#even the guy at the apple store was like “so what ipad were you using” and when I said 1st gen ipad pro he was like “OH. wow. yeah okay"

[gogoutoriart]

I got a new ipad yesterday!! 😱✨

Its been.... 8(?)ish years since I got my old 1st gen ipad pro and she was on her last legs ;w; I use my ipad at work and for all of my art. A couple weeks ago I took my ipad out for work and it didn't turn on even after plugging it in. I panicked since I didn't have a back up of all of my files in procreate, where most of my WIPs are. After almost 15 minutes charging it finally turned back on. I thought it was a fluke and backed up most of my files. then it happened again last week and took even longer to turn back on. I realized it was probably time to start looking into a new one. OTL But I bit the bullet and spent.... WAY too much money this weekend between car repairs and an ipad+pencil for both myself and my little sister. ;w; (she paid me back) I was hoping to open commissions first and use that money for the costs, but this will make it easier to work on commissions! I only opened it and set it up tonight. (I think I was lowkey scared to use something so new lol) but omg the difference is veryyyy noticeable! Blending actually works?? In real time with no lag??? WILD. And the pencil being magnetic to charge is so helpful I could weep. I started with a clean slate, so I only reloaded in all of my brushes and most of my WIPs into procreate. I feel a little uneasy using the new ipad without a case, but that should be here later this week.

Hopefully this means I can open limited commission slots soon!~ I'm still weighing how best to navigate that with my health, but I feel okay enough to open a very small amount of slots to work on over the holidays perhaps. I just don't want to promise people something and not deliver if I get too sick to work on it in time.

Anyways, I'll be working the next 2/3 days but then its all out back to drawing and I'm super excited to jump back in and hopefully share more fun artworks with everyone!

[betterbooktitles]

"I’m certain I’m not the only millennial who feels we as a nation have taken a dizzying turn when it comes to drugs. I remember a uniformed police officer showing up once a week in 5th Grade (a year before Sex Ed) to explain how to avoid buying and taking drugs. Luckily, I already knew the dangers of the drug trade because I had seen The Usual Suspects. I knew cocaine was a bad thing to buy, sell, or steal, especially from a drug kingpin. The D.A.R.E. program, however, let me know how important it was to say no to anything fun, including alcohol. At least until I understood a little algebra first. We did role-playing exercises where we walked one by one toward the portly police officer and he casually asked if we wanted to hit a mimed joint with him. All we had to do was say “no” and walk to the other side of the room, defying the only rule I knew about improv. We wrote essays about how important it was to preserve our pristine bodies and minds, obviously unsullied since we had yet to take the class teaching us how puberty was going to defile them both. I’m still mad that my friend Nicole’s essay beat mine in a contest, and she got to read hers in front of the whole school all because she had the benefit of an older brother who took too much acid and sat in her room all night talking about why the existence of light proved God was real. My essay about a time I saw my friend’s dad drink a beer and then drive his truck somewhere was also good! We signed pledges to enter the new millennium drug-free. We took the red pencils that said “Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Drugs” and sharpened all of them down to say “Let Friends Do Drugs,” “Friends Do Drugs,” “Do Drugs,” and simply “Drugs.” Despite that little rebellious act, my friends and I spent a solid six months swearing we’d never put any harmful substance into our bodies besides every form of candy available.

Imagine how I feel now as a D.A.R.E. graduate becoming my dad’s drug dealer. It’s less thrilling than I thought it would be. Between my father’s warning not to hang around one specific neighborhood in Cleveland as a kid and nearly every TV show about drugs, I thought I’d always be buying marijuana from an intimidating dude who definitely had a gun and would use it immediately if he thought I was wearing a wire. Instead, I now buy marijuana from a well-lit storefront that looks like the Apple Store. I’ve even gone to a place where a guy with an iPad explained what each available strain would do to me. I buy what sounds good with all the confidence of a man pointing at items on a menu written in a language he can’t read. I put it all in a cardboard box. I place a book on top. I mail the box to my dad from my local post office. I tell myself the book is to hide the contraband crossing state lines, but in truth, the book is what clears my conscience. I want to send my dad something edifying while also sending him the drug that all of America worried would make me unable to read if I tried it once. The unrequested book is a red herring to distract from the vice, like when you were young and didn’t want to buy condoms outright at the store so you cushioned them between a pack of peanut M&Ms and a magazine. Hmm, what else did I need, — right, while I’m here — might as well pick up a few condoms.

Right as marijuana becomes legal in most states, I’m about done with the drug. I’ve had three good times on edibles, and one of them was when I felt nothing and fell asleep at 9:30 PM. I’m flabbergasted that my dad likes edibles. He seems to be a man free of anxiety. Case in point, I once brought him some THC lozenges to our summer holiday in Chautauqua, and around dinner time I told him “You might want to only take half of what I gave you” to which he replied, “I took it hours ago.” He was stoned and no one noticed.

While I’m stuck in my head, stoned or sober, wondering why I didn’t take some acting gig 15 years ago, wondering if I’ll ever make enough money, worrying I’m doing everything wrong including in this moment as I write this sentence, my dad is enjoying himself.

Judith Grisel, the author of Never Enough: The Neuroscience And Experience of Addiction, describes using marijuana as throwing “a bucket of red paint” on your brain. She was approaching the stimulant clinically in terms of how it differed from the laser focus of other drugs (THC reacts with many receptors in the brain, cocaine focuses on one), but now every time I smoke, I think of the red paint metaphor. While other people seem able to crank an entire joint and do insanely complicated stuff like function at their jobs, I am reduced to a gelatinous blob, on top of which my eyes and brain are navigating a dream state that, like many dreams, isn’t all that interesting the next day. Mostly, I get high and can’t decide what I want to watch on TV or what video game I want to play, I realize how hungry I am, and then I fall asleep with cereal still stuck to my teeth. Pot, for me, is like the squid ink hitting the screen in Mario Kart: I can still see where I’m going, but everything gets a little harder to do, and the panicked half-blindness makes everything slightly more chaotically fun."

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Other articles include:

An essay on Claire Dederer's book Monsters and movies made by monsters.

Writing inside a Toyota Service Center.

Writing mistresses.

[lisascorner]

omg omg omg another hc post?!?!?! in 2 days?!?!?! that's crazy

anyways here's the ninja and what tech they have!

nya

okay i think her battlestation would be like. slightly above average, but she most definitely uses linux since she's too annoyed by the mac price point and windows just didn't do it for her. BUT she has an iphone 13 in blue, duh

i don't think she'd have an ipad honestly...i feel like she just draws all her blueprints for the stuff she makes on paper then scans it because she likes the feeling on paper or sumn...

she probably only has wired earphones and trusts only wired earphones.

jay

jay has like three laptops all for different things and an ipad and a samsung tablet. no way he doesn't have allat to play games on their respective platforms frfr... (e.g. pjsk is region-locked and the japan and global versions of the game have some slight differences, so some people have to log out of their apple ids and change it to a jp one so that they can play the jp version. it was tedious, so jay just got 2 ipads.)

his iphone would be like the midnight blue 13 pro max or something. he'd probably have one of those stupid gaming phones too (he bought one off the market, found that it didn't run properly, and just made another one that actually worked himself. LMAO)

specifically has the apple wired earphones and airpods. i don't really think he's a headphone guy.

lloyd

the green ninja unfortunately does not have the option to buy a green macbook, so he settled with a space grey 13 inch air with the M1 chip and bought a green skin for it. 💀 fortunately, he could buy his phone in HIS green with the iphone 13 pro max once again!

he's not an ipad kid. he doesn't have one, and he doesn't need one. he might have a borgwatch though.

lloyd however IS a headphone boy and he wears sony XM4s like the elite he is. augh.

kai

latest iphone, latest mac, latest ipad, that has red options. nothing else needs to be said for this social media DIVA ❤️‍🔥

airpod pros for this boy. he has red headphones from beats by dre but uses it purely for aesthetic.

cole

the bare minimum. HOWEVER, his phone would be a galaxy S23 bc i said so. and he has nothing earbuds! don't be fooled by the non-apple name those are the same price as a base airpod model i think. yeah but cole mainly uses his phone to browse and listen to stuff, so he's alright. 🙏

zane

i don't really think i need to explain this

arin

he probably has one of those limited edition ninja x xiaomi collabs where there's a subtle design of lloyd's gi (like the armoured robes from s11) or something like that. this guy is too big a fanboy to not have purchased every single thing the ninja were remotely associated with.

he wears bose quietcomfort 45 headphones. HE'S JUST LIKE ME FR

sora

also kind of enough said?? iphone 10,000 or something. or at imperium's rate of technology advancement there won't even be phones anymore. but strictly speaking if we were to talk real world terms she'd probably have an oppo or a vivo (trust me some of these brands from china are ridiculously good and RIDICULOUSLY CHEAP so yeah)

wyldfyre

she would much rather lay in the grass and smell the air than look at a screen. but, in case of emergencies, she has a nokia indestructible.

riyu

he's the ipad kid. he's the one with the 2 terrabyte ipad pro 13 inch 2020 that stores all his shows or something.

OKAY THAT WILL BE ALL! thank you for your kind attention and i shall shrink back into my corner of the internet now

[alantea87]

So, I’ve clocked my first 24 hours with the Nokia 2660 Flip. Truly a flip-you to my iPhone and its addicting qualities. Nothing groundbreaking to use a dumb-phone, but I wanted to challenge myself again to rejoin reality and reconnect with my friends and family properly… by stripping back my use of technology to its bare essentials.

Why…

After many months of wanting to pull away from social media, WhatsApp and iOS, I was apprehensive yet elated at the very idea. What about the memes? Thirst posts? Corgis? I’d miss them all. But much needed clarity came crashing in: my iPhone had become my adult pacifier (or dummy for us Brits). Using your smartphone during times of boredom, times of stress, or times of wanting connection has become a habit of many. And, I was no exception. Especially the doom-scrolling for hours on end after work. Luckily, after some realisation… my emotions were at the mercy of this bloody thing. Not to mention the continued horrors of witnessing violence or harassment on Instagram reels - content like this seemingly slipping through censorship safeguards. I had enough and wanted to go back simpler times, even at the dismay of others. I finally bought my second dumb-phone in two years, but this time it was far more usable (bigger buttons, predictive texts, foldable display). I wanted to really try much harder in having an iPhone-less life, even if it created a touch more inconvenience.

Neck-deep…

Sometimes I feel that tech companies invent inconveniences in order to sell more solutions directly to you. And as someone who used to work at Apple’s Regent Street store years back (when the first iPhone was launched, mind you), Apple has turned into a capitalist nightmare. I miss their earlier days of really creating a tech solution to improve your life. Now it’s all about that coin and I forget I am neck-deep in their eco system and feel like I’m drowning in their “YOU’RE MY ELITE EMPLOYEE” energy, so I feel I have to keep on buying more. Yes, the integration of all of their devices work incredibly well. But sometimes I feel that innovation doesn’t always address your ability to connect (naturally) with other people. In fact, my self and a lot of my friends (at my age), now feel that modern technology hinders deep, meaningful connections e.g. good old face-to-face conversations in the real world. I think as a millennial (and listen up gen z), I forget that conversation in person is incredibly nuanced: one has to balance tone, emotion, inflection and practice patience. It involves drama and full expression - hands, legs and otherwise! Real connection. No avatars, no emojis, no hiding. Worst case scenario, make a phone call and use your voice. Having said that, I will have to practice what I preach now that it’s much harder to write big messages via SMS on an alphanumeric keypad, lol. I’m more likely to text “can I call you in a bit instead?”.

Current tech hoes…

I have in fact have not fully compromised my relationship with tech. I am using an iPad for emails and internet. Plus, I have resorted to using my Apple Watch as a “mp3 player” paired with my AirPods Pro 2s. I forgot that if you have an Apple Music sub, you can download songs/albums/playlists directly to your Apple Watch via Wi-Fi etc. Perfect for the gym and the commute. Because I am sure as hell that I won’t be touching those dodgy Temu-like music players on Amazon. Frankly, they look like they would crumble in your hand and would be carcinogenic. Remember guys, tech companies have turned once a useful tool (the smartphone) into a slot-machine in your hand. Your emotions are being played with and sometimes I did enjoy aspects of that (memes, targeted videos/content etc) but I say: no bloomin more. For now. Lol. Famous last words. I’m going to try and do two weeks minimum with my Nokia 2660 and see how I survive.

Challenges to expect…

Unlike the Nokia 2680 Flip (only sold in North America, I think) as a fancier operating system that allows WhatsApp and a stripped down version of Google Maps. GPS navigation on that version of the 2660 apparently works alright, but you wouldn’t be able to use it in car for driving (I don’t drive anyway). But my main concern about using a feature phone is that lack of mapping. And I chronically get lost in London, despite being born and raised in Hackney/Islington. So I do plan to use my iPhone (loaded up with a data eSIM) to use it like it was a good old TomTom. Sorry gen z, these were old standalone GPS screen/devices you retrofitted in your car. But only if I plan on going somewhere totally new. Otherwise, I will try and relearn the bus network (within reason, lol) and tube map relative to my needs. I kinda miss those days of printing out directions and/or relying on your actual brain to problem solve and to get your bearings. Other things I may or may not miss out on: QR code scanning/presenting, tube/weather updates, voice notes.

Final words…

Scaling back to a dumb-phone has actually already reduced my levels of anxiety, sense of disconnect or being part of comparison culture. The very act of adding in your contacts manually one-by-one like the 90s/2000s into a cellphone was quite therapeutic despite its novelty. I think you can import a vCard, but couldn’t be arsed. *Carrie Bradshaw voice* But then I thought to myself (as I typed each contact into my Nokia keypad): damn boy… do I only really have three (actual) friends?

Two books I am currently reading and recommend.

[insertcleverusername101]

Warning: This is a very long, very tech related post, which expands on the post above in a very winding way. If that doesn't interest you, do not proceed.

I am a Gen Z systems administrator (IT guy, techie, etc. for those of you who have not heard the term before). And let's be clear, I didn't end up in this position because I'm some kind of computer genius freak who's been a compsci-doctorate level programmer since I was eight years old (I have been programming since I was ten, but it was pretty much at an age appropriate level). I can:

Use Google.

Withstand enough of Microsoft, and when the occasion calls for it Apple's, bullshit with enough patience to fix most problems.

Make use of available diagnostic methods and tools to isolate problems to specific programs and hardware in computers, which relates back to option one.

Read hard to read technical documents, logs, and discussions to get information that is not immediately clear.

I am very rarely innovating new methods of finding things. I rarely work on issues that no one has encountered or fixed before (although it has happened a few times, it happens to every sysadmin). The skillset I have is, on some level, interchangeable with every mechanic or technician for any machine ever made, including cars, ships, and planes.

And, ultimately, the need for that skillset is what's missing from computers nowadays. It used to be, to use a desktop, even on the most basic rudimentary level, required you to have some technical skill. Without a GUI, you would have to know how to load programs and navigate a filesystem in DOS. You would have to know how to un-park the heads on a disk, and park them when you were done. How to operate a modem.

Doing the basic stuff, up until like, Windows 7 (and the release of the iPhone, the first ever smartphone two years earlier), took some level of technical acumen. Want to mod a game? Have fun downloading janky third party mod packers and managers, and editing files manually inside the game config. Same problem for getting games as a whole. Buy the CD. Put it in your computer. Doesn't work because you have dependencies missing. The dependencies also have missing dependencies, which you then have to find. Packages are missing. So on and so forth. Keeping your stuff running the way you wanted was hard.

Now? Not so much. Windows does a lot in the backend on computer systems. As an example to contrast something I brought up in the previous paragraph is Steam, and other similar stores. One click to install with all dependencies, and one click to install mods. And more importantly, us sysadmins do even more shit on the backend on incredibly powerful commercial systems which are also very heavily integrated and automated. But it's all still there.

These systems, much like many things in our society, are designed to discourage user-level fixes. But you can still do it, even if everything has been designed to cut out that basic level skillset development.

What's really killing us here is that we're giving the very young highly commercialized and consumer oriented devices like iPads to play with, which reinforces this anti-problem solving, "there's always an app for that" style of thinking.

We can and should have those devices, don't get me wrong. There is a place for them where reliability is at a premium, and you just need things to work and be simple for performing low level tasks. I manage multiple construction companies, and a few of them make incredibly effective use of managed tablets and iPads for on-site management personnel, like foremen and project managers, to give a practical example. Easy to set up, easy to swap around, and easy to use with very low failure rates. Great for people who don't need to do super technical work but need to be very effective communicators.

But that's not what we should be teaching people on, because it ruins any chance at proper problem-solving thinking. What we want to train them on is a system that has room for failure, and room for troubleshooting. And that is where the open source and full desktop environments comes to the rescue.

If you want your kid to learn how a computer works, give them a locked down (or not-so-locked down, up to you) Windows PC. Or even better, give them a clean copy of Ubuntu on a laptop with a touchscreen to work with for their childhood. Shit will break, fail, go lopsided, bug out, etc. Part of the cost for using that device will, inevitably, be learning how to fix it, and also as they get older, fixing it themselves.

We can bring these skills back. But it means, like in all things, standing up and resisting the ever encroaching rise of corporations and their locked down technology.

another thought about "gen z and gen alpha don't know how to use computers, just phone apps" is that this is intentionally the direction tech companies have pushed things in, they don't want users to understand anything about the underlying system, they want you to just buy a subscription to a thing and if it doesn't do what you need it to, you just upgrade to the more expensive one. users who look at configuration files are their worst nightmare

[jayreviews]

Apples are falling very far from the store

Hey it’s Yaj!

Quick update on the headphones: they’re amazing. I love them even more than I thought I did. The noise cancellation is a god send and I’m not even joking.

From previous posts I said how I lived with a big family, and said family has so many kids, and said kids make a lot of noise, and said noise is lowered when I turn on my headphones. Thank god I bought them cause my window was looking really tempting.

I did want to buy AirPods so I went to the store next to my house and asked for the cheapest not gonna lie. He said they were ten dollars and warned me that they weren’t the original and I was like ‘Well yeah they’re like ten dollars how would they be original?’ so I bought them but my tiny little shrimp brain didn’t think of asking about the sound or even seeing if I can try them at his store first.

So when I went back home to try them, in the nicest words I can think of: they were very much not what I wanted. The sound was very bad, the packaging was very good for ten dollars.

Anyway, I returned and got my money back.

I don’t need AirPods anyway.

Also I haven’t been playing as much as I did in summer cause obviously?? I have classes. And it’s exhausting. I went to my last class of the day today, spent money on the bus, sweat a lot cause summer sucks, walked to my class and finally sat down, only to get a text from my friend sending me the email our doctor sent saying ‘Oh there’s no class come in the weekend’ like?? Miss ma’am sir that should be illegal.

Anyway so I sat in the air conditioned room cause I wasn’t dumb?? And went home after an hour.

And new topic: What is up with apple?

I keep hearing about how the iPhone 15 overheats when you use a charger other than the one you buy, breaks when it bends but honestly why would you even buy a phone that expensive only to bend it?? rich people man. I want to be this rich in the future so I could but an iPhone just to bend it.

So I updated my iPhone 12 to the new iOS update because it hadn’t stopped bugging me about it, and what do you know, it’s been hell on earth.

My battery is more draining than before, my applications keep crashing, the new auto correction wON’T TURN OFF AND I AM FED UP BECAUSE WHY IS IT LIKE THAT??

And there’s another update to the one before, but it needs at least 6GB for it to update and like?? I have the 64GB you think I have enough space??

I’m crying.

Also my computer is lagging too much, the stupid thing won’t click unless I restart every time I open it. None of my applications will work unless I do that.

So I need a new phone, a new computer, and because I’m a hoarder and I like collecting things that are not normal and because it would look so cute, I want an iPad. With a keyboard. And an apple pen.

You think if I got just the iPad with the keyboard and the pen it’d replace my computer? Not like replace replace but it’d help for college right? Idk.

Yeah the window looks very tempting. It’s calling out to me.

Plus I’m responsible for this club in college and I have to do so many things and buy stuff and talk to so many people for this other thing and we don’t even have the budget so we’re all paying from out of pocket.

(We had the first meeting last week and so many people were starting at me. But then my best friend wad like ‘Well yeah it’s cause you’re the president’ and I blocked her. But there were two cute guys staring at me the whole time. Let me be delusional okay??)

Oh oh!! And there’s this cute guy in some of my classes but I’m terrified he’s a minor (like he’s 17 not 18 yet fresh out of high school) and like ew. So I’m remaining safe and keeping it close from a distance. Like, friends is okay. If he’s 18 then woohoo I can have a crush. But if he’s 17 then haha jail looking real fine right now.

So.

How are you guys doing?

Until next time.

Byebye!

[authenticmiya]

Meeting Him - Johnny Lawrence x Reader

Summary - Johnny and sassy reader meet due to technological issues and form what could be a start of something they’ve both been waiting for.

Words - 0.9k

Warnings - slight angst/fluff

A/N - this is my first imagine on Tumblr so feel free to request any imagines you’d like involving the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai!

Entering the pawn-shop, you realised you were the only one in line. Not being to happy with your recent purchase of a phone.

"How can I help..." The man turned around from what he was doing and let out a huge sigh.

"It's you again, what can I do for you Y/N?" He groaned. Truth be told, it wasn't the first time you had been back to return something, most things he had sold you were completely flaked.

"I don't know why I trust you, but I'm on a very tight budget with a very underpaid job so you're my last resort." You snapped, pushing over the "fake" iPad.

"What's wrong with this one?" He questioned, taking the device into his hands and observing it. The bell to the store rang, indicating someone else had entered.

"Listen asshole-" The mysterious blonde began, but you all too quickly cut him off.

"I was here first, I want my money back." You stopped him.

"No can do lady, there's a scratch at the top of that device and I don't take back broken goods." He shook you off.

"Listen asshole-" You used the exact same sentence the guy behind you had.

"You sold it to me with a scratch on it and if you don't give me my money back, I will sue." By this point, you were just beyond pissed off. It had been a long day of working for practically pennies, and you didn't need this.

"You couldn't afford lawyers-" The blonde guy was now stepping in.

"Give the lady her refund man." He barged in, you looked at him with confused eyes, curious as to why such a handsome and confident man was helping you.

"What can I do for you Johnny?" The idiotic man asked.

"The kids from my dojo told me to get an apple, you sold me a lemon, the piece of shit won't even turn on." Johnny pushed the laptop over the counter.

"That makes two of us." You muttered, causing Johnny to smirk but quickly shake it off.

"First of all, it's a dell and it's not broken. Have you tried pressing the power button?

"Yeah of course, I'm not an idiot." Johnny replied, hitting the side of the laptop in an attempt to turn it on. Now it was your turn to smirk.

"Finding something funny pretty face?" Johnny raised an eyebrow at you.

"My device is actually broken, yours isn't." You chuckled, leaving him confused.

The guy simply took the laptop away from Johnny, flipped it open and pressed the actual power button. It obviously turned on leaving Johnny shocked.

"Have you seriously never owned a computer before?" The question made you snort.

"Yeah I'm not a nerd." Johnny huffed, shutting the laptop and heading out.

"You know you're not gonna have a great reputation if you skip a customer and refuse a decent service?" You questioned the pawn-shop guy.

"Jesus Christ here's you eighty dollars back now please stop nagging." You smirked, happy that you had successfully got what you wanted. Leaving the shop richer and without a crappy device made you feel slightly better about your day.

"So did the asshole give you a refund or do I have to go beat his ass?" A familiar voice spoke behind you.

"I got the refund, but I suppose if I say I didn't, I'd have some sexy entertainment right?" You questioned, making his jaw-drop.

"Oh so she's not just a pretty face, she's also confident and bossy. I like that." He told you, as the two of you headed over to the parking lot.

"For someone I've just met, I'd say the exact same." You chuckled.

"And for someone you've just met, it seems to be you know my name and I don't know yours." The two of you had stopped walking and were now having a conversation by the two of your cars.

"Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N." You shook his hand and smiled.

"See I knew you'd have a beautiful name to match that personality. What do you say, you come and check out my dojo?" He questioned.

"I'm sorry, I'm honestly not a fan of it. Karate just isn't my thing." You shook your head, and Johnny felt so awkward because the moment he looked at you, he just felt something.

"No, no, that's on me-" He began.

"I'm just kidding, my younger brother used to be obsessed with it so I suppose I have a little bit of knowledge on it. Where is this dojo Johnny?" You asked, and Johnny could feel the happiness return to him when he realised you were only playing around with him.

"You're awfully trusting to strangers Y/L/N." Johnny admitted.

"Every good friend is once a stranger in somebody's life." You told him.

"Well I guess, here's the address." Johnny handed you over a small, business card.

"Cobra Kai?" You questioned and he nodded.

"If I don't see you there tonight, I'll get a grip, but I think you'll like it." Johnny smiled, getting ready to head back to his car.

"I think I'll like seeing you doing your job, but whatever." You whispered, watching him start up his engine.

"I'll see you around Y/N." He grinned driving off, grateful he had at last found some female company that was actually willing to talk to him.

[lovestrucked-again]

“Why are you as red as the strawberry Y/N?” | Mafia

Masterlist | Mafia Profiles 1 | Profiles Part 2 Word count: 1.5k+ Warnings: Nothing

Summary: Living with the boys had you constantly worried and feeling helpless. The only thing you could TRY help and do is some convenient fruit boxes but even that, is such a struggle.. (ft Lucas, Doyoung and Haechan)

______

Gradually, as you got used to living with the boys you realised the diet they had was horrifying. Only a few of them showed up for breakfast (which was only a bowl of sugary cereal) and then appeared later in the afternoon grabbing biscuits or chips from the cupboard before vanishing off into their rooms seconds later.

Considering you didn’t have much to do or couldn't help within the team, you decided that since Kun was helping patch them up, you could also do the same, but from the inside. So that day, with the help of Lucas, the two of you left for the grocery store. ___

“Remind me why I’m here as a taxi driver instead of being at home comfortably in bed?” He says, stifling a yawn with a hand and the other resting on the wheel. Despite the time already being late afternoon, Lucas was still asleep when you knocked. As soon as he answered the door, one eye barely opened, you dragged him down the stairs to the garage. He didn't bother saying anything and just complied, letting you lead him to the car only to push him forcefully into the driver’s seat. He still wasn't able to comprehend what was going on until a few minutes later the GPS guide’s voice ringed.

“Because I can’t go anywhere without having a ‘babysitter’ follow along.” You sigh, quoting the words babysitter in bunny ears.

“And why am I the babysitter?”

“Everyone is busy or not home.” You clarify, continuing to scroll through Pinterest for ideas on what to buy.

“You should’ve let me wash-up and change first.”

“You wouldn't have taken me if you were fully awake,” you counter, “besides you’re too lazy to get out the car anyway.”

“Hmm that’s true,” he admits, flicking through the songs connected on the Bluetooth to your phone using the panel. “Why is there no good music?” he complains.

“What do you mean? They’re all good.” You say, looking up from your phone.

“Babe I hate to break it to you, but this is why yo-” You don't give him the chance to finish the sentence already knowing the insult that’s coming and instead, slap him on the arm facing closest to you. He’s too focused on the music titles flicking through that he doesn't notice your movements, but when he does, he’s a second too late.

“I���M DRIVING Y/N!” He yells in response.

“Then focus on driving and not insulting my taste of music.” You reply casually. Lucas grumbles something about letting you win the argument and something about it not being over but you couldn't care less. A few minutes later and he starts whining, “it’s stinging and it hurts” while rubbing he’s arm. You can only roll your eyes in response and pat his arm saying “there there,” trying to get him to shut up.

“Give me 20minutes and I’ll be out,” you tell him as he pulls into a parking spot. 

“Yeah okay, if I fall asleep just knock on the window.” He says while reclining the seat back as you open the car door and hop out. ___

“Let me know if you need help.” Lucas says, helping you bring in the last of your fruit haul.

“Thanks for taking me.”

“Not like I had a choice.” He says, looking at you with an innocent smile as he starts retreating back to his bed.

When you finally finish your grocery shopping, you realise that perhaps you may have been a bit excessive, spending well over $200 with the credit card Taeyong had given you. You bought almost the entire variety of fruits; watermelon, rockmelon, strawberries, oranges, grapes, plums etc. You bought 2 whole watermelons knowing Mark would probably devour a whole himself. You grabbed a few of the big bowls from the cupboard and decided to start by cutting the melons first into bite sized pieces.

As your busy washing the grapes under the running tap, your unable to notice the footsteps walking down the stairs and towards the kitchen which causes you to jump when you hear voices suddenly. Haechan and Doyoung enter through the open doorway, talking about the next cover-up story they were going to use for the upcoming mission. Haechan is the first to notice you, looking up from the paperwork he’s holding.

“I’d like to buy 1kg of those red apples Miss.” Haechan says pointing to the bag and stopping Doyoung midsentence who turns to look.

“The grocery store is a 10minute drive from here, you can go there to buy it,” you respond, smiling sweetly at him. Haechan grins at you, loving the sarcastic response, as he takes a seat.

“What’s this for?” Haechan asks, leaning against the kitchen counter to watch. Doyoung sits down beside him with his eyes on the Ipad his holding, presumably looking at a layout of a building.

“You guys barely eat anything that's actually healthy so I figured I might as well try help with your food intake.” You shrug, taking out the strawberries and rinsing them under the tap. Haechan nods and mumbles a sound of agreement before reaching for some cut up melon in the bowl.

“Wash your hands” you yell, swatting his hand away before he can touch anything.

“Oww,” He screams, giving you a glare. Doyoung looks up briefly, laughing under his breath before continuing his business. You sigh and pull out the drawer, grabbing two forks and a smaller bowl. Haechan and Doyoung continue talking while you scoop some of the melon out of the larger bowl and into the smaller one. Placing two forks in the bowl you set it between the two boys.

“I only wanted one piece,” Haechan says, looking at you cheekily. You give him a dirty look in response and he smiles innocently at you, staring wide eyed at you as he picks up his fork and takes a piece.

“Eat some too Doyoung” you say, breaking away his gaze from his Ipad. Although you weren’t new to the house anymore, some of the guys took a bit more time to warm up to, and Doyoung was one of them. At this stage, it was a little more awkward for you to keep a conversation going with him but you couldn't tell if that was your issue or if it was a time issue.

“Thanks Y/N” he says, picking up the fork as his eyes remain on the device while he stabs randomly into the bowl.

“Hyungg,” Haechan whines as the fruit slips out of the bowl and lands onto him.

“Sorry,” Doyoung replies, not bothering to look up. They continue talking about their plans but you don't really hear it, too busy humming to yourself and focusing on not cutting yourself.

Finally satisfied at the fruit bowl full of colours, you look around in the cupboards for the pack of plastic containers. However, after continuously flipping through the same cupboards you still couldn't find it and grown in frustration.

“Y/N what are you looking for?” Haechan asks.

“The plastic containers I bought a while ago,” You mumble, standing on your tippy toes trying to look again in the cupboards at the top. “Who placed it in here?” You mutter in annoyance finally seeing it. Your fingertips briefly brush against them and you continue fumbling for it but end up just pushing it further to the back. Eventually, you give up on trying to reach for it knowing your height will never be in your favour and decide to climb onto the bench to try.

Doyoung notices this and hands the Ipad over to Haechan whose too busy to realise what’s going on as he shoves a bigger piece of melon into his mouth. As soon as your kneeling up on the shelf, you begin to shake and flail as you try and grasp onto the shelf of the cupboard. Right when you lose your balance and start falling back, you feel an arm snake around your waist helping you regain your posture and you look behind to see Doyoung staring right back at you.  

“Nice catch,” Haechan comments, digging around the bowl as he remains sitting comfortably in his chair. You shoot him a glare and he doesn't even notice, not looking in your direction.

“Y/N I’m literally sitting right behind you, you can ask for help.” He says as indicates you to place your arms on his shoulders and he holds you by the waist to lift you down.

“I didn't want to bother you,” you sheepishly respond. Doyoung suddenly closes the gap between you and you take a step back immediately, knocking against the bench when he traps you in with his frame. He reaches behind you for the boxes, grabs it easily and hands it to you, not noticing the heat rising to your face. You mumble out a thanks as he walks back to his seat and quickly begin unwrapping the plastic around the boxes, suddenly focused on the containers.

“Why are you as red as the strawberry Y/N?” Haechan asks unexpectedly, forcing you to look up at him when he mentions your name and quickly turning your back to him when you notice his smug smile and his berry on his fork.

[surveys4ever]

25.

Section 1 – Who were you?

Think back as far as you can. What is the first memory you have? I think meeting my (now) dad for the first time when he and my mom were dating. I was very upset because he was short and that’s not what dads were supposed to look like in my 3 year old eyes since my bio dad was super tall.

What is something you remember enjoying very much as a small child? Playing Barbies, watching Barney, Happy Meals, being with my grandma.

How old were you, when you made your very first friend? Probably preschool.

Are you still friends with this person today? Facebook friends, yeah. Real friends, no.

Was there a story somebody read or told you that has stuck with you? No one ever read to me after I learned to read for myself so one day I was sick and I came home and curled up with my mom on the couch and asked her to read me a Little Mermaid book I had and she did, even though I had to get up to go shit myself halfway through and it meant a lot to me at the time.

What is something you get an immense feeling of nostalgia from? Hannah Montana for some reason. It was my favorite show and we didn’t get the Disney channel so whenever we went to a hotel, nobody could tell me fuckin NOTHING because we were watching Hannah Montana whether they liked it or not.

As a child, were you a sore loser or a sore winner? I was the only child for 8 years and then the oldest after that so I never lost at anything and now when I do, I feel like I'm the biggest piece of shit loser there’s ever been. So that’s fun.

Did you go through the "naked phase"? I learned that you didn’t have to sleep in pajamas and you could just sleep naked so I did it for a while but then realized that I much preferred pajamas.

Which television shows do you watch the most as a child? I loved TV so basically all of the 90′s/early 2000′s shows there were.

Did you play with siblings, neighbourhood kids or by yourself? Either with neighborhood/school kids or by myself. I didn’t ever really have siblings who weren’t my kids, if that makes sense.

Is there something you really miss from your childhood today? I miss back when everything was simple.

Section 2 – Likes and interests  

Would you ever like to try competitive pinball playing? Ummm, no.

Do you knit, crochet or cross stitch? I’m trying to teach myself to crochet.

Have you ever, or would you like to attend a gaming or comic convention? No thx.

What's your opinion on online multiplayer games? I really liked Among Us for a while there but I don’t really enjoy how rude everyone is on online games.

Do you like to go cycling? If so, where? Uh no.

Have you ever tried woodturning? If not, would you like to? Never tried it, don’t really have any desire to, but it can be relaxing to watch!

Do you enjoy drawing? If so, what do you usually draw? I do! I usually draw graphics for YouTube videos or doodle over Instagram photos, draw things to put on shirts with my Cricut, etc. I use my iPad for so many things.

Have you ever attended a painting class? If so, what did you create? I haven’t but I would like to!

How about a creative writing course? If so, did you get any feedback? I took Creative Writing literally every year it was offered in high school and I always got awards for having the top marks in the class.

What is your favourite form of exercise? No thank you.

Section 3 – People  

Who is the most important person in your life (besides yourself)? My husband.

Do people generally approach you easily? I think so!

Do you get along with people well? If not, what's the problem? Yeah! I’m pretty friendly and easy going.

Do you enjoy being in crowds or do you prefer your own company? I would much prefer my own company than crowds.

Which one of your friends have you known the longest? I still talk to the girl I was best friends with in the 6th grade on occasion so like 17-18 years?

Do you find it easy to make friends now? If not, what makes it difficult? As an adult who works from home, making friends is hard as fuck. 

What is something about people that annoys you? Something I've noticed in recent years is just how entitled and greedy everyone is. Everybody wants something from you or for your skills to benefit them without them putting in any work or paying you for your time. It’s just gross.

What is something about people that you really like? We have really, really harsh winters and if you ever find yourself in the ditch for whatever reason, there will be a lineup of cars stopped behind you to help you push it out or let you chill in their car while you wait for a tow truck. On the really bad blizzard days, there are groups of men in big trucks that literally L I V E to go around and help pull people’s cars out of the ditch. It’s the only time I feel like there’s actually a sense of community around here.

If you live alone, what would be your criteria for a roommate? I honestly would never have a roommate because they could either be your friend or a stranger and living with friends is a good way to ruin a friendship if your living styles aren’t similar and living with a stranger just sounds like a nightmare.

How about criteria for a spouse, if you're single? I am married but my criteria was honestly that I just wanted him to be kind and funny and I got that tenfold with my husband.

In general, what's your attitude towards people? I can’t stand to be around grumpy people. If all you do is gripe and complain about literally everything, I’m out. No thank you. Why is your hobby being angry? Take up knitting or something for christ’s sake.

Section 4 – Habits

What is something you do every day without fail? Baby talk the dog and snuggle with Beebs.

What is your typical breakfast? I’m a leftovers for breakfast kinda gal but lately I’ve been having a bagel and watermelon.

Which article of clothing do you like to wear the most? I loooove me a good baggy T-shirt and booty shorts.

Is there a TV show you watch habitually? We’re currently watching Unhhhh while we eat dinner every night, haha!

Where do you usually spend most of your day? I really only sit in 4 places--bed, the couch, my makeup/work desk, or my sewing desk. Depends on the day which one I’m at.

Is there a product that you do not want to run out of? Moisturizer. I’m a dry son of a bitch.

What is your preferred mode of transport? Car!

Do you usually have something playing in the background when you're home? Nah. I’m in silence a lot of the time.

Where do you usually get your groceries? Walmart for the bulk of it, a local grocery store for the specialty items, and Target if we ever run out of something midweek because I cannot handle Walmart more than once a week.

How often do you go to your local park? Like once or twice a month in the summer!

Which of your hobbies do you indulge in most often? Sewing and Sims currently!

Section 5 – Favourites and dislikes

What is your favourite fruit? Watermelon!

How about your favourite berry? Strawberries are the only berry I like.

Which food do you highly dislike? Fish. It’s all disgusting.

What is your favourite song, and why? I hate this question. Who can pick one definitive favorite song out of the bajillions of songs that have been written??

What is a movie you cannot stand? Anything with Seth Rogen in it, any movie that's got a 3+ after it (looking @ you, Fast & Furious), and all the fuckin’ superhero movies that have the same ‘ah yes, this undefeatable bad guy that we have absolutely no chance against and will undoubtedly kill us all--but we’re going to pull through at the last second with the power of friendship!’ plot line.

Which trait in a person do you find most appealing? I don’t know how to describe it--certain people just have that spark and you can always tell right away if they’ve got it or not and those are my favorite kind of people.

Which trait puts you instantly off? If they’re religious it’s an instant no from me, dog.

Who is an actor/actress who you dislike so much you can't watch them? I really, really dislike Tom Holland. I honestly think he’s a terrible actor.

What colour are your favourite shoes? White!

What is a smell that disgusts you to no end? B.O., on me or others. I just can’t deal with it.

Which door handle/door knob do you like the most in your home? They’re all the same.

Section 6 – Culture

What is something very typical to the culture of your home country? Apple pie and baseball are the only things coming to mind atm.

Do you enjoy art? If so, which form of art is the most enjoyable? I do! But I prefer art that you can look at and know the artist is incredibly gifted and/or has put in a ton of time and effort to master their skills. None of that million dollar paint smear on a canvas shit.

What is something about another country's culture you don't understand? I feel like other cultures take their family and their family’s approval way too seriously. That might be rich coming from someone who doesn’t have a very good relationship with their family but I just don’t understand what the point of making yourself miserable to make your family happy is.

Do you ever attend the theater? If so, which play did you see last? Last thing I saw in a theater was Shangela perform a drag show, haha!

How about the opera or the ballet? Nope.

Which dance troupe do you enjoy, if any? ...they still do that?

Do you attend concerts or gigs? If so, which band did you see last? Not as much as I’d like to as no one good really comes here very often. Last band we saw was X Ambassadors and Paramore!

Are you interested in foreign food? I’m not uninterested but I’m not super interested either.

If so, which country's cuisine do you enjoy the most? Chinese...albiet probably a very Americanized version of Chinese.

Do you enjoy stand-up comedy? If so, who is your favourite comic? I doooo! Bo Burnham and Drew Lynch are my favorites.

Do you contribute to culture in some way? If so, how? I try to? I’m an influencer so I definitely have a platform of a couple hundred thousand people. Not sure what exactly I contribute tho.

Section 7 – Charity

Do you volunteer your time to anything charitable? If so, what? Newp.

Do you donate money to any charities? If so, which ones? No. I don’t trust a lot of charities, to be quite honest. A lot of them are very shady and I’d rather donate money directly to someone who needed it rather than it getting tied up in a charity where it might never actually see the people they claim to be helping.

If you have pets, are any of them rescues from shelters? We adopted our dog from one of my husband’s coworkers but she probably would have gone to the shelter if we didn’t take her.

Do you donate your old clothes, linen etc. to charitable organizations? Yes! We almost always have a bag of donations in our trunk that we always forget to take to the thrift store when we go.

If someone you know is in need, is it in your nature to offer help? If I can, yes!

Have you ever donated Christmas presents to children of poor families? We used to do that when I was a kid.

Have you ever had to rely on other people's charity? One Christmas when I was really young I remember my parents signed up for a sponsorship through the Salvation Army where a family adopted us and bought us Christmas presents and Christmas dinner or whatever.

How do you feel about donating to charities endorsed by celebrities? I would never donate to a charity simply because it was sponsored by a celebrity but I guess its the easiest way for a charity to get the word out that they need donations.

Is there a charity you absolutely never ever will not trust? PETA, Salvation Army, Goodwill, and that breast cancer one with the horrible CEO.

Have you ever donated to a cause that had a person going door to door? No. I extra wouldn’t if someone came knocking on my door asking for money.

In general, what is your opinion on charity? I already did my rant about them, haha.

Section 8 – Entertainment

Which was the very first video game you remember playing? Ocarina of Time I believe!

Which was the very first film you remember watching? That I don’t remember. Maybe that Barney movie with the magic egg?

What is your go-to form of entertainment? TikTok usually.

Do you have a large collection of DVDs/Blu-Rays? Nah. We have a drawer but we usually stream everything.

How about music albums? Beebs collects vinyls!

Do you prefer to have your music on vinyls, tapes, CDs or digital? I prefer digital and Beebs likes vinyl.

When and where do you like to entertain yourself usually? Either the bed or the couch.

Do you ever binge watch shows? If so, what are you binging now? Usually! I’m sadly in between shows rn.

What kinds of books do you like to read, if any? I honestly don’t read anymore.

Is there a book series you're currently collecting? ..

Is entertainment something you prefer to enjoy alone or with someone else? I have my shows and then we have shows we watch together. So there’s a time and place for both!

Section 9 – Internet 

Do you always have access to the Internet, wherever you go? If not, why? Yup!

Which website do you frequent the most? Website website? Google. App website? Instagram or TikTok.

Which search engine do you prefer and trust the most? Googs.

What do you use the Internet the most for? Social media or entertainment.

Do you judge people who have their phones out all the time? If so, why? Random people? None of my business. But if we’re spending time together and I’m trying to have a conversation with you and you're not paying attention to me because your nose is glued to your phone, I’m gonna be pissed.

If your connection goes down, what do you do? Go do something that’s not on the internet?

Is there something you wish you could do online that isn't possible yet? I still wish you could smell things through the internet.

Do you remember the first time you used the Internet? When was it? Yes! I believe the 2nd/3rd grade?

What was a website you used to frequent that doesn't exist anymore? I loved the Disney website with all the games.

Do/Did you ever have your own website? That was the thiiiing back in the day.

Isn't it great how much knowledge and info we have at our fingertips? It’s great but also overwhelming.

Section 10 – And finally...

What is something you consider to be highly controversial? Politics, apparently.

What kinds of jokes do you like the best? I love a good pun.

Is there a person who makes you laugh effortlessly? Oh definitely.

Which part of your body do you like the least? My eyes.

What's something random, out of context you remember from your past? I don’t do well with really vague questions.

Do you wear shoes indoors? No, I’m not a heathen.

What's the silliest thing you've worn on your body in public? I don’t think I usually wear silly things.

What's the most important thing in your life right now? Just spending time with my fam. Trying to get over this anxiety.

What is the most distant point on the planet that you've been from home? Florida.

Do you enjoy trivia games? If so, which one's your favourite? We love some Trivial Pursuit in this house!

Are you more logical or emotional? My emotions take over and then my logic brings it back in. Equal parts, baby.

[btsqualityy]

BTS Toddler Series #24: Halloween

Kim Seokjin

“Hi guys!” Hobi exclaimed as he opened the front door to his house.

“Hi Hobi-ah,” Jin smiled.

“Oh, that’s such a nice costume Kade,” Hobi said as he ran his hand over the top of Kaiden’s head.

“Someone really wanted to be a cowboy this year,” you chuckled. Hobi stepped back from the door, giving the three of you room to walk inside where you saw the other members, their wives, and a few other friends talking. All of their kids were running around the house, squealing and laughing loudly. 

“Do you wanna go and play with the other kids Kade?” You asked him, and you frowned slightly when he shook his head and grabbed ahold of your jeans.

“Are you sure Chinny?” Jin wondered and Kaiden nodded silently. Knowing that the large amount of people was all that was making him nervous, you decided to let him stay with you for a while until he became more comfortable.

“Hey guys!” Jimin greeted as the three of you walked over to the table where him, Jungkook, and Namjoon were sitting. 

“Hi Jimin,” you smiled. 

“Oh, I love your costume Kade!” Jungkook exclaimed, making Kaiden smile softly. 

“Why aren’t you playing with the others?” Namjoon questioned.

“Too scared,” Kaiden whispered back, making Namjoon nod in understanding. 

“Mason!” Namjoon shouted suddenly, and Mason came bounding over to the table at hearing his father call for him. “Kade is feeling a little nervous so why don’t you play with him and help him feel better?”

“Ok!” Mason nodded rapidly, stepping over to Kaiden and grabbing ahold of his hand. “Come play with me Kade.”

“Scared,” Kaiden said as he shook his head.

“It’s ok,” Mason promised. “Lenny and Noah are over there too.” Kaiden sighed before looking over to where Lennox and Noah were playing together. 

“Oh, ok,” Kaiden relented and you and Jin both smiled as you watched Mason lead Kaiden over to the other boys. 

Min Yoongi

“Oh, you look so pretty sweetheart,” you gushed, helping Kinsley fix the hem of her princess dress. 

“Pretty princess,” she giggled and you nodded in agreement. “Show daddy?”

“Just a second, you have to have your tiara,” you smiled as you set it on top of her head, taking a second to make sure that it would stay secure in her hair. 

“Now I show Daddy?” She asked again and you chuckled.

“Go ahead Kins,” you relented and you followed her as she quickly walked out of her bedroom and down the hall to your and Yoongi’s bedroom. 

“Look Daddy,” she squealed and Yoongi looked up from his IPad, gasping when he took in the sight of his daughter.

“You look so beautiful baby girl,” he grinned as he set down the IPad and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He took his hands and set them on her cheeks, squishing them together gently. “My baby girl isn’t a baby anymore, huh?”

“Daddy, stop,” she giggled, bringing her hands up to try and pull Yoongi’s off of her face. 

“Kins, why don’t you go get your basket for your candy?” You suggested and she nodded before walking out of your bedroom. 

“Is it over dramatic that I want to cry at how grown up she looks?” Yoongi asked as you walked over and sat down next to him on the bed. 

“Nope, because I feel the same way,” you laughed. “I’m still surprised that she even chose the princess costume in the first place.”

“Well, even though she looks amazing, I hate it,” Yoongi grumbled, making you laugh before you leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Kim Namjoon

“Ready to find a costume Mase?” Namjoon asked him as the two of them stepped into the Halloween store that was full to the brim with costumes, decorations, and everything in between. 

“Yeah!” He exclaimed, making Namjoon laugh. The two of them walked over to the aisles that housed the costumes and Namjoon led Mason down the one that held the toddler costumes. 

“What do you think of this one Mase?” Namjoon asked as he pointed to a Superman costume. 

“Don’t like it,” Mason said as he shook his head. 

“You love superheros though,” Namjoon pouted slightly before putting the outfit back on the rack. Namjoon then continued to rake his eyes over the costumes, a soft gasp escaping him as he picked up another one.

“What about this one?” He wondered as he held up a shark costume.

“Wore that before Daddy,” Mason huffed, and Namjoon sighed heavily at the fact that Mason even remembered that. He put the outfit back and the two of them continued to slowly walk down the aisle.

“Oh Daddy,” Mason exclaimed as he ran to the opposite side of the aisle, pulling on a costume to get it down off of the rack. 

“Whoa, hold on Mase,” Namjoon chuckled as he walked over to him, picking up the costume and removing it from the rack. He held it out at arm’s length and couldn’t help but to laugh when he saw it.

“You want this one?” Namjoon questioned as he pointed to the astronaut costume with his free hand.

“Yeah,” Mason nodded. “Like Daddy’s from on stage.” Namjoon grinned widely at how Mason remembered his MAMA outfit for Anpanman.

“Well, I guess we’re getting this one then,” he announced, making Mason cheer loudly. 

Jung Hoseok

“Wait Berk,” You giggled as you watched Berkeley try and take the top off of the pumpkin with her bare hands. Since it was October, you and Hobi had decided to get the twins their own pumpkins and let them carve them however they wanted to. 

“Won’t come off,” Berkeley grumbled and Hobi laughed before grabbing the knife and showing it to her.

“That’s because I have to use the knife to get it off for you,” he explained and she nodded slowly. You then turned to Lennox, who was sitting on his knees and concentrating really hard as he drew on his pumpkin.

“Are you sure that’s where you want me to cut it out Len?” You asked him and he nodded rapidly.

“Yeah. See?” He said as he pointed to a triangle that he had drawn. “That’s the eye.”

“Alright,” you chuckled, realizing how hard it would be for you and Hobi to cut out the weird shapes that they had both drawn on their respective pumpkins. Once the twins had deemed their art work satisfactory, you and Hobi literally ended up spending a half hour carving them accordingly. 

“Ok, all done kiddos,” Hobi announced with a clap of his hands. 

“Lights now?” Berkeley asked and you nodded as you grabbed two small candles. 

“Here, you can put them inside,” you said as you handed one to each of them. You watched as they both set their candle into their pumpkins and Hobi proceeded to light the candles for them.

“What do you think guys?” You wondered.

“It’s pretty,” Berkeley smiled.

“Yeah and cool!” Lennox added with a squeal, making you and Hobi laugh.

Park Jimin

“Daddy, Daddy!” Noah yelled as he ran into your and Jimin’s bedroom. 

“Whoa whoa, mini me,” Jimin chuckled as he caught Noah in his arms, chuckling when he saw that his son was covered in toilet paper. 

“Noah!” You shouted, jogging into your bedroom after him and smiling when you saw him in Jimin’s arms. 

“What are you two up to?” Jimin asked as he looked over at you. 

“Noah decided that he wanted to be a mummy for Halloween but while I was wrapping him up in toilet paper, he got the bright idea to come and try to scare you,” you explained. 

“You’d try and scare your Daddy mini me?” Jimin fake gasped as he let Noah slide down his body back onto the ground.

“Argh!” Noah roared softly, holding his hands out like a mummy and pawing at Jimin’s legs.

“Oh no jagi! It’s the Noah monster!” Jimin screamed, running out of the room and Noah quickly chased after him.

“Can you at least let me finish wrapping you up, Mr. Scary Mummy?” You shouted after them, speed walking out of the bedroom in order to catch up to them.

Kim Taehyung

“Mommy, look,” Spencer cheered as you, her, and Taehyung walked into the field of pumpkins. Since this was the first Halloween that Spencer could really participate in and remember, you and Taehyung wanted to give her the best experience possible and what better way to start than letting her pick out her own pumpkin?

“I see,” you chuckled as you let her pull you further into the field. “Why don’t you go pick one out?”

“Any one?” She asked.

“Any one,” Taehyung nodded. “And then we can take it home after we buy it and make it pretty.”

“Ok,” she chirped before letting go of both your and Taehyung’s hands before walking off to inspect the pumpkins. 

“Has she given you any idea as to what she wants her costume to be this year?” You questioned as you looked over at Taehyung.

“She said that she wanted to be TaTa,” Tae said with a laugh.

“Wait, are you serious?” 

“Yeah, but I’m still not sure if she was or not,” he shrugged. “You know that our kid is a little weird sometimes.”

“Just like her father,” you mumbled with a snort.

“What was that?” 

“Oh, nothing,” you smiled and before Tae could question you any further, you both heard Spencer calling for him.

“Daddy! Help!” She said as she attempted to lift up a huge pumpkin on her own.

“Leave it to her to choose the biggest pumpkin out here,” Tae grumbled before jogging over to help her. 

Jeon Jungkook

“Jeon Jungkook, you cannot be serious right now!” You hissed as you watched him wipe the water from the front of his face.

“Why are you so mad at me?” Jungkook huffed as he looked at you. “I was just playing with the kids.”

“Kook, the bobbing for apples game was supposed to be an easy way for the kids to win some prizes,” you explained. “It wasn’t an opportunity for the Golden Maknae to come in and win every damn round.”

“Those kids just weren’t trying hard enough,” he shrugged and your eyes widened. 

“Those are your nieces and nephews over there, you know,” you chuckled. “And it’s moments like these that make me wonder what the hell I saw in you sometimes.”

“It was my big di-,”

“Hi Ave!” You said loudly, alerting Jungkook to her presence as she walked up to the both of you. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, a lot of fun,” she smiled as she nodded her head. “Daddy, you come play bob game again?”

“You want me to play again Angel?” He asked.

“Yeah, we all do,” she said as she pointed over to the small bins that were still full of water, and the other members’ children were all standing around waiting.

“I’ll be right there Angel,” Jungkook promised and Ava grinned widely before walking back over to the other kids. “So, what was that you were saying?”

“Just because they enjoy seeing you make a fool out of yourself doesn’t mean that it’s fair,” you pointed out with a smirk. 

“You can really cut me deep sometimes, you know that?” Jungkook pouted, shaking his head so that the water from his still wet fringe flew onto your skin.

“Kook,” you groaned loudly.

“I love you,” he said, quickly pressing a kiss to your lips before walking back over to the kids. 

“Love you too, you idiot,” you smiled softly.

[arthurhwalker]

reMarkable 2 Review

I had some requests for a review of this device, and I am glad to oblige in this case. I've been closely following digital pen stylus tech for about eight years. I'm just old enough that I still need to handwrite a lot of things to tap into my creativity, but greatly dislike clutter in my life.

The reMarkable is for the person that writes enough by hand to fill several notebooks a year. For someone that wants the tactile and somatic component of writing on paper to associate with their process. The new reMarkable 2 does basically what the reMarkable 1 did; faster, better, and with a much improved piece of hardware.

If you've read my previous review from May 2018, you know I basically raved about the first generation reMarkable. I had a few criticisms of the Gen 1, and a lot of that has been addressed with the Gen 2.

Support & User Experience

I've used a reMarkable tablet continuously for almost three years. I've never had a support issue with one. The software is updated regularly, features added, and user experience improved with each iteration.

There is really no comparisons to be made with that kind of uninterrupted usage. No smartphone, tablet, or computer you ever own will be that reliable. A 3-4 year old Thinkpad, running Linux, is about as close as it gets to that level of, switch-on-and-use, every day, without fail feeling.  

The reason is that the reMarkable 2 is leveraging the most reliable hardware, user input methods, stylus technology, and operating system basis available. My fear has always been that my reMarkable wouldn't be as reliable as a regular piece of paper, and a good pen. So far, that fear has never been realized with the reMarkable 1, or 2.

Pen Stylus Input

The majority of what one picks up and uses will be Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) stylus tech, with Microsoft Surface Products, or Wacom AES (Active Electrostatic) like that found in a lot of Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and so forth. The older Wacom EMR (Electromagnetic Resonance) is used less frequently, and usually only with their own products, or a version thereof with Samsung Phones and Tablets.

Of the three options, Wacom's EMR is still the best.

That's what you'll find on the reMarkable Tablet, and if you get their Marker Plus (it's the black one) it has the magical EMR eraser tip opposite the drawing point. There is no better pen stylus experience, for general use, sketching, handwriting capture, tilt sensitivity, and so forth.

The Marker Plus is $50 more than the regular Marker. It is worth it.

What if you're like me, and you have a drawer full of pen stylus products? Products that include the legendary Excalibur stylus pen that came with the Thinkpad Tablet 10 Gen 1, and worked with the EMR capable Thinkpad Yoga S1 from 2013? The one with the eraser tip, and sweet felt tip point? Will that stylus work?

Yes. Yes, yes it will.

However, the reMarkable Marker Plus just feels better. It's heft (19g) is perfect, eraser tip rounded to feel like the real thing, and tips that degrade gracefully without marking up the screen. Buy. The. Marker. Plus.

The Hardware

The manufacturer says that the reMarkable 2 gets 3 times the battery life of the 1, is 2 times as responsive (relative to rendering digital ink), and is the world's thinnest tablet at 0.19". Mostly, this is all of this seems to be true. Also, as mentioned before all the new Marker Plus has a built in eraser, all the new accessories snap together with magnets, and it charges with USB-c.

The screen is capacitive touch capable now. No more page turning buttons, and you can swipe down from the top to back out of a document or folder. You can turn pages with the swipe of a finger now. It takes a second to get the gestures down, but they're crisp and reliable once you do.

The tablet runs off of a dual core ARM process (a good thing, in my opinion).

My only quibble is that it is supposed to be able to connect to both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz WiFi, but so far I've only gotten it to connect to 2.4. It might be something with my specific router, and I'm not sure if my experience is typical.

On the lower left hand side of the tablet there are 5 connection points. This suggests that the tablet may have the ability to connect to other accessories in the future. If reMarkable added a Plain Text Editor, and a keyboard cover to the reMarkable, I would be over the moon.

There is no evidence that they will do this, but a guy can dream. Having what's basically an e Ink Typewriter this thin and light would be the ultimate for this writer.

The Software

It is much the same experience as the reMarkable 1 with a few new additions.

You can convert your handwritten notes into text, cursive or block letters, and share by email. There is support for 33 languages.

With a Google Chrome plug-in, you can read web articles and pages on your reMarkable. If you're already battling with eye strain from looking at glowing screens all day, this is a nice feature.

Reading large PDFs and eBooks is still not crisp and snappy, but it is a vastly improved experience when compared to the reMarkable 1. Large graphically intense documents can be navigated without it taxing your patience. What I store on my reMarkable is vastly different now because of how much improved document handling has become.

I find the small sacrifice in speed rendering pages worth it, compared to the eye strain I get reading on other screens.

More pens, features, page templates, and ease of organizing have been added incrementally over time. With regard to the core functioning (Linux Based Codex OS) of the device, the manufacturer has only ever improved and supported the reMarkable.

Aesthetics

The reMarkable 1 was good for what it could do. It wasn't a bad looking product, but compared to the reMarkable 2, it was a rough prototype. Most tablets do not feel as nice in the hand as the reMarkable 2.

Rubber no-slip nubs on the back, rounded edges, satin finished glass and aluminum, make the tablet itself feel like it's from the future. I bought the Polymer Weave Book Folio, a step up from the regular Folio. A close friend got the same device and marker options as I did, but opted for the Premium Leather Folio.

Definitely, get the Book Folio, and if you can scrabble together the extra money, get the premium leather. That's my only regret is that I didn't spring for the best accessory offered. Is the Polymer Weave good? Absolutely, worth the $99. It is rigid, will protect your investment, and it's very classy looking.

My friend who picked up the Leather Folio is a graphic designer, and has greatly informed my sense of aesthetics over the years. She says the Leather Book Folio is well worth the extra. She is, most certainly, correct.

So, yeah, if you're going to get a reMarkable 2 and want a slightly used Polymer Weave Book Folio (mine), I'll let it go for cheap (so I can atone, and get the leather version, ha ha).

Value

The reMarkable 2 doesn't have a web browser, app store, Merge Dragons, audio player, or other third party applications. It won't replace your iPad, or Android Tablet. It will replace all the paper, notebooks, and pens in your life. This is especially true if you have a small scanner (like a Doxie), and leverage reMarkable's Smartphone app and cloud sync feature.

This tablet is for people that like paper, a lot, but don't want to carry it around or keep track of it. It is for people that fill 8-12 Moleskines a year, and mark up hundreds of pages of documents, for themselves, and others. It is for people that tap into their creativity by writing things down, sketching diagrams, and making lists.

The act of holding a pen or pencil against paper is a cognitive trigger, built into their implicit memory, every day, for years, that allows them to do their things.

$399 will buy a decent Samsung or Apple branded tablet, but neither of those is designed to emulate the experience of writing on paper like the reMarkable 2 tablet is. The reMarkable 2 will run you $399, a Marker Plus $99, and a Polymer Weave Folio $99, bringing it all to almost $600.

Unless you lurk reMarkable's website, and wait for a promotion. They did run a promotion for their pre-order, and will likely do something similar within a year of release. It is my recollection that the manufacturer ran at least two promotions for the Remarkable 1, and the savings were significant.

If you don't need one right this minute, check the website every week or so, their Amazon Store edifice, and whatever other options they have for your region.

Competitors

In the last few years, reMarkable has only acquired more competition in the e ink Tablet market. That competition varies depending on where you live in the world. In the US, no one makes a thing that directly competes. I looked at other products, didn't see anything that made me pull out my reMarkable 1 and make a list of pros and cons for comparison.

That isn't to say there isn't a better thing for your use case, but there wasn't for mine.

Final Thoughts

If I didn't drive this point home earlier, I'm going to make it now. The reMarkable 2 will not replace your laptop, mobile OS (iOS/Android) Tablet Device (meant to replace your laptop), or Smartphone. There isn't even a calculator app on the reMarkable 2.

The Remarkable 2 will replace the pens, pencils, highlighters, notebooks, and print outs cluttering up your daily carry bag, desk, and life. It's a digital paper option, not a personal computing option. When used for that purpose, it is exceptional, and well worth the investment.

[troywalters658]

9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR MOBILE DEVICES SECURE WHILE TRAVELING

From coffee shops to planes, trains, and cruise ships, we've become accustomed to having ready access to the Internet just about anywhere. The problem is, it's easy to forget how vulnerable that makes us to security threats.

I learned this the hard way recently when traveling from San Jose to Tampa, passing through four cities along the way. Even though I'm well aware of the potential for others to hack into my devices, I'd never had any problems previously. Unfortunately, there's always a first time: When I got back home, Facebook alerted me to some suspicious activity. I had been "Firesheep'd"!

Apparently someone in Chicago (using Firefox and a Windows PC) had logged into my Facebook account via Firesheep, a Firefox extension that can intercept unencrypted cookies from certain Websites on any open Wi-Fi network, making it possible to steal login credentials for sites like Facebook and Twitter, or even access your e-mail.

Think it can't happen to you? Think again. Fortunately, a combination of plain old common sense and some technology can protect your devices--quickly and fairly easily.

HOW YOUR GADGETS MAY BE VULNERABLE

Whether you're traveling with a laptop, netbook, smartphone, iPad, or all of the above, the risks and defenses against them are basically the same, according to Joe Nocera, an information security expert and a principal with PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Many of the security concerns that people think about when they think about their personal computers are applicable in the mobile world." As mobile devices become more sophisticated, they lend themselves to the same types of access to e-mail, passwords, and other secure information that PCs have done in the past.

Because today's devices are so much more powerful and can hold so much more information than ever before, the risks are increasing, says Martin Hack, information security expert and executive vice president of NCP Engineering, a software company that helps businesses with their secure remote access systems. Add to that our tendency to carry both personal and business information around with us on the same device, and our mobile devices have never looked so appealing to hackers, he says.

As specific mobile devices become more popular, they become more of a target for hackers. "Five years ago, the vulnerabilities were Microsoft-based and targeting PCs. Apple tended not to be targeted so often," says Nocera. "But, in the last year and a half or so, we're seeing a shift. More and more often we're seeing either Android- or iPhone-based vulnerabilities being targeted. We predict that by 2014 you'll see those types of vulnerabilities being the most targeted as more and more users go to those mobile devices."

The good news is it's not difficult or even expensive to protect your devices and the information on them. The fixes are simple. The problem, stated quite eloquently in an old Pogo comic strip, is: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

9 TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR MOBILE DEVICES SECURE 1. Make sure your software is up-to-date. The first line of defense, says Nocera, is making sure that all your software is up-to-date. "Almost every release of software patches a number of security vulnerabilities that are out there," he says. Before every trip, or at least every few weeks, it's a good idea to check the manufacturer's Web site (or search Google) to see if a software or firmware update is available. If there's a new one, download it, unless there's a massive firestorm of negative reviews from early adopters.

2. Employ strong passwords. "Be sure to use some combination of letters, numbers and/or special characters of 8 characters or more," says Jeremy Miller, director of operations for Kroll Fraud Solutions. "Avoid using dictionary words. Instead, [use] acronyms for things like favorite songs, restaurants or other items known only to you. And change the password frequently--at least once every six months." If you're just not feeling clever enough to create your own passwords, programs like RoboForm will do it for you.

3. Don't mess with the security settings. Nocera notes that most of the default browser settings in Android, iPhone, and Blackberry phones are fairly secure out of the box. "I recommend not going in to change browser security settings--they're pretty good already," he says.

4. Avoid unencrypted public wireless networks. Such Wi-Fi networks require no authentication or password to log into, so anyone can access them--including the bad guys. In some cases, bad guys set up an open network to snare unsuspecting people. Encrypted networks, on the other hand, are those that require an ID or password for access--you'll find such networks at many hotels and coffee shops that offer Wi-Fi services. These networks have two different types of security--WEP (wired equivalent privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi protected access); the second is most secure. Even encrypted networks, though, have risks--it's possible for bad guys to gain access to encrypted networks at a hotel or café, for instance, so be cautious about the sorts of things you do on such networks.

Besides avoiding connecting to unencrypted networks, turn off Wi-Fi when you're not using it. This will prevent you from automatically connecting to networks (and it will extend your device's battery life).

5. Paying to access a Wi-Fi network doesn't mean it's secure. Access fees do not equal security. Just because you pay a fee to access a Wi-Fi network doesn't mean that the network is secure.

6. URLs beginning with 'https:' are safer (but not foolproof). Whenever you're accessing a site where you'll be sharing personal or confidential information--your bank's site, for example--you want to make sure that you're doing so securely. The s in https means that you're connected to the site via the Secure Socket Layer (SSL). In layman's terms, this means that all data transmitted to that particular Website over the Internet is encrypted.

SSL is not foolproof though: If you're on an unencrypted network connection, you may still be subject to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, a form of eavesdropping where the bad guy makes a connection independently with two parties and then "gets in the middle," making both believe that they are talking directly to each other.

These types of attacks are rare, but to guard against them, make sure you're both connected to a secured network and that Websites use https when you're entering sensitive information.

In addition, says Nocera, most e-mail service providers have both a clear text option (that sends unencrypted data) and an encryption (SSL) option. "Make sure you have the SSL option enabled," he says.

7. Use VPN. If you have access to a VPN (virtual private network), use it. A VPN provides secure access to an organization's network and allows you to get online behind a secure layer that protects your information.

8. Turn off cookies and autofill. If your mobile device automatically enters passwords and login information into Websites you visit frequently, turn that feature off. It's convenient, but it can also be a privacy threat. To get back some of the convenience that autofill offers, you can try third-party apps, available for most platforms, that can manage saved passwords with a higher level of security. Mac OS X, for instance, comes with a built-in password manager--Keychain. KeePass is a free, open-source password manager for some versions of Windows. For iOS and Android smartphones, there's LastPass, 1Password, and SplashID. Using them is not as secure as turning off autofill altogether, but it's one way to strike a good balance. In the end, a little inconvenience can go a long way toward added security.

9. Watch your apps! Apps are great, and many are free, so it can be tempting to download with abandon. But, Nocera cautions, you should be selective about the apps you download, particularly in the Android market, because "the Android app market is a little bit more open," without the strict developer guidelines found in Apple's App Store. Do some due diligence before downloading apps. Make sure that you trust the developer and have taken the time to review some of comments.

TaintDroid is an Android tool that can identify apps that transmit private data and notify users that a third-party application is requesting private information. However, it's not an app that's offered through the Android Market. Instead, users have to manually compile and build the app using the framework provided by an app analysis company.

IF YOU STILL GET HACKED... If you do everything right and still have your information stolen, what should you do? The damage can often be repaired simply by changing your password (to one much stronger) and sending a message via the network that was affected, explaining what happened. What if one of your devices gets stolen? Be sure that all of your mobile devices have a remote wipe or autowipe feature. For Apple's iPhone and iPad, there's Apple's MobileMe service. GoogleApps offers a solution for Android as well. If your device is lost or you know there's been a breach, you can quickly and remotely perform a factory reset from any computer connected to the Internet, wiping out all of the device's data and even locking it indefinitely.

[sienaevans]

Hard Truths

INVOLVED: Mercedes Evans and Siena Evans TIME FRAME: Saturday, February 8th, 2020 LOCATION: Evans’ Home; Seattle, Washington SUMMARY: Ava talks to Siena about the video of her and Jessie. 

Ava gently knocked on Siena’s bedroom door, giving the girl a few seconds, before she gently turned the knob, opening the door and poking her head inside. “Siena, sweetheart,” Ava began as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, locking it. “I need to discuss something with you,” she said gently, her heart already breaking. This isn’t a conversation a mother would ever want to have with her daughter. Her baby girl. However, it had to be done. Moving further into the room, Ava sat down on the edge of Siena’s large bed and she patted the spot beside her. “Come sit by me,” she offered gently. This was going to be hard.

Siena sat in her room on the bed and she played with her IPad, scribbling with her Apple Pen as she took notes. She had so much work to catch up on from school considering she’d done nothing since the incident with Jessie. Hearing her mother, she looked up as she walked into the room and sat on the bed “hey” she replied to her quietly. She pulled her hood off her head brushing her hands through her low-cut hair. As she instructed to come sit by her, Siena nodded at Ava and moved next to her mother sitting her IPad aside. “What’s wrong?” she asked her.

Ava watched as Siena gathered herself and moved to sit beside her as she asked, and she let out a breath. God, she didn’t want to have to do this. Her eyes watered slightly as she turned to face her daughter a bit more, one of her legs hiking up on the bed as she took Siena’s hands into her own. “Sweetheart, I need you to tell me start to finish everything that you remember about that night. From the time that you left this house until the end…” she said quietly, hating to have to make Siena relive this thing that Ava knew, Siena wanted so badly to forget.

As her mother looked at her, she took in her appearance and she dropped her head. As she spoke she closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them back up. “I went to Jessie’s house for dinner with his parents” she began. She knew what this was about she’d heard her parents had been to the school several times. “He picked me up and I told you guys where I was going,” she reminded me. “We ate dinner like we had several times before” she said picking at the sheets beneath them. “We had some fancy chicken dishes and glasses of wine. His parents always served wine and encouraged us to drink with them” she sighed. “I started feeling tired, I don’t know how to explain it” she said her chest tightening. “I told Jessie '' she said as a tear fell against her hand, she continued to fidget with the sheets. Siena sniffled gently before she said “he told me that I should lay down a little and I told him okay” she said. “He helped me upstairs to his bedroom and his parents stayed downstairs…” she replied.

Ava rested there, holding Siena’s hand in her own as she began to retell the story. Listening quietly, Ava nodded along slowly as Siena broke it down, giving her details. In all this time, she had never known that the Holmes had been offering her underaged daughter alcohol, even if it was just wine. As a mother, she would never offer someone else's child alcohol without first consulting their parents. She just didn’t understand what type of household they ran; clearly a dysfunctional one. As Siena began to sniffle, Ava pulled the girl close, almost into her lap as she wrapped her daughter up in her arms. “What else do you remember?” she asked softly, rubbing Siena’s back and side tenderly as she held back her own tears.

Siena clung to her mother, wrapping her arms around her thick frame and laying her head on the woman. “I don’t momma” she said releasing a shaky breath. “I just remember him kissing all over me and me asking him what he was doing” she told her. “The lights were off and he asked me could we have sex” she told her. “I don’t even remember what I told him, but I had to tell him yes momma” she said. She wouldn’t admit it she couldn’t it hurt too much to think of the boy having taken what he had no permission of. “He started taking my clothes off, I wanted to text Blue but I didn’t know where my phone was” she confessed. “He got on top me and I just laid there” she shrugged. “I didn’t know what to do and what he was doing hurt. But I didn’t say anything“ she shook her head at herself. “I asked him to stop or be gentle but he put his hand over my mouth” she said for the first time.

Holding Siena tightly in her arms, Ava let out a shaky breath along with her. Closing her eyes, Ava listened to Siena as she struggled to explain what happened next and how she and Jessie ended up having sex that night. As Siena told her that he had placed his hand over her mouth, she thought about the video that she had seen and she nodded slowly. Opening her eyes, she blinked slowly, a tear rolling down her cheek as she held Siena close. She rocked them from side to side and stayed quiet for a while as she gathered herself and her thoughts. She was positive that as a parent, this would be the hardest thing that she would ever have to do. “I have something that you need to see,” she whispered gently as she shifted slightly, reaching into the pocket of her sweatpants to pull out her phone. With a tap of her finger, she unlocked the device that was already pulled up to the video. She had managed to pull the video from phone records, after she explained the situation to their lawyers and the phone company obliged. She had already watched the heart wrenching video, alongside her husband, and now she had to show her daughter, what really happened that night. She handed her daughter the phone and kissed her temple gently. “You can press play whenever you’re ready,” she said, sniffling hard. As soon as Siena pressed play, she was going to see her own naked body from Jessie’s point-of-view as he laughed and taunted her roofied-aided mind. She would see him, playing with her body and even slapping her around a little before he finally set his phone up at the perfect angle to capture everything as he defiled her body as she tried to get him to stop and ask for help as he covered her mouth and even choked her a little as he took his time and took advantage of her.

As her mother finally opened her mouth to speak, Siena wiped a few tears and nodded at the woman. What could she have to show her, she felt she had already seen and heard the worst that she could. As she pulled out her phone and handed it to her Siena grabbed it, head still leaning against her mother. “What’s this?” she asked her, she could see the bases of what the video was before she even pressed it and it made her mind run and her heart pump. She pressed play her mother’s words falling on deaf ears as she watched the video closely, it was her and Jessie. That was her naked body that the boy had taken advantage of in the worst way, she didn’t remember all of this. She didn’t remember a phone or him recording her or even him holding her down as she tried to get up and move away. She’d blacked out what she could remember and her mind stored the rest some place else in her drugged up state. Her mouth parted but words didn’t leave them as she let out a loud cry, a flood of tears drowning her as she gripped the phone in her hand. She turned her head burying it in her mother’s face as her body shook in her arms.

As Siena pressed play on the video, Ava dropped her head, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against Siena’s temple, not wanting to see it again, but the sounds were enough. As Siena let out a ear piercing cry, Ava held the girl even tighter. Siena’s thin frame shook in her arms, she cradled her daughter close. She stayed quiet, just letting Siena process what she had just seen as she too cried. Tears spilled from behind her closed eyelids as she gripped into Siena for dear life and she held Siena together, squeezing her so tightly to keep the girl from breaking all together. She had to grab each piece of her daughter as she broke in her arms and place it right back gently. “I’m so sorry,” Ava finally spoke out, her voice crackling. “I am so sorry Siena,” she whispered into her ear, hugging her close. “I am so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you,” she whispered out. “Baby girl…” Ava said gently as she carefully pulled away from Siena and placed her hand on her shoulders to steady her. With her other hand, she gently lifted Siena’s chin and gazed into her wet eyes. “You are not what happened to you,” she said as her own heart shattered in her chest.

Siena couldn’t help but to cry harder and harder with each passing moment, he’d stolen her essence and he spread to the world as if she asked him to do it. She loved this boy, she’d known him since middle school. He was perfect in every way to her and dating him was a dream come true. He started off as her best friend, why would he do this to her? What did she do to him to deserve this? While this was happening, why didn’t his parents stop it? As her mother spoke, she continued to sob. Her mother pulled away from her, her body continued to shake slowly as she cried from deep within. “This hurts” she cried out as she dropped her head “he ripped my heart out of my chest” she said, barely audible “I want to just die” she said.

Ava just about lost it as Siena said that she wanted to die. She let out a sob of her own and pulled Siena close once more. “Oh baby girl,” she said sadly. “God, you don’t mean that,” she cried gently, hugging Siena so tightly, that she was sure she would break the girl in half of she squeezed any harder. “We’re going to make him pay for this,” she whispered softly. “For what he has done to you and countless other girls,” she said gently, still hugging Siena close. “We’re pressing charges,” she whispered, “he’s going to pay for what he’s done to you,” she informed Siena as she slowly pulled back once more. “Sweetheart,” Ava said with tears, streaming down her cheeks. “I know it’s going to be hard but I need you to testify against him in court, if we have any chance of putting him away,” she said honestly. They already had an uphill battle ahead of them. He was going to be a young white boy on trail for rape of a young black girl, the odds were not in their favor at all but she prayed that with the video, the dna samples, the kit that they did, and with Siena on the stand, they were able to bring justice.

Siena laid against her mother as she pulled her back in for the tightest hug she’d ever had. No matter what her mother said, that is how she felt deep inside, he left her to feel like a cheap piece of shit. He’d taken all the best pieces of her when he had done what he did. And even now her mother still couldn’t tell her why her, out of all people. As she went on to explain how they were going to press charges and how she’d have to then open her mouth to tell a crowd of people something she didn’t even want to tell her own mother numbed her. She laid her eyes fixed on a wall, oddly enough it was a spot where his picture used to hang. “Okay” she said brokenly.

Gazing at Siena’s broken face, Ava sniffled and said, “you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she said quietly as she gazed at her daughter sadly. She pulled her in once more, rocking Siena from side to side as she said, “he doesn’t own you.” She pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered, “you can take the power back.” Rubbing her hand over Siena’s low cut hair, she said, “you are not a victim,” softly. “you are a survivor.”

Siena closed her eyes as her mother spoke, she wanted to believe all of that but in her mind she didn’t. She allowed more warm tears to fall from her eyes and stain her mother’s shirt as she wrapped her arms around her, gripping on to her from behind. “I’m so tired” she breathed to her, she wasn’t talking about physical tiredness. Her mind was tired and at this point so was her soul, she didn’t know if she could testify, she didn’t know what she could do. Her world had darkened, everything around her was dark and cold. She had been looking for some light and some refuge but nothing sufficed. She had been forsaken by her heart, the man she loved, and God. She saw no light at the end of her narrowing tunnel.

At Siena’s words, Ava nodded slowly and she gave Siena a squeeze before she pulled back slowly. “I know baby,” she said quietly, rubbing Siena’s back gently as she sniffled. She wished that she could really tell her child that things would get better, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know. Siena had to journey through this new revelation and all Ava could do as a mother was be there for her and try to hold all of her broken pieces together. She rubbed her hand over Siena’s low hair once more before she whispered. “Lay down and try to take a nap,” she wanted the girl to really just rest her mind. “I’ll come and check on you a little later,” she said, knowing that her daughter needed space and time. She pressed a kiss to her forehead once more before she hugged her close once more. She really didn’t want to leave Siena alone right now but she knew that she needed to give the girl time to just be alone. Slowly she stood from the bed and said, “I’ll tell everyone not to bother you,” she whispered as she moved for the door. Honestly, needing to get away herself before she collapsed in front of her daughter.

Siena’s eyes met her mother’s for the first time since her initial entrance into the room. And she blinked slowly at her, her head kind of nodding on its own. “Okay” she said to her as she hugged her mother back as the woman prepared to leave her in the room alone. As Siena laid down against the bed she pulled her hoodie over her head again and buried herself under her sheets covering her entire body up and hiding it from the world.

Ava looked back at Siena as she pulled her hood back on and buried herself under the sheets and she slowly cut out the light before unlocking the door and stepping out into the hallway. As she did, she ran into Blue, Phoenix, and Luca as she shook her head, wiping under her eyes a little. She looked Blue in her eyes and said to them all, “don’t bother her for the rest of the evening,” she told them as she broke her gaze with Blue and looked at Phoenix and Luca. “I mean it,” she said softly. “I won’t want to see any of you even close to this door,” she said in a soft but stern tone as she tucked her phone away in her pocket before she shooed them all off, her eyes lingering with Blue’s for a moment before the kids dispersed. She stood there for a moment, to make sure no one tried to sneak back to bother Siena before she moved into her own bedroom. She entered, closing and locking the door behind her. She looked at her husband and drug her feet as she walked over to him. As soon as she was close enough, she dropped collapsing into his arms as she sobbed.

Samuel sat on the edge of his bed, his phone in hand as he typed out his message to his counterpart. What he was preparing to do was tricky and risky to say the very least but honestly he needed to do what needed to be done. He had no more time to waste and he licked his lips at that thought. As he saw their bedroom open he sat his phone aside taking his wife in, he was so glad he didn’t have to endure what she’d just endured but he also hated he allowed her to do it alone. As she moved towards him, collapsing into his arms, crying a fresh batch of tears he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I am sorry” he breathed to her quietly, he gripped onto her thick frame, pulling her closer to his chest if possible. His large hand pressed into her back as he rubbed up and down it “it’s okay” he told her “it’s going to be okay” he added his hand moving to her full head of hair as he continued to hold her.

“She wants to die,” Ava cried out sadly as she hugged her husband, burying her face in his strong chest as she held him as tight as she could. “The sound that left her body when she watched the video and realized what had happened,” she sobbed out, her body shaking from the power of her tears. She was a trembling mess in her husband's arms. “I…” she stammered slightly, her chin quivering. “We should have been here,” she cried out. “She had to sit and endure it all alone and wait for us to get from a stupid vacation,” she sobbed out. “That boy drugged her and raped her and she has had to sit unknowingly thinking that she somehow agreed to his torment for weeks,” she sobbed. “I… as a mother I just…” she let out a harsh breath into his chest, shaking even harder. “Baby…” she cried out. “Our little girl…” she sobbed. “She’s going to carry this pain for the rest of her life…” she said shattering in her husband's arms, feeling like a horrible mother because she wasn’t there to protect one of her cubs.

At her words Samuel looked down at Mercedes, had Siena said that out of her own mouth? Samuel’s heart dropped to his feet, what the hell was going on with his family. One thing after the next it was like a force was conspiring against them all. Samuel continued to rub his hand up and down her back tenderly “I know baby” he said dreadfully, he’d told himself since he found out that he should not have made such a big deal about their vacation. This happened to be all his fault, he knew that, he’d known it for a while. It was eating him upside, every night in fact, as he tried to sleep and played the video over and over in his head. “It’s not your fault, and it’s not hers either Ava” he said. “I wish we were here too, God knows. But don’t beat yourself up over this. We will fix it” he tried to reason. “Siena is going to be fine, I know” he told her, he had been telling himself that, ever since he watched the girl walk up to their dinner table with a bald head. He had to, he had to convince someone. The thought of her never returning to her bubbly and infectious self was too hard of a pill to swallow. “It’s okay” he told her again sweetly, rocked her gently closing his eyes now. He wouldn’t cry, not in front of his wife, that didn’t mean he hadn’t or he wouldn’t. He’d sat in his office crying for the last few days, he was the man of the house. Leader of the pack and they couldn’t see all of his cracks but right now, the weight of his wife’s tired body and she soaked his shirt was breaking his heart in half.

“I feel like we failed her,” Ava cried out harshly, her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly. She slowly lifted her head, gazing at her husband, her cheeks were puffy, her eyes were blood-shot red from tears, and her nose was a little red too from crying. “How do we piece her back together?” she asked him sadly, sniffling hard as tears streamed down her face. “How do we get our little girl back?” she cried.

At his wife’s words the thread that was holding Samuel heart together snapped, those were very hard words to hear considering she might have been very true in her statement. At her next questions, he shook his head before he said “I wish I had all the answer baby, but I don’t know” he told her honestly. “We just have to be there for her in all of this, we have to continue to protect her and poor all the love that we have to give into her” he said sensibly. “I am sorry that I let you do that alone, I should have been there, as your backbone” he told the brown skinned woman. “I am sorry that I let you both down, when I should have been the one to do so much more…” he told her brokenly.

Ava looked at her husband, her eyes big, wet, and red as he explained to her that he wished he had answers but didn’t. She cried softly and when he broke, she hugged him tightly. “Sam,” she breathed, dropping her head to his shoulder as she held him now. “No, don’t,” she told him softly, rubbing her hands through his hair. “As a father you… you didn’t need to be in there just now,” she said softly. “You made the right decision,” she told him. “You gave me the strength that I needed to do it alone,” she told him. “That was all I needed,” she whispered. “She was hurt by a man,” she said gently. “She wouldn’t have wanted to say what she did around you,” she cried softly.

Samuel held his wife by her waist gently, he closed his eyes as she spoke, and he nodded. “I just wish I could make this all go away for everyone Ava and I can’t” he said his eyes watering. “You don’t need all of this stress on you right now” he said “and she’s just a kid, she should be out making memories and be in school preparing for her future… but now we can’t even get her out of that room” he sighed. “I’m just sorry baby, I can’t say it enough. I am so sorry” he told her.

Ava squeezed her husband tightly, sniffling hard, trying to suck up her tears to no avail. “I’m fine,” she whispered to him, despite the fact that she had a heachache and was feeling a bit dizzy. She put it off on all her crying, but it was her blood pressure being through the roof. “We’re going to make this better for her,’ Ava told him with a small cry as she pulled away slightly, wiping her own tears before she wiped his cheeks as well. “We’re going to pull her through this and kind her justice,” she cried softly, blinking slightly as she slurred her words a bit. “She’s going to be okay, we’re going to be okay, we’re going to make this right,” she said as she laid her head back on his chest, letting out a harsh breath as her eyes closed.

[eerythingisshaka]

Play Though?

(Dad!M’Baku x Reader)

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N:  This kind of came to me from the movie Claudine with Diahann Carroll?  The characters are gonna have the same sort of attitudes as the main one in that movie.   A relationship that isn’t a storybook one, swept off of your feet one, but still good.  Who wants that perfect love story anyway?

So, Reader is a single parent and one day in the park meets someone that steals her concentration.  The rest is below...

You rub your temples as you hear the clatter of metal and plastic banging around in your brain.  Throbbing pain emanates from your skull as you get up and head to the kitchen, walking over the land mines of hot wheel cars, Legos, and army men figures scattered about your living room carpet.

“Mama!  I have a big race to do!  Wanna see?”  The gleaming, round faced, mahogany toned golden child that is your son asks.

You put on a weak but sincere smile as you pour some water to and shake a couple aspirin in your hand.  “I do want to see, Xavier.  Just give mama a minute to get a drink first.”

“Ok.  Mama, can I have some juice?”  Xavier gets up, trotting into the kitchen to the fridge.

You stop mid sip, reaching out to keep him from opening the fridge.  “What did I say about getting something before I tell you to?”

Xavier’s large brown eyes widen even more as he knows what to say.  “You say to wait.”

Nodding, you continue.  “Wait for mama to say yes or no.  Now get off the door and ask me again.”  You cap the aspirin and put it in the cabinet.  

Xavier fidgets with his hands, spinning in a circle as he spoke.  “Can I have some juice mamaaaa.”

You cross your arms, smiling devilishly.  “After you clean up all those toys in there.”

Xavier makes a stink face, coming over to hug your legs.  “I want to play still.”

“I thought you wanted juice?”  You ask, examining the life expectancy or the braids he’s been wearing.

“Uh huh, but-”

“Then you need to clean up your toys.”  Pointing him towards the living room, you dig for your phone to double check your shopping list.  “You should anyway, we’re going to the store to get some stuff for dinner.  You’ve had nuggets three times this week, and probably more including daycare.”

Xavier noisily throws his toys in the bin one at a time.  “Uh uh!  Ms. Adams gave us fries one day, and-and pizza!”  

You roll your eyes as you scroll your phone.  “That’s not a balanced diet, X.  They don’t teach you about eating fruits and vegetables yet?”

Xavier clangs his cars hard into their bin, annoying you to the nth degree.  “Xavier, you got one more time to throw that in there ‘fore I light you up.  Clean up right!”

Xavier hangs his head, braids curtain his face as he slumps to pick up each toy and put them in the tub, painstakingly slow.  You rest your head on your fist, jiggling your foot as you watch him get on your nerves in the most minute ways.  Xavier peers over at you periodically whenever he goes to pick up a toy to see what you’re doing but you remain unphased, waiting patiently as he wastes your time and his own.  What a five year old has to have an attitude about is beyond your thoughts to grasp.

“Xavier Maurice, you have two minutes to pick up the rest of these toys from off this floor, otherwise you are not getting any juice, or iPad time for the day.  It’s your choice.”

Xavier moos at your ultimatum, picking up his pace only slightly, but scooping his toys by the handful.  You would correct him on his tone, but he caught you on a good day.  One thing your son has taught you is how to pick your battles.

The sun was shining and the air felt warm for a change, so you and Xavier walked down to the nearby farmer’s market you’ve been meaning to try out.  The place is packed with whites in cargo shorts and Columbia fleece jackets as you calmly peruse the array of tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, apples, fresh herbs, homemade pastas, and all other artisanal, organic ingredients you could get your hands on.  Xavier was not having it, doing his best to remain calm but he is five.

“Mama, where are the PopTarts?  And-and cereals?”  He whines, reaching for an onion on the bottom row of a stack.  You swiftly stop him, preventing what would have been an avalanche on him and a hefty guilt bill for you.

“Hey!  Same rules at home, apply out here.  Don’t touch anything.”  You smell a pear just for the hell of it.  The possibilities were endless for you to make some sensible and fulfilling meals for the two of you, but you also had to think realistically about Xavier’s picky eater status and your limited time to cook during the week.   They may not have had PopTarts, but you found some homemade ice cream that seemed decent enough to try.

After you put together a good looking basket full of items and pay, you head back to your house to get things started.   Xavier helps you carry a bunch of bananas in a bag when a nearby park catches his eye.  

“Mama!  Can I go play there?”  Xavier asks, bouncing on his toes.

You look to the playground area.  It wasn’t very crowded and he could probably run off some energy to earn a nap later.

You fake like you’re thinking hard, making Xavier beg even more, sticking out his pink bottom lip.  You couldn’t torture your baby any longer.

“Fine, go ahead.  But stay on the playground, don’t go off with anybody.  And if I call you cuz I can’t see you, you better come to me, ok?”

Xavier nods happily, shoving the fruit at you before booking it across the grass and through a gap in the hedges lining the park’s perimeter to get to the bright colored construction.

You take this time to sit back on a park bench, feeling the coolness of the wood against your legs and back, mixed with the warmth of the sun beaming down.  

This actually wasn’t a bad idea in the grand scheme of things.  You got time to enjoy nature, sit down as your child is occupied, giving the screen time a break for the both of you.  And you can people watch, which is your favorite pastime.  There are two white women chatting in deep conversation as you see a blonde hair girl lick a rock before tossing it to the ground, and brunette one hanging from the monkey bars falling hard on her back, head bouncing off of the concrete.  She starts to scream bloody murder, but when she gets up, you assume it is from embarrassment more than pain.  Her mother’s neck whips around to find her before scooping her up and cooing at her questions, asking if she is alright, etc.

Looking past them, you see a little Black girl swinging on the swing set, hair in braided pigtails held by bobbles, smiling widely as her little legs kicked to build up her momentum.  Behind her is a man.  And by man, you mean a MAN.  Dark wash jeans that accentuated his thick legs; clean chocolate sneakers on his feet; and dark brown Henley shirt that took on the privileged task of masking the full extent of his broad shoulders and impressive chest; dark brown leather jacket.  

You suddenly feel very aware of your T-shirt with a questionable stain that you hid with an old university jacket and your old worn out jeans that Xavier scribbled on once and you tossed on in a hurry.  This guy looked like the last person you would expect to be pushing a little girl  in a swing at a park.  More like pushing you up against a wall and-

“Mama!  Come push me!”  

The sound of your child calling out to you snapped you from your sudden romance novel fantasy and you picked up your bag and headed over to the swing set.  You tried to avoid looking at the man pushing the giggly little girl in front of him as you took your spot behind your son.

“I’m gonna go higher!  You’ll see!”  Xavier taunts the little girl as he grips the chains awaiting your assistance.  She sticks her tongue out while gliding toward the sky.

“X, be nice!  This isn’t a competition.”  You say as motherly as you can, without an inkling of a sour tone.

“Oh it isn’t?”  When he spoke, you almost missed your next turn to push Xavier.  The deepness of his tone shook you more than you cared to admit, along with an accent you couldn’t place?  You were done for..  Looking over at him, you get a full and up close shot of his appearance.  His smile is youthful and inviting despite his large appearance, with the gap in his teeth you would’ve laughed but not to be rude.  It just brought out your playfulness and made your brain melt as you tried to multitask.

Laughing stupidly, you say, “Well, I mean, swinging isn’t a sport or game.  You just swing and enjoy it.”

He shrugs, pushing the little girl as she cackled at her speed of motion.

“Harder mama!  I wanna go higher!”  Xavier demands.

“You heard him Mama, harder!”  He says with a slick smile, as he also pushes his child with more force.  You shook the implication of innuendo from your mind as you pushed Xavier farther.

“Listen, I’m getting tired of both of y’all telling me what to do.  Men, I swear.”  You murmur under your breath, looking at he sideways.  

“Oh like women are so easy to please?  This little girl has had me up since 7 am with her tea parties and Doc McStuffin reruns and baby shark.  All I can say is ‘yes ma’am, of course sweetheart’.”

“As it should be.”  You chide him.  Xavier’s laughter is at its peak excitement as he passes the little girl on one swing.  

“I told you, I got you!”  Xavier says.

“X!”

“Baba!”  The little girl bellows out all of a sudden,  dragging her heels across the gravel to bring herself to a stop.  So that is his child, you thought.

“Yes, ọmọbinrin?”  He asks, kneeling down to her level beside her.  She put her small hands to either side of his face looking very serious.  

“I want to be alone now.  You embarrassed me in front of my friend.”  She gets up and goes over to Xavier who stops his swing to.  She takes his hand and escorts him to the sandbox.

You couldn’t help but laugh, covering your mouth as you snort.  He looks up at you, slowly getting up.

“You find that funny?”  He asks, eyebrow raised.

You try your best to look serious but you can’t help it.  “Um, ahem.  I mean, hey you are right.  Nothing but ‘yes ma’am’ with that little girl.  You are wrapped around her fingers and toes, Mr….”

He kisses his teeth, looking over at them.  “M’Baku Rotimi.  And maybe so.  But I’d rather have it that way.  She doesn’t cower from people who test her, like her daddy.”  M’Baku puffs his chest out slightly for mass effect.

You ignore the twitch you feel at when he says ‘daddy’, trying to stay cool as you look away.  “How old is she?”

“Jolasun four, going on 40, very mature and bossy like a certain Miss....”  M’Baku mutters anticipating your response as you give him your name.

He looks you up and down slightly.  “And your boy, X?”

“Xavier.  Five, and every bit of it.  It’s funny, he seems to follow your little girl’s word more than my own.”

“It’s a blessing and a curse.  You might want to warn him about that,  Pretty girls grabbing ahold of his attention too quick.  Happens to the best of us.”  M'Baku says scratching the back of his neck, looking at you like he has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  You laugh in a way that was supposed to be condescending but comes out more like a seagull caught in barb wire.  

“Oh am I supposed to pick up on something with that statement?”  You ask in a challenging tone.

M’Baku puts his hands in his pockets, taking a small step towards you.  “No, no, I’m not a poet, nor do I beat around the bush.  You are very beautiful and witty, with a son who looks well taken care of.”

You take a step back, flustered but cool on the surface.  “Yeah, of course, because I know how to do that.”

“Alone?”  M’Baku asks inquisitively, cocking his head to the side.  You exhale sharply, flabbergasted as you take this as your cue to leave.

“I should probably get going.  I have to make dinner and stuff so…”  You turn to pick up your bag and soon as you do, the ice cream falls out, along with other items.  It’s condensation from its container worked a hole in the bottom of the paper sack, rendering it useless.

“Fuck!”  You curse, picking up the too soft ice cream.

“Here, I can help you with that.”  M'Baku picks up the bag carefully, using the other side of the bag that is hole-less, balancing so the contents don’t fall out the top.  You have what spilled outside of it already.

“God, you don’t have to do that!”  You say, attempting to take the bag out of his embrace.

He lifts it higher, turning from you.  “Eh!  I feel at least a bit responsible talking your ear off, please.  Allow me.”

His eyes are sincere enough, you thought.  It’s not like you watched Dateline the night before and saw something about people using children as bait for kidnapping women.  You shake the notion out of your head, figuring you’re being a little paranoid.

“I don’t live far, unless you drove.”

“We don’t live far either, so it’s fine; she felt like walking today.  Jolasun!”

“Xavier!  Come on, we gotta go!”

“Can Jola come with us, mama!?”  Xavier asks out loud as they dust sand off of themselves.

“Yeah, she and her Dad are coming, hurry up!”  You bellow, thanking M'Baku again cautiously as you all walked to your place.  

The weather almost felt like summer by the time you got back, kicking off your shoes as you and M'Baku plop the goods on the counter as you wiped your brow and caught your breath.  Xavier and Jolasun run for the bin of toys.

“Xavier, I don’t want a mess.  You can watch TV, no toys right now.”

Xavier is barely phased by the change in plans as he gets the remote, expertly selecting his choice of programs.

M'Baku puts the ice cream in the fridge as you start organizing the food in their proper places.  “Thanks again.  God that woulda been a mess without you.”

M'Baku unpacks the bananas.  “It’s all good.  You seemed a little off balance, so I figured this might tip you over if I didn’t help.”

You scoff as you shut your fridge door.  “Off balance?  What does that mean?”

M'Baku takes a breath before ripping an imitation of your seagull squawk with embellished eyelash batting and a hair flip.

“What?  What is all of that?  I don’t sound like that either.”  You say, offended but entertained.  

M'Baku leans on the counter peering at you suavely.  “Maybe not exactly like that, sure.  Can I make it up to you with showing how to use some of these ingredients you bought?”

You put a hand on your hip, pointing a loaf of bread at him.  “Now you have stepped over the line.  I can cook burn my own kitchen down, thanks.”

M'Baku chuckles. Looking in the living room at the kids who have gone quiet except for the TV.  “I am trying to impress you, but you’re taking it as an offense.  The saying is, what is it…’thou doth protest too much’?.”

You roll your eyes walking around him to see what the children were up to.  Looking over the couch, you can tell they were slumped in a way that for sure meant they were asleep.  Before you could confirm, you feel a sharp pain in your foot.

“AGH-”  you exclaim, before clamping your mouth with you hand and bouncing back.  You feel M'Baku’s hand on your side, the other holding our arm to keep you steady.  His touch is hot on you, his body must run naturally warm, you noted; hands rough but gentle and careful when holding you.  His close proximity to you helped you to realize how good he smelled; earthy and natural with a clean laundry finish.  

“Are you hurt?  What was that?”  M'Baku asked, but you hushed him as he spoke, pointing and mouthing that the kids were asleep.   He gets wide eyed and mouths an “oh”, letting you go to pick up the spare army man that Xavier neglected to pick up this morning.

You sat on a chair at the kitchen table, rubbing the bottom of your foot as you watch him bend over, some skin exposing on his lower back exposing how even toned his melanin is and you are thankful.

“I would offer to help you clean but you may not like that either.” M'Baku says, dropping the toy in its proper place.

You roll your eyes so deep you see your brain.  “Sir, I will never say no to free maid service if you are offering, but my son couldn't care less how many legos stab the soles of my feet.”

As he walked over to join you at the table, M'Baku lays a hand daintily on your knee.  “I am at your service.   If that means I am seeing you for a second date, I would be honored.”

“Second?”  Your voice rises as you question him, watching him smile.  You are really beginning to love that smile.  “Let me ask you this:  what makes you assume I am available to date?  That I don’t have a husband on the way home any minute?”

M’Baku looks around the kitchen.  “I see no pictures, you have no ring, and if you did, I would curse him for being so lazy as to not help you with your shopping list.”

You stare at him a moment before scoffing.  “You really want to cook for me huh?”

M’Baku throws his hands up.  “That would be a great start!  I have many vegetarian dishes you would fall in l-”

“Oh, whoa, wait.  You?  Babe the Blue Ox, is a vegetarian?”

M’Baku twists his lip up at the nickname.  “I’m not familiar with the moniker, but I am!”

“Is that what life is like from wherever you are?”

“Kansas?  Yes, of course.”  M’Baku rests his chin on his fist, looking at you innocently before breaking with a smile.

Your body relaxes as you tap the table with your fingertips thinking over your options.  A man you met on the playground, gorgeous and foreign man, wants to see you again and make you dinner.  Without any weird vibes, bad lines, or perverse insinuations?

“Mama?”

You snap to look in the living room, seeing a little hand stretch up from the couch.  “Can I have juice now?”  You spring up, thankful for the distraction to go check on your son.  Jolasun is rubbing her eyes as well.

“Sure thing baby, you’ve earned it.  Mama will have some too, she’s kind of thirsty all of a sudden.  Jolasun, you want some?”  You ask, grabbing some grape juice to pour.

“I think we’ll just head out actually.  It’s been good, you’ve got dinner to cook.”  M'Baku answers, getting up to go over and pick Jolasun up in his arms.

You didn’t even feel like cooking, especially now when there were two broad, strong spare hands ready to light your taste buds on fire.  “If you truly have somewhere to be, yeah, no problem.”

“Can Jolasun come over again?”  Xavier asks looking up at M'Baku with his cup in his hand.  Jolasun’s head springs off her dad’s shoulder to glare at him, making M'Baku laugh.  “If Jolasun is good with it, I think we can arrange something.”  Jolasun smiles, giving Xavier a thumbs as he smiles with purple juice stained lips.

“So, we can all just….meet up again sometime in the future.  Make plans between us, and that should be fun!”  You say informally, trying to keep things casual, no mentions of a date to roll of your tongue.

M'Baku’s eyes light up as he hugs his daughter winking at you.  “Good, it’s a date.  Take my number down and we can talk.”

You sink into the floor, submitting your number into his device as he asked.  So much for avoiding the ‘D’ word.  You all say your goodbyes then, closing the door and feeling like you can breathe for the first time all day as you plop on the couch.  But you still feel an extreme amount of energy.  Now you have a date to plan, but how long has it been since you’ve been on one?  What would you wear?  Should you buy more food for him to work with?  And shit!  He is a vegetarian!  Xavier don’t care about not a ne’er vegetable!

“Mama, that was fun!  I can’t wait to see them soon!”  Xavier exclaims jumping in your lap with all of his weight.

You wince at his knees in your thighs, picking him up and lightly slamming him down on the pillows in retaliation.  “Ohh!  I can’t either, X.”

Masterlist

Ragtag

@yaachtynoboat711 @chaneajoyyy @bidibidibombaclaat @sarcastic-sunshines @great-neckpectations @wakanda-inspired @klaine15689  

(This will be a series, so just ask if you wanna be tagged!)

[dokomoly]

Hey guys ! It’s been a while since I’ve done a proper post sorry, I’ve just started university ! I’m really enjoying it so far, I’ve just finished my second week. I’m majoring in Business and Japanese, and it’s been really fun to study again in a classroom tbh !

What I wanted to start doing was to make study tips masterposts of all the things that have personally helped me ! Today I wanted to focus on apps, and I want to try and make a few other lists in the next few days ^-^ This isn’t a list of every single useful app, just the ones that I personally use and love.

Part One: Apps 

(Note: I use an iPhone and iPad, so all of the following apps are ones that are available on the Apple Store, I’m not too sure about Google Play or others sorry ! ) 

-  Forest - Stay focused, AUD $2.99 , USD $1.99

 My first recommendation for apps of course is the Forest - Stay focused app! This is a paid app so not everyone is able to get this, but if you can afford it I really recommend it ! You set times to grow trees, and if you achieve this goal without closing the app, then you get coins, which you can use to buy different trees in game or even to donate trees in real life (which is an awesome cause)! I find it personally helps me as if you close the app then your tree will die and I really don’t want that happening so I’m motivated to keep the app open and to keep studying, and I really want to be able to buy more trees in game as they’re all so cute (which is one of my main motivators ngl !! ) You’re also able to label the amount of time that you spent on a thing and can use this to track how much time you’ve spent on one subject / activity ! 

- MinimaList, FREE 

My second recommendation is a reminders app called MinimaList ! It’s really cute and I only just recently discovered it. You swipe down to make reminders, swipe when you’ve finished them and it’s a really nifty and minimalist take on reminder apps ! I only do four subjects at the moment, so for me it’s really helpful not having to go through heaps of different categories for each subject just to mark off one or two things and I find it really seamless ! This app is free too which I think makes it even better.

- Scannable, FREE

This has been so useful for scanning my work that needs to be handwritten but also submitted online, and especially for when I have required reading from a textbook, I’m able to go borrow it from the library for a few hours and scan the pages that I need and airdrop it from my phone to my iPad in a pdf form, and then I’m able to annotate it from there. 

- Notability, AUD $14.99 , USD $9.99

I use this app to write all of my uni notes and oh my god it has made my life so much easier. I have an iPad Pro, and I’m able to type notes before class, quickly handwrite during lectures (and then convert this to text later if I need!), as well as having a split screen of my lecture notes that I can highlight and annotate then also half a screen of notes I’ve written before to help consolidate my knowledge. This app is a bit costly, but I’ve found it to be so helpful. 

- Microsoft Office - Remember to check to see if your education institution offers it for free ! If not, the Google options are a good alternative.

This says as goes, if you can get Word and Excel for free, then I’d recommend them but the google alternatives work just as well. I love being able to log into google at school, work on a document, then go home onto a different computer and access the same work, as well as the autosave feature, This I suppose is standard but I still recommend it! I use Word to type up Uni Assignments when my Wifi isn’t working too well, and when I know I’m just using one device to type it up. 

-Waterlogged, FREE

Drinking water is so important to your health and to keep you in top shape for studying, and this app can help you remember to drink water if you’re in an intense study session and forgetting to drink water, or if you’re like me and just simply forget to drink water. You can set up your goal for the day and you can enter custom amounts for how much you’ve drunk, which is helpful not being restricted to a small amount. It’s really nice being able to look back and see that you’re actually drinking enough water and I find having a visual representation there in front of me helps me ^-^ 

The following will be more language specific (especially to Japanese), as that’s what I major in. If I find any other good apps for different subjects (I will be on the lookout for some business ones too), I’ll make another list ^-^ 

- Japanese, FREE

 This is a free dictionary that I’ve found so useful. For each Kanji there is also stroke order animations shown, example sentences for words, and examples of common Kanji compounds. You’re able to make different lists, and then test yourself on these words, as well as study the lists provided (the JLPT vocab lists are also included which is super helpful!) If you also seen an unknown kanji (which can be a pain to look up if you don’t know how to pronounce them or their meaning), there is a feature to draw kanji which then converts them into text which is so helpful. I’ve used this for the last four years and it helped me a lot when travelling in Japan, doing homework as well as when I’m watching a video and not too sure of the meaning of a word I’ve just heard. 

- Duolingo, FREE

Now I’m sure that you’ve heard about how great Duolingo is, and the thing that I enjoyed the most about it is that you’re able to join a club and practise writing and communicating as well as asking for advice with other people also learning your target language. There’s personalised lessons available, and it’s great for beginners in any language. It’s also nice practise to go back to the beginning again, as there were some words that I had learnt when I was starting Japanese that I didn’t remember now, and it’s nice to be able to consolidate your language skills.  

- Memrise, FREE

This is similar to Duolingo, and I personally only started using it because my high school teachers uploaded vocabulary lists to it and we had to use it, but I fell in love with how nice the app is. You can learn as many different courses as you want and you can set goals of how many points you want to earn each day. Another thing I really liked is how you can download the app and immediately go into harder courses of your target language, rather than just having to go through all the basics again. There’s also videos in some of the courses with native speakers which really helps with listening skills. 

There are a lot of apps out there that are so helpful and here is some of the ones that I use the most! If you have any queries feel free to message me about any of these apps! Hope they’re able to help ^-^ 

[steenbergavery4-blog]

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