run to your home. Shame on you Rogers!”

“Me? It was your fucking fault! Yours and Cary Grant’s and your stupid grins and stupid chins, those clefts!” he’s screaming in whispers so Steve Rogers’ teenage boner doesn’t make it to the news, but he’s talking as if he was pronouncing an important speech to the UN, “What was a 14-year-old in the fucking 30s popping one upon seeing an actor who kind of looked like a very tall version of his very male best friend to do?”

He is about to say something, but Steve literally covers his mouth with one hand giving Bucky no other option but to stick his tongue and lick the palm.

“Gross, Buck. I’m not done!”, he dries his hand on Buckys’ shirt before he goes on. “I’m not done because as I was still processing all that, you kept brushing your goddamned hand with mine when you went for popcorn! Over and over and over. It was torture. I have palpitations now just thinking about it.”

Bucky full-on laughs. One of those real ones that come more and more lately and that he honestly thought he would never get to experience again.

They have reached the box office, so he doesn’t push it further. For now.

“Two tickets for `This is the Night´, please.” Bucky smiles at the box-office guy. “He is paying, tho. I paid last time we tried to see this one and he didn’t have the decency to stay until the end.”

He actually feels like a teen as Steve takes his hand into the theatre, as he very intentionally buys popcorn to share, and as they start full-on making out on their seats during the commercials once the lights are out.

“Wanna know another secret, Buck?” Steve whispers a few minutes later, eyes on the starting movie as he brushes Bucky’s hand with intention over the popcorn bucket. His flustered face and recently kissed lips bathed by dancing lights and shadows coming from the screen. “It’s a good thing we were already together in ‘38 when “Bringing up baby” came out because I was able to plan ahead and lure you into that memorable window fuck at our old apartment before the show, or we would have totally missed one of our favorite movies, too.”

Bucky hates Steve with the force of the universe. Or maybe not, but he’s not playing clean.

“Raincheck on the movie?” he manages to whisper back as he drives Steve’s hand to his already noticeable hard-on. Two can play this game.

“Oh, poor Buck. Do you have palpitations” Steve chuckles, lips wet on Bucky’s ear and gripping harder on his bulge instead of letting go. “Was that the memory of the window fuck? Or all the making out? Tell me so I don’t do it again.”

“You are a punk, Steve Rogers,” Bucky answers before standing up to leave, closely followed by a smiling Steve.

Argh, sorry for deleting and uploading again, but i had technical issues with this.... so here it goes again. I need to free myself from this one!