#more like a phone full of apps than a program that can do everything

[aiweirdness]

ChatGPT can generate Magic Eye pictures!

At least according to ChatGPT.

more

[foxtricksterwriting]

Slaughter Squad MC

Author's Note; Yeah yeah I made another one. This one's a little different tho, lolol. @harlequinoccult, here take the bastard /affectionate

Legal Name:█̝̗̩̥̜̘̾̿̎̽̄̓̇ͫͮ̃̽ͯ̄ͫͣ͘͢█̞̖̝̲̞̹̤̲̠̮̟ͫ͗͐̈́̎͘█̡̡͔̤̓ͮͤͥ̒̇̌̐̓█̶̶̧̰̫̣͔̘͓̠͙̐́ͨͩ͋͂̏ͤ̌̒͗̑ͭͤ̈́̓ͦ̚̚█̷̷͚̟̟̳̮̫͈̹̻ͮ̿̀̕ͅ█̸̢̛̗̫̮̻̥͍̺̦̮͈͕̑͐̀ͬͯͧ̋̑̆̽̆̾̅̉͋̂ͫ́̔̂ͬ͜͠ █̰̔̃ͮ█͈̜̤̤͉͋█͓̍ͧ̅͌ͧ͜█̷̶̴̢̨͖̱͎̟̹̪̭̟̹͖͙͇̳͎̟̗̗̜͚̓͐̽́̍͊ͨ̎ͤ̐ͥͦ͐̓͑̓ͭ̄̈͊̑͝͞ (You don't need that, lovey~)

Alias: Apotheosis (Do you know what that word means, lovey? I'll tell you, if you beg~)

Gender + Pronouns: Demiboy + he/they

Age: 23

Occupation: Crime Scene Cleaner (It certainly comes in handy, eheh)

More About Him; So full of themself they should have a fucking medal. He's materialistic and loves having new shit. Said new shit ends up wrecked some odd days later, so you shouldn't buy anything for him. They go the extra mile with everything; he goes all out with his makeup, hair, outfit, and general attitude. He never shuts up about his fucking music, but artfully dodges mentioning anything specific. Their 'personality' is so heavy handed you can't help but think it's forced, not that they'd tell you.

When he's not wearing that damned mask, he's surprisingly calm. He's still excitable and loud, but not nearly as obnoxious. More willing to listen to others and go along with plans that don't align with their own, too. If you pay close enough attention, you can almost see the energy bubbling under the surface. Catch them at a bad time and you'll get some unhinged ramblings about beautiful music and art. They're quick to cover it up, however.

Some characteristics always stick, with or without the mask; they're quick to help and love pink. He'll let someone vent about their problems, and offer advice if prompted. And he's the first to come up with..... creative solutions to problems. They brush their own problems off and move on so quickly you have to wonder if you even brought them up in the first place. And despite the cheerfulness, he always has some sort of plan. Never unprepared. They try to hide this with a veil of impulsivity and reckless abandon, and it seems to work wonders. And, of course, their loner tendencies. He typically doesn't want anything to do with anyone unless they can help him somehow or give him something. He'll be pleasant if someone approaches him first, though. Generally, it's hard to tell if this is how he is naturally or if this is forced behavior. Sometimes, you can catch him staring wistfully to groups of people, suggesting the former.

Not to mention almost everyone that talks to him goes missing, only to end up displayed somewhere after being brutally murdered. People seem to have noticed this little connection, leading to others avoiding him like their life depends on it. How the police haven't been involved is a fucking mystery, honestly.

It's hard to tell what's their true personality and what's a facade. Either way, you'd be better off staying far, far away.

Fun Facts;

This fucker has a pinterest, find it here. Mofo's face claim is there.

He also has a playlist, found on youtube here and spotify there.

Has a dog, named Mace. Not Macey, just Mace. She's a Irish Wolfhound and bigger than him. He'll happily talk about her for hours.

Allergic to wasps and bees, terrified of wasps but not bees.

Desperately wants to murder Carter. Would give his literal heart to kill Carter.

Does actually make music, under his nickname █̩͎͓̙̼͔͆̿ͪͮ̓͘_̷̷̪͉̺͍̥͖̯̭ͦ̒ͣͤ̄̓̅̊͒ͬ́͢͡█ (Nuh-uh-uh! Can't have you giving away my secrets like that~)

Selectively mute, knows sign language but normally will use a text-to-speech app on their phone. Has downloaded a vocaloid-like voice program for this for shits and giggles.

Would probably be best friends with Overdose, I think they're similar enough they'd get along good. Or hate each other lmao

They'd romance Sweetheart or The Host, maybe Overdose but that's undecided.

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Free or Cheap to Use Writing Programs tested and reviewed part 1 - Papyrus Author

If you're new to this, I'm what George RR Martin has once referred to as a gardener writer. The type of writer that starts at the fun part rather than the beginning. This in turn leads me to have a bunch of google docs about the same bunch of assholes that are all around the timeline as well as some docs that can only be described as fanfiction of my own work. Last week, I started my quest to find the best possible free or cheap-to-use writing program to help my disorderly and, frankly, absurd writing workflow.

The first program I tested out was something called Papyrus Writer. It's a program that focuses on formatting your writing as well as giving you a bunch of tools to make things easier for people like me. Things like sticky notes and built-in character sheets aim to keep all your thoughts all in one place and slightly organized.

Immediately upon booting it, I could tell that the program had a lot more bells and whistles than my basset-hound-ass brain could handle. It's got all sorts of modes and stuff and requires tutorials in order to use it. I watched half of one before I moved on to more exciting escapades like watching that guy who scams phone scammers. Essentially, I was so overwhelmed with options that I kind of killed my own productivity.

Things I Like About Papyrus Writer

Sticky notes - This function makes it easy to get ideas down quickly while not needing to get over to your ideas doc or notes app. It will also scroll down with you so you can see it all the time. You can also use this function for a text snippet where you highlight text, add a text snippet, and then that text is there until you replace it in the doc. Think of this as Word Jail. The sticky notes go on your pinboard (the area behind the document) although you can only have one in the free version

Integrated Character Sheets - I like that I can quickly and easily add a character sheet or access existing ones to make changes when I write something new about them. It keeps me in check with my own lore so I'm not forgetting details or writing them OOC. You can hyperlink their names as well for quick acess

within these character sheets, you can also add images and avatars to have everything in one place. You're also able to click to a list of all the characters you have in the project so you can pull up their respective sheets

3. Thinkboards - While I'm renowned for never having a plan in my writing short of my daydreams, I do like this feature. They have tons of templates to pick from or you can build your own. I haven't played with this a ton, but I found it helpful to even just look through the template

4. Moving Chapters Around - This is arguably the most important aspect for me considering how I like to write. You can move your chapters around and reorder them any way you like. Along this same vein, there is a timeline function but I've so far found that less than intuitive. With that said, simply moving the chapters around is done by just clicking and dragging which I appreciate.

Things I Don't Like

The full version is a subscription service. I don't think I need to elaborate on why 14.99 USD billed monthly doesn't appeal to me. However, the program is very useable without paying the subscription. Everything that requires the subscription is clearly marked and only enhancements to the software are paywalled (ie: multiple pinboards, changing the picture on your pinboard)

I'm not fully sure how to describe it but typing on the software is just weird to me. Like it will hyphenate words instead of just going to the next line which is great for formatting for print and all but I'm just not used to it

No mobile option - rip to people who do their best work on their phone/tablet i guess. I mean I guess when I consider everything this program can do, I'm not mad at it. I personally prefer to have access to my work at any time in case I get the urge to write randomly.

Overall Thoughts

I think it's a good all-in-one program, honestly. It's definitely the most organized I've been with my work in a while. I like that it's got a lot of dodads and thingamabobs that are all in all pretty useful. I also like that id doesn't suck my laptop battery dry. On a scale of 1 (1 tab open on chrome) to 10 (Adobe products) I would put it at about a 4 especially considering I had my browser open and working all day too.

[elfwreck]

This article is almost 10 years old.

A kid puts her hand up in my lesson. 'My computer won't switch on,' she says, with the air of desperation that implies she's tried every conceivable way of making the thing work. I reach forward and switch on the monitor, and the screen flickers to life, displaying the Windows login screen.

This one's newer, just over 2 years old.

More broadly, directory structure connotes physical placement — the idea that a file stored on a computer is located somewhere on that computer, in a specific and discrete location. That’s a concept that’s always felt obvious to Garland but seems completely alien to her students. “I tend to think an item lives in a particular folder. It lives in one place, and I have to go to that folder to find it,” Garland says. “They see it like one bucket, and everything’s in the bucket.”

Schools are demanding kids as young as 5 or 6 use computers - and nobody is teaching computer basics. Nobody is teaching the names of the computer components (monitor, hard drive, cpu, ram); nobody is teaching what the parts do; nobody is teaching what "apps" are (...we used to call them "programs") or how files work.

Of course Adobe is very happy that people will say "I'm using Adobe" because nobody remembers the name "Acrobat Reader." Adobe is thrilled that most people don't know that PDFs are a filetype that can be opened or edited by many different programs.

Typing, as far as I can tell, is taught less than it was when I was in high school - in a country where everyone is expected to spend many hours a week on a keyboard.

(When I applied for college at the for-profit scammy school where I got my paralegal degree, I tested out of their basic typing class. The class's goal was 40wpm; I type at more than double that speed. The counselor assigned to me said she'd never seen typing that fast. I have no idea if she was lying to try to boost my ego or was just really oblivious.) (If she was trying to boost my ego, she failed. I know what secretarial typing speeds are. Mine is mediocre.)

If I were more geekish and had formal education training, I'd try to put together a series of Basic Computer Literacy courses for schoolkids - a set for ages 5-8, another for 9-12 year olds, and a third set for teenagers.

Start with parts of the computer - and how they look different in desktops, laptops, tablets, phones.

Move on to OS: Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, Linux, and a hint of others. (Throw in a mention of game consoles and how their OS is and isn't like a standard computer OS.)

A bit of mention of OS types/versions - WinXP and Win10, and so on. A bit of what commonly changes from one version to the next, and what doesn't.

These are the starting points, not because they're the core of How Computers Work, but because they're the parts everyone interacts with. The 8-year-old doesn't specifically need to know Linux exists... but they need to know there's a DIFFERENCE between a Windows 11 new laptop and a desktop running something else. Needs to know that not all "Android" phones work the same way. Needs to know, when they open a new device, that it has an OS, and there are ways to figure out what that OS is.

Next there is:

Files, folders, internal structure - and how the tablet/phone OS tends to hide this from you

The difference between the app/program and the stuff it opens/edits

That the same file can look different in a different app

Welcome To The Internet: The difference between YOUR COMPUTER and THE CLOUD (aka, "someone else's computer") as a storage place; what a browser is; what a search engine is

Welcome To Metadata I Am So Sorry Kiddo Your Life Is Full Of Keywords Now And Forever

Computer Operations Skills: Typing. Hardware Assembly, aka, how to attach an ethernet cable, is the monitor turned on, what's the battery level and its capacity. Software-Hardware interfaces: how to find the speaker settings, dim or brighten the monitor, sleep vs power off, using keyboard shortcuts instead of the mouse.

After alllll that, we get to

Command line: This is what a terminal looks like; this is what you can do with it; no you don't have to program anything (ever) but you really should know how to make it show you your IP address. (See above: Welcome to the Internet should have covered "what is an IP address?")

Internet safety. What is a virus; what's malware. How to avoid (most of) them.

SOCIAL internet safety: DO NOT TELL ANYONE your age, real name, location. Do not tell strangers your sexual identity, medical history, family details, or anything about any crimes you may have committed.

...I'm probably missing some things. (I'm probably missing a lot of things.) Anyway. Something like that. The simple version is a half-day crash-course in overview concepts culminating in a swarm of safety warnings; the long version for teens is probably 30+ hours spread out over a few weeks so they can play with the concepts.

Telling young zoomers to "just switch to linux" is nuts some of these ipad kids have never even heard of a cmd.exe or BIOS you're throwing them to the wolves

[fromdevcom]

Creating an iPhone application can be a very fun and fulfilling experience. If you're lucky, it can also be a very profitable thing to do, but there are many different aspects to creating an application. The more you know about how it works and what great benefits there are, the better off you will be. To help you out, we are going to cover 8 things that you should know before you start to develop an iPhone application, but before we do, let's take a look at some other extra benefits you may not have know about developing for iOS. Did you know that the Apple app store makes more than double the revenue than Google does with their Android store? This means that if you are able to come up with a great application that sells, it will bring you much more money. iPhone applications are also much easier to test and have much more support for development, which can really help throughout the whole creation process. In general, developing a iOS application will require much less work because the applications only need to fit a few different devices, unlike Android which has so many different devices that it can be hard to create something that will fit them all. So with all of that in mind, let's take a look at those 8 tips. Need A Mac Computer & IOS Device You will always be able to just use the iPhone simulator, but there have been plenty of reports that it isn't the same thing as actually having the phone in your hands. You may end up running into issues if you only use the simulator, then once your finished, upload the application to a phone. If you are serious about iPhone application development, just invest in one. Download The Apple IPhone Software Development Kit This is a pretty large download, but it is well worth it. It comes with all types of goodies to help you create the best application you possibly can. You get access to instruments, framework, Xcode IDE, samples, and much more. Learn Objective-C You are going to need to learn this programming language in order to create a successful application. This language is the main language used by Apple and for the iOS and OS X operating systems. It may take a while to become an expert at the language, but the better you know it, the more effective your applications will be. Plan The Application Out Before You Do Any Work So many programmers have an idea about an application and they just jump on their computers and start programming. While it may seem like that could go smoothly, it won't. You will need to make sure and have a full plan and understand how much time and effort it is going to take to have the entire project finished. You don't want to start, then realize it's too much to handle. Join The IPhone Developer Program Although the program does cost a little bit of money, it can be well worth it in the end. It allows you to distribute you application to a number devices from the iPhone Developer Portal. It makes things much easier. Watch Plenty Of Professional Apple Development Tutorials There are many quality tutorials about every aspect of creating an application, so make sure and take advantage of that. There is no shame in watching a video to make sure you are doing everything correct, every step of the way. Build Reusable Code If you plan on making multiple applications, then you should try and build reusable code so that the next time you decide you want to make an app, you won't need to start from scratch. There is even plenty of free reusable code already available if you want to try them out. Submit The Application To The App Store You should definitely be trying to get accepted into the application store. If you're lucky, you may become rich off of your hard work. Even if you get declined, at least you tried and you will be able to start another application that is better. If you are willing to take all of these tips and implement them, you will see some pretty amazing results from your development projects and could end up making your future work much easier as well.

They are all meant to help you in the long run, so don't be afraid to try them out. If you prefer doing your development process in a different way, then no problem, these are just optional tips, but if you are new to developing applications to the iPhone, you should strongly consider using them. This is a guest post by Ness on behalf of make-a-web-site.com – a site of bloggers and web developers alike. Find out how you can have your own blog, visit their website for more details.

[hannahsmusings]

Renee

*my phone buzzed and I looked down at it, seeing the group email that the tutoring program had sent out, already knowing the information within it but clicking on it anyways, biting my lip as I scroll and spot our names, together, side-by-side, like they used to always be, Renee and Anthony this, Ant and Nay that* *I groan to myself, feeling myself getting a headache, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes as I plop down on my bed, hating to think that we were looking at the same email, that we got the same email at the same time, it all feeling too close for comfort* *I still had such childhood resentment towards Anthony, just the thought of him brought me back to being a teenage girl who felt rejected and abandoned by the one person she trusted with her entire heart, the one boy she thought would be by her side forever, a person she envisioned marrying and having babies with, pure fantasies of adolescence* *I was older now, but that hurt girl and her shattered dreams still lingered and the mere thought of Anthony brought her to the surface, anger filling me at the notion that he has always been so close and yet he’s never reached out, he knows where I am and yet he never came looking for me, granted neither did I but I was the one who felt slighted, I wasn’t the one who did anything wrong* *my teenage crush had faded with time, having met new people and found my passion in science and medicine, and finding like-minded people really helped, feeling that I flourished while being here at university, but it was like a freight train hitting me full force when I imagined his cute crooked grin that always used to make my stomach drop deliciously, knowing now he’d be so grown up and fucking drop dead handsome and it would probably destroy me all over again* *I grabbed my phone, pulling up Instagram and typing in ‘Anthony C’ before realizing what I was doing, this being so stupid, he was just my tutoree and nothing more, we wouldn’t become friends again and especially nothing more than that, I would help him not fail his class and I’d send him on his way to become pro and he’d live his life and I’d live mine, we’d be just like all the other pairs and that was that, nothing more nothing less* *I close out of the app just as quickly as I opened it before tossing my phone to the end of my bed, forcing myself to move on, grabbing my text book from my desk and throwing myself into my reading and studying, having a bio test at the end of the week, trying to focus as hard as I can on the medical terminology and my flashcards but my mind kept flashing back to Anthony and his adorably annoying smile that I’d be seeing in less than 24 hours* 

______________________________________

*my apprehension from before had disappeared, you not being a stranger at all, quite the opposite, you knew all about my difficulties with learning and had coached me through it before, you never judged me and I felt so comfortable with you that I knew this was the best the arrangement could be, wondering how this had worked out so well for me* *i chuckle, things somehow coming out on top as I throw my phone onto the bed before beginning to get undressed again, perked up as I head to my ensuite to shower, stepping in and soaping myself up as my mind drifts to you, a smile on my lips as I try and work out when the last time I saw you was, frowning as I couldn’t remember and realising I’d let it go between us a bit, it had been way too long since we’d caught up and that made me sad for our younger selves, us spending every free second we could together, remembering all the sleepovers, camping in the garden, the shared dinners, everything seeming so much simpler back then, chuckling at our innocence as I step out the shower and dry off, deciding to just kick this off and scrolling through my phone to find your number, hoping you still had the same one as I begin to draft a message* ‘Yooo, Renee! Long time!! I’ve just seen the email pairing us up, wanna get together tomorrow for coffee to catch up? :)  *grins and sends, not thinking much of anything as as far as I was aware we’d just drifted apart, it all seeming very natural to me but grateful we’d have a chance to spend some time together again*

[grison-in-space]

At my conference last week, I attended an "improv" themed mixture that asked everyone to pair up with a stranger, each rant for two minutes (timed) about a topic of your choice. Then each pair was asked to turn to another and introduce our new partners to the new pair by describing their values, as inferred by the initial rant.

Anyway, this was essentially mine. I work with grad students and undergrads about ten to fifteen years younger than myself. I often train students how to program, because I do intensely computational work often using computing clusters, and my lab motto is "fuck doing shit manually and tediously if I can code a computer to do it for me." Because I work in psychology/neuroscience, my students are also usually totally naive about how programming works when they come to me. This is also how I arrived in grad school back in 2012, so I do get it.

The thing is, my students are so much less comfortable with basic shit like directory structures and hunting for basic workarounds in response to errors than I was at their age. And it's because apps silo all that shit away from users! It wasn't possible to use computers the way I did as a teenager WITHOUT that shit, especially because I used to routinely have to navigate around and bypass narc shit like Net Nanny if I wanted to read fanfiction in peace. There is so much more advanced spyware now and it's so much more normalized! It's harder to dick around in filesystems -- hell, I have to actively work and sometimes search the Internet to find out how to get to the directory of my phone!

And I mostly lay the root of the problem at the foot of two places: apps/mobile, and the increasing arms race between technology developers and end users to control user experience.

Apps function effectively by hiding all the parts under the hood from the user, so as not to overwhelm. But what hiding all the parts does is prevent the user from learning how to lift the hood up and tinker with the machine! Sure, you might break it, and it's certainly more frustrating to use that way, but what a wealth of power lies at your fingers if you learn how the machine works.

If technology was structured in such a way that it actually approximated a free market, maybe we could find sellers designing shit to be easy to learn with. As it is, though, there are two paths an individual user is often presented with when choosing among computing devices: a more or less accessible device with all the settings hidden behind four walls of obfuscation, and a completely customizable option with full access to everything and deeply unfamiliar options designed for expert use by someone comfortable with the potential failure modes of the device. There's no middle ground any more, especially for children! Hell, iPads are some of the worst for this shit, and Chromebooks, and that's what we start children on cause it's cheap!

At some point we have to dedicate pedagogical time to this so that everyone has a basic standard of technological literacy, just as we dedicate pedagogical time to explaining the technology of the alphabet so that everyone has literal literacy. It drives me nuts that my generation, which was the peak of "children just mysteriously learn and adapt to new technology with no instruction whatsoever" (also incorrect, but I digress), hasn't realized yet that times have dramatically changed and that we have to actually teach useful skills to our children at this point if we want them to have them.

Maddening!

seriously, though. i work in higher education, and part of my job is students sending me transcripts. you'd think the ones who have the least idea how to actually do that would be the older ones, and while sure, they definitely struggle with it, i see it most with the younger students. the teens to early 20s crowd.

very, astonishingly often, they don't know how to work with .pdf documents. i get garbage phone screenshots, sometimes inserted into an excel or word file for who knows what reason, but most often it's just a raw .jpg or other image file.

they definitely either don't know how to use a scanner, don't have access to one, or don't even know where they might go for that (staples and other office supply stores sometimes still have these services, but public libraries always have your back, kids.) so when they have a paper transcript and need to send me a copy electronically, it's just terrible photos at bad angles full of thumbs and text-obscuring shadows.

mind bogglingly frequently, i get cell phone photos of computer screens. they don't know how to take a screenshot on a computer. they don't know the function of the Print Screen button on the keyboard. they don't know how to right click a web page, hit "print", and choose "save as PDF" to produce a full and unbroken capture of the entirety of a webpage.

sometimes they'll just copy the text of a transcript and paste it right into the message of an email. that's if they figure out the difference between the body text portion of the email and the subject line, because quite frankly they often don't.

these are people who in most cases have done at least some college work already, but they have absolutely no clue how to utilize the attachment function in an email, and for some reason they don't consider they could google very quickly for instructions or even videos.

i am not taking a shit on gen z/gen alpha here, i'm really not.

what i am is aghast that they've been so massively failed on so many levels. the education system assumed they were "native" to technology and needed to be taught nothing. their parents assumed the same, or assumed the schools would teach them, or don't know how themselves and are too intimidated to figure it out and teach their kids these skills at home.

they spend hours a day on instagram and tiktok and youtube and etc, so they surely know (this is ridiculous to assume!!!) how to draft a formal email and format the text and what part goes where and what all those damn little symbols means, right? SURELY they're already familiar with every file type under the sun and know how to make use of whatever's salient in a pinch, right???

THEY MUST CERTAINLY know, innately, as one knows how to inhale, how to type in business formatting and formal communication style, how to present themselves in a way that gets them taken seriously by formal institutions, how to appear and be competent in basic/standard digital skills. SURELY. Of course. RIGHT!!!!

it's MADDENING, it's insane, and it's frustrating from the receiving end, but even more frustrating knowing they're stumbling blind out there in the digital spaces of grown-up matters, being dismissed, being considered less intelligent, being talked down to, because every adult and system responsible for them just

ASSUMED they should "just know" or "just figure out" these important things no one ever bothered to teach them, or half the time even introduce the concepts of before asking them to do it, on the spot, with high educational or professional stakes.

kids shouldn't have to supplement their own education like this and get sneered and scoffed at if they don't.

[sommer-girl]

Fremover, Part IV | Self Para

Date: 16 March 2023 Warnings: Just Anna being a lonely sadgirl at times :/

Anna catches up with Gerta, her once-babysitter and family's housekeeper. They revisit some memories.

Olaf, it turned out, had been right after all. Anna should not have been alone.

Not that she was in total crisis or anything. It was just lonely, laying there on her bunk bed and imagining the rest of the group out at dinner. Anna considered going to bed to simply fast-forward time to the next day, but it was only 6 PM, and Anna was wired not to even start her evening TikTok routine until at least midnight. So that was never going to work.

Still, she picked up her phone and opened the app and killed ten minutes scrolling through videos of dogs demanding The Cheeeeese Tax and BookTokers ranking their February reads and, inexplicably, not a small number of videos about niche drama in the NCIS fandom (Anna had never watched this show). She was just about to give up on this particular distraction when a notification popped up. A text.

Gerta?

Anna and Gerta didn’t text a lot. They spoke on the phone from time to time, but Gerta was quite busy, even with the girls grown up now. Her job had become much more about maintaining the mayoral estate, which was a never-ending task that kept her days very full. And she always talked about how much she missed Anna, which made Anna feel kind of guilty for not being home more often…

It was just complicated. With Dad and Elsa and… everything.

But right now, Gerta’s name lighting up Anna’s phone was hardly complicated at all. She opened the text right away. It was a little like hunger. Sometimes, you don’t realize how homesick you are until home is staring you right in the face.

Anna! I saw your photo on Instagram! I didn’t know you were in Arendelle! she had written.

Anna had that feeling that was growing all the more familiar this week, that people were reaching out and now she had to come up with an excuse to push them away. For once, though, she wasn’t sure she wanted to push Gerta away. She was starting to feel really lonely. 

Yeah! Sorry I didn’t mention. We’re here on a volunteer program and I wasn’t sure how much free time we would have.

Anna hesitated, and then added: I have some free time tonight, though. If you wanted to get coffee or something.

The response was immediate: Of course! I would love nothing more!

Unfortunately, your father is away on business, otherwise I would invite him as well…

That’s totally fine. I’ll see him soon enough.

It was more than totally fine. It was a relief. Now did not seem like the time to sort out her complicated feelings toward her father. Anna just wanted to see someone who knew her. Maybe that would help her figure out who she was again.

~~~

At the sight of Gerta’s smile in the little corner of the coffee shop, Anna practically melted. She rushed into her arms, choking up with tears.

“Whoa there, Anna,” Gerta chuckled, though her expression was slightly troubled. She could see that something was up. “Here, why don’t we sit down.”

“Sorry…” Anna mumbled, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve. “I promise, I’m really fine, it’s just…”

And then, entirely pathetically, the way Anna had been avoiding doing this entire trip, Anna burst into tears. Gerta put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder, the way she used to when Anna was little. “Hey, it’s okay,” Gerta said gently. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Anna nodded, pulling her chair out and sitting down. Gerta took the seat across from her. “I messed it all up. Everything,” she said miserably. “I.. don’t really want to talk about all of it—” She couldn’t, actually, because of the Ashleigh of it all, but Anna didn’t want to alarm her by saying she couldn’t talk about it. “But I sort of… had a falling out with a friend right before break. And it just… brought up from stuff for me. I dunno. I guess I just feel like a big fraud. Like I’ve been kidding myself. And like everyone can tell. And I can kind of see now how I messed up, like, a lot over the past year… and I was starting to feel like maybe the friends I do have left might just be… better off with other friends.”

She sniffled. “So I guess I pushed them away, and I was pretty mean about it and… yeah. I just don’t know what to do.”

Gerta’s eyebrows went up in surprise, then down in concern, and then landed somewhere sympathetic as Anna told her story. “Oh, Anna,” Gerta said finally. “That does sound sticky.”

“Yeah,” Anna sighed. “I dunno, I’m graduating soon. Maybe it’s for the best. I don’t know if I’m staying in Swynlake. I don’t know what I’m doing at all.” That was a whole different spiral. Anna tried to not to go down that particular rabbit hole.

Gerta was silent for a moment, frowning to herself. “So you think it’s for the best if you’re on your own?”

Anna shrugged. “It might be just… easier. I’m good at being on my own, anyway.”

That was true, even if it was a thought Anna dreaded. Growing up, she’d had Gerta, of course. And her parents, even if they weren’t entirely available, for different reasons. And she’d had the Internet. But she’d learned how to play pretend by herself. She’d learned how to braid her own hair, how to paint her own nails. She had a book club that she was the only member of. She could do that for two months.

The thought made her ache, though.

“Anna, I just don’t think that’s true,” Gerta said gently. “I just— do you remember when you were seven and you got yourself stuck in a tree?”

Anna laughed wetly, despite her skepticism at this random anecdote. Where was Gerta going with this? “Uhh, vaguely…” 

“I left to go get a ladder and by the time I’d come back, you were ripping up your jacket to try and make it into a rope!” Gerta recounted, which made Anna laugh again. She’d forgotten about that part, but it did sound like something her younger self would do. “It was very clever.”

Anna smiled. “See, I can be on my own.”

“I think the jacket would disagree,” Gerta chuckled. “The point, Anna, is that you are a resourceful person. But there’s more than one way to get out of a tree. And a ladder is usually much more pleasant. And you won’t ruin your jacket.”

“Okay, I see what you mean now.”

“Are you proud of me, Miss Literature, with my metaphors?” Gerta joked with a cheeky smile. 

“Very.”

She was quiet for a moment. Anna supposed she really knew this all along, that the way through this was holding onto the people who cared about her instead of pushing them away. It was just an intimidating thought. All the people she had to apologize to, all the opportunities for people to reject her… and in many cases, they might be justified. Anna’s behavior hadn’t been stellar.

But did she really want to spend the rest of this year alone? And the rest of… well, she’d always thought her uni friends would be her friends for life, right? Was she ready to give that up?

The answer was no. And they weren’t so easily replaced, either, by strangers she projected on or programs she wanted to apply to or hours spent alone with her books. Maybe one day those strangers would become friends or those programs would become real or those books would become her favorites, but the bottom line was that her friends deserved an apology.

“Thank you, Gerta. This helped a lot,” Anna said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“I’m happy to help. You know you can always come to me about these things, right?”

Anna nodded. Much like she had with Olaf just now, Anna had maybe assumed Gerta wouldn’t want to deal with her right now. But they were friends, Anna realized now. And that made all the difference. As long as Anna kept up her end of the bargain. 

“Anyway, catch me up! What have I missed?”

And Gerta talked and talked about the estate and the new cat and the preparations for spring, which devolved into laughing and memories and nostalgia, and by the time Anna was walking home in the slowly-dimming Arendelle sunset, already growing later, she felt better than she had in a long time.

Not everything was fixed. Anna still had a long road to go. But at least, now, she had a ladder. And she had one person holding it, smiling up at her. She just had to remember to look around.

[fleetroot-blog]

Food Delivery Is On The Rise – How Do You Get Your Share Of The Pie?

Food Delivery: the 21st Century Avatar! Well, the concept of "food delivery" isn't new - the "good boy pizza" that's just a phone call away from having your favorite pizza delivered to your door has been around for ages! However, online food aggregators have emerged in recent years, fueled by ecosystem advances such as mobile apps, smartphones, improved logistics, and last-mile delivery processes. With more choices than ever before, the consumer now has a smorgasbord of choices! As a result, the grocery delivery industry has grown exponentially as customers have discovered the ease with which the food of their choice will appear on their doorstep. The global online grocery delivery services market is expected to grow to US$154.34 billion by 2023 at a CAGR of 11.51%. market opportunities attract new entrants There is a long list of new entrants with attractive growth rates and changing customer preferences promising a stable business model. Everyone wants to share in the profits, including companies from outside the industry. Fintech Cos – They jumped at the opportunity by integrating their payment gateways with grocery delivery platforms. This offers consumers a seamless ordering experience while generating a transaction fee for Fintech Cos. Hospitality Cos – They use existing capacity in their kitchens to provide meals via online grocery delivery platforms. Automobile Cos – Like GM, Toyota, and Ford have developed custom vehicles for food delivery services (primarily in the US).at present). The rest of the world is taking similar steps. Robotics Cos – Introduced robots for commercial deliveries in closed-loop areas e.g. B. on university campuses. GenNext drones and robots are being tested for expanded roles. Why has grocery delivery become so popular? Modern lifestyles, busy lives, and women's full-time employment have made it difficult for households to sustain the traditional 'home cooking' life. Plenty of Options – Consumers now have a wide range of options at their fingertips. Consumers can easily choose by cuisine, main dish or side dishes, price, delivery times, and restaurant rating. Affordability: Reduced operational costs (e.g., cloud kitchens), increased reach, and loyalty discounts have allowed companies to bring groceries to consumers at an affordable cost. Smartphones – The easy availability and ever-decreasing price of smartphones is probably the main growth driver in this industry. Just download the app of your choice and get started! Apps: Once again, the rapid evolution of mobility and the development of apps have enabled consumers to manage everything from their smartphones Easy Pay – Numerous payment options include COD (cash on delivery), credit cards, digital wallets, and online banking. With increased security, it is safe to make such payments online. Leading Global Players in the Grocery Delivery Business (Frost & Sullivan, 2018) Food Delivery Companies: Top 4 Business Models 1) Aggregators – Uber Eats, Swiggy, Zomato, : 50% of the $125 billion industry revenue comes from this model - Third-party apps show available restaurants : Customers place their orders and the food is delivered by the restaurant or by the platform's fulfillment partners

– Aggregators take a commission of 20-30% of the order value. There are many monthly subscriptions and various loyalty programs. 2) Full-service model– Food Delivery Business manages all operations itself - Cloud kitchens typically use this model (those without dine-in options) - While this model requires a lot of investment, if they succeed, they have control of the entire process: food quality, and logistics, and they also make a higher margin 3) Restaurant-to-customer – Pizza Hut, Domino's, McDonald's - Serve some markets yourself and also use third-party fulfillment partners to supply markets they don't serve 4) Grocery delivery- Instacart, Large Basket, Amazon Pantry - This business has seen a sudden surge in recent years, especially during the recent pandemic. – A website or app delivers groceries to consumers from one or more distribution centers – Local food producers/retailers often join forces to supply local areas (“hyperlocal”) via a website/app Top 10 Online Grocery Delivery Companies in North America The market leader "Grubhub" has over a third of the market share. 10 leading food delivery services in EUR. The Dutch company Just Eat is represented in 8 countries in the region. Also over 83% market share in Great Britain (*2018, Frost & Sullivan.) 55% Asia share of the global online food delivery market (*2018, Frost & Sullivan). Key Challenges of Food Delivery Businesses However, growing consumer demand also brings competition and challenges. Key challenges facing food delivery companies include: 1. Development of customer habits Today's players offer such a wide selection across all price points and delivery options that customers are spoiled for choice. With new players arriving every day, keeping customers and building loyalty is a hectic task. Companies resort to aggressive marketing and discount strategies. While they are important to retain consumers, the only sustainable way to win loyal customers is to create value-based offers at acceptable prices. 2. Profound logistical challenges Given how much of their offering (value, cost) depends on efficient logistics and last-mile delivery effectiveness, food delivery companies need to manage this with a sharp focus. Investing in the right people, maintaining optimal fleets of vehicles, and employing the right technology and automation tools enables businesses to achieve scale, maintain food quality and achieve profitability. 3. Cost of volatile raw materials food commodities have volatile prices. Since fluctuating final prices are associated with risks for customers, margins are under constant pressure. 4. Strict quality standards High demand and intense competition have made consumer expectations for food quality even more demanding. Food is a commodity and people care about its quality. It's fair to say that companies will lose customers forever if they can't keep track of this crucial business metric. Top 10 Food Delivery Software & Apps 1. GrubHub, USA 6. Deliveroo, UK 2Doordash, E.E. UU. 7. HungryHouse, United Kingdom 3. Uber Eats, EE. UU. 8. Foodpanda, Singapore 4. Postmates, E.E. UU. 9. Zomato, India 5. Just eat, Dinamarca 10. Ele.me, China

How important is a “Food Delivery Tracking System”? A robust tracking system is critical to the success of a grocery delivery business and the handling of last-mile delivery. Such a system ensures on-time deliveries through optimal logistics, routing, and inventory management. As mentioned above, managing your last-mile delivery is critical from the perspective of your logistics and distribution managers for route planning, automated shipping, and overall monitoring. Feedback collected from customers through direct interaction also enables constant improvement and innovation. Modern technology tools, such as B. GPS-enabled fleet tracking software to manage logistics, distribution, and last-mile delivery a must-have automation tool for businesses to invest in. Conclusion: The business opportunity for global food delivery is significant. By implementing the right technology and putting customer satisfaction at the heart of its operations, a food delivery business can thrive despite the intense competition.

Read More about Food Delivery Is On The Rise – How Do You Get Your Share Of The Pie?

[soniarandhawausa]

TECHNOLOGY BENEFITS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN: SONIA RANDHAWA

Imagine living almost entirely at home for a year or more as a child: no time spent in the classroom, no chance to play with friends on the playground, or many chances to indulge in favorite pastimes and discover new places, people, and activities.

Children were kept apart from everyone but their immediate families and placed in a kind of twilight zone due to the global lockdowns that prevented the coronavirus from spreading. But not everything was lost. Children could maintain any traces of their pre-COVID lives thanks to various technologies that kept them entertained, learning, and interacting with friends.

A tech expert in San Francisco, Sonia Randhawa, states a few of the advantages of technology for young children:

Quick information exchange

Our children's well-being is crucial to their rapid learning. We can access the information we want at any time from our computers, tablets, or smartphones thanks to the Internet's quick information exchange. We can go to the extent that we can and break free of the boundaries of time-space concepts for whatever we want to learn or impart to others. Without waiting for the information, we are going to him.

Creativity and freedom of expression

Kids have big ideas, too big to fit in a box. They used only to have access to art supplies like colored markers and crayons to express their thoughts, but now they have access to computers, tablets, and a great deal more to help them do so, whether through digital art or the more traditional drawing method.

Each ability gained from interacting with technology has a creative expression component. While programming a mobile app or video game is the term, coding is a skill.

Socializing

Naturally, it cannot be denied that children who devote a lot of time playing video games, watching television, or using their phones may struggle with socialization. However, children who use technology sparingly can use it as a socializing tool.

For instance, they might become friends because they share a common interest in a social setting and play certain games frequently. Similarly, individuals can learn a new language and recognize a new culture via the Internet, meet people from various languages and cultures, and converse with them.

Problem-solving and perseverance

Whether that obstacle is attempting to construct a shelter in Minecraft, a video game, or learning how to hack, it all contributes to developing a robust sense of perseverance. As a result, they will be encouraged to devise solutions to issues that arise within or outside of technology, such as difficulties with homework, disagreements with friends, or other personal challenges.

Developing special skills

Developing specialized skills is becoming increasingly impossible with technology. We can now paint on a tablet and create a large orchestra using a computer to produce music. Why shouldn't these blessings be passed on to our children?

Numerous applications are available for children to enhance their interests, particularly on our smartphones and tablets. Your children can discover their talents through these applications. Additionally, these tools portability may hinder the child's creativity.

In-demand job prep

One of the most significant advantages of exposing children to technology is that they will be well-prepared to enter a pool of high-paying tech jobs.

The cool thing about this is that we aren't just talking about coding or Silicon Valley. Today, there are tech jobs. Tomorrow will bring tech jobs. Some of tomorrow's technology will be completely novel and unlike anything else the world has ever seen. Some of the technology of tomorrow will be like the technology of today.

Conclusion

We can make life much simpler for both ourselves and our children if we learn how to use it to its full potential rather than living in fear and avoiding technology in this day and age, says Sonia Randhawa. We will achieve this high-efficiency level if we carry out the necessary controls for them and educate them about the limitations of technology.

[starrynightstudyys]

I posted 76 times in 2022

That's 20 more posts than 2021!

21 posts created (28%)

55 posts reblogged (72%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@darkclassicwithin

@caramelcuppaccino

@litterascriptamanet

@studyartsy

@howl97s

I tagged 45 of my posts in 2022

Only 41% of my posts had no tags

#studyblr - 31 posts

#study - 29 posts

#studying - 22 posts

#studyspo - 20 posts

#study motivation - 20 posts

#starryskyysbujo - 18 posts

#minimalist - 11 posts

#minimal - 11 posts

#minimalism - 11 posts

#workspace - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 86 characters

#but also its topic cuz everything gets more specific the higher up you go in education

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Saturday

I was looking for a picture and realized that I never posted the one above. I’ve added one of my flowers to make up for it. I have 3 exams in three weeks (one I just took yesterday). I also had some med school interviews this week for a special program. I don’t think my chances are good, but it’s still possible.

I hope you get a chance to eat your favorite food today, or at least eat something you enjoy. Many of us have complicated relationships with food, but whether you do or you don’t, I hope you’re able to find some joy in it, guilt-free.

38 notes - Posted March 26, 2022

#4

Productivity Tips

For those who just can’t seem to get things done because their brains won’t let them

There’s lots of cool tips out there to study more and study better, but I don’t see many about just understanding how to study at all and not staring at your work for hours on end and getting nothing done even if you want to.

In short:

Take care of yourself

Organization

Multitask responsibly

Pomodoro

Be careful with your obsessions

Try different study spots

1. Be kind to yourself.

Studying is hard enough, even for the gifted kids, straight-A students, 4.0 since birth, effortless workaholics.

If you feel exhausted, take a break. A timed one is best, but take a break. Sleep, walk around, eat, do something fun, stare at the wall, cry, talk to people, scroll online, rant to yourself about life, do anything except be productive. Rest if you need it. You won’t get things done if you’re always 2 seconds from crying.

Sleep, for the love of god sleep. There’s no competition of “who can function the best on the least sleep”. Get a minimum of 8 hours, please, for your own sanity. At minimum, I do 6 if I have a lot of studying to do in one night, but these are exceptions. You can’t study if you’re sleepy.

2. Have some level of organization

If this means a full bullet journal, a dedicated notion space, daily todo lists, or even random post-it notes and lists on your hand, anything is better than nothing. When you’re overwhelmed and forgetting things, a visual reminder can save a grade.

On the other end, don’t spend hours organizing. If it’s during a break that’s okay, but when it cuts into actual studying, you might be better off with a sticky note stuck to your face then a beautiful header and color-coded database (as painful as it sounds 🥲)

3. Do stuff while you study

Eat snacks, drink stuff, play with figit spinners, play lo-fi or music in other languages. If it’s distracting, then don’t, but consider it.

4. Time yourself

Use pomodoro (cliché, but it works, i promise). If you can’t afford forest, try your phone’s native timer or other free pomodoro timers. For the notioners, Bloc’s has a free widget.

MinimaList is a cute, simple todo list app with a pomodoro feature

5. For the hyperfixators

Time youself like I mentioned above, but do your thing during breaks if you can’t help youself. When I get obsessed with a new fic or show, I take my 10 minute breaks to read or watch. It’s both motivating and comforting.

It’s hard pulling yourself away, but don’t forget about what you need to do. Do your best :) If worst comes to worst, have 30 minute breaks in between the 30 minute study sessions. 30 minutes of productivity every hour is better than 30 minutes of staring at your book and 10 minutes of staring at the wall.

Ideally, don’t give in and read/watch/etc. when you have studying to do, but this is better than nothing.

6. Try different study spots

I didn’t realize how effective this is until recently. Move around every week or every day and get a new spot.

You have options: in just my room, I have my desk, my bed, the ground, and the random chair in the corner. You might also have: random benches outside, the library, your kitchen table, the couch, the grass under a tree, hallways, or your dining hall. This also helps with back/neck pain! Maybe it won’t work for you, but maybe it will.

Just to repeat, be kind to yourself. If your friend was crying, exhausted, burntout, depressed, you wouldn’t tell them to suck it up and study. Don’t do that to yourself either.

See the full post

41 notes - Posted January 4, 2022

#3

Tuesday

I was going to post these pictures yesterday, but i became consumed with this fic I’ve been reading and didn’t post or continue studying.

Here’s a view of my desk with all the mess plus a macro view. On my third straight day of coffee. It’s instant coffee, so low caffeine content. It’s only worked on day 1 and today, so I’m not sure what that’s about.

I hope you’re productive today or least kind to yourself. It’s hard to keep walking these days.

Insta

43 notes - Posted January 4, 2022

#2

Wednesday

I don’t remember when this was taken, but it’s recent. I have a couple exams all at once soon, so classes are a bit overwhelming rn.

Still, I’m doing my best to take little breaks and breathe when I can.

I hope you find time to relax among your chaos today. Rest is always needed.

Listening to: Taehyung’s unreleased song snippets

Insta

45 notes - Posted February 2, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

76 notes - Posted January 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[didisteponurmoment]

Oh, so it’s punishment you want? (Wandanat +18)

Summary ➞ Natasha returns from a mission and Wanda decides to be a great tease at the expense of the spy (and the rest of the compound while we're at it.) I’m very bad at summaries ikik

Pairings ➞ Wandanat

Words ➞ 2954

Warnings   ➞ Smut (+18)

A/N  ➞ Plz interact with this so I don’t feel like I’m writing to myself, also feel free to send in a request! I didn't double-check this and English is not my first language so lmk if there some awful mistake 

“Leave me alone! I’m tired”

Wanda said as Natasha tried to wake her up leaving kisses in every corner of her face. She was not even leaving for a long mission or anything, she was just supposed to head to a TV show that morning, very much against her will, and then she’d be all Wanda’s for a few months until her next long mission started.

“Come on Wands! I’ve been gone for like two weeks and I’ve missed you so much, besides you fell asleep before I could make a move on you, so now I’m all horny and stuff.” She complains frustrated, which made the witch laugh.

“You can’t wait till you come back? It’s literally like, 4 hours and you’ve been gone for two weeks, you can do this.” Wanda replied as she sat up in the shared bed, and rolled her eyes. Natasha’s eyes seemed lustful, she had that specific shine Wanda had seen hundreds of times. Her darkened green eyes proved that she was completely turned on, but Wanda wanted to tease her, even if she was as aroused as she was. 

The Sokovian’s mind calculated the plan precisely. She knew what she was getting into, but she didn’t think twice when denied her request completely, and waved the assassin goodbye before programming her phone alarm to wake up on time to watch her long time girlfriend on the TV, and to be even a bigger teaser.

“I hate you sometimes…” Natasha muttered, leaving and too soon to hear the witch replying under her breath,

“You have no idea Detka”

***

Wanda went back to bed and proceeded to close her eyes to get some more rest, preparing to execute her plan as soon as she was awakened by the sound of the alarm that told her to get dressed and ready. She brushed her teeth and texted Natasha.

<<To Nat: Hey moya lyubov, good luck today!>>

Wanda took the first photo without showing a lot, turning the TV on, whilst hitting send.

<<To Nat: Image sent>>

The photo was not so provocative, but she knew it would get the job done. It was a photo of Wanda sitting comfortably on the floor, in front of that full body mirror that she had insisted on having on the dresser. She was wearing her laced pajamas that she gifted her, and that Natasha liked so much. It consisted of some small shorts and a bralette, both short enough to count more as underwear than clothes. The show was just starting when the first text was sent, and the TV was on. 

Natasha hated press, for years she stated to Tony that unlike him, it made more sense to keep her face on the low since she was after all, a spy. But after the accords happened years ago, our right to privacy was somewhat taken away for the sake of not only keeping people safe, but also proving them further that we are the good guys by showing our faces and remembering them of everything they owe us every once in a while. Tony’s words.

By the time Wanda turned the TV on, her girlfriend was already sitting next to the host, who was talking about how Natasha single handedly saved an entire city from being hit with a missile. Natasha didn't love the cameras, but she was overly seductive in front of them, making her hyper attractive to every tv show out there to have her on screen. 

The host presented some news footage about the mission and thats when Nat’s hand reached her phone, and her mouth opened a bit. The spy discretely typing a response as the host started talking about Thanos for the millionth time.

<<From Nat: don’t you dare>>

She stared at the screen for a while, as she licked her lip. Probably no one even noticed but it was a major positive response to the witch, so she immediately started to take her top off for a new photo. Wanda changed the app this time, since you never know who is around Natasha, (once the whole team saw one of her nudes, just because she didn’t lock her phone and Bucky loves meddling). Wanda opened Snapchat and sent a photo of her upper body, posing in the exact way that always turned her girlfriend on so much, with a finger in her mouth.

<<To Nat: I think I’m regretting my morning decision>>

Meanwhile, the host was talking to Natasha now, who was sitting with her legs crossed and biting her lip occasionally. When her phone vibrated she forced the conversation, so the host would introduce one of the videos prepared, where they talked about a recent interview the team did for a magazine. The video was in the background and Natasha remained on a side of the screen. She opened Wanda’s snap and moved, looking uncomfortable in her seat. A smirk was on her lips but she was definitely getting mad at the little witch for this. The witch was counting the seconds. 

<<From Nat: Stop it. I feel like a teenager that’s going to get caught.>>

Her photo was black, and I laughed at how nervous she was that she couldn’t even manage to remember the fact that this app also had a chat option. The video ended and Nat looked shaken when the Camera reached her, again.

“So, Natasha, How is the Scarlet Witch doing?” The host asked. Natasha laughed and politely dismissed the question, saying that his girlfriend was doing great, and blowing a kiss to the camera. Although they had been dating for about 5 years (of which we had been publicly out for 4 of them after Tony invited the press to a party without warning), she then proceeded to explain, about how she’d rather not talk about her private life. Wanda had agreed to keep the relationship on the low, so the media wouldn’t follow them around and so that their relationship wouldn’t have as much pressure, but even like that Wanda was completely allowed to tease her with her still being on screen.

She took a video this time, and made sure that the volume was muted, before pressing send. It was probably one of the most erotic things that Wanda had ever sent to her, as it showed her rubbing myself, and then it zoomed to her face, so she could see the witch’s pleasured expression. 

Even Though they were used to spending so many weeks away from each other, wanda wouldn't normally be allowed to contact her girlfriend with this kind of inquiries, let alone sending her photos that could be easily intercepted, so she took her opportunities to tease the older woman very seriously. 

<<To Nat: Ugh, since you’re not here it seems I’ll have to take care of myself>>

She didn’t even wait till the video paused this time, as she pressed send, when the host was promoting some new product between questions.

“Oh, Fuck” Natasha said interrupting the host, looking with her mouth open wide to her phone.

“Is everything okay?” The host asked, with a curious look.

“Yes, don’t worry” and she wasted no time to add “just a mission briefing i forgot about” and with that she received a generalized clap from the studio, because after all, mission briefing meant that Natasha, one of the mightiest heroes of earth, was once again fighting for the safety of all.

She smiled shily, but getting the distraction she wanted, used the moment to whisper to the host if a cut was possible. As soon as they announced that they were going to a commercial break, Wanda saw from the screen how Natasha was getting her phone from her pocket again.

The russian first opened a text from Tony in the avengers group chat.

<<From Tony: Briefing??? What did I miss? Or were you just trying to get a round of applause?>>

The spy chuckled, knowing that Tony called out in her lie and the rest of them would now try to figure out what she was actually hiding. She moved back to Wanda’s chat and sent a text.

<<To Wands: You’ve been a very bad girl… just wait till i’ll get home. >>

<<To Nat: …better hurry detka;)>>

Only twenty minutes had passed and Wanda waited for Natasha happily, when she heard the door shut open. There she was, standing in the clothes that she wore for the show, which showed her girlfriend that she clearly ran from the studio straight to their home.

“Undress. Now.” She dominated the Sokovian, with her best poker face and wasting no time. Wanda did as told and took her 'pajamas’ off slowly, obviously teasing her girlfriend. As expected, she was completely naked under the short shorts. Natasha grunted, looking at her witch, hungry.

“You thought it would be funny to mess with me like that, printsessa?” She asked, waiting for an answer. “Probably shouldn’t even call you printsessa anymore, since you’ve been a very bad girl detka.” Her head was shaking, as she made a 'tsk tsk’ sound with her tongue. “I’m disappointed with you dorogoy, you were being so good.” She started making her way over to Wanda, making the youngest girl shiver just from her words. She chuckled, seeing her now weakened state. Natasha’s eyes landed on the remote, and she turned the TV off, with a dangerous smirk plastered on her face.

“When I told you how bad I wanted you this morning, I wasn’t kidding malyshka. Oh god, I’ve been thinking about my head between your legs, all day. That's all I have been thinking about you for the last week too” In the blink of an eye, Natasha pulled Wanda up from the couch, slamming her against the nearest wall.

“If i hear one single sound coming from you, punishment will be required moya lyubovʹ.” Wanda whimpers, already breaking the deal, as the spy hands roam her body. Natasha didn’t seem to mind though, as her lips were already sucking harshly on her girl’s hardened bud on her nipple. Natasha’s hands were almost glued to her girlfriends hips, pulling her closer to her body. Wanda started off biting her lip, trying to keep the loud moans down, even though the little witch was curious about the words Natasha spoke before, and she secretly wanted to find out what this punishment was about. 

Her lips moved from the youngest girl's nipple, to her neck, refraining from making any contact with her lips. Finding her sweet spot, she started sucking, and at the same time, the spy moved her hand to her girlfriends center sneakily, starting to stimulate her clit. Sweat forming on the sokovian’s forehead, and her heart pounding too fast. This was almost too much to handle, and it was getting hard for her to keep it down.

Nat, without any warning, pushed two fingers inside Wanda. Breathing in through her nose, not letting out the air again, Wanda was clenching around her fingers. The russian hummed against her girl’s neck, still bruising herwith her lips. Her fingers going faster each second, and her free hand now grabbing Wanda’s behind, sure to leave a bruise.

Not being able to take it any more, the youngest girl moans, loudly. Natasha instantly stops, everything, completely removing her body from her gilfriend. All the pleasure she was receiving, completely gone, leaving her body still trembling. Her smirk was more evident on her face, now that she had pulled back from the other girl. 

Wanda looked down embarrassed. What would her punishment be? Spanking? she cringed at the though, not thinking she could handle being teased like that at the moment, being too sexually frustrated.

“We both knew it would come sooner or later, detka.” Natasha said with a genuine smile this time, pulling Wanda’s body against her own, once again. She planted a sweet, yet seductive kiss on her lips. Going down to her collarbones, yet again.

“Wh-what are you doing? Aren’t you gonna punish me?” Wanda asked her, confused. She’s quick to look up at the witch, lifting her eyebrow.

“Oh, so it’s punishment you want?” She asks, spreading Wanda’s legs, so they’re hovering over her thigh. She looks at her shocked, not knowing what to answer.

“Well, printsessy get what they want right?” She asks, but it sounded more like a statement. “You can moan this time, I wanna hear you malyshka.” Her hands grip the youngest girl’s hips again, rolling them against the clothing on her thigh. Wanda gasped loudly, rolling her head back so it hit the wall.

“Look at me detka, I need to see you.” She says, with a cocky tone. Putting all her power into it, Wanda finally pulls herself together to look her in the eyes. Her beautiful face expression as she expected it, that cocky fucking smirk. Her hands pull at Wanda’s hips harder, making her hiss.

“Damn detka, you’re soaking my jeans.��� Natasha starts moving her leg up and down, Wanda’s body now jumping with it. Natasha lustfully moans as she watches her girlfriend’s  tits bounce and down as well, and electricity shoots through her body. Wanda’s back arches, and the spy looks almost as pleased to see her girl like that, as for her to be feeling it. As Wanda almost reaches her high, she forgets all about the punishment she was talking about, and screams the russians name, feeling the pleasure run through her body, right before this buildup is suddenly taken away right before she is about to reach her peak. 

“Ah, you didn’t totally forget about your punishment, did you dorogoy?” Wanda glares at her teasing tone, seeing her chuckle. “Alright, lay on the couch.” She orders, and the witch follows like a lost puppy. Natasha stands in front of her, pulling her clothes off faster than ever. Seeing her naked for the first time in two weeks, made the witch feel almost ready to orgasm again, she moans, at the sight of her girlfriend.

“Like what you see, detka?” There’s that cheesy line, that the witch missed hearing so much and she sighs to herself as the older woman wastes no time laying her amazing curves over the sokovian, and as she straddles the younger girl's chest so her ass is turned to face. 

Not even bothering to ask if Wanda was ready, she digs in. Her tongue already swirling skilfully over her clit, making her name roll of her tongue, perfectly.

Wanda gets the idea and pulls her girlfriend thighs back, so she is straddling her face, and decides to return the favor by eating her out too, but inserting only one finger as well, going fast. Wanda moans at her taste, sending vibrations through her girlfriend and making Natasha moan against her. 

At this point, all that was heard in the room were the loud moans from both girlfriends, as well as some curses from the spy, who wouldn't bother to try and filter them.

Natasha’s tongue goes through Wanda’s folds, she feels her girlfriend get close so she decides to slip two fingers into her, fast. Her other hand, rubbing her clit. Wanda feels overwhelmed in the best ways and mimics Natasha’s movements, bringing her also to her edge.

It almost feels like a competition,  both bodies are shaking, and both girls keep speeding up in search for their releases.  Wanda is the first to come, screaming the Russian name even louder and stopping the movements of her fingers to catch her breath.

Natasha doest let this stop from releasing herself, and with a proud smirk as she hears Wanda mumble her name from below her, she sits straight and starts riding her girlfriend’s face shamelessly. Wanda grips at her thighs and moans from the view, keeping up with her tongue movements until Nataha comes  undone too, on top of her. 

Feeling their release after those long two weeks (that felt like a long time), was a big relief, and they just lay there for a moment, one on top of the other and breathing hard.

“Not again.” Natasha mutters looking at her phone, seeing the texts from the group chat she has with the OG avengers, and shows the screen to Wanda too.

<<from Tony: Oh, sounds like our favorite russian is having some fun, at least we know what her lie from earlier was about>>

<<From Cap: @Nat, again? You always stand me up when we are supposed to train the new kids>>

<<From Tony: oh please, I bet spiderboy enjoyed the show better than running around with you on his tight leotard>>

<<From Thor: Are they having very loud sex again?>>

<<From Clint:  Was it heard from space as well?>>

<<From Cap: see? That's what we get from sending her on two weeks mission>> 

<<From Tony: as if they needed an excuse! Next time I'm asking Jarvis to livestream>> 

<<From Cap: Nat whenever you see this can you PLEASE BRING YOUR ASS TO TRAINING? These new kids are really mean>> 

Wanda blushes, a little used at this point of her girlfriend long time best friends making fun of them. Natasha texts back.

<<From Nat: well, at least i'm getting some. Be there in 5>>

With this the russian grunts and runs over to her clothes, which are scattered everywhere, and pulls it on piece by piece. Before going out she stops in front of naked Wanda, still sitting on the couch, looking at her with doe eyes.

“God, I love you. Don't get dressed i'll be back in an hour ” Natasha says running over the younger girl, kissing her firmly on the lips, and runs out the door ready for training.

[honeytae]

if you’re open for regular requests i’d love to request lil scenarios of the boys learning english alongside their english-speaking s/o! this is totally self-indulgent i’m doing the TEFL program and i’m going to south korea next year to teach :)

first of all, that’s amazing omg!! congratulations my love, i hope you have the best time over there and please don’t be shy in sharing your stories with us!!! i tried to stick to the boys actually learning english with their s/o but i strayed from that with a few members just bc i ran out of ideas lol but i hope you still enjoy!

fair warning....i’ve never ~seriously~ tried to learn korean, so i’m not entirely certain of the parallels between korean and english. i just hope these are wholesome enough to override that lmao

namjoon:

“You know,” Namjoon looked up from his phone, “I understand expanding your vocabulary, but why are there so many weird slang words?”

“Kids these days?” You shrugged, the man chuckling in response before flipping his phone around to show you what had puzzled him.

“If something slaps, that’s...good?” He wondered, watching as you suppressed a smile at the tweet he was showing you.

You could tell by the profile picture that the user was an ARMY, one of the many fan profiles on the platform, and the tweet was written completely in English.

Although there was a ‘Translate to Korean’ option readily available with just a tap of his thumb, you knew Namjoon never missed an opportunity to challenge himself to be able to fully comprehend what a native English speaker was trying to say.

You nearly snorted at the tweet’s content, smiling as you read it out loud.

“The Dis-ease bridge just saved my life. Seriously, this song slaps.”

Glancing at Namjoon, he raised his eyebrows, eagerly waiting for you to translate and explain what that could equate to in Korean.

“It’s definitely a good thing, Joon. They love it.”

At your interpretation, Namjoon grinned, nodding to himself as he pulled his phone back in front of his face to scroll through more reaction tweets to the new album release.

seokjin:

“What the hell is that?”

You picked your head up from your sketchbook when you heard Seokjin whine from beside you, eyebrows knitting together at his distressed tone. Taking a glance over at his laptop screen, you found his mouse bouncing from letter to letter on one of his weekly english lessons.

“What is that, like 15 letters? How do you even use that in a sentence?” He went on, obviously flustered by the word on the screen.

Pulchritudinous.

You placed your hand over his to stop his panicked counting of the letters, causing him to look over at you with a sigh as he frowned.

You nearly giggled at his reaction, but the genuine fear in his eyes made you stifle it as you soothingly held his hands in yours. 

“It’s just an over complicated way of saying beautiful. I don’t know why they’re teaching you that, nobody ever uses it.” You assured him, his eyes going down in size a bit at your words before he nodded.

Watching as a smirk tilted his lips, you raised your brows at the sudden expression.

“What?”

“Well like, I could say I’m...that?” He said, eyebrows raised cockily as he gestured to the long word stretched across the screen.

“Well it’s actually not used like,” you paused, giving in with a shrug as you grinned back at him.

“Sure, love.”

yoongi:

“Why did I skip English class all the time?” Yoongi sighed, pinching his bottom lip between his fingers as he plucked at the skin in frustration.

“Because you were trying to be a rebel.” You answered without looking up from your phone, the man obviously not liking your answer as he reached over to where you were laying beside him to pinch at your hip.

Yelping, you scooted across the mattress to get away from his hand, whining his name with a scoff before looking over at his notepad.

“What are you doing, anyway?” You asked, leaning on your palm as you scanned the rows of scribbled English letters written on the page.

“I’m trying to get better at writing.” He admitted shyly, a small grin on his face to match the fond one on your own. 

“Aw,” you pouted, Yoongi raising his eyebrows at your tone, “but I like your chicken scratch.”

“You’re such a brat.” He chuckled, adjusting the velcro on his brace with a grunt.

Since Yoongi’s shoulder surgery took away obvious straining activities like dancing and performing, he’d turned to studying English from the comfort of your bed during his recovery as one of the only safe activities he could partake in for a while.

It was now one of his favorite past times, learning new words and phrases he could potentially use in the future. It worked for you both because it took his mind off the pain and kept him motivated, and since you could speak both his and your language, you could help him out whenever he got stuck on something.

Usually he did lessons verbally on his phone, but it seemed today he had taken the old fashioned route.

“Your handwriting really isn’t bad, Yoongs.” You observed, the carefully placed tails at the end of each ‘a’ making you smile out of fondness for the man.

“My man has the prettiest handwriting.” You cooed, pushing a strand of his stark black hair out of his eyes as he blushed down at his notebook.

“Stop that.”

hoseok:

“Hey, babe?” Hoseok called for you, listening to your footsteps growing closer before you popped your head into the kitchen doorway.

“Yeah?”

“I’m having a little trouble.” He gestured to his open laptop on the counter, you recognizing it as an assignment from his English course.

“What happened?”

“Pronouns. Pronouns happened.” He pouted, his disdain for the new chapter quite obvious as he stared down his computer screen.

“What about them?” You asked, stepping closer to the man sitting at the kitchen island and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I need to make ten sentences using proper pronouns and I feel like I’m doing it all wrong.” He explained, causing you to hum as you looked over his sentences.

“These look great, Hobi.” You smiled as you glanced over the first three he’d written, flawlessly executed on the document.

“Can you help me with the next one?” He wondered, you nodding your head as you took a seat on the stool next to his.

“What do you want the next one to say?” You asked, watching as he glanced off to the side in thought, slightly squinting his eyes at the tile floor beneath the sink.

“My house is next to,” He spoke in English, pausing as he searched his brain for what pronoun to put next.

“Theys?” He answered as more of a question, then shaking his head as he switched back to Korean, “wait, no.” He sighed, placing his chin in his hand in thought before glancing over to you.

“I know it’s wrong, I just don’t know what the right answer is instead.” He explained, you shooting him a loving smile as you pushed the dark raven hair off his forehead and pressed a kiss to the newly revealed skin.

“I’ll help you, Sunshine. No worries.”

jimin:

Flopping onto the bed, you let your tired body fall on top of Jimin’s hoodie clad chest, his arm encircling your body as he mumbled a soft greeting to you.

“Hm, what are you learning about today?” You nuzzled into his chest, peering at his phone propped up on his thigh.

“Animals. Birds, mostly.” He answered, briefly turning from the screen to press a kiss to your head before focusing back on the row of English words matched with pictures of popular birds glowing from the device.

The first was a robin, the next a blue jay, and then a dove.

You listened as the virtual instructor prompted Jimin to repeat after her, spelling out the letters before stating the whole word. You smiled as your boyfriend followed instruction, pronouncing the words the best he could after the microphone chimed for him to do so.

“D-o-v-e. Dove.”

“Dove.” He repeated, smiling to himself as the app announced he got the point with a little heart.

“That’s cute.” He went back to his native language, you humming in confusion as you lifted your head up off his chest to look at him.

“The heart?” You asked, reaching up to twist a stray strand of hair out of his eye as he shook his head.

“Dove.” He said again, making you tilt your head, not knowing what he meant.

“It sounds like ‘love.’” He connected the two English words, you smiling fondly at him in response before scooting up the bed to kiss the tip of his button nose.

“You’re so cute.”

taehyung:

Three knocks at the door announced someone’s arrival to your bedroom, causing your head to lift from the novel you’d been so immersed in. Taehyung was home, but you’d wanted to give him space because you knew he needed to work on lyrics for his mixtape in order to submit them on time. 

“Hey,” he poked his head in with a small smile, “can you help me with something?” He asked sheepishly, stepping further into the room when you nodded.

“Of course. What is it?” You set your book down, marking your place before closing it to pay full attention to your boyfriend.

“Well, I’m trying to write this verse in English and,” he trailed off with a shrug, “you know.” He finished, you nodding in response with a gesture for him to come sit next to you.

He eagerly walked over to you with his notebook in hand, lowering himself to the mattress before rolling his way over to where you were leaning against the headboard.

Honestly, Taehyung’s English wasn’t bad at all. He was insecure about it, but you’d never really understood what the reason for that feeling was. His vocabulary was more than decent, his comprehension was good, and his pronunciation was great for having such a thick accent.

But there were many times where Taehyung came to you for guidance, as you were a native English speaker yourself.

And so, as he rested his head on your shoulder confiding in you about everything he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, you patiently took him through what would work and rhyme best, smiling as he hummed the melody to himself to see if the phrases would work in his creation.

jungkook:

“Baby, can you read it to me again before we go on? Just one more time.”

You glanced over at your boyfriend in his makeup chair, several employees bustling around the man as they attempted to get him ready to go on stage while they had him seated.

With his arm extended backward to where you stood behind his leather chair, he offered his phone to you while shooting you a grin through the reflection in the mirror.

Taking the device from his hand, you opened it to the notes app where he’d written what he wanted to say in his statement on stage in just a few minutes.

You were in London tonight, which meant that all of the boys had been rehearsing their English so that they could communicate easier with their audience.

Jungkook, ever the over-achiever, was determined to do the toughest English tongue twister he could possibly find. Not only that, but in a British accent for his British ARMY’s.

“Betty bought a bit of better butter to make her bitter butter better.” You read from the phone, barely able to read the sentence yourself before you glanced up at Jungkook through the mirror again.

You watched your boyfriend nod as his brain took in the words you’d just said, taking a deep inhale before he began speaking the phrase back to you.

You gawked as the man effortlessly repeated after you, a few of the makeup artists stopping as well as Jungkook raised his eyebrows back at you.

“Was that okay?”

[tefilovesreading]

It’s a match! Part. 2

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x Fem!Reader

Word count: 2k

Warnings: None, language but that’s it.

A/N: LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA BE TAGGED. 

Edited by: @theamazingtomholland​ 

MASTERLIST // PART 1 // PART 3

“What do you mean he sent you a good morning text?” Jo asked, almost choking on her toast.

“He asked for my number last night,” Y/N explained, her hands shaking while she tried to unlock her phone, “and when I woke up, I had a text from him saying good morning and wishing me a good day.”

“Damn the boy is a keeper,” her friend whistled and winked at her after she read the message.

“He told me he wanted to FaceTime.”

She sat on the stool next to where her best friend was sitting and rested her chin on her hand. The butterflies in her stomach felt more like hundreds of bees buzzing fiercely in there. 

“And you?” Jo questioned with an intrigued look on her face, “do you wanna do it?”

“I think so,” Y/N answered, biting the inside of her cheek, “he’s really cute, and I had fun texting last night.”

“Well that’s a new one,” the ginger girl joked. All their friends knew how much Y/N hated texting, leaving messages on read for days, or taking absolutely forever to respond. She always felt weird texting, not knowing very well how to keep the conversation going over text.

“Tell him you have thirty minutes, and then you have to go do something else,” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and Jo rolled her eyes, “that way if you don’t feel comfortable you have an easy exit.”

“And what if I’m enjoying it?” Jo looked at her as if she was trying to explain how the water cycle worked to a kid, “Jo I’m being serious!”

“In that case, my love, you hang up and call him again after you tell me everything.”

“Who said I was gonna tell you anything, uh?” Y/N smirked and blew her a kiss after her friend gave her an offended look.

“Whatever, Y/N,” Jo flipped her off, “just tell him your professor was sick or something like that.”

“You’re a lifesaver, did I tell you that?” Y/N kissed her friend’s cheek and then jumped off, “I’m gonna go take a shower, see you later.”

“See you later, babe,” Jo said, “don’t forget to eat!”

“I won’t!” Y/N yelled, on her way to the bathroom they shared.

Y/N: Good morning! Hope you have a great day too

She smiled satisfied at her reply and hit the send button.

Y/N couldn’t remember the last time she felt so giddy about a guy, it was exciting, to say the least. Charlie seemed like an easygoing person and really easy to talk to. Sure she was nervous talking to him, but who wouldn’t? The guy was super cute and so nice to her, she already knew she’d be crushing hard.

Thirty minutes later, she was on her way to class with time to go to her favorite coffee shop and have a quick breakfast.

Charlie: Didn’t think you’d answer me so early hahaha Y/N: I have a class in like 20 minutes, wouldn’t have woken up this early if i didn’t have class lol Charlie: So you’re not a morning person Y/N: Oh no, absolutely not!!

She smiled at the boy in the cashier and laughed softly when he asked her if she was ordering the same thing she always did.

“Oh, can you add a brownie please?” Y/N asked politely, while she looked for her card on her bag. After paying for her food, she went to one of the tables in the back.

Charlie: Noted! I swear i try to not wake up early but i can’t Y/N: I bet you’re the kind of friend that wakes everyone up with a lot of noise  Charlie: How did ya know that hahahaha Y/N: I was just guessing, but you do seem like a loud person Charlie: I am, i won’t try to deny it Charlie: What about you??  Y/N: Mmm Y/N: It depends Y/N: But my laugh is extra loud, so I can’t say I’m a quiet girl

“Vanilla latte!” Y/N put away her phone and stood up to get her order.

“Thanks, Dylan,” she thanked the boy and grabbed a few napkins before making her way back to her table. 

Charlie: I bet your laugh is really cute

Her cheeks were burning after that message, and it took her a couple of minutes to tame the butterflies in her stomach before she was able to type a response. Because as much as she wanted to laugh it off and change the topic, she knew he was flirting with her and if she didn’t flirt back, their conversation was basically dead.

Y/N: Guess you’ll have to find out yourself ;).

That was a nice reply, right? She screenshotted their chat and sent it to Jo. If anyone knew how to flirt while texting, it was her best friend.

Y/N: How does it look? Is it too much?? Too little?? Y/N: H E L P

Jo’s response was quick as always. One of the many reasons she loved her.

Jo: Girl it’s fine Jo: Stop worrying about it Jo: It’s mysterious and a good way to tell him you wanna FaceTime Y/N: Ok ok thank you love ya Jo: Love you more  

Checking the hour on her phone, Y/N finished her bagel and gathered her stuff. She waved Dylan goodbye and left the coffee shop. She spent more time than she expected to in there and if she didn’t hurry she’d be late for class. 

It was times like this one that made her regret not knowing how to drive because even if all her classmates liked the Lyft program they had for free, she still felt unsafe getting in the car without a friend.

Back in the day, when she was still dating Lance, he’d made sure to call her and talk to her during the whole ride to wherever Y/N needed to go just to make her feel safe. After all, he was never a bad boyfriend, their paths just went in different ways and they both wanted different things in life.

Charlie: Yeah i guess Charlie: What if i call you later when you’re done with your classes??Charlie: No pressure

She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks for the second time in less than an hour and had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. 

Y/N: Sure, i’ll let you know once i’m done Y/N: But i have to say bye for now Y/N: Gotta pay attention haha Charlie: Get that degree! Charlie: Talk to you later!

Focusing on whatever her professor was saying was a hard task, she just wanted to pull her phone out and text Charlie, see what he was up to and get home as soon as possible, so they could FaceTime.

Sitting on the edge of her seat, she couldn’t help but bounce her leg to relieve the eagerness rushing through her veins. She still had fifteen minutes left, and then she’d be sprinting out of the classroom and going back to her apartment.

“Dude, do you gotta use the bathroom or what?” Sadie, the girl she always sat with during class, whispered through gritted teeth.

“Sorry,” she apologized, crossing her legs to stop herself from bouncing her leg. Although the new position didn’t stop her from moving her foot. 

“What’s up with you?” Sadie snorted once she realized Y/N couldn’t sit still.

“Nothing,” she replied quickly, scribbling on her notebook the pages she needed to read for the next class, “I just wanna go home.”

“But you have never been this eager to leave this class,” the girl commented without looking at her, too focused on taking notes, “you love this class.”

“I don’t know,” Y/N let out a sigh and checked the hour on her watch, “I just don’t feel like sitting here right now.”

Her classmate didn’t make another comment about her eagerness to leave the classroom, she just nodded her head as if she was telling her she understood.

“I think that’s all for today, guys,” the professor mentioned, leaning on the desk, “have a good day, and don’t forget to read the articles I mentioned.”

Y/N hurried to gather her things and waved Sadie goodbye before walking as fast as she could to the door. She needed to leave before the halls flooded with students. Y/N considered taking the stairs instead of the elevator but knowing how clumsy she could be, she opted for the latter. Falling down the stairs wasn’t on her plans.

Twenty minutes and a mile later, she dropped her keys on the bowl next to the door of her apartment and kicked off her shoes. She checked her out in the full-length mirror Jo had in their living room and shrugged. Charlie knew she was a college student, and it wouldn’t be weird to see her wearing a hoodie with her college’s logo, also, she was comfy and didn’t want to change into something else. 

She fixed her hair and made sure she didn’t have smudged mascara under her eyes and then made herself comfortable on the couch.

Y/N: Just made it home

Y/N: That was one hell of a long class haha

She bit her nails, the nervousness kicking in while she waited for a response from Charlie. Maybe he was busy now that she wasn’t. God if their schedules didn’t let them at least FaceTime, she felt like she’d start crying and delete the app. It wasn’t like she was talking to other guys though.

Charlie: Finally!! Charlie: Wanna FaceTime?? Or are you tired?

“Fuck no,” she whispered to herself before she started writing her reply.

Y/N: Nah! Let's FaceTime

Her heart started pounding on her chest when the video call entered and the phone started vibrating in her hand.  

“Shit, shit, shit,” she cursed before putting a smile on her face and answering the call. “Hey!”

Holy shit. His pictures didn’t make him justice. 

“How you doin’?” Charlie said and her cheeks blushed.

“It’s that a Friends reference?” she asked trying to hide her smile.

“I swear I don’t mean it in that way,” he laughed, and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled made her heart flutter. “But seriously, how was your day?”

“It was good even though I hate waking up early,” the way Charlie was looking at her with so much attention, even if it was through a screen it  made her feel so confident, “I had breakfast at this little coffee shop near my apartment and then went to class.”

“But that sounds like a nice morning,” Charlie mentioned, his sweet smile never leaving his face.

“What were you up to anyway?”

“Not much actually,” he shrugged and the gesture made him look young, “I went for a run, then I had to film some tapes for a few auditions, and now I’m chilling.”

“You’re an actor,” Y/N pointed out, not even surprised about the new information he just revealed. It was Los Angeles after all.

“I am,” he smiled, and she swore she could see a pink tint on his cheeks, “I started back in Canada when I was about fourteen or fifteen.”

“Any chances I’ve watched it?” Charlie scrunched his nose and shook his head.

“Maybe, if you are into foreign films,” Y/N tilted her head confused at his answer, “It’s in French.”

“You learned how to speak in French for the movie?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows together when Charlie started laughing.

“I grew up speaking French and English,” he explained with a soft smile, “I’m French Canadian.”

“That makes a lot more sense now,” she laughed off her embarrassment, “I’m gonna blame the fact that I woke up early today. I’m not this dumb, I swear.”

“Don’t worry,” he said and the smile faded just enough for her to notice his intense stare, “I thought it was cute.”

She bit her lip at his words and tried to look away from the screen, but Charlie’s eye contact felt as if he was looking right into her soul and she couldn’t break that connection even if she wanted to. And she definitely didn’t want to do that.

tagged: @chevyimpala00067​ @samanthawilliamspring​ @searchingunderthestars @luke-patt @moneybagmgk @angisbr @happinessinthedarkesttimes @knitsessed @cordeliascrown @crybabyddl @phantompogues @the-romanian-is-bae @doaspeggy-says

[wearehuman-after-all]

Society article about Daft Punk 29th July 2021 part.5 (final part) - Translated

“I was in shock, very sad, but I thought at the same time that this concept was a beautiful way to pay tribute to their magic. The idea was to show the energy between the golden and silver hands which represented the collaboration between Thomas and Guy-Man” he says. This work done, the news fell like a guillotine blade for millions of fans: Daft Punk, is over. Several months later, no one around the group has forgotten the sweep of the deflagration. Because nearly no one had been let into the secret. Gesaffelstein hurried to write to Homem-Christo. “He replied to me something along the lines of: ‘It happens. Everything has an end, it lasted for 28 years’”. Antoine Ressaussière, contact straightaway his friend and collaborator Gildas Loaëc, who’s in Tokyo and is sleeping early in the morning. Around 22h/10pm, as he is browsing through old pictures on a hard drive, tears fill up the eyes of this old partner, whose first Parisian pied-à-terre was the collocation between Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Cédric Hervet and a few others, not far from La Place de Clichy. Memories of around 20 years of friendship suddenly resurface: Versace clothes races on the Champs-Elysées, the club trips, the holidays in California, and countless other party and music moments. The next day, the team of the 50’ Inside program tries to obtain his exclusive interview. Thousands of kilometers away from there, when he wakes up in Los Angeles after the announcement, 3 text messages shows on Todd Edwards’ smartphone: one from his manager, another one from an old friend of his from New Jersey, and a last one from Cédric Hervet. DJ Falcon, remembers that his phone “started to explode”. The musician, living in Biarritz, was supposed to go to Béziers in order to buy a synthesizer and took advantage of the journey to wander around the surroundings. He had fun observing the flamingos along the coast and had extended his stroll to the Narbonne cathedral, under whose vault he had gotten “50 000 messages”. “I didn’t think that it was true, he says. The friends and I then called each others: Cédric, Gildas, and I phoned Thomas who told me: ‘There you go, it’s over’ I thanked him. Thanks to Guy-Man and him we lived an extraordinary adventure.”

No one among the people close to Daft Punk, knows if this adventure could have lasted longer. If the reasons of the end of the duo only belong to the two men, their close friends still had the time these last weeks to think about hypothesis. Maybe that everything had come full circle and the duo had come at the end of a coherent everything with RAM, a monumental album in which they gathered the funk musicians who they enjoyed sampling 20 years earlier. “They were already questioning themselves after the Grammys Awards: ‘Can we do better than this? Shouldn’t we just stop here instead?’ I was surprised and at the same time it was normal: they need to surpass themselves, to bring something new, and they maybe had the feeling that they had explored everything within the framework of Daft Punk”, suggests DJ Falcon. This June, Antoine Ressaussière had a phone call with Thomas Bangalter. It has been a long time since they last talked. The Daft Punk, calm, told him about all these groups who stay together by force of habit more than anything else, handling their merchandising without doing anything else. This did not interest him. “I think that these times don’t correspond to Daft Punk anymore, adds Ressaussière. Frankly, they wouldn’t make a Get Lucky 2 that they would promote on TikTok by doing choreographies dressed up as robots. That’s not serious. It’s a romantic end of a romantic group, in a time period that is much less romantic. They had the elegance to stop before doing things that bother them.” Streaming services, apps, selfies, that’s not them. Even though at some point they came on stage in a pyramid looking like a spaceship and seemed like perfect incarnations of the future, time ended up surpassing them. One says about Thomas Bangalter that he doesn’t look on social media with a favorable eye, as well as crypto currencies, NFTs and, more generally, the new technology giants handling millions of dollars. One example among others: these last few years, the Daft Punk stayed away from smartphones, preferring to use an old flip phone. “He didn’t get the pictures I would send him, I had to send them to him by email. It made me laugh. But there was almost a stylistic will behind this flip phone. A global idea of control. Daft Punk don’t have iPhones, they want to get their hands dirty, and there’s nothing worse than an iPhone for someone who wants to do that”, theorizes the artist Xavier Veilhan, the artist behind a sculpture showing the musicians in the middle of the 2010s. As always in separations, it is also a matter of life paths growing apart. When he heard the news, Todd Edwards was one of the only ones not to be surprised. Because he had kept in mind one of the conversations that he had with Thomas Bangalter in summer 2017, along Sunset Boulevard. His French friend mentioned the growing interest that Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo had for rap music and its production, not really Thomas’s cup of tea. At the end of the 2000s, when they recorded Stronger, a featuring between Kanye West and Daft Punk, the American rapper had spent hours in the recording studio watching porn films on a loop which made the two Frenchmen not believe their eyes. Above all, Bangalter wanted to explore “something more organic, tells Edwards. And also, there is certainly the desire to remove the pressure of the necessity to do something, to compose something according to the public’s expectations”. Antoine Ressaussière concludes, without any regrets: “I heard that Laeticia Hallyday [wife of Johnny Hallyday, a famous French singer] said that she would have loved to go to the last Daft Punk concert? Who else would have been there also? Macron, Sarkozy [2 French presidents], Dechavanne, Nagui? [2 French Tv hosts] Impossible. It’s good that it stopped like that”

***

While pop music history is punctuated by chaotic ruptures, not to say infuriating, it seems that here, everything happened with courtesy. There were never any clashes, falling-outs or sly hostilities between the two Daft Punk, according to their close friends. Before the concert halls closed because of the pandemic, the two colleagues went to Parisians concerts of Tame Impala and Blood Orange together. The duo still sees each other from time to time. Last summer, they spent some time together in Cap-Ferret, surrounded by their children. A little while before that, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo went to his friend’s eldest son’s birthday party. Daft Punk would even send each other messages around this much-talked-about 22nd february 2021, amused by the harebrained interpretations about their separation. This doesn’t stop them from having their solos career, each one in his corner: Guy-Manuel would produce rap music figures in the future, while Thomas is working at the moment with the Israeli dancer and choreographer Hofesh Shechter on a project related to Cédric Klapisch’s coming film. Todd Edwards also implies that his friend, before the pandemic, had “started a new project”, which he allows himself to outline: “Something different, away from mainstream stuff. An art project, in a way, from a musical and visual point of view as well. It’s a real cerebral experience, against the saturated market of today’s music in the way it’s presented. This cannot be copied or stolen. It’s unique.” Like the others, the Californian man thinks particularly that Thomas Bangalter will go back behind the camera one day, to make his own film. Until then, a certitude shared by everyone: no matter what shape they will take, the new creations of the two artists will not be rip-offs of what de Homem-Christo and Bangalter had made together during these 30 last years. The Daft Punk project is based on the duo’s alchemy. “Thomas is a genius but he can have doubts. When he needs to choose between the vulgar hit and the one which isn’t, he always needs Guy-Manuel. Thomas is incapable of doing anything on the same level as Daft Punk without him, and vice versa”, clarifies a friend. Now that the group took its leave, only shared memories link the two robots and the galaxy of friends revolving around them. Soon after the funeral of half of Cassius, Philippe Zdar, one of the great figures of French touch who passed away accidentally in June 2019, Thomas Bangalter went to have dinner in the Parisian restaurant owned by his friend and former manager, Marco Marzilli. With other old hands of the electro movement, such as Hubert Blanc-Francard, Etienne de Crécy, Pedro Winter or Pépé Bradock, they chatted for a long time about the old times and about that collective story that they had built together. “We were telling each other our memories, our beginnings which date back to the Antiquity, our first machines, everything that we’ve been through together. When it was time to go away, Thomas looked at us like you look at an old family film. He looked up and stared at the horizon: ‘I had forgotten all these stories. In the end, around this table, each one of us it the memory of the other’”, tells Blanc-Francard in Bombass: A history of French touch, an autobiography book coming out in the next weeks. DJ Falcon was part of the guests that night. One of the strongest moments engraved in his memory dates back from the few days following the end of the recording of Random Access Memories. With Thomas Bangalter, they had sat down at the Gang recording studio in order to listen to the whole album, and particularly their track, Contact, which serves as an epilogue. A kind of long rise, similar to the buzzing of a rocket taking off. “At the end of the track, the studio’s speakers, unique in the world and custom-made, ended up giving in because it was so intense, he tells. With Thomas, we didn’t talk. We exchanged knowing smiles, we turned off the light of the studio and we left.” The close friend understands in this final a farewell message left by his friends. “It is as

if the robots went back on their spaceship to go back to their planet.” •

Article by Grégoire Belhoste and Raphaël Malkin and illustrations by Hippolyte Jacquet

[fromgwentopeter]

After All This Time... [I]

Words: +1k Warnings: NWH MAJOR SPOILERS ✒︎ Andrew!Peter Parker x MJ!reader ✒︎ this is my first fanfic ever written on this app, so please be gentle aaa (but I have experience, like, I’ve been on Wattpad forever). ✒︎ oh, yes, the edit is made by me ;) ✒︎ I’m not sure if this’ll be a series or a one shot, I’m just navigating on new waters here.

Summary: after NWH, Peter finds himself wondering what other things life has to offer, or is it just the same as always? Maybe he can open his heart once again?

Chapter I. Traces of what was and will be.

Old wounds never seem to heal solely... One to know would question the enhanced individual whose constant broken ribs healed completely over night, but this one... this one scar was so profound and hurtful, it never closed...

Poison filled his consciousness when he remembered no one --indeed, no one-- knew of his double life. The whole anonymity of the circumstances made him feel alone; not at solace, but simply and utterly devastated by the silence of not having something --someone-- to cling to when the urge to cry was mad and urgent. When the dim light of the city that never sleeps shrouded him with grief, made his stomach churn over what could’ve been, and let his mind wander into a pit of darkness to which no one should go past midnight and after midday.

But, there's always the memory... The human’s most deadly drug, which has been death’s ally for centuries, if not, before the first walk on the planet; the first step. 

Time goes by, nonetheless. Proving once again that it is not forgiving, and that lost moments are stuck forever in the past and left as a changing-point in life.

His arms ache and burn as he swings at an ungodly hour; as the first rays of sunshine start picking through the horizon full of skyscrapers and the usual traffic consumes the empty streets.

Peter doesn’t need a clock to know what hour it is. Sleep was something alien to get, and thus, he constantly kept on swinging and swinging and swinging until suddenly the sky was bright again.

Aunt May had scolded him on several occasions --judging by the bags under his eyes and the lack of nutrients he seemed to not get into his body-- and it ached, sometimes, to see her there... as healthy as ever, as eager to work; as eager to carry on with a life he thought should be better, yet... admiration splayed all over when she was around. It surprised him how she could keep up after the many obstacles that had showed up on her path. 

So he mimicked her. Now more than ever. Tried to be someone he once was.

The view above the Empire State Building never ceased to get boring. This one was one of his favorite parts of ever day life as Spider-Man. The view... sweet sweet view, that mesmerized him even on the worst days. He loved how the orange unfolded like a natural dance, and how little by little it got this feverish tone that was different every single morning. 

And just like the fire-like view, his arms burned just the same. It felt like having to use a couple of crutches for the last decade, but as per usual, in the next hours of doing Peter Parker stuff, his arms healed and he was more than ready for another round of punches and swinging around his city.

There was nothing that could take this moment awa--

Oh, but there was...

Like a maniac with own life, Peter’s phone started ringing frantically. There was no need to guess who was on the other end of the line.

Removing his mask firstly and taking out his phone from the bottom of his boot, Peter’s ear was close to burst, and he felt... saliva? maybe, coming from the other side?

“PARKER!” 

Kind ol’ Jameson... how nice it was to hear his voice after everything that had happened just a day ago. Hence, the ungodly hour and the never-sleep program.

“SPIDER-MAN GOES MISSING. HEAD TITLE OF MY NEXT ISSUE, SEEMS LIKE MY HOPES ARE FINALLY SET TO H-- he’s been sighted again!? a moment ago-- jeez, Betty, sit down...”

The old man clears his throat.

“Parker... WHERE ARE MY PICTURES!?”

Peter sighed.

“Jameson!” He greeted in his monotonous excited tone, truly wondering how the man managed to always catch him in the worst of times. “They’ll be there, they’ll be there... I’ll drop them and leave before you can even see my face!”

“What!? I don’t hear you!”

Well, clearly. The connection was never so good on top of a building as Peter once had believed. Too many interferences...

“I’ll get them there! Just wait until the store opens so I can print them...!” 

But the phone had been hung up on the other line already.

“That gentle man,” Peter mocked, just before putting on his mask and dropping thirty floors before detaching a web and swinging away. Those pictures weren’t gonna take themselves.

🕸

When sleep did come, Peter only ever dreamt one thing.

Her... all pale and afraid, but still beautiful. Always beautiful even on her last moments; beautiful and dead --the last image of her he has engraved inside his never-forgiving memory.

He lost Gwen, and there was not a passing day in which shivers and ache didn’t run down his whole body, making him reminisce a nightmare of which he can't escape from.

There is a piece of him that was lost, but then...

MJ was falling. The look in her eyes when her Peter was unable to catch her; his own urge to scream out, "NO!”.

The air suddenly felt short as he fell towards her. Knowing that his webs were useless and that he had to get there, quick.

Peter embraced her; falling alongside her --not daring to let her go-- until his web balanced the two of them and they fell to the ground.

She seemed out of her element; shocked at realizing that if it wasn't for him, she would’ve been no more...

“Are you okay?” Came as a whisper, asking as of duty but wondering if he was talking to himself.

“Yeah,” She answered, feeling the weight of his tears fall onto her sweater. MJ frowned, “Are you?”

Peter nodded with a small smile. He was okay.

🕸

‘The Avengers’, or ‘Stark’, were just some of the things he typed down on his computer some weeks after his re-encounter with old friends from work, and some new ones.

“You’ve got someone?”

“Me? no, no, no...”

Older Peter hummed with amusement laced with his tone.

“I’m too busy... you know, not doing Peter Parker stuff...” Peter laughed grimly. “You?”

“Oh, it’s... complicated,”

They chuckled, knowing all too well the feeling of being themselves and each other.

Peter sipped from his coffee, scrolling down his emails seeing plenty of noiseless yet loud messages from Jameson and his desperation for pictures and more pictures, yet, his focus was shaken by the television on the corner of the room.

“The sudden disappearance of Spider-Man brought, if not enough, more crime and chaos to the citizens of New York. What could happen if this prolonged itself like seven years ago... or is him being here the reason of all this trouble to unleash?”

Peter scoffed through his mug, but the beating of someone’s heart was suddenly much louder than that. 

As a car ran rampage outside of the establishment, everyone gasped and turned to the window. What becomes of you when you watch and do nothing?

Peter stood up on instinct, the time went on slower, nonetheless, it all stoped as it started, with a nervous laugh escaping the mouth of who could’ve been ran over. 

His eyes scanned around. From the watchers to the receiver. 

Her shaky hand clutched at her chest while the other one tried to stifle the chuckles of anguish. The bell of the door went off as the owner of the cafe approached her, probably asking if she was okay... Peter sat down, catching on to some words, like...

“I think I’ll look both ways from now on,” or “I was too busy focusing on not being mugged...”

All the while, she wouldn’t stop grinning and panting...

Then they finally entered the shop, she immediately announcing, “I’m alive, everyone!” 

Some chuckled while other’s seemed shaken, but it all eventually fell to the normal rhythm of before. 

“You’ll find her, you know...” 

Older Peter said as he clutched his abdomen, still being able to appreciate the sunrise.

“Find who?” Peter asked innocently; the feeling of hope flourishing through his stomach, knowing what the other Peter meant. 

“You will find your MJ.”

The clock was ticking, urging Peter to leave the coffee shop and head to deliver his pictures. He stood up and hung his camera around his neck and striped his bag tight.

“Hope the service was of your liking,”

He turned, seeing her again; not scared, rather careless. Peter smiled and searched for some money.

“Yeah, yeah... good you’re okay, by the way, after--”

She chuckled, and interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

“It happens a lot. Guess I still got a few kicks to go, huh,” She said while picking up Peter’s mug.

He hended her the money, awkwardly, and read the name on her tag.

“Thank you, uhm, Glory...”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, looking down to her tag funnily, “that’s my partner’s name. I’m MJ.”

🕸

That night, Peter was able to found a bare closure; a glimpse to what the future held, and there was no one falling in his dreams neither. Everything was good.

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