#just add a tag cleanup to the list of things i still really need to do on this blog lol

[bonvoyagenoona]

Hiiiii! Taking a little bit of time this evening to catch up with our beautiful little fanfic bubble! How are you all?? Shit's been real wild on my end of things, but I feel like that might be true for everyone in general? Regardless, I hope that in this moment, you're smiling right now, right this minute! And if not, here, this'll do the trick:

Tbh, I've been needing a bit of a smile myself, so I'm gonna try to catch up on some asks that I'm severely, severely, like embarrassingly late on (I am so sorry, I won't get to them all but am gonna work over the next few days or so to try, but also don't let that stop you from sending me more if you'd like, just know I'll be a little slow, I'm sorry!), while also browsing through these nasty, smutty tags and seeing how you all are. As always, sending you hugs, smiles, hearts, and one of those weird little giggles that catches you off-guard and gets stuck in your throat and then frees itself with a good follow-up cackle! And if not, here, just make this face really quick:

[writeforfandoms]

Shake, Rattle and Roll epilogue

My masterlist

Okay folks. This is later than I intended but uh life kicked me around a bit. Sorry. 

Also. Once you’ve read it. There is a possibility that I could do a sequel for this, if there’s interest. I know I left things unsolved (the actual original murder for one) and I know what happened and how and why, but there wasn’t a clean space to add it in, because life doesn’t always work that way. SO if you wanna know more, let me know! My ask box is always open to y’all. Also lmk if you want more because honestly? I could definitely be persuaded to write more. This is fun. 

Summary: A little bit of cleanup. Some sleep. Some coffee. Things will look better in the morning.

Warnings: Just swearing for this one, nothing terrible.

Tags: @fandom-blackhole @pedrocentric @sarahjkl82-blog @giizhkens-cedar 

--

It didn’t take longer than an hour to get back to your apartment, all told. The three of you hadn’t stuck around long after making sure Inumon and Mikken were both dead. Cee had been a trooper, keeping up with you and not complaining once on the trip. You splurged for a private ride for a few reasons, one of which was that you simply really did not want to bother with public transit at this hour. It was late, later than you usually ventured out, and between the hour and the leftover adrenaline, you were a bit twitchy. Ezra, on the other hand, seemed cool as a cucumber. 

But once the three of you were in your apartment, you were half-way to collapsing, and Cee looked like she was hanging on by a thread.

“Sleep first,” you decided. “Planning tomorrow.” You pointed Cee sternly to the couch before you left to grab extra blankets and pillows for her.

“You sure it’s okay for me to stay the night?” Cee asked, sounding close to her age for the first time all night.

“I insist,” you told her firmly, handing her two pillows. “I’ve got more blankets if you need them, and you can borrow some clothes if you don’t want to sleep in those.”

“I’m okay for tonight,” Cee told you after a momentary pause. “Thank you.”

“Here.” You stepped into the kitchenette to grab her a glass of water. “Drink before bed or you’ll probably be dehydrated in the morning.”

Cee’s lips twitched but she took the glass. Probably just to appease you, but whatever, you’d take it. 

“I can find my own accommodations for the night,” Ezra offered.

“No, I’ve got a cot you can use,” you offered. “It’s not the most comfortable thing, but it’ll do.”

“It’ll do, indeed,” Ezra mused. “Very gracious of you.” 

You waved his thanks off, going back to the closet to grab the cot, and more pillows and blankets. Fortunately you were well stocked on those. Ezra helped, taking the cot from you and setting it up as you directed him. 

“Planning tomorrow,” you said again, looking between the two of them. Cee was already curled up under a blanket on the couch. “Sleep now, hopefully. When we’re all less tired.” 

“You’d do well to take your own advice, dove,” Ezra advised, glancing over at you from setting up the cot. “Get some water and sleep.”

You shot him a look, a little exasperated but mostly amused. You hesitated for a few moments, though. Did you bring up the kiss? Wait for him to bring it up? Then you made a face at yourself for acting like a kid with a crush and headed for your bedroom, more than ready to collapse. Everything would keep until tomorrow, of that you were certain. 

Despite being unused to having company, you fell asleep quickly and slept soundly. You woke to the smell of coffee, and rolled out of bed still a bit bleary. 

Cee and Ezra were both already awake. Cee was sitting on the couch cross-legged, while Ezra lounged against the counter. You looked at both of them briefly and then made for the coffee, hip-checking Ezra out of your way. 

“Good morning to you too, dove,” Ezra said, bright and amused.

“Coffee first,” you grumbled, getting down a mug. Coffee always came first.

“Coffee gremlin,” Cee said knowingly.

“The fuck, kid?” You half-turned to shoot her a betrayed look, to which she shot you a bright smile. Okay. Fine. Kid could make fun of you if she smiled like that. Fuck. You doctored your coffee how you liked it quickly, not bothering to move from where you were still right next to Ezra. He didn’t seem to mind, and it was your place, he could move if he wasn’t comfortable.

“So,” Cee started, looking at you briefly before suddenly finding the coffee table in front of her fascinating. “What now?”

You let out a breath, not quite a sigh. “What do you want? First and foremost.”

Cee considered for a few moments, letting the silence stretch. “I want to go to school.” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

“Okay,” you agreed easily, tamping down your anger. Damon was dead, your anger would do you no good. “School. That can be arranged.”

Her head popped up and she stared at you, painfully hopeful. “Seriously?”

“‘Course. I’ll work it out. I know some people.” You smiled at her, hoping you hid your pain well enough. This poor kid. She clearly wasn’t used to people standing in her corner. New mantra for the day: Damon’s already dead, don’t be mad at him. 

“I reckon I shall have to venture on to find my next job, as this one didn’t pan out,” Ezra said, though he was watching you. 

You snorted softly at that. “I might know a few people for that, too,” you admitted before you took a large sip of coffee. “I’ve made a few contacts over the years.”

Ezra blinked at you, momentarily stunned silent. Probably not used to people offering help, rather than bartering. Clear sign he’d spent too long on the Green Moon. 

“Right,” you muttered, shifting away from the counter and starting to pace, because you felt better thinking while moving, and this required some thinking. “Cee, we’re gonna have to go get some of your things. I’m assuming you have things you’d like to keep that aren’t currently with you?”

Cee nodded, hair bobbing around her until she pushed it behind her ears.

“Okay. That’s the top of the list. I can always send out a few feelers now, probably won’t hear back from anyone for a few hours at least. We should try to move quickly, I have no idea when that house will be discovered, or people will be noted as missing.” You took another sip of coffee, your mind whirring back to life. 

You were abruptly stopped in the middle of one of your circuits, Ezra grabbing you firmly. You squeaked and managed not to slosh coffee all over the two of you, even as he grinned.

“A more generous and selfless soul I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting,” he hummed, voice low, eyes bright. “You are a rare one indeed, dove.”

You blinked at him, flabbergasted, not quite sure how to respond to that. Which, of course, he took advantage of, and kissed you again. Your brain blanked out just as quickly as it had woken up. 

“As cute as you two are,” Cee interrupted after seconds? Minutes? Who the hell kept track of time anymore anyway. “There’s something I need to show you.”

You pulled back from Ezra with some reluctance and pointed a finger at him. “We’re revisiting this topic later.”

“Yes ma’am.” Ezra’s lips curled in a devious, smug smile. 

You swallowed hard and turned to Cee, watching as she dug something out of her pocket. She unfolded it on the coffee table, looking suddenly nervous. You drifted closer to look.

It was a map. A map of the Green Moon, if you weren’t mistaken. A map of the Green Moon with coordinates and a circled area. 

“Dad didn’t have the only copy of the map,” Cee told you, looking between you and Ezra. “I have one too.” 

Time stood still. You were frozen. You didn’t move, didn’t breathe. Just stared at the map. And then, slowly, you looked at Ezra. The look on his face scared you, just a little. He looked… well, he looked like a prospector presented with a map to possibly the biggest haul of aurelac ever seen. Hungry and greedy and a little awestruck. 

“Tomorrow,” you decided, shaking your head and putting your hand flat over the map, breaking the spell on the room. “That is now a tomorrow problem. We have more immediate problems to figure out first.” You shot Ezra a look that just dared him to disagree with you. But he simply nodded, leaning back, unwilling to argue over it. 

Good. You had enough problems for today that you needed to tackle. One last deep breath, and you left the two of them so you could start sending out messages. Today problems first. You could tackle the map problem tomorrow. Or later, if you could manage it. For today, Cee was your priority.

[starsbegantofall]

accountability post for my personal reference (too long to post on twt and I’m too lazy to handwrite it out). you can read below the cut if ya nosy.

1. costuming - finished historical costume, got my cosplay in the mail and need to lose like 10 pounds to fit into the pants lol. Got the fabric and materials ready for the other costumes but too lazy to work on them, I’ll work on them on my staycation. Still have a few props to finish for my older ones, too. I’m currently deciding on which costume to wear for work meeting, maybe 3 Musketeers, I don’t want to wear clown lolita since I’m not doing so great lol, don’t want to confirm I’m a fool. My other option is pulling out some patterns I bought for renaissance/medieval costumes but I would have to buy a lot of yardage for them and I’m not in the mood for buying new materials when I have a lot at home. I am tentatively going to a small Halloween lolita meet and maybe a con in December, but that depends on my mood those particular weekends. And of course, I’ll have to make a face mask to match my costume.

2. language learning - missed a few days, which turned into weeks, then months. as you do. I think immersion programs and apps and textbooks don’t work for me, I really do need a class for discipline.

3. videogame studio - I’ve mostly given up on this because I really wanted to work with a team like a real studio, but my friends are sick and/or stressed out due to the pandemic and I don’t want to burden them with more responsibilities. Also, like above, unless I have a hard deadline and someone else grading me, I won’t finish anything or even start things, I’m just historically bad about that. Right now I’m working on learning how to design assets and use creative application of video game technology and just absorbing inspiration from games that I’m already playing, it’s better than nothing.

4. gardening - my main stressor is if these plants will produce fruit before the winter since I planted them in early summer instead of early spring. I know the tomato plants specifically will not survive a frost in the rare instance we have severe frosts in my area, so I have planted (will plant) a few in pots I can take inside by November 3 (expected temps below 50). At least I partially hung up patio lights, but the rest of the garden and garage cleanup hasn’t been done yet. Guess that’s what I’m doing on my days off lol (before November 3!)

5. website - priority is archiving all my blogs even though I trust wordpress and blogspot to not delete my stuff randomly and I’m not sure how many years I’ll be paying for my own domain or if the planet won’t be snuffed out in a heat death in 5 years. I do need to decide if I should keep my blogs separate by subject or not. I blog about a wide variety of things that audiences wouldn’t really have a crossover interest in. But if I’m just using my domain as an archive and don’t expect many visitors, I guess I can just tag it specifically and leave it at that? I’m not doing a great job listening to other people...

6. Etsy shop - this is not a huge priority for me but I do want to list the clothing or accessory items so it can be more fashion focused instead of just listing weeb fanmerch and technically grey-market items. Still not sure what I want to sew since my sewing isn’t flawless (and same for jewelry making skills lol), but I think for clearing out my scraps, I’ll just make masks and bows and headbands/scrunchies like I’ve been making because I think those are fun. Can’t really think of anything else to make that doesn’t require a lot of expensive hardware or setting in zippers.

If I think of more, then I’ll add to this list, but these are my current ongoing projects outside of fanart/fanfic and trying to cook.

[exosmuttytalk]

Jackie

Characters: Kim Jongin x Do Kyungsoo 

Genre: AU!Fluff, maybe some smut at the end, but don’t know yet.

Word count: ~1600 words

Summary: Kyungsoo lives with his cat which is more problems than joy. Jongin has just moved into the house next door.

A/N: This is going to be a little series with an still undefined number of chapters to it. If you have read Guardian you probably know where the name Jackie comes from and I like you very much :3

I woke up in the morning getting my toe licked. For many people, this could a promising way of starting the day, but that was not the case. As the night progressed I had slid further down the bed so that my right foot was dangling off the edge of the bed. My annoying cat, who by then had been on a diet for a grand total of eight days, had a very early internal clock and knew when it hit exactly 6 am to come and complain because her breakfast is not on her bowl. I have to give credit to her though; she started off slow, just by licking my toe as a warning, before trying to open-mouth maul it.

“Fuck off, Jackie.” I grunted as my leg recoiled under the duvet and I pulled it up to cover my head.

Her obvious next step was hopping onto the bed and walking all over me. Most of the times, cats waking their owners up videos are cute and adorable, but that was not necessarily the reality.

Jackie came home when my brother moved countries to work and she needed a new, loving home. I wouldn’t say I fit that criteria completely, but maybe like 50% of it. Either way, she took quite a long time to adapt to his new home and at the beginning, I was barely able to convince her to stay indoors. That caused her a lot of stress and, according to the vet, she ended up eating everything edible she could find and hunt outside. Who would’ve thought cats could have mental problems as well. So she had to be put on a diet, the gate from the kitchen had to be removed and she started getting used to waking me up but sitting her whole nine kilo self on top of my belly.

I pushed her off me to the other side of the bed but sat up on the edge of it anyway. The alarm was going off in an hour and a half anyway.

I could feel Jackie’s fur brushing against my back, slyly pushing me off the bed. As I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen, she was almost walking between my legs, so had to jump off the last couple steps to avoid falling.

Her veterinary told me to buy a certain type of food that had to be heated up, so I killed time throwing a ball across the kitchen which Jackie would then lazily fetch around the room but never actually return. Bowl on hand, I tried to command her to sit, but she only looked at me with round eyes and meowed insistently. I sighed and put the plate down after giving a quick stroke along her loin.

After I got dressed and closed everything up so Jackie wouldn’t stand a chance, I went for a quick stroll around my neighborhood. I was fairly new to this place, having moved into a residential area from the business part of the city, but despite that, I had already made friends with the old lady who lived next door and who never seemed to sleep and neighbors on the other side, the young couple with a little kid who actually just moved away last week. I liked them all fairly well, but although houses here have a pretty sizeable lawn and are at a distance from each other, I could hear their cute baby crying during the nights at times. Sun was already rising when I came back home from my walk and saw a moving van parking in front of the unoccupied house.

…………..

Six in the morning. Again. I’m wrong, it’s 6:02. Jackie must have enjoyed sleeping in.

After having had a particularly awful meeting at work the previous day, I had come home last night and barely cared to cook, so I ordered a pizza and opened a plain can of tuna for Jackie. This morning, she would be getting a gourmet treat, as I was going to make small croutons out of the leftover pizza crusts and add them to her wet food. She may like the crunch, let’s hope she doesn’t crack a tooth.

I had only bothered hiding the crusts from her before I went to bed the night before, quite late after I stood up watching a rerun of a show from before I was born. Pillows were all over the place and the empty box was still on top of the table next to a couple cans of stuff I chugged yesterday. I decided it would be future Kyungsoo’s problem and groggily walked towards the shower.

Future Kyungsoo sighed so hard when he came back home at 7 pm and saw what the other guy had left for him. Postponing wasn’t really an option anymore, so I decided to go for a full room cleanup instead.

I was surprised when I moved the pillows around and Jackie didn’t come zooming out from whatever corner to fight me for it. Despite having a cushiony bed, despite my attempts at making her not do it, she always managed to steal random pillows and hoard them at different places around the house.

This was quite a big house, she could be hiding at the bedroom pillows instead. Despite that, I went looking around every corner and under every piece of furniture, to no avail. I was starting to feel a bit nervous, I thought she had already adapted to being home? My gaze wondered across the room until it found a window ajar. I had opened a little this morning to let the steam of the shower come out and forgot to close it. And Jackie had probably jumped out through it. Despite her weight, Jackie was still pretty agile, and there was a tree branch reaching out not far from the windowsill.

Shit, shit, shit. I ran downstairs and hurriedly opened the kitchen door that led to the backyard. I turned the lights on but they couldn’t do much against the darkness of late fall evenings. I pulled out my phone to turn the flashlight on and started calling for Jackie. My voice rose as I looked around the bushes and found nothing. I heard movement behind me but it turned out to be nothing but a squirrel that was lucky Jackie wasn’t around.

“Hey!” A voice not higher than a talking tone said from behind the right side fencing. “I think this is may be yours.”

I rushed to the fence and as soon as I glanced over it I saw Jackie delicately sitting down on top of the only cushion on the whole porch swing. That little shit.

The second thing I noticed was the guy who had given me the heads up. He looked to be around my age, had light brown hair, slightly tanned skin and was wearing what seemed to be loungewear in old sweatpants and an oversized, seemingly fluffy dark red jumper.

“I was just here having a beer and her cute head popped up from that hole over there!” The new guy pointed at a hole in the fence that indeed connected both houses.

“Oh. I’ll have to get that repaired…”

“I can do it, don’t worry.”

“I wouldn’t want to waste your time…”

“You’re not. We just moved in and I still need to find a job here, so in the meantime I have plenty of it.” He smiled brightly at me and he seemed so self assured I didn’t want to refuse anymore.

“I’m sorry, she shouldn’t be out, but she sneaked through a window I left open. May I come in and pick her up?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I can do that for you.” Then, as if it was as easy as picking up a flower, he walked up to Jackie and picked her up. With both arms. And she even dared to cuddle up against him.

He then handed her to me over the fence, cupping her butt and tail with his big hand in order to avoid her scratching herself against the wood.

“She never lets anyone pick her up so easily.”

“Ahh, it’s a she! I was calling her a good guy when he was sitting with me. I’m sure she’s liked the food, though.”

“The food? Which food?”

“Well, she was just chilling around the yard, so I went in to take the beer. She was on top of the table and already biting some of the food, so I figured since it was already ruined, it didn’t matter if she ate more,” he shrugged. “She seemed to like it.”

“How can you just go around feeding other people’s pet like that? What if they’re sick or allergic?”

“Oh, mmm… I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was your cat and not just any street cat. Cats can eat all food, right?”

“What did she eat?”

“Almost half a chicken sandwich. Roasted chicken, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and cheese,” he recited looking anxious. Roasted chicken and vegetables wasn’t the worst option.

“I tried to feed her a chip as well, but she didn’t take it.”

The look on my face must have been unpleasant enough to make him falter a bit.

“I’m really sorry! Do you think she’s going to be okay? How can I make it up to you?”

 “It’s alright,” I said as I started to make my way back home. “She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to lock the windows properly next time.”

___________________

Jackie II

MASTERLIST!?

Other Kaisoo and Ksoo business

Everyday   OC/Fluff/One Shot

Stories of my downfall      Kaisoo/Fluff/Angst/One Shot

Tag list:

@exosmutxoxo​ 

[hydrus]

Version 379

windows

zip

exe

macOS

app

linux

tar.gz

source

tar.gz

Happy New Year! Although I have been ill, I had a great week, mostly working on a variety of small jobs. Search is faster, there's some new UI, and m4a files are now supported.

search

As hoped, I have completed and extended the search optimisations from v378. Searches for tags, namespaces, wildcards, or known urls, particularly if they are mixed with other search predicates, should now be faster and less prone to spikes in complicated situations. These speed improvements are most significant on large clients with hundreds of thousands or millions of files.

Also, like how system:inbox and system:archive 'cancel' each other out, a few more kinds of search predicate will remove mutually exclusive or redundant predicates already in the search list. system:limit predicates will remove other system:limits, system:audio/no audio will nullify each other, and--I may change this--any search predicate will replace system:everything. I have a better system for how this replacement works, and in the coming weeks I expect to extend it to do proper range-checking, so a system:filesize<256KB will remove a system:filesize<1MB or system:filesize<16KB or system:filesize>512KB, but not a system:filesize>128KB.

downloaders

I have started on some quality of life for the downloader UI. Several of the clunky buttons beneath the page lists are now smaller icons, you can now 'retry ignored' files from a button or a list right-click, any file import status button lets you right-click->show all/new in a new page, and the file import status list now lets you double-click/enter a selection to show that selection in a new page.

I have rolled in a fixed derpibooru downloader into the update. It seems to all work again.

With the pixiv login script confirmed completely broken with no easy hydrus fix in sight, if you have an 'active' record with the old, now-defunct default pixiv login script, this week's update will deactivate it and provide you with a note and a recommendation to use the Hydrus Companion web browser addon in order to login.

the rest

m4a files are now supported and recognised as audio-only files. These were often recognised as mp4s before--essentially, they are just mp4s with no video stream. I have made the choice for now to recognise them as audio-only even if they have a single frame 'jpeg' video stream. I hope to add support to hydrus for 'audio+picture' files soon so I can display album art better than inside a janked single-frame video.

The 'remove' and 'select' menus on the thumbnail right-click have been improved and harmonised. Both now lay out nicely, with file service options (like 'my files' vs 'trash' when there is a mix), and both provide file counts for all options. Support for selecting and removing from collected media is also improved.

full list

downloaders:

the right-click menus from gallery and watcher page lists now provide a 'remove' option

gallery and watchers now provide buttons and menu actions for 'retry ignored'

activating a file import status list (double-clicking or hitting enter on a selection of rows) now opens the selection in a new page

file import status buttons now have show new/all files on their right-click menus

on gallery and watcher pages, the highlight, clear highlight, pause files, and pause search/check buttons are now smaller bitmap buttons

as the old default pixiv login script is completely broken, any client with this active will have it deactivated and receive an update popup explaining the situation and suggesting to use Hydrus Companion for login instead

updated the derpibooru downloader

.

search:

when search predicates are added to the active search list, they are now better able to remove existing mutually exclusive/redundant predicates:

- system:limit, hash, and similar to predicates now remove other instances of their type

- system:has audio now removes system:no audio and vice versa

- any search predicate will remove system:everything (see how you feel about this)

improved 378's db optimisation to do tag searches in large file domains faster

namespace search predicates ('character:anything' etc...) now take advantage of the same set of temporary file domain optimisations that tag predicates do, so mixing them with other search predicates will radically improve their speed

wildcard search predicates, which have been notoriously slow in some cases, now take full advantage of the new tag search optimisations and are radically faster when mixed with other search predicates

simple tag, namespace, or wildcard searches that are mixed with a very large system:inbox predicate are now much faster

a variety of searches that include simple system predicates are now faster

integer tag searches also now use the new tag search optimisation tech, and are radically faster when mixed with other search predicates

system:known url queries now use the same temporary file domain search optimisation, and a web-domain search optimisation. this particularly improves domain and url class searches

fixed an issue with the new system:limit sorting where sort types with non-comprehensive data (like media views/viewtime, where files may not yet have records) were not delivering the 'missing' file results

improved the limit/sort_by logic to only do sort when absolutely needed

fixed the system:limit panel label to talk about the new sorted clipping

refactored tag searching code

refactored namespace searching code

refactored wildcard searching code and its related subfunctions

cleaned all mappings searching code further

.

the rest:

m4a files (and m4b) are now supported and recognised as separate audio-only mp4 files. files with a single jpeg frame for their video stream (such as an album cover) should also be recognised as audio only m4a for hydrus purposes for now. better single-frame audio support, including functional thumbnails and display, is planned for the future. please send in any m4a or m4b files that detect incorrectly

the remove thumbnail menu has been moved to a new, cleaner file filtering system. it now presents remove options for different file services and local/remote when available (most of the time, this will be 'my files'/'trash' appearing when there is a mix), including with counts for all options

the select thumbnail menu is also moved to this same file filtering system. it has a neater menu, with counts for each entry. also, when there is no current focus, or it is to be deselected, the first file to be selected is now focused and scrolled to

for thumbnail icon display and internal calculations, collections now _merge_ the locations of their members, rather than intersecting. if a collection includes any trash, or any ipfs members, it will have the appropriate icon. this also fixes some selection-by-file-service logic for collections

import folders, export folders, and subscriptions now explicitly only start after the first session has been loaded (so as well as freeing up some boot CPU competition, a quick import folder will now not miss publishing a file or two to a long-loading session)

the subscription manager now only waits 15s before starting first work (previously, the buffer was 60 seconds)

rearranged migrate tags panel so action comes before destination and added another help text line to clarify how it works. the 'go' confirmation dialog now summarises tag filtering as well

tag filter buttons now have a prefix on their labels and tooltips to better explain what they are doing

the duplicate filter right-center hover window should now shorten its height appropriately when the pairs change

fixed a couple of bugs that could appear when shutting down the duplicate filter

hackily 'fixed' an issue with duplicates processing that could cause too many 'commit and continue?' dialogs to open. a better fix here will come with a pending rewrite

dejanked a little of how migrate tags frame is launched from the manage tags dialog

updated the backup help a little and added a note about backing up to the first-start popup

improved shutdown time for a variety of situations and added a couple more text notifications to shutdown splash

cleaned up some exit code

removed the old 'service info fatten' maintenance job, which is not really needed any more

misc code cleanup

updated to Qt 5.14 on Windows and Linux builds, OpenCV 4.1.2 on all builds

next week

Next week is a 'medium size job' week. Now I am more comfortable with Qt, I would love to see if I can get an MPV window embedded into hydrus so we finally have legit video+audio support. I can't promise I can get anything but a rough prototype ready for 380 for all platforms, and there is a small chance it just won't work at all, but I'll give it a go.

Hydrus had a busy 2019. Starting with the jump to python 3, and then the duplicate storage and filter overhaul, the Client API, OR search, proper audio detection, the file maintenance system, multiple local tag services, tag migration, asynchronous repository processing, fast tag autocomplete, and all the smaller improvements to downloaders and UI workflow and latency and backend scheduling and optimisations for our growing databases, and then most recently with the huge Qt conversion. The wider community also had some bumps, but we survived. Now we are in 2020, I am feeling good and looking forward to another productive year. There are a couple of thousand things I still want to do, so I will keep on pushing and try to have fun along the way. I hope you have a great year too!

[theeeveetamer]

Imagine....Leokumi on a camping trip, and Takumi being the horny on main type of person I headcanon him to be behind closed doors (tents), decides to wake Leo up for the specific reason of riding him and Leo just goes along with it because why not?

Alright here we go! I, too, headcanon that Takumi is horny as fuck. So short little piece for you in between binging Mass Effect and trying to actually write multi-chaptered stuff.

Relevant Tags: Camping sex, PWP, Semi-public sex, risky sex, sex with a chance of getting caught, Leo whines about camping, Takumi is extremely horny (what's new though), Modern AU, Established Relationship

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15954623/chapters/44971894

He maintained that camping is, was, and always would be pure torture. He could lay out every reason if he wanted to. It would be a bulleted list with headings and subheadings and numbers and categories... Leo knew exactly what it would look like, because he’d done it in the past. A long time ago, when he and Takumi were first married. Highly structured in the beginning, then devolving into a mass of jumbled complaints as the mere concept of spending the night in the woods infuriated him. Hey, he didn’t claim to be perfect.

Reason the first, right at the top of the list: The bugs. He had no idea what it was about his blood, but no matter how much bug spray he put on it was never enough. His hair could be sticky with the stuff and he always came back looking like a picked over mosquito feast. That, and he got to spend the entire weekend smelling like an orange had sex with a lemon and created some unholy citrus fruit baby. And they had to pee out there! Exposing his dick to the blood sucking monster bugs wasn’t appealing to him.

Reason the second: Sleeping on the ground. He already had enough difficulty falling asleep when he was at home in his bed. Take that away and give him the hard ground and a sleeping bag? Absolutely not. Add in strange animal noises and Hinoka snoring in the next tent over? It was impossible.

And that was just the big stuff. His miscellaneous complaints included peeing in the woods -- so egregious that it made the list twice. That and campfire smoke getting into his clothes, and the stupid, corny sing-a-longs that no one really wanted to do except for Sakura… He’d come this close to stapling the list to Takumi’s camping bag and never coming on another trip again so long as he lived.

He was all the way to printing it out, and then Takumi got home from work and started talking ecstatically about how much fun they were going to have together, and how his family loved it when he came on their family camping trip, and how much his mother couldn’t wait to see him again… And, well, he lost the heart. His prickly husband didn’t get excited about many things, and he’d be damned if he was going to be the one to wipe that smile off of his face. He put the list in the shredder, packed his bags, and decided to suck it up for a couple of days. Once a year, every year, for the last decade.

And that was what led to his current predicament. Lying on the ground with a twig poking his back, half a billion mosquito bites, hair sticky with putrid smelling spray, and Hinoka snoring in the next tent over. Sweaty and gross and not at all happy. And Takumi, of course, was at his side with their lantern on so he could finish the book he’d started on the drive up. At least, that’s what Leo assumed he was doing. His husband hadn’t turned the page for awhile.

It would probably be best to turn the damn light off since Takumi seemed to be falling asleep, but they were squished into one sleeping bag and he didn’t want to risk waking him up. He covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow and tried to ignore everything. Sleep had to come eventually, right? Even the most severe insomniac could get a couple of hours once they’d been driven to the brink. And hey, the more he slept the quicker this would be over. Just as the sweet merciful blackness came to take him he felt something shift at his side.

At first he didn’t think anything of it. Snuggling into one sleeping bag was a challenge for two grown men, even if they did buy the biggest one they could find. It was probably just Takumi rolling over so he could sleep. The soft click of the lantern being turned off seemed to back this theory.

The hand on his stomach wasn’t suspicious at first, either. He referred to Takumi as an “aggressive sleep cuddler.” Sometimes he woke up to the man squeezing him so tight he could barely breathe.

When said hand slipped under the waistband of his pants… That’s when his sleep deprived brain started suspecting that Takumi wasn’t quite as tired as he’d appeared.

“Takumi… What are you doing?” He groggily asked, shooing the hand away.

In response, Takumi swung his leg over his torso and straddled him. The sudden movement tore the sleeping bag wide open. It came undone all at once, filling the mostly quiet air with it’s loud ZIP to protest the abuse. He’d probably broken it if the tearing noises that came with were any indication.

Well, it looked like they were going shopping for a new sleeping bag… Again… Maybe if Takumi wasn’t too cheap to just spring for something that was actually meant to accommodate two people then they wouldn’t have this problem every damn year.

“Leo… Can we..?”

There was no ambiguity in what he was asking. His husband was anything but subtle. Takumi ground his hips down in just the right way, the way he knew Leo liked.

“How are you still this horny? Your family is sleeping ten feet away!” He whispered back.

His husband always knew exactly how to get him going, with just that little contact he was already semi-hard.

“C’mon, I can’t help it! Please? I waited until everyone went to sleep.”

Leo paused for a moment. No lights had gone on in the surrounding tents. Hinoka was still snoring, just as loud as ever, but otherwise things were quiet.

“Alright, fine.” He grumbled, though he’d be lying if he said he was upset by this turn of events. A little embarrassed maybe, but never upset. “Quietly, okay? I don’t want your brother waking up.”

He couldn’t see Takumi’s broad smile in the dark, but he knew it was there. He felt it in the kiss they shared, and in the energy he moved with. His husband quickly reached into his travel bag and pulled out a bottle of lube. It was medium sized and mostly fresh, and he only knew that because he’d caught Takumi trying to discreetly stuff it into his bag right before they left.

The pitch blackness was strange. Leo greatly preferred the lights to be on. How could he not? Half the eroticism came from just watching his partner. He was used to seeing every move, every embarrassed blush as Takumi readied himself. There was a lot more fumbling involved now, and every noise was amplified. He knew when Takumi started, because he always whimpered a little when he stuck his fingers inside of himself. He knew when he was done because he could hear his fingers gliding smoothly in and out, with only a gentle squelching sound.

There was some fumbling to find where Takumi had put the bottle down, but it didn’t take him nearly as long to coat his hand and bring himself full-mast. He tried to be quick about it, because when Takumi got like this he wasn’t exactly in the mood for waiting.

He wasn’t sure how no one heard them. He’d instructed Takumi to be quiet, but his husband was often anything but. He tried… Gods, he tried. But those little whimpers and moans always found a way to make it out of his lips whenever he guided him onto his cock. From here there wasn’t much Leo needed to do.

This was his favorite way to do things, really. Takumi was always so mesmerizing when he was in control. He could get off just watching him, and he often did. But it was dark, so he had to use his imagination a little. It wasn’t hard, they’d done this how many times? How many tents in how many woods in how many years? It was easy to piece the scene together in his mind’s eye. His beautiful husband, eyes closed, silver hair trailing down his back as he bounced on his dick, chasing that relief. One hand wrapped firmly around his own cock and the other braced against Leo’s chest. Desperate and horny and wonderful… Perfection.

He started “slow”, though Leo would never classify anything Takumi did as slow. Takumi was not a deliberate man when he wanted something. More often than not he made Leo’s head spin with his hastiness. An odd dynamic, but it worked just fine for him in the bedroom. After the brief adjustment period he sped up, fingernails leaving angry red lines down his torso as he tried to stifle himself. For once he was grateful for Hinoka’s snoring, because if it wasn’t for that then the sounds of their skin slapping together surely would have woken everyone in a ten mile radius.

When they finally reached that fever pitch he grabbed Takumi’s hips and shuddered. The full weight of his husband rested on his waist as he rolled his hips through the ensuing orgasm. Takumi wriggled in his hands, grunting angrily.

“No fair! I was so close!” He whined, all talk about being quiet apparently out the window.

Leo quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, or where he assumed Takumi’s mouth to be.

“Shh! Do you want to get caught?”

“Well then get me off, damn it!”

“You don’t have to threaten me for that!”

He quickly wrapped his hand around Takumi’s cock, overtop Takumi’s other hand. Leo followed his lead, jerking him off to completion. He had the foresight to grab a tissue before they started, so cleanup was easy. Even if Takumi complained the entire time about having to wait.

He almost wished he’d turned the lantern back on, just so he could have seen the expression on his partner’s face. But the risk of someone seeing their shadows moving in… Unwholesome... ways was enough for him to avoid it.

“It’s not as good this way.” He moped, finally dropping his head onto Leo’s chest.

“I’ll make it up to you when we get home, okay?”

“Home? I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

It almost sounded like a joke, but if he’d learned one thing being married to this man...

“By the gods Takumi… You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

[tmarie82]

Sweet Nothings

Pairing: Drake x MC (Emma Warner-Walker)

Book: The Royal Romance (Future)

Word Count: ~2,150

Rating:  PG-13 (b/c Drake was feeling frisky)

Author’s Note:  This incorporates two separate anonymous fic prompts for 12 baking together and #49 volunteer together for Drake and Emma.  No cupcakes were harmed in the making of this story, although I did have to eat one for inspiration. 😘

Please let me know if you would like to be added to my tag list.  You can find all of my fics here - MASTERLIST

~~~~~~~~~~

“Mix three cups flour and one tablespoon baking powder in a separate bowl.  Gradually add the egg sugar butter mixture, ensuring that it’s- Drake!”  Emma’s warning comes a moment too late, as Drake turns on the electric mixer and sends a cloud of flour into the air and all over himself.

“Oh, shit!” Drake reacts quickly, turning the mixer off before surveying the mess all over the counter and his front.  

“Honey - It says gradually, not dump the whole bowl in at once.”  Emma rubs her hand along her forehead, trying her best to keep her tone calm.

“Well, I'm glad you insisted on an apron.”  Drake shrugged, then grabbed a damp towel to start wiping things down.

Emma chuckled and grabbed a towel of her own to help her husband with cleanup duty.  “Yes, that apron not only shows off your manly physique, it also actually has a functional purpose too.”  She swiped a small pile of the flour into her hand, then dumped it in the trash.  She studied the contents of the mixer, assessing the damage as Drake finished the improptu cleaning session.  “So I don’t think we lost too much of the ingredients, we just need to mix this in manually to get all the ingredients moist before we attempt to use the mixer again.”  She turned to her husband and handed him a large wooden spoon, cocking her brow and nodding towards the mixing bowl.  Drake groaned under his breath but didn’t argue before taking it and proceeding to the unfinished cupcake mixture.

“So why are we baking these from scratch again?  Couldn’t we just order some from the store?”  Drake asked in a relatively innocent-sounding voice.

“Drake Walker, you said you wanted to get involved at Harper’s school!  And since neither of our schedules allow us enough time to be president of the parent association, I think the least we can do is bake some cupcakes and volunteer for the spring bake sale.”  Emma reviewed the rest of the recipe and turned the oven on to preheat while Drake continued his mixing.

“Okay, okay ... but that still doesn’t explain why we’re the ones baking right now.”  

“Drake, don’t you want to do something 100% for Harper?  Show her that even though we have servants to do things and money to buy things, we are still regular people that can bake things ourselves?!?” Emma spoke with great bravado, hand gestures and all ... definitely more passionately than was reasonable on the topic of baking.

Drake’s eyebrows raised as he listened to his wife’s lecture, continuing to fold the dry flour mixture into the cupcake batter.  He cleared his throat, unsure how to ask his next question delicately.  “Em ...” he started in a gentle sing-song voice.  “You’re not trying to prove anything, are you?  Perhaps to a few certain uptight women in the parent association?”  

Emma scoffed, shaking her head and tousling her dark hair piled on top of her head in a messy knot.  “Agh, no!  Don’t be -“ she marched around their humongous kitchen, fetching more butter from the fridge.  “That’s just ridiculous, Drake. I-“ she cut herself off, internally searching for a believable explanation.  “I just want to ...” her voice trailed away and she finally raised her eyes to find Drake watching her tirade with stifled amusement hidden behind his features.  He knew her so well ... it was very annoying at times.  “Fine, maybe a little.”  Her shoulders dropped in defeat and she slumped against the counter, unable to suppress her embarrassed sneer.   Her husband set down his stirring and waltzed around the kitchen island, halting in front of her to loop his hands around her waist.

“Em, you have to cut yourself some slack ... you run an entire Duchy, for goodness sakes!  Do you really think people will judge you for not baking cupcakes from scratch?”  He caught her eye and cocked his head in question, a sly smirk on his lips.  

“Well, no ... I suppose not.”  Emma sighed heavily as she melted into his embrace, cheek pressed against his shoulder.  “I guess that’s one of my impractical female tendencies ... I want to do everything perfect all the time.”

“I think volunteering in the first place shows how hard you try.  And anyone who doesn’t see that isn’t worth impressing.”  Drake pressed a kiss to the top of her head while stroking her back.  

“Ugh, you’re right.  I hate it when you’re right.”  Emma giggled and tilted her head upward, watching his eyes sparkle as he snickered proudly.  “But don’t think you’re getting out of helping me with these cupcakes, Mister!”  She swatted his shoulder playfully.

Drake leaned forward, allowing his lips to graze hers as he spoke softly.  “I was hoping to distract you ... entice you with a different kind of dessert that doesn’t require any baking.”  

Emma pushed him away just before he got the chance to nip at her earlobe.  “Unh uh ... we have work to do.  And if you’re good, maybe I’ll distract you later.”  She winked at her husband who groaned audibly in feigned dissatisfaction, despite the lighthearted grin on his face.  She turned him by the shoulders toward his abandoned mixing bowl and sent him to work with a quick pat on his backside.

Emma began prepping the cupcake pan with liners while Drake finally finished stirring the batter well enough to kick the mixer into full gear.  Once the mixer was done, Emma took over and began ladeling spoonfuls of cupcake batter into the liners while Drake helped himself to a glass of whiskey.  If he was going to spend his evening baking cupcakes, he was definitely going to need a stiff drink.  He leaned back against the counter sipping his beverage and admiring the look of concentration on Emma’s face as she carefully poured the thick, sugary liquid into the pan.  With her furrowed brow and pouty mouth, she looked rather intense completing the task at hand.   Absolutely adorable, yet intense ... and easy to mess with.

“So, how do you know when they’re done?” Drake inquired nonchalantly.

“Usually when the timer goes off that’s a pretty good indicator.”  Emma quipped sarcastically as she continued her assignment.

“But what do they look like?  Are they firm?  Or are they still moist?”  Drake smirked mischievously to himself.

Emma stood upright as she finished filling the last of the liners, wiping her hands off on her jeans.  “Well, they shouldn’t be gooey but the cake should be moist, fluffy yet firm ... I usually test by inserting a knife ...” Emma’s eyes widened and darted to her husband as the implications of his question dawned on her.  “Wait, did you seriously just use baking terms as an opportunity to talk dirty to me?!?”  

Drake shrugged his shoulders and raised his arms in a sarcastic ‘what, me?’ motion, but his snarky grin gave away his playful tone far too easily.  “Get your mind out of the gutter, Em ... I’m just learning how to bake here.”

Emma shook her head, unwilling to satisfy his joke with a response.  She picked up the baking pan and slid it into the oven, squatting down to set the timer.  As she rose from the oven, she bumped into a solid figure standing directly behind her.  A figure smelling faintly of flour and whiskey and mischief as his hands ghosted over her hips and pulled her body flush against his own.

“I like watching you bend over like that.”  He murmured in a husky tone against her ear.  “Did you sit in a pile of sugar?  ‘Cause you got a pretty sweet ass.”  She snorted at his horrible joke, but the jest was forgotten quickly as he nipped at her lobe.

“Mmm ... you’re just determined, aren’t you Mr. Walker?” Emma turned to face him, running her palms over his chest as she pushed him backward to the kitchen island.  “Do you really think I’m so easily persuaded by your dirty ideas?”  She peered up at him innocently, softly brushing her fingertips along the collar of his t-shirt.  “We have a messy kitchen you need to help me clean up.”

“Hmm ...” Drake hummed against her slight touch, his eyes closed as he savored the teasing friction.   “You keep touching me like that and this kitchen’s about to get a whole lot messier ...” He opened his eyes to meet her stare, his gaze full of hunger and delight.  “You’re baking me crazy.”  

Emma choked out a giggle, unable to hold back the roaring laughter as she buckled over against him.  She felt the vibrations of amusement in his own chest as she pressed her forehead against him, trying to steady herself in her fit.  “Seriously Drake, that was horrible!”  

“You know there’s only one way to make me stop, right?”  He gave her a wide-eyed plea and that cocky smile that never failed to make her knees weak before grasping her face in both hands, pulling her lips to his in a fervent kiss.  

She moaned into his mouth, her senses intoxicated by the taste of whiskey on his tongue and the fragrance of baked goods in the air.  She knew resisting was futile as soon as his hands skimmed down her sides, that delightful tickle of pleasure pulsing through her limbs before the rough pressure of his fingers when he gripped her thighs.  Then she went willingly, wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her to the counter, pressing her against him as he whispered sweet nothings into the bare skin of her abdomen.  “Now let me show you how I can frost your cupcake, Betty Crocker ...”  And quickly she was lost in the throaty moans and warm giggles as Drake delivered on his delicious threats.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Why Duke and Duchess Walker, how thoughtful of you to volunteer time from your busy schedules for the school!”  Emma glanced up from the table of sweet treats to find Ada Carmichael, the two-faced parent association president herself, approaching them.  She quickly bit back her snide response and pressed a forced smile to her face.  

“Of course, Ada, we’re always happy to help when we can!”  She responded enthusiastically, hoping to hide her distaste.  “And the whole bake sale experience has really been fun.  Drake even helped with the cupcakes.”  

“Mmmhhmmm ...” Ada nodded slightly as she studied the contents of the table.  “And which of these goodies did you two bring so I can try one?”

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but- “Mommy and Daddy made these ones right here!”  Harper chimed in proudly.  “All from scratch, no mixes or anything!”  She pointed to the generously-frosted vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting.  Emma tried to suppress the slight tinge of embarrassment in her cheeks at the obviously homemade and unevenly-shaped cupcakes her daughter had just identified as their creation.

“Ohhhh, homemade?”  Ada raised an eyebrow as she observed the platter of treats.  “How cute.”  

Emma balled her fists, biting her tongue when she felt Drakes hand slip around her waist as he stepped forward.  “You should really try one, Ada.  Not only is Emma’s frosting to die for, we made these cupcakes together with a lot of love.”  He smiled warmly, pinching her side when she muffled a laugh with a fake cough.  He picked one up with his spare hand and handed it to Ada.  “Here, my treat.”

“Oh, well ...” Ada stumbled over her words, surprised by Duke Walker’s intervention.  “Why thank you.  How thoughtful.  Well, you two keep up the good work!”  She spoke in a cheerful voice but was unable to hide her smug expression as she rotated to walk away.

As soon as Ada was out of hearing range, Emma turned to her husband and gave him an exasperated look.  “Drake ...” She didn’t have to continue her statement, her eyes said it all.

“What, I merely spoke the truth!  Your cupcake- I mean cupcakes- are delicious.”  He flashed her a devilish grin, leaning in closer to murmur into her ear.  “You didn’t want me to mention the part about defiling our kitchen while these were baking, did you?”  He winked as he leaned back, immediately facing their daughter before allowing Emma a chance to berate him.  

“Now, Harper, I believe I promised you a trip to the playground!  Why don’t we get out of Mommy’s hair for a bit?”  Harper jumped up in excitement, grasping his hand tightly and waving a quick “Bye Mom!” as she tugged Drake towards the door.  Before he allowed himself to be chauffeured outdoors, he leaned in quickly to press a quick peck to Emma’s cheek and whisper in her ear.  “Later, Sweet Cheeks.”  He chuckled proudly at his wife’s new nickname before following his daughter to the playground.

Emma merely grinned as she watched them walk away, then sat her sweet ass down to manage the bake sale.  

END

~~~~~~~~~~

Tagging: @simplyaiden-blog @mfackenthal @lizeboredom @walkerismychoice @boneandfur @laniquelove @choices-fanatic @liam-rhys @mariamatsuo @the-everlasting-dream @client327 @kamybelen-blog @butindeed @enmchoices @drakelover78 @kamilah-sayeed-xoxo @parkerattano @asprankle @innerpostmentality @jadedpixiescribbles @crookedslimecreatorpasta @choiceswreckedme @debramcg1106 @mymandrake @alesana45 @christopher-powell @eileendannie @diavolosprincess @lazychic28 @clarissafics @blackcatkita @bella-ca @writtenbycandy @stopforamoment @mind-reader1 @snyggflicka @pbchoicesobsessed @miss-cordonia @mrswalkerwrites

[xfirespritex]

Dancing with the Wolf, Part 2

A Baron Corbin Story

Story Summary: Baron Corbin and the reader are sort-of friends. What happens when they grow closer and Corey is all for his friends getting together?

Part 2 Summary: What happens the next time the reader and Baron see each other?

Part 1

Pairing: Baron Corbin X Reader

Warnings: Cursing. Flirting. Alcohol. Dancing.

Tag List:

@wwesmutdonedirtcheap

@thedeboniardevistation @xxnobodyshero13xx  @speedilyghostlycloud

@fan-fiction-galore  @amaranthine-reign @lordoftheringsmyass  

@justtheaverageblog1 @alpha-american @aineslight @reigns420 @deajm2116

@redroseblackwolfpack96 @blondekel77  @shieldgirl95 @gelinas22

@vebner37 @banrioncethlenn  @moxtiel  @caramara3

@fmlallthewayup @breezy14fan @secretagentfangirl @crowleysqueenofhell

@abominablestrowman279 @laochbaineann @wrestlingnoob @logandemico

@calwitch @sleeplessandcynical @sjwrites22 @georgiadean37

@houndofjustice-imagines @squirrel666 @dorkyvillain @heeltothequeen

Part 2

 Two weeks felt unnaturally long. I tried to pretend it wasn't because I wanted to see Baron but I knew I was simply lying to myself. I replayed our impromptu date over and over.

 The time would've been absolute torture if I hadn't heard from him but I was thrilled that Baron and I continued to talk, mostly through text and usually short, simple conversations. 

 Two days before he was due back in Florida Baron and I were talking about mundane tasks we both needed to accomplish this week when we began talking about grocery shopping of all things. 

  Baron: I've got to get to the store first thing or I'll starve.

Y/N: aren't you getting in around 8? That's a long day when you add on the flight before it.

Baron: yeah but you know what they say, no rest for the wicked. 

Y/N: why don't you just come to my place? Grocery shopping is part of my day tomorrow. I'll cook so you can avoid the grocery store for one more day. 

 A minute or so passed by and I was about to try and adjust my offer, try and make it sound like I wasn't too desperate to see him but just as I picked up my phone to back pedal he responded. 

 Baron: sounds perfect. 

 We settled the plans and then, with a smile on my face I went to bed, my mind buzzing with thoughts of Baron and recipes I might prepare.

 --

 With my apartment cleaned from top to bottom and the food cooking in the oven I rushed to my room for a quick clothing change, to hide the evidence that I was a slightly messy cook that had landed on my t-shirt. 

 Swapping for a fresh pair of jeans and a different, unstained, t-shirt I felt better. Glad I had resisted the urge to dress up I smiled as Baron texted that he was at his place, getting his bike and on his way over.

 I responded that it was perfect timing as I went to check on the food and anxiously sit at my tiny table, waiting. 

 The sound of Baron's bike in the lot outside my complex seemed to be a catalyst for my nerves, every single one of them alive and humming as I waited for him to buzz the door.

 When he did I buzzed him in and stood by the intercom, taking a few deep breaths as he made his way up to my door. 

 The knock was quick but softer than I'd expected and I waited a moment, taking one final breath before opening the door.

 Baron smiled down at me and instantly the butterflies were back. 

 "Hey," he said, his eyes trailing over me. I stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. 

 "Hey, food is just about ready."

 As he walked by me he sniffed the air and a smile spread over his lips. "Smells delicious."

 I laughed. "We'll see."

 When I pulled the steak and baked potatoes out of the oven Baron let out an appreciative sound. I laughed and turned to look at him.

 "What? Did you think I would try and feed you something you didn't like? Probably not as good as the restaurant but, hey, they've got a secret marinade."

 He smirked and grabbed plates of food and carried them to the table with me. "Didn't realize you were paying such close attention to me, Y/N."

 I blushed slightly, grateful for the distraction of serving the food on our plates and getting him a drink to hide my face. 

 Dinner was good, the food done right and the conversation flowed easily, putting some of my nerves at ease. When it was time to cleanup Baron tried to assist but I turned him down.

 "The whole point of this was for you to avoid chores after a long flight."

 "Yeah? I thought the point was to get to see you and actually enjoy myself tonight."

 I blushed and turned to the sink and heard him chuckle as he walked into the kitchen, setting down the bowl that contained left over vegetables. 

 My kitchen was small but as he stepped closer to me, I was grateful for the small space as it allowed me the chance to be so close to him.

 "Unless, I'm misreading the situation and reason for tonight," he said, his voice low, as his hand slipped around my lower back, resting on my hip. 

 Setting the plate I was holding down carefully and taking a moment to steady myself I turned to look up at him and immediately lost my breath.

 "You're...not misreading it," I said, feeling my throat tighten as a smirk tugged at his lips,  the hand on my hip now pressed against me tightly, pushing me against his steady form. 

 "Good to know," he said, his other hand coming up under my chin to tilt my face up to his. I gasped slightly as our eyes met and the fire in his eyes made me shiver. 

 "See, here I was, thinking maybe Corey lied to me."

 "Corey giving away my secrets, again?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

 "Well, do you want it to stay secret? We can do that if you're not sure," Baron said, his voice tight as he shifted his weight slightly. 

 "No, I don't want that."

 He smiled and the hand that had tilted my chin up slid back into my hair, gently tugging me closer. 

 When our lips met I felt the whimper at the back of my throat, the softness of his lips surprising me. 

 Baron let out a sound, almost like a sigh of relief, and as the kiss deepened I slid my arms up, my hands resting on his shoulders.

 When we broke apart I could feel the adrenaline in my veins and the wetness between my thighs. Baron held me close to him, his arms still tight around me.

 I bit my lip, not sure what I wanted to say.

 "So, now that it's not a secret anymore, what next?" Baron asked, his voice tight.

 "Uhm," I started, clearing my throat. He felt so good pressed against me and I wanted his lips back on mine so desperately. 

 When my eyes met Baron's he smiled at me, a true smile, and I felt my heart skip.

 "Your choice," he said, his voice soft. Careful.

 "I don't want this to stop but I'm..." I paused, thinking out how I wanted to say it. "I'm not into casual, Baron. As tempting as that would be, it's not for me."

 Baron smiled more, a chuckle tumbling from his lips. "Y/N, you really think I see you as casual? You're worth much, much more than casual." I could feel my breath catch as Baron lowered his head once more and brushed his lips over mine.

 "I'm in no rush," he whispered. 

 "You sure?"

 "Yeah, I'm sure."

 When Baron left a couple hours later after a heavy takeout session and some time wrapped up on the couch together my heart was racing. The adrenaline of something new, something I’d wanted finally happening was coursing through me.

 As I crawled into bed my phone beeped and I smiled at the message there.

 Baron: thank you for tonight. Can't wait to see you again.

 Thinking carefully I paused before sending my response. 

 Y/N: same here. I'm sure tomorrow you have a lot to do. How many days are you home?

 Baron: Home three more days. If I had my way I would see you every day though. 

 Y/N: well, let me know when you're done with catching up on things at home, my schedule is pretty open.

 Baron: sounds good to me, gorgeous.

 --

 I saw Baron every day that he was home and, despite the early departure time and his insistence that I didn’t need to do it, I drove him to the airport for his five AM flight out.

 “So, I’m back in about a week,” he said, his voice trailing off. He was tired and despite the coffee he was clutching I could see that he hadn’t quite shaken off the fog of sleep yet.

 “Well, you’ll know where to find me,” I said, smiling up at him, faking the cheeriness in my voice.

 “Mhm, the best part about coming home,” he said, his hand brushing hair back from my face and gripping it, pulling me to him.

 I smiled, truly smiled, at the action. It seemed to be his form of affection, a way of saying he wanted me close without actually saying it.  Baron brushed his lips over mine, just enough pressure to hold some promise before the kiss broke and he stepped back slowly, sighing.

 “See you soon,” he said, grabbing his bag off the ground where he’d set it.

 “Soon,” I replied.

[pirequehideux-a-blog]

// man oh man, it’s been ages since I’ve actually made a comprehensive to-do list, mostly because I’ve been so busy and focused on school that I haven’t really felt a need to bother?? But now every time I get free time and sit down to work on things I end up scrambling and unsure of what even I need to do lmao. It’s been so weird because I want to DO things- I want very much to skip the setup process and get to actually writing with my muses, because frankly, that’s why I’m here. But I can’t do that on half-finished blogs. Some of the verses I want to write require metas, or research, and it’s just- a lot, and it feels overwhelming when I need to get it all done in order to get to what I actually want to do. But I know that once it’s done, I won’t have to worry about anything until it’s time to add a new muse, should I choose to.

These are in no sort of order, and on no deadline- my classes still come first. It’s more just- the things I want to accomplish, and mostly a lot of verse writing. I want to get all my blogs on the same level, and that’s hopefully what this will do. Most of my experimental stuff will be happening on the panfandom multil, whose URL I’ll announce when it’s done, and then I’ll work on updating my other blogs to match. This list is also really vague, since it’s mostly intended to act as a reminder to myself.

General:

Streamline Muse Bio to fit all fandoms

Update Navigation Tab layout

Clear Likes ( no real defined number as it fluctuates daily, but around 60-80-ish. It’s mostly memes. )

General cleanup? idk everything feels messy and I can’t put my finger on what will fix it- to be updated when I figure it out.

Do some research for possible historical AUs ( primarily Age of Sail cause ilu mani & holmes and possibly medieval & victorian AUs? )

Erik:

OUAT AU

Draft cleanout

“bonus verse” page ( featuring either private or oddball AUs )

Promo

Severus:

draft cleanout

Modern AU

Werewolf AU

“bonus verse” page ( featuring either private or oddball AUs )

Draco:

Blog Move

Fantastic Beasts AU

“bonus verse” page ( featuring either private or oddball AUs )

Promo

HP Multi:

Blog Move

Viktor Bio

Ron Bio

“bonus verse” page ( featuring either private or oddball AUs )

Promo

Kosomot:

draft cleanout

Harry Potter AU

Marvel AU

Merlin AU

Additional Tags ( unique, people, etc )

“bonus verse” page ( featuring either private or oddball AUs )

Promo

Melkor:

Modern AU

Marvel AU

Harry Potter AU

Additional Tags ( unique, people, etc )

draft cleanout

“bonus verse” page ( featuring either private or oddball AUs )

Promo

Tolkien Elves Multi:

Blog Move

New Code Setup/Blog Graphics

Muse Bio Overhauls | 0/3

Add New Muses | 0/2

Dinenthel Verses

Ecthelion verses

Maedhros Verses

Maeglin Verses

Maglor Verses

Tags ( all )

“bonus verse” pages ( featuring either private or oddball AUs ) | 0/5

Promo

Tolkien Non-elves Multi:

Code Setup/Blog Graphics

Muse bios | 0/2

Bard Verses

Bilbo Verses

Tags ( all )

“bonus verse” pages ( featuring either private or oddball AUs ) | 0/2

Promo

Multifandom Multi:

Muse bios | 1/6

LeFou Verses

Gwaine Verses

Killian Verses

Edward Verses

William Verses

Clayton Verses

Clayton Tags

Tags ( all )

blog cleanout

“bonus verse” pages ( featuring either private or oddball AUs ) | 0/6

Rules update

Promo

Marvel Multi:

Assess Muses ( drop some? add some? Finish bios? idek where I was on building this thing.  ) This list will be updated after the assessment

Tags

Blog Move

Code Setup/Blog Graphics

[kdinthecity]

Zutara Week 2017: Confessions of a Teenage Sugar Queen

The title is a throwback to a movie I liked when I was in high school, so that is the voice I’ve chosen for this AU. (Not Lindsay Lohan’s from the movie, just me trying to channel my inner teenage Katara...)

All of my @zutaraweek submissions will be part of one continuous story. Get ready for some slow-burn Zutara angst starting with Day One: Fire Lady.

“I can’t wait until summer!” A blur of orange brushes past me in the school hallway. “I’m gonna go hang gliding and kite surfing and eat ice cream for breakfast and donuts for lunch!”

That would be Aang. He lives with his head in the clouds on most days.

“Let me guess. Cream puffs for dinner, Twinkletoes?”

Toph is pretty solid for a freshman. She keeps Aang grounded when he starts to get too flighty. I like hanging out with them, but sometimes their immaturity annoys me. I can tell this is one of those moments. No one can eat dessert all day. Talk about a serious sugar crash.

“What about you, Sugar Queen?” Toph asks.

I don’t know why she calls me that. OK, maybe I suggested once that I could survive solely on fudgsicles and moon pies, but that was only after that bad breakup with Jet. Toph elbows me hard in the ribs, her usual gesture for getting my attention.

“Oww! I have plans this summer, alright? I can’t just goof off. I’m going to get a job and do something that matters for my future!” I hate how haughty that sounds, but I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. I hurry past them before I say anything I might regret.

“Geez, what’s with her?” Toph mutters. Aang sighs airily in response.

They just don’t get it.

I’m the only sophomore to participate in the school’s summer internship fair this year. My brother calls me crazy. Well, I think he’s crazy because as a junior, it’s his last opportunity to gain this experience for college applications. Yet, he’s blowing it off to go fishing in Alaska with Dad. Maybe Sokka will end up taking over the family business, but I know he’d rather pursue engineering than commercial fishing.

The truth is, Dad cannot provide for our college tuition with his income. Sokka doesn’t think about these things, but I do. I’m getting an internship this summer so I can help pay for stuff like clothes and school lunches. And then hopefully I’ll get a scholarship for a top tier school like Atlas University. I will not be a burden to anyone.

“But what do you mean I can’t get any of the paid internships?” I am nearly in tears as I approach Principal Pakku.

“I’m sorry, Katara, but you’re under the legal working age. You can apply for one of the volunteer positions.”

“I’m a hard worker! And a straight A student!” I want to add that I’d do a better job than half the junior class.

He folds his arms across his chest. “Rules are rules.”

The pale blue of his suit starts to blur in my vision, and my bottom lip trembles, but I refuse to cry in front of this man. “But I'm turning 16 this summer!” My birthday is actually at the end of August. Had I not gone to Montessori kindergarten, I would be an entire grade younger according to the age cutoff for public school.

Ms. Yugoda, the school nurse, senses my distress. “Katara, sweetheart, it will still look good on your college applications, and it will help you land a top notch internship for next year. You still have time.”

“But, I need… the experience.” I will not beg for money.

“There’s nothing I can do.” Principal Pakku claps his hands and rubs them together as if that settles the matter. “I’ll put in a good word for you. How about… the zoo?”

I brush the back of my sleeve across dampened cheeks and stomp my foot. “I do not want to be scooping up ostrich-horse shit all summer!”

The principal’s expression is scolding, but I can’t stand the look of pity Ms. Yugoda is giving me right now. Before I have a chance to apologize for my outburst, Ty Lee sweeps in from the adjoining door that leads to the nurse’s office.

She hooks a bandaged arm through my elbow and escorts me out into the hallway. “What’s an ostrich horse? Sounds… magical!”

Her high-pitched giggle grates on my last nerve. An ostrich horse happens to be an imaginary animal from this fictional world I created. Sometimes I write about characters with amazing abilities to bend the elements. For me, I've always wanted to control water—like command the waves, summon the tides. My earliest memories are of Mom at the beach, so…

“Katara?” The knitted brow and slight frown look out of place on Ty Lee.

“Sorry.”

“You can always join the circus with me!”

“Right.”

I should have asked her what happened to her arm, but apparently I am too self-absorbed today to care about my friends.

“The Marine Science Center has a few openings. Here, take a brochure and see if anything interests you. We are a non-profit organization, so we can’t pay our interns unfortunately, but sometimes our students come back to work for us after they graduate.” The woman has an almost ethereal look about her.

“So… I wouldn’t be cleaning up seal sh—poop? I mean, it’s OK. I just don’t want to do that the whole time.” I cringe, but she smiles.

“No, no. That’s not really a valuable learning experience, is it? I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Yue.”

“Katara. Nice to meet you.”

“So, we have a position that works with the medical staff. Most of the marine animals we treat are sick or injured, so we nurse them back to health, tag them, and set them free. Another position studies the water, looking for contaminants and identifying potential threats, like factory pollution, for example. Then, you can work on a government petition to shut those facilities down or enforce environmental safety regulations. And lastly, we have a group that goes to schools, summer camps, and museums to talk about all these things.”

I skim my fingers across the panels of the tri-fold brochure as she speaks. Rehabilitate. Advocate. Educate. I always swore I would never go into fishing, but this is different. I care about the environment. I even organized a beach cleanup day as a community service event for the honor society. (This is how I know the juniors are lazy dipshits.) And I want to be either a professor or a doctor when I grow up, so the experience would be relevant. I take an application, give her my best smile, and express my sincere interest in the positions.

I sign up for a few other things before deciding I’m done. There isn’t much interest in the unpaid internships, and my eyes are drawn to the crowd on the other side of the gym. The largest group gathers at the table for Future Fire Technology. I've heard quite a bit about the company because the CEO’s daughter is in the honor’s track with me. Azula talks nonstop about how the former weapons company has rebranded and now manufactures cutting edge robotics. I couldn’t care less.

Azula will undoubtedly secure a position at her father’s company for the summer. She’s ambitious like that. Her brother, Zuko, will likely work there, too. He strikes me as different somehow—not really the corporate type. He’s not one of the half-assed juniors, though. He’s still pretty intense. I’m a little intrigued by him, but Sokka warns me to leave him be. Well, Sokka can’t tell me who I can and cannot talk to… I just wish I could get up the nerve to… oh monkeyfeathers!

“There aren’t many sophomores here, y’know,” a voice rasps. Zuko is standing right here. Talking to me. Sokka says he never talks to anyone.

“I, uhhh…” I want to slap my forehead for being such a blubbering idiot.

“I saw you at the Marine Science Center table. Sounds cool, huh?”

He was… watching me? The pink that rises to his cheeks would indicate that yes... yes, he was. I'm dying to ask about that mysterious scar across his left eye, but I guess that won’t make the best first impression.

“Katara,” I say.

“What?” he asks, his single brow raised in confusion.

“I’m Katara.” I hold out my hand like a dork.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Zuko.”

We are now shaking hands. Like dorks.

“And yes.” I clear my throat. “The Marine Science Center looks cool. I hope I get it.”

The results are posted the following week. With everyone crowded around the bulletin board outside the gym, it feels like we’re clamoring to see who’s made the basketball team or the cheerleading squad. I’m the only sophomore and of average height, so it takes me a while to wiggle my way to the front so I can see.

There are three names listed for the Marine Science Center.

Me! I got the position I wanted!

Then, Hahn. I don’t really know him, only that Sokka hates him, which should be interesting.

And… Zuko?

I scan the crowd for his unmistakable face, but he’s nowhere to be found. I can’t help but notice the red-clad crew off to the right, however. Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai are all on our school’s beach volleyball team. Either they just came from practice, are headed to a game, or just want an excuse to wear their uniform. Two seniors, Ruon Jion and Chan, hover nearby, enjoying the view. Ty Lee offers a shy wave when she catches my eye.

“Congrats to the newest Future Fire Lady!” Azula salutes Mai.

The dark-haired girl simply huffs. “But Zuko won’t be there. He got some stupid job at a water park.”

I fight the urge to march right up to her and emphasize how respectable and meaningful the Marine Science Center internship is, but the look on Ty Lee’s face stops me. Her bottom lip protrudes in a full-on pout, and I remember that she told me about Mai’s childhood crush. Apparently it is one-sided, and everyone wishes she would just get over it. Mai's scowl confirms that I should let it go.

“Of course Father wouldn’t give him a job after the equipment malfunction last year.” Everything Azula says comes out like a sneer. “He’s such a disgrace to the family. We need someone who is competent and level-headed in the company, Mai. Not lovesick and forlorn. Should I retract my recommendation I made to Father?”

Even though she’s shaking her head, I swear I hear Mai mumble bitch under her breath. For some reason, I am mesmerized by the exchange. The crowd finally thins out as everyone heads to class. With only two weeks left of school, the summer will be here before we know it. And I will be nursing injured seals back to health with Zuko?

Toph nudges me with her elbow. “Hey Sugar Queen. Watch your back, will ya?”

“What? Why?”

She’s gone before I can ask what the hell she’s talking about.

Chapter Two: Underwater  |  Chapter Three: Steamy

Chapter Four: The Fall

[relmi-llorrac]

Watch the pieces fall -Part 2

Title: Watch the pieces fall

Characters: Dean x Reader, Sam

Word count: 1,610

Warnings: Little bit of angst, Fluff(maybe?). I’m not really sure if it needs anything else warned or not so if you see something that might be a trigger then please let me know and I’ll fix it right away.

Summary: At first all you could think was, “Why today?? Why did it have to be today??”, but now you were crumbling little by little, letting him back in before you even realize what happened.

A/N: I’ve now finally updated this, I know some people have eagerly been waiting for part two so here it is! Sorry it’s been so long. I’ll be updating “Come here princess” sometime in the near future as well so look out for that. I also plan on writing and posting random oneshots so if you’ve got any requests then shoot me an ask, anon or not, either way, I’m all ears.

Chapter 2: Second chances

It had been about a month and a half since you left, and it still hurt every single day. But you had found a cheap apartment down the street from a cute little diner that was called Clara’s and managed to get a job as a waitress.

Each morning you got up and pasted on that fake smile of yours and pretended that everything was alright and headed over to open up the place for the day. Things had been going pretty good so far too, at least they were until today. You had a feeling that your luck would run out sooner or later, you had just been hoping that it was later rather than sooner.

It had been a slow morning, so not many people were in the place today, only a couple of the other girls were on shift with you.

You were just starting to pour Mr. Katlin’s coffee, he was one of your regulars in the mornings. You heard the familiar little jingle of the bell signaling another customer had arrived, being several booths away from the door you assumed one of the other girls would take care of it. But after a few moments of silence, realizing you hadn’t heard footsteps towards the front counter, you hollered for some help.

Sam was a bit younger than you but only by a year or two and had been the one to show you the ropes when you started working here, she was also your favorite of the other girls you worked with if you were being honest.

“Hey, Sam! Customer!” you hollered over your shoulder while you made your rounds refilling everyone’s coffee mugs.

Finally, you heard feet shuffling and a cheery “Sorry about that, right this way please.” from your friend.

Since she was handling it you hadn’t even glanced at who they were and continued about your rounds, taking orders and filling coffee cups, but had noticed out of the corner of your eye that there were two of them.

You rounded the corner with a couple plates in your hands and started down the middle aisle towards Mr. Katlin and his daughter.

If it hadn’t been for Sam saying, “The two in booth 8 need their orders taken but I just got stuck on cleanup duty for a bit, could you take care of it for me?”, then your day would’ve been just fine. But unfortunately for you, your luck had flown out the door when the two mystery men had walked in.

You set down the plates you were carrying and told Mr. Katlin and his daughter Callie to have a nice meal, before walking to the back corner where booth 8 was.

Without looking up from your note pad while writing up the previous booth’s bill, you quoted your little script as per usual, trying to keep your smile in place.

“Good morning and welcome to Clara’s. What would you like to order this morning? Our specials today are Belgian waffles topped with strawberries and whip cream, and our famous Stuffed omelets.”, you paused waiting for their responses, ready to scribble them down real quick.

You may have been prepared to take their order, but you definitely weren’t prepared for what happened next.

You heard a chuckle followed by, “I’ll take the waffles”, suddenly your heart dropped and you froze because you recognized that voice. That was a voice you had been trying so hard to forget, unsuccessfully I might add.

You whipped your head up to get a visual on the person and make sure your head wasn’t just playing a cruel trick on you.

But when your eyes settled on this mystery waffle guy, your heart felt like it dropped into your stomach.

Part of you felt heartbroken still and you almost slapped him right in his gorgeous face, but the other part of you had butterflies in your stomach so bad that you just about thought you’d throw up.

Realizing that the two of you were just staring at each other speechless and that you should probably finish taking their orders before the manager yelled at you, you nervously mumbled out a response, “Uh... Is that with or without the toppings..?”.

He gave you a look that said “Duh, with of course” and laughed again.

That sound, that wonderful sound, was like music to your ears and had your stomach doing flip flops. You hadn’t realized how much you had missed those deep gravelly chuckles of his until that moment, but of course, you didn’t let it show.

Without missing a beat you turned to Sam as if Dean hadn’t spoken and said, “And for you?”, with the sweetest smile you could muster at the moment.

“I’ll have the stuffed omelet, thanks,” Sam said with a slight smile. He added a quick, “It’s good to see you by the way” before you walked away.

You just gave him a small smile and said a quick, “You too” before walking to the counter with their orders.

Once you were behind the counter Sam came up to you and asked if you were alright and said that she could take this one if you wanted.

You just shook your head and said, “Nah, it’s alright, the bigger guy is named Sam too, so it might be a bit confusing if you went over there”.

She just laughed and said, “Alright, if you’re sure you got this.”, and then she disappeared through the swinging doors to the kitchen with the orders.

Realizing you forgot to ask what they wanted to drink you walked back over to their booth and asked if they wanted any coffee or anything.

“Just a couple sodas,” Sam said.

But Dean took the opportunity to speak up, looking you right in the eyes while he did it which had you glued to where you stood.

“I’ve missed you, a lot. You look great by the way. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

The way he was talking was as if he hadn’t ripped your heart out just a few of weeks ago. Like the two of you were old friends catching up. It sort of pissed you off actually, that he could sit there and be so calm and collected when you wanted to scream until you busted a lung and cry your eyes out until there was nothing left.

But on top of the heartache and sadness was an overwhelming anger, one that had been building over the past few weeks and was festering under the surface.

You were so angry most of the time. Angry at him for saying those things to that girl in the first place, angry that you weren’t enough, angry that he had that much of an effect on you... But mostly you were angry at yourself because, despite all of that, you were still very much in love with him and deep down you knew that there wasn’t a thing you could do about it.

So you simply nodded and replied, “You look well too”, with a hint of a smile.

But you knew he could still see the sadness in your eyes when he just smiled a bit and looked down at his hands, which you now noticed had just about strangled his poor little napkin while he kept wringing it in his hands like a nervous tick.

“I’ll go get your drinks”, you said quietly as you turned.

But the only thing Dean focused on was the fact that it felt like you were walking away from him all over again like he’d lost his chance to try and convince you to come back to him.

After dropping off their drinks you said it’d be about five more minutes for their food to be done.

You came back over with their plates when they were finally ready, set them on the table and scribbled out the bill real quick, wishing them a good rest of their day.

You were just turning to walk away when all of a sudden Dean reached out and grabbed your wrist stopping you in your tracks, not hard enough to hurt you, just enough to get your attention.

You half turned and the two of you just stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments, before he finally let go of your wrist and looked down like he was too ashamed to even try to ask you to stay and talk to him.

He thought you were going to walk back to the front counter without another word, but instead, you surprised him by turning back around and asking how long they’d be in town, to which he quickly blurted out 2-3 weeks causing Sam to quietly chuckle to himself as he ate.

You smiled a little trying not to laugh because Sam’s laughter was always contagious and Dean’s enthusiasm made you forget a bit of your aggression, “Just so you know Winchester, we have a daily lunch special on slices of pie, half price. There’s a different kind each day. You’ll have to check it out tomorrow, it’s your favorite.”, oh, how he loved his apple pie.

“Really? You won’t mind us popping in quite a bit?” Dean asked a little too eagerly, which made you giggle, “No, I won’t mind.”, and suddenly Dean’s face lit up and his eyes looked up at you with a renewed sense of hope, relief, and happiness.

He already couldn’t wait for it to be tomorrow, as she walked away with a genuine smile on her lips, and he couldn’t help but feel thankful that he was the reason it was there.

Tags: @mamaredd123 @theequestrianidiot @goldenangelbloodcastiel @niktav @hexparker @bohowitch @justfangstvdto @atlascorgi @doro7winchester & anybody else that I forgot.

Also If you’d like to be added to my tag lists, here’s the link

[gruntadminloch-moved]

Things To Come

(aka the To Do/Look Forward To list)

Coming back to this blog once I get back from RTX

(maybe redoing my main since i lost access to that while I’m at it)

New promo since I changed my faceclaim and haven’t done a promo since I first made the account and all

Speaking of faceclaims, gotta finish making/editing icons… .

Add a page full of Loch's icons so I can use them on mobile too.

Moving Guzbud’s account to a sideblog on this account

I already changed the name on the main one and remade guzmanibud as a sideblog, just gotta move all my shit over and do another promo and such

Working on Necrozma!Guzma’s sideblog

(chance of icons is kinda slim but that doesn’t mean I can’t have the account ready lol the muse is getting stronger and noisier, especially since he comes with Necrozma and Necrozma!Golisopod. A bit of a package deal.)

General Cleanup

(maybe deleting or doing more drafts, definitely cleaning out my inbox–sorry about all the time-based things I missed while I was feeling blah!!)

I think Loch still has a Pokémon egg that needs hatching–it’s okay though because I have an explanation as to why it took so long and no the Pokémon isn’t dead

Page cleanup

Tag cleanup???

Relationships page?????

Mobile-accessible pages???????????

Maybe working on other OC sideblogs?

I have faceclaims and ideas for most of them…three skull grunts and a trainer…maybe two trainers… .

Eventually a plot thing maybe???  Or, at least, progressions.

RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSIONS? loch has like 10 ships and he’s really only dating one of those people in any official capacity and i find that hilarious.

Playing Pokémon Sun and recording everything said about Team Skull and/or by Team Skull Grunts

Finishing the post-game stuff in Moon and Pokédex completion

Idk, I’m working on it.  I feel like I’m starting to get better(30mg of prozac started working, i’ve been bumped to 40 for a few months to see how i improve) and i’ll be able to return here successfully.

I’ll be back from RTX on the 11th or so(leaving on the 5th,) so please maintain all the rad patience you’ve had until then.  ♥

[dhampir72]

What Are You Writing?

What I’m Writing 

Do Dis: List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on. This can be writing, art, vids, gifsets, whatever.

I was tagged by my wife @zombiisheep, who does way more stuff than me

Fics I’m Actually Writing Now (instead of doing all the other writing I should be doing)

Gotta say, I’m terrible at titles, so pretty much everything in quotes is how it’s organized in my documents folder. When the government creeps on my drafts, they must really wonder about me...

Untitled “All of the neighbours know they’re gay before they know they’re gay” - (Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid); set sometime in the earlier seasons. When Hotchner and Haley separate, Reid offers Hotchner a place in his home. My excuse to make them roommates and then something more :)

Untitled “kinda like soul mates but not really” - (Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid); think Sense8 style, where Hotchner and Reid “visit” one another as they grow up. It’s only when Reid joins the BAU that they meet in person and things get more complicated from there... 

Untitled “sexy snuggling?? idek” - (Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid); dom!Hotch, sub!Reid. More of an exploration of their emotional relationship rather than their physical one, but that is not to say they won’t (eventually) get it on.

Untitled “Not a Magic-Healing Cock Story but okay maybe a little?” - (Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid) fic for @rigel99, who placed the winning bid in the Fandom Trumps Hate charity auction; this is the one where Hotch and Reid bond over their losses and come together. Set after Garcia’s Dia de los Muertos party. A short fic despite the slow(ish?) burn so...

Working Titles “Desert Storm” “love is a battlefield” “idk they’re in a warzone” - (Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid) fic also for @rigel99. who was just so generous in the FTH charity auction. Plot is pretty loose as of now, mostly because I am writing the cute scenes ahead of time to reward myself as I wade through all the research about the US military. Basically Hotchner is sent to Afghanistan. After some sort of case-related thing happens (?? still working on this) Reid joins him on location. 

Untitled “that Historically Inaccurate Spartacus AU” - (00Q fic where Bond is taken into a ludis to train to become a gladiator and Q is the slave of the Dominus; they fall in love, of course) although I’m not actively writing it all the time, I do add to this one more often than others. I really wanted an excuse to do another historically inaccurate AU and this is what happened...

À la recherche du temps perdu - Widowmaker (Overwatch)-centric short story that’s basically sad just for the sake of being sad because I can.

Fics That I’m Returning To Soon (A.K.A the fics I should be writing)

Crystallise - (00Q, in which Q is a figure skater and Bond is a sports journalist; written for the 00Q Reverse Bang with art by the fantastic @megaikemen​) Keep putting this off mostly because every time I sit down to write it, I end up watching skating videos for like three hours and then it’s time to go to bed...I really just need to take a weekend to finish... I am so sorry for everyone who has waited ten thousand years already D:

Always Alright (Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid; basically Hotchner pining like a Nordic forest until he admits his feelings) the first story needs a quick cleanup because grammar apparently was hard for me when I posted...then I have to figure out if I’m splitting the second story into two or just leaving it as is... 

Fics That I Keep Putting Off (A.K.A gdi dhampir why can’t you just get your shit together?)

Favours (00Q, Spectre Fix-It; this one from Bond’s POV) I keep messing with this one on and off because every time I compare it to Q’s POV, it’s just not as good. When I stop being a perfectionist I will eventually complete and post.

Satin and Lace (00Q lingerie “smut”) mostly putting this off because I’m hella bad at writing porn. It was my attempt to try because @frillsandcoffee does such inspirational work...unfortunately all of my attempts to write something “sexy” have failed, so it’s just sitting in my drafts folder to be poked at with a stick every few months in case it rouses my creativity. 

A King and His Knight (00Q, royal!Q, knight!Bond) I love this fic, but I put it off because the last “chapter” turned into a full length story somehow? I need the time to actually go back and make sure that the plot holes aren’t big enough to jump through. Also research about things, despite the historical inaccuracy tag. Um, basically, I really just don’t know when I will do this. Maybe after reading some more lit set in this time period, I will be inspired again? -hides-

I taaaaag...everyone? If you’d like to do this, please do, and tag me! I’d really like to see what everyone is working on :)

[idorkish]

Bobby’s Angel - Part 5

Notes: Sorry this is a short one. I’ve hinted at some things that will play a part in future parts of this book. And we’re almost half-way through the first book in the series! =D Also, if you want to be added to this series or I forgot to add you, send me a message or ask please ^__^ Notes on the stories tend to get lost. 

Part 1   Part 2  Part 3 Part 4

Gemma had been bedridden for the past few weeks, forcing the men to step up and care for the trio of children on their own. Bobby currently had Jax, Opie, and Angel occupied doing their homework at the clubhouse with promises of freshly baked cookies and letting them watch some TV. Jax could hardly sit still, constantly calling Bobby over and asking if his mommy had the baby yet. Bobby couldn’t help but laugh and ruffle his head, reassuring him that as soon as Gemma was ready to have the baby, they’d all rush over to the hospital. Opie was just as excited as Jax. In his mind, this was his baby brother too and couldn’t wait to meet him and help Jax teach him the games they played. The only one unsure of everything was Angel. She sat quietly at the table, having finished all her homework first. Angel had taken quickly to school and always seemed to enjoy the work given. Bobby was proud that she never complained about doing homework, only that she wanted to work ahead. He hoped that she would continue to be like that and go off to college, make something of herself so she wouldn’t be like him or her mother.

Bobby had finished checking all the homework and made them cleanup while he got food ready. If anyone had told Bobby that he would be a father, babysitting, and making mac & cheese with home breaded chicken tenders for his daughter and the sons of his brothers, he would have laughed. But here he was, Angel was almost finished with her first year of school and soon she would be five years old. “Daddy, can I help you?”Bobby turned and nodded his head “Alright Angel, I do need some help”. He really loved spending time with her and teaching her how to cook and bake with him. It amused him that she was responding more to being called Angel than her real name. He didn’t blame her, her mother always called her Y/n with disgust. I cant stand that bitch, he thought to himself. Ever since Susan had started dating her newest boyfriend, she had pushed Angel to the side. She was spending more time with Bobby so he couldn’t really complain, but it enraged him that she refused to give up custody. He knew she was using Angel to get child support from him. Thankfully he had kept thorough records of everything he bought for his daughter. He refused to give Susan any more money than needed; she would spend it on those other brats anyway. “Are you excited for the new baby?” Bobby glanced at his daughter who shrugged. He noticed anytime the baby was brought up, Angel would get quiet and retreat back. “What’s wrong baby girl? You know you can tell daddy.” He had stopped breading the chicken and pushed it aside. Angel shrugged again and mumbled incoherently. “I’m sorry, you gotta excuse your dear old man, I seem to be going deaf. will you repeat that baby?” Ange gave a small smile and walked over to him, wrapping her tiny arms around his leg, “I’m sad. I’m going to be left alone when the baby comes,” she whispered against his pants.

Bobby reached down and picked her up, “What makes you say that?”  

“All everyone talks about is the baby. It’s gonna be like Mommy. When the new kids come home, you’re gonna forget about me and then I’ll have to find a new home to live in. Then if they get new kids, I'm gonna be forgot’n again and need another new home, then I’ll be all alone! And Opie and Jax won't play with me anymore” she sniffled and wiped at her face. Bobby was conflicted, he was angry that his own daughter thought he would be like her mother and part of him wanted to laugh at the story his daughter had thought up. He sat on one of the nearby chairs and pulled his daughter onto his lap. “Oh Angel, no one will replace you or forget about you. I know things at Mommy’s house are strange right now. I will never EVER forget about you! Jax and Opie will still play games with you. It’s going to be a while before the baby can even play games. We all love you here and you will always belong to the Samcro Family. Do you understand?” Angel looked up and nodded. Wrapping her tiny arms around her father, she nuzzled into his chest. “I love you Daddy.” Bobby smiled and kissed the top of her head, “I love you too my princess. Now, let’s get the food finished so we can feed you and the boys!”

It wasn't until a few days after Angel and Bobby's conversion that Gemma finally went into labor. Bobby, Tig, and Tig’s old lady, Genevieve, had volunteered to look after all the kids and the garage. Everyone else had a run to do and would be gone for the next few days.

As Bobby and Tig escorted the children into the hospital room, Angel gripped her father’s hand tighter. Gemma was sitting up in bed, a tiny bundle in her arms, as JT sat beside her. Jax ran over to his parents and stood on his tiptoes, trying to see his newest sibling. Tig picked him up and gently set him on the bed. Opie was the next to run over, but he stood patiently next to the bed, until Gemma was ready to show everyone the newest Teller. “Angel, come here. Come meet your little brother,” she spoke softly to the girl. Opie turned and held his hand out to Angel, urging her to come closer. Angel took Opie’s hand and stepped closer to the bed. She bite her lip and took a deep breath when she realized what Gemma had said, “My little brother?” Angel scrunched her face in confusion. The adults chuckled and Gemma reached down, stroking Angel’s cheek softly. “Family isn’t just blood baby. You, Jax, Opie, and now little Thomas, you’re all brothers and sisters.” Angel smiled and gave a small giggle, “I like having Jax and Opie as big brothers.”

“We like you as our little sister too!” Jax beamed at her. Opie squeezed Angel tightly and picked her up, letting her upper half rest on the bed to see the baby better. Bobby stepped forward and lifted Angel from little Opie, who scowled up at his uncle. “I had her Uncle Bobby! I wasn’t gonna drop her!” Bobby ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled, “I know Opie, just trying to give her better look.” Opie seemed to accept the answer and turned back toward Gemma, who was beaming at having all her babies in the same room. “Guys, put them on the bed with me. I want a picture with all my babies!”

Jax and Opie sat on either side of Gemma. Angel was sitting between Opies legs as she peered at the small baby. “I love you already little brother,” she whispered. Right as Genevieve we taking the picture, Angel leaned over and pressed a kiss to little Thomas's nose.

Tag list:

@mrstellerwinston @howmanywastedmoments @lolsthecat @soafanficluvr1@redwoodog @chaosmieu @khyharah @5sos1dsex @opies-oldlady @come-join-themurder @queen-ofthe-bikers-soa @mrsirishboru @fortheloveofthesoa@samcrolivesforever @ineedthesons @mwesterfeld1985 @divathelover@happys-crazy-queen22 @kitkat1690 @sons-of-anarchy-imagines-blr @girl-with-no-faith-in-medicine @tellermorelli  @stephkeese77 @juiceboxxortiz@come-join-themurder @ladyannikki @mybabysons @jade770

[hydrus]

Version 381

windows

zip

exe

macOS

app

linux

tar.gz

source

tar.gz

I had a good week with a couple of challenges. MPV is now ready for all windows users and is turned on by default.

MPV

Thank you to the advanced users who tested and gave feedback on MPV. I have eliminated the crashes, tightened up the jank, and am now rolling it out to all Windows users by default for video, audio, and gif/apng. All media view settings under options->media will be reset this week.

MPV is a good free media viewer. One of the core benefits of moving hydrus to Qt was being able to plug it into our media player, enabling hardware-accelerated video playback and audio. It looks just like the native player, with the seek bar beneath, but it works much faster, able to play 1080p or 4k videos at 60fps at full or unusual zooms. And of course, it makes noise!

This is early days. I have only just started plugging into MPV, so many features are basic or not yet available. The global volume and mute controls are currently some very ugly controls in the top media hover panel. Slideshows will not move forward on an MPV window (hydrus doesn't know when an MPV player has 'played once through' yet), and some processes like the archive/delete filter will need some extra workflow options now that more users will be playing videos at high res (left-click on the player pauses the video, so to set 'keep' on archive/delete, you'll have to click on some whitespace, of which there is so much less when the video is so big). Please let me know what your top priorities for improvement are, and of course, if you encounter errors or crashes, let me know. I'll keep working.

Even though it was a lot of difficult work, I am overall really pleased with how this has gone. The only big remaining bug that I need to nail down is an unusual thing where after multiple mpv viewings in a preview window, that page will stutter some query/thumbnail loading unless the mouse is moving. This is a slightly frustrating bug, but the benefits of MPV are enough that I am happy to live with it. I will also get it going for Linux and macOS, which I did not have time for this week.

the rest

Assuming that users will want to set/unset MPV and other view/zoom options for filetypes in the coming weeks, I have reworked how all of that works under ''options->media''. By default, you now set view and zoom options for 'all video files' and 'all images', and then if you have specific options for just webms or pngs, you can set those specific options to override the group default. Every user will be reset to the new defaults on update. Please have a play with this this week.

Similarly, I have reworked the UI for system:filetype. The growing list of individual filetypes are now hidden from view when not needed, and the 'group' types have tristate checkboxes for better review. It takes up less space and just feels better.

Also, I have pulled gifs and apngs out of the 'image' group and created a specific 'animation' group for them. This doesn't change much, but it makes it easier to search for or manage settings for static images vs little animations.

I fixed a bunch of the weird layouts that were accidentally introduced last week. Please report any more you find--I am still fighting to convert old wx layout code to Qt's system, so this could happen again in a place I do not notice.

full list

mpv:

mpv is now available and the default for all windows users

I believed I have eliminated the final reported mpv crash

mpv load and unload delays are greatly reduced. initial load still takes about half a second, but subsequent loads are now as quick as native renderers

mpv seems to work well for gif and apng

added a very simple global volume slider and audio mute checkbox to the media viewer top hover window. this was a quick patch--much better controls and shortcuts will come in future

mpv windows now properly re-show the cursor on mouse movement

unified mpv mouse press/release handling with native animation--click down now does pause/play and starts a drag event

unfortunately, in some cases embedding mpv requires overriding local OS number rendering (e.g. 1,234 vs 1.234). hydrus number rendering is now coerced to the english style with commas until we can figure out a better solution--sorry!

cleared up an issue where simple clicks on page tabs would trigger micro-page drags that were immediately cancelled. this situation was exacerbated when the page being left had an active mpv window. the flicker of page drag cursor is now gone, and some weird situations where static clicks during busy time could move a tab should be fixed

eliminated the recent issue in the media viewer where transitioning from one media type to another through navigation, particularly mpv->other, would flicker a single frame of the last 'other' media shown(!)

fixed a bug where repeated mpv views in the preview viewer could disable client file drag and drop

the bug where thumbnails may not waterfall in unless the mouse is moving after some mpv videos are loaded for a page is relieved but not completely fixed

if the preview window is collapsed and hidden, media will no longer ever load into it

fixed an edge-case bug where the mpv window would not like being told to show nothing when it was already showing nothing

wrapped mpv load errors in a basic graceful catch

fixed an issue some users had with loading mpv's dll

.

file types:

a new file metatype, 'animation', is added, for gif and apng. these are no longer considered 'image' for a variety of purposes

the filetype selection panel, which is used in system:filetype and import folder UI, has had an overhaul--it now has tristate 'mime group' checkboxes to represent a half-filled group and expand/collapse buttons to hide the tall filetype lists. individual filetype lists will start hidden unless their default value is a partially filled group

the media view options have a similar overhaul: they are now collapsed to general filetypes by default. you set view and zoom options for the generalised 'video' type under options->media, and if you want to set specific options for webm or anything else, you can add/delete those types to override the general default

the new default options for a fresh client are just for these general types. if mpv is available, video, animations, and audio now start with mpv as the default viewer. video and animation zoom is now flexible (not fixed to 50%, 100%, 200%) and will fill the media canvas

all media view options will be reset to this simple default on update! if you have specific zoom or display preferences, please reset them after the update--but you might like to play with mpv a bit first, as it renders at large and smooth zooms very well

.

the rest:

the new thumbnail right-click file selection routine will now only focus and scroll to the first member of the selection if no other members of the new selection are already in view

fixed some caching code and sped up the new select/remove menu count generation (which can lag for very large pages) by two to six times

sped up file filter counting code by about ten percent

fixed weird layout on: migrate database panel, duplicates page (left and right), edit shortcuts, edit import folder, and the filename tagging panel

fixed an issue where the media viewer's hover windows might flicker into view for one frame when the mouse moved over the center of the media viewer for the first time

fixed a media viewer shutdown issue that would sometimes lead to the first file in the list being opened in the shutting-down viewer for an instant or highlighted as the new thumb focus

the file maintenance system that queues up missing/broken files' urls for redownload will no longer re-select the download page on every new url

fixed an issue where a downloader's tag blacklist was not being applied on the child files of certain kinds of multiple-file post (such as with pixiv)

deleting a very long tag should no longer create a very wide confirmation dialog in the manage tags dialog

fixed some 'the panel grew a bit, but the parent window didn't grow quite enough and now it has scrollbars for two pixels of extra content' sizing issues

fixed some dialog sizing calculations when the parent window was borderless fullscreen

maybe fixed a rare event processing bug

improved quality of some misc data comparison code across the program

did some significant backend event/pubsub code cleanup, mostly related to getting mpv working a bit cleaner

improved thumbnail rendering time

improved smoothness of thumbnail fade animations (at least for when they are working right, ha ha!)

misc fixes

next week

Unfortunately, I believe that I burned out over the past four to eight weeks. I have been pushing too hard, trying and failing to keep up with my promises, and along with some IRL stuff it nuked my schedule and energy and mood. It hit a breaking point this week, and I realised I was working non-sustainably. I will fix this situation in the coming weeks by altering my schedule. I expect to scale back on overall work hours and hydrus changelog work specifically, focusing instead on keeping myself healthy first so I can face other work (like keeping up with messages and maintaining a productive workspace) and not go nuts. I will also try to promise less when it comes to timeframes so I do not feel bound to stay up late working. I apologise if you have been waiting on me for something--I lost where I was.

I would like to do some more mpv work next week, and do some code cleaning. I will also be taking a bit of time off, so it will be a light week. Thanks everyone!

EDIT: If you have trouble loading mpv, please use the new easy settings under options->media to go back to the native viewer for the main filetypes, and let me know your situation. Some users with millions of files over a network share seem to have very slow startup.

[bettydgunter90]

Stessa Review: See What This Free Software Can Do For Your Rentals

Still using Excel files to track your rental properties’ financials?

Most new landlords don’t realize just how much data and information they need to track on an ongoing basis for each rental property.

Sure, landlords need to track income rents and outgoing mortgage payments. But there’s a lot more to the story, including expenses like repairs, maintenance, property management fees, taxes, insurance, bookkeeping, accounting, mileage, and more.

And of course, this says nothing of other financial information such as property values and mortgage balances or all the documentation that goes along with them, like lease agreements, move-in/move-out condition statements and photos, property management contracts, appraisals, home inspection reports, and insurance policies.

Once upon a time, landlords and property managers kept track of their numbers and stored paper documents in a huge filing cabinet. In more recent decades, they started keeping electronic files saved on their hard drives.

Today, it’s easier than ever to automate their rental property financials through online applications like Stessa.

Introducing Stessa

Stessa aims to track all of your financial data and documents automatically, every single month.

After taking a closer look at the software firsthand, we found that they largely succeed at this, by syncing with your bank accounts, mortgage lender accounts, Zillow, and other live data feeds.

When you connect a mortgage or bank account to Stessa, you assign it to a particular property. Stessa then pulls transaction data in real-time, so your account updates when you make a mortgage payment, when your tenant deposits rent, or when you pay a plumber for a repair. They do a good job of tagging and labeling different expenses automatically (although sometimes you do need to label them manually).

You can log in any time to check on each property’s performance, down to the individual rental unit. Instant reporting includes income or expenses, cash flow, return on investment, current equity, and many more.

How Stessa Works

Stessa is extremely easy and intuitive to use.

When you first register, Stessa asks you a few simple questions to initiate your account. They start by asking how many properties you own, and a property address to kick off the process. From there, they pull up public record data about the property, and you’re off and running.

You then enter basic details about the property, such as:

When you bought the property

Your purchase price

Original loan amount

Current monthly rent amount

Stessa pulls Zillow’s Zestimate of the property’s current value, which you can edit based on your own opinion of its value.

That’s when things get really interesting.

Connecting Your Mortgage Account

Stessa can connect to your mortgage account and pull data in real-time.

Your monthly payments, principal balance, late fees, escrow information, and other mortgage-related information all feeds into your Stessa account automatically.

All you have to do is authorize Stessa’s access by linking the lender account and signing in to it with your username and password.

Stessa can link with major lenders like Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and so on, but their list of “syncable” lenders includes dozens of smaller mortgage lenders as well.

If your current lender can’t sync automatically with Stessa, you can still upload a CSV file with your transaction history.

Connecting Your Bank Account

Similarly, you can connect your bank account to sync all other expenses and income. It works best if you keep separate bank accounts for each rental property. That way, you can associate each bank account with each property saved on your account, and it automatically applies income and expenses to that property.

As rents come in and expenses like repairs go out, Stessa pulls the transaction data from your bank and does its best to label it. Sometimes you’ll still need to get in and clean up the transactions a bit, however.

Again, Stessa can connect with most major banks, and many smaller banks as well. For banks that can’t be synced with Stessa or cash transactions that never end up deposited in the account, you can either add income or expenses manually or upload a CSV file or Quicken QIF file to add these transactions with a single click.

Organizing Documents

Any self-managing landlord or property manager knows that rental properties come with a ton of paperwork.

From lease agreements to property management contracts, mortgage notes to settlement statements, insurance policies to appraisals, you need to track all of it.

On Stessa, you can upload and store all your documents, each labeled and assigned to a specific property or unit. When you need to access your documents, you can sort by property, date, or document category.

It sure beats storing documents on your hard drive, or worse, keeping an enormous filing cabinet in your basement.

Tracking Property Performance

One area where Stessa excels is reporting. At any time, for any portfolio, property, or unit, you can generate any of a number of financial reports.

The four main reports Stessa provides are:

Income Statements

Net Cash Flow

Capital Expenses

A Tax Package

If the report includes uncategorized transactions, the system will prompt you to label them properly.

The tax package reporting proves exceptionally useful, whether you’re preparing your own tax return or paying an accountant to do it for you. It breaks down each property’s or portfolio’s net income and other salient details in an easy-to-read summary.

Beyond the exported reports, the application itself lets you view online reports in real-time, with visualizations.

You can see your equity, expenses, and cash flow all at a glance.

Additional Resources

While not the core of Stessa’s service, they do offer a handful of additional resources, largely centering around tax preparation and education.

These guides and tools include lists of tax deductions for landlords, tax preparation checklists, and other tax-related resources. All of it can be found elsewhere online, but it’s nice to have these tax tips handy come tax time.

Stessa’s Business Model & Pricing

One of Stessa’s greatest selling points is that it’s free.

Of course, this begs the question,

“How do they make money?”

Like many online businesses, they don’t actually sell anything, but simply earn money by referring users to related services that do.

In Stessa’s case, that includes mortgage lenders, insurance companies, and other real estate investing-related services.

Even so, these affiliate partnerships remain surprisingly subtle, with no direct messaging or push toward them from Stessa that I could find.

For example, in an article about landlord insurance, they mention toward the bottom that they’re partnered with Hippo Insurance, but the monetization ends there.

From what I can tell, Stessa hasn’t rolled out its complete monetization yet. Here’s what they have to say on the matter:

“We plan to sell optional services for real estate investors such as mortgages, refinancing, and insurance.”

They also claim to sell things like,

“optional, premium services for real estate investors for a fee, to assist with things like rent analysis and market research,”

…although I didn’t see any of these premium services being actively promoted on the platform.

What I Love About Stessa

As outlined above, it’s hard not to love the price point. Free services that provide real value at no cost make a very compelling case.

Beyond the price (or lack thereof), the automated bank and lender integration is a standout feature. While it requires a small amount of manual cleanup, Stessa does a great job of pulling in your transactions and other financial data in real-time.

The same goes for automatically pulling public records such as the purchase date, purchase price, square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, and so on. And they even go a step further to pull data such as the estimated property value from Zillow.

Stessa also makes it easy to segregate properties by portfolio. You can, therefore, view reporting details for individual portfolios, properties, or down to the unit level. It also helps come tax time, if you own multiple properties under different legal entities.

Creating multiple portfolios also serves property managers, who serve multiple landlords. That helps property managers keep each client’s properties separate, for reporting purposes.

And speaking of reports, I love how easy Stessa makes this. From income and expense reports to tax-friendly reporting packages, Stessa excels at reporting.

The home dashboard presents an excellent birds-eye view of your property portfolio and performance for quick reference.

Stessa also makes it easy to manually add or edit transactions. And alternatively, if you have a CSV file with transaction data (perhaps exported by a bank that can’t sync with Stessa), you can simply upload these files for easy data importing.

Finally, Stessa lets landlords add access to their account to third parties, such as property managers. That keeps everyone in the loop and using one centralized platform for tracking financials.

RELATED: Finding the Right Property Management Company

What I Don’t Love About Stessa

One area I found Stessa a bit clumsy was its failure to retroactively assign transaction data to associate with a specific property. Even with only one property saved in the system, and one mortgage account hooked up, it didn’t automatically register the mortgage as being associated with my one property.

Even after I assigned the mortgage account to the property, it didn’t go back and associate my previous mortgage payments with that property.

One additional feature that I think would make Stessa even more powerful and automated is online rent collection. If Stessa could process tenants’ rent payments for the landlord or property manager, it would keep the entire process on one platform with flawless income reporting – at least for rent payments processed on the platform.

This raises an important point: most online property management software services offer financial reporting. For many landlords and property managers, that makes Stessa’s financial tracking redundant, if they already get similar functionality through their other management software.

But overall, Stessa offers excellent rental property financial tracking at no cost at all to you as the user.

Final Verdict

If you’ve ever used Mint.com, you know how useful it is to track your financial accounts, expenses, and overall net worth in one place. Being able to look at quick summaries and visualizations, then drill down into the details, helps keep your financials tangible and easy to understand.

Stessa serves a similar role but is specialized for rental property data and financials.

The transactions and equity are largely automated, requiring minimal cleanup on your part. You can spot trends early, generate monthly and annual reports with ease, and even prepare tax reports.

The ability to split properties into portfolios makes the service friendly to property managers and larger landlords alike. And being able to grant access to third parties, such as property managers or landlord clients, only improves the service’s flexibility.

Overall, I think it makes a great platform for landlords and property managers looking for a single platform to track their properties’ financials. Stessa does one thing and does it quite well.

Have you ever used Stessa? What were your impressions? How would you improve Stessa, if you could wave a magic wand? Share your thoughts below!

The post Stessa Review: See What This Free Software Can Do For Your Rentals appeared first on REtipster.

from Real Estate Tips https://retipster.com/stessareview/