#i accidentally deleted my draft and had to restart

[the-leafcutter-ant-queen]

How does the reproductive cycle of a leafcutter ant work?

Well, Each year Mature leafcutter ant colonies will produce Female and Male ants that can mate. These are called the Alates, they have wings. These Alates then fly out of the nest, the female Alates will carry some fungus from the fungus gardens with them to grow their future garden.(Little attaphilia roaches latch onto their backs aswell). The female Alates mate with multiple Males and when the males mate, they die shortly after. The female alates lose their wings and dig nest chambers to try and start their own colonies (they place down the fungus and take care of the garden while they wait for their first workers, the nanitics). A Female alate only mates in one day and then she will never mate again. She will use the sperm in an efficient way (using only 1-2 sperm per egg. This way The female can fertilize up to about 500 million eggs and sometimes more)

Unfertilized eggs become male ants.

Once the colony is mature enough, the cycle starts again.

Here's a website you can use for more info:

[illicitlimerence-writes]

ring pop | l. norris

pairing: lando norris x singer!reader word count: 2k words prompt: letter i: invitation. from this christmas alphabet prompt list. warnings: language,time jumps. a/n: day nine! i accidentally deleted the first draft of this so i had to try my best to remember as much as i could.

my masterlist/ christmas alphabet masterlist

@(y/n)(y/l/n) started following you.

the young brit's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the notification on his phone. he'd been proclaiming his undying love and infatuation for the singer since his twitch chat asked him if he met her the first time she attended an f1 race.

he didn't get to meet her that weekend, and everyone had to deal with an extremely annoyed and pouty lando for the next few weeks.

the media loved to bring that subject up every chance they could, asking him if he'd already slid into her dms and asking her if she'd ever accept going out with him.

the game going on in the stream became noise in the background as lando stared at his phone. the people watching the stream noticed, of course, how lando's character kept dying each time the game restarted because he wasn't paying attention to it.

he took a screenshot of the notification, sending it to max. he made up some excuse and let his friends and the rest of the stream know he had to go.

he was looking at her profile, scrolling through the pictures, he'd already liked and left a comment with a white heart on all of them. he decided to post the screenshot he took to instagram.

'i've got the ring ready, guys.' he captioned the photo and posted it to his stories, tagging her.

a few weeks later, she was getting ready to go on 'the tonight show' to promote her one-night-only christmas concert in new york. she glanced at her phone, opening instagram and clicking on the message icon. she couldn't help but sigh, she thought she'd gotten a message by now, but nothing from the young mclaren driver.

a knock on the dressing room door let her know it was time to go do the interview. backstage, her makeup artist touched up the shine on her nose as she heard the host introducing her, she was described as the best new artist of the generation.

it felt surreal, to think about how much her life had changed in the past year and a half, one day she was uploading her covers or her own music on social media, then her songs went viral. and everything turned upside down, for the better.

"so, (y/n), i wanted to ask you... when you were here a couple of months ago we, we talked about your love of formula one," jimmy said and she nodded, a small knot in her stomach forming as she already knew where this was going. "we also talked about a certain driver's very vocal uh- how do i say this... love? crush on you," the host said as a small smile appeared on her face.

"yep, mr. norris," she nodded as a picture of lando appeared in the tiny screen in front of her that showed what the audience were seeing. "there he is," she laughed.

"glad we're on the same page here. now, last time you were here we knew that lando followed you on social media, and you didn't," he continued, she nodded along to what he was saying. "but that changed a couple of days ago, didn't it?" he finished, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"i don't know, you tell me," she laughed. "you seem to be pretty well informed about everything," she joked, looking at the audience as they laughed as well. "but to answer your question, yes, i realized that i followed almost every driver on the grid except him, so i decided to change that." she explained, straightening the skirt of the dress she wore to avoid letting her anxiety show. "simple as that," she finished.

"is it, though?" jimmy asked. "we noticed he posted a photo with the text, uh, that read 'got the ring ready'." the audience roared and clapped as you watched the story that made your heart leap out of your chest. "any updates on that? your finger looks pretty empty there," he smiled as you both looked down at your hand. you lifted it up to the cameras with a smile.

"it does, doesn't it?" you grinned. "no, i'm kidding, i'm joking. honestly i haven't met him yet, but i think he seems really funny and down to earth, and that's not something that you find a lot these days, you know? especially with being in the public eye a lot," she said as screenshots of tweets where they each talked about the other, but never actually interacted, were shown on the screen.

lando took a selfie. the picture showed a smiling lando, holding a red ring pop as the tv next to him showed a paused frame of (y/n) showing her left hand and smiling. this time, he posted the photo to his timeline instead of his stories, with the caption:

'@(y/n)(y/l/n) i didn't know what flavor you liked... hopefully cherry's okay!' @(y/n)(y/l/n) commented: it's perfect.

on december 20th, (y/n) had finally had enough. her concert was in just three days and since she followed lando on social media, she waited for him to send her a message, then she'd invite him to her concert. but that never happened. no bigger interaction other than a mentioned in a tweet or story, and that frustrated her.

pulling up her big girl pants, she grabbed her phone and after minutes of typing and about five discarded drafts, she sent her message.

'hey! i know the holidays are right around the corner, but i'm having a concert in new york on the 23rd and i want to know if u wanted to come.'

lando stared at his phone, eyes and mouth wide open. he was thankful that he was alone and no one could see him like that, smiling like an idiot as he read over and over again the words she sent his way.

she watched the bubbles appear and disappear about a dozen times, her heartbeat raced each time he began typing a message only to delete it all and begin again seconds later.

'it's fine if u don't want to! it's so soon and i totally get if u already have plans or something.'

she put her phone on do not disturb and went to sleep. meanwhile, lando was in the car with carlos on their way to the golf course, debating with him on what to answer.

"just tell her you want to go! and the sooner you do it the faster you can get her number and ask her out," the older man said as he parked the car.

"i can't just tell her that, i'll look desperate!" lando got out of the car and grabbed his bag with the golf clubs. carlos looked at him with a serious expression.

"have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" he asked as lando rolled his eyes, his phone screen was on, with the chat with her opened.

"shut up. i have to reply soon and tell her i do want to go before she thinks i'm not interested in her. i just don't know how to." he scrunched his nose.

he moved his thumb, that was resting on top of the screen, and felt a small vibration as he moved. he panicked instantly, looking at the message he accidentally sent.

"shit, shit, shit," he muttered as he realized he'd accidentally recorded his conversation and sent it as a message to her.

"what?" carlos asked as lando pressed play. they both listener to their previous conversation, an amused smile on carlos' face. "oh, you fucked up," he laughed as he left his friend in the middle of a crisis.

"i'm so sorry you heard that, i promise i didn't mean to send it, it was an accident. oh, my god, and i'm sorry i didn't answer sooner... time difference, you know?" lando recorded another message, cursing himself. "but to answer your question, i... i would love to go, honestly. i- i was actually looking for tickets but they were all sold out," he chuckled. "so, yes. my answer is yes. i'll see you in new york,"

to say she felt nervous would be the understatement of the year. she loved performing, even more, doing so in front of hundreds of people who were all there to see her. it was something so out of this world, to have people willing to spend a night so close to the holidays away from their families, or sometimes make her a part of their holidays by going to her concert with the rest of their families.

but the butterflies in her stomach were for a different reason. for one person in particular. a young brit that was waiting for her backstage. lando kept his hands inside of his jacket pockets, his fingers played together as he waited expectantly.

she opened her dressing room door a bit, startling the mclaren driver. their eyes met, shy smiles on their faces. it was their first time really getting to know each other in person, after countless interactions online.

"h-hi," lando said, feeling his chest tightening. there she was.

"hey, it's great to finally meet you," she answered, feeling the familiar butterflies she felt whenever they spoke. there he was.

"you look beautiful," he looked down at her silver dress, it had sparkly sequins and small encrusted crystals.

"thanks, i've still got to do my hair, but," she shrugged.

"oh, then i'll be going now, don't want to waste your time," he said as he straightened his back and got ready to go to his seat, but she shook her head.

"no, please. why don't you stay while i finish getting ready? we can talk, we've had many online interactions but maybe we can get to know each other a bit more," she bit her lip, her eyes flying down to his lips as she noticed he was smiling again.

there was undeniable chemistry, tension. she could not stop glancing his way as the music played. the night slipped by as she sang her own original songs and covers of classic christmas tunes in front of the most amazing crowd. as she finished one song, her piano was being lifted behind her. she smiled to the crowd as she sat in front of the piano, playing the intro of 'last christmas'.

it was a sad, but hopeful song, about heartbreak and choosing the right person to love. and as she sang about giving her heart to someone special, her eyes fluttered to him. to lando, as he sat with his hands in his pockets, his fingers around the small plastic package.

the sight of her leaning over the piano, back slightly hunched so she could reach the microphone, the lights reflecting the crystals on her dress, making it look like she was shining from the inside out, what a heavenly sight.

she was scooped away for pictures and interviews after the concert, not giving her a chance to speak to lando as a lot of other people demanded her attention at that moment. she saw him waving, saying goodbye. she couldn't even wave back before someone grabbed her hand and led her somewhere else.

she stepped out of the shower with a bathrobe around her body. she was drying her face when she heard a knock on her hotel room door. she frowned, she wasn't expecting any visits, and no one from her team had messaged her.

carefully, she opened the door a tiny bit, peeking her head through the small gap. her heart stopped, she opened the door wide.

"what are you doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she bit her lip to prevent her from smiling.

"i have something for you," lando said as he leaned against the wall behind him, she copied him, leaning against the door frame.

"what is it?" she raised an eyebrow. a part of her couldn't believe that he was actually there, at her hotel. she'd thought that the moment the concert ended he'd taken a plane home. she liked that she was wrong.

"you said you liked cherry, so," he smirked as he pulled out a package with a cherry-flavored ring pop inside. she hid her face in her hands, laughing with him.

"i also said it was perfect," she reminded him. "it's late, you shouldn't be out this time of the night," she bit her lip.

"is that an invitation to stay the night?" he asked.

"come in and find out."

[mgg-81]

On the Other Side of Tautness [P.CY]

(MOODBOARD MADE BY ME BUT CREDITS TO THE OWNERS OF THESE PHOTOS)

A/N’S NOTE: What happens when my stress and my muse come together? A one-shot! Lol. That was dumb of me. But anyway, this is another episode of what stress does to me. This is also dedicated to every person who may be tired, give yourself a rest and please take care of yourself always.

ANOTHER NOTE: Please correct me with any of these aircraft building terms. I just did my research on it but still, I appreciate if I'll receive some knowledge. Thank you! Also, this is zero proofread so there might be mistakes ahead.

Genre: Fluff, with a sprinkle of angst if you squint, Husband!Chanyeol, Wife!Reader, AerospaceEngineer!Reader

Ratings and Warnings: None

Characters: Park Chanyeol X Female!Reader (1st POV)

Word Count: 1,656

Date of Publication: 04-03-2022

I hadn't meant to burst out a satirical laugh and a shout at the same time. I didn't even intend to pound my hand against the table and slam my laptop closed. I couldn’t expect myself to suddenly shove away all my aircraft blueprints to the side, crumpling some in the process and pens falling on the ground. However, my actions were all seen by Chanyeol, who jumped from his seat from my sudden somewhat negative temperament, and was now looking like a surprised little puppy.

“J-jagi?” his deep voice croaked. I brushed up my ruffled curls out of my face before looking up at him, placing a small tired smile. He had his headphones hung around his neck while looking at me expectantly as if he was trying to decipher the codes that rung in my head.

“You alright, darling?” he spoke again. This time, standing and took a few steps towards me, leaving his music in progress behind. I held a hand while shaking my head.

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol displayed his signature smile before plopping down across from the low table that was set inside the studio of our home, which was now filled with paper works and blueprints of mine. His hand took hold of mine while the other rubbed smooth circles in my lower back, seemingly making me soothe in his touch. I soon guessed he caught sight of my weary features and decided to lean in closer.

Words weren’t needed to be said at the moment of silence and tiredness as I laid my head on his shoulder for support. I bask in the warmth of Chanyeol’s arm that was now wrapped around my shoulder, which calmed my tense body from earlier. But for all that, Chanyeol knew I wasn’t the type to confide in easily in terms of stress and physical closeness yet my body begged to differ right now at the situation, so he easily make known his love language by hugging me tighter under his wing and pressing a kiss at my side of my head.

“Want to rant or find a solution?” Chanyeol suggested, which brought another faint smile to me. This was something we both had to do in times like these or when problems arise; asking each other first this very question before proceeding to take the next best course of action that saves us a lot from actually arguing pointlessly.

“It’s stupid,” I muttered, and Chanyeol nodded, signaling me to continue but I shook my head.

“We’re sometimes stupid at some point in our lives,” he cracked and I chuckled.

“Accidentally deleted my computerized blueprints,” I groaned as I sat properly and held my face in my hands, rubbing my palms against my cheeks.

“All of those blueprints?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened.

“Only the most important,” I stated.

“I see,” he pondered on what I said. “What do we do then now?”

“Restart.”

I had no excuse if I decided to just sulk and contemplate on what I had done with idiocy. I adjusted my sitting position, getting nearer the low table and opening my laptop again as Chanyeol did the same gesture. I slightly jolted when he then slightly squished his face between my shoulder and back as the two of us waited for my laptop to turn on.

“Whoa,” he expressed once seeing my blueprints of these aircraft that I drafted. “I do see you sometimes working but seeing your works up close…they’re awesome.”

I placed a hand over his knee and gently squeezed it as if to say ‘thank you.’ I motioned for him to go back to his music but he refused, making me raise my eyebrows in confusion.

“I’m almost done anyways, jagi, let me watch,” he spoke with firm tenderness. “It’s amazing to see how much an airplane is made.”

My only reply was courtesy of a bobbing my head to him as I continued to work on re-designing the aircraft with my tablet that is connected to my laptop. From the drawings to the calculations, I made sure to produce equations that perfectly fit the intended design and outcome of the pieces of the aircraft. Each piece of the aircraft had to be meticulously drawn in every blueprint that I had and check whether it fit or not.

“What’s next?” Chanyeol asked while turning his head to the left and right like a ping pong ball, focusing on my face then back to the design and vice versa.

“Simulation,” I simply replied as I brought the design to life in 3D on my laptop.

“That’s so cool, jagi,” he grinned while I absent-mindedly smiled at him. “And then what happens?”

“If my equations are correct here in the simulation phase, it can be approved. Otherwise, go back to scratch,” I bit my lower lip as I focused. “And it’s not easy. Usually, it takes up to four years to make up the design and planning process.”

“What? Really? That’s a long way to go!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“Mhm,” I agreed. “This is already the designing stage. We’ve come up with this design like 2 to 3 years ago.”

“There are also a lot of things to consider in designing and building such as the aerodynamics, propulsion, controls, mass, and structure. What you see here right now is an aircraft for aviation, like planes you ride when going on tour with the members.”

“However, there are compromises to be made when building an aircraft, depending on the type of plane to be made. Some planes may not be the most comfortable despite their efficiency, or cheap planes may not be the fastest, but the main point is, these compromises are constructed once the right measure is given. There will always be a balance of pros and cons but the important thing is if the airplane is capable of flying in the air and its safety.”

While I rambled on, I slowly took notice of the solitude lingering around the two of us. My eyes averted down towards Chanyeol’s frame, who had a foolish grin on his face while supporting himself with his elbow. I blinked to realize that maybe he got tired of understanding what I was sputtering, so I gulped and lowered down my head, reverting to my quiet, introverted self. Who the hell knew what I was even vocalizing about when I’m being such a nerd? I sighed internally. While I enjoyed the two of us talking, mostly one-on-one, Chanyeol was more loud and expressive than I do, so to see myself almost talkative I felt I was overstepping in sharing what I knew and was passionate about, these little voices in my head telling me ‘you talk too much and ‘shut up.’

“I’m so sorry,” I instead concentrated on rotating the 3D design on my tablet. “I…I’m saying nonsense. Don’t mind me.”

“What? No!” Chanyeol grabbed my hand and massaged my knuckles in rotation. “I find it cool. No really, jagiya. I just…I find it amazing to see when you talk about the things you love. And this? This is one of them. The way your face lights up and your eyes sparkle? Goodness, I could listen and look at you forever.”

My cheeks were quickly dusted in pink as Chanyeol peppered baby smooches on them. I could not help but be internally on heat due to his honey-glazed words that were very much assuring to the things I have a devotion for.

“Thank you,” I glance at him in adoration. “I have to be very conscientious in designing these aircraft, especially for aviation because…I'm not only doing this just because I love it but also because maybe someday or one day, you'll be riding one of them when going on tour and that if they're out of harm’s way in the air.”

I sighed before ongoing and fix my gaze solely on him. “And if I failed to do that, I didn't only fail as an aerospace engineer...but also as your wife in keeping you safe.”

Chanyeol let out a chuckle before playing with my left hand with his respective left, especially the golden band around my finger, our wedding rings clinking together. “I know. And I thank you for that.”

He careened his face closer to mine before pulling in to caress my lips against his. Chanyeol then tilted his head, further deepening the kiss and savoring every corner of my mouth, not leaving a single untainted spot in each of my folds as if to say an infinity of I love you’s in just one action. If my lips were his heaven, then touching it was bliss for him.

When he slowly let go, I gave a small gasp, catching my breath from just kissing him. He repeated a chuckle and pressed a tender kiss on my forehead.

I slightly slapped him on the arm. “What time is it though?” I asked as I turned my head to where the clock was, surprise painting my features. From the crafting to the loose talk, we hadn't noticed how much time we consumed.

“I guess, it’s time for a break. A real one,” Chanyeol chided, stretching and helping me get up but I frowned.

“I’m almost done,” I tried to protest but his arms wrapped around me.

“Nope, look at the time! It’s almost 1 in the morning.”

“But—”

“Y/N.”

“Chanyeol.”

“Jagi,” he sternly said, scrunching his eyebrows and trying to look stern, but the upward direction of his smile proved otherwise, looking like a mischievous puppy that was caught. “I know this is heavy work but we need to rest too.”

I stared at him, then, later on, snickered as I leisurely gave in to his request, wrapping my arms around him in answer to his embrace. I usually wasn’t an affectionate one but with this giant of a man, my iron walls slowly melted.

“I have to double-check it again later though, Chanyeol.”

[barbasbodaciousbeard]

The Iowa Caucus Happened

A job offer slides into Rafael’s DMs as he waits to find out if it’ll be a new start or prison on February 8.

Accidental Feminist Icon

Delete the Twitter app, Mr. Barba

“Mister Barba?”

Rafael didn’t like hearing his name from the young woman behind him, especially not given what he’d done. He’d texted Carmen on the first day of the trial, and she’d agreed to look into the offers from attorneys he knew, and some he didn’t, while he sat beside Dworkin and emotionally prepared himself to testify. The ones he’d looked at the night before came from people he didn’t like or were last resorts. He’d moved from his visceral response to finding law to back his actions. Applying logic could let him detangle himself from his conflicted emotions. Catholic guilt wrestled his humanity. That said, he also found himself desperate to introduce Ollie to music as Carmen worked from his apartment that first afternoon, not caring for once as the toddler drooled or sneezed or spilled all over him.

“Yes?” he asked, taking his coffee from the cart. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

“We haven’t. I follow you on Twitter.”

“Ah,” he said, shifting awkwardly. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss-”

“Rachel Sullivan. I have, like, a reading Twitter.”

“I’ve seen that! Read with Rachel? Your icon is a copy of Howl?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, chuckling. “I just- listen, I know it’s bad what’s going on and a lot of people are really hurt and going after you. Do I get it? No. But, I think you didn’t get a good choice, and you did what’s right for you. When it seems impossible, it’s not my place to judge something I can’t fathom. And a lot of people feel the same. A bunch of us have a group chat and we hope everything goes well and you get to start again.”

It was a stark contrast to his interaction with mami or emails from church ladies. There was an acknowledgement of disagreement, but he needed more people to respect that they weren’t there like she did. He also remembered watching his father die, and while he didn’t like the man, he regretted not ending that pain. It only drew out hurt for everyone. 

“Thank you, Rachel. That really means the world to me.”

“Good luck today,” she said, giving him a wave when she took her coffee and left. By the end of the day, Rafael hated Peter Stone for being a damn good prosecutor, and he wondered if there were any cases he’d tried, especially the ones before SVU that he was wrong on. He made his way into a new bar, definitely not his usual during all of this, and he sat and drafted his resignation. It took longer than he cared to admit, and he restarted and reread it time and time again. By the time he was drunk, he’d written something he could proofread the next morning and ignored calls from Olivia, Carmen, and mami. 

He decided it was time to do what he had been dreading, logging into Twitter. Since Carmen had cleaned it up, more people had found him, and he was able to easily ignore anything hateful by skimming for murder or murderer in the body of the tweet. He skipped those, and Rafael was surprised to see some apathy, sympathy, or respect for his reasoning. Lazily, he scrolled his direct messages. A select few of the people who knew him contacted him with revulsion, but his filtered messages were filled with vitriol. He found Rachel’s account again, following her back and deciding he could break his unspoken rule of only following people he knew or the occasional blog/podcast/museum/celebrity. If anyone contacted him with kindness, he was now more open to the reciprocity of Twitter; no one would be asking him to prosecute their case soon.  

He saw a message from Tripp Greene. In Harvard, they’d had an unspoken alliance as the two scholarship kids in their cohort, a silent allegiance that continued into law school. There were very few people Rafael respected personally from Harvard, but Tripp had remained kind, even if he worked in something as ruthless as politics. They’d been reunited by Rafael’s uptick in Twitter popularity. He was more proud than he should be by the potential presidential candidates that had followed him. Rafael should have known Tripp would reach out; he was ever the silent cheerleader and had watched a sibling die on life support when he was at Harvard. They’d discussed the morality of pulling plugs and the selfish desire to keep people alive, though most of it had been Tripp talking and Rafael listening.

While moving to Iowa seemed extreme, he was acutely aware that he would end up haunting the DA’s office and Manhattan SVU like some ghost of ADAs past instead of moving forward. His mother had a boyfriend and looming retirement that seemed likely to take the pair to Miami, where she could play grandma to his grandchildren. There was nothing left for him here but Carmen, and while a great friend, she was not enough to erase the last twenty-one years of his life. When Carmen called for the fifth time that night, he ignored it, but it was quickly followed by Answer the phone or I tell Olivia I haven’t heard from you. With a groan, he answered when Carmen called again sixty seconds later.

“I’m fine. I don’t want to delve back into a play by play of my day.”

“That’s why you’re drunk at seven o’clock,” she said, her tone thick with sarcasm as she pretended that solved everything.

“It’s only been two hours?”

“You’re not at Forlini’s.”

“I’m not hanging out with Stone.”

“Send me your location. I just picked Ollie up from mom’s.”

“Take your son home, Carmen. I’ll be fine.”

“But we could talk about how much I also hate Stone. I’ll even stop and let you grab take out from that Cuban place you like.”

“Deal,” he acquiesced, motioning he wanted to close his tab. “Call me when you’re close.”

“Deal. ETA is about fifteen minutes.”

He polished off his scotch, signing the check and tipping well before taking his briefcase and leaning against the wall as he waited for Carmen’s SUV. She waved at him out the window, and he hurried into her passenger seat. Though he always knew that she was a great secretary and assistant, Carmen was proving to be the friend he needed right now. Olivia, in the few phone calls they had, was unwilling to discuss anything but the case. She was in cop mode, and she talked to him like she could swoop in and fix what he had done. While she thought he didn’t know, she’d talked to McCoy, talked to Stone, talked to anyone who would listen. But what she didn’t understand is that he’d accepted going to prison was a possibility, but it was one he felt was worth it.

“Barba!” he heard from the backseat, smiling softly to see Ollie more awake than he’d expected. He’d seen the boy periodically, mostly during evening handoffs when Carmen’s mother would drop him off so Carmen could take him home. There were a lot of single mothers in his life, and all were exceptional. The last few days, Carmen and Ollie both had spent a lot of time with him. He kept introducing Ollie to music and movies and foods like he could make up for everything Drew wouldn’t experience by making sure Ollie did.

“Oliver!” he smiled, twisting around to smile at him. The boy kicked his leg, and the blue stripe on the rubber of his sneakers lit up. “I like your shoes.”’

“Thanks,” he giggled, kicking again. 

“You’re good with him,” Carmen smiled, the navigation now leading her to get his take out. 

“He’s a good kid. Noah made me better with kids. Liv said I held him like a sack of flour at first.”

“You’ll be ready by the time you have your own.”

“I work too much.”

“That can change.”

“I don’t deserve to have a child,” he shrugged, and he could see Carmen purse her lips. “I don’t. I wouldn’t be good at it anyway. Wouldn’t be fair. Besides, I might end up like dad. No kid deserves that shit.”

“Bad word!” Ollie scolded, tablet in hand as he watched a movie.

“Sorry, Ollie. Stuff.”

“You’ve never told me what he did.”

“He wanted heterosexual, toxic machismo and got a swarmy, emotional bisexual.”

“You’re not that emotional.”

“He took care of that,” he said darkly. “I used to cry when he went after mami. That turned his attention to me.”

Carmen knew there was nothing she could say, so instead she silently took his hand, squeezing softly. He was taken aback at first, but he kept her hand loosely in his as his head lulled against the headrest. It was strangely grounding, the physical affection. He’d felt like he was swimming the last few days as memories of his father, his father’s death, his childhood, and each case he tried bubbled up. That wasn’t including the vision of baby drew and Maggie in the hospital room that lingered everywhere. 

The conflicting guilt and conviction he’d done the right thing also broke a damn and the feelings he’d suppressed- loneliness, guilt, abandonment, distrust- were all bubbling to the surface. He’d spent so much of his life trying not to process them so he could focus on a conviction rate and moving forward that he didn’t have the tools everyone else did sometimes. Right now, Carmen felt like an anchor, and he was grateful for her. 

He got out of the car when Carmen parked, ordering enough food for three adults, one take out container containing whatever he thought a toddler could handle. Soon enough, they were settled in his living room and eating, though Ollie had minimal interest in the pork, beans, and rice in front of him. The thought crossed his mind that when he took one of the out of state jobs, he wouldn’t have Carmen there like this. He was sure this friendship would be short lived; when he didn’t need her anymore, she’d leave him. That’s what usually happened, wasn’t it? She just felt bad for him.

“I’m moving to Iowa,” he blurted out before he was able to spiral into the self loathing he’d recently discovered.

“That’s far,” she said, and he thought he could detect sadness in her voice.

“There’s FaceTime.”

“Not quite the same, but I’ll take it.”

“Tripp understands,” he said, sobering up as the food hit his stomach. “He lost a sister. Watched someone dying like with my dad except she’d been born that way. It was years, Carmen.”

“That’s a lot. I’m going to miss you, Rafael. Ollie will too.”

“Come visit. If the tickets are bad, I’ll pay. Or cover renting a car.”

“You’re drunk,” she chuckled. 

“Sorry. Best friend. It’s the rules.”

“We’ll come. But I can afford tickets.” 

“Promise if it’ll make things tight, you’ll let me. You’re raising a kid. No kids means I can afford to get my friend the occasional plane ticket.”

“Deal.”

“Next week, will it be Des Moines or prison? Who knows! I’ll probably grow a beard either way. Think they’d recognize me in prison if I grow a beard?” 

“I’ve never seen you with a beard. Stop shaving and we’ll find out.”

She could see Rafael getting tired, head leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes. She preferred when he joked about all of this. They were stuck waiting, and this time the next night they’d probably know. Ollie climbed between them on the couch, and she realized her boss wasn’t the only one almost asleep. 

“You two can stay,” Rafael yawned, hand smoothing Ollie’s curls back. 

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. It’ll be nice not being alone in the morning. And you can stay here to work. We didn’t talk about it, but I know you hate Stone. He’s a good attorney. Doing his job.”

“His job is wrong.”

“That isn’t his fault. If another ADA had done what I did? I’d be prosecuting them.”

“Go get ready for bed,” she chuckled, rolling her eyes. As she scooped Ollie up, she kissed the top of Rafael’s head. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

“Carmen?” She turned in the doorframe. “Thank you. For all of this.”

“I’m glad to, Raf. Promise you’ll actually sleep.”

“I promise.”

“Night, Barba,” Ollie yawned, waving over his mom’s shoulder as they entered his guest room. Maybe Iowa was going to be too far if he didn’t go to prison. He was getting quite fond of having Carmen around quite quickly. He wasn’t going to be her superior anymore, so this friendship could be something he maintained. 

Olivia would be a given; even if they were primarily united around work, she was also one of his closest friends and maybe not working together would make him relax. Hell, maybe the end of his life in the city would do it. Rafael couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t felt he was chasing an upward trajectory in New York City. Even at Harvard, the plan had been to return. Maybe coming into Des Moines established would let him feel comfortable just existing. 

He liked cooking and reading in the park and going out dancing on occasion. He rarely had time for two options, and the latter made his cheeks red with embarrassment at the prospect of a colleague seeing him during the outing. In Iowa, maybe he could go dancing and take up a new hobby and wear jeans without feeling like something was out of his control. 

He woke up before Carmen, excited to be able to cook for her. He appreciated the fact she was happy to help him, but she had paused her own life for the last few days. Their friendship was relegated to offices and dinners by the office. He’d come to her baby shower and birthday parties and even a holiday party, but that was it and that had other colleagues present. Except maybe the baby shower, but he was determined to buy up whatever was left on her registry when the day came, using mami, abuelita, and the older women at church as pseudonyms to pretend he’d just let family know. 

“You can cook?”

“I just never had time,” he shrugged, tray coming out of the oven.

“You made pastries?” 

“Pastelitos de guayaba.” Carmen didn’t miss how proud he looked as he admired them. They were something he’d always made with family. “They aren’t hard, but abuelita used to make them for me all the time. Puff pastry, sweetened cream cheese and guava paste. Cafe con leche on the way.”

“You couldn’t sleep?” He shook his head, pouring the espresso and adding the milk before placing mugs at the breakfast counter. His mouth was set in a line now, the corners sucked in as he focused on the countertop. Her hand rested on his, giving a squeeze and he rewarded her with a soft smile. “We’ll be helping you pack for Iowa in no time.”

“I hope,” he nodded, biting into a pastry. Ollie came out, eyeing the countertop. “Want one, Oliver?”

“What are they?”

“Delicious,” Carmen groaned, having torn into her own. That was enough for Ollie, who accepted a pastry from Rafael with a soft Thank you before biting into it carefully.

“Wow! It is good!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

It felt a somber affair, despite the pastries, when Carmen saw him off to court. She chose to wait in his apartment, ringer on high and news coverage on. Ollie was easily entertained by the toys she had in the car, and the phones were forwarded to be answerable on her cell phone. By the end of the day, she’d put dinner in his slow cooker and cleaned most everything at least once. And then her phone rang with his ringer. She’d picked one of the other presets for him long ago, and she watched Ollie with his blocks as she answered.

“Rafael?”

“Not guilty,” he exhaled, still unable to believe it as he surveyed his office to begin packing. Her desk was empty, and he didn’t mind today because if she had been here, McCoy would’ve had her helping Stone. Carmen was his assistant, his friend, and it was bad enough to know Stone would probably take his place at work.

“Thank God,” she whispered. “Did you turn the letter in?”

“I put it on Jack’s desk. I’m hoping to be gone buy his return. I think three heavy boxes will cover it. Plus anything I hung, but other than diplomas most of it came with the place.”

“I put dinner on. Ollie and I ran to the store and picked up short ribs and potatoes and carrots. I needed something to do.”

“Nervous you’d be visiting me in prison?”

“You know damn well juries can be swayed. You’ve done it.”

“And I’m safe. I’ll be there in a couple of hours, okay?”

“Okay,” she said softly. “I’m really glad you get to go to Iowa.”

[fictional-lvr]

I hate sending in requests but ur bio says plz so I couldn’t help it ... Maybe a corpse x reader where the reader accidentally join the wrong among us room and ends up playing with them ? Idk its up to you what u do with it

HI! I have no clue if answering this will ruin it, but I just had to let you know that I am working on this as hard as I can. I know it’s been a long time, I’m sorry. I accidentally DELETED MY ENTIRE DRAFT OF IT AND HAVE TO START OVER but anyways I’m working on It I promise!!! thanks for the request :) Oh! and if you you want, follow me on twitter for more chaotic updates, its in my bio :) so yeah, watch out for your request :) sorry that I had to restart, I promise ill get it done!

[peridottea91]

Potential Blog Revamp & Some Reflection (Personal)

So, I’m turning 30 this August, next February marks 10yrs that I’ve had this blog, and I’ve cycled my username on here for all my creative works for roughly 13yrs (give or take).  This blog has seen such a cycle in content, from anime and kawaii things to Harry Potter and Pokémon to food and cute critters to SPN and Dragon Age.  Seeing that typed out actually gives myself whiplash lmao.

Once upon a time, I used to draw and paint and write.  When I was 15 I came up with the first drafts of the characters I would come to create my first graphic novel for.  Prior to that, I drew constant OCs for Naruto, Sailor Moon, and InuYasha.  Oofta, lets not talk about that.  

I won art contests and scholarships and even had received a huge scholarship to MICA, which is/was arguably one of the top art schools in the country. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t go because what is self-confidence?)  It’s been, roughly 3 or 4 yrs since I last worked on any of my graphic novel projects.

Anyways, around the time I fell off the grid with my artwork, I re-indulged in fanfiction.  More specifically, I accidentally sold my sold to two flannel-clad, male-model-looking dumbasses with daddy issues and a kickass car.  So hot, but so damaged... 

Throughout this pandemic, particularly as of the past 3-4 months, I have been doing a lot of self reflection.  Whether that is a good or bad thing still remains to be seen but that’s a discussion for my therapist.  I stopped finding enjoyment in literally everything and began questioning my relationships with practically everyone in my life.

I’m not gonna lie, my 20s were a fucking shit show.  I got disowned (again), was homeless and jobless, almost had to go to court against my childhood abuser, my grandmother died, my mom’s family basically fell apart, I don’t ever get to talk to my dad’s family, and I have no relationship with either of my parents or my mom’s “boyfriend” (they’ve been together for 20yrs but idk if you can call them a relationship anymore).  All my friends from high school stopped talking to me, all but 2 friends from college moved out-of-state, and I realized that people I was willing to take the time to devote my time, energy, and emotion to were not willing to do the same for me, both in-person and online. On top of that, I moved 10 times in 6yrs because I was poor af and did I mention we’re in the middle of a pandemic? Or that I’ve had several breakdowns as a result and had to restart therapy in August/September?

After stepping back from fandom, writing, Tumblr, people, and basically life for a few weeks, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on myself, my relationships, and my social media presence.  I deleted the Tumblr app for a while, blocked the site from my computer, and eventually came to only peruse Tumblr on weekends and occasional evenings.  It genuinely helped my mental and emotional well-being, as well as my work ethic.

I’ve grown and changed a lot over the years and I think my blog needs to reflect that tbh.  Whether that means I’ll simply be re-naming and redesigning my blog or completely scraping it to begin a new one from the ground up remains to be seen.  I don’t necessarily know if I want to lose all the history I’ve had with this blog but I’ll see how I feel over the weekend and possibly the upcoming week.

TL;DR- My 20s were a train wreck and I’m turning 30 this year.  I’ve taken time during the pandemic to reflect on my blog and my life so far, and will either be completely revamping my blog or leaving it to rot while I make a new one.

[nochuuuenthusiast]

he finds your bra

ahh! guys! i’ve been working on a scenario this entire week and i made the rookie mistake of not saving it!! and so when i restarted my computer, i totally forgot that i had a draft open for it, and everything got deleted!!! AH! i’m so mad at myself... but anyways... here’s a reaction instead, i guess. i had to write it in like an hour so i’m sorry if it’s bad or whatever :/

also!!! did ya’ll see the comeback!? they all look and sound so damn good ! 

plot: jungkook accidentally comes across your bra and becomes a shy bb 

genre: fluff

word count: 786

“JUNGKOOK OPPA! CAN YOU GET MY HAIRBRUSH? IT’S NEAR THE REST OF MY LUGGAGE!” you asked (more like, screamed) from the living room. 

You called Jungkook to ask him if he could help you pack since you were leaving for your business trip to London tomorrow. This would be your first time in London and you were really excited to finally travel somewhere... even though this was a business trip and not a vacation, your company was still giving you 3 days of free time after the executive meeting so you were still rather elated. You were always a bit jealous whenever Jungkook went on tour and got to go to so many cities and countries; you knew how busy and stressed he is whenever he travels but that didn’t stop you from being jealous of all the places he got to go to. 

Jungkook gladly agreed to help you and came over to your apartment the minute you asked for his help. Right when he stepped through the door, he laughed at how much of a mess your apartment was. He knew how lazy you got when it came to packing things and when he saw the piles of clothes all over the living room floor as well as the stack of toiletries on the kitchen counter top, he already knew that you had procrastinated yet again. Your trip was only 4 days but he smiled at how adorable you were since you were treating it like it was the first time you’ve ever been on vacation. Because your flight was in a couple of hours, you seemed a bit frantic as you tried to organize everything so that you were ready for your flight. 

Jungkook walked to your bedroom to find even more clothes on the floor and on top of the bed. He chuckled when he saw the chaos and walked over to your suitcase which was located in the right corner of the room. 

Hairbrush? Which one is she talking about? Where is it?

Jungkook tried not to step on any of the clothes on the floor and peered over the luggage, trying to find your hairbrush. 

It’s got to be here... 

Jungkook kept searching and decided to dig through your suitcase instead. 

Maybe she accidentally put it in her luggage already.

Jungkook dug through the luggage until his eyes widened when he felt the lacy material of your bra. He froze and stepped away from the luggage and stared at the flimsy bra. You and Jungkook had only been together for 5 months so there was no reason for him to see your bras... until now. His cheeks turned red as he began to blush at the thought of you in the bra and he felt overwhelmingly flustered. 

Jungkook bent down to try to put your bra back where he found it so that it wouldn’t be blatantly on the surface of your luggage.... that way, you wouldn’t know that he saw or found your bras. Until...

“Oppa?”

Jungkook jumped when he heard your voice behind him and he turned around suddenly with your bra still in his hand.

“What are you doing with my bra?” he asked, confused about the situation. 

“Um... I can explain...” 

Jungkook’s palms were starting to get clammy from the accumulation of sweat. He gulped and was trying to think of how to word his explanation so that he didn’t seem like a creepy boyfriend who was trying to take her bras. 

“I was looking for your hairbrush and when I couldn’t find it, I thought you already put it with the rest of your luggage so I searched through it and well...” Jungkook was very nervous and his cheeks felt like they were burning from embarrassment. 

“Oh my gosh oppa... my hairbrush is right there,” you said as you walked over to the area next to your luggage and picked up the pink hairbrush. 

“Oh...” 

You smiled brightly from how cute and shy your boyfriend was about your simple undergarment. 

“Hey... you should’ve dug through my stuff a little more... you would’ve found the matching underwear too,” you winked, trying to make him feel even more shy and uncomfortable than he already was.

And as expected, Jungkook’s cheeks were becoming redder and redder.

“And who knows... maybe after I come back, you’ll be able to see me in these,” you said suggestively. 

Jungkook just stood there... out of words and unable to relieve this awkward situation. 

“Stop standing there oppa! We have more things to pack... let’s go.” You grabbed his waist and you both walked out of the bedroom with his cheeks still intensely flushed and your pink hairbrush gripped tightly in his hand. 

[mccoys-killer-queen]

Can you explain what's the thing with "You bet Phil Collen's ass I'm still here!"

I can’t believe no one’s asked me until now! But sure thing, I’ll explain:

So exactly one year ago today (2/18/18), I wanted to delete a failed attempt at a Star Trek side blog. I’d never deleted a side blog before, so I went to settings for the blog, and found the button that said “delete account”. I was perfectly aware that I wanted that account deleted.

HOWEVER, I did not know that “account” meant ALL OF MY BLOGS. I thought it just meant that one side blog. So I deleted “that one blog”, and noticed that it signed me out of my tumblr. So I went to sign back in, and it said “this email address doesn’t belong to any account”. Then I realized what I’d just done. I’d accidentally just deleted my entire tumblr account. I tried so hard to get it back, I panicked so much (and may or may not have cried for 45 minutes straight) because I had that account since I was 13, and three years of history (not to mention fanfics I had written/was writing in the drafts, edits I had made, my favorite posts, personal historical posts, etc.) were all gone just like that. I had about 300 followers and just had so much history, and I didn’t want to lose it. But there was nothing I could do, so I had to start from scratch.

I came to the conclusion that at the absolute least, I could get my URL back and restart everything. So I did. I somehow got my URL back, and restarted. It’s been a year, and I still haven’t gained even half of my followers back- but honestly, it was for the best that this all happened, because I was in the process of shifting to a different prime fandom and didn’t know it. It was a nice clean start.

So at the time I restarted, I was rapidly getting into Def Leppard. If you didn’t know, Phil Collen is one of their guitarists. And yes, he’s got a fine ass (just watch this video until you’re about 30 seconds in and you’ll see). To all my old followers, I had just seemingly disappeared from their dash, but I wanted to let them know I was still here, so I wanted to make my blog title “you bet your ass I’m still here!” for when my old followers found me again, but after a while I thought “nah, let’s change it up a bit” so I made it “You bet Phil Collen’s ass I’m still here!” I’ve liked it for a while so I’ve just kept it that way.

Sorry for the long story, but thanks for asking!

[spyder-incorporated]

Spyder Topic Season 1

Ok, so we all know Spyder to be the comic relief character in the show (even though we all know he deserves way more than that) P.S. This took way longer than I thought it would cuz I had to restart after accidentally deleting it instead of saving it to my drafts and then unreliable wifi while on vacation = big delay sry...

ANYWAY here is a list of all the times he suggested that he’s led a different life before becoming friends with Harris and Ryan during season 1 // the ultimate Spyder angst post

Btw this post is like 3 miles long so if your reading this on mobile.. I’m sorry.

Let's Call It MECH-X4!

Starting off in the first episode, this is a small moment in the first part... (episode is 45 minutes long and by first part I mean first 20 minutes)

Is no one going to acknowledge the fact that Spyder was just electrocuted to the point of passing out? Harris seemed to be concerned at the time but as soon as Spyder got back up to blast the monster, the entire ordeal was forgotten. Spyder may not seem to have any physical injuries but what about internally? 

If Spyder was knocked unconscious from the shock then that means that he will have some internal damage.. So why is no one concerned about it in the next scene?

Let's Get Some Air!: 

This is a gif and you can’t hear anything but it sounds like Spyder’s voice cracked at the end.. Whether or not he decided to show it, the mean comments he receives, right to his face, does in fact affect him.

What if Spyder’s been yelled at before? What if he’s accepted and can handle being yelled at by everyone he thinks will yell at him? Except for his friends.

Monster Harris just yelled in Spyder’s face that he was useless in helping the team. How can you assume he would just forget about it? Especially since Mark just called him a train wreck a little while ago as well. 

Why did Spyder try to fix his leg with duct tape? Did he not want to go to the hospital and get it professionally fixed so he tried to fix it himself but ended up making it worse? If I recall, his surgery had to be crowd funded. Did his family not have enough money to afford a hospital visit and he knew it? Is that why he tried to fix it himself as to not burden his parents with more money spending? Credit to @peanutryan who pointed this out to me! Thank you!

Let's Open The Monster Heart!: 

This was a very very very tiny moment but if you re-watch the episode and turn up the volume, it almost sounds like Spyder is in pain when Harper’s goons manhandle him. 

And look at his movement! It looks like he’s in pain. I might be nitpicking but I just don’t want to miss anything...

In this episode we learn that Spyder has a “crush” on Ryan and Marks mom and disapproves of Harper dating her, which the others think is gross. But what if it’s more psychological than that? What if back home, he doesn’t have a real relationship with his own mom and hardly sees her? So he subconsciously “likes” Grace Walker because she’s more invested in Ryan and Mark’s life which is something he doesn’t get from home?

Let’s Be Idiots!:

I know this was supposed to be a comedic sort of line but what if this was one of those criminal things he did as a bad boy before he met Ryan and Harris? I assume you would get in trouble for doing something like that? What is mooning someone mean? Look it up.

So children usually learn about pronouns during the years of preschool to about grade 2 (I couldn’t find an accurate grade sorry) So why doesn’t Spyder know what a pronoun is? 

Let’s Survive in the Woods!: 

Look at Spyder’s face though after he says “No, I didn’t.” He’s like “what are you talking about?” Like the aspect that he’s had a good life isn’t something that he thinks is possible...

For what reason would someone want to physically tie a rope around Spyder and keep him immobile?

Let's Get Our Robot Back!: 

So we know that Spyder has been to jail, but we don’t know whether or not he was in a cell serving a sentence or if he was visiting someone there. It would make sense both ways. So in later episodes we find out that Spyder knows how to pick locks which means he could have broken into places or things. What if one day he was caught and had to spend some time in a jail cell? It could go the other way though. We know Spyder has an unnamed mother but we don’t know anything about his father. What if he visits his dad in jail?

Later on we find out that Harris and Ryan met 18 months before the modern day in that episode. In the picture it looks like Harris and Ryan have been pretty good friends at that time so where is Spyder?

Let's Get Some Answers!:

The inner good side and the inner bad side of you. Spyder knows harris is on the good side so he tries to encourage him to act on the outside of the box with his inner Spyder. Would that mean that Spyder thinks of himself on the bad side, like he thinks he’s not a good person?

Let's Go Clubbing!

Spyder with the therapist talk! Later we learn Spyder actually does go therapy but why? Did he used to do the same thing that Ryan was doing but learned not to from his therapist?

Let's Get Leo!: 

This was one of those moments where Spyder showed how much he loves his friends.. If one of them is showing signs that they may leave (even if it’s not true) he will do everything in his power to make sure they stay. Like in Versus Miami! Almost as if he doesn’t just want his friends to stay but he needs them to stay.

Why does Spyder seem so calm when they could literally be crushed to death at anytime..?

Let's Destroy Some Ooze!

So this is the second time we see Spyder pretty upset (not counting season 2) in the series.. But it’s almost as if Spyder is saying it was an accident because he thinks his friends will blame him for destroying their school. Does he think they won’t see it as an accident?

Let's End This! Part One:

Ahh the famous Spyder scene. So here we learn Spyder goes to a therapist and even though he knows the world may be ending he’s so calm! What if Spyder could tell that Ryan was freaking out because he knows snapping at everyone is one of the signs of extreme stress and remained calm to reassure and calm Ryan down as best he could.

BONUS GIFS: Thought I’d add this in because this was a great scene with great character development. Spyder reassuring Ryan on his powers, knowing that they will win this battle!

AAAANNNDDD That’s Season 1!! Wow this took me wayyyy longer than I thought it would.. Sorry for the wait but here it is! 

This was way more angsty then I thought it would be omg

Did I miss something? Teeeellllll meeee         

Season 2 coming soon

[genie-made-of-clouds]

Ok, imma be real with yall. Until the other day, I didn't know how to copy paste things.

On my AO3 account, I have pre-written chapters that I had decided that I needed to manually type out, before the draft gets deleted. Which is why I'm so bad at updating my stories. When I did remember to/have the motivation to update them(typing it out word by word) i often accidentally deleted the chapter, making me restart. So my best friend taught me how to copy paste.

Now I've updated one of my stories adding two chapters in the time that it took me to write maybe a couple paragraphs. I'm sitting here wondering "is it really that easy? Really?"

So, enjoy, my Dearest Listeners, I have found the cure to my bad posting schedule.

AO3 - Present_Mari

Instagram - foxi.mushroom

Stay Safe, Stay Tuned, and Be You. It works wonders ;3

[ilohvtae]

:)

Wow, so over the course of the last week, a lot of things have happened to me. I lost something I really wanted to do, I've felt the most empty that I ever have, andddd I accidentally deleted my prized tumblr blogs. So here I am, restarting. Proving to life that I intend to knee it in the balls every time it slaps me in the face. I don't really know what has happened to my old blog and it hurts to think of it as dead, because I truly loved going on it and creating things I enjoyed. So I made another. It's not the same, my posts are gone, my asks are gone, my drafts are gone. It really pisses me off, I really tried to put efforts into my own original posts, and sometimes they flopped and sometimes they exceeded my expectations. But, it was all destroyed, and that hurt like a bitch. I hit the delete button thinking it would just delete this one blog I accidentally created and it ended up deleted everything I had worked hard on. If you think I am being over dramatic please remember that feeling you have had when you know that you have forgotten something but you can't remember what it was. That, is exactly how I feel right now. If I could just go back and slap my hand away from the mouse and say "don't click that Natalie", I would. Yet, I can't. I've tried to contact people, I've tried re-logging in, I've tried tricking tumblr, and it didn't work. So here I am, starting anew. Even if this blog flops and will never make it up to what my other one was, at least I've tried. So, life, this is me kneeing you in the balls.

Sincerely, Natalie

[bloggingstranger-blog]

Best Headphone

Several Reasons To Go Get An IPhone

You have probably heard of the iPhone. This device has had a huge impact on how people use their phones.

Buy a screen to protect your iPhone. Without a protector, you will scratch the face of your phone over time. Even tiny pieces of dirt on your fingers may scratch an unprotected screen.

Are you sick of the constnt notifications received on your iPhone? You can stop them off. Check out the applications in the "Notification Center" and delete any unwanted apps. This can also help your battery.

The iPhone allows you come up with your very own shortcuts and dictionary. You will be able to access these shortcuts when utilizing the dictation feature and have your best headphone transcribe what you say out loud. You also have the iPhone for a variety of different shortcuts and phrases. The keyboard also has autocorrect when you type a phrase or word.

You can easily message faster using this simple trick. You can dismiss a suggested word suggestions by tapping elsewhere on your screen. You do not have to tap the x displayed next to the word to dismiss it.

A website that is designed with boxes can be perused slowly using one finger to see each box. You can scroll down the main page using two.

The default setting for your iPhone is to show previews of incoming messages on your lock screen. You may find this annoying rather than convenient. The facility you want to disable is called Show Preview.

Have you ever lost out on snapping a photo opportunity because the camera app takes too much time to pop up? Try this easy shortcut. Tap twice on the Home icon two times when your screen is locked. A little picture of a camera icon should pop up somewhere right near the screen's bottom. Tapping this button will enable the iPhone's camera.

If an iPhone freezes up, you can simply force a hard reset. Press on the sleep button and home button at the same time for several seconds. The phone then shut down and restart as a signal that everything went well.

Turn the keyboard clicks "on" so that you can hear clicks as you type on the keyboard.This can help you know with a sound each time you press a button on the phone and will help eliminate mistakes as you are typing.

This function is great when dealing with long email addresses or "On my way." This shortcut is in the phone's keyboard settings of your iPhone.

If your iPhone accidentally falls into a liquid, stop yourself from immediately turning it back on. Dry the phone first and allow the any internal moisture evaporate. You can short circuit the phone by turning it on while wet.

You probably already know that you can set reminders based on certain times to tell you to do things. You could set a reminder telling you to stop by a certain store after I leave work."The iPhone can use all kinds of events.

You will likely want to finish your current screen before addressing the notifications. You can easily and swiftly rid yourself of the notification. You only need to swipe away the pop up screen.

You might want to buy an app to manage your battery. They also have the ability to let you know when a battery calibration is necessary, which helps to keep the battery healthy.

You do not have to put up with hearing Siri's robotic voice. The first step is locating Siri in the "general settings" screen.You can program the language to French, German or English. You can also modify her accent to a British or Australian accent. The British Siri actually a male voice.

If you are interrupted while composing an email, hit cancel. The phone will ask whether or not you'd like to save a draft of the message. This allows you to finish up your email a later time if you have more time.

You are always ready for a screenshot quickly and easily with your iPhone. Simply press your power and your home buttons at the same time. This takes the snapshots of your phone's current display and directly forwards it to the Images area for you.

You can get to your favorites and iPod controls instantly. Simply go to the settings area, tap general," and then click the home button. You can customize by double wavefun flex bluetooth tapping and selecting the options that you need to customize. This is easy to do when you know the steps.

You can use your iPhone to send photos to your friends and/or family. You can do this in one of two different ways. You can either save and then attach the image to your email address, or you can use your Facebook app to upload the picture.

Do you send texts to the same few people frequently? Save their numbers in your favorites. You can use your recent calls or favorites list. Simply tap the arrow by the contact and choose text message. This is a good way to find out what the recent calls and texts that you just missed.

If you have a habit of dropping phones, make sure that you purchase a case for your iPhone. Your iPhone glass will break if you drop it when it's not in its case.A case can't protect your phone from every danger, but using one can increase the likelihood that your phone will still work after an inevitable slip from your grasp.

It can be quite confusing if all of your accounts that are named the same. So double check what you're looking through your mail.

Are you looking for an easy way to back up your phone? There is a great application called iDrive Lite; it will help you share and save your contacts. This handy app is totally free if you have previously updated your software to 2.0.

After reading this article, you probably have discovered some new things that your iPhone can do. Use the information you have learned here and unlock all your phone's possibilities. This will help you get the most out of your iPhone and make it much easier to use.

[xx-obliviousfantasy-xx]

Roasting Myself

Quick note:

Okay so bc I'm writing this on my phone, I can't take a photo of the document history to show you the stupidness. I apologise for that, but just try to imagine the fricken like... Stupidness.

Edit: The original version is on Wattpad still so nvm I'll be adding both Wattpad and Google Doc screenshots, but I did not have as many dates on Wattpad so only for some sections will I use Wattpad.

Edit: My photos keep going to the bottom. Idfk what to do whatever I hate Tumblr with a burning passion.

~~~~

So, I gotta vent about my stupidity.

Okay so the time frame I set back in 7th grade for this book idea I have is completely stupid. What I wrote didn't make any actual sense because I contradicted it. Which makes sense, because I was stupid. But doesn't, because now that I'm older, I should've caught it.

The story is called 3044(Destined Stars). I definitely stole that last part from something. I thought it was the game Mystic Messenger but it's not. The more I think about it, the more it seem like it though.

The problem is that with how far away 3044 is, it doesn't even make sense for humans to be how they are then, or even be alive tbh. I'm pretty sure they'll be extinct by then. I don't even know big we'll last 200 more years tbh. Or even 50.

Another problem, is I still do that thing where I fucking forget there's a bunch of numbers in between and skip up. So basically, with how I write the dates, I made the years really far apart with the dates and shit. Like REAAALLLLY. Like from being 10-ish years apart to skipping ahead nearly 1,000. Because I am a dumbass and didn't think "Wow this doesn't make any effing sense. This makes some of your events very insignificant because of evolution, and your characters old as dinosaurs."

(But I'm just now remembering I did day Humans live longer, which, could be taken to interpretation but besides the point.)

To better understand:

I literally had the dates like 2070, 2080, 2090, to then, 3000, 3010, 3015, 3025.

Like... That jump was so fucking huge but I didn't realise.

But because I was attached to the makeshift title I gave it, because it came from my friend's favorite number (but because I have issues with flipping numbers I found out was wrong later in after naming the story. I have still kept it that number though even years after),

Instead of doing the easy thing, I wrote in the stupidest, most confusing, complicated thing ever.

And then, after reading through my dates again and actually doing the math, it was like "Wait a second, this doesn't make any sense because this event started before this character (Hyacinth) was born, but after this one (Aleya) was two years old" or something like that. Idk. Like... It's wonky because my characters are certain ages in the story, but, by the date I set things, they happen waaaay too before they were born which would mean they'd stop mattering so much.

But thankfully, I thought recently, why don't I just f-ing make the dates that date? What's the reason for all of the complicated stuff?

(Also, I think I was gonna change the date again which is why it still makes no sense.)

( But then something happened. Idk. I honestly might bring the ages down again bc it makes sense. Because... The time still doesn't make sense because I'd have to age Hyacinth up.)

Generally, I just placed some events out of sequence. Like, I said space cities finished construction before they even started building them. Idk, it was a fucking mess and one of the first things I wrote confused me a lot because I was like "Did I delete something?"

It also made Aleya reaaaally older than Hyacinth because I set a significant date in her birth 15 years before the date of the story so it either

Aleya is 24 and Hyacinth is 20. It was 18 and 21 before,

I just- Oh my God. So, I'm deleting that, and going to make it better. Also I accidentally made the Earth 3044 years old, when, that's absurd. I said the Earth aged faster in that Universe, but that's too fast. Like- I just- wtf?

But the year is also 3044.7b2? Is that for the universe? See it just doesn't make sense. Idk how it made sense in my head. The Earth is 3044 years old but the Earth is not the age of the universe right now so why would the Earth be the age of the universe unless the Universe reset itself entirely and made everything come back at the same time?

And then I said that after that war, the first alien race I talked about plus some other planets, created a treated together.

I think I remember that at first a lot of planets were sucked into a black hole but spit out and made again but faster? Idk. It's so confusing.

(That's when I wrote it on Wattpad and how it was before the rewrite below)

Then there is this dumb contradictory mistake I made again because I said a certain race of aliens with a very awful name was first to contact the Earth at a certain time and helped them and create a treaty,

It's just so messed up and it's because I:

1) Didn't check some of my SEVENTH GRADE WRITING EVEN THOUGH IM IN NINTH NOW,

However I then wrote a different one with a less awful name did before that and went to war with them. As seen above and below.

2) Didn't check my Math, and-

Also apparently the whole story is being told but a space child who created Earth by accident and has grown find if her creation. Also one of the things I changed that made it complicated was saying that 3044 was the number of times Earth restarted. But I forgot that part because I constantly skim over that part.

3) Am still writing it in a bad Tumblr/Wattpad fanfic manner instead of a genuinely good writer pov.

Like... It's genuinely so bad that idk how it didn't click in until now. Maybe it's because after watching a nearly 2hr video about how bad Yandere Simulator and Yandere Dev is, and then two reviews of Onision's books I've already seen, I began to be very afraid of being on the same level as them in terrible production of anything.

I'm going to to fix this and re-plot it and then re-writes it because this is horrible, even for a first draft.

My incompetence a m a z e s me.

My understanding of math scares me.

[russellthornton]

Type, Delete… How to Start a Conversation with a Guy Over Text

You type something, you press delete, you think, you start again. Wondering how to start a conversation with a guy over text? It’s easier than you think!

If you’re wondering how to start a conversation with a guy over text, the good news is that it’s really not as difficult as you might think. All you need to do is go for it. Be unique. Be you.

The dating world has been revolutionized by technology. Once upon a time, asking someone out was a terrifying, gut-wrenching experience which required serious courage and several drinks. These days, it can be done via social media. If it doesn’t work out, you simply disappear from the online world for a few days to recover!

Time to think outside the box

The problem comes when phone numbers have been swapped and you need to actually start a conversation. What are you supposed to say? You want to get the balance right between casual and keen, but you don’t want to come across as overeager. Oh, the drama!

Don’t go for the “Hi, how are you” line. It’s boring, overdone, and not at all inspiring. Instead, think outside the box, and above all else, be yourself! Think about how you would want someone to text you for the first time, and what would get your attention. [Read: How to let a guy know you’re interested without being overeager]

Above all else, remember, at least you don’t have to approach them in a busy bar anymore!

Of course, first things first you need the digits, and we’re going to assume that you’ve already managed to get these magic numbers because you want to know how to start a conversation with a guy over text! [Read: How to get a guy to ask you for your number]

Pat yourself on the back for getting this far. The fact he’s given you his number says he wants you to text him! He wouldn’t give you the number if he didn’t like you back, so always keep that in mind.

How to start a conversation with a guy over text

You’ve got the number, now what? Now you need a plan. What do you want to say? What do you actually want to achieve with this message? Do you want to bat texts back and forth for a while, or do you want to jump straight in and ask them out?

Know what you want, as that will make post-message regret less likely! There’s nothing worse than the text conversation coming to a natural pause *as it will* and kicking yourself because you never got to say what you really wanted to. [Read: Good questions to ask a guy and get to know who he really is]

Accident-proof your texting habits

I think it’s always a good idea to draft your first message on your phone somewhere else, e.g. your notes app, rather than straight into the message. If you want to change it, what if you accidentally press send? There’s no way to get it back then!

Drafting in your notes app means you can read it, re-read it, tweak it, and read it again before you paste it into the message box and send it. I have had more than one disaster with sending a message before I was ready, so learn from my mistakes and take my advice!

Okay, you have your notes app open, what are you going to say? I mentioned being unique, but remember that there is a fine line between unique and downright weird. There is nothing fun about receiving a text that you have to read several times in order to understand, or one which makes you cringe. [Read: How to know when to stop texting a guy]

Steer clear of slang and emojis

Also, when it comes to knowing how to start a conversation with a guy over text, keep your language normal, and avoid those annoying slang terms and emoji overkill. I might be a little old fashioned here but “Hey, how R U” doesn’t make me want to date someone, it makes me want to give them an English lesson! Seriously, it takes seconds to write something properly, so put in the time.

There is nothing wrong with “Hey *insert name here*, just wanted to say hi. What are you up to?” That’s friendly, it’s chatty, and it ends with a question. The question is important because that gives them a reason to text back. [Read: 15 unwritten texting rules you have to remember]

If you simply tell them that you wanted to say ‘hi’, there is no 100% obligation to actually reply. I mean, it’s polite to do so, but not everyone is polite! By asking a question, you’re encouraging a response, and from there you can build the conversation.

Make peace with being the instigator

It might be that you’re not entirely comfortable with being the one who makes the first move, but it’s something you should embrace and make peace with. It’s likely that for the first few texts at least, you’re going to be steering the conversation. [Read: What to text a guy when you’re making the first move]

You’re asking questions and trying to think of the next thing to say. That’s fine and totally normal. Remember, the guy is probably feeling a little nervous and not sure what to say too!

This is where having a plan also helps. Whilst I’m not trying to turn this into a brainstorming project, it doesn’t hurt to think about things before you text and come up with a few interesting questions to ask and things to say. For instance, think about what you did that day and come up with a few funny stories.

Think about a few questions, even something simple like “Did you have a good day?” Remember, questions are good because they invite responses. [Read: 12 common texting habits that push guys away]

Remember, there is going to be a natural lull in the conversation, because life happens and maybe dinner is ready, or your guy needs to go out. It’s fine, and it will restart if he’s interested. He gave you his number so that’s a good sign in that regard!

Look for clues in his messages and try and ascertain how he feels about the conversation. If you’re not feeling it, it’s fine to back off a little. Guys are guys, and that means he’s going to wonder why you’ve slowed down and want to know where you are! I don’t advocate game playing, but sometimes you need to play a guy at his own game a little! [Read: 15 things guys do differently when they text a girl they like]

When to ask them out

When you have been texting back and forth for a while and you’re pretty sure there’s a spark, when should you ask them out? Maybe they’ll ask you and you won’t have to think about it, and that’s quite likely. If there is no question coming your way, be the one to do it. Go on, be brave! This isn’t the 1920s when a woman had to wait to be asked out! [Read: How to ask a guy out and get the answer you want]

You can do this very casually, “I’ve been going to this really cute coffee shop lately, do you fancy joining me?” Or “There’s a band on next week I really want to see, do you want to come?” If he says yes, fantastic. If he doesn’t respond in the way you want him to, shrug it off and move on.

Seriously, there are plenty more fish in the sea, and nobody has time for a text wasting guy! If the conversation has been going well so far, the chances of him refusing a meet up are extremely slim and should give you the confidence to take the texts to face-to-face meetings.

[Read: The no-fail signs the guy you’re texting really likes you too]

Understanding how to start a conversation with a guy over text is nowhere near as hard as you might think. He’s probably waiting for your message in all honesty. Take the plunge, see how it goes, and be brave. You never know!

The post Type, Delete… How to Start a Conversation with a Guy Over Text is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.