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cosmicpines · 3 years ago

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code july day 1 - future

au where jeremie's anti-xana program didn't work, taking place half a year after.

“Do’ya think we should start future-proofing our whole situation?” Odd was the first one to speak out loud in at least a half an hour, his voice echoing around the computer lab.

It was late. Not just “it’s a school night, we should turn off the Playstation” late, but “sunrise is in an hour” late. Ulrich, Jeremie, and Aelita were crowded on the couch – a fairly new addition to the lab that William and Odd had dragged over a mile to the factory after finding it on the street, a several-hour long affair that left them both sore for a week – blearily staring at chunky school-loaned laptop screens with piles of overdue library books on the floor in front of them. Odd and William were across the room, hunched over an oversized posterboard, surrounded by an accoutrement of Odd’s art supplies and printed out sheets of paper. What was keeping them up was potentially world-ending, but not in the usual way; instead of an evil AI, it was a history project due at 10 AM.

It wasn’t entirely their fault they didn’t start earlier – saving the world was a full-time job, afterall – but it’s not like they could give an excuse to Mr. Fumet that he would have believed. As the clock ticked over to 4, the prospect of having to pull the trigger on a return trip to finish loomed over them. They had already done it once, blearily uploading PowerPoint slides to the supercomputer to save them, giving Yumi an apologetic phone call in the morning. She was used to the disorienting resets at this point, having done them for half a year after graduating and moving across the country, but they usually texted ahead of time to warn her. She was sympathetic over the phone – she always was – but she was definitely irritated about having to retake an exam. They didn’t want to put her through that again and, besides, they couldn’t exactly keep the poster board from getting erased to time.

“Future-proofing the fact half of us might fail history?” Ulrich grumbled in response from across the room, leaning against the armrest of the couch. His eyes were glazed over in a stupor as he clicked idly around on the screen.

“Ulrich, are you done with your slides yet?” Aelita spat at him, now that the silent spell was broken, “I want to start stitching them together.”

“Uh… no.” Ulrich glanced at her, subtly turning his screen away from her piercing gaze, “Gimme ten more minutes? I’m almost there.”

Aelita clicked her tongue, probably remembering the last promise of the slides “in ten minutes.” She turned to her left and nudged Jeremie, “How about you – oh my god, Jeremie, can you focus?”

“Huh?” He looked up, and guiltly alt-tabbed back to a blank PowerPoint slide. “Sorry, I was just… I had a breakthrough about the bug in the Skid and I was…” He trailed off under her glare, “Sorry.”

Aelita clutched the side of her head, groaning. “Is it too late to go back to living on Lyoko where I don’t have to care about World War I and don’t need sleep?”

“Me too, thanks.” William muttered at Odd’s side, aggressively erasing a sentence on the poster, “Being XANA’s slave was less painful than this.”

He let out a bitter laugh, then raised his head, half smirk fading at the frozen-in-terror looks on his friend’s faces, “Sorry. Too soon?”

Odd, as he so often did, interrupted the awkward silence before people could make it worse, “Future-proofing us, is what I meant. Thanks for asking!” Nobody humored him as the typing across the room started back up and William started writing again, “Look, I’m just saying; we’re not getting any younger.” He brandished a red marker, filling in bubble letters on the top of the poster, “Yumi graduated. We’ve only got a semester left at Kadic –,”

“Could just all repeat a year like I did.” William grimaced. “And might again.”

Ulrich snorted, “Odd and I are probably on track for that.”

“Cheers,” William said, raising his pencil like a glass, without looking up, “Join the failure club.”

“BUT,” Odd interrupted, “Assuming we don’t! Because this presentation is going to be incredible,” That one earned a snort from everyone in the room (which was fair), “We’ll need someone who can do our jobs if we have to leave the good fight. Lyoko Warriors, the Next Generation! Kadic’s Next Top Lyoko Warriors!” He chuckled at himself, standing up, “We should put an ad in the paper: ‘Want a challenging, world-altering job? Come down to the abandoned factory!’” He hummed to himself, tapping his chin, “Our criteria would have to be strict. Can you imagine getting someone like, I dunno, Johnny? So, Johnny. Please, tell me: what’s your greatest fear? Giant crabs, you say? Why yes, that’s both oddly specific and also a dealbreaker. Next!”

Odd looked up, laughing, waiting for his friends to join in – Ulrich telling him he was being dumb, Aelita offering some other students and joking with him about their interviews, William making a snide remark about how he didn’t get an interview, a silent, but appreciative smirk from Jeremie – but got nothing. Jeremie’s head was buried in his laptop, and Aelita was – Aelita was glaring at him?

“What?” He asked her, but she said nothing, just raised an eyebrow in a you know what’s wrong look. Odd clearly didn’t, and turned to Ulrich for a clue, but Ulrich wasn’t giving him anything; he was just back to sulking, staring at his laptop. Odd ran through what he said again in his head, trying to find the offending phrase, when William punched him in the leg. “Hey –,” Odd started, ready to give a snappy retort, before seeing William was urgently tapping at the poster, where he’d just written something. Odd crouched down to read it.

you’re upsetting jeremie.

Odd glanced back at Einstein across the room, whose face was impassive, just typing away. Looking closer, though, he could see Jeremie had all the appearances of someone trying valiantly to pretend they weren’t upset – hunched shoulders, scrunched up face, not a single glance away from the screen. Aelita had stopped glaring to put a hand on Jeremie’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

Ugh. Odd sighed, wondering if he would have to apologize for just trying to lighten the mood. How was anything he said upsetting to Jeremie? He reached over for a pencil to respond to William, scribbling down on the poster.

Can’t he take a joke?

idk. Guess he thinks you’re blaming him.

Blaming him?? For what???? bro when did I even say anything like that??

you didn’t. don’t bro me bro. not my fault

Odd underlined his first bro, giving William a smile. William rolled his eyes before rubbing out their conversation with an eraser. Odd turned back to his coloring job and took a breath, surprised to see it come in shaky. It’s not your fault he’s upset, he thought to himself, pulling the cap off his marker. It’s fine. He leaned over to finish his coloring before noticing his hands were shaking. He clenched them, angrily. It wasn’t his fault Jeremie was upset. He was fine. Not his fault if Jeremie wanted to over-react. He’ll get over it and… where were the scissors?

He dug around their supplies for them, then, picking up a pile of pictures of historic figures, streaked from the bad library printer, took a pair of trembling scissors to extracting them. They were nearly done. One more section and they’d be done. One more and they could go to bed and Jeremie would get over whatever he was upset about and it was fine and it would all go away and it was fine it wasn’t his fault and –

“I’m working as hard as I can,” Odd felt a bit in his stomach open up as Jeremie spoke in a quiet, bitter voice. Odd stared pointedly down at the poster, blinking rapidly to try and assuage the pressure building behind his eyes, “I know we screwed up by not finishing before Yumi graduated, okay? I’m just… It’s a lot to figure out and I’m trying?! Is that not enough for – No. No, I know it’s not enough – I know I’m keeping us from having a normal life and it’s my fault William had to repeat a year and… and I –,” Jeremie’s breath caught, and Odd finally dared to turn his eyes to him, seeing his friend aggressively rubbing his eyes under his glasses, “I – I don’t mean to – look! It’s hard, alright?! It’s hard and I – I’m just so tired all the time and I’m sorry that we’re still awake for this too and that I –,” His voice finally broke as he started crying in earnest, his fist coming down on the side of the couch. Odd wanted to turn back to his work and brush it off, but the guilt clenching his stomach wasn’t letting go.

Hesitantly, Aelita put her hand on his shoulder again, “Jeremie…” but he shook it off again, turning away from her. She persisted. “It’s not your fault. We know you’re working –,”

“And it’s not enough! I’ve been working at this for years and I just I can’t come up with anything to defeat XANA –,”

“You had a lot of other things you needed to do first.”

He didn’t mean to, Odd was sure, but Ulrich’s eyes flickered to William for just a moment, and William’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, are we doing this now?” William grumbled, dropping his pencil. “Jeremie, you’re fine. Look, I’m sorry. Again. You don’t think I don’t regret every moment that I didn’t listen like a fucking idiot –” Jeremie, despite being wracked with tears, winced at the swear, earning a brief hint of a smile from Odd, “ – and got myself captured? Who then was a thorn in your asses for months? No. I get it. You’d probably be rid of XANA already if it wasn’t for me; you’ve made that crystal clear.”

“That’s not what I –,” Aelita glared at him, “You of all people should understand that I would never blame you for being trapped on Lyoko.”

“It’s not you that is. It’s him.” He jerked his thumb at Ulrich, who glared back at him.

“I’m not,” Ulrich muttered, “Cut it out.”

“Oh yeah? What did that look mean then, huh?”

“I didn’t –,”

“You blame me, and we all know it. You’re just butt-hurt over Yumi still, even though you had plenty of chances –,”

“Okay, that’s it.” Ulrich sat up straighter, “Maybe you’re still using Yumi as a scapegoat in all our arguments, but I’m done with that. Maybe I was an ass to you before because of her, but I don’t blame you for XANA, William. I never have. I was over it before you even joined,” He scowled at the ground, Jeremie’s crying filling the brief silence. “It was probably my fault you got captured in the first place. I wasn’t there because I had to talk to my stupid Dad and it was my job to tell Odd and I didn’t make sure – hell, even before that! Who was it that couldn’t protect Aelita back when XANA escaped from the supercomputer in the first place? If she hadn’t been alone, the Scyphozoa wouldn’t have gotten her, and XANA wouldn’t have escaped, and we would have been done.”

“Come on,” Aelita crossed her arms, turning away from Jeremie to the boy on her other side, “You’re being ridiculous. Half of that isn’t your fault.”

Odd wanted to chime in that it was Sam’s fault she didn’t listen to Ulrich, but his voice was still missing in action, his throat tight and unresponsive.

“I should have been able to protect myself,” Aelita continued, “It wasn’t your responsibility –,”

Jeremie laughed suddenly, hurt and bitter, “Protect yourself how? You couldn’t protect yourself because I was dragging my feet on giving you a proper weapon –,”

“We’ve talked about this!” She said, “We agreed it was more worth your time to work on an antivirus!”

“For a virus that didn’t exist! If I had just double checked –,”

“Double checked what? The faulty data you were being fed? There was nothing you could have done! If you want to blame anyone, blame me. Maybe it – maybe helping me made sense at first, when things were able to be stopped at a moment’s notice. But then even when you got me to Earth it wasn’t over, and things got worse, things got more dangerous – when we realized XANA could escape? That we couldn’t just turn it off with a switch? That – that should have been it.” Her voice dropped as she took a shaky breath, “You should have just let me turn the supercomputer off.”

“You were ALWAYS worth the risk, Aelita!” Odd finally snapped, terror shooting through his heart at the broken look on her face, the implications of her words, “You… you matter to us more than anything! Look, I’m sorry for bringing this all up, alright? I thought we could just joke around about running Lyoko Warrior interviews! I didn’t mean to get everyone upset. And speaking of! Jeez! All of you are such downers on yourselves! There’s like, a billion different things that could have happened!” He held out a hand, ticking them off, “Maybe William might not have gotten captured and instead XANA got Yumi or anyone else! Maybe, I dunno, Ulrich saved Aelita temporarily but then XANA tossed him in the digital sea! Maybe Jeremie could have noticed that Aelita didn’t have a virus sooner, and XANA just made a move sooner! Maybe – maybe – maybe if you had just let Kiwi be virtualized normally and not fuse with me he would have been a great Lyoko Warrior and would have bit the Scyphozoa and killed XANA! We don’t know, alright? I’m just trying to say that – ugh, forget it! Sorry! Jeez!”

Odd rubbed at his eyes, surrendering to the frustrated and exhausted stream of tears that leaked out of them. All of them, all of this – he kept trying to play superhero, to pretend that everything was going to be alright like in the movies, but in his heart he had to admit that this was starting to feel futile. Aelita’s virus, XANA’s escape from the supercomputer, William’s capture, Jeremie’s first botched attempt at his anti-XANA program, Franz Hopper’s sacrifice, Yumi’s graduation, their failure to stop space station from falling, Jeremie’s second anti-XANA program getting stolen by the AI, and now the looming threat of their own graduation… he wanted to be joking about needing to interview new Lyoko Warriors, really, but if graduation took them away from the factory… away from each other…

A hand landed on his shoulder, he realized he didn’t need to know who it was to press his own on top of it, to squeeze it and feel loved, as more hands, more friends, found their way to his other shoulder, to his back.

“I’m sorry, Jeremie,” he said, “And everyone else. I didn’t mean to –,”

“Don’t,” came a muttered reply from Jeremie, “We’re all acting tired and stupid. I shouldn’t have yelled. I knew you didn’t mean it.”

Odd let out an exhausted laugh, rubbing his eyes of the last of the tears, looking up and seeing his friends around him, “How late is it?”

“Too late,” Ulrich replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “We’ve got… three hours until classes start.”

A collective groan broke the spell over the room. Odd looked under his feet to the almost-finished-poster. Silently, all of them returned to their working positions. Odd kneeled down to finish gluing down the last of the faces to the poster. As the lull of busy work started taking over his mind, William nudged him.

“Sorry, I, uh…” William looked uncharacteristically bewildered, “This must have happened while I was – did you say Kiwi fused with you?”

#i am well aware that it is long past day one LOL #we'll see what else i get to #my intent going into this was to write exactly what odd wanted to joke about but then i realized that was kinda fucked up #codejuly #codejuly21 #code lyoko #i swear ill write fluff next i promise #mary blabs

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writerfae · 3 years ago

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I have no excuse for this. I didn't even have a plan with this. I just wanted to write Sera and writing Sera always comes with her teasing Talon. And somehow it ended up to be this. Don't ask me where I was planning (I didn't) to go with this, I do not know it myself.

It's modern AU. And I typed it entirely on my phone, with no intend to upload it at first. But now I did anyway because I'm still impressed I got some writing done, even if it's just random. Hope you enjoy.

Talon yawned, hands clutching his coffee mug. He was at his and Aiden's favorite Café, having breakfast with his sister.

Aiden wasn't with them this time. He was at home, most likely still in bed, and honestly, Talon kinda wished he could be there too, cuddled up against his boyfriend.

"You look tired. Are you okay?" Sera asked, stealing a piece of watermelon from her brother's fruit salad. Another yawn was her answer.

"Yeah." Talon nodded. "Aiden came back from Canada yesterday. It was kind of a long night, that's all."

Sera wiggled her eyebrows. "Long night, huh?" She sounded amused. "I see."

Talon reached over the table to shove her shoulder. "Shut up. Not what you think," he scolded. Sometimes he really wondered who exactly was the mature one here.

"I picked him up from the airport in the middle of the night. It took us nearly two hours to get home. Aiden was completely gone once his head hit the pillow."

"Is it just me or do you sound disappointed?"

He gave his sister another shove. "Shut up, I'm not," he muttered, but his cheeks and ears colored a light red. A clear sign that he felt embarrassed.

"I'm happy he's back. I missed him."

Talon's older sister chuckled. "Yes, I know. You've been moping about it the entire time while he was gone."

"No, I didn't."

"You totally did."

"No."

"Yes"

"No."

Sera laughed at the way Talon's face got even more red from her teasing.

"Aw, no need to be embarrassed about it. I think it's cute." She smiled.

"Never thought I would ever see my baby brother being so attached to someone. You grew so much. I'm proud of you."

Sera wiped away an imaginary tear in mock emotion. But deep down, she really meant what she said. She was glad Talon had learned to open up and let someone in. She was glad it was Aiden, too. He was good for her brother.

Talon hid his face in his hands. "God Sera, can you stop being embarrassing? It's too early for that."

She grinned. "Never. Embarrassing you is basically my job. I'm your big sister."

"You're annoying is what you are," Talon muttered.

"Hey," Sera pointed at him with her fork. "Respect your elder."

Talon snorted. "What are you, sixty?"

"It sure as hell feels like it sometimes." Sera grimaced. "My back is killing me lately."

They laughed. Suddenly Talon's phone display lit up, showing a new message.

It was from Aiden.

Sera leaned forward to try and sneak a look at the message, as usual lacking any sense of privacy (much to her brother's dismay) and smiled to herself as she saw that Talon had a picture of his boyfriend set as his lockscreen.

Talon snatched the phone away from the table and his sister's curious gaze to read the text. Sera watched as he smiled to himself, typing out an answer.

Ah, young love, she couldn't help but think. Cute.

Talon would probably kill her with his fork if she would've said it out loud, or scold her for sounding like a grandma again.

So Sera kept quiet, taking a bite of her scrambled eggs instead.

"He just woke up," Talon said, still looking down on his phone and Sera wasn't sure if he talked to her or to himself. "Asked me where I am. Idiot, didn't he read the note I left him?"

He shook his head, pretending to be annoyed, but Sera noticed the fondness in her brother's voice. (She didn't know one could call someone an idiot so affectionately.)

She smiled. "Seems like someone misses you, huh?"

Talon answered to her teasing by flipping her off, not even bothering to look up from his phone. But he smiled, too. Sera leaned back in her seat, chuckling.

"Why are you here anyway? I half expected you to not show up at all, given the fact Aiden just came home. You haven't seen each other in what, a month? I thought you'd be all over him now that he's back, given how much you were pining after him while he was gone."

"I was not pining," Talon stated, throwing a grape at his sister. Sera successfully dodged it.

"And I came because I didn't want to stand you up. We meet every second Saturday. Aiden was still sleeping, he's tired from the flight and needs some rest, otherwise I would've asked him to join."

He took a sip from his coffee. "I was trying to be polite here."

"Since when have you ever been polite?" Sera laughed.

Her brother only scoffed as an answer.

He could have breakfast with Aiden in his warm bed right now, thank you very much. Instead, he sat here and let his older sister make fun of him.

"The way you keep teasing me, I start to regret it. I should've dumped you after all."

Sera pouted. "Aw, don't be like that."

Another message from Aiden popped up on Talon's screen, catching the attention of both siblings.

Oh, I see, till later then. Have fun. And greet Sera from me. I love you.

A soft smile spread on Talon's face as he stared at the message. A rare one, Sera noted. (Rare to everyone that wasn't Aiden, that is.)

It surprised Sera every time how Aiden managed to get her brother to react like this. He's really gone for this boy, isn't he?

"Oh my God." She rolled her eyes. It was a playful gesture. "Hurry up and go home to him already. I start to feel guilty about keeping you from him."

"What?" Talon asked, confused, only now looking up from his phone.

His sister crossed her arms.

"I said go to your boyfriend and spend some long overdue time with him, goddammit."

She grinned and made a gesture as if to shoo Talon away.

"We can meet up next time. Do us all a favor and go to your Aiden now. I think you two need it."

Talon warned to protest at first, but Sera fixed him with a glare that said not to argue with her and he really wanted to go see his boyfriend, so he nodded, grabbed his jacket and stood up.

"Okay. I'll go. Thanks, Sera." Hurriedly he put on his coat and kissed his sister's cheek. "I'll text you later. Bye."

"Goodbye, Tal. Tell my favorite in-law I said hi," she joked.

Talon stuck out his tongue to her and Sera replied by doing the same, laughing.

Then he went to the counter to pay for his and Sera's breakfast, getting apple pie for Aiden along the way because he knew how much his boyfriend loved the cake here, and made his way outside, waving goodbye to his sister.

Sera chuckled, waving back. As she watched him leave, she took a sip from her orange juice, thinking about how glad she was to see her brother finally be so happy again.

just some background information: I imagine this takes place when Talon and Aiden are in their last year of college, a good while after their relationship break, mind you, where they finally got their shit together again (it's also like, a year before their engagement I think). as you might (or not) know, Aiden went abroad for a year during the relationship break, working for a wolf center in Canada. He grew pretty fond of the place, the animals and people there so from time to him he visits the center for a month or so if given the opportunity. that's where he returned from in this short, too.

modern au masterpost

general tag list: @deadlycupid @writing-is-a-martial-art @writingamongther0ses @blueinkblot @wildswrites @abiandwriting @theroyalcoven @7devills @myhusbandsasemni @authortango @sleepy-night-child @charleeyy @formulatingfiction @shiishki @gr3y-heron

#not gonna lie I like this one. tried something new and wrote from a different perspective here. it was nice #writer speaks #writeblr #wip: the knights of the alder #modern au #writing #my writing

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starlightinhumanform · 3 years ago

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The Art of Love: Chapter 14

Fandom: She Ra (2018)

Ship: Glimadora

Summary: It’s a date! Sort of...

Warnings (for this chapter): None (please tell me if anything needs to be added)

Genre: High School AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Rivals/Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff

A/N: Hey everyone!! I hope you enjoy this long-overdue update! Once I have some chapters done and ready to go, I’m going to begin uploading far more regularly. Thank you for sticking with me and as always, love you all 🖤✨

Ao3 The Art of Love Masterpost Fic Masterpost Fic Request Info

Glimmer woke up feeling rested for the first time in possibly months. She felt like maybe— just maybe— things weren’t as bad as she had thought. After all, the project was going well and her grade might go up, she and her mom had spent some nice time together, Bow was sending her weird memes, and— last but not least— she and Adora were friends. Was “friends” the right word? They were more than friends? less than friends? They were Friends*

(*Stipulations May Apply).

Glimmer stretched her arms over her head, smiling as sunlight streamed through her window and splashed across her face. It was warm and golden and seemed sweet somehow— much like a certain jock she knew. Or maybe she was just projecting her crush onto the entire world, even the very sunlight.

———————

The day passed mostly uneventfully. Well, apparently a big fight broke out during one of the passing periods and the whole school was talking about it but Glimmer had been on the opposite side of the campus at the time of the event and frankly didn’t care.

She managed to make it to Chemistry early which seemed to be a surreal experience for both her and Weaver. She tried not to pay attention to the stunned look of incredulity Weaver gave her as she walked by.

Glimmer nearly sat down at her desk before deciding that— just this once— maybe taking a risk would be alright. She made her way to the counter on the side of the classroom. More specifically, the counter where Adora and Cat usually stood before class started. She lifted herself up and sat on the edge of the cool, black plastic of the slab. Now all that was left to do was wait.

Cat and Adora stalked in a few minutes later; and stalk was the correct description— their legs, obviously powerful from the years of soccer, beneath the matching running shorts they wore. Glimmer swallowed and and it seemed it stick in her throat. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

The only thing less noticeable than Cat’s bright red crop top was the glower painted across her face, “Hi, Glimmer. Can I ask you what you’re doing over here?”

“Oh uh—“ Glimmer could feel a blush rising to match the colour of Cat’s shirt.

Before she had a chance to finish, Adora lunged forward and tackled her in a hug. Even without the shock, the force of it nearly knocked her over onto her back.

“Hey Glimmer!!” Adora was beaming and Glimmer couldn’t help but return the smile.

“Hi Adora?” She didn’t mean it to sound like a question but maybe it was appropriate seeing she sure as hell didn’t know what was going on. How did Adora always manage to freeze her brain??

For once Glimmer was grateful to hear Weaver’s voice as the teacher began snapping at everyone to go to their seats.

“Oh! Bye then! See you in a few minutes!” Adora waved brightly and turned to practically jog across the room.

Glimmer slipped off of the countertop still feeling dazed. But the fog in her brain felt different than usual, like it was lighter somehow. By the time she sat down, she realized she had been smiling since Adora had hugged her.

Ms Weaver’s voice echoed meaninglessly in Glimmer’s mind. She didn’t care about the pedantic nonsense the teacher was complaining about or whatever useless information she was yelling. All Glimmer cared about was the way Adora’s arms felt wrapped around her and how happy she seemed to see Glimmer. Glimmer’s head may have been empty but her chest felt warm and filled to the brim.

Weaver clapped her hands and the sound startled Glimmer from warmth within her. Chairs began scraping against the dirty linoleum floor and students moved to work with their partners so she could do the same. Glimmer stood up, about to join the shuffling tangle of students. She was surprised that Weaver was giving them so much time in class to work on the project but if it meant more time she got to spend with Adora... well, she wasn’t complaining.

In the time it took Glimmer to stand and reach for her bag, Adora had already slipped into the desk next to her.

“Oh!” Glimmer stood still, feeling dumb as she blinked down at Adora, “I was going to walk over to you but—“

“Beat ya to it,” Adora cut her off with a wink.

Glimmer tried for a smile, “Yeah I guess so.”

It felt like her insides were clenching together in a fist. Stop making yourself look like an idiot, why do you have to be so awkward? You’re going to make her think you don’t like her. Again.

When she sat down slowly, her knees were stiff, like she had aged several decades just from the stress of trying to talk to Adora the past few days.

Adora smiled at her. Glimmer tried to smile back but she could tell she wasn’t quite accomplishing her goal. Despite the noise of chatter and crafting and the various sounds of high school students getting off track, the silence between them was glaring, nearly painfully so.

Say something, anything. Glimmer couldn’t, she didn’t know what to say, how to say it. Adora was just a girl, just a normal girl; why was she so damn hard to talk to? You’re lying to yourself. She’s not some normal girl. She’s so much more than that. You wanted this, you wanted to feel this way. Now handle it.

“Your hair looks really nice today!”

At the sound of Adora’s voice, she realized her eyes had glazed over and she tried to focus on Adora’s face.

“—Not that your hair doesn’t normally look nice I just meant that, you know, I noticed it today and—“

“Oh,” Glimmer’s face was burning. A thousand thoughts sped through her head too fast for her to make sense of any of them. One suggested that Adora could like her as more than a friend, another shot it down quickly, one was just happy that Adora had noticed her at all, a final thought suggested that her face was burning hot enough to fry an egg, “Thank you, um, yeah, thanks. Thanks so much.”

Adora’s smile widened, “You’re welcome!”

Silence spread through the space between them again. Glimmer wished she knew what to say. But what could she say? That she had never seen someone so pretty in her life? That she wanted to spend every day she had left on this planet learning every freckle on Adora’s face and every fleck of gray in her eyes? That she couldn’t stop thinking about her laugh and her voice and the dumb jokes she made. No, there was nothing Glimmer could say. She could feel Adora’s gaze on her, soft but inquisitive, looking for something or trying to memorize something she had already found. If Glimmer hadn’t been blushing already, the intensity of those eyes would have done it.

“So...” Glimmer tried to look anywhere but at Adora. She wished they were far, far apart so she could think clearly but she also wished they were so much closer. Glimmer didn’t know what she wanted, “We should probably get to work, shouldn’t we?”

“Yeah, of course. You’re right.”

Adora turned to face the desk and began gathering the materials she needed. Glimmer squirmed when Adora was looking at her but somehow not having her attention was worse. Glimmer wished she could just make up her damn mind.

“So it looks like all we need to get done is the presentation slides and then figure out who is saying what.”

Just as quickly as the blush had risen, Glimmer felt the blood drain from her face, “Wait, why does anyone need to say anything?”

“We have to present our projects, remember?” Adora was smiling at her kindly.

“Um, no, I guess—“ Glimmer looked down, the words sticking heavily in her throat, “I guess I forgot. Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s alright! No big deal!”

Glimmer’s hands came to life, fidgeting sporadically as she clutched them in her lap, “No, it’s not that. I’m just really bad at school presentations.”

She felt stupid but it was the truth; she liked making things and showing them to others... just from a distance. When she had to present it, had to tie herself to it, she felt like everyone was analyzing and critiquing her; not whatever she had made. It made her freeze and choke up and forget everything she had planned on saying. She didn’t want to let Adora down, didn’t want to show her how useless she could really be.

Adora had part of her mouth quirked to the side, comically deep in thought, “Would it help if we practiced presenting it a few times before hand? Just the two of us?”

“I don’t know... maybe?” It would be even worse if she didn’t try at all, right? If she just gave up and let Adora do all the work on her own? Right? For once her mind left her without its input. Great, the one time I could actually use it and now is when you decide to shut up. I’m disappointed in you, brain, disappointed but not surprised.

“It’s worth a try!” Adora scrolled through the slides she had made, obviously trying to make a decision about something, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to finish these by the end of the period; do you think we could hang out together after school today and finish it?”

“Yes!” The word was out of her mouth before Glimmer had the chance to think about it.

Adora looked happily surprised, “Ok, great! Meeting me at the soccer field at 4:00?”

Glimmer was still in stunned disbelief at what she had said, “Yeah, yeah sure. Sounds good.”

“It’s a date!” Adora face turned pink as Glimmer’s shock shifted onto her, “I— oh. I meant like, you know, a date. Not a date, just a date.”

Glimmer couldn’t help but laugh. Her head was light, like somebody had taken out her brain and replaced it with cotton candy. A date? She didn’t mean it like that, of course she didn’t. She couldn’t. She’s perfect and I’m just... me. You’re getting ahead of yourself and you’re getting hopes up far too high. When those hopes are proven wrong— and they will be proven wrong— you’re going to have a long way to fall. Don’t let yourself get hurt like this.

She took a deep breath, hoping to settle all of the ideas and questions and that word from rattling around in her head. Her anxiety was right, she was getting way too ahead of herself.

Glimmer cut in through Adora’s rambling, smiling sadly. Adora was, well, adorable when she got all awkward and lost her usual composure; but it hurt knowing that Glimmer could never get what she wanted, settling on looking from afar. A date, “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Right, right of course you did, sorry,” Adora still seemed sheepish which puzzled Glimmer.

She wanted to ask why Adora was acting so weird, but she was arguably the far weirder one of them so maybe it was best to just leave good enough alone, “I guess we should probably get back to work then?”

The rest of the period went by quickly, Adora diligently gathering and typing information and Glimmer doing her best to be helpful, placing the text onto the slides.

Adora seemed caught up in her work and Glimmer didn’t want to bother her. But with her eyes focused and face grimacing, Glimmer just wanted to make her laugh or at least relax a little bit.

Glimmer tried to focus but there really wasn’t much for her to do. Besides, she couldn’t stop thinking about how close she and Adora were sitting, nearly bumping shoulders. It would be so easy to just lean over and kiss her cheek. Shut up. It’s never going to happen. Stop letting these feelings get so strong. But how could she not feel this way? She almost felt bad for not being more productive.

The bell rang and the classroom once again erupted into noise as students raced to leave Weaver’s domain.

Adora stood up and grabbed her bag in one swift movement, “4:00 at the soccer fields! Don’t forget me.”

Glimmer watched her jog out the door, melting into her seat. She couldn’t forget her if she tried.

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lon3lynation · 5 years ago

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Chapter 5: Ways To Go

Previous Chapter

"Even when I can't see my rearview Even if I call just to hear you Even when I sleep all day (Even when I sleep all day) Even if I work it like I'm times two Living in the back of the bunk just like we do Even when I dream all day

Don't wanna sleep tonight You've got me feeling right I didn't know my name, I didn't know my name

I got a little bit longer, I got a ways to go I got a little bit longer, I got a ways to go I got a little bit longer, I got a ways to go Whoa oh oh (I got a ways to go)"

Ways To Go by Grouplove

5 days and 400 miles of Blue Ridge Parkway later, Lexa found herself in North Carolina. After staying her nights in rustic lodges and taking in the views along the parkway, she was feeling spoiled and reinvigorated in such a way she hadn't experienced in a long time. Over the years, it was all cheap hotels and motels. As long it had a clean bed and a running shower, it was all she needed to get by. It was affordable and temporary which was suitable for her type of lifestyle.

It was breathtaking to look out the windowsill and have mountains greet her sight instead of a parking lot or a wall of another building. It had given her a sense of serenity. Lexa had figured that she was a bit of an urban girl after her constant traveling from city to city. It was the source of her freedom. However, she was quickly learning that being around nature and the sheer expanse of the open land was altogether something much more magnificent. It was pure and natural freedom.

The road trip was already opening her eyes to new perspectives and feelings. It served as a reminder of how much more there was in the world outside of her life. It made her feel small and insignificant in comparison. No matter what obstacles she had faced or how lost she felt, her problems will never hinder the world from continuing on with or without her. Strangely enough, she received a small comfort at the realization. It was up to her on how to deal with her own existence and how to let events impact it.

It felt like an awakening.

Lexa wanted to further open her mind and heart to the wisdom that her journey would surely offer her. She wanted to encounter every one of Earth's secrets. It wasn't humanly possible but she wanted to try and learn what she could in her lifetime. A life filled with adventure and world travel could potentially be her new purpose in life. She would love to visit other countries and expose herself to different cultures. Once she had herself figured out and her past wounds dealt with on this particular trip, she would have to seriously consider her options on what was next for her.

Lexa was getting a little too ahead of herself, though. She's only been on the road for about a week now. There was still a way to go mentally and distance-wise. There was no rush but she knew she couldn't put it off for much longer. She needed to make some sort of progress with herself and take that much needed first step. Hopefully, the first step would be the hardest part and the rest will be bearable enough to proceed through.

The time for reflection of her past would have to wait because presently there was shopping to be done. If she wanted to make the most out of the summer, swimwear and more clothes were a necessity. She had already picked out some outfits perfect for the warm weather and a new suitcase for them. Currently, she was taking a moment to ponder the phone in her free hand.

Turning away from the racks of bikinis, she opened up Instagram in the browser and logged into her long-abandoned private account. She rarely ever posted any pictures on it anymore. Maybe she would start using it again and upload photos of the incredible sights she saw for prosperity. It would be nice to have them along with her memories. Maybe she could even make Anya a bit envious for missing out on a joint road trip together.

Actually, they would have positively driven each other insane if they had gone together. It might have been fun and games at first, but eventually, the lack of space and disagreements on activities would have done nothing but frustrate them both. Anya would have wanted to do something wilder than sunbathing on a beautiful beach or enjoying the views. Lexa would have never been able to do her much needed thinking and reevaluating with Anya around.

Still, she missed her friend and hoped to get in contact again. It was the longest they had gone without seeing each other. With that in mind, she opened up her private messages and sent Anya a text.

'Anya, I think we should meet up again soon. It's overdue. I'm traveling southwest of the US via car. Where are you currently staying? Get back to me asap.'

Lexa was looking forward to hearing from Anya again. She wondered if her mentor would feel a sense of pride in her for doing a successful job of stealing a car for a cross-country road trip. However, she was not looking forward to explaining her phone relationship with Clarke to her. Anya wouldn't understand when Lexa, herself, could barely understand it. Clarke called her every day since she had taken the car and Lexa has gone along with it. It frightened her how effortlessly Clarke was getting past the cracks in her walls. She doubted that Clarke even realized just how well she was doing until about 5 days ago. After she had ventured to imagine Clarke standing next to her to share the view of the mountains, Lexa made certain to be more aloof in her calls with Clarke.

Too bad there wasn't some manual book on how to interact with a stubborn and persistent stranger that was the victim of your thievery. How was she supposed to act and feel in such an unprecedented situation?

Lexa didn't know. She absolutely hated how unprepared and uncertain she felt. Her vulnerability was showing and she didn't do vulnerability. Normally she could predict and prepare for every outcome, but this once she was caught off guard. It unnerved her which was downright irritating.

Clarke was so very irritating.

Stupid Clarke and her unrealistic optimism.

Stupid Clarke and her constant questions.

Stupid Clarke and her cracked blue phone case that was now ringing in her hand.

Lexa glared at the vibrating and ringing phone in her hand. Her fingers gave a momentary squeeze around the case before answering and lifting it to her ear with a sigh.

"Hello, Clarke."

"Hey, criminal."

"Very original."

"What? Is that not cutesy enough for you? How about I start calling you Rebel?"

Lexa scoffed.

"God, no and I don't do cutesy."

"Why? Oh, does it put a damper on your badass rep in the criminal world?"

"What do you think we do? Sit around and share stories about our illegal doings? That we know who's who?" Lexa chuckled at the thought. "The only person that knows what I do is -"

"The infamous friend and mentor, of course. Is she aware of how much you mention her to strangers?"

"No, her smugness doesn't need any more encouragement."

"It's nice to have you taking part in our banter again. I was wondering how long you could resist it."

A pause.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, it didn't escape my notice that you've been acting like a dick for the past 4 days."

"When are you going to stop referring me to a phallus?"

"When you stop acting like one which is probably not going to be anytime soon. So, are you done with the whole tightlipped routine?"

"You tell me. Am I?" Lexa snipped.

"I think you want it to be because you sorta miss this but you're resisting because it - or I - make you nervous."

Damn her.

"Clarke," she warned.

"Sounds like I hit the mark," Clarke responded smugly.

"You can't just -" Blowing out a harsh breath, Lexa shook her head. "This needs to stop."

"And now you're panicking."

"I'm not panicking."

She was maybe panicking a little bit.

"It seems like you are. Take another breath."

To her annoyance, Lexa found herself taking another breath and felt recentered.

"You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what exactly? Telling the truth the way I see it?"

"Pushing and assuming you know anything about the way I feel. You don't."

"Your reaction seems to disagree with your words. Why does it -"

"No," Lexa sternly interrupted.

"No?" Clarke questioned.

"No more questions. How would you like it if I questioned you constantly?"

"Well, if it gets you to partake in our conversations a little more. Ask me."

"What?"

"If you have questions, then ask me. At least you'll get a detailed answer from me, unlike a certain someone.".

It was annoying how quickly Clarke could turn things back around on her. Anytime she thought she got the reins back, Clarke would only steal them right back and leave her scrambling like a fool.

"Did I put you on the spot? I'm sorry. Let me help you. My name's Clarke Griffin. I'm 21 years old and I am currently still in college. I was a little lost on what I wanted to pursue career-wise. I could follow in my mother's footsteps or do the opposite of what she wants and pursue art. I may decide on something else one day but right now I'm really digging the art direction I've taken. Is this where you remind me again that I'm speaking to a criminal?"

"No. I think you're well aware of what you're doing." She was beginning to believe she'll never truly understand Clarke and what motivated her to do the things she does. However, she appreciated the shift in their conversation. "An artist," Lexa curiously hummed. "What are your mediums?"

"I draw and paint mainly. Pencil, pastels, watercolor, acrylics. I tried pottery before but the misshapen mug that resulted from it didn't exactly encourage me to continue with it. I still use the mug every morning for coffee though."

Lexa smiled wistfully as a memory came to her.

"Pottery was something I wanted to take on as a hobby after my high school's art class introduced us to it. There was something about the cold clay staining my hands and watching them mold a lump of it into something useful."

"Did you take it on as a hobby?"

"I didn't get a chance to." Lexa sighed deeply as the memory turned into a sad one. "I was so consumed with... Costia, my girlfriend at the time and then not too long later, I ended up leaving what I thought was my home."

Suddenly, it occurred to her that Clarke had succeeded in getting her to share something in return. And of all things to share, she allowed Costia's name to flow out from her lips. The same name she has consciously avoided saying out loud for years.

"That sounds exactly like how a high school romance would be. I'm sorry you didn't get the chance, though. There's nothing really stopping you from doing pottery now, right? It's never too late."

"I move around too much. Maybe when I am settled down somewhere, I'll look into it."

"You should." Clarke gently urged. "I, um, I hope you realize that I am really biting my tongue here. You give me little crumbs of information that makes me curious and want to know more, but…"

"But you're trying to hold back now because I was sort of an asshole about it earlier," Lexa admitted, feeling appreciative that Clarke was trying. "Honestly, if our roles were reversed, I'd be just as curious. I guess I can't fault you for that."

"Sort of?" Clarke joked. "And I guess I can see why you would want to stay secretive."

Lexa lingered silently in consideration before responding.

"It's just that this whole situation with you is pretty unheard of and I need to stay on guard."

"I think I understand, but I promise you that the car is staying unreported. I would like to solve this between us."

"The crazy thing is I think I am starting to believe that." Lexa chuckled in disbelief. "I wanted this road trip to be memorable and I am getting that. I simply didn't expect you, though." Lexa softly muttered. "I don't know how to process you, Clarke. You're an enigma I've yet to solve."

Lexa bit her lip in thought. It hadn't escaped her notice that the tone of their conversation had completely shifted. Clarke seemed to be taken aback as she listened closely to the other end of the call. She scanned the racks and distractedly examined her swimwear options.

"Careful, that sounds a lot like a compliment, I think," Clarke chuckled nervously. "Do you really think between the two of us that I am the enigma here? I'm just some girl compared to you."

"It's important for you to have some confidence in yourself, Clarke."

Clarke laughed, "Oh, I have plenty of confidence, but I am not a badass thief that gets to do whatever she wants and road trip across the country."

"You think I'm badass?"

"Of course that's what you took away from that sentence. Have you always been this sure of yourself?"

"No," Lexa grinned with a small laugh. "It took a lot of practice. I was the quiet little loner in school before I met Costia. She helped bring me out of my shell. She told me to pretend until I didn't have to anymore. It took."

"It took and gave you a humongous ego."

"Hey, now you're exaggerating."

"Nope."

"I'm really not as cocky as you make me out to be, you know," Lexa bemoaned.

"Oh, who is referring themselves to phalluses now?" Clarke cackled over the line, much to Lexa's annoyance and hidden amusement.

"Shut up, Clarke. You have the humor of a 12 years old boy."

"It's still a better sense of humor than your total lack of one, rogue."

Lexa pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a quiet laugh. Clarke's random names never failed to amused her.

I think I prefer rogue over rebel so far."

"It may be my favorite name for you yet. Of course, the one thing that could top it is your actual name…"

"Uh-huh, still not giving it to you."

"Dammit," Clarke sighed.

It made Lexa smile to herself.

Clarke was stupidly cute.

It was truly unfair.

"I've been standing here talking to you while staring at a rack of bikinis for who knows how long now. I should finish what I'm doing." Lexa found herself reluctant to end the call but knew she needed to get moving.

"Oh, okay. Sorry, I didn't realize I interrupted your shopping."

"It's fine. I voluntarily let you interrupt me."

"Hmm, I think you're starting to like talking to me, rogue."

"And you claim I'm the one with an ego?"

"Nice deflection."

"It wasn't a deflection."

"Whatever you say. Hey, maybe you could send me a bikini pic," Clarke suggested excitedly.

Lexa snorted, "You wish, Clarke."

"Well, yeah. I asked, didn't I?" Clarke mumbled softly enough that Lexa nearly missed it.

Clearing her throat, Lexa ignored the fluttery feeling inside her that was suddenly begging for attention.

"Thank you for the call. I think you've given me some things to think about."

"Of course. I'm glad we could have this talk and come to a better understanding."

"We did," Lexa whispered in agreement.

After they exchanged goodbyes, Lexa slipped the phone back into her pocket and heaved a huge sigh of relief. It had started out rocky but Clarke had managed to smooth things out between them. An understanding of sorts had been reached, resulting in Lexa feeling less anxious and guarded.

She had meant it when she had told Clarke that she's given her things to think about. It amazed her that she had actually talked about Costia with someone and shared bits of her past. Granted, she didn't open up about her unfavorable memories yet, but it was still progress. Dealing with her past was one of the main reasons why she was doing her road trip. Crazily enough, she was beginning to realize that perhaps Clarke could even help her in some ways. It didn't have to be all internal self-evaluating and assessing how to repair the damage on her own. She could confide in Clarke about certain things and finally vent out everything she had repressed for years.

But should she?

She was driving a stolen car, putting way too many miles on it, and having phone calls with a stranger. Well, not a complete stranger anymore, but still. She couldn't help but feel torn between wanting to just believe Clarke and wanting to protect herself.

Lexa knew it'd be hard and she was prepared for the challenge. Her gut was telling her to let herself trust Clarke. To let whatever it was they were doing happen without all her walls up surrounding her heart. They needed to be brought down, permanently. She needed to free herself from her own defense mechanisms and baggage.

Shaking her head, Lexa finally moved to try on the new swimwear in one of the dressing rooms. Clarke's suggestion to send a bikini photo was actually tempting. Maybe she could give Clarke a shock when she least expected it and send her one.

Lexa smirked at the thought.

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

Hours later near Nags Head, NC, Lexa found herself sitting inside a McDonald's enjoying a food break. She has plans on visiting Nags Head, the name alone being enough to intrigue her, which was a barrier island in the Outer Banks.

Taking a bite of her hamburger, she paused slightly when the phone rang and vibrated on the table. It caused Lexa to grin after swallowing her bite as she raised it to her ear without looking at the caller ID. There was no need, she already knew who had to be calling her.

"Did you forget to add something to our call earlier?" Lexa said teasingly.

"Um, hello? I'm positive I've dialed the right number." A confused but kind female voice could be heard on the other end of the call, causing Lexa's smile to instantly drop.

"Who is this speaking? Is my daughter Clarke around? I'd like to speak to her, please."

Lexa startled upright in her seat, banging her knee against the table as she crushed the wrapper near her hand into a crinkly ball, and gaped like the careless fool that she was.

She did not just completely screw herself by simply answering the phone without looking at the caller ID, did she?

Taking a quick glance at the phone, it only further confirmed what an awkward idiotic mess she had just put herself in.

Mom.

She really did just do that.

Shit!

"Um," Lexa hesitated, her mouth still flapping open and shut for a moment in disbelief over the situation she had accidentally found herself in.

An utterly insane moment that shouldn't even be happening, ever. Talking to the mother of the woman whose car she had stolen. That just doesn't happen.

Lexa needed to rein back her control. She needed to get out of this conversation as quickly, but unsuspiciously, as possible.

Inhaling a calming breath, she released the crumbled wrapper from her hand and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry. I hadn't realized I answered the wrong phone, ma'am," she murmured, allowing a soft albeit nervous laugh to be heard. "I guess that's what I get for not looking at the caller ID."

"Oh," the mother drawled out. "Well, that clears up some of the confusion. Are you a friend of Clarke's? Wait, that's probably a silly question. You're no stranger to my daughter."

Hearing the voice on the other end laugh at the idea of a stranger answering her daughter's phone made Lexa anxiously bite her lip.

Right.

Such an inane thing to imagine to ever happen to someone. Not to Clarke Griffin.

Quietly groaning to herself, she forced herself to join in the laughter before clearing her throat to move the conversation to an end.

"Yeah, that's, uh - exactly, Mrs. Griffin. So, as you -"

"Enough with the politeness You can call me Abby."

"Abby," Lexa nodded, tracing invisible swirls on the tabletop for a sudden much-needed distraction. "Okay. Clarke's not around at the moment. I guess she forgot to take her phone with her."

"I see. I was hoping to catch her before she went off to classes or into one of her secluded artist moods. Did she -" Abby trailed off.

Lexa stored the tidbit of information on Clarke in mind before momentarily panicking at whatever caused Abby to pause mid-question.

Was she catching on?

Did she notice that something was off with her?

She may have only been speaking to the woman for a few minutes now but she couldn't help the feeling that she wasn't one to usually hesitate with words. Not after getting an ear and textful from Clarke. It didn't seem too far off to assume it ran in the family.

"Did you two have a girl's night? I mean, with her phone being with you at this time..."

Okay, she hadn't expected that line of questioning. Furrowing her brow in confusion at the tabletop, she scrambled to come up with something convincing.

"Yeah, yeah. We uh, just hung out and stuff last night. She crashed at my place. It was a tiring day for her."

"I can only imagine with classes, her art projects, and her wild group of friends. I'm just glad to know that she has someone to take the load off with after a long day."

Lexa hummed in response, beginning to feel uncomfortable with the fact that she'd let this conversation go as long as it had.

Also that guilty feeling had returned to nag at her again.

"How long have you two girls known each other now?"

Lexa wasn't sure, but she could've sworn that she had heard a smile in Abby's tone. Fidgeting in her seat, she knew she really had to end this conversation in the next minute because it was becoming too much for her to handle.

"I guess you can say we're fairly new friends."

"I see. Hm, that could explain why I haven't heard about you from Clarke yet. Since it's all so new." Abby chuckled, clearly amused by the topic of their fake friendship.

It was unsettling and even more confusing to hear the almost knowing tone to her laughter. She could almost imagine a scene where she was having this conversation in person with Clarke's mom, that she'd be bumping shoulders with her and grinning knowingly.

Lexa was fully aware that she could've avoided this whole confusing conversation if she had looked at the caller ID first.

"Who knows with her." She huffed out a chuckle. "Sorry, but I need to get going but I could take a message for her if you want?"

"Oh, okay, thank you. I'm sorry for taking up your time. I'm sure you have a busy day ahead of you. If you could tell Clarke that her mom would like to skype with her soon, that'd be great."

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. I'll be sure to bring that up to her."

"Thank you, and remember, it's Abby. It was nice talking to you."

"Abby, of course. You tool. Have a good day."

After exchanging goodbyes, Lexa ended the call and tossed the phone on the table to collapse back into her chair in relief. A small grunt sounded from her, making her realize she had been sitting tensely throughout the whole conversation.

A whole conversation that should've been minutes shorter than it turned out to be.

To say she was disappointed in herself and the way she handled the call was a major understatement. If she expected to keep under the radar, continue driving across the country in a stolen car, then she needed to be more cautious. She needed to not make the same mistakes as she had done just a moment ago.

If Abby had figured out that she was actually not a friend of Clarke's, and was in fact, a stranger that stolen her phone. There was no doubt she would actually report to the police unlike her daughter, who apparently thought she could handle it on her own.

At least she learned that Clarke clearly hadn't told Abby anything that had happened, which helped with the lies she had told. Abby believed she was a new friend of Clarke's. Hopefully, she would continue believing that for long enough and perhaps she'll be able to stomp down the lingering guilt over it.

Deciding it was time to take a bathroom break and head back on the road, Lexa gathered her trash after draining the last of her coffee and dumped it into the nearby garbage can. She pocketed Clarke's phone in her jeans and turned around only to bump into the solid chest of a man donning a uniform.

"Oh, sorry. Are you okay there?" the man questioned, oblivious to just how much he caught her completely off-guard.

Firm hands gripped her arms, steadying her, as her eyes took in the police badge pinned on the top left of the man's dark buttoned-up shirt.

A uniform with a badge.

She just bumped into a police officer inside a McDonald's.

"I-I'm sorry about that, officer." She muttered, attempting to hide her disbelief and fear behind a forced closed-lipped smile. "Didn't see you there. I'm fine, though, thanks."

"If you did, we wouldn't be apologizing to each other right now." The officer responded gruffly but his clear amusement softened his tone enough for her to not take it personally. A quiet sigh of relief escaped her when the officer finally released her arms.

Clearing her throat, she briefly glanced up, catching the man's eyes before switching her view out the window to where Clarke's car sat parked. She could feel her inner panic coming close to overwhelming her.

She needed to leave

"Well, I'll be sure to watch my step next time. I was just leaving. Have a good day, sir." Receiving a polite nod, Lexa edged passed the officer and exited the building out to the parking lot.

It took some restraint from Lexa to basically not sprint to the car to put as much distance as she could between her and the cop. With measured steps, she reached the car and pulled the driver's side door opened before closing it once she was seated inside. She grimaced slightly when her hand reached up to turn the ignition on, momentarily forgetting she had no key to turn.

She really needed to figure out a way to make it less obvious that the car was stolen if anyone were to ever peek inside and see the exposed wires dangling underneath the dash. Grabbing the wires, she gazed anxiously out the windshield as she entwined the correct wires together until the engine roared.

It only took a few moments before she found herself on the road again, and merging back onto the highway. Her own green eyes stared back at her as she glanced at the rearview mirror to reassure herself that the police officer hadn't followed her.

Seeing that she was in the clear, she exhaled sharply before grinding her teeth in annoyance while she pulled the car onto the bridge that would take her to the island.

How had she not noticed that a cop had been standing nearby in the same place as her? Observation and instincts to be alert to any possibility that she needed to tread around carefully had been known strengths of hers.

Lexa shook her head at herself, knowing that she had to somehow snap herself out of the tension she's been feeling. It was something that needed to end sooner than later if she actually wanted to enjoy this impromptu trip of hers. Constantly looking over her shoulders and acting unlike herself could cause actual suspicion. It wasn't what she envisioned, and she was not about to let herself ruin something that could be so good for her.

She had envisioned herself with the windows rolled down, wind whipping through her hair, a content smile on her face while blasting music that perfectly suited the adventurous mood. It was on her to take the step in turning it into a reality. With the image back in mind, she rolled the windows down in the car and tousled her hair with her hand as she inhaled the fresh air.

Turning her attention to the radio, her fingers fumbled briefly trying to find the correct button to switch it on. Finding the button, she pressed it and sat back comfortably into her seat before scanning through the channels until something grabbed at her.

At that moment, with the windows down, her hair flying behind her, a song that sang about having a ways to go, Lexa felt something inside her just crack open and her laughter soon took its place in her surroundings.

She could feel the tension leave her as she continued to laugh in such a carefree way. Tears pricked her eyes over the jumble of emotions that swelled inside her that was starting to put her mind back on track. This was what she wanted. No one, especially not herself, was going to let this moment slip through her fingers.

#There's Distance Between Us #clexa #clexa au #clexa modern #clexa fic #clexa fanfic #clexa ao3 #clexa tdbu #myfic #my writing

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sirsapling · 5 years ago

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Catching Up on Tagged Posts

I’ve been tagged in quite a few things recently, and if I don’t do them now I’ll forget about them forever, so I’m gonna put them all here and under the cut because my friends, this is gonna be a long fuckin’ post.

I also won't be following any tagging rules... cause i’d end up running out of people to tag. If you want to do any or all of these, consider me your tagger.

QUARANTINE GAME

Tagged by the dearest brilliant @bardingbeedle

Answer the following questions!

1. How has your day been?

It’s been okay, a lot of my days have been focused on drawing little things and focusing on my diet. I might be getting a buzz cut this evening, that's a thing. (Edit from later in the evening when I came back to finish this: I got a buzz cut)

2. What is the last thing that made you smile?

This question made me realise I hadn't smiled today. That was pretty depressing, but I reconnected with a dear friend yesterday and that was pretty swell.

3. What’s keeping you entertained these days?

Since entering lock down, and briefly getting sick (not with covid as far as we can tell) it sort of forced me to separate myself from my student life and work life, and consider, well, me for a while. I’ve had more creative drive in the past week than I’ve had in months, and I’ve made more even with school. I’ll be staggering uploads, but i’ve made a surprising amount. Lock down may have made me lonely as hell, with a heck of a need to talk to people a lot (I finally got over my hesitation about joining the MCU 18+ server, and they have had to deal with me hovering constantly to join conversations) but it’s been nice to work again.

4. if you are in some kind of quarantine/self isolation: is there anything you’d like to achieve in this time?

I just hit about 17 days inside, and my ideal for a time where, for now, I seem to be a lot more focused, would be to finish my long overdue commissions. The people who bought them have waited way too long, and as much as I’d like to pay them back I certainly can't afford that, so I’m gonna work my ass off at art and apologies.

5. Post a selfie! (If you’re comfortable with that!)

Ask the like 5 people who have seen my real face, they’ll confirm the likeness

Tagged by @thirstinart

rules: tag 20 people you’d like to know better and wrangle them into answering the questions below.

Nicknames: Sapling, Sap, SirSap, Plant Dad, Captain Dadsap and the Ultimates book club recently decided Daddy Sap was appropriate and I’m gauging how to feel about that

Gender: Male

Height: 5’ 7

Star sign: Aries

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Favorite animal: Sharks ‘n’ Bears

Number of blankets: I love the feel and the weight of blankets but in practice I get too hot.

Where I’m from: From a town in England too small to sensibly name, but I now live in London

When I started this account: It was technically made in 2014, but I didn't begin posting till 2017

Why I started this account: I originally made it to follow a lot of my friends from DeviantArt when tumblr was in that prime. But when I started using it for real it was to post art for Hellogarbagetime and sabrecmc after they egged me into making some during the AA streams at the start of that year.

MUSIC MEME

Tagged by @ayapandagirl (Tumblr won't let me tag you for some reason??)

Rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to! put your music on shuffle and list the first ten songs, then tag ten people. no skipping!

Shakes - Emeli Sandé

Don’t Lose My Number (cover) - Ninja Sex Party

In for the Kill - La Roux

Killer Queen - Queen

Swim - Fickle Friends

Underdog - Imagine Dragons

Independant Together - The Steven Universe the Movie soundtrack

River Lea - Adele

11:11 - Andrew Applepie

Reaper - Sia

A lot of this stuff is stuff I still listen to thankfully, that cover of Don’t loose My Number is one of my FAVOURITE songs

Trope game!

Tagged by @capnstars

1. Slowburn or Love at First Sight

2. Fake Dating or Secretly Dating

This isn't a formatting error I just really fuckin’ love secret dating.

3. Enemies to Lovers or Best Friends to Lovers

4. “Oh no, there’s Only One Bed,” or Long Distance Correspondence

5. Hurt/Comfort or Amnesia

6. Fantasy AU or Modern AU

7. Mutual Pining or Domestic Bliss

8. Smut or Fluff

9. Canon-Compliant/Missing Scenes or Fix-It

10. Alternate Universe or Future Fic

11. One Shot or Multi-chapter

12. Kid Fic or Road trip Fic

13. Reincarnation or Character Death

14. Arranged Marriage or Accidental Marriage

15. High School Romance or Middle-Aged Romance

16. Time Travel or Isolated Together

17. Neighbours or Roommates

18. Sci Fi AU or Magic AU

19. Body swap or Genderbend

20. Angst or Crack

21. Apocalyptic or Mundane

Last Sentence Meme

I was tagged in this meme by @blossomsinthemist @firelightmystic and I swear @ashes0909 tagged me in one of these like a decade ago and I didn't ever do it

Rules: Post the last line you wrote and tag the same number of people as the word count of your last line.

Since I got tagged 3 times, have one of my long gangly sentences that I haven’t been forced to cut down (cough, Ferret, cough) to a reasonable and sensible size yet.

Last line I wrote:

“Tony’s is ready to protest this, blood rapidly rushing between his head and other areas, but then Steve wraps a warm, heavy arm around his shoulders to lead him back inside, and Tony forgets it in order to loop his arm round Steve’s waist and walk with him, rubbing little arcs into Steve’s hip.”

Word count: 54

#wow long post #SERIOUSLY LONG FUCKIN POST #text post #tagged in #tag memes #misc #about me

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whoviewsmyinsta-blog · 5 years ago

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How To See Who Viewed My Instagram Vedios And Profile

There’s something every instagrammer wants to know: who's searching at my pictures? We live in a show-and-tell world, with i-see-i-do-i-publish-mindsets, comments, and “likes”. No one desires to disappear at fault of a #uninteresting photograph. But, ever considering the appearance of instagram memories, which does can help you see who has seen the movies IG Apers and photographs you have got shared, the concept is beginning to spread that you can additionally understand who has visible the content material you have published for your wall. Instagram makes it clean to play pretend, but what occurs whilst a person else pretends to be you?

How To See Who Viewed Your Instagram Video

This is the era of innovation. The field of technology is enhancing at such a great speed that know developing a particular tool is not very tough. Apart from that, you will find several hacks and trick to get to know something that the world think is impossible to find out. It is the case with the Instagram profiles. Many of us thought that it is not even near possible to find out that who has viewed your Instagram profile and how many times. However, the technology has still proved our thoughts wrong. Because recently an amazing new tool has been developed that will astound you at all cost. With this tool, you will be able to find out all the answers to the single question how to see who views your Instagram. This tool will bring innovation in the social networking world. Now the hidden spy’s will not remain hidden anymore and you will be able to track the activities of many people. So let us have a walkthrough of this amazing online tool that will let you find out the person viewing your Instagram profile. Now you might be wondering that how this amazing tool was developed and the masterminds behind its creation. In the present age, we have the amazing tool of technology to make can you see who views your instagram story everything possible. The online tool was developed because of the single reason of giving people a method to know how to see who views your Instagram and it has been already stated. So to provide the answer to this question we collaborated a team of professional that are specialists in software development and have the perfect knowledge of the Instagram. We joined some algorithmic laws and few codes that led us to the development of this amazing online tool that has made this possible to find the profile viewers. This tool will help you to beware of the unknown people and make your privacy strong or remove all your personal items from your profile to keep them away from the eyes of the evil. So the time has come to stop worrying about who is viewing your profile and find them out so you can stop them for the greater good. We hope that this online tool will turn the way a person use Instagram and disturbs the privacy of other people by viewing their profiles. In theory, social media sites like facebook make it so that third parties can’t access your “mystery statistics,” but without our understanding, hackers are taking advantage people: robbing private data (even the ones first rate-complex-and-thoroughly-concept-out passwords) and gaining full get right of entry to to our profiles. Inside the hypothetical and far off case of mark zuckerberg and the directors of instagram figuring out that you could get entry to this records, it would be the app itself that, in one in every of its updates, brought the choice so that you can recognise who has seen your pics. If a person tells you they can do it, they’re no longer to be trusted.

Viewing And Publishing Instagram Stories

Take into account the case of turker bayram, a lamentably popular but elusive malware developer who has been capable of vicinity his malicious apps inside the top charts on google play and the app shop. Soon after he creates them and uploads them, there are huge numbers of downloads. By the time a person figures out what’s occurring, and after hundreds how to see who views your instagram of hundreds (probably tens of millions) of customers are robbed of their personal information, google and apple subsequently delete the apps. This has took place at least two times. Some months in the past, an impartial developer named david layer-reiss warned us on his blog approximately ig apers new malicious “software”. The ios model became called “who cares with me –igapers”, and in android, “igapers — who cares with me”. Those “apps” found with the aid of layer-reiss have already been eliminated and, in november 2015, each apple and google withdrew ig apers original platform, igapers. It isn't always the first time malware takes over a famous web page (i.E. Instagram, whatsapp, fb) so as to massively rob consumer profiles… and it gained’t be the last. These “apps” usually return to the top of the charts and every so often below the umbrella of the equal developer. In the case of “igapers”, the sufferer innocently enters their credentials, unaware that the confidential data is despatched to the attacker’s server. Rather than coming across “who has been searching at your instagram?”, the cyber-attacker seamlessly accesses the account as if it were their own and posts spam pics at the owner’s behalf. Foto 2_instagram from telegrams to instagrams, the greater technically state-of-the-art we end up the more critical it's miles to can you see who views your instagram believe the conversation supply, or in this example, the “app”. “igapers” is just one of the many scams designed to take benefit of the great interest generated through social networks. The most worrisome aspect about them is their recognition, continually huge and instant, that by the time google or apple are involved it’s too overdue for heaps of customers. Combat those threats via staying alert, ignoring fake guarantees, and installing a hard antivirus on all of your gadgets. Instagram is the most popular photo and video sharing application which shall we one proportion your non-public or public snap shots. It’s feasible to determine film watch count on the motion pictures that you have downloaded through the app doesn’t let you know who’s checking on your instagram account and privately following your pictures.

Summary Of Who Views My Instagram

In case you are a regular instagram user, then there’s a exquisite possibility which you have key enthusiasts too who opt for to check your instagram page along with your snap shots. Fortunately, there are approaches to understand who is checking your instagram profile. You could additionally recognise who perspectives your instagram. Instagram analytics services are available how to see who viewed your instagram so you can observe these engagement metrics. Services like statigram, handiest measured and nitrogram does now not presently degree raw viewership statistics but offers you a photo of how many individuals have interacted along with your posts thru evaluations, likes and shared urls.

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goddamnitlady · 6 years ago

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I FOUND ‘THE’ LILY BACK!!

I’m going to spam here.

intro

I found Lily. THE artist Lily.

You know her fanwork because EVERYONE and their cats know her Naruto series fanart, of especially Uchiha Itachi and his family.

Art by Lily, obviously. (I hope to link to the artist soon)

My history - how I landed in the fandom

As a fifteen? sixteen? year old, I read one fanfic of a fandom I didn’t know. It was a Reader x Sasuke fanfiction. My dyslexic brain couldn’t tell the difference between ‘Sasuke’ (love interest) and ‘Sakura’ (rival), so it was a really strange experience.

I bravely dipped a toe into the Naruto fandom after that, without ever having read the manga or seen the anime. I read more fics, I collected fanart, then finally stumbled upon the manga volume 6 or 7. I promptly fell in love with Sasuke?

BUT THEN TEENAGE-ME STUMBLED UPON LILY’S ARTWORK OF ITACHI

HOLY SHIT

I WAS SMITTEN. I showed it to my friend via the website Quizilla (which doesn’t exist any more).

My history - how I wanted to find more for 10 years

I obsessively collected images of all Uchihas, and the Lily artworks were my most prized ones. I had never had access to her website. Over the past 10 years I collected any piece of artwork I could find. Every year (usually it’s less than a year) I go on a searching spree. I specifically search and collect her artwork.

I hunt for NARUTO fanart images that haven’t seen yet

I hunt for images that she made for other fandoms (such as Death Note, Final Fantasy VII, etc.)

I hunt for BETTER SIZE pictures because most of her images are like 300x300 pixels, which is smaller than a credit card.*

I always checked the deviantART ‘Lily fan-club’ group.

I’ve collected a best friend whose name is Lilly and who draws art too(now I jest. That one has an extra letter L)

I have ‘Lily artwork’ folder numbers 1 to 5. Every time I find an artwork (that I’ve already seen) I hope it’s maybe a few pixels bigger than the copies I already have (my standards dwindled ok?). I also hope to find maybe one or two artworks that I missed during a previous spree.

The added difficulty is, that a lot of visual artists imitated her style, drew over her work, 1 on 1 copied images. So over the years I’ve micro-studied her tiny artwork images to see what makes a real ‘Lily’ artwork.

I had rationally given up on finding her, but I still hoped. I wanted to see if I could maybe find artwork of hers that I had never seen before. I knew she’d made X number of fanarts on her website (that I never had the opportunity to visit). I thought that maybe someone on the internet would find her page someday and tell the deviantART Lily fanclub.

My plottwist discovery

I never thought it would be me? That I would be the person who would find her. AND I FOUND HER. I’M SO HAPPY.

I’m one hundred percent sure it’s her. I have written proof of this artist admitting she’s Lily + I have spent years experience of micro-appreciating her artwork and differentiating it from other artists’works. My expert eye tells me it’s true.

Her MOST RECENT UPDATE was made 11 NOV 2018. That’s only a week ago!

This crazy weekend

I started my picture-saving spree on friday morning, and found her on sunday afternoon.

My first reaction was to save all links, and then click the red X on the top of the screen because HOLY SHIT. I found THE Lily back.

I keep thinking, ‘oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’ve loved your work for ten years and I found you back’. My mind is all over the place. So this day is hectic and weird.

I’m not able to calm down this fast. So I’m taking it on my pace. I want to share this URL with everyone, but what if she doesn’t want to be found?

She left the fandom 10 years ago. Only 7 years ago I learnt that she had left to because her artwork got stolen/re-uploaded all the time by people who didn’t give credit, and that she had taken up her wish to become a mangaka. For the longest time, that’s all I knew.

Future: responsibility

It’s very much possible she kept the divide between ‘Lily’ and her current online zone, because she doesn’t want to be found.

If I share the URL... and lots of other superfans suddenly flood her space with messages that say “plz draw itachi again!!1!!” ...then she might be unhappy. I don’t wish that on her. I can not irresponsibly share the URL that leads to her.

I feel a lot of responsibility!

This is my to-do list:

Go back to the website that lead me to her

spit through everything. Leave no stone unturned.

On there, save all the images of the NARUTO fanart that I had not ever seen before. (I found at least 1 fanart image that I’ve never seen before.)

familiarise myself her new zone

check how she is doing as a person (happy, sad?) (I hope she’s happy)

find out what she’s been up to for 10 years

the godly glory that is her recent artwork

put on sunglasses against the radiance

seriously this woman went through 10 years

obviously her style has changed from 2008 to 2018

some artwork coloring/poses made me whisper hot damn, not just because it’s sexy, but because it’s so pretty.

i’m a superfan ok (judge me kindly)

Everyone’s allowed to be a superfan of certain artists. I’ll be a superfan for life of a few artists, and will follow them anywhere, to any platform.

check out all links to other places Lily is available at

check out those pages/websites

find out if she has a patreon/etzy/other store (I will smash down money. The ‘rent’ is long overdue.)

Check out all available text to see if she writes anywhere about yes/no being linked to her fan-art name.

Last resort!! C-c-contact her (omfg) to ask if it is okay if I publicly iink ‘Lily’ to her current online zone.

I’m sorry!

I will have to keep her online zone secret for a while longer!

If someone else would find Lily’s online zone and keep the URL a secret yet post this much about her... so excitedly... I would absolutely hate them for keeping it secret. If that’s person is you, please know I’m really sorry I’m putting you through this feeling. But some news at last is better than none at all. Right?

Love,

Lady.

* = I was firmly convinced that all artists always worked on print-paper sized canvases (and that I was just missing out on the wallpaper-sized pictures Lily must have uploaded, that I wasn’t searching hard enough). I kept that conviction until got into a romantic relationship with an Australian artist who drew on small miniature online canvases as well. “I don’t want to change my brush size settings”, my darling said. I yelled hard in caps lock in Dutch, English, German, and French. Now that artist draws on beautifully big canvases. And I know better than to expect big sizes or enter relationships when I’m on the other side of the world (Europe). Lily knows better too, because when I saved one of her new artworks, the file-type was literally “LARGE JPG”. Aaaah. <333333

#lady vs life

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harryseyebrows · 6 years ago

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Hazoff Babies’ First Christmas Card

How about some Christmas in July? Because I’m horrible at finishing things and this is far overdue. 2.3k of pure fluff. Not an ounce of angst or suffering in sight. General warnings: mpreg, male nursing (squint and you’ll miss it), super tacky niche dialogue. Thank you to Sara @pinkzayn for proofreading!

“Shit, do you think both of them are gonna fit in the box?”

“Don’t know if you’ve noticed, H, but they’re pretty small. Recently squeezed out and all that.”

“Jeffrey, they’re almost five months old. I feel like we keep having to buy them new clothes, because every day something else doesn’t fit them anymore.”

“They’ll fit. We just might have to… stack ‘em a bit. Like baby Legos. Infant Jenga.”

Harry ignores him. He’s not being very helpful right now, but perhaps it’s for the best. Harry wants this done right so he’s gonna do it himself. So he stands there for a moment, hands on his hips, eyes narrowed at the gift box he bought months in advance for this very purpose and internally curses his past-self for not having the foresight to buy a bigger box. He glances between Jude and Eli on the floor having tummy time, completely fascinated by some red Christmas ribbon, and the box in question, sizing them up and trying to figure out how he’s going to arrange them for a good shot.

It’s their first Christmas card. It’s important. Anyone who has ever said a simple “Hello” to Harry on the street is getting one of these cards, not to mention all of Harry and Jeff’s family and friends that are chomping at the bit to get their hands on one. He gets it; they’re very cute, and he is more than happy to show them off at every available opportunity, especially when has creative control.

Jeff hasn’t said a word about Harry rearranging the living room or the outfits that he’s picked out, but Harry suspects Jeff thinks he’s a bit crazy.

“Okay babies,” Harry says while kneeling down to get their attention, even though it’s often hit or miss. It doesn’t stop him from narrating everything. He wants them to feel like they’re involved in the process. “We’re gonna do a trial run. Who wants to go in the box first?”

Jude is still very interested in his piece of ribbon, scrunching it up in his little fist and trying to put it in his mouth, giant wet drool patches all over it, bright red turning maroon. Eli, however, looks up at Harry with wide eyes, his head wobbling about in that way that babies do, and gives Harry a gummy smile.

Harry picks him up first and kisses all over his chubby face and neck to hear him shriek with delight. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry catches Jeff smiling at them from his spot on the couch.

“All right, chunks,” Harry says to Eli, knee-walking over to their Christmas tree and the box in front of it, which is wrapped in glittery red wrapping paper and filled with stuffing and cushions, a soft white blanket artfully laid over top to conceal it all. “We’re gonna put you right… here.”

Eli isn’t bothered by being put in the box or Harry rearranging his limbs. He just gives him another smile when Harry tickles him.

“You’re so happy today,” Harry coos. “I can’t wait to see what kind of meltdown you’re gonna have later, because there’s no way this can last. Just wait until your pictures are done, please.” Eli starts to ignore him halfway through, gaze drifting to a stray fuzzy on the blanket.

“Please don’t jinx it,” Jeff groans.

“Mm, we’ll see.”

Harry turns his attention to Jude, who has apparently found a fallen fruit puff that is who-knows how old, and decided to eat it. Harry just sighs and picks him up.

He gave up on being neurotic about those sorts of things a while ago. He was driving himself nuts, making sure they didn’t eat or touch anything they’re “not supposed to.” Jeff is more laidback, and happy to let them eat dirt if they want to. “It’s good for them. Builds up the immune system,” he’s said more than once, much to Harry’s horror. Now, though, a carpet-puff isn’t the end of the world.

On Harry’s shoulder, Jude immediately grabs onto Harry’s shirt and puts his face in his neck when Harry starts to kiss him. He’s much more cuddly than Eli and Harry takes full advantage of it.

“Okay, darling. You’re next. Into the box you go.” Harry places him carefully so he’s not squishing Eli, but it’s difficult because they’re both so wiggly. It takes a bit of maneuvering so that they look moderately comfortable, making sure that they won’t accidentally hurt each other.

Thankfully they both fit. It’s a little bit of a tight squeeze, and Jeff was right; they are stacked a bit like Baby Jenga. But it’s okay. It’ll work. Now all they have to do is get them changed into their picture-taking outfits and have them fall asleep. Harry tells this to Jeff who just gives him a look.

“Why don’t we just change them and take it while they’re awake?”

Harry raises his eyebrows and gestures at the babies with a hand. “Do you really think we’re gonna be able to get them to cooperate long enough for a picture with both of them looking?” To illustrate his point, he snaps his fingers and uses his higher-pitched voice, “Boys. Hey, look at Daddy. Over here--”

Eli looks for a brief second, turning his head in Harry’s direction before going back to sucking on his own fingers, while Jude ignores him entirely, more interested in his brother’s onesie, pulling on it with all of his strength to try and bring the fabric to his mouth. The doctor told them he’s probably starting to get his teeth, even if it seems a bit early. It definitely explains the drool.

“Okay, point made,” Jeff says, standing up to grab Jude and laying him over his shoulder, patting him on the bum a couple of times.

Harry grabs Eli and all four of them head to the twins’ room to put them in their Christmas outfits. Harry probably spent too long in the store agonizing over which things to buy, but ultimately decided on simple red and white-striped cotton pants, navy sweaters with red trim, and tiny white socks. They’re awful about keeping hats on, so he opted to not buy the little Santa hats he wanted to get, even if he still thinks they would have looked adorable.

He still feels very pleased with himself when they’re both dressed and laying on the changing table side-by-side.

“You two look very handsome. Don’t they look handsome, Daddy?” Harry pulls Jeff in with an arm around his waist.

“They get it from me,” Jeff elbows Harry gently.

“Oh, so you’re not gonna whine about how they’re my clones today?”

“That’s only when they’re acting up.”

Harry snorts. “Thanks.”

Jeff rubs his shoulder. “We ready to get this show on the road?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get Eli’s bottle ready.”

“Do you think it was a good idea to get them changed first? Shouldn’t we have waited?”

“We’ll be careful. They have bibs.”

“If you say so,” Jeff says, sounding dubious. Harry gets it; they’re messy little eaters, and while they might be heavy sleepers, he’s not sure they’d be able to stay asleep through having their clothes changed. If worse comes to worst, they always have wet wipes they can use to clean up any spills and dribbles. Or Harry can just arrange them to hide any stains.

Jeff takes the boys back into the living room, having mastered the art of the Two Baby Grab, one in each of the crooks of his arms.

With Eli’s bottle done, Harry grabs bibs and two cloths before sliding his shirt over his head and dropping down onto the couch next to Jeff, trading the bottle for Jude.

The boys are happy to be fed, both of their eyes fluttering shut after just a couple of minutes, making happy little noises and flexing their fingers in contentment. Harry watches as Jeff attentively wipes Eli’s mouth if any milk starts to escape and turns his attention to Jude when he feels wetness rolling down his own chest, using the bib to catch it before it can get on Jude’s sweater.

They do a decent job at managing any potential stains. By the time the boys are done, there’s not a single drop on them, and Harry’s initial goal has been met: they’re sound asleep.

The lighting is good right now, the sun not to bright or shining directly into the window, so after burping them through their snooze, Jeff and Harry place the babies in the box, adjusting the blanket just so. They arrange their little bodies so that their limbs are tucked close, their chubby, slack faces angled towards the camera.

Standing behind the tripod, Harry fiddles with the camera settings for a few seconds before snapping away. Jeff seems content to let Harry do his thing, but stands by in case he’s needed, dutiful and attentive. The boys don’t stir much, only the occasional twitch or jerk. After a couple of minutes, Harry is satisfied with the pictures he’s taken and he’s eager to upload them for editing. He already has a plan for the prints; a simple, understated decorative border, matte finish, off-white envelopes. His favorite pen and Christmas stamps are all ready to go for when the cards arrive, and people should be getting them within the next two weeks at the most.

But before he can do any of that, he and Jeff should put the boys in their respective cribs. The box can’t be very comfortable, even if they do look adorable, cuddled up next to each other.

“You happy with the pictures?” Jeff asks, gingerly holding Jude against his chest.

“Very. You should be thankful you have such a talented photographer for a husband.”

“True, but I think humbleness is your best quality.”

They put both boys down and keep their bedroom door cracked before heading back into the living room. Harry disassembles his tripod and grabs the memory card from his camera.

On the couch with his head in Jeff’s lap and his laptop on his thighs, Harry goes through the pictures, clicking around to find the best one.

“Which do you like better? This one or this one?” Harry asks Jeff.

“Uh, they look identical to me, but the second one? I guess?”

“Good answer. That’s the one I was leaning towards.”

With a few tweaks and a quick crop, he uploads their selection onto the cardstock website and places the order. Everything is done and it all went successfully. He’s genuinely surprised, but pleasantly so. His good mood probably warrants a kiss, he thinks. So Harry puts his laptop on the coffee table and urges Jeff to lie lengthwise on the couch with him, tucking their knitted throw around them. Harry rubs his socked feet against Jeff’s ankles, head resting on his shoulder.

Jeff tits his face down obligingly when Harry pouts his lips out dramatically, and Harry can’t help but laugh into the kiss. It ends up with them pressing their half open mouths together, exchanging warm puffs of air, but it’s lovely all the same.

No matter the trials they’ve been through, it still makes Harry’s heart clench that they get to do this, get to be unabashedly happy around and with each other. Things aren’t always easy these days, but moments like this make it seem like it can’t be that bad.

It’s Christmastime, their boys are asleep down the hall, and Harry couldn’t be happier. He kisses Jeff again.

~~~

Niall spots the return address in the top left corner of the thick white envelope and gets unreasonably excited. He waits until he’s back in the house to carefully tear it open, careful not to disturb what he suspects is inside.

The horizontal card is sturdy and expensive-looking. It has Harry’s handiwork written all over it, from the tasteful gold and white border, to the elegant and looping font that reads, “Happy Holidays from The Azoffs.”

However, the picture really steals the show. Niall can’t tell them apart for the life of him, so he doesn’t know who is who, but Jude and Eli look too cute for their own good in the box that Niall is sure Harry painstakingly crafted himself. The lid of said box is leaning casually against the side of it, likely placed there and rearranged until it looked perfect. The Christmas tree behind them is decorated perfectly, color-coordinated ornaments, lights, and tinsel all complimenting each other. Even the rug around the tree matches it all. The boys are asleep and look peacefully oblivious that one of their dads is a complete nut.

He’s met them a few times already, and remembers seeing them when they were very fresh and new at the hospital, but it seems like the older they get, the more they grow into their features.

“Christ they look like Harry,” he whispers to himself, holding the card up to his face. Same lips, same eyes, same eyebrows. It’s like Harry’s body said “if I’m carrying these kids, there’s gonna be no mistaking who they belong to.” Maybe some of Jeff will show up in them as they get bigger. For now, it makes Niall laugh, knowing that there are two tiny carbon copies of Harry wiggling around on earth, probably pooping or crying or doing other baby things right this second.

He doesn’t have a lot of things hanging on his fridge; just a few notes and reminders for doctors appointments, a picture that Theo drew him a couple months ago. Using a magnet, he pins the Christmas card next to Theo’s picture and thinks it looks nice there, where he’ll see it every day. He’ll have to call Harry later and give him shit for being such a dad, and for managing to have two kids that look like he produced them asexually and completely on his own.

#my fic #hazoff abo #niche fluff to the extreme #MERRY CHRYSLER #also a while ago i mentioned that the kids were going to be raised and informed by both faiths #but i know very little about Judaism and wouldn't want to write something incorrect or offensive #so if anyone wants to offer some advice on how to effectively do that #please feel free to message me #i would love to elaborate on the kids getting to experience both Christmas and Hanukkah

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tamamatango · 6 years ago

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General Updates: Keroro News and My Stuff

In actual Keroro news: Next month’s Keroro chapter will be the Dororo + Koyuki chapter. Very refreshing after two months of whatever the hell is going on in the Shin Keroro and Momi chapter (of which the second part isn’t even on ComicWalker yet) :V. Ninja duo is long overdue for some more attention anyway. With any luck the chapter I’ve been waiting the whole damn summer for will be in the October (technically November) issue. Pray for me I need something to get me through the semester besides Smash Ultimate

It was revealed at the Shibuya Keroro exhibition that more details involving the new Keroro Robo and the secret 20th anniversary project will be revealed at TAMASHII NATION, taking place October 26th-28th. All we know about this project is that it is a collaboration between Kadokawa and Bandai Namco Pictures. The latter group is an animation studio and subsidiary of Sunrise who obtained the rights to the Keroro franchise in 2015, and they are not the same group that did the Keroro Flash anime. In other words, it is pretty likely that this project is a new animated thing unrelated to the Flash anime.

And finally, the official Twitter of Sega of Japan unveiled that merch is coming based on the Sega + Keroro collab art. Looks like Kururu is getting special treatment this time around, although I believe the Keroro Twitter hinted that Dororo + Sonic art is getting additional merchandise as well.

That’s all for official Keroro stuff. In personal news, I have actually had at least 2 song translations sitting around for months and just haven’t gotten around to proofreading and uploading them due to business with other things/tiredness. One is an insert song used in a couple of episodes and the other is a CD exclusive. I’ll try and get around to putting them up before classes start in a week and a half.

Also translation related: I’ve considered—keyword considered—translating bits and pieces of the manga, but it’s gonna be a hell of a while before anything actually comes of that. I’ve had other large translation projects in the background from time to time and they usually fall through now because of fansubs, but I’m actually approaching the end of the set of eps I obliged myself to fansubbing. The show in question won’t be finished, but as far as I know I’ll be done doing things almost entirely on my own, which might leave me some time to do some Keroro related things, on top of actually putting more raw study time into Japanese. I’ve been studying through application for so long that I need to go back and properly memorize some shit :V

I finally got another cool Orikero idea but my ass is too lazy to pick up a tablet pen so we’ll see where that goes :L

I have some other miscellaneous stuff planned I guess. I need to try and use this account more lol.

#keroro gunso #sgt frog #keroro 20th

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zendozebra · 6 years ago

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All the Time in the World Chapter 11

“Why are you coming to me about this?” Like, he gets it, a sparring club was a good idea, but shouldn’t Kirishima go to one of his teachers that gives them practical classes? Admittedly, Majima should be helping Yagi and Aizawa, but Nezu hasn’t bitched at him to do it yet, so he wasn’t going to start.

“Because I went to All Might, but he said that he was too busy to be our sponsor, and Aizawa told me that you aren’t in charge of a club yet, which means that you can’t say no.” Aizawa, you prick! He was really hoping that everyone had forgotten that little detail of his contract, but damnit, why’d he have to be such a good teacher.

“Fine, you have other members for this shit show?”

“Yes sir! Myself, Bakugo, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Asui are the ones who signed up for it.”

“That’s it? Huh, you’d figure there’d be more than that.”

“I just asked enough people to have the minimum of five.”

“Makes sense. Why are you trying to start this up, anyway? Where’d the idea come from?”

“Well, the final exams are in a few weeks, and we still don’t know what we’re going up against for the practical part of it. There’s a chance that we might have to solve a problem without our quirks, or be forced to fight without them.”

“Well, at least you’ve thought this through a little bit.” He sighed loudly, standing up from his seat at his desk. “I would like to let you know, Kirishima, that not only is this a stupid idea, but it is an idea so stupid that you have my support 100%.” Majima smirked when Kirishima started to cheer, not knowing what the time stopper’s next move was. “But!” He leaned in close to the redhead, his smirk growing into a wicked smile, “I want in.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Five of his students stood in front of him, decked out in their gym uniforms. It was early on a saturday, so Majima was still kind of drunk. Let’s hope Asui wouldn’t judge him for that, her bluntness cuts deep sometimes. He cleared his throat before he started, “Alright, bitches, here's the deal. I’m hungover, and I frankly, don’t care for… Roughly 60% of you, 40% on a good day. So, let’s just go over a few things.”

“First things first, no quirks. Uraraka, since you don’t really control when your quirk activates, I got some gloves for you from the nurse’s office. Kirishima, no hardening, Midoriya, no bone-breaking, and if you blow something up, Bakugo, I’ll kick your ass.”

“I’d like to see you try, asshole!” This little shit just doesn’t know when to quit, does he? Fine, Majima has an idea to deal with this shit.

“Alright then, you’re with me shit-stain. The rest of you, choose a partner.”

They both got into position while Majima took his shirt off, trying to ignore the looks his tattoos got him. Man, sometimes he regrets getting this thing. Seriously, the kids knew he was a villain, that’s fine, but he had kind of wanted to keep the yakuza thing a secret. Whatever. “You ready, bo-” Bakugo punched him in the face before he could finish. This bitch.

Majima reeled back, but managed to grab the blonde’s arm, using this leverage to go in for his own punch, nailing Bakugo in the stomach. He took a step back, shaking his head to try and regain his focus. But what do you know, Bakugo doesn’t know the meaning of the words “Wait a sec”, and immediately charged back in, throwing a right hook at his head. He blocked with his arm, and again grabbed the boys arm, pulling him in to knee his groin. The blonde dropped like a rock, a look of hate at his teacher while Majima laughed his fucking ass off. All of this happened in a span of 2 minutes, meaning that the other four students had watched the whole thing.

They looked at him with wide eyes as Bakugo charged at him with his hands crackling. Oh, he’s pissed, this should be fun. He should use his old bag of tricks for this, shouldn’t he? Alright, yeah, let’s use the desync trick. Majima didn’t snap his fingers, but his body was cloaked in a blinding white light. “Time Desync: Factor of 5!” The others couldn’t figure out what happened, but Bakugo was suddenly flying back and landing on the ground, knocked out cold.

He turned to look at his other students, “So, what have we learned about fighting today, class?”

“We’re not supposed to use our quirks, Majima-sensei! That’s cheating, and it’s super unmanly!” Kirishima, seemed to be… Much more upset about this than Majima thought he’d be. Guess he should explain himself.

“Remember Kirishima, scumbag tactics are the only way to win. If you are not willing to become a huge cheater, just to win a fight, then you don’t deserve to win that fight.” Every. SIngle. Student. They were all looking at him like he was crazy. “What?”

“Majima-sensei, that really doesn’t sound very heroic.” Asui said, finger on her chin as she thought it over.

“Heroic? Who the hell said anything about heroics? Last I checked, I’m still a villain!” To send his point home, he punched Kirishima in the face when he knew the boy wasn’t ready, knocking him to the ground. “Hell, I’m the best kind of villain! Evil, not out of conviction, not for survival, not for gain or revenge. I am evil, as a choice! Evil for evil’s sake!”

“What the hell’s the difference between that kind of evil and the others? You said that there were only the 3 kinds, but now you’re changin’ it?” Oh man, Kirishima sounded a bit worked up. He probably should have punched Midoriya instead of him.

“The difference is that there is an equal chance that I’ll kill someone out of boredom as there is the chance of the stealing a pack of gum. I commit evil not because I want to commit evil, but because there is evil to commit.” Oh wait, shit, there’s a lesson to be taught here, wasn’t there? “Besides, you need to get this notion of ‘manly fighting’ out of your head, kid, before someone pays the price.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Midoriya, Asui, start with some sparring. Uraraka, take Bakugo to the nurse. I’m a bit rusty with desync, and I can’t remember how much damage he was suppose to take. Better safe than sorry, yeah?” He then grabbed Kirishima by the shoulder and led him a bit away for some privacy.

“Let me ask ya something, kid. There’s a villain standing between you and a group of hostages, what do you do?”

“I defeat the vi-”

“Wrong.” Judging the confused look on the redhead’s face, he can guess that this lesson is tad bit overdue, “You prioritize the safety and rescue of the hostages, work to isolate the villain in an empty environment. You’ve been assigned to work with a team of six, fighting a group of three, how do you decide which opponent to fight?”

“I fight the strongest o-”

“Wrong. Kid, you call yourself the Red Riot. You want to honour the legacy of the Crimson Riot, then put aside the chivalrous shit for when the job is done.”

“But what about fairness? Honour in fighting your opponents? That’s everything that Crimson Riot stood for!”

“And what if someone gets killed, because you wanted to fight fair? Huh? How are you going to explain that to a father that he lost his daughter to a villain attack, because you didn’t do everything in your power to get the job done. Huh?! What will you do, Kirishima?!” Majima is getting a bit worked up, old memories he didn’t want to be reminded of, but this kid needs to learn this lesson. Like Midoriya and that giant robot all those months ago.

“I’ll fight harder! I’ll get stronger! I- I’ll-”

“Look, kid,” Majima put his hands on Kirishima’s shoulders, looking him in the eyes. He saw a lot of self doubt, and a whole slew of confusion, but he’s just trying to help. “Some people say that not everything can be solved with your fists, but you’d be surprised how many people will give up after a quick kick to the dick. Or grabbing a fistfull of hair, or a thumb in the eye, or a sneak attack, ambush, all matter of dirty tricks. So long as you can end your opponent, you do it. By any means necessary. You got it?”

“…”

“Hey! I said, you got it? Or am I going to have to demonstrate to you just how effective these tricks are?”

That got him, now he was starting to look a bit scared. “Yes, sensei!”

“Alright, now back to work with the others.” Majima watched Kirishima run over to the others, putting a hand on his lower back. Damn, desync really did a number on his back. He’ll have to start up his own training again, he?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Parts of this chapter seemed rushed, I know. I was having a ton of trouble with this one, and I needed to get something out. Next chapter is where we start affecting the canon a bit, and I have a lot of really good stuff planned. As an aside, we finally have fan art. Go check it out on my tumblr, @zendozebra, or just click the link in my profile. I also give updates on why I’m not uploading, so while you’re there, give me a follow, better to gauge how many of you ungrateful fucks there really are.

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idesignibuystuffworld · 3 years ago

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Online Product Configurator Offers Key Digital Age Solutions Amid Evolving Landscape

Customization is certainly not a new trend in the market. Its track records prove that implementing it in the business model help brands to add an extra perk as more and more companies are including customizable features in their products. Customization coupled with ecommerce development is the way forward for entrepreneurs operating in various industries. If you are willing to commence any business, especially in fashion, you must adhere to the changing market trends and consumer behavior. The product configurator software helps brands willing to align their business models as per customers’ ever-evolving needs. The customization has an in-built digital feature that smoothens the designing process for your buyers and enables fashion brands that offer various fashion products, such as footwear, apparel, hats, jewelry, mugs, socks, and many other things, to cater dynamic demands of the customer and provide an exclusive experience.

Online Product Configurator Enables Brands to Tap on Customization Solutions

Customization has become an integral part of our lives; from the shows, we watch to our food, everything is customized. Besides, customization and personalization are not just the nice-to-have features; it has become a much more dominating factor for brands to stand from the crowd. Statistics by Dassault Systèmes and CITE Research reveal that nearly all modern consumers demand and expect some level of personalization in all things they purchase. In a press release, they said that the present-day buyers drive the market, and for them, personalization is a big deal. Fashion companies likeDresshirt and The Mighty Company allow customers to upload custom art or words to be printed on their shirts and jackets. You can even customize your vitamins, and it’s the principal reason everybody loves Etsy.

Over the past couple of years, leading fashion retailers have been working tirelessly to provide micro versions of customer-related experiences. The department stores have been offering novel experiences since past decades where people could ask for help while shopping, and the store manager also provided them all the necessary aid and offer them recommendations that fit the need of the customer. This was the precursor to the customized experiences customers crave now. Moreover, ecommerce provided the required push to customization, which had been halted due to numerous vested interests. It helped many brands to give customers their overdue customer experience while shopping ultimately. The presence of cookies on the brand’ websites enable them to track what their customers are up to, their preferences, choices, and accordingly, offer recommendations. The customized recommendation for buyers enabled brands to give customized recommendations for nearly every ecommerce purchase they made. According to the study by Accenture, 91 per cent of customers crave customization recommendations and are more loyal to brands that remember their preferences. Thus, making it evident that brands must comply with the modern buyer’s needs and offer them something that makes them return to your website more in the future.

Moreover, millennials rule the contemporary fashion transitions and brands need to buckle up and better adjust themselves with today’s consumer behavior. They demand customization, so fashion luxury brands have to be on their toes and embrace these changes. It is evident from the modern buyers who go shopping. They ask for personalized experiences, whether designing a pair of custom shoes or selecting furniture for their home decor. The freedom to personalize a product or service can attract them and encourage them to remain with your company.

Let us now study more about the strategies that will help brands to be aligned with the modern needs in the fashion industry:

Charging More

When you talk about the reluctance shown by the fashion brands and dive in deep to understand why they need it, it would appear to you the problem was cost and misconceptions related to it. Understandably, it is easier and cheaper for brands to buy products in bulk as it reduces the chances of inventory management. However, if one thinks carefully about it and does the maths properly, it would appear costly for them because of various reasons, such as lower return, increased wastage, high monotonous designs, and others. You might think that without needing to engrave initials or guess how many lime green portable phone chargers will be purchased this quarter. But, to your surprise, you can also charge more. And they’ll buy.

To know more -https://www.idesignibuy.com/online-product-configurator-offers-key-digital-age-solutions-amid-evolving-landscape/

#productconfiguratorsoftware #productconfigurator #productconfigurationtool #onlineproductconfigurator #onlineproductconfiguratorsoftware

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shirlleycoyle · 4 years ago

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Pornhub’s Content Purge Has Left Fetish Creators Wondering What’s Next

Before the purge that disappeared more than 75 percent of content on the platform, Pornhub hosted a lot of videos and photos that weren’t humans having sex. There were full-length movies, memes, and video game playthroughs that you might see on a non-adult site like Twitch, but there was also a ton of animation, 3D renderings, audio erotica, music videos, fanfic from furries and bronies, and stop-motion animation like LEGO minifigs fucking.

Pornhub became a dumping ground and safe harbor for a lot of stuff, and a lot of these creators didn't necessarily want to upload a photo of themselves to a huge porn corporation's database in order to get verified. They were just throwing things on the site for fun, to share with others in their respective communities, and the wider world. Compared to a site like Milovana (an adult message board and the birthplace of Cock Hero, videos of which are mostly gone from Pornhub now) or the furry fan art forum e621, Pornhub was a way to reach a more mainstream audience. With last week’s action, a lot of that stuff is now gone.

For victims of abusive imagery and non-consensual porn, as well as anyone who's had to deal filing takedown requests for pirated content uploaded to Pornhub, the removal of unverified content is a positive: between Pornhub's new policy for only allowing content partners and performers in the model program to upload and download, and the retroactive suspension of all this content pending review, the platform seems to be making long-overdue changes that sex workers and victim advocates alike have asked for. But by applying a blanket solution to a complex problem, it's caught small, independent creators from niche communities in its net.

Several creators told me that Pornhub's damage-control scramble has created issues for verified users, locked many unverified creators out of their own content, and left many more wondering whether there's even a future for indie and fetish works on the site.

“It was a betrayal”

In a month when sex on the internet is being attacked from all sides—from Instagram's new terms of service, to TikTok kicking sex workers off the platform, to payment processors leaving Pornhub—some creators are concerned that losing one of the most popular porn sites in the world as a platform is another blow against fetish and outside-the-mainstream content on the internet as a whole.

For a lot of creators, Pornhub's melting pot was a source of inspiration for artists, Lifty and Sylox, hosts of the Furry Frequencies podcast, told me in an email. "Many of the videos that were uploaded onto Pornhub from the furry community were sexual videos of furries partaking in sexual acts in fursuit," they said—which could include videos of furries in fullsuit with “strategically-placed holes” performing solo or with one or more partners. "Some furries perform with just their fursuit head, handpaws, and feetpaws to provide better nude content. An unverified, but significant amount of this content catered to specific fetishes of the furry community, such as feet fetishism or watersports."

"Furries won't abandon PornHub immediately," Lifty and Sylox said, noting that more creators will likely migrate to Onlyfans or communities like Furaffinity to post content. "Changes like this tend to take time before the effects can be measured… PornHub's status as a repository for one-stop furry porn content will eventually diminish significantly."

It's not just illustrators and furries who have lost Pornhub as a platform in the last week. Audio erotica creator Goddess By Night told me that she lost all of her content—about 40 videos. She's been making audio erotica for five years, and in the last two she'd made a business out of it. She makes Gentle Female Dominant and Dominant Mommy-themed stories, as well as Futanari role play and other kink-related fantasies.

"Most of my work is a niche within the adult entertainment industry, and Pornhub allowed me to reach a broader audience, so it’s a pretty significant loss," she said. "However, my community has been incredibly supportive and intend to follow me to the next platform(s) I choose. I don’t plan on returning to Pornhub because of this. It was a betrayal, especially to the loads of creators they explicitly welcomed after Tumblr’s ban two years ago. I know some creators who lost work that they may never get back because Pornhub didn’t offer a grace period."

Each of the creators I talked to, whether they were verified or unverified, said that they weren't given any warning before Pornhub's content suspension took place. Pornhub used the word "suspension," not "deletion," and told Motherboard at the time of the suspension announcement that this meant content would be "removed pending verification and review."

Creators whose content was removed saw a message in place of their uploads that explained the video was "flagged for verification" and invited them to apply for the Model Program or Content Partner Program in order to re-enable the videos, or wait for the new verification process to start in 2021.

They were locked out of their own content at that point and were unable to even download it from the platform.

When Tumblr removed all NSFW content from its platform in December 2018—similarly for allegations it hosted child sexual abuse imagery, but also to appease Apple—the social media platform gave creators about two weeks of notice to get their stuff off the site. Pornhub's announcement came at 7 a.m. EST on a Monday and went into effect immediately. By the time most people saw the news, the suspensions were underway, and more than 10 million uploads were gone by 9 a.m.

This is especially bitter news for creators who, in 2018, took Pornhub up on its invitation to move to the platform from Tumblr.

"Amusingly [Pornhub was] very happy to take advantage of the Tumblr refugees back when all that went down, inviting us to upload all our galleries there," adult content illustrator IzzyBSides told me in a Twitter message. "I think most of us on Twitter know we're living on borrowed time, people have backup accounts set up and occasionally plug them to their followers letting them know to follow it in case their main account randomly disappears overnight."

Because the mass suspensions were meant as a broad solution to get unlawful, abusive content on the site under control, allowing users to download their content would miss the point of stopping the spread of any abusive imagery. But the move also meant that a lot of content that wasn’t abusive and fell well within Pornhub's terms of service was removed in the process. People didn't have the chance to choose whether they wanted to pack their bags and go elsewhere. If they want to recover their own content, they'll have to play by Pornhub's verification rules, which have yet to be announced and won't start until sometime early next year.

One animator who asked to remain anonymous told me that they lost about 20 videos, "including story animations, which I loved very much …This was sad for me as the videos were deleted without warning," they said, but added that they luckily had a backup of their videos saved to their hard drives. "However, I didn't have any income from Pornhub, so it's okay, the videos are saved and I'll just move them to another site."

That illustrator wasn't verified, but even being a verified user didn't save some people from the purge. Pornhub's policy changes were intended to skip over verified accounts, but some users still saw their verified content taken down.

“Sex workers are under attack everywhere”

Another confusing aspect of Pornhub's cleaning spree is the effect it has had on verified creators and performers. Many have reported on Twitter that some of their verified content has been disappeared, seemingly at random, even while other uploads have stayed online. Others in the comments of Pornhub's own verification policy page say that they were verified, but now they aren't. From the outside, there seems to be no consistent reasoning for this.

Before the policy changes, there were three types of verification, according to Pornhub: Content partners, users in the model program, and verified users. The last category is now gone, and only uploads by models and content partners remain. The users reporting verification issues were likely in that last category—verified based on the old standards Pornhub used, which involved sending Pornhub a selfie with your face and holding up a sheet of paper with your name written on it. Those users are all now unverified. But inconsistencies remain.

Riley Cyriis, a performer who's been verified on Pornhub for more than a year, told me that most of her free videos and around 40 of 120 paid videos were removed, along with 20 videos she had set to private, only viewable by her.

"My best guess would be certain tags, like 'teen' or 'daddy,' but it's really just a guess," she said. "The majority of flagged videos were my most successful ones ranging from 200k to 700k views, so maybe it's just how they came up? My profile is pretty obviously made by a real person and I listed my age publicly."

She wasn't using Pornhub as a main income source (although many performers do), so she's planning to focus more on other platforms like Onlyfans and Manyvids.

Pornhub has said that it will restart the verification with new requirements in 2021. But the gap is a long time to wait if you're losing an audience and relied on the site for income. Many performers have already lost significant income due to Mastercard and Visa's decision to drop Pornhub. Performer Mary Moody said in a video about the payment processing news that she was making enough money from Modelhub to cover rent each month.

And the verification process, which still hasn't been clarified publicly by Pornhub, could bring up new issues for anyone who wants to get their content back. IzzyBSides said that they'd received verification rejections before Pornhub's content purge, because their avatar—a fire sprite—obviously doesn't match their real-life face. The reason Pornhub gave for their rejection the last time, before the content suspensions, was that their avatar didn't match their verification photo. "We need to see your face to confirm," Pornhub's customer service email to them said. According to Pornhub, this method of verification is now outdated.

It's unclear how verification will work in the future, but Pornhub has said that identification of some kind will be part of the process. There are obviously many reasons that not everyone would want to use their real face as their avatar on a porn website.

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get verified with those sorts of requirements," IzzyBSides said, adding that performers who wear masks or keep their faces cropped out of videos would be excluded from verification on these terms. "It would force anyone experimenting out of the closet."

I asked performer Dylan Thomas how a verification system with even more strict requirements for identity could impact trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming content creators and performers. He said Pornhub could avoid excluding these groups by consulting with, and hiring, them to help create the new system.

"Some of us with intersectional experience in both creative strategy, the digital space and sex work would like nothing more than to serve our community and get everyone back online, generating income and having an enjoyable, safe and sexy time," he said.

How Pornhub’s new verification policies and process will unfold in practice is yet to be seen, but by including the voices of people who use the site, it could avoid future mistakes—just as it could have avoided this month’s backlash—and listen to the sex workers and content creators who've been asking for things to change for a long time.

"Pornhub was blatant about their disregard to what appeared on the site. But sex workers are under attack everywhere," Cyriis said. "Aside from the payout issues caused by Visa/MC, YouTubers and celebrities are flicking onto our platforms and basically doing whatever they want with no real financial repercussions. The consequences fall squarely on the shoulders of sex workers who built these platforms."

Pornhub’s Content Purge Has Left Fetish Creators Wondering What’s Next syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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legendofsim · 7 years ago

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Overdue Replies

I’ve got to stop letting these things pile up. I’m reading all of your comments and mentally responding, I just keep forgetting that I have to actually write them for you guys to know what I’m thinking LOL

dandylion240 replied to your post “send this to a quality blog. quality doesn’t mean that you have lots...”

Always! As long as you put up with me lol

ALWAYS! There are no Grays without the Bennetts. It just wouldn’t be fun anymore. Thanks for pushing me to take my stories even further and listening to my ideas!

phyrcracker93 replied to your post “List 5 facts about your most favorite sim of yours and send this to 10...”

This really makes me wonder about how things will turn out since Zinnia sees Audric as this perfect being... Not that she'll be a villain (unless you throw that in as a surprise twist), but that she she won't make the best decisions because of her upbringing, her father, and her hatred of Astra. But Astra got remarried? When did that happen? Or is that something that'll be revealed in Gracie's gen?

Yeah Zinnia must see something that we don’t when it comes to Audric. We don’t know if he’s changed because of her or if she sees only the good in him. We’ll find that out at some point. Astra isn’t remarried in story yet. But in the present when Gracie is 31, Astra is remarried to some guy whose name I can never remember and I think they might have another kid on the way, but don’t quote me on that last part lol More light will be shed on that as Gracie’s gen goes on.

phyrcracker93 replied to your post “List 5 facts about your most favorite sim of yours and send this to 10...”

Ps. You mentioned that Astra got remarried and raised Pax. Did you mean Knox? Just wondering...

I totally meant Knox. I don’t know why I put Pax. Maybe the X? Lol, who knows but it’s changed now. Thanks!

dandylion240 replied to your post “22. “This isn’t goodbye.” For Gracie and Leon Please!”

I don't like the sound of this. Is this cannon?

Maybe?

dandylion240 replied to your post “70. “After everything we’ve been through, you still don’t think that I...”

Ugh these two! I love'em but they're so bittersweet

I know! But I warned you gen 6 would be this way!

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Sage sat down at the table, pocketing his cellphone. “Okay, pizza is...”

Shawn is like the dad of the group lol

Someone’s got to keep order lol

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “When the trio had finally made their way into Sage’s apartment, they...”

Hey! What's gotten into Caige? If he wanted her mad at him he couldn't have done a better job!

Caige has always been this way. He’s best at pushing people away. Remember after he and Shania broke into the comic book shop? He got the same way when he realized he and Shania could actually be friends. He doesn’t want the attachments to mean anything.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “I didn’t!” Ava cried. “I’m an artist. I don’t vandalize, I beautify.”...”

Hmm I hope they don't book her for the other street art!

I’m sure if she helps catch a bigger fish, they’ll look the other way.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “There’s one more thing,” Shania said. “You want to talk to Ava,...”

Why does she listen to Shawn but no one else?

For a few reasons. She’s close to Shawn. He welcomed her into the family with open arms and she can never repay him for that. Shawn is also a cop, so that’s a level of security added. Also, Shawn is responsible. She knows that he knows what he’s talking about.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Sage come on,” Shania whined, staring at the man’s back. “This isn’t...”

Don't do it Sage. Don't let her talk you into doing something that'll cost you your job.

If she wants to break the rules she can just go to Caige lol

dandylion240 replied to your post “I’ve been meaning to ask you guys if you wanted me to upload this gen...”

I say go for it. I'll still read and comment on WP.

Ok, I will try it and see how it goes :D

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “I still want details,” Xander said, raising a brow. “In five...”

I think Xander reads to many gossip magazines.

Just a little LOL

dandylion240

replied to your photoset “What are you doing young lady?” Mila jumped at the sound of her...”

Aw I like these tender moments ❤️

Mila and Xander moments are especially for you <3

dandylion240 replied to your post “Do you ever just write something and then get stuck? I’m trying to get...”

Definitely feel your pain. It has be be worse under a deadline.

wannabecatwriter replied to your post “Do you ever just write something and then get stuck? I’m trying to get...”

I know what you mean. You just want to push them together and yell "kiss already!" but it's not happening.

Exactly! JUST KISS, but then you realize, strangers can’t just kiss! It’s unrealistic! Let the slowest burning relationship begin.

wannabecatwriter replied to your photoset “That’s why you stopped talking to me, right?” Blair asked. “I...”

I have an inkling as to who the criminal might be.

Do you now? ;)

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Blair smashed her lips onto Bentley’s. Despite his words trying to...”

It's about time they get their kiss <3 In regards to the drug dealer..he's not going to know what him. You don't mess with a Gray!

I know, it only took years LOL And totally, never mess with a Gray, from any branch of the family!

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “That was Jenna,” Bentley said in a somber tone. “Kiara promised she...”

That's awful but I think going to Shawn would still be best. A little undercover work and Dollar Sign will be out of the picture.

Shawn is probably the safest bet, but remember hes just an officer. He doesn’t have too much power and authority. So he can only be so helpful.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “I know a lot about you,” Bentley said. “I know that you have the...”

Bentley may have covered a few things up but I don't think it was in the same class as Castel.

Definitely not. Castel is cut from a cloth of his own.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Bentley had walked away from Blair to indeed talk to her boss. She had...”

Yes don't give him a chance to chicken out!

Not after all these years!

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Can I take a picture?” The voice was music to her ears. A customer...”

Yay! He better sweep her off her feet and away from that awful job!

And he does just that ;)

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Cameron slammed his lips onto Trace’s. Taken aback, the purple haired...”

Or he could just sue you for harassment. But betting he'll just fall in love with you instead.

Well right now Trace is pissed at Cameron, so we’ll see what happens.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Trace stood up angrily. “You promised you wouldn’t do this. You said...”

What's wrong with him? I mean most people jump at ops like this but nope he jumps to to the conclusion that it's just being handed to him.

His whole family is in the limelight. His cousins are dating celebrities (Beckie, Blair and Autumn) so what is he supposed to think? He wants to be known for his talent, not having doors opened for him.

wannabecatwriter replied to your photoset “Okay…what just happened?” Bentley asked aloud. “Did you just demand...”

I guess it's more effective than wondering for ages whether they like you or not.

And it helps your friend get the courage to tell that girl he’s liked for 5 years how he really feels.

wannabecatwriter replied to your photoset “Trace stood up angrily. “You promised you wouldn’t do this. You said...”

Do I sense a ship?

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “They all sat down, tension growing between the group. “Well?” Cameron...”

Bentley isn't being fair to Blair if he decides what she can or can't deal with. She needs to decide for herself.

Agreed!

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “Ta da!” Cameron exclaimed happily. “Thanks to my awesome assistant,...”

Ugh I really hate fights in families.

I wish I could say they’ll get over it, but who knows?

#i think that's it #if not i'm really sorry!!#legendofsim replies

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