#and lately it overheats when i use an app too

[spaceprincessleia]

My phone needs to make it through two more days before the new one arrives, but it's critical. Pray for me please.

[rosetherat]

Doodles soo many doodles I’m mentally unwell I’m going to skin myself alive or something but how would you even do that like that doesn’t make sense I mean you could but could you really I don’t believe it I’d have to call a friend for help probably anyway enough about my weekend plans It’s like doodly doodles this time cause im like who’s that composer guy with the wig whoever he was im him but for art im like Jesus one of these days im gonna walk outside and the people will throw stones at me and I’ll go hey don’t do that and walk back inside because im smart and know they would never enter my house without me letting them in because they are polite okay moving on it’s monkey time ladies list your favourite monkey species below I’m being interactive see im interacting with you all isn’t this nice I still don’t know how this app works how do I reply to people when they say stuff about me do I just not or what what’s the social etiquette here still autistic no social skills this place is hell for me that’s why I only come on to post art and then like leave straight away I don’t even have notifs on for this thing I don’t like it it’s too scary okay moving on again did I already talk about monkeys probably is anyone even still reading r my two followers seeing this what’s that song where it’s like and it was all yellow yellows my favourite colour okay maybe pink is my favourite colour yeah yeah I love pink my whole room is pink I look at pink and I go yay! I’m like that hippo from fnaf he’s my number one kin now what’s a kin does rhat mean he’s my kid or what anyway I’m him now I’m a rambler I’m a rambling man I’m CRAZZAY it’s my Uber autism Uber speaking of happy late lesbian day I’m like the ultimate lesbian I’m the final boss probably maybe not I’m like a secret boss that you have to look up where to find me and it’s never worth it anyway can we go back to the doodle go back scroll up and look at it again and think wow what a doodle rat that’s a doodle alright why did I name myself rat why did I do that to myself okay it’s cause people used to call me a rat but I said no no no this is clearly not a being mean thing this is a cute endearing thing like a nickname because rats r cute so I embraced it because social cues don’t exist to me and If I wanna be a rat then dude, get me in a sewer or something let me scuttle around notice how I’m still going that’s called being unmedicated my brain goes faster than the speed of light I’m thinking about a minimum of ten things at the same time rn it sucks if any doctors r around and would like to shorten my waiting list wait so I could be medicated that’d be helpful I’ve been waiting like four years at this point how does it take four years for you to go hey here’s the medication you need like is it that hard wish I was a monkey they don’t get medicated they don’t have the technology for that GET ME OUT KF HEREE anyway bye bye my babas I just realised it’s 4:20 rn and I think that’s funny so I must fall asleep immediately so I fall asleep at the funny number this is the part where u tuck me in and give me a little kiss on the forehead warning I sleep with ten blankets and like three of them r weighted so you will have trouble tucking me in I can’t help it I’m like a little bear I like being warm if I had a cat or something I wouldn’t have to do this I want a cat so bad btw I need a little guy who will curl up on my chest and go meow at me to remind me of who I am WAKE ME UP WAKE ME UP INSIDEEE that’s me if I was emo okay I should wait another thing don’t forget the hot water bottle I sleep with like two hot water bottles you might be thinking how do you not overheat with ten blankets and two hot water bottles and the answer is I’m simply better than you also I’m always cold my body I can’t regulate my temperature it sucks im just so cold. Omg arg refrence the cold guy Ermm did you say guy? PURPLE GUY hor hor hor hor hor I love fnaf this is why I stick to twt they have a short word limit if they didn’t have that I’d be making whole novels this is just white noise omg channel referen

Oh my god I can still type this is like Christmas for me know that I never shut up is anyone still here if you make it through reply with like idk apples and I’ll send u my credit card information just kidding aha! I don’t use those because I’m paranoid the government can track me with them it’s all paper money for me teehee if I was a monkey I’d hope to be a proboscis monkey did you know they regurgitate their food and chew their cud that’s so dreamy majestic even wish I did that sadly I am just a little human lad anyway this time I’m really going im leaving I think Charlie’s ending stream so I have no more reason to be awake enjoy the art in the meantime my eyes hurt I’ve been sick for over a month is that normal I get headaches like every day and my eyes r always dry my nose is like an Olympic runner at this point that thing does not stop and as I am sick I deserve rest and like onion rings oh you don’t even know about the onion rings I’m eating on like an average 20 onion rings a day I can’t stop I can’t even help it it’s my autism taste buds I eat the same thing for like 2 months and then never wanna touch it again for like a year I can’t help it GUINEA PIGS I wish I had one I’d let it lay on my chest and go hello little guy this is why I need a cat that will cuddle with me I need it right now get me one someone assign a cat to me I need it to crawl through my window one day and refuse to leave how would a cat even get through my window they can’t climb that high okay he just ended tbis means I can leave now please look at the art it’s not even art it’s a doodle anyway goodbye

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A wish for a different life - Adrien AUGreste Day 6

Longer and late but I didn't have a great mental day so it took a while to get to my laptop. But I think this has a few more obvious hints as to who Scarlet Bug and Catseye are. Hope you enjoy.

Masks

“Si, si.” Adrien listened to his mother talk on the phone as she rushed around getting ready. Ever since Syren, work had been busier than usual for his mom. He guessed when Hawkmoth in turn created Paris into Italy’s eventual future, that put an even bigger target on him as a threat. He wondered if Hawkmoth even seemed to care. Adrien knew that Scarlet Bug had this ability – Miraculous Reset according to Alya – that fixed any damage created from the akuma. But what if there was a situation where they couldn’t use it? What then? His mom was working with everyone else to offer solutions and help so plans were in place in case something happened. It did mean that she’d be spending her day inside, when the biggest music festival in France was taking place. “Adrien, have you seen-?”

Adrien picked up the Spirited Away clear file and held it over his head. “In the kitchen.”

“Gratzi caro. Si, si, gratzi.” His mother continued, taking the file and pressing her cheek against his.

His mother moved like a whirlwind making him feel like he wasn’t doing anything at all as he ate breakfast and did his daily language lesson on his phone. He was brushing up on his Chinese, meeting Marinette’s mother making him wanting to get better when he realised that her Shanghai dialect made it a bit hard to understand at times, but he was more than willing to learn. She’d pointed him in the direction of the app she suggested for Marinette to practise with.

“Oddio. Adrien, do you know where I put-?”

He pointed back to where her room was. “Probably left it in the bathroom if you picked it up after waking up.”

Thankfully, while wild and crazy in appearance, this was something Adrien was used to. He looked at the time and realised they were both going to have to leave soon. His mom offered to drop him off at the boathouse and Adrien didn’t feel like testing the metro during a citywide music festival. He stuffed the last of his breakfast in his mouth, washing the plate off and sticking it into the dishwasher. He quickly brushed his teeth, looking over his oversized hoodie and cuffed jeans, hoping he didn’t overheat while helping the band get ready. Rose had also mentioned they might need a keyboard player and jumped at the chance when Adrien mentioned he played. He’d have to make sure that he bugged Rose for sheet music when he got there. He’d just spit out the mouthwash and washed his mouth again to get rid of the stinging taste when his mother called for him. He grabbed his bag, pushing his wide brim hat on his head and followed his mother out the door.

He moved her away from walls she could crash into all the way from the elevator and to the embassy car. She was focused on whatever emails she had as Adrien gave the address to the driver and finished his own language lesson. Eventually, the car pulled up as far as it could go to where Adrien could see the houseboat in its full glory, just as Juleka described. Finally, his mother looked up.

“Have a great time caro. Make sure to have your friends record if you play alright?” she pressed a kiss onto his cheek and he felt her lipstick leave a mark. “Love you.”

“Love you too. Good luck in your meetings!” he got out and waved to his mother as the car pulled back into traffic and left.

The Couffaine houseboat was a massive barge. It was colourful and loud and the mess on the deck reflected that. The makeshift stage was already set, most pieces being put into place by Ivan under Rose’s orders while Juleka set up the technical parts of it.

“You’re here!” Nino cried from the ladder he was on. He seemed to be stringing bunting across the metal stands around the stage. Just across it was a covered area that reminded Adrien of the Floral Hall at London’s Royal Opera house, with the plexiglass covering and antique looking seating. He could just see the front of the helm over the roof of the sitting area. “Nice mark.”

Adrien then remembered the kiss on his cheek. “Mama dropped me off. I hope I didn’t miss much.”

“Not much. Thanks to Ivan’s muscles, almost every instrument is in place and Juleka is like a ninja with how fast she’s putting the stuff in place. Marinette did try cleaning though and we got to meet Mml. Couffaine. Juleka is quite and I don’t know her brother but there mom?” he nodded to the energetic woman who was lecturing Marinette on how chaos created creativity. A bit odd in terms of living, but who was Adrien to judge?

“And who’s this buccaneer?”

“Sorry I didn’t ask for permission to board. I’m Adrien. I’m kinda new in your daughter’s class.”

Her blue eyes sparkling mischievously, Mml. Couffaine asked, “learn that from Pirates of the Caribbean?”

“Captain Jack Sparrow is a god and his lessons don’t cost a buck-an-ear.” Adrien said, ignoring his friends groans as he gave the Couffaine mother finger guns. She found it hilarious though.

“Luka mentioned you’ve got jokes. Pleasure to finally met the boy my kids can’t stop talking about. Speaking of, mind grabbing him? Looks like set up is almost done.”

“Of course. Just point me in the direction.”

“Through the lounge and into the lower deck of the ship. He’ll be in his cabin. And the name’s Captain Anarka. None of the mademoiselle stuff.”

“Yes Captain.”

He took in the bright and welcoming open concept kitchen as he headed down the hallway, jumping slightly when he realised that Luka’s cabin was actually shared with Juleka. The room was split in two, Juleka’s side darker to fit her style while Luka’s, other than the posters to Jagged Stone, looked a bit bare. It was clear that music was the main focus with the guitar pick display and amp that acted as a bedside table to a half-eaten plate of cookies. Luka sat cross-legged on his bed, meditating. He seemed focused that Adrien didn’t want to interrupt.

“I can feel you staring.” Luka said, his eyes still closed and his voice low.

“I didn’t want to bother you.”

Luka opened his eyes, the same blue his mother had but with hints of green focused on him. “You could never be. I’m glad you came.” He picked up his guitar, resting it on his lap as he patted the now empty space for Adrien to sit. “you’ve got something in your heart though.” He started to play a melody on his guitar. Adrien felt his eyes widen as the music spoke to him, about him, speaking about his mild anger that his mom was once again busy, the sadness of missing his mom, the spark of happiness he held onto to remind himself she was helping people and the mild selfishness of wanting to smuggle his mother away just for a while. Luka once told him he felt like he was better with music than he was with words. He had no clue this is what he meant.

“Wow,” he breathed as the last set of notes faded. “That was, how did you do that?”

“Music tends to be clearer than words. I’m sure you’ve heard about Juleka’s ‘curse’? about not getting her picture taken? It was never a curse, at least not to me, just bad luck. I like to think that our mom’s chaos gave us extra, I don’t know, charms? I’m an empath, always been affected by strong emotions. You should have seen me when I was younger before my mom was able to get answers. I was probably the worst behaved kid. But music, it’s always been that one thing to calm me down and help me feel cantered.”

“Wow. I mean, I’ve always like playing piano but that was mostly because my dad taught me and we like playing together. I never knew it could have such an affect on people.” Adrien admitted, wondering if that’s why his dad was so insistent that he should learn how to play an instrument, to be an outlet to his feelings. it made sense, a lot of their deeper talks took place on the piano bench.

“You’d be surprised. That’s why I like Jagged Stone.” He nods his head to the poster with the pick display underneath. “He’s mentioned in interviews that his music shows his emotions. That he can get people to understand how he’s feeling through just a few notes. How do you let your mom know how you feel?

Adrien felt his face turn red. “I still keep it quiet, but I did talk to her. I just still feel selfish bugging her about this.” Luka raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that made him sigh. “But it’s not selfish to let my mom know how I feel. I know. I did tell her, I promise. This project she’s working on now is really important so she can’t take off just for me, but she knows how I feel and tries to do little things to make it better.”

“That’s why my mom lives on chaos. If we can’t be truthful and forthcoming in this madness, when can we be to our parents? Here.” Luka got up, sliding his guitar over his shoulder and chose one of the picks and handed it to Adrien. “Whenever you want to talk to your mom but feel like you shouldn’t, just try and remember there are other ways you can talk to her.”

Adrien’s thumb brushed over the treble clef heart before looking at Luka’s calming smile. “I’ll try.”

“That’s the best we can hope for. So, did you just come to say hi?”

“And tell you everyone is ready for rehearsal. I still don’t know if you guys wanted me to join.”

“I’d be extremely happy if you did, but Rose is the one who’s got the vibe in mind. Don’t worry, you’re still considered a member of Kitty Section.” Luka said, a gentle hand on Adrien’s back leading them both back upstairs. “Besides, it might be better for your ears.”

Adrien felt confused at the comment but joined the others and Mylene, who he somehow missed. He watched Captain stand behind a whole sound system that looked like it belonged in a music studio while her children ran through scales to make sure they were in tune.

“You two took a while to come back.” Alya said, raising a teasing eyebrow at Adrien.

He leaned around her and gave Nino an unimpressed look as the DJ shrugged. He only told Nino about his crush on Luka because he didn’t want Marinette to feel awkward since she had just gotten over his crush on him. He should have remembered Nino was incapable of keeping a secret from his girlfriend. She was stubborn and unwilling to give up when she thought someone was hiding something.

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“Gentleman my ass. You are a sunshine gremlin and you know it.”

Adrien stuck his tongue out as the Captain spoke up. “Alright mateys! Hold on to your tricorns! Whenever you’re ready Luka.”

Adrien then realised that Luka was standing next to something tall covered with a sheet. With a yank, it was revealed to be a large speaker. He became concerned when Luka plugged his guitar into it and even more when Mylene handed them all earplugs.

“You’re going to need these. Trust me.”

She was extremely right. One strum had the whole boat shaking and the soundwave seemed to echo through the whole city. Adrien and Nino struggled to keep their hats on, everyone feeling like they’d been dropped in the middle of the electric guitar as it played around them. it was clear the noise was nothing new as no one except him, Nino, Alya and Marinette seemed surprised. What was new was the appearance of police helicopters, boats and one car containing a very rule heavy and annoyed Agent Roger.

“Are you crazy Mml. Anarka? You are at 160 dB, ten times the sound of a plane taking off! You need to play something else!” he screamed into his megaphone.

Not one to be outdone by the noise, Anarka took her own radio that was attached to the PA system. “Might I remind you this is a Music Festival Agent Roger?” Something told Adrien they got visited by the police often. “My crew can play whatever they want.”

The argument quickly went from how loud the music was to the legality of where the Liberty was docked. When the tickets started to rain and Anarka’s temper started to rise, Adrien decided to step in. what use was diplomatic immunity if he didn’t use it for good reasons?

“Officer Roger, was it? You do realise for all your spouting about rules needing to be followed, that you’re abusing your power, right? A ticket for the decorations? On a barge that’s private property?”

“And who are you?”

“Adrien Rossi. My mother is a diplomate from Italy and I’m sure the Italian Embassy would love to hear that your harassing one of their citizens unjustly.”

“Are you threatening me? I can have you arrested!” Agent Roger threatened, though Adrien wasn’t bothered.

“Diplomatic immunity. You can’t. and you can be upset about the noise but not about everything else.”

“I am the law! I can do whatever I please. Including giving tickets for the Captain’s attitude, my seasickness and just because I feel like it!”

Adrien was starting to get annoyed with the officer. He was ready to start an argument, maybe even threaten to get his mother on the phone when Agent Roger turned and ordered the officers to disperse. He threatened to have the Liberty removed if the volume wasn’t turned down as he climbed back into his car. He watched the Captain storm off to the haul and looked at his friends.

“What is his problem? He can’t give half those tickets he just gave.”

“Agent Roger just has a kinda twisted sense of justice. He believes in innocent until proven guilty, but he tends to take it way too far. Probably doesn’t help that he works directly for the Mayor, since Sabrina and Chloe are friends.” Mylene explained.

“That’s Sabrina’s dad? Jez, I know she’s a bit timid but no wonder if she hangs out with Chloe and her dad all the time.”

“She can be devious when she wants.” Juleka said, looking over at the haul. “We should probably check on our maman though.”

Before she could move though, a black bubbling rose from the haul and started to cover the whole ship.

“Akumatization!” Alya called.

“Maman!” Juleka and Luka called.

Before they knew it, the Liberty had been turned into a punk rock pirate ship and their mother now stood before them in fitting attire and hair.

“Hoist the mainsail and cast off mateys! There’s piracy in the air! I am Captain Hardrock and today Paris shall tremble under the fire of my cannons. Soon there will be only one concert, one Music Festival. Gather up your instruments and turn up the decibels! All hands-on deck!”

“Maman, stop it! Don’t ruin the festival like this.” Luka called.

“We won’t play under these conditions!” Ivan yelled.

“A mutiny? Your very last! Liberty, capture those rats and send them to the hold!”

Iron chains seemed to shoot out from nowhere and tied them all up. Adrien groaned as he was tied together with the Couffaine children and the others in pairs. He let out a scream as the floor beneath them dropped and they all went rolling down. where they were dropped dimmed in light as the floor closed back up, leaving them all groaning in pain.

“Marinette, you’re squishing me.” Rose cried, muffled on her front.

It took a bit of finagling but they were all about to sit themselves up, their chains wouldn’t budge. Not even Ivan was able to rip his open when he managed to grab it, leaving him to just hold Mylene’s hand.

“The city would have been alerted.” Alya said out loud, though with how shaky her voice sounded, it was probably to distract herself. “That means Scarlet Bug and Catseye can’t be far.”

“How much you wanna bet Agent Roger will still try to arrest maman?” Luka asked, grabbing at the lock.

“Wouldn’t be the first time he’s tried arresting an Akuma. You’d think he’d learn by now.” Juleka said.

“Arrest an Akuma? Oddio, what is wrong with you French people?” Adrien asked, surprised at how calm Luka and Juleka seemed.

“Guess we’re just bred different. Got it!” the chains around them loosened as the lock was undone and taken off.

“How did you do that?” Adrien asked as they shook off the chains and stood up.

Luka held up the guitar pick he’d been using earlier. “Has more than one use.”

Adrien let out a stunned laugh, “You are some magician. How did you even manage to get that in your hand and unlock the lock?”

“Excuse me? We’d all like to know as we’re still tied up here.” Nino called from over Alya’s shoulder.

The sound of Hardrock’s laughter echoed with her footsteps as she came downstairs.

“She’s coming down! you guys need to go!” Marinette called.

“We’ll get you out soon, promise. Come on.” Juleka led the three of them through one of the doors as the one opposite them opened.

The rest of the captives flinched at the glowing red of Hardrock’s sword and even more when she started kicking at the door. When it burst open, they heard Adrien calling, “Quick you two, go!”

“Capture him!”

Adrien struggled as he was dragged out of the room in new chains, Capitan Hardrock storming back above deck.

“Where’s Luka and Juleka?” Rose whispered.

“Hiding. She thought they got off the ship. They might be able to actually get off and let Scarlet Bug and Catseye know what’s going on.”

They all listened to the sounds of cannon fire and accompanying high pitched sounds. There was even at one point, sounds of police boats, just like the siblings had said would happen.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the akuma plants itself onto something right? Like a messed up Youma from Sailor Moon.” Adrien asked. “So where could this akuma of planted itself?”

“She was in the haul. Could it have been the tickets?” Rose asked.

“But what about the ship listening to her every command?” Nino questioned.

“It could be like Fang? Jagged Stone’s alligator who got akumatized with him.” Ivan pointed out.

“Unless, it’s the ship itself. Like Rose said, Captain Anarka was in the haul when this happened.”

“Oh! I just remembered! I had been putting back the things I cleaned up. The compass started going crazy because I put a metal statue on top of it. If the ship only listens to her, what if it got confused?” Marinette asked.

The sounds of more footsteps and Hardrock’s cries echoed down into the hold before the sound of a door and rushing footsteps got closer and a person in red and black appeared.

“Scarlet Bug!”

Adrien took a moment to take in the hero in person. He’d only seen pictures and that one time they’d landed on the roof across from the Embassy so he took in every detail. From the black boots the red spotted suit was tucked into and the hooded jacket that covered the top half. Red hair peeked out from the pulled-up hood and red mask framed bright blue eyes. The red thing Adrien had noticed before was a yoyo as they spun it and launched it at all of them, breaking the chains. Adrien pushed himself up as a hand appeared in front of him. Looking up, he saw Scarlet Bug staring down at him, holding his hat.

“I know the people in the room, but I don’t think I know you.” the hero said, pulling Adrien up onto his feet.

“Adrien. I’m Adrien.”

Scarlet Bug placed the hat back on Adrien’s head, pulling it just enough for it to stay. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Adrien.” The blue eyes sparkled like they hid a secret.

“You too. Um, Luka and Juleka. They…” why was he so flustered by Scarlet Bug?

“Safe. They managed to get off and warn us. It looks like the barge is hard to damage. I need to get back out of there but we need to get you all off first before we can really do damage.”

“Oh, we think the akumatized item is the boat itself! Also, the compass gets messed up with metal!” Rose cried.

“Got it.”

“Scarlet!” a female voice cried. “A little help please!

“Crap. Ok, I might not be able to get you out, but I want you ready to move when I give the word ok? Lucky Charm!” Adrien watched as a bike lock appeared from a cluster of glittering ladybugs. “Looks like we might get to test your theory after all.”

When Scarlet Bug rushed out to head back on deck again, it took Alya only moments before she pulled out her phone and rushed after the bug hero.

“Alya! Where are you going?” Adrien called after her.

“I haven’t gotten a fight on camera in weeks.”

“They’re going to scold you again. Get back here!” Marinette called after her best friend. “She’s gonna die one of these days. Come on.”

They reached the deck just as cannons were going off and the laser beam destroyed one of the many bridges. Hardrock’s laughter could be heard but they didn’t see Scarlet Bug or Catseye anywhere.

“Ready to fire at City Hall.”

City Hall? As in where his mother was doing her meeting with the Mayor in between his appearances on TV for the National Orchestra?

Thankfully, the heroes appeared on the massive guitar that acted at the front of the ship. Adrien noticed that Catseye’s dressed reminded him of Mew Ichigo’s dress but with attached bell sleeves. The white of the lace on the dress and the ribbon on her tail offset the black she was decked in and the green in her pigtails. Even her ears had green fur.

“There you are! The time has come for you to sink once and for all!” the chains reappeared as they aimed for the heroes, Hardrock riding one with her sword at the ready. Alya led them out onto the deck to record the two heroes leap and catch the Akuma in the bike lock and lock her onto the compass stand. The ship started to move sporadically as Hardrock yelled at them to get away from the compass.

“Alya Césaire! I can’t believe you brought them up here!” Catseye yelled as she and Scarlet Bug landed on the deck near them, moving seamlessly with the ship’s movement.

“Hold on!” Scarlet Bug cried as the boat headed to ramp like structure in front of a park.

Unlike the heroes, the rest of the group didn’t have much balance, mostly landing on the floor and grabbing onto the railing. Adrien stumbled over someone’s foot and harshly hit the railing as the boat was launched into the air. Without holding onto anything, he felt his body leave the boat and tumble over the railing.

“Adrien!”

“Ahh!”

Adrien shut his eyes as wind rushed past him and when something grabbed onto him, he grabbed back just as tight. He heard the sound of tightening cord before he felt whatever slow him down until he was floating. He slowly peeled his eyes open and realised he was looking at spotted fabric. He felt hair brush against his cheek as Scarlet Bug asked, “You ok?”

His voice – Adrien was guessing as the voice sounded masculine – was low but calming. He felt one arm around his waist holding them tight together. Adrien’s own voice hadn’t started working again, so he nodded.

“Cataclysm!”

“Hold on.” They started falling again and Adrien felt another arm grab his legs and pull them up so he was being princess carried as Scarlet Bug landed in a crouch, much like his cat like partner. he watched his friends all land onto the ground as the boat disintegrated, leaving Hardrock on the ground in the middle of it. “Oh no you don’t.” Leaving Adrien’s legs propped up on his own, Scarlet Bug launched his yoyo at the purple butterfly that was attempting to escape. Like something from the magical girl animes Adrien could devour, he watched the butterfly be captured before being released as a pure white one and Hardrock turn back into Anarka.

“Holy crap.” Adrien breathed in English, cringing when he realised Scarlet Bug could have understood him.

Standing him back up on his feet, Scarlet Bug fixed his hat again and gave a small bow. “It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope this experience didn’t paint us in a horrible light.”

“You just saved my life. I don’t think anything could.”

“Thank goodness for that. Cat, come on, give it a rest. I think she’s learned her lesson.” Scarlet Bug was distracted by Catseye giving a massive lecture to Alya, just as promised. Adrien watched him push his hood down, revealing the red hair with a black undertone all tied up. He was like nothing Adrien had ever seen. “Hold on everyone. Miraculous Reset!”

When the bike lock was thrown into the air, the sparkling ladybugs spirited them away back onto the Liberty, in it’s all chaos glory as well as fixing the damages done. Adrien blinked the glitter out of his eyes to watch the heroes wave and take off towards the rooftops.

This was his first time ever meeting the heroes of Paris and being directly involved in an Akuma attack. It was awesome. Scary yes, but Adrien slightly understood why Alya went chasing them.

                                               _______________

“The music is still loud for my taste, but I’ll let it slid this time. After all, this is a music festival.” Agent Roger said after testing the groups instrument volume again. “And uh, no need to involve foreign officials.”

“It would be extra work for them. thank you so much for understanding.” Adrien said, with a Cheshire like smile on his lips as he grinned from behind sheet music.

“I can’t believe you’re flexing diplomatic power.” Alya said, nudging him with her elbow.

“Alya, thanks to you, I got thrown from a ship. You don’t get to question my methods.”

“Maybe now you’ll stop running into fights?” Marinette continued.

Ayla pouted as another lecture started up, but Adrien ignored it as he focused on the sheet music. When Luka and Juleka came running back to the ship, Rose burst into tears at the thought of her girlfriend being hurt. It took time for her to stop crying and she had decided then and there that Adrien had to play with them. when he saw that they had an original ZX20.4, he’d been coerced into agreeing.

“Hey. Feeling ok?” Luka asked, pushing his guitar to rest on his back.

“You’ve asked me that three times already.”

“You were thrown out of a ship. I think I’m allowed to be worried. Even if you were saved by one of Paris’ heroes. Any different to meeting a US hero?”

“Kinda? A decent number of them are focused on bringing joy to citizens than fighting villains so there was that difference. Is it normal to get flustered around heroes?”

“Why? Does Scarlet Bug have an admirer?” Luka teased.

Adrien smacked his chest with the sheet music. “No! not like that. He’s just, I don’t know, nice. And also, way out of my league. I know I get crushes easily, but not that easily.”

“Oh? What exactly makes you attracted to a person?” Luka asked, his voice pitching lower as he leaned in.

Adrien felt his face turn red at the sudden question when Rose called for their attention.

“You can tell me later.” Luka said, winking at him and heading to the stage. It took Adrien a bit to calm down enough to follow him.

He had no business flirting like that. But all Adrien hoped, as he followed along to Rose’s screams, was that he’d be able to flirt back.

[moonnightyoongi]

puzzle piece | jk

pairing: jungkook x reader

genre: angst, angst, ANGST

word count: 1.8k

description: you just seemed to fit like a puzzle piece

                                     ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You don’t really remember where or how it started. The desire to love, to be loved. Of course, it is simply human nature, the ancient thought that when you are made you are split in two and you spend your life searching for your other half. Except in this day and age that is a thing of the past for some, they simply spend their life by themselves and they enjoy it. But where does that desire go? Surely it just doesn’t disappear – perhaps theirs gets projected onto the one that comes after them. The double desire to find and be loved. The double desire that eats away at them all night and is quickly put on the back burner during the day when they find a measly distraction. If that’s the case, then you are the one that came after. Growing up you were not deprived of love; your parents loved every bone of you, and you had a fair share of friends who would do anything to see you smile. But it all started when you hit the age of dating, everyone seemed to have it so easy, but you always went for the wrong guy or the guy who loved another or you were simply left alone in the corner of the dance while everyone slowed danced and the teachers watched with hawk eyes to make sure they didn’t get too close. No really. 9th grade, the boy who had asked you conveniently got back with his ex while you went to the toilet, and worst of all you couldn’t go cry in the toilets because you had just come out of them!

All your friends say your time will come. But it’s easy for them to tell you all the cliché things when they had met the perfect partner for them. They were happy and content, living in a world where they don’t need to think about anyone else because they had each other. No dating apps, no more awkward first dates, no more unanswered texts, no late-night cries when you receive the ‘you’re great but…’ texts. Just blissfully unaware of the hell on earth that is dating for people who don’t have it as easy as they do.

Jealousy. It’s hard not to be jealous when you go to their house warmings, or their dinner parties or that one engagement party. It’s hard. Sure, you were happy for them, because at least they weren’t feeling the hell and the social pressure to not be alone for the rest of your life. They don’t get the judgemental looks from the bitchy aunt that definitely didn’t have a rushed marriage when she was your age because she was pregnant (definitely didn’t happen – your cousin was 100% premature).

You hear about love languages and how everyone has a specific one, everyone said they knew yours from a mile away – words of affirmation. ‘You constantly need to hear that someone loves you or that they’re proud or that they haven’t changed their mind. Isn’t it tiring?’. Yes, it was extremely tiring, tiring to be constantly trying to tell yourself that you’re being foolish, and they do still love you and they are proud - yet still having the nagging feeling in the back of your mind that it’s all a lie.

“Any dates lined up?” Yuki asks as she scrolls through her phone.

You sigh and put down your drink, “No. I’m done.”

“You said that year and then met that awful dude that thought he was better than you,” Anastasia chimed in.

“He was better than me,” you reply thinking of the doctor and all his PhD’s. Sure, he was an awful person who liked to bring up just how many he had but he had every right to, he had earnt them.

“Just because he had a few pieces of paper doesn’t mean he’s better than you. You have a personality, he didn’t.” Anastasia scoffs stirring her coffee.

You shrug your shoulders as you look out the window, “He’s engaged now.”

“Poor girl,” Yuki laughs putting down her phone, “Does she have any degrees?”

Yuki and Anastasia laugh at the memory of you introducing your ex and him straight away asking if they had any sort of degree between them. Looking back, it made you feel sick to your stomach, he was so rude, and you were so desperate.

“PhD.” You reply.

“Just the one?!” Yuki exclaims, “Disgusting!”

They both laugh once more as you sat silently staring at the half empty coffee expressionless. It was easy to joke about exes when they weren’t yours.

“Listen, a new guy started at my work and he is so much like you I wanna set you two up,” Anastasia says.

“I don’t know, remember the last set up?” you point out. He was a whole foot smaller than you and at one point you had to help him reach something from the second shelf in the supermarket. Ironically, he didn’t want to meet again because you were too small.

“That was my mistake, I didn’t realise he wanted a 6ft girl,” Anastasia tells you, “Come on! He’s lovely, he’s taller than me and the other day he split coffee down himself.”

“So that means he’s perfect for me?”

“A match made,” she smiles, “Please!”

“I’d just do it; how bad could it be?” Yuki points out as you fumbled with your jumper.

“Getting shouted at in aisle 5 because you couldn’t reach the top shelf bad,” you joke. They both burst out into laughter once more as you sighed and watched the rain fall to the ground outside the coffee shop.

“Fine,” you sigh, “What’s his name?”

“Jungkook,” Anastasia smiles.

~.♥ ~

The lead up to the date was the worst, Anastasia constantly went on about how clumsy he was and how perfect you would be together – her favourite story was him walking into the glass door and simply shaking it off before going into a meeting. With every new story it bought up a sense of hope – but even you knew this was dangerous. For what one thinks is cute and endearing another finds childish and immature. What if he wasn’t as cute and as clumsy as Anastasia constantly explained – what if it was because he saw someone cute in the office and got distracted and he was now using you to make her jealous.

“Stop overthinking,” Yuki demands snapping you out of your thoughts.

“How did you-?”

“I’ve known you far too long. You’re either overthinking or over romanticising.”

You smile sadly before looking back into the mirror and applying some more blush. Maybe it was all the fairy tales growing up that made you this way, or maybe it was the tv shows. Either way they had both set you up for failure.

“Jungkook is on his way to the restaurant. It’s under my name,” Anastasia smiles walking into the room with her phone in hand, “Tae said good luck!”

“So does Jae,” Yuki smiles.

“I need it,” you mutter standing up and fixing your dress, “What do I do if he doesn’t show?”

“He’s on his way,” Anastasia sighs.

“What if he goes to the wrong restaurant?”

“They won’t seat him because my name won’t be on the list of reservations.”

“What if they don’t do reservations?” you challenge.

“You’re annoying me. He’s on his way to the right restaurant where he will give in my name and will be seated waiting for you.”

“But-,”

“Stop! Get in the taxi,” Anastasia shouts cutting you off. You drop your head as you walk down the stairs sheepishly. Anything could happen, you could arrive before him and he could look at you and change his mind. He could arrive before you and when you walk in scream and run out the back entrance. Everything was a possibility.

“Anastasia,” you smile nervously to the hostess.

“This way, your party is waiting for you,” she smiles kindly. Party? How many where here? Did Anastasia set up a conveyer belt to give you your best shot? You don’t think you could handle multiple rejections in one night.

Walking into the dining room you spotted him straight away. He was staring out the window, his leg twitching under the table – so much so he knocked over the pepper. His red face made you flutter and as you got closer the butterflies became more and more active. He was as clumsy as Anastasia had described and a lot cuter than she had as well.

“Your table,” the hostess smiles placing the menu down and walking away.

“Y/N,” Jungkook smiles standing up quickly, “I’m Jungkook!”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” you smile pulling the chair out.

“I should have pulled your chair out for you, shouldn’t I?” he wonders aloud.

“No, because if you couldn’t push it back in, I’d probably overheat with embarrassment,” you laugh pulling your chair in and hitting your hip on the table, “Fuck!”

The restaurant stares at you as you held back anymore swearing.

“Very hard table,” Jungkook jokes before they resume, “Are you okay?”

“I’ve got shivers.”

“You’ll have a bruise tomorrow,” he laughs as you finally sit down.

“I bruise so easily; my whole left side will be.”

“My friend is the same, he once caught his ankle on the door and couldn’t wear a shoe for weeks. The whole thing was swollen. He used all the ice in my freezer too,” Jungkook laughs.

“What about the ice in his freezer?”

“We live together so I guess he used all of his too,” he replied.

You laugh loudly as you opened the menu, all the anxiety had melted away when he smiled in your direction.

~.♥ ~

Days had turned into months and months had turned into a year. There was something about him that was so different from everyone you had met before. Nothing you did was ever childish or embarrassing and the same for him. You two just seemed to fit like a puzzle piece. He made you laugh, he made you feel safe, he made sure you knew he loved you. Whether it was by sending you a midday message when you were in work, or whether it was a cheesy video of him kissing the screen. He would bring ramen when you were stressed, and alcohol when it was time to celebrate. You would attend parties together and would spend all night dancing, drinking and laughing. You finally felt happy when attending engagement parties, housewarming parties and everything else that used to fill your social calendar with dread.

It’s just a shame it was all a lie.

masterlist | tell me what you think

[the-y-generation]

Not My Type (Chapter 7)

Chapter Summary: What happens when complacency starts to creep in? The two encounter a close call that sheds a light on their…arrangement.

Pairing: Jimin x Orginal Character (I personally just haven’t written in Reader format, but barely even mention the character’s name)

Genres: Slowburn, some angst if you squint, friends with benefits, friends to lovers

Rating: M for this chapter

Status: Ongoing (Masterlist)

Author’s Note: I hate to be that person, but if you liked this or the preceding chapters, I’d appreciate it if you can share with me some feedback. A comment, or even just an anonymous message would be great! I just want to know what you think. And also, if anyone could tell me how to do the “Read More” feature on the app, that would be great.

Time was a weird thing when on the road. Life was not dictated by 9-to-5 hour work days, nor weekdays and weekends. Instead, it was chaptered by cities, hotel rooms, and media appointments. It was bookended by sold out shows, deafening crowds, and plane rides.

Days tended to blur into weeks, and weeks into months. Despite the unpredictability of every new city and each new crowd, some things could be depended on to remain the same. Monday teleconferences with Manager Sejin. Templated answers to recurring interview questions. Cold fast food dinners in dressing rooms.

And Jimin. 

It was surprising how easily they fell into a so-called rhythm with their new arrangement. One would have thought it would be strange and awkward, but they managed to keep the lines between the professional and private. No one was any the wiser. 

Studies show that it only takes 28 days to develop a habit. And seeing as they had crossed that line several times over, it was safe to say that they locked in several habits at that point - their subtle exchange of spare hotel room keys. Joint showers during the mornings after (with the occasional shower sex when she had her period. Who would have thought that Jimin didn’t mind that sort of thing?). Their sleeping position with her fingers in his hair, and his head on her chest.

Without meaning to, their physical aspect of their private relationship slowly bled into the public and professional. Nothing big, at least not often enough to be noticed, but it made Anna’s heart stutter every time she caught herself. 

They started out with small things, like Jimin ordering her a cup of coffee in the morning without being asked. Or her fingers lingering a beat too long when fixing his collar. Or Jimin reaching over to tuck a loose lock of hair behind her ear whilst in mid-conversation with Taehyung. Or her hands kneading soft circles on his nape when she’d catch him wince during or after a show, feeling for that knotted muscle that needed to be uncoiled. 

Small things that shouldn’t mean anything. And they don’t,  or so she tried to tell herself. If the rest of the boys or any of the staff caught on, none of them said anything. 

Taking their silence as ignorance, the secretive pair grew complacent. Naturally, as was the order of all things, it came back to bite them in the ass. Or in this case, stab them in the back.  

They were normally a lot more careful and in control. But for whatever reason, Jimin had decided that the sight of his road manager in a red A-line skirt was too much to bear.

In his defense, he tried hard. Really, Jimin tried so hard to keep it locked down throughout the day. 

But he found himself seething in the morning, during one interview when he caught a glimpse of a cameraman double taking on her ass. A red coil burned in his chest, making acid flow through his veins. He remained silent and stoic throughout the rest of the interviews, which was thankfully, not too uncharacteristic of him.

Things only got worse in the afternoon, she took Hoseok’s offered elbow to steady herself as they descended a flight of stairs. Jimin was right there, right next to her, yet she opted to take his hyung’s arm instead. Granted, it wasn’t like he offered while Hoseok explicitly did. But still, she could have said no and gripped his elbow instead.

But the final straw was in the evening. Jimin snapped right after soundcheck, when she passed by him in the dressing room to talk to Jin. Already second nature to her, she had absently caressed the exposed back of his neck, fingers instinctively curled to scratch softly at his hairline. The feel of her nails gently scraping his skin caused something in his gut to snap.

The next thing either of them knew, Jimin managed to lure her out of the room unnoticed, down the hallway, and into an empty stockroom. With the final shred of his sanity, Jimin flicked the door lock secure before roughly pushing the confused girl against the nearest wall.

“What are-” She began to ask. But the question was immediately drowned out, yet also answered, by his mouth descending upon hers.

Jimin caged her in his arms like a starved man, gorging on her mouth and neck while letting his hands find purchase around her waist. He held her to him tightly, almost as if he could fuse their two bodies together with sheer force. 

“Jimin!” She panted when he released her mouth, diverting his attention to sucking gently at his favorite spot under her jaw. “They are going to come looking for us.”

The delirious boy just hummed, not paying much attention to logic at the moment.

“You need to-” She took a deep breath, and bit down a moan, vaguely aware of the sounds of activity rustling on the other side of the door. 

“Fuck, what are you doing to me?!” She gasped, thoughts quicjly disappearing with every flick of Jimin’s tongue against her pulse point. She gripped his waist hard, already itching to feel his skin against hers. “You NEED to finish wardrobe and makeup.”

Jimin finally resurfaced, flashing a ridiculous boyish smile at her. How he managed to look like an angel, despite the sinful things he made her feel, should be considered illegal.

“We have time.” He grinned smugly, pressing a playful kiss against her lips.

“You’ll be late.” She growled back.

“Do you really think…” He paused, lifting her unceremoniously by her thighs, to wrap her legs around his waist and pressed her firmly against the wall. “That I can just go on stage with this?”

By this, he referred to the raging hard-on he was rotating into her warm core, unconcealable by his skin-tight pants. She groaned at the feel of him against her aching core, immediately flushed with the need to have him complete her.

“Why do you have to wear skinny jeans all the damn time?” She sighed against his plump mouth, diving in to capture his bottom lip between her teeth. 

Jimin chuckled against her lips, moving his hands to support her weight comfortably yet allowing his fingers access to her moist center.

“Jimin, we shouldn’t do this here.” She whined unconvincingly against his ear, trying her best to hold in an embarrassing moan when his thumb brushed against her receptive bud. “We’re on the clock.”

Jimin frowned against her mouth, which did not go unnoticed by Anna. He hated whenever she said that (not that he’d ever let her know). The Clock was the concept that kept things in clean black-and-white compartments. When they were On The Clock, they were simply road manager and artist. But when they were Off The Clock, they were two best friends who often liked to secretly fuck. 

One section wasn’t supposed to cross into the other. Yet here they were anyway, an hour before showtime with her legs around his waist and his hand under her skirt.

“Do you really want to stop?” Jimin mumbled against her skin, already making his way down her neck. 

Then, without warning, he pulled back to look her in the eyes. The seriousness underlying the desire in his gaze took her breath away. “Just tell me ‘no’ one more time and we’ll do as you say. Full stop.”

But one look at him - with his black hair gorgeously disheveled, lips swollen from her moist sucks and nips, and pupils blown wide with need - and she was an absolute goner. Logic took a backseat as her desire took over, making her skin overheat and her blood rush through her veins.

Plus, he had a point - he couldn’t just go on stage with a hardened length tenting the leather pants his stylist planned for him to wear tonight. It was practically her duty to help him rid of his want to prevent a scandal.

As a form of response, she pulled him in for another fervent kiss, urging a moan from the back of his throat. It vibrated from his tongue to hers, causing her to smirk against him. His sigh pushed into her throat, and suddenly, Jimin was everywhere. His mouth, his hands, his entire body warming hers.

“We need to be fast.” She panted into his mouth. They momentarily broke apart as she climbed off his waist and helped Jimin tug his Chanel shirt off. He stepped away from her to undo his belt and lower his pants while she pulled off her soaked underwear from under her flowy skirt. Then they came together again, bodies magnetized to be as close as possible. 

She still had her dress on and his pants pooled messily around his ankles, but they didn’t have the time to fully strip nor did they find it in themselves to care. Jimin lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist against, groaning when her slick, wet center pressed against his firm length.

A whisper at the back of her mind chided her at the circumstance’s complete lack of class. Nothing says “fuck buddy” more than a quickie in a closet. But the way Jimin held her gaze as he pushed into her shushed the nagging voice, releasing a velvety hiss when she dragged him in.

“So good, baby.” He murmured, pressing forward until he was completely sheathed in her. “So beautiful.”

She gripped his shoulders to support herself, basking in the glow of his compliments and adoring gaze. Jimin paused for a moment, allowing her to relax and adjust as he didn’t have time to stretch her out beforehand. Her clothed chest pushed against his with every deep breath she took, and a twinge of regret pricked at him as he wanted nothing more than to splatter sloppy kisses over her breasts. 

“Move now, Jimin.” She pulled him out of his reverie, gyrating her hips as best as she could to signal her intent. “We need you to finish fast.”

Ever obedient, he set a punishing pace, pounding in and out harshly like a madman chasing sanity. She could only grip him tighter to steady herself, biting her lip to keep from moaning out too loudly in pleasure, while Jimin muffled his groans against her shoulder. They were far enough down the hall that hardly anyone would come look for them here. But she didn’t want to take the chance of having an innocent passerby hear the lewd sounds of their actions inside the tiny room.

With both of them trying so hard to keep quiet, the sound of skin slapping against skin seemed to reverberate through the room, punctuated by the lewd squelch of her wet center every time he pulled in and out. Somehow, it just made things feel even more erotic and sensual, hearing the way their bodies moved together.

Heat blossomed at the pit of her stomach as he rammed into the right spot over and over again, making her all the more drenched for him. Her nails dug into the expanse of his muscled back, but Jimin was too far gone to register the sting of the scratched skin. 

Her thighs began to quake around him, but as much as she wanted to hurtle over the edge of ecstasy, it wasn’t about her right now. 

“What do you need, babe?” She muttered when his glazed eyes met hers. He twitched inside of her, and she could tell her was close. “Tell me what you need.”

“So close.” Jimin panted against her open gasping mouth. He darted his tongue out momentarily to brush against her lower lip. “I’m gonna…fuck, need to cum. Where?”

He was barely coherent, trying so desperately to hold on to the last shred of restraint to get her consent. She nodded, brushing the hair from his fucked out eyes.

“Mouth.” She responded, already beginning to unlatch from his hips. “Can’t have you dripping out of me, not in this skirt. Too hard to clean up.”

Jimin groaned at the thought of their joint desire slicking her thighs for everyone to see. But she snapped him out of it as she gently pulled his length of out her. They both shivered at the loss of contact, mouths meeting in a searing kiss.

He maneuvered them quickly in the cramped space so that they switched places. He leaned back on the wall as she descended on her knees and took his throbbing length in her hand. Short of breath and already weak in the knees, Jimin simply peered down at her, heart racing in anticipation for his impending release. 

She stroked a few times before guiding his length into her awaiting mouth.

“Fuck.” He cursed at the feel of her hot, wet mouth enveloping him. He shut his eyes in an effort to hold on to some restraint, gasping when she licked a thick stripe underneath him. 

“Not gonna last long now.” He confessed, looking down at her, as a coil of need quivered dangerously in his gut. She nodded, understanding what he meant, what he needed from her. She braced her hands on his muscled thighs as Jimin gathered her hair in one hand, keeping it out of the way.

Then he thrust into her mouth, gently at first so as to keep her from gagging around him. But every stroke, he increased speed and pressure, easing her into the pace he needed to release.

But he was close, so close, that he didn’t need to take long. Sure enough, with just a few strokes, the coil in his navel snapped and Jimin came undone. Her throat tightened around him as he came at the back of her mouth, urging him on. She watched him let go, taking in his desire and reveling in the wonder in his eyes.

He quivered as she swallowed around him, hissing at the tight heat of her mouth. He whimpered when she moaned around him, the sound vibrating through his sensitive length.

When he was done and had gone soft, Jimin pulled out of her mouth gently and lifted her back to her feet. Unsure of his strength, he pulled her against him, wrapping a loose arm around her waist. She reached up and embraced him by the shoulders, calming him with soothing caresses on his neck.  

As he caught his breath, Jimin bent down to gently brush a hand at her reddened knees, making sure no dirt on the floor had stuck to her skin. Then he pressed a kiss to her damp forehead, which she reciprocated with a kiss to his equally sweaty cheek. 

They stood there for several long moments, taking each other in and leveling their breathing back to normal. The electricity in the air slowly fizzled out into a gentle static that made the air warm and soft around them.

Once the buzzing under her skin quieted down, she noted his satisfied, fucked out expression and smirked. Jimin, on the other hand, still seemed a little dazed at what had just happened. So she reached over to pull up his underwear and pants, and tucked his softened length in for him.

Jimin hissed and twitched from oversensitivity, but let her complete the task. She chuckled at him, rubbing a teasing hand down his bare back.

“You didn’t come.” He spoke, breaking the silence once his lungs started cooperating. 

“It’s okay.” She smirked at him, wrapping an easy arm around his slim waist. 

Jimin frowned, but she had anticipated his reaction. He always made a point to ensure they were both satisfied each time, so this would mark the first time that only he reached his peak. 

“I’ll take care of you later.” Jimin promised, bopping her nose with his.

Giggling at his affectionate gesture, she gently pushed him off. “We need to get back. You have a show to do.”

Jimin nodded and retrieved his shirt, while she slipped her underwear back on. When they were fully clothed again, she reached up to help him fix his hair.

“You surprised me today.” She whispered, trying to wrestle a particularly messy patch on the side of his head where she unintentionally gripped a bit too hard when he grinded against her earlier. “What brought this on?”

“I like you in this dress.” He mumbled, suddenly shy at his confession. Jimin averted his gaze, hands resting easily on her hips as she continued her ministrations.

“You’ve seen me wear this dress a million times already though.” She laughed, fingers still in his hair. 

“Doesn’t mean you’re any less attractive in it.” Jimin admitted, flicking his dark eyes to hers.

Neither of them pushed the conversation further, suddenly aware of how much time they had left. 

“You should leave first.” She said, stepping away from his body once his hair was back to a somewhat decent state of disheveled. At the loss of his body heat, the room suddenly felt too cold. “It might look weird if we come back at the same time.”

Jimin didn’t reply, only nodding to give his agreement. He placed a gentle hand on her neck, turning her head left and right to make sure her skin was unblemished. Once he was sure, he ducked his head to plant one last kiss on her lips, before swiftly exiting the room. 

She counted off 3 minutes in her head, praying that no one needed her for anything important in her absence. Listening to ensure the coast was clear, she exited the room too, hyper aware of Jimin’s scent on her skin. 

Nobody noticed their absence, save for Jimin’s makeup artist who was all too used to his frequent tardiness. The show came and went without a hitch, and true to his promise, Jimin satiated her need that night. Twice, to make up for it. 

They got away with their backstage rendezvous. Or so they thought until 2 days later.

It was early in the morning. The whole band and most of the staff were having breakfast, with everyone taking their time before they had to check out of the hotel and board their flight back to Korea. The boys were huddled together in one table, while Anna was enjoying her meal with the stylists in another.

Suddenly, a loud wracking cough boomed through the room, causing her to turn in search for the source of the noise. It was Namjoon, double over his plate, clutching his phone in one hand and smacking his chest with the other. From her place, she watched Jin slide over a glass of water, which the other boy quickly took and gulped down. 

With his cough settled, the road manager deemed the situation handled and turned back to her table mates. But just under the cluttered noise of the room, she overheard Namjoon say “Jimin, check Twitter.”

There was something in his tone, curt and definitive, that piqued her interest. Call it intuition, she couldn’t ignore the prickly feeling in the pit of her stomach that whatever Namjoon wanted Jimin to check wasn’t great. And if it was bad news, it was her responsibility to inform the upper management. 

Curious, she opened her Twitter app to see if anything was happening on social media. Sure enough, Jimin was trending worldwide yet again. She clicked on the hashtag and, seeing the top trending tweet alone, she dropped her phone on her plate.

Her hands shook and her heart raced, a million worst case scenarios zipping through her brain at a hundred miles per second.

Social media was abuzz because of a circulating photo of Jimin during his Serendipity number. It was taken during the part of the choreography wherein he goes down to do a body wave on the floor. The photo was zoomed in, focusing on him alone. The back of his shirt had ridden up, exposing the majority of his back. 

His pale, near-ivory back, marked by angry red scratch marks.

Her scratch marks. 

Fuck.

Scrolling further, she found that fans were speculating what the marks were. Some hypothesized that they were scratch marks from allergies (they’re wrong). Others surmised that they were from sex (correct, but oh shit). The latter of the two popular theories was causing an internal debate amongst Armies, resulting in several follow up questions as to whether or not he was seeing someone, and if they should be angry about it. 

Heart hammering in her chest, she turned around to check on Jimin, only to find him already look back at her. His face betrayed nothing, still calmly chewing his food. But his dark eyes were stormy with uncertainty. 

Her attention was ripped from him at the blaring of her phone. It was Manager Sejin. The older man had seen the trending topic as well, and was calling to check on Jimin. He was leaning more towards the allergies theory, but still asked if he was seeing anyone.

Her blood ran cold and she gulped in panic, managing to stutter a neutral response about asking Jimin. Thankfully, Manager Sejin didn’t push the subject, content with the reassurance that the vocalist was okay. 

“Just ask him to post something about it, okay?” Sejin reminded before cutting the line. “It would reassure the fans. You know how some of them get.”

By the time the phone call ended, she realized that the band had already left the dining hall. One of the stylists explained that Namjoon had called for a band meeting, so they disappeared into someone’s room. 

Knowing it was best not to disturb them, she headed back to her room and tried not to think the worst of it, already going through several possible excuses and contingency scenarios to share with Jimin. It was not lost on her that one possible route was to call it quits on…whatever the hell they were.

But her heart seized at the realization that perhaps this may be the end of her and Jimin’s arrangement. Her breath let her lungs and her pulse raced as the world seemed to spin around her.

I’ll miss you.

She shook the thought away before they went further, chastising herself for being paranoid. 

She didn’t see them again until check out time, when the boys came down to the lobby with their bags in tow. Her eyes instinctively sought Jimin’s, but the alarm in his brown eyes warned her not to approach.

He didn’t mouth any words to her, but his thoughts were written all over his face. She froze on the spot, realizing what he was trying to tell her.

They know. 

Before she could formulate an escape plan, Namjoon blocked her path to the Concierge.

“Can we talk?” The band’s leader said. It was posted as a question, but his tone implied it was an order.

He gently led her by the elbow to a secluded corner of the lobby, far enough out of anyone’s earshot. For a long, tense moment, neither said anything. They stood face to face, but the tall man couldn’t even look her in the eyes. The awkwardness was written all over him, from the way his arms crossed over his chest to the way he nervously tapped his foot.

A tense quiet settled over the pair, the atmosphere so thick it was practically a fog, and she hated it. Hated this moment that Namjoon was walking on eggshells with her when he was her first friend here. 

“So, you know.” She broke the silence, deciding to forego politeness. There was no need to lie and prolong the awkwardness. 

Namjoon sighed in relief. “We know.”

She didn’t immediately respond, unsure of how to approach the subject. Namjoon didn’t seem too eager to elaborate on how they came to know either. 

“What now?” She asked, opting to simply move forward.

Maybe it was the helplessness in her tone, or the ridiculousness of the whole situation. But his gaze softened, and finally looked at her again like a friend.

“Look, here’s the thing.” He began. “This is a weird situation that none of us have been in before. But at the end of the day, you’re both adults and what you do behind closed doors is entirely your business. As long as you keep things professional, which you have, we’ll support you.”

She couldn’t help the smile that took over her face, and she immediately jumped up to embrace the man. But he quickly cut her off, dousing her relief with a warning hand on her shoulder, 

“But you two have to be more careful.” Namjoon continued, his tone taking a dangerous turn. “This time, we can brush this off as Jimin having to scratch himself because of an allergy or insect bites. But we might not be so lucky next time. And you know how the Army can get.”

Absorbing the impact of her words, she nodded in understanding. 

“If they ever find out the truth about you two, there’s no telling how they’ll react. We’ll always have your back, but you know there are things we can’t protect you from.”

“I know,” She replied, placing a hand on the leader’s arm. “And I don’t want to compromise you guys either. I won’t be the stain on your record.”

Satisfied, Namjoon offered her a fist bump and led the way back to the larger group. She finished checking them out of the hotel while the staff helped the boys load things in the awaiting vehicles. 

As she wrapped up the transaction at the front desk, she felt a hand on her lower back. Instinctively, she turned, already knowing whose gentle touch it was. 

Though wearing a face mask that covered half his face, Jimin’s ever-expressive gaze gave him away. 

We’re going to be okay. 

[dangandidlyronpaimgines]

V3 Guys Receiving N00ds From a Male S/O. Repost/Revision

Fixed some errors while also made a few changes~

Gonta Gokuhara

Gonta wasn’t very good with cell phones to be honest

They were just so small and so complicated!

Plus they broke so easily!

But thanks to Miu, he know had a phone that was almost impossible to break!

He was doing his usual bug hunting when he noticed he got a text from you

Oh! You sent him a picture he was so excited to see wha-

Seeing the image of his lover’s erection made his face turn bright red and he dropped his phone in shock

(He can’t deny that the image made him feel… no that was not gentlemanly at all!)

He called you to try and ask why you did but he couldn’t form words

“Sooo like my little present Gonta~”

Your voice was all husky and he could hear the occasional groan from you

Oh god.. you were touching yourself won’t you

(He gulped loudly trying to ignore the tent in his pants)

“Gonta~ I miss you so much… I need you hun.”

He dropped his phone again but this time he did not pick it up

Instead he ran towards your home as fast as he could

You knew how to get him to do what you want it seems

(Plus it was well worth having to buy a new phone for Gonta… again)

Kokichi Ouma

God he was so bored!

He was at his secret base today alone with his boyfriend nowhere in sight

He felt like just going back home but hey he had minions to take care of

He was just playing with his phone when he he say that you sent him a message!

It seems you were bored too!

He was so excited as he clicked on your message and

Nishishishi~

He couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face when the he saw a video of you fucking a fleshlight

(He wasn’t blushing.. Nope not at all)

“Wish it was you” The message said

Well if that’s how you wanted to play then he could do it too

After making sure to lock the doors so no minions could ruin his time he began to undress and started to film his own video.. Or two~

Thus your adventures in sexting and  phone sex began

Ryoma Hoshi

He was on a quick licorice run at the supermarket

(Normally he would bring you but you were fast asleep when he woke up and he couldn’t wake you up with such a peaceful face)

He was checking out when his phone dinged

As he grabbed his bag with one hand he clicked with your message with the other

And what he saw made him drop his bag, a small blush creep it’s way on his face

It was a picture of you pouting at the camera… naked

Fuck did you really have to send him a nude while he was in public?!

He even made sure to put a note telling where he was

Then the second picture came..

The camera was focused more on your face this time and you were blushing, all the while your hand seemed to be going somewhere downwards

He quickly exited out of the message app and rushed back home

There was no way he could keep his calm if he got another picture with you

His face was bright red as he got home as soon as possible

It seemed he had to punish you when he got home

Korekiyo Shinguji

He was in the study busy as usual, in fact he’s been in there for most of the day

He knew that it was selfish of him to spend all his time on his work but he got his hands on a rare relic that he simply had to translate

However the dinging from his phone was a sound he couldn’t ignore anymore so with a sigh he picked it up.

He felt bad seeing those missed messages until he saw that you sent him a set of images

His eyes widen before he let out a chuckle

Kukukuku~

So that’s your latest attempt to lure him out

He couldn’t help but stare at the pictures of you fingering yourself

Oh my it seemed you were even desperate enough to get a toy out

Well well it seem like he simply had to leave now

He just had to hear those delicious noises coming from your own mouth

So he stalked his way towards the bedroom as fast as he could

Shuichi Saihara

He was going to be home late.. again

He could tell that from how little progress he seem to be having with his latest case

With a sigh he pulled out his phone to text you that

(He couldn’t bear to hear you disappointed in him)

He wasn’t surprise to hear his phone go off signaling that you texted him back

After debating it for a bit he decided to see what you texted him..

Oh.. He couldn’t help the heavy blush that came across his face and the involuntary gulp he took

It was a picture of you laying on the bed naked, holding a blindfold and a pair of handcuffs

The message said “Aww I had a surprise for you though ;p”

He shook his head and tried to focus back on his case

(Well focus as much as he could with a boner)

But he couldn’t help stealing glances back at the picture

Were you going to use them on him or.. Did you plan to have him use them on yourself

Either options were very.. Very interesting

It seemed he wouldn’t be able to focus on his work any longer… you won this round

He awkwardly tried his best to leave his work without anyone noticing his.. well problem

Kiibo

Some people thought it was a bit odd that the Ultimate Robot had a cellphone but isn't it normal for a teenager to have a cell phone!!

He was running some errands in the morning while when his phone beeped

Oh it seemed you woke up sooner than he expected!

He clicked on it expecting a cute message or something when

He instantly overheats and clocks out for a few seconds

When he comes back online and sees the picture thankfully this time he does not overheat

(Though his face is bright red)

The picture was of your erection with the message “Morning wood is a bitch, wish you were here to help me take care of it <3”

On one hand he still had a couple of errands to run… but you clearly needed him!

B-Besides he could always do this later!

Besides he didn’t want you to be pent up the whole day..

He quickly put his phone away before running back towards your place as fast as he could

(The blush never leaving his face)

Besides he had a few upgrades that you might have wanted to try out

Rantaro Amami

He was at home watching over his sisters for a bit

Of course he texted you

He couldn’t wait til his parents came home so he could go back to cuddling with you

When he mentioned that his parents car was in the driveway and that he was on his way, you sent a message

Honestly he wasn’t expecting much, maybe a heart emoji or a hurry up

Well he was partly right~

He couldn’t help the chuckle (or blush) that escaped him as he saw a picture of your nude body posing for him on your bed

It came with the message “Hurry up~”

Well.. might as well show you how much this affected him right?

Before he starts the car he sends you a picture of his clothed erection with the simple message, ‘omw’

Let’s just say he drove back to your place as fast as possible

He couldn’t keep you waiting after all

(Though knowing you, you might get impatience and start without him..)

(And that just made him speed even faster)

Kaito Momota

He was so damn tired after training

So when he texted you that he would be home soon he was not surprised that you texted him back so soon

You probably missed him after all since his training lessons seem to drag on forever

So he clicked on the message and-

His brained just stopped working for a minute

It was a picture of you naked laying in bed with a heavy flush on your face as you stroked yourself

The message read “I couldn’t help but start a bit early since your training took so long.”

Fucking hell S/O!

He used his coat to cover his.. problem as he went back home as fast as possible

Hopefully he could get there fast enough that you wouldn’t have came yet

(Though knowing you, you wouldn’t mind a round two)

(Or.. three.. Or well you get the picture)

[eldritchsurveys]

426.

Out of all 24 hours, which one is your favourite? >> I don’t have a favourite hour. Have you ever been in a lighthouse? >> No. What are the names of the neighbours to your right? >> --- Left? >> --- When’s the last time you actually sat down and watched the sun set? >> I haven’t done that in a long time. I can’t really see the sunset from where my apartment is, anyway.

Are you on a laptop or desktop? >> Laptop. Do you ever make your own surveys? >> I’ve done so years ago, but I don’t do so now. What colour is your shower? >> White. Where do you order your pizza from? >> Jet’s, usually. When is the last time you had a serious talk with someone? >> Can Calah and I often have in-depth conversations at random moments. What time are you planning on going to bed tonight? >> Around 10p, like usual. How old are you, your parents and your siblings combined? >> --- The last time you went out of town was? >> Saturday, to the Wayland house. And where did you go? >> ^ Have you ever been bit by an animal? >> No. Where is the person you miss the most right now? >> --- Have you been paying attention to the Olympics much? >> --- How often do you take naps? >> Rarely. I have to be completely unable to stay awake in order to consider it. I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but when do you go back to school? >> --- Did it rain today? >> It did. It’s been raining quite a bit lately. What was the name of the last dog you pet? >> Most of the time the dogs I get to pet are just random ones I see on walks, being walked by their owners. I don’t know their names. Do you find that you have a certain meal you eat every time you go to certain restaurants? >> Meh, not really. Sometimes I’ll stick to a certain meal at a place if I don’t like anything else there, but I generally just order whatever I feel most in the mood for (which can vary). Are you constantly judging people? >> No. Have you ever had anything stolen from you? >> Yeah. Think back to your freshman year in high school, what was the first class period on your first day of school? >> There is no way I’m going to remember that. What colour is your bike? >> Black and orange. What word can you not stand to hear people say? >> “Wholesome”. I don’t know what it is about that word but hearing it feels like how curdled milk looks. ...That sounds like it should make no sense, but it does to me. When was the last time the power went out at your house and how long was it out for? >> I don’t remember when it was, but I know it was out for like an hour. What room of your house are you in? >> My bedroom. When there’s a full moon, does it make your room really bright for a few days? >> For a bit, yeah. What is the temperature in your city right now? >> 65*F, according to my NOAA app. Which would you rather, a snowy day, sunny day, rainy day or cloudy day?: >> Sunny days are my favourite. How long have you ever spent away from home? >> --- Ever had to get any stitches? >> Yeah. When did you last use a post-it-note? >> I don’t remember. Would you ever want to own your own restaurant? >> No. Do you have a fan in your bedroom? >> Yeah. Have you ever seen the White House? >> Not in person. How about Niagara Falls? >> ^ What about the four corners, have you ever been there? >> No. Have you ever played any variation of the padiddle game in a car a night? If not, you should wikipedia it and play it. It can be fun with the right people? >> Okay. The most recent staircase you went down, what did it lead to? >> It leads from the third floor to the first floor in this apartment building. Have you ever thought about what life would be like if we all slept during the day and were active at night? >> I guess I’ve wondered about it in passing. What colours are the counter tops in your kitchen? >> Grey and black, or whatever. Has your luggage ever been lost at the airport? Did you get it back? >> No. Which major body of water do you live by? >> Lake Michigan. Who is the last person that you took a picture with? >> --- What type of food do you eat the most? >> I’m not sure. When is the last time you were stuck in a fairly long traffic jam? >> --- Do you have certain friends that you hug every time you see them? >> No. What do you enjoy most about your life? >> Oh man... just... freedom. Freedom from unnecessary stress and having to do things I really don’t want to do just to survive. The freedom to explore the upper tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy. The fact that every day I can make decisions about what I want to do with that day. And of course, the freedom of knowing that I can deal with the consequences of any choice I make. When was your most recent trip to an aquarium? >> Last year, we went to the Shedd Aquarium during our Chicago trip. It was pretty lit, even though we didn’t get to see the otters. What do you like in your salads and what dressing do you prefer? >> Spinach, arugula, some kind of cheese, something crunchy for texture, and balsamic vinaigrette or Italian dressing. Sliced apple is also nice in salads. There are other toppings I like, too, but every time I’m presented with this question I can never think of them. Last time you changed the light bulb to the lamp that you use in your bedroom? >> It’s a salt lamp. Does sleeping past 12 or 1 in the afternoon make you feel like you’ve wasted a lot of your day or do you enjoy the extra hours of sleep? >> I don’t sleep in and I would hate it if I did. It just throws everything off and makes the whole day feel weird. I prefer getting a little less sleep if it means waking up at the right time, rather than getting more sleep and waking up at fucking noon. What is your state most famous for? >> I have no idea what this state is famous for and I don’t particularly care. What was the last thing you signed your name in cursive on? >> I don’t remember. How many times in your life have you seen a shooting star? >> Only a few times. Maybe three. Have you ever witnessed a tornado? >> No. How many times a year do you go out of state? >> Once, at least. Has your best friend ever moved away? >> --- If it has one, do you ever use the notepad function in your phone? >> I use a notepad app I downloaded, sometimes. What website do you visit the most often? >> tumblr. How good would you say your memory is? >> It’s very serviceable. About how many times during the night do you wake up from your sleep? >> I don’t know. Quite a few, because I’m a light sleeper (and especially in summer, because I tend to overheat and that eventually wakes me up). Are there any air fresheners in your house? What kinds? >> No. What scent of candle do you burn the most? >> I burn incense. For what reason did you last cry? >> I don’t remember. What’s one thing you’re glad you’ve done recently? >> Started journalling again. How long have you been taking surveys? >> Literally half my life (~15 years). What kind of surveys do you wish there were more of? >> I like random surveys just fine. I do wish there were more music-related ones, like ones that actually ask you questions about music you like, not ones like “shuffle surveys” or whatever. I love talking about music I like.

[mademains]

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support install#

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support drivers#

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support full#

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support code#

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support mac#

I've tested this on my late 2008 MBP 15-incher and it works perfectly.

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support full#

Note that as of version 1.7 (now at 1.7.5) gfxCardStatus now includes full support for the 9400M/9600M GT dual-GPU enabled Macs without logging out. gfxCardStatus is a free menu bar application that keeps track of which graphics card your MacBook Pro is using at any given time.

Automatic application updating - checks for, downloads and installs new versions of gfxCardStatus automatically! First off, close every single application listed under 'Dependencies' on the GFXBarStatus status bar menu.

Tiny footprint - doesn't sit in your menu bar and hog RAM or CPU cycles.

Growl support - so you know right when the GPU switches.

Dependent process list - see which applications are currently using the 330M, if it's the active GPU!.

Allows you to manually switch GPUs on demand!.

Automatically updates when the GPU switches, in real time.

Simple, clean "i" and "n" icons that signify Intel? HD Graphics, and NVIDIA? GeForce GT 330M graphics, respectively.

That got me the white screen and high fan noise.GfxCardStatus is an open-source menu bar application that keeps track of which graphics card your dual-GPU (late 2008/2009 w/ 9400M/9600M GT, or 2010 i5/i7 w/ Intel HD/330M) MacBook Pro is using at any given time, and allows you to switch between them on demand. If your MBP doesn't get to white screen before shutting down while attempting to boot, hold down the option key and boot into recovery disk. Previously I had tried GFXbench to test it, and it went straight back to no vertical lines at boot. Ok Today I tested the version 2.4. It got heated up a bit but no GPU issue so far. I even plugged it into a cinema display and played HD on youtube. I then I let it cool down completely, (in fact I put it outside on the balcony.) I left it for about half an hour then switched it off by holding down the power button. If you boot and get vertical stripes > apple logo > white grey screen, let it run hot as the fans kick in block the keyboard from venting airflow or wrap the mbp closed in a blanket. I followed these steps and got a workable fix: System can switch to it, gfxCardStatus works fine (no errors shown), the Apple HW test (even the extended one) shows 'no problems found', LuxMark allows to select nVidia card for testing, etc. Saw all the online action, the lawsuits etc… Hopefully apple will do a recall as it was bought by me for graphic intense tasks like video editing. Normally I would say the nVidia card just died, but nothing is showing this. I had similar non bootable problem with a MBP 17 inch (early 2011). gfxCardStatus (integrated only mode) is better in this respect so I use both and now I can say that the machine is very stable and reliable after all. After about a week of gpu-switch testing, however, I have to conclude that this solution has its drawbacks too: it works fine after shutdown (including abnormal or forced one), sleep, hibernation, but it does not prevent mbp from switching to dgpu on running graphic demanding apps such as googlemaps in browser.

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support mac#

It appears that as part of the evaluation as to whether or not it should use openGL, it tickles the GPU, and the mac decides that it must fire up the discrete GPU for the lifetime of that application. There is an acknowledged bug in the current version of Cody Kreiger's Open-Source gfxcardstatus, and the developer has confessed he does not have time to fix it right now. This saved me from frequent overheat shutdowns under blanket just to load the os (after overheat shutdown the system forcibly uses igpu but this state changes back after couple of boots so it becomes necessary to overheat again). You cant, your macbook was designed to use both, but gSwitch can trick it into using the integrated one most of the time. Theoretically you can disable OpenGL support, however this is not enough for it to not trigger that java needs discrete graphics. The alternative is replacing the logic board, which is not cost effective on a machine that old, unless gfx does not resolve the issue and you really want to keep this MBP.

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support code#

The application runs from terminal, reportedly uses the same code as gfxCardStatus but writes the setting into NVRAM(PRAM) so machine remains switched to internal GPU on next boot(s)/wake(s). Please note that only source code is there so Xcode is requred to compile the binary. It does not matter whether I plug in the HDMI port (that connects to the integrated gpu) or not.

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support drivers#

Then move those drivers from the external system and see if it still boots. Do some Googling and see if you can come up with the names of drivers related to the discrete GPU.

You are using a system that gfxcardstatus does not support install#

It seems that I have found more reliable or permanent software solution allowing to permanently disable discrete GPU and use mbp (mine is Mbp 8.3 17i early 2011) with broken discrete GPU (failing to boot) than gfxCardStatus 1.8-2.2.1, namely. On the contrary, on the mac mini (the system I intend to use as home theatre system with the egpu) the hardware acceleration works when using the integrated graphics, however not using the egpu. Install a clean copy of macOS on an external bootable drive.

[marimbistchick]

Ok if nobody else has asked yet, for the Voltron Ask Meme- all of them. Just, all of them, every single one. Please :)

*cracks knuckles* Alright, here we go.

***********

Voltron: Which Lion do you think you would pilot? Why?

Ok, this one is probably obvious from my icon, but the black lion. If you'd asked me several months ago before I'd been forced to put actual thought into it (thanks guys) I'd probably have said green, but... no, black fits better. I'm the mom friend. I could be having a mental breakdown and I'd still make sure that everyone else was alright and help them when possible. Correction, I HAVE done that (PSA: don't do that, take care of yourself too folks). As much as I joke about wanting to fight people and probably would if ABSOLUTELY necessary, I'm a pretty level-headed person, and tend to consider all ideas and sides of a story before acting. I don't often actively seek out leadership, but I do tend to naturally fall into that roll for projects and stuff. If no one else is stepping up (which happens surprisingly often), I will.

Shiro: If you were given the chance to change the past, would you?

Hmmmmm... there are lots of things that I wish had gone differently, both in my own life and in history. But there's no way of knowing how far those ripples would spread, and my past has shaped me into me. So no, I wouldn't, though I'd probably always wonder what would happen if I did.

Keith: Do you consider yourself an aggressive or passive person?

I like to consider myself to be pretty balanced, but I suppose that I'm more on the passive side, though I was more aggressive when I was younger. I'm not passive in the way that I would let people walk all over me, but I don't seek out fights, and avoid them if possible. If it's something relatively minor (like a family member with some remarks that I'm not comfortable with), sometimes I'll keep my mouth shut to keep the peace. Though it might be worth mentioning that if someone ELSE is hurt by said comment, I'm absolutely calling the person out. Politely at first, but I have gotten rather confrontational on behalf of others before.

Lance: Are you a flirtatious person? Lance level flirting?

Oh god. No. I'm so emotionally constipated, sometimes I even have trouble flirting in the conventional sense with my boyfriend. However, I will absolutely play-flirt with my friends shamelessly if the situation arises.

Hunk: Do you know how to cook/bake?

YES! BOTH! I'm nowhere near Hunk level, because that boy could probably open a 5 star restaurant, but I am pretty good. When I'm living at home with my family I tend to bake more than I cook, just because I'm the only one in the house who's really any good at it in general. Through lots of practice my mom has gotten really good at baking bread, but we all know that my cookies and muffins always come out better (despite using the same recipe).

Pidge: Who are the people you value the most?

My friends and family, specifically my parents and brother. Well, my friends may as well be family. I'm big on the found-family trope, both in fiction and real life. I feel it worth a shout out that, like Pidge, my brother is named Matt, and I would ALSO do some crazy shit for him. We're twins, and I can't imagine life without him (even if we drive each other crazy sometimes).

Allura: What would be the first thing you do if you wake up after 10,000 years?

Honestly? Probably have a panic attack to end all panic attacks.

Coran: What was your worst “phase”?

Um. Probably when I was like 12 and discovered social media and texting for the first time. I'd use all the abbreviations when I texted people (through WiFi and an app on my iPod), and I remember playing that game on Facebook where you answer questions about your friends. Which might not sound too bad, but I didn't know what some of the terms meant and answered the questions anyway based on (wrong) assumptions of what was really being asked. I think back on all interactions I had and feel a tidal wave of embarrassment.

Zarkon: Do you think revenge is wrong?

To an extent. I think that a little bit might be fine (I can be mildly petty sometimes), but I also think that if you go for it then you need to watch yourself very carefully. It would be far too easy to cross a line that you really shouldn't.

Haggar: Are you obsessed over something? Someone?

I tend to switch between obsessing over works of fiction with no stop in between. Currently it's Voltron.

Lotor: What would you be exiled for?

As is? Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't really have the opportunity to do anything exile-worthy. Assuming that I'm living in an evil space empire? Treason.

Galra Empire: Who is your favorite Galra character?

Does Keith count? I'm assuming that he doesn't. Ooooh boy, this is tough. Acxa is a badass babe, and I'm really curious about Kolivan. But I guess going from what we've actually seen, I have to say Lotor. I wouldn't like him as an actual person, but so far I think that he's an amazing villain, and I'm excited to see more of him. Also he has a gorgeous voice

Blade of Marmora: Who has the best character design?

I haven't really thought about this much, to be honest. I guess I'll go with Honerva/Haggar, just because you can see the gradual shift over time and I thought that it was really well done.

Matt Holt: Do you more “nerdy” or “sporty”?

I definitely have a sporty side, but "nerdy" wins by a long shot. I'll geek out over pretty much anything, but neuroscience and music are top subjects.

Balmerans: Are you good at reading at other peoples emotions?

YES. Too good sometimes, I think. I'm ridiculously empathetic, to the point that it can be painful. If I'm around people who are upset, I'll often either get angry myself, or incredibly anxious. It led to being called "too sensitive" quite a lot when I was younger.

Olkari: Do you have a close connection with nature?

Mmmmm, I wouldn't exactly say "close". I do enjoy it. I LOVE the feeling of wind on my face, and the smell after it rains. I like hiking and climbing rocks and waterfalls. The sun feels really nice when I'm not doing anything. But then we get to the things that I DON'T like. Bugs are NOT my thing at all, and I burn and overheat very easily. So I'd say that I have some mixed feelings when my appreciation of nature is actually put into practice.

Kuron: Would you want a clone of yourself? Why?

No. That would be way too weird. In theory it might be amusing or even useful, but... it brings up some existential questions that I'd rather not ponder.

Honerva: Do you have any pets?

My family has a dog, and I have a cat! His name is Legolas, but we call him "Lego" for short pretty often, since people keep mis-hearing his name as "Legless". He's a goofball, and I love him dearly. He likes to act tough around people (if he'll stop hiding from them), but he's a huge mama's boy and everyone knows it.

Alfor: What is your best friend like?

Um. I can't pick just one. But I have a group of friends who are very dear to me, and we're moving into an apartment a bit off campus in a couple of weeks. We're all huge queer nerds, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I could write an essay about them if I'd let myself.

Weblum: What is your favorite Voltron episode?

Before season 3, it was Blade of Marmora. But now it might just be The Legend Begins, because I'm always a slut for backstory.

Slav: What are your ships? No discourse allowed.

Eh, I'm a pretty neutral party/multi-shipper. I have come to actually really like Keith/Lance and Hunk/Pidge, but in general I tend to like pairings in the context of specific works.

Sven: Would you sacrifice your life for someone you barely know?

I'd like to be noble and say yes, but probably not. I would definitely try to help them, but I'd likely prioritize my own life.

Space Mice: What are your favorite animals?

Oh my god, asking the tough questions here. The answer flips a lot, but if I narrow it down to animals that I have experience with, then probably cats.

KALTENECKER: Who is your favorite Voltron character?

PIDGE!!! But Keith has been steadily squirming his way into my heart as well.

Paladin: When did you start watching Voltron?

I think it was around late September/Early October of 2016.

[taiblogcomics]

THEN WHO WAS PHONE? (Repost)

Originally posted to Xanga on December 6, 2012

Hey there, sacred artifacts. Well, it's been a while. I'm sure we're all better off for it, but eventually that time had to come again. And so, here we are. It's time once more to read a ridiculous children's horror novel by R.L. Stine. Since we already covered books three and four in the Hall of Horrors line earlier, let's move right along to Goosebumps Hall of Horrors #5: Don't Scream!. Just don't do it, man!

This book sure has a cover:

That disembodied mouth really needs to see an orthodontist, let me tell you. In fact, I'm not even sure that lower jaw has any human teeth at all. Surprisingly, this image does happen in the book. It's not indicative of the story in any way, but it's there.

Our protagonist for this go-round is Jack Harmon. His one-dimensional character trait is being picked on by bullies. His most frequent tormenters are "Big Mick" Owens and Darryl "The Hammer" Oliva. Darryl is never referred to as "The Hammer" anywhere but the first page, but this is such a cool name that we're going to keep using it, quotes and all. Today they're twisting Jack's arm, stealing his Red Sox cap, spitting in it, and then getting off the school bus. This is how we're introduced to our main character, guys. Certainly a sign of good things to come!

Jack slumps in some random seat, disappointed he can't be as lucky as you blog readers and be spared all the description of the spit in his hair. As an extra bonus, the story kicks off right away with Jack finding a cellphone in the seat. And if you're wondering, yes, it's specifically a smartphone with "all kinds of apps". Jack doesn't think to check the address book or anything, he just turns it on and puts it to his ear. To his surprise, he's immediately greeted by a girl's voice. Possible references to make jokes on:

A) The Ring 2) Calling D) When A Stranger Calls ?) [reader's choice of phone-based horror story]

The girl on the other end introduces herself as Jack's new best friend. I'm going to save myself some trouble and reveal now that her name is Emmy, since she doesn't actually get a name until late in the book. Jack at first thinks it's his younger sister's babysitter playing a prank. What the heck kind of babysitter is this that this is your first thought? In fact, her name is Mindy, not Vicky or Rosalyn. Jack continues trying to insist it is Mindy, at which point Emmy snaps and says she's not Mindy, and Jack better not make her angry. He wouldn't like her when she's angry.

So if she's not Mindy, the girl must be Jack's pal Eli. Eli wears the hat of "improbable electronics geek" in this story, including a voice changer that clearly Jack thinks can make him sound like a girl. See, Emmy, if you had introduced yourself at the beginning instead of three-quarters of the way into the story, you could avoid this whole thing. This was just a clumsy way to introduce us to characters without introducing the characters, wasn't it? As it is, Jack gets tired of the whole thing and tries to hang up. Unfortunately, turning the power off doesn't make the creepy voice go away, and Emmy continues to talk to him. Hanging up on people is rude, Jack, maybe this haunting will help you improve as a person~

Jack is at first terrified and confused, but then he gets a great idea: get off the bus and leave the phone behind. Ah, Goosebumps: where a main character's intricate plan equates to a real-world person's common sense. Jack puts this daring plan into action, only to be thwarted by an incidental character throwing the phone out the window to him. Wow, what if this had been different circumstances, where the owner cared and she missed? In fact, why did Jack bother to catch it? You knucklehead. Everything that happens now is directly the fault of your hand-eye coordination. Jack then starts screaming at the phone, saying how it can't call him because he switched it off. Passersby give him "this kid is a lunatic" stares.

Jack gets home and starts fiddling with the phone some more, despite it containing the threatening voice of a disembodied girl. He checks the section labelled "My Photos", and finds it's all full of pictures of him and his family. And, like, not candid shots either. Though that would've been a good, creepy, "holy shit, real-world stalkers" bit. No, it's just more supernatural nonsense that is never explained or mentioned again. Jack decides this is the best thing to freak out over and trots downstairs to show the phone to Mindy. Mindy's in the kitchen making mac-and-cheese for little sister Rachel. Jack doesn't want any, which baffles Mindy. "Everybody likes mac and cheese after school." And if you don't, you're an America-hating commie Martian!

Jack decides to tell everything to Mindy, and Mindy is appropriately skeptical. She picks up the phone herself and begins asking into it for the girl. There's no response, and Jack looks like an idiot. Ah, a Goosebumps protagonist in their natural habitat. Rachel chimes in that Jack is always a liar, and I've used flimsier excuses to post the Applejack meme.

"'Course some girl talks to me through the phone! Ah get loads of calls from girls every day!"

Jack shamefully goes back to his room, and Emmy chides him for trying to show her to the babysitter. Jack counters with the notion that he could just give the phone to his parents and ask them to find the owner. Emmy is quiet for a moment, then electrocutes Jack. Why, of course a phone's battery has enough charge to reduce a person to twitching spasms! Also, completely reasonable reaction, and a sure route to friendship. Emmy threatens to do it again if Jack doesn't listen to her, and even threatens his sister. More friendship!

Eli shows up now, having been summoned by Jack earlier. Eli is described as a little chubby and wearing cargo pants with pockets full of junk and T-shirts with jokes that aren't funny on them. Finally, an accurate description of what a kid would wear. If you were wondering, today's shirt says "I'm with brilliant" and points up at Eli's face. Wow, they weren't kidding about the "not funny" bit, eh? Now that we've had some accuracy, are you ready for irrelevant nonsense that I'm going to rant about anyway?

Eli also shows up playing a handheld video game system. It's a touch-controlled game with glasses-less 3D graphics. Why, it's the... Digi-GameFreak 4. What. C'mon, guys, these books have referred to the Wii by name before. And this book came out in January 2012, only a couple months before the 3DS hit the market. Did you really have to make up some generic bullshit system that doesn't exist? Also, stop saying "game-player". Nobody calls them that. They're handhelds or portables. I normally wouldn't mind so much, this is pretty standard for Goosebumps to make up fake things (see: any time comics are mentioned), but they have specifically mentioned the Wii by name before, as I said. It just feels horribly inconsistant

Jack explains the whole story to Eli, and he's a little more believing than Mindy. In fact, Emmy even obliges him a "go away, Jack has a new best friend", and Eli has to think about that for a while. Eventually, he comes to the conclusion that the phone has two SIM cards in it. And a second set of receivers and speakers, too. I'm not sure you can get all that junk inside a thin little smartphone and have it still function, and even if you can, that's a really elaborate and expensive prank to play on a middle schooler.

Jack considers this, then decides that even if this is a thing, Eli can't open it up because of how shocking Emmy reacts. Eli comes up with another plan. He'll put the phone in a box, and then he'll put that box inside of another box, and then he'll mail that box to himself. And when it arrives, he'll smash it with a hammer! Or, to save on postage, he'll just skip to the last step and gets a sledgehammer out of Jack's basement. The phone is quickly reduced to its component parts and splinters of plastic. Emmy doesn't even have the decency to scream.

Well, book's over, right? Not quite.

Satisfied that his technical knowhow (i.e. breaking stuff) has triumphed, Eli decides to play his bullshit video game some more. Oh, but this turns out to be a dumb idea. Emmy has moved from the broken phone to the handheld. So, she's basically the Cyborg Superman now. And boy is she miffed. And thus, she electrocutes Eli so badly that the game melts. Um, wow. The fact that he even moves after that is kind of unbelievable. The only damage he incurs are various burns on his hands. Jack's dad (Peter, I hope) walks by and notices the smoldering wreckage. He comments that games shouldn't overheat like that, it could be dangerous.

Eli stays for dinner, Emmy stays forever, and Jack's dad decides they should all go to the big electronics store after dinner. Dad has an itching for a new HD TV (you know what HD is, Stine/ghostwriter, but not the 3DS?), and he invites Jack along. Jack decides to yet again tell everyone about the phone and the girl inside it. His parents are horrified that he would wantonly smash a piece of electronic equipment that didn't belong to him, and they're kind of skeptical about electronic ghost girls, too. His mom shows her general ignorance of modern technology by suggesting the idea that he just didn't turn off the phone good enough, so Emmy just kept talking. They then demand to see the ruins of the bullshit handheld game.

Dad looks over the device for a minute, asking the girl to speak up. Then he hits it against his palm as if it lost its picture or something. This causes the handheld to let out a deafening screech that keeps on screeching. Eventually it subsides, and everyone is in quite a bit of pain. Dad decides "That player is defective. It's dangerous." Please refer to my previous Pinkie Pie clip. Conveniently, Eli bought the thing at the same place Dad intends to buy his new TV, so he's going to show it to the manager while there and get it replaced for Eli. He then herds the two boys into the car with him, and Jack wonders what the worst Emmy could do if she found out where they're going. Eli replies, "She could blow up the car." Yes, you're being very helpful.

Unfortunately for us, Emmy does not blow up the car, and the story continues. In fact, pretty much nothing happens at all. They get to the store without incident, and the defective video game is turned in to the manager. Eli and Jack dare to hope they are finally free. This is an incredibly dumb thing to do, because almost immediately all the lights and televisions flicker, and a giant pair of lips appears on each screen. Hey, there's that cover image. The lips start announcing that Jack can't outwit her and she'll always be here. People are confused, and it goes away as suddenly as it happened. Wow, this was such a climactic scene that it needed to be on the cover, yes?

Anyway, Eli gets his new handheld, Dad mistook the sale date of televisions, and they leave almost without incident. Then Dad suddenly remembers what else they should be doing: he buys Jack a cellphone. You know, the very device you were just deeply upset with him for destroying 20 minutes ago at dinner. Dad says it's high time he had one, so I guess destroying equipment is a rite of passage in the Harmon family? Hey, try wrecking the car next, Jack. After lengthy paperwork (one of the true horrors in the book), Jack has his own phone and is at home. Suddenly, Emmy starts talking to him through the phone, telling Jack not to worry, she's still here~

Jack thinks it's high time for some damn answers. He wants to know exactly who Emmy is (who still hasn't been named at this point, remember), and she's reluctant to say anything. Eventually she fesses up to being an AI glitch. Just an experiment in artificial intelligence that somehow got an electrical glitch and became a sentient digital lifeform.

Welp.

Anyway, Emmy (finally named now) is a living virtual pet, basically, and she can manipulate electricity (or "digital signals", as she says) to attack or move around. They're what keep her alive. But being alive isn't enough for her. She wants companionship. She's sure other digital people like her exist, and Jack's going to help her find them. In fact, he'll do whatever she wants or she'll hurt him. How fun~ All this aside, shouldn't this be a sci-fi book, and not horror?

Next day at school, Jack tries to text this to Eli, but Eli reports he didn't get them. Eli is intrigued by this whole artificial intelligence slant, and believe me, he's the only one. They head for class, and class is uneventful. That is, until Emmy starts detecting a signal. Another digital person is nearby, and she wants Jack to go retrieve it. Yes, in the middle of class. Jack refuses, of course, and Emmy threatens to burn all the flesh off his leg if he doesn't. I'm no leg expert, but that may hinder the retrieval of electric friends, you know. Either way, Emmy orders Jack to steal the laptop. Jack protests that he's in the middle of class, but she doesn't care. In fact, she finds him highly disobedient, and demands a show of obedience or she'll flashfry his pants. "Stand on your head, Jack," she commands.

Jack, not wanting the book to be any stupider, refuses. He gets a big shock for his trouble, and yelps and falls out of his chair. The teacher asks what the commotion is, and Jack claims to have been stung by a bee. The teacher dryly replies that it must've been a very big bee for him to make such a fuss. Hey. Hey, teach. Fuck you. You ever been stung by a bee? It fucking hurts. I'd like to see you not yelp and jump when stung. Hell, maybe he's allergic and is now dying. But no, you gotta be a snarky bitch about it.

Despite all this, Emmy still demands headstands. The chapter ends, and it cuts to after class, where he has clearly done a headstand. Mick and "The Hammer" are riding him about it, and Jack says that the bee sting just made him loopy. Everyone in this school is nuts, and I'm even including Emmy in that. Seriously, Emmy, you haunt technology, and this is the best you can do? There's more generic harassment, Mick expresses interest in Jack's digital watch, and Jack threatens to tell the bus driver, and she'll throw them off the bus. They laugh and say she can't do that, she'll lose her job. Um, hi, dumbshits, that's exactly what she can do. She won't lose her job, that is her job. This is completely ridiculous. It's like the author lives slightly left of reality. Handheld video game with touch controls and 3D graphics? Some other brand. Bus driver enforces rules? Lose her job. Bruce Wayne's parents shot in alley? Becomes the Joker.

The next day, Jack hides in the school so he can steal a laptop with a digital person inside. I totally just typed that sentence. He doesn't even wait until nightfall when all the teachers have left. No, just 'til, like, five. All the kids are gone, but there's still plenty of adults around. Yeah, I feel good about this plan. I'm excited by this. Well, long story short, due to this plan being super dumb, Jack is caught with laptop in his hands. The teacher questions him about it, and he makes up a story about how he was putting the laptop back. The teacher buys this, and Emmy is annoyed. But what can they do~? Emmy says Jack better do better next time. Jack is sure next time he'll be caught. And he narrates to us that, in fact, he was. But that's a long frightening story. So it has no chance of being in this book~?

The next next day, Emmy now detects a signal from none other than Mick's camera. Naturally, Jack is not keen on stealing from Mick. But after Emmy makes his backpack burst into flames, Jack starts to warm up to the idea. Jack makes a show of bumping into Mick at lunch, and deftly steals the camera in the mashup. Mick and "The Hammer" respond by eating Jack's lunch. Emmy doesn't have time to check out the camera yet, and thusly on the bus, Mick decides to go through Jack's backpack when he notices the burns. He finds the camera, but doesn't realise it's his. Instead he decides to give it to "The Hammer" as a present. So they lose the camera without accomplishing anything. Way to waste our time~

Not having had his fill of doing dumb stuff, Jack sneaks out of the house that night to wander the streets until Emmy picks up a signal. Finally she notices one outside a darkened house, one of Jack's neighbours. She commands Jack to break in and steal whatever it is that she's registering. Since this is obviously the best possible plan, Jack does, in fact, break into the house, reasoning that his neighbour is out late. There's a brief scene where Jack is startled by a cat that adds nothing, and then he locates the source of the signal: a clock radio. He takes it and leaves. Here's the super-dumb part: Emmy has him stop and let her scan the radio before they get too far. Couldn't she have done that in the bedroom? It'd be easier, because now Jack has to sneak back into the house and put the clock radio back. Predictably, he gets caught in the middle of this.

We cut away, and return to Jack being returned home and explaining this whole thing to his parents. Jack has the brilliant idea of saying it was a dare and pinning it on Mick and "The Hammer". What he doesn't realise until seconds later is that his mother would call up their parents. There's a brief phone conversation, and Jack's mom comes back mad. Turns out Mick figured out the camera switcheroo. Jack apologised a crazy amount and basically goes to bed mad.

The next morning, Jack wakes up to find his sister in his room. She's messing with the cellphone, and Jack realises what's going to happen just before it does: the cellphone messes back, and little Rachel is electrocuted. Jack finally snaps like a twig and smashes the cellphone with the sledgehammer that just happened to still be lying around. Emmy chides him for being dumb and says he can't get rid of her that easily. Jack smashes his iPod too, followed by his computer. Then the TV. Then the clock above the bed. Jack later discovers himself being hugged by Mindy, completely unaware of exactly what went on. Jack may be the first Goosebumps character to officially go super nuts~

No, really. He even sees a child psychologist. There's talking, there's therapy, there's a timeskip. And Jack doesn't hear from Emmy at all. Until one day a couple weeks later, he does. He's not happy about this. Turns out she's been hiding in his digital watch the whole time. And she's ready for him to find more friends for her again~

Jack suddenly has an out, though. Mick walks up, mocking Jack for talking to his watch. He's going to beat Jack up for stealing his camera, and then he's moving away to Detroit. Jack suddenly gets an idea. He gives Mick his digital watch as a gift. Mick's been admiring it throughout the book, and he decides this is good enough. He exits, and takes the watch with Emmy in it with him. And this time, Jack is really free~

Oh, except we need a crappy twist ending. Mick moves and days pass. Emmy is not heard from whatsoever. Eventually, the phone rings, and Jack nervously picks it up. Fortunately, it's not Emmy. It's a boy's voice. Mick's, to be exact. He begs Jack to help him. He's trapped in the phone, thanks to Emmy. And he can hurt Jack if he won't help... Haha, that makes no sense~

Sheesh. Well, despite what you might think, this book is not the worst thing I've ever read. In fact, this might be one of the better books I've read in this series. It's kind of a clever idea, and as usual it's ruined by shoddy execution. It also makes no sense as a Goosebumps book. It's like a sci-fi novel that got misappropriated into crappy children's horror. The ending also comes right the fuck out of nowhere, and has no explanation with the rest of the text. Were there even any other digital entities? Who can tell~? And yet, despite the dumbness present throughout, it wasn't the worst thing ever. It was at least readable, and had a interesting premise. But really, leave the technology-based horror to those who have actually used technology invented in the last 20 years~

One more thing: what the hell does the title have to do with anything? Were there no phone puns available?

[theworldoffostering]

This morning DH had an appointment to get his annual skin check. (Do y'all do this?) They ended up having to biopsy a spot on the back of his shoulder and are sending it for testing. He had to get two stitches and told him that I could take them out for him in a week. The doctor suspects melanoma. We have to wait 5-7 days for results.

DH took Baby with him to his appointment. He came home and then sent Baby on a visit to a parent and then went to work. DH is back to subbing this semester. We are hoping it provides some financial cushion for us.

RK had late start for school (they start two hours later one day/month). Her mom came to pick her up at 8:30 to take her to an appointment. I dropped off DS at school at 8:20, and made a special trip to Starbucks because it’s my birthday and I was feeling like I needed fancy coffee. I used the mobile app for the first time-so convenient! I was really glad because it was packed in there and I did not have time to waste.

Drove back to the house and got RK out the door. Loaded up H and DD and headed to an appointment for DD an hour away. I spent about 25 minutes with her therapist asking her questions about DS’ in-home therapist. They are spending 50 of the 60 minute sessions playing card games. I’m sure this counts as building rapport but is that normal? I mean she's been on the case since before Christmas. Aren't we beyond building rapport at this point? DD’s therapist said if nothing else I could view it as respite and that it’s helpful in that way. She’s right, but still. That's some expensive and way over-qualified person providing respite.

I took the two kids I had with me to Cheesecake Factory for lunch because birthday. :-) That’s a huge treat for us and it was really nice to be out with only two kids. H did well and DD was glad for some down time with mom. It's nice to know that even though she's a teenager she still likes me (most of the time).

We drove the hour home and on the way, I spoke to Ms. 6’s therapist. We have court for her this month (we haven’t been to court for her since she left our home more than two years ago), and we are planning to visit this month too. I still need to get a hotel booked and respite details worked out for RK.

DS had early release from school (they get done two hours early 1x/month) so I picked him up and brought him home. E has to be signed off the bus so I did that and then DS had his appointment. DH came home, made an amazing dinner for me and told me he booked a massage for me this weekend. I can’t wait. Baby eventually showed up from his visit all sweaty and a mess. The worker drove him an hour home with his fleece snowsuit on, hood up, and hat on. Then she decided he needed a blanket over the car seat as well. This was after DH gave specific instructions not to do that because he overheats. I just want visits to be over already and my guess is that we have months to go.

E and H went to bed around 6pm tonight. When E got off the bus on Tuesday she had a fever of 103.2 so we kept her home yesterday but she seemed totally fine. This is the third week in a row that she’s been home for illness at least one day.

I baked myself a birthday cake and am going to frost it when the rest of the kids go to bed. Hoping for some downtime tonight to be with DH and reflect. If that doesn’t work out, I have stacks of grading that are calling my name.

[whxtscolor]

＜VOC. CRV2 DATA LOSS＞   [CA GUARDIAN CHALLENGE]

He thought things were bad enough as they were.

Of course, he forgot that in this city, there’s always room for things to get worse.

At first he doesn’t want to believe it. The note the scientists had given him, it had to be some kind of messed-up, cruel prank the were trying to pull on him. Kick a dog while he’s down, right?

There’s no way they could’ve taken all his vocal data from him, right? How would they even be able to do that in the first place?

But he rises from his place in bed, attempts to use his voice in song, and--

nothing comes out except silence that feels almost deafening in the moment.

No… No.

No, this-- this can’t be happening, can it? Perhaps, he wants to believe for a moment, this is all a bad dream. He’s still in slumber mode, he’s still going to wake up and everything’s going to be fine, everything--

He knows damn well that’s not the case.

Panicked, feeling like he’s going to overheat out of fear and horror and a thousand other emotions at the same time, he takes a look at the notice he’s been given once more, and suddenly everything worsens again once he realizes that they’ve only given him three days to scour the entire city for something so valuable.

That’s a dauntingly impossible task, isn’t it…?

They’re literally asking the impossible out of him. They want to ruin him, don’t they?

He leans against a wall, shaking in what can only be silent, fearful sobs, and it’s almost impulse for him to tear up the note, for him to destroy it and pretend this isn’t happening… but if he did that, he’d never be the same again.

God, he-- he has to calm down, doesn’t he? Think clearly, or at least clearer, try to figure out something… Kaito looks again at the note, taking in the words as calmly as his overwhelmed mind can muster up. It… it never said he couldn’t ask for help, did it. He doesn’t have to do this alone, does he?

Inhale, exhale… the thought eases his nerves slightly (slightly, because there’s barely any reason to not be overcome with fear in the face of potentially losing his voice for good). He’s not sure exactly who he should ask, though. A few names come to mind, but--but he needs more. He needs more help, he needs all the help he can possibly get in this situation.

...In that case, there’s only one thing he can do, right?

His hands are shaking to no end, but he goes back over to his dresser where his phone lies, picking the device up and going into the text message app, typing out his distressed cry for help as carefully as he can. It takes some time; the shaking brings about some typos that thankfully the autocorrect feature is able to fix with relatively no problem, but eventually, after he’s proofread the message five times, he exhales and hits send.

to: all contacts from: KAITO

[ txt ] i’ll start out by apologizing for sending a big text like this, but i really need some help.

[ txt ] i’m an android made for singing. these scientists, they’ve um

[ txt ] taken my voice data away and hidden it somewhere, you see

[ txt ] somewhere in the city. the whole city, actually, and i’ve no idea where

[ txt ] and i’ve only got 3 days to find it

[ txt ] i know a lot of people don’t know me and that’s okay

[ txt ] but please if you’re willing to help me look for it

[ txt ] meet me in front of the sugar sugar sweets store in sector 6 two hours from now okay???

[ txt ] thank you for reading this

He hits send, and… and then what?

What’s next?

For a moment he just stands there, back against the wall and his eyes fluttering shut as he tries to ease himself further into a calmer state--until he feels something against his leg and jolts, startled.

But it’s just Daifuku and Hozu, the cat and the Snubbull, peering up at him with curious eyes. Kaito simply stares back down at them for a moment, before kneeling down to gently rub the both of them on the tops of their heads. He can’t offer kind words right now (he can’t offer any words, really), but he stands up again and nods to himself, trying to affirm to himself that maybe he can do this.

He doesn’t entirely believe it, but he has to try.

The journey across sectors, from his home in 4 to his storefront in 6, feels like it takes three times as long as usual, despite his utter sense of urgency that isn’t normally present on a regular day’s basis. Perhaps it’s the fear that every ticking second that passes is wasted time, time lost that he could’ve been spending on trying to figure out where his voice went--

But he makes it. With time to spare, and for a moment he just stands at the doors to his precious store, resting his head against the glass and peering inside as if that were going to reassure him that things would be okay.

As time ticks closer and closer to the meeting point he’d set up in his text, a number of faces start pouring in. He feels an immediate sense of relief when he sees Daylen and Hozuki arrive, knowing full well they’re both reliable and he trusts them fully with something like this. Callie, IA and Flammelle arrive too; friends of his, and greets them all as best he can with his non-verbal cues. Somehow he never realized exactly how much he relied on his voice.

And, to his surprise, he even sees unfamiliar faces. There were some passerby that he’d asked for help along the way who showed up, but two of them--he’d find them to be Yuan and Bigby, and he thanked them as best he could through the use of his phone, typing out a message on the screen of the notepad it came equipped with (a handy little app in a time like this).

He waits--10 minutes or so, before swallowing hard and tapping his fingers across the screen as quickly as he could.

‘Thank you for showing up here,’ he shows his message to them once he’s done typing each time, ‘I really appreciate your help.’

‘I guess you might know since you’re here, but I lost my voice, so I have to talk to you all like this.’

‘Those scientists said they hid it somewhere in the city. I can’t search the whole place by myself,

So I really need help. If you can search wherever, anywhere you can think of that’d seem like a good place for it, it’d be really important to me.’

There’s a brief pause, before he types out a list of places he frequents. Maybe it’d be best to look places like that before anywhere else; it seemed a bit silly to place something like this somewhere where he’d never think to find it… or was that what the scientists wanted in the first place?

He deeply hopes that isn’t the case, but after suggesting that they split up, and keep in contact via phone calls or messages, the search officially begins.

Kaito isn’t sure where to head first, himself. He silently decided to himself that he’d check his home and the shop last, because it seemed like putting it somewhere that obvious would be against what the scientists seem to go for all the time. Judging from what he’s seen in his stay in this place for so long, it definitely felt like they were trying to make things as difficult as possible.

So he spends the day scouring sector 6 (and the closer parts of sector 5) as best he can; entering shops, asking questions (has anyone seen anything odd? Like a disc where it doesn’t belong?) and getting permission to take a look for himself.

Hours pass, and he finds nothing. And all the messages he’s received from his search companions suggest they’ve found nothing as well.

Before he realizes it, the sun has well beyond set--he hadn’t even really paid attention to the fact that the streets had gone dark, street lamps had turned on… What feels like a lump in his throat forms as he sends a message to the search companions thanking for their help, but to please go home for the time being. It’s late, after all.

There’s no way he’s going to stop on his own, though. He can’t afford to--maybe it’s only been a day, but that doesn’t matter, the sooner he finds it the better. He doesn’t want it to be down to the wire here, even though his hope is slowly dwindling the more he searches to no avail.

Think, think, he tells himself, there has to be something you’re missing. Somewhere you haven’t thought of, maybe it’s somewhere important to you--

Important to him. Not just places he frequents, but places that have meaning to him.

That makes sense, doesn’t it?

He skitters into a nearby cafe that’s still open at this time of night; he orders a drink only out of courtesy to not be rude here, but he hardly feels up to drinking anything right now. Grabbing a napkin and borrowing a pen from the barista, he settles down at a table and tries to focus himself in order to figure things out. Perhaps a better search plan was in order. Perhaps the one he’d come up with before was too erratic to work properly.

But there weren’t that many places that held sentimental value to him. His home--but that’d be the least likely possibility in the entire city. If they put it right there this entire time, he wouldn’t know what to think.

...Still, he couldn’t rule it out.

There was Hozuki’s parlor, and Daylen’s mansion, but both places had been searched already and nothing had turned up. Maybe a second search was in order, specific places-- like the room where he first learned to defend himself in the mansion, for example. Perhaps it’d been tucked away somewhere unseen in there.

The last place Kaito could think of… his own shop. Sugar Sweets. But there were many places in there, many different things that’d happened, and it wouldn’t hurt to scour the whole shop he supposed, but… there had to be something more specific he could narrow it down to.

More specific… what important things exactly had happened in there? He’d drawn in a crowd for new year’s, but that wasn’t exactly the sort of thing he’d initially had in mind when he thought of ‘important.’ What else…?

Ah, no. He’d first met Bansai there, although that wasn’t important at the time back then, it was still something of value in his mind despite all the current circumstances, and-- and… wait.

Wait. Their first conversation started with--

He jolts upright, causing almost frightened looks from the few other patrons in the place, before he ran to the counter, tipped the barista and thanked them for letting him borrow the pen, and bolted out the door.

It felt like a stupid thought, something that surely wouldn’t work, but he had to check just in case. It was better to feel safe that he’d looked than sorry that he didn’t, after all.

His feet carry him as fast as he can possibly run, up to the front doors of the sweets shop he so lovingly cares for. Kaito fumbles for a moment in his pockets; he knows he has the key on him, he always does, and he finds it--then jams it in the door’s lock, quickly opening it and bolting over to the place he’d thought of in his stop for ideas.

Turning on the lights doesn’t occur to him right now; he simply uses the flashlight app he’d put on his phone, making his way over to the small display boxes of tic tacs that were nearly full on the shelf, and starts digging through them relentlessly.

The box gets emptied out--he can worry about putting them back in later--and… and…

There’s nothing there.

For a moment, he just stands there, light still pouring onto the empty box, and he feels his spirits sinking immensely. He was wrong, wasn’t he? He was entirely wrong. For a moment he’d gotten his hopes up that it’d be there, but he--

He moves his phone away, and something glinting from under the box as the light shifts catches his eye.

Kaito stops, a look of sheer confusion forming on his expression. He didn’t have anything under there, did he? Not that he could recall, but-- wait.

A sharp inhale is taken, as he carefully removes the box from the shelf. Underneath, he finds a disc.

A disc that has a neat, simple label with the words “VOC. DATA” upon it.

He--

He actually did it.

He actually… did it?

It takes a moment for the android to process this situation. The box falls out of his grip, as his eyes stay locked onto the disc before him, a dumbfounded look on his features slowly shifting into one of sheer joy.

There it was. There was the disc he was looking for.

Carefully, as though it were a fragile piece of glass that would break with simply the wrong touch, he removes it from the shelf, and an excited exhale escapes him. Oh, god, he genuinely thought he’d never be able to find it, and here it was, right in front of him, in one of the most oddly-placed positions he could’ve thought of, but it was still there.

But--shoot, he needs somewhere to put it so it doesn’t get damaged on his way home. Kaito takes a quick glance around the shop, before settling on one of the plastic bags intended for candy; he carefully inserts the disc into the bag before tying it off so it wouldn’t happen to fall out at any point.

Shaking hands then reach for his phone, sending a simple message to those he’d been searching for the disc earlier with:

[ txt ] I FOUND IT

-------------------------------------------------

He’s quick to hurry home.

It takes, once again, what feels like far too long, and for some reason the fear that he’ll be double-crossed somehow and have the disc explode in his hands or something exists within him. The scientists wouldn't be that cruel, would they?

Time ticks by, until finally he’s in sector 4 again, and his shaking feet carry him home as quickly as he can muster. He bursts through the door, startling the poor cat and Pokemon lounging in the living room, but he has no time to stop. He runs through the house to the room he’d designated as the ‘office,’ something that really only had a desk, computer, and a few other things, but that’d do.

Without hesitation, he hooks himself up to the computer with a cord plugged into the back of his neck, before inserting the disc into the computer gingerly. At first, nothing happens, and Kaito starts to feel another lump forming in his throat, the fear that this was a trick, or maybe he’d gotten the wrong thing, or--

----DATA LOADING----

No, wait, that’s something. That’s definitely something! Leaning closer into the screen, hopeful eyes watch the percentage upload counter go from 1%, to 25%, 50%, 90%...

Footsteps patter in the background as the counter reads 100%, before blinking another message to him.

----DATA LOAD COMPLETE----

He’s hesitant, for a brief moment. What if it didn’t work? What if he did something wrong?

Opening his mouth, he takes a needless deep breath, and …

“Ah--”

...Something comes out.

“Ah… Ah! A-Ahahaha!”

Awkward, fumbling laughter spills out as he falls backwards, the cord falling out from his neck as he flops onto the floor, tears threatening to spill out of sheer relief and joy.

A purr catches his attention; Daifuku gently rubs her head against Kaito’s, and Hozu offers him a curious expression as if questioning what he was so happy about so suddenly.

One shaking hand moves to wipe the tears from his face, before he sits upright and offers both hands to rub their heads again.

“S-Sorry, it’s just…

you wouldn’t believe what’s happened to me.”

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Samsung: We'll announce Galaxy Fold timing 'within the coming weeks'

http://tinyurl.com/y4ctbujw Samsung hasn’t given up on the Galaxy Fold, even 45 days after its first foldable cellphone was deliberate to go on sale within the US on April 26. A Samsung spokesperson affirmed to CNET in an e mail, “We are going to announce timing within the coming weeks.” The corporate paused its $1,980 luxury device on April 22 as a consequence of screen breaks, flickering and bulges beneath the screen on assessment items. Whereas Samsung did not present a selected time-frame by any means, this can be a contemporary affirmation that the world’s largest smartphone-maker nonetheless plans to launch the Galaxy Fold. In Might, Samsung cell chief DJ Koh mentioned that the Fold’s US launch “will not be too late.” CNET’s Galaxy Fold remained intact throughout the assessment interval.  The Galaxy Fold is not the one Samsung product that is on maintain. The Galaxy Home smart speaker, pushed by Samsung’s Bixby assistant, is reportedly coming later this yr, over a yr after it was first introduced, and plenty of months after its projected April window. These delays are uncommon for Samsung, a model that has developed a robust observe file for launching its smartphones very quickly after launch.  The case of the Fold is certainly one of injury management, as Samsung works behind the scenes to fix the screen issues that precipitated injury within the first place, earlier than the $2,00zero units get into clients’ arms. What is not clear is what number of clients are nonetheless wanting to pay up for the cutting-edge cellphone that folds in half, even after Samsung reinforces the show.   Samsung says its Galaxy Fold continues to be coming. Angela Lang/CNET Best Buy recently canceled its Fold preorder sales, which signifies that Fold house owners must preorder anew when and if the cellphone goes again on sale. Samsung’s latest silence casts doubt on Samsung’s ability to ship its foldable device in June, a time-frame prompt by an email AT&T sent in April to its preorder customers. Samsung additionally emailed preorder clients, saying they’d cancel their Galaxy Fold order by May 31 if consumers selected to not opt-in. The tech large will not cost bank cards till the Galaxy Fold ships. AT&T didn’t reply to contemporary requests for remark concerning the Fold’s timeline launch. A T-Cell spokesperson replied, “Please attain out to Samsung for additional info relating to Samsung Galaxy Fold. T-Cell didn’t open up preorders for this system.“ Now enjoying: Watch this: Our Galaxy Fold did not break. Here is what’s good and… 10:12 Nicely, that is awkward… Samsung’s Galaxy Fold delay places Samsung in an ungainly place. Because the world’s largest cellphone maker and the the first major brand to announce a foldable cellphone, Samsung’s fame as an innovator is driving on the Fold, particularly after its spectacular unveiling on Feb. 20.  Samsung’s troubles underscore simply how dangerous and fragile the idea of a foldable cellphone actually is. Foldable telephones characterize a brand new sort of system that is meant to maximise display measurement with out increasing the general measurement of the system. The tech large wished to cleared the path, burnishing its fame as an innovator within the cellphone’s transition to the following large factor.  Till Samsung and different manufacturers can allay consumers’ fears, the way forward for foldable telephones hangs precariously within the steadiness. Intense criticism might damage future gross sales and shake shopper confidence within the idea of foldable phones generally.  The Galaxy Fold’s likelihood to guide the rising class might come underneath hearth if consumers flip their backs on the revolutionary design, or go for a rival mannequin akin to Huawei’s Mate X, TCL’s upcoming designs or a rumored foldable cellphone just like the Motorola Razr. On the flip aspect, these different corporations have the prospect to learn from the Galaxy Fold’s mistakes. Why precipitated Galaxy Fold display injury within the first place? A number of early reviewers skilled injury to the screens on their Galaxy Fold mortgage units, which made the foldable telephones unusable. Photographs of the broken Folds ranged from a completely blacked-out display to a bubbled system, and one with a portion of the display white and the opposite half blacked out.  The Fold has a horizontal clamshell design, the place onerous glass halves shut like a ebook to guard a young 7.3-inch plastic show inside. Samsung even features a case within the Galaxy Fold field as further armor for the glass exterior, in case you drop the cellphone. There could also be a selected motive that among the telephones got here to hurt. Two reviewers skilled a complete display failure after they eliminated a skinny plastic movie that runs alongside the Galaxy Fold’s display. There is a slender hole between this movie and the bezel-edge of the show, which has led to confusion concerning the nature of the movie.  Now enjoying: Watch this: Samsung Galaxy Fold issues defined 3:56 It is not instantly apparent if the plastic layer belongs to the cellphone or if it is the movie you generally see on units to maintain screens smudge- and lint-free throughout delivery and storage. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman came upon the onerous approach that the latter wasn’t the case. He tweeted this about his assessment unit final week: “The display on my Galaxy Fold assessment unit is totally damaged and unusable simply two days in. Arduous to know if that is widespread or not.” YouTube reviewer Marques “MKBHD” Brownlee had the same expertise after peeling the layer off his Galaxy Fold assessment unit.  PSA: There is a layer that seems to be a display protector on the Galaxy Fold’s show. It is NOT a display protector. Do NOT take away it. I acquired this far peeling it off earlier than the show spazzed and blacked out. Began over with a alternative. pic.twitter.com/ZhEG2Bqulr — Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 17, 2019 “PSA: There is a layer that seems to be a display protector on the Galaxy Fold’s show,” he tweeted. “It is NOT a display protector. Do NOT take away it.” However the protecting movie is not the one supply of Samsung’s early troubles. CNBC’s Todd Haselton experienced screen flickering on the left aspect of his assessment system. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn additionally had points, with Bohn’s display forming a bulge beneath the floor. On Tuesday, YouTube reviewer Michael “Mr. Cell” Fisher additionally found a bump beneath his Galaxy Fold display. Learn: The Galaxy Fold can’t have this one useful thing These studies of a defective Galaxy Fold are a nightmare scenario for Samsung, the primary main model to promote a foldable cellphone. The Fold — which has a 4.6-inch display on the surface, a bendable 7.3-inch display on the within and a virtually $2,00zero price ticket — is a serious threat for the tech large. Ought to I be nervous? Whereas the reported issues make the affected Galaxy Fold unusable, they don’t seem to be harmful, in contrast to the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which was discovered to overheat and typically catch hearth. What’s Samsung doing to repair the issue? We’re conscious that Samsung is doing three issues: Investigating damaged units. Reinforcing the internal plastic screens for remaining manufacturing items. Clarifying packaging to speak with Fold house owners to not peel off a protecting display layer. Samsung mentioned in an announcement, “We are going to take measures to strengthen the show safety. We may even improve the steering on care and use of the show together with the protecting layer in order that our clients get probably the most out of their Galaxy Fold.” Now enjoying: Watch this: Individuals attempt the Galaxy Fold for the primary time 5:50 As well as, we have requested Samsung what it thinks occurred, if consumers can really feel assured that their Folds will not break, and the way Samsung will make it clear what future Fold house owners ought to and should not do to guard their telephones. To this point Samsung hasn’t addressed these particular questions, however has mentioned that Fold house owners ought to contact Samsung buyer care (1-800-SAMSUNG) in the event that they expertise any issues. We hope to get a couple of extra particulars earlier than the foldable units go on sale.  Learn: Sucking up to buyers might be Samsung’s best way out of this Galaxy Fold mess What does this Fold incident imply for Google Android assist? Google’s support for the category of foldable phones is unwavering. At its annual Google I/O conference on Might 7, Google’s Senior Android Director, Stephanie Saad Cuthbertson, mentioned that foldable telephones “open up a whole new class which, although early, may simply change the way forward for cell computing.”  Android Q, the upcoming refresh of Google’s cell working system, will give attention to App Continuity, the software program that helps telephones just like the Galaxy Fold shortly transfer an lively app from one display and orientation to a different, say from a small display on the surface to a bigger display on the within and again once more, with out lacking a beat. Since builders do not usually make their apps for foldable screens, standardized developer instruments and greatest practices will assist make these apps work higher on foldable screens.  Google’s ongoing function right here means that the Fold’s points are a pothole, moderately than a roadblock, on the trail to foldable cellphone designs. What is that this movie layer thingamajiggy everybody’s speaking about?    Let’s deal with the movie layer first. I had acquired my assessment unit on Monday morning, then shot an unboxing video, and nervous that I had forgotten to take off this plastic layer — what would the YouTube viewers say?!  Seems, what appears like a paper-thin sheet of plastic overlaying the foldable cellphone’s 7.3-inch show is a protecting layer that is essential to serving to preserve the cellphone damage-free. You may see the perimeters of that layer right here, on my assessment unit: Look intently and you’ll see a skinny line hugging the display simply past the bezel. That is the protecting layer that Samsung needs to stay firmly in place. Angela Lang/CNET OK, so now we’re clear: No matter you do, do not peel again this movie. It is a part of the display and unhealthy issues occur if you take away it. However once more, the protecting layer is not the entire story, as a result of two different reviewers, Haselton and Bohn, mentioned that they did not take away the movie, and nonetheless had issues that rendered the Fold unusable. So what is going on on? What is the cope with the Galaxy Fold’s display? The Galaxy Fold has a totally totally different display setup than every other cellphone. There is a 4.6-inch show on the surface that is coated with Gorilla Glass — that is the identical as different Galaxy phones just like the S10 and S10 Plus ($900 at Walmart). However inside, the display is fabricated from a plastic (polymer) materials that Samsung calls its Infinity Flex Display. Samsung created this with a brand new course of and particular adhesives to resist the display’s bending and flexing with out breaking. The display protector layer is supposed to stay in place to forestall injury to the show beneath — that is the factor that really makes your “display” mild up. With out the hardness of glass to cowl the fragile show, the Fold is extra susceptible, one thing that is develop into vividly obvious. What it is like to observe Netflix on the Galaxy Fold Angela Lang/CNET Is there one thing totally different concerning the assessment telephones? Sure. Reviewers acquired early manufacturing fashions. Which means these aren’t the ultimate assessment items, and might be vulnerable to sure points that Samsung might need the chance to repair earlier than the Fold reaches consumers’ arms. For instance, I used to be advised that my assessment unit is an unlocked European model that does not assist US companies like Bixby Voice, Samsung Well being and Samsung Pay. Likewise, I used to be warned that decision high quality is perhaps compromised as a result of the cellphone is not optimized to US bands. Whereas I am totally testing this assessment unit of the Galaxy Fold, I’m withholding a ranking till I obtain the ultimate manufacturing mannequin CNET ordered. Now enjoying: Watch this: Watch Samsung’s Galaxy Fold stress check 1:02 Did Samsung say you are not alleged to take away the movie? It is not clear if Samsung totally briefed each reviewer who acquired a cellphone concerning the display protector layer. There was no instruction in my field — no literature in any respect, the truth is — but in addition no different indication, like a pull tab, that you must take away it. I nearly did anyway. As a reviewer, I prefer to expertise the cellphone as “clear” as potential. Which means all the things I can peel off goes to return off. I emailed Samsung for extra details about this layer on Tuesday. A spokesperson responded, “Galaxy Fold is manufactured with a particular protecting layer. It isn’t a display protector — don’t try and take away it.” 100% did the identical actual factor and the within display spazzed. There must be a PSA or writing within the field. — Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 17, 2019 The corporate additional elaborated its place: “A couple of reviewers reported having eliminated the highest layer of the show inflicting injury to the display. The primary show on the Galaxy Fold contains a prime protecting layer, which is a part of the show construction designed to guard the display from unintended scratches. Eradicating the protecting layer or including adhesives to the principle show might trigger injury. We are going to guarantee this info is clearly delivered to our clients.” Samsung added this assertion as properly:  “The protecting layer is a part of the show construction designed to guard the display from unintended scratches. The primary show of the Galaxy Fold is made with a brand new, superior polymer layer and adhesive that is versatile and hard sufficient to endure repeated folding actions. As a result of the principle show is made with polymer, the additional protecting layer is in place to protect towards impression. It is constructed into the show which is why it shouldn’t be eliminated by power. Shoppers who discover that the protecting layer isn’t built-in on the show ought to contact Samsung buyer care at 1-800-SAMSUNG as quickly as potential to keep away from any extra injury to the show.” Desmond Smith, director of artistic content material and a tech evangelist at T-Mobile, tweeted that the service’s remaining manufacturing fashions will include a warning on the wrap that goes over the Galaxy Fold’s display: However peeling off the Fold’s display layer is not the one difficulty  Whereas eradicating the plastic movie precipitated an issue for some, it is not completely clear what the protecting movie does or how its removing pertains to the display’s conduct. Do not forget that two of the reviewers stored the protector on. Bohn and Fisher suspect {that a} piece of mud or particles might have develop into lodged underneath the display to create the bulge he felt, and a slight distortion on the Fold’s floor. Haselton, in the meantime, noticed a persistent display flicker over the left half of the display. We all know that two batteries, one on both sides, work in live performance to type a single energy supply. I am not {an electrical} or chemical engineer, however I ponder if that might point out a battery difficulty. Hopefully we’ll all discover out a method or one other. At any fee, the Galaxy Fold’s dangerous design has created some inconsistencies that might injury its early manufacturing telephones and its fame. The cellphone comes with this protecting layer/movie. Samsung says you aren’t alleged to take away it. I eliminated it, not understanding you’re not alleged to (shoppers received’t know both). It appeared detachable within the left nook, so I took it off. I imagine this contributed to the issue. pic.twitter.com/fU646D2zpY — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019 Why are bendable screens fabricated from plastic within the first place? Proper now, glass would not bend so properly. That is one thing that Corning — the maker of Gorilla Glass, which covers most high-end telephones — is working on. Do not count on bendable glass to avoid wasting second-gen foldable telephones, although. It will not be prepared for a while. Now enjoying: Watch this: The bendable glass that’s shaping as much as cowl foldable… 4:06 Revealed April 17, 2019. Up to date most not too long ago Might 31 and June 7, June 10, 2019 at 8:05 a.m. PT: Provides Samsung’s affirmation that it’ll nonetheless announce a timeline for the Galaxy Fold launch. Source link

[todaynewsstories]

Behind the scenes with SBS Transit: How to keep 3,000 buses running daily

SINGAPORE: His paper bus model may not look anything out of the ordinary, but Mr Cho Wen Wei is quite proud of it. By his reckoning, it is one of SBS Transit’s first paper bus models, “so it’s very valuable”.

His hobbies are collecting bus guides and memorabilia as well as exploring old interchanges, so one thing is for sure – he is crazy about all things buses.

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“My family members call me a bus encyclopedia. It’s faster than checking the app,” he says with a smile. It is little wonder that he loves his job, as he gets to live his passion.

Mr Cho is in charge of cleaning and maintaining hundreds of buses – one of the unsung heroes working day and night to keep Singapore’s public buses running on the roads.

He may not be one of SBS Transit’s 6,500 bus captains whom commuters see every day, but he feels that he is “serving the public” no less.

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“The bus industry is 24/7 from Monday to Sunday, even public holidays, so we need to work to support them at the back end, to ensure that the bus can go out and return every day,” he says.

Running Singapore’s biggest fleet – some 3,000 buses – is an immense task, as On The Red Dot found out after gaining unprecedented access behind the scenes of SBS Transit’s operations, from managing its network of routes to unexpected road conditions. (Watch the three-part special here.)

Here is how the bus operator’s teams do it, even if not everything always goes like clockwork:

1. BY MITIGATING TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND UNFORESEEN SCENARIOS

The nerve centres of the bus network are the operations control centres. Every bus on the road is linked to a centre, of which there are seven, each monitoring traffic conditions and the movements of over 500 buses on average.

The centre in Seletar Depot, for example, tracks 27 bus services to ensure that they run on schedule, covering a route network in Yishun, Ang Mo Kio and the Central Business District.

There are seven controllers on each shift, so each of them tracks about four bus services. They can relay instructions to bus captains, who can also report back on any accidents, traffic jams or incidents on board via a microphone.

The operations control centre in Seletar.

In this way, the controllers can adjust arrival times remotely, by telling the drivers to increase speed or slow down.

When one of the buses was ahead of schedule, for example, assistant service controller Francis Nah told the bus captain: “Slow down for two minutes. You’re too close to the front bus, causing bunching.”

Bunching occurs when two or more buses of the same service arrive at a stop together. This makes the service unreliable, creating longer waiting times.

Slowing down the second bus, however, is not the only solution. “If the front bus is too slow (and) the rear bus has already caught up … we’d ask the captain to safely overtake,” said Mr Nah.

Mr Francis Nah.

The most challenging service he must supervise is number 70, which goes to the central business district. “We do experience delays, especially during peak hour,” he said, indicating at one point that its buses were nine to 10 minutes late.

During the peak period, the controllers’ workload “gets doubled or tripled”, in step with the increase in the number of buses on the road.

Overseeing all of them is Service Controller Deng Ziliang, who is in charge of the centre’s operations –the “kingpin” as Mr Nah described him. And he usually has his hands full.

During one “tense” moment, after two buses broke down, another bus captain found a fault with a bus at the depot. “So now we’re trying to mitigate all these by swopping some buses,” he said.

Mr Deng Ziliang (right).

Sometimes his team is put in situations “beyond (their) imagination”, like the instance when the system they use to monitor the buses – the common fleet management system (CFMS), which uses a GPS locator technology – was hit by a connection problem.

Without the CFMS, they cannot communicate with bus captains on the road and cannot determine the actual location of buses.

To keep the situation under control, with peak hour looming, they used their phones to call the bus interchange personnel to continue their co-ordination work.

Once the server was rectified and the system was brought back online, it was business as usual and straight into peak hour traffic. “We need to react very fast because time doesn’t wait for us,” noted Mr Deng.

The common fleet management system, used by all four of Singapore’s public bus operators.

2. BY ENSURING STRINGENT MAINTENANCE 24/7

Public buses can operate up to 18 hours a day and thus require regular maintenance. Each bus goes through a three-hour check every two months.

At the workshop in Hougang Bus Depot – one of Singapore’s oldest bus depots, having opened in 1983 – teams of technicians and foremen are constantly checking and repairing their fleet of 600 buses.

Repair times depend on the bus models and faults. Some buses take 30 minutes to fix; others with major defects can take days.

“For us, a good day means there’s no bus breakdown,” said senior technician Amin Tugiman. “If a bus comes back, then we’ve got a big, big problem.”

The 59-year-old was one of the few technicians at the depot with the expertise to deal with one such bus that returned with an oil leak and in “quite a big mess”.

Despite his nearly four decades of experience, it was a challenge. His investigation found coolant leaks – an issue that, if untreated, can cause the engine to overheat and be damaged – as well as other faults.

He had to remove the water pump assembly, among other parts, clean the gasket area and fit in a new one.

Once the technicians have completed repair works on each bus, they must take it for a road test. The bus must meet certain criteria, such as travelling uphill and negotiating sharp bends.

They have a little help from technology, a computer, to see whether all the signs are good. Some faults, however, cannot be detected by computers, “so you still need the human touch”, said the workshop’s deputy manager Aw Boon Huan.

It takes six years, reckoned Mr Amin, to be a good technician who “understands these engine systems”.

“It’s a good place to work actually, but then maybe the environment (looks) greasy, and the younger ones try to avoid doing all these jobs,” he said.

The workshop has over 100 staff, and its technicians are between 20 and 60 years old. At his age, it can get tiring, Mr Amin admitted. “When we finish work, all our energy is drained out,” he said.

It is a reflection of the fact that the workshop never sleeps. “We operate for 24 hours, seven days a week,” said Mr Aw. “Even when we go to sleep, our phone is still beside us.”

3. BY WASHING THE BUSES METICULOUSLY

Another big operation is the washing of buses. At Bedok Depot, with a fleet of more than 600, this task is split into two sections.

Operation Wipe is the daily cleaning of the floors and windows, and Operation Wash covers everything from tyre rims and mirrors to handles and seats.

With a team of 30, Mr Cho is in charge of this process. To keep to a tight schedule, everything here must run like clockwork. “The constraint is basically the race against time,” said the operations officer (Garaging).

“We make use of the split-shift period to wash the buses. And when the buses come back, we must be fast enough to complete the scheduled fleet for the day.”

On average over a seven-hour period, around four buses are worked on per hour.

“So it’s non-stop for them. They need to continue washing one bus after another without a break,” said Mr Cho, who has five contract cleaners and two parking attendants to assist him.

He will inspect the buses once the washing is done – and he is meticulous. One of the buses was “quite clean”, for example, but he spotted some dirt in the bus captain’s area, and the dashboard was “a bit dusty”.

So he made sure that those areas were cleaned again.

4. BY PUTTING TRAINEES THROUGH THEIR PACES

Every week, there are 20 trainees learning the ropes to become an SBS Transit bus captain. The candidates would have to go through more than 30 days of theory lessons and practice, as well as sit two exams.

They must pass the basic test to proceed to the next level. In the advanced course, the training includes learning service routes and navigating busy bus interchanges.

Trainers like Mr Desmond Au, who joined the company four years ago and has trained over 200 recruits, are seeing more candidates in their 40s and 50s.

Many are making a mid-career switch, and with a failure rate of five per cent, most are expected to make the grade.

Some of them may be experienced drivers who have worked with heavy vehicles, such as tipper trucks or tourist coaches. That does not necessarily make the job of a trainer easier.

“They may look at you (and go), ‘Wah, I’ve got much more experience than you. How are you going to teach me?’” said 42-year-old Mr Au. Driving a bus, however, is another matter altogether, as he explained it.

“Driving a car, our front tyre is in front. You drive a truck – our tyre is below our backside. And now we’re driving a bus. Where’s our front tyre? Behind,” he said. “So that’s where they (make) a lot of mistakes.”

He is usually assigned six trainees in each new batch. And there are four cameras in the training buses recording every moment of the driving sessions, which he uses to review their performances.

Safety is the number one priority. As the trainees also find out, however, being a bus captain is not just about driving from point A to point B.

By his own admission, Mr Marshall Wong has a bad temper. But after his basic course at the Hougang Training Centre, he realised that a bus captain “should be very patient”.

“Previously, maybe I wasn’t at that stage, but now I’m trying to learn. I’m trying my best,” said the 40-year-old.

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[onthegoinmco]

Don’t let the fact that it is almost Fall in Central Florida fool you, because staying cool in the theme parks should still be a priority!

These may seem like common sense tips, but there are the things that I like to keep in mind as I prepared for staying cool during a day in the parks with my family and friends.

Nine Tips for Staying Cool in the Theme Parks

Indoor Attractions are the best attractions

From 1 to 4 pm the heat is at its worst here in Central Florida, but can be oppressive at time until the sun goes down so you will want to find ways to try to stay inside as much as you can during your time in the parks.

In addition to attractions, these peak times are also great time to catch a show you haven’t seen in awhile. My absolute favorite is For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, because you aren’t living your best theme park life unless you’ve seen parents belting out these songs louder and prouder than their kids. Also Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show, inside Universal Studios Florida, is a fantastic show with very little gore. It’s also worth noting that all of the outdoor shows are SeaWorld Orlando have covered viewing ares or splash zones for some relief from the heat.

Find ways to wait indoors for attractions

At all the parks there are several attractions with indoor queues and experiences that are perfect for waiting without the heat. My favorites are Dumbo the Flying Elephant at the Magic Kingdom with it’s indoor play as you wait area, The Mummy at Universal Studios Florida with an intricate queue, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, and The Hogwarts Express at the Universal Resort are three of my favorite rides with indoor queues.

Splurge on dining for a break from the heat

Dining in the parks can get quite pricey, but there are several quick service and restaurant locations that offer indoor seating to grab a bite to eat and cool down. If you are looking for a restaurant experience, make sure to get a dining reservation online on the Walt Disney World website or using Open Table for the Universal Orlando Resort and some Disney Springs restaurants.

Prepare for afternoon storms

We often have daily showers, and being prepared for these rainy days will help keep your day on track instead of having to stop everything to find cover, so head on over on icFlorida.com where you can find some of my best rainy day survival tips!

Also please learn from my experience…don’t be fooled by the ‘covering’ over Diagon Alley at Universal Studio Florida, because it has openings and you WILL get wet!

Stay hydrated

According to the CDC, it is important to drink fluids before you even begin to feel thirsty. Your body uses thirst to indicate that you are approaching dehydration. Rather than drinking to quench your thirst, it is healthier to continuously replenish fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty at all.

Some other easy things to always remember when it comes to staying hydrated is to avoid soft drinks & alcoholic beverages, cool fluids can help encourage you to drink more during activity in hot weather, and try to have water every 2 hours.

There’s no shame in visiting First Aid

If you are not feeling well or are in need of a more intense break from the heat, there is no shame in visiting the First Aid locations in the theme parks. Everyone from attraction attendants to members of the custodial teams will be able to direct you to the nearest and easiest way to help. Please don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help if you need it before it is too late.

Be Prepared

A few years ago I created a video on icFlorida.com about beating the heat in the parks with nine key items to bring with you in your ultimate theme park bag, and to save you some time I am sharing that list (with some updates) with you!

1. Pack a Water Misting Fan.

Before we get started I know that it’s not glamorous, but these Water Misting Fans really do the trick! While you can purchase them in the parks, but you can also pick one up before you go at a fraction of the cost at Walmart or Target. A huge bonus is that they also help keep little ones happy while you are waiting or walking around.

2. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Sunscreen isn’t just for the pool, and you will want to follow the recommended directions to reapply for the best results. For everyone’s sake around you, please be careful when you are using an aerosol sunscreen.

3. Umbrellas are extremely useful!

Umbrellas are great for two reasons, they are great shade on the go and they are really useful when a storm pops up in the afternoon as they are wont to do in Orlando. I carry my umbrellas in a zip top bag, so if it does rain I can place my electronics in the bag and when I no longer need the umbrella I can put it in my theme park bag without getting everything else inside wet.

Just keep in mind that if you do use the umbrella for shade that theme park etiquette is that you should put it down before parades and outdoor shows.

4. Think of the children!

Little ones in a stroller will have shade, but they will also overheat easily. You can purchase a battery operated clip fan that will fit on most strollers in the theme parks or at Wal*Mart, Target, or online before you arrive at the park.

5. Stop to splash in the parks.

At all of the parks as well as Disney Springs and Universal’s CityWalk you can find splash pad play areas that are a really fun way to cool off while you are walking around. If this is something you are considering doing the day make sure you come prepared with bathing suits, swim diapers (if necessary), and a towel to make things a lot smoother for the rest of your day.

6. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.

Don’t worry about packing a million water bottles in your theme park bag, because anywhere that sells fountain drinks can also provide you with a free glass of ice water. I also like to carry an empty water bottle that can be filled as I need it during the day. Staying hydrated is extremely important!!!

7. Take advantage of cooling towels.

Along the same lines as the misting fan is the cooling towels. Now these have become extremely popular in the parks, but to save some money you can pick one up before arriving at the park. Again, this is something I pack in a plastic bag so I can store it in my backpack without getting everything else soaked.

8. Bring items that make you feel more comfortable.

I always bring what I call my ‘Bag of Necessities’ that I fill with anything from bandaids to chapstick, but making one of your own should really have what makes you feel comfortable in the park!

Download a weather app to your device.

Now this one might not be physical, but having a weather app is a major must. My favorite weather app, of course, is the WFTV Channel 9 Weather app, available for android and apple devices. It’s great to have to keep up to date on any weather information, storm warnings, and to keep track of how close lightning is for attraction closures.

Pick the best location for a fun day with the weather in mind

When you are planning your day, be realistic about your destination. If you and your family don’t do well in the heat, skip parks where there is limited shade or consider visiting a water park.

These are just some of my favorite tips for staying cool in the theme parks, but I would love to hear some of yours in the comments below!

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[jackiiegonebiking]

I drove from the first camping to the second one, and this day was the first I used my kitchen! Cooking actual food, taking a half-hour walk around the camping ground and just chilling.

I also managed to get in contact with Jessica, whom I met in Nelson last year. She had moved up to Wellington, so the day after I went and caught up with her. We walked around the city, and the botanical gardens, and had lunch before I booked tickets for the evening ferry over to Picton.  We also went by The Warehouse so I could buy pillows and a real duvet to sleep more comfortable in the car.

I would arrive late in Picton, but with nothing else planned it would work out really well. I met a few Americans on the ferry, and we played Settlers of Catan. I also traded one of my head torches for kiwi fruit, as I got one extra when I bought some other equipment from The Warehouse.

As I arrived in Picton, it was late, and already dark. I drove the half hour to the camping spot, but it was already full, and from the reviews I would probably get a fine if I stayed here. Along the road I saw a car turn into a courtyard, so I took my chances, parked in the beginning of the driveway and walked the 100-odd metres to the house. I asked for permission to sleep in my car at their courtyard, and it was no problem. Sweet!

Jessica put me in contact with her mum, so I had a bed to sleep in in Nelson for the evening. I only had two planned things before that, first, i wanted to by the same mosquito spray I bought last year at Pelorus Bridge, as it was a good-smelling toxic free one. The second was to climb the Maungatapu track, but this time with car. I thought it would be much easier than with bicycle, but I soon learnt that was not true.

This was the better part of road. Didn’t want to stop at the worse ones…

The car made it over the water, through mud, and across all the rocks, and everyone I talked with living in the area thought it was really impressive for a car like that!

t probably wasn’t too good for the car, but everything held together. I also met two touring bikers on the way, and when I met them at the top again, one of the bikes free wheel had broke, so he had to push it a long way.

The other side is even steeper, and you need a key to pass the gate, so I didn’t even have any choice but to drive back the way I drove up, and drive around the mountain. The drive around was really boring with a lot of slow vehicles and no passing lanes.

Finally in Nelson, the car’s thermometer started to climb the last 100 metres. Nothing I could really care about that evening. I got served a really nice vegan dinner at Jessica’s mum’s place, while planning for the next day and having a good nights sleep.

The next day I wanted to go by Motueka to do a couple of jumps in Able Tasman. While getting the DZ briefing I got a surprise, as I saw Ben walking in with a tandem parachute! Apparently he was working here, and Isabelle, his girlfriend from the same hometown as me, did as well! The next awesome surprise was that Ben had a brake, and joined me for a skydive, so I didn’t even have to jump alone!

While Ben continued working, I went to surprise Isabelle at her work. She was soon finished, and we went to look at an old rusty ship laying around on the beach, at low tide reachable without swimming.

I spent the afternoon with Ben and Isabelle, and we tried to see if we could see what was wrong the car. It was low on coolant, so that could be a clue to the problem. After spending a night at their place I went to a mechanic and did a pressure test of the engine, and it wasn’t totally sealed. To fix it would cost more than the car was worth, and it was more than possible do to drive a Subaru Legacy with a blown headgasket for thousands of kilometres. I bought more coolant and decided to see how far I would make it. After another skydive, I went south to a camping an hour away for another nice night.

I picked up two hitchhikers at the camping, and drove them to Westport (where my bicycle passed 10000 kilometres last year) before I continued south. If you remember Michael with his red Surly from last year, who I met the same day as the earthquake, my plan was to visit him and his parents again.

While driving I saw tho bicyclists, and they had a Swedish flag! Decided to stop and chat with them for like 20 minutes), and gave them a tip about the place I camped at last year.

As I didn’t have any way of contacting Michael, and I didn’t even have an adress, I decided to wing it. As lucky as I am, after I turned around because I thought I drove too far, I saw him 50 metres away! He was on his way to the beach, as he had adopted an abandoned duckling. His parents were happy to see me as well, and I stayed a night at their place.

The duckling was really cute!

I wanted to get to Skydiving Kiwis before the weekend was over, and now being Saturday the 18th, I crossed Arthur’s pass.

At the top I saw a Kea! People shouldn’t feed wild animals.

I took a small detour to say hi to the camping spot I pitched my tent at last year as the rain, hail and cold got me, and then continued my easy driving. Apparently the car did only overheat at lower RPMs, so climbing mountains was all good.

To get a good start for the next day I camped in between Christchurch and Ashburton, and the next day I drove down to Skydiving Kiwis to jump with them. Brent was still there, so I did some nice belly jumps!

After the last load I decided to continue south to another camping. This one was really hard to find, but after asking at the pub, they showed me a printed map. The app was showing the wrong place, so they got the question a lot…

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This is what my home looks like inside nowadays!

As I wanted to skydive in Wanaka, I drove past some other beautiful places from last year, Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, While exploring around Tekapo I found a place with 15 dead rabbits… don’t understand why.

I stopped in Twizel, again, to buy food and use the internet. There was a camping along the canal coming from Lake Pukaki, and that would be my place for the night. When I arrived there, I felt really down, not really knowing why. I ended up bringing my camera out, taking loads of photos as there were really beautiful surroundings, and by the evening everything felt a bit better!

  A man and his duck I drove from the first camping to the second one, and this day was the first I used my kitchen!