#i phoned in the last one and i still prefer it sadly

[loraletuce]

DAY 6 WOO

I drew HimFri and @plutozsprouts drew Timebomb !!

[idlerin]

YOU’VE RUINED MY LIFE BY NOT BEING MINE — suna rintarou one-shot smau

as the self proclaimed honorary miya sibling (by you and the twins— since your parents and the miya twins’ parents were the closest friends, it ended up with their children being playmates). it was that one sunny day in the park when you became stuck with them ever since.

you’re one year younger so when you finally entered inarizaki and first laid your eyes on suna— osamu’s bff you’ve only heard about in passing. you fell. like literally slipped and fell because you were running towards the twins and when you saw suna you lost balance.

it was also the day when you declared you were going to be the love of his life.

suna was taken aback by your strangeness and only realized you were serious when you gave him a proper confession at the back of the school a week later when you claimed, “i’m going to make you fall in love with me.”

to which his reply to your confession was a shrug and a “you can try, but don’t hope for much.”

it’s been a year. and you’re still as determined as ever!

after the whole, chasing suna around the school and giving up after a few minutes and munching on a fruit sadly, suna came in and walked towards you and atsumu, pat your head and said “i was only teasing you.”

okay maybe joining the cheer squad was an impulsive decision, but hey! you were already alongside them every game and half of your friends were on it so you thought why not do that for your extracurricular this year! the outfit looked good on you, you cheer for inarizaki (suna), and bonus points that you’ll have fun— the situation offered absolutely no losses.

hitoshi and you were talking last week about how you’ve been trying to woo suna for about a year now and he asked if there was still no progress and you think about it and resisted the urge to refute his claims. suna and you spend a lot of time together, not that other people knew, even the twins (there are some things you prefer to keep between just him and you).

hitoshi mentions that he wants to help you, you both stare at each other and say “we should make him jealous!” at the same time. you were amused at the notion because you’ve never seen suna jealous before. hitoshi was just bored. the perfect formula of friendship!

suna and you constantly go out at least 2 times a week, and every time after-game, albeit a few hours after post-game eat-out. he’s the reason why you’re MIA when atsumu’s trying to tell you about the new manga releases that week.

suna acts like he doesn’t care about your advances on him most of the time in front of other people but of course, that’s only a farce. why would he tolerate all of your silly advances if he wasn’t head over heels for you too?

“so are we dating?!” you shout in hysterics through your phone where suna’s on the other line.

it makes osamu place his earphones in and atsumu glare at you while bashing suna on twitter. the three of you were on your way home after atsumu made a scene in the suna household 20 minutes prior.

“i’d prefer if we make it official in person, you know,” suna says groggily, having been woken up from his sleep by atsumu’s screeches.

“i can run back to your house,” you propose, suna chuckles while atsumu traps you in a headlock. osamu walks ahead and pretends he isn’t associated with you and atsumu.

a/n — so uhm hey guys 😼 did u miss me? /peeking from my cave

general taglist + @rintarousprincess @giyuus0nlywife @luvrsthrist @cherries4denki @cloud-lyy @misscaller06

[bronz3y]

Anxious Love - Georgia Stanway

A/N

Hi everyone!, welcome to a new story I’ve been thinking about for the last few weeks, This is going to be a multi part story, so it’s gonna be quite long :)

If you guys have any questions of suggestions for the story, please feel free to pop a message in my inbox x

this character (Alex) ,ive written is very similar to my experiences of dealing with diagnosed anxiety, which has changed my life, not everyones experience is the same x

word count: 3k

warnings: mentions of anxiety

————————————————————————------------------------

Chapter 1 

“Can I have a caramel frappe please?” the Starbucks cashier nods at Alexandra, leaving after taking Ellas order as well.

Alexandra and Ella have been best friends since they were 5 years old, Ella was the more outgoing one of the two, she enjoyed going outside and getting all muddy playing football. It was, and still is Ella's passion. Alexandra on the other hand was the more relaxed of the two, she enjoyed playing her guitar, drawing, and watching football, she wasn't very sporty at a young age, which has now changed, but she preferred watching football more than actually playing it.  Ever since Ella joined her youth team, Alex had been watching football religiously, always making sure to be there and support her best friend, and also by never missing a single match of her favourite team, Arsenal WFC.

 Alex and Ella had always planned on going to the same university together, Alex secured her spot at the university of Manchester by getting the grades she needed to study sports psychology, and Ella got her ticket in by earning her scholarship to play for Manchester university.

The two girls sat down at the star bucks, sipping on their cold drinks, even though it was december.

“God im so done with that one girl in my class, she has to make a comment about every point the lecturer mentions, like just shush man” Ella groans, shaking her head

“How does she even have the balls to speak in front of like a hundred people, that actually baffles me” Alex laughs.

“Anyways, me and the girls are probably gonna go out tomorrow night, a bunch of them are here in Manchester for a couple of days for some event” Ella tells Alex with a look in her eyes.

“Ella, don't even bother trying, i have an exam in a couple of weeks, if you want me to one day become your sports psych you need to let me study” Alex laughs shaking her head.

“Alex!, it's one bloody night man, you can leave your books behind to shag a girl” Ella wiggles her eyebrows.

Alex's jaw drops and Ella has to put a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter at bay.

“Ella!, oh my god you already know i don't do hookups” Alex huffs as Ella rolls her eyes at her best friend's words.

“Come on you can at least kiss one, just come and have some fun, you can make some friends besides me” Ella laughs

“Excuse me, i do have other friends” Alex huffs

“Lex, you and I both know that's a fat lie” Ella says after taking a sip of her drink.Alex looks down at her hands, knowing that her best friend's words are true.

“Hey, don't worry, if you come this weekend, you'll make some for sure, you just gotta put in a bit of effort, which is actually coming,” Ella says smiling sadly.

Alex looks down at her empty cup, nodding at Ellas words.

“Fine, I'll come, for once you're actually right about something Toone” Alex laughs

Ella rolls her eyes, “Whatever man, come on, let's go home and get warm, I'm freezing after this bloody drink” Ella shivers.

The two girls walk out of the starbucks together, laughing about some meme Ella saw on her phone. Once they got back to their shared apartment they began doing some chores around the house, Alex cleaning the living room and Ella preparing the dinner since it was her turn that night.

A couple hours later, Alex was relaxing on the couch after completing all her chores for the day and Ella was finishing up their dinner, which was some pesto pasta, made from scratch since Alessia had taught Ella a few months ago.

As Ella was pouring the pasta in two plates, the sound of her phone ringing echoed through the house.

“hello?..Georgia hi!”

Georgia Stanway, Alex has heard about her a few times, Ella and Georgia had met a couple years ago in one of the England youth camps, the same place where she met Alessia, who she knows well, Georgia on the other hand, she hasn't met yet.

Ella always mentioned that she was funny and very talented in football, Alex had only seen Georgia in some instagram posts Ella made while in football camp or when she would go out with her football friends, Georgia went to another uni about half an hour from Manchester most weekends they would meet up, sometimes Ella would get a train with Alessia to them, or they would get the train to Manchester, which is what was happening this weekend. Ella had also told her that Georgia went to uni with a couple other football girls Ella had mentioned to her, Leah and Lotte.

“Oh yeah, i know a good bar we can go to…no, G we are not getting a maccies, we are all gonna go to a nice restaurant before we go to the bar” Ella laughs into her phone, rested between her shoulder and her ear as she brings the two plates of pesto pasta to the table.

“Mhm, oh and by the way, i actually convinced Alex to come, she's not too thrilled though” Ella laughs as Alex shoots her a death stare.

“Alright G im gonna have dinner now but ill message all the details on the group alright?, okay, bye!” Ella hangs up and puts her phone down, replacing it with a fork.

“This pesto better be good, it took me 2 bloody hours man”

Friday 

Friday came around quickly,  Alex was in the apartment finishing off some notes since she had the afternoon off, but her peaceful silence was interrupted by Ella barging through the front door.

“Alex!, its time to find you a cute outfit for tonight” Ella sang as she entered Alex’s room, rummaging through her wardrobe.

“Ella!, its still 5:30 in the afternoon” Alex groaned

“We need time to get you all glammed up, now, what are we feelin’, a polo with jeans?, this one's very nice” Ella pulls out a navy blue Ralph Lauren polo with some white pants to match the white logo.

“Yeah alright, thats nice” Alex nods her head, ella smiles and puts the outfit on her bed

“Ok, hair, do you want me to iron it?” Ella suggests

It takes them both a couple hours to get ready, after a few arguments over Ella almost burning Alex’s ear with the straightener, they are about to leave their apartment. After parking Ellas car, they start to walk to the Italian restaurant Ella had booked.

Alex felt quite nervous about meeting more of Ellas football friends since she didn't play herself, her anxiety had risen a bit on the way to the restaurant, but she reminded herself that Ella was with her and that she already knew Alessia. Alex exhales as they approach the door.

As the two girls walk in they scan the restaurant and see the rest of the girls sat down, Alessia sees them and waves. 

“Hey girls, nice outfits” Alessia gets up and gives them both a warm hug, Ella then sits down next to Alessia.

Alex then looks for a seat and sees the only one free is next to Georgia.

“Mind if I sit here?” Alex says, Georgia looks up at her and smiles.

“Of course, there's nowhere else after all,” Georgia laughs.

“You're so stupid” Alex thinks to herself as she sits down next to georgia.

Lotte, Leah and Georgia introduce themselves to Alex, they all seem lovely girls, just how Ella had described them.

“So Alex, what are you studying?” Leah asks as the waiter brings their drinks.

“I'm studying sports psychology” Alex replies shyly

“Oh nice, are you enjoying it?” Georgia looks at Alex, Alex smiles at her

“Oh yeah, i've always been interested in it, and plus, i can make sure El has no more screws loose” Alex jokes.

“Oi!, all my screws are tight thank you very much” Ella huffs, rolling her eyes at leah commenting on how that's a lie.

As the rest of the girls are talking to each other, Alex and Georgia are eating their meals in a slightly awkward silence.

“What about you? What are you studying?” Alex asks to continue the conversation.

“Oh um, nothing special, just accounting, i wanna focus on football as much as i can so i didn't want to study something hard” Georgia says shrugging.

“That makes sense, you must be pretty good if you're planning to make it pro” Alex smiles at her.

“I guess so, thankfully i have football, i've never been a smart person” Georgia laughs.

As the dinner went on Georgia and Alex got to know each other, from life plans to favourite animals, and before they knew it, they were going to head out to the club Ella had mentioned. The girls paid the bill and soon enough they exited the restaurant into the cold night, the club was only a five minute walk from the restaurant, so they got to the entrance pretty fast.

As the girls entered the club, Alex was already overwhelmed, she hated being squished to sweaty men, the smell of cigarettes and weed, she hated all of it.

As the girls found a booth they all sat down, Ella announces that she’ll get the first round of shots. Alex rests her head on the table on her arms, trying hard to control the anxiety she feels, the familiar fatigue in her stomach increasing. “No” Alex thinks, “i need this, i need friends”

she balls her hands into a fist, she sits up and takes a breath, none of the girls notice, except Georgia, Alex can feel her looking at her from the corner of her eye.

“Alright, everyone take one” Ella announces as she comes back with a tray of shots, Alex grabs one and quickly downs it before she can overthink it.

Half an hour later, the girls had gone to dance, Alex insisted she was not a dancer and would much rather stay at the booth, as she does, she sees georgia dancing with the rest of the girls, her freckles and beauty spots being hit perfectly by the dramatic lights of the club, her pearly white teeth had been showing ever since she entered the crowd and started dancing to the rhythm of the overplayed songs.

Alex hadn't dated anyone before, her shy personality in highschool made everyone think she was weird, thankfully, she'd slowly grown out of it as she grew up, acting more like herself.

Alex had always known she fancied girls, she had never really had a crush on any boys, one time when Ella and Alex were 12, Ella had asked her if she had a crush on anyone, Alex replied with the first boy that came to her mind, but she never liked any of them, she just wanted to fit in, like Ella did, she did one time ask a girl out at 15, but she rejected her and made fun of her for liking girls, from then on the rumours started and everyone knew her as “the lesbian”, from then forward is when the anxiety started.

Alex snapped out of her trance when she noticed that Georgia was looking back at her, Alex quickly looked down, but then looked back up again, to see Georgia's eyes still on her.

Alex suddenly felt a presence behind her, or more so smelt,.

“Hey beautiful” a deep raspy voice mumbled behind her, Alex could smell the alcohol on the man's breath without fully turning around, Alex then felt hands on her waist, she froze, tensing as the man continued talking to her.

“Oi fuck off will ya?” Alex saw someone shove the guy off her, Alex could feel her chest tightening, making it harder to breathe, Georgia then appeared in front of her.

“Alex?, ya alright?” Georgia said quietly.

“I ca..i cant breathe” Alex manages to speak.

“Shall I take you outside?” Georgia suggests, Alex nodded at her words.

Georgia puts her arm around Alex’s shoulder, guiding her to the club's exit, as they leave the club, Georgia finds a bench and sits Alex down.

“Alex, breathe in and out, slowly” Georgia crouches in front of Alex, showing her how to do it. Alex nods and does as she says.

“Good, you're ok, you're safe” Georgia whispers, Alex nods, a couple tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh god” Alex breathes out when she can speak

“You alright?” Georgia says, sitting down next to Alex, a worried look on her face.

Alex nods at her words, resting her head back onto the bench.

“What that guy did is fucking horrible, touching you like that without asking” georgia says angrily.

“My anxiety got so bad, sorry you had to see that” Alex looks down

“Hey, there's nothing to apologise for, I'm glad I got there when I did” Georgia smiles, putting a hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“Thank you for that, i shouldn't need someone to do that, i should be able to tell the person to fuck off myself” Alex says, playing with her ring.

“No Alex, it's not your fault, not everyone is like that, some people go into shock, like you, and some people punch or shove them away, like me” Georgia says softly, Alex nods at her words.

“I dont think im gonna go back in there” Alex shakes her head.

“I can take you home if you want” Georgia suggests Alex

Alex shakes her head, “Georgia, there's no need, seriously i-”

“Alex, I don't mind, I promise, and plus your house is like 20 minutes walking from here right?” Alex nods at Georgia's question.

“Alright, Ella told me that the place me and the girls are staying in is close to your accommodation anyways” Georgia smiles.

They both get up from the bench and begin to walk towards Alex and Ellas place. As they did so, there was a comfortable silence between the two girls, apart from the sound of cars driving by them and the occasional group of teens passing by. but Georgia's voice interrupted the silence.

“Hey, sorry if this is too much to ask but, I saw that when we first sat down, you looked really stressed out, were ya alright?” Georgia fidgeted with her coat zipper as she asked.

“No,no it's alright, I saw that you noticed, it's just i'm not a big fan of these things, going out to clubs and getting really drunk” Alex shrugged.

“It gives me a lot of anxiety, but i don't have any friends besides Ella, sure i had like 2 more back home, but i've been to uni for a couple months and i only have el, i need to make more friends” Alex looked down ashamed. 

“Hey, you've already made one” Georgia smiles at Alex, gently bumping into her, Alex smiles back at her, but it quickly fades.

“I just feel like shit,I don't want Ella to feel like she only needs to hang with me, she has you guys, and a couple other friends she's met here” Alex explains.

“I understand, i'm always here if you need anyone to hang out, if you want to of course i know i can be much sometimes” Georgia rants, Alex shakes her head.

“I'd really like that, don't feel forced to, i know you already have your own friends” Alex says

“There's nothing wrong with making more” Georgia says shyly

After a couple more minutes of walking and their hands grazing every once in a while, Alex and Georgia arrived at Alex’s and Ella’s home.

“This is me” Alex says, stopping at her apartment building door, Georgia stands in front of Alex.

“Thank you, for tonight, you didn't have to see me like that, im s-”

“Alex.” Georgia says sternly, “i wanted to, i know you needed someone with you”

“Thank you” Alex says softly, smiling at Georgia.

“Any time” Georgia smiles back, before Alex could walk away, Georgia spoke up.

“Hey, would you maybe want to go get a coffee tomorrow afternoon?” Georgia asks shyly

“I'm not too busy tomorrow, but if I finish my studying, I'd like to,” Alex smiles at georgia.

“Great!, erm what time works best for ya?” Georgia cringes internally at her excitement.

“any time after 5, is 5:30 ok?” Alex suggests.

“Mhm, perfect, i'm not really doing anything tomorrow, just training in the morning” Georgia laughed.

“Stanway and her football” Alex shakes her head, Georgia giggles at her words.

“Well if it wasn't for football i wouldn't be here, gotta keep it up eh?” Georgia rambled, Alex nodded with a “that's true” expression.

“Well, I should head in, it's getting late” Alex says softly.

“Yeah same, gotta get some sleep before training” Georgia mumbles.

“Goodnight, stanway, thank you for tonight” Alex mentions it again, she wants to make sure Georgia knows she's not taking what the girl had done for granted, no one has calmed her down that quick before.

“Of course Alex, i'll help ya as many times as you need while I'm with you” Georgia smiles, her cheeks slightly red due to the cold, or at least that's what Alex thought in her head.Alex then walks closer to Georgia, wrapping her arms around her, it took Georgia a second to hug her back, not expecting it, Georgia hugged her back tightly, after a couple of seconds, they parted, smiling at eachother.

“Goodnight stanway” Alex whispered.

“Goodlight Lex,” Georgia smiled.

As alex walked up to her door to unlock it, she looked back, watching Georgia walk away, she smiled to herself and let herself inside, once she got into her apartment, she prepared herself a tea, it always helped her calm down after an anxious day, once Alex had sat down, sipping on her tea catching up on her series, her phone vibrated.

“Georgia Stanway has followed you”

“Accept”

“You are now following Georgia Stanway”

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

hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! :) x

[samflir]

What makes a good boot sequence?

A while ago, I had my first truly viral post on Mastodon. It was this:

You might've seen it. It got almost four hundred boosts and reached beyond Mastodon to reddit and even 4chan. I even saw an edit with a spinning frog on the left screen. I knew the post would go down well with tech.lgbt but I never expected it to blow up the way it did.

I tried my best to express succinctly exactly what it is I miss about BIOS motherboards in the age of UEFI in this picture. I think looking at a logo and spinner/loading bar is boring compared to seeing a bunch of status messages scroll up the screen indicating hardware being activated, services being started up and tasks being run. It takes the soul out of a computer when it hides its computeriness.

I think a lot of people misunderstood my post as expressing a practical preference over an aesthetic one, and there was at least a few thinking this was a Linux fanboy post, which it certainly is not. So here's the long version of a meme I made lol.

Stages

I remember using two family desktop computers before moving over a family laptop. One ran Windows XP and the other ran Windows 7. Both were of the BIOS era, which meant that when booting, they displayed some status information in white on black with a blinking cursor before loading the operating system. On the XP machine, I spent longer in this liminal space because it dual-booted. I needed to select Windows XP from a list of Linux distros when booting it.

I've always liked this. Even as a very little kid I had some sense that what I was seeing was a look back into the history of computing. It felt like a look "behind the scenes" of the main GUI-based operating system into something more primitive. This made computers even more interesting than they already were, to me.

Sequences

The way old computers booted was appealing to my love of all kinds of fixed, repeating sequences. I never skip the intros to TV shows and I get annoyed when my local cinema forgets to show the BBFC ratings card immediately before the film, even though doing so is totally pointless and it's kinda strange that they do that in the first place. Can you tell I'm autistic?

Booting the windows 7 computer would involve this sequence of distinct stages: BIOS white text -> Windows 7 logo with "starting windows" below in the wrong aspect ratio -> switch to correct resolution with loading spinner on the screen -> login screen.

Skipping any would feel wrong to me because it's missing a step in one of those fixed sequences I love so much. And every computer that doesn't start with BIOS diagnostic messages is sadly missing that step to my brain, and feels off.

Low-level magic

I am extremely curious about how things work and always have been, so little reminders when using a computer that it has all sorts of complex inner workings and background processes going on are very interesting to me, so I prefer boot sequences that expose the low-level magic going on and build up to the GUI. Starting in the GUI immediately presents it as fundamental, as if it's not just a pile of abstractions on top of one another. It feels deceptive.

There may actually be some educational and practical value in computers booting in verbose mode by default. Kids using computers for the first time get to see that there's a lot more to their computer than the parts they interact with (sparking curiosity!), and if a boot fails, technicians are better able to diagnose the problem over a phone call with a non-technical person.

Absolute boot sequence perfection

There's still one last thing missing from my family computer's boot sequence, and that's a brief flicker of garbage on screen as VRAM is cleared out. Can't have everything I guess. Slo-mo example from The 8-Bit Guy here:

[btsfaris]

day and night

summary: you’ve always felt like you never fit in Hongjoong’s world.. or maybe he just didn’t fit in yours.

pairing: kq fellaz kim hongjoong x reader.

genre: multi-part, angst, fluff, future smut

-

This last year you were in a wonderful relationship with Hongjoong. The hardworking leader of Ateez, but the love of your life to you. Even though they were still considered rookies, they blew up so early in their careers. From millions of views online to thousands of record sales, you couldn’t be more proud of him.

You met him by chance, while he was still a trainee, filming his pre-debut show called kq fellaz, as all of his fans know. You happened to sign up for classes that summer with your best friend, who was an amazing dancer and begged you to go with her. After weeks of convincing, you finally decided to give it a shot and now you don’t regret it one bit.

Obviously, you had a lot of practice to do, everyone else was so talented and you were rather uncoordinated in the sense that you were clearly not on the same level as everyone else. And Hongjoong saw that, but rather than mock you or laugh at you, he decided to help.

“Hi,” a young man with dark hair spoke up beside you, “need help?”

You felt embarrassed, already out of breath when you were only just practicing the first part of the choreography, “Oh I’m okay, thank you,” you blushed red, wanting the ground to swallow you whole and cancel your membership immediately.

“Are you sure? I want to help,” he smiled at you, not in a humorous way but instead, kindly, “I know it’s hard.. but I can teach you..”

You looked around, noticing everyone almost having the movement and rhythm down while you were still struggling with the counts. You turn back to him and he raises an eyebrow, deep brown eyes soft.

“Okay,” you agree hesitantly, and his eyes gleam.

“What is your name?” He asks.

“Y/n..” you tell him, “what’s yours?”

“I’m Hongjoong.”

…

From then on, he helped you during every class and taught you how to dance properly. You both even did a small choreo together, that sadly never made it to the dance studios channel, but was still fun nonetheless.

You both had exchanged numbers and despite his limited English, he still made an effort to talk to you. Of course he preferred phone calls, as it improved his language skills but mostly because he wanted to hear your voice whenever you were apart. You had developed feelings for him but he told you he would only be staying a month before he had to leave back home to Seoul, so you never thought you would have a chance.

On his very last night in LA, you took him to your favorite spot, a small beach to watch the sunset and the stars while laying on the hood of your car. You left the radio on, the latest pop song at the time playing softly in the background as you talked and laughed with him. Hours had passed, and it was almost time to take him back to his rented house before his manager would notice his disappearance.

“I’m going to miss you,” you say softly, still looking at the stars, “I hope you debut, you really deserve it Hongjoong..”

“I’ll miss you too, I wish I didn’t have to leave..” he whispers sadly, “I want to stay here, with you. Here in LA.”

“You shouldn’t stay here Hongjoong, you have so much talent.. you’re an amazing person, you were meant to be an idol,” you look at him and he turns to you, “I wouldn’t want to hold you back.”

He stares at you for a long time, before opening his mouth, almost hesitating, “Y/n.. can I tell you something?” You nod, turning your body to lean on your arm next to him.

“I like you..” he blushes, his hands trembling at his confession to you.

“You.. you do?” He nods, eyes looking away in embarrassment.

“I like you too..” your eyes water, “I really like you Hongjoong.”

His eyes snap back to yours, softening when he sees your face. “Don’t cry,” he pulls you close to him, hand caressing your face to wipe away your tears.

“Don’t forget about me..” you whisper, looking up at his beautiful, clear face.

He looks at you for a second, before leaning down to place his lips softly on yours. His warm hand holds your face, while yours shoot up to grab onto his shirt, pulling him as close as you can. You kiss until you run out of breath, finally separating when it becomes too much.

“We’ll make it work,” he lets out a smile, pushing your hair out of your face, “I’ll never forget about you. I’m yours.. and you’re mine.”

[johankasas]

I’m sorry if it was already asked by someone, but what materials do you use for your traditional art?

Heya!!

Okay this will be a bit of a longer reply since over the years I do art I've accumulated a lot of tools, but I'll try to write it in a "digestible" way under the cut.

1. Sketchbooks

I am an easy woman, I like sketchbooks that have a lot of pages, can handle multiple tools and doesn't cost me a fortune. So far the winner in this is Canson XL for mixed media.

2. Sketching

For my sketching and pencil doodles I use mechanical pencils in size 0.5 and 0.3 with HB lead, it's the easiest one to erase and it doesn't smudge, not any preference in a brand, just don't really use the light plastic ones since they tend to creak.

For erasing I use a combination of kneadable eraser and tombow mono eraser for more precise things.

3. Lining

tombow fudenosuke!!!!! Best marker ever, doesn't smudge under water nor alcohol markers and has flexible nib.

If you're not a fan of the flexible nib, my other go to are either liners from Uni-pin or microns

4. Coloring

For my marker pieces like this one :

I use the cheapest off-brand alcohol markers I bought in a big set on AliExpress. They're great for personal work but not that much if you're planning to display it anywhere, the color gets immediately eaten by sun

For my watercolor pieces like this

I now use white nights watercolors :]

The set of 36 to be exact and some random brushes I also accumulated over the years.

Before investing in white nights I used watercolors from Koh-i-noor, that looked like this :

And are much cheaper (in Czechia, dunno the prices out of the country)

For white highlights I use Sakura gelly roll pens. I tested out different brands too and these do their job the best.

5. Scrapbooking/ collage backgrounds

For backgrounds like this:

I accumulated over some time a lot of scrapbooking papers and stickers either from action or AliExpress, but also sometimes I use cut outs from magazines I get for free.

For precise cutting I use a precision craft knife, but before that I just used a box cutter knife, just don't press too hard.

Also a very good thing to get is a light pad, again AliExpress is your friend in this, and tbh before moving to the light pad, I used to shine my phone camera under the paper.

Makes the cutting muuuuuch easier.

And last but not the least

6. Taking photos of your art/ scanning

Phone camera + Snapseed is god tier combo for me, there are so many tutorials on YouTube how to edit the photos into full crispy quality.

But between my friend group it's well known that I am not very good at taking photos, so I scan most of my things.

Just a disclaimer that a good scanner is a very expensive thing ... But if you're willing to go through some loops, you can get a very neat CCD scanner from second hand for very cheap, sadly most of the time the cheap ones are very old and it took a lot of prayers and IT friend to set that thing up :DDD

So that's all I can think of right now, don't forget I got all these things over the years, and still I tend to draw or doodle with pretty cheap low quality things, since I believe that art can be made with everything... The more professional tools just tend to make things easier, but still it's better to test it out a bit before fully jumping into buying big expensive sets.

I wish a lot of luck with creating and don't be scared to experiment :3

[officialchristiancagebbgirlblog]

2: “try and get some sleep baby”

34: “shh, it’s okay. I’m here now”

Hopefully this is okay, I made it into a sort of nightmare in which the reader wakes up to a caring Christian Cage. Any feedback is appreciated! Hope you enjoy! 🩵

Tag: @brideofinfamy

Warnings: none

Theme: angst and fluff at the end

Word count: 1407

Link to masterlist

Happy reading 🖤

“I know it’s not easy, but try and get some sleep baby.”

For the last few days, you had been really struggling to get to sleep. You weren’t sure where the problem was starting but all you knew is you were sick of sleeping so late all the time. Christian laid behind you, spooning your body while one of his cats happily nestled behind his knees. He mumbled sweet nothings into your hair, trying to help you get to sleep. Even though he was half asleep he still tried his best to get you as relaxed as possible before he drifted off into his own dreams.

“I’ll try, babe…” you sighed, feeling him plant a soft kiss on the back of your head and pulling the sheets higher up on your bodies. You went to say goodnight, but by the time you turned your head towards him, he was out like a light.

The clock by your bedside table read 2:13am. It wasn’t the time you wanted to see at all, having tried for hours to get to sleep. Strangely enough, you were tired enough to get to sleep but your brain was just refusing to shut off for the night. It’s not like you had even done anything crazy that night anyways! At best, you and your boyfriend, Christian, had just had a quiet night cooking dinner, watching a movie. Being in his later years, he preferred to stay in and hang out with his girl. There was nothing he needed to prove to anyone by bringing you out, showing you off to his friends to prove that ‘he’s still got it!’ He didn’t need to prove to anyone that he was still worthy of being loved by younger women. So he chose to spend his nights relaxing with you instead. He knew you didn’t enjoy going out and partying until the early hours of the sunrise, so it never took much convincing to get you to stay home with him.

You envied Christian for being able to sleep so quickly. As soon as you guys had got yourselves tucked in he fell asleep. Snoring away behind you, his sounds were oddly relaxing. They were loud, occasionally a little bit squeaky but it was just enough to help lull you into a restless sleep.

Once your eyes finally closed and you melted into the sheets, you found yourself standing alone in a hallway. Wide awake.

‘Strange…’ you thought aloud, ‘where is everybody?’

Wandering down the hall you could hear faint, illegible voices that went up and down in both tone and volume. Almost like a weird song? You couldn’t quite pinpoint who the voices belonged to but it definitely sounded familiar. Deciding to stop, you pressed your ears against a closed wooden door on your right to see if you could make out what they were saying. But weirdly, as you got closer you heard more voices that made it so hard to hear as you got closer to the wood. They were loud, distorted, and almost angry. But after some head movements, you found the sweet spot on the door that allowed you to make out at least some words. Sadly, though, it might’ve just been better to ignore them.

“She’s just so…and I don’t…why would he go…someone as young as…she’s just in it…for the money…he could do…so much better…”

‘Oh my god,’ you gasped, ‘is…is that what she thinks of me?!’

It took you a moment to figure out who the voice might belong to, and you felt your heart drop when you realised it was one of Christians friends. It could’ve been Shayna, or possibly Beth but you weren’t fully certain on which of the girls. You swallowed thickly, and with a tightness on your chest you continued down the hall. On your left, this time, was a new wooden door. Except this one was painted Green with a little peephole looking into the room. You could see the back of someone sitting, typing furiously on their phone and dictating loudly what they were writing. Whoever they were, they were practically shouting their words of hatred:

“What does he even see in her…why on Earth…date a younger…she deserves to be-“

Quickly and clumsily stepping back, you tried to spare yourself from hearing the end of that sentence. You felt the cool wall slam against your back as you stumbled down to the floor.

‘Oh my god, what’s going on?!’ You thought to yourself, head buried in your hands, body trembling. The tightness on your chest started to feel more like a weight. Like something was sitting on it, hot and kind of fuzzy? It almost felt like it was merging with the inside of your throat. After what felt like forever, you found the courage to lift your head only to be met with an open doorway. Looking in, sat on a lone chair in the middle of an otherwise empty room sat Christian. Staring at you. With no love in his eyes.

He didn’t say anything, just watched as you shakily lifted yourself off the floor to walk towards him. With each step closer, his expression became more sour and angry.

‘Baby, it’s…it’s me. What’s wrong?” You questioned, lips quivering. Still, he stayed silent and unmoving.

‘Please just say something! Anything!’

Slowly he stood from the chair, eyes trained on you with a scowl plastered on his face. He took a step forward towards you and placed his hands on your shoulders.

‘You disgust me…’ he spat out, beginning to shake you violently. With each shake, he shouted disgusting comments at you, spit flying all over your face as he closed the space between the two of you. You couldn’t move. You couldn’t even breathe. The man that you were in love with stood before you shouting abuse at you. Tears streamed down as you stared at his greying face, his cheeks burning a bright red of hatred. Everything felt like it was shaking around you, and you had the odd sensation of being lifted from the ground. But, his voice kept you distracted from everything around you. You barely even noticed his expression soften, his voice suddenly quiet and soothing.

“Hey, wake up!”

Sitting up in a panic, you almost shrieked. The heavy feeling in your chest quickly disappeared as his cat (who was previously cuddled up on your chest) tumbled down into your lap with a gentle meow in protest. She hopped away from the bed, unhappy with the level of respect. Apparently she didn’t much appreciate rolling down somebody's body. Looking around the room that was just barely lit with the lamp beside your boyfriend you realised where you were. Back in the safety of his bedroom. It was just a horrible nightmare. It still didn’t stop your sobs and violent shakes as you fell sideways into his awaiting arms.

“Oh baby, shh. Shh, it’s okay. I’m here now…” he mumbled, face buried in your hair, hands caressing your arms. You tried to speak but you just couldn’t get the words out between sobs.

“No it’s okay, sweet girl, you don’t have to say anything. I know you had a nightmare. You don’t have to tell me what happened.”

His reassuring words helped you calm down quicker, his soft hands acting as a fantastic distraction from the sadness. Finally you were able to calm down again. The tears had stopped flowing, the shakes were less violent. But that didn’t stop him from continuing to hold you, rocking you side to side. You looked over to him to see him flash you a warm smile.

“Are you feeling better now?” He held an open bottle of water to your lips, trying to get you to have a few sips which you gratefully accepted. Still feeling too upset to properly talk, you gave him a nod before laying back down under the covers. He placed the water down and turned off the lamp, plunging the room back into darkness. There was a brief moment of anxiety which quickly washed away as he nuzzled in next to you.

“Th…thank you.” You managed to mutter out, just loud enough for him to hear. Another kiss was given to you but this time on your cheek.

“I’m here for you sweet girl, whatever happens. Try and get back to sleep if you can, okay? I promise I won’t let go of you tonight.”

[fandom-lover2]

The Hound

Chapter One - A-hunting We Go

Word Count - 1246

My eyes slipped closed again, and I fought to open them.

God, how much longer was this stupid lesson?

The teacher droned on, monotonously, about a topic I can’t remember. Despite the annoying shrill of her voice, the lack of change in pitch was lulling me to sleep.

My eyes closed, my head too heavy for my neck, and I jerk awake just in time to save my forehead slamming into my desk from where it slipped off my raised fist. I checked the time again. Still 20 minutes, and it was barely even 10am yet.

I needed out, an interference from God to free me from this prison.

And then it came. The intercom went off, I was needed in the office with my bags.

I packed up silently and slipped away from the class, heading to the office.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, right? My grades were good and I hadn’t been acting out in class. Why was I being called in?

I walked through the halls of the school, private obviously. Mycroft had insisted I attend, saying that if I was staying with his brother, I needed a proper education. He’d gotten me into the school all the politician’s children went to, so that I was protected. Surrounded by armed special forces security teams, no one could even look at the school without being surrounded and hauled off for interrogation.

I got to the office and waited with the headmaster’s assistant for a few minutes before being allowed in. When I was, he sat me down and looked at me very sadly.

“Your father phoned. There has been a death in the family.”

There were two things wrong with this scenario. First, my father didn’t even know I was in London. In fact, last I knew he was either a prisoner to the Iranian government or he was working for them.

Secondly, ‘death in the family’ was a code. Something that would guarantee my release from school.

“Your father is busy booking the flights for you.” The headmaster continued, pulling a slip of paper from his desk and beginning to full it in. “Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”

He didn’t mean it, it was just something people said to one another when tragedy struck. You weren’t actually going to drop all you were doing and help somebody just shy of the title ‘stranger’ because they were mourning. Humans are weird.

The headmaster handed me the release slip and offered getting one of the agents to drive me home, but I told him I’d prefer the walk. It’d give me time to message loved ones and work through my grief.

Making my way out the school, I handed my release form to the guards at the gate and was then on my way.

I didn’t hurry. “Death in the family” was to come home, not any concern. “Mother in hospital” was an emergency, needed to be home immediately. “Brother broke his arm” was it wasn’t safe to go to the flat, and I needed to hightail it to Mycroft’s office. That, or Mycroft would have someone fetch me from school.

Taking the 45 minute walk, I tried putting my deduction skills to work.

Last time Sherlock had used this excuse he’d taken me to a case. Lestrade had questioned why I was there, and Sherlock had lied about me having a sick day. Sherlock had of course solved the case in 5 minutes. But he remained silent, standing by and watching me as I moved around the body, the scene, trying to see what he was seeing.

Took 2 hours for me to finally admit defeat. Sherlock then walked me through the steps I had taken again, then patiently pointed out what he had seen that I hadn’t, which lead to the revelation of domestic abuse gone too far. In the end, it wasn’t really worth missing my last few periods of school, but we’d bonded and I’d learnt a lot. John was furious when he realized Sherlock had pulled me from school, and for a case no less.

Today was John’s day off, so that meant he was home. Sherlock wouldn’t risk having me home if that meant John would find out, so that meant it involved both of them.

Sherlock had been having a dry spell of cases lately, and desperation had led to him leaving late last night to go “hunting” was all he said, taking a harpoon with him. If the school got a call from my ‘father’, then he must have finished up with that and be home now.

Unless… unless something had happened to Sherlock and John had called the school, needing me home.

My gut twisted tightly. Maybe it’d be best if I did hurry home. Speeding up my walk from a stroll to mildly contained jogging, I rushed down Baker Street and unlocked the door, bounding up the stairs two at a time.

I realized I didn’t need to worry, because Sherlock was looking at me in concern when I made it to our floor.

“You’re not dead.” I greeted.

“Should I be?” he quired, looking me up and down.

“I’m fine.” I reassured. “I just thought the code might mean something happened to you last night.”

 He nodded in understanding, before turning and going down the hall to his bedroom.

I followed after, surprised to see two suitcases on his bed, in the process of being packed. “Going somewhere?”

“We all are.” he confirmed, reaching into the shelves of my closet and pulling out some folded shirts.

I realized that one of the suitcases was full of my things. “Where?”

“I thought we agreed we weren’t pulling her from school?” John spoke, appearing in the kitchen and calling down the hall. He had a suitcase in hand.

“You talked, I listened. That doesn’t count as agreeing.” Sherlock then moved passed me to go into the bathroom, grabbing our toothbrushes and the toothpaste. “Besides, it’s only 2 days. We’ll be back before the weekend’s over.”

“Back from where?” I tried again to get an answer.

“Baskerville.”

I frowned, racking my brain through the United Kingdom geography I knew. Nothing came up.

“Up north, deep countryside.” John supplied, walking into the living room.

Sherlock followed him, breezing into the room and picking up both our laptops.

“For a case?” In all the time I’d known them, there had never once been a discussion on vacations.

 “Man’s father was mauled by a hound a few years ago.”

I frowned at Sherlock, and he moved down the hall again, back to our bags. “We’re investigating a dog attack?”

“We are proving the dog is there.” John corrected.

We were gonna go and prove a dog, which attacked a man years ago, was actually there to attack a man? Wouldn’t seeing the body prove that there was a dog?

“Not dog.” Sherlock called and he headed back towards us. “Hound.”

“And the difference between ‘dog’ and ‘hound’ is?” I asked, looking around at the mess of papers that were all over the place. Like someone had been looking for something.

“Difference between a Blood Hound and a Pomeranian?” Sherlock fired back.

“Size.” I guessed.

Sherlock smiled, patting me on the head as he passed.

Ok, this guy had seen a big dog attack his father. What was the fascination with a big dog?

“Was it not maybe a wolf?”

“There aren’t wolves out that way.” John answered, checking his watch. “In fact, there aren’t wolves anywhere near here.”

“There’s wolves in almost most houses in the world.” I corrected. “Many were just bred down to the size of a Chihuahua.”

My ears perked up at the sound of Sherlock grabbing a glass jar from on top of the fridge and opening it, removing one red lollipop and holding it out to me.

That meant I’d said something useful, something relating to the case, an important fact. I knew what he was doing too, putting Pavlov to the test.

He would reward me when I contributed something useful, studying how rewards promote the desired behavior.

John hadn’t seemed to catch on yet, and it’s not that I minded, I was getting a lollipop.

“Get changed, we have a long train ride ahead.”

Then, he spun and went back to the bedroom, followed by the sound of zippers closing.

I looked around at the mess again. “Cigarettes?”

John sighed in response, moving to head downstairs and hail a cab.

So ‘Cold Turkey’ was going well.

[kumeko]

A/N: For the Shorelines and Sandcastles zine! My first ship in the game, I’m still very partial to them now. Especially to Kairi being a bit of a shit to Riku XD

…

…

…

…

Riku was a traveller. Kairi had known that going in, had known that since they were little kids, sneaking around the yard as they pretended to explore a jungle. Sora and Riku had always taken the lead, wayward adventurers clearing the path, and she had tagged along because it had looked fun. None of this had changed as they grew up, as backyards became neighbourhoods became cities, as their journeys took them further and further from home.

Even now, half-way through university, Kairi could hear Riku’s wanderlust on the phone as he rambled on and on about his new city. Sitting on her bed, her red blanket half covering her legs, she leaned back against the headboard as she listened to him describe the beaches near his dorm and the crusty old man selling spicy fries. If she closed her eyes, she could see his bright eyes, his small smile. There was none of Sora’s energy in his words, but she preferred it that way. If Sora had been the sun in their childhood, their leader and constant motivator, then Riku had been the earth, stabilizing them all and keeping them on path.

And she was the moon, pulled along by their gravity.

“Kairi?”

She blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. “Huh?”

“Were you listening?” Riku sounded mildly exasperated. In the background, she heard seagulls cry and waves crash. He gently teased, ��Or is it past your bedtime?”

“If it is, it’s only because you had to go to another time zone for uni,” Kairi huffed in response, covering up her embarrassment with mock hurt. It wasn’t like her to be so gloomy, especially when their timetables finally synced up for a proper call. “I can’t believe you left your girlfriend behind like that.”

It was an old disagreement, one they delved into when they were bored. She could almost hear him roll his eyes. Wryly, Riku pointed out, “You didn’t even want to apply for this school. What did you say again—that it was too much packing?”

“Well, it was. It took you a day and you don’t even own anything.” Kairi grimaced as she scanned her bedroom. Between her posters and her clothes, she’d have trouble getting the bare necessities. “It’d take me a whole week.”

He chuckled, deep and rich. She’d missed the sound. “You just have too much shit.”

Riku had always been a minimalist, preferring functionality over form. Kairi understood, but only to a point—what was the point in having an entire room if you didn’t personalize it? Why even live if you weren’t actually going to live? The only good thing was that he had an eye for style and quality; if Riku bought something, it would last for years.

“Some of us like having things. Also, that’s sacrilege,” Kairi huffed, wrinkling her nose at the insult. “None of my things are ‘shit’, that’s all Sora’s poor-quality impulse buys.”

“Oh, don’t get me started on that.” RIku groaned. There was a soft thud as he leaned against a wall. “He sent pictures of his room. I don’t think he has a bed anymore. Or a floor.”

“Same-day shipping was a mistake,” Kairi agreed, remembering all of the pictures Sora had sent in the group chat. Alone in a new city, there was no one to protect their poor friend from his terrible lifestyle choices. “Did he get a pet? Or two?”

“I’m not sure,” Riku admitted. She was certain he was rubbing his forehead now, though that wouldn’t save him from his frown-wrinkles. “I thought his roommates were dressing up as a prank, but maybe he really did buy a duck and a dog?”

“This is why I didn’t leave home.” Kairi shook her head sadly. “Look at all the misery I’ve been spared.”

Riku laughed, a short, bark-like sound. “Look at all the adventures you missed.”

“There’s plenty of adventure here,” she countered.

“Like the trip to the ice-cream shop? You can say what you want, but I know the truth.” She heard a squeak as an old window slid open and the seagulls’ cries grew louder. Riku teased, “You just wanted to stay home, didn’t you?”

“It’s comfy here,” she weakly protested.

Riku laughed fondly. “You’re such a homebody.”

“And you’re a nomad,” she retorted.

They’d had this argument before. For fun, when she relaxed on the beach while Riku dreamed of rafts and pirates. Seriously, when they were tykes and she had been scared to step onto the sidewalk.

And now, it hit home like a punch to the gut. It was such a basic fact. She’d known it before they’d started dating, before she’d fallen in love with him. His eyes had always been on the horizon, on the places just out of sight. Hers had always been on the ground, focused on familiar comforts. If he liked travelling, she liked staying still. If he liked adventure, she liked lazing around. And now he had actually left. Would he like his new home? Would he stay? Would she be forced to follow? The questions crowded her throat, wanting to get out, and she stared at the phone.

“Kairi?” He sounded concerned when she didn’t respond. “Kairi?”

She swallowed down her worries, too afraid to ask. Weakly, she grumbled, “You know, it’s not fair you’re right next to the beach. It’s still cold here.”

“I don’t think there actually is ‘winter’ here. Seriously, Kairi, what’s wrong?” Riku replied quickly, not dropping the matter. He’d always been ridiculously perceptive when it came to her.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she mumbled.

“Kairi. You’re a terrible liar.” There was a long silence before he added, “If you want, I’ll ask Sora to call you—”

“No!” Kairi immediately cut him off. It had been an old insecurity of his, comparing himself to Sora, and she knew how hard it must have been for him to suggest that. “It’s not…He doesn’t…I’m just scared.”

Riku breathed in sharply. “Of what?”

“I don’t know…” Kairi ran a hand through her hair. “No, I do know, I’m…here. You’re there. It’s just…It’s exciting over there and it’s boring here and I’m not, I’m not really—” She dropped her hand, staring at her palm. It felt silly, complaining about this. Like she was in elementary school again, crying that the boys had left her behind.

They were adults now. This was just whining. Softly, she whispered, “I miss you.”

In all honesty, that was the root of her fears.

It was silent on his end. A seagull squawked, the wind blew, and she could just picture him leaning against his window, staring at the sea. His expression would be tight, his brows knit, and she really wanted to see his face right now.

Finally, he broke the silence with a simple “Oh.”

That quiet response knocked her back to her senses. Mortified, she flushed. “Never mind, I—”

“You know,” Riku interrupted. “I was going to keep this a secret, but I’m coming home next weekend.”

Kairi almost dropped her phone. “R-really?” she squeaked.

He chuckled. “Yeah, really.”

“Why—” She glanced at the Mickey Mouse calendar on her wall, taking note of the date. “Oh, the long weekend?”

“It is, but that’s not why.” Kairi heard him shift, his clothes rustling in the breeze. “I didn’t come back for the last one.”

She half-wished they’d done a video call instead. Riku had never been much of a talker, his body often speaking for him. Kairi couldn’t read his voice at all. It was terrifying. “Then why?”

“It’s nice out here,” he replied evenly. “There’s a beach. There’s a series of caves. There’s so much to see and do here.”

Kairi had no idea where this was going. “You’re bragging,” she accused.

“A little,” Riku admitted with a laugh. “But the thing is, whenever I find something new, I just want to call you after. I only like finding these places because I want to see your reaction. Even now…I’m just counting down the days till I come home to you.”

She didn’t have to see his face to know how red it was, to hear the slight hitch in his voice whenever he got embarrassed. Not that it mattered; even if they had video on, Kairi wouldn’t have been able to see him. No matter how quickly she blinked, tears filled her eyes. “That’s mushy,” she mumbled, her voice cracking.

“I’m never saying it again,” he stated. “Ever.”

“Still mushy.” Kairi wiped her eyes. “I love you, too.”

There was an embarrassed cough on the other end. Riku cleared his throat. “Hey, Kairi, next time why don’t you visit me.”

Kairi was a homebody. She always would be. Yet, that didn’t mean she didn’t like a vacation every once in a while. Especially if Riku was waiting on the other side, with his warm eyes and confident smirk, with his firm hands and gentle hugs.

She smiled. “I’d like that.”

[tooxmanyxships]

prompt: [ sneak ] sender sneaks up behind receiver and puts their hands over their eyes to surprise them

let's switch it up a bit. Nico is interviewing [insert a driver of your preference], during interviewing this specific driver, Lewis decides to sneak up on Nico playfully, kiss him on his cheek and hug him from behind. (They are married) , the rest is however you prefer.

— <3

Awwww. Brocedes fluff 🥺 Can I write that tho.... Let's see 🤔🤭

Nico was kind of excited to be back in the paddock, doing interviews again.

It had been a while, since RxR racing had kept him occupied. And all the speeches and lectures he did on a green environment.

Not to mention that he was a married man and his husband was still one of the greatest drivers of all time. But that greatest driver also deserves his attention.

It wasn't always easy....they both struggled to manage their work and time together into equal amounts.

Most of the time it wasn't really possible.

But they were together and happy and that was the most important thing.

When Nico was on the paddock at the media pen, he always felt the closest to Lewis that he's ever been, even if Lewis wasn't even near him.

It came with the memories of both being drivers for so long.

The paddock, in whatever country they might be, it always became like a second home.

All of the drivers became a second family.

He didn't know where Lewis was right now, but he had no time to search for him either.

Daniel was already coming over to him for his interview, looking just as radiant as ever.

He loved interviewing Daniel. Every interviewer did.

He just had this aura about him that drew you in and made you hang onto his lips with every word he said. And then his charming smile of course.

If he wasn't married to Lewis - - - No. That wasn't even true.

He wouldn't want to marry any other guy than Lewis.

He'd say he wouldn't want to marry anyone but Lewis, but sadly that wasn't the truth either because he was married to Vivian before.

But, he definitely took P1 in the 'guys he'd want to marry' category.

He took a last look at his papers before greeting Daniel and asking him his first question.

Daniel seemed to have his gaze fixed on something behind Nico instead of on Nico himself, which was a little bit confusing. But hey, it was Daniel after all.

But now he's asking his second question and Daniel is still looking behind him.

Nico is about to whirl around to see what's going on, but suddenly he's constricted by two strong arms around his waist, an all too familiar chest pressed up against his back and two lips pressed against his cheek.

"See you later, hubby."

Those words are whispered into his ear, but he doesn't have time to react (not that he could anyway) because the presence behind him is gone just as fast as he came and left Nico stranded there.

In front of all those cameras and phones and whatever else people used to make videos with these days.

He whips his head to look over his shoulder, just in time to catch Lewis winking at him.

If he was flustered before, it got even worse now.

And to make things even more embarrassing, he can hear Daniel's amused clearing of his throat.

"Is Nico Rosberg really blushing?"

God, he would like to kill Daniel right now. But not as much as he'd like to throttle his husband.

Damn him.

He would like to take a moment to compose himself, he knows he doesn't have time for that, so he just settles on clearing his throat too, running his fingers through his hair (he's definitely not touching the cheek Lewis' lips had touched seconds ago. Definitely not. Yes he is) and focuses back on Daniel.

"Right. Next question - - -"

He's totally forgotten the next question and Daniel laughs, pats him on the shoulder.

Nico has no other choice but to let Daniel go to the next reporter.

He's going to kill Lewis.

Having lots of fun doing so too.

[angie-j-kay]

A QUICK UPDATE ABOUT FLAT BROKE #2!

Flat Broke #2 is meant to be out tomorrow, but it's going to be another day or so. Sadly, I had some massive drama at my job in the last couple of weeks. It's a long and unpleasant story, but the short version is that an underage girl I work with came forward with complaints about the manager's inappropriate behavior with her, got her hours cut in retaliation, and I and my coworkers have gone to war to get rid of this guy.

I have personally had two long phone calls and one in-person visit from the corporation's NATIONAL HR manager in the last two weeks on top of my full-time studies and preparing to move to a new home, and I wasn't even the direct witness to any of the girl's complaints. I prefer that corporate officers be unaware of my existence, personally, but when a teen girl is so scared that she's going to work with the local police on speed-dial in her pocket, it's time to fucking step up.

Put simply, this zine is completely written, but I am straight-up exhausted and I still have to be on the clock tomorrow morning. I am going to try to get some sleep tonight, so that tomorrow evening I can lay the zine out and get it up and running on Sunday.

My apologies, guys. I will be starting on March's issue as soon as February's is done, if that helps.

[ansbobcar]

EP 2. Hangover and find out

WORD COUNT. 1425

Link to overview

_ _ _ _ _

The Desert Cane woke up with a hangover. That was a fact, slowly bringing himself to find his glasses which were on the coffee table beside the couch. With a sigh, he could finally check the time in his office.

“It’s only 8 o’clock,” he huffed in relief. His division began work around 9 and the monthly briefing with the field agents was at 10, so there was still some time for him to look less… wasted, taking a walk to the closest washroom and looking at himself. He looked about the same without his robe, just more irritated honestly. It’ll go away with time, he brushes it off as he washed his face at the sink before patting it dry with his handkerchief.

Once he returned he was greeted by Rinka once again who was now in her orange robe. “You’re awake!” She had brought over some soup and a loaf of bread. “You had me worrying for a bit last night.”

“You didn’t have to bring me anything,” he dismissed her words only to wince at the throbbing pain.

“I definitely did,” putting down the tray of food she brought and helping him over to his chair. “I’ll take over for the meetings.”

“Don’t you—”

“—I’ve got nothing on my schedule in the morning, I’m fine,” and he conceded.

She was the previous head of the Magical Power Administration, he reminded himself, unpleased by the saltiness of the soup he sipped. He should trust her more than he lets himself.

“Was there anything else you were supposed to do today? Like in the afternoon or evening,” she tidied the mess that occurred near the coffee table.

By the mention of it, the grip on his spoon loosened as he scowled, “one more meeting.”

“With who?”

“No clue,” his parents set him up again.

“Just give me the location and time then.”

“2 o’clock, The Hound at the end of Marchette Street,” he recalled from the phone call. “I’d prefer if you didn’t follow me for it.”

“Sure thing.”

_ _ _

Sadly, she heeded those words, faced with a dolled up daughter of another high ranking officer in the Bureau… probably. There was no sense of charisma in her charm-filled eyes, did she recently learn a spell? It was sloppily applied, he critiqued as he held a blank expression during their conversation whilst waiting for their food.

She seemed too relaxed compared to the others who knew his position and placed him highly on a pedestal.

“... I’m currently studying at Easton in the meantime. Sadly, I’m in the Lang House, so I think that’s where our similarities end,” she chuckled to herself with a calculated awkwardness, as she tucked some strands of hair behind her ear.

“Did you join Easton recently?”

“Not at all but mid-terms are coming up soon,” she rambled about practising her subjects soon but they seemed elementary the more he focused on the details. “What were your favourite subjects?”

“Didn’t have any since I did rather well in all of them, but I preferred to be in the library before I opted to do police internships if that helps,” he replied sincerely. “You should probably focus on Potions and Magic History then. Under timed conditions, it’s easier to lose large amounts of marks due to the nature of their content and as a result either fail the subject.”

‘Oh god,’ she thought. ‘He’s just babbling away about how the exam will be? I didn’t study that far into Ancient History with the Giant Race though?!’ Even the food went cold as she completely immersed in his words of advice. It reached a point where she was about to hit curfew at 5 o’clock alongside the clouds thickening it’s dull appearance over the city, and quickly left him to finish eating his meal alone.

‘That’s the curfew for… oh.’

He hid the tightening grip on his hidden hand as he watched her run in the distance.

“They’re just unbelievable,” he held back a scoff, thunder boomed nearby. Droplets tap danced with increasing crescendo onto the roof and all around the city centre as he continued his meal as a waiter lit up the candles inside the restaurant and he sat there, mulling over his next decision towards those needy oldies.

They would likely send a new letter with another rabbiphone in about a week’s time and by then he has to figure out how to get away from the problem. If it continues beyond this month, he might actually lose it and become a full blown alcoholic. He would’ve chosen the one from today if she was in her graduating year at Easton as he had initially believed.

The restaurant doors opened briefly, greeting his ears with the rapid descent of rain from his seat. Shaking the umbrella in her hand before she left it at the door, she turned towards him and waved before she walked to the seat opposing him, bits of her hair stuck to her skin. “You didn’t return so I thought you passed out again,” she rested her drenched robe on the seat as she received a menu and ordered chicken chop immediately. “And then the weather changed,” she continued. “How are you feeling compared to this morning?”

“The headache’s been gone now,” he promptly replied. “How were the meetings?”

“There were some glaring issues with their patrol routes, since they avoided common hotspots for magic abuse,” she summarised. “I suggest linking them up with each district’s police branch to come up with a flexible schedule since our own forces are rather limited still.”

“I also looked over some of the newly handed in reports, nothing strange about them.”

His scowl-filled eyes softened into disappointment as his co-worker continued to catch him up on important details. He couldn’t interrupt her out of necessity even if his seething thoughts could barely be chained to the back of his mind but he tried his best to listen to her. “Sophie’s new security system in the storage room is almost impenetrable and inescapable for your average double line magic user! I’m so happy my ideas helped!”

However, those reigns were instantly ripped apart as she questioned: “How was the blind date?”

“She didn’t even start high school yet,” his resentment for his parents grew in his voice. Alas, there was no law against this practice for the near future as he watched her section of her dish.

“Hopefully she graduates from high school,” her eyes filled with melancholy at his words. “So how are you going to evade your parents now?” He stayed silent, at a loss of words.

“And I thought he was a decisive guy,” she mumbled under her breath. “I’ll be frank.”

“Either you have me act as your girlfriend or you’re gonna meet that teenager in a week and pray that she cheats on you down the line so the engagement gets cancelled.”

“I’m not putting false hope in a middle schooler,” he turned down the second option, only to grimace at the first option she gave. “And that… needs a realistic progression to be believable.”

“This is the realistic progression,” she countered. “If it wasn’t for the rain, the candlelight on the table fits the atmosphere we’re trying to convince them of! Haven’t you seen the people tailing you from outside? The paparazzi are crazy in this part of the city regarding famous figures.”

The rain shuddered in the wake of another stab of thunder. His 

“Can we discuss the details later in my office?”

_ _ _

A night passed with the breeze, as Ryoh Grantz, the most dazzling man alive, awaits for the other Divine Visionaries to arrive with the honey obsessed Flame Cane who briefly glares at him. He sits at the edge of the balcony connected to the director’s office, who for now has taken a deserved month long break. Alas, the Bless Minister hasn’t returned to the room as expected. 

He giggled handsomely at this fact before the door opened gracefully, revealing the lovebirds… from the corner of his eye,” he stiffly fumbled his words as his comment seemed to be ignored. He wasn’t scolded for his narcissistic remarks or had his delusional teasing corrected, as they just stared at him like guilty children stuck in place.

“Yeah.”

The white haired sweet tooth choked on his tea as he questioned them with a tight grip onto his cup. “Since when?”

This time, the bespectacled youngest in the room replied.

“It’s been a few months.”

_ _ _ _ _

Lmao the quotation in the overview's mentioned now so uh. yayyy. When will the title be mentionned in storyline? Dunno?

EDIT: I MADE A CONTINUITY ERROR FOR LATER CHAPTERS. We're currently in May the school year. Like 8-10 months before the main mashle canon plot begins.

[stiles-banshees]

Good Things Come in Threes: Chapter Six ♡

Summary: Growing up on the East Coast her whole life, Summer Hastings always longed for more. The niece of Penny Benjamin would often fly out to the West Coast every summer to visit her aunt and cousin. Summer didn’t realize how much her life would change that night she called her aunt to book her plane ticket when she was 18 years old when a certain Jake Seresin answered the phone.

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Warnings: 18+, swearing, smut

Word Count: 2.8k

“You ship out tomorrow?” 

The couple had been watching movies when Jake broke the news. It had barely been a week since the accidents. He talked with Nat when they first found out, and they agreed that he should be the one to break the news to Summer. They even had Bradley weigh in on the conversation, the man proud to see the good in Jake.

“At four in the morning,” Jake said, hugging her close to his chest.

Summer was partially lying on top of Jake. She found that having a cheek pressed against his chest and a leg hooked around his waist was a comfortable position.

“Best birthday present ever,” She laughed sadly.

“I wish that was the worst part of it,” Jake sighed, sitting up against the headboard and pulling Summer onto his lap.

“Jake, it’s classified information. You shouldn’t be-”

“Maverick’s heading the mission, and I’m the dagger spare. Rooster’s dagger two, and Phoenix and Bob are dagger three. Payback and Fanboy are dagger four.” He cut her off, rattling off what’s been playing in his brain since they got their assignments.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” Summer said, shocked.

She started to tear up when Jake didn’t answer.

“That’s why Penny asked me if I wanted to go sailing, isn’t it?” She cried.

“She thought a distraction might help. Nat helped come up with the idea.” He said.

“Life was so much easier when I only had to worry about Bradley,” She laughed, wiping her tears.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Jake whispered, cupping her face with both hands to wipe her (still) falling tears.

“You better come home to me.” She sniffled. 

“I’ll always come back to you, Summer. I promise. I still have to meet Ghost as your boyfriend.” He said, laughing at the last part.

Summer joined in as she pictured her father blowing a gasket once he realized she was dating one of the most arrogant aviators.

“Mom’s gonna love you,” Summer grinned. The puffiness in her face had gone down, and the tears stopped flowing.

“I’ve always wanted to meet Emmeline. I wanted to see what kind of woman Ghost Hastings was able to marry and procreate with.” Jake laughed.

“From what I’ve heard over the years, he wore her down by annoying her.” She said as she played with the hem of her dress. “They got married fast, though.”

“How fast?” Jake asked, finally dropping his hands down and resting them on her thighs.

Summer stiffened slightly before answering the question. “After six months.”

Jake nodded, oblivious that the girl on his lap was about to have an aneurysm with how he was grazing her thighs. Or so she thought. 

“This okay?” Jake asked her as he slid a hand to the hem of her dress.

Summer nodded, taking a deep breath and dropping the fabric from her hands.

“Sweetheart, I need you to use your words,” He said.

“All good.” She whispered.

Jake took her words as an opportunity to take things a step further and edged closer to the thin material of her underwear. Summer shivered once she felt his fingertips trace the fabric. 

“Still okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, keep going.” She whispered.

His hair was messy, and he felt warm, but Summer didn’t care. This felt right. Sure, she would have preferred this happening on a night when he didn’t have to leave the next day, but she was okay with this too. Jake grinned at the dazed look on Summer’s face. Everything fell into place in his head. The timing was sucky, but it was their time.

Jake grabbed Summer by the hips to pull her closer and bunched up the bottom of her dress once she settled. His cheeks flushed when he noticed the light pink shade of her underwear. Jake leaned into her, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth before resuming his previous action. This time, he used his thumb to apply gentle pressure to her clit. Summer’s stomach tightened in excitement. Jake grazed her clothed slit, feeling the dampness on her underwear.

“Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?” He said, pausing his movement as he waited for her response.

“Okay,” She nodded. “Keep going,”

Jake moved her underwear to the side, teasing her entrance a little before slipping a finger in. Summer winced at the slight discomfort, and Jake paused before continuing. Summer braced herself by holding onto Jake’s biceps while his thumb circled her clit as his finger pumped in and out.

“Oh my god,” She whimpered, her face turning red.

“You look so pretty like this, doll,” Jake moaned, his southern accent more pronounced than ever. “Think you can handle another one for me?”

Summer nodded, grinding her hips to hit his knuckles just right.

Jake slipped in another finger, and Summer dug her nails so deep into his biceps that she was afraid she broke his skin.

“Jake, I’m close.” She breathed.

“Let go whenever you’re ready. I’m right here,” Jake said.

Jake very noticeably had an erection. Summer used it as an advantage, removing one hand from his bicep to his crotch to palm him through his jeans. She grinned when she heard him beautifully moan, ‘fuck.’ Jake pressed his mouth back to Summer’s, biting her bottom lip as he applied more pressure to the small bundle of nerves between her legs. Turns out it was enough to set her off. Summer’s chest felt like it was going to burst as she tried to catch her breath, leaning against her boyfriend for support.

“Sweetheart, you did so well. I’m so proud of you.” Jake breathed, brushing away the hairs sticking to Summer’s forehead.

“What about you?” She asked breathlessly.

“What about me?” He asked.

“You’re hard, Jake. Let me help you out.” She said, sitting up straight while her chest was still rapidly heaving.

“Summer, you don’t have to.” He shook his head.

“It’s okay. I want to,” Summer leaned in, kissing his nose.

Summer shifted to access his jeans better before reaching for the button.

“Is this okay?” She asked.

Jake nodded because he somehow lost the ability to speak within the last five seconds.

“Use your words, baby.” Summer laughed lightly, knowing he felt how she did a few moments ago.

“It’s okay. More than okay, actually.” He took a shaky breath.

Summer wasted no time undoing the top button and pulling down the zipper of his jeans. She hurriedly moved off Jake’s lap so he could discard the pants entirely before settling back onto her bed. Summer went to reach for the waistband of Jake’s underwear, but he stopped her.

“Take off your dress,” He said as he pulled off his shirt, leaving him in his boxers.

Summer listened to the blond stripping from her sundress to be left in her bra and underwear.

“Fuck,” Jake groaned. 

Summer was only half-naked, and Jake was ready to combust. It felt like he grew even harder at the sight of her. He stared at her, mapping out the new territory in his mind, and memorized it.

“I’m never letting you go. You’re it for me.” Jake shook his head before guiding Summer to the bed, sitting her down to completely undress her then himself.

“Condoms?” He asked her as she moved closer to the headboard.

“Nightstand,” She said as she settled about a foot away from the headboard.

Jake quickly grabbed one, tearing the packet open and rolling it on. He positioned himself above Summer, stroking himself before spreading her legs and sliding into her. Jake groaned when he felt her walls clench around him.

“Don’t move yet,” Summer winced in discomfort, grabbing his biceps.

She clenched again involuntarily, and Jake almost buckled.

“Keep doing that, and we won’t get to the fun part, doll.” He said, gritting his teeth.

“You can move now,” Summer laughed at him.

Out of all the times she’s seen him tense, this would have to be the funniest.

Jake took his time, thrusting in and out as he kissed the girl under him. Summer trapped her hands in his hair, pulling when he hit her sweet spot in the best way possible. 

“God, Jake, keep doing that.” She sighed against his lips.

“Whatever you want,” He moaned, moving to kiss her neck.

Jake started to thrust faster once he knew where and how to reach Summer’s sweet spot. 

“I love you,” She moaned, and his libido skyrocketed.

“You wanna repeat that, sweetheart?” Jake grinned down at her.

“No,” Summer replied sheepishly.

Jake purposely bucked his hips, and Summer felt like she was seeing stars.

“I love you,” She laughed, dazed.

“Good girl,” He grabbed her chin and roughly pressed his mouth back to hers.

Summer pulled his hair again, and he groaned.

She studied Jake as he hovered over her and realized he somehow got hotter over the past five minutes. It might’ve been the sex haze, but Summer was severely in love with him.

“Shit, Summer. You feel so good,” He said breathlessly.

The tightness in Summer’s stomach came back when he applied pressure to her overstimulated clit, and she felt like exploding.

“Jake, I’m gonna cum.” She squeezed her eyes shut as the pleasure washed over her.

“Hey, hey, look at me.” He said, grinning when she listened.

Summer’s walls clenched again, and Jake released as well. He collapsed on top of Summer while he was still inside her, and she squeaked when he kissed her cheek.

“What was that noise?” He laughed.

“Oh, just feels like there’s a big weight on my chest,” Summer glared at him playfully.

“Speaking of your body, I never complimented it. You’ve got great tits, sweetheart.” Jake smiled.

“Don’t make me regret having sex with you,” She groaned, covering her face with her hands.

“Brace yourself. I’m about to pull out.” He said.

“Thanks for the warning,” Her voice was muffled by her hands.

Summer inhaled in discomfort when Jake disconnected from her. He made the quick trip to the bathroom to dispose of the used condom before walking back to the bed with his hand stretched out for Summer to take.

“Come on,” He said with his hand outstretched.

Summer uncovered her face to see him standing there.

“What?” She asked.

“Babe, you’re not stupid. You have to pee.” He said.

“I don’t feel like getting up.” She groaned.

Jake sighed before grabbing his boxers from the floor to put them on. Once he was done, he grabbed Summer by the ankles pulling her to the edge of the bed, then picked her up.

“Jake!” Summer squealed as he walked her to the bathroom connected to her room.

“Now!” He said as he placed her down in the bathroom. “You don’t want an infection.”

“Fine,” Summer pouted.

Jake gave her the privacy she needed to do her business, and then he carried her to the bed when she called him back.

“Can you get me a towel? I need to shower.” She smiled sweetly.

Jake nodded before grabbing two towels from her closet. Summer gave him a look when he handed her one.

“If we shower together, we’ll save water,” He said.

“Fine.” Summer rolled her eyes.

Thirty minutes later, the couple emerged from the bathroom. Jake went for his bag to grab the change of clothes he had with him, and Summer rifled through her drawers to find something.

“You cool if I just sleep in my boxers?” Jake asked the girl while she stepped into a fresh pair of cheeky briefs under her towel.

“Does that mean I can steal your shirt, then?” She asked.

Jake tossed her the plain black tee he packed to wear around the house in case someone stopped by the nearly empty house. Summer hummed as she pulled the shirt over her head and then plopped on her bed. Jake lay next to her, pulling the blanket over the both of them before pulling Summer into his chest.

His eyes shifted to the clock on her bedside table, which read 12:06 AM.

“Happy birthday, baby.” He gruffly said as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

Summer’s head peeked up to look at the clock positioned over his should and cursed.

“J, you’re supposed to be up in a few hours.” She said, eyes wide.

“I’ll be okay. Just wanna spend as much time with my girl as possible.” He said.

“You’re such a softie. All these years, I heard shitty stories about you, and now I’m starting to think people were being dramatic.” Summer laughed.

“Shitty stories from who?” Jake asked.

“Bradley used to be so heated whenever you two argued. One time, Nat came over just to scream because of how angry you made her that day.” She said.

“Well, what do you think? Am I that unbearable?” He asked.

“I think you just have a hard time letting people in,” She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s bad, but it can lead to misunderstandings, obviously.”

Summer yawned, and Jake grinned at the sight.

“Tired, sweetheart?” He asked.

“No, I’m just gonna rest my eyes.” She said, resting her head on Jake’s chest.

Jake shifted slightly, reaching over to turn off her lamp and drifting off soon after. About less than three hours later, he woke with a jolt. Sleeping for such little time felt like a nap to him. He quietly maneuvered his way out of Summer’s bedroom after leaving the gift he purchased and the note written to her when he found out about his assignment.

It took Hangman five minutes to get back to the naval base. He dropped his bag in his room, changing quickly before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth. His teammates greeted him as soon as he entered the steamy room.

“How’s she doing?” Phoenix asked as she approached him.

“We ended last night on a good note. I didn’t want to wake her up before I left.” He answered with a mouthful of toothpaste.

“She usually doesn’t cry, though. She didn’t cry, right?” Rooster chimed in.

“She cried,” Hangman answered simply, spitting out the toothpaste. “Just like she did during training, but worse.”

“Shit,” Rooster muttered, shaking his head.

“She’ll be fine. We’ll be back in no time. It’ll be like we never left.” Phoenix said as if she was trying to convince herself.

“In a perfect world, right?” Hangman huffed.

“Worst case scenario, one of us needs to make it back to her,” Rooster said.

“You’re right,” Phoenix nodded. “Hangman, don’t fly out unless it’s necessary.”

“Phoenix,” Hangman shook his head at the raven-haired woman.

“She’s right. It’s the outcome that seems the most probable, anyway.” Rooster agreed.

“But we don’t have to worry about that because we’re all coming home,” Hangman said, and his voice cracked. “We have to come home to her.”

“She really worked her magic on you, huh? You care about us now.” Phoenix smiled sadly.

Hangman stared at his girlfriend’s best friends, not knowing what to say.

“Did Summer tell you she loves you yet?” Rooster asked the blond.

“Last night. Why?” Hangman answered.

“You’re serious?” Phoenix asked, perplexed. “She never ceases to amaze me.”

“What am I missing?” Hangman asked.

“She used to shut down a lot when it came to missions. We’re just happy she’s not holding anything back anymore.” Rooster clapped the blond’s shoulder before making his way to the hangar.

“Did you leave it?” Phoenix asked Hangman once Rooster was out of earshot.

“Right next to the note I wrote her.” He confirmed.

“Good,” She answered before stalking off after Rooster.

Sighing deeply, Hangman followed his teammates to the hangar. Cyclone was talking to Maverick about something, and Hondo was ushering everyone to the ship.

“Hey, Hondo?” Hangman asked as he approached the man.

“What’s up, Hangman?” Hondo asked.

“If I have to fly out and I don’t make it back, can you check up on Summer from time to time?” He asked.

“Sure thing, but you’ll be able to do that yourself. You’re a great pilot and a great man, Hangman. I know you’ll find your way back home either way.” Hondo said.

Hangman smiled at him before stepping onto the ship. He wasn’t a person that got nervous, but the knots in his stomach would have anyone thinking otherwise. Hangman wasn’t worried about how he would do if he had to fly out.

He worried about the different reasons why he would have to fly out. Hangman was dagger spare, which meant the only reason he’d have to fly out would be if someone happened to be shot down or had to eject.

He couldn’t stomach the possibility of Summer getting the news that Phoenix or Rooster died. He didn’t want to see his happy girl end up broken because of a stupid mission. In the best-case scenario, they all make it home with just a few scratches here and there. The worst-case scenario could end with all of them in bodybags and Summer losing the bright light in her eyes. God, he was fucked.

-

Here is a link to my masterlist if you’d like to read any of my other writings or if you would like to send requests :)

I'm also taking requests for the seu outtakes, so make sure to send in any scenarios you'd like to see serestings&co in! You can find the link to my inbox here.

[momomiooo]

Essay😛

I think a problem a lot of people have with CI (including myself) is how different she is compared to the likes of v4 and talk. There was an obvious aesthetic set up by Gynoid that Cevio didn’t exactly follow through with and the color scheme came off as strange to me so i shall describe my few problems in sorta depth

Twitter

VFlower used to be EXTREMELY active almost like a person on twitter. I got curious during a car ride home and saw cevio attempted it but it didn’t hold the same strength as flowers did. While many people don’t even follow Vflowers account or even go through her post it’s still clear people liked having vocaloids seem realistic, like they were like us. It gave her a bit more relatability that could make even newer fans amazed. While The trend of realistic tweets from vocaloids has died down (sadly) to see they’re at least trying gives me hope for flowers future endeavors! Some of the things CIflower lacks are things that V posted which could be seen as risky for the company (some old tweets consisting of flower trying to flirt with girls, swooning over randos and talking about big boobs[😭???]) it gave flower some spice no other vocaloid softwares DARED to do!

Her Design

ah yes, the initial problem, her design. As fore-mentioned Cevio didn’t go with the exact color palette/scheme as the last few models but I still think it was a great idea. It feels like we’re watching an emo girl grow into adult-hood, flower now appearing to be around 17-24! The only problem is her color scheme. While I love the idea it just doesn’t fit flower and I think to make it work they had to change flowers most notable features, her hair and eyes. Her eyes have gone from magenta or pink (depending on who drew her when) to blue. Her hair also changed, getting a similar color to ia’s, more blonde and pink than white. And while I could go on about the software companies hating while haired characters (maybe they don’t sell as much like piko idk) or how they need to learn their audience consist of neurodivergent gays afraid of change, I don’t have an explanation for this one. Surely I could search and find out something but I don’t know why flower took such a leap from her talk vb to ci. I understand you change as you grow blah blah blah but still how did she go from confidence and the only problem you see is her dropping her head phones in talk to “c-can you p-pass the ketchup m-mi-miss?” She looks so scared and nervous😭.

Her voice

holllyyyyy crap. I could take the model, “pink eyes are unrealistic anyways… maybe it’s just shading” but the difference from AI and hand done is just.. wow… on one hand maybe maturing caused a bit more feminine to come into her life but oh my flying Fukase. Dunno whoever’s reading this but that whole “learn their audience” was observing how me and other autistic people felt about the design😭😭😭 I hate change so when I heard the lower one’s eyes cover I almost had a panic attack. Where is the angrodgany??? Where’s the vflower??? I get they’re supposed to sound realistic but it just sounds feminine. Could just be the creature of habit thing but I personally prefer her older voice banks just because of the power and emotion I feel from her voice. Some covers make her sound real, like she’s struggled just like us. So far the songs with CI in them sound… well.. AI. Advanced AI, sure, but ai nonetheless.

summary-ish

if you hate this woman now because of the design, take a deep breath and remember…

YOU CAN HEADCANON ANYTHING!!!!!

Re-make flower, nothing is canon other than existence, and even those boundaries are tested by creative people! Have fun making a flower that represents YOU. It’s a voice with a name and that’s all that matters. Self project on the plant and give her a life you’d like! Still don’t think she’s a girl? PRONOUN IT UP! Flower is just a singing software package, have fun making her what you want to see while supporting others:D

Have a good day I am done yammering

[chronicparagon]

Get to know Cher!

last song you listened to: Sharp Fangs What is a Heart, RemoveFace, and 9Lives

what's your phone wallpaper: My home screen is a gift a wonderful friend drew. It was based on the reply I wrote for an ask he sent and I love the picture to this day. My friend is one of my favorite artists, so I was absolutely thrilled when he drew a scene from my drabble.

currently reading: Sadly, it's nothing too exciting. It's a lot of articles from medical and public health journals for work. Reports and memos from meetings are included too.

what are you wearing right now?: Since I'm not working, I'm wearing leggings that have constellations, crystals, and moons all over it. The leggings are deep blue and teal so I got a teal tank top on. I also have a large navy hoodie with the name of a wildlife rescue in my area on it.

how tall are you?: 5'...Just 5 feet (152 cm).

piercings / tattoos?: I have several tattoos. I got a purple crystal with pink flowers on my left forearm, a small purple star on my chest, moon phases with a watercolor background down my back. I also have a jaguar with a moon on my left shoulder blade. It matches one of my sister's tattoos but her jaguar has a sun for a background. I also have a quarter sleeve of flowers on my upper right arm. It's outlined and shaded but not yet colored. I would like to finish it but need to save up for it. I would like to have a couple more that is based on my tribe's culture, too. I chose to have tattoos since they are pretty significant to my heritage. I'm not sure if my next tat will be Sinti Holo (The Horned Serpent), or something else related to my tribe. Of course, it would need to be after I have my sleeve colored. If I could, I would have my clan animal tattooed. My tribe had a clan system but I don't know what mine is. It's likely a hunter one (deer, wildcat, fish or panther) or warrior (wolf, alligator, skunk, or turtle).

As for piercings, I have one on each earlobe. I used to experiment with piercings and I had multiple piercings on my ears, a nose stud, and a Monroe piercing (upper lip). However, I took most of them out except the one ear lobes for a few reasons. If I still had them, work wouldn't allow me to keep them. So, most of them had to go.

glasses / contacts: Glasses. I tried contacts many times over the years, but my eyes were always tearful and stung. I tried several brands but my eyes were too sensitive. I wish I could wear contacts, though. I really do.

last thing you ate?: A burger from Braums, which is kind of like Culver's. Kind of, sort of. I really miss that place.

favorite color: Black and purple

current obsession: I guess it's gaming. I play a few games with HSR and Genshin being the main ones for now.

favorite fictional character: . My friends' ocs are some of my favorites. I also really like Boothill from Honkai Star Rail. I've been looking up Hu Tao from Genshin too.

last place you travelled: Pittsburgh for a business trip. It was for a workshop and conference, so it's not too thrilling, I'm afraid. I love to travel and I wish I could do that more. I miss traveling internationally the most. I've been to Japan in 2017 for a month, then spent two weeks in Belize in 2018. Since then, I traveled within the US.

Took it from @ancicntforged

Tagging: I was so, so tempted to tag people because I really want to get to know you guys. However, I understand if that's not preferred since many of the questions are kind of personal. If you do this, though, please mention me so I can learn about you, please.

[tara-in-our-hearts]

Sex education, the 4th and last season

Spoilers ahead!!

First, Hannah Gadsby! A very welcomed and fun addition to the cast.

I also liked how Adam's dad is trying to better himself, and creating a relationship with his son. That was pretty touching.

The last episode made me cry like a baby. Very emotional scenes. I liked the funeral earlier in the season too for that reason.

But a teacher throwing a student's phone out of the window? That was the biggest wtf moment of the show.

I didn't care who Otis ends up with at all, but apparently the Maeve vs Ruby love triangle has been creating a LOT of feelings in the fandom. So it was actually kinda cool that he didn't end up with either of them, but I imagine many fans are disappointed.

I would have loved to see more of what classes and teachers were like at the new school. I also missed Ms Sands and Mr Henricks a lot, them being present for a few minutes in one episode wasn't enough.

I don't know what to think about the supernatural events in a show that has had zero of those until S4. Eric's conversations with his god were very interesting but I had preferred for those to stay as just dreams. Eric being able to see into the future was also strange. When everything else that's happening is true to reality but there are suddenly one or two supernatural things, it gives the image that those supernatural things are actually real. But gods don't exist. People can't see into the future. On the other hand, I imagine that those supernatural scenes, with god supporting Eric, were really important for Christian lgbtq people. So I should probably get off my edgy atheist horse for this one 😉

I have seen A LOT of criticism against the diversity of the show too. When many shows are not this one obviously sticks out. It's depressing how many people have a problem with it. The supporting characters could have been more fleshed out though so that they would be more than their identity.

Lastly, I did not get a feeling that the show creators are as good at depicting what teenagers today are like as they used to be in S1&2. Not that I'm an expert either but after working with teenagers, well most of them aren't like the kids in the Cavendish school. The fact that Otis was shamed when people thought he was a "men's rights activist" was sadly hilarious. Most of today's boys look up to misogynists like T*te, and Otis being sexist would only make him popular. Some kids are indeed very progressive (and sometimes, like us adults too, failing at it, like the great scenes that showed how ableist the school still is), but a whole school? That sounds like a fantasy.

My favourite seasons are still 1&2, the third season has its great moments (mostly Eric's as well as Ruby's storylines), but was otherwise with the new principal and abstinece only sex ed just weird. The 4th was a bit better than the 3rd but I missed some of the old characters that weren't present anymore. It was an alright ending to a mostly great show.