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dulcewrites · 2 years

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What do you think about this, black!reader is married to Austin!Elvis and she is interviewed by like Ebony or Jet magazine bc folks are really curious about her. I saw some vintage Ebony magazine covers on Pinterest and they are just mwah. Austin!Elvis makes a cameo

Picture Perfect

Pairing: austin!elvis x black reader (wc: 1.4k)

Requested: yes (thank you)

A/N: I’ve said this before but I LOVE this idea. Thank you to whoever sent this in. I didn’t know if I want this to be from the reader’s pov or for it to read like an actual interview if that makes any sense. So I decided to sort of combine the styles. I was also inspired by those vogue look breakdowns. I love those lmao. This takes place in 1967 months after reader and Elvis get married.

You eye the giant cameras and lighting equipment set up in the living room. Chantelle, the interviewer and editor of the entertainment news desk, reassured you that the whole thing would be organic and calm. An interview and photoshoot in your natural setting: at home.

It was her idea to ask some questions before doing the photoshoot, just to loosen you up a bit. The order didn’t really matter, you were anxious about both parts. This was not only your first magazine cover, but also your first interview of this magnitude. But since the wedding, you’ve been reached out to by almost every major publication in the country. Elvis and you thought it would be a good idea to just pick one, and maybe the attention would settle a bit. When John H. Johnson personally wrote to you, your interest was piqued. You’ve read Jet and Ebony magazine for years. So, you’d be lying if you said the idea of being on the cover of Ebony magazine didn’t excite you a bit.

Now you’re here on the couch, made up to perfection, waiting for the interview to start. You twist your wedding ring around your finger as Chantelle walks over.

“Mrs. Presley, thank you again for doing this,” she says as she sits in the chair moved to face the couch.

Mrs. Presley, that’s something you’re still getting used to. Your eyes go to the thick notebook in Chantelle’s hand; damn, how much did people want to know.

“The pleasure is all my mine,” you nod, eye still on the notebook. “Please excuse me if I’m a bit nervous, I’ve never really done anything like this.”

“I understand, but I want to reassure you there’s nothing to be worried about. A lot of people are very excited about this, and about getting to know you.”

That’s another thing you have to get used to. People you don’t know wanting to know you. Wanting to know about your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and life. For multiple reasons, your relationship with Elvis was an open secret. You were around but an overall mystery to the public. Normally Elvis’ star power always overpowered the conversation about his relationship, but the wedding changed that. You both thought throwing the media a bone by having a small press conference after the ceremony would help; one the colonel of course set up to his liking. But it seems like it only made people more insatiable. Who is Mrs. Presley?

You nod at Chantelle’s comforting words. This will be ok.

“Great, let’s start,” she open her notebook and clicks her pen. “Something simple to start: tell me about yourself.”

Your childhood was… mundane. No extremely high highs and no horrible lows. It’s something you’re grateful for. Normal, and yeah sometimes bland.

“Well, I’m an only child. Born to a teacher and tailor. We moved to Memphis from Georgia in 1949. I graduated from high school in 1954, and started taking classes at at Spelman in ‘55. During the summers, I began working at the pharmacy near men’s clothing store my dad worked at.

Chantelle writes all of your words down before look up with a knowing smile.

“And that’s how you met Elvis, right. When you were at that shop?”

You nod with a fond smile on your face. You remember that day like it was yesterday. B.B King had been a frequent costumer at the shop your dad worked at, and the two of you met while you visited your dad one day.

“Oh you have to meet E.P,” B.B grins at you. It had been weeks since you and King had met. He was easily your favorite client your dad has ever had. “Elvis cmon out.”

He calls back to the dress room station, and your brows shoot up. It sounds silly now but you never put it together when B.B said his nickname. E.P… Elvis Presley.

It feels like wind gets knocked out of you when Elvis comes out. Your eyes meet, and you wonder if the feeling in your chest is normal.

“I told you I want you to meet Mr. Smith’s daughter.”

Elvis doesn’t even look over the B.B, just reaches his hand out to take your extended one. Elvis is sure he hasn’t seen anything or anyone as beautiful as you. You two shake hands for much longer than needed; neither of you pulling away. B.B looks from Elvis to you, then back to Elvis. It dawns on him what he just did.

“Yes, met through a mutual a friend while I was working,” B.B now tells you that since he unknowably set you two up, one of your future kids must be named Riley.

That was in 1957. It’s been 10 years since then. On one hand it feel like it’s been a lifetime, and on the other it feels like you just met him yesterday. Those 10 years have came with up and downs; you’re both stronger for it you think.

“In 1958, Elvis started his 2 year military service. How did that effect your relationship?”

You chew on your lip; you should’ve expected that. Those two years were… rough for the both of you. Elvis was away, and you both had lost people you love dearly. Your grandma Beatrice passing only two months before Gladys passed.

“It was difficult,” you start with a sigh. “Honestly, the couple of months leading up to it were hard too. Everyone had an opinion on Elvis. I guess they still do. We both wanted different things. Elvis wanted to stay together; I felt like a break would do us some good.”

Chantelle raises an perfectly arched eyebrow.

“And how did he handle that,” she asks as she looked up from her notebook.

You remember that argument, the one that happened three days before he left for Fort Chaffee. You felt sick after hearing him say that he didn’t want to lose you to on top of everything else.

“Not well in the moment, but I think he knew I was right. It’s cliche, but I told him that if it’s meant to be we will come back to each other.”

You were right. It was a six months after his service ended in 1960. He asked you to come out to California.

“How do you think your relationship has withstood so much time,” she asks. “And I’m assuming, hardships. His fame, the time away, and of course this being an interracial relationship.”

You sit for a second, thinking about the question. You truthfully don’t a secret magic answer to how Elvis and you have lasted this long. Of course you’re grateful you have, but it’s sort of mystery considering how many times this truly could’ve ended between you two.

“All I can say is that we love each other,” you begin. “I think sometimes love isn’t enough to overcome all those hardship, but thankfully sometimes it is. We may stuck in our own way, but we have each other.”

You know Elvis hasn’t been particularly thrilled with how his movie career has gone since getting back from Germany. You know how much he longs for different results, and you are by his side as he figures it out.

Chantelle smiles while writing down your answer. She looks back up at you with a bright smile .

“Now I hope this isn’t overstepping. But I’m sure the readers will be curious to know: will there be any mini Presleys running around soon?”

The question makes you laugh. She sounds like Elvis. As soon as you two said I do, he’s brought up having kids.

“We do plan on having kids, god willing,” you smile at her. “But no exciting news on that front just yet.”

Chantelle closes her notebook, stands up with her hand out. She thanks you again for agreeing to the interview and the shoot. You watch as she goes over the photographer to let him know you can start the shoot.

You see a flash of dark hair in your peripheral. Elvis peeked his head around the wall connecting the dining room and living area. He gives you thumbs up and wink. You playfully roll your eyes. You know he’s enjoying you being the one photographed and bombarded by questions.

The thought of how people will react to this cover crosses your mind, but then you realize everyone loves a good love story. And if one thing describes Elvis and you… it’s a pure, unadulterated love.

#austin!elvis x reader #elvis 2022 #black!reader #my writing #austin!elvis x black!reader #requests #black!oc #austin!elvis x oc #austin elvis imagine

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literarylumin · 3 months

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‧˚₊ The Bell Jar - A Book Review ₊˚‧

The American poet Sylvia Plath penetrated my thoughts and soul and seems to have stayed there for a long time. The Bell Jar is one of her few prose works and the first one I have read. This book is written in a genre close to autofiction, meaning it is largely based on the author's biography. Therefore, I advise you to familiarize yourself with Plath's life before starting the book. The main character of the novel, Esther Greenwood, a fairly successful young woman, undergoes an internship in New York. At the end of it, she realizes that she cannot decide what to do next. This problem of choice is illustrated in the book with the allegory of the 'fig tree', which utterly captivated me:

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out."

Upon returning home, Esther sinks deeper and deeper into the abyss of depression, which reaches its peak by the middle of the book. Now she has to deal with mental problems while being in a psychiatric clinic. In this part of the book, the author masterfully brings to light the backwardness of methods for dealing with mental illnesses in the 1950s. All these terrible treatment methods, such as electroshock therapy, which were widely used at the time, are now either banned or used very rarely and with great caution. Therefore, patients had to cope with psychological problems mainly on their own, while doctors and nurses sometimes even had a destructive impact on their mental health. Thus, it can be stated that Sylvia Plath made a significant contribution to the understanding of depression by society and doctors and to the development of psychotherapy in general by sharing her personal experience through a literary work.

Furthermore, the book reflects Sylvia's struggle through the character Esther against gender stereotypes towards women in the USA of the 1950s. For example, I was very angered by the moment when the students were sympathetic towards Esther studying hard only when they thought her heart was broken due to her boyfriend's illness. In their opinion, a girl can study hard only when her heart is broken. There also was a bunch of other moments in the book where Plath criticized these stereotypes.

Although many problems presented in the book have been solved, some are still relevant today. Prejudices related to mental disorders are still prevalent in society, as are gender stereotypes. It is precisely because of its relevance that the book deserves to stand among classic works.

Though I was impressed by Plath's beautiful prose, the book captivated me not so much for its literary value but for its thoughts that resonated with mine. Difficulties in determining one's future life, choosing a career, constant comparison with more successful individuals, burnout, the perfectionist syndrome, and the gifted child syndrome — all of these are painfully familiar to me. For this reason, I was deeply moved by this work, and at times it even seemed to me that Plath was reading my thoughts. Perhaps if I were at a different age, I would not have been so profoundly impacted by the book. But since I read it at this particular time, it went straight to my list of favourite books. After reading The Bell Jar, I became even more interested in the life and work of the poetess, and therefore read her journals and her most famous poems.

Rating: 10/10

©️ All photos are from Pinterest

#bookblr #booklr #girlblogging #literature #classic literature #sylvia plath #the bell jar #book review #books #book recommendations #book reccs #modern classics #psychology #book blog #the bell jar aesthetics

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vikenticomeshome · 6 months

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Cyberchase: How It All Started (Episode 2)

This comic was later renamed to Cyberchase Web Adventures Episode 2.

Okay, I made another post awhile ago about "Cyberchase: How It All Started (episode 1). Since this is episode 2, I'll put an abbreviated version of my disclaimers below.

In 2001, the panels were released in their original form. In 2002, the panels were re-done as part of a site redesign. I will use the original 2001 version wherever possible, but will fall back to the redesign when the original assets are missing.

No author or illustrator was credited beyond a general copyright notice for the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. I do not own this. This was previously available on the pbskids.org website for free before being taken down. I am only posting it here for archival purposes and for making it available to fans again.

My tumblr post cannot properly demonstrate the animations or the original web games that came with this web comic. You'll need to seek out Blue Maxima's Flashpoint Archive project to get that part of the experience.

I will transcribe all of the dialogue and give most of my thought at the end. I will only add editors notes in the middle if I feel it is absolutely necessary.

Let's begin.

Narration: Hacker lives out his exile in the gloom of the Northern Frontier, but never gives up the idea of taking control of Cyberspace from Motherboard.

Narration: In need of a Cybercraft able to go anywhere in Cyberspace, Hacker builds the Grim Wreaker.

The Hacker: Hurry, my foolishly feathered fiend, for Cyberspace will soon be mine! Ha-Ha-Ha!

Digit: Ohh... I wish I was back with Motherboard!

Narration: Having been weakened by Motherboard, Hacker invents a Recharger Chair to restore his power...

Narration: ...and adds Buzz and Delete to his team of troublemakers.

The Hacker: Charge me up, you duncebuckets. It's time to create some Cyber-chaos!

Narration: Tom prove to Motherboard he means business, Hacker scrambles the computer circuitry of Valussa, plunging the Cybersite into total darkness!

Valussa Citizen #1: What's Happening?!

Valussa Citizen #2: Hey, I can't see!

Editor's Note: This page flashed the speech bubbles of the Valussa residents on and off at random. While I have presented only the two that were visible in the screenshot, I will add the text for the other ones below.

Valussa Citizen #3: I'm afraid of the dark!

Valussa Citizen #4: The lights don't work!

Valussa Citizen #5: Help!

Buzz: Way to go boss! They can't see nothin'!

Delete: Yeah, boss! You sure turned out their lights! Hee-hee-hee!

The Hacker: Yessss! I am the King of Chaos!

Digit (thinking): Wuh-oh! He's gotta be stopped!

Digit: If I don't do what Hacker tells me to do he'll... I don't want to think about it!

Narration: Digit is torn between his fear of Hacker and his friendship with Motherboard.

Narration: Digit, in a brave attempt to save Valussa without Hacker finding out, sends them a coded message that contains the secret.

Buzz: Huh?? What's that scrawny Boid doing?

Narration: Can you help crack Digit's code and save the Cyber Citizens of Valussa? To do it you'll need to use a secret decoder.

Editor's Note: At this point, we play a game of Crack Digit's Code. The game doesn't appear to be listed on the site anymore. Here is the solution.

Digits Message: Move moon ray left two feet

Message: You did it!

Narration: Thanks to you and Digit, the power is returned to Valussa. For now, Hacker has been stopped.

Narration: Hacker learns that Digit helped Motherboard save Valussa.

The Hacker: How dare you betray The Hacker?!!

Digit: I'll show that green-faced flake he can't do this to the Didge!

Narration: Using his all purpose beak, Digit tries to escape from the cage.

Narration: Free at last, Digit leaves Hacker, Buzz, and Delete behind...

Narration: ...and flies back to Motherboard!

Digit: I'm outta here!

The Hacker: Come back here, you ungrateful Cyberturkey!

Narration: Check out Webisode 3 to meet The Cyberchase Gang!

Editor's Note: This 2001 version of this final page has alt text for its image that does not match the text on the panel. The alt text says: "Come back next week to meet the rest of the Cyberchase gang!". This leads me to believe that there was once a different image for this final panel that was replaced when the website was redesigned. However, the old version was not archived.

That's the end of the comic, so let's get to my commentary.

So, this comic gives us our first look at a Cybersite called Valussa. This Cybersite has not been mentioned in the show or other Cyberchase media up to this point. I wonder if they will ever bring it back as a nod to the older fans.

It's great to see Digit betraying The Hacker to save Valussa. He had previously betrayed The Hacker to retrieve Motherboard's Encryptor Chip after The Hacker stole it and hid it in a secret vault. We never see The Hacker discover that first betrayal, but he discovers the second one, and immediately puts Digit in a cage. However, he built Digit with a multi-tool in his beak, and Digit is able to escape. This appears to be the same cage that was used during Season 1 Episode 3 "R-Fair City".

The comic does a good job of setting up more of The Hacker's early career in villainy, and it sets up Digit fully defecting to Motherboard. I'm not sure how much of this is still canon, as The Hacker's backstory has been expanded and ret-conned over the years. Buzz and Delete's origin is kept vague here, but the lore from Buzz and Delete Save the Day, featuring Botopolis, still fits in the empty space.

I'm not sure what Dr. Marbles and Motherboard did to The Hacker's power supply. They make a big point of having drained him before sending him off. We see him building a chair that can recharge his supply, but then he needs periodic recharges whenever the episode needs him out of the way for a bit. I assume they didn't have him running back and forth between a recharger pod while he was working for Motherboard. It seems that his ability to hold a charge long-term was affected in some way when he was banished.

#cartoon #cyberchase #2000s #nostalgia #web comic #comic #digit #The Hacker #how it all started #cyberchase how it all started #cyberchase web adventures #longpost #archived web content

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actuallylorelaigilmore · 1 year

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so the project i’m editing is one that i accepted back at the end of november, not realizing when i said i’d be happy to start work on it in december that i was about to spiral into feeling totally overwhelmed by holidays and frequent guests and multiple rounds of covid in the house...when for the first time we had multiple family members staying here at the same time and i had also decided to make people crocheted gifts for the holidays. all my people. as a beginner.

i also didn’t realize at the end of november that i was going to feel an utter lack of holiday spirit last year, most of the time, so secluding myself with crochet projects on a self-imposed time crunch was self-protective, a bit. either way, though, i received the draft i was meant to edit in november, made sure i could open the file, and then--and this is key--did not actually read it.

instead i spent december surviving the holidays, confident that in january i would dig into it, once our house was quiet again. that plan didn’t include the new year’s covid of it all, and the brain fog that lasted most of the month afterward. from february to now, family visits combined lasted another two months or so, and the stimulant medication shortage has given me gaps that mess with my brain each month of this year--until the last one, when i was able to talk my doctor into renewing my prescription early for the first and only time.

so basically, by the time i opened the draft in january and was already struggling to work on it or anything requiring brainpower...that was the first time i realized that it was a very rough first draft, not what i had expected (i’m honestly not sure why. i hadn’t been given an indication in any way). i started working on it, but battling my adhd while trying to do my best work was like a tug of war i couldn’t win, because my brain is detail-obsessed, which makes me a good editor, but also got me totally bogged down in this process because it just needed so much shaping up before i could even see it for the story.

the battle that is my brain makes me frustrated and whiny and even more avoidant of trying to work, because i know that if i just had the perfect conditions i would suddenly be able to function again, and it feels so unfair that i can’t magically create those conditions for myself. anywhere that i work is near noise and people and an adorable cat whose affection i refuse to ignore, and it’s nobody’s fault that i’m so easily distracted, but it certainly feels like it should be somebody’s fault, which must mean the fault is mine. also not a great feeling to toss in the mix.

in april, i was lucky enough to get a few weeks with no family events and a lot of quiet, and i made good progress on the draft, leaving me with only 47 more pages to line edit. after that’s all done, i have other notes to take and things to check and tidy up, so i suspect i’ll need a few more days to finish the whole thing. but so far today i’ve gotten 8 more pages edited, and after a break i’m going to do some more. despite feeling lousy lately, i’ve been able to make use of my alone time just the way i needed to, and i’m really proud of that.

if i can get the line editing done by wednesday, i’ll have thursday left to do some of the follow up work. and since today really has let me prove that i’m still capable of thinking clearly when i’ve got perfect conditions, i’m aiming to get as much done as possible before i go back to struggling. basically, since november i’ve had this project and an unrelated crochet project waiting for me to finish them, before i allow myself to move on to anything new.

that has included tv shows (i’m avoiding spoilers for everything), reading books, crocheting for fun...really anything but podcasts and tablet games, which is how i’ve kept busy for half a year now and which i suspect has been bad for my mental health. because new tv shows give me breaks from reality and sharing tv shows is my love language, and a birthday loophole that had me watching nancy drew and later sharing it helped me a lot last week when depression came out of nowhere and knocked me down.

so i needed to ramble about that journey, and possibly post further updates just to keep myself motivated. once the editing is done, i’ll be free to get back to my more-fulfilled life, and stop punishing myself for struggling by withholding all the stuff that makes me happy. (and in future, i will have learned valuable lessons about how avoiding fun distractions doesn’t help me work better, and how i can only work with the environment i have--waiting for a better one to come along means not working at all.)

#adhd #mental health #writer problems #life stuff #randomness #long post

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askblog-with-the-vampire · 2 years

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It's Anne Rice's birthday tomorrow! Lestat told us how he met her, did you guys ever meet?

Ah our dear departed chronicler. We did meet. Not at first. Not for a long time after the whole thing began. And our relationship was always different than the one she had with David, Daniel, Armand, Marius, and of course her most beloved Lestat. Ours was a cool, strange respect. In a way, I think I was the only one of the vampires she truly feared.

At first, I didn't think "Anne Rice" existed. I assumed she was just a pen name of Daniel's, a throwaway face to write the sensationalist fiction that was completely separate from the serious journalist he was never destined to be. When Lestat's books came out, though, I realized she was some separate entity, looked her up, saw her for her own entity, and left it at that. At the time I was nonplussed. I was content to let her conspire with the rest of my kind to publish our stories in the guise of fiction. I found the whole notion a bit gauche, honestly. I never intended to publish a word. I've made that more than clear. But I didn't mind my place on the sides and in the margins of Lestat's story.

Then, in the earliest days of the new melinnium, that all changed.

It wasn't a good time for me. I was shaken. Weak from my recent attempt to go into the sun and emotional from the events that had led to it. I just wanted to spend evenings walking around my city in peace. But I couldn't. Everywhere I turned I heard the horrible events of the last few months replaying in my head from a thousand directions. Claudia's hatred. The Mayfair woman's violation of my mind and unconsentual taking of my blood. The decision to step into the sun. They were blasting at me over and over and over again from all sides. I knew no peace. I thought I was going mad.

Then I realized I wasn't. I was hearing human minds. I was hearing people think about these things. Reading these things. Obsessing over these intimate dark moments of my life that they had no business knowing. So I walked myself straight into a nearby Borders Books (Oh 2000 and your plentiful bookstores. I will never forgive Amazon for their closure.) and there it was, sitting on the table before me, already a bit discounted. (Editors, Anne, Editors. You needed one.) Merrick, by Anne Rice.

Someone had told that woman my story. Again. And she had committed my lowest point to paper for the salacious consumption of the masses.

I rarely am given to temper. But I saw red. The events of the past few months had been horrible. Traumatic. But they were MINE. They were my fear and my turmoil and my betrayal and my shame. And she had no right to splash them across everyone's minds like that!

I went straight from the bookstore to the library, sat down at a computer, and began googling her. It didn't take too much work to find her editor and make a few phone calls and soon I was standing outside a home in New Orleans that I could never have guessed belonged to a Gothic horror writer. A later middle aged man sat out front, idlely sipping on a nightcap and humming, but it wasn't he who held my attention. It was HER. I could feel her at once. Her every thought was alright with vampiric voices. His above all. Lestat. His grasp on her was apparent.

I found myself playing the predator in the dark and slipping around the back of the house. A leap brought me up to the back veranda where I found myself looking in a pair of glass french doors at a small woman whose thick black hair was trending more towards the grey and whose dark eyes were staring right back into mine.

I think she knew who I was from the moment she saw me.

She moved from her desk to the French doors slowly, like she was in a trance, though I was in no way applying the mind gift to her, and opened them, removing the plate glass from between us. When she examined me from this intimate distance, however, there was a degree of fear that began to color her gaze. I think I was the first of my kind she'd seen in any sort of a state. And I was in a state. I hadn't fed in ages. My thin sweater and low ponytail were in windswept disarray. I was thin, pale, the veins standing out of my marble skin making me look every bit the monster I believed myself to be at the time. And I was still angry. I was a cornered beast. A violated predator. Dangerous and wild. And she, who had only seen those of us who'd kept themselves passing human with every possible luxury was briefly reminded of exactly what creature she'd been dealing with. But she was a courageous woman. She spoke first.

"You need no introduction." She said, voice soft with almost palpable wonder. She raised her hand briefly from her side, as though she wanted to reach out and touch my face, my chest, my hair, to verify the truth of my existence, but she thought better of it. "Monsieur du Pointe du Lac." She said, getting her composure. "Please, step into my office."

I followed her inside and sat on a chaise that would have thrilled Lestat. I could only describe it and the whole office as "a bit much." The woman's eyes never left me as I moved, darting from my hair to my hands to my face to my lips as rapidly as human eyes are capable of. She spoke again before I had the turn.

"I have had your beauty described to me in great detail, by no less than five men, but not a single one of them did you justice. I never thought I'd see the day when I finally met you and saw your properly but now I see..." She began reverently, but I raised a hand, cutting her off. I was in no mood for flattery at the moment.

"I did not consent to the publication of that story." I said stiffly. She seemed surprised at my statement and sat down.

"What?"

" I said, 'I did not consent to the publication of that story.'" I repeated, gazing down on her as firmly as I could. "I did not agree to the publication of personal details of my life. I did not give my blessing to share those details with the world. I DID NOT CONSENT FOR MY PAIN TO BE BROADCAST FOR PEOPLES ENJOYMENT."

She skittered back against the wall as my firm speech became a monsters roar. I think my fangs might have been bared. We stared at eachother silently for a moment. Then she just said.

"Oh."

Still watching me cautiously, she peeled herself off the wall and slowly came to sit in the wingback chair across from me. She had an air of the calm to her that was keeping me from the worst of my anger. And I think she knew that. I suspected this woman had calmed a vampire enraged before.

"When Daniel brought in those tapes....I thought it was performance art, honestly. He'd always spent a little too much time around addicts and theatricals. Of course I was willing to take the story. It was an amazing one. I didn't think there were real people's lives and feelings on the line then."

That made perfect sense. That's what I myself had assumed. And that was not at all what had me seeing red at the moment.

"But now you know better." I countered. "You've known since you laid eyes on Lestat. We are real. We live. We breathe. We feel. And still you felt it was your place to write that. To publish that. To give that price of me away to the world without ever asking!" I was growing heated again as I spoke and I spotted a framed photo, nearly thirty years old, of a little blonde angel blowing bubbles and I nearly snapped.

"What if it had been her?" I growled low, agonized, pointing at the photo. Her eyes widened when she followed my gaze. "What if it had been her spirit trapped, and when you tried to free her, the spirit of your little girl tore away every happy memory you had together, tainting them with an anger and a hatred you didn't know her capable of. Then having the precious peice of yourself that you'd only EVER given her taken away from you by force? Could you have born it? Or would you have thrown your fragile human body off this very balcony? And to have all that, everything you suffered, shouted from the rooftops for all the world to know? To hear them in your mind, replaying the thing that hurts you most? Could you have born that? Why did you expect me to?"

She was crying now. Crystal droplets caught in her lashes, dripping down her face, pooling in her collarbones. I could feel tears of blood on my own face.

"I am sorry." She whispered hoarsely. I couldn't reply. I found myself choked on blood tears. "I should have thought of you. I should have at least tried to contact you through one of them. I should have known better."

My only reply to that was a nod.

We sat in silence for a while.

Eventually, she stood up and drifted across the room to a closet, out of which she pulled a manuscript in David's hand and a box of tapes. The manuscript was the events of Merrick. And the tapes....those were my original interview. She lay them down on the low wicker coffee table between us.

"These belong to you." She said simply. "That's twice I've published without your consent. You have my word that there will not be a third."

I still stared at her, silent. She tried to keep my gaze. She couldn't. She looked away. And we held that moment for another long, silent few minutes before she spoke again.

"I never would have published the original story if it weren't for her you know. Claudia." Her voice was whisper soft and she still faces away from me, her expression lost to shadow. She trusted my preternatural hearing to carry her words to me. "I wanted to give her a little bit of the eternal life she lost. Even if only on the page. For them both."

I rose then. And I was by her side in an instant. I kissed her cheek just once, then, and took the tapes and left out the window, fast enough that she wouldn't be able to perceive it.

She was as good as her word though. My name never went to print again without her delivering me an advance copy and allowing me to make any alterations to my own story that I so desired. And when we met face to face again, years later, and this time in the company of Lestat, and others of my kind, we never mentioned that first meeting. I believe she told Daniel the tapes were destroyed when the roof leaked. But I knew when she looked at me. There was something there. Something different.

No. It wasn't a cool, strange respect we shared. But a cool, strange love. The love of those who know each other's grief a little too well.

#the vampire chronicles #louis de pointe du lac #the vampire lestat #lestat de lioncourt #the vampire claudia #anne rice vampires #anne rice

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grat10grottenblog · 2 years

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Aseprite Export to Live2D Cubism (Old)

Short Tutorial on how i export from Aseprite and import it into Live2D Cubism!

Note: This way works fine for Inochi2D too!

Note²: This Tutorial is Outdated and may not be up to my standards anymore

This is basicly a short Tutorial on how to export and import a pixelart Live2D Model. this is somewhat close to what this tutorial i made a long ago goes over. but this focuses on only exporting... hope you find it somewhat useful :>

Tutorials on Steam

How to build up your Pixel-Live2D-Model

How to Export a Pixel-Live2D-Model from Aseprite to Live2D Cubism

How to Rig a Live2D Pixel-Model

Tutorials on Newgrounds

How to build up your Pixel-Live2D-Model

How to Export a Pixel-Live2D-Model from Aseprite to Live2D Cubism

How to Rig a Live2D Pixel-Model

Quick Before we start, we need to be sure you have everything needed!

First and formost you need a copy of Aseprite

Then you also need the "Export as PSD script" for Aseprite by Tsukina-7mochi on Github!

You also need a Copy of Gimp (its free dw)

And of course a Copy of Live2D Cubism (has free trail)

First and formost make a pixelart Model ready for export, this sounds a lot harder then it actually is. just follow any Live2D model Tutorial on how to seperate layers, it should look something like this when done -v-

Heres how my layers looked before Exporting!

And here is how my Model looked before exporting!

Now that the model is ready and done we should start preparing for exporting!

REMEMBER TO BACK UP YOUR FILE (the next parts can crash Aseprite)

First thing we need to do is Resize the model sence Live2D doesnt really handle models at pixel level i dont think :/

Just move over to your [Sprite] Bar and mouse over and click on "Sprite Size..."

Then this menu should open up, if the Lock Ratio isnt ticked off already then do that. now resize the model by a large amount.

i normally export mine by 5000% you can use % instead of pixels in the lower bars... (The model was orginally 55 x 110)

if you by mistake resize and save over your model, you can also do math to crush it back to its original size through the size menu aswell

Then after the resizing is done, we can start exporting, this is where we use the "Export as Psd" script you needed to install in the Intro.

Mouse over your files Tab then over your Scripts Tab and then click on "Export as Psd".

This Menu Opens up, you can click on the file name to decide where to place the file (thats a good idea to control if it exports correctly first of all :>)

then when you click export you should see Aseprite Crawl to a halt because you just set a 5000x5000 pixelfile to export with a script ment to handle small pixels like 100x100, this freezes the Aseprite. BUT DONT CLOSE IT. just leave it

go take a walk or something else for about 30mins or more (Time can take like 5-30ish) for an export, so just go do something else. :>

And when you come back something like this will probably be here! now its fully exported out into a .Psd file, but a catch. its *Broken* Oh nooooo Right? nope, we can fix it (its broken in a way making it not able to import into live2D Cubism yet...)

Open the file up with Gimp!

Just select the file and make it open with Gimp ether way is fine -v-

Then it should open up.. with an Error Oh no oh god! nope still not a problem just click ok

we just need to use Gimps inbuilt .Psd Exporter because that works!

so just go and export it and make it replace the Old psd, because its broken and not good for anything anyways

Now you basicly have a working .Psd. that you can just Drag over Live2D Cubism! :>

And after that the model is now safe and sound in the Live2D Cubism Editor, Now you can start Rigging you new Model and impress all you friends! :>

But i also have some Refrences for you soon to be Pixelmodel rigger!

Old Tutorial on Pixelmodel Exporting and Rigging by Me

Live2D paralax effect X axis by @poribakete137

i also have made Vods/Recordings of me making my Models if you would like to look over my shoulder while i make one of these!

Drawing the Grat-Grot-10-Berg Model (The One Shown)

Rigging The Grat-Grot-10-Berg Model (The One Shown also)

My Live2D Rigging/Drawing Playlist about 10 Vods so far!

But thats about it! i wish you the best of luck on making your own model now, and i hope it looks fantastic! and if you wanna show you cuz i'd love to see lol, you can find me on twitter @GratGrottenberg dont fear to dm me :>

BYE BYE!!! :>

#Vtuber #live2D #inochi2D #pixel #pixelart #aseprite #gimp #vtuberen #pixel graphics

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criticalbennifer · 9 months

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Why Ben Affleck and his film editor rough cut scenes on set for the ‘Air’ actors

By Jordan Lee

January 8, 2024

There’s an ensemble scene late in Ben Affleck’s shoe-centric saga, “Air,” in which principal cast members, including Affleck as Nike founder Phil Knight, are seated at a boardroom table as rookie Michael Jordan decides whether to sign with the underdog shoe company.

“They already know the story, they already know Michael Jordan, they already know how it ends,” Affleck tells The Envelope about building drama in a scene that everyone already knows the outcome to. “They better be learning information that’s new and kind of interesting or has to be genuinely funny. And it all has to be rooted in reality.”

The tipping point comes when Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, addresses Jordan directly. “A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it, and then it has meaning. The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness. We need you in these shoes not so you have meaning in your life, so we have meaning in ours. Everyone at this table will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up, except for you. You’re going to be remembered forever, because some things are eternal. You’re Michael Jordan, and your story is going to make us want to fly.”

The monologue, made all the more famous after Donald Trump used it without permission in an ad for his 2024 presidential bid, was by screenwriter Alex Convery but rewritten by Affleck and Damon to reflect the price of fame. It’s part of the process for Affleck, a two-time Oscar winner, who welcomes dialogue input from all his cast members, who include Viola Davis, Chris Tucker and Jason Bateman.

“Writing is creating the word, but it really is a process of acting, especially with great actors. The way I earned trust on this movie was by having editorial on the set,” offers Affleck, who invited his editor, William Goldenberg, to rough-cut scenes for actors to observe before moving on. “I think they all found a great place to be, and I think that’s because they were able to see the movie as they were filming it.”

An Oscar winner for “Argo” and veteran editor of such movies as “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Heat” and “The Imitation Game,” Goldenberg had no compunction about letting so many cooks into the kitchen. “I don’t usually get to meet the actors, so on that level it was fun,” he says. “Ben and I have worked together for a long time. I know his sensibility, he knows mine, so we’ve developed a shorthand together.”

As lifelong friends, Affleck and Damon last appeared together in Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel.” But “Air” represents a creative collaboration between them not seen since the beginning of their careers on their breakout hit, “Good Will Hunting.”

“The person who ends up with the stronger opinion tends to win out,” Affleck says about any on-set differences between himself and Damon. “I have respect for him, and I think there’s a reason why he feels so strongly about it. The fights are about who cares more about this. What’s interesting with Matt is I have to earn his respect like I would with any other actor. He doesn’t want to be in a bad movie. He’s not doing me any favors. And I wouldn’t expect him to treat this any differently.”

Their most significant collaboration to date is Artists Equity, a new production company formed with Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital. Employing an innovative business model, they aim to streamline the production process and partner with creators who will share in the commercial success of projects. “Air” is the company’s first production, with a couple future projects in the works — “The Instigators,” starring Damon, Casey Affleck and directed by Doug Liman, and “Small Things Like These,” directed by Tim Mielants and produced by Cillian Murphy, who leads a cast starring Ciarán Hinds and Emily Watson.

“It’s very director-based, it’s very rooted in treating people fairly and reflecting what people bring to the project,” Affleck says of Artists Equity, mentioning another project — “Unstoppable,” Goldenberg’s directorial debut, currently in production.

“It happens there’s a phenomenal part for Jennifer in it,” Goldenberg notes, mentioning Affleck’s wife, Jennifer Lopez, who plays mother to Anthony Robles, a three-time All-American wrestler born with just one leg. “She’s extraordinary to work with. She’s a consummate professional and so helpful to me as a first-time director, whether it’s blocking or little script changes or ideas for her character.”

Affleck has been burned in the past, working with Lopez on “Gigli,” a 2003 rom-com that got scorched by critics and was a box office flop. But that didn’t keep him from producing “Unstoppable,” although he won’t be appearing in the movie.

“With Jen, it was more like she would come home and talk about her day and how it’s going. And I’m secretly trying to find out about dailies,” he says. “I work with my wife the same way I work with Matt or any of the other actors in a movie. The whole thing is geared around respecting the contribution of these incredible artists and what they bring, and giving them the environment and the space to do their best stuff.”

Reflecting on his Oscar wins — in 1998 for the “Good Will Hunting” screenplay, which he co-wrote with Damon, and in 2013 for best picture winner “Argo,” which he produced and directed — Affleck notes that such honors can change your work life but not your inner life.

“I won the Oscar as a very young guy,” he says. “I did appreciate how meaningful it was, and it really changed my career. My life changed overnight. Before that show and after, my life has never been the same. And the second time, I’d been through a lot and had sort of managed to be all over the place in terms of ups and downs, and it was nice for me to be affirmed as a director. But one of the things it told me was it doesn’t make you feel any better or any different. A lot of people go through a depression, because they get the thing they thought their whole life was supposed to be a meaningful thing, and they find ‘This doesn’t change anything about how I feel.’ ”

#ben affleck #william goldenberg #air movie #unstoppable #2024 #los angeles times

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back-and-totheleft · 2 years

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The World According to Oliver Stone

The three-time Academy Award winner sat down with Palm Springs Life to discuss his documentary career and his expanding nonfiction legacy.

What is your history with Palm Springs?

I bought a place in 1979 in Palm Desert, where I used to go with my former wife and child. In the 1990s, my mother, who lived in New York, took a liking to the weather and social life in the Coachella Valley and ended up moving here. I occasionally spend weekends with her. I always find the desert a beautiful place. I sleep well, it’s comfortable, and it’s a good place to catch up. I think I’ve shot two or three scenes in the deserts around here.

How did you get into documentary filmmaking?

I never intended to specifically go into it. It was an offshoot of filming features. Often in my feature work, I would sometimes veer toward the documentary style as an approach. At NYU film school, we shot low-budget films with real people all the time. Some of them had real-life roles to play. I remember a big documentary I worked on in 1970 called Street Scenes about the student protests against the Cambodian invasion. We had our cameras smashed by construction workers on Wall Street. Martin Scorsese, one of our teachers at the time, ended up being the supervising director/editor, so to speak, and the film was released in the New York Film Festival at that time. The film school was filled with a lot of provocative people who, like Occupy Wall Street, wanted to bring change to the world. Later, after I had done many features, I felt the need to go back to the “real” world. I had always done a lot of research on the features involving real people, and documentaries were a continuation of that.

How did you come to make three documentaries about Fidel Castro?

By happenstance, a friend of mine, Fernando Sulichin, a Spanish producer born in Argentina, had access; and we took advantage of it. We ended up spending five days in Cuba, three of which we were shooting with [Castro]. After our initial seven-hour dinner, a breakthrough was achieved; and he allowed us to film him without cutting. For me, it’s a fascinating inside look at how a man like that works and thinks. I think whatever your politics or ideologies may be, you can learn a lot by just looking into the eyes of the man. I personally feel the camera reveals a genuine man.

In any case, the anti-Castro forces in this country were so upset at the idea of him presenting his own point of view in a film to the American public that they were heavily criticizing my film before it was seen. There was a limited showing at Sundance in January 2003, and all sides jumped on it like a political football. To make a long story short, HBO was about to release it and was advertising it on the air with two weeks to go when suddenly Castro cracked down and executed some hijackers and put some dissidents in prison because there was an upsurge of what many feel was a CIA-sponsored rebellion on the island. HBO canceled the 90-minute documentary without any warning to me, and it has since never played in the mainstream.

They did agree, eventually, to finance a second film where I went back to Cuba to question him about the previous incidents and why he cracked down on the dissidents as well as the hijackers. His responses are on camera. The film is called Looking for Fidel; and, frankly, I have never seen Castro grilled like this. I don’t think he would ever allow it, and at times he does get upset with me. Although I kept pressing him on all the issues the U.S. State Department wanted answered, I don’t think he could answer any of them in a way that would’ve been suitable to the U.S. bureaucrats. It is a film in which Castro truly unloads his inner feelings on the United States and politics.

And the third Castro documentary?

I returned in 2010, just before doing Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and we made another 60-minute film called Castro in Winter, a picture of him at his villa in retirement. We meet his wife briefly and his children. He was very open with me, and it has an autumnal mood. In the course of time, in all three films, what emerges is a portrait of a man and something that I feel very proud of. I do tend to root for the underdog; and I do think, in the end, that Castro has been the veritable underdog who has lasted through 10 American presidents.

Tell us about the other two documentaries being shown at the festival: Persona Non Grata and South of the Border.

In Persona Non Grata, we found ourselves in the heart of Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority, waiting for an interview with Yasser Arafat when the Israeli military invaded in 2002. The film is quite interesting and has many elements of humor. We talked to many sides. We visited Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, and Benjamin Netanyahu, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would not meet. On the Palestinian side, we met with the earliest version of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. They were young, masked, and very dedicated. They told us a story that, I think, needed to be heard. I think the film is recognized as being balanced and well reviewed, but not many people have seen it. It came and went rather quickly on HBO.

South of the Border is about a new South America that North Americans do not really know about. The evolutions in these countries have been occurring ever since the International Monetary Fund essentially forced a set of conditions on them in the 1980s and ’90s that really backfired. From this grew a series of democratic elections in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil that upset the map of South America. Suddenly, the United States was being chased off the continent, except for its bases in Colombia.

We treated it like a real road trip. I met with seven presidents; and it goes by pretty fast, so we can’t deal with all the problems in South America. But we are saying, “Meet these people. These are the new leaders, and they are all saying the same thing: ‘Enough of the Yankee mentality, and enough of the IMF!’” It took a lot of guts to do what they did. A special highlight [in the film] is President Néstor Kirchner of Argentina talking with George W. Bush about [Kirchner’s] refusal to go along with the IMF positions. Kirchner took Argentina into bankruptcy, and emerged with a far stronger economy. Great story.

What motivates your recent interest in getting back into documentaries?

I think my children and the younger generation. I think it’s something I can contribute. I’ve been working on The Untold History of the United States for the past four years, and it is quite possibly the most difficult film I’ve ever worked on. It’s 10 one-hour shows that travel back and forth, not necessarily in chronological order, from 1900 to 2012. It’s an alternate study of history. It hardly covers all, but it does cover key points. For example, it questions the Cold War — who started it and why. I think it’ll turn some “old history” on its head. We take you through some of our policies and how they grew through time into an addiction to war and power. It’s perhaps the most powerful documentary I’ve done. There are no interviews; it’s all archival material, with the narrative written by Peter Kuznick, who is a professor of nuclear studies at American University in Washington, D.C., and me. It comes out on Showtime in May. That’s the plan right now.

How do you feel critics will react to your take on U.S. history?

One can never say, but I’m sure some of them will be very negative and will make fun. But there’s a strength to this thing. It’s like leaving behind a legacy. This is for the kids, for the future. You didn’t hear about this history, because I didn’t get it in school — and I went to some pretty good schools. I want to finish my life right. I want it to be the best work I’ve done.

The other documentaries I enjoyed, but they were essentially road movies. This is a classic documentary done with style, editing, and a narrative that will make it entertaining to watch World War II without saying, “Oh, I’ve seen his before.” That’s the secret. It’s the hardest thing to do, to make something fresh.

Why do people think you’re controversial?

I’m not looking for fights. I just don’t want to run from what I think is the truth.

-Matthew Link, "The World According to Oliver Stone," Palm Springs Life, Feb 9 2012 [x]

#oliver stone #documentaries #persona non grata #south of the border #comandante #fidel castro #the untold history of the united states #palm springs

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sweetswesf · 2 years

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A Long Overdue Update...And This One's a Juicy One...Pt. 2

Continued from Pt. 1

Tumblr did me DIRTY and deleted everything I wrote for my part 2. Talking about I CRASHED the editor. *EYEROLL!!!*

I'm angryyyyyyyy I had so much there...Sigh...I'm already pretty stressed...This has happened before...let's start again...

I woke up to an email. Got let go. Company was sad they had to make the decision to lay off 13% of the workforce. I was angry, sad. Stayed in bed for hours and didn't work out, but did get up to do some self care, eat (real meals...a lot!), and wash the dishes. I took a nap, woke up, and realized I was laid off and just felt so low. I also kept telling myself, "I hope I don't stay this way forever. The road ahead is not clear and I have no clue how these next few months will go. I can see how people turn to vices or spiral out of control. I will be okay, but for many, bad situations like this are extremely hard to recover from. I can't imagine anything worse. I can't judge anyone either." Homelessness did cross my mind as an irrational fear, but I could see how something like that could happen for many without opportunity. Please just trying to get it right. Thank God I have support around me, but a lot of people don't. I've always known that but empathized a bit more that day. One bad day leading to a pattern of bad habits. I felt sick.

I was one of two Black software engineers, to my knowledge, that got let go, and one of two engineers on my team that got let go. The other engineers in both situations were on leave. It hurt. It felt like a rug was ripped out from underneath me. This was the only tech company I have worked at, the company I have been at for over the past 6 years, and joined when I was 22 (I'm now 29). I was overwhelmed. So much so, I ate the remaining pack of red vines on my nightstand for breakfast.

I caught myself comparing myself and even secretly hoped I wasn't the only one in my apprenticeship cohort that was let go. It was true though. I hope my force to be positive and protect my ego during this time doesn't make me miss out on my lesson. Maybe this was supposed to happen. Maybe I just wasn't ready. Maybe my next spot will be better.

Back in high school I was so sad I didn't get into UCLA, but USC was where I belonged the whole time. Back when I was about to start my bootcamp, I was mad my manager did not let me take a sabbatical and was mad when I found out he was let go literally MONTHS after I decided to leave. But had I not gone by that time, who's to say I would have made the transition because the pandemic came the next year and trying to make a transition at that time would have been SO MUCH HARDER. I could still be in FINANCE! YIKES!

···

GIF by zemenipearls

A lot of people came to my help though. I thought of everything I should do. Moving back home was not an option: no one has a room for me and I haven't heard from my parents or grandfather in so long. My grandmother, although shady when she calls, has been the only one with well wishes when she does. Ehh. I felt like my life was very hard. I thought of moving away but everything would be just as expensive as staying with moving costs and such and the time suck it would be and I kind of need to keep as many things as I can control stagnant so I can focus. I thought of taking some time off but to do what? Mope & watch YouTube? Not smart to take a big financial trip, and traveling ANYWHERE is a big financial trip at this point with rent this high and no promise of income after mid-January 2023. Maybe it'll serve as motivation TO go somewhere WHEN I get hired. I made schedule and figured this was probably for my best. I didn't think I'd be one and thought back to all the warnings a paranoid colleague of mine had about us potentially being on the chopping block. We both were. Layoffs like these are not always due to performance, but I can't help but feel that that was a part of my story too. Maybe I just was not ready. I had been working a LOT but finally getting to a place where I was catching my rhythm and told myself to just stay focused.

This post was longer and had more passion and detail but Tumblr has me HOT. Maybe it was not meant to be posted. I thought of getting a sugar daddy for a hot second. I thought of pursuing acting, being a rap tour manager, taking my app to a start up accelerator. Listen to the advice of haters who prompted me with, "Are you going to do something completely different?" BITCH YOU WISH!!! I know I just expressed my thoughts of probably doing something else, but coming from one of the haters, it felt like hate. She been a confirmed hater for a while. My internship ended around the time when people got laid off in 2020, so she thought I was one until I came back. When I came back, her post in the channel was, "How are people being able to come back so quickly?" People weren't getting hired back, she didn't know the logistics of my internship, so it looked like I was let go and hired back. I called her out publicly in the same channel. She's attempted at friendship pretty poorly since then. She suggested we even hang out when she NEVER has offered but has had many opportunities to in the past. "You should write down what you REALLY want to do," came from an old lady in my network. Girl bye. I'm on this mission and I'm going to get it.

But I did have thoughts. Maybe this was a sign that I need to do something else. But I told myself, "No, that's the devil." I like how this is challenging me. Who it's forcing me to become. I feel like it is in line with what I believe God's purpose for my life is and that's to heal and help heal. Build generational wealth. Be a lender, not a borrower. Help others. Work hard but live comfortably. I had improved. It's been challenging. It's forced me to think about my health more and has drawn me close to him. But I'll keep listening and hope that a bit of pride isn't wrapped up in my decision to keep going along this path too. Sometimes I feel like there is SOO much for me to learn and will I thrive elsewhere and not just be SURVIVING which I feel like I have been doing my whole career? Do I love it? No, but I am learning a lot, and it's allowed me to have multiple investments and streams of income...kinda, on that last point lol. I now only have 1 stream and that stream is pennies, but I'll get another stream back.soon..

The next day, a friend reached out who was also laid off but not at my company and recommended me for a role. He said helping people helps him get out of his funk. That was sweet of him. I am reminded that his cousin sexually assaulted me on his couch two Summers ago, but he didn't know about it, it wasn't his fault, and I wasn't going to remind him.

It encouraged me though. I updated my resume, scheduled some calls with some recruiters, put a weekly check-in meeting on the calendar with some folks who were also laid off, and put my name on the list recruiting circulates to help laid off folks find placements sooner. This could have been worse! I could have been fired solo. That would have been even more embarrassing. But if I want to get to a place of TRULY not caring what people think, I have to shake the ego off. I even scheduled a meeting with an old teammate who's at the company that's on the top of my list of places I want to be. I didn't know that she had left and I didn't know she was there. We've had a FEW encounters in the past. She wanted to help when I was an apprentice. We had a weird encounter then, and I think it was partially due to my ego. Kinda regretting that now. I don't know if she peeped game. We've been cordial since. She also used to be on my team when I started with my most recent team. We haven't gotten close, but maybe all these run ins where just a set up for this next big step. It's also a reminder that, you never know when you'll need someone on your side, and burn bridges if you must, yes, but do so strategically. Not everyone has to know how you TRULY feel. I'm trying to take my own advice and remain humble. Learn from my past mistakes. Whatever will be will be...I'm hoping it's in God's plans and that what I'm hoping to come true will and that it's the best thing for me in God's eyes. Here are the things I want to master and my proposed schedule plan:

Going to focus on algoexpert, interview cake, codewars, and leetcode.

So in addition to these learning goals, I'm going to stay on my health goals and get down to my desired weight. I'll take some time off before my next role starts. I can't imagine I'll take some time off before then. This is all that's on my mind. I'll get some time to focus on the things I wanted to learn but just didn't have time to at work. I was out of balance and hopefully this allows me to get back on track. If I have to dip into savings, so be it. Thank God I have them. I can't eat out as much or buy as much, but I don't need much these days anyway. I feel like I'm pretty good on what I have. Not too dazzled by the restaurant options in SF. I've tried a lot and can wait a little while. At least I can mope and not take care of myself on the days it is really hard instead of having to be a person in front of a spouse or children or have to find a job before I get kicked out of the country because it's against my visa like others who are not citizens like me. Can't travel as much, but I will again soon. This won't be forever. It just pushes those goals out a bit to achieve some others that God wants me to focus on. And it'll bring me even closer to him. Focusing on the blessings. Trying to at least. It will be a rollercoaster, but it will make me better. Part of the fear is that I have tried to master these concepts before but also get fatigued. And maybe that's because I've consistently had the promise of a job where that wouldn't be tested...but it is now. So I will have to become a different person to elevate. Maybe spend less time on these social media sites. Eat better. Stay hydrated. I'm already so tired but I have no choice but to do it. Failure or giving up is not an option here.

Also, RIP Takeoff. This week was ROUGH! This year has been rough. But tomorrow is a new day...Although my life has genuinely felt rough, I have accomplished a lot, am much more independent, am much more confident, have been in my apartment solo now for a year, and I'm still here and of pretty good health.

I hope to keep this thing updated more often on this journey in hopes that it is helpful to you. I hope to do it weekly. I hope you'll tune in, read, comment, share. I'll leave you with some videos that encouraged me (even though I don't really love Dave Chappelle):

youtube

Y'all be blessed!

#female software engineers #software engineer #software development #software engineering #software #computer science #computers #computer #fired #let go #laid off #layoffs #tech layoffs #python #javascript #Youtube #christian

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robynthomsonnapierfilm · 2 years

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Moth! - Meeting 1: reworking the script

After being confirmed as the cinematographer on Moth!, I immediately started jotting down any shot ideas that came to mind (these will be spoken about in more detail at a later date) as I was reading through Lilith’s latest copy of the script. I always find this is a great method for me when first joining a project as a cinematographer. Whenever reading through a script I enjoy, I get flooded with ideas and different ways I visualise scenes, and so writing them all down immediately keeps my thoughts in order. It also gives me a good jumping off point later down the line when telling the soon-to-be-confirmed director what I had in mind to ensure we are on a similar page before I can go ahead with putting in more detail and finalising shot ideas.

When I joined the team, Lilith was already writer and Kate was already confirmed as producer. We wanted to get an editor on board quickly as we had a couple people in mind and were wary of them being confirmed by other film groups before us. Luckily, one of those people – Brönte – was also very keen to work on Moth!, and so, our team of three became four.

Not long after that, the four of us sat down to have our first meeting as the Heads of Departments. This meeting took place on 6th October 2022. We all mutually agreed the script needed some reworking around its timeline of its events, how prominent some characters should be over others, etc. and so we dedicated this meeting to develop these things as a team.

We all made sure to keep Lilith’s original vision for her script in mind, and having only recently joined the team, going over it in detail allowed Brönte and I to gain more connection and insight into the characters/story.

Here’s a photo of our whiteboard after having worked through the script:

It shows the way in which we split the script into 3 main parts, with sub-parts within each one. We took our time moving number around until we all landed on an outline we agreed on – with Lilith getting the final say as writer, of course.

All in all, the meeting deemed really helpful for everyone involved and was a good example that we all work well as a team. Lilith’s next step is to rework the script. Mine will be to create a mood board to show the team what I have in mind as cinematographer in terms of colour palette, lighting, and general style of cinematography.

#Moth!

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horanghaejamjam · 2 years

Text

Calico: Chapter 4

Story Summary: Now that he is a successful business owner and financially stable,Yoongi felt it was finally time to welcome a hybrid into his home. What he didn’t expect, was a chance meeting with the young calico that would steal his heart.

Chapter Summary: After Mika expresses her loneliness, Yoongi decides to start bringing her to work.

Pairing: CEO Yoongi x Calico hybrid OC.

Mentioned Pairings: Hinted potential Bunny hybrid Jungkook x Calico OC. Jin x Wolf hybrid Namjoon. Taehyung x Cat Hybrid Jimin

Rating: PG

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: Images used in header are not mine. All written work is 100% my own, editors and beta readers will be credited as needed. Do not copy, translate, or repost my work onto other sites without my permission.

Previous Chapter . . . Next Chapter

Calico Masterlist

The others visiting became a much more common occurrence now. Not that Yoongi minded too much, just happy everyone was getting along, but he still enjoyed the peace of being alone in his own home. With the exception of the super playful cat girl that lived with him. The more comfortable Mika got living with him, the more hyper she got as well. Always curious, always getting into trouble, and always wanting Yoongi’s attention.

“Yoongi!” speak of the devil, the calico was now pulling at his sleeve while he was working on his computer.

“Yes Kitten?” he asked, not tearing his eyes away from the screen.

“Play with me!” she whined as she tugged harder on his sleeve. It took everything in Yoongi’s power not to smile at her antics, opting to gently nudge her off instead.

“I’m busy Mika, we can play later,” he said. Clearly, she didn’t like this, as he heard a huff before feeling her move off the couch. Looking up from his computer, he couldn’t help but smile a bit as she pouted up at him from her new position on the floor. “Now what is that look for?” he asked.

“You’re always busy!” Mika whined, “you never spend time with me!”

“I have to work Mika, this house doesn’t pay for itself after all.”

“But you work all week,” she pointed out, “I never get to see you and when you’re here you work too. Why don’t you want to spend time with me?” Yoongi frowned a bit when he heard this. It’s not like he meant to ignore her, it’s just that work was really dragging him along recently. Then again, that wasn’t something he expected the young hybrid to understand when she was still so unfamiliar with how the world worked. From her perspective, it just felt like he was leaving her alone all day.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, leaning forward a bit to scratch behind her ears, “give me another hour or two to finish what I’m doing, and then we’ll go out for dinner and ice cream, sound good?” Mika immediately perked up at the mention of the frozen dessert and nodded.

“Promise?” she asked.

“I promise,” Yoongi assured, messing up her hair a bit before returning to his work while Mika busied herself with one of her scratching posts. If it weren’t for specific incidents where she showed off how smart she was, Yoongi would have assumed she was more cat than human.

True to their word, she left him alone long enough to finish his work, eventually tiring herself out and falling asleep in her sunbathing spot. It was a spot under the windows that she had fitted with a few blankets and pillows because, “The floor is too hard and there’s not enough sun in my room.” Turning off his laptop, Yoongi smiled as he watched her for a moment, admiring how peaceful she looked before standing up and going to get changed so they could go out. Instead of hanging his full outfit, he replaced his sweatshirt with a fitted black turtleneck and brushed his blonde bangs out of his face. After deciding not to freshen up with makeup he made his way back to the living room and over to the sleeping Calico. As gently as possible, he kneeled down and shook her awake.

“Mika,” he whispered, “it’s time to go.” Mika groaned a bit before her eyes fluttered open, looking up at him for a minute as she fully woke up. Yoongi chuckled a bit and brushed her hair from her eyes, “Why don’t you go fix your hair real quick so we can go?” Another tired groan was her response before she nodded and sat up, taking a moment to stretch as she made her way to the bathroom. Chances were, she wasn’t going to change as he did, but she was still presentable enough to go out so Yoongi didn’t mind too much. Wearing dark leggings and an oversized sweater (that was actually his), combined with her small size, she actually looked pretty cute.

The place that Yoongi settled on was a small café that was only a block away from his company building. He had gone there once for his lunch break and, while not usually his style, the food there was actually pretty good. Given that this was only Mikas’ second time leaving the house with him, he didn’t want to overwhelm her by going somewhere that would be crowded. Not to mention he didn’t feel like dressing up and going through the hassle of eating somewhere more high-end either, and some of those places were still very sensitive about hybrids. So, all things considered, this place was a win-win. Mika couldn’t help but look around as they exited the car, her owner having to grab onto her wrist to make sure that she didn’t wander off and get lost.

Thankfully they arrived just before the usual dinner rush so they were seated almost immediately. Yoongi thanked the host with a small bow and glanced down at the menu while Mika opted for staring out the window. If this is how she reacted every time they went out, then he may have to start bringing her with him more when she got her better collar. He was already in the discussion of getting one made with a friend of his after observing the cat long enough to find her preferences. Honestly, neither of them were really much for conversation so he had learned most of what he knew about her either from observation, information Hoseok received and relayed to him, or passing comments Mika had made on her own. It wasn’t much, but given how long they had been living together, it was good enough.

Other than her personality, he knew a bunch of small facts about the hybrid. She was born in Japan and brought to Korea by her new owner. She was part of a litter of two but was separated from her brother when she was adopted. She is very sensitive to the cold, she loves music, and, most importantly, he found out that she has a major allergy to apples. Thankfully the last one he found out from Hoseok and not by accidentally feeding her the dreaded fruit. Yoongi was protective enough over the female as is, so her being hurt because of him would have devastated him.

“Mika,” he called out softly, snapping the calicos’ attention back to him, “you need to tell me what you want so we can eat. You can stare out the window afterward.” Mika hummed a bit as she turned to sit down properly. “Do you know what you want?” Yoongi asked after another few minutes, to which Mika pouted and shook her head. He hummed and leaned forward so that they were looking at the menu together. “Well, what do you like?” he asked, getting the exact same response as the first question.

“I don’t know,” Mika whined, “what can I have?”

“Whatever you want,” Yoongi replied with an assuring smile. Realizing very quickly that they were getting nowhere, he decided to help with a few more questions. “You like meat right?” she nodded, and action that he copied, “any specific type of meat?” She shook her head which caused him to frown a bit. “You also like vegetables right?” when she nodded again he sighed, “I need you to speak up kitten.”

“Yes,” she replied shyly, which made Yoongi smile.

“Do you prefer white or fried rice?”

“I’ve only ever had white rice.”

“Are you okay with spicy?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like noodles?”

“Depends on what they’re made with.” Well, at least they were getting somewhere, but it still wasn’t narrowed down enough. Looking at the menu again, Yoongi finally came up with an idea and nodded to himself.

“How about this,” he offered, “I’ll share my food with you and also get a few different side dishes for you to try and see what you like. Does that sound good?” Mika seemed a bit unsure but agreed anyways to avoid wasting more time.

The side dish idea actually worked out pretty well. The two of them managed to clean off most of the plates and Mika seemed satisfied with the food. Though choosing ice cream was definitely a lot easier for the Calico, who knew what she wanted before they had even entered the parlor. Yoongi hadn’t been in much of a mood for the cold treat, but he still got a milkshake for himself so that Mika wouldn’t feel guilty being the only one with ice cream. Once again she seemed fascinated with the outside world, with Yoongi having to guide her attention back to the table a few times before she fell out of her chair trying to see out into the street. There was a park nearby as well, if he remembered correctly, perhaps he could take Mika there as well. Not tonight though since he still had more work to do when they got home. Not that the female was very happy about this as she began to pout on the way back home.

“Why do you have to do more work?” she whined.

“Don’t give me that look,” Yoongi pouted back at her, “we went out and had fun so now I have to finish my job.” Mika wanted to say something but decided against it, huffing a bit as she stared out the window. Yoongi would probably have to sit down and talk with her about it all in more depth later, but he didn’t want to ruin the fun night they had now.

It was only later that night when Yoongi actually thought over Mika’s complaints. He was sat in bed on the phone with Jin, his hybrid companion having already fallen asleep an hour prior.

“She’s got a point you know,” Jin said, “you dedicate your whole life to your job.”

“Should I not? My family worked hard to get the company where it is today,” Yoongi argued. On the other end, he could hear the older sigh.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t care about your job Yoongi. In fact, I’m the last person that would tell you that. What I am saying is that you need to think about how she sees it. You work from sunrise to sunset every weekday, and then when the weekend comes, your days off, you bring work home with you. What else is she supposed to think?” This time it was Yoongis turn to sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

“What am I supposed to do?” he asked, “it’s not like I can just abandon my work because my hybrid needs my attention.” A few moments of silence passed between them, Yoongi was about to end the call before Jin finally spoke up again.

“Why don’t you just bring her to work with you?” it sounded like the most obvious solution in the world when his Hyung said it, and yet Yoongi hadn’t even considered it. “Your office is large enough to fit a crowd, just set up a corner for her to relax and there, problem solved! You get your work done and Mika gets to spend time with you.” Yoongi hummed a bit, thankful that Jin couldn’t see his current expression.

“Something tells me letting a curious cat girl loose in the office isn’t the best idea,” he argued, to which his friend scoffed.

“You let Jungkook and Jimin in the office, there is no way she is worse than they are,” he pointed out, “besides, if she gets bored she can just go hang out with them!”

“Because Tae definitely needs more distractions,” Yoongi muttered under his breath. Thankfully Jin didn’t hear that so he cleared his throat, “I’ll think about it. I should probably go to bed though before I stay awake all night again, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Yoongi,” with that the line went dead, again leaving Yoongi alone with his thoughts. It didn’t seem like he would be getting sleep tonight anyways.

Yoongi literally considered the option of bringing Mika with him up until the moment he was putting his shoes on and walking out the door, yet he still didn’t know if he made the right choice. Walking through the neatly laid out office building, he got quite a few stares from his workers. Partially because he was their boss so his presence alone demanded attention, but also because of the shy cat that was pressed against him as they walked. A few workers clearly tried to get closer to the hybrid since they had never seen her before but Yoongi was making it hard. Calmly shooing people away that tried to get too close and answering any questions directed at Mika.

Yoongis office, along with the rest of his higher-up staff, was located on the top floor of the building. It was a bit more open with offices and meeting rooms on either side, some with all windows and others that were closed off. There was also a mini breakroom in the middle of the floor and a reception desk at the front. There was a similar one on the first floor as well, but given this was where the higherups worked you usually needed an appointment to get up here. Mika also took note of the fact that there were significantly fewer people than on the lower floor, which made her a bit more comfortable. Yoongis office was at the very end and clearly the biggest. A shiny plate with the name “Mr. Min” etched beside the locked door separating them from the room. The interior was just as nice, an open room with floor-to-wall windows that allowed the sun to illuminate the room and a beautiful view of the city. Blackout curtains rested on either side for when Yoongi found the light to be too much. Multiple shelves and cabinets lined the walls, some containing books, pictures, and certificates Yoongi had received over the years. His desk stood proudly in the middle, the dark wood a stark contrast to the bright room with a large office chair resting behind it and two smaller chairs in front. In the corner was a small couch, that would probably become Mika’s area if she liked coming to work with him. After the addition of a few more blankets and toys of course.

“Now,” he said as he unlocked and opened the door to his office, stepping aside and allowing her to walk in first, “you are going to have to behave while I work and either stay in here or with Tae or Jin. Jin’s office is the one next to mine and Taes is right at the end of the hall. If you need to go anywhere else please let someone know so you don’t end up lost in this giant building okay?” Mika tilted her head a bit as she looked up at him before nodding. Yoongi smiled softly and ran a hand through her hair, “Good girl, let me know if you need anything.” He made his way to his desk as she got herself comfortable on the couch, stretching out and yawning softly. Yoongi had woken her up rather abruptly so she was probably going to end up falling back asleep in a few moments.

His suspicions were proven true when he looked over and saw her snuggled into the corner fast asleep, hugging herself with her legs pressed against her body. Not wanting her to get cold, Yoongi grabbed the blanket he brought and draped it over her softly before returning to his desk. The pile of documents in the corner demanded his attention and it would only get bigger as the day went on. Mostly contracts and signing off on new plans, so Yoongi managed to get through a lot of them within the first few hours of the day, occasionally looking over to make sure that Mika was okay. Other than opening her eyes for a moment or two or shifting around she remained asleep. That was until a knock at his office door startled her awake and almost made her fall off the couch. Yoongi gave her an apologetic glance before returning his attention to the door and calling out, “Come in.”

Mika watched quietly as the door opened and a woman walked in, dressed up in a pantsuit that matched what Yoongi was wearing. The hybrid couldn’t help but look down at her own outfit a bit and feel out of place. She didn’t have anything fancy to wear like the people that worked here. “Good morning Mr. Min,” she greeted with a soft bow, Yoongi nodding softly and motioning for her to take a seat.

“Good morning Jieun,” he greeted back. The two proceeded to start talking about some business plan that Mika couldn’t even remotely understand. Still, she listened in as if she did, wanting to feel like she was a part of the conversation. From what she had gathered, they were discussing a schedule change and an upcoming meeting he had with someone named…Kim? In all honesty, she stopped paying attention after that, deciding that the birds flying right outside the window were more interesting. It was then that the other two in the room were reminded of her presence. “Oh right,” Yoongi said, “Jieun, this is my new kitten, Mika. Mika, this is Jieun, my assistant, you’ll probably be seeing her a lot.”

Mika turned to look at the woman in question, giving her a soft, “Hello.”

“Nice to meet you, Mika,” Jieun greeted with a soft smile, “hopefully we can be friends.” She bowed her head slightly but Mika didn’t make an effort to move or say anything which caused the older woman to frown.

“She’s shy,” Yoongi explained, “give her time and she’ll warm up to you.” Jieun nodded before glancing at the clock.

“Well I should return to my desk, you should receive that email by the end of the day.” Yoongi nodded and stood up to see her out. As he did so, Mika decided to get up as well and make herself comfortable in his office chair. A soft giggle echoed through the room as she spun around a bit, only to be stopped by Yoongi.

“Excuse me miss, but that’s my chair,” he mused with a playful chuckle.

“I like your chair,” Mika exclaimed, “it’s big and it feels like you.”

“The couch is bigger Mika, surely that must be more comfortable,” Yoongi argued as he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her up. The second he sat down though, the calico had placed herself in his lap with her head on his shoulder. “Kitten, off,” he warned. The compromising position and the fact that anyone could walk in had heat rising to his cheeks at an alarming rate. If Mika noticed though, she didn’t care as she nuzzled into him.

“But why?” she whined, “I wanna cuddle.”

“We don’t cuddle in public Mika,” he scolded lightly, pushing her enough so she was looking at him, “I have to work and it’s not professional to be affectionate like this.” As gentle as he tried to be, she still got upset. Ears dropping to rest against her head and her lips forming that all too familiar pout. Yoongi sighed and looked around frantically for a bit before getting an idea, “You know what? Jungkook is here, why don’t you go spend time with him while I work? I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to cuddle with you.” He let out a sigh of relief when she perked up, slowly maneuvering her off of his lap and walking her to the door. “Like I said, Taes office is right at the end there. Do you see it?” he pointed to it as he spoke and waited for her to nod before moving away, “I’ll come get you when it’s time to go okay?”

“Can we cuddle when we get home?” she asked, causing him to wince a bit.

“Sure,” that answer seemed good enough as Mika quickly made her way down the hall and to Taehyung’s office. Yoongi stayed at the door to make sure she got there okay before closing it and returning to his desk. Seeing his reflection in his laptop screen, he realized how much he was blushing and quickly hid his head in his hands. He would definitely need to have a talk with Mika about boundaries later, at least when they were in public. Even if he tried to deny it, Yoongi really did enjoy the attention when they were alone or with friends. “Ugh,” he muttered to himself, “what is this girl doing to me?”

Taglist: None (To be added to Calicos taglist comment or message me)

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kingpreciouswrld · 3 years

Note

Hi luv, can you do a angst to fluff Miranda Priestly imagine where Andrea comes back to Runway to confess her feelings for Miranda, but Miranda is in a relationship w/ the reader and has to choose between them. At the end Miranda chooses the reader!

Wants and Needs

Title from Drake's song -"Wants and Needs"

Pairing: Miranda Priestly x Reader

Genre: Angst -> Fluff

Word count: 2k

A/N: God you know I'm a sucker for angsty Miranda 😫 I hope you like it! All mistakes are mine ;-;

__________

The phone landed on the sofa with a soft bounce as you sat back into your own chair with a sigh.

You just got a call from Nigel. He called you right when he got back from leaving Miranda’s office and told you that he saw her walking into the office.

Her being the infamous Andrea Sachs.

The young journalist was known as the one who walked away alive. And thanks to Nigel, you also knew Andrea as the girl who was in love with her ex-boss and your girlfriend, Miranda Priestly.

It wasn’t new information to those who knew the young journalist. Nigel had told you that the girl developed feelings for the editor during her tenure at Runway. So far, the girl never showed any interest in Miranda after she walked away in Paris, and you hoped it stayed that way.

Your relationship with Miranda wasn’t public and you liked it that way. Miranda wanted to keep things underwraps until the both of you were ready to face the numerous paparazzi, critics, and the unavoidable page six, but keeping things underwraps meant that no one knew the editor was taken.

There was no reason for the girl to be at Runway unless...no, no, you needed to use a wise mind. But the journalist wrote small columns in a mediocre newspaper, so why would she be in Runway’s offices?

You tried your best to not jump to conclusions but if anything, you had faith in Miranda. She didn’t like to be bothered during Runway hours unless it was a family matter so you knew she would ignore the girl.

You hoped she would.

You didn’t know much about how Miranda felt about Andrea, she never talked about it.

Either way, there was nothing you could do with the information you were given, you weren’t going to call Miranda at work,

So you just waited.

~~~~~~~

The shutting of the front door followed by heels clacking on tiled floors told you that Miranda was home.

You didn't need to check the time for it to tell you that Miranda was late, more late than usual.

You followed her movements with your hearing, never breaking your staring contest with the painting in front of you.

She was getting closer.

You didn’t have to tell her where you were, you didn't have the energy to anyway but she always came to the study to work on the book.

“Darling there you are.” Miranda bent down and pressed a small kiss to your forehead.

You responded with a hum and watched as your lover made herself comfortable on the sofa across from you.

“How was your day? Did you manage to turn in your project on time?” she asked as she put on her reading glasses before turning to the book.

You were too out of it to answer her questions. Your day was...fine, it was tolerable, but your mind was running at a thousand miles per second and it made you despondent.

Not getting a reply from you, Miranda looked up from the book, “Darling?” she asked softly, "is everything alright?"

"Hm?" Your eyes found icey blue ones that were filled with concern. "Oh, yeah–yes, everything's fine."

Satisfied with your response, Miranda sent you a soft smile before she returned her focus to the fashion pages in her lap.

The silence that followed swallowed you whole, only broken with the few scratches of Miranda's red pen and the flipping of pages.

"Why was Andrea at Runway today?"

At least you held off for longer than you thought you would.

Miranda's focus didn't falter, the only telltale sign that she heard you was the sharp inhale through her nose.

"What are you talking about darling?"

"Andrea Sachs. Why was she there?"

Miranda made no move to stop her work and you sighed,

"It's just a question Miranda."

Knowing that she couldn't get any work done until you were addressed, Miranda finally looked up at you, taking her glasses off in the process,

"If you must know, she was just there to talk."

"Okay," you nodded slowly, "talk about what?"

The white-haired editor fluffed her hair before she waved you off, "It's nothing, really."

"Miranda you never just 'talk' to someone during work let alone an ex-assistant who walked out on you. She worked for you Miranda, I thought you wouldn't be caught dead with someone like–"

"Do NOT talk about Andréa like that," Miranda snapped.

Miranda had never raised her voice at you and it made you physically flinch. She was defending Andrea.

For the first time since the relationship started, you were shaken. You couldn't read Miranda at all and it scared you.

Without warning, your mask slipped in place and you became eerily calm,

"What happened," you said quietly.

Miranda had gone back to the book albeit working slower than usual,

"The girl merely wanted to have dinner."

The puzzle pieces were settling into place. You could feel your stomach clench. Your heart sped up, and you felt your nerves set off as the waves of anxiety spread from your chest throughout your whole body,

"That's why you were late wasn't it…"

Miranda simply continued with her work as she pushed some of her bangs out of her eyes, "Don't be ridiculous Y/N, it was just about friends catching up."

"You never talked about her, you refused to talk about her, she isn't just a 'friend' Miranda."

There was a silent pause as you observed your lover. Her own mask was in place and she was blatantly ignoring the situation. She wouldn't even look you in the eye.

"She asked you out again, didn't she."

A whispered 'yes' cut through the silence.

You took a deep, steadying breath,

"What did you say."

Silence. Miranda returned to the book, turning the pages and making notes here and there. She never once acknowledged you, it was as if the editor shut you out completely.

It broke your heart.

"I hope having your fun is worth it."

You quietly approached the editor, making sure you didn't jostle the book in her lap, before you bent down and placed your own kiss on her forehead.

You couldn't bring yourself to say anything else. The answer of silence was an answer in itself.

Quietly leaving the study, you made your way up to your– to Miranda's bedroom and gathered your clothes into a duffle bag. You didn't want to stay here, you couldn't. You didn't know what all of this meant, it was too much for you to process, but you knew you had to leave.

~~~~~~~

A year of being together and a journalist is what comes between the two of you. A year. A fucking year.

And now, here you were, sitting alone in a hotel room for the 8th day in a row.

How easy it was for Miranda to look at another.

Throughout the week you did your best to not doubt yourself. You knew Miranda's curiosity had nothing to do with how you were as a person or a lover, but you couldn't help that little voice in the back of your head that questioned why you weren't enough to satisfy Miranda.

After the second day of being away from the editor, she started to blow up your phone. Calls on top of calls came through, even during Runway hours and Miranda never called you during Runway hours, maybe texted, but never called.

The night you left the townhouse was the last time you talked to Miranda. Even though she's made many, many attempts to reach you, you weren't ready. Those self-doubts made you hesitant to pick up any of the calls that came to your phone.

On the third day she started to get Nigel and Emily to contact you. You told Nigel what happened and he wasn't happy with what Miranda had done. Emily heard what happened the first time she had contacted you and the redhead wasn't thrilled either. Although Emily was hard to deal with at times, you knew she wanted the best for you and right now she didn't think Miranda was what's best for you. Either way, both of them knew the situation and both of them promised to keep your location underwraps.

That, in turn, caused Miranda to double her attempts (as if they weren't enough already).

She started to send gifts, flowers, anything the editor thought you might like.

When you would arrive at work, there would be a bouquet of flowers on your desk, then throughout the day more bouquets would follow. Hell the woman would send you chocolates, not the cheap ones either, the best chocolates money could buy in New York City. You started to find Roy waiting for you after work and despite your attempts of refusal, you caved in after he personally wanted to see you make it back to wherever you were staying, safely.

Every mutual friend you had with Miranda knew where you were and what had happened between you two, and each of them promised to keep quiet on the matter.

You knew you couldn't hide forever, you just didn't know when she'd finally find you.

A knock on your hotel door snapped you out of your thoughts.

Your breath hitched. It couldn't be Miranda right? You've managed to slip away for 8 days, surely you had more time.

Looking through the little peep hole, you felt your body relax before confusion passed over your features. You never ordered room service. Unless you did and just forgot about it.

You shrugged, 'Free food is free food.' You opened the door and followed the bellhop as he pushed the cart in. Taking a closer look, you found that the cart held a tray of your favorite foods with a basket of your favorite snacks.

"Um, excuse me, where did you get all of this?"

"You only deserve the best."

You whipped around and found Miranda standing in the doorway.

She looked as if she came from work. Her famously white hair had fallen out of it's usual coif and there were a few wrinkles on her blouse.

What surprised you was the fact that the usual poised editor was fidgeting with her fingers. You could practically feel the anxiety rolling off of her body in waves. It was only then that you noticed that the two of you were now alone in your hotel room.

Miranda didn't know where to start, "Y/N, I…" she took a deep breath, "I love you and I-I'm sorry for my lapse in judgement about the whole..Andréa spiel."

You watched as Miranda took tentative steps forward, gaining more confidence when she didn't get any refusal from you.

She took hold of your hands and pressed kisses to them both, "Darling, it's you. I love you and only you. There has never been a moment since you left that I haven't thought of you."

"Miranda…" you whispered softly.

She shook her head and squeezed your hands, "I need you. I should have never entertained the thought of life without you by my side. I choose you Y/N, I love you."

You bit your lip before you sent a small smile towards the editor and Miranda's eyes brightened. She pulled you into a crushing hug and she clung to you like a koala as she kissed any part of your body that was in reach: your shoulder, your neck, your hair. All the while, she whispered 'I love you's' and 'I'm sorry's' and 'Y/N' as if chanting these things would keep you two in the moment. You indulged in the love that was showered on you and you hugged Miranda back just as tightly.

Miranda finally settled to hide her face in the crook of your neck,

"How did you find me?"

Her response was muffled by your neck but you heard it all the same,

"I may have threatened Emily with the banning of cheese in the offices."

You snorted a laugh.

'Ratted out for cheese cubes..are cheese gift baskets a thing?’

__________

Devil Wears Prada tags: @007giu

#miranda priestly x reader #miranda priestly #the devil wears prada #meryl streep #meryl streep movies

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1ore · 2 years

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Hey, sorry if this is a bit out of the blue, but can I ask what programs/brushes you use? I've been trying to learn how to paint digitally, but it often feels so sterile, and I really struggle with it. I envy how well you are able to achieve a traditional look with digital tools, and would love to learn your secret.

I'd love to see a tutorial/process video by you too honestly, but that's more just wishful thinking - I know you probably have a lot going on.

Cheers, either way! (And wish me luck)

oh my god. I went and did all that organizing and almost forgot to let you know! I put together a tag containing all of my resources/materials/art process stuff. It also has every timelapse video I've done. Each video has process rambling + lists of brushes / materials used in their YT descriptions.

I have a hard time talking about my process like I'm any kind of authority, but I tried to think about it a little and share whatever i've found helpful, answer questions I've been asked in the past or struggled with myself, etc.

Re: emulating traditional media specifically:

ok, first of all. Disclaimer: it's not all about the tools.

but if you're a hack like me it sure feels that way!!!!

When I moved from Photoshop to Clip Studio Paint, a big growing pain for me was finding real media tools that felt good to use. It's pretty obvious in the art I made during that time. Both the tools that ship with the program and the tools made by the community felt like they for completely different styles/workflows than mine. It was a struggle to adjust, and I'm still feeling it-- I don't feel like I have *my* sketch brush, or *my* workhorse painting brush. I miss my brick shithouse lineart every day ):

BUT. but. I've found some keepers along the way. Even the ones that aren't perfect analogs are still pretty great at what they're meant to do. If you're thinking about using Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint, then I can share those toolsets-- I list a few of them in my 'about', and I talk about them in more detail on those timelapse vids. I'm very picky about how my tools handle so they're probably not for everyone, but maybe you'll find something that makes digital art a little more bearable in there.

There's also a lot to be said for the little things, like slapping a paper texture on that bad boy and calling it a day. Even just applying textures to the canvas before you draw does a lot to make the drawing experience feel like it has... idk... warmth, dynamism. Tooth. It's cozier in there when I can see the paper. Admittedly it's been so long since I last looked at my sketchbook that the harsh fluorescent lights of the blank canvas no longer faze me, but it's still good for the eyes and the soul.

Other tools/programs:

Apart from the stuff I use(d) in my main workflow, I've also played with some other programs that are specifically geared towards emulating traditional media.

Realistic Paint Studio - Reasonably priced real media art program that has a decently beginner-friendly interface. This is probably the one program that came with brushes I genuinely liked, right out of the box. They feel good to use + the engine does a pretty nice job of emulating wet media in particular.

Some draws:

^^^ This was a style emulation of the wonderful Fiachmara's art, and also a gift to her, featuring her character Gealach. Didn't originally intend on sharing this publicly, but I think it illustrates this program's knack for inks.

It can also do most of the digital art cheats that I need to do in Clip-- it has analogs for the selection tool, layers, clipping masks, etc. It does not have a brush editor, so you need to be sure that you like the brushes it ships with. I also find that none of the brushes scale up large enough to accommodate absurdly large canvases (5000x5000px+ ) so you'll be stuck working at... well... normal canvas sizes. (Gealach above was about 2000 px wide before resizing-- pretty reasonable LOL)

My only real complaint is you can't export your art without the canvas texture applied to it. One time the textures bugged out on me, and I couldn't get them to fix themselves (you can see the carnage here, RIP.) I've been scared that it'll do that again to me someday, but it's been completely stable apart from this one random flub.

And hey, it's got an Actually Good Pencil Brush, so. There's that.

Rebelle 5 - hoo boy this is big $$$$$, but the brush engine in this one is just. bonkers yonkers cool for emulating real media, especially oil, acrylic, and watercolor. (I'm admittedly lukewarm on its charcoal and pencil brushes. You can create your own brushes, but there's not a huge community that's into making custom brushes yet.)

It's a mighty little art program as far as I can tell. Has most of the bells and whistles Clip does, which is a lot of things that programs like Realistic generally won't have, but are kinda necessary if you want to get into the weeds with like... Advanced Digital Art Skullduggery. (things like gradient maps and tools for ripping lineart from scanned drawings. I think that's honestly it, as far as things I do in clip that are clip-exclusive.)

Doodles:

Rebelle asks you to think like a traditional artist when you're using its tools, particularly its watercolors. Ironically, I Do Not Like This! I want to have my cake (real media tools) and eat it too (dont want to use my brain). But I think it might appeal to you for bringing some of the process into the digital space. If nothing else, it's novel to watch the paint dry.

(thats a real mechanic in rebelle)

((its fantastic, but I am allergic to it (see point one) (((dont want to use my brain ): )))))

if you play with the demo and find that it scratches that real media itch for you, might be worth reaching out for a student discount or something like that. They have educator licenses and student licenses and generally seem like a pretty accommodating lot.

Another disclaimer: these are just the tools that I've played with recently and have used enough times to talk about. There's lots of other stuff out there that I've tried but didn't like, and it could very well be that I didn't like them for the same reasons that you'll love them. There's a ton of really good free/open source programs in particular that I feel like I would be using if I didn't already have my workspace carved out. Krita and MyPaint stick out in my mind. (MyPaint was my main program for a Long time in highschool. come remember my baby art with me. )

ok its 3 am I need to close this out:

I'm tapping my other disclaimer again. Tools are not the end-all-be-all of making digital art that emulates traditional media. Pieces like No Dominion and this pic of Dia and co. required some actual neurons to fire when I was figuring out how to tackle them. But for me, finding the right tools and creating the right workspace for myself was a stupidly big part of getting comfortable with digital art. I have to take care of the little QOL things like that before I can even begin to worry about the big things OTL

#uncaptioned #my brain is a scrambled egg. if I reread this in the morning and it doesnt make any fucking sense: sorry!!!!!!!!#but THANK YOU for reaching out I hope something in there catches your interest.#I talked an inordinate amount about tools because I talk more about process stuff in the tag above + on those vids #and i hadnt really talked about how weirdly important it was for me to have these cheap gimmicks to make art look Good #before i could worry about the bigger things like studying the blade #really anything that lowers the barriers to Having Fun is vitally important to me #1ore doesn't want to use her art blog

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ffamranxii · 3 years

Text

HAIKYUU!! COUPLES HEADCANONS

DAISUGA

-Daichi goes to the gym to work out. Suga goes to the gym to ogle Daichi

-Suga has a massive sweet tooth

-Daichi cooks, Suga cleans

-Suga is a little shit who is not above seducing Daichi in public. He can say the most lewd things without batting an eye while Daichi blushes furiously

-Daichi and Kuroo once hooked up at training camp. They do not talk about it

-Daichi is good friends with Michimiya and Kiyoko. Suga is closer to Asahi

-Daisuga rarely fight and are often asked for relationship advice. Daichi tries to discourage this because “guys I didn’t realize Yui had a crush on me or that Suga was in love with me for three years.”

-Daichi can’t dance, won’t dance, and refuses to acknowledge the time he got trashed and twerked

-Suga dislikes his given name unless it’s said by Daichi, who is the only person allowed to call him Koushi

-Suga is extremely flexible. Daichi is not.

-Daichi or Suga getting hit on makes Daichi uncomfortable. Getting hit on amuses Suga, and Daichi getting hit on makes him horny

-It took all of high school for Daisuga to get together, because Daichi is oblivious and Suga assumed Daichi wasn’t into him. Daichi’s dumbness and their mutual pining becomes a fond, shared joke several years later

-Daichi has no gag reflex.

-Daisuga have a very fat, very orange cat named Ninja. He’s surprisingly fast and agile despite looking like a furry basketball. (Daichi is a dog person and did not even want Ninja at first. He suspects Kuroo had something to do with this. Suga sometimes playfully gets upset because “Ninja likes you better than me, Dai!”)

-Everyone expects Suga to be the dominant one but Suga is more than willing to be submissive for Daichi and has on several occasions

ASANOYA

-Noya gets up before sunrise to run. Asahi would rather die than leave his bed before 8am

-Noya turns the coffee pot on and cooks breakfast to lure Asahi out of bed

-Noya is surprisingly patient, gentle, quiet, and kind when it comes to Asahi and his insecurities

-Noya is the type to bottle his insecurities and fears until they explode. The only one who can calm him back down is Asahi

-Asahi makes bratty faces when he thinks Noya isn’t looking

-Noya and Tanaka spend a lot of time with Daisuga because of the Daichi&Suga&Asahi&Kiyoko friendship. Asahi and Ennoshita become good friends

-Asahi doesn’t understand the distance between Noya and his sisters because Asahi is very close to his

-It is impossible to embarrass Noya

-Asahi gets a lot of inspiration for his fashion designs from traveling with Noya

-Noya knows how to braid hair and likes to play with Asahi’s

-Asahi enjoys physical affection but dislikes overt PDA. Noya would happily climb Asahi like a tree in public if Asahi would let him

-Only Asahi calls Noya by his given name

-Noya knows he likes Asahi early on but Asahi’s panic (“omg someone LIKES me?? NOYA likes me?? My crush??”) at his confession prevent them getting together until after the Date Tech match (after Asahi rejoins the team).

-Noya is affected by wanderlust and that’s why he travels. Sometimes Asahi joins him. They get married in Canada during one of these trips. (I once read a fantastic asanoya fic where a significant event happened in Canada so Canada is my asanoya place now)

-Noya sends Asahi a postcard from every place he’s ever visited. Sometimes he’ll spend over half an hour trying to find the *best* one, only to buy them all and send them as a sort of big long letter. Asahi saves them all in a photo album that lives on the coffee table. (Some people have a coffee table book, Asahi has a photo album.)

-Noya prefers to top. The one thing he’s really uncomfortable with is being on the bottom (physically laying beneath someone and also sex).

KUROKEN

-Kuroken have a black cat and a calico and enjoy naps on the couch with the kitties. Kuroo has SO MANY pictures in his phone of Kenma curled around the kitties.

-Kuroo: “Love you.” Kenma: “Hate you.”

-Kenma CAN cook, but likes that Kuroo likes taking care of him

-Every game Kuroo has ever owned is multiplayer because he only games with Kenma

-Kenma’s favorite games involve critical thinking and puzzles. Kuroo enjoys watching him play

-Kuroo is an introvert masquerading as an extrovert. Kenma is an introvert. They enjoy quiet nights in.

-Kuroo has anxiety. Kenma always knows when Kuroo is anxious and how to fix it

-People make Kenma anxious. Kuroo makes himself anxious.

-Kenma’s nicknames for Kuroo are Kuro and Koroemon. Kuroo calls Kenma Kyanma and kitten

-Kuroo has been in love with Kenma for as long as he can remember, since they were kids. Kenma knows this, but doesn’t understand he feels the same way until Kuroo goes off to college

-Kuroo is the one who discovered Daichi’s lack of gag reflex. He’s delighted to learn that Kenma lacks one as well

-Kenma moves more slowly than Kuroo. He’s not as comfortable with physical affection and sex as Kuroo is. Their relationship progresses slowly, and Kuroo lets Kenma lead.

-After Kenma’s confession, how he feels about Kuroo is one of the very few things Kuroo does not doubt or make himself anxious over.

-Kuroo can, will, and has go(ne) on and on and ON about Kenma until someone shuts him up. It drives Yaku up the fucking wall in high school.

-Kenma does a retro game stream once or twice a month made up of games he and Kuroo used to play as kids. Kuroo actually games with him on those days and Kenma’s followers are quick to notice and speculate because Kenma has literally never gamed with another person in the same room before. Sometimes Kenma can only post the actual gameplay because Kuroo ruined the footage of them by being excessively sappy. (Kuroo is NOT above flirting and dirty talk to get an edge and Kenma doesn’t really think his fans need to know that.)

-Kuroken do not talk about Kuroo’s mom or sister

-The Kozumes love “Tetsu-chan” and Kuroo’s grandparents adore Kenma. Kuroken get along with each other’s families better than they do their own.

-Kuroo is tactile. He’s that ass-slapping friend. Kenma thinks he’s ridiculous

-Kuroo used to be dislike Hinata, because Kenma and Hinata are extremely good friends and Kuroo was afraid Hinata would take Kenma away from him. Kenma has assured him he doesn’t like Hinata like that but Kuroo doesn’t warm up until Hinata starts dating Kageyama

BOKUAKA

-Akaashi is 100% in charge of the house and the financials and his word is law. Not because he’s an asshole but because Bokuto is whipped

-Akaashi is a screamer. Bokuto has a big dick.

-Bokuto is the calmest between him and his sisters. His sisters have formed an Akaashi fanclub

-Bokuaka kiss a lot during sex

-Bokuto fucking loves owls

-Akaashi used to be embarrassed over being a manga editor but Bokuto thinks it’s the coolest job ever, “even better than mine!” When his authors need references, Akaashi sends them pictures of Bokuto. Bokuto takes this responsibility very seriously

-Bokuaka exclusively refer to each other by first name but Akaashi can’t break the habit of using -san

-Akaashi and Kenma are very good friends. Bokuto thinks they might even be better bros than him and Kuroo. (Kenma is one of the few people Akaashi calls by first name, and one of the only people who calls Akaashi by his.)

-Akaashi overthinks as a result of anxiety, but he doesn’t think he has anxiety. He prefers to call it “seeing the issue from all sides”

-Akaashi and Bokuto do yoga together. Bokuto behaves himself surprisingly well around Akaashi in yoga pants

-Akaashi decided to attend Fukurodani after watching Bokuto play and literally for no other reason

-Bokuaka are the embodiment of love at first sight and their relationship has an unreal, almost storybook quality to it because they are literally perfect for each other. Because of this, Bokuto doesn’t understand why other people struggle so much to start and maintain a relationship, no matter how many times Kuroo tells him “just because your relationship is straight out of a movie doesn’t mean the rest of the world works like that”

-Bokuaka have a koi pond in their backyard and have named all the fish. Bokuto always asks about them when he’s away for games

IWAOI

-Iwaizumi cooks and cleans because he’s always been the one taking care of Oikawa, but he refuses to fold the laundry because “I’m not doing everything for you, you fucking freeloader”

-Iwaizumi cooks healthy “old man food.” Oikawa’s sweet tooth suffers

-Oikawa is that guy who puts more cream and sugar and other additives in his coffee than actual coffee. He’s tried all of Starbucks’ seasonal drinks and never gets the same thing twice

-Iwaoi have very heated arguments about if Godzilla can kick King Kong’s ass or not. Iwaizumi of course sides with Godzilla

-Iwaoi once fought about the original purpose of Stonehenge and now no one can mention England without it coming back up

-Oikawa only became comfortable with his glasses because Iwaizumi likes them

-Iwaoi have been friends since they were in diapers. The whole volleyball team took bets on when they’d announce their relationship

-Both the Oikawas and the Iwaizumis respond when either boy calls for mom or dad. Oikawa calls his sister Nee-chan while Iwaizumi says Oneesan

-Iwaizumi’s favorite of Oikawa’s features is his legs. Oikawa is in love with Iwa’s arms

-Neither of them can remember when they started liking each other or how their relationship started

-Iwaoi are shockingly codependent and do NOT do separation (during university in Argentina/California or for away games) well

-Deep down Oikawa is extremely insecure and worries he isn’t enough - in volleyball, in school, in his family, in his relationship. Iwaizumi always knows when he’s putting on a front and how to cheer him back up

-Iwaizumi is secretly so soft and weak for Oikawa

-After the Olympics Iwaizumi moves to Argentina to be with Oikawa and they get married. They move back to Japan after Oikawa retires from volleyball and after gay marriage becomes legal there

-Oikawa keeps various plants around the house and the patio and is extremely proud of them. He paints all their pots and even names some of them (which Iwaizumi thinks is disgustingly cute). His most prized plant is a lucky bamboo he bought on a whim when iwaoi first moved in together.

-Oikawa can’t deepthroat. It makes him so jealous that Iwaizumi can

-Iwaizumi blushes whenever Oikawa gives him a genuine compliment

-Iwaizumi has a praise kink. Oikawa has a “whatever comes out of Iwa’s mouth” kink

-Iwaizumi has dom tendencies.

#haikyuu #headcanons #daisuga #asanoya #kuroken #bokuaka #iwaoi #updated it #sawamura daichi #sugawara koushi #azumane asahi #nishinoya yuu #kozume kenma #kuroo tetsurou #bokuto koutaru #akaashi keiji #iwaizumi hajime #oikawa tooru

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somewhatgreatexpectations · 4 years

Text

They Can’t Take That Away From Me (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello again! It is with great excitement that I present you all with the first part of the “Love Goes” sequel! I’m still trying to come up with a name (suggestions welcome lol).

A good amount of dialogue from Wandavision is used here since it felt necessary to set the story up. Songs used are “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” by Frank Sinatra (1954) and “Lego House” by Ed Sheeran (2011). Let me know what you think!

Summary: What is life like for Y/n and Wanda in the 1950s? And what shenanigans will they be getting into?

There was an odd sensation of confusion as Wanda looked around the home. Now that you had gone to work she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. Even though you had only been gone a moment, she couldn’t help the excitement that built within her at the thought of you walking through the door again.

Much to Wanda’s relief, she wasn’t left alone with her thoughts long as an unexpected knock on the front door caught her attention. With furrowed brows she made her way over to the front door and opened it. A hesitant smile appeared on her face as a woman holding a plant smiled brightly back at her.

“Hello, dear. I’m Agnes. Your neighbor to the right. My right, not yours.” The woman informed her cheerfully as she made her way into the home before Wanda could even get a word out. “Forgive me for not stopping by sooner to welcome you. My mother-in-law was in town… So, I wasn’t.”

The sound of laughter floated into Wanda’s ears as she smiled back at Agnes who offered her the plant which she graciously accepted. Agnes began speaking again before Wanda got the chance. “So, what’s your name? Where are you from? And most importantly, how’s your bridge game, hon?”

The woman wandered further into the home as Wanda closed the door and rushed over to her, the smile of a perfect hostess never falling from her lips. “I’m Wanda.” She replied politely as she offered her a hand.

Agnes took her offered hand and shook it lightly. “Wanda. Charmed.” She looked around. “Golly! You settled in fast. Did you use a moving company?”

With wide eyes, Wanda turned and placed the plant on the table. “I sure did. Those boxes don’t move themselves.” She replied lightly, the polite smile returning to her face as laughter once again floated around her.

“So, what’s a single gal like you doing rattling around this big house?”

Wanda waved her hand dismissively. That was something she certainly wasn’t. “Oh no, I’m not single.”

Agnes titled her head slightly in surprise. “Oh, I don’t see a ring.”

Glancing down at her finger for a moment, Wanda furrowed her brow before snapping her head back up to meet Agnes’ eyes. The smile never wavering. “I assure you. I’m married. To a woman. A wonderful woman. A writer at that!”

“A woman?” Agnes asked excitedly. “How nifty! Where exactly is your special lady?” She questioned as she took a seat on the couch.

Wanda’s smile changed slightly and become something softer as she thought of you fondly. A change she didn’t even notice herself as she settled into the space next to Agnes. “She’s off at work. Meeting with her editor today.” She said, a proud tinge to her voice.

“Well, that’s exciting!” Agnes exclaimed, “It must be a dream to be married to a writer! Maybe she can teach my Ralph a thing or two on how to romance a woman.”

A bashful smile spread across Wanda’s lips. “I can’t speak for other writers, but mine certainly is a dream.”

Agnes gestured to the round table in front of them. “So, what’s the occasion today?”

For a moment Wanda merely stared at Agnes with confusion. Until her eyes fell to the calendar on the table which had a heart drawn in the box for the day’s date. The calendar which she oddly hadn’t noticed until that moment. “Well, it’s a special occasion, of course! Y/n must have left it there for me to find.”

Excitedly, Agnes leaned forward. “Is it someone’s birthday?”

“Not a birthday.” Wanda replied with a shake of her head, she knew that couldn’t be it.

In response, Agnes’ own eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Well, today isn’t a holiday, is it?”

“No, not a holiday…”

“An anniversary then?”

“Y-… Yes!” Wanda agreed quickly as she pointed at Agnes in recognition. “Yes, it’s our anniversary!”

Agnes reached out to take Wanda’s hands with an enthusiastic smile. “Oh, how marvelous! How many years?”

For a moment Wanda hesitated, something told her that answer wasn’t a simple one. “Well… it feels like we’ve always been together.”

“How romantic! So… what do you have planned?” Agnes questioned.

“How do you mean?”

Agnes chuckled as if Wanda’s reply amused her. “For your special night! A young thing like you doesn’t have to do much, but it’s still fun to set the scene!”

A nervous look came across Wanda’s features as she considered Agnes’ words. Before she could reply, Agnes interrupted again. “Oh! I have the perfect article to help us plan!” She said eagerly as she rushed to the door. “This is gonna be a gas!”

Wanda turned away from the door with a dreamy smile as thoughts of spending a romantic evening with you filled her mind. _______________________ “Y/ln!”

The shout startled you, and the clacking sounds that floated from your typewriter ground to a halt as you jumped up and turned towards the sound of the voice. “Yes, sir?”

“My office. Now.” The curly haired man huffed as he turned on his heel to go back in the direction that he came.

Your desk mate, who’s name you couldn’t seem to remember, why couldn’t you remember, turned to you with a sympathetic smile as he pat your shoulder. “Tough luck, pal. Looks like boss man isn’t in good mood today.”

A tight, nervous smile was all you could muster as you quickly shuffled all your papers into your arms, grabbing your notebook as you left. With hesitant feet you stepped into the office. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

The curly haired man gestured to the empty seat in front of his desk as he lit a cigar. You sat with a nervous smile. “Just wanted to check in and make sure you’re ready for your dinner with Hart tonight. One of the biggest publishers in town. Sign with Hart, then you’re set for life, kid.”

“Of course, I am.” You replied quickly, even though you had no idea what meeting he was talking about.

“You better be, kid, or else you’re done. I took a chance on you. Don’t make me regret it.” Through a puff of smoke, he gestured you out of his office which you didn’t hesitate to take.

Hurriedly you ran over to the phone on your desk, dialing in the only number you knew. A sigh of relief escaped your lips when an answer floated through the receiver on the second ring. “Wanda, darling, I was just calling to see if you were prepared for tonight.”

“Why, of course, dear. I have everything under control.” Came her easy reply.

You breathed a sigh of relief as your shoulders dropped. “So, you know?”

The sound of her light laughter filled your ears, making you smile. “Well, when I saw the calendar I just figured.”

“That’s a relief… I must admit, I am rather nervous.”

After a brief pause, Wanda replied. “Nervous? Whatever for?”

With a quick glance back in the direction of the office, you answered. “Well you know situations like this always make me jittery, darling. It’s a tad nerve wracking.”

“Oh, Y/n. After all this time?”

Nervously you began playing with the cord of the phone, barely even processing her words. “I think there’s a lot depending on this, Wanda. If tonight doesn’t go well, I think this could be the end.”

Another glance back at the office showed your boss yelling at your desk mate. “Well, it’s just one night. There’s no need to get dramatic.”

Again, your nerves made it difficult for you to process her words. “With you at the helm, I know everything will go well. Until tonight, my darling. I love you.”

The smile in her voice was obvious as she responded. “Until tonight. I love you.”

When you placed the phone back on the receiver, you couldn’t help but notice the song playing from the radio, something about a star-spangled man. A thought felt as though it was forming in your mind before the song was abruptly cut out, and a new song drifted out of the radio.

“We may never never meet again, on that bumpy road to love, still I'll always, always keep the memory of…”

___________________

When you entered your home, you couldn’t help the confusion that appeared at the sight of the clearly romantic atmosphere that was set up. The lights were dimmed, and candles were spread throughout the room.

“Wanda?” You called out hesitantly, placing your briefcase and the papers in your arms off to the side of the entryway.

The woman in question sauntered in the room with a coy smile on her face. “Hello, darling.” She made her way over to you and draped her arms over your shoulders. “I missed you.” She whispered as she leaned closer.

Any thoughts that had previously occupied your mind vanished as every aspect of the woman before you invaded all your senses with ease. “Wow. Wanda… You look… breath taking.” You breathed out.

With loving arms, you pulled her closer as your fingertips skimmed over the soft and flimsy silk of the dress she had on. Like magnets your lips met in a tender embrace, a soft sigh escaping your lips at the sensation. Wanda pulled you closer fervently as her hands tangled into your hair.

A sharp knock at the front door startled you apart a moment later as your eyes widened with the realization of what you were supposed to be prepping for flooded back. “Hart!” You whisper yelled as you rushed to the mirror to fix your hair.

“Hart?” Wanda questioned in confusion.

“My publisher! I thought you knew?” You quickly turned to her, your confusion matching hers as another impatient knock appeared at the door. “I have to let them in!”

Wanda’s eyes widened. “Y/n, no! My dre-“ Her words were cut short as you had already opened the door, you own eyes widening when you realized what she was saying.

Without thinking you moved behind the man and covered his eyes with your hands, Wanda following your lead as she covered the eyes of the woman standing next to him. “Y/ln, what’s the meaning of this?” The man exclaimed as you looked over to Wanda with wide eyes.

With a snap of her fingers, the beautiful dress she was wearing seconds before was replaced with a much more modest one. You both removed your hands from the guests and stepped in front of them with sheepish smiles. “Well, you see, sir…” you trailed off as you attempted to think of a reasonable response.

“It’s a tradition Sokovian greeting!” Wanda exclaimed, you nodded enthusiastically, thankful for her save.

You smiled nervously, “Yes! It is a traditional Sokovian greeting of hospitality, sir. My wife is from Sokovia.” Nerves began to bubble in your chest which Wanda noticed as she took your hand to steady you which immediately eliminated any feelings of discomfort. You loved her so much.

The woman chuckled lightly. “How exotic.”

“Mr. Hart, this is my wife, Wanda. Wanda, this is Mr. Hart.” You introduced quickly to steer the conversation back to where it should be. “And this must be Mrs. Hart.” you offered your free hand to the younger woman standing next to Mr. Hart as Wanda dropped the other.

The woman took your hand with an amused smirk as she eyed you. “Are you insane? This is my daughter.” Mr. Hart said gruffly, “My wife is out of town at the moment. My daughter has an eye for quality, so I brought her along.”

“Eleanor Hart. You can call me Ellie.” The woman offered, as you uncomfortably took your hand back from her. There was something familiar about her, but you couldn’t put your finger on it.

Wanda walked off to pull a cloth off of one of the lampshades before taking your hand again. “Can I see you in the kitchen for a moment, sweetheart?”

“Excuse us.” You said quickly as Wanda was already dragging you out of the room. You blew out a candle along the way.

When you both reached the safety of the kitchen Wanda spun around to face you, “Who are those people?”

Instead of answering you asked your own question. “What was happening earlier?”

“Well, it’s our anniversary!”

A look of confusion quickly overtook your features. “Our anniversary of what?”

Wanda threw down the cloth still in her hands and sulked away. “Well if you don’t know I’m not going to tell you!”

“That man in there is Mr. Hart, my publisher! My editor set up this dinner for us, so we could discuss publishing my book.” You explained as you gestured vaguely to the window in the kitchen.

A look of realization crossed Wanda’s features as the disembodied laughter floated in the air again. “That must have been what the heart on the calendar meant.”

You took Wanda’s hand in your own, an apologetic look in your eyes. “Darling, this was so romantic to do. The candles, the music, that stunning dress…” You trailed off as your eyes glazed over at the thought. Wanda snapped her fingers in front of your face to get you to refocus. “Right. I don’t want to be unappreciative, but right now…”

“Your publisher and his touchy daughter are expecting a home-cooked meal?” She supplied helpfully.

You nodded sheepishly. “Exactly.”

Wanda glanced over at the table in the kitchen. “Any chance they’d settle for a chocolate covered strawberry split three ways?” Once again, the laughter floated through the air as you winced. “I might have a better idea.” Wanda announced as she ushered you out of the kitchen.

When the door to the kitchen swung shut behind you, Wanda rushed out the back door as you made your way over to Mr. Hart and Ellie so you could attempt to entertain them for the time being. It wasn’t long before commotion in the kitchen caught the guest’s attention which you were able to distract them from.

The second time the commotion began it seemed as though there would be no distracting Ellie.

“Maybe I should see if Wanda needs help while you and my father discuss business. I sense trouble.” Ellie announced as she made her way over to the closed shutters that looked into the kitchen.

Nervously you stood up as the commotion in the kitchen continued. “Ellie, I insist you don’t-“ The woman kept moving forward though and eventually opened the shutters which you could see into as she was opening them. The sight wouldn’t be one that would be easy to explain as practically everything in the kitchen was floating around Wanda.

Thinking quickly, you sang the first and only song that came to your mind to distract them. “I’m out of touch, I’m out of love, I’ll pick you up when you’re getting down. And-”

As soon as the song began falling from your lips both of the Harts began turning in your direction, only they seemed to be frozen mid turn.

“-out of all these things I’ve done, I think I love you better now.” You murmured along to the lyrics that were drifting out of the speaker at your feet as you swayed lightly to the slow tempo of the song. Your eyes stayed locked on the woman in your arms.

The arms that were circled around your midsection tightened as Wanda lifted her head from your shoulder to meet your eyes. The look in her eyes was staggering. You had almost forgotten what oxygen was when Wanda was near. You didn’t care though, you’d happily stop breathing if it meant she was by your side. She was a different kind of air.

Wanda grazed her palm along your cheekbone. You easily leaned into her touch. “You never gave me a choice, you know?” Wanda whispered even though she didn’t need to.

“A choice for what?”

“Loving you. It’s as easy as breathing. You are a part of me. I’ll never be able to love someone else.” The words fell from her lips so easily and you couldn’t help the way your heart beat heavily against your ribcage as though it were trying to get to her.

Closing the short distance, you connected your lips to hers. “Loving you was never a choice. It was a necessity.” You mumbled against her lips.

Wanda pulled back and just stared at you adoringly. “If I could go back, I would love you longer.” Your brows furrowed, you didn’t know why but you knew the response was out of place. “There’s never been anyone but you. Never. Not before, not now, and not in the future.” Wanda whispered fiercely as the compound around you began to fade and you both drifted away as pieces of the living room began to form again…

Suddenly the Harts completed their turn and stared at you in shock. You glanced up at Wanda in confusion, seeing the kitchen appliances still floating around her. You didn’t know what just happened and you hoped she’d be able to offer clarity.

When you met Wanda’s eyes though they were filled with an emotion you couldn’t quite register… except you could. It was pain. Before you could react, she waved a hand and the shutters closed once again.

“Golly, what tune was that you were just singing there?” Ellie questioned excitedly, “It sure was nice.”

You smiled politely, unsure how to answer the question yourself. “Just something I heard a long time ago.”

“A writer and a singer? Your wife sure is a lucky gal.” Ellie replied with a wink

The flirtatious comment made you shift uncomfortably where you stood. “The lucky one is definitely me. Wanda is heaven sent. Perfecti-”

“When is dinner going to be ready?” Ellie questioned abruptly, interrupting the day dreamy look in your eyes as you spoke of Wanda. “My head is spinning.” She added as she leaned on you for support.

Mr. Hart marched over to you as you nervously used your hand to fan his daughter. “Do you hear that? My daughters head is spinning. Generally speaking, I don’t like her head to do that.” You winced. Ellie leaned further into you, forcing you to use your arms to support her.

The lecture Mr. Hart was giving you continued. “You know, I’m beginning to think you aren’t worth publishing. I had high hopes for you after speaking to your editor. From what I’ve seen here tonight, you can barely keep it together. Look around there’s all this chaos in your househo-“

“Dinner is served.” Wanda interrupted as she stood by the table with an uneasy smile, her eyes expressing her discontent at Ellie’s position even if she didn’t say it.

Mr. Hart turned to eye the table as you breathed a sigh of relief. “Breakfast for dinner, how very…”

“European?” Ellie finished with an entertained smile, still leaning on you.

Thankful for the lighter shift in atmosphere, you quickly moved away from Ellie and rushed over to the table. “Let’s have a toast!”

Everyone gathered around the table. “To my lovely and talented wife.” You stared at Wanda adoringly as you raised your glass.

“To our esteemed guests.” Wanda countered with a smirk as everyone around the table clinked glasses. “Well, please, eat before it gets cold.”

Everyone took a seat around the table. “So, where did you two move from? What brought you here? How long have you been married?” Ellie rapidly spouted off.

The polite smile on Wanda’s face faltered slightly as she seemed to ponder the questions. You chuckled nervously. “I think what my wife means to say is w-we moved from-”

“Yes, we moved from…” Wanda interrupted only to pause in thought.

“And we were married…” You stopped as well to think of the answer, why couldn’t you think of the answer. You picked up a fork to keep your hands occupied.

“Yes, yes, we were married…” Wanda looked at you, confusion in her eyes.

“Well, moved from where? Married when?” Mr. Hart asked impatiently.

Ellie pushed the food around her plate. She seemed amused at the situation. “Patience, Dad. They’re setting up their story. Let them tell it.”

“Our story…” Wanda began again, a nervous chuckle escaped her lips.

Mr. Hart looked between the two of you in annoyance. “Yes, what exactly is your story? I think it’s a perfectly simple question.”

Wanda stared blankly at the table as you felt a pressure begin to build in your temples. You held back a grimace.

The walls in the room began to feel suffocating and the dress you had on felt constricting. Your breathing became heavier as your continued to desperately search your mind for something, anything. A memory that existed before this morning. The floor around the table began to splinter slightly as the fork in your hand folded in on itself.

“Honestly, why did you come here? Why?” Mr. Hart slammed his hand on the table causing you both to jump. Your thoughts were racing as you wracked your brain for the answers to his questions but kept coming up blank.

A large crack in the floor appeared by Mr. Hart’s chair as he fell back, stuck on the edge, frozen in fear.

Ellie smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Dad, stop it.” The gap by the table widened as Mr. Hart teetered precariously on the edge, still frozen in shock. “Stop it.” She repeated.

Wanda’s eyes widened in concern as you vaguely saw wisps float over to the gap but do nothing. The pressure in your head became even stronger as the world around you became more difficult to register.

“Stop it. Stop it.” Ellie kept repeating as she turned her attention to Wanda. Mr. Hart hanging over the gap by his fingers.

“Y/n. Help him.” Wanda said assertively as the racing in your mind came to a halt. You stared at the scene before you in horror. With subtle wave of your fingers, the gap closed as Mr. Hart was once again on flat ground.

You rushed over to help him. “Let me help you up.”

When he was once again on his feet, Mr. Hart glanced at his watch. “Well, would you look at the time.”

“We better be going.” Ellie added as she stood up.

Wanda looked at them both cautiously, the polite smile making a reappearance, but much more tentative than before. “Are you both alright?”

“We had such a lovely time.” Ellie wandered over to you and shook your hand once again a moment too long, the flirtatious smile returning.

With an uncomfortable smile, you pulled your hand back and made your way over to Mr. Hart. “You made me proud tonight. First thing Monday morning, I’ll make a call to your editor and let him know we have a deal.”

The final remnants of confusion faded away at his words as you eagerly shook his hand with a broad smile. “Yes, sir. Thank you.” Wanda let them both out as you each leaned against the closest object near you and breathed a sigh of relief.

After taking a moment to collect, you both wandered over to the couch. You easily wrapped an arm around her. “You know, we are an unusual couple.” Wanda stated.

“Oh, I don’t think that was ever in question.” You replied as the disembodied laughter rang out again.

Wanda leaned into you, “We don’t have an anniversary… or even wedding rings.”

You rubbed her arm soothingly. “Well, today could be our anniversary.” You offered.

“Of what? Surviving our first dinner party?” She questioned with an amused smile.

You chuckled. “Precisely.”

“And the wedding rings?” She asked.

“Well, couldn’t you make some for us?” You questioned as you held out a hand, smiling when she mimicked your action.

With a wave of her finger, beautiful rings appeared on both of your ring fingers. “I do.” You said softly before turning your head to look at her. “Do you?”

“Of course. I do.” Wanda replied tenderly as she intertwined your fingers. The disembodied voices cooed.

“And they lived happily ever after.”

“And we have a happy ending.” Wanda whispered. A brief flash of something flickered in Wanda’s eyes, but before you could analyze she leaned in and lovingly connected her lips with yours in a sweet kiss. . . . . . . . . As the credits rolled there was a brief moment of silence as everyone stared at the screen. “I told you star-spangled man wouldn’t work. This is the 50s, not the 40s.” Darcy said pointedly.

The sound of a soft thud filled the room from Natasha hitting the back of Steve’s head. “I thought it would be close enough.” Steve grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

Fury stared at the screen intensely. “I know that woman, but how did she get there.” He mumbled more to himself than the people in the room. “I think I know someone who we can send in.” He eventually addressed the room.

They all turned to look at him. “Let’s do it. Rogers ideas obviously aren’t working.” Natasha answered as Steve crossed his arms in annoyance.

There it is! Part 1 of the “Love Goes” sequel. This one felt a little constricted by the episode because a lot of it still felt necessary as it introduced the newer characters which is why a lot of dialogue from the first episode was used here. The italicized portion was a memory in case that was a little confusing. Also “Star-Spangled Man” is from the first captain America movie lol. I’m actually kind of excited about this though! As always, let me know your thoughts, they’re always welcome!

P.s. I pictured Emma Watson as Ellie because Emma Watson. :)

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