#if anyone slightly remembers the old design it’s technically the same just more balanced I guess??

[candyheartedchy]

Monstersona Sketch

[thelovelyghostwriter]

How many responses have you gotten so far, if I may ask?

Hello, thank you for your question. I open the Q&A if you guys want updates on the survey or any problems I'm facing.

Currently, there's 380 responses in total. [It was actually 362 last night, don’t know where I got the boost overnight, perhaps that Kurapika post] 

tThere's actually 84 questions in total, but I coded it in such a way that certain questions don't appear when you indicated an option. For example, if you indicated that you are not up to date with the manga (indicating that you have read the post-Election arc AND read till Chapter 390), the questions regarding the Succession arc theories and predictions will not appear. This is why the manga readers' survey is actually longer.

Currently, 149 respondents indicated that they had read up to date, and therefore, they indicated

Another example is the shippings part. For example, if you indicated you don't ship anything, you won't see the list of ships. If you only indicated that you ship, let's say, het ships, you will only see the het ships. This is to make it easier for people to do the survey. The key is for others to not answer unnecessary questions.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to talk about certain issues/explanations that I need to address.

The reason why I'm always emphasising the goal of 385 responses and above (400 is a good number) because based on calculations. I checked on MAL and that there are over 1.2 million who have watched HxH. The "population" in this case is the total number of people who have watched/read the series. Since some people do not have MAL, the actual population number is higher (currently, we do not know what is this exact number).

At 5% margin of error and 95% confidence level*, the ideal sample size is 385 in populations above 100K, and it doesn't change after 100K.

*I do not really know how to explain this, but don't worry too much about it.

Alright, so I'm at 380, do I still need more than 5 people?

Yes, I need more people. Why? I have three concerns:

1) I said this before, but I need more men/boys to do the survey.

As mentioned, I did not put demographic questions because my country is strict with asking people for personal data. While this survey is casual, I do not want to encounter future complications. However, I can roughly guess the gender composition of respondents because of certain questions and the way the survey was distributed. 

Firstly, this survey blew up mostly on Tumblr and there’s a lot of mixed statistics. This says that 47% are female in 2021 and this other article says 72% of women use Tumblr in 2014. Anyway, most of my online (majority from Tumblr) are women and they had actively helped me sent it out to other women who likes the show as well. This same thing happened to my friends in real life. 

Actually, this is one of the biggest limitations of this survey - convenient sampling, which is giving the survey to only people that we know. Our friends who may have similar views/interest will get to do the survey, but people that we are not friends with who may have a different view/interest does not get to do the survey. Their thoughts/opinions are not recorded. 

Secondly, there are certain questions that makes it easy to guess for me if the respondent is a woman/man. 

For example, the “which character do you simp for” question. 

“nil” means they don’t simp for anyone by the way. Also, note that this is just the word cloud diagram. I will chart them manually in bar charts later on. 

Usually, when someone indicates a lot of male characters, they are normally women/girls. The ones who indicated Killua Zoldyck and Gon are usually young girls. Of course, I’m not saying men won’t indicate they simp for a male character or something, but yea know, common sense a bit here. The likelihood of someone placing Chrollo being a woman/girl is higher than the respondent being a man. That also same goes for the shipping questions. 

The survey is posted on Reddit that consisted of 83.1% males in the HxH area, according to the 1K survey that they had. This helped me boost more people (and possibly guys who do survey). However, I think only about 20 to 30 people did it (based on the boost I got after the Reddit thread was posted). I also had help from a large hxh IG account that had slightly more guy followers to give me a shoutout. I also went to reach out to some accounts whom I know the admin are guys. 

I still need a bit more help though, because currently the survey results... I’m sensing that there are more women/girls who did it from the way the results are turning out. 

Why is this important? 

It’s simple. I cannot just release the results that had an uneven ratio of the gender of the respondents and claim that this is the hxh fandom. It won’t be representative of the hxh fandom population as a whole when there are many cis-men who actually had watched/read the show, and absolutely loved it. I think it’s important to hear people’s opinions, be it men, women, young, old. 

Currently, I’m trying to attract more men to do the survey by designing my hxh analyses posts from Tumblr and transporting them to IG, because I realise they like these kind of posts and they get to see my bio profile (with the survey link) + post about the hxh survey. I also get to befriend some of them in the process (and also because I have long been wanting to post my hxh analyses on IG, but it’s just a hassle to make it into pretty poster designs). So win-win. 

Of course, anyone is welcomed to do the survey. I just need help with “balancing” it out, so please help me by sending it to your bros, guy friends, boyfriends, fathers etc. Or if you know any social media platforms where most guys dominate, then yeah please send them. Or if you’re a guy, then yea go ahead and try the survey. 

2) While the responses are 380 in total, the number of people who have read up to date is 149. 

Okay, I’m not saying I need to get people who had read up to date to be 385 as well. Realistically, not sure if I can do it. However, most of the questions pertaining the Succession arc are the most interesting ones and it takes a large chunk of them. 

So yes, it will be great to have more people to do the survey especially if they had read the manga so that we can have more respondents in those questions. 

3) The 385 response calculation is only assuming 5% confidence level and 5% margin of error. 

I don’t exactly know how to explain this, but I will try to quote for the margin of error: 

“Company X surveys customers and finds that 50 percent of the respondents say its customer service is “very good.” The confidence level is cited as 95 percent plus or minus 3 percent margin of error. This information means that if the survey were conducted 100 times, the percentage who say service is “very good” will range between 47 and 53 percent most (95 percent) of the time.”

So if you put it in HxH context, with 95% confidence level, and 5% margin of error, it goes like this: 

50% of respondents indicated that Bisky is their favourite HxH girl (this one is only one option). If this survey was conducted 100 times, the % of people who indicated Bisky as their favourite girl would be from 45% to 55%. 

But if I actually key in 3% margin of error, the sample size goes up to 1056. 

I’m willing to open the survey for 1.5 more weeks. Three reasons: 

A) I will wait for more responses of course!

B) I am currently busy with my part-time student research assistant job during summer break till this week, and they are rushing to finish up the research paper. Therefore, it’ll be nice to just wait while I do my work. 

C) I am planning to write up the theories that I had included in the survey. This means having a lot of time finding the links/threads to the theories and reading them, making sense of it. I plan to post it and also merge that in my report. 

I’m closing the survey in 1.5 weeks because I need time to do up the charts and report by mid-August because I’m afraid I might be busy once the semester starts and I won’t have anytime to do this mini fun project. 

Another thing I want to address: 

Most of the time, certain options I created is based on technical reasons. The other reason is by mistake. 

For mistakes, I went to fix them if someone highlights a mistake.

Now, for the technical reason. I did not appreciate this response in the NOTP section that says: 

The reason why I listed out almost all ships in Hunterpedia, including the ones with a large age gap and the incest ones is simple - because it helps me chart easier when I put them into options. It also decreases the chances of nonsense answers like this one. It also places less fatigue on people doing the survey.  Text boxes are only meant if the options aren’t clear or “others, please state” so that I can include people’s opinons. 

The reason why I didn’t do that for the NOTP section is that I was unable to do a certain specific coding. That’s why it ended up as a text box. It’s also based on the assumption that if something is really your NOTP, you’d know and remember it. 

Why do people online goes straight to trying to prove they are morally superior and whatnot, assuming that I listed the options because of my morality. You do not know me personally. It is based solely on technical reasons.

This is why I used this disclaimer: 

Which part of this is not clear. You can leave, just like what I said in the beginning. Another thing is not following instructions and being rude about it. 

I had also instructed clearly to list out the NOTP combinations. I even noted it clearly. Some people put “any incest/pedo ships”, which happened more than five times. What’s more, one response contained “don’t tell me what to do”. 

Yes, I get it, you don’t like these type. But what you’re doing is making me guess everything, which is unproductive. If you don’t like certain ships that are common but a “taboo” like “HisoGon”, “Killumi”, then say that. If you say it generally, I’m just going to assume the ones on the Hunterpedia list. 

Another thing is the “any toxic ships”. This is very vague. Often, some so-called “wholesome” common ships in hxh are toxic. Mind you, Killugon is also a toxic ship (let’s not be blind to the CA arc please, this pairing is unbalanced), yet almost everyone perceives it as wholesome. Most characters in hxh are toxic in their own ways, and for sure their canon dynamics if they are in a relationship are likely more toxic than what is often portrayed in the headcanon way. I am wondering what to do with this, I might put it as invalid or “no”. 

This is why my instructions are to list them. I had already edited the question twice to make it even clearer yet there’s people who defy them. I’m not just doing the instructions out of fun or make people’s life harder. Those are instructions. 

I do not understand why certain people have to feel offended/be rude at an anonymous survey. 

I can understand if people don’t follow instructions because you might missed it out and I can help to chart it for you. It’s totally okay, everyone makes mistakes, but I do not appreciate the extra unsolicited comments about me because it implies that you have read them, you just chose not to follow it. 

If you think there’s a better way to do it, then DM me. I will explain to you why I had done it so, or I might even change it based on your suggestion. For example, someone actually told me to add certain options and I did it. Another person suggested to add the non-romantic dynamics and I love that, though I think it’s a little too late to add that. Maybe in the next survey.  

If you do not like the instructions, kindly exit the survey. Nobody is forcing you to do it. It won’t record your response if the survey is incomplete for one hour. 

[cadomoisspokenfor]

Legion Rewatch Notes,

Chapter 6:

Balance

Farouk later says he made all this to keep David comfortable. But then why go through the effort of having therapy sessions with anyone else? Is he just delighting in the gaslighting?

Small thing, Ptonomy’s not technically a psychic in the same way David/Farouk/Oliver are, but he does have well practiced mental abilities. I wonder if it takes more work to trick him than the others. Same for Walter I guess.

“I like to think i’m a time traveller. I can go back and back, but all I can do is... watch.” Sad and also relevant for future episodes. Thinking about it, this a pretty character defining statement for Ptonomy. Perfect recollection of all the horrible things he’s seen in the past, but never able to change anything.

Also, Farouk sat there and listened to Ptonomy’s entire story patiently and quietly. To what end?

Do Cary and Kerry still think of themselves as siblings in this simulation? Or are they just codependent friends?

So Walters problem is fragile masculinity?

Why is Syd able to see through Farouks delusion? Why doesn’t Farouk do anything about it?

I theorized once that Syd could see through it cause she knows what it’s like to be in the white room, but Ptonomy and Melanie have been in the astral plane too. And Ptonomy prides himself on knowing when he’s in reality. Could it be that Syd just has a really strong sense of self? Because of her power I mean. “Everywhere I go, I’m me.” It’s also possible Syd holds no insecurities about whether she’s psychotic or not. So when reality suddenly changes, she doesn’t just brush it off.

Is Farouk over inflating parts of Amy’s real personality, or is this just a completely inserted personality with no tangible connection to the real Amy?

This isn’t how David sees Amy, but maybe it’s how Farouk sees her, for holding David back?

Ptonomy takes Lenny’s place here. By Farouk’s design, or is it just to show similarities between their personalities? Ptonomy can be a bit cruel towards people with trauma and grief.

David no longer loves dogs.

“Paul” and not “Ptonomy”. I think it’s just a nickname, and I *think* they use it later too.

“I just feel so in control here. Like- my expectations... I’m not trying to bite off more than I can chew...” David feels most comfortable with low expectations and small and manageable goals. This feels really relevant for later.

I think Lenny here realizes she’s made David too comfortable. He’s never gonna want to leave and become a God if this keeps up. Also, his attachment to Syd keeps him from becoming what Farouk wants him to be.

On that attachment, this is maybe the most at peace we’ve ever seen and will ever see David be in the show. And he cites his relationship with Syd as the reason.

(Small note) I don’t think it’d be fair to say that David moving forward, or even David before this, not prioritizing their relationship all the time is a mistake on his part. Even though the show sorta paints it to be one, most of the time when he’s pulled away it was either to save someone in mortal danger, or to stop a global threat. David’s constantly dealing with the classic superhero dilemma, but the others don’t seem to see what they’re putting him through. Or in some cases they do and think he should just get over it. Curse of his powers I guess.

“People always talk about the depression. But it’s the other side, that... invulnerable feeling. Tha- it’s.... dangerous.” The more David gives into the thought that he is a powerful mutant who can’t be damaged by anything, the more dangerous he becomes. This one’s hard to reconcile cause it means even if he wanted to use his powers for good he couldn’t because it’s treated as a slippery-slope to him becoming a villain. Dammit, Hawley...

Farouk clearly knows what makes David happy, but continues to try pushing him into the “I am God” thing despite this. Perhaps this is what he regrets in s3? He could’ve given David exactly what he needed, but like many parents, he wanted his kid to be a miniature version of him. He thought that was what was best for him. Later he’ll realize it wasn’t.

Melanie’s airplaning her food to no one. Is she just pretending or does she actually see Oliver there? Probably the former.

Cary and Kerry’s in-syncness isn’t always all that relevant to the greater plot, but it’s always fun to see.

Farouk’s probably still trying to build up David’s subconscious hatred of Amy.

David’s real upset about the pie. This note’s not necessarily important, I just feel bad for him 🥺.

Also, Syd tried to use this as an opportunity to get out of eating cherries. Valiant effort.

Those bugs are in the white room too. Is Farouk even leaving those on purpose? Or is it more like a mental infection?

The bugs are gone when Syd and the others are looking at it, but they reappear after she sits back down.

Farouk probably hasn’t gotten to flex his powers *this strongly* in 30 years. Hence the “Feeling good” dance sequence.

The same weird thing behind the glass that was in David’s room in Chap 1 is in Syd’s room this ep.

Syd’s also having nightmares about the real world here, just like she will in s3.

I reiterate, how can Syd tell?

MAYBE, the reason Syd could tell is she’s actually been in the real Clockworks before. The rest haven’t. Well, David has, but I don’t think he *wants* to question things right now. Being with Syd in Clockworks was a real happy time for him. Syd describes it like a feeling of deja vu. It’s all reruns to her, but... slightly edited reruns. A constant feeling of “that’s not how this went.” (Small note) It should be considered that David actively resist believing in anything supernatural because of his previous diagnosis. Ans his current one too, probably.

David feels the outside world is too complicated for him. “Too loud.” “I need the routine, the grounding. I’m good.” Interestingly, Dr. Busker’s the one who tells him the outside side worlds not cut out for everybody. Seems counterintuitive to her/Farouk’s goals.

David’s completely comfortable with growing old and dying in a mental hospital. This wasn’t the case at the start of Chap 1. I think the only thing that changed was Syd came into his life.

“I can’t stay here.”

“Not even for me?”

David’s relationship with Syd makes him feel happy and safe and comfortable, but Syd can’t stagnate. She assumedly has dreams outside of David or anything going on with Summerland. *Assumedly* since we’re not necessarily shown what those might be. (There is that alternate timeline where we see her in the back of a limi driving past homeless David)

This is all to say, their lives right now are too busy for them to sit down and talk about it, but there are hints that their long-term relationship goals are incompatible with each other.

It’s not brought up a lot but Kerry has a lot of chemical and prescription terms memorized. Probably from paying attention during Cary’s career, but still, it does make me wonder how she knows so little about other aspects of life in s2.

According to www.uofmhealth.org “Clozapine is an antipsychotic medicine that is used to treat schizophrenia after other treatments have failed.”

(Small aside for drug talk) [According to www.rxlist.com “Effexor (venlafaxine) is an antidepressant used for treatment of major depression.”

Those are the 2 drugs Cary and Kerry say Syd might be on. Said in response to Syd talking about the strange dreams she’s been having.

One of the listed side effects of Effexor is “strange dreams.”

Clozapine has a lot of things listed but I don’t see anything about effecting dreams. I do see drowsiness and muscle problems listed though, and Syd looks like she trips a bit before starting to talk about her dream.]

I didn’t realize on previous watches that Cary and Kerry both had Oliver related dreams. Cary saw the ice cube, and Kerry saw “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Probably in reference to the diving suit.

Melanie in Mental Clockworks acts very similar to Melanie throughout s2. I’d go as far to say they’re the same. Perhaps Farouk is just overemphasizing already present parts of their personalities. When driven to this point Melanie’s willing to do or believe anything that will bring Oliver back. In s2 this mindset will be intentionally orchestrated by Farouk, then subsequently exploited for the cave conversation.

Is Walter interested in Kerry because he subconsciously recognizes her as the girl he shot before?

When Cary’s first brought into the astral plane he’s in the middle of a forest. Could this symbolize the forest around David’s old house? David also had to make a journey before getting to where Oliver was located. Though I can’t remember what he was surrounded by when he came in.

If Syd’s not in there because she doesn’t want to be touched, then why did David still do the pillow divider thing when they were in bed together?

Syd was stored in David’s memories of his childhood bedroom.

Ptonomy’s powers give off a very “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” vibe. I think this is also the last time we see him in mental clockworks.

Walter definitely goes for power above all else.

Syd got locked behind that door she was so curious about.

Amy says some real targeted stuff here. She plays directly into David’s insecurities. If what she says is supposed to represent David’s deepest fears, than it would seem being unloved or underserving of love is the worst thing in the world to him. “You’re unwanted.” It feels doubly sad cause Amy visiting him in the hospital was probably what kept him going all those years without Syd. Lenny was nice but she... was also being treated.

Melanie prays.

Is it the actual Oliver that appears to Melanie at first? Whoever they are, they leave immediately after instructing her to somehow save David and Syd. It could be possible that Oliver did that to get a head start on it while he brought Cary up to speed.

Whenever someone questions his and Syd’s relationship, David’s only response is a defensive “We’re in love.”

Farouk’s sick of trying to indirectly manipulate David to his will and just starts outright venting about how he doesn’t get “love.”

This is also the first person-to-person philosophical discussion between David and Farouk.

Farouk also doesn’t get being “happy” and “fulfilled.” How sad.

Lenny says “Daaaviiiiiiiid” in the same way that Clark does.

Farouk calls himself a fungus here. If he’s using the previous metaphor, he means to say he’s feeding off David’s power and is eventually gonna burst out of his head, killing him in the process. (Added a few seconds after) I forgot he literally shows David that that’s what he means, lol.

Farouk’s downplaying his emotional connection to David here, claiming to only want to team with him for boosted power. But he does also say “I’m trying to help you.” I think this whole scene might be Farouk’s way of saying “Either you finally hatch and become a God, or I leave you behind to die. There are no other options.”

Again, Farouk knows what makes David happy and can’t accept that cause it’s not what he wants out of David. He’ll regret this later.

“Oh, you pretty things! Don’t you know you’re driving your mama’s and papa’s insane? Let me make it plain, gotta make way for the homo superior!” “Homo superior” in Marvel comics is another name for mutants. And David being the most powerful mutant in show would mean he’s the most “superior” of the homo superiors. Farouk locks his mind away for not realizing that. I guess he’s the “papa” in this scenario.

The lyrics to “Oh! You pretty things”in general is relevant to what’s going on at this point in the story.

Another line in particular sticks out, “Look out at your children. See their faces in golden rays. Don’t kid yourself, they belong to you. They’re the start of a coming race.” Farouk tries to essentially disown David at the end of this episode, but the song says “don’t kid yourself.” Farouk will eventually come to think of David as his son. A son that he knows he failed. Not yet though.

[amphtaminedreams]

Paris Haute Couture Week S/S 2020 Plus a Little Jacquemus: Okay, Dior DID Suck (Part 2/2)

Hi to anyone reading,

First of all, thank you! I have never had a post do as well as the part 1 of my haute couture week review did and I am so overwhelmed with the positive feedback. This is probably funny to read for those of you getting thousands of reblogs on your posts, me acting like I won an academy award because I got a couple of hundred, but honestly I don’t expect any traction when I write on here (it’s basically just me word vomiting everything I’m thinking as if people want to hear it aka. mouthing off into what I thought was the void) so if you did read it, thank you! I do spend a long-ass time on these so it means a lot:-)

I’ll leave the self-indulgent ramble there though as it’s probably not what you came for and jump straight into part 2 of my thoughts, starting with Jacquemus. Yeah, I knew what I was doing when I tagged that in my last post. Simon Porte Jacquemus is the man of the *fashion* people right now; I’ve even found myself coming round to the Le Chiquito bag despite my original thought being “well, that’s fucking useless”. I know, I know, technically it’s not haute couture; it was part of Men’s Fashion Week, but it happened around the same time and everyone was talking about it on Twitter, so I feel like I have to include it.

In a way, it kind of reminds me of Bottega Veneta’s last RTW show, in that, especially with the women’s outfits, we seem to be sticking with simple, fitted garments and chunky, more statement jewellery. I’ve got to say I like the styling here a lot more though, and in general I’m a fan of this collection. The collared tops with cut outs underneath blazers are cool and I can’t wait until it gets warm enough for me to not feel dumb wearing my headscarfs like this; there’s a LOT of summer outfit inspiration. It’s not a mind-blowing collection or anything but it is effortlessly sexy and that’s something I wish I could say about myself. Most of us can only hope to look half as good as these models do whilst making the effort but at least Jacquemus is aspirational, lol. 

I also fucking adore this colour palette. I’m sick of neutrals literally just meaning brown and white; the navy, sand and muted khaki is a fresh edition to what is usually interpreted as the colours you’d seen worn by Disney’s Riverboat Cruise staff and only Disney’s Riverboat Cruise staff. And I mean, come on-what is more neutral than typical English school carpet blue.

Next for the whole reason I had to make this haute couture week review 2 separate posts: Jean Paul Gaultier’s final show.

In the best way possible, it’s a lot. I don’t even really know where to start, except to say that I guess this is a fitting last show; a celebration of everything campy, messy, weird, performative, and punk is the perfect send off for a brand whose best known perfume of the last few years is called Scandal. More than anything, the final show represented the range of characters and cultures that have influenced JPG throughout his half-a-decade-long career, the lines that supposedly separate what is “masculine” and “feminine”, “old” and “young” and ultimately art and fashion blurred in the most exaggerated way possible. Sure, there are some looks which are individually a bit messy here but the way they were grouped into almost chapter-like segments meant that when you see them all together, they work. Nods to the patterns and structures that recurred from season to season were sprinkled throughout, from sailor stripes to corsets to the expected whirlwinds of colour. I’ll even allow the wellies in that one outfit; if I can get over bucket hats in Peter fucking Pilotto’s last RTW show, I can get over some questionable shoes here. Middle aged fishermen and boys who liked to pose with monster carp in their Tinder pictures as some weird display of masculinity everywhere rejoice.

Now onto a show that I personally found slightly disappointing: Margiela.

I think this one is a bit TOO weird for me. Like if you’re gonna go avant-garde, go all out. Chiffon gimp masks (I don’t know if that’s the intention here but that’s what I’m getting, sorry Maison) are something I’m not particularly fond of and I’ve never been a fan of the Tabi boots in the first place, let alone when they’ve seemingly been blown up to Michelin man style proportions. I didn’t find the show to be a total lost cause-I enjoyed the colour palette and I’ve always liked that contrast stitching detail, plus the bowler hats are interesting-but on the whole considering how much I liked the last RTW show, this is a bit of a let down. 

The looks I included are salvageable but (I feel mean saying this) there were genuinely a lot of pieces that did just resemble bits of fabric draped over each over with no discernible rhyme or reason, so much so that they reminded me of some of the monstrosities I saw at a Drag Race pub quiz this one time where we had 5 mins to make some garms out of loo roll and then have a team member model them for points down a makeshift runway. 

Ralph and Russo was alright. There were a few pieces that I really liked but again, I can’t help but compare this collection to the last, where it felt like the fussy details of bows and sequins and feathers and the Barbie Dreamhouse palette were utilised with a direction in mind. Here, I don’t get that. As ever, the gowns are gorgeous and I’d pay good money just to try one on for five minutes but as an overall collection I’d say there was a lack of higher vision, which is probably the snobbiest sentence I’ve ever written so forgive me.

As for Ronald Van Der Kemp, I could’ve done without including it to be honest, if it weren’t for the few pieces I’m in love with: the velvet cape, fur trimmed jacket and blue satin dress are probably my favourite pieces here.

So onto a collection I liked a lot more: Schiaparelli. 

The influence of nature from flowers in bloom to insects to the organic structure of the human skeleton is as present as ever, though this collection includes a lot more delicate symbolism than usual. Honestly, the details make it for me; the brooches, earrings and facial jewellery are other-worldly touches to outfits that could otherwise be simple fashion magazine editor on-the-go. That’s not in itself a bad thing! The suits are gorgeous. I mean, I’m talking fashion editor in New York in a power suit yelling orders down the phone while she rushes along with a coffee. A Miranda Priestley in the making type woman. THAT’S a modern take on the divine feminine that Maria Grazia should’ve been going for; our goddesses aren’t women who sit around looking pretty (though that helps too) and place curses on mere mortals anymore, they’re women who get shit done. 

With regards to Valentino, which was also a delight, let me start by saying this colour palette is EVERYTHING. It’s ugly sisters in Cinderella fantastic, and we know those 2 were the real fashion icons really. Other than that, I adore the Old Hollywood silhouettes from the gloves to the Liz Taylor-in-Cleopatra-level-dramatic earrings. Everything is opulent and expensive-looking and pretty much what we’ve all come to expect from Valentino. A strong 8/10.

For me personally, Viktor and Rolf was a standout and one of my favourite collections of haute couture week. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and I know it’s at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to what was probably my other favourite collection, Elie Saab, but this is just my style down to a T, the perfect balance of grungy and cutesy that I want to achieve. 

There’s probably going to be a lot of objections to the temporary face tattoos and I get that, but I think they’re fucking sick. I obviously wouldn’t get a permanent one lest my mother murder me in cold blood however if I did, you bet I would be pairing them with frilly-ass babydoll dresses that you could pick up in Camden Market like this. 

And last but not least (that would be Dior), there’s Zuhair Murad.

Sigh.

IDK, man. Seeing Zuhair Murad dresses on Tumblr and WeHeartIt (remember that site? It still exists!) as a 14 year old was one of the things that got me into fashion, so it sucks that almost every time a new collection comes around, I feel underwhelmed. Disappointingly, the brand hasn’t really progressed all that much since 2013. It goes without saying that the stoning and the embroidery and sequins are stunning and would make anyone feel like a princess but from a critical point of view, I’m just not seeing anything new here. Whereas I feel like Elie Saab, for example, reflected the growing fascination with East Asian fashion and recognition of the supremacy of the region’s street style in his haute couture last collection, Zuhair Murad seems to be stuck designing the same dresses he was 6 years ago. 

To pick one example, the rounded stoned necklines are so outdated that they’ve been making their way onto department store prom dresses for years. I get that it’s supposed to be a reference to Ancient Egyptian style and I respect that, I was one of those 8 year old that was obsessed with mummies and the “Curse of Tutankhamun”, but couldn’t it be done in a more interesting way? It’s Maria Grazia’s spin on Ancient Greece all over again. Now I get how how the I imagine very niche subsection of people who are into fashion and Julius Caesar (okay, so I don’t even know if they still believed in mythology and all that malarky at that point in history but just roll with my comparison here) might’ve felt going through Vogue Runway. Anyway, I hate to end on a critical note and so be clear, these are still absolutely magnificent dresses. If we ignore those ugly round necklines, that is.

So that’s it for this post! If you read part 1 and 2, I hope you enjoyed it! As always, let me know your opinions and feel free to disagree. I’m literally just about to start trawling through all the A/W 2020 RTW collections though I imagine that’s gonna take me way longer to do than this, so I wouldn’t expect that for a month or two. In the meantime, I’m trying to fit shooting a Euphoria-inspired lookbook into my days off work which is looking atm like it’s going to be the end of March, so look out for that, and also a review of the red carpet fashion from this season’s award shows. 

As ever, thank you so much for reading and again, thank you for the reception on part 1 if you were one of the people that read it. It makes staying up til 3am with the jitters seem worthwhile, lol! 

Lauren x

[noodlerel]

miya osamu as your best friend  (≧◡≦) ♡

    ➢   you met osamu through a baking class during the summer break of sixth grade. osamu was amazing at cooking but he wasn't really that confident in his skills in baking.

    ➢   you first thought he was almost just like every other guy in the class; forced by their mothers to join. but to your surprise, he was more skilled than anyone there. he took his work seriously and would get the most positive comments from the instructor.    

    ➢   the first time you guys interacted was when you were asked by the instructor to find a partner and bake a cake. the scenario given was of a one-year old having a Lego themed birthday party.

    ➢   after the directions and conditions were given, many people in the class immediately approached osamu and asked if they could be his partner. you were about to ask someone who lived by your block to be your partner, but before you could even stand, osamu had already made his way through the crowd of students and now stands before you.

    ➢   "u-uh, hey, uh.. i know we've never acknowledged each other before, m-much less talk but would you mind being my partner? the way y-you design is really amazing and you get the most recognition out of everyone when it comes to d-design. i uh,, figured if we could-"

    ➢   you noticed that the boy wasn't really good at socializing because he would often hesitate and stumble upon his words. so you interrupted him to save him the effort and embarrassment.

    ➢   "yeah sure!"

    ➢   you swore you could see the relief in his eyes as you cut him off.

    ➢   "i'm (l/n) (f/n). but my friends call me (n/n). you're miya osamu right?" you continued.

    ➢   "h-how did you know my name?"

    ➢   "oh! i consider you the best in class and look up to you. it's only common sense to remember names of your rivals, right?"

    ➢   before he could reply to your joke, the instructor spoke. "enough with the chit-chat children! i need to hear the sound of the oven timers, not your bickering."

    ➢   osamu was really cooperative and would ask advice from you from time to time. he really admired your designs and would always listen with much interest whenever you geeked out about the importance of understanding what the client wants or about the elements of decorating.

    ➢   you and osamu were the first group to finish your cake. with the remaining thirty minutes left, you got to know each other more. and what are the odds when you both figured out that you were going to attend the same middle school? with that, you both promised each other that you would stay in touch even if you guys would be assigned to different classes and sealed it with a pinky swear.

    ➢   the day ended with a smile as the instructor gave nothing but positive comments on the cake you both made. "wow what amazing balance this cake has!" the instructor exclaimed. "i have to tell you, the flavor is out of this world. a beautiful, elegant, classy, stunning and simply fabulous work of art all wrapped up in a birthday cake of a lifetime. if there was a real client, they would be more than satisfied with your work. and not only did you make it look stunning, it tasted superb! you gave me everything i asked for and more!"

    ➢   you and osamu exchanged smiles and an awkward handshake before completely parting ways.

    ➢   the day finally came where you entered the gates of inarizaki high. you immediately went to check if you were in the same class as osamu. you used your finger and scanned the paper posted on the board from top to bottom. before you could finish reading, someone from behind of you spoke up.

    ➢   "hey (y/n), i checked your name and you're in class 1-A," the person behind you sighs and continues. "while i'm in class 1-B."

    ➢   you turned your back to see osamu with disappointed look.

    ➢   "samu!" you screamed and enveloped him with a hug. "i thought you forgot about me! i kept on sending you letters but you won't write back."

    ➢   "i-i'm sorry.." he said, eyes glued to the floor. he then lifted his gaze to the wall in front of him. "i was busy with volleyball practice." he continued, without stuttering. if only you could've seen the look in his eyes when he mentioned volleyball. he didn't hesitate. he didn't second guess. he was confident.

    ➢   you immediately pulled away from the hug to see a blushing osamu that couldn't look you straight in the eye. "WHAT!? you play volleyball?"

    ➢   but then again, even though osamu was clearly confident in his skills in volleyball, he couldn't really be confident around you─the only friend he has─he couldn't help and feel cautious. he didn't want to lose his only friend. "y-yes.."

    ➢   "woah! that's so cool!" you didn't know much about the volleyball─much less know the technical terms of the players.

    ➢   "s-so.. do you wanna walk to cl-"

    ➢   "'SAMUUUUUU!!" a guy screamed from the right side of the hallway. both of you looked at the direction of the scream and saw a boy that LOOKED THE EXACT SAME WAY as osamu but with a brighter hair color.

    ➢   "oh uhm,, (y/n) this is my twin, atsumu."

    ➢   TWIN!? A TWIN!? osamu never mentioned a twin. and yet there they both were. personalities; not similar to any extent. but then, you noticed. his twin, atsumu was holding a volleyball on his right hand. ah, so there it was. a link to all the differences. they shared the same hobby. no, wait. hobby? no. it was slightly different from a hobby. slightly? no. it was VERY different from a hobby. when osamu told you he was busy with volleyball practice to reply to your letters, he didn't stutter. he didn't hesitate. his tone was confident, different from the way he usually spoke to you.

    ➢   "ohayou (y/n)-chan! 'samu has told me all about you." he beamed. "i didn't know this deadpan brother of mine had the word 'friend' in his vocabulary."

    ➢   "uhm (y/n) wait a minute.." osamu said as he drags his brother to the corner. you nod in response.

    ➢   when osamu talked to his brother, his tone and facial expression changed. it was more stern. more astringent. more tonic. "look. (y/n) is the ONLY friend i've ever made, okay? and YOU don't mess this up for me." osamu said sincerely. this was the first time atsumu has seen his brother this genuine for something─for someone rather─other than volleyball, cooking and their grandma.

    ➢   little did they both know, you were listening. you felt extremely happy. happy that osamu considered you as one of his friends.

    ➢   osamu didn't wait for his brother's reply and walked away. "i'll walk you to class (y/n)."

    ➢   and ever since that day, osamu would always visit your class to pick you up so you could eat lunch together. you would both eat lunch at inarizaki's rooftop. and every thursday, osamu would bring a meal he cooked especially for you. and every friday, you would bring something you baked especially for him. there are certain days where atsumu would join both of you on the rooftop and the twins serve as the taste tester for the experiments you would do with baking.

    ➢   you and osamu would hang out at your house during weekends, only because he didn't want atsumu to disrupt your bonding time. every other weekend would be osamu teaching you how to cook or you teaching him how to decorate.

    ➢   and the other weekends would be osamu practicing volleyball. he begged you not to watch their matches─let alone practices─but you would force him to bring you at least once a month. you got along with the members real well, which gave osamu more reason not to bring you.

    ➢   everytime you would forget to bring pads to school, osamu has got you covered. everytime you would have a hard time in understanding a lesson in school, osamu has got you covered. everytime you would feel down, osamu has got you covered. everytime you feel like the world is against you, osamu has got you covered. everytime you were in rock bottom, osamu has got you covered. and you were the same to him too. you were always there for him too. and he appreciated this. he would do anything─ANYTHING─not to lose the sibling dynamic and friendship you had.

    ➢   through the years, you've gotten to know osamu really well. you saw his first match for inarizaki. his first win. his first loss. his first bench. his first failing grade. his first girlfriend. his first heartbreak. his first call to the principal's office. and like you, he saw many of your firsts too. and you knew, the friendship you have won't go missing anytime soon.

THIS IS MY FIRST HEADCANON :D  GIVE THIS SOME LOVE PLEASE AAAHHHHHH

[ravennest1342-blog]

Bts Hybrid AU

Bunny Breath Chapter 1

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kim Namjoon’s day started out normally enough. The twenty-five year old woke in his room with one of his five hybrids wrapped so tightly around him he could barely breath.

Said hybrids name was Yoongi, and he was a mink hybrid. Namjoon squirmed a bit helplessly as he struggled to reach his blaring alarm clock with the numbers 5:30 proudly displayed on it. Yoongi snarled ever so lightly in his sleep as Namjoon squirmed away, his arms tightening around Namjoon as the man finally turned off the dreadful little clock with a slight wheeze from the increased pressure. He blinked sleepily, his breathing harsh as he looked down at his chest to see the mink hybrid he so adored.

Yoongi was tiny, he had a thin, wiry frame that had alarming amounts of strength hidden in the lean muscles. His face was dainty; almost doll like with pouty pink lips and a button nose paired with cat like eyes. Fluffy dark brown — almost black — hair stuck out from his head in a messy way with two tiny dark brown mink ears sticking from them. Namjoon smiled. Anyone looking at Yoongi would think he looked delicate and breakable, his slight build implying that he wasn’t very powerful, especially when compared to Namjoon’s other hybrids Jin or Jimin with their thicker builds. But Namjoon new the whiplike strength, and lightning reflexes his hybrid possessed, he knew that behind those pouty lips, was razor sharp canines — almost fangs — designed to rip and tear into flesh. He knew that the minks dark brown tail with thick fur was there to help the hybrid balance better, move faster.

“Yoongi.” Namjoon breathed softly. “I have to . . . get ready for work.” He wheezed out the last part in a high pitched noise as Yoongi’s grip tightened to the point of pain, nails digging into Namjoon’s hip and chest.

“No.” The hybrid snarled, voice thick with sleep. “You’re staying home with us today.” He growled, lashes fluttering open to reveal dark onyx black eyes. God, Yoongi is so beautiful. Namjoon thought with a sigh.

“I have to Yoongi, there’s an important meeting this morning discussing our new phone prototype and at lunch I have to meet up with Jaebum to discuss the auction he’s scouting out tonight.” He sighed. Yoongi pouted, aggression seemingly disappearing. Namjoon gave him a suspicious look as he withdrew his grip. Yoongi tried to keep him home every morning like this, he set his alarm an hour earlier than needed because of the mink.

“Fine. But you brought this on yourself.” The mink smirked playfully, his tail wrapping neatly around himself as he moved to sit Indian style and drew in a deep breath. Too late Namjoon realized what was happening he surged forward with a yelp but Yoongi had already opened his mouth and screamed.

“NO NAMJOON!! YOU CANT GET A SNAKE HYBRID!!” His voice was modeled with the perfect mixture of horror and terror at the thought of a snake hybrid and as they heard several faint yelps from down the hall, an evil smirk ripples across Yoongi’s face, the sound of running feet reaching their ears and then the bedroom door was practically ripped open.

The two hybrids that raced in were in near hysterics, full on sobbing as they rushed at a stunned Namjoon, slamming into him and knocking the man flat on his back, one hybrid had soft golden brown/russet hair and long deer ears, his body was thin and graceful with a fluffy deer tail that was white on the underside. The other hybrid had floppy golden/brown dog ears with a long tail with equally long fur, he was more gangly, but his face had almost perfect proportions. Both hybrids clambered onto Namjoon, openly wailing as they pressed against him.

“Joonie! No no nonononono!” Hoseok, the deer hybrid cried harshly, sniffling dramatically as he nuzzled into Namjoon’s side while Taehyung, a dog hybrid, straddled his hips, frantically pushing himself against Namjoon’s chest, he too was a sobbing mess.

“I won’t mi-misbehave ever again J-Joonie! Swear! I’ll even apol *hic* ogize for l-locking Jimin outside f-for four ho-hours and . . . laughing at him!” He cried. Namjoon sighed, glaring at a grinning Yoongi, who’s eyes were sparkling with unbridled humor and joy at the situation before him. This was going to be a long morning.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Namjoon was an hour and a half late for work. He really didn’t understand why Taehyung and Hoseok were so strongly against snake hybrids and figured he’d have to ask them at some point, but he barely made it to his meeting on time and all thoughts of his hybrids and worries that they might be slightly racist towards other hybrids were driven from his mind as he tackled the obstacles of his day.

He was obscenely grateful for the fact that everyone at his job respected him. If they didn’t Namjoon was well aware that his job would be a million times harder than it was. Technically, he didn’t even have to show up everyday, his company was so well oiled and staffed he should only have to drop in once a month. But he liked to make a point of going everyday, knowing all his workers names, everyone, even the intern that sorted mail in the mail room. His name was Junhwan (if this is the name of an idol, I didn’t mean to) and he was actually a brilliant artistic kid that Namjoon was thinking about putting in software design once he’d been in the company for a couple more weeks.

As it was, he still had a lot of stuff to do, departments to check up on, problems to sort out. So Namjoon was thrilled when lunch arrived and he got to go meet up with his good friend Im Jaebum. A hybrid doctor, one that was insanely good at his job. Namjoon had known him for a while, having met the other man when he was still an intern and had brought Yoongi who was . . . sick at the time.

He groaned as he made his way to the small cafe on the edge of Seoul. It was a tiny place, but it had the best sandwiches in the world. He arrived a few minutes late, so it wasn’t a surprise that Jaebum was already there and waiting. Namjoon smiled as he made his way over.

“How’s Jackson?” He demanded. His usual greeting. Jackson was a wolf hybrid that Jaebum had rescued from an abusive owner, Namjoon really liked the playful hybrid and he was good friends with Yoongi.

“Still shook by everything Mark does. I thought a wolf and a dove would be ok around each other but Jackson always looks so shocked at everything Mark does.” Jaebum smiled slightly, thinking of the playful turtleneck dove hybrid with a grin. Namjoon went to reach for the menu as he sat, when Jaebum waved him off.

“I already ordered for you. The usual, with a large watermelon juice.” Jaebum grinned widely at the surprised look on Namjoon’s face. The two talked for a few more minutes, both dancing around the real reason they were meeting up for as they waited for their food. Namjoon was just beginning to portray his confusion and worry about how much his hybrids hated snake hybrids when there food came.

Both men graciously thanked the waiter while Jaebum grinned a bit at Namjoon.

“It’s Hoseok and Taehyung that get really worried about it right?” He demanded. Namjoon nodded emphatically. “It’s because snake hybrids are oviparous.” He grinned at Namjoon’s confused look, before waving a hand and leaning back. “Look it up later. Right now, we have a problem.” He sighed.

“What? Did Chen switch auction sights? What’s wrong?” Namjoon demanded, straightening up. Jaebum shook his head, eyes downcast as he tapped his cup.

“No. Chen is auctioning off two hybrids this time. Not one. And again, it’s going to be after all the normal guests have left and only the . . . questionable ones remain.” Namjoon cursed. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. Jaebum could easily afford two hybrids, he could probably buy up to twenty of them. The problem was, at these types of auctions you were only allowed one. And Namjoon couldn’t call anyone last minute like this, everyone would be booked. Which left him. He could see on Jaebum’s face that the other man fully expected him to come. Namjoon winced slightly.

“I promised Yoongi I would have a thorough talk with everyone before I rescued another hybrid.” He mumbled. Jaebum laughed, leaning back.

“And that very same day he called Jackson and called you the cutest dork in the history of dorks and said and I quote ‘Namjoon is lead by his heart. I can’t wait until I see who he brings home this time. But the sentiment was nice.’” Namjoon blinked owlishly, he supposed he should be offended by his boyfriends complete lack of faith in him, but wasn’t he proving him right? Here he was, about to go and get another hybrid from the brink of a truly horrible fate.

“Wow.” He snorted, Jaebum leaned forward expectantly and Namjoon grumbled, rolling his eyes as he pulled out his phone. “At least let me call him, Jesus, I should at least pretend that I feel guilty.” He grumbled. Jaebum smiled. The phone was barely ringing for ten seconds before a happy voice chirped out.

“Joonie! Joonie are you coming home? When? Can I have some strawberries?” It was Hoseok. Namjoon blinked before snorting.

“Um, no I’m not coming home just yet Hobi.” A faint whine of protest. “And ask Jin about the strawberries. Also, may I talk to Yoongi please?” He smiled. Jaebum grinned across the table. There was a small huff of disappointment and some shuffling before Yoongi’s soft yet deep voice filtered through the phone.

“You’re going with Jaebum to the auction aren’t you?” Then before Namjoon could even draw in a breath to answer the mink hybrid continued in his perpetually bored voice that he always used over the phone. “Are we going to have another housemate by tonight? Do I need to arrange for Taehyung to stay over at Minho’s for a sleepover? You remember how much he scared Jimin right?” Namjoon blinked once again, carefully filing each question and processing them before answering.

“Hmm, yes I am going to the auction and maybe about the new house member, no to Taehyung though, I think he’s resolved his impulse issues a bit.” Hearing Yoongi’s quiet snort of derision he sighed. “Give Tae the benefit of the doubt, Yoons.”

“Namjoon I love him to the moon and back and literally every time I see him I just want to kiss his little face until he’s very red, but he has no impulse control whatsoever.” Hearing Namjoon’s silence Yoongi groaned. “Fine! But if he traumatizes the poor hybrid I’m blaming you.” Namjoon laughed softly at him, Tae alwaysmeant well, the dog hybrid could just come off a bit strong.

“You do that. I love you Yoongi, tell the others I love them with all of my heart yeah?” A lot of stammering ensued and Namjoon grinned, knowing fully that he had probably just seriously flustered Yoongi (casually saying I love you over the phone always seemed toget to the mink hybrid) and he barely made out the mumbled reply of “Wh-whatever dork.” Before Yoongi hung up. Namjoon sat the phone down with another fond smile and began casually sipping on his tea lost in thought about the new hybrid and puzzling over what type of stuff he’d need for him/her when Jaebum spoke.

“So your coming?” He demanded. Namjoon nodded. “Great, I’ll pick you up at six p.m. sharp so don’t be late, dress casual but in obviously expensive clothes. You know the drill.”

Indeed Namjoon did.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

— 7:00 PM —

The auction began like any other auction fe rich people looking for a cute hybrid. Namjoon and Jaebum, both dressed in plain yet elegant suits were lead to their specific table in a wide well furnished room with a lovely stage that sellers would bring the hybrids out on to auction. No alcohol was given out, as that was highly illegal. Namjoon knee it would be served once the main guests were gone and the front of the auction was over allowing nastier people to come out and sell. Only a select few would be allowed to stay for that and Namjoon and Jaebum were of those few.

The first Hybrid was a a child. She looked around five or six, which meant she was three in human years, and she was a canary hybrid. Her master forced her to sing in a beautiful high pitched tinkling voice that would only get better with age. She sold for four million won.

After her came a bear, then a cow, then a lizard. All of them began to blend together and it wasn’t until he was signing his papersthat said he would remain anonymous that Namjoon knew the true event was starting. He sighed the paper without fear. Knowing full and well that Jaebum’s friend who went by Woozi, had hacked in and changed two or three words in the packet so that he could safely audio record.

He waited. Chen was one of the more known Hybrid Slave traffickers, he would be showing his hybrids close to last if not last. Namjoon just had to survive this and then he’d be able to bury these bastards. He took a deep breath and forced himself to watch as a small male badger hybrid was dragged in chains onstage with a heavy collar and forced to neel. He blocked out what the salesman was saying, instead focusing on those pitiful brown eyes and the watery nose. Forcing himself to commit the hybrid to memory. The one that he wouldn’t be saving tonight. The police would hopefully find him by tomorrow evening after Jaebum and Namjoon turned in their work. But it still hurt, watching the badger let loose a choked cry as he was bought by a hybrid breeder. Submissive males were always swooped up like that.

He forced himself to watch and remember each hybrid, each face. Each perfectly innocent person, not quite human not quite animal forever abused. He was infinitely relieved when it was announced.

“Next up is Chen with a submissive Arctic fox hybrid.” The announcer bragged. A tiny fox with large doe eyes was dragged up on stage by the man Namjoon so loathed and he barely heard Jaebum whisper, “I got him.” beside him through the raging in his ears and cottony taste in his mouth. Unlike the other hybrids the fox looked not scared, but tired. Defeated almost. As if he didn’t have any hope or joy left in his life.

He slumped quietly, ears twitching and flicking back and forth, his hair was a soft brown and thin, as was his tail. Namjoon knew that come winter the arctic foxes hair and fur would be a lot thicker and shimmering white. He could feel Jaebum continuously raising his sign signifying that he was a competitor. It upped the agression for the hybrid and made more people bet, which in turn, drove up the numbers. But eventually Jaebum was the only one left betting with another man.

He got the fox hybrid for ten million won. Namjoon’s eye twitched at the way the fox closed his eyes and shuddered slightly before dipping his head as Jaebum made his way back to where he would be filling out official documents and inserting an ownership identification chip into the hybrid. Namjoon wouldn’t do the chip part until he got the hybrids explicit consent. Consider it a pet pieve but if the hybrid he was about to get wanted to leave Namjoon would let him. He would only own a hybrid that gave him consent to being owned.

Chen himself took the microphone from the announcer this time.

“This next Hybrid is my work of art people. His parents were a dominant male black mamba hybrid and a submissive Red Rex female bunny hybrid.” Namjoon blinked in confusion. “As you all are probably well aware, breeding to hybrids with different sub base animals results in a hybrid that looks strange when compared to other hybrids of his kind, whether it be mismatched eyes or strange animal features. Please bring out Jeongguk, submissive male bunny hybrid mix breed!” Chen yelled gleefully. The room stirred, while Namjoon’s guy tightened with worry.

Bunny hybrids were pretty common in themselves, they and cat hybrids were the most common hybrids around. Almost all bunny hybrids had small box like body structures with ridiculously fluffy hair and normally black ears that stuck up proudly from their heads and twitched around depending on thei moods.

The hybrid that was dragged up on stage looked close to hyperventilating. He was dressed in form fitting shorts and a white tank top that revealed a thin slightly gangly structure that actually reminded Namjoon of Taehyung quite a bit. The hybrid seemed to possess all the good features of bunnies and none of the bad. With a slightly large nose and large front teeth, delicate cheekbones which hinted at his fathers blood and wife innocent doe eyes that were shelling with unshared tears. His hair was a dark brown with streaks of light brown and black in it giving him a mottled look. But what really grabbed the audiences attention was his ears. They were long, and unlike literally almost every other bunny hybrid, floppy, a soft golden/brown. But while everyone gasped overhow beautiful the hybrid was, Namjoon just saw the frightened gaze, the way his hands twitched in his chains and his red tear streaked cheeks that would probably be more on the babyish/chubby side once he wasn’t skin and bones. He noticed that the ends of the hybrids ears had a antibiotic cream rubbed into viscous looking sores as if the hybrid was constantly chewing or sucking on his ears.

Namjoon began the bidding. He refused to let anyone else have this little hybrid. It was like looking into Hoseok’s eyes when he was first rescued all over again, a mix of fear, pain and confusion. He was adamant. He quickly nicked over half the people out of the running and continued on ruthlessly, well aware that the money wasn’t anywhere near too expensive for him yet, and it wouldn’t be until he reached the high billions.

“Fifty -five million won!” The anouncer yelled as Namjoon raised his sign. He glanced around, seeing the disappointed looks around him and knew he’d won. “Going once! Twice! SOLD to number forty-seven please go to the back to fill out you right to ownership papers please sir! Have fun with your buy.”

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

So what did you think for a beginning chapter? It’s fun right? I figured Jungkook joining them would be a great place to start! Love you!

Feel free to ask any questions or point out any mistakes I’ve made! I tend to not proof read enough so constructive criticism is helpful!

Part Two to Bunny Breath is HERE

If you want to see the rest of my AU’s then please make your way to my Masterlist HERE

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

Balance on the Head of a Pin

Chapter Eight

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Reader  |  Word Count: 3334 Warnings: Fluff, swearing

The walk to her Gran’s saw them moving in companionable silence as Loki’s mind was filled with the vision of Lauren in her dress. Technically it was filled with images of him peeling her out of said dress, but he wasn’t one for splitting hairs. It had been so soft under his fingers, her skin warming it through and him in return. The idea of her bare beneath would stay with him for days until he could ascertain for himself just what clever confection of satin or silk Sadie would put her in to keep those pesky panty lines at bay.

It wasn’t until she led him down a narrow dirt road out of town that he snapped out of his musings. “Darling, just where does your Gran’s home reside?”

She smiled up at him and linked their fingers. “Down this way. She’s a bit eccentric, but she ain’t crazy like Daddy said. She’s… well, you’ll see.”

“She’s quite special to you.” Here again, she had nerves blooming, but where meeting her family had created nerves of fear, these were nerves of excitement. Clearly, his meeting her Gran was far more important to her than meeting her parents had been.

“Gran was my safe place, my savin’ grace. She gave me a place to come when home got to be too much.” Lauren slowed to a gait no quicker than a lazy amble. “Growin' up here was… difficult. Marabeth was the golden girl. Straight A student, Captain of the cheer squad, homecomin’ queen and all around darlin’. She was perfect as she was expected to be, and she held me to impossible standards. I wasn’t her and couldn’t compete.”

He squeezed her fingers, offering comfort and encouragement without words.

“Cissy was the baby. She was… beautiful right from the beginnin’. I can remember being no more than five or six and thinkin' I’d never seen a more beautiful baby. I was so proud she was my sister. I thought, “Here. Here is a sister who will love me like Marabeth couldn’t.” I should’a known Marabeth wouldn’t let that happen.” She sighed and looked away.

“What do you mean, Lauren?" How could one sibling stop the other from caring for the first? No one could have turned him against Thor. Yes they had their rivalries, and eventually, his jealousy had caused him to turn his back on his brother himself, but before that, he would have given his life for Thor.

“Marabeth was and still is very good at tellin’ people a grey truth. They’re not exactly a lie, but she can take a seemingly harmless comment and twist it to mean somethin' else entirely. It’s what makes her a good lawyer.” 

The pain seemed to ripple from her in waves.

“And she did this with you and Cissy?”

Lauren nodded. “I didn’t know until it was too late how Marabeth had been whisperin’ in Cissy’s ear, tellin' her things like how I hated her because she was the baby and had taken my position in the family, or how I thought she was hideous and ugly. None of it was true, but then Mama and Daddy heard Marabeth talkin’ and…” She shrugged.

He stopped dead center of the road. Anger and shock filled him. “They believed your sister? They believed Marabeth over you?” 

“Cissy was old enough by then to have been well and truly spoiled. You saw her. Mama and Daddy catered to her every whim, so when she backed Marabeth, there was no point in even botherin’ to deny it.”

Eyes downcast, she looked so defeated he hated her family all the more for it. “My love, I’m so very sorry,” he said, tugging her close and cupping her cheek.

“It is what it is. After, I did my best to conform, to live up to expectation, to be an Annandale, but I always seemed to come up short. Marabeth was the heir, expected to make her mark. Cissy was the baby, coddled and catered too. I was, still am, the one who disappoints. Whose only value is in her ability to make a good match and wed an appropriate husband.”

“Lauren, you have far more worth than that. Anyone who knows you, the real you, loves and adores you.” He hated her family with shocking intensity. The small tricks he’d played, the pranks pulled, the little curses he’d cast at lunch were not enough, would never be enough to punish them for the hell they'd put her through. “They may not be able to see your true value, darling, but I can. Those of us who are your chosen family can. You’re the cool head among us all, keeping not just Stark, but the rest of us in line as well. We would not be who we are today without you, Lauren.”

“Oh, I...” She blushed even as her eyes sparkled with tears. “I’m sure everyone would get on just fine without me.”

“No. No, we would not.” Drawing her in till she was firmly caught against him, Loki ran his hand over her sleek tail of hair, giving it a gentle tug to tilt her chin up. “You are integral to our success. While we all see the big picture, the large fight to come, it is often you who sees the small pieces, the little things of common sense we in our grand vision cannot. You may not see it, may not know it, but many times the casual things you say or the questions you ask of us keep us grounded. I have watched Steve seek your opinion on things simply because your humble nature keeps us humble. It is far too easy to see one’s self as a lofty being, living on a height far above the common people when those same common people elevate us to that status. We- they may be heroes, but they are still just people tasked with an extraordinary burden. Because you treat them as equals, they feel it and remain, as I said, grounded.”

Her eyes had long overflowed, her tears falling to drip from her chin. “Loki, I… I’m fairly certain that is now the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. Thank you.” Pressing up on her toes, she kissed him softly.

“Hmm,” he hummed, enjoying her softness and tasting the salt of her tears. “If I leave you in tears, my heart, perhaps I am still not doing a good enough job.” Pulling back, he brushed the tears from her face. “If, in the next few days your family becomes exhausting, remember this. The family you are born into is not always the one which is best for you. My own biological parents left me to die. Had the Allfather not shown compassion, I would not be standing here today.”

Sneaking her arms out from between them, Lauren wrapped them around Loki’s neck and rested her head on his chest. “Not a thought I want to contemplate.”

He chuckled softly. “Nor I.” Closing his eyes, he rested his chin on the top of her head, content to stand in the dappled sunlight beneath the gently swaying trees in the middle of this out of the way dirt track. Never before had he been so happy to be so far from civilization and the halls of Asgard. Stroking his fingers over her back, he let the peace and quiet, the sound of the insects and singing birds wash over him, memorized each sound and scent so the memory of this moment would be one he could look back on with clarity.

“This is nice,” Lauren said quietly. “You’re like steppin’ into the big fridge in the kitchen.”

A small smirk curled her lips when he looked down at her upturned face. “If nothing else, I can keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, is that what you’re getting at?”

“I don’t know,” she snickered, playing with his hair. “I’ll have to keep you around till winter to find out.”

“Cheeky,” he chuckled, patting her bottom and making her squeal. “If you think I will allow you to escape me after the winter,” he leaned closer, his proximity to her lips darkening her eyes, “you are sorely mistaken, my Valkyrie.”

The hand at the back of his neck tightened. “Who says I will let you escape me?”

A rumble like a wolf filled his chest as Loki dove in, took her lips and her breath in a searing kiss. Her moan filled his mouth with sweetness, her body moulding to his until she seemed boneless, and his arms were the only thing keeping her upright. He wanted to sink in, wallow in her, take everything she was willing to give. Every touch, every kiss, every perfect, special moment with her made it harder for him to keep his control. To step back when all he wanted to do was step forward, sink in, and claim.

Breaking the kiss, he held her away by the waist, keeping her steady while putting distance between them. “You make me forget myself, my love.” Emeralds, dark and sparkling, full of mischievous light nearly made him groan.

“The God of Mischief? Forget himself? How… interestin’,” she crooned, her smile smug.

“You really are a sassy thing, aren’t you?” Shaking his head, he took her by the hand and tugged her along as she giggled uncontrollably.

By the time they reached the narrow bend in the road, he could see the two-story home which waited, much smaller than the one of Lauren’s parents. It was of an aged design, with peaked roofs, fancy woodwork, and wooden shutters. A faded yellow, the paint peeled in places. It was, in its slightly dilapidated state, far more appealing than the monstrosity of her ancestral home. It was surrounded by forest, encroaching but not aggressively so, but it was the extensive gardens laid out before him which surprised him enough to take his breath.

They were wild, a riot of blooms and buzzing bees. A seeming mishmash of types and sizes, so exceptionally blended it was effortless and stunning. Tube feeders, long and narrow, attracted tiny birds like gleaming jewels. Stones and benches invited one to walk or sit in contemplation. Water trickled in the brook he could hear but not see, while in a separate plot of land, a much more uniform garden was placed,  one clearly meant for edibles as it ran in neat rows.

The woman working within its fenced confines hummed happily in time with her scratching at the earth, a large straw hat upon her head. A white shirt beneath a floral dress, faded yellow like the house, was decorated with yellow bees and bright-faced sunflowers. She was such a contradiction to the refined, elegant - stuffy - style of Lauren’s other family it set him back on his heels.

Lauren smiled up at him, took the lead, and gave his hand a tug, encouraging him forward when, unbelievably, he found himself nervous to meet the woman who meant so much to her.

Closing in on the fenced garden, Lauren called out, “Gran?”

The elder woman spun around, and her wrinkled face split into a wide grin. “Lulu! C’mon, child and give your gran some sugar!” She shuffled a little, her body language belaying her arthritic frame as she made her way toward the open gate.

One of advanced years, Loki wondered why she did not have a boy or a girl to see to her work. On Asgard, the aged were held in high regard, honoured for their knowledge and experience as that experience was always millennium in the making. He hung back, waiting at the gate while Lauren picked her way across the rows of vegetables to hug her Gran.

“Just look at you sparkle, Lulu!” the elder woman laughed, her eyes a bright blue-green and still very full of life.

Lauren flushed as she was want to do upon receiving a compliment, something Loki now realized had been a rarity in her youth. He made a mental note to do so more often. While he didn’t expect her to become comfortable with them, he hoped she would, someday, not find them such a surprise.

“I missed you so much, Gran,” Lauren sighed, eyes and voice teary.

“Pish!” her Gran huffed. “With such a fine young man standin’ at my gate? You couldn’t have missed me all that much,” she teased.

Lauren glanced his way, and Loki followed her path out into the garden beside a row of high growing green stalks. Upon closer inspection, he realized the twisting vines were climbing netting. Coming to a stop at Lauren’s side, he held out his hand.

“Loki Laufeyson, my Gran, Ellie Annandale.”

Bringing her aged and weathered hand to his lips, Loki kissed her knuckles. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ellie.”

“Oh, Lulu!” She fanned herself lightly with her free hand, her gardening tool having hit the dirt with her first glimpse of Lauren. “He’s so fancy!” A giggle, high and girlish came from Ellie, and her cheeks flushed a similar shade of pink to Lauren’s. “Handsome manners on a handsome man. If I were a few years younger, I’d give you a run for him I would.”

Finding her enchanting, Loki chuckled, and held her fingers between both hands. “If Lauren were not my Astvínur, I would snatch you up and run off to Asgard.”

“Oh my…” she breathed, fanning her face a little faster. “Ain’t you just the tom cat’s kitten.”

“With such beautiful women as the two of you, it cannot be helped.” He kissed her knuckles a second time and grinned broadly at her.

Ellie nudged Lauren with her elbow. “I like him! He’s a keeper.”

Lauren, eyes bright and shining full of appreciation, cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. “I’m beginnin’ to think the same.”

Neither woman noticed the ripple of the chain around Lauren’s throat, but Loki did. The magic in it, his magic, called out to him as the first step in strengthening it was achieved. The sight of it set his heart racing and excitement flowing through his blood.

“Let’s get in outta the sun. We’ll have sweet tea and y’all can tell me what trouble you’ve been gettin’ into in New York. That and you can tell me how your Mama took it when you came home with Mr. Mischief.”

“You wound me, fair Ellie. I am a reformed mischief-maker,” he chuckled, halfway in love with her already. Clearly, this was where Lauren had learned her sass. Tucking Ellie’s hand in his elbow, Loki winked at Lauren. “Perhaps I can entice you into telling me tales of Lauren when she was younger?”

“Oh, I can do you one better,” Ellie giggled.

“Gran, no,” Lauren said, shaking her head.

Another wide grin crossed Ellie’s lips as she leaned conspiratorially toward him. “I have pictures!”

***

Hours later Bucky was still snickering about his call with Lauren, well able to imagine how much trouble Loki could cause for people he disliked. If the Trickster hadn’t pulled some kind of stunt, Bucky would have thought him sick.

While he understood the reason behind their sudden engagement, and possibly admired the balls on Loki to make such a forward announcement without knowing how Lauren would take it, he had to admit he was concerned. It was a rapid jump from admission of feelings to an engagement. He didn’t want to see Lauren hurt at some point in the future if this all fell through.

Continuing on into the gym, he found Steve working over a heavy bag and wandered closer, placing his metal hand against it for his friend to work it over a little harder.

“Buck,” Steve nodded.

“Talked to Lauren.”

“Yeah?” Steve glanced at him and arched a brow. “And? He’s behaving?”

Bucky shrugged. “More so than I expected what with Lauren’s family.”

Slowing to a stop, Steve began to unwrap his hands. “It’s that bad?”

“Her mother’s a piece of work,” he grumbled, having found Lauren in tears or on the verge of tears more times than he wished to remember. “Sisters ain’t much better.”

“And her father?”

“Mostly indifferent. I gotta tell ya, Steve, she grew up way the hell different than you or I did. That’s a whole nother world.”

“She’s so sweet. I don’t get it.” He shook his head.

“I don’t either, but not everyone’s moms were like ours.” The memories he had, the ones that had returned to him, were few but precious as were the ones of Steve’s mom.

“Anything I should know you don’t want to tell me?” Steve asked, eyeing him expectantly.

“Well,” Bucky hedged, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Spill it,” Steve demanded and crossed his arms.

It was his Cap pose, one most people found intimidating. Bucky simply smirked at him and crossed his arms in response. “I’ll tell you, but you ain’t allowed to flip out.”

“I do not flip out!”

“Yes, you do, punk.”

“Jerk!” Steve threw a half-hearted punch.

Bucky ducked and swept Steve’s legs out from under him. Looming over Steve flat on his back, he snickered softly. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, pal.”

Steve jerked his legs up and around and took Bucky’s out, sending him crashing to the ground beside him. Kicking up to his feet, a move Bucky mirrored, they slowly began to circle each other, moving away from the heavy bags and weights to give them room.

“Her fucker ex was there when they arrived. Guess things got a little heated between him and Loki during the introductions. Loki pulled his God of Mischief routine. Kind of freaked them all out,” Bucky chuckled, the vindictive side of him pretty pleased with that.

Rushing in, Steve landed a blow to Bucky’s ribs and took one to his thigh for his trouble. He grunted as he slid out of reach. “Please tell me he didn’t summon the helmet?” he sighed.

“Nah, just the staff. Still, it made an impression.”

A smirk curled Steve’s lips. “I bet. Admittedly, he’s good at intimidating people.”

“Most people.”

“Most people,” Steve agreed. “What’s the bad, Buck?”

“Ain’t bad so much as… surprising.” The plates in his arm shifted, drawing Steve’s focus as he threw a right hook.

Arm flashing up, Steve blocked it with a smile and chuckle, his face reading you’re a shit with the move. They traded blows for a few minutes, fists and feet in constant movement, causing them both to breathe heavily when they broke apart.

“Stop stalling. What the hell did he do?” Steve glared at Bucky sternly.

“Such a punk. That shit doesn’t work on me, and you know it.”

Quicker than most people could see, Steve elbowed him in the face, sending Bucky reeling.

“Fuck!” he bellowed when his lip split.

Snorting, Steve snickered, “That’s for being an ass.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Steve and swiped the blood from his mouth. “You’re so gonna get it.”

Another round of fast and furious blows saw Steve sporting a bloody nose when Bucky snuck beneath his guard.

“Damn it, Bucky! Just tell me!” Steve barked, pressing the heel of his hand against his face.

“They’re pretending to be engaged!”

“What?” Steve’s eyes had grown as big around as saucers, and Bucky burst out laughing.

“Take it easy, pal. They were trying to make her talk to that asshole. Loki suspects something’s going on there with Lauren’s mother. He didn’t know what, but he didn’t like it and took matters into his own hands to block them from forcing Lauren into something she doesn’t want.”

“Jeez, Buck,” Steve sighed.

“He has a thing for her.”

“Huh?” Head whipping up, Steve muttered, “Really?”

“And her for him.” Bucky grinned.

Steve’s mouth opened and closed twice before he chuckled, “Well… shit. Ain’t that something.”

Next Chapter

[aceholmes]

the uncharted (10/?)

not an offical summary: god i better know how to plan this better because i can feel this fic crashing and burning already

here is is on ao3!

“Ready to touch down.” Ke’lth announces, as the rusty, brown planet comes into view. Streams of clear blue streak across the planet - the shuttlecraft will land near one of the rivers, and the trio will try their best to survive there.

Swift’s console starts beeping furiously. In a moment of panic, Troi wonders why Swift hasn’t responded to the conflicts that show up on her console, until she spins Swift’s chair around. She sits, slumped and unconscious, her red hair casting shadows over her face. Normally, Swift had a tanned, brown complexion, but her skin was now tinted grey.

“Doctor, I’ll take over the piloting. There’s something wrong with Lieutenant Swift.” Troi shouts back, moving out of her seat.

Ke’lth shakes his head, and responds in a gruff tone. “I’m sorry, Commander, but I can’t have you leave your post. There still needs to be someone who can redirect the power to the shields from your station if the power drops.”

Troi turns back to glance at the sickened woman. “What about Michelle? We can’t lose her.”

Ke’lth takes a deep sigh. “I will land this shuttle in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes, and you’ll find out what’s wrong with Lieutenant Swift.” Troi permits, her voice stern.

“Yes, sir.” Ke’lth replies, and the shuttle begins its descent into the atmosphere.

The presentation screen clicks off with a beep, and the briefing room goes silent. Too silent. The briefing room has never been so silent.

Maybe it’s the presence of outsiders, but to Yar, La Forge is no outsider. She’s eager to catch up with him, and discuss recent events, but she knows that he’s strictly here on business, and she shouldn’t trouble him while he’s on this joint mission.

Yar stands. “Thank you, Captain.” She gives a small nod in La Forge’s direction, and then turns to her crew. “You are dismissed.”

Quietly, Yar’s crew files out the door, leaving her and La Forge alone in the briefing room.

The hum of the engines seems even more present as silence hangs in the air, tense. It’s almost as if everything seems exactly in the balance, like the gravitational forces planets exert on each other, preventing the universe from crumbling into one big rocky mess. Yar takes a deep breath, not wanting to break the silence, but she knows she has to anyway.

“Geordi.” She addresses her friend informally for the first time in five years. “You haven’t left.”

“Tasha.” Geordi returns, his voice laden with the same distressed tone. She can see it in his eyes - though they’re just implants, but she finds that someone like him can bring emotion and life to the cybernetic implants.

“I guess I’ll have to address it directly before one of us starts breaking down.” Tasha puts out, crossing her arms. “It’s about Deanna.”

Geordi nods. “I read the report on the time anomaly.” He pauses, breathing out through his nose. “I’m probably just as worried for her as you are.”

Tasha almost laughs. “I was the one who married her,” she pokes in jest.

“We did spend quite a lot of our spare time together, the four of us.” Geordi reminisces. “Oh, the good old days…”

“Where’s Data?” Tasha brings up. “I didn’t see him on the crew roster.”

“He has his own command now.” Geordi answers. “He was promoted a few years before I was.”

“Five years.” Tasha smiles. “It’s been too long.”

“Well, I’m just glad that we have a chance to work together again. Just like the old times.”

“It isn’t the same without Data. Or Deanna.” Tasha’s shoulders drop, and she runs a hand through her hair.

“Tasha, you’re distressed.” Geordi remarks. “You’re smiling, but you’re distressed.”

Tasha shakes her head. “Distressed? No, I’m perfectly fine!” She inhales a sharp breath.

“You do that when you’re distressed.” Geordi looks over the top of Tasha’s head. “When you’re serious, you have one hand in your hair, but when you’re stressed, you run your hand through it.”

“I-I’ve never noticed.” Tasha stumbles slightly on her words, and suddenly goes a bit quieter.

Geordi’s brow furrows. “I’m sorry,” he apologises, sensing Tasha’s distress. Stepping forward, he wraps his arms around Tasha in a friendly, consoling embrace. Almost recoiling from the touch, Tasha realises that she hasn’t been in physical contact with anyone in the past few weeks, and it hurts even more when it isn’t Deanna that’s holding her close now. But still, she accepts his hug, heartened by the warmth of his gesture. If anything, he was someone who did understand what Deanna meant to her.

He releases her, and leaves, not saying a single word about her tear-stained cheeks. Tasha stands at the window, staring out into the darkness and wishing that watching the stars go by would calm her.

“Hey, Tasha?” Geordi calls back, just before he exits the room.

Tasha doesn’t have the emotional strength to turn back, something she curses herself for. “Yes?”

“I’m always up to talk if you need me.”

“Thanks, Geordi.”

The doors close with the familiar whoosh, and Tasha remains in the briefing room for just another minute, heart in a numbed state.

The ship makes a smooth landing in a wide, dusty valley. Trees are scarce due to the heat, but it’s strange that there are still rivers running here, that haven’t been dried up by the unforgiving sun.

“There are glaciers just north of here,” Ke’lth reads off the sensors. “That’s where the water is coming from.” He paces across the shuttle to reach Swift. There’s no change in her condition.

He gestures to Troi to come over. “Help me get her onto the floor.” Troi rushes over, and supports Swift’s back as Ke’lth lowers her legs onto the floor. Swift lies, limp, on the hard shuttle floor. Troi removes her jacket, and folds it to make a pillow to prop Swift’s head up. Ke’lth unzips Swift’s jacket, then realises that her undershirt’s only going to obstruct her breathing.

“It’s going to have to come off,” Ke’lth sighs, wiping his brow. Troi struggles to get the undershirt off Swift’s head, but eventually the garment gives way. Now that she can see the rise and fall of Swift’s ribcage, she’s a bit more relieved. She knows Swift is still alive and breathing.

“She’s running a fever.” Ke’lth reports.

“Is there a discernable cause of this fever?” Troi returns.

Ke’lth shakes his head, dismayed. “Without access to computers, I won’t be able to tell whether Lieutenant Swift’s condition is a result of her coming into contact with the bio-matter in the bio neural gel packs or alien nanoprobes. Or it could even be a simple case of overexertion.”

“What would you advise at this point?” Troi inquires.

“We treat her symptoms first. But we need to contact Starfleet as soon as possible. It’d be best if I could get Lieutenant Swift to a starship or starbase.”

Troi nods. “Our previous attempts to contact Starfleet while aboard the Delta have failed. This means that we could be outside explored territory.”

“It was a similar situation when the Vienna was supposed to head to the Veonia system.” Ke’lth remarks. “Could the two incidents be related?”

“It’s quite a stretch of a coincidence.” Troi returns.

“Time anomalies.” Yar repeats to herself, as she sits with her hands clasped and her feet upon her desk. She reclines, breathing slowly.

She imagines herself in a better place. A better place where things are simpler. Maybe in the past. Things were simpler in the past when she didn’t have her own command, and when she wasn’t married to Deanna. The emotional stress had been less.

But yet, she can’t imagine going the rest of her life without Deanna. The thought frightens her, and that’s what motivates her even more to get her crew back.

She thinks back to a distant memory, a happy one. While the Enterprise was docked at Deep Space Nine for Captain Picard’s meeting with some Bajoran bureaucrats, she and Deanna had taken the opportunity to get off the ship to explore this solitary station. The Cardassian architecture had fascinated both of them, and although neither of them were very concerned with the technicalities of such design, they were very much taken in by the aesthetic. Tasha remembered kissing Deanna when the wormhole opened - some superstitious ‘kiss for luck’, something like that.

Wormhole. Tasha sits up in her chair, jolted.

If she’s lucky, she can pull a few strings and get the data findings about the wormhole. It was a crazy gamble, but if Captain Sisko could ascend his plane of existence and join the supposed Prophets in their nonlinear time, it could’ve been possible that the disappearance of the away team could be due to a similar wormhole, connecting two different point of time.

She runs through a list of contacts. No, Worf had left the station for almost three years now. She doesn’t recognise any of the other names on the list, save for one.

Ezri Dax. A friend of Deanna’s.

Tasha picks up her PADD and stylus, and starts to draft a message.

[bluejaysgonerogue]

Who are you?-Bucky Barnes

HELLO TUMBLR FOLLOWERS

As some of you may know, i started out writing on wattpad. most of these are from 1-2 years ago, so please excuse plot holes and such. I will be leaving them as-is to hopefully show a little bit of progress. if you would like to be on my tag list, please send in a request. Love you all!

Rated E

trigger warnings; amnesia, slight emotions of abandonment

1100+ words

—

"Bye Bucky!" I smile, hugging him tightly.

"See you later Poki." he strokes my hair, a small smile gracing his lips.

"C'mon Katlyn. He has to go." Steve puts a hand on my shoulder, slightly pulling me off my best friend.

My smile saddens as i let go of Bucky.

"Seeya Chick." He smiles one more time before getting onto the small quinjet.

"I promise I'll be back for your birthday." He says just before the door closes.

Then the quinjet takes off, my hair flying out around me.

"Seeya then Sargeant." I whisper just under my breath as i watch the quinjet fly out into the night.

--- December 15th, Stark Tower ---

It's my birthday today. Just over a month ago, Bucky had promised to be back.

But he isn't. So i've been crying in his bed, hugging his oversized teddy bear.

"Miss Katlyn, Mr.Barnes has arrived." JARVIS suddenly comes over the speakers.

"Is it my Bucky or Winter?"

"It seems to be Bucky miss."

"THanks 'Vis." I thank the AI before getting up from the bed, putting the stuffy back and fixing the sheets.

I walk out the door, sprinting once i hit the main hallway.

"...She was crying in her room because you were gone." I hear steve explaining something to someone. I burst into the common room, seeing Bucky leaning against the bar with a bottle of water. (It's not vodka)

"Buck...?" I mutter under my breath before running toward bucky and jumping on his back. I nuzzle my head into the crook of his neck.

"Steve, who is this?" Bucky asks steve, letting me hang onto him like a Koala.

"Bucky, It's Katlyn. You two are practically inseparable." Steve looks at bucky. I can feel his eyebrow knitting themself together.

"Who's Katlyn? The last Katlyn i remember is from the 40's." HIs words break my heart.

"Sir, i have readings that Mr. Barnes has damage in the memory portion of his brain. It seemed to have removed all of his memories with this Katlyn." JARVIS lists of his analysis.

"So... This isn't a joke you're in on JARVIS?" I mutter, the AI probably straining to hear me.

"No miss, this is not a joke." the robotic voice confirms.

"Oh." I get off of bucky, walking slowly over to the elevator.

"Jay, i'll be in the lab. Don't let anyone in aside from tony." I order JARVIS once I'm in the elevator en route to the lab.

"Yes Miss."

The doors open and i step out into the lab, heading straight over to my portion of the huge space. I grab my tablet and start to mess around with my holotable.

--- three days later ---

"Jay, can you print this? And throw a red star on the bicep." I smile slightly at the Metallic arm i had designed.

"Yes ma'am. what material shall i use?"

"Vibranium." I sit back and go to the homescreen.

It's a 3-D pic of me and bucky when i had given him the flesh covering for his arm.

"Miss. Katlyn, Mr.Rogers and Mr. Barnes would like access to the lab. Shall i let them in?"

"Fine."

I hear the heavy steps of the men walking towards me.

"Kate, You've been down here for three days. You're dehydrated, lacking food, you haven't taken a shower since the 14th. You need to come out." Steve sets a hand on my shoulder, and i can hear Bucky standing by the welding station where JARVIS is assembling the arm.

"Whats this." he asks me, hold a hand to the plexiglass barrier we have around the area.

"A new arm." I say without even looking behind my shoulder.

"This is what you've been doing for three days? For... Me? A complete stranger?" i hear footsteps approaching me.

"This is how our friendship started out." I give a sad chuckle "You were on a mission, at a bar, and i was working a shift. You had been sitting there all day without eating anything. I Put in an order for some fish and chips. When i gave it to you, you said the exact same thing. You didn't understand that people can sometime do things without an ulterior motive." I choke, a few tears leaking out of my eyes.

"MIss, im sorry, but i think you mistook me for someone else. I don't know you." He looks over at me, a pitiful smile on his face.

"No Sergeant. It's you who i know. It's you who treated me like a younger sister. You're the one who handles me when i have ptsd episodes. I'm the one you come to when you have nightmares. You're the one who saved me when i jumped off that roof. You're the one who knocked me out of my trance. Remember that time when we spent weeks playing assassin's creed? Cause i do. I remember making those pranks cookies for tony on April Fools. I remember you helping me rig a trick arrow for Clint. I remember when we added weights and threw Steves shield off balance. I remember you chasing me around the tower when i messed with your arm's calibration settings." I list each moment, JARVIS pulling up pictures of each event.

"I was the one who gave you a good reputation with the team." I'm now standing chest to chest with bucky. "And you somehow forgot i exist."

I feel my face heat under the warm, salty tears flowing down my cheeks.

"So you're not gonna say anything? So you want to DENY the damn straight fact that we're FAMILY?! If you're so damn stupid and clueless then why don't you just leave me the FU-" Bucky puts a finger over my mouth.

"Kitty, It's okay... You know that sometimes damage is permanent." He touches me lightly with the cool metal of his arm.

"Cap told you about my name didn't he." I look at bucky.

"I didn't tell him." Steve says quietly a few feet behind me.

"I remember kitty. I remember all of it. It was december 25th on top of the Tower. You were standing watching the snow fall onto the ground in your blue las angeles hoodie and tommy jeans. You were crying. Beaux has just broken up with you on your two year anniversary. You wanted to end it all, let the pain end. You got a text telling you you should go jump off a roof. So you did. Titanic style. You jumped off that roof without anyone to catch you. But i swung down and caught you." He hugs me close to his chest.

"You guys are technically biologically related." JARVIS suddenly speaks through the speakers.

"How Jay?"

"You were frozen as a child similar to the Captain in 1920 you were two years old. You were recovered by HYDRA in 2002, defrosted. They didn't know about your powers and sent to Russia where you were picked up by the Red Room." Jarvis tells me parts of my past. Parts i never wanted uttered by anyone for centuries.

I can feel my heart speeding up, my breathing faster.

And bucky's arms around me. :)

[marvelousmythos]

A Taste of My WIP

I thought I would give everyone little taste of my WIP novel, just to see some thoughts, opinions, and critique. I’ll post bits and pieces as I go. Remember most of this is fairly rough and unedited, as this is a second draft at best. :) Enjoy! 

  He knew I was waiting for him, and he wanted to turn around and walk away just to Goddamn spite me. I could see it all over his face, in the set of is shoulders. I glanced over m own at Cross, who didn't look back. I hadn't expected him to- he wasn't exactly social, not even with me, and I'd known Tobias Cross since before he was just 'Cross'. Since before the attack that had taken everything from him. Of course, even then Cross  had always been the type that had a word limit of maybe twenty in a day.  

“He needs us.” I drawled, not even trying to hide my smirk. “And he hates it.”

“Can't imagine why.” Cross answered. His low Cajun accent did a good job of making everything he said sound like he was judging you and finding you wanting- when he tried, it was even worse. Or better, depending on your take.

“I know, right?” I grinned, clapping a hand over my heart as if mortally wounded. “Everyone loves me.” “Not as much as you love yourself.” He rolled his eyes at me.

I pouted- carefully practiced, expertly designed- and rolled mine right back. “Careful, or you'll hit your word limit first thing in the morning. And waste it on being a shit to me.”

He grunted, arching an eyebrow at me before jerking his head in the direction of the man approaching and re-folding his arms across his massive chest. I turned, taking the hint and going silent as I watched his approach myself. Jericho Foxxe, Technically, he would have been my boss, if I could be said to have one. Technically.

As it was, I didn't have a boss. I'd rejected working with his group loudly and repeatedly, and while he was a determined little shit still trying to get me to join up with him, he was one of the few to realize force wasn't the way to go about trying to change my mind.

I sent him a cheery wave as he got closer, putting on my best shit-eating grin. Just for him, from my heart. He was a big guy- nearly as big as Cross- and broad as a house. His hair had, at one point, been jet black; now it was more gray then black, but still thick and full, falling in an elegent tail down his back. His blue eyes were calm and unimpressed, but if you knew him and knew how to read him, you could see the turmoil in them. Something was bothering him. Badly. That was weird enough on it's own; he rarely got ruffled by much. Still, I didn't let him see it; instead, I pushed off the wall I'd been leaning on and sauntered to him as if I didn't have a care in the world. “I was wondering when you'd come crawling.” “Can it, kid.” He growled, in his deep rasp of a voice. “This is big, and I'm not in the mood.”

“'Big' seems about right, with all the normies getting themselves killed.” I smirked, ignoring the hand he put out to shake despite his snark. Cross shook it instead.

“How much do you know?” Jericho asked, pulling away to face me again. I shrugged at him- I wasn't going to give him everything I had. You didn't give your competition more help then you had to. It was a delicate line to walk; give enough to get what you needed and no more. He knew that was how this worked, by now. He hated it, but he understood.

“I know four people are presumed dead, all in positions of power of some kind. I know normie cops-” “Stop using that word.” Make me. “...Cops are freaking out because they can't find anything.”

'

He sighed, pressing his fingers into his eyes for a minute. “Alright. I get it. But I need to- can we do this in private?” I recognized the careful intro- I knew what he was about to say, and he knew I wouldn't like it one Goddamn bit. “No.” “Saoirse- we can't talk about this on the street.” He groaned, and I barely heard him through the rush in my ears. “Saorise. Saorise.” “Then you should have called, not met me here.” I could barely hear my answer, either. My heart pounded, my head pounded, and I only just felt Cross's hand on my shoulder. I knew where he wanted me to go, and I wasn't going there. I wasn't. “You don't answer when I call, Saoirse, you never do. This is something different, even for us- you need to understand-” “I can understand from here. Or home.” “I can't do this in a secondary location.” Quiet and firm, like he was talking to a child. Through the panic, the anger sparked; I wasn't a child, I didn't want to be talked down to like a child. “I'm not. Going. To the Fort.” I felt myself bristling, felt Cross's grip on my shoulder tighten. “Saorise, I understand. I do. You don't want to become registered-” “I'm not-” “Shut up!” I froze. He'd never spoken to me- or anyone, that I knew of- like that. Cross stepped forward, just a bit, to get between Jericho and I, just slightly.

“I know you don't want to be registered as a Hunter. I know you don't want to be a listed  psychic. No one is trying to do that. I want twenty minutes of your time and to pay you for it. What do you think, I'm trying to trick you?”

It was jarring enough to stop me. My throat was tight- trying to swallow hurt. Trying to breathe hurt. It's happened before, I didn't say. I can't trust anyone, I didn't say. Not anyone, not ever. I didn't say it. I couldn't, even if I'd wanted to- and I sure as hell didn't want to.

“I didn't say that.” I closed my eyes and forced the deep breath. “You said you were paying. How much?”  My voice was still tight and strangled; I could hear it and I hated it. I knew the answer- he always paid the same. It was never enough, but it was consistent, and that balanced out, really. Besides, his jobs were always the most interesting- they put almost everyone else to shame. The problem here was- he knew it, too. He knew I was interested in what he had as much as I knew he needed me. He wouldn't outright call me on it; at his heart, Jericho Foxxe was a good man. Often naive and the whole road to hell paved with good intentions thing applied a lot, but- he was good. Too good for the Fort. Too good for someone like me. “The usual.” Came the expected reply, and I snorted a dry laugh. “Of course. Then twenty minutes. Tops.”

He huffed a sigh, but I think he knew, by now, what battles to pick and when he'd gotten as close to winning as he was going to. He nodded at me, at Cross. “Fine. Then I'll see you two there?” “Yeah.” I shrugged casually, ignoring Cross's hard stare. “See you there.”  I didn't move until he'd walked away back how he'd come, climbing into his car and driving away. And then I felt the tension finally, finally leave. My knees went weak, my shoulders slumped, and I gasped what felt like my first inhale in twenty minutes. I was shaking. I didn't want to be; I shouldn't have been. Dammit, I should have been over this by now. Jericho wasn't my enemy, anyway- had never been, had never tried the shit the rest of them had tried-

I reached up behind my ponytail, fingers brushing over the brand that hid at the base of my neck. Scarred, forever. In every way. Broken. “Saorise.” Quietly, from behind me now. When had Cross moved? “We don't have to do this. We don't have to work for them.” “I know.” My voice still seemed far away to me; even Cross's hand back on my shoulder didn't help, for once. “We should just say no, shouldn't we? Better money in other jobs.” He grunted in the affirmative. He was right. Really, really right. But-

God, Jericho's were always so interesting. It was like I was torn; pulled in two directions until even I didn't know what I really wanted.  “We should just- walk away. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, Tobias.” I finally felt again as I said it, like someone had lifted a veil and I could access myself again. “Saorise-”

“Let's go.” I cut off. I didn't want to hear it; and he didn't want to use up his word count for the day with arbitrary comforting bullshit for my stupid drama. “I'm fine. And I'm curious. You are, too. I know you.”

He shrugged a shoulder indifferently, squeezing mine and then turning to slide back into the driver's seat of our car. My car, really; even before he'd lost his wife and kid, I'd never known him to be a huge fan of vehicles. Something something the environment; he'd biked or hitched everywhere. He didn't need to worry about danger; even if Cross had been purely, simply human, he was a big guy who was nearly never without the dragon's tooth of a switchblade he kept in his boot.

And he wasn't purely, simply human. He was like me. My power lay in sensing memories and histories from objects; give me a picture of or an object that had once been owned by someone, or let me walk into the room they'd last been in, and I could tell you everything about them up until they'd last been near it, in it, or until it had been taken, in the case of a photo.

Cross, though- Cross was technopathic. He could talk to- 'talk to'- computers, phones, anything that used energy and confused old people. (Sometimes young people- Cross told me once that more technology got a kick out of being finicky. I told him he was over-anthropomorphizeing  it and that they couldn't actually have personalities. He asked me who spoke to it. I shut up.) I got in behind him, closing the door a little harder then maybe I really needed to. Peacock teal with a navy hood and fins, the battered old car was my pride and joy and had been for years. I patted her dash in apology absently. “What are you thinking?” Quiet, level, and without judgment. Cross's voice always calmed me, once I had a minute to get my head together, always made everything make sense and calm down. I didn't get it; it had just always been that way. Like a balm across my mind. And he knew that, no matter how much I didn't want to, if I didn't talk my thoughts would just chase themselves around and around in my head.

“Saorise.” “Present.”

“What are you thinking?”

Firm. Sharp. Like a scolding teacher or mentor; and maybe that wasn't far off from the truth. He'd been sort of both for as long as I could remember.

“That you're right, still.” I snapped, annoyed at myself and him and the whole situation that had me so on edge. “And that I should stop letting myself get so damn sucked in because his jobs are interesting. That I'm a damn fool and this is all going to come back to bite me. That I'm an idiot.”

“So why don't you? Leave, I mean.”

“Satisfaction brought him back?” I shrugged, with a bitter laugh. “I don't know , Cross. If I did, don't you think I'd sort out my shit?”

“If you don't know, stop chasing your tail about it.” He replied. “One way or the other, you'll figure out what you  need. Obsessing about it is just tearing you in half.”

He was right about that, too. I turned my attention out the window, watching as we drove in silence to the Fort.

The last time I'd been there, I'd been a scared, unsure fifteen year old with  strange abilities I didn't want or understand. They'd pulled me off the streets with promises of safety, training, said things like home and care and I'd been stupid enough to believe it. To trust. Shocker, turned out they just wanted to turn me into a proper little solider, doing their dirty work.

I'd bolted asap, and met Cross not long after; he'd avoided the Fort, too, but gotten away with it because his powers manifested when he was older, maybe nineteen or twenty. Old enough to not be drawn in by lies and too old for their goal, anyway. The Fort wanted young minds to mold; young bodies to train. He'd taken me under his wing, helped me understand myself, helped me learn how to do what he did. What the Fort wanted me to do, but without being leashed and collared. We hunted. We killed the dragons everyone else is afraid of. We stalked the dark for things that hunted there, kept them in line and made sure they only took prey they were supposed to. If they stepped out of line, killed too many normies, made people notice them- well, we stepped in. They'd never really stopped trying to get me back. They probably never would. They don't like having untracked hunters-and I didn't like being tracked. It was something of an impasse.

The building itself was huge, covered in windows and cold gray steel, towering dozens of stories above our cars. The entire thing was heavily guarded, surrounded by chain link and barbed wire. It looked like a prison, and we largely relied on the intimidation factor to keep people at bay. It seemed to work. For the most part, anyway- and for anyone who's curiosity was stronger then self preservation, the towering security guards tended to persuade them to back off.

We pulled in through one gate, then the other, behind Jericho, following him into the depths of the compound I'd sworn I'd never willingly walk back into. I felt myself trembling, shaking, and clenched my fists and my jaw. Took a breath, put on the mask. Confident. Cocky. Cross could see through it. Jericho could, too, I knew, but shit , give me this, ok? It made me feel better. Men in suits saluted Jericho as he passed, eyeballed me like I was an escaped convict. Like I wasn't supposed to be there- or worse,I was, and they couldn't figure out why the hell I'd been allowed to walk free. He lead me through, eyes forward, and I felt Cross keep his hand on my shoulder the entire time we walked, keeping me moving forward and not letting me stop or falter. I didn't admit- and didn't want to think about- how much I needed it.  We headed to his office, all the way at the back of one of the offshoot hallways, and the second I stepped in, it hit me like a train. Sitting and working for hours, not eating, not stopping, desperate and frantic, lost in his work, unsure where to turn next, where to look-

Cross jerked my hand off the wall, yanked me around to face him. “Saorise. Focus on me. Come back here. Easy, that's my boy.” His hand slowly moved away from my shoulder as my vision came back and I felt myself settle back into myself, my own feet and head and body and was in the room again, instead of being the room and the feelings and emotions of it. “Bit-b-bit obsessive, boss.” I managed, my voice choked and strangled; I felt like I was still a million miles away, strangling on the desperation and frantic need in the room. “Someone has to be.” He replied, and now that I'd seen I could see; the emotions he had hidden behind the calm, placid mask. I could feel how at the end of his rope he was; knew that he'd been here for a week straight with no answers. Even if I hadn't been able to sense it, it showed; there were papers littering his entire desk, balled up papers on the floor, cigarettes piled on top of each other in an ashtray in the corner, and notes pinned to the walls and post-it-noted to the desk. It was a damn mess in here, and a damn mess in his mind. He knew I'd seen it- knew I knew- but neither of us said a word. It was how it worked, with us. It always had been.

He turned from us, pulled out a chair. “Sit, if you need to.” “I'm fine, dad. I've seen and felt a lot worse then you.”

He snorted, pulling a file out from the mess and smacking it down in front of the chair he'd put out for me. “Sit, I said.” At the same time, Cross gave me a gentle shove. I stumbled, catching myself on that chair, shooting them both a nasty glare. “These are the names and some personal information on the victims- along with latest photos.” “Woof woof, find the scent boy?” I quipped, and Cross whacked me lightly upside the head. “Do your job.” “Ow. Abusive-” I picked up the file, flipping it open and paging through it. I did take a seat in the chair- not that I needed it, fuck you- as I let my fingers whisper over the pictures of each person. I closed my eyes and focused on the tingle of energy from the images I could feel- it wasn't like putting my hands on Jericho's wall, where the emotions, ideas, thoughts and realizations slammed into me without my permission or focus. This was through pictures, and that was always so much weaker.  Still, the memories were there to be found, tingling at the back of my mind, and I focused. I had picked the file containing the first person to vanish- to die, I knew that the moment I touched his picked up the image- a judge.  His name had been Robert Baitland, and he'd been somewhere in his fourties or fifties. His history was blurry, so I skimmed past it, ignored it; it probably wasn't relevant, anyway, and if it was I'd work on that later. Instead, I focused on the recent. Sucked in a deep breath and looked closer, shutting doors I didn't need and locking the excess information away. The first impression hit me like a bullet from a gun. Blood. Blood, and lots of it. Someone chanting in a low mumble, words I couldn't- are they words? A song? Not quite a song. Beautiful. Horrible. Glint of gold. Who's blood? My blood? It doesn't hurt. Bleeding hurts, right? Laughter. Screaming. Feed. Feed. Hungry. Hungry.

I see you.

[webbygraphic001]

20 Best New Portfolios, June 2018

Welcome back, Readers. It’s June, and if I got paid extra for every instance of the word “minimalist” in this article, I could probably afford to vacation in Canada. Well, my point is that minimalism is the general theme of this month, because that’s what it has all come down to: various forms of minimalism.

Still, within that descriptor, there’s a fair amount of variety to be had here. Enjoy.

Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they look to me. If they’re creative and original, or classic but really well-done, it’s all good to me. Sometimes, UX and accessibility suffer. For example, many of these sites depend on JavaScript to display their content at all; this is a Bad Idea, kids. If you find an idea you like and want to adapt to your own site, remember to implement it responsibly.

Bruno Ferdinand

Bruno Ferdinand is a designer with strong type skills and the nearly-obligatory hipsterish tendencies we see a lot of nowadays. The guy does simple, beautiful, and kind of rustic design rather well.

Platform: JS app

Yumpic

Yumpic is a portfolio site featuring — and you might have guessed this — photos and videos of food. They specialize in food-related digital content for anyone who wants to make the perfect Instagram account, and also (read: actually mostly) for people who make money off their food. The actual portfolio work is artfully interspersed with illustration and playful touches, which definitely sets the right mood,in my opinion.

Platform: WordPress

Duane Dalton

Duane Dalton’s portfolio pretty strongly reflects his print-focused work, being minimalist and asymmetrical. It’s one of the simpler sites on this list, but no less visually pleasing for that.

Platform: Static Site

Kenta Toshikura

Kenta Toshikura’s website is one of those minimalist-looking presentation-style sites. As is par for the course in cases like these, I’d not look too closely at the usability, but the visuals and general aesthetic style are just plain pretty, darnit. In particular, there’s this touch of 3D-feeling typography that catches my eye.

Platform: Static Site

Ellen Mandemaker

I’m not precisely sure what Ellen Mandemaker makes, precisely, but my best guess is art. And art is what you get from the get go: you’ll see a collage of it to begin with, and then a simple and orderly portfolio that promptly and efficiently throws you into the deep end. It’s one of those portfolios that made me think “I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking at, but I like it.”

Platform: Static Site

No Plans

No Plans is a one-page portfolio that keeps things fairly simple, preferring a clean design and a decidedly serif-friendly way of doing things. Also, they indent some of their paragraphs. I know, right? You hardly ever see that these days.

Platform: WordPress

Lab101

I’ll never be a fan of sites that change your cursor, but everything else about Lab101 is pretty solid. The overall aesthetic is minimalist and modern, with some interesting touches of 3D animation on the “Contact” page.

Platform: WordPress

Studio Bjørk

Studio Bjørk has a thing for monochromatic palettes, diagonal lines, and horizontal layouts. And you know what? It works out pretty darned well for them. There’s also a significant bit of animation, great type, and some background video here and there, all combining to make a site that a marketer would call dynamic. Oh,

[Sighs.] Fine, I’ll call it dynamic, too. It just sounds so much like marketer-speak that I didn’t want to say it.

Platform: Static Site

Juul Hondius

I often make reference to magazine-style designs ion this article series, but Juul Hondius’ portfolio is one of the more interesting examples I’ve seen lately. It looks like an old, ooold magazine, complete with small spacing issues and slightly cramped text, combined with beautiful and striking photography.

Those might technically be “issues”, but the design as a whole hits me with a very specific sense of nostalgia that just sells the imagery to me. Besides, it’s a photographer’s site. How badly do you want to read the text anyway?

Platform: Static Site

Thu-Van Tran

Thu-Van Tran’s website has one main theme that makes it visually interesting: layers. Every page is loaded on top of the home page like one piece of paper overlaying another. It’s like a paper prototype come to life. Combined with the sheer simplicity of layout, and strong typographic choices, it stands out.

Platform: Static Site

Aristide Benoist

Aristide Benoist’s portfolio combines a grid-based aesthetic with warping animations to striking effect. While most of the text could and certainly should be bigger, the visual theme of this site is enough to make you look, at least. Whether it’s interesting enough to make you grab your glasses will greatly depend on the user.

Platform: Static Site

Datagif

Datagif love their sans-serif type, and apparently spicing up standard layouts with geometric flourishes and animation. This one’s not going to blow your mind, but it looks good, even kind of playful for all the corporate aesthetic it has. Give it a look.

Platform: Static Site (I think)

Handsome

Oh, Handsome takes me back maybe five years or so. The large serif type, the darkened photos as backdrops, all those barely visible straight lines. Did we just go back to the early days of flat design? Well, it’s both nostalgic, nearly perfectly executed, and a pleasure to browse.

Platform: Static Site

Sister

Sister’s agency site is living proof that any design style, even the once super-artsy minimalism-with-asymmetry trend, can be given an almost corporate flair. And that’s not a criticism. Corporate-feeling front end design tends to be modern and devastatingly effective in its simplicity, and the same is true here.

Not a fan of those occasional modal pop-ups, though. That’s a corporate trend that can go straight to hell.

Platform: WordPress

Makers and Allies

Makers and Allies is a branding studio in the finest tradition of hipster design studios, but with a lot more motion design added to the mix. It evokes just the right balance of rustic aesthetics with the modern technical competence we expect. Or at least the animation we expect. Whatever, it looks good, even if some of the text could use more contrast.

Platform: WordPress

Bipolar Studio

Bipolar Studio combines motion graphics with a pretty modernist aesthetic style, and good old fashioned big type. Their work basically is video, so it’s they use a lot of it in their design. I do like the little “stats” section at the end of each project page, detailing what it took to complete each project.

It’s just that, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the logo could be bigger. With type that thin, it should be.

Platform: Static Site and/or JS App

Akins Parker

Akins Parker’s agency site wasn’t made with Powerpoint, but it’s presentational design in its purest form. You go to see this one for the graphics, not for the usability.

Platform: Static Site

Ian Jones

Ian Jones’ portfolio is another site to embrace the visual grid theme. But unlike many other sites, the visual representation of the grid is only visible when his work is on the page. It’s a dead-simple approach, but it looks calm and professional, and I can’t fault that.

Platform: Static Site

Michael Uloth

Michael Uloth is a rare talent indeed. When he’s not literally singing opera, he builds minimalist-yet-beautiful websites for artsy people. His own site is no exception.

Platform: Static Site and/or JS App

Lasse Fløde

Lasse Fløde is a photography studio with a striking one-page portfolio. Lovers of white space should definitely enjoy this one, as it employs that asymmetrical almost collage-style so favored by many photography portfolios these days. Simple and effective.

Platform: Static Site

Add Realistic Chalk and Sketch Lettering Effects with Sketch’it – only $5!

Source from Webdesigner Depot https://ift.tt/2sMnC0b from Blogger https://ift.tt/2JJXo8f

[unixcommerce]

20 Best New Portfolios, June 2018

Welcome back, Readers. It’s June, and if I got paid extra for every instance of the word “minimalist” in this article, I could probably afford to vacation in Canada. Well, my point is that minimalism is the general theme of this month, because that’s what it has all come down to: various forms of minimalism.

Still, within that descriptor, there’s a fair amount of variety to be had here. Enjoy.

Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they look to me. If they’re creative and original, or classic but really well-done, it’s all good to me. Sometimes, UX and accessibility suffer. For example, many of these sites depend on JavaScript to display their content at all; this is a Bad Idea, kids. If you find an idea you like and want to adapt to your own site, remember to implement it responsibly.

Bruno Ferdinand

Bruno Ferdinand is a designer with strong type skills and the nearly-obligatory hipsterish tendencies we see a lot of nowadays. The guy does simple, beautiful, and kind of rustic design rather well.

Platform: JS app

Yumpic

Yumpic is a portfolio site featuring — and you might have guessed this — photos and videos of food. They specialize in food-related digital content for anyone who wants to make the perfect Instagram account, and also (read: actually mostly) for people who make money off their food. The actual portfolio work is artfully interspersed with illustration and playful touches, which definitely sets the right mood,in my opinion.

Platform: WordPress

Duane Dalton

Duane Dalton’s portfolio pretty strongly reflects his print-focused work, being minimalist and asymmetrical. It’s one of the simpler sites on this list, but no less visually pleasing for that.

Platform: Static Site

Kenta Toshikura

Kenta Toshikura’s website is one of those minimalist-looking presentation-style sites. As is par for the course in cases like these, I’d not look too closely at the usability, but the visuals and general aesthetic style are just plain pretty, darnit. In particular, there’s this touch of 3D-feeling typography that catches my eye.

Platform: Static Site

Ellen Mandemaker

I’m not precisely sure what Ellen Mandemaker makes, precisely, but my best guess is art. And art is what you get from the get go: you’ll see a collage of it to begin with, and then a simple and orderly portfolio that promptly and efficiently throws you into the deep end. It’s one of those portfolios that made me think “I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking at, but I like it.”

Platform: Static Site

No Plans

No Plans is a one-page portfolio that keeps things fairly simple, preferring a clean design and a decidedly serif-friendly way of doing things. Also, they indent some of their paragraphs. I know, right? You hardly ever see that these days.

Platform: WordPress

Lab101

I’ll never be a fan of sites that change your cursor, but everything else about Lab101 is pretty solid. The overall aesthetic is minimalist and modern, with some interesting touches of 3D animation on the “Contact” page.

Platform: WordPress

Studio Bjørk

Studio Bjørk has a thing for monochromatic palettes, diagonal lines, and horizontal layouts. And you know what? It works out pretty darned well for them. There’s also a significant bit of animation, great type, and some background video here and there, all combining to make a site that a marketer would call dynamic. Oh,

[Sighs.] Fine, I’ll call it dynamic, too. It just sounds so much like marketer-speak that I didn’t want to say it.

Platform: Static Site

Juul Hondius

I often make reference to magazine-style designs ion this article series, but Juul Hondius’ portfolio is one of the more interesting examples I’ve seen lately. It looks like an old, ooold magazine, complete with small spacing issues and slightly cramped text, combined with beautiful and striking photography.

Those might technically be “issues”, but the design as a whole hits me with a very specific sense of nostalgia that just sells the imagery to me. Besides, it’s a photographer’s site. How badly do you want to read the text anyway?

Platform: Static Site

Thu-Van Tran

Thu-Van Tran’s website has one main theme that makes it visually interesting: layers. Every page is loaded on top of the home page like one piece of paper overlaying another. It’s like a paper prototype come to life. Combined with the sheer simplicity of layout, and strong typographic choices, it stands out.

Platform: Static Site

Aristide Benoist

Aristide Benoist’s portfolio combines a grid-based aesthetic with warping animations to striking effect. While most of the text could and certainly should be bigger, the visual theme of this site is enough to make you look, at least. Whether it’s interesting enough to make you grab your glasses will greatly depend on the user.

Platform: Static Site

Datagif

Datagif love their sans-serif type, and apparently spicing up standard layouts with geometric flourishes and animation. This one’s not going to blow your mind, but it looks good, even kind of playful for all the corporate aesthetic it has. Give it a look.

Platform: Static Site (I think)

Handsome

Oh, Handsome takes me back maybe five years or so. The large serif type, the darkened photos as backdrops, all those barely visible straight lines. Did we just go back to the early days of flat design? Well, it’s both nostalgic, nearly perfectly executed, and a pleasure to browse.

Platform: Static Site

Sister

Sister’s agency site is living proof that any design style, even the once super-artsy minimalism-with-asymmetry trend, can be given an almost corporate flair. And that’s not a criticism. Corporate-feeling front end design tends to be modern and devastatingly effective in its simplicity, and the same is true here.

Not a fan of those occasional modal pop-ups, though. That’s a corporate trend that can go straight to hell.

Platform: WordPress

Makers and Allies

Makers and Allies is a branding studio in the finest tradition of hipster design studios, but with a lot more motion design added to the mix. It evokes just the right balance of rustic aesthetics with the modern technical competence we expect. Or at least the animation we expect. Whatever, it looks good, even if some of the text could use more contrast.

Platform: WordPress

Bipolar Studio

Bipolar Studio combines motion graphics with a pretty modernist aesthetic style, and good old fashioned big type. Their work basically is video, so it’s they use a lot of it in their design. I do like the little “stats” section at the end of each project page, detailing what it took to complete each project.

It’s just that, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the logo could be bigger. With type that thin, it should be.

Platform: Static Site and/or JS App

Akins Parker

Akins Parker’s agency site wasn’t made with Powerpoint, but it’s presentational design in its purest form. You go to see this one for the graphics, not for the usability.

Platform: Static Site

Ian Jones

Ian Jones’ portfolio is another site to embrace the visual grid theme. But unlike many other sites, the visual representation of the grid is only visible when his work is on the page. It’s a dead-simple approach, but it looks calm and professional, and I can’t fault that.

Platform: Static Site

Michael Uloth

Michael Uloth is a rare talent indeed. When he’s not literally singing opera, he builds minimalist-yet-beautiful websites for artsy people. His own site is no exception.

Platform: Static Site and/or JS App

Lasse Fløde

Lasse Fløde is a photography studio with a striking one-page portfolio. Lovers of white space should definitely enjoy this one, as it employs that asymmetrical almost collage-style so favored by many photography portfolios these days. Simple and effective.

Platform: Static Site

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Why is letter press printing a valuable practise for visual communicators and what are the benefits and limitations?

 INTRO It is said that the first printing press known as the ‘screw press’, invented by Johann Gutenberg was the most evolutionary machine since the invention of the wheel. In this essay I am exploring letterpress printing and it’s benefits and drawbacks to visual communicators and as a practise including; the limitations to creating a piece of work using only this practise and how letter press printing has the ability to be manipulated to portray different effects, tones of voice and mood, and the different uses for this. I’ll also be touching on typography (and semiotics surrounding it), as a whole and the importance of it as a vital part of a visual communicators career as an off-the-shelf methodology (Linguistic / textual approaches). I will be summarising what letter press printing is and the history of the practise associated with Johann Gutenberg, who invented it and why he did so. From there I will be talking about the methods of letter pressing, how it has changed from its day of origin; printing mass amounts of scrips to distribute to the public, as opposed to nowadays where it is used more by artists for aesthetic and quality typography and image making. Not only how letter press printing is used in todays society but also opposing opinions on the evolution from hand crafted individual metal letters to the quick and easier digital world of type. This ties in to another subtopic I’ll be looking at which is why letter press printing has made a recent comeback and the reasons minority of artists (in this context especially visual communicators), sometimes prefer the harder and more time consuming practise as opposed to a quicker and a more broad, digital approach including the drawbacks and advantages of each.

 EXPLANATION Letter press printing is a type of relief printing method which uses a press to create an impression on paper. It prints on the paper using ink for a normal printed piece or without ink it can also emboss and deboss, which means it leaves an indentation on the paper; ideal for a minimal effect, patterns or less important information in a layout hierarchy. Originally letter pressing was only used to produce and mass distribute text (eg. books) but since then you can also press images. For text you have a few of each letter in the alphabet in the form of individual raised letters which you can rearrange over and over in a composing stick to create different texts, and the letters are purchased in bulk. For images you have to create your own design in the likes of illustrator and send it to a company which will produce your design specially for you in a similar way to the letters.              

 HISTORY Letter press printing was first invented by Johann Gutenberg in the 15th century with the aim of distributing mass production of books for the common people in an easier and less time consuming manner than the wooden letterpress, which required for each letter to be carved into blocks of wood and each page needed a new block. Even though wooden letter press was easier than writing books over and over by hand, the Gutenberg metal type letter press was even easier still. It is thought that originally Johann Gutenberg made his own version of wooden letter press with individual letters that were movable to recreate page after page of text with the same blocks, and this evolved into the metal letters we still use today which provide more clarity when printed. Also, once one letter was made,   the could re use the mould to reproduce lots of the same letter quite   quickly. Apparently no one knows exactly how the first printing press looked, although people have since recreated how they believe the screw press to have been. The most noticeable outcome at that time was that Gutenberg created one hundred and eighty copies of the bible which consisted of 1,282 pages. It took a long time and large amount of people to help, but at the time it was completely evolutionary. 350 years following the letter press breakthrough, the world still used it to produce and distribute text with almost no changes to the original design.

 WAPPING Since the 15th century the world has seen the rise of many different ways of mass producing type, including offset lithography; flexography; digital printing; gravure and screen printing. The rise of digital printing methods, inevitably caused the wapping dispute in 1986. The wapping dispute was a long strike by print workers at the time as a protest to the printing methods changing from a hands-on ‘hot-metal’ process in London to digital methods in Wapping. The strikers tried to block the distribution of newspapers like ‘The Sunday Times’. Clearly the rise of new and different printing methods was life changing for many people and a massive step forward for the world.

TYPOGRAPHY VALUE AS A WHOLE To understand how letter press printing is a valuable practise to graphic designers, visual communicators etc., we first have to understand more broadly why typography as a whole plays an important role in getting a message across. The decisions a designer makes when creating a piece of work, in the context of typography, defines the feel or it; including the chosen typeface, the kerning, the spacing, the leading, the font size, the tracking and many others values. A combination of these qualities creates a tone of voice and arises different emotions in the viewer to make them feel a certain way about a topic, issue or object which the designers wants to convey. The layout and positioning of the type on a page can create an unbalanced or balanced poster, for example, both of which are interesting but different to the viewer. So for example using type alone, a big, sans serif, bold and dark piece of text could symbolise something heavy or serious or scary; while a light, script, colourful piece of text would mean joy or playfulness.

 THEN VS NOW All the processes that developed in the years after Gutenberg's invention were valuable in different ways, but through all of this letter press printing has managed to come back into fashion and remain an important, respected and valuable practise for artists including visual communicators. Although, some may argue that, actually, traditional print has given way to digital methods by now. This raises the inevitable discussion and competition between the new digital world and the age-old, traditional methods. Of course, it is accepted generally that digital printing is now definitely the most widely used for many reasons, including its simplicity to use, the fact it is not time consuming and it is not very expensive; but just because everyone knows how to use it, does not mean it is ‘better’ than the more old-fashioned method. Letter press on the other hand is less widely used and serves a specific purpose and produces a different type of printing; one that is better quality, more niche and valued in an artistic way. It also requires more skill, patience, practice and craftsmanship, which is something visual communicators take pride in and not many people in the general public have mastered or would even know where to start. Almost anyone can feed paper into a printer, type something on a keyboard and press ‘print’. One benefit to digital methods, on the other hand, is that it allows printing images and text with complete control over colour (of which there is much more variety than with letter press printing) with a range of inks and printer quality to chose from. The designer has utter control over everything and it’s a lot easier and quick to correct mistakes on a computer. One major drawback for a visual communicator however, is that digital printing does not have that lovely texture and ‘touchy-feely’ edge that letter press has because the ink lies flat on the paper. Yet another impressive aspect of using digital printing is that you can distort type, for example changing the height of the typeface or moving the letters off of a straight baseline, for example in the image to the left. This method of using typography to create patterns or abstract imagery is becoming more and more popular and is very easy and quick on photoshop. I’ve used it personally and have been very satisfied with how much i could manipulate text quickly and could edit it easily if it 2 was not quite right - something not possible with letter press printing. Both more recent digital methods and traditional printing methods have their advantages and limitations and their value lies to a degree in the opinion of the designer using them and the conclusion of which method is more suitable to the task at hand.

 NEW LETTER PRESS / PROS N CONS Nowadays, letterpress is seen featuring in a revival of a more personal and hands-on approach to creating and producing artworks, typographical posters etc. in galleries, art spaces, fairs and events for those which maybe remember it from their youth and still hold on to the retro and old-fashioned feel. However, the younger generation of artists, students and designers are pushing letter press printing forward by creating new an modern pieces from an old and perhaps outdated (in some peoples opinions) process of production. For example in the 3 image to the right, by artist David Wolske, he has overlaid massive letters in different colours that go off the page in an untraditional layout to create a piece of artwork that is technically typographical, however it is more imagery than type. Many designers and visual communicators prefer to use letter press printing to get away from staring at a computer screen all day and to create something that becomes slightly 3D through the process of embossing or debasing which, again, is shown to the left.  Embossing and debossing are the processes of creating either raised or indented typography and images, so no ink is needed. Through this method, one can create very subtle designs which can stand alone or support printed type to create tone of voice, atmosphere and imagery. This can never be done using any other method, especially not digitally on a computer. I personally love embossing and feel no other way could be used for some things, like this page in the book “Cosmetic Typography Surgery” by Tuesday Stevens, shown to the right, which states a bold question about visibility which the embossed text supports well as it is less visible itself - it is a very clever piece of design.

 PROS / CONS Including the comparative advantages that I explored between letter press printing and newer digital methods, Johann Gutenbergs invention has many other upsides that makes it a valuable practise to visual communicators and graphic designers. From my experience as a new and growing artist over my limited years and from my research I will conclude that on a whole the most valuable aspect of letter press printing is being engulfed in the process of a ‘good old fashioned’ hands-on practise from start to finish. This means: no sitting in front of a computer screen all day which gets repetitive, strains the eyes and is

simply boring in comparison; the added bonus of having a finished, more personal product in your hands at the end of it, which radiates quality, craftsmanship and detail. Something which is quite fun in the process of printing, and which is a core skill for any artist, is mixing colours by hand and playing around with which look good together or over layered or creating new colours all together. For example the image on the previous page I referenced. Each colour on a letter press printed piece signifies a different time the paper goes through the press, (which is time consuming) meaning that more thought and consideration is put into the specific colours chosen.

 CONCLUSION After exploring letter press printing and newer digital methods more deeply, I have expanded my knowledge, understanding and opinions of the two and come to conclusions about how and why letter press printing is a valuable practise for artists as a whole, but more specifically visual communicators and graphic designs. Although digital printing may have taken over a lot of the artistic world, this very specific and special practise to produce simple text and imagery has stayed important and made a come back in a big way. Through my research, I would conclude that the main advantage letter press printing has over other alternative methods is that it has a distinctive and distinguishable feel and aesthetic that comes from the noticeable quality and the hand crafted effort that has gone into creating the piece of work. It is clear to anyone that is aware of this practise or something similar that a lot of effort and consideration goes into the process.

[unixcommerce]

20 Best New Portfolios, June 2018

Welcome back, Readers. It’s June, and if I got paid extra for every instance of the word “minimalist” in this article, I could probably afford to vacation in Canada. Well, my point is that minimalism is the general theme of this month, because that’s what it has all come down to: various forms of minimalism.

Still, within that descriptor, there’s a fair amount of variety to be had here. Enjoy.

Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they look to me. If they’re creative and original, or classic but really well-done, it’s all good to me. Sometimes, UX and accessibility suffer. For example, many of these sites depend on JavaScript to display their content at all; this is a Bad Idea, kids. If you find an idea you like and want to adapt to your own site, remember to implement it responsibly.

Bruno Ferdinand

Bruno Ferdinand is a designer with strong type skills and the nearly-obligatory hipsterish tendencies we see a lot of nowadays. The guy does simple, beautiful, and kind of rustic design rather well.

Platform: JS app

Yumpic

Yumpic is a portfolio site featuring — and you might have guessed this — photos and videos of food. They specialize in food-related digital content for anyone who wants to make the perfect Instagram account, and also (read: actually mostly) for people who make money off their food. The actual portfolio work is artfully interspersed with illustration and playful touches, which definitely sets the right mood,in my opinion.

Platform: WordPress

Duane Dalton

Duane Dalton’s portfolio pretty strongly reflects his print-focused work, being minimalist and asymmetrical. It’s one of the simpler sites on this list, but no less visually pleasing for that.

Platform: Static Site

Kenta Toshikura

Kenta Toshikura’s website is one of those minimalist-looking presentation-style sites. As is par for the course in cases like these, I’d not look too closely at the usability, but the visuals and general aesthetic style are just plain pretty, darnit. In particular, there’s this touch of 3D-feeling typography that catches my eye.

Platform: Static Site

Ellen Mandemaker

I’m not precisely sure what Ellen Mandemaker makes, precisely, but my best guess is art. And art is what you get from the get go: you’ll see a collage of it to begin with, and then a simple and orderly portfolio that promptly and efficiently throws you into the deep end. It’s one of those portfolios that made me think “I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking at, but I like it.”

Platform: Static Site

No Plans

No Plans is a one-page portfolio that keeps things fairly simple, preferring a clean design and a decidedly serif-friendly way of doing things. Also, they indent some of their paragraphs. I know, right? You hardly ever see that these days.

Platform: WordPress

Lab101

I’ll never be a fan of sites that change your cursor, but everything else about Lab101 is pretty solid. The overall aesthetic is minimalist and modern, with some interesting touches of 3D animation on the “Contact” page.

Platform: WordPress

Studio Bjørk

Studio Bjørk has a thing for monochromatic palettes, diagonal lines, and horizontal layouts. And you know what? It works out pretty darned well for them. There’s also a significant bit of animation, great type, and some background video here and there, all combining to make a site that a marketer would call dynamic. Oh,

[Sighs.] Fine, I’ll call it dynamic, too. It just sounds so much like marketer-speak that I didn’t want to say it.

Platform: Static Site

Juul Hondius

I often make reference to magazine-style designs ion this article series, but Juul Hondius’ portfolio is one of the more interesting examples I’ve seen lately. It looks like an old, ooold magazine, complete with small spacing issues and slightly cramped text, combined with beautiful and striking photography.

Those might technically be “issues”, but the design as a whole hits me with a very specific sense of nostalgia that just sells the imagery to me. Besides, it’s a photographer’s site. How badly do you want to read the text anyway?

Platform: Static Site

Thu-Van Tran

Thu-Van Tran’s website has one main theme that makes it visually interesting: layers. Every page is loaded on top of the home page like one piece of paper overlaying another. It’s like a paper prototype come to life. Combined with the sheer simplicity of layout, and strong typographic choices, it stands out.

Platform: Static Site

Aristide Benoist

Aristide Benoist’s portfolio combines a grid-based aesthetic with warping animations to striking effect. While most of the text could and certainly should be bigger, the visual theme of this site is enough to make you look, at least. Whether it’s interesting enough to make you grab your glasses will greatly depend on the user.

Platform: Static Site

Datagif

Datagif love their sans-serif type, and apparently spicing up standard layouts with geometric flourishes and animation. This one’s not going to blow your mind, but it looks good, even kind of playful for all the corporate aesthetic it has. Give it a look.

Platform: Static Site (I think)

Handsome

Oh, Handsome takes me back maybe five years or so. The large serif type, the darkened photos as backdrops, all those barely visible straight lines. Did we just go back to the early days of flat design? Well, it’s both nostalgic, nearly perfectly executed, and a pleasure to browse.

Platform: Static Site

Sister

Sister’s agency site is living proof that any design style, even the once super-artsy minimalism-with-asymmetry trend, can be given an almost corporate flair. And that’s not a criticism. Corporate-feeling front end design tends to be modern and devastatingly effective in its simplicity, and the same is true here.

Not a fan of those occasional modal pop-ups, though. That’s a corporate trend that can go straight to hell.

Platform: WordPress

Makers and Allies

Makers and Allies is a branding studio in the finest tradition of hipster design studios, but with a lot more motion design added to the mix. It evokes just the right balance of rustic aesthetics with the modern technical competence we expect. Or at least the animation we expect. Whatever, it looks good, even if some of the text could use more contrast.

Platform: WordPress

Bipolar Studio

Bipolar Studio combines motion graphics with a pretty modernist aesthetic style, and good old fashioned big type. Their work basically is video, so it’s they use a lot of it in their design. I do like the little “stats” section at the end of each project page, detailing what it took to complete each project.

It’s just that, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the logo could be bigger. With type that thin, it should be.

Platform: Static Site and/or JS App

Akins Parker

Akins Parker’s agency site wasn’t made with Powerpoint, but it’s presentational design in its purest form. You go to see this one for the graphics, not for the usability.

Platform: Static Site

Ian Jones

Ian Jones’ portfolio is another site to embrace the visual grid theme. But unlike many other sites, the visual representation of the grid is only visible when his work is on the page. It’s a dead-simple approach, but it looks calm and professional, and I can’t fault that.

Platform: Static Site

Michael Uloth

Michael Uloth is a rare talent indeed. When he’s not literally singing opera, he builds minimalist-yet-beautiful websites for artsy people. His own site is no exception.

Platform: Static Site and/or JS App

Lasse Fløde

Lasse Fløde is a photography studio with a striking one-page portfolio. Lovers of white space should definitely enjoy this one, as it employs that asymmetrical almost collage-style so favored by many photography portfolios these days. Simple and effective.

Platform: Static Site

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