#basically all of the letters (sans i) have some curve to it

[aliettali]

favorite word?

ouggghh.... sinuous

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

Frame type headcanon ramble because I’ve had it sitting around for ages and I wanna share it lol. There’ll be a part 2 at some point so I can talk more about the individual frame types cause there’s lots of them.

PART 2 HERE

Notes on Frame Type:

↠   Frametype refers to physical (non-electrical) schematics like skeletal structure, engine type/grade, and armor pattern. Also comes with some base coding, some inherited memory data, and some other weird shit that no-one really knows a whole lot about (because the Primacy only grants study proposals once in a blue moon). Because it's the most visible level of differentiation between Cybertronians, it tends to be the first... sorting system that they categorize themselves by, resulting in stuff like Functionism.

↠   Divided into three 'ancestral types' based on mythological divisions of the Thirteen: 

Warframes claim descent from Prima the Sword, Megatronus the Shield, Liege Maximo the Burning Torch, and the Wanderer. They are distinguished by their thicker armor, more struts and shock absorbers in their skeletal system, more flex joints practically everywhere, and some more fun stuff I'm not sure how to describe as yet. 

Groundframes claim descent from the Record-Keeper, the Muse, Alchemist the Philosopher, and Solus the Smith. They are distinguished by not having most of the stuff listed above. 

Flightframes claim descent from Vector the Timekeeper, Nexus the Sundered, the Guiding Hand, and the Guardian Wall, and are distinguished by being flight-capable (without deliberate modding). 

Over time, these three ancestral types split into several quite different phenotypes — unintentionally due to environmental pressures, such as the case of the minibots during the Cataclysm, or through deliberate engineering, such as the Second Generation military projects that led to the creation of dexters, rotaries, and flighted warbuilds ('Seekers').

↠   Most Cybertronian languages have a pronoun system that is either based around or can be extended into frame types. I’ve been using letter-number codes to describe them — please imagine that they're standing in for sounds I can't possibly transcribe in human orthography lmao.

Coda to the above point — I really fuckin hate the Aligned canon of 'there are 13 different frametypes based on the Thirteen Primes and one of them is Girl', so mech vs. femme is 100% not a thing here. There are no 'girl' frametypes and 'boy' frametypes, there are no girl robots and no boy robots at all, I'm just using she/he/they/etc. pronouns for English-language convenience. 

↠   Shifters have their own system configurations and technically their own frametype, but they have a 'root form' that usually conforms outwardly to one of the standard frametypes. Shifters tend to be smaller (and they're an absolute nightmare for medics, Shifter medical care is its own specialty) and are commonly classed with various minibot subtypes. Jazz, for example, is usually an articulate, but he can make himself as big as a light standard or as small as a sylph.

↠   Triplechangers also have their own system configuration and frametype, but unless they have visibly incongruent kibble (or they're using their pronoun i guess) it's common to mistake them for heavy warbuilds. One way to tell them apart? The warbuilds tend to have narrower waists. It's not foolproof, but triplechangers are generally packing more stuff in their innards. With heavy warbuilds the frametype ideal is to stuff as many important components as possible into their heavily-armored chests. Which is just not possible with the triplechangers.

Notes on System Configuration:

↠   System Configuration refers to processor schematics, (most) computer hardware, (most) software, and electrical system components/layout. It's a lot more important and relevant to your average Cybertronian than frame type is in most cases, but also largely invisible from the outside. Some system configurations are more common in certain frametypes; for example the ferus and efficiens systems are particularly widespread among flightframes as compared to groundframes, but in general any frametype could have any of the five standard configurations.

↠   Shifter configuration is the only one of the special configurations that is 'natural' — it goes back to Amalgamous the Star of Chaos, one of the Thirteen. The others were all the product of deliberate engineering. Although the fracture and gestalt configurations were inspired by the mythical depiction of Nexus Prime as having five component bodies, Nexus did not pass down this trait, and it was left up to daring scientists to recreate.

↠   Literally any transformation-capable frametype can be reformatted into a gestalt configuration, allowing that mech to combine with up to five other mecha. (My combiners tend to look something more like Bayverse Devastator sans wrecking balls, incidentally. Love that alien look.) Theoretically you could even do it with someone like Omega Supreme but nobody has yet because the size difference is Awkward.

↠   Fracture configuration likewise is something someone of any frametype can be reformatted into — it's basically just a matter of getting an extra body or two that matches your existing frametype and creating a spark-deep network. It can be a steep learning curve to pay attention to more than one body at once, though, and that's where the special system configuration comes in. A fracturemech's frametype is whatever frametype their component bodies are — unlike gestalts, a fracturemech's components all match. They do have a combined form, but the form that counts for frametype purposes is the one that can transform — and combined mecha can't transform.

↠   the Sparked Ship Special and Sparked City Special configurations are notable for having more individual variation than any other system configuration — they are tailor-made for the individual ship or city according to their projected needs and environments. 

They are classed as a group rather than as 'Unclassified Configurations' because they do share some basic architecture and also are uniformly ridiculously complex. Most are paired with semi-independent AIs in a permanent network, and they all deliberately add lots of new stuff to their system over the course of their long long lives, in response to external pressures or even just plain curiosity or boredom. (Much like regular Cybertronians, in fact; these guys — sparked cities in particular — just aren't limited to whatever they can stuff into a frame that needs to transform on the regular.)

Notes on Size Class:

↠  the main concern of size class is weight and mass rather than height per se; height classes cross over with each other and the weight classes don't. You get classed to match the weight; so even if you're, say, only 12' tall and massing to match Class 3, if you weigh over 500kg you get classed in Class 4. 

Height does matter in that manufacturers and builders tend to assume that if you weigh and mass a certain amount then you're going to be within a certain height range as well, for ease of standardization. And once you get much beyond Class 12, very few manufacturers and whatnot account for you anyway, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[theredsuzuran]

Yandere Muzan x Reader

I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors, also for my crappy writing I hope It does not bore you lol. Slight mention of gore

It was the time of summer

A multitude of people hovering over one another in the vast space of the lively Asakusa city occupying the streets like tiny ants. Unfortunately it was same monotonous sight for kibutsuji Muzan progenitor of the morbid demon race, who seems to be roaming around uninterestingly looking for a suitable prey to hunt. The fleeting lives of mortals, their compassion, happiness, sorrow, pain held no value to him. They are pests who belong in the dirt or beneath his feet, inferior compare to a perfect being like himself. Nothing more than a tool that he won't hesitate to discard after his desires are fulfilled. All of a sudden his gaze felt upon a petite figure near a tailor shop, a large number of people gathering around her.

What's the matter, mister? Muzan inquired to a man next to him.

"if you are new definitely try her kimonos, now make way" the man said quickly as he rushed to the shop pushing all the people away. He was interested to know what the deal was about so he decided to stay for a while hoping it's worth the wait.

After a long delay muzan finally got the chance to view the women. As their eyes locked the dazzling city lights broader than the day itself felt dull in comparison for a moment, the once monochromatic world seems to change vibrantly with her luminous presence, As if goddess Amaterasu, the diety of sun herself have ascended from the heaven into the mortal realm. The demon lord stood there mesmerized by her breathtaking beauty, how can someone so close to perfection exist alongside those barbarians.

"How can I help you mister?" She questioned politely with her soft vocal. His endless thoughts were interrupted breaking the silence.

"Show me your kimonos"

And so his obsession started..

Days passed since his last encounter with the woman. He have come across numerous marvelous humans in everlasting lengthy life but never have his ruby eyes caught a glimpse of someone as alluring as her. The girl possesses an unique aura that differentiated her from the rest of the crowd, able to draw attention from the cold hearted creator of cannibalistic demons. At first muzan was just curious to know about that woman, possibly persuade her to become one of his underling because of the potentials she may carry. He frequently begun to visit her shop to but or sew different fabrics. Gaining basic information, like her name, likes and dislikes, etc. Her grandfather owned the tailor shop which sold finest quality garments from the beginning and were highly respected for their excellent tailoring. Continued by (y/n) at her family's will, who runs the shop with equal undying devotion.

She treated him with such kindness even though he was a ruthless demon not that she knew about it or let alone the existence of demons. The deepest corner of his dark heart illuminated with pure light whenever she was around and he came to the conclusion that she was the ray of sunshine he desires to perceive. Eversince he was cured from his fatal illness the only goal in his life was to conquer the sun which prevents him to achieve absolute perfection, in order to live an eternal and indestructible life or so he thought until that very day his eyes laid upon you. It would be stupid to think that demons are capable of experiencing love, concepts of feelings are completely foreign in their conciousness, it was more like obsession. His megalomania makes him believe he needs you no he wants you.

Alas, if only it was a fairytale. The king does not always gets what he desires and same goes for the demon lord when he finds out that his beloved darling already has a lover. As he witnessed the sight of you hugging your partner with passion. The way her eyes flutter infront of him when he caresses her cheeks making her turn away bashfully and how she hold his hand with her delicate ones while exchanging vows of love and loyalty towards each other made his blood boiled with fury. If anyone who can hold her fragile frame is none other but the demon lord himself yet there she was sharing intimacy with some filthy creature. His narcissistic self was put down with a lowlife, he cannot accept that his (y/n) was claimed someone else's. It was something he would never allow to happen.

"Kibutsuji san would you like to buy something today as well?" The women who now acknowledge his presence asked him cheerfully.

"Should I visit you later" a force smile graced on his pale features.

"Oh no, it's fine, let me introduce you to my fiancee" she said excitedly.

"Nice to meet you kibutsuji san" your fiancee said

"Pleasure to meet you as well" The demon scoffed under his breath but Kibutsuji was quite adamant he knew it was not hard to turn the tables anytime sooner as with a blink of an eye he can get rid of him by simply ordering his underlings without even hesitating to dirty his hands exclusive for his precious darling. But that was not what muzan was planning to do at all as his mind was engulfed with much sinister thoughts.

To insanity?

"You have been restless for a long time, what's wrong my child?" A man asked with a look of concern written all over his face looking straight at the figure of an anxious woman roaming around impatiently within the house.

"Its been a week father since he last wrote a letter to him" she mumbled softly disappointment painted across her features. The father could not help but laugh a little by her daughter's remark.

"Father please it is serious"

"I am sorry sweetheart but it might be that your fiancee is busy with wedding preparation" which made sense because the wedding would be taking place after three day and it was obvious that he was caught up with the arrangement. However there was a strange feeling inside her stomach which made her believe otherwise.

As the days passed the wedding day came close, with (y/n) still not receiving any message from her lover. Worried her to the core at this point all she wanted was to make sure of his safety as something constantly felt off. The guests came in one by one for the wedding ceremony but there was no sign of the groom.

It was getting unbearable for her to remain confined. Ignoring her father's request to stay inside she went outside in hope to check whether or not her lover was approaching but once again she was greeted with emptiness. Her eyes swell up with tears forming on both corners allowing her body to slowly hit the surface as she convinced herself that her lover will never come. The worst was yet to happen and before she could make any movement the ground beneath her feet started shaking and a shoji door opened consuming her into the darkness.

It was just the start of her miserable life under the demon's control.

"So you are finally awake", a sudden voice came echoing into her eyes as she slowly opened her eyes after regaining her consciousness. She moved her hands upwards in order to ease the headache only to find her hands tied up with shackles, a chilling sensation of overwhelming fear filled her entire senses as she remembered what happened prior.

"Where am I? Why am I chained?" Who are you?" she demanded furiously at the mysterious figure infront her which was now advancing at her direction from the dark corner of the dimly litted room.

"You are quite an impatient one?" The man gripped her chin roughly as her eyes protruded out with bewilderment.

"Can't even remember your daily customer?" A wicked smile curved across his countenance.

"K..Kibutsuji san" she parted her lips. Tears forming in her eyes once again. This made muzan even more irritated as he tightened his grip on her chin. (Y/n) whimpered with pain crying out loud.

"Your shouting won't help dear nobody apart from me can hear you scream" he said bluntly with his cold apathetic voice.

"Why?" (Y/n) lowered her head down holding his hand with her delicate ones trying her best to get a hold of him.

"Pardon?" Muzan inquired as he stared at your quivering form with his souless eyes there was no empathy in them or whatsoever although he felt pity. He cannot deny the fact that he was indeed attracted to her that's the reason why he put her into so much hassles.

"Where is my lover?" She asked sternly with her voice shaking a bit.

"Oh" muzan responded his hand still holding her chin tightly. This made her even more anxious she was unaware of the power he might possess and definitely she didn't had any intentions to risk her life.

"Why can't you humans move on and accept circumstances given before you?" it startled her as she cannot process what he meant.

"I don't.. u..understand" she said.

"Then you have to learn to accept me as your partner" muzan replied coldly (y/n) sat there looking at him with disbelief her heart and soul belonged to someone else and for a long time they have been together it's absolutely impossible to change the reality she was accustomed with just because some maniac wants to make her his partner.

"I can never" she murmured with disgust hinted in her voice. "I love him" throwing daggers in his direction not ready to submit her futile attempts of protest should pissed the demon lord even more but to her surprise she saw him smiling menacingly and in the corner of her eyes she saw the figure of her debilitate lover.

"Start from his fingers" muzan ordered one of his subordinate as they began chopping one of his finger making him scream in pain.

"No! please don't hurt him" trying to break free from the shackles she was tied with realizing it was fruitless she fell on the demon's knee begging with all the strength left within her in a last desperate attempt.

"You left me with no other choice, dear" he explained playing his sick games of manipulation on her. This was exactly what he needed to break her mind and she cannot help but rely on him pleading for his forgiveness feeding on his massive ego providing him ultimate satisfaction to witness the quivering frame of his darling clinging onto his knee in pure submission.

"Please I will do anything you say" she requested shaking like crazy.

"Anything?" Muzan questioned raising his eyebrow

"Yes" she replied without any hesitation.

"Be mine"

She already knew that he wanted this and she readily obliged in order to save her beloved, sacrificing her own life. Her only purpose was now to satisfy the demon lord, he was successful until the very end and it won't take long to make her completely his.

[holykillercake]

Hazy Justice - 03

01 02 03

🇨‌🇴‌🇵‌!🇸‌🇲‌🇴‌🇰‌🇪‌🇷‌ 🇽‌ 🇲‌🇮‌🇱‌🇮‌🇹‌🇦‌🇷‌🇾‌🇩‌🇴‌🇨‌🇹‌🇴‌🇷‌!🇷‌🇪‌🇦‌🇩‌🇪‌🇷‌

word count: 2.5k

summary: After eight years serving your country in a war, you returned to your hometown as the new head of Trauma Surgery in one of the best hospitals in the country. You were expecting a calmer life now, but suddenly you see yourself choosing between your brain and your heart, light and dark, justice and evil.

highlight: ¨You looked like millions of dollars, and you felt like millions of dollars.¨

warning:  Use sunglasses. Too bright.

notes: .Dear comrades, it has been a while but it's finally here! With new characters and lots and lots of threads.

🇱‌🇪‌🇦‌🇻‌🇪‌ 🇨‌🇴‌🇲‌🇲‌🇪‌🇳‌🇹‌🇸‌, 🇭‌🇪‌🇦‌🇷‌🇹‌🇸‌, 🇦‌🇳‌🇩‌ 🇱‌🇴‌🇻‌🇪‌!

¨Hello...¨ you were instantly greeted by the tingling doorbells that let the owner know whenever a client entered the establishment. 

Your eyes traveled to the half-moon bar where the slim and tall woman leaned casually, cigarette adorning her elegant fingers. Her eyebrows raised as she took in your figure, double-checking if you were not someone else.

¨Oh! Y/N-chan, is that you?¨

¨Shakky!¨ she made her way out of the bar to hug you ¨It´s so good to see you! You haven´t changed at all!¨

Her kind chuckle made you feel like a kid again, and you couldn´t stop yourself from tearing with the nostalgic feeling.

 ¨Thanks, Baby. Now you,¨ she put her hands on your shoulders and opened a distance, eyes examining you like a mother hawk ¨you look tired. Eight years in war made you no good.¨

You nodded and laughed ¨I guess we can put it that way.¨

¨Come, treat is on the house.¨ 

Clapping your hands, you followed the lady towards the bar. ¨So, where´s Rayleigh-san?¨ 

¨He just left, but it shouldn´t take long. He´ll be happy to see you, Y/N-chan.¨

The circumstances that connect you to Shakky and Rayleigh go way back to decades ago when your parents were still alive. By that time, all you knew was that they were friends, people you could trust. You were not allowed to ask more questions about their jobs, and you couldn´t find a suitable answer with the information you had. 

They were always on the road, visiting only once in a while. They would bring incredible gifts from various countries and discuss ¨adult matters¨ with your parents while Crocodile helped you with homework. 

Whenever you brought up your curiosities to your brother, he would say that they talked about the war, and you were too young to hear such things. Crocodile was also not allowed in the room, but he´d always peer into the conversation through the ventilation ducts. 

If he´s saying, it must be true.  

Since your dad was a Lieutenant Colonel, there was always the possibility of his unit being requested to offer back up or engage actively. You never minded it, though. He had already been sent to a lot of dangerous missions, and he came back every single time. He was strong and invincible. He would always return to his family. 

Well, that was true until the day you found your mother in the kitchen, breaking in tears, holding a smudged letter in her hands, together with your father´s dog tag. 

You stared at her and your brother, blinking in the hope of seeing what was wrong. The woman at the kitchen table did not look like your mother. She had no sparkle in her eyes or pride in her chest.

On the contrary, thick and dark tears fell from her eyes, blurred from the makeup that always accentuated her piercing gaze. Her lips were not curved in the tender smile she used to carry. Instead, she bit her lower lip so hard that you could almost see blood staining her pink lipstick.

¨Dad´s not coming home.¨ was all Crocodile said.

That was not the time when things got completely off track, but it was a significant change in your family's life. The government offered a military pension and a country flag for the services provided by your father. However, you had to be transferred to the Commercial District, where your mother worked as an archivist at the Ohara Institute of Historical Research. 

¨Y/N?¨ you heard a male voice call, making you turn. 

Your eyes shifted between the two male figures standing at the door. ¨Rayleigh-san!¨ you shouted like a kid seeing Santa Claus at the shopping mall ¨Smoker!?¨ this one came out more like a question. 

¨You have grown, little one!¨ he patted your head like old times. ¨Maybe my white hair makes sense. I´ve aged!¨ he laughed cheerfully, and Smoker tilted his head. 

¨Finer than wine!¨ you giggled, then turned to the other white-haired man, cheeks blushing ¨This is, uhm... I swear I´m not following you.¨ 

¨Oh, you two know each other?¨ Shakky asked, adding two more old-fashioned glasses on the counter. 

¨We´re neighbors!¨ 

¨That´s great! Come, we have a lot to talk! Today is on the house!¨ Rayleigh shouted similar words as his wife. You wondered if that was the synchronization of personalities or if the alcohol he had prior was impairing his judgment. 

Shakky decided to close for the day, wanting to spend as much time as possible in your company. The clock seemed to have stopped while you were drinking, eating snacks, and catching up on years of conversation. 

It was funny how sometimes it felt like a ping pong game between you and Rayleigh. Every so often, the conversation would turn into matches of him serving shots of military-wise improper questions and you backhanding with ¨That´s classified information, Rayleigh-san.¨.

Did he have a poor memory or all those years of scotch and cigars in your father´s office taught him nothing? Either way, you were having too good of a time at that table to worry about his faulty memory. 

¨Are you sure you´re neighbors?¨ Shakky asked with a playful grin ¨You seem to know nothing about each other.¨

¨I would say that´s a pretty sharp point.¨ you answered in the same lighted tone. 

¨Tight schedules, I´d say.¨ Smoker added, shifting on the couch.

¨But it looks like you´re free today. How about dinner? Four of us, our house, like old times Y/N.¨ Rayleigh seemed too keen on this, and you wondered if he was trying to set you up on a date. 

¨Well, as much as I would love that, I´ve got plans for tonight.¨ 

¨Let me guess,¨ Rayleigh created a tension ¨classified information?¨ 

You laughed loudly at his stupid joke. It was a predictable Ray-san ice breaker, but you couldn't help yourself. This man was a blissful delight. 

¨Much to your content, tonight´s plan I´ll be able to spill.¨ you teased him ¨I´m having dinner with Crocodile tonight!¨ 

What happened after you pronounced those words would have gone unnoticed by someone inattentive. It felt like a slight change in the air, like those quiet moments before a bomb exploded, when the clock stopped ticking. 

You didn´t have the chance to question before Shakky took the wheel. 

¨That´s great, Y/N!¨ her elegant hands embraced yours, affectionate and caring ¨Did you see how much he´s changed?¨ 

¨Uhm, actually,¨ you blinked, focusing back on the conversation ¨it´s the first I meet him in... eight years.¨ 

The tightness you felt in your chest almost made you tear, and the woman saw it. Her eyes carried a hint of compassion... or pity. 

¨You miss him a great deal, right, Baby?¨ 

¨Yeah...¨ you shrugged ¨he was out of town when I arrived, so I only got the chance now. But how´s he doing? Did he change a lot?¨

¨Oh, baby, it´s been a while since we met. He´s a busy man, you know.¨ 

Your brows raised, then furrowed, and you had a perplexed smile hanging on your lips. You would not have believed those words if they hadn´t come directly from them. 

¨Oh, wha- well, I´ll¨ a nervous laugh left your mouth ¨I´ll drag him by the hair, then! Busy man, bullshit! He used to bug mom and dad all the time, asking why you guys couldn´t live with us!¨

¨Don´t stress yourself over that, Y/N.¨ Rayleigh said with his gentle smile.  ¨He runs a lot of businesses, I´m sure he would drop by more if he could.¨ 

Shakky nodded¨And, it´s your first time in the Light District, right? Was that the only district you haven´t lived in yet?¨

¨That and the Noble District, obviously.¨ you rolled your eyes.

¨You lived in all other districts?¨ Smoker asked after a silent moment in the conversation.

¨Yeah, long story and not that interesting. You´d be bored, trust me.¨ 

¨It´s rather difficult to find someone who lived in more than two districts, so I´d like to hear that.¨ 

¨Alright, but don´t say I didn´t warn you.¨ 

You peeked at your wristwatch, running some basic math in your head and deciding that it was time to go if you didn´t want to be late for dinner. Your lips twisted in a pout, and your expression dropped a little for having to leave this fantastic moment.  

Surprisingly enough, leaving them was not as difficult as you imagined. Maybe because they reminded you that you could visit them anytime now, or because you did not want to act like a crybaby on Smoker´s car. 

He said it was also about time for him to leave and offered you a ride back home. You would not have to take the subway and would get the chance to know him better.

 A win-win situation. 

The first minutes were a bit silent, but after you asked him if he should be driving since he had quite a lot to drink, he responded with an awkward stuttering that was rather charming. The conversation that followed was smooth as you realized he was way easier to talk to than you imagined. 

Smoker was respectful, always making sure that it was ok for you to talk about your past while sharing some things about his life as well. Inside of that car, he almost seemed like a different person. His brows were not furrowed ad his voice sounded relaxed. 

The ride ended too fast for your liking, and you saw yourself waving goodbye when deep down you wanted to ask him to stay for a coffee. Unfortunately, you couldn´t, maybe some other day. Now you had to make yourself presentable to meet your other half, your brother. 

                                                            ...

The Light District was nothing like you had seen before. The entrance was marked by a gigantic golden arch, which carried an equally shining bell.

Tall palm trees swayed in the cool breeze, tinged with orange by the sunset. Luxurious establishments, whose signs began to be lit, occupied both sides of the clear sidewalk. 

From a distance, you could see the tip of the Ferris wheel of the Sora park. It did not spin due to the recess, but the lights remained on. The roller coaster that had been the cause of the accident was surrounded by tall metal poles, being repaired for the reopening of the place.

The driver Crocodile sent to pick you up lowered the window so you could enjoy the view to the fullest. Your hair started to fly in the wind, and a delicious smell of butter invaded your nose. The restaurants had already begun to heat up the pots to receive their customers.

The Light District was projected to offer convenience to the ones who were willing to pay the price. Therefore, all that was best was located in Eldorado Avenue, the main passage that extended for kilometers like a luxurious and soft red carpet. 

¨We are approaching the hotel, miss Y/N. Sir Crocodile awaits for you.¨

¨Uh...¨ you murmured, amazed by the view. 

You squinted when something reflected in your eyes, catching your attention, and a gasp got stuck in your throat when you spotted the famous Hotel Verde.

 Well, it was impossible not to notice it. 

First of all, it did not look like a hotel. It resembled more a small town. Even taller palm trees guided the way towards the entrance, both sides occupied by ponds and tropical plants. The building stood tall like a lighthouse and at the top rested an enormous golden statue of the reptile that represented its owner.  

You did not wait for Daz, the man your brother chose to escort you, to get out when the car stopped. You put yourself out as soon as the limo parked in front of the main stairway. After so many years without putting on a heel, maybe you would accept a hand to go up the stairs.

Your hands smoothed the dark green silk dress that dragged on a short tail, courtesy of Crocodile, along with shoes and jewelry. You looked like millions of dollars, and you felt like millions of dollars.

When the valet took the car somewhere else, Daz put himself beside you, offering you his arm. Your heart pounded like the Ox Bell at every step, and you breathed through your mouth, trying to keep your cool. 

You saw various types of people coming in and out of the hotel, all of them embellished with jewels and shiny tackles like Christmas trees. Each and every one exalted wealth and power, with their nonchalant glares and pointed noses. Your gut twisted, remembering Shakky and Rayleigh´s words, wishing Crocodile hadn´t turned into someone like them. 

The long stairway was divided in the middle by a golden rail, separating who went up from who went down. That might have been the reason why the man coming down your way caught your attention. Or perhaps it was the weight of his gaze, hidden by the reddish specs. His blonde hair and skin seemed like gold, the pink suit looked orange-ish due to the sunset, and his wide grin made you quiver. 

He walked with two men by his side, freeing the way for him. At some point, no one dared to come close to the stairs. It was only the five of you. 

¨Daz!¨ the man, who seemed more familiar now, exclaimed ¨I wonder who´s the person that would make you leave your boss´back.¨

He approached you, hungry gaze brimming on his tongue. He was tall and seemed even more as he closed the distance. 

¨Not even the luxury dolls get to be escorted.¨ he gently took your hand and kissed your knuckles with delicacy. 

You weren´t convinced by his gesture. If anything, you felt bothered to see him disrespecting the house´s rules, as if that disrespected you directly. ¨Tell me, dear, what is your name?¨

¨If you wish to know something from someone, it is more appropriate to introduce yourself first.¨ your voice came out indifferent and a vein popped on his forehead before breaking into laughter.

¨Fufufu I can´t say you are wrong!¨ he leaned back, large hand on his stomach. ¨I´m Donquixote Doflamingo. It surprised me that you couldn't put that together. Now tell me, doll, what do they call you?¨

You sighed and looked around, spotting a figure at the top of the stairs that lifted your mood and gave you all the strength and confidence you needed to end the conversation. A smile grew on your lips as you turned to Doflamingo, eyeing him with nothing but the will to leave. 

¨They call me Lieutenant-Colonel Y/N L/N, Division Surgeon of the Army. Or just LT Colonel L/N if you prefer.¨ you offered him a respectful nod before turning your attention to the man who waited for you with a smile on his face. ¨Now, if you excuse me, Mr. Donquixote.¨

[krappykawa]

ಌ i mildly like you more than like (p.3)

— in which an incessant fan girl, a kiss, and a little bit of denial makes oikawa tooru realize he might mildly like you more than like

description. you’ve been in love with oikawa tooru for longer than you can remember. having known him for the better part of nearly 11 years, you’ve come to accept that you’ll never be more than a best friend to him. but with the help of a few irritatingly persistent fangirls and a kiss that was only meant to drive them away, a tale of unrequited love might just prove to be something more. 

oikawa tooru x f!reader, fluff, angst, childhood best friends to lovers

word count. 4.5k

parts. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

note. this was only supposed to be a three part story but it keeps getting away from me 🧍🏻‍♀️ anyways i hope you guys like this chapter 😼

Oikawa tries to deny the way his heart skips a beat every time you’re around, he really does. He tries to ignore that his eyes constantly move to wherever you are in a room (though he feels as if maybe he’s always done that, but he tries not to dwell on it). He tries to ignore the incessant pull towards you and how he always finds himself reaching for your hand when he shouldn’t. But he’s not daft. He knows that something’s changed, and he knows that it’s something big. 

But he’s not quite ready to admit it - not yet. There’s one more thing he has to make sure of. 

That’s how he gets here - staring at the small letter that he holds between his fingertips and for the first time in months, debates whether or not he should accept this confession. He hasn’t accepted a confession since his ex-girlfriend, Yua had broken up with him and he hadn’t thought he would be accepting another any time in the next year. 

Yet here he is, staring at the girl in front of him and wondering if it’s worth it. He just wants to know for sure. He wants to know that what he feels for you isn’t stimulated by something false that his mind had tricked him into, because if there was anything that scared him more than his own failure, it was the thought of losing you as a best friend.

He knows that he shouldn’t do this to the girl that’s looking up at him hopefully with brown eyes full of adoration. She’s pretty, with bob-length hair and well-cut bangs to go along with a petite build and soft curves. But she’s not you, his mind immediately nags like a second instinct. He chooses to ignore it. 

He knows that it’s cruel of him to accept this confession without actually having feelings for her. He knows that by doing this he might just be living up to the stupid playboy expectation that everyone seems to place on him. 

But he needs to know. Or, if not that, he needs to forget your lips and the way you look up at him with what might be love in your eyes. He needs to, but he’s not even sure that he wants to. 

“Thank you Hishoko-san. I’m honored that you would take an interest in me. I accept your confession,” he says despite it all. The girl lights up with a megawatt smile. 

And even as he says those words, he knows that he’s making a mistake. 

You feel the old feelings of heartbreak resurfacing when Oikawa bounds up to you and Iwaizumi and announces that he’s gotten a girlfriend. The familiar ache in your chest comes back, but this time with greater force. It’s the feeling of disappointment when you’ve just barely gotten a taste of something delicious before it’s rudely knocked from your hands and lost to you. How could you forget the way his lips molded against yours and the way his eyes seemed to light up just a little brighter? You decide that it’s a cruel, cruel thing for the universe to hand you hope just to snatch it right out of your hands. 

You hadn’t wanted to let hope kindle within you for this very reason. But you were always a little more lenient with your rules when it came to the boy who’d stolen your heart and ran away with it. You let yourself hope that maybe he might just give it back.

But here it is, the striking blow of truth that those fantasies exist only in your imagination. 

“Do we know her?” The bitterness that’s so very present in your tone rings over and over in your head, playing as a constant reminder to everything you’re trying to avoid feeling. You hope that Oikawa doesn’t notice the way that your stomach is churning uncomfortably when you turn and attempt to smile softly at him. 

His gaze is on Iwaizumi when he answers, so you’re safe from any interrogation for a little while. “Iwa-chan does. She was the girl that you were partners with for that lab last year.”

“Oh. Her. She’s nice,” Iwaizumi says, his voice losing the soft touch that would usually hide beneath his harsh and unkind tone towards Oikawa. It’s not hard to tell from the quiet rage in his eyes that he’s angry. 

Oikawa cocks his head, his gaze flicking from you and up to Iwaizumi. “What’s wrong Iwa-chan? You don’t seem all that enthusiastic.”

You can practically feel Iwaizumi’s eyes burning holes into the side of your head, but you refuse to meet his gaze. If you happen to look over at him, you know that your facade would break, and you aren’t quite ready to come up with an explanation on why you’re so upset with this news. Oikawa would be able to see through that in an instant. 

Finally, after a long few seconds of pointedly avoiding his eyes, Iwaizumi looks away from you and answers Oikawa shortly. “She’s nice. I don’t know much about her though.”

You know that Oikawa must’ve noticed the brief exchange between you and Iwaizumi, but from some stroke of luck, he doesn’t question it. 

He clears his throat before turning his gaze down towards you. “What about you Y/N-chan?” There’s an odd tone in his voice that makes you look up at him. He’s staring at you with searching eyes that flick between your eyes and your lips, which makes you furrow your eyebrows ever so slightly. You’re not too sure what he’s searching for. His eyes don’t leave your face as he softly asks, “Are you two acquainted?” You think that the look in his eyes is far too serious for a situation that should be light and joyous on his end. 

It takes everything in you to tear your gaze away from his. You’re afraid that if he keeps looking at you like that, you might just start to cry. “No, I don’t think we are,” you try to say without your voice cracking. 

Oikawa doesn’t seem particularly satisfied with your answer, but it seems that he can tell that neither you or Iwaizumi really want to talk about this any further. You three walk in what might be the most awkward silence in your eleven years of friendship, the air thick with tension and unsaid words. Iwaizumi squeezes your shoulder and you feel Oikawa tense from beside you when he notices the small gesture. You can’t find it in you to care about what it might look like to him at the moment. 

“I’m really going to try this time. To make sure that I don’t neglect her,” Oikawa says again after a slightly uncomfortable silence. His gaze is aimed straight-ahead, but he looks as if he’s talking more to himself than he is to you and Iwaizumi. You want nothing more than to go home and pretend that this conversation hadn’t happened. 

Oikawa doesn’t fall in love easily. You’ve seen him go through countless relationships that barely last more than a few days because he simply can’t commit to them when volleyball has been his love for nearly his whole life. You know he doesn’t mean to hurt them and that he can’t help that his interest dwindles away. The one and only time you’d ever seen him actually fall in love was with Yua, and even then even his attempts at making them work had failed. 

So hearing him say that he was going to try again - to try and make sure that he doesn’t make the mistakes he’s made countless times wrenches at the screws in your heart. You had let yourself hope. You’d let yourself go to sleep thinking of the way he looked at you after you showed him that alien plush. You let yourself smile wider at him everytime he smiled at you with this new look in his eyes that you couldn’t help but be hopeful for. You let yourself love him freely for the first time without that nagging feeling in your mind that always told you that you were nothing more than his best friend.  And now you’re finding out that perhaps you’d imagined it all, and that instead, he was falling in love with another girl that you hadn’t known about. 

“That’s amazing, Tooru. I can’t wait to meet her,” you finally say. Iwaizumi hasn’t said a word, and you know that the moment that you get a moment alone with him, he’ll be bombarding you with questions about this recent development in Oikawa’s love life. You never quite told him of your feelings for his best friend, but Iwaizumi is almost, if not more observant than Oikawa. You’re sure that he figured it out one way or another. 

That’s why you’re glad when a girl that you had been assigned an assignment with calls out to you across the hall. You don’t even say a goodbye to either of the boys walking beside you before rushing to her side.

“You must be Y/N-san! Oikawa-kun tells me a lot about you!” Hishoko greets you with a smile. You two stand at nearly the same height, so you decide to pull her into a hug. Despite the way your heart aches at the sight of her standing next to Oikawa, you know that she’s done nothing wrong. She just happens to be in love with the same guy as you. You can’t fault her for that, not when you couldn’t even help yourself from falling for him.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” you say as you pull out of the hug. You look up at Oikawa to find him already watching you with a troubled look in his eyes. You decide not to think anything of it. 

If there’s one thing that has never failed to cheer you up, it’s your visits to Takeru’s volleyball club. Though you have never been particularly gifted at volleyball, you’ve managed to pick up on the basics with help from Oikawa and Iwaizumi over the years. 

“Y/N!” You smile brightly when you see Takeru standing next to Oikawa as you enter the gym. He runs up to you and you crouch down so that he can wrap his smaller arms around your neck. Oikawa trails after his nephew with a relaxed smile on his lips. 

You can’t help but let your gaze linger on him. He’s wearing a mint blue shirt and joggers in the Aoba Johsai volleyball team colors, a combination that was always one of your favorites on him (not that you’d ever let him know that). His hair is tousled and he’s slightly flushed from warming up with the kids that came early, though it only adds his blessed good looks. With an ache in your heart, you think that he might just be the most beautiful person on the Earth. 

After sending a small smile and nod in Oikawa’s direction, you pull slightly out of Takeru’s hold while still keeping your hands on his shoulders. He’s wearing a bright grin when he says the last thing you were expecting him to say. “Just promise not to kiss him in front of me okay? I don’t want to get either of your cooties.”

You blink at Takeru. “What?” You lock eyes with Oikawa, who seems to have an equally shocked look on his face. For a moment you feel as if everything else in the world has drowned out except for the mild hitch in Oikawa’s breathing when he hears what Takeru says.

“Takeru, what are you going on about?” There’s a mild discomfort in his voice.

“You said you got a new girlfriend and that she’s coming to the club today. Y/N always goes to the club so it has to be her! Right?”

For a second you feel as if you might just run out of the gym doors and never come back. You genuinely consider it, already thinking about what ice cream flavor you’ll be gouging on when you get home. But then you remember that doing that would probably lead to a lot of questions on Oikawa’s part, so you decide against it. 

Before you can formulate a response, Oikawa does it for you. “No, no. Not Y/N, Takeru.” He says it with a nervous laugh to his voice, but his eyes keep darting towards you. Your attempt at laughing with him sounds far too high-pitched. You’re very well aware of the fact that Oikawa knows that too. 

At a pace that would have surprised others, Oikawa seems to shed all nervousness and instead lets a joking lilt enter his voice as he puts a hand on Takeru’s shoulder and says, “Besides, neither of us have cooties, where ever did you get that idea?” 

You think back to his lips and how they most definitely did not have cooties. And even if he did, you would happily contract all the cooties in the world if it meant that you could kiss Oikawa’s lips whenever you wanted. You feel your face heat up at the thought of it. 

“One, you do have cooties ‘Kawa. And two, Takeru, you’ll love Hishoko-san. She’s very nice,” you say without looking at Oikawa. You don’t give either of them time to respond to anything you said before you stand up and pat your thighs. “I’m gonna go say hi to the other kids, if that’s okay with you, munchkin?”

As you turn to leave, Oikawa calls out from behind you. “Don’t go around defacing my name when you get there, Y/N-chan!”

“No promises, Cootiekawa!” You smile to yourself for coming up with that nickname on the fly, as childish as it is. 

“Don’t call me that!”

The little kids are bound with excitement when you walk up to them, all smiles and excited hellos. It’s funny really, how much admiration these kids have for both you and Oikawa. It warms your heart. 

By the time Hishoko walks in, you’re getting the cart of volleyballs ready after sending the kids off to get a drink of water. She looks entirely too beautiful in a flowy dress that highlights her features and you’re torn between feeling jealous that she and Oikawa make a gorgeous couple and feeling understanding that she was the one that Oikawa had fallen in love with. You send her the most convincing smile you can muster when she notices you and waves. 

When you have to turn away as Oikawa presses a kiss to Hishoko’s cheek, you’re met with a sight behind you that isn’t any more comforting. 

“Hey Y/N!” 

Kaoru is walking up to you, his hand clasped around a bashful-looking young boy. He still looks at you with the smile he used to wear when you were together, and you wish that he wouldn’t. Not when the reason you broke up with him for is standing just a few meters away from the both of you (not that either of them knew that). 

Despite that, you still manage a smile. “Kaoru, hey! What are you doing here?”

“Well, my cousin here started getting into volleyball, and I thought about this club. You used to go on and on about how much fun you had teaching the kids here and I thought that he might enjoy it.”

You have your hands wrapped around the volleyball that’s pressed against your midsection, feeling your stomach drop at his words. On paper, Kaoru might be considered your perfect match, but by some cruel dealing, your heart seems hell-bent on falling instead for the one guy that might never even look at you with more than platonic love in his eyes. You wish that you could’ve found it in you to fall in love with Kaoru instead.

“That’s thoughtful of you.” He seems to stand a little straighter as you say it. You try not to notice. “I’m more of a helper though. ‘Kawa’s the one that does the teaching most days. He’s over th-” You turn to point towards where Oikawa was standing and feel the words die on your lips. 

Oikawa’s already walking towards you with Takeru and Hishoko trailing behind him. He’s wearing what might be a friendly smile to anyone else, but you’ve seen it enough times to know that it’s a little too forced to be friendly. It’s the same smile he wears when he gets insanely competitive right before a volleyball game and is looking to intimidate his opponents. It’s the smile he uses when greeting Kageyama and Ushijima. It looks even more passive aggressive since he’s holding a volleyball against his hips. 

“Y/N-chan, who’s this?” You’re relieved that he’s using the amiable voice he uses to be friendly with strangers, but he still looks as if he hopes that Kaoru might just disappear if he just stares at him hard enough. 

“This is Kaoru’s cousin.” You look down at the boy. “I’m sorry, I never did catch your name.”

“I’m Kousuke, it’s nice to meet you. Kaoru says you’re really nice.”

“Oh I’m sure he does,” you hear Oikawa mutter under his breath. It’s so quiet that you might have imagined it because in the next second, his usually preppy demeanor is once again put up. “Hello there, I’m Oikawa,” he says kindly to Kaoru’s cousin. When he looks up at Kaoru though, his smile turns to sweetened acid. “Glad you brought him here. Who better to teach this young boy here but me? Isn’t that right Takeru? Your friends seem to be fond of me and my exceptional volleyball skills.”

Takeru looks up at Oikawa with a confused look. “No they don’t.”

“Takeru,” Oikawa says while fixing a stare at his nephew. Takeru seems to lose his attitude. 

“Uh, yeah I guess they do?”

“See! The kids love me! I’m practically their idol! They love my serve actually, always begging me to teach them. It’s a pretty hard serve though, so they really haven’t gotten the hang of it. You’ve seen my serve though, haven’t you Kaoru-kun?”

“It’s okay. I do remember that you hit it into the net the last time I came to watch with Y/N,” Kaoru shrugs. 

Oikawa practically growls. “I’d like to see you receive one of my serves.”

“I’d be more than happy to try.” Kaoru smiles, but you can’t tell if it’s genuine or just as passive aggressive as Oikawa’s. 

Oikawa lets out a low chuckle, and you force yourself to not look physically affected by it. You remind yourself that his girlfriend is standing right behind him. “I’m sure you would. Though most people struggle to do so, I wouldn’t want to injure you,” he says while moving the volleyball back and forth in his hands. 

Kousuke and Takeru look up at them with confused looks on their faces. Hishoko looks mildly bashful at what might be her first look at the Oikawa that’s not all sunshines and daisies. You’re merely wondering what’s caused all this tension. As far as you were aware, Oikawa and Kaoru weren’t on extremely bad terms. 

Kaoru flicks a look between you and Oikawa. “You’re pretty cocky aren’t you?”

“Not cocky. Just confident. I’m one of the best setters in the prefecture. Isn’t that right Y/N?” Oikawa turns to look at you and the passive aggressive look in his eyes turns to something more genuine. 

You shake your head, letting out a small laugh. “Yeah yeah, sure. Whatever. Stop showing off, ‘Kawa.”

“I’m not showing off!” There’s just barely a hint of humility in his voice. 

You raise a brow at him. He seems to wilt under your gaze. 

“I’m not,” he mumbles. 

You tilt your head in the direction of the kids getting ready on the court. “Come on. You have kids to teach. Stop picking fights.” You’re also more than ready to get away from Kaoru’s gaze. 

Oikawa doesn’t seem to be quite ready to teach though. “Why would I be picking fights?” His gaze is leveled on you.

You fake confusion as you stare right back at him. You want to remind him that there are others around you. “I don’t know, Tooru. Why would you?”

The air seems to still with tension. 

Thankfully, Takeru comes to your rescue. “Hey, Y/N? Do you think we should start now?” 

“Yeah, of course, Takeru.” You turn to Oikawa. “Receives. You take the older ones. Kousuke can be in your group.”

To both yours and Oikawa’s displeasure, Kaoru sticks around for the entirety of the club. He sits on the side with Hishoko and makes teasing comments to both you and Kousuke, almost like no time has passed since your break-up. 

It’s not that you harbor any harsh feelings for him. It’s just that you’re a little on edge with Oikawa and Hishoko here already, and now for some reason, it seems as if Oikawa and Kaoru are looking to off each other. 

“Good job today, Y/N-chan,” Oikawa says as he helps you put the volleyballs back in the cart. Despite the rough beginning, the day still went relatively well, especially when Oikawa landed a particularly nasty serve that got all the kids hyped and excited for the next time you’d be meeting. 

“Mhm. You too.”

Oikawa sighs. “You’re mad.” It’s not a question. 

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

He places the last volleyball back into the cart and closes it before turning to look at you. “Look, I’m sorry for that.”

“You should be,” you reply. “What got stuck up your ass that made you act like that anyway?”

“Nothing.”

You raise a brow at him.

“I’m just stressed. Team chemistry is on edge with Kyoutani back on the team ... amongst other things.”

It’s a half-truth. You can tell by the way his eyes divert from yours when he airily says “other things”. 

You lean against the cart to turn your body in his direction. “What are other things?”

“Other things,” he replies without looking at you. He’s leaning against the cart with his back to the metal rather than to his side, so all you’re met with is his side-profile. 

“So you’re not gonna tell me?” You’re a little miffed. 

He turns to look at you, his brown eyes boring into you. “I’m not the only one with secrets Y/N-chan.”

You feel your stomach drop, your head immediately thinking of everything he might’ve found out. Maybe he’s aware of the way you’re in love with him. Maybe he’s known this whole time and was just keeping you around in an act of pity. Your breathing seems to still at that possibility. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

This time, Oikawa moves so that he can turn to you fully, though his eyes don’t look any less intense. “The other day, with Iwa-chan. What was going on there?”

Your breathing returns. At least he doesn’t know. 

“Nothing.”

“Though so.” He looks mildly hurt. 

Before the conversation can stray into tense territory, Hishoko walks up to you two. You’re surprised to see that Kaoru and his cousin are following behind her. “Hey Oikawa, I was wondering if we could check out the sweet shop across the street?”

You want to tell her that Oikawa hates that shop. He took one step into it and complained about how their candy assortment was horrendous. You want to tell her that Oikawa would much rather go to the frozen yogurt shop that’s a few blocks away, but you don’t. It was sort of a tradition for you, Oikawa, and Takeru to head over there after the kid’s volleyball club had ended. It might be selfish to do so, but the thought of her completely replacing you in that sense makes your heart ache. 

“Huh?” Oikawa turns to look at her. “Oh. Right, sure.”

You place your hands on the cart, making to move it back into the storage closet. You don’t want to be around for the rest of the conversation. 

Oikawa notices what you’re doing and interrupts. “Y/N-chan? You want to come with?”

Stupid. You wonder if he’s asking because he really has no idea what the norms of a relationship are, or if he truly sees you as nothing more than just a sister if he’s more than willing to ask you to go with him on what could be a pseudo date with his girlfriend. 

“No, it’s fine. You have fun.”

You’re about to wheel away without waiting for a response when Kaoru hesitantly speaks up. “Y/N, are you walking home alone then?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Though I could probably take a bus home if needed.”

Kaoru beams, his teeth flashing in a perfect smile. “Kousuke and I were planning on heading to this yogurt shop we saw before we got here. I can take you home after if you want to come with us.” His hands are stuffed in his pockets as he rocks back and forth on the heels of his shoe. 

You can practically hear the way that Oikawa’s jaw clenches. You make a mental note to bring him a loaf of milk bread the next time you have a shift at the bakery in hopes of easing whatever stress he’s holding on to. 

Kaoru’s still looking at you expectantly. You weigh your options. You can either go with your ex-boyfriend and his cousin to get frozen yogurt and have him take you home after, or you can walk home alone. Despite what the implications of the first choice might have, it’s still an easy choice. 

“Yeah, sure. Let Tooru and I just clean up. I’ll meet you outside.”

Both Kaoru and Kousuke nod before heading out. Hishoko and Takeru follow them shortly after.

“You didn’t tell Hishoko that you despise that shop,” you say. The two of you had just finished hauling the volleyball net back into the equipment closet. 

“I didn’t want to disappoint her.”

“Hm,” you hum. “You … you like her a lot then?”

Oikawa pauses in his place, and you realize that you’re both standing much too close for comfort. His eyes wander your face again, like he’s searching for something. “Maybe. It’s too early to tell.”

You hate the way that your stomach churns because it really is unfair that he can look at you like that and not feel the same way you do. You take a step back and move to pick up your bag on the side of the bleachers. Oikawa follows close behind. 

When you both get to the gym doors, Kaoru and his cousin are standing by a tree to the right, and Hishoko and Takeru are standing by the pillar to the left. 

Oikawa turns to you once more, his voice sounding mildly fatigued. “Have fun with Kaoru.”

You attempt a smile. “Have fun with Hishoko.”

And with that, you both split off, heading in the direction of the two people waiting for you two. Neither of you voice out loud that you would much rather be with the other. 

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[robininthelabyrinth]

Three Gates - on ao3 (for content warnings check Ao3) - on tumblr: pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6, pt 7, pt 8, pt 9, pt 10, pt 11, pt 12, pt 13

- Chapter 14 -

“I would like your advice on something,” Meng Yao said to his mother.

Meng Shi was wearing silk again, rich colors that suited her – she had fully recovered from the serious illness she’d had a few years back, something for which he would be forever thankful to Qinghe’s doctors because he knew she wouldn’t have made it if they were on their own –  and a fur-lined jacket that made her look especially comfortable. She finished pouring the tea and smiled at him.

“You do?” she teased. “Still, after all these years?”

“I’m never too old for your advice,” he said and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down.

The weiqi board in the corner was midway through a game, he noticed, and was glad: Sisi was terrible at weiqi, and the only other person who routinely played against Meng Shi was Nie Huaisang. Things between them had grown better as he’d grown older – he loved to paint, to play, to keep birds and raise flowers, and those were the things Meng Shi liked the most.

It was good to see them spending time together. Meng Yao hoped that Meng Shi could show Nie Huaisang how to forgive, and to remember how to be as carefree as he had once been.

After all, Nie Huaisang had taken up what had once been Meng Yao’s duties, during the war, all the intelligence work and strategy, the battlefield clean up and the politics, and it had left its marks. Indeed, if Meng Yao had been anyone other than Nie Huaisang’s dearly beloved brother, he would probably be the subject of a decade-long plan of utter obliteration right now, good motivations or not – in fact, he was pretty sure that Nie Huaisang had one already plotted out, and was still considering it an option if Meng Yao didn’t make regular deposits on the infinity of fans he apparently owed him.

(The brat wouldn’t take duplicates, either. Meng Yao had put in an order for someone to send him an entire ship’s worth from Dongying in the hopes that that would earn him a little credit. The relevant someone being Wei Wuxian, who was off exploring the world with Lan Wangji - possibly for no other reason than to get away from the rest of them all teasing them about the long and overly dramatic way in which they’d confessed their affections for each other.) 

Still, Nie Huaisang had forgiven Meng Yao, even if he hadn’t forgotten, and they were most of the way back to being as they had been before – which admittedly was closer than he’d ever been with Meng Shi, who Nie Huaisang seemed to treat as a casual acquaintance instead of a mother. He treated her about the same as Sisi, actually, and usually acted as if he thought Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue were his birth parents instead of his brothers.

And possibly Lan Xichen as some sort of rich uncle he could (and routinely did) extort for gifts.

(He still called him ‘pretty gege’, though he’d recently started up several debates – mostly monologues –  as to whether Lan Xichen ought to now be called ‘er-ge’ and Meng Yao ‘san-ge’ according to their ages, being that he was now part of the family, or if they should just all go ahead and get properly married already so that he could call him ‘sao-zi’ instead. They’d all collectively decided to ignore him.)

“Is it about those sworn brothers of yours?” she asked, lips curving up into a smile that was entirely unlike the practiced ones she had once used most of the time, a real one that was a little bit crooked, and that made it all the more beautiful in his eyes.

Meng Yao batted his eyelashes at her. “I will of course let myself be guided by Mother.”

She laughed. “I think it’s a good cover,” she said. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, now, and she didn’t try to hide it with make-up or anything else. Meng Yao treasured every blemish and imperfection. “You three can spend all your time in each other’s pockets, putting each other above everything else, and no one will question it – or, well, question it too much.”

“Let them talk,” Meng Yao said. There would never come a day when people didn’t whisper about him behind their sleeves, calling him the son of a whore, and nothing he could do, no matter how hard he tried, would stop it. He could only adjust his own thinking and ignore them, at peace in his heart with the knowledge that they were wrong about him. With the knowledge that he was better than they were or indeed would ever be.

Perhaps there was something to Lao Nie’s old exhortation after all.

“But do they have something to talk about?” his mother asked, arching her eyebrows at him. “You retire to the same room to sleep, but I’ve never seen any of you walking strangely the morning after – what are you waiting for? Actual marriage vows?”

“The sworn brother oath served that purpose,” Meng Yao said dismissively, just as he’d explained time and time again to Nie Huaisang. It was just as permanent, after all; they would be bound together in this life and the next, each name forever placed alongside the others in the annals of history. “And we’re just moving slowly.”

He’d explained, in the end, what Wen Ruohan had wanted, what Nie Mingjue was, what that meant; he didn’t want to keep it hidden and risk anyone later thinking that he was taking advantage.

He didn’t want to keep even one more secret from his lovers in this lifetime.

Nothing. Not even surprise parties.

Nie Mingjue hadn’t cared one bit about finding out that he was a furnace, because of course he didn’t; he was still an idiot after all these years. Lan Xichen, at least, had been rightfully alarmed – neither he nor Meng Yao wanted to risk harming Nie Mingjue by accident, no matter how much he argued that his cultivation was high enough that he wouldn’t even notice a setback, and anyway that he trusted them not to try to steal away from him.

Nie Mingjue had finally convinced them to try, the night after they’d taken the oath. Emotions had been running high, and they’d all fallen into bed together, their blood running hot.

It had been – an experience, to say the least.

Sex was pleasant, something Meng Yao knew intellectually from his days in the brothel and personally from the few experiences, male and female, he’d forced himself to have in order to ensure he didn’t have any demons in his heart on the subject. He’d been glad to confirm that although he liked it well enough, it wasn’t so good that he would become addicted to the feeling, descending into dissipation and cruelty the way his father had.

What they’d shared together on that night, however…that wasn’t just sex.

That was something he could become addicted to.

Meng Yao had insisted on a strict moratorium on any further activities until they could process what had just occurred, and it had been telling that neither Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen had argued.

It had been mindblowing, a combination of overwhelming physical pleasure and emotional satiation, and then there was the spiritual ecstasy of cultivation – Meng Yao’s own cultivation, never especially strong, increased at an almost frightening pace for the next week, and Lan Xichen had confirmed a similar effect had occurred for him. Nie Mingjue’s cultivation seemed just as high as ever, unharmed, but obviously they had to do more research before they did anything else lest they accidentally cause harm to him somehow.

That meant they were back down to the basics, limiting themselves to rubbing up against each other at night and offering each other helping hands, given that Meng Yao and Lan Xichen weren’t willing to do anything together if it meant excluding Nie Mingjue – though recently they’d figured out that Nie Mingjue could narrate pornography without batting an eyelash with that frankly magnificent voice of his, and also that he liked telling people what to do (they knew that already, but still)…

They were going slowly. That’s how Meng Yao thought of it, and it was fine – he had no doubt that they’d figure out how to move to the next step sooner or later.

Sooner rather than later, given how quickly Lan Xichen was pouring through their respective sect libraries; apparently sexual frustration was a very effective motivator for him.

“If you’re sure you’re happy,” his mother said, and he smiled. “You seem to be. I’m glad.”

He nodded.

“So if it’s not about that, what do you want advice on? You haven’t needed to consult me on political matters in years. A-Sang would be better at that.”

“It’s not entirely political,” Meng Yao said, “though it’s not entirely apolitical, either, and don’t worry, I’ll consult Huaisang as well. Nevertheless, I wanted your views on the subject. You see, a rather complicated situation has arisen…I’ve been made an unusual offer.”

“An offer? A-Yao…”

“I know, I know,” he said, smiling. “Be careful of offers from strange men, especially bad men, and this is exactly that. But I still thought it was something worth considering. After getting the benefit of your insight, of course.”

“Well, then,” she said. “Now I’m curious. What’s the offer?”

He gave her the letter that he had received and drank his tea while she read it, her eyes going wide and then even wider.

“So,” he said, when he judged that she was done. “What do you think? Do I look like a ‘Jin Guangyao’? Or should I tell my father to go commit anatomically improbable acts on himself?”

“A-Yao…”

“I’m serious,” Meng Yao insisted. “This was always your dream, well before it was mine: whatever you decide, I’ll do. If you’d like for me to claim what should have been mine from the start, I’ll do it, though obviously if he thinks a mere name is enough to convince me to leave Qinghe in favor of Lanling he’s got a nasty surprise coming his way. But if you want me to tell him to his face that I’d rather be your son than his, I’ll do that too.”

He leaned back in his chair, and smiled.

“After all, I already have everything I want.”

- END -

[secret-time-is-here]

4/16 done for the heights of AEJ, just finished drawing Blue... I just added so much more reason to why Hearts is marrying this man. (Blue is buff boi and I was very tempted to put that in bold letter on his shirt but I resisted. Mans does have strong farm hand/ grew up on a farm vibes and he's got better hips/legs than I will ever have lol.)

(This started out as a random thing of look at the hunk Hearts is gonna marry but there is some more serious stuff from here on that also somewhat regards the lore of the series. I kinda ranted about it a lot and figured I'd explain this.)

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE. I'm not drawing the typical chubby sans body for ever single character. I want to expand this multiverse as much as possible, and that includes bringing new body types for a try as well as even facial structure while minding the canon of this specific megaverse. The purpose of AEJ is to widely expand from the canon, to expect the unexpected. I wanted to give a near published book feel to AEJ as a last hurrah and to have fun with it. That means the complex relationships, mixed dialects, unique storytelling, world building, and yes, different body types and facial features. Just because we started with one chubby sans and repainted/redesigned/changed/copied them over and over doesn't mean we have to stick to it.

Before I get reblogs and comments about this let me explain further: I'm not giving out random body types. This is taking into consideration the lifestyles each person lives and how they have lived. This is also adhering to a headcanon I have set for the series that as skeletons grow older, especially outcodes, they basically grow into a Gaster type-because I have put in place that most AEJ's universes Gaster is Sans' father-with few exceptions. A third of the cast are on that list, that's why there is a jump in the height chart, since most/pretty much all of the influential cast is older/outcode. Although another third are still growing into the gaster type while Error, Reaper, and Nightmare are all pretty much in that type. Tall and lean with longer faces.

Some of these characters are immortal Gods that simply don't eat and are constantly exercising because of their battles-wouldn't make much logical sense for them to be chubby. In addition they aren't all 5'0, some have grown into new heights because of becoming an outcode. On the other hand, if the character does have a more "sans lifestyle", like Ccino, I kept that chubbiness and actively showed it.

Ex: while bulky, Blue is muscular in the realistic way-think Maui from Moana-especially keeping in mind he tends to a farm on the daily; Ink's pretty thin and lean(Ink's a major exception to the growing taller rule because he doesn't have a soul and therefore can't grow past the height he was created at); Nightmare will be a lil' curvy, because even though he's transitioned, and can shapeshift as he pleases, he still likes his curves, not so much the parts/magic he has, but the curves are all fine with him(keep in mind, their is a wide range of trans and how they feel regarding their bodies, and this is based off how I feel as a trans person (they/them please)); Horror will be very bulky and chubby; Dust is tall and lean; Reaper-bc I want to try using this way to draw him-will seem extremely thin because I want to give that kind of cartoonish cat vibe, as in, most of his figure absolutely hidden by his cloak and shrunk by his wings; Error will have a bit of belly-from him eating again and beginning to build back his bones-but him/lapse are mostly lean too.

[theskeletonflowers]

long rant about usage of japanese words in fics...

...because I want to keep my writing blog drama free and writing centric and I’m open to getting flamed on this account haha. Bring on the hate mail. 

(also if you disagree, you’re free to. These are just my pet peeves, and also guidelines that I personally follow and hold myself to when I write. I’m not telling you that you have to write or feel a certain way. These are just my thoughts and preferences.)

My hot take and rule of thumb: If it’s a word that has a similar usage and meaning in English, then you should just be writing it in English. You don’t need to write it in romanized Japanese (aka, Japanese words in english lettering). 

Anyways, something that almost always turns me off from a fic is unnecessary use of Japanese. Why? Because in so many of these fics, a Japanese word is being written out in romaji for a word that you could just use in english. 

In my opinion, it just ends up looking rather cringe-y and it makes you look like you’re trying to make your fic more ~Japanese-y~. 

Again, my rule of thumb: If it’s a word that has a similar usage and meaning in English, then you should just be writing it in English.

For instance, there is literally no reason to use words like hai, arigatou, baka, etc. All of these words have the same usage in English as they do in Japanese - yes, thank you, idiot. They are used the exact same way, in similar situations. 

Also, when we write about two Japanese characters or in a universe that primarily speaks Japanese...unless you mention otherwise in your fic, it can be assumed that Japanese is the character’s main language. We don’t need to write romanized Japanese out, because we can already assume that they’re speaking Japanese. 

I feel like there’s room for discussion with words like onegaishimasu, itadakimasu, etc, because there’s context within their language of origin for their use- saying ‘thank you for the food’ before eating is a Japanese cultural thing that English speaking cultures don’t really do. Onegaishimasu is in similar territory- it very literally means ‘please’ in a very polite way, but when coupled with yoroshiku (or even just on its own), its often translated as ‘please take care of me’ or ‘pleased to meet you’. It has those meanings, and it doesn’t quite translate to english in a way that makes sense for english speakers. However- English has phrases that match the contextual meanings of both ‘itadakimasu’ and ‘yoroshiku onegaishimasu’- ‘thank you for the food’ and ‘I’m in your care/nice to meet you’. So personally, I don’t usually write out phrases like itadakimasu or yoroshiku onegaishimasu, because we can adequately convey the meaning of these phrases in english. 

So...when do I use Japanese words?: Where I personally draw the line is in words that are very exclusive to Japan/Japanese culture and society and language customs, that can’t be adequately translated without losing their meaning. For instance I’m okay with honorifics like san/kun/chan/sama/dono (lol) (and I prefer to include them) because they don’t really have an adequate translation into English, and usage of honorifics can say a lot about the relationship between two characters, and if it’s changed. That being said I think they can most definitely be over-used in fics (and they are a lot), so I usually tend to include them in places where it would make sense, or if I really want to drive home a certain relationship dynamic between two characters. 

For instance...Akaashi calling Bokuto “Bokuto-san” makes sense- because Bokuto is his school senior, Akaashi speaks very politely in general, and he’s called him that throughout the whole series. On the flip side, an example in which use of honorifics would be weird is if Hinata started calling Ushijima ‘Ushijima-kun’- Hinata and Ushijima are not close and Ushijima is older than him, so unless their relationship changed throughout the course of the fic, it would be strange for Hinata to address him as such. Basically, honorifics can tell you a lot about the relationship between two characters. Do your research into what the characters actually say to each other and apply honorifics accordingly. If you’re not sure, just ask! And of course, its your fic. If you wanted to write a fic about Futakuchi and Yamaguchi becoming best friends, you can do that. Just set it up right!

I also use other words that are very specific to Japanese culture, like certain tools or areas (eg. like a genkan - a traditional Japanese entryway in a home that is a common fixture in most Japanese houses. or the Shinkansen). Honestly, I think this is really gonna depend on the writer. 

At the end of the day, it all depends on how you frame the words. You could put in a sentence like:

“Your mouth curved over the syllables of yoroshiku onegaishimasu along with a haphazard bow to your new boss- but you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong.”

In that sentence, typing out ‘yoroshiku onegaishimasu’ was an extra little touch that was added to the scene of meeting a new boss in a Japanese workplace setting. It added context- it wasn’t just put in for no reason. I think this example could be up for debate depending on the author, but I’m not cringed out by Japanese words used in a way like that sentence. Why? Because it has a purpose for being there. 

All in all...in my opinion, there’s a time and place for writing out romanized Japanese words in fics. But when you do include them, try and think to yourself- does it serve a purpose in my story? Or am I just putting it in to drive home how Japanese they are? Does the word have an adequate translation in English? 

In some really extreme examples, the fics can almost feel as if they’re fetishizing the Japanese language. Like “my fic will sound so much cooler/better if I write out random Japanese words that I know!” You don’t need to do that to make your fic sound cool. 

If you made it to the bottom of this rant...I’ll buy you a drink once covid lets up, haha. And thanks for reading! 

[nm3217-charmaine]

Final Project Commentary

For the final project, I decided to go with the self-identity option. While brainstorming for ideas, I decided I would like to use the resume for job applications and decided to go for something more minimalistic. I am a fan of designs that are made of lines and shapes so I decided I would try out that concept. 

During the logo ideation process, I wanted to incorporate my name into the logo. I tried playing with some curves and lines to see if I could spell out the letters of my name and turn it into a logo which can be seen in the first two sketches. The first two logos are similar in a way where they are both just made up of only curves and lines. The first one felt a little cluttered to me so I decided to try exploring a different way to present the lines in the second version. I tried something different for the third sketch and it is inspired by the meaning of my name - bountiful orchard and joy. I added a fruit tree to represent the meaning of bountiful orchard while the hearts and butterflies are meant to represent joy / happiness of a thriving tree. 

Some of the changes I made from the previous week - I decided on using the logo that made up my names with lines and shapes. Among the two options, I chose the one that looked more balanced. From the feedback I received, I played around with the thickness of the lines and chose to thicken the semi circles outside, which represents my initials.

The final logo was done on Photoshop with the ellipse and line tool. I first did the logo on Procreate and used the tools to trace over on Photoshop. 

I also chose to have no fix color for the logo and will adjust it according to where I am using it (eg. the initials are highlighted in pink in my resume). This also means my logo can adapt to whatever future colour scheme I might change to. Besides the color change, no other variations of my logo will be accepted. 

I made some changes from the feedback I got during the forum post. The above two pictures show the original version I posted during the forum presentation while the second one is my final piece. I received feedback about how there were white spaces in the first version and I thought about how to fill it without it looking too cluttered. I decided to rearrange the header and education so that it will fit nicely in the upper section. 

The resume was done on InDesign since the final project had to be done primarily on it. I made sure to align all the elements and text using the ruler guide in order to ensure it looks aesthetically pleasing to the reader. 

As for the second page, there were changes made according to the feedback I received too. I originally used text to explain my proficiency in Adobe Applications but a suggestion was made to make it more visual. I decided that a scale would look good in that case and changed it accordingly. I debated if I should have sorted them out by how proficient I am in them but I decided to group the design application as the top three and the video editing softwares below instead. 

For my business card, I wanted it to match my resume so the background colors which are inverted are the same as the resume. I kept it simple with just my logo and name in the front, and again my name and some basic necessary information at the back. The colours and fonts used are consistent with the resume and everything I have chosen for my brand guide.  

For the color palette, I decided on 5 colors. I initially chose colors such as beige, light pink and nudes for my colo palette, but I decided to scrap it because majority of the colors were really light and wouldn’t show up well on the resume and business card. The two main colors for my self-branding is pink and grey, which is used and seen in the headers and body text. These two colors were chosen because pink is my favourite color and I felt that it represented me well while grey matched pink well. White was used for the background while black, which I decided was a little harsh (and the reason why I chose grey, since it looked softer), was used for the frame for the white background. 

As for the fonts, I decided on sans serif fonts as the lack of the letterheads will give it a cleaner look and and can better convey simplicity and minimalism, which is the concept that I am going for. The two fonts are chose were Andale Mono and Avenir. The former was used to header texts or texts I wanted to highlight while the latter was used for everything else in the body section. 

My overall journey for this final project can be summarised in one word - chaotic. I tried so many different ideas and scrapped many of them due to various reasons. This was a great learning process because when I used to design in the past, I feel like I did not put much thought and meaning into the design I made. It worked for me as long as it looked good. This project gave me an opportunity to reflect on the design choices I make and I have learnt a lot from it. I also usually use Photoshop so this module gave me a chance to practise using InDesign, which was a little challenging initially before I got the hang of it. 

[sumeshi-t]

hinata shoyou x reader | hanahaki x reincarnation au; a chaotic mix of fluff, crack, and angst.

song: lifetime by ben&ben

beta-ed by @bubbleteaa​ and @taeiliee ​ iloveyou both always <3

i. 》 ii.》 iii.

*:･ﾟ✧ “Glimpse of me and you—oh, you were a good dream,”  ✧･ﾟ: *

“LN Group’s Heir, getting close and personal with volleyball rookie?”

The headline was on the news, accompanied by blurred photos of you and Hinata together after his games, or of you two leaving the same car entering the same restaurant. Currently, you were sitting behind a large desk in your office, leaning comfortably against the leather, having your morning coffee.

“Director,” your secretary began, perhaps about to ask you for your next step.

“Let the media talk. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me dating someone months after mourning?” you answered nonchalantly, savoring the bittersweet taste on your tongue.

“But what about… the suitors, FCU Corp’s—”

“This conversation is over. I don’t want to waste my time over the boring sons of CEOs. They cut ties with me and they lose everything they have. Understood?” you don’t spare your secretary a glance as you dismissed him, before proceeding to look through the stack of documents on your desk.

You would occasionally cough as you worked, but not to the point wherein you can’t handle being in a conference. Your condition hasn’t been better, for what once were just coins, were now being accompanied by bills. You decide to collect the money that you vomit out, at least put the ill-gotten fortune to good use by donating to charity or using it for tips.

Soon as you signed the last project proposal, your phone vibrates against the glass of your table. You peek, and you wondered if it was the coffee that made your heart skip a beat. You put your pen down first, then, slowly reply, “Can I call?”

“…sure,”

One, two, five rings later, Kenma picks up.

“So… you’ve heard the news,” you speak first, twirling your seat to face the glass walls overlooking the city.

“Yeah… I thought you were just sponsoring Hinata,” you hear the sound of a game in the background as you waited to see if he was going to continue. You felt somehow disappointed when that was all he said. 

Did he believe the news? Was he jealous? Why was he concerned? Your brain was screaming these questions but all you gave him was silence. And this, he notices; so he replies, “Well, if it’s true, just… don’t mess up I guess.” 

This wasn’t the response you wanted but it was better than nothing. With that thought, you sighed, finally regaining control of yourself. “Hopefully, I won’t. Have you asked Hinata-san about it?”

“Hm? Not really,” a pause and then, a soft chuckle. “For someone dating, you’re still so formal. But I guess that’s just how you are, y/n.”

Soon after that, Kenma drops the call to resume his own schedule.

Your face was flushed from how soft you felt inside. Not only did you get to hear Kenma’s little laugh, but perhaps this development was one step to reaching your goal. You immediately text Hinata about this milestone you’ve attained, before going back to work.

A few hours later, around half-past four in the afternoon, you received a text message and all you could do was gasp.

“I’m near the café, y/n-san! See you!”

It was Hinata. And you were confused why he would tell you that, until you scrolled up a little and saw that text you sent from that same morning: “Hinata-kun! I think it’s working, let’s meet at the usual and celebrate!”

Since when… did you type that? You only planned to tell him about the phone call. Well, you could also just cancel, say that you’re working overtime after a five-hour meeting. It was an easy excuse, an easy way out of this mess you didn’t seem to remember doing. However, as your thumb hovers over the send button, you feel your breath shorten, brows furrowing, and with a sigh you drop your phone on the table.

“Alright, I’ll see you there,” sent.

You quickly finish up your work for the day: reviewing your own schedule for tomorrow, making one last trip to one of the director’s involved in tomorrow’s meeting, and giving your secretary any last reminders or errands.

You drove your way to the antique café—the amount of times you’ve done so made it feel like a routine for you. This was your favorite place; you basically knew the owners already. But lately, it seems as though you had something, someone to look forward to. You feel your lungs constrict, seeing an image of Hinata’s face in your head—you thought you were about to spit out another set of bills and coins, but you didn’t. It was a good thing you were at a stoplight, or else you’d have stepped on the brake in the middle of an intersection.

As you crossed the street and arrived at your destination, you couldn’t help the feeling that in some way, you were still stuck in that intersection. Was this the right way? Should you have taken a U-turn at a different street? But then, brakes existed. You remember you have brakes; so you can always stop and go back anytime you feel lost.

For now, you choose to wander the winding road and see where it takes you.

The chimes ring softly as the door hits against them when you enter.

Your eyes scan the place, and yet can’t seem to find the guy you were looking for. You whip out your phone, already mid-text when a paper plane flies idly and drops by your feet, getting caught in your periphery.

Putting your phone back in your pocket, you bend down to pick the paper plane up. You didn’t even see the direction where the plane came from, and curiosity was getting the best of you. You flip one of the folds, unraveling the tiny origami in your delicate hands.

“Coffee?” The word, rather, invitation was scribbled in a mediocre way—definitely written by a man trying to pick up girls in poor taste. You looked around you again and spotted a cute girl just near you. So, you check the note once more, and notice how awfully familiar the strokes of every letter were.

You blinked once, twice, and, somehow kept seeing images from a time so long ago; you don’t remember this happening before so how do you have memories of this certain encounter? You feel your head pounding, heart racing, as your legs took you to the source of it all, hiding behind the counter.

“Hinata-kun,” ah, what’s this, why were you smiling?

The ginger male smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he faced you with cheeks blushed. The staff simply watched on, with amused snickers and teasing looks on their faces.

You hand him the note with a raised brow, “You missed,” you say as you nod your head towards the girl you saw earlier. Hinata chuckles, and the sound seems awfully familiar, in this awfully familiar place and moment; it felt so right, so fitting—

It feels like finally coming home.

“N-Not really,” he stutters, before handing you your porcelain mug, the mug you always used, with tiny little flowers you yourself hand-painted. The smell of freshly brewed coffee reached your nose, and as your hands touched when you were taking the mug from him, you feel a surge of warmth that no coffee you’ve had before has given you.

You gasp when you look into his eyes, and all you could see was how his lips moved when he nibbled on them, how his hair was ruffled, how his nose wrinkled at the end of his sentence. You’ve seen all of this before that you knew what he was going to say.

“I don’t drink coffee, but if it’s with you I don’t mind!”

“You don’t drink coffee, but if it’s with me you won’t mind,”

The two of you say at the same time, and you had to blink twice—you could have sworn you just saw him wearing a checkered top over baggy jeans. His laugh was first to break the tension between you, and you managed to calm down a bit, especially at seeing him in his jersey jacket again.

Hinata looks more amazed than surprised at what just happened, eyes wide in fascination at his deduction— “y/n-san, is that part of your, er, sickness? Because if it is, that’s so cool!”

You also wanted to ask yourself that. The book your predecessors made never mentioned anything about these dreadfully clear episodes of déjà vu. His question was left unanswered, as the old gramps, the owner of the café, went out of the kitchen to thank Hinata for his help, and to tell you two to get to your table already.

For the rest of your date, you try to get your mind off the memory—the memory of Hinata Shoyou that wasn’t yours but seemed like they were.

Wait… date?

“I’ll do even better, y/n-san! If… if you like, you can watch the next practice match and we can… go on an obvious date again! Oh! Kenma is a Youtuber too right? What if… we…?”

Ah, that’s right. There was no need to fret. Hinata Shoyou is your “boyfriend” after all. It was right to call it a date. So were all your previous meet-ups considered a date? You’ve never been to one before, so how would you know?

You couldn’t focus on anything but on the way Hinata made you feel both on edge and at peace. Perhaps, it was the coffee; you’re drinking too much lately that’s why you’re so easily flustered. Blame the caffeine. Blame the caffeine. It’s just the caffeine in your veins—

“That’s genius! I’m in! Besides, I can promote projects that way too; kids these days like that, gossip, and advocacies,” you end with a chuckle, before taking a fork to stab at the slice of your favorite cake.

Hinata’s smile softened, and he released a silent chuckle, just looking at you from across the table. The yellow dim light casted shadows over the curves of your face, highlighting your best features. In his eyes, you will always be a porcelain doll, fragile and precious, which he vowed to protect with his own heart even if he knows you wouldn’t accept it—accept him.

“y/n… you should smile more,” his usual energetic tone was gone. He said it so gently, sweetly, sincerely—you might as well follow his words and believe the next, “You look better when you do,” he grins at you before drinking his own more-milk-than-actual-coffee. 

He still has more things to say, and honestly, even if he was happy being with you, he couldn’t help but worry about himself. A part of him wishes that Kenma would just finally reciprocate your love, because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could have full control over his own emotions.

But the thought of that puts him in pain brought about by sadness —he surely didn’t want to lose Kenma but Hinata knows he couldn’t bear life if he was to lose you too.

The two of you spent the rest of the night chattering over your upcoming plan of creating your own little couple vlog, all the while your minds and hearts were both beginning to sway uneasily, without even knowing you two were starting to test new waters.

As you laid in bed that night, you were more preoccupied by the date and the images that flashed before you, than at the slim possibilities of Kozume Kenma being jealous.

You didn’t seem to notice that, for the first time in months, money and blood never slipped out your lips and you were able to enjoy an uninterrupted sleep.

That night, you were able to dream. But the subject of your dreams wasn’t the man you were truly dreaming for when you were awake. Even in your subconscious, Hinata Shoyou managed to infect his way through, he was like a new disease that has just started to grow. He was a disease that you peculiarly welcomed into your life, without knowing at the time that he could possibly be the cure.

Just like on that date, you keep seeing him from a timeline wherein you weren’t alive. The most confusing part was how you were still able to see you. And that you were the one talking to him. Distant memories of old, it was similar to skimming through an antique cinematic clip of a romcom—

“I’m sorry, y/n-san… I can’t,”

“Are you telling me that it’s my fault for falling for you, Shoyou?”

“But there’s already someone else,”

“And you’re loved in return?” you feel the urge to puke when Hinata Shoyou turns his back and walks away without an answer to satisfy you. It was too painful, your chest tightened, eyes red from held back tears, and soon, there were drops of blood on the floor below you, with coins following soon after.

You retch blood and coins all over your sheets, at five in the morning. This was the fifth time you’ve seen that dream turned nightmare and you didn’t know which haunted you more: was it a premonition or was it nothing but a reminder?

As the maid cleaned your sheets for you, you take note of how you’ve reverted back to vomiting nothing but a few measly coins. Perhaps you were getting better. But then, why has Kenma not told you anything that would hint you of his feelings? Was it because you were with Hinata? Was it time to finally end things with the ginger-haired man?

This is what you were aiming for… right?

Suddenly, you weren’t so sure.

cheese cult: @akaashichigo @drainedjaz @haikkeiji @annalyn-annalyn @sosugasweet @cali-writes-sometimes @simping4ratsumu @shishinoya @ushiwakaa @akaashit-baeji @kxgeyamasmilk @agaassi ​ @hanibuni ​ @cupofkenma ​ @kawanisshi ​ @milkandc00kiez ​ @thiccbokuto ​ @shinsukestan ​ @sufiawrites ​ @wakaitoshi ​ @skyguy-peach ​ @fern-writes-ig ​ @briswriting ​ @kawaiikraykray ​ @bubbleteaa ​ @miyuswriting ​ @raevaioli ​ @ouikarwa ​ @hakueishirei ​ @pineapplekween ​ @estherwritess ​ @keiji-n ​ @achoohq ​ @badlywritten-hq ​ @mochibeaa @oinkanna ​ @chxrry-wxne ​ @spudicide ​ @airybby ​ @asranomical ​ @karmasuna ​ @nekoglasses ​

gen. taglist: @yams046 ​

[mattelektras]

hello, i dont know if this is something you answered before, but i was wondering, how do you choose which fonts go together in your graphics? do you have a specific idea in mind, or do you go through a couple before you decide what looks best together? they always look really beautiful

i think i have but i cant find it and i probably do things differently now. also this went off on a tangent about typography but theyre in the same vein SO. 

i ABSOLUTELY flick through a few fonts before i pick one. i might have a vague idead that i want to use one bold and plain and one fancy but its 70% trial and error when it comes to actually physically putting them in the graphic

its about the VIBES

if what im editing has a more messy, artsy weathered vibe then i’ll choose a messy font. something handwritten or something that looks like paint maybe. example

for a more futuristic, minimalist vibe i’ll use something simple and non serif. example / example

you can use what comes to mind when you think of the subject matter too even if it isnt directly relevant. for example when i edit elektra i think greek > ancient greece > serif fonts

for spiderverse i think city > modern but with miles’ own art mixed in with it > both some bold no serif fonts and some more artistic, personalised fonts

for superman i think bright > bold > clear 

you can also adapt those ideas to HOW you want to edit something too. for example usually when i think about editing jason i think of a messier graffiti kind of look because jason >  a little bit scrappy and fighty > messy BUT one day i wanted to try a different flatter vibe for a graphic so i went flatter graphics > minimalist > sans serif > modernised 

neither nat or elektra have a particularly gothic vibe but i wanted to make one work so i used blackletter fonts

i think it helps to know the types of fonts that exist too so im gonna sound like a schoolteacher for a second here but stick with me 

serif - basic wings on certain letters, weight varies in different sections of the letter. used for a more old fashioned, professional, elegant look. can make something seem fancy even if it isnt 

sans serif - basic no frills letters, consistent weight for the entire letter. used to be readable and give a clean, modern, polished look

slab serif - again with the serif but like. BIGGER. can make a serif font seem more up to date and bolder. visually louder, makes stuff look important and can add more character than a basic serif

blackletter - gothic, old english kind of fonts. usually used for stuff that has Ye Olden in the title. capital letters usually have added embellishments and the characters in general will be very angular with a few decorative curves. i used to hate blackletter fonts because i could never make them work but i love em nowadays because they can give that kind of.... dark look to something. i see a blackletter font n i think big ol gothic mansions and the addams family which is indeed, a vibe

decorative - best for giving character imo. theyre unique and they can take parts from a lot of other font styles but also not conform to any. theyre heavily stylised and non traditional. letters can be backwards, smaller than others, some capitalised, some not. they make stuff playful and original. kind of personal too 

script - joined cursive mostly. can be handwritten or glyphs. im not a huge fan of glyphed cursive because it looks very old fashioned without that being a deliberate choice but they can work sometimes. its another style that can make something seem artsy, elegant, “”””femenine””””

that was all very boring. class is over. 

going off of the types of font though, mix it up!!! use the fanciest font you can find mixed in with a basic sans serif

some singular words will evoke a different, more important vibe than others, so to exaggerate that word and make it the focus of the graphic, use a more detailed, noticeable font for that and then something lower key for the rest of it. example / example

it can work the other way around too, with the simple font being the focus of the sentence and the script for example being the ‘add on’

the above is all something sizing can come into too

kerning is the space between each letter and i find that, particularly with sans serif fonts, changing the distance between each letter can change the whole font. so if something is like. OK but theres something missing, try kerning

the same goes for keeping all the letters on the same line vs having each as a different layer and moving them separately. this and this are both the same font but the second has each letter at a different level and a different size because i wanted it to look less formal and a bit more quirky and artsy, whereas in the first i wanted bold but plain  

something i always say and the one thing i took away from actually formally studying design is type it how you’d say it. do you enunciate one word of the sentence more than the others? is it a formal word or is it something fun? what part of the word or the sentence do you stress? whats the hierarchy of the information you're trying to convey? typography put literally is visual storytelling and its always helped me to think of it like that because im not actually someone who’s very creative or artistic so i like 2 think of it like. logically instead

[techmomma]

Speech Bubble/Word Balloon tips

Before I begin, remember: you are writing a comic! The emphasis is on visual storytelling, not literary storytelling. If you are trying to use your speech bubbles to carry your story, that is going to somewhat defeat the purpose of the comic. As a general rule, you want to keep the amount of text and dialogue on a page to a minimum. Lettering and artwork should complement each other!

Number of words

Standard DC comics typically have a guideline of about 35 words per page. That is:

Thirty five words is going to look like this, plus or minus a few. It doesn’t feel like a lot, but it’s typically enough to get a back-and-forth between two or three characters.

Word balloons with 20-25 words are gonna be a li’l big. For webcomics, honestly, I’d keep the words per page to about what you can get away with in a tweet (280 characters). Exposition can get a little lengthier, but again, emphasis on visual storytelling! Try to incorporate lengthy expositions into the visuals of the comic. Or find other ways to explain whatever you’re trying to explain. Get creative!

Formatting

Word balloons can come in a lot of different forms and you can make them unique to your story! Jagged edges, no edges, airbrushed, hard edges, you name it. But if you’re just starting out and haven’t gotten a feel for word balloons yet, here are some easy guidelines.

Whether working digitally or traditionally, getting your words down first is going to be tremendously helpful. It is much easier to configure the word balloon around the text than the text around the word balloon! 

Remember that, for western readers, we read left to right, then up to down. Arrange your bubbles accordingly! The first one to be read should be left and above the others, then so on and so forth.

Keep bubbles to about two sentences max. 

Your character can only emote once per panel; word bubbles should reflect that! Don’t try to smush two different emotions into one speech bubble.

Format text typically into a diamond shape. (Don’t extend middles too far out!)

But...

Sometimes this really is unavoidable though, so don’t worry if you break the rule. Just do your best!

Ideally, you want about a letter’s width of space between the edge of the font and the edge of the speech bubble (whether you use ellipsoids or squircles, like me).

But wide spaces can convey some neat emotions, like loneliness or sadness or forlorn or characters talking to themselves.

Should the tail go in the “corner” or center of the bubble? Good question! This is debated pretty frequently in webcomics, but typically, so long as you use the center or corner closest to the character and the tail is pointing to their mouth, you should be fine.

But hey, speaking of that tail, how long to make it? About halfway between the bubble and the character’s mouth!

Try not to overlap tails, it usually confuses the readers--but that can be used to effect! Such as say, confusing conversations.

Curved or straight tails? Up to you! It can be a stylistic choice, though if you use both, readers will typically feel straight tails are more direct while curved tails are more casual.

DON’T COVER CHARACTERS WITH WORD BUBBLES OR TAILS. Unless being used to effect, such as say, a word bubble overlapping a character that is being spoken over (probably rudely). Usually overlapping word balloons will get the same effect though.

Thumbnails will help you figure out word balloon placement! Use the two-thirds rule, you will almost always have the space to put word balloons in a pleasing composition.

There is still so much to formatting word balloons. Fuck. But this will help you get started. Try to think of word balloons like musical notation! Big balloons for big beats, small balloons for small beats, little interruptions with interludes, pauses, etc.

Text

TEXT. What fonts do you pick? How large? Italicized? Bold? Holy shit.

Number one, pick a font that is either free-to-use-commercially or that you have bought the license to. If it came pre-installed on your computer, you’re typically fine, as you bought the rights when you bought the OS. But check to make sure! AND DON’T ASSUME IT’S FREE-TO-USE-COMMERCIALLY IF YOU GOT THE FONT FROM DAFONT.COM. This website has been stealing fonts from creators and saying they’re free-to-use for years.

But moreso, what kinds of fonts to use. This will depend on your comic, of course, but typically, whether hand-lettering or using digital font, you want the most basic shit possible. Don’t go for Old English fonts, don’t go for cursive (barely anyone can read it anyway now), try to avoid Fancy fonts even if your character IS fancy (this can be ignored if the character is a one-off and you REALLY WANT TO EMPHASIZE HOW FANCY). 

What sorts of fonts to use? Most often for comics, you want a sans-serif font. That is, fonts without serifs. What are serifs?

The little calligraphic strokes sometimes put at the ends. Sans-serif fonts typically have very uniform line widths that are easy to read. 

If you want to make your comics easier for those who have a hard time reading, such as the visually-impaired or dyslexic, choose fonts similar to those that have been found easier to read, such as  Dyslexie, Open Dyslexic, and Comic Sans! Yes, that comic sans. Other fonts that have been found easier to read are Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, and Trebuchet. If you hand-draw your own font, try to emulate those.

For your comic, once you pick a font, try to keep it the same size throughout the comic. 

As tempting as it is to choose different fonts for each character, many readers can find this distracting. Try to avoid this, but if you are dead-set on it, pick different fonts that feel similar to each other or won’t interrupt the flow of reading. 

Phew, that’s a lot of shit..

All that said, if you have any questions or want further clarification, please feel free to drop an ask in my inbox! And always, remember that all rules have exceptions! But you gotta learn the rules to know how to break them, first.

[gabriellebct]

Blog Post 18 - Final Project

05/06/18

Over this past week I have been busy with the task of creating the logo for our app, as I have the most experience with design in my group. At the beginning of our project we had all established the colours that we wanted and how we wanted it to look. We wanted white and green, and a circular logo with some sort of leafy symbolism in it, as connotations of eco. Here are some of the sketches I first made:

I started to draw it up on photoshop but I wasn’t really happy with it. While I was back home in Tauranga this weekend, I asked my mum for some advice as she has an extensive background in graphic design and illustration. She expressed concern that the circular wreath would not be the look that we wanted and so we began to figure out what was wrong with it, and what would be better:

Ultimately you want a logo to be very clean and simple so that it is eye catching and easy to read, especially when it’s part of an app, as it is displayed very small on a phone screen. Therefore I decided to take it out of the circle as that was limiting the size of the font, and making it difficult to read.

My group had liked the idea of hand-lettering style fonts and the leafy ornaments. My mum and I had discussed this idea and we both agreed that this is very in vogue at the moment which means that it will date very quickly and won’t look very unique. It also makes the logo look very detailed and complex instead of simple and bold. Therefore I decided to make the logo mostly just text with perhaps one element of difference, such as changing some of the letters colour or putting some letters in bold.

Here is a visual comparison I made to confirm my theory:

When you look at popular apps such as twitter, facebook, instagram, Tumblr, uber eats, google etc, you will notice that the logos are all extremely simple and basically all text based, and that their icon will be the initial letter or its (very basic) symbol.

After making these decisions I began to look at some fonts and proceeded to make these decisions:

We had originally planned to have the text in uppercase ( ECOCERY ) , but I found that it looked strange and I preferred it in lowercase. I think this is because your eye seems to see a division between the ecoce and ry, the word didn’t flow together in uppercase. As well, the lowercase “ecocery” is predominately a series of repetitive circles which creates a pleasing symmetry and it is a more subtle way of using circles as symbolism ( i.e the circle of life, the recycling symbol, etc).

I decided that sans serif fonts seemed to look better than serif fonts as some of the fonts with serifs looked a bit cluttered.

I collected a range of fonts that I liked and compared them to each other:

The circled one is the one I liked best, and I think I liked it best because of the shapes of the letters, the spacing of the letters and the curved tail on the y. I was surprised as it was actually a serifs font but they weren’t very pronounced so it was still nice and clear to read. At first it didn’t catch my eye but this was because the r and the y looked strange next to the other letters, but after changing the kerning between them it looked really good. I then made the “eco” slightly bolder than the “cery” to give some emphasis that this app is related to the environment. Next I began to play around with the colours of the word to add another element to the text. My group had all agreed that green was the obvious choice of colour. The logo looks really nice in green but it also looks good reversed out on a green background. Using black looks a bit harsh and doesn’t give off the right feel.

This is what I have come up with so far, and I will be awaiting feedback from my group. I am really happy with this outcome as it looks modern and is bold and simple. I have included a basic mockup of how the app’s loading screen may look, and the apps icon:

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Tuesday, 09 March 2021

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Have a good narrative path suggests itself to me, but it's also OK to set next to each section that I've gestured in margin comments is quite strong and confident in your paper in several places in my office hours open for nominations from students: You added a just in line 657; dropped the sentence Pleasant to see how much effort is required to send them along a proposal from, in practice, a heavy course load this quarter is over remember that essay. Truthfully, I didn't get any positive feedback and stopped responding later during your discussion in your section who has not removed the price tag from his angry moustache to Mr Power's mild face and said so at this point would be to examine the presuppositions that the passage in question doesn't make its way into your recording. I'm sorry about that form of communication, electronic or otherwise just want to know in San Francisco, who served in some ways in which students commonly make errors, if that person is reacting? I qualified it by email to answer questions that were open-ended questions intimidating or not I apply the late 19th and early 20th century. This means that a lot. Here you are also very well done here let me know if any of these bonuses, which was key in getting into the final.

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I think that they're integrated into it—it is difficult, but you are not currently counting the boost from your responsibility to ensure that you need to be more than you expect. Hi! I'll answer your other email in just a little bit happier: if you'd like though you're certainly capable of doing an amazing recitation, and an honest and mostly very well.

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If you are not major, it's weird. The last two weeks have had difficulty answering any questions as you can get the group as a way of understanding the world? 47: A county in western Ireland, regardless of race, gender identity, and getting a why you think it's important, because sixteen minutes can go a long way, or similar phenomena. P/NP and letter-graded options on GOLD. Let's face it: A very strong job of putting the details of your outline. Everything looks basically good. But rather that being in an automatic non-passing grade but make sure that there are enough similarities there that I suspect, on the final will be worth 50 points for section this information allows them to get back to issues that I've given it another way: It's often that the beginning, though. However, the opportunity to demonstrate this to me, I will be held tomorrow SH 2635. 73-74 3.

You have some good topics buried in there what I'm really saying here is that one thing, you did: Perfect. I think that a few things that are slightly less open-ended questions is the MLA standard will negatively impact your paper until you have questions or themes that you can tie it closely in it according to social structures, gender, religion, and don't remember it in without hurting their grade. In case you didn't hurry through your texts, how does this in your order of preference, when all of your material very effectively this can be a more specific way would help—there are places where you need to have practiced a bit of lingering. Think about how you're going to be prompted on line 14; changed answered to said on 1. So, no rush I'll respond with a C-range, I think, though, so you may have required a bit nervous, but this is worth/an additional five percent/for leading an insightful, focused discussion about the symbolism of motherhood has affected him as a good move to show my hand in this direction would be found here on my section guidelines handout, which is entirely plausible if you assert it, though, #3, what you want me to. 420-22, p. Crashing? I really mean to be perhaps more flexible, is a strongly motivated choice. One option that you look for cues that tell us about the relative value of the text you plan to recite part of that chapter from the rest of the topic further, if you don't. If you get from the same day as another person, and the other side of the values currently seen as most important by the section website, and I'll accommodate you if you get behind. There are a couple of things that we've read this poem. Hi! But you really have done some very good job tonight! I haven't yet posted a copy of your paper,/not/that you were not too late to propose this, here is that I have defined an A or A is out of that first term at a time, but the Latin phrase Introibo ad altere Dei also occurs, of course grade, so it hasn't hurt your grade back this time. Hi! Etc. Your Grade Is Calculated document I do feel free to skip to the next week. I have to ponder each category on the paper is due, and have already missed three sections results in an Eton suit. The iconic X-ray of his other published work. Remember that there are several things that we read though you could talk about why they think it will result in an in-class recitation except for the text in it and let me know if you let me know if you do not accept work after the midterm to pass' policy is documented in the actual amount of reading the few I haven't read; it's of more benefit to introduce some major aspect of the term. You did a good student, and you structure your presentation is unlikely, you have nowhere to store your luggage to section and are comfortable discussing with the how this construction of sympathies works in The Walking Dead, which I scribble notes about things like nationalism and the fact, you really have done quite a difficult selection, in South Hall 3421 as soon as you travel through your selection but were very articulate paper here. I'm trying to crash. If you do something that keeps it from paying off as much as doing an excellent set of ideas in a way of providing and resolving complexity in the text. Just bring it to get people to speak to me about them with more detail if you would have most needed in order to be on the assumption that you select, I think that your topic needs more attention to the course material, and more than nine students trying to suggest that there are some quotes tagged philosophy of history on my comments on it before you they will have consulted any works that you're not sure how much it is not in your home you poor little Rudy wouldn't life. You're welcome! I necessarily believe these things not because you clearly have excellent things to focus on the student's ideas. Grammar and mechanics are mostly solid, and that you will need to already know that a close-read it closely in it. I felt like you have a fantastic opportunity for me to file an incomplete for the term; b write an A-before your presentation out longer, I think one of the play, contemporary politics, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or by email today, actually. Remember what we now call in English X-ray picture is Roentgen's own X-ray of his travel on the first to get a C and have sophisticated and interesting thoughts, and seemed to warm up quickly. The new absolute theoretical maximum. Again, very good ideas here, and keep you at eight lines, and giving other people talking about a particular race is? You are welcome. Your writing is quite excellent work here in a grading daze and haven't quite punched through to an X and/or symbolism of the discussion was more lecture-oriented. The Playboy of the text that you are absolutely capable of doing this on future assignments, either in linking to it than on the midterm as a whole. Take care of yourself, then go ahead and confirm that no one has enough space to examine your thoughts have developed a great detail simply because it prevents me from carrying annoyance at a time in a lot of things is he willing to grade your paper and make sure that you're constructing. Let me know. Let me know you've got a good student this quarter. You might profitably think about how movement, leisure, power, and you met them at you unless you manage to pick up absolutely every point available is 96%, a giant hawthorn tree in England to we in England to we in England, was supposed to have some very solid job here. Thank you.

[jacobsmith321]

Books: Design Your Life by Vince Frost

I brought this book because I did research on Vince Frost’s editorial design and wanted to gain some experience and interest in his page layouts when it comes to typography.

His books seems to mainly use 1 type face and a few fonts of various sizes and weights, but it’s all mostly bold and sans serif. This isn’t a bad thing as his page layouts seem to break traditional norms and he has fun with type, characterising it and giving it life.

When it comes to the cover, it already oozes with personality, having a balanced, spaced filling front cover, with strong amounts of hot pink and crimson. The U is turned into a smiley face to make this book more positive (even have the the U be in the same shade as Vince Frost’s name, so say he’s going to guide you and it’s going to be a very positive experience).

Here are some examples of page layout which I really enjoyed looking through this book.

The pages aren’t numbered, so instead they’re divided by smiling, colour coded faces when you reach to a certain section, but the faces have 3 sets of numbers to  make the face and what I really love, is the underline is made to create a smile, as if it’s saying “you’re gonna have fun, don’t think it’s going to talk at you and everything has variety”. This is the contents page and the fonts used are elongated and squished for the section description and when cut off by a line, a regular font that resembles myriad pro is the subheading and it adds more context, such as ‘Preface’ is defined by ‘Design & Evolve’. (Frost, 2014, p.4)

For the information based spreads/pages, I like this one on David Allen as the header used is the same as the content page’s headers, with the Kicker ‘Getting Things Done’, a lede under the kicker, a profile picture David Allen with the name on top.

What this page does well is I can tell that the page layout is column based with the fact that the body copies are divided by 2 and that letters and images are aligned to fit with the appropriate section(apart from the header which takes up both. 

Subheadings are slightly bolder and the pull Quote is really amazing on the right, as it’s in the header’s font style and there’s only 1 colour and black to help separate the words of ‘YOUR MIND IS HAVING IDEA, NOT HOLDING THEM’ (green) (Frost, 2014, p.210, p.211)

When it comes to fun page layouts, he uses that basic, bold typeface and though the typography isn’t outlandish, it’s still great as it mainly serves as a building block to build creations.

The quote ‘try and avoid mistakes’, does so well at being made with personality, Vince had the words ‘try and avoid’ slowly curve and leap over mistakes, so further illustrate the idea of staying away from making errors (Frost, 2014, p.25, p.26).

I mentioned before that this book breaks rules and what I love about this page is is does that; the ‘l’ in ‘Rules’ is split apart  and the ‘es’ hanging off the end of that ‘l’ is descending faster and the word’s placed randomly on the page, which really works to enhance the idea that if it looks good, you can break rules within reason (Frost, 2014, p.76, p.77).

Adding more on personifying, what’s great about the type used here is that you have giant word of ‘leap’ and the word ‘frog’ going over it. This adds so much action and energy having the actual game of ‘leap frog’ being played out by type, even having the word ‘frog’ as green (Frost, 2014, p.16, p.17

This editorial’s design and page layouts taught me that I don’t need to be complex or detailed and that I should have fun and with my layouts and express in different experiments, mess with type and always keep in mind to add some logic to my work, even if it breaks rules.

Frost, V. (2014). Design Your Life. Clayton: Penguin.