#partly because of the tablet problem i have

[dontcallmecarrie]

ye olde Stress(TM) Reaction strikes again, aka the start of this was sitting in my drafts for weeks because my brain hates me apparently:

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“So...considering how last time went, why are we being dragged into this?” Steve Rogers heard Clint ask, and he tried not to freeze or blush, and, if Natasha was anything to go by, failed miserably at both.

“I mean,” Clint continued and it took far more willpower than it should have to not glare at the teammate who regularly ate whipped cream out of the can because he should not be sounding so amused, “after what happened, why are the Avengers being invited, again?”

Alright, that did it— but before Steve could do more than turn to give his teammate the same glare he normally reserved for when Loki destroyed the top part of his uniform again, Agent Coulson gave a very tired sigh and spoke.

“Partly because multiple ambassadors liked your response time when the pink elephants made an appearance on the premises, partly because von Doom specifically requested you all. By name.”

 Across the table, Tony gave an incredulous scoff as he leaned back and crossed his arms. “And what, you’re letting a literal dictator call the shots?”

“Grumpy because he mentioned you too, aren’t you.” Clint smirked before Agent Coulson could say anything else, and Steve really, really tried not to scowl. Honest.

However, he couldn’t help but notice the way Tony’s expression went suspiciously blank, and something in the pit of his stomach clenched as Tony shifted in his seat a little.

“Okay, so maybe we weren’t finished before Loki interrupted. I didn’t hear any of you guys complaining.”

“That was you ‘gathering intel’?” Natasha asked, and Steve pointedly ignored her sidelong glance, “I thought you were looking pretty friendly there. Way more emotion than we’ve ever seen from von Doom before, anyway.”

Steve couldn’t help but snort. Understatement of the century, Steve hadn’t missed the venom in von Doom’s glare. If not for Loki barging in when he did, there would have been an international incident, and Steve wouldn’t have regretted it one bit.

“As... controversial as he is,” Agent Coulson rubbed his temples for a moment, “Latveria’s a very hot commodity right now, and State Department’s pushing for trade agreements. We can’t afford to alienate him.”

Everyone looked at him, and he fought to keep his shoulders from rising up. “If he’s got a problem with one of my team, don’t expect me to play nice.”

“My hero,” Tony rolled his eyes and so missed the way Clint’s shoulders shuddered, “Steve, I had it under control.”

“Nay, lord Stark.” Thor cut in, and Steve did not miss the way Agent Coulson’s eye twitched even as Clint got a very sudden and convenient coughing fit as the resident alien continued, “I am afraid you did not. I may not be familiar with Midgardian politics, but I do not believe duels are as acceptable here as they are back home.”

Everyone paused at that, and the silence was abrupt enough to startle Doctor Banner out of his reverie.

“Wait, what happened?” He asked, looking up from his tablet, and Steve couldn’t help but envy the fact that he was exempt from this. Sure, the risk of having the Hulk at a UN function would have been nothing less than a recipe for disaster, but at least Steve wouldn’t be suffering though this alone— case in point, this entire debrief.

“Oh, just how Tony almost caused an international incident last time.” Natasha said and Bruce made a strange face for a second before he peered over his glasses to look at everyone else around the table.

“Well, is Justin going to be at this next one?”

All eyes were now on Tony, who scowled and looked away even as he replied, “It’s one of the annual year-end fundraisers, of course he’s going to be there.”

Agent Coulson let out a slow breath. “You are certain you cannot convince him otherwise?”

Tony’s shoulders hunched almost imperceptibly. “It’s tradition at this point. Everyone knows I’m going to be there, so he’s going— and I’ll save us both the time, the man’s about as stubborn as I am.”

“You’re sure about that?” Clint asked, gaze suddenly sharp and the look he shared with Agent Coulson and Natasha abruptly reminded Steve of the exact circumstances in which Iron Man was born.

“The number things I’ve seen him accomplish out of sheer spite is...” Tony trailed off, before he shook his head and looked around the table. “It’s something. Pretty sure the only reason Hammer Industries didn’t come out with another element after I did is because it’d be breaking the laws of physics, and even then part of me was half-expecting otherwise.”

[caraniel13]

Across Dimensions : Chapter 27

AD1 AD2 AD3 AD4 AD5 AD6 AD7 AD8 AD9 AD10 AD11 AD12 AD13 AD14 AD15 AD16 AD17 AD18 AD19 AD20 AD21 AD22 AD23 AD24 AD25 AD26

Chapter 27: Undercurrents

The lab was quiet except for the soft hum of Ancient technology and the occasional beep from Keyes' monitoring equipment. It was well past midnight, but the urgency of the quantum interference crisis had made regular hours irrelevant. Cheppy hunched over her workstation, translating critical passages from the Ancient database that might offer solutions, while Keyes worked nearby, their collaboration having evolved into an efficient rhythm over the past several days.

"I've isolated another resonance pattern," Keyes announced, rolling his chair closer to show her his tablet. "This one's particularly interesting—it suggests the Ancient systems can differentiate between quantum signatures even when they're nearly identical."

Cheppy looked up from her translations, unconsciously rubbing her temples where a stress headache had been building for hours. "Nearly identical but not exactly the same?"

"Precisely," Keyes confirmed, his enthusiasm evident despite the late hour. "It's like... imagine two paintings of the same scene by the same artist, but painted at different times in their life. The subject is identical, the technique recognizable, but the subtle differences in execution reveal different life experiences."

"That's surprisingly poetic for quantum physics," Cheppy observed with a tired smile.

"Physics is poetry when you understand it deeply enough," Keyes replied, then seemed to catch himself. "Sorry, I'm getting philosophical. It's been a long day."

"Don't apologize. I appreciate the perspective." She turned back to her screen, adding, "The Ancients seemed to view quantum mechanics in similarly aesthetic terms. Their descriptions often use artistic metaphors rather than purely technical language."

"Is that what drew you to linguistics?" Keyes asked, leaning back in his chair. "The intersection of technical precision and artistic expression?"

The question was personal but relevant to their work. Cheppy found herself answering honestly. "Partly. But mostly it was the puzzle-solving aspect. Every language is a code waiting to be cracked, a pattern waiting to be recognized."

"Like managing complex variables in quantum equations," Keyes suggested. "Or tracking glucose patterns and insulin responses."

Cheppy looked at him sharply. The reference to her diabetes management was unexpected but not unwelcome—he'd been nothing but professional about her medical needs during their long work sessions.

"I've noticed you're incredibly systematic about monitoring," he continued. "Every few hours, like clockwork. It's impressive."

"It's necessary," she replied, automatically checking her continuous glucose monitor. "Though stress makes it harder. The past few days especially."

"Since Marie intensified her campaign," Keyes said quietly. It wasn't a question.

Cheppy nodded, too tired to maintain pretenses. "She knows exactly which buttons to push because she's felt them from the inside. Every insecurity, every fear, every moment of doubt—she experienced them all during our quantum connection."

"That must be incredibly violating," Keyes observed, his voice gentle. "Having someone use your most private experiences against you."

"It is," she admitted, then forced herself to refocus on work. "But we have bigger problems than Marie's psychological warfare. These patterns you've found—can they help us stabilize the interference?"

Keyes seemed to recognize her need to redirect the conversation. "Possibly. If we can identify the specific resonance frequencies that distinguish you from Marie, we might be able to create harmonic buffers that prevent the quantum degradation."

They worked in companionable silence for another hour, occasionally sharing observations or theoretical insights. Cheppy found herself grateful for Keyes' presence—his brilliance made him an ideal collaborator, and his quiet support during the current crisis was genuinely helpful.

It was during a break to stretch and grab coffee from the lab's small kitchen area that the dynamic shifted subtly.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Keyes said as they waited for the ancient coffee maker to finish brewing.

"That depends on the question," Cheppy replied carefully.

"How did you and Major Lorne happen?" He held up a hand quickly. "I'm not prying, I'm just... curious. You seem so different on the surface—military precision and academic analysis."

"We are different," Cheppy acknowledged, pouring coffee for both of them. "But those differences complement each other. He grounds me when I get lost in theoretical spirals. I help him see beyond tactical solutions. We've faced a lot together since I arrived here."

"The shared experiences created connection," Keyes mused. "Rather like how our collaboration has evolved, I suppose. Working closely with someone during a crisis tends to accelerate understanding."

There was something in his tone—not quite flirtation but definitely more personal than professional observation. Cheppy recognized it because she'd heard similar tones from academic colleagues over the years, the subtle testing of boundaries disguised as intellectual discussion.

"Evan and I have been through more than just professional collaboration," she said gently but firmly. "We've built something that goes beyond work partnerships."

"Of course," Keyes agreed quickly. "I didn't mean to imply... I just find it fascinating how connections form in high-stress environments like Atlantis. The intensity seems to accelerate emotional bonds."

"It can," Cheppy agreed neutrally, steering them back toward the lab. "Speaking of intensity, we should check if the latest simulation has finished running."

But as they returned to their workstations, she noticed Keyes watching her with an expression that suggested more than professional interest. It was subtle—nothing inappropriate or aggressive—but definitely present.

The next evening, after another marathon session trying to stabilize the quantum interference patterns, Keyes made his interest slightly more apparent.

"You know, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday," he began as they documented their findings. "About how your diabetes management enhanced your analytical abilities."

"What about it?" Cheppy asked, focused on her data entry.

"It's remarkable how you've turned what others might see as a limitation into a strength. That kind of adaptive thinking is..." he paused, seeming to search for words, "extraordinarily attractive in a research partner."

The compliment walked the line between professional and personal. Cheppy chose to interpret it professionally. "Pattern recognition is pattern recognition, whether it's biological or linguistic."

"True," Keyes agreed. "Though I imagine not everyone appreciates the elegance of systematic analysis the way we do. It must be challenging when your partner doesn't share that same passion for theoretical frameworks."

The implied criticism of Lorne was subtle but present. Cheppy felt a flash of protective anger.

"Evan appreciates my work completely," she said firmly. "He may not understand every theoretical nuance, but he values what I contribute and supports my research unconditionally."

"I'm sure he does," Keyes backpedaled quickly. "I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. I just meant that there's something special about collaborating with someone who truly understands the intricacies of your work. The way we can build on each other's theories, challenge each other's assumptions..."

"Dr. Keyes," Cheppy interrupted gently but clearly, "I value our professional collaboration immensely. Your insights have been crucial to understanding the quantum crisis. But I need to be clear that my relationship with Major Lorne is not something I'm questioning or looking to change."

Color rose in Keyes' cheeks. "Of course. I apologize if I gave any other impression. I suppose I've been enjoying our work together so much that I... well. I clearly misread the situation."

"You didn't misread the quality of our collaboration," Cheppy assured him, trying to soften the rejection. "We work extremely well together, and I hope that can continue. But that's all it is—good professional teamwork."

"Understood," Keyes said, though disappointment flickered across his features. "I should probably call it a night. We've made good progress today."

As he gathered his equipment, the lab door slid open to reveal Lorne, still in his tactical gear from the day's security drills.

"Thought I might find you here," he said to Cheppy, his tone warm but his eyes taking in Keyes' somewhat flustered state. "Ready to grab some dinner? Or have you been surviving on coffee and determination again?"

"Coffee, determination, and the occasional protein bar," Cheppy admitted, suddenly realizing she couldn't remember her last proper meal.

"Dr. Keyes," Lorne acknowledged with professional courtesy. "Thanks for putting in the long hours on this. I know the whole city appreciates the work you're both doing."

"Just trying to find solutions," Keyes replied, his composure returning. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

After he left, Lorne raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay? He seemed a bit... off."

Cheppy sighed, shutting down her workstation. "He expressed some personal interest. I clarified that our relationship is strictly professional."

"Ah," Lorne said simply. "Do you need me to talk to him?"

"No," Cheppy said quickly. "I handled it. He was respectful about the rejection, just disappointed. I don't want to make it more awkward than necessary—we still need to work together on this crisis."

Lorne nodded, trusting her judgment. "As long as he stays respectful. If that changes..."

"I'll let you know immediately," she assured him. "But I think he'll be fine. He's a good person, just... misread some signals that weren't there."

As they walked toward the mess hall, Lorne took her hand, the simple gesture reaffirming their connection. "For what it's worth, I appreciate you telling me directly. Some people might have kept quiet to avoid potential drama."

"We've always been honest with each other," Cheppy said simply. "I'm not going to change that now, especially over something that isn't even a temptation. Keyes is brilliant, but he's not you."

"Smooth talker," Lorne teased gently, squeezing her hand.

The next morning, Marie demonstrated that she'd been observing the interpersonal dynamics with her characteristic strategic eye.

"Dr. Keyes seems to be putting in extraordinary hours on the quantum analysis," she commented during the morning briefing, her tone casual. "The collaboration between our best physicists and linguists is certainly bearing fruit."

"Both Dr. Keyes and Dr. Mitchell have been working tirelessly to find solutions," Dr. Weir acknowledged.

"Oh, absolutely," Marie agreed readily. "It's wonderful to see how well-matched intellectual partners can accomplish so much when they truly understand each other's work. That kind of meeting of minds is rare and precious."

The comment was innocuous on the surface, but Cheppy caught the subtle implication—that intellectual compatibility might be more valuable than other forms of connection. She noticed Lorne's jaw tighten slightly, though his expression remained neutral.

"Speaking of collaboration," Marie continued smoothly, "I've been analyzing the quantum patterns from a different angle. The emotional resonances between counterparts seem to be a significant factor in the interference. Strong emotional connections in this reality might actually be amplifying the quantum instability."

"What are you suggesting?" McKay asked, genuinely interested in the scientific theory.

"Simply that emotional entanglements might be complicating our ability to find clean solutions," Marie replied. "The quantum signatures become harder to separate when they're bound up with complex interpersonal dynamics. A more... clinical approach might yield better results."

"We'll take all approaches under consideration," Dr. Weir said diplomatically, though her glance toward Cheppy suggested she understood the underlying message.

After the briefing, Cheppy found herself walking with Teyla toward the gym for their scheduled morning training session—a routine they'd maintained for months as both exercise and stress relief.

"Marie seems to be suggesting that relationships are a liability," Teyla observed once they were alone.

"She's trying to normalize the idea that intellectual compatibility matters more than emotional bonds," Cheppy confirmed. "It's another angle of attack—if she can't undermine my professional standing directly, she'll try to make my personal connections seem like weaknesses."

"A perspective that reveals her own isolation," Teyla noted wisely. "In my experience, those who dismiss emotional bonds as weakness are often those who have been unable to form them."

The insight was perceptive and helped Cheppy reframe Marie's latest tactics. Her counterpart wasn't just trying to undermine her—she was revealing her own profound loneliness and trying to normalize it as strength.

That afternoon, Keyes approached Cheppy in the lab with careful professionalism, clearly having taken her rejection to heart.

"I owe you an apology," he began without preamble. "My behavior yesterday was inappropriate. You've been nothing but professional, and I let my... appreciation for our collaboration... cloud my judgment."

"Apology accepted," Cheppy replied, appreciating his directness. "I'd like to continue working together if you're comfortable with clear boundaries."

"Absolutely," he agreed with evident relief. "The work is too important to let personal feelings interfere. And for what it's worth, Major Lorne is a lucky man. The way you two support each other even when facing different aspects of the same crisis—it's admirable."

"Thank you," she said, genuinely touched by his mature response.

They worked together for the rest of the afternoon with renewed focus, the personal tension resolved. But Cheppy noticed Marie observing them from across the lab, her expression calculating.

Later that day, Dr. Zelenka appeared in the lab with an expression of grim satisfaction, carrying a tablet and what looked like a modified Ancient scanner.

"I've been investigating the file modifications from yesterday's power grid crisis," he announced, drawing the attention of everyone present. "And I've found something interesting."

Cheppy looked up from her work, hope flickering in her chest. "What kind of interesting?"

"The kind that proves systematic tampering," Zelenka replied, pulling up a holographic display. "The modification patterns show quantum trace signatures—essentially fingerprints left by whoever interacted with the files."

Marie, who had been working at a nearby station, straightened with apparent interest. "Quantum signatures? But those would only appear if someone with a specific quantum resonance pattern accessed the files."

"Exactly," Zelenka confirmed. "And here's where it gets fascinating. The signatures show two distinct patterns—both matching Dr. Mitchell's quantum frequency, but with subtle variations that indicate different dimensional origins."

The lab fell silent as the implications sank in. Keyes immediately moved to examine the data, his equipment confirming Zelenka's findings.

"These patterns," he said slowly, "they show someone with Dr. Mitchell's base quantum signature but anchored to this reality rather than displaced. The only person who fits that description is..."

All eyes turned to Marie, whose composed expression finally cracked.

"This is circumstantial at best," she said, though her voice lacked its usual confidence. "Quantum signatures can be mimicked, traces can be fabricated—"

"Not with this level of detail," McKay interrupted, having abandoned his own work to examine Zelenka's findings. "The quantum entanglement patterns are too complex to fake. This is definitive proof that you accessed and modified Cheppy's translation files."

Dr. Weir's voice came over the comm system. "Dr. Marie Mitchell, please report to my office immediately. Dr. Zelenka, please bring your findings."

As Marie gathered her materials, she paused beside Cheppy. "You think you've won something here," she said quietly. "But all you've done is delay the inevitable. The quantum interference is still building, and eventually, this reality will have to choose. When that happens, who do you think they'll pick—the original or the copy?"

"I'm not a copy," Cheppy replied with quiet strength. "I'm someone who earned her place here, who built real relationships, who contributes every day to this expedition. That's more authentic than any quantum signature."

Marie's smile was brittle. "We'll see."

After she left with Zelenka, the lab erupted in discussion. Several scientists who had been swayed by Marie's efficiency approached Cheppy with apologies, having realized how they'd been manipulated.

"I should have recognized the pattern," Dr. Kusanagi said. "Systematic undermining disguised as helpful improvements—it's a classic manipulation technique."

"She was convincing," Cheppy acknowledged graciously. "And her methods do have merit. But efficiency without ethics is dangerous, especially in a place like Atlantis."

Keyes, who had been instrumental in confirming the evidence, caught her eye across the lab. The personal tension from earlier seemed trivial compared to this validation of her integrity.

"Your work stands on its own merits," he said simply. "It always has."

That evening, as Cheppy and Lorne shared a quiet dinner in their quarters—a rare moment of privacy in the chaos—she reflected on the day's events.

"Marie's been officially reprimanded," Lorne told her between bites. "Weir's restricted her access to critical systems pending a full review. The sabotage charge is serious enough that the SGC is reconsidering her position."

"But she's not wrong about the quantum interference," Cheppy pointed out. "That's still building regardless of her actions."

"We'll face that when we need to," Lorne said firmly. "But at least now everyone knows exactly what kind of person she is. Your integrity was never in question—hers is."

"Marie's trying to use Keyes' interest as another weapon," she said, setting down her fork. "Even after being caught sabotaging my work, she's still suggesting that intellectual compatibility trumps emotional connection."

"Let her suggest whatever she wants," Lorne replied calmly. "I trust you completely. Keyes made his interest known, you handled it professionally, end of story. Marie can't create drama where none exists."

"I love you," Cheppy said suddenly, the words carrying weight beyond simple affection. "Not because you're convenient or safe, but because you're my partner in every way that matters. Marie doesn't understand that because she's never had it."

Lorne reached across their small table to take her hand. "I love you too. And no amount of quantum physics or psychological manipulation is going to change that."

As they cleared their dishes and settled in for the evening, Cheppy felt the undercurrents that had been pulling at her throughout the day finally still. Marie could try to manipulate perceptions, Keyes could misread professional collaboration as personal possibility, but at the core of it all was this—a relationship built on trust, communication, and genuine partnership.

The quantum crisis still loomed, the interference patterns still threatened both versions' existence, but in this moment, in the quiet of their shared quarters, Cheppy knew exactly where she belonged. The undercurrents could pull and push, but her anchor held firm.

[ange1uqui]

Angeles's ENG1121 Blog

In class we read 3 stories. Tim Maughan's "Flyover Country," Shirley Jackson's "The Man in the Woods," and Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains", Out of all of them, Tim Maughan's "Flyover Country" was the most interesting one. Tim Maughan's "Flyover Country" is a story that uncovers the truth of America. The message of "Flyover Country" was that since tech is getting better and better and advancing every time, it has increased the growth of companies needing labor to make whatever tech is popular or growing rapidly. If I were to make an overall statement that can be explored in many ways it would be the overall dangers of the technology. I say this because there isn't just one reason why technology is bad. Technology is basically anything human beans create to make life easier. And if you ever hear the word tech, It's just a short word to say technology. It is known for its pros, I mean.. technology is a pretty good tool to have, we have data access as in the internet and phones which we use daily. And other devices for example, tablets, laptops, desktops and lets not forget one of my favorites, smart home technology. There are many more but these are just a few. But yes, we use it to improve our lives and to process and solve some problems we may have. As much as I love tech there is very much a downside to it all. Technology is inescapable these days. Everything became digital and advanced. While people do see its benefits, we also see its horrible effects. In this blog I'll talk about 3 risks of technology.

The first thing that I say is a huge problem is mental health, why is it important? Because without you being mentally well, you can't really do your best. But yes, using tech does affect us. Two things it causes are emotional problems and health problems. This can go from not feeling so well mentally and overeating or undereating. This is caused by excessive use of social media. This includes, X, instagram, tiktok, snapchat, facebook and many more applications. I think social media causes a lot of stress because nowadays people are just so attached to their phones and can stumble upon all types of negative stuff. One I personally struggled with is comparison. Which is comparing yourself to others online. I know I’m not the only one who has. But it is bad because it causes low self esteem, body image issues, etc. Which is bad because some of these “influencers” aren't even real. It’s all just fake. Another issue with social media is that you can just say whatever to anyone without any real consequence partly because it's the internet, ANYONE can say anything and upload anything. In the journal article “The Mental Health Effects Relative to Social Media” by Tiffany A. Lesnik, it explains how social media takes a big part in our mental health. How it ruins our relationships around people and how it causes us to act differently and distant. Lesniks says negative effects of social media are “Inadequacy about your life or appearance, (1) Fear of missing out (FOMO), (2) Isolation (3) increased depression and anxiety, (4) Self-absorption, (5) Risk of stalking and continuation of dysfunctional contacts. (6) Cyberbullying (7)”. Social media really does play a role in mental health and I don't a lot of people understand that. I even myself have gone through some of these affects. And it’s just bad. I would say a balance would be okay but sometimes I wish it never really existed. It’s just very harmful for society sometimes. Especially now, since most kids now are just growing up with such advanced technology and having access to it so freely.

Another thing about technology that could be bad is AI, Ai is useful at times but I dont think it's 100% either. Ai is like teaching a computer to process, learn and think just like a human bean does. Artificial intelligence completes activities that would normally need human intelligence. AI is capable of learning and problem solving and offers recommendations. A lot of people use AI to help them study or improve their work or to get just quick answers. Chatgbt and other AI tools hurt students' learning abilities such as independent learning and critical thinking. And it's bad because it makes them rely on this stuff. But where does AI exactly get this information? Sometimes AI does take just information and just mushes it together. With no credit given as well. So at the end people don't know if it's reliable or not. And a lot of people don't check and verify if the data they got is correct. Ai is used everywhere now and is rapidly advancing. In the journal article “From chalkboards to AI-powered learning: Students’ attitudes and perspectives on use of ChatGPT in educational settings” by Hacer Güner, Erkan Er, Gökhan Akçapinar and Mohammad Khalil they explain two reasons why ai is bad in their opinion, their main concerns towards ai is there's just no real academic honesty anymore “ChatGPT can be instructed to generate human-like instant yet accurate responses based on a specific role, which increases the risk that students may use them unethically… privacy and security, considering the risk of data breaches or misuse. As chatbots can collect and store student data such as names, email addresses, and learning preferences” There's data that shows AI affects their creativity and leads them to being lazy. And it's also super important to know the Ai tools you use are keeping your data private and safe. Although students gained effectiveness, they reported a drop in confidence in their academic ability and increased reliance on resources like Chatgbt and ai in general. I remember when I first heard about ai and I was so confused because I just couldn't believe how that was even possible. It just shows times are changing.

And lastly, the internet. The internet is a good place to go to when you have questions or concerns or need data for a specific topic you have. As much as I love the internet. It is most definitely not the safest nor very accurate. But it depends on what you're looking at really too and where you are getting the data from. Just make sure the information is reliable at all times. And again, it's the internet. Anyone can put anything there. And people would believe it or not. It all depends, but for a person that doesnt have much knowledge, I wouldn't blame nor judge them if they took the info and thought it was right, when it wasn't. Cyber threats are also a big thing, it impacts every area in the United States and around the world. Hackers are also really bad, there are specific ways they get stuff done. Journal article “Electronic Commerce, Hackers, and the Search for Legitimacy: A Regulatory Proposal” by Michael Lee, Sean Pak, Tae Kim, David Lee, Aaron Schapiro, and Tamer Francis mentions an example which is, “hackers can also gain unauthorized access by exploiting undetected security flaws in the design, implementation, or operation of secured systems. These security flaws can arise for a number of reasons, including "software bugs, lack of attention to security, and poor configuration." A couple ways they hack is by snooping and downloading, tampering or data diddling, jamming or flooding, injecting malicious code, keys and exploiting flaws in design, implementation or operation. Now this one is a simple one, cracking passwords, codes. And lastly, spoofing. I actually know lots of people that fell for this unfortunately. This is very scary because information being stolen can cause property theft, identity theft and fraud. It's crazy how with just your information, so much bad stuff can be done.

In conclusion, I love technology but there are obviously cons. It all depends how you use it. And definitely a balance. But for sure, I’m more on the bad side. There's always going to be strings attached to every new technology. All new tech brings all sorts of societal, environmental, economic consequences. 

[akewanchan]

[Break My Case] Prequel: Soft sunlight on the deep snow - Part 2

Translation by akewanchan. Source is mobile game Break My Case.

Sei: —Thank you for your patience.

Sei: Nice to meet you. I am Okiya Sei.

Sei: I belong to the Negotiation Department in charge of Human Resources, and today I will be explaining a variety of things. I look forward to working with you.

Taiga: I’m Tsukimoto Taiga. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule for me. Pleased to meet you.

Sei: Here, have a seat. Make yourself at home.

Taiga: Thank you.

Sei: Now then, let us begin without further ado. Please listen while looking over here.

Sei: Firstly, Aporia is separated into four different departments as you can see, however Tsukimoto-kun will be assigned to the “Administrative Division” that has been temporarily set up at the Main Office. 

Sei: ….Although I believe you have been informed about this before signing the contract.

Taiga: Yes. I’ve been briefed about that.

Sei: Two people will be assigned to this division. The other person is also a fresh recruit, a man named Ichikawa Haruhi-kun.

Sei: He will be in charge of design and public relations. As for his age, he’s one year younger than you.

Taiga: (Design and public relations… His work is completely different.)

Sei: Once both of your probation periods ends and there doesn’t seem to be any problems, a new department called the “Administrative Department” will be created around the beginning of the year, and including myself, all three of us will be transferred over there.

Taiga: Administrative department… 

Sei: Even after the transfer, the contents of your work ought to remain the same, so please be at ease. 

Taiga: Does that mean you will be transferring from the Negotiation Department?

Sei: Indeed. It’s partly because of that, that I’ll be the point of contact for both of you during this time, an exception where I'm in charge while at a different department. 

Sei: If there’s anything that’s troubling you, even if trivial, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Sei: Well then, the next point of discussion is the employee benefits.

With these words, Okiya-san tapped the tablet, and continued his explanation while going through the various slides containing all the information.

Taiga:  (—Ah.)

On the newly displayed slide where there were items summarized in an easy to understand way, one word caught my eye.

Taiga: So there’s a dorm.

Sei: ? Indeed. Unfortunately there are no vacancies as of now, however we’ve established a system that serves as support with rent instead. 

Taiga: (All rooms are taken…)

Taiga: I see… Thank you very much.

Sei: ….

Taiga: My apologies for interrupting before you had a chance to explain further.

Sei: It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.

Sei: Are you considering moving?

Taiga: ! Uh…

Sei: I was merely wondering if you were interested in moving into the dorms if there were any rooms available. 

Taiga: Ah, no, uh… right. If there were any— is what I thought.

Sei: I see. Then, if you’d like to, how about coming to the house? 

Taiga: ….House?

Sei: Although currently it’s not operating as a dorm. It’s a single-family home with vacant rooms.

Taiga: Single-family home… Uh, hold on, do you mean that this is your own house?

Sei: Indeed.

Taiga: (Wait wait wait…! The hell is this guy going on about!?)

Sei: It’s in Nakano-Sakaue, which is a little bit far from the office, however it’s one bus ride away so commuting shouldn’t pose much problems. 

Taiga: I truly appreciate the offer you’ve given me, but obviously I cannot trouble you this much… Haha…  

Taiga: (He is joking, right?)

Sei: There are three rooms on the second floor, with all of them being vacant so there’s truly no need to be that considerate. I must add, the walls, windows and doors aren’t completely soundproof but I believe they’re sufficient enough. 

Taiga: Um, I…

Sei: Ah, my apologies. It’s in the case if you’d like to, of course. It is not a problem either if you don’t think about it thoroughly, and use it as a stopgap until you find your next home.

Taiga: Eh?

Sei: Finding a fitting residence is seldom something you can quickly decide on, it is something that takes time after all.

Sei: “Live until you find the next one, and once you do, leave” has its own heaps of troubles that comes with, no?

Taiga: !

Sei: Supposing this is what’s troubling you, please don’t hold yourself back at all.

Taiga: …

Taiga: (In charge of Human Resources. Right. It’s natural that my circumstances were shared with him, so it’s not strange to think he’s able to make his guesses.)

After much hesitation, I declared my “parent’s home” when I signed down the contract.

Although I vowed to strictly adhere to the few conditions I had been presented to, it doesn’t change the fact that I am not ordinary.

Taiga: (But, even so, this guy… Is he making this proposal because he knows?)

Isn’t that frightening?

Inviting this kind of person into your own home.

Sei: Since we’re at it, I’ll try to also get in touch with Ichikawa-kun. 

Taiga: Eh.

Sei: The other day he told me he’s also planning on moving right before it was time to renew his lease, but is having some trouble finding a place that meets his requirements.

Taiga: That’s… quite the coincidence.

Taiga: (But, wait, hold on a sec. This is a bit much—)

Sei: Although it is not the same kind of work, deepening your bonds with others assigned at the same department as you is not a bad idea now, is it?

Sei: Ah, however. There is one important thing I must confirm with you, Tsukimoto-kun.

Taiga: Confirm… with me?

Sei: Tsukimoto-kun—

Sei: Are you fond of cats?

Taiga: …Cats?

Contrary to my feelings of wanting to withdraw, the day of moving out of the room I lived in came closer and closer, eventually I ended up borrowing a room from the second floor, starting my new life here.

Okiya-san, me and Ichikawa-kun, who accepted Okiya-san’s proposal around the same time as I did— the three of us. Or to be more accurate, the three of us and the one cat Ichikawa-kun owns, all of us are living together.

Taiga: (...Ichikawa-kun is the type that doesn’t hold back, huh.)

Thinking about this while I looked around the living room, which had been transformed into a suitable place for cats in such a short amount of time, I put my palms together in front of the lined up rice bowl, miso soup, lightly pickled vegetables and leftover stew from yesterday on the counter. 

Taiga: Time to dig in.

The two of them are night owls, bumping into them at this time of the day in the living room is rare. And it’s most likely neither have the habit of eating breakfast.

Ichikawa-kun has a terribly small appetite in the morning, and the shelf reserved for him in the fridge is practically always empty, and if there’s something it’s nothing but drinks. At first I thought he was the type that always buys food instead of cooking, but given how I never see him eating, let alone any signs that he had some kind of meal, has obviously started to make me a little bit worried about him. 

Taiga: (And even if he were to eat outside of the house, he doesn’t go out that much now… Well, it’s not like I am in the position to tell him that it should be better for him to eat properly.)

Taiga: (Maybe they just happened to eat that much when being together, it’s probably more normal if someone doesn’t stuff themselves like that.)

“—Yum…! This is damn delicious, young master. I could eat this for the rest of my life, yer a genius! Gimme more!”

“Looking to get iced, you lil’ brat? Eat yer grub in peace and serve yer own damn food.”

“Aaahn? Shuddup you country bumpkin of a yankee. Brat this and brat that, it don’t make much of a difference, yanno. Jealous me and young master over here are best buds?”

“The fuck’s that now!? Know yer place you worthless runt… If he’s good pals with some youngster fresh off the damn farm, then me and all the other guys here are brothers in arms with young master! Who d’ya think changed young masters diapers, huh!”

“Goddamn obvious that wasn’t you, all you can do is put on airs as if you’re the bossman ‘round here, you freakin’ aloha sharksucker.” 

“Also who cares about diapers, only know how to cling onto former glory or sumn’? What matters is right now, right here!”

“Ouch—”

Taiga: Don’t point yer chopsticks at others, you buncha morons. Sheesh, at least keep it calm while eating your grub… 

Taiga: Had enough of this so gimme yer bowl, Shige. Just how hungry are ya.

“Heheh. Enough to eat a horse!”

Taiga: …..

Taiga: !

Okoge: Meow, meow.

Haruhi: Follow me all you want, just know there’s nothing. Yawn…

Haruhi: Ah.

Taiga: …Good morning.

Navigation Part 1 / Part 2 (x) / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 -> Next chapter <- Previous chapter Masterpost

[ix-c-999]

.

my system are letting me do benzodiazepines recreationally!!!! :D :D :D

we're prescribed them and got dependent on them in 2015 partly due to irresponsible prescription, partly due to us abusing them and becoming a polysubstance addict, but now we're at a point where we don't feel the need to abuse a ton of substances (just one) so anything but weed we can do in moderation.

and since our current psychiatrist tells us to take one every night to stay out of withdrawal (that's the actual reason) and also one as needed for anxiety (which isn't every day, nor most days), we're taking it literally every day and our doctor thinks that's the right thing to do.

so since we're taking it every day already and since we can make rules about its use similar to how we have rules about alcohol use to keep us from drinking too much, and since we've never had trouble following the alcohol rules, the rest of the system sees no reason why i (and the rest of us) shouldn't be allowed a recreational .5mg tablet up to once per day, up to three days per week!

i might be allowed to take more than .5mg per day of use, but we're going to start with one dose of that size per day. and i'm obviously not going to consume it with alcohol (but can do so with weed).

a large part of it is that i have the extremely strong drive to Do Drugs and particularly ones other than weed or alcohol, but Other Drugs are either inaccessible to us and/or ones we've sworn off doing and that would frankly make everyone really worried if we did them again.

benzos, however, are different, because we're taking them every day already and they don't really have any (conclusive proven) negative effects that we haven't already suffered, and it's clear we can handle at least some addictive substances if we set rules about their use, so in our case there's really nothing to lose in taking .5mg clonazepam during the day up to three days a week if we're taking it every day at night anyway not to sleep but to not be in withdrawal.

i'm going to watch out to make sure this doesn't become a problem, but!! i'm allowed to do more drugs now!!!!

[minnarr]

help: word of honor and grave markers

so like. i make it a habit of pointing my camera at grave markers and memorial tablets in word of honor to extract the text because you would be surprised how much info about names you get from them but the problem is that i do not! actually! know chinese. if anyone knows what’s going on here, i would love to know, but here’s what i’ve got:

pictured above is qin huaizhang and qin-furen’s grave marker. 

it appears to have*:

[显]考秦怀章大人[之墓]

xiǎn kǎo Qín Huáizhāng dà ren zhī mù honored deceased father Qin Huaizhang daren's grave

[显]妣秦氏老孺人[之墓]

xiǎn bǐ Qín shì lǎo rú rén zhī mù honored deceased mother Qin [?shi?] old wife/mother's grave

(* I’ve put simplified characters here because that’s what I have copied into my notes but the actual inscription has traditional)

this is, again, from feeding characters into a dictionary and trying to figure out what's going on. NOW: from the dataset of the other markers and tablets I've looked at in this show, the shì 氏 usually is placed after the maiden/family name of the person whose marker it is.

Other examples pulled from the tablets at Zhao Jing’s place:

From left to right, Gu Miaomiao (Gǔ shì 谷氏), Yue Feng’er (Yuè shì岳氏), and Li Yao, Zhao Jing’s wife (Lǐ shì 李氏).

all this to wind up to ask: do Qin-furen and Qin Huaizhang have the same family name? or am I missing some context that makes the grave marker different to these tablets?

inquiring minds want to know partly because I really want to write Qin-furen at some point 

[merakiui]

omgg ahhhh and that would be so much more troublesome because i assume the boys could still use magic in your world, and there's no crowley to return him to the academy, and they sure as hell wouldn't let you go now that you're both stuck in your world... freaky ;;

ahh and im now in the middle of book three!! ^^ the story keeps on getting better, im so sad whenever i have to reach another player rank to keep on playing ... so far ive started to like jack a lot more hehe, and again im so glad we're sticking with the no braincell group !! (i truly love adeucemc [(+ grimm] friendship)

im ashamed of it, but im so used to playing otome games that when ace said i'd have to either sleep on the floor or share a bed with him/deuce, i desperately wanted to say yes TT was really disappointed we couldn't sleep in the heartslabyul dorm, even if it was expected.

not gonna lie, im not a fan of characters like azul ^^; if i ever met him, i'd probably refuse to ever talk to him, partly because he intimidates me. i do respect the fact he's so intelligent though omg

lately, ive developed an interest for idia, too. it's a shame we have to wait so long for him to show up in the story TT i hope to see him soon enough (he uses that screen thingie in the prologue, right...? he definitely strikes as the stalker type! maybe he uses cameras and stuff? i dont think he would like direct intentions very much, because he'd shy away from it, but im not sure yet ;;)

-still yanven anon (◕ᴗ◕✿)

Yes yes!! It’s a reverse situation where they get to learn all about your world and the unique things it has to offer. They’ll expect you to play tour guide and show them around, and despite the situation they make themselves surprisingly comfortable in your home. It seems you really couldn’t escape them after all…

Book three is honestly so good!! Everything about it from the build-up to the climax to Azul’s backstory!!!! *chef’s kiss* it’s a banger chapter. It was also very fun to collaborate with the Savanaclaw trio for this problem. Jack is a sweetheart. I’m happy he joined in on the adventure lol.

Omg I was actually hoping we could stay with them in Heartslabyul, too!! I wanted to see Riddle again. >_< but sharing a room with Leona isn’t so bad either! I think you would get better sleep with him than with Adeuce. ;;;

I actually wasn’t much of an Azul simp in the very beginning, but I have fully converted now! I think Azul by himself isn’t too intimidating unless he’s deliberately scheming or you’re stuck in his vip room with him and the contract is laid out before you (aaa the tension… >_<), but when he’s with the tweels the image that is cast is immediately intimidating… orz

Idia is indeed the one who uses the tablet in the prologue! :D I’m excited to see his chapter when it’s brought to the eng version. But before any of that I will happily await Scarabia and Pomefiore!!! ^0^ As for yan!Idia, he’s definitely the stalker type. He’s great with technology, so you can expect him to use high quality cameras with outstanding, very crisp audio when he’s stalking reader from the comfort of his room. He’ll rely on Ortho to help with connecting the two of you, considering he’s more extroverted in comparison to Idia.

[firefly-in-darkness]

Life on Hold

Pairing → Bucky Barnes x Reader

Characters → Marvel Characters

Summary → Y/N is pulled out of retirement by Fury, and Bucky is the one to break the news.

Word Count → 2.8k

Prompt → ‘You must be out of your goddamn mind’ for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ Hamilfilm Lyric Challenge 

SSB2021 Square Fill → ‘Where’s the fight?’ - @star-spangled-bingo

Warnings → 18+. Fluff, Angst, Smut. Swearing.

Betas → @daydream3r-xo​ & @fandomfic-galore​ // all mistakes are my own.

A/N → This is my first time taking part in a bingo card and what better way to kick it off than with our boy Bucky and the trifecta of angst, fluff & smut! Hope you enjoy - comments & reblogs are always adored!

Firefly’s Masterlist // Star Spangled Bingo 2021

Fury entered the conference room at Stark Tower with his usually authoritative, no bullshit attitude and the black leather jacket flowing behind him. The Avengers immediately halted their actions; Natasha and Clint gave each other a knowing side-eye, Bucky and Steve placed down their coffees while Wanda, Vision and Bruce stopped their conversation, mid-flow, to turn their attentions to the director.

“Where’s Stark?” Fury looked around for the billionaire, but he was nowhere to be seen.

A voice came through the speakers, “I’m here. Just not here, here.”

Fury turned to the camera in the corner, “Stark, I suggest you get in here now.”

“No can do boss, I’m a little tied up doing good for the community at the moment.” The Iron Man suit’s HUD display appeared in the centre of the room above the table with Stark’s signature smirk, “I’m listening.”

The holographic display changed with the flick of Fury’s hand; Stark’s face appearing in the top right corner while the other information appeared larger. A selection of blueprints for a fortified base, images of various Hydra agents and satellite footage of the surrounding area. Steve flicked through the same information on the tablet in his lap while the rest of the team continued to look at display or Fury for further instruction.

“As you can see, we have collected a lot of information about this particular base. The only problem is that we are struggling to infiltrate it. Our agents have explored every possible way to get inside but it’s becoming more obvious that whatever is happening inside that warehouse is something for the Avengers to deal with.” Fury continued as he walked around the room, hands behind his back.

“What attempts have been made?” Steve asked, the stern tone of Captain America coming through.

The Avengers watched the footage that enlarged in front of Nick Fury; a group of agents moving as one through the dense snow-covered forest until they were repelled back twenty feet.

“That’s the issue. We’ve tried to go through it, over it and under it. We can’t get in so I need the best on this,” Fury pointed at the repeated clip of the soldiers being hit with the force field, “Romanoff, Barton; get reading up on those reports, see if you can find anything that stands out. Maximoff and Vision, start looking into what that force field is and whether you remember it from your Strucker days. Stark, I need you back here for the final briefing by 1800 hours.”

The four Avengers nodded at the director and left the room. Stark disconnected and the hologram disappeared. Bucky remained silent, watching Fury’s every move while Steve reclined in the chair, spinning it towards the director.

“And what about us Sir?” Steve asked, his body tense and irritation not going unnoticed by the remaining attendees.

“I said I needed my best.” Fury pressed his hands against the back of a vacant seat, looking straight to Bucky. “There’s only one person that can help us with this one.”

Bucky’s eyes darkened and he barked in response, “No!”

“He’s right, Buck.” Steve turned to him with a small smile, “we’re going to need all the help we can get. Who knows what’s going on down there?”

“You must be out of your goddamn mind.” Bucky pushed the chair back forcefully and walked to the door, yanking it open. He paused looking back at Steve and Fury, “and I guess, I’m going to be the one to break the news, aren’t I?”

The bell above the door chimed as Bucky entered the florist; he was hit with a multitude of colours and smells that were incredible but the one thing that stood out most to him was the woman tucked between sunflowers and dahlias with an older gentleman. His heart raced at Y/N’s beaming smile as she gathered up the flowers and rang up the cost on the register.

Bucky preoccupied himself with the assortment of blooms and the trinkets scattered around the small shop while she continued to chat with the gentleman, he tried not to listen in to the conversation, but he had to gauge her mood before he approached her, not that she didn’t already know he was there.

“Mr Lee, you cannot make those eyes at me when you’re buying flowers for your wife!” Y/N laughed, “send her my best and that I’ll see her on Sunday for the bake sale.”

“You’ll realise that I’m the one for you sooner or later.” The man waved and passed Bucky, leaving the shop with another jingle of the bell.

Bucky had watched the man leave as he thought of how impressed he was with the way Y/N had settled into this town after a few months. He’d always been impressed with the woman that had managed to retire and find her feet so seamlessly. 

Without turning around, Bucky knew that she was now behind him and her hands would be placed on her hips, a sideways pout on her lips as she waited for him to pay her attention.

“Seeing as we only saw each other on Thursday, Buck, and if someone had died, you’d have called, what could you possibly need on this wonderful Sunday afternoon? Did you miss me that much?” She giggled but then she saw the seriousness in his face once he’d turned around. “Shop closes in an hour; I’ll be up in a bit.”

Bucky felt guilty for dimming the sparkle in Y/N’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, she was silent with a blank expression as she unlocked the door leading to her apartment. He’d never experienced the receiving end of the anger that was smothering the atmosphere. Of course, he’d witnessed it aimed at others but never at this level towards himself. 

Y/N kicked off her trainers and untied her apron, slamming it down on the kitchen table. Her fingers clenched around the fabric, and her jaw ticked before she turned to Bucky. He leaned against the door frame and explained how she needed to come out of retirement for a mission, giving her the details about the force field that the SHIELD agents were unable to penetrate.

Bucky waited for Y/N to speak, he learnt long ago that he had to leave her to process whatever it was that was racing through her mind. Y/N had her back to him, one hand gripping the counter and the other holding tightly onto the knife that she’d retrieved to chop vegetables. She turned around and opened her mouth, only for no words to come out and for her to continue preparing dinner. 

The pain and fear that flicked across her features were motivation enough for Bucky to get closer, he strode over and placed his hands on her hips. He felt the tension drop from her body at his touch, a sense of pride swelled as she leant her back into his chest.

“It’s been 113 days since I left. You can’t come here and ask this of me.” Y/N’s voice cracked, and her eyes glossed over as she waved the knife around in front of her, the peppers no longer being diced. 

Bucky’s fingers held her wrist to stop the kitchen utensil from turning into a weapon and rest his chin on her shoulder, “I know doll, but you know why I was sent and not Steve or Fury himself.”

“Yeah, ‘cos they know y’all sweet talk me ‘round.” She scoffed and dropped the knife down with a clatter, turning in his arms to look at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and fingers threaded through the loose strands while a smirk crept up her face, “and they knew that I wouldn’t castrate you either.”

Bucky chuckled and nudged his nose against hers before their lips lightly brushed one another, a soft peck and Y/N unravelled and continued with prepping the food. Stirring the partly prepared sauce heating on the stove, Bucky watched her form soften but he knew that it would be short-lived.

“Where’s the fight?” She whispered, as if she already knew but didn’t want to believe it.

“Poland.” He slipped back and took a seat at the kitchen table, knowing that she would turn around in an instant with another burst of anger. 

And as if on cue, Y/N threw a tomato at the wall to her left, the juices staining the neutral paint as it slid down. She whirled around and pointed the wooden spoon at him, “I can’t believe those jerks! They don’t even have the balls to talk to me themselves and instead, they send my lovely, innocent and ridiculously handsome boyfriend to woo me into returning to the field.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call myself innocent.” Bucky tried to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Y/N paced the length of the kitchen in a few steps before spinning around and walking back again. Defeated with the inevitable of visiting the country she grew up in, she collapsed on Bucky’s lap. “What about my shop? Do they not realise that I have a business to run? I’m not an Avenger, I'm just an ordinary civilian.”

“You’re everything but ordinary.” His arms pulled Y/N closer to him, her head burrowing under his chin, “It’s okay sweetheart, Diane can run the place in your absence, she knows what she’s doing. We’ll be gone a week at most. I made sure to get a month of vacation off afterwards so we can do this place up.”

Y/N’s head snapped up, bashing Bucky’s chin making him bite the inside of his cheek. The blood filled his mouth, but he swallowed it down and cupped her face at the sight of the unshed tears in her eyes.

“Really? Do you mean that? Because being with you for one night every two weeks is horrible.” Her bottom lip poked out and Bucky wobbled it with his index finger.

“Yes, of course, doll.” He smiled and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

“Hold up!” Y/N pulled away from him, her hands pressed firmly into his chest, “you’re sweet talkin’ me, aren’t you?”

“Nothing gets past you.” Bucky’s head fell back as the laughter rumbled through his chest and Y/N stood up. He swatted her butt cheek, “get a move on with dinner, we have to leave in an hour.”

“James Buchanan Barnes!” She spun around, a feigned look of shock and her hand clutched to her chest. Her agape mouth dropped into a smirk as she leant forward, rubbing her nose against his. “If you’re still into this sweet talkin’ thing…” 

Y/N spun on her heel and with a sway of her hips, wandered to the door. She looked back over her shoulder, “well, are you coming or what?”

Bucky was on his feet in seconds, chasing her down the corridor. Giggles filled the apartment as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into the air. He fell backwards onto the bed, dropping her to his side gracefully. 

Both looked at the other, full of smiles and breathless from the short jog. The contrast of cold metal against Y/N’s warm cheek sent a shiver down her spine, and the way Bucky focused on her lips filled her core with want. The laughter died down and desire took over, as their faces inched closer and until they were ghosting over each other’s lips.

“Thought I had to sweet talk you, doll?” Bucky mumbled against Y/N’s parted mouth; his beard scratched deliciously against her.

In retaliation, she pushed on top of him, straddling his waist and feeling the rough texture of the tactical gear hidden beneath the hoodie, “well, what can I see, could never resist a man in Kevlar.”

Y/N ducked down and pressed a light peck to Bucky’s lips. He immediately took control, his hand holding the back of her head and deepening the kiss while his hardening groin rubbed against her clothed sex.

All thoughts of the mission and Poland disappeared with each item of clothing they discarded. Their minds focused on bringing the other to the edge of ecstasy with every kiss, lick, and stroke. Their bodies hummed with desire and need, entangled together above the sheets.

Bucky pinned Y/N to the bed, holding her hands above her head in his grip while he peppered kisses down her neck, and across her now beautifully exposed body. His hold loosened as he neared her sensitive parts, the mewling sounds above him sent repeated shocks of pleasure to his already stiff member.

Y/N couldn’t handle the wait any longer, her hips tilting up towards in demand of his mouth. It was oh so close but still far away from her bundle of nerves, “please Bucky, I need you.”

Not one to disappoint or let his girl beg for too long, Bucky teased her drenched cunt with his fingertips. She whimpered in response, pride swelled in his chest and pushed him to lick a stripe through her lips, tongue swirling over her clit.

“Fuck” Y/N stuttered out; one hand tugged on his locks while the other palmed her breasts.

Bucky moaned, the vibrations pushing Y/N closer to her orgasm. He continued to eat her cunt with ferocity. Bucky always marvelled at how he’d almost cum from the sounds of her moans and the taste of her pleasure. His cock ached as he rubbed the precum across his tip and gripped his shaft to hold off his orgasm until he felt the friction of her tight cunt, until he was deep inside her.

Kisses lightly pressed along her thighs and her stomach; Bucky didn’t miss a single spot, blemish or scar on her body. Her body glowed in the post-orgasmic haze, her fingers softly stroking through his locks as he hovered above her.

Bucky faltered when he saw her eyes glistened with unshed tears and the tremble of her lip, “Doll, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

“Oh, sweet man,” Y/N cupped his cheek, his head resting into her palm, “of course not. I’m just scared of going back. Of losing myself to my past. Of losing you.”

Bucky let go of the breath he held, a small piece of him was glad that he hadn’t done anything to hurt the precious person lying beneath him but the rest of him filled with the need to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay. And that is what he did.

He rolled to her side, gathered her up in his hold and pressed soft kisses to the top of her head, “I can’t promise that it won’t be hard. Going back there, to those monsters. But I can promise you that you won’t lose me. I’ll be with you every step of the way, like you have been there for me.”

Y/N clung to Bucky’s waist; her legs entwined with his while she let the tears flow. Her fear subsided with each drop, the caress of Bucky’s fingers along her arm and the sweet nothings he whispered into her ear.

Y/N packed her bag while Bucky returned to the kitchen to fix her something to eat. Even though he had developed incredible hearing, he couldn’t make out the Ukrainian words that she mumbled in between ‘Steve’ and ‘Fury’ or the slams of the bedroom furniture. But what he did know was that they weren’t going to be any terms of endearment to her former superiors.

Minutes later, Y/N had returned with an outfit change and dropped the holdall to her feet. Bucky’s heart thumped against his chest and a blush heated his cheeks as she winked at him. Even after all this time, seeing her in the black uniform always sent his heart racing and Y/N knew exactly how he felt about the uniform.

They ate the meal in silence as Y/N scanned the details on the tablet, both now brought up to speed with the latest developments from Natasha’s intel; alien technology being sold across the black market. What’s new. Bucky rolled his eyes at the information, there was always some bad guy with a bunch of weaponry, that they didn’t understand, trying to use it for evil.

Once again, Y/N disappeared into other parts of the apartment while Bucky loaded his black truck with her holdall and waited for her arrival in the cab. She hopped into the passenger seat and appeared calm, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he should prepare to duck for cover when they arrived at the briefing room.

Luckily for Bucky, Natasha and Clint pulled him aside to go over their new findings. Not so lucky for Steve and Fury, who would have to deal with the wrath of the retired Avenger.

Everything Tag List: @kitkatd7​ / @fandomfic-galore​ / @writerwrites​ / @thefridgeismybestie​ / @avantgardium-leviosa*

Marvel Tag List: @natasha-danvers​ / @little-baby-vixen​ / @stuckonjbbarnes​ / @starlightcrystalline​ / @nekoannie-chan​ / @hailhydra920​ / @vollzeitliebe​ / @fitzsimmons-is-forever​

*unable to tag

If you would like to be added to my taglist then drop me an ask

[sanghyukstattoos]

SF9's reaction: first time over at theirs, accidentally leak

Warnings: mentions of blood, medicine (tablets)

A/N: None of the images in the collage are mine, refer to here for more; For more SF9, read here, for iKON, read here and for optional bias writings, read here

Safe and happy reading everyone!

Youngbin:

Partly anxious, partly thinks he knows what to do

He has a vague idea of what he should do, it presents itself to his decisions in the form of a solution but he isn't sure, is it what he is supposed to do? Suppose you have been asleep when he found out about your period, he will softly climb back into bed and wake you up. He'll hold you as and when you wake up and he finds it important to cuddle you all day long, even when he suggests that you watch something to distract yourself. He'll try to engage you in doing something like cooking as well but when he see that it doesn't work, he'll tell you that it's okay and pull you to the sofa where the two of you will spend the time either watching the tv or not but in each other's arms. You may go on a walk because he insists on getting fresh air and it's reliving, to feel the wind breeze through your hair, away from the growing stuffiness of staying indoors all day long.

Inseong:

''Oh, she must be in pain, what do I do?''

He may wake up because of your whimpers and heated body (you feel warm to the touch, much more than usual) so he wakes you up, giving you a detailed report of the blood stains and your probably high body temperature. He's freaking out which is cute before you sigh. The previous evening you felt your pms but when would it actually come? That was your question. Nevertheless, he leaves you to freshen up and takes the sheets for cleaning. He has some tricks up his sleeve; he knows that to do. When you come out, maybe hug him from the pain, his heart will squeeze like a towel filled with water, he'll press kisses on your face and give you gently words of support, ''You're doing so well. You want to lay down? I'll lay down with you, come.'' as he tugs you along. If you feel more active, he'll try his best to cook, as in, he'll give in his ultimate best. Extra effort so that you can eat food at home rather than from outside, it will taste good in the end because he would have followed the recipe and it's measurements to the t. Shining eyes should be following your movements when you taste his food, anxiously waiting for your response. Should you feed him, he'll melt, like a marshmallow. He loves you that much.

Jaeyoon:

Jaeyoon's a sweet heart

He'll ask you, ''Are you cramping?''. His voice is soft, almost down to a whisper. It draws you closer to him. You nod, pout whilst holding your lower tummy. You feel uncomfortable standing because of the pain, he knows it and draws you into his arms, holding you steady on your feet. He gives you little kisses on the cheek, teasing out giggles from you. He'll cook for you, maybe pancakes or avocado with fried eggs on toasted bread, whatever you want + as long as he is capable of making it, he may even surprise you! When you are eating, he'll give you company, his chin will rest in the palms of his hand and he'll give you this look where his eyes shine and the pads of his fingers drum on his cheek. He'll melt if you feed him, into a puddle his true form has been summoned. He'll make you smile, partly because of his cheeky jokes but also partly because of his own smile, lit cheeks that resemble a baking bun. He'll tell you not to apologise for the stained sheets, kissing your concern away. He'll join heads with you and figure out to do with it. The rest of the day, he'll spend it with you by taking you into his arms. Be prepared, fluff! passionate-driven! domestic husband! Jaeyoon is out to cuddle you!

Dawon I Lee Sanghyuk:

🥺🥺

He may wake up to your groans of pain, too disorientated at first to comprehend that you may be pms-ing so he'll go back to sleep. When he wakes up later on, the first thing he may say is, ''Shit.'', biting his lip but not yet thinking of a solution. He'll first check up on you, to see if you are still asleep or not. If you are, he'll let you you be and sit back with his mouth agape, wondering how this could happen. This may go on for some moments. He doesn't have even half the heart to wake up but if he has to, he will. When you curl up into a foetal ball, his heart will break. After you refresh, he'll rush to sort out a hot bag for you and maybe some tea and cuddle with you on the sofa till you begin to feel hungry (he may wait for when you are ready to make breakfast!). It's because he loves eating and so he'll love to see his significant other too. He knows that you enjoy what you are eating and that makes him happy, so he'll wait!

Rowoon I Kim Seokwoo:

Luxurious level Rowoon 💸💸💸

You may already be up when he wakes up. ''Oh!?!?'' is his voice when he looks at the lil' crime scene you left. You didn't stress about it okay maybe a little but decided to deal with it when he woke up. O-O is his facial expression. He can't believe his eyes. He's scared, he may never be able to un-see it again, ever. To bad for him, slightly better for you. You are already refreshed and not feeling to great, drained even before the day has begun but he's not asking anything, only how you are feeling. You settle in the seat beside him, pressing a kiss to his cheek, he greets you with a kiss back, discussing about your plans for the day. ''About the sheets'', ''It's okay'' he says, noticing your apologetic face, ''We'll throw them out'', ''Okay~ they are your sheets'' you laugh. Otherwise, if he wants to make love to you, your period may briefly hinder his thoughts but not by much, especially if you agree. He undress you in the shower and kiss you all over, to relieve the soreness of your body and fill you up. He would be okay to cock warm, to sit there with you on his lap and talk to you, giggle and laugh with you, occasionally cutting you off by giving you love-bites and sucking your nipples, nipping the area around them, if you find yourself comfortable with cock warming.

Zuho I Baek Juho:

Home-man Ju, never-leaving-his-cats Ju

But for you, it'll happen. You may have not brought pads or tampons with you because your schedule is hay-wire. If no and you have some then problem solved but if not, he'll leave you with a hot bag and run to the nearest store to buy you some pads. He'll hurry, knowing that you are in pain so he'll even say to his cats before he goes, ''Be good and take care of y/n for me okay?''. You have half a mind to chuckle at this adorable behaviour. In his pyjamas and slippers, he'll walk out, coming back with pads/tampons and food! Food! What's not there to love about this man? He'll bring your favourite snacks, putting them on a plate while you freshen up. If you borrow his clothes, you'll take his breath away. He'll put something on to watch or go out, like an amusement park or food stalls or wherever you would love to go. He wants you to feel better.

Yoo Taeyang:

Shocked or master level response

The first would be more appropriate for this man no? But I can't also help but think that he would see you in pain and move quickly. Without thinking of a plan or immediate solution, he would try to use what he has, a resourceful character is my point. He may rummage through the kitchen and medicine cabinets, standing there for two to three minutes, pondering over what he could use. He is quick to find a heat bag and warm it up, perhaps a wet towel that he thinks he will come back to and tablets for your pain. No doubt that his once blurry eyes and tired mind have disappeared to the back, your peacefulness of mind and sleep becomes his first priority. He takes you to the toilet and while you hazily strip off your clothes, he warms up the water and fills the tub with it. While you soak, cleaning yourself up, he lets you be, giving you the space you need to take a while and gather your peace of mind. There's a lot he would do for you. In the morning, he would cook for you and take you out. Later in the afternoon, you'll fall asleep together and in the evening, if you both are in the mood, he'll be willing to try and ease your cramps with releases. He's someone to be grateful for.

Hwiyoung I Kim Youngkyun:

Shy, to the bone

You knock on his door, ''Kyun?'', ''hm? You okay?'', he is curious. ''Yea, I'm going to the store and coming back.'', ''It's pitch black outside, I'll come with you.'', ''okay'', it's dangerous outside, anyone could be there. Just left the complex, he asks, ''What do you need?'', ''Tampons'', ''oh.'', he's flustered now. The tips of his ears turn pink and his cheeks- he can't resist them from going upwards. After scratching the tip of his ear, he asks, ''Does it hurt?'', ''hm, I can feel it, it's hurts a little but later it may hurt a lot.'', ''As in, unbearably?'', ''Yea and I think that I may have already leaked.''. ''Shit'' he murmurs, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, ''If you want, you could go home and I could get them?'', he asks, in all seriousness. He doesn't contemplate that he's never done this before but he could, for you. ''It's okay, I think I can make it. Plus, you won't know what to get.'', ''Call me, ''Are you sure about this?'', ''Absolutely, I'll drop you off and then I'll pick them up, do you want something to eat?''. The endeavours make you smile, now you are at the front of his house, ''Anything is okay with me.'' to which he chuckles. He knows what you want, ''So some snacks?'', in a teasing manner. He moves closer to you. It's a pause from the outside world, cupping your face entirely in his hands, he kisses your cheek. You softly gasp, slipping into his grasp when he lets go. You could smell his shampoo and the way he lingered, he's already telling you, ''Go up, I'll come to you.'' having you shake you head and tell him, ''thank you.''. As he begins to walk, he resists turning back and pulling you into a kiss driven by heat-blinding passion.

I guarantee that the kiss doesn't happen for sometime but when it does, you end up making soft love under the covers. He starts with mapping out kisses along your body + he loves how you touch him when he kisses you.

Chani:

Loving and admirable

When he sees you in pain, he hurts too, expressed as a pout or frown, tugging your hand and asking if you are okay. He wants to make your pain go away. He may be doing some work on his laptop, he'll hold you in his arms with your head on his chest and you softly snoring away. It'll make him smile, after all you were woken up so early in the morning by your cramps, waking him up to a few hours later to find that you made breakfast. It depends on who wakes up, one or the other makes breakfast after a long competition of seeing who can sleep the longest. He feels grateful and he tells you that, before saying that you shouldn't have when you felt this much pain and that he was okay with eating outside food. You have to smile and place a finger to his mouth to prevent his nagging from chewing your ears off and give him a little kiss and then immediately pull him for cuddles. Complain about how you are in pain and he will melt like a lolly on a hot summer day and instantly cuddle you, hovering over your figure that he placed on the sofa and tease you, maybe by feeling your waist to your neck to a small make-out session. It'll be automatic for him to compliment you and shower you with love, easily embracing you and kissing you to tell you that he loves you.

[kintatsujo]

Also idk I mentioned this to Juke bc I was On It when they said they liked the pixel art I've been working on

I was actually having trouble with CSP and working in Aseprite partly bc it was working better

I've been switching working laptops because the one I've been using the last few years is in need of physical repairs and I pretty much need an active working laptop

And so I'm running into a lot of "the default settings are absolutely the wrong settings" type shit

Windows Ink devours processing and I'm using a dinky little refurbished ThinkPad that can not handle that bullshit

But when I turned it off CSP would stop acknowledging pen pressure or just stop acknowledging the tablet at all

So I had to figure out what setting to change to fix it (it's in preferences and you want to look for the bit where one of the options is "wintab" if you're having a similar problem)

Before successfully figuring out what setting to change I was basically getting such bad lag in CSP that it was like dragging the pen through sludge

[blue-mood-blue]

Do you think Juno starts trying to learn more about tech after the escape from New Town?

It’s a useful thing to know, even if it’s just the basics, and after everything that happened I think Juno is at least prepared to acknowledge that. Technology is a weak point for him, and Rita’s always going to be better at that, sure, but he should know how to work his coms.

And that’s his justification, probably, the first time he wobbles out of bed on decimated muscles and bones and stands at the door before Rita can herd him back for more rest. If something like this happens again, is his argument, he’ll be that much more prepared. That’s a good thing, right?

Rita agrees that yes, fine, he could use a crash course. She continues pushing him back down the hall to bed, though, because he can learn a coms and let his body put itself back together at the same time.

And if they both know that it was really just an excuse to seek her out and ask for company, they don’t mention it. Muscles aren’t the only thing that’s healing.

I like to think it still happens after they move out of Hyperion, in front of their very adept new criminal family. Partly because Juno is working on asking for things that aren’t demands and just because he wants to, and partly because he’s just that bad at retaining technology-related information.

“Rita. Rita, the coms won’t stop beeping at me.” He’s holding out the coms and regarding it with suspicion, as if it might snap at him.

“You sure it’s not just an incoming call, boss?” She doesn’t even look up from her tablet and he pouts. It’s a routine enough exchange by now that it only catches the interest of one other person in the room.

“It’s been beeping for two days. Two days, Rita. Please help me, before I lose what’s left of my mind and you have to drop me off in the desert.”

It takes her a glance to locate the problem. “It’s the alarm, Mista Steel. I showed you how to use that already.”

“Oh.”

“...do you want me to show you again?”

“Please.”

[senjuhashirama]

An opinion I didn’t want to write and no one asked for: Where did Madara go wrong

 I did not understand the assignment. I wrote an essay about what Madara did wrong OOC. I then re-read the ask (after three months) and realized that it was IC. So excuse me for still publishing it. This is also just an opinion and I don’t claim I’m 100 % right. 

I will preface this post by saying that I think there has never been a point of no return for Madara - a moment where Madara couldn’t go back to the “good” side. I think his character could go back to Konoha at any point – and he did, after the 4th war, spiritually. I also want to point out that it’s very Naruto-ish that a villain doesn’t cross the point of no return. Even Orochimaru returns in the end. Maybe it only shows the capacity Konoha ninjas have for forgiveness. However bad that village is, they will forgive any crime.

So, Madara, in the end, returns to the “right” side (according to Kishimoto; I’m not going to discuss here if Konoha is right or wrong mainly because I think both sides of the argument are overdoing the discussion as it is and I think both sides of the argument are right at the same time, they just operate with different facts and it’s not just black and white). 

When Kaguya overtakes Madara, he asks where he went wrong. In that moment he comes to realize that he has been manipulated by Black Zetsu. That his lifetime work was a lie, a perfectly laid trap.

So, I think that his main mistake was that he trusted Zetsu and that he was so easily manipulated by a stone tablet. But I think we can dig deeper here – on why he was so easily manipulated and what went wrong in his life to trust Zetsu in the first place, because I believe many people would see through it.  

I think it was both genetics (pointing out I’m not talking about Tobirama’s curse of hatred theory, just general personality traits) and his environment. I don’t think everyone in Madara’s shoes would react the same as Madara did and his behaviour was very specific to him, that’s why I don’t believe it was only the environment.

Madara grew up in a war and three of his siblings died before he met Hashirama. Growing up in a war under such circumstances can cause trauma and change the plasticity of the brain [source]. Since ninjas were never shown to look out for their mental health, I don’t believe it was treated in any way and it started to go downhill there.

Because of that, Madara is already in a bad position. In some instances, if trauma is untreated, it can result in alterations in cognitive processes such as memory, attention, planning, and problem solving, underscoring the detrimental impact that negative emotionality has on cognitive functioning [source]. I believe that it resulted in the lack of healthy coping mechanisms in Madara.

Another problem was Madara’s pride. I think his pride made it impossible for him to be a good, respected leader. Madara loved his brother, but he wasn’t favoured by the rest of the Uchihas. And we must wonder how much of it was his own fault. As we know, he left his whole injured army to save injured Izuna. Understandable from a personal point of view, but a terrible mistake for a war chief. A leader who fleets when his people are in imminent danger is branded a coward even in our culture. We don’t see any attempts of Madara to be loved and well-received. Since he likes to claim he doesn’t like it when people “stand behind him” which I think is figurative too, I believe there were no such attempts. That doesn’t mean Madara was fine with not being liked, I don’t think he was. But it was partly his fault and he was aware of that. 

That’s why I believe there was a great deal of shame in Madara after Izuna died and Konoha was founded. He felt like people didn’t like him, he didn’t protect them, he didn’t protect Izuna. For someone as prideful as Madara, the shame must have been terrible. Shame can also worsen mental health issues because people don’t believe they’re deserving of coping mechanisms, which worsens their symptoms. There were too many things that went wrong and Madara didn’t know how to deal with them anymore.

The grief, pride and shame made Madara prone to being manipulated easily. He wanted to overcorrect himself. And when Zetsu told him he is his will, Madara wanted to believe that. His critical thinking skills went down the drain because he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He could be the chosen one, he could save the world. He could repair everything he did wrong. I think there was some sort of cognitive dissonance and Madara’s brain rejected uncomfortable facts (about Zetsu being a con monster), because Zetsu’s plan gave him a purpose, which he lacked before. He couldn’t cope with all the things that went wrong and this was a way out. He saw something bigger than himself; he saw a life where he could also be a hero. He was no longer weak. 

For Madara, The Eye Of The Moon Plan became a belief system. An unhealthy coping mechanism. At that point, he didn’t care who would die and who wouldn't. He was glad he could finally see the truth. He finally didn’t feel lost, he felt like everyone else besides him was lost, because they didn’t see what he saw. He felt special, which stroked his ego. He was high from this belief, which was perhaps the most on the top he has ever felt in his life.

I would dare to compare this to a cult – that’s why cults prey on grieving people going through hard times. Read something about people who were in cults if you want to understand Madara’s brain. I also like to compare this to conspiracy theorists. That’s a reason I believe people in cults and conspiracy theorists need more compassion and not sheer aggression.

He was so convicted of his belief system it made him forget his feelings for his family (when he impaled Sasuke although he looked like Izuna). He didn’t feel bad about manipulating a kid, Obito, imprisoning him in a cave. He wanted to show everyone he is right and not a failure. His purpose and self-importance made him unempathetic to Obito, Sasuke and to everyone else – that being said, Madara does have a capacity for empathy, he just stopped using it because of his beliefs.

In the end, it comes to grief that was not dealt with which led to mental health issues everyone ignored (not to blame them, they didn’t have the resources and it was not their fault more than it was Madara’s), Madara’s lack of healthy coping skills, his sense of pride and his sense of ego are the “where he went wrong.” It all led to an elevated image of himself and an urge to prove everyone wrong.

I also want to point out that I believe that Hashirama, Tobirama (and most likely other people in their era) had the same starting point as Madara, but probably due to better coping skills they turned their trauma into something productive, which was the village and a relative peace. It only shows that trauma won’t turn anyone evil unless there are other things and behaviours in play. I also don’t believe Tobirama’s death would make Hashirama act like Madara.

[writingfromkitchenator]

Castiel ~ Tomorrow

Alphabet Challenge Masterlist (700 Followers)

Masterlist

Sequel to Inebriated

Thank you so much to @zizzlekwum and @casismybae for the sequel request!

Words: 1,532

Warnings: Neutral Reader, hangover, awkward fluff, little bit of swearing

Things were foggy when you awoke, and it took you a long moment to actually make any sort of movement in your bed, not really remembering getting into one.

Your mouth felt like you’d swallowed cotton, so with an uncomfortable groan, you managed to move and get a glass of water from your bedside table.  Taking several long drinks, you did your best to ignore the low throb that was starting in your head, truly regretting drinking as much as you had.

Putting the glass down, you sighed, sitting up as best you could, rubbing your head, more aches settling over you as you moved more.  What the hell did you do to cause that?

You frowned, thinking, no matter how much it made your head hurt.  You were at the bar for ages, drinking away your misery, before wanting better quality stuff, so you’d decided to raid Sam and Dean’s liquor cabinet.

The bunker was supposed to be empty…

Tension shot up your spine as you remembered Castiel being here, the exact reason why you’d been drinking in the first place.  A heavy groan left you as jumbled words came back to you, remembering what you’d said, but not what he’d said in return.

You stared at your door. You were going to have to go out there and talk to him, no matter how much it currently made you feel sick to your stomach.

God, you’d really fucked this one up.

Your head gave a nasty throb, making you groan, holding it for a moment until you dug around in your bedside table, hoping to find any sort of tablet or something to help with the pain.  When you came up empty, you cursed quietly, knowing you were going to have to see Castiel like this.

Which was even worse than what it was already.

Steeling yourself, you managed to get up and make your way to the door, drawing in a deep breath, before you hobbled out, staggering just a little.  You felt sick for a moment, but it passed, and you managed to make your way to the kitchen, where you only just realised that there was a delicious smell coming from.

“Morning Y/N,” Castiel said, not looking over from the stove where he was cooking something.  “How are you feeling?”

You stared at him a long moment, it taking a little bit for you to realise what was strange about this situation.  “I didn’t know you could cook.”

He cast a smile back at you. “I’ve had to learn a few things over the years.  I…I’m not the best cook, but it’s enough to get by.  I hope you like it still.”

“You…you made breakfast for me?”  You asked, a little confused, making your way over to one of the cabinets, rifling through it until you found the drugs you were looking for.

There was silence for a moment as you grabbed a glass of water, something you almost dropped when you turned to look at him and found him right there in front of you.  “Cas-”

Castiel sighed a little and shook his head with a surprisingly affectionate smile.  “Here.”  He rested a hand on your forehead, chasing away the hangover and the aching in your body, letting you give a soft sigh of relief.

“Thanks,” You said, putting the tablet back in the container, but still holding onto the water. “Although, I…can’t exactly remember where all the bruising and pain came from.”

He turned back to the stove. “You fell down the stairs.”

“I…what?”

“It did sound rather painful,” He said, taking the pan off the heat.  “But you assured me you were okay.”  He hesitated and cast you a look.  “Do you…not remember last night?”

Heat flared in your cheeks and you quickly broke away from his gaze, nerves bubbling in your stomach. “Um…some of it?  I…I remember…what I said…but not-not what-what-if you said anything back.”

Castiel gave a thoughtful hum and dishes the food onto a plate for you.  “Have some breakfast Y/N.”

You stared at it before taking it and heading to the table, a little unsure.  “Cas…”

“Have some food and then we can talk.”

It seemed so unusually out of character for him that you simply did as he asked, not really sure what else to do, and a little too embarrassed to raise it yourself.

The food he’d made was good, a big relief to your rumbling stomach, and it was kind of an awkward silence that filled the room as he cleaned up and you ate.

Eventually, Castiel sat down across from you, watching you eat.

“Um,” You kept your gaze on your food.  “Thanks Cas, this is really good.”

He smiled.  “I figured you would be hungry.  You had consumed a fair amount of alcohol last night.”

You sighed and finished the meal off before looking at him, clearly embarrassed.  “I figured.  I’m sorry I made such an idiot of myself.”

Castiel chuckled and gave a small shrug.  “You are an adorable idiot.  You have nothing to apologise for.”

“An adorable…Cas,” You frowned at him.  “What exactly happened last night?”

“You called me a trench coated idiot,” He said with a smile.  “And then yourself a drunken idiot.  That was after you told me you loved me of course.”

There was little point in breaking away from his gaze again, no matter how hot your face burned at the mere mention of it.  “And…what did you say?”

“That we needed to talk when you were sober,” He said gently.  “And definitely without Sam and Dean here, which, luckily, we have both right now, if you still wish to do so of course?”

Your heart was racing in your chest as you held his gaze.  “I…do.”

“Good,” Castiel said with a nod.  “Then perhaps now is the time to tell you that I return your feelings?”

You stared at him, having not expected this at all, and you honestly had no idea how to respond to it, in fact, you weren’t even sure what to think, your brain having short circuited when he said it.

Castiel rubbed the back of his neck, a little unsure by your reaction.  “Um, Y/N?  Are you alright?”

“I-I-” You stammered for a moment before shaking your head.  “I am feeling incredibly foolish here.  Not once did I ever actually consider that the feelings would be returned.”

He smiled.  “Well, they are, and…have been for a while.  You would not have known if I had it my way, the danger to you after all is very high, but…after last night, it would be very cruel of me not to.  I love you Y/N, and I hope that we can face whatever comes together.”

“You really mean it,” You breathed, still so unsure, and yet you could feel it in your heart and the honesty in his gaze that he was speaking in the truth.  “I really am an idiot.”

Castiel chuckled and took your hand across the table.  “I think both of us are.  I certainly never wanted to be the cause behind your drinking.  I’m not going to lie, I was very worried seeing you like that. I certainly don’t want to be the cause of any of your pain Y/N.”

“Oh Cas, you never could be,” You said, giving his hand a squeeze.  “That…well, that was my own insecurities coming to light.  I’ve never had to deal with an emotion like that before, let alone for someone close to me, and I had no idea what to do about it, so I…did what most hunters do I guess.  Drink away their problems.”  You chuckled softly.  “For once, I guess, it’s worked in my favour.”

“It has,” Castiel nodded. “But I still feel partly responsible.”

You shook your head and stood, moving around to him.  “Castiel, you have far too much on your shoulders already, don’t let me add to it too. I never want to put that on you.”

He stood and took your hands again, holding your gaze.  “You don’t, I do it because I care.”  One hand came up and gently cupped your cheek, his thumb tracing gently over your skin. “Just like I worry what all this could bring on you.  I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

You rested your hand against his.  “You could never be a burden Cas, I promise.”

The two of you stared at each other, both certain but unsure, and as Castiel went to speak again, they were interrupted by a door closing somewhere in the bunker.

“Cas?  We managed to wrap up early, are you around?”  Dean called.

You sighed, breaking away from his gaze as you could hear footsteps approaching, but Castiel caught your chin, bringing you gaze back to his before he gently kissed your forehead.

“We will talk more tomorrow,” He said softly.  “Away from here.”

You smiled warmly and kissed his cheek, making him turn red.  “Tomorrow then, and not a moment later.”

The two of you smiled at each other and stepped apart just as Sam and Dean walked into the room, none the wiser to what was happening between the two of you.

[macgyvermedical]

Hi, do you have any resource on how to provide immediate care in case of blood pressure drop due to fear and how to handle blood sugar drop too? Can these two things happen at the same time? This is partly for a Batman fanfiction and partly for myself, my sugar level drops at random times for no apparent reason.

So first I do not answer irl medical questions, but I will answer in the context of the Batman fanfiction.

Fainting (syncope) is due to a sudden drop of blood pressure. This drop in blood pressure temporarily decreases the amount of blood getting to brain cells that rely on a constant stream of oxygen and sugar, which causes the brain to briefly stop functioning.

People can faint (in medical terms, experience a syncopal episode) due to intense emotion, stress, or pain. Usually fainting for this reason this is termed “simple” syncope, meaning there is no underlying heart or brain problem that is causing the fainting- it just happened because of that intense momentary stress. The unconsciousness usually lasts less than a minute or two and resolves on it’s own. Care for this is essentially just making sure the person didn’t hurt themselves in the fall and maybe getting them something to eat or drink once they are conscious enough to do so. They might feel tired or off for the rest of the day, but overall this is not usually dangerous.

If its the first time that person has ever experienced a syncopal episode, or they experience one or more with no obvious trigger, they should see a doctor to make sure it wasn’t because of a more serious underlying medical condition. minor low blood sugar or difficulty maintaining blood sugar can make syncope more likely to happen, hence the recommendation of getting the person something to eat after they wake up. If this is something that happens frequently, however, its also something that person should talk to their doctor about.

Very, very low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can cause a loss of consciousness in itself, though this is more dangerous than the simple syncope described above. This happens because when blood sugar is low, there isn’t enough sugar present to feed brain cells, and they begin to starve and malfunction. If hypoglycemia lasts too long, brain cells die and soon the person does too.

Hypoglycemia, while dangerous (especially if caused by insulin or anti-diabetic medications) can be easily treated before the person passes out by getting the person something to eat that has both simple carbohydrates (to quickly raise blood sugar), and protein or fat (to help maintain blood sugar). Commercial glucose tablets, sugar candy, or that pre-made squeezable icing chased with some nut butter or milk is usually adequate.

If the person is unconscious from hypoglycemia, lay them on their side (recovery position) and call EMS. If EMS is not available (disaster, remote area, etc...), put them on their side and put some sugar or squeeze icing between their teeth/gums and cheek (not ideal due to the possibility of choking, but better than nothing in an emergency). Once they wake up enough to eat something or drink something with sugar in it, they should.

[everdino]

Probably this is my last art and I can return to drawing again only after a month, when i'll ger new pen, or, at least, after I get used to the old semi-live pen from the tablet. Because, even an ordinary sketch with a very "cheap" color was very difficult to draw and my hands hurt, because old pen the old pen is just disgustingly uncomfortable.

Whining is end, now about art.

Lately, I thought about au, where a megaop found themselves on an unknown planet and survived there for a while. I decided to create my vision for this au, with Blitzbee and, yes, Bumblebee is triplechanger, I'm sorry, i regret everything.

This idea is not new, I saw several posts on this au, but I would like to show it exactly, as I see it. I cant write slowburn fanfiction (especially in English), and there is some problems with drawing, so I’ll just write the whole idea here. I own nothing, so if one of you wants, he can take this idea, you do not need my permission.

The first branches from the canon in this au occur at the very beginning, when Lugnut and Blitzwing arrive on Earth. A closer acquaintance with Bumblebee begins even before Megatron returns. At first it’s just a banal desire to take a break from the hostilities and annoying teammates, then friendship, quite strong friendship, then something more. Something reaally more. Blitz and Bee successfully hide their relationship by inventing a scheme, by which they can meet, without getting caught. (Note, Blitzwing invented this, and then for a very long time taught a stupid bug to stick to a plan). This continues until the moment Blitzwing captures by Elite Guard. (I note, that Wasp was partly to blame, because using the Bumblebee form, he drowned the vigilance of the triplechanger.) Another offshoot from the canon, Blackarachnia captures both Bumblebee and Wasp, for experimentation. She turns one into a triplechanger, and another into predacon, to figure out, how to solve her techno-organic problem. Sentinel tries to get rid of both, but Optimus prevents him. Bumblebee begins the rehabilitation course, trying to get used to the new body, but the hatred from the elite guard and the prisoner sparkmate strongly affect his mental state, not to mention the fact, that being a triplechager already means being unstable.

In this au, Blitzwing retreats with Lugnut, during the battle between Decepticons and the Elite guard, so only Starscream clones are brought to Cybertron Prison. The Final Battle is coming, Bumblebee is participating in it, which has more or less recovered from the operation. He fights against Blitzwing, however, right during the fight, Bee swears, that he don't allow anyone to put his sparkmate in prison ever again. He actually had many plans, and all of them were somehow related to leaving Autobots. Megatron defeated, prisoners of the Decepticons transported to Cybertron. Bumblebee prepares to escape from the ship with Blitzwing. Only Sparkmate becomes his meaning of life, since he is sure that Autobots betrayed him, treating his upgrade as a disabled person. Accidentally, being under the affect, he frees Megatron, along with Blitzwing. A new fight begins, during which Megatron and Optimus find themselves in a rescue capsule, which was prepared by Bumblebee, and crash on an unknown planet. The Elite Guard is trying to help, but during the battle some mechanisms of the ship’s engines are damaged and it’s much harder to get to Cybertron, especially with dangerous Decepticons on board, although without Megatron. Bee realizes, that all this happened through his fault, therefore, goes for the last signal of Optimus, which they managed to detect. Despite his grudge against the Autobots, he didn't want any of them to suffer. Blitzwing follows him, trying to protect him from reckless decisions. These two also have to endure a crash on the planet, where Optimus was supposedly. Bumblebee injures his leg and they have to hide in a cave, until Blitz comes up with some kind of plan.

Meanwhile, Optimus and Megatron are trying to continue the battle after landing on the planet, but soon realize, that they are too wounded and tired to fight. They disperse to find shelter until their factions find them. Time passes and both leaders come to the conclusion that surviving alone on a semi-organic planet is very difficult. Therefore, they unite and roam around, in search of an energon or communication devices. Instead, they find creatures that live on the planet and almost die, but at the last moment they are saved. This case forces both to appreciate the fighting qualities of a temporary teammate. Some time passes again, they both begin to starve, but still don't give up. Along the way, they both learn more about each other and the opposing faction, and their enmity slowly fades, giving way to respect. Optimus no longer experiences internal fear at the sight of a warlord, and Megatron allows the Autobot to stay closer. But as before, they did not find anything that resembled an energon. They find a poor mine later, but, with the mine, they find their triplechangers. Both Optimus and Megatron are shocked, seeing how these two, not so much as hostile, but, on the contrary, treat each other with such tenderness, like they have been married for several centuries. Megatron is furious at this betrayal and, despite Optimus’s protest, is attacking. Triplechagers obviously did not expect this, but it only made Blitzwing angrier. Both Decepticons start to fight violently, but battle is interrupted by Optimus. Leader of the Autobots is trying to convince others, that all of them are in a very critical situation, without communication, energy and medical assistance, so the war is the last thing they need. Although, Optimus also admitted that he didn't approve of such behavior on the part of Bumblebee. After long enough persuasions, Optimus manages to convince the others and the four stick together to survive, until someone finds them.

At first, Blitzwing very violently defended Bumblebee from leaders, given that Bee had damaged leg and mind, but soon all four have to trust each other, as survival is becoming harder and harder. While Optimus and Bumblebee sort things out, trying to understand, why Bumblebee wants to leave the fraction, Megatron becomes curious why, of all the Autobots, Blitzwing chose Bumblebee. He still cannot accept the fact, that Blitz betrayed him, but has already stopped being angry about this. He just becomes interested. Because with each new day, Megatron notices, that he is beginning to understand his soldier. Dark Lord more and more respects Optimus, who, despite his fairly young age and lack of experience (regarding Megatron himself, of course) is incredibly brave and strong. Respect slowly flows into a warmer but unknown feeling for Megatron. However, it was obvious that Optimus shared his feelings.

Bumblebee, meanwhile, is undergoing panic attacks, so, against the background of the rest of the team, he looks very weak. Old love of life is no longer observed in the optics of yellow Autobot. But, still, he holds on, for the sake of Blitzwing, who does not, not even for moment, leave his precious sparkmate alone. The moral damage was too strong, but Blitzwing is not thinking of retreating.

The four continues to roam the planet in search of the mines of the energon, fighting off the creatures and hiding from the weather, simultaneously solving their relationship with each other. Bumblebee, over time, thanks to Blitzwing, will cope with his mental problems, and Megatron and Optimus will become much much closer to each other.

[killfaeh]

Gul Dukat and timed inking tests

Hi everyone! So as promised last time, today I'm going to talk to you about drawing, and even more precisely about inking techniques and timed tests. I had been thinking for months about making a black and white illustration and inking it several times with different techniques while timing myself to see which one was the fastest. This approach is part of my search for optimization in the time it takes to produce my comics. So there are all the drawing tricks, 3D, Clip Studio Paint's tools, the programs and softwares developed by myself with which I saved a lot of time, but there is still this inking phase whose execution time tends to resist any form of compression. At the beginning of the year 2021 I made a penciled illustration, and it seemed to me to be a perfect candidate for the exercise: a character, scenery elements and various texture effects. The illustration in question:

To introduce you a little bit to the man, it is Gul Dukat a villain from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series, a humanoid alien with some reptilian attributes. This is my favorite character of the show. You know me now, I like charismatic bad guys with complicated stories. x) Let's go back to the illustration itself. Concerning the pencil phase, I refined it more than necessary, but it's because I wanted to make a beautiful illustration and it was my pleasure. That said, I still used some tricks to make the work easier. Basically, I drew the different elements of the illustration separately and then scanned and assembled them by computer. This allowed me to draw them carefully without getting bogged down in their interaction and optimize the final composition.

Then I printed copies of the final composition that I have already shown you in magenta for my timed inking experiments. I have made exactly 6 versions of them, as follows. (You can click on them to enlarge them).

Well, if you have the impression to see 6 times the same thing, it's normal, the goal is obviously to have an identical or almost identical result with different methods, the finality being to get the fastest one to use it on my next comics projects. Let's go through them to dissect the different methods. The first version, I made it with liners.

It took me 5 hours. The main drawback of this method is that the clip on the liner cap presses on my « comic artist ball ». A callus ball that formed on my middle finger over time by dint of drawing, where the pencil rests. And after a while it's painful, so it limits the duration of the work sessions.

Then comes the brush version.

This is the version that took me the longest: 6 hours and 20 minutes. The main waste of time is during the inking of the background. It has many geometrical shapes and the brush is unsuitable for that. On the other hand, for the character, it goes just as fast. In any case, the holding of the brush is pleasant, the handle is thin, so it never hurts me. I can work as long as I want with this technique. It is difficult to evaluate at this resolution, but overall the lines drawn with the brush are cleaner and sharper than those drawn with a liner. So! Longer, but prettier and more pleasant.

Then, the 3rd version I made it entirely with the graphics tablet and the software Clip Studio Paint.

This attempt is the fastest so far: 4 hours 15 minutes. The inking of the character does not go faster the flaw being that the pen slides much more easily on the tablet than a traditional technique on paper, so it is more difficult to control the line and I use a lot of ctrl+Z. Moreover, the pen tip does not deform under pressure, so it is more difficult to anticipate the width of the line and you have to repeat the process several times. The big advantage on the other hand is for the background and its geometric shapes (circles, parallel lines, ellipses). The rulers integrated in Clip Studio Paint allow you to draw them really quickly and cleanly. Also, for all textures and particle effects, I created a lot of brushes for Clip Studio Paint. So, I only had to make a click to draw each of the stars. As on this version I had the impression that I was wastig time on the character, so I decided to try a hybrid technique: the brush for the character, the CSP for the rest.

This version took me as long as the one entirely digital. It seems impossible to reduce the work time on the character below 3 hours and I have confirmation that digital mainly saves time on the geometric patterns and elements and effects that can be drawn with brushes. I leave these tests a few weeks and then I had a new idea. Here is the result. I let you guess which tool I used, you have 4 hours before I pick up the papers. :p

Well, I stop making you marinate, here is the answer in picture. :p

And yes! It's simply a mechanical pencil! :p The idea was to see if I work faster than with the usual inking methods and if by playing with the contrasts in the scan I could make it look like inking. For this version, it took me about 5 hours. I was a little faster for the character than the other attempts, but for the background, it's always the digital that wins hands down. The problem with the mechanical pencil is that to have an intensity of black roughly constant is that I hold it strongly to press down enough for a long time and I ended up crushing my thumb, so I had a hard time finishing the background. I think it slowed me down quite a bit at the end. So! No tool is perfect on its own. As a result, I still had one last thing to test: making the character with mechanical pencil and the background with graphic tablet.

And this time I managed to go below 4 hours of work. :D 3 hours and 40 minutes more exactly. I managed to ink the character in 2h20 then before moving to the background I had to do some cleaning up because of an unwise choice to do some textures partly in pencil and partly in digital. I think I have a way to spare a few more minutes of work by optimizing some choices. I'm happy to have finally carried out these timed tests. Used alone, there is no ideal tool. Now I know that, once again, it is in the hybridization of techniques that I will have to look for optimization. I have the idea that in the future I should imagine a small roadmap to ink or at to clean my comic pages. I will put all this into practice in the next project. That's all for today! Next time I will make again a small compilation of our online Drink'N'Draw sessions. Have a nice week-end and see you soon! :D Suisei

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Source : https://www.suiseipark.com/News/Entry/id/304/