#i was thinking of maybe investing in a screen tablet for my laptop

[cupiidzbow]

oughh this is so sick and twisted I’m running out of built in storage in my tablet I don’t know much longer I have until I can’t draw on it anymore

[rielzero]

Just some artist rambles on a queued post..

Was working on some reference art when my pen decided to just stop working.. Charging it now but I hope its not a sign I need to buy new pens or whatever. This is my newer pen, I've used the same two pens since I got my XP Pen in 2019 or so. The old pen's battery started becoming lazy around 2022? I don't remember exact time, but it worked fine for a while. Now the newer pen is acting up. I recall recharging it very recently. They're supposed to go a very long time without needing to charge them. Then again, I haven't needed to replace my xp pen tablet for such a long time, maybe the pens are just starting to age down a lot. (They are battery pens, newer Gen xp pens don't use those.)

Gotta remind myself I don't need to replace my big monitor tablet anytime soon anyways.. I have a backup tablet that I usually use with my laptop for on the go- and that one does not include a pen that needs battery charging. (It's a smaller screen, but its better than investing in an entire new tablet, I kind of don't want to replace my current one either. Might be cheaper just to buy new pens if these stop working comfortably.)

Edit: aaand my pen is dead. It actually stopped midway charging and decided ''nah'' hmm. I guess I'll have to find my old one and see if it still works.. Do some troubleshooting.. Either its the pens or the entire screen.

Edit 2: I think I threw my old pen away some time ago..? Well, I can't find it in its supposed spot.. I'll order new pens and see if its a pen problem. If it's not a pen problem I guess I spent money to find out. They're not that expensive. (25,99 euro)

Edit 3: Now just hope it comes in fast.. Perhaps I should check out if I can add my other tablet in my desktop set up? I have 3 monitors (third is my tablet) Not sure if I have enough screen plugs for that. It's worth a shot.

Edit 4: I couldn't plug in a 4th screen. Fine. And now the next morning my pen works..? At least I'd have a backup ready in case it decides to kick the bucket lol.

[cosmicpoutine]

hi!!!

sorry if you've already answered this, but i really love your art (i LOVE your art!!!) and i was wondering what digital art tools you use/would recommend for someone relatively new to digital illustration (as far as program and/or tablet).

i've had the opportunity to borrow an ipad and a wacom tablet (one with a screen and one without) a few times, and others have told me the main difference is wacom tablets are sometimes(?) used in more "professional"/"company" artwork but ipads are more convenient to some people bc you don't have to be connected to a computer.

i also know the drawing program you use with the tablet is a factor, if you have any advice on this.

sorry this ask is so long -- i'm torn on the decision and thought i should ask some artists i really admire what they use :) i really appreciate any advice you can give me -- and again, thanks for sharing such beautiful art!

i think i have answered something like that before but i can't find it.

there's no such thing as more professional when it comes to tablets or ipads. i know a lot of professional artists prefer ipads, so it's really about preference.

if you prefer ipads you don't have to limit yourself to apple. i use a tab s6 lite ( i will never shut up about it), it's way cheaper in general and support most art apps except for procreate bc they're ios exclusive (which sucks fuck procreate). xp-pen have something similar to an ipad too, it's the magic drawing pad (stupid name) and it's closer in price to samsung (i never used this one so idk if it's better than samsung).

as for tablets they're usually immensely cheaper and xp-pen even have one you can connect to your phone so you don't even need a computer or laptop anymore. so if you're a beginner and don't wanna invest too much money and just test the waters i highly recommend a tablet, xp-pen tablet deco mini 7 is like 30usd i'm not joking. their display tablets are also cheaper than most companies (maybe not huion but idk), i use the xp-pen artist 12 pro on my laptop

as for apps and softwares... you don't have to pay for shit. there's a lot of free options (i use sketchbook pro on my tab s6), and you can also find pirated versions of photoshop and paint tool sai (which is what i use on my xppen). krita is free too.

TLDR: samsung tab s6 or xp-pen tablet deco mini 7. krita, sketchbook pro and pirated paint tool sai

also thank you for the compliments hjawbsgilhk <3

[cookiescr]

ok uhh what do you call those thing you wear on your forearm while drawing? Like my forearm’s hurting again but I litrally just started drawing 😭 I’m thinking of maybe investing in a small screen tablet soon for my laptop since it’s my main device for commissions

[alexafaie-wtf-is-this]

Yeah, I do NOT want an algorithm. I choose to stay on tumblr because I like to curate what I see myself. I used to be on facebook and twitter and pinterest and the moment they changed from being places where you got to see what you chose to see and instead starting seeing stuff the site's algorithm decided you wanted to see, I left or otherwise stopped using them.

Tumblr took me all of a few seconds to figure out when I joined all those years ago, and now I have a bunch of side blogs as well as my main. Because I like to curate my experience so much that I have different places to reblog different things. I'm already connected seamlessly to the content I want!

This blog is where I put stuff which is just a big WHAT THE FUCK? Sometimes its funny stuff, sometimes its stuff like this. That's what I think of these proposed changes. I think they're a mess that's going to totally ruin the tumblr experience. And if it changes too much past what it currently is, well, I will leave like I've left all the other sites. There's not really anywhere else that I could go, but I could cope without. Spend more time doing other things instead of being online.

Tumblr doesn't need to grow exponentially. It needs to be able to work towards breaking even or making a small profit, but it is not going to do that if the userbase expands too much too quickly. People coming from other sites they didn't pay for and didn't buy merch for are not going to magically convert into people paying to support tumblr. If you are struggling to get loyal long term members to pay, then you're not going to get newbies paying.

I'd consider paying for ad free if it also got rid of sponsored posts. Those repeat way too often when I'm using the website on my tablet. On my laptop I use an adblocker to get rid of them. But the browser extension doesn't work in the tablet browser. As it stands, the only advert slot that would get hidden by paying for ad free is one small square on the right hand side of the screen, but most of the time its blank on my tablet. The info states sponsored posts are exempt which just means advertisers pay for sponsored posts instead of ad slots, making the ad free totally and utterly pointless. Make it possible to hide all sponsored posts and sure, maybe I'd drop a few pounds a year to help support the site rather than use an adblocker as much as possible.

As it is, I purchased the blue checkmarks, had them turn rainbow when they all turned rainbow for free and then later you decided to make rainbow a separate paid for option and they went back to blue. And to swap to the same number of rainbow pixels, I'm expected to pay all over again even though they were originally made rainbow for free. Contacted support and was told it was a bug they were working on and they should go back to rainbow. And to let them know in a few weeks if it still wasn't sorted. When I contacted again I was told that actually I had to buy them all over again actually and there was "nothing they could do". It would have been simple enough just to swap them over since they cost the same amount, but no. If we are meant to be customers, then perhaps there needs to be some kind of customer service? It doesn't make me want to pay for anything else if I'm treated like my investment doesn't matter to the company. Because that's what buying the silly pixels was - an investment in tumblr.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[alkalinefrog]

hey, so, I had an art related question... if all of this is too much, feel free to ignore it.

the backstory is that I've had the same laptop since early high school but recently I had a birthday (I'm 28 now). my parents got me an HP laptop, and my friend got me a tablet, which she bought off of an online friend for $30. the problem is that I haven't had new technology like... ever? none that was actually mine anyway, and certainly nothing that could handle me using it for art.

and this is especially a problem when it comes to the tablet. my friend helped me get firealpaca onto the laptop, and get the tablet set up with the right drivers, aaaaand... I cannot make one line that looks good using it. I've been using pen and paper for so long and I have a really light touch, and it feels like I have to jam the pen down to get it to register, at which point I might as well have not set the pen sensitivity to anything at all because the thickest line is the only kind I can make?? any lighter and it won't show up on the screen at all. like I can ctrl+z and it doesn't even go back a step, the line didn't get drawn. there's like a 20% chance that any line I try to put down won't actually register. and tbh this isn't really what I had wanted... it's a huion tablet, which is the brand I wanted, but I was gonna buy myself one where you can see what you're drawing on the screen of the tablet itself. not just due to coordination issues, I think I could get used to that part, but because I feel like I wouldn't be having this specific problem with getting things to register. every single line I make looks like crap with this tablet, it makes me feel like I might as well be drawing with my feet, and I've been fidgeting with settings, and it doesn't seem like anything helps. I also still don't have a mouse for the laptop yet, so I can't click and drag anything very well because it has a trackpad, so messing with sliders is already aggravating.

I feel so lost and overwhelmed, and like if I buy anything else, I'm just going to end up with more unusable stuff because *I'm* probably the problem. I just don't know anything, and trying is mentally fatiguing me so quickly... my brain knows what I want my art to look like, and my hands can do it with a real pen. I just have absolutely no clue how to make this machine produce anything.

so I guess my questions are stuff like, what equipment do you use? are there tablets that will register a light touch or am I really going to have to be this heavy handed in order to work with one? what resolution/canvas size do you usually work on? any recommendations for what program to use?

overall, I'd really like to get myself something that feels more intuitive than the tablet... honestly, I was finding some success drawing with just my finger on the touch screen of my phone at one point. there were still a lot of problems with that, but the nail in the coffin was that my phone's memory space filled up and I had to get rid of the drawing app to make it functional again (it's an iphone, which is why). maybe I should just get an ipad or something...? though, one more thing on the mountain of potential options is the last thing my crumbling ADHD brain needs. I've been taking a break from art in general because I've still maintained my 40-hours-a-week work schedule through the whole pandemic... I do 10 hour shifts and work overnight, so I technically have free time since I only work 4 days a week, but the type of work I do leaves me with no energy at all. so I've been in an art slump and I've been wanting to get out of it, but this is just making art feel impossible, even though the whole reason why I've always wished I could draw digitally is so that I can color digitally. I had been drawing things in pen and scanning them to color in photoshop, but cleanup takes so long that I literally can't produce finished work anymore. I'm out of options that aren't prohibitively labor intensive and frustrating.

this was probably way too much information, but if you have any advice I'd be really grateful.

Huh, well first off HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!! Congrats on the sweet new tech (even if it's been a bit frustrating) and well-deserved celebration!

From the sounds of it I think the main issue is probably your tablet (this is pure speculation on my end though, so you know, grain of salt and all). You're right in that you shouldn't have to fight against your equipment. I have a really light touch too and I've never had the same issue. I personally don't have any experience with huion tablets, but if you're having trouble getting your lines to register then it might have been worn down by the previous user. It's not so much about buying a monitor (the screen one) vs. tablet so much as getting working equipment.

An iPad is a great alternative!! I've played around with the apple pencil and procreate and it's a super intuitive program with (obviously) super easy set up! You get the drawing on the screen AND really nice pen pressure. I'm really happy seeing it opening up new doors for more people to get into digital art!

In terms of your current laptop/tablet situation:

My set up rn is pretty pricey ngl; I have a PC desktop computer with a 16 inch Wacom Cintiq. Getting started in digital art doesn't mean you have to drop a bag on a ton of equipment right from the get go though! If you're looking for a safe small investment, I'd recommend getting a Wacom Bamboo pen tablet!

This lil' baby right here is what I started with!! I think cost-wise it floats around 70ish bucks, but that's exponentially more affordable than buying a huge monitor. One of my friends who's also a pro artist uses a similar small tablet because it works great! That's an alternative that might be worth looking into.

You can also get free trials on other drawing programs (clip studio paint is a great one!) To test and see if it's a software issue with firealpaca.

You could also try checking online forums to see if anyone else is running into similar issues, or watch some YouTube videos of people reviewing different tablets. I know this might be even more overwhelming, so I'd try and narrow the scope to focus on one thing at a time.

My best advice right now would actually be to get a mouse, or any other accessories you need. I've also been in your shoes where I was completely overwhelmed, and I can say that checking off all the small easy things makes a HUGE difference! It makes you feel more in control of the situation, and even if you're still having trouble with digital art you can at least get more comfortable using your laptop in the mean time.

You got this dude!! I believe in you!!

EDIT:

Thanks @wooliebirds!

[freebooter4ever]

Hey, I need some help and I hope you can help me with my (actual) despair..

I adore your art and I got inspired to try out drawing digitally. If I‘m not mistaken you use a tablet for digital drawing, right?

Anyways, I want to buy one and I have no clue what to search for. I tried looking up online what to watch out for, but I guess I thought it‘d be good to get some advice from another person on this. So: What do you think is important about such a tablet ? What works for you? (I know -of course- that what works for you might not work for others, however getting an opinion by someone experienced regarding this sounded like a good idea)

Thank you in advance, maybe you can help me :) and I’m so sorry if this sounds like I’m all over the place, which I think I am (as usually).. {:

This ask is very dramatic, haha! But digital drawing supplies is expensive as hell so I understand ^_^ ! I've actually tried quite a few of the tablets out there over the years so yeah, there's definitely differences to them.

Currently I use a Wacom 2017 Mobilestudio Pro with the highest specs money could buy at the time. I also have an ipad and an ipad pencil. Here’s a convenient photo of all of them from my print shop posts that i used to compare the colors:

Previously I have used a 2014 Wacom Cintiq and a 2011 Wacom Intuous Tablet and a 2007 Wacom Intuous Tablet. My favorite is absolutely my mobile studio. You can see in the photo how small it is. It’s heavy (but hey, free weight lifting!) but holding it feels like a sketchbook. I adore it! It runs some huge photoshop files. And it has 3D capability. I did the entirety of my 2018 portfolio piece INCLUDING RENDER all on this beast. And yes it runs slow if you are taxing its processing power and yes there are some things it just cant do, but for its small size its pretty mind blowing. Basically the Mobilestudio is a laptop replacement for artists, and I low key worship it.

(thats a full 3D scene with 160k poly character, lighting, AND fog all rendered real time on this baby)(in marmoset which sure it got to the point where marmoset was at 99.8% and i had to juggle the lights like crazy but i kept it running!)

I used to use my ipad more because jumping into digital color on that was easier than understanding photoshop. I’m much more comfortable with photoshop now, so I prefer that. But for quick color studies that feel like actually painting the Ipad and procreate definitely wins! The nice thing about the apple pencil thing is that all the functions are completely hidden. Unlike Wacom which is very customizable and particular, the apple pencil is just connect and go. It feels as natural as it can, and I think it would be the best option for a beginner or someone who doesn’t want to invest in something like the mobile studio. @ramilicious was trying out procreate so gonna tag her to see if she has any insight.

The cintiq is the most intense option lol! I loved my cintiq but the only reason we had one was because we were an educational research group at a university and got a discount haha. The small cintiqs are not worth it in my opinion. It’s just annoying having such a small screen and it means you almost have to have a second screen set up for reference. It’s also basically just a smart monitor so you will still have to have a good tower PC (actually wait are PC’s still towers? I haven’t been PC shopping in a minute) to hook it up to that can run all the programs you want to use. I’m biased here but I prefer the mobile studio. The screen is bigger on the largest cintiqs - so more room to draw, which is nice, but it also means you usually need two people to lift the darn thing. (my mobile studio on the other hand fits neatly into my fancy hipster backpack and travels with me everywhere - I used to work in museums and libraries and cafes and boba tea shops. it also serves as a conversation starter. and a way to wow curious kids bc im sitting here casually sculpting an entire 3D person on a screen! wow!)

The cheapest options are obviously the tablets. These are great! You can’t go wrong with wacom - and the Intuous med/large size is the ideal size in my opinion. Depending on your age hand/wrist pain can be a thing. And if you get the tiny tablets and have a big monitor connected to it, the tiny movements in your wrist can cause problems later on. However, my bff in college had a tiny wacom tablet and used it all four years! The only thing to know about the Intuous and other types of tablets with no screen is that the disconnect between hand/eye is something you are going to have to learn. It does not come naturally! I wish someone had told me that when I got my first one in high school. I was so discouraged by how hard it was to draw with my hand on the the table and looking at a cursor on the screen that I didn’t use it a lot. Now of course, decades later (ouch, old age), it’s as easy as breathing haha. It just takes practice. The other nice thing about the tablet is that if you already have like a laptop and a backpack, its really easy just to slip the tablet into the backpack with everything else. My 2007 Intuous got me through all of college, and is still in such good condition that I was able to give it to a friend’s daughter last year who just started high school and wanted something to get started in digital art on. Prior to getting the cintiq in 2014 I used the 2011 Intuous at my education research job - so basically I spent all day sculpting on it for 3 years, and honestly those were the years that really drilled in that hand/eye coordination for me.

I’m actually planning on buying a new mobileStudio pro sometime this year to replace my current one. There are a few drawbacks on this option: the technology is still new, so expect troubleshooting. Sometimes updates to the OS screw with my tablet settings and I have to fight with windows to get it to work at full functionality. It also overheats a LOT - I’m hoping the newest models don’t run as hot. Legit this computer would love me to remain in a 60 degree room at all times. :/ Tragically, I live in Southern California so this is impossible. (The heat was less of an issue in Pittsburgh and Seattle). Over the years my mobilestudio has overheated so many times that the screen actually has color damage in spots. I still find it perfectly usable though, and the computer’s benefits far outweigh the heating issue. But I am also someone who hates the idea of being “tied down” to a place, and the thought of investing in a full computer/cintiq/monitor setup scares the crap out of me when I want to be able to pack up and move wherever my job takes me. \o/

This was probably more information than you wanted, but I wish someone had helped me out with all this stuff when I was starting out <3 ^_^ Feel free to ask any other questions you might think of! Though if you have computer spec questions ironically I am not the person for that LOL I have my go to guy who tells me what’s what in the graphics card / monitor world and I just buy what Han suggests bc he’s obsessed with always knowing the new thing.

Also my dream PC set up is....

UNF. that is a thing of beauty. logo and lights and all. so extra. and so so unnecessary. 

TLDR; If you already have an ipad, get yourself a pencil and procreate and try it out to start. If you want to use an existing laptop or computer to draw, get a nice Intuous tablet and draw draw draw till that hand-table to screen feels natural. OR if you want to go crazy like me get that expensive mobilestudio, take it out in public and bask in the oogling stares of everyone around you like you’re Shuri or Tony Stark and using some Unknowable Magic Technology. (one time my car’s tire popped during the days I was working on my hyper real Gas Pump for my portfolio and I had a whole room full of car guys looking over my shoulder in awe as I sat in the waiting room with my studio pro on my lap and poly modeled the base mesh while my baby fire demon was being fixed haha)

[soundsaboutrighttumblr]

ramking fic: gimme the Tee

 Read on AO3

                     Summary:            

Some dialogues that need to happen. Set after Cool Boy, won't probably make much sense without it. After a leisurely breakfast, probably.

Knock knock who's there?

                 Notes:    

I am a tiny, tiny bit sorry about that terrible title. Not enough to not keep it though.

The knock on the door startles King out of his favorite routine. Three urgent raps of knuckles against wood, and some crumbs of soil spilled onto the floor.

He’s been deep into a contented buzz of mindless concentration, murmuring playful nothings and letting his hands and senses do the work, completing his round of checking up on his plants after breakfast. He tends to get a tiny bit lost in it, maybe. Especially when he feels as light as he does today.

When the knock is repeated, although with some hesitance, King brushes his hands off on his pants, and goes to answer.

Finding himself face to face with Tee's raised eyebrows.

“Hello and good morning, most esteemed project assistant!”

There’s a cupholder with two steaming hot drinks in his hand, and a laptop clutched under his other arm. King’s eyes barely have time to narrow.

“Soooo, about our talking over the school paper’s blog article? On our reforestation charity project? And you helping me choose pictures and edit some paragraphs, would now be a good time? I thought it would be quicker in person.”

King’s eyes definitely do narrow then: “Our what? I didn’t know there was an OUR-anything?”

“Oh, I… texted you? Did you not see? Is now not good? I was on my way to the shops, so I thought I’d take a chance.”

King opens his mouth to say something, but his attention is drawn to  the click of a door, and then Ram appears out of the bedroom, one headphone already in ear:

“I’ll be back with the dogs around three, text me if I should pick up any- P’Tee.” He stops short. King’s heartbeat stumbles and quickens.

Because. Oh.

There is that comical moment of them all blinking at each other. In silence. The one that's more than just the absence of sounds.

Then something well-meaning inside King decides that this is rather ridiculous, and he brushes over it, as light in tone as he dares:

“Okay, Ai’Ning, see you later then.”

Ram turns big eyes on him, wide and a tad anxious: Will you be alright?

And it makes King want to laugh somehow, but also? His throat and chest feel kind of tight.

He manages a smile, possibly even a confident and soothing one.

Ram looks at Tee once again, who wiggles the fingers of the arm holding the laptop in an awkward wave.

Ram nods and slips out of the door next to Tee. Maybe King imagines it but his leaving steps do sound rather hurried.

King heaves a sigh, only partly for show:

“Well, dearest friend Tee, do come on in then.”

---

Tee sets the drinks on the counter and King waits. Ignores the slow waves of panic that want to take hold, berating himself because what is there to fear? This is Tee.

Tee, who sets up the tablet, turning it on and tapping on the display. But he is biting his lips continuously; so King just waits for it.

“So. You two live together? “

There. No denying it now, really. But why does it feel like he’s supposed to guard secrets that are not only his own?

“He needed a place to stay.” No going wrong with a part of the truth though, is there? Still. The knot at the base of his tongue feels thicker, letting through less air.

Because how official are they? And is Ram out? And why the heck didn’t they talk about this?

Tee’s voice cuts in casual but curious: “I thought he had his own room, over with…”

“It’s family stuff. He needed a place to stay.”

“Okay!” Tee raises hands in an apologetic way and King thinks the echo of his own tone in his ear does ring rather uncharacteristically clipped.

The article draft is pulled onto the sceen, and King starts skimming over the lines of text, not really absorbing much.

“So… you guys are okay?”

It takes King aback.

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well, there have been some tensions the last night at camp after our drinking game, and I just wondered…” King feels Tee’s eyes on him from the side. Then Tee coughs.

“Also there have been some ‘incident reports’ about late night yelling from an undiscerned tent…”

Heat shoots up to King’s neck and Tee throws up his hands: “Without too many specifics, of course."

King takes a moment to soak in his shame.

“Yeah, we are okay. Sorry about that.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay.”

Tee’s eyes still stay on the profile of King’s face, so he taps onto the screen, directing Tee’s attention there:

“I wouldn’t use that picture here, have you seen the ones P’Thara sent? There are some among them that fit better, I am sure he’ll let you use them.”

“Oh. I see, I’ll ask him!” For the moment, Tee complies.

King takes a breath and forces his concentration on the text written, clicking the editor to remove some typos.

“So, Ram is bringing his dogs here? I thought you said some time that you didn’t like dogs?”

King deflates. His thoughts feel like they’re in knots: “It’s not like I don’t like them, they just make me feel uneasy.”

“But you let them stay in your apartment?”

“Once you get to know them it’s easier to get used to them…”

“Still…”

“What’s your point?” King’s tone might be a tiny bit overly nonchalant again. And Tee might be throwing up consoling hands once more:

“No point, really, no point at all.”

“Do you wanna do this or not?”

It annoys King that he still sounds so defensive.

“Yes! Okay, okay, no more questions.”

It annoys him even more how Tee’s voice sounds like he is suppressing laughter.

---

When Ram comes back, the dogs are a white grey whirl around his feet, still excited from their walk. They do look at King, tails wagging carefully, but Ram keeps them close to him on their leashes for now. They sniff around and sneeze at some plants, and they sure are the adorable sort, King thinks, all puffy and fluffy and… safely over there.

Ram looks at him. “You okay?”

King decides he might mean the Tee situation earlier, rather than the dogs now. Or maybe both.

He makes a gesture with his hand, from where he is sitting on the couch, tablet on his lap.

“Yes. It went fine, we sent out the finished article, he’ll link us once it’s published.”

Ram’ eyes linger for a moment, then he nods and goes to settle the dogs with food.

Once they are happily crunching and slobbering on dog dinner in their room, Ram washes his hands at the kitchen sink and comes over, and for a moment just stays, stands next to King. King looks up to him and smiles. Ram sits down.

King gets lost in his eyes, drawn in easy and so naturally, until Ram suddenly speaks:

“Duen was there. He asked… He’s planning another short get away trip over the break and he was asking if I… and you would want to join them?”

King can’t help his mind springing up questions in a million different directions at once.  

“Why would he be asking that?” He realizes how it possibly sounds, but he is genuinely curious. “I mean, I get the you, but why the you and me?

Ram shrugs but there is a tiny something in his eyes: “I guess, Bohn… well, we have been spending time together. You and me, I mean ”

“Does Duen know?”  It’s slipped over his lips before he can reign it in. He doesn’t want this to sound like an interrogation.

Ram looks directly at him. Though he might be squinting a bit: “About?”

King feels strangely flustered under that look: “About us, or about you…?“

“Me?”

“That you like…”

“That I am gay?”

Ram sounds settled in that. So much so that the fascination over it pulls King out of his own head for a moment.

Ram shrugs: “He might. I never explicitly told him. But then, I never told him I am not, you know.”

King nods. He’s not sure he does know though. There are already countless more questions on his mind, but he remembers earlier with Tee, and so he decides on this one:

“So, you and me… we just tell our friends?”

More narrowed eyes: “We don’t?”

“Don’t look at me like that, Ning, I am asking because I genuinely want to know! I am asking so that I know. You’re not some secret-“, some secret affair his mind supplies in an echo, and he realizes why it might rub Ram wrong, so he hurries on with all the sincerity he can muster:

“It’s just that I think I am rather private about that stuff?”

“I am, too.”

It feels like a strange impasse, and it’s not like they are arguing, but King is at a loss for words for a moment.

He’s usually really good at this, but here and now he’s finding once more that it is a wholly different thing, trying to embrace and dissolve a tension when you are a party involved and invested.

But Ram stays, in that way that he just does. And it feels like they take in and let out the same breath. King finds he can let himself lean his own shoulder against Ram’s without hesitation or inhibition.

He sighs: “I think most of them are already convinced we are a couple.”

Ram’s voice is softly matter-of-fact. “Well, we are.”

King plays along through a smile: “Well. When you put it like that.”

His fingers pick a piece of dried leaf from the cuff of Ram’s sweater; touching his wrist.

“So, when they ask… I can tell them that you are my boyfriend?”

Ram turns his head to King, and it’s a long, studying look.

“Yes.  Can I?”

There’s a flutter in King’s stomach, and he’s not quite sure if it’s a flare of nerves or metaphorical butterflies; maybe both.

“Yes.”

Ram nods and smiles.

The corners of King’s lips tick up before he can stop it:

“Will I have to go through some trials like Bohn, too? You know, to be allowed to date you?”

Ram’s face is dead-pan. “No.”

Then one eyebrow arches: “That’s it? Were you honestly afraid of that?”

King sinks deeper into the backrest, flustered. “No. It’s not… no. I wasn’t afraid. It’s just new to me, is all.”

Ram scoots a little bit lower on the couch, too, until he’s at eye level with King, leaning his forehead against King’s, so that King can feel him nod.

“New to me, too.”

---

Later in bed, when they are lying face to face, King finds once more that looking at Ram until his lids grow heavy is the most potent source of peace, without the feeling of wonder and awe ever lessening.

“So who else knows? Your family? Ruj?”

Ram half-shrugs, half-yawns: “I think he might.”

He shifts and puts his arm up and King follows the invitation and presses his lips to Ram’s naked shoulder, before resting his head there.

“He asked me once if I liked any girl.”

King grins: “And you just stared at him?”

Ram nods, moves his head against the pillow.

“He then asked if I liked any boy.”

“And again, you just stared?”

Another nod.

“So, he probably knows.”

“Yep. He probably does.”

King smiles and watches his own fingers trace the tattoo on Ram’s chest.

“How long have you known?”

It takes a moment for Ram to think about it, and King waits.

“Early on. Around 10, 11? Took more time to understand it, though.”

“Huh.”

“You?”

King blinks. “I think… I am learning, that I take time with people… have to get to know them, before attraction takes hold? I mean, I’ve always understood as a concept that guys can be fascinating and beautiful to me, too, I just assumed that’s what every open-minded person’s brain operated like?”

He knows Ram has raised his brow before he looks up to confirm. It’s not really judging, but then again, it totally is.

King laughs: “But, that’s not attraction, I guess.” He puts his lips against the skin where Ram’s shoulder meets his chest once more: “So yeah, you… kind of hit me hard.”

It’s the same with Ram’s smile; King just knows it is there, doesn’t even have to look up to check. He feels it.

“God, I am kind of terrified to have Kamfah find out.”

Ram tenses beneath King, and he has to hold back a giggle.

He starts drawing soothing circles into Ram’s skin again, and amends:

“A bit excited though, too. But mostly terrified. We’ll be invited to lunch every weekend.”

The both stare up at the ceiling imagining for a moment.

King breaks first:

“You think we can keep it a secret in front of her for a bit longer?”

There’s a snort that might be a laugh, as Ram pulls King close:

“We can try.”

                             Notes:  

always want to hear what you think! <3

sorry this took forever... I got distracted buying plants and making little plant terrariums, me, who never even really owned plants, now my apartment is a tiny jungle. Oh, who to blame? Does anyone come to mind? PS: I am loving it

[dreamieparadise]

Momo, Mimi, either is fine. Jojo and I share two braincells. We are connected. 🥴 🤞🏾✨️

And I see! So that's what happened. Hmmm, it definitely takes some getting used to in order to transfer from traditional to digital, but latency issues that bad shouldn't be one of the problems you experience. Although sometimes tablets can be finicky! It may have been a driver issue, like it needed an update. 🤔 If you ever want to try a tablet again and don't have your old ones, I love using huion tablets. You can get a version without a screen for cheap. It's what I use! Although it takes some time getting used to also because you have to keep your eyes on the screen while drawing but I'm sure you'll get used to that. Ultimately it just takes some time to feel comfortable, there is a learning curve but there are pros to using a digital art device, I feel. If you ever try again and need tips or advice, I'm here!! 🤗💕

Also tbh I wouldn't mind entering giveaways for you! I love entering those. I wouldn't consider it a hassle at all and ClipStudio Paint often has tablet giveaways going on that I enter. ✨️ [also you should def start with free art software while you're getting used to digital art but I love Clipstudio paint and think it's a wonderful investment. They often have sales for their software too. Cx they have software tiers and some are put off by the subscription model but they also have a perpetual license version that you can update at your leisure.]

I suppose you could also consider Apple/Android products but I personally prefer actual art tablets. Maybe I've just not found a good one yet [they're expensive!] But I didn't like the feel of the stylus or how the tablet reacted to my hands. Like, it would react to my touch. The art tablets I used didn't have that problem. But Apple/Android tablets are so lightweight, portable and don't need a laptop/pc/phone to use so that's an upside.

But other people who use tablets feel free to jump in and offer tips if you have them!

Hi Myell! Question: What do you think of drawing on a tablet? I was curious since I always see you draw traditionally. Also, I'm asking because if interested, I'll def enter those tablet giveaways for you. 🤗

'Morning Momo! 🩵☀️ Bruh I wrote Mimi I'm so sleepy I'm sorry

I've actually had two different tablets gifted to me, and I did try to draw on them, but... Things never clicked? I didn't like how delayed the input was between me touching the tablet and the line to appear on the screen. I don't know if it was an issue with the cheap hardware, with the program (I don't even remember what it was, Black Ink ???) or just a matter of me getting used to it, but it just made me feel so slow, like I was drawing in a jar of honey.

I didn't have any sort of tutorial, and of course things aren't going to work out 100%, but I guess I still got a little convinced I'm absolutely terrible at digital art ^^;

It's not that I wouldn't want to learn how to draw digitally, there are so many upsides to it! I'm just COMPLETELY lost on where to begin. You're so sweet for offering to enter giveaways for me, but I wouldn't want you to go through all that hassle just for me 😖😖 if you or anyone else did have tips on how I could get myself started though, I'd really appreciate it!

[psychicmoth]

hewwo!! so i was going through your art asks and you talk a bit about how you use a wacom intuos and i’m trying to decide if i would prefer that or a tablet kind of thing so i was wondering if you have any advice? i’m just not sure i’d like drawing on a surface that isn’t the screen?? thanks in advance :3

OH hii!! yeah, i do use a wacom intous 4, it's a very very old model, discontinued even lol, but i have been okay with it for a long time! it does have some connectivity problems atm, so i'm definitely gonna change it for a intous pro at some point and maybe invest in a bigger, better monitor.

there's definitely a learning curve with non screen tablets, it was not easy to learn to draw on it, but it's not impossible at all! it sounds like a strange concept, not seeing your hand while you draw, but you get used to it, it just needs practice :D also, many softwares already come with hand stabilisers that make the whole work easier.

tbf, i feel like i'm not the most qualified person to give advice about the pros and cons of using non screen / screen tablets because i do not have too much experience with the last ones. i used a cintiq for a while when i was at uni, but that's my whole experience lol it was v nice, drawing directly on a screen felt good and more natural! but somehow i do not miss it that much? well, this last part is my personal experience, maybe i just got too used to my tablet lol, but i know that for many artists changing to a screen tablet makes things feel more natural and comfortable! and there's a huge variety of them nowadays, and some are more affordable than getting an ipad ❤️

but generally, i think some stuff to consider about screen tablets for laptops or desktop computers are:

your workspace. make sure you have space to have one, keep in mind some screen tablets requiere some space for the tablet AND a bunch of wires. wires everywhere.

your health. this is v important too! the most common complain i hear about screen tablets is the back pain. if u plan to spend a lot of time working on one, make sure it comes with a good stand or get one that helps u to keep it in v comfortable position and in a reasonable height so ur back won't suffer!

the third option would be a portable screen tablet. there are not as many options in this category as in the previous ones but seems like it's a consensus that an ipad + procreate is the best combo so far. it's expensive yeah, but seems like is the most comfortable option; i'm saving for one as well! mostly because i crave that portability :( i want to be able to draw everywhere. so yeah, this is another thing to consider! (and if u have more questions about this i suggest u to message @spaceplumbs she's v lovely and great and has more experience with working on a ipad :3 ❤️)

so yeah, idk if any of this is really useful, i'm a fan of non screen tablets skjdskdj ❤️ but i recognise this might not be the most comfortable option for everybody, it's definitely the most affordable, and there's a learning curve that takes time and practice and i do not feel like this is a huge reason to not get one tbh, because as i have said, u eventually get used to it. but there are other very good reasons to prefer the screen ones, that's for sure! (natural feeling, easier learning curve, portability and exclusive apps if we are talking about an ipad, etc) so, in general, if you can afford getting something that makes things easier for you, go for it!! and good luck :3 ❤️❤️❤️

[sinrevi-art]

An attempt to draw on my laptop using only my nearly 8 years old Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet. It still works well after all these years, but I prefer drawing on my Samsung Tablet.

(I don’t mind coloring on a drawing tablet without display... but the initial sketch and line art phase on the other hand... no thanks! I still have trouble with that even after 16 years.)

~wall of text below~

Also trying to calibrate my laptop screen since these colors looked barely visible on my laptop but look far more colorful/saturated when viewing on my tablet/phone screen.

My version of csp is a 6 month trial which runs out sometime next month,  and I wanted to see if it’s doable for me to use csp on laptop instead, since unlike the desktop version, the mobile version has a monthly fee (after the trial runs out you can still use it for 1 hour per day for free)

I’ll probably buy a one year subscription anyway, since I far prefer drawing on the Samsung Tablet as I can just draw directly on the screen and carry it wherever. It being portable is one of the reasons I bought a Samsung instead of investing in a drawing tablet with display. Though I’ve recently been looking into one for when maybe one day I have too much money. Back to the subject, I do have other art apps to draw with on the tablet, but I think csp is different enough and more advanced to keep using.

[lia-jones]

Growing Pains - Chapter Five - Two Shades of Bully

It was 6:25 when I dropped my bag on the curb in front of my building, waiting for Victor’s car to pick me up. At 6:29 Victor’s car arrived, the driver coming to take my bags and open the door for me. I could see Victor was already inside, busy with his tablet, not even caring to look at me.

“Good-“ I tried to greet him as I got in, but he interrupted me.

“Schedule.” He was brief and cold, like he was talking to a software.

“Okay.” I said, trying not to get mad the first 10 seconds I’m with the CEO. “We have our flight scheduled to 7 am, which won’t be a problem because there’s not much traffic at this time. We are expected to arrive in Creekwood at 9 am, and we will be going straight to GTC, where we will have our update meeting and a tour to the textile factory to see the new machinery they bought. This is one of the meetings that will take most of our time. After this, we will be meeting the partner of Drake and Sons for a lunch meeting, and after we are going to visit their plastic components factory until 3 pm. Finally, we are heading for Happy Cow farm, expected time of arrival at 4 pm, to discuss the funding of their new insemination center. By 7 pm we arrive at the hotel, and you’ll need to get ready for the charity ball, that will start by 8:30, so you need to leave by eight. Do you need the schedule for tomorrow as well?”

“That will do.” Victor replied dryly, answering his phone, that in the meantime started vibrating.

The ride to the airport was uncomfortable, the energy so tense it was almost palpable. Fortunately, thanks to the lack of traffic, we arrived quickly.

I wasn’t surprised when we got to the airport and cut the line for check-in. I also wasn’t surprised when we were received in the plane like we were royalty, with a fancy parade of ass-kissing to Your Highness Victor Lee, King of High Horse Land. What came as a great surprise was that Victor didn’t care one bit for any of it. He showed aloofness to it all, but it wasn’t that fake indifference just to assert superiority, he was literally ignoring every advance and simply treating people with respect, like he wanted to have nothing to do with that. Not what I expected from the King at all.

The respect he had with other people didn’t extend to me though. He would scoff and spit his words to me, like I was the most ignorant person in the world. It was clear that he was still mad at me, but among all the messes I had made with him, I was unclear as to what was making him angry the most.

“I read the reports you sent me. Not so hopeless after all.” I was about to thank him when he interrupted me. “Call the flight attendant and ask for coffee. Last thing I want is for you to fall asleep on your own drool in front of our partners.”

I took a deep breath, trying to remember Diane’s words. Give him the benefit of the doubt. And I as looked at things from Diane’s perspective, I felt my emotions shift a little. He wanted to make me feel as he was punishing me, but there I was, flying first class with him. And he said he was pleased with my work, and although it wasn’t a clear well done, but more of a backhanded venomous compliment, maybe it was all that Victor Lee could muster. I remembered my harsh words in the conference room. Maybe he wasn’t humiliating me, maybe he was urging me to find my own voice. Maybe Diane was right.

“Have your coffee. Study your reports. You’ll be presenting them to the partners.” He ordered. I was astonished.

“You said I was presenting?” I repeated.

“Is the altitude affecting your hearing? I said you will be presenting them! Who wrote them in the first place? Or should I ask Ted to join the presentation as well?” It wasn’t 8 am and already Victor was losing his temper. I sighed and opened my laptop, reading my reports and preparing myself.

“Don’t make me and yourself look bad.” He added, his voice low but still menacing. I kept looking at the screen, anger boiling hard inside me, so much I wanted to cry of frustration. I hid my clenched fist between my thighs and I focused hard on my reports, hoping the distraction would take the anger away.

We arrived at the airport by 8:30, a car was already expecting us to drive us to GTC.

The 30-minute drive to GTC was silent, as it had been most of the morning, apart from the CEO’s nasty remarks. I was nervous about having to present my reports, since I feared some of my suggestions could be refused by the partners. Victor certainly wanted me to make my own suggestions and hadn’t complained so far, so I would do my best. Worst case scenario, I would have to find another job doing something else. And judging by the way my stomach was churning, maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

We were greeted at GTC by the owner, Miss Bates, a lady in her 50s that seemed to have the hots for Victor. Everything was an excuse to touch him, or slap his chest slightly, and it was obvious that her advances made him a bit uncomfortable. I expected him to say something, but he never did, probably because her advances, although annoying, were still polite and could be considered just a friendly gesture. However, he did try to politely make himself distant.

“So, Victor, will you be bringing anyone to the charity ball tonight?” Miss Bates asked, stepping closer to Victor. He gave a small step back.

“In order to answer that, I need to make sure I will be at the ball in the first place, and not stranded in some other meeting. Can we get started on the presentation?” He was quick to change the subject, probably fearing she would offer to be his date.

“Of course, dear. And please don’t call me Miss Bates, my name is Deborah.”

Victor didn’t answer, motioning me to follow him. I walked after him, holding tight to my computer, watching Miss Bates melt in laughter at every single sound that came out of Victor’s mouth. And for some reason, that was getting on my nerves.

They sat down at the large table at GTC’s conference room while I stood at the end of the table, plugging my computer to GTC’s screen with the help of one of their assistants.

I started the presentation of my reports, my analysis of the current reality and my suggestions to increase clients, as the actions they had planned could possibly not be enough to cover the investment at the desired deadline. In GTC’s case, my proposal was to invest in a good market strategy.

“What do you mean, market strategy? We are already well established in our area!” Miss Bates inquired Victor, that was sitting watching everything unfold.

“Andrea, explain to Miss Bates what you mean.”

That was it. My test. He wasn’t going to help me, he was leaving me alone to fend for myself.

“I understand you are well established in the area, but you could expand your business overseas.” I explained.

“And how do you suggest you do that? I attend every business fair, I offer fabric samples to those companies on a regular basis. What else could I do?” She asked, slightly offended.

I stopped for a minute. Here goes nothing.

“You could host a fashion show.”

Miss Bates was flabbergasted. I could see Victor was concealing a smirk with his hand.

“How am I supposed to-“

“You get your best fabrics and send them to designer overseas. You won’t probably get big names, but you’ll get enough brands to make people listen. You bring in the whole media circus, make it a big event. In the end, the best design gets a prize and visibility, while you get your fabrics to be shown in great designs. All parties benefit. I know many good Portuguese designers that would jump at such a chance. I expect it to be so for other countries as well.”

Miss Bates eyes shone at my words. She was a woman, of course a fashion show would be appealing to her. We started the tour to the factory, Miss Bates clinging to my arm.

“I absolutely love the fashion show idea! And with the samples I have to show for, we will get great designs, that we can even use to send to potential clients. It’s absolutely different than sending just a sample! They can see how it flows, how it shines under the light…”

I kept smiling and listening to her yammering, while Victor walked behind us, being told by Miss Bates’s assistant of the new equipment they had purchased recently. Miss Bates turned to Victor.

“Oh Victor, darling, I am completely ignoring you! But it’s all your fault, your brilliant mind leading other brilliant minds like hers to help partners like myself. She did a great job, you should be proud of yourself!” She said while hugging me tightly with one arm.

“She did very well, like a true golden child.” He looked at me meaningfully, and I wanted to roll my eyes at the “golden child” thing, but then I noticed his expression was… soft.

As we got in the car to leave, my heart was racing with adrenaline. I had done a good job, an excellent job, I have proven myself to be worthy of his respect. All the negative things of that morning had somehow evaporated, and I was surely a happy camper. Victor seemed to be in a good mood too.

“Did you see that? I thought she was going to bite my head off, but she actually loved it! Oh my God, the rush!” I turned to him, worried. “Did I do well? Do you think I overstepped? Should I have not suggested that?”

Victor chuckled. That sound was so rare and beautiful that my heart started beating hard on my chest.

“Do you really think I would let you present if I didn’t trust your abilities? I expected you to excel. I wasn’t mistaken.” He said, his expression relaxed, freer than usual. My face fell. I felt like an idiot.

“I actually considered you were trying to make me trip so you could fire me justifiably. I remember your threats.” I said, suddenly feeling ashamed.

“Calling me a bully would be justifiable enough, I think. What kind of monster do you take me for? I was just displeased at how you just let yourself be led by Ted like that, forgetting your own opinions. And I had to make sure you’d stay long enough to prove yourself your worth.” Victor seemed a little irritated, although he kept his soft expression. “Besides, which kind of bully would you prefer? The kind that pokes you hard enough to move forward and be the best possible version of yourself, or the kind that nicely tells you to take their ideas in detriment of your own?”

I stopped, thinking. That was exactly what Ted was doing. Instead of helping me grow, he was trying to keep me weak and ignorant, using me to make himself feel better. It wasn’t a smack on the face, but it felt just as abusive. Of course, there was the chance that he was just being nice, but he wasn’t actually helping me.

“Not everyone that is nice to you is looking out for your best interest, Andrea.”

I remained silent, churning on what I just heard. If my mother was there, she would be nodding silently, agreeing with Victor. I sighed, guilt washing over me.

“I was unfair to you. You’re not the easiest of people, but you’re not a bad person either. I’m sorry.” I said, the guilt clear in my voice.

“Forget all about it. Just keep up the good work.” Victor said, clearing his throat.

The rest of the day went on with lunch, and meetings, and constant driving and running around. Feeling more confident, I presented my reports and the meetings went smoothly, always under Victor’s careful and supportive eye. Funny how the same actions, the same facial expressions, the same words can feel so different from a new perspective. I watched Victor, and instead of seeing the ruthless, cold and aloof dictator, I someone else entirely. An honorable and kind man, like Diane said. The same man that helped me when my car broke down, and I initially thought was only a mirage.

We finished the meetings earlier than expected. It was 6 o’clock when we arrived at the hotel.

As we were waiting for the elevator, Victor turned to me.

“Did you bring a gown?” He asked, as the elevator opened its doors. We both got in.

“You told me to.”

“Good. You’re coming to the charity ball with me. Be at the lobby at 7: 55 pm.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind staying in my room. I’ll get some work done.” I swatted at his suggestion, the thought of pizza and a movie way more appealing than a 7-course meal.

“I wasn’t asking.” Victor said, but he didn’t look aggravated. In fact, I could swear I had seen a brief hint of a smile. “This is my floor. See you later.”

I stared at the elevator doors closing, my mouth slightly hanging. Ok, then.

[mamawaffle]

Overwatch Fic Exchange

So I participated in @clareguilty‘s Overwatch fic exchange and this is the first time in probably 10 years I’ve posted anything online. I got @unseaworthy, hope you like it love! 

Mostly fluff, Pre Explosion, Gabriel Reyes, Gender Neutral/Female reader, ~2000 words

You stretch, happy to finally be done with mission assignments for the week. You had pulled overtime for the last month to get ahead of schedule, and if everything during the missions went well, you would enjoy a quiet Friday Saturday and Sunday. You had packed your laptop and cellphone into your bag and had nearly signed off when a ping alerted you to a manual override for a mission. In years past this had been rare, the commander trusting the handlers- and the computers- to make sound decisions. But recently there’d be a lot more override requests, not from the agents but the commander himself.

Well, you decide sitting back down at your desk, no use in putting off what can be done now. It was a simple escort mission, one that you’d assigned Agent Thomas and Agent Elias to; two  compatible, quiet agents with compatible skills. Instead, Elias had been replaced with Nunez, a weapons specialist with a predisposition for explosives. What was the commander thinking?

Movement catches your attention and you flick your attention up; speak of the devil and he shall appear. “Sir are you sure about this?” 

“Sure about what?” Commander Reyes came around your desk to see the screen better. You noticed he was dressed more casually than usual, he still wore his dark pants and boots, but he was wearing a regular t-shirt instead of his hoodie or armor. You can see the hint of a tattoo on one of his ridiculously toned muscles-

With a heaving effort you pull your attention from his arms to rove over the holoscreen again, pretending you’d been invested in the information the whole time. As he came around the desk your attention drifted to the side-by-side statistical profiles of the two agents again. The commander placed one hand on the back of your seat, and the other reached past you to rest on your desk, giving you a good dosage of the cologne he wore in the office. It was a long standing debate among the other Blackwatch handlers what exactly he wore- Lieutenant Stroud insisted it was an old school Christain Dior- “a refined scent for a refined and mysterious man”-, but Agent Jones insisted that it was something more modern like-.

“Y/N,” you hear the commander call your name, pulling you from your thoughts on the old office gossip back to reality.

“Yes sir, um, I mean, Gabriel.” Saying his name was enough to make your heart stop he was so intimidating, but he insisted on it when it was just the two of you. Taking a breath, you switch back into work mode with the confidence of a woman who doesn’t have a school girl crush on their boss. “Thomas and Nunez don’t have any complementary stats at all. I mean lately they’ve had at least some overlap,” you point a finger at the mission requirements and trace it along the screen to show, “but this one really takes the cake. Thomas was already a long shot for the mission being an espionage specialist but Nunez?” You shake your head and drop the pointing hand to lean your chin on it, “he’s a pyromaniac who can be seen with explosives strapped to his back on an escort mission with a man he hates on his way to the near Antarctic tundra.”

“It’s fine,” he moves the hand on the desk to your mouse and clicks the confirm button, and a window pops up asking for your password. “Call it commander intuition, but I’ve got them paired for a reason. Sometimes a scientist escort requires cunning wit, quiet observation, and explosives.” The disbelief must have been plain on your face because the commander laughs and stands up straight. “Trust me, I know exactly what I’m doing.” 

And so for the next two days you contemplated what exactly Reyes thought he was doing. You thought about it as you saw Nunez and Thomas off, you thought about it when Stroud and Jones bid you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah respectively and headed to the states for the rest of the week. You thought about it when you overheard agents talking about how contact with Agent Nunez and Agent Thomas had been lost in the middle of an unseasonable storm. The scientists had been fine and were maintaining shortwave radio communication with the agents, instructing them on the locations of various survival items, including a single blanket that they had to share. You even thought about it as you mechanically went through the checkup portion of your yearly physical with Doctor O’Deorain, another agent with the maddening request of only using first names for those they’d become fond of. 

You supposed that the commander actually could be onto something, humans made mistakes and computer programs were as fallible as the programmers who designed them. As commander he had to be observant of not just what the system told you, but  collect other information and be able to pair or group agents accordingly. 

“You seem fit as a fiddle Y/N, it is a shame you don’t go out into the field more often. You would be perfect for the work.”

“Hm.” You answer non committedly.

“Speaking of field work, congratulations are in order for George and June, they’ve just arrived safely from their chilling ordeal.”

Your mind belatedly connects the names to Thomas and Nunez and you look up at her. The doctor had her perpetual grin aimed at a tablet, either at your charts or at the list of agents landing on base you couldn’t tell. “Gabriel mentioned something about a celebration but I don’t think I’ll be attending.” She pulls her face into pinched disapproval. 

“I uh, think I’ll pass too. I really just want to take a break.”

You move to stand but she puts a hand to your shoulder, “I do have just one more question for you though, if you don’t mind my asking.”

You shrug, “sure.”

“What exactly is our commander up to?” She doesn’t allow you a response past your confused expression. “He’s spent an awful lot of time with you in the office, and there haven’t been any truly dangerous missions for the entire month. I understand that you have been handling the bulk of agent assignment as well, and you have been awfully quiet this afternoon. Dirty conscious got your tongue?”

“I..” So you weren’t the only one to notice how weird the commander had been. You shrug again, “I have no idea, sorry Moira.”

“You don’t think that it’s odd, that previously openly hostile coworkers have become incredibly..” She lets the word trail off, searching for the right word. “Chummy.”

You hadn’t thought about it, but now that she’d pointed it out it was weird. Every pairing or group that you’d sent out for the last month had come back not only in higher spirits, but as great friends. Maybe it was a piece of the puzzle, but you shook your head no at her.

Moira pulled her hand away slowly, the serious expression relaxed into her perpetual smile again. “I only thought he’d have filled you in, my apologies for holding you.”

Understanding the words as a dismissal you flash her a nervous smile of your own and beat a hasty exit from the infermary toward the mess hall The doctor made a good point though, things were much quieter in the halls and common areas. You would have to think hard about how all of that fit into Reyes’s master plan, but after you got a bit of dinner in you.

You could maybe get in a bit of observation time if you-.

Your thoughts stop short as your round the corner into the Blackwatch mess. “Oh my god.” 

The words fall slowly from your lips. It looked like Christmas had thrown up, garland lined the walls in a tasteful Blackwatch symbol with colorful lights brightening the greenery. The room lights had been dimmed so that the multitude of blinking snowflakes hanging from the ceiling could be seen well. Upon closer inspection you can see that whoever had done the puking had made sure to include other holidays too. Tiny plastic menorahs and kinara were in the middle of tables surrounded by red LED candles, and the tablecloths had various holiday characters. And at the culmination of it all, in the center of the room, a huge tree was being decorated by agents who hadn’t gone home for the holidays to the tune of Mirah Carrey

“So,” McCree said on your left, “what’d ya think?”

“I think Reyes is gonna have a heart attack.”

“Naw, it was his idea after all.” He claps you on your back as he walks past you and calls over his shoulder, “you comin or what?”

In all your fuss of maintaining a black operations organization over the years, you’d barely acknowledged the holiday other than making a few calls home and mumbled greetings in the office. Overwatch, of course, threw a company wide party every year that was about as bland as they came, and nearly every Blackwatch agent turned down the invitation every year. But this was the first time they’d thought to throw their own. 

You sigh and follow after McCree. “I guess I’ll see what you’ve done to the tree.”

For the first time in years you actually enjoyed yourself on Christmas eve. You put up a few decorations with some agents and even saw Thomas and Nunez hanging off of each other. The two seemed to laugh at the whole situation when you congratulated them on a job well done.

“Make lemon cakes out of lemons,” Nunez shrugs and pecks Thomas’s cheek with a kiss. And then suddenly it clicks. Your gaze slides over all of the new couples floating around the room, there hadn’t been any fights all week and now you had confirmation.

The missions, the overrides, it was all to set them up!

You turn away to go look for Commander Reyes and bump into a solid wall of ugly blue and red sweater.

“Oh, sorry Y/N I was just-.”

You put a finger to his chest hard, “Gabriel Reyes I cannot believe,” you glance around you but every seemed reasonably invested in the festivities to not notice you, but you still drop your voice, “you were using assignments to play matchmaker.” 

The commander grins at you and gently pushes a small box that matched his sweater at your chest. “Merry Christmas.”

You hiss under you breath, “Reyes I’m serious.” You push the box back into his hands, but a few of the other agents were starting to notice your confrontation. “Commere.” Taking his arm you pull him to a table that lined the wall. You sat down pulling him down with you and he pushes the box into your hands again.

“I feel like you’re not feeling the Christmas spirit.”

“Reyes-.”

“Gabriel.” He insists.

You breathe out a heavy sigh, “Gabriel what the hell?”

“Well we couldn’t really throw a party with everyone trying to kill each other,” he shrugs as if that was enough explanation in of itself. 

“This is so against all kinds of protocols.”

He makes a flippant motion with his hand, “I’ve never been one for following rules. I’m sorry for the secrecy but you’ve got to admit the quiet’s been nice.”

You glance behind you, at the agents, a lot of who you would consider friends, dancing drunkenly to Christmas In Holis and at the twinkling lights and absolute treasure trove of food being brought out. You guessed this was okay, and he was right, the lack of reports being filed had made your work much easier.

“Promise to include me in your nefarious schemes next time Gabriel?” His grin was infectious and you found yourself already looking back on this as a funny situation.

“So your gift?”

“Oh yeah.” You quickly work to slip the ribbon securing the lid off of the box. 

You stare down bemusedly at the mistletoe. “Isn’t this stuff supposed to be above us for a kiss Gabriel?”

He smirks, “we make our own rules here Y/N.” And he leans in for a kiss.

[theblueskyphoenix]

Grid Ghost Chapter 1: Ghost

Obake didn’t have a lot of time.

He wasn’t sure of the exact amount but he knew he needed to act quickly before his body gave out on him.

He hurried as fast he could to one of his secret lab locations. He was relieved to find supplies that would be useful to him within it.

A set of dry clothes, a hoodie in particular to conceal his face, gloves, sunglasses, a backpack, a laptop, a USB and most important of all, a first aid kit that had a few doses of painkillers in it.

Obake quickly changed into the dry set of clothes before doing what he could for injuries with what tools he had in the first aid kit before administering the pain killers. He was thankful for the relief they brought him, allowing him to think straight.

Thinking straight… When was the last time I was even able to think straight? Least, be able to think straight with a working moral compass?

Obake shook his mind of it. He could ponder over that later.

He had bigger matters to attend to.

He made sure to save one more dose of painkillers just in case, stowing it safely in the backpack with the laptop. He looped the USB around his neck with a lanyard. He took one last scope around the location to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.

Obake’s eyes landed on a fridge, his stomach giving a slight growl.

Not sure if I have anything in there but it’s worth looking.

He opened it, surprised to find two well preserved contents inside. A burger from Joe’s Diner  that was in a plastic container and a wrapped up blueberry scone from the Lucky Cat Cafe.

When did I get these…?

Obake thought back for a moment till it crossed his mind exactly where these had come from. They were from Trina. Globby had requested her to make a food run since he was tired of eating Noodle Burger Boy’s… well, Noodle Burgers, and she was the most normal looking of the bunch and Momakase was out doing an errand for Obake. She had brought back food everyone, even for him, which he hadn’t requested at all.

He frowned a bit at this.

As much as she wasn’t my real daughter, she really did try to impress me all the time.

Obake shook his head, taking the content out of the fridge, making his way out of the lair. He bit into the burger as he made his way out into the public streets of San Fransokyo. He didn’t care it was on the cold side, it was something to eat and his body appreciated it. Plus, it was a way to look… well, “normal”.

Least I hope.

He could see some people giving him odd looks here and there as he passed through the streets but he paid them no mind. While blending in was a concern, he had his mind set on where he needed to be.

He finished his burger as he came upon his destination, stashing the scone in the plastic container in his backpack to eat later.

It’ll be a victory meal.

Obake narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the tall intimidating structure that was the Sycorax facility. While it was blurry, he could still remember glimpses of the last time he was here. He knew what he needed from this place. And he knew he had to be fast if he was to obtain all that and not get caught.

Just hope the implant hasn’t malfunctioned entirely.

Obake made his way into the entry lobby of the facility, trying to be as discreet as he could. He made it look like he was heading to the guest center but as soon as he was sure the person at the front desk couldn’t see him he made a break for one of the main elevators, shutting it quickly.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, the left side of his face glowing purple. Electrical buzzes and pulses sounded off in his ears. To anyone else, it was static, to him, it was a language.

He focused on the sounds, hovering his hand over the elevator controls.

“Take me to level 10. I need to access the private filing computer.”

There was a beep and a click before the elevator began to move. Obake grinned at this before focusing again. Information coursed through his mind of names of the employees that worked in the facility. He only needed one to ensure he could get into the computer system.

I just need someone with high level access.

One name came up that matched what he needed, inputting it into the system.

The elevator stopped, opening to the level he had requested.

“Welcome, Chris.” The system voice said.

I don’t think I recognize that name. Didn’t know Liv trusted anyone that much.

Obake shrugged it off, heading to the room that had computer system, quickly getting to work. Hacking was a breeze and before long, he was sorting through millions of files.

It has to be in here somewhere… Aha!

Obake smiled as a set of blueprints appeared on screen. Blueprints for an implant designed for a skull.

MY skull.

Obake quickly inserted his USB into the computer, downloading the blueprints. It was done within moments. Before he ejected the USB, he pulled something from it, putting it on the desktop of the computer.

Won’t cause damage but nothing like a little chaos with organizing to cause a headache.

He removed the USB before clicking the icon of the item he left behind, his monster insignia appearing on screen. He grinned as he saw files being moved about randomly in the system, some being encrypted in the process.

Okay maybe a little damage. Can’t be helped.

Obake made his way out of the room. He was about to head back to elevator but stopped as he saw someone was about to step out. He quickly dove for another hallway, booking it to one of the neighboring rooms, hiding in the shadows.

He steadied his breathing, doing his best to keep quiet as he heard footsteps coming his direction. He took note of the room he was in, a chill going through his spine.

It was one of Liv’s personal operating rooms.

While he wasn’t tapped into the system, he could still hear the electrical buzzes and pulses coming from the technology in the room. He knew their purposes.

Take apart… Put back together… Change… Mutate…

“What… What have you done to me!?”

“Relax, Bob.” Liv gently stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, not even flinching at seeing him cry out in pain. “This all for the investment of mine and your future. And trust me… it’s a good investment. As long as you do exactly as I say. Now… hold still. There will be a slight… shock.”

Obake shook away the memory, bringing a hand over his mouth as two people entered the room.

One of them was Liv and beside her was…

Obake’s eyes widened.

Momakase!? What is she doing here!?

“Ah… fancy lab.” Momakase commented, looking around. “And this is where all the magic happens?”

“Yes.” Liv smiled. “I can give you exactly what you want, in exchange for a small favor. Sound ideal?”

Momakase nodded.

“Just tell me exactly what you need me to do.”

“Liv?”

Both looked to see a man enter the room. He had blond hair and hazel colored eyes… and had an oddly symmetrical face. Obake raised an eyebrow at this.

No human is that perfect.

“Yes, Chris?” Liv asked, turning to him fully.

“I have a message from E. Bailey. It’s important.”

“Ah.” Liv looked to Momakase. “Meet me back in my office. We’ll discuss matters over dinner.”

Momakase nodded, leaving the room.

Soon as they were sure she was gone, Chris handed her the tablet he was holding, letting her see the message.

“Ah, I see she has made progress in her studies with the fire mutant in Saga. Very interesting…” Liv smiled. “I’d assist but I’m a little busy with some other matters at the moment. Do tell her to continue her research and send her my regards. I will speak with her once I’m available.”

Chris nodded.

“Right away, Liv.”

Chris left without another word, Liv being left alone. She smiled at the information she read over, chuckling.

“We’ll understand you eventually, Bird Boy. Got plenty to do right now but don’t worry, I’ll get to you in due time.”

Liv soon left, Obake now the lone occupant of the room.

Fire mutant…? What is she going on about?

Obake cringed, feeling at his side. The pain from earlier was coming back. He hissed a bit, quickly grabbing the painkiller out of his backpack, administering it.

I’ll have to worry about whatever this fire mutant is later.

Obake waited for the painkillers to take hold before starting to make his way out of the room. Before he left, he eyed some of the tools that were out on display on a table. He recognized some of them, wincing a bit.

He made his way over, picking one of them up. It was a tool designed to help with the implantation of circuitry to organic matter. The very circuitry that was in the right side of his face.

… I’m sure she won’t miss these. She probably has dozens of them.

Obake quickly grabbed a few of the tools, stuffing them into his backpack before booking it out of the room.

He would’ve caused more damage but he figured he had done enough. He got what he needed. No need to make a scene…

…

Well, maybe a little one.

As he exited the facility, Obake tapped into the system one last time, sending a signal to the security mainframe.

He smiled as he walked away, hearing the alarm system of the facility go haywire.

For it had no proof that he had even been there.

Nothing but a ghost.

Just like you wanted me to be, Liv.

[writing-yj]

Robin x Reader: The Bird Tattoo~Part Three (Soulmate AU)

A/n: Sorry, my writing is horrible. OOC. I know next to nothing about police radios, so bear with me. Please. 

Wally and Dick found themselves sitting in the living room with a police radio sitting beside them. It played quietly in the background, and they listened for any key words. Specifically the words speeding, motorcycle, failure to comply, high speed chase, etc.

     “I can’t believe they’ve been chased by the cops,” Wally tugged at his hair in disbelief. “Like, what?!” He shoved another handful of popcorn in his mouth. The bowl was big and filled enough to feed at least three people, but it’s Wally. 

     “I’m not surprised.” Robin supported his chin with his hand as he rested on the arm of the couch. “Definitely something Mockingbird would get herself into. Reckless must be her middle name...” He trailed off; the odd feeling he was getting in his stomach was distracting.

    Wally shifted in his seat and put down the bowl of popcorn with a serious look on his face. “You do realize that Artemis is involved, too, right? It’s not just M.” He was best friends with Robin, and almost always took his side in things, but he was on the fence at the moment. Wally strongly disagreed with Robin’s decision to clear your tablet- a very idiotic decision -and he had yet to find out why.

     “Well, yeah, but,” Robin had difficulty finding an excuse. “Mockingbird’s the one driving! Artemis has no control over her!” It was very poor excuse with many holes.

     “I’m pretty sure Artemis could get her to slow down if she genuinely wanted to. And she’s M’s best friend; plenty of control there, if that makes sense.” Wally reached over for his cup and took a long sip of pop through the straw. “Why did you wipe her tablet, anyway? You never said why.” finally, the question on everyone’s mind was out in the open.

     This time, Robin was at a loss for words. If there was a reason, it was a stupid, childish one. So he went with honesty. “I...don’t know. I was just so annoyed with her, I needed some sort of payback. She’s annoyed me since the very start of this team.” His voice was a mix of defensive and irritated. 

     “And what did she do to earn your very obvious hatred?” 

     That sent him into a rant. “She broke into the Batcave to use the computer when ours was down without setting off any of the alarms I set up! Her powers are so aggravating and barely useful when we’re on missions!” Robin started motion with his hands. “And she knows my identity! She knows Batman’s identity! Almost everyone’s identity. But I’m not allowed to know her identity! I tried getting into her files to find out, but it takes me forever to get pass even one section of security.”

     Wally was speechless, for once. He could easily poke holes in everything he just heard. He could turn Robin’s explanation into a slice of Swiss cheese. “Dude, her powers are insanely useful. When she said she can make any sound, she wasn’t exaggerating. Any sound at any volume. Cut her some slack.” He still didn’t know who’s side he was on. “But I can definitely see where you’re coming from on the whole identity thing. Really unfair to you, dude.”

     Suddenly, the police radio emitted the words they were looking for.

“This is unit 227. I’ve got a speeding motorcycle in my sights; I am in pursuit. Going at 90 miles per hour and slowly accelerating. No license plate, and their helmets prevent me from identifying them.”

“Do you need back up, Officer Bronson?”

“Nope, I’ve got this one. Just looks like some teenagers going for a joy ride.”

“10-4,we’ll be on stand-by.”

     Silence briefly entailed before the radio blared to life again.

“These speedsters are aren’t slowing down! At all! I need back-up!”

“10-4, what’s you’re 20?”

“I’m on route-”

     Officer Bronson, the cop in question, stopped speaking.

“Bronson? Do you copy?”

“They disappeared.”

“What do you mean, ‘disappeared’!?”

“The motorcycle is gone! I went around the corner and poof, no more motorcycle! Not a single vehicle as far as I can see!”

“Again!?”

     Wally started snickering, and then started full-on laughing. But he stopped when his drink came out of his nose. Then it was Robin’s turn to laugh. He didn’t want to admit it, but disappearing like that while on a motorcycle was kind of impressive.

     Suddenly, the hangar doors opened and a black motorcycle zoomed inside almost immediately after, the engine roaring and the headlight(s?) lighting up the base. The tires screeched obnoxiously as you drifted into a parking position. Ironically, next to Robin’s. But your heart was pounding too hard and your adrenaline levels were too high to give a damn.

     You and Artemis ripped off the helmets and basically sunk to the floor to sit for a moment. Artemis was shaking from the adrenaline rush while you were grinning like a fool. Wally and Robin jumped up to see what was going on, and they were surprised to see you two panting on the floor.

     “I told you to slow down!” Artemis exclaimed with a weak glare. She had fun and she knew it.

     You scoffed. “Bull! You said speed up!” It’s not like you were going to get caught. 

     “That was before I saw the cop car behind that rickety barn!”

     “You never said slow down, I’d bet my life on it.”

     Wally decided to chime in. “I could have gone faster, just to make it clear.” The situation was hilarious to him. Artemis and Mockingbird getting tailed by a cop? Funny. Arguing about who’s fault it was? Even better.

     You and Artemis said in unison, “We aren’t talking about you!” No one said anything the following moment, but then you two burst into giggles. That was the fastest your motorcycle had ever gone, and you two were the lucky ones to be on it. The jokes you cracked, the girl-talk, and venting about Robin again made it one hell of a night.

     Robin saw the scene unfold and it made him feel... weird. Like his stomach was going to burst, or he ate something bad. Nonetheless, he still glared at you and opted to scold you. “Sure, you had fun and all, good for you. But what if you got caught, huh? What would you do then?”

     That definitely ruined the mood. All the smiles were gone, turned into frowns. “I would have called you, my knight in a black and yellow cape, to rescue us from a jail cell.” Sarcasm dripped from your words and you stood up. “We weren’t going to get caught. Who do you think we are?” Your footsteps echoed as you walked away, an angry aura replacing your exhilarated one.

     “And if you crashed?” Robin asked, his voice quieter. The lack of bite to his words startled you. It was calmer, and... caring? He almost sounded sad. Maybe he was. You didn’t want to look into it.

     It made you freeze in your tracks. Not only how he sounded, but what he asked. If you crashed, both you and Artemis would’ve died. Undoubtedly. For two human girls, there would be no chance at surviving a crash at such speed. You thought about being responsible for Artemis’ injuries or death from any sort of motorcycle crash, and that thought made your heart clench. Leaving the team, practically your family now, behind because of a stupid decision hurt you even worse.

     You turned your head a little to look at Robin out of the corner of your eye. He was right. You were wrong. And if someone asked, you would be willing and mature enough to confirm it. You maintained eye contact with the Boy Wonder for a few more seconds, but then you turned and walked back to your room without giving an answer. They saw you take off your sunglasses and fold them back up, but not your face. Not a surprise.

     Artemis and Wally stared at Robin in bewilderment. 

     “Oh my goodness,” Wally dramatically put a hand over his heart. “I guess you’re not as cold-hearted towards her as I thought!” 

     “Am not allowed to talk to her without being a jerk? It was just one time anyway, it doesn’t mean I like her.” Robin grunted and went back to the living room. “We’re staying here tonight, right?”

     “That is the plan!” Wally called out to him before looking down at Artemis with a smirk. He held a hand out to her. “Need help getting up, babe?” His wink would have made the average teenage girl swoon, but Artemis was no average teenage girl. They were also the ones who used to hate each other, but they eventually started getting along. Wally was a flirt at heart, so she got plenty of that.

     Artemis stared up at him for what seemed like hours before taking his hand, rolling her eyes. She almost yelped when he yanked her up and brought her close to his chest. Wally’s green eyes met hers, but she firmly pushed him away before anything else could happen.

     Robin was positive that they were going to be soulmates, but what about his? Wanting to meet his soulmate was a natural thing, so of course he was excited, but he was absolutely clueless on who it could be, or where he would meet them. People usually are, but it bothered him to no end.

You were in the library of the cave, a quiet place that wasn’t used too often. But you had one of your laptops out and several notepads surrounded you. On the screen were The Doctor’s files, as well as your own. You were deep in your research, ignoring all of the painful memories that you desperately wanted to rebury. You placed your mask on the desk and reached up to rub your tired eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time you stayed up all night, and certainly not the last.

     Wally was zonked out on one of the couches, the credits of a movie rolling through on the TV, while Robin shuffled around the halls. He couldn’t sleep, so a walk around the cave wouldn’t hurt. But he got curious when he saw light coming from the doorway to the library. Who would be up at this hour? Aside from him.

     He poked his head in to see who was there, but he only heard the clacking of a keyboard and occasionally the scratching of a pencil on paper. Robin slowly stalked through the shelves and made his way to the back of the library.

     You were sitting with your back facing him, deeply invested on the screen in front of you. Robin was amazed that you didn’t hear him and leaned closer to see what you were looking at, but to no avail. So he settled on trying to get a look at your face.

     He saw the tip of your nose before he gave away his cover. The floorboard beneath him creaked and it got an insane reaction from you. Your hand thumped against the desk and some papers drifted to the floor as you tried to snatch up your domino mask. 

     The moment it was on, you whipped around, ready to attack any hostile being in the room. But it was just Robin. Although, to you, it might as well be a hostile. You visibly relaxed before getting back in your chair and grabbing a blank sheet of paper to write something else down.

     “You’re up late.” Robin looked at his watch; it read 12:23 AM. Not late at all for the life of a hero, but you were all still exhausted teenagers. Wally was dead asleep on a couch, Artemis was at home getting some shut-eye, you weren’t sure if Conner slept often since Superman technically doesn’t need to, Megan was certainly getting her rest, and Kaldur was comfortably regaining energy from a hard-day’s work. It was only you and Robin, now.

     “Same to you.” You mumbled. You weren’t keen on talking to him, so you didn’t plan on talking unless spoken to.

     Robin really did feel horrible for deleting all your hard work, and your reaction to his question earlier that evening darkened his mood. And he didn’t know how to make it up to you, so he started with picking up your fallen papers.

     The rustling of papers didn’t phase you, nor did him holding them out to you. You snatched them out of his hand and firmly put them back in their original place. You were still angry at him, but you aimed to keep your words civil. Your actions? Not so much.

     Robin crossed his arms as he stared at the back of your head. “I could have gotten a paper cut, you know.” At this point, he was just trying to make small talk out of pure boredom. 

     “I’m sure you’d live...” You muttered again and hit the ‘enter’ button a little harder than necessary.

     The next twenty minutes were spent on several attempts to get you to say more than one sentence at a time, but trying to get you in a conversation was more advanced, and Robin had yet to level up. If anything, he’s still at level zero. 

     Robin sighed, starting to get irritated. “Well, what are you doing?” His question was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

     The loud slam of your fist hitting the desk made him jump. Just a little. “You want to know what I’m doing!?” You growled, quietly. It was still a library, in your eyes. “Since you deleted every single thing I had on my tablet, I have to start from square one! I have to go through stacks of police reports and investigations and closed cases!”

     “Look, I’m sorry, alright? I didn’t know what you had on your tablet; I thought it was a just bunch of games you could easily re-download. I was annoyed, and I didn’t think any harm would be done. If I knew that this is what was on there,” Robin gestured to the desk you were working at. “I wouldn’t have even tried messing with your tablet.”

     You trained your eyes on the screen, then at your notes, but the anger you held started losing it’s intensity. All you needed to hear was a sincere apology, and it sounded sincere enough to you. But the feeling didn’t entirely disappear.

     The sigh Robin heard made him hopeful. Did you still feel like choking him? Most likely. But it’s better than you wanting to snap him like a toothpick. He then heard you mumble something, but it was too quiet to understand. “What?”

     “Do you know how close I was to tracking down and stopping the man who took everything from me?” You said quietly with gritted teeth. “I know he’s not dead. Everyone else says he is. And I could have proven it,” the pencil in your hand was suffering from your deadly grip. “If it weren’t for your petty dislike for me.” 

     Robin was aware of how childish and immature about why he acted so cold towards you. For a while, he thought you were just as mean. But it was just you retaliating and mirroring his behavior.

     “So if you don’t mind,” you pointed in the direction of the exit. “I’d appreciate it if you got out of here. Immediately.”

     “Let me ask one more question,” Robin jumped up and looked at where your eyes would be. “Why don’t you take off your mask? I can’t because Batman said I can’t give it away to anyone... but why can’t you?”

     The tension in the room was suffocating, and the silence was deafening. You didn’t want to answer the question; something else inside you did. “After I got my powers, I was trained to never reveal my face. I was punished if I didn’t listen.” Your voice was almost inaudible. Barely a whisper.

     “Oh,” Now Robin understood. It wasn’t a ‘haha, I’m keeping this secret from you to make you mad’ type of thing, it was something entirely different.

     “Now get out.”

[hasufin]

Well, that’s the 600 Trillion Dollar question, isn’t it?

If anyone HAD that answer, they’d be investing in it heavily. So we don’t really know. Like I said - an awful lot of companies are just throwing a network interface and some processing power at whatever trying to see what sticks. There is no plan.

My opinion is, first, none of this “wag the dog” stuff is going to pan out. If people don’t have an existing demand - for some solution if not a specific solution - then there’s hardly any chance of it taking hold.

What I mean is, before smartphones were a thing, people had cameras and MP3 players and cell phones and GPSes, and they wanted an option to get all that functionality without carrying around as much stuff. There was a demand and the iPhone met it.

By contrast, has anyone, any real consumer, ever said “You know what? I wish I could start my microwave remotely.”? No, they have not. The idea of creating a product and then manufacturing a demand for the product is just not realistic.

So... what big, outstanding demand do we have right now that isn’t being fulfilled? What point of pain isn’t being addressed?

For my money, I think the issue we have is interfaces.

Right now a major limiting factor on phone sizes is the interface. We could make smartphones much smaller than our current ones, but then their screens would be tiny. OR we could make them bigger... but have you ever seen someone having a phone conversation or taking a picture with a tablet computer?

And then there’s working with other devices. Your smartphone has more than enough power to do MOST things for which you use a PC or laptop, but the interface is too small.

And, as Randall Munroe put it, audio interfaces are just plain a nightmare.

What we need is the ability to easily connect the portable devices we use with a wide variety of different interface devices which we could switch out based on our own convenience.

What I envision is that we all carry around a personal smartphone-like device which has nothing but wireless networking interfaces, storage, processing, and a battery - no screen or keypad - and it can connect to an earpiece if you’re making a call, or a keyboard and monitor if you’re sitting at a desk and wanting to type, or a handheld tablet if you’re reading a book, etc.. We carry our digital environment with us (and maybe eventually as an implant) and the physical interface is arbitrary. If we could handle the UX and security for that (big if, mind) then all these clever “smart” devices might even become useful.

But right now the focus needs to be on making all these devices secure and simple to configure. In that, while IoT is dumb, it could teach us useful lessons.

So I saw a post last night that terrified me but then my app crashed before I could reblog it.

Smart appliances are completely, 100% reliant on wifi? Like if there's an outage or you couldn't pay your internet bill in time and your wifi isn't working, your stove/fridge/door locks etc are rendered completely and totally unusable? The oven doesn't revert back to a basic oven/stove that you just have to operate manually? It's competely inoperable? Is that what you're telling me because that's fucking terrifying. So you're either completely locked in or out of your home if wifi goes down? Who the fuck signs up for this shit?