#qr code reader with red light

[wandamaximoffsbadgirl]

Revolving Around You

Beefy!Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your ex, Wanda Maximoff, invites you to her wedding. You have no reason to go, but find a reason to stay.

Word Count: 1.5K

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, alcohol consumption, and smoking weed

A/N: I really just wanted to write some Natasha fluff and I used the prompt [ wedding ] our muses are sat at the same table at a wedding for a mutual friend

You stared down at the invitation you had received from your long since ex, Wanda Maximoff, she'd be getting married soon. You really didn't talk much with Wanda anymore not since she got together with Vision, but when you did meet up and talk everything was fine.

You weren't expecting this though. Not this soon anyways as you stared down in shock at the lovely scarlet invite to their Spring wedding two months from now. Should you go? She sent the invite so obviously she wants you there, right? You grabbed your phone, scanning the QR code on the invite. It brought you to a page themed in such a way you could only assume it was their wedding theme. You checked off the box to RSVP. You held your breath after hitting send and even once the confirmation came through. Now you had to go through with it.

The ceremony was beautiful. Outside in the blossoming flower fields and apple trees of a rented out pasture. It honestly was a beautiful sight to behold. You'd gone wearing a light blue dress that fell at your mid thigh and a matching pair of open toed heels. Your hair in a half updo of a bun, the rest falling gracefully over your shoulders.

The reception itself was held in a renovated barn on the property. The table you were sitting at you knew no one. Well you didn't know anyone really at the wedding. You knew Wanda, Pietro, Vision, and the parents.

As everyone found their seats a raspy voice called out, “Looks like you're my seat mate for the next however many hours Wanda decides this reception should last.” Your head turned to see a red head, her hair in various braids. She wore a fitting suit that did absolutely nothing to hide all the muscles beneath the fabric. You could see her ear was covered in piercings along with her eyebrow and septum from the profile view you were currently getting. You couldn't help, but stare at the beauty sitting next to you. As you went to respond to the red head, she was shrugging off the suit jacket. The button up and tie she wore were almost the same as your dress. In fact if anyone were to give a quick glance they probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. She hung the jacket on the chair. Turning towards you and as she rolled up her sleeves, revealing the double sleeves of tattoos on her arms.

“Wow…they're beautiful…” you meant to keep that thought in your head, but it slipped past your lips. A blush adorning your face as you turned away to hide.

“Well thank you pretty girl.” She leaned onto the table, all her attention on you as you downed your drink, suddenly feeling like you couldn't swallow. A chuckle falling past the redhead's lips. “I'm Natasha by the way, what's your name? Though I'll probably stick to calling you pretty girl with a reaction like that.” You looked over to see her smirking, another blush coming to your cheeks.

“Y/N…” you spoke quietly, but Natasha heard and tested it on her tongue,

“Y/N…hmmm I think that's a beautiful name that suits a pretty girl like you.”

A few hours into the reception you and Natasha are talking as if you've known each other your whole lives. Once the dance floor opens up after the first dance, Natasha holds out her hand. “Care to dance, pretty girl?” Her sultry voice finds your ears, sending a shiver through you. You don't speak a word, instead opting to just set your hand in hers. The way her hand held yours felt perfect, it felt right.

Her hand in yours, the other holding your waist as yours sat on her shoulder. She led the dance of you two and everything around you faded away. It was only Natasha. All you wanted to do was lean in and kiss the redhead, but you controlled yourself even though your head was swimming from the alcohol you've been consuming.

“You're, like, really handsome and beautiful.” You blurt out making her chuckle.

“Well pretty girl now that we've both said what we think about each other's appearance maybe we could go on a date outside of this wedding?” She offers cocking the pierced brow at you.

“Where do you live?” you slurred, looking up at her.

“New York.” Your eyes lit up, getting up closer to her face.

“Me too!” She smiled, leading you two outside the reception hall. Grabbing her jacket on the way out, setting it on your shoulders. The air had gotten cold now that the sun was down, but a bonfire was being lit by Vision's brother Tony and Wanda's brother Pietro.

You wanted to go over and get a seat, but Natasha had you against the wall. She wasn't holding you there, but she towered over you as she pulled you closer.

“Are you cold?” She asked in a low voice.

“Only a little. Your jacket is helping and your body heat...” Your voice trails off as you wrap your arms around her waist. You looked up at the redhead who took a hand to your cheek. Her thumb brushing gently over your skin.

“I could warm you up a bit more if you’d like?” You bit the inside of your lip, nodding your head as she pulled you against her, lifting you onto your tip toes as your lips brushed together. “Is this okay?” You didn’t answer verbally as you leaned up further to press your lips into hers. Your hands fisting her shirt and you were sure you wrinkled the fabric, but neither of you could bring yourself to care as you went from a simple kiss to her tongue swiping across your lip asking for entrance. When you opened your mouth for her and her tongue made its way into your mouth you realized she had a tongue piercing too, making you moan into her. She pulled you closer and didn’t pull away until you both were desperate for air.

She looked down at you with a satisfied smile. You knew you probably looked a bit hazy, the alcohol still swimming in your brain. You were normally much more reserved than this, but with everything that was happening you would have let Natasha take you right here in front of everyone and not cared one bit. Instead the two of you shared a handful of slow soft kisses as little whimpers and moans escaped you. It had been too long and you wanted her so badly, but one of your major rules was no sex on the first date and this wasn’t even a first date. This is a first meeting.

After Natasha had her fill with kissing you she pulled out a joint, flicking a lighter to it until you saw the paper start to burn, red glowing as she inhaled. As she exhaled she looked up towards the sky. You watched the cloud of smoke leave her lips, your jaw slack as you watched feeling a dampness pool between your thighs.

When Pietro came over he handed you a drink and asked if he could take a hit from Natasha who didn't mind as the two caught up. You stood there in awe, downing your drink, as the two went back and forth with the joint and with conversation.

Eventually the three of you made your way over to the bonfire. Wanda sat on Vision's lap as stories were told amongst friends and family. Natasha had sat down and practically mirrored Wanda when she pulled you to sit on her lap. You bit the inside of your lip as she held you against her, carrying on in her conversations. Your eye caught Wanda's, a knowing smirk on her face making you huff and look down.

“What's wrong pretty girl?” You felt Natasha's cheek press against your arm.

“Nothing…” you tried to lie, but she gripped your hip tight. A moan wanting to rip through you. “W-Wanda was looking…” you quietly admitted.

“Didn't the two of you date for a bit?” You nodded in response. “I'm surprised she let you go for someone like him.” Your head turned to face her. “Wanda's my best friend, but I think she's stupid for letting you go.” You felt your whole body go hot and a puddle between your thighs.

“T-thanks Natasha.” You spoke shyly, turning yourself more into her, burying your face against her. The alcohol was wearing off and you were getting tired without more being added into your system.

“Get comfy sweetie. I'm gonna keep talking with my friends.” Natasha's hand found your back, pulling you close. Her other arm hooking around your thighs to hold you there. You smiled against her. You thought this whole thing would be disastrous seeing your ex getting married, but meeting Natasha and getting to spend the whole evening together. Getting to kiss her and her just holding you in her arms. You hadn’t felt this happy or this secure in...you couldn’t even remember how long. You slowly fell asleep against her chest, listening to her heart beat, the sounds of people talking and the bonfire crackling.

[sashi-ya]

東京 NIGHTS mini event

𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑫 𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑷𝑺ㅤㅤㅤㅤ 𓂃 ࣪˖ ichigo kurosaki x f! reader

⤹˚ synopsis. adult! ichigo takes you to a winter date to the tokyo tower, climb the steps by his hand, let him guide you the sky.

requested by: @cofeedaifuku ➡ Hello! It has been a really long time since I last requested, so I’m a little shy, but knowing that you are the one that is going to receive it calms me down. Can I request Adult! Ichigo with the prompt to see the tokyo tower at night? Nsfw, female reader she/her, (I’m really bad with requests so I don’t know if I should describe the details of the ask, but in any case, something like Ichigo just loves his s/o so much and he just looks at her and completely loses control. Please ignore this if it is not the case.) tw: MDNI. slight nsfw. adult! ichigo. masturbation through the clothes. wc: 1.7k masterlist

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤHis hand feels warm, powerful too. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤYour hand, in his, feels tiny… protected.

“Can you make some time for me?” that’s how he asked; Ichigo had red apples for cheeks when he did. Your eyes shined like five-point stars; you waited for him to ask you out since forever…

Through the cold streets of Tokyo, the frosting sound beneath your feet sound like cracking. The trees, all of them decorated with silver fairy lights. A gleaming spectacle to the eyes, contrasting with the visible glooming cold of December.

Christmas is right around the corner; the streets are busier than ever. People carry big bags with gifts during a Saturday night, but both of you aren’t buying stuff.

“Have you ever been to the Tokyo tower during winter?” Ichigo asks, stuttering. For some reason, he can be a totally different man when it comes to be all alone with you.

“I never been there during the winter season! I am excited to see the lights!” you chime, so happy your heart could jump out of your chest. Spending time alone with him feels like a dream come true.

Ichigo smiles softly, his eyes flutter to the ground in sign of happiness but still total shyness. “I am glad I chose a good spot, then” he murmurs, scratching the back of his head.

You nod, with a lovely beam. You wish to tell him any spot with him would be perfect, but what if it’s too much? What if it’s not proper?

As you wait for the light street to turn to green, he fidgets with his fingers. His eyes are fixed on your hanging hand, the ginger man is dying to hold it.

You notice, and internally giggle. You help him, letting your sleeve slightly go up. There is no point on acting more shy than him.

Soon enough -or at least right when the red light turns to green- Ichigo snatches your hand. It’s not delicate, it is clumsy but definitely dominant, the way he grabs you and pulls you through the crowd.

Your eyes shine brightly with the lights all around, and the wind plays with your hair looking like the typical shoujo scenes.

Your sight wanders and lands on the freckled cheeks of the strawberry boy; a little blush garnishes his skin, but he has that look of fearless man you know too well. He has decided to stop being shy, to finally get what he came to gain.

A few more steps and your eyes get blessed by the imponent look of the Tokyo Tower in front of you. The red metallic pieces now shine lights of different silver shades. And as you look up, a halo of cold mist surrounds its upper levels.

“Beautiful” you murmur, causing in Ichigo to gasp and look right into your eyes.

“You… you are…” he mumbles, immediately looking away with long orange lashes that cast beautiful shadows over his galaxy cheeks.

You bite your lower lip with a smile, how cute…

“Let’s hurry up, or we aren’t gonna be able to get there before it closes” he tells you, pulling you softly towards the entrance where a man kindly scans the Qr codes from different tickets. You nod and follow him, never once letting you go from your hand.

Once inside, while most of the people decide to take the elevator, both of you chose to climb the 600 steps of the outside stairs. It’s a lot more magical to see the lights of the city as you go up, even if the cold air may seem painful to your lungs. But you don’t care, and neither does he.

You follow him, with the sound of your feet hitting the metallic steps and the heart pumping as hard as them. The more you climb, the more beautiful the city looks beneath your feet.

Ichigo turns around to look at you from time to time, and he is smiling preciously. A beam that he rarely has on his face, but that is big enough to make his brown eyes squint.

The first checkpoint gets cleared, 200 steps in. Then the second one, this time with a little more difficulty. 400 steps, laughing and almost running are a lot more than what your body is used to. However, you want to keep going, but you definitely need to catch some air first.  

“Wai-wait Ichigo” you giggle, taking some deep breath of humid cold air through your mouth.

“Oh… sorry, I- I didn’t mean to make you run that much- I…” he excuses himself, watching you with guilty puppy eyes.

You simply laugh. It is more than okay. If you wanna keep up with him, you need to train. He is an amazing substitute Shinigami, and not only that but the stronger ever made; the least you can do is to be able to climb some steps fast enough to catch up with him.

“No worries Kurosaki-kun. I just needed a little bit of air; let’s go” you rush to keep climbing, even if you are clearly not recuperated still. Your head is a little bit dizzy, your legs a little weak.

You try to walk towards him, but you feel like everything around turns dark for some seconds. And Ichigo notices right away.

“(Name)? are you ok?” he urges you for an answer while his arms surround your tired body with his protective embrace.

You would lie if you said you were feeling bad; after all Ichigo is now hugging you. Nothing could go wrong.

“I am fine… I just got a little lightheaded” you whisper, looking up at him. Your nose barely grazing the sharp jaw of the Shinigami. Looking how his Adam’s apple move as he swallows in clear sign of nervousness.

And even if you wanted to move away from his arms, you couldn’t as he kept pulling you closer, tightly against his chest.

The scent of his soft perfume mixed with the one his winter skin has, reminds you how much you desire him. You want him, you want to praise him, and you also want his lips against your lips.

“Please, rest for some minutes more…” he mumbles, this time delicately pushing your head towards his chest. “You need to breathe calmly…” he continues, enjoying perhaps a lot more than he should the closeness of your skin against his.

You don’t dare to argue; you don’t want to. You just want for him to hug you so eternally, and even after too. You nod, nuzzled in the little crook that his prominent collar bones form in the middle of his chest. The little patch of visible skin in between his scarf and white big coat, is all you need to rest assure for the rest of your life.

His hand slowly goes down to the small of your back; his touch is not indecent, it is caring and loving and despite that, the sexual tension in between both of you is undeniable.

You place your ear on his chest, letting yourself go with the song of his beating heart… allowing yours to beat in perfect synchronicity with it. Your eyes open, and they get filled by the view of a city that never seems to sleep, with neon lights flashing all over long, long streets.

Ichigo does the same, both look through the metallic red protective net for some minutes until a little white fluff falling from the sky catches your attention.

“It’s snowing…” you whisper, snaking your arms around his waist. “How beautiful, it is the first one this year”

“Yes…” Ichigo sighs, with trembling voice and reiatsu growing stronger inside the very core of his body. He is gaining strength, or perhaps thinking carefully about his next actions… what he is about to do, might change the destiny of both.

You know it too; when it’s right, you just know…

“Ichigo, I…” you murmur, looking up at him with your eyes plastered on his lips. Giving him the permission to kiss you once, and as many times as he want.

With the same hand he wields his zanpakuto to protect, he now grabs your chin and rather desperately kisses your lips. When your mouths crash against the other, both let some air scape your lungs, living off each other’s souls. More and more, deepening the kiss, melting into one.

The light show of the tower, the last of tonight, begins. Nobody seems to notice you two, neither you notice the lasers blinking through the heavy atmosphere of cold and snowflakes falling.

His hands, this time pooling in the small of your back in concupiscent intention, pulls you closer than ever before. You notice how much of a man he has become; grown up to be stronger and also to be sexier, mature, extremely attractive.

Your belly, feeling the hardness growing in between Ichigo’s winter clothes. Your legs, quivering as his tongue plays with yours in wet, lustful kiss.

The loud songs coming from inside, accompanying the light spectacle, letting your moans to be unheard by the rest as his hands slips so needy in between your tights from under your flannel skirt.

Ichigo’s fingertips get wet, as they rub against your stockings. You shiver and jolt, as he presses right in the spot. The graze of the tights and panties on your clit makes you whine louder into his mouth. A moan he eats so pleased, so hectically.

“I-Ichigo… I….” you stutter, so close to the very first climax of the night… just by the simple touch of his hands with your clothes still on.

“I know… I know… I am sorry, I couldn’t stop myself no more…” he sighs, kissing your forehead but never stopping the circular motions on your core. “I just love you so damn much, (Name)…” he finally confesses, breathing your last moan before you could melt right there, into a mess of sexual desire unleashed and pleased.

“I… I am… Ichigo…” “I know, let’s go back to the hotel… I wouldn’t like you catching a cold, we can come back tomorrow…It was a good idea to come all the way from Karakura town to Tokyo with you 💖~”

[preciouslandmermaid]

| costumes | carmy x reader

Note: All kinktober content is mature/explicit. Fics will be posted on Tumblr first, then transition over to ao3. All fics will be reader/canon-character with no use of Y/N. I will do my best to include additional warnings, but most should be self explanatory in the prompts.

prompt: Masks/Costumed Sex | pairing: Carmy Berzatto/f!reader | warnings: explicit sexual content. (+unstated but reader is on birth control/creampie)

Bonus Note: Took a while for me to figure out what costume’s everyone was gonna wear. Now we are here. This fic is set in the future/post-canon. Established relationship between Reader/Carmy. I’m sorry Carmy couldn’t be more dressed up/wearing an actual mask. He just…he’s not that GUY, you know? Also, yes, this is a NGHYB Universe Fic. 

The Bear signed up to be one of the many businesses that handed out Halloween candy for kids. Your bakery didn’t join simply because you were already swamped with orders of cakes that looked like spiders and ghoulish cupcakes. Now, Carmy didn’t tell his people to dress up, but you can already see from a distance that Richie is in costume. He’s wearing a brown jumpsuit and what appears to be a vacuum strapped onto his back.

You grin, approaching him from across the street, “Ghostbusters, Richie? Really?”

“Uh.” Richie looks at you like you’ve just said the stupidest question in the world, “Yeah, duh.”

The candy table’s cheap and flimsy orange plastic tablecloth flutters in the crisp, autumnal wind. A cursory glance reveals that there’s a QR code to learn about their menu along with a sign-up sheet for emails. Your grin widens. This has to be Syd’s handiwork. The cooler of neon-green liquid, however, is clearly Carmy’s with a hand drawn sign that says ‘Ecto-Cooler’.

“Also, you can’t say shit about my costume.” Richie says, brimming with annoyance, “What are you? A fucking cat?”

“What gave it away?” You ask sarcastically, “The drawn-on whiskers or the ears?” You tug on the hem of your black turtleneck. A little low-effort compared to Richie’s—but you worked with what you had in short notice.

“Neither.” His grin is quick and sardonic, “You’ve got a cat-like attitude about you.”

“Your meaning?” You can already guess where Richie is going with this. He’s either going to call you a pussy, and throw Carmy’s name in there, or call you high maintenance.  

Fak exits the Bear with a fistful of glowsticks, “Don’t listen to him.” He’s wearing a stringy, two-dollar black wig that keeps getting into his eyes, a white t-shirt under a black vest, and a red sweater tied around his waist. Another 80’s movie character. You can’t help but wonder what Carmy’s wearing.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Richie shouts, “You’re just being a little bitch ‘cuz I didn’t wanna dress up as Bill.”

“I am not!” Fak says while cracking glowsticks and taping them to the Bear’s doorframe. “It is a little weird to be dressed as Ted without Bill though, you know.”

Richie laughs, “Oh my God!” He gestures at Fak with a flat hand, “Here we go again! See?!”

You use this opportunity of their bickering to slip around the back and head into the Bear through the backdoor.

You find Carmy in his office, bathed in the warm orange-light, and you stop a little short in your tracks. He’s got…product in his hair…and slicked it back away from his face, shiny and clean. His jeans are cuffed at the bottom and a rumpled, red windbreaker with the collar popped hugs his frame. His head is bent over—what you assume is an invoice—while his outstretch hand scribbles notes onto a large yellow legal-pad of paper.

You search your brain for classic 80’s movies based on Richie and Fak’s costumes. You think your presumption is wrong, but you try for it anyway.

“Hmm.” You clear your throat and Carmy looks up, “Marty McFly?”

His eyebrows leap in surprise, “James Dean.”  At your blank expression, he adds, "In rebel without a cause."

“Carmy!” You laugh, “There’s no way any of the kids are gonna know that.” You drop yourself onto his lap, winding your arms around his neck, and press a quick and affectionate kiss to his temple. You catch the corner of his soft, quiet smile with your mouth.

In the months of dating, Carmy has softened. He’s a little more eager to let you in, to share his troubles, or apologize in the moments when he’s being non-communicative. Now, you’re not exactly Girlfriend-of-the-Year, either. But you’re figuring it out together, navigating the landmines of past trauma and stumbling your way into building something with strong, foundational roots.

His warm palm slides up the slit of your long, black, and flowing skirt and caresses your thigh. You realize offhandedly that you had instinctively shut the door when you came in. Your lips meet his and gladly open for the stroke and playful tease of his tongue. You resist the urge to run your fingers through his hair—not wanting to ruin the obvious effort he put in—and you settle for clutching the stiff, red collar of his windbreaker.

His office chair squeaks beneath your combined weight, Carmy leans back, nudging your legs apart so you’re sitting with his thigh wedged between them, and your toes touching the floor. His lips move to your jaw, suckling sweetly, and your spine arches with a familiar, heady sensation traveling to your core.

“Carmy, we’re gonna have kids outside in like thirty minutes.” You remind him.

Your hand comes to his throat, just under his jaw, and feels his strong pulse beneath the pads of your fingers.

He huffs, chuckling against your wet skin, “Don’t be too loud then.” He teases.

His hands come to settle on your ass. He pulls you closer, then pushes back, wordlessly guiding you to grind on his leg. You sigh happily and let your eyes roll back. Carmy’s lips on your neck, hands on your waist, and your cunt rubbing against the rough fabric of his jeans—separated only by the thin fabric of your underwear and the even-thinner fabric of your skirt. Once your grinding against him, he shoves both his hands up your shirt, and bunches the fabric above your breasts. A trail of goosebumps rise in the wake of his palms, touching the cool air of his office, and contrasted warmth of his hands.

He tugs the cup of your bra down and laves his tongue across your nipple. You catch a whine in your throat. You might’ve closed the door, but you don’t think it’s locked.

He breathes against you, “Yeah?” His tongue flicks over your erect, pebbled nipple and gently tugs it between his teeth. The action sends a firework of sparks along your skin and your knuckles flare in the tense grip around his shoulders.

“Mhm.” With your verbal encouragement, he repeats the ministration on your other nipple, leaving the other to prickle with the cool air mixed with Carmy’s saliva. You push your hand between your bodies, sliding down Carmy’s pristine white shirt, and palm the front of his jeans. His hard, straining cock twitches against your hand. He makes a desperate, filthy noise in the back of his throat.

You love him so goddamn much it makes your entire body shudder. You capture his mouth, panting against his tongue and teeth, close to coming just through grinding like a teenager at a drive-in movie. You continue to cup and caress his cock through the tight, rough fabric of his jeans, and Carmy willingly spreads his legs wider—even though space is limited on his squeaky, metal office chair. It’s enough to make you dizzy.

“Carmy,” You gasp with pure want. “I need you inside me right fucking now.”

He doesn’t even balk at your demanding, needy tone. Secretly, you think he might like it with how he’s able to unravel your control and composure. You disentangle from the seat and collect the long skirt, bunching the flowing fabric around your hips, and Carmy’s makes a short, strangled noise as you bend over his desk.

You glance over your shoulder and see that he’s removing the red windbreaker. He notices your raised eyebrow.

“It’s vintage.” He explains quickly while hanging it on the door.

You snort and roll your eyes, “Of course it is.”

Carmy’s hands rest on your waist and he squeezes your ass tenderly, “Ready for me?”

“God, yes, please.” You rasp, “Hurry.”

There’s a rustle of fabric, your underwear is pushed to the side, and Carmy’s breath hitches—somewhere between a gasp and a groan—his finger grazes across your slick folds. You nearly snap at him again, beg him to hurry up, to fill you but then the tip of Carmy’s cock is right where you need him. He pushes into you slowly. You choke on your moan. Your hands clutching nothing but boring paperwork on his desk. The papers crumple beneath your palms when Carmy draws out, the ridges of the head of his cock rubbing deliciously along your walls, before he slams back into your cunt.

“Fuck!” You suddenly shout.

Carmy laughs, “Shh!”

He fucks you with singular, focused purpose. His hands hold your hips, your legs spread wide, as his cock pounds into you. You can feel the soft, faint touch of his balls when he buries himself deep and then pulls out. His breathing is hoarse and erratic. Each stroke is driving you close to madness and provoking hushed, pleased mewls from your bitten lips. You rock and thrust against him, your ass hitting his pelvis, making his cock hit something deep and primal inside your cunt. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the tiny, quiet office combined with his restrained, depraved grunts.

His hand slides between your legs and finds your slick and swollen clit, “Mm- fuck.” He says lowly. He plays with you, his index and middle fingers moving in a rapid concentric motion, sending your heartrate into overdrive. You collapse, unable to hold yourself upright, and pillow your head onto your arms.

For a lucid moment—you consider how you look and how someone would see you if they happened to walk in. Your shirt is still bunched up over your collarbones, your tits spilled out from your bra and rubbing against the bills and invoices, your skirt rucked up around your waist while your boyfriend ploughs into you over his desk. It’s like a scene from a porn flick.

You glance over your shoulder and discover Carmy lost in the throes of passion. His face cherry-red and sweaty, the lower muscles of his abdomen flexing (when did he toss his shirt? Is it vintage too?), his lower lip trapped beneath his teeth as he holds back his moans. That’s what sends you over the edge. Carmy, all hot and bothered, burying himself into you as if he’ll die if he doesn’t.

Your entire face scrunches as your orgasm hits and tears spring to your eyes. Your legs tremble and you’re grateful for the stability of the desk under you. Your walls clench around Carmy’s cock, tight and pulsing, and his thrusts stutter. He sheathes himself deep into you and comes with one of his hands clamped over his mouth. You press your lips together, swallowing your own cry of release and pleasure, especially after feeling him come inside you and feeling how his cock swells and twitches inside you.

“Fuck.” Carmy sighs languidly.

You fix your top with a smile, “Yeah, you said it.” You shove a few tissues in your underwear to stop his cum from leaking out before you can reach the bathroom and adjust your skirt. “Meet you outside in a few?”

Carmy blinks, as if in a daze, and your heart flips at his Just-Fucked expression. You lean over, kissing his cheek, because you can’t resist not showering him in physical affection. That helps him snap out of it and his smile is brighter than Rockefeller Center at Christmas.

“Y-y-eah,” He swallows, “Take your time.”

Before you can leave, however, he grabs your elbow and kisses you. It’s a slow and gentle kiss—sweet as rain during a drought—and he mutters a quiet, “Love you, “ on your lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Richie looks at you and his grin widens dangerously. “You’re missing a few whiskers, kitten.”

You check your reflection the Bear’s window and grimace at the smudged whiskers and your clumped mascara. “Shut the fuck up, Richie.”

For good measure, you throw a Snickers at him, and it hits him square in the chest.

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

TAG LIST: I’m sorry, I forgot to tag people LMAO - 10/20/22

@wittyno  // @comfortwaterbottle // @guyfieriii // @thebearinmind

@lafantasiaworld  // @imreadingrespectfully // @jotarosasscheek // @buzzfrill // @man-johnnie // @reesespieces10123 // @a-wake-and-unafraid //  ))  

[bettermiya]

THE DEVIL DOLL.

Pairing: Hinata Shoyou & Reader

WC: 1.7k Triggers: Lobotomy / Platonic Yandere (?) Summary: You find a doll in the trash that you plan to sell. Horror!AU.

He was meant to be a life-sized doll, but he seems small to you. His hair is a messy red, almost orange, standing up in all directions. As you remove him from the dumpster where you found him, you run your fingers through it. It’s a fine material, almost like real hair. He has a layer of some kind of artificial skin over what feels to be a more solid, heavy plastic frame. You wonder briefly why such an expensive looking doll- you’ve seen them in the stores, they’re the next big thing for people with enough money to use dollar bills as kindling for their fireplaces- why is such a thing in the garbage?

You give him a cursory check. He seems to be all in one piece, just dirty and scuffed from his time in the dumpster. There are a few cosmetic damages where smooth skin-you can’t think of anything else to call the material- has been torn or nibbled by pests and the sharp edges of other trash, but you have done repairs like this before. If you heat up the material, you’re fairly sure you can melt the edges together. There may be little ‘scars,’ but if you can get the guy up and running again, you’ll be able to sell him for enough money to get yourself back on track.

You get him home. To clean him off, you end up having to give him a strange sort of sponge bath in the tub. It’s the only place he’ll fit. You’re afraid to get him too wet, though. The dolls are supposed to have a sort of rudimentary AI system, and you doubt throwing him into a vat of rice will save him if he ends up getting water-logged.

Once he’s been cleaned, you place him on the floor in your room and gather your tools. For a lot of fashion type dolls, you can use a hair dryer to heat up the glue enough to remove the doll’s head. This one seems to not have a detachable head in the traditional sense; the neck and head connect together almost seamlessly. From the owner’s manual you downloaded by scanning the QR code on the heel of his foot, you are able to find the power switch, which is an almost imperceptible raised button just behind his left ear.

You press the button and hold it down until you hear the slightly rattling hum, like that of an old computer toward. Sitting back on your heels in front of him, you watch as his head lifts and his eyes slowly open, glowing a faint amber. He cocks his head to one side, regarding you curiously, and offers a smile. When he opens his mouth, a little air brushes your face, and you realize this must be where one of his venting systems is located. The manufacturers really thought of everything to make these dolls seem lifelike.

“Hello, my name is Hinata Shoyo.” He says, a little stutter and warble to his flat voice. It reminds you a little of the voice of one of those text readers people use to make videos on apps like TikTok. You are a little confused by the doll already having a name; the manual made it sound as if the first thing you would do when the doll was booted up for the first time was to give it a name. You suppose this doll already has a name because someone tried it out. Maybe it was a display model. Certainly someone hadn’t spent all that money just to throw it away after naming it.

You briefly scan the manual again and find a page concerning how to reset the doll. The doll’s wide, golden eyes follow your hand as you lift it toward his right ear, searching for the small button just inside the soft whorl. You find it, press it, and hold it down. The doll watches you closely, blinks, and repeats.

“Hello, my name is Hinata Shoyo.”

Strange, but you’ll worry about that later. Besides, even if he has already been programmed with a name, you still believe you can sell him for enough money to change your current circumstances. You smile at him and tell him your name. A thin band of light glows around the edge of his amber iris as he takes in your name and repeats it in that same, flat voice as before. You have a brief moment of panic, before reading in the manual that there can be multiple users with various profiles and preferences. You’ll just delete your profile once you do the necessary repairs and get him in working order again.

As you move about your room, gathering your tools, the doll Hinata watches you. It sits with its legs crossed and its hands resting in its lap. You’ll need to buy the doll new clothes-. The ones that it is wearing now, while freshly cleaned courtesy of your washer and dryer, are falling apart from being exposed to the trash and elements. You aren’t sure what base personality this model of the doll is supposed to have, that would have been something included with the specific box and literature of this particular doll, but you suppose you can ask it. If the doll’s AI is not sophisticated enough to answer basic questions about itself, you can look it up online and shake your head about the price of the doll compared with its actual capabilities. “What model are you?” Hinata straightens as if called to attention and rattles off a long string of letters and numbers. You shake your head quickly, there’s no way you’ll remember all of that. “No, I mean… what is your interest? Or hobby?” You’re scrolling madly through the owner’s manual, trying to find the right verbiage to get your desired response. “I like volleyball.” Hinata says with a bright smile. The expression on its face is almost human in its excitement- almost.

A sports model. You can hardly contain your own excitement. The ones that help with learning and practicing sports are the more expensive models, since they include sensors for heart rate levels, step counting, and other health and wellness based applications. Why was Hinata in the dumpster? The question keeps nagging at the back of your mind like an itch you can’t quite scratch, but you’re too excited and too deep in mentally creating the list of the bills you’ll pay and things you’ll treat yourself with when you sell the doll. “Hinata, can you run a vitals scan for me, please?” You ask, just as a test. The doll stands and moves to you. It reaches out its hands; one circles the bicep of your left arm and the other your right wrist. The hand clutching your left arm begins to tighten its grip, the tips of the doll’s fingers applying enough pressure to be uncomfortable, almost painful. You gasp and try to pull away, but Hinata holds firm. It’s only a few moments, but they are frightening ones. He releases you, and you stagger back. “Your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but vitals seem to be strong.” Hinata says matter-of-factly. He tilts his head and smiles. “Do you want to go for a run? Do some drills?” Of course. That’s why his grip was so tight; he was checking blood pressure. You take a moment to calm your breathing. Shaking your head, you offer him a small, nervous smile. “That’s okay. Tell me all about yourself while I start working on your repairs.” Hinata’s expression changes into something that looks very intense. Were his pupils always slitted like a cat? “I’m not broken.” His voice sounds strange. It's stuttering again, glitching.

“No, of course not! You just have a few cuts and you need new clothes.” You say quickly, gesturing to the tears in his skin and his obviously ruined clothes. Hinata looks down at himself and seems to notice his clothes for the first time. His eyes go back to normal, and you’re not sure if they had even changed before or if that was just a trick of the light. He sits down on the edge of your bed and the smile is back. The repairs don’t take long. Once you gather the necessary tools and materials and lots of coffee and energy drinks, you are able to finish over the course of a weekend. You managed to order a volleyball jersey off the internet and get it rush delivered. It fits him a little loosely, but it’ll be good enough. Whoever buys him can get him better clothes. The uniform is a black and orange polo sort of shirt and shorts. (Orange to match the bright color of his hair.) You take photos of him, making sure to take photos of the small areas where you repaired him, and upload them along with his description. You start the price on the lower end for his model, hoping that the bidding will get higher as the time passes. When you’re finished, you take a moment to let yourself feel excited and hopeful. You go to sleep with a smile on your face. There is still that nagging voice in the back of your mind. Why was he thrown away? You don’t notice his eyes glowing from the corner of your room. You wake up to a loud sound and find Hinata standing over your destroyed computer. Your eyes widen, but before you can draw the breath needed to scream, he is on top of you. He’s so fast, a blur of motion. He sits heavily on your stomach, and you can see a jagged piece of glass in his hand, most likely from the screen of your computer. He is staring at you with those wide, golden eyes and those slitted pupils you thought were just your imagination.

“You were going to sell me…” Somehow, his modulated voice sounds sad. You try to speak, but his free hand lashes out and catches your throat. His hand begins to squeeze, and suddenly you can’t breathe. “I thought we were friends.” You thrash beneath him, clawing at his hand, but he doesn’t budge. Darkness is starting to crowd your vision; your head is beginning to swim. He lowers the tip of the glass toward your eye. “I think we can still be friends, don’t you? I’ll make sure you’re unconscious while I make your repairs.” He’s smiling broadly, his eyes are so wide they look like twin, glowing suns. As you black out, you feel the tip of the glass shard pressing between your eye and its socket, digging deeper and deeper. “Friends forever.”

[furiousstarfishphilosopher]

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[calamitykaty]

A Twist of Fate

Charlie x Fem! Reader

Word count:7670

Warnings: Slight Swearing, I think that’s it?

Requested: Sorta? It’s a multi writer topic by @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ revolving around the idea of y/n finding an ad to rent a date for Thanksgiving. *You can find the first writers fic HERE

A/N: HUGE thank you to @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ for reading every rough draft of this that I sent her, along with bouncing ideas with me! Also a huge thank you to @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ for supporting me when I got stuck and reading my super rough draft! 

I wasn’t gonna post this until tomorrow but now I have a Christmas Reggie fic that I want to post tomorrow so...Happy Reading.

 Y/N wrapped the buffalo plaid scarf around her neck and pulled her favorite slouchy red beanie over her thick mop of curls. Her cellphone was pressed between her right shoulder and ear as she buttoned up her navy peacoat and half-listened to her mom rattle off the preparations she needed to make for Thanksgiving.

“Mom, I really need to…” Y/N attempted to interject only to be cut off by her mother. She placed the phone on speaker and set it down on the counter while she slipped her feet into a pair of black boots. She had stopped listening to her mother’s droning voice nearly a half-hour beforehand, but her ears perked up when her mother asked the dreaded question.

“Are you bringing Noah this year honey? I know you guys like to alternate holidays with his family, but your Aunt Martha is going to make it this year and she is just tickled to finally get to meet him.”

Y/N pursed her lips and ran a hand over her face, she hadn’t told anyone that Noah broke things off with her two months prior. She hadn’t meant to keep it a secret for so long, but her mom loved Noah and she just knew she would blame her for ruining a good thing. She had been dating Noah for three years and it was perfect until Noah started talking about marriage and Y/N began to realize that she couldn’t picture her entire life with him. Noah felt like a moment in time to her, not an eternity. 

“I’ll have to check, Mom, I don’t know what Noah is doing yet.” Y/N settled on a half-truth to buy herself some time. She placed her elbows on the edge of the counter and rested her head in her hands.

“Honey, I need to know by the end of the week, okay?”

She could hear the irritation in her mother's voice at the non-answer that Y/N had given to her. Her mother was a meticulous planner and she could not stand curve balls making a mess of her perfect holiday plans. Her mother treated every holiday as if the editors of Better Homes & Gardens were going to drop in at any moment and do a two-page spread on her decor and perfect meal. 

“Got it, mom! I have to go!” Y/N quickly ended the phone call and shoved her phone into her pocket. She huffed out a heavy sigh and made her way to her front door, grabbing her keys from the catch-all bowl on the table next to the door. She quickly locked up her apartment and rushed down the two flights of stairs to the small community lobby. She adjusted the scarf around her neck and reached for the door but stopped as a new flyer on the community board caught her eye. She took a step back and ripped the paper from the thumbtack that held it to the cork board and shoved it into her coat pocket before pulling the door open. 

Her hair whipped around her face as she stepped outside and was met with the cool autumn breeze that had settled in over the last month. Y/N looked both ways before stepping off of the sidewalk and hurrying across the street where her best friend, Leigha, was already waiting for her inside the small corner cafe. 

“How is it that I have to drive from the other side of town and can make it on time but you literally live across the street and can’t?” Leigha teased as Y/N unraveled her scarf and took her coat off, draping both over the back of her chair before sitting down. 

“Sorry! Sorry! My mother…” Y/N rolled her eyes as she recalled the phone call.

“Enough said!” Leigha laughed, she had one of those laughs that turned heads. Her laugh was always a little too loud and sometimes she would snort, it always caused Y/N to break into a fit of giggles. Leigha had been Y/N’s roommate all the way through college and they had been inseparable since the very first day they had met. 

“So,” Leigha crossed her arms on top of the table,” did you work up the courage to tell her about Noah?”

Y/N shifted her gaze across the cafe and bit her lip “not exactly…” 

“You are unbelievable, y/n ” Leigha sighed, exasperated.  

Y/N snapped her eyes back to Leigha and held her hands up in defense “I tried! Well...I mean…I tried to try…” 

“You know if you show up stag and your mother already has a place setting for a plus one, you might as well just go ahead and bury yourself, honestly” Leigha tutted. 

“That’s why I have a plan!”  Y/N turned around and rustled through the pockets of her peacoat before placing the crumpled flyer on the table. She smoothed her hands over the paper and pushed it towards the middle of the table. 

Leigha snatched the paper up as the waitress came over and took their orders, Leigha ordered a blueberry scone with a chai tea while Y/N ordered a croissant with a side of strawberry preserves and a coffee.

“I mean…” Leigha read over the paper before sliding it back over to Y/N, “you’ve got nothing to lose.”

Y/N bit her lip and stared down at the flyer, re-reading it for the fourth time before she pulled out her phone and scanned the QR code to bring up the app. 

“I can’t believe I am actually this desperate to try to literally purchase a date a week before Thanksgiving.” She muttered as she began to fill out her profile. 

“Wait! Thanksgiving is next week? As in a week from today? I haven’t even made my Thanksgiving Pinterest board yet!” Leigha panicked and grabbed her face.

Y/N looked up from her phone and shook her head at Leigha’s antics “why do you need a Pinterest board? You literally do the same thing every single year.” 

“Yeah…” Leigha jutted her bottom lip out in a pout, “but I want people to think that I am making all of these intricate and super cute appetizers and stuff. It’s the illusion that I care about!” 

Y/N looked up and thanked the waitress as she set the food and coffee down in front of her before turning her attention back to Leigha who was eagerly biting into her scone. 

“Help me answer these?” She passed her phone over to the girl and picked up the knife, spreading the strawberry preserves onto her croissant. 

“Beach or Mountains?” Leigha readout with her mouth half full. 

“Mountains!” Both girls yelled out at the same time and burst into giggles. They continued down the row of questions, passing the phone back and forth until Y/N finally hit the submit button. Leigha practically yanked the phone from Y/N’s hand as the algorithm began to shoot out potential matches. Her thumb scrolled through the pictures at lighting speed before she stopped and slowly scrolled back up before thrusting the phone in Y/N’s face. 

“This one! Oh my god, this one! And if you don’t select the platinum package so that boy can say he loves you then I will literally never speak to you again!” 

Y/N wiped the jam from her chin and grabbed the phone from Leigha. He was cute, there was no doubt about that but unlike Leigha, she cared about what his profile said about him. She scrolled through his pictures, one of him playing guitar, one hiking, one surrounded by friends around a campfire. Lover of nature, endless adventure, campfire songs, and sharing the love with my friends. I’ll jump if you jump, let’s take this plunge together? 

She felt her lips curl up into a soft smile as she whispered his name to herself, liking the way that it rolled so easily off of her tongue. 

“I told yooouuuu!” Leigha sang out and crossed her arms over her chest, a smug look on her face. 

Y/N placed the phone on the table and tried to control the blush that she could fill rising to her cheeks, “calm down,” she rolled her eyes, “I’m paying for a Thanksgiving date, not falling in love.” She selected the platinum option and typed in her credit card number before clicking the purchase open without a second hesitation. 

“I better be your maid of honor!” Leigha teased as the two girls dropped the appropriate amount of money onto the table and began to layer their coats and scarves back on. Y/N pulled the girl into a hug and placed a kiss on her cheek before heading back across the street towards her apartment.

 She had just placed the keys back into her catch-all bowl by the door when her phone began to ding. She felt her heart begin to race as she saw the approval message on her screen that Charlie had accepted her request to rent him as her Thanksgiving date.

“Oh my god...okay...okay, this is fine...everything is fine.” She muttered to herself as she received another notification that Charlie had messaged her. She set her phone down on the counter and peeled her coat and scarf off before slipping her feet out of her boots. She wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans and grabbed her phone, refusing to look at it until she had settled in on her couch. She crossed her feet under her and pulled a throw pillow to her chest before finally sliding up on the notification and reading the message that he sent. 

Let's get to know each other? Lunch tomorrow?

Y/N hesitated for a moment before her fingertips began to slide across the keyboard on her screen.

Sounds good! How do you feel about chicken & waffles? I know a place!

She read over what she had sent several times, worried that she sounded too eager. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she waited for his response, watching as several dots appeared and disappeared several times on her screen before he finally sent his response. 

A girl after my own heart! How is 12:30? Send me the address? 

She felt her cheeks grow warm at his response and mentally reminded herself that he was just being kind and that she was quite literally paying for him. 

500 Rue Kennedy Dieppe, NB. and 12:30 is perfect! I’ll see you then! 

Y/N took a deep breath and closed the app before her thumb hovered over her mother’s contact. She quickly clicked on her number and quietly whispered to herself “please don’t answer, please don’t answer, please don’t answer.” 

“Thank god!” she exclaimed as the phone sent her to voicemail. She rolled her eyes at her mother’s elaborate message before finally being told to leave her message at the sound of the beep. 

“Hi, mom...it’s me...I just wanted to let you know that you will need to make sure to set an extra place setting for thanksgiving. Love you.” She rattled off, keeping the message vague but to the point. 

The following day Y/N stood inside of her closet staring at her assortment of clothes trying to decide what said “I'm cool and  definitely not desperate even though I paid for a date for Thanksgiving because my family is insane.” 

She pulled a mustard yellow cable knit sweater from a hanger and laid it out on her bed before heading back to her closet. Her fingers sorted through the variety of skirts before settling on a silky, pleated navy skirt that was cinched at the waist. She laid the skirt out next to the sweater before moving over to her vanity. 

She sat on the poof chair and stared at her reflection for a brief moment before pulling the small drawer to the left open and lining up her primers, eye palette, eyeliner, mascara, and her signature red lipstick. She grabbed the mason jar that sat on the right tableside of the vanity and grabbed the appropriate brushes, lining those up as well. 

She used her middle finger of her right hand to gently swipe the eyeshadow primer onto her eyelids before dusting the brush across a shimmery gold eyeshadow. She used a maroon eyeshadow on her crease and slowly blended the colors until she achieved a golden and subtle smokey eye.Y/N shook her hands out to steady her nerves before slowly pulling the liquid eyeliner across her eyelids and flicking it softly at the end for a subtle cat-eye before she carefully built volume on her eyelashes with the mascara. Finally, she grabbed the matte red lipstick and carefully swiped it across her lips before blotting them with a tissue. 

Y/N jumped at the sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand. She moved across the room and grabbed the phone from the charger. 

See you soon! 

She felt the nerves settle back into her stomach and wiped her clammy hands on her pajama pants before quickly undressing. She pulled the yellow cable knit sweater over her head, careful not to let it touch her face. She followed that by pulling on the pleated navy skirt,  the fabric falling just above her knee. She pulled on the fabric of the sweater at her waist so that it slightly hung over the waistband of the skirt before she slipped her feet into a pair of black pointed flats. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and pulled her curls over her shoulders before grabbing her purse and slinging it across her body. 

Y/N entered the bustling restaurant and let her eyes wander across the tables trying to find Charlie. She wrung her hands together and pulled her lips into a thin line when she didn’t see him, her heart dropping at the thought that she had been stood up or even worse, that she had really fallen for a scam. She turned on her left foot and reached for the door, barely pulling it open before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She let go of the door, resulting in a soft thud as it closed. 

“Y/N? You weren’t about to bail on me were you?” The soft voice teased as she turned around. 

 “I thought you had stood me up, actually.” She could feel the blush that dusted across her cheeks at the accusation. Her left hand fell to her right wrist, her fingers loosely wrapping around it as she looked up at Charlie through her eyelashes and offered an apologetic smile. 

Charlie’s green eyes crinkled at the edges and his nose scrunched up as he laughed “take the money and run, I wish I would have thought of that!” 

“Oh..” Y/N looked back at the door and then back towards Charlie, “if you don’t want to do this, it’s fi--” 

Charlie smiled softly at her “I was just teasing, I didn’t want to sit at the table by myself in case you didn’t show and have to do the walk of shame, so I was at the bar.” 

Charlie placed his right hand on the small of her back and guided her to a table in the middle of the bustling restaurant. He pulled her chair out for her before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. Y/N tucked her hair behind her ears and glanced at the menu, though she already knew what she was going to order. The waiter, a young kid, probably seventeen stopped by their table and quickly took their order. 

Y/N  finally looked up to find Charlie staring at her, his face cradled in his hands with his elbows propped up on the table. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“I’m just trying to figure out why a very beautiful girl would need to rent a date for a Holiday.” 

Y/N felt herself blush at his compliment and shrugged her left shoulder “I got dumped.” 

“Oh, I’m so sorry” 

She smiled and waved him off “It’s no big deal, we wanted different things out of life. He wanted marriage and I,” she hesitated, she hadn’t talked about this with anyone other than Leigha.

“You what?” 

 “I want adventure and I know that sounds silly. Like, of course, you can have adventure and marriage but Noah,” she paused, “that’s my ex.” 

Charlie nodded and gestured for her to continue, “Noah works in the financial district and he wanted marriage and kids and stability….and I barely know what I want to eat for breakfast let alone what I want for eternity.” 

“You’re a free spirit, nothing wrong with that!” Charlie interjected and Y/N felt her first genuine smile of the night spread across her face. 

“You get it.” 

“I do get it.” 

Y/N thanked the waiter as he sat down two beers along with their orders of chicken and waffles, before turning back to Charlie. 

“So, tell me about your family. What should I prepare myself for?” Charlie lifted the pint glass to his lips and took a sip of the amber-colored beer.

‘Well,” Y/N blew air into her cheeks and sighed, “my mother thinks she’s Martha Stewart. So be sure to compliment the decor as soon as you see her. You’ll win her over for sure...and maybe don’t mention the whole free spirit thing or you will definitely end up on her list of terrible suitors that I have brought home.” 

“Noted.” Charlie nodded before adding, “and your dad?” 

“My dad is easy going, just talk about beer and hockey and you'll be fine.” 

Charlie threw his head back in laughter and Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the way his whole face lit up when he laughed. She felt a flutter in her stomach as Charlie leaned forward so that his forearms rested on the table and his fingers lightly brushed across hers before he pulled back. Y/n pulled her hands off of the table and dropped them into her lap, her fingers lightly traced over the silky fabric of her skirt.

“Is everything okay?” 

Y/N inhaled a sharp breath and rolled her bottom lip into her mouth before exhaling, “yeah, but I should probably tell you something,” she looked up at Charlie through her eyelashes. 

“Well, c’mon then..” Charlie teased after several seconds of silence. 

“My folks don’t exactly know that Noah and I are….done...and I know there’s going to be a big event made of it when they find out.”

“Oof…” Charlie sighed and took a swig from his beer and a bite of his food. 

Y/N felt her heart beating in her ears, “I understand if you, I mean if this is too much and you want to back out.” 

Charlie looked at her with a playful smirk, “are you actually going to eat that or?” He pointed at her untouched plate of food with his fork. 

“W-what?” Y/N looked down at her food and back up at Charlie before letting a smile slip onto her face. She didn’t understand how someone she had just met could put her nerves at ease without even trying. 

Charlie let his fork clatter on his plate before leaning forward on his elbows. Y/N watched with furrowed brows as he grabbed the maple syrup and poured it in a circle over her chicken before he leaned back into his seat and met her eyes with a soft smile on his face. 

Y/N picked up her fork and knife and cut into her maple drenched chicken before popping a small bite into her mouth, “are you happy now?” she teased Charlie before putting her fork back down. 

Charlie tried to hold back the smile that threatened to take over his face as he nodded his head. 

“So, what’s our story going to be? It’s gonna have to be a good one if I have to upstage Noah to win over your folks.”

The two spent the next hour concocting a believable, but very romantic story of how they met. They talked about their likes and dislikes, their quirks and habits, and all of the little things that couples are supposed to know about each other, 

Y/N felt butterflies erupt in her stomach as Charlie walked her to her car, his left hand just barely brushing against hers. She mentally scolded herself for feeling jittery over a guy that was simply fulfilling his job, but she also couldn’t help but hope that maybe he was feeling their connection too.

“I’ll pick you up next Wednesday at 4 pm, yeah?” Charlie asked as they arrived at her car. Y/n tucked her hair behind her right ear and nodded. 

She felt her breath hitch as Charlie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking backward and sending her a wave. 

A week later and Y/N found herself pulling on a green sequined, long sleeve dress, the hem set just above her knees. It was her go-to holiday dress, classic but not too formal. She painted her face with gold eyeshadow, a sharp winged eyeliner, and her classic red lips. Her hair hung over her shoulders in cascading curls. She sat on her bed, fastening a pair of strappy black heels when her phone dinged. She fastened the buckles of her heels and grabbed her phone, a smile instantly sliding onto her face at Charlie letting her know he’d be at her place in five minutes. 

She stood up and checked her appearance one final time before grabbing her gold clutch handbag and shoving her phone into it, just as Charlie knocked on her door. She quickly made her way to the front door and turned the lock before pulling the door open. 

“Wow…” Charlie breathed out as she came into full view. 

Y/N shyly smiled back at the boy, thankful that the blush she had on her cheeks already would mask the red glow that she could feel heating up her face.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she teased, her eyes trailing from his brown wing toed shoes up to his pristine white button-up and finally to his slightly coiffed hair.

“Shall we?” Charlie extended his arm out to Y/N after she locked her door. She looped her right arm through his left, her hand resting lightly on his forearm as they made their way through the corridor and outside to Charlie’s car. 

He opened the passenger side door for her and waited for her to get situated before closing the door and running around to the other side of the car. Their forty-minute drive was mostly silent as Y/N worked to calm her nerves down. She knew that she was going to have a lot of explaining to do when she showed up with Charlie in place of Noah and she was trying to memorize all of the details that they had agreed on a week prior. 

“Are you okay?” Charlie glanced over at her for a brief moment before returning his eyes to the road, his left hand took hold of the steering wheel as his right hand settled on her bare knee. 

His hand was warm against her cold skin and Y/N wasn’t sure why but she found her left hand moving to settle on top of his hand. Without hesitation, Charlie flipped his hand over and let her palm fall into his before his fingers slid between hers and gently curled. 

“Just nervous…”

Charlie lightly squeezed her hand before letting out a small chuckle “if I didn’t know any better, I would think that you’re the one about to meet my family.”

“Oh, I’m not nervous about them meeting you, they’ll love you,” Y/N clarified,” I’m nervous about the terrible things that I know my mother is going to say to me about ending things with Noah.”

Charlie licked his lips as he pulled into her parents’ driveway. He pulled his right hand free from hers and put the car in park before turning slightly in his seat to face her. 

“You know that nothing she says is going to be true, right? You don’t have to live by someone else's timeline for your life.”

Y/N pushed down the warming feeling in her heart and nodded her head at his words. 

“Yeah, I know...are you ready?” 

Charlie smiled brightly at her and pulled the keys from the ignition before getting out of the car. He double-stepped around the car to the passenger door and pulled it open for her, waiting for her to get out before closing the door. 

He slid his left palm into her right hand and tangled their fingers together before placing a soft kiss on her hairline and whispered “let’s put on a show.” 

Y/N could feel the nervous energy erupting in her stomach as they stood outside of her childhood home. She took a deep breath before twisting the doorknob and pushing the red front door open. They were met with the warm heat of the home and the smell of cinnamon as soon as they stepped inside. Charlie let his eyes wander across the walls of the entryway, scanning the line of pictures before tugging Y/N over to one. 

“This is you, yeah?” The question was rhetorical as it had been obvious that it was her in the picture. She stood on a cliffside, at the top of a mountain with a bright smile on her face, her childhood dog, Rex, beside her and the ocean behind her. 

“Yeah, I was seventeen and went backpacking by myself for the first time. My mom was so mad. This family that was passing by was kind enough to capture the moment for me and my dad insisted that it be hung on the wall of accomplishments…” Y/N rambled off the story before letting her eyes move from the picture and up to Charlie. 

Charlie smiled down at her and laughed, “this is gonna sound insane, but I think that was my family that stopped and took the picture.”

Y/N pulled her brows forward so that her forehead was pinched in the middle “shut up! No it wasn’t!” she finally exclaimed. 

“Rex….the dog’s name was Rex. I remember because I thought you were pretty and I got flustered and I said something dumb about Rex from Toy Story.”

Y/N’s eyes grew wide as Charlie recounted the story and she felt her cheeks growing red at the revelation “well, this is a weird twist in fate--” 

She was cut off by the sound of her dad’s deep voice bellowing her name as he turned the corner. Charlie pulled her into his side and let his right-hand rest on her hip, while her right hand rested on his chest. 

“Well, this certainly isn’t Noah!” Her father exclaimed a large smile on his face and his eyes soft. He had never been the biggest fan of Noah’s to begin with. 

Charlie dropped his hand from her waist and stepped forward with it stretched out towards her dad, “Charlie Gillespie, sir.” He was taken aback when her dad threw his head back in laughter and pulled him in for a full bear hug. 

“Nice to meet you, son” 

Y/N giggled at her dad’s antics, he had always been the type to do things like that. He was a stout man with laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. He had graying hair and a well-kept beard and he radiated kindness. 

“And you, little missy, are going to have a lot of explaining to do to your mother.” Y/N pulled back from her dad's embrace and blew the air out of her cheeks. 

“Yeah, I know…” 

Her dad gently squeezed her arm and gave her a reassuring smile before leaving the two to grab a beer from the kitchen. 

“Why do I have the overwhelming feeling to call your dad pops and ask him over to mine to watch hockey?” Charlie joked. 

Y/N shrugged and tangled her fingers with his, “I told you he was the easy one. Are you ready for the rest?” 

“Lead the way, beautiful.” 

Y/N tugged on Charlie’s hand and he followed behind her as they made their way to the den where her brothers were corralled around and a card table, intense looks on each of their faces as they held their cards close to their bodies. Their wives were set on the opposite side of the room. Y/N could feel the three women’s eyes on her as she entered the room with Charlie and she knew their hushed whispers were aimed at her and the fact that Charlie was very much not Noah. 

Her youngest brother, Josh, was the first of the three boys to look up and notice her. He dropped his cards on the table, face down, and scooted his chair back against the hardwood floors. 

“Junebug!” He yelled as he practically launched himself towards her. Y/N exploded into a fit of giggles as her feet left the floor and he twirled her around in circles. Josh was three years younger than her, sitting at nineteen but she had always been the closest with him. Her giggles quieted down as he sat her back down and turned to Charlie. 

“Well, you’re not Noah.” Josh quipped with a playful smirk on his face. 

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck and laughed “I have a feeling I am going to be getting that a lot today.” 

“You play poker?” Josh eyeballed him. 

“I know my way around a deck of cards, yeah.” Charlie shrugged. 

Josh turned to Y/N and lightly punched her shoulder, “looks like you got yourself an upgrade, Junebug!” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at her brother and wished Charlie luck as he was pulled over to the table and introduced to her two older brothers, Samuel and Michael. She felt her shoulders relax for a moment as the table erupted with laughter from something Charlie had said. He looked up from his cards and shot her a wink before turning his attention back to the game at hand. 

Y/N glanced back at Charlie one last time before making her way over to the prying eyes of Amy and Melissa, the wives of Samuel and Michael. The two women each held a mug of her mother’s homemade cider in their manicured hands. 

“Who’s the cutie?” Amy was the first to speak, her left eyebrow raised as she asked the question. 

Y/N looked over her shoulder for a moment with a smile before turning back around “Charlie…” 

“Oh! Well, you’ve certainly never said Noah’s name like that before!” Melissa looked at Y/N with wide eyes. 

Y/N shook her head at the two gossipy women “like what?’

Amy and Melissa both shot knowing looks to each other before Amy quipped, “sweetie, that boy’s name left your lips like honey falling from a spoon.” 

“It did not!’ 

“You can deny it all you want, but we both heard it!” Melissa declared and brought her mug up to her lips, taking a sip of the warm cider. 

“Looks like I’m out boys!” Y/N heard from the other side of the room. She glanced over her shoulder to find Charlie laying his cards down on the table before he slid out of his chair. She smiled at him as he made his way over to her. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her back into his chest, his head resting on her shoulder. 

“Charlie, these are my sister-in-laws, Amy, and Melissa.” 

“Very nice to meet both of you.” Charlie beamed at the two women. 

Melissa and Amy stood up at the sound of heels clicking against the tile floor of the kitchen. Melissa made her way around Y/N and she gently squeezed Charlies’s bicep, “good luck honey.” 

Charlie pressed a kiss to Y/N’s cheek and tightened his arms around her waist as he felt her body tense in his arms.

“You’ve got this,” Charlie reassured before loosening his grip on her and letting her grab his hand. 

Y/N sucked in a deep breath and gently pulled Charlie behind her as she navigated through the formal dining room and towards the kitchen where her mother was sure to be found. 

She stopped just inside the doorway to the kitchen and turned to face Charlie, “you can still get out of this, ya know?” 

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Charlie placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around, nudging her into the kitchen while he followed. 

Y/N stood silently for a minute as she watched her mother pull the green bean casserole from the oven and wipe her hands across her floral apron. Her mother was a thin woman with auburn hair that was almost always pulled into a chignon. 

“Mom? Can I talk to you?” Y/N hesitantly asked, suddenly feeling less like a twenty-two year old woman and more like a twelve-year old child. 

“What do you want to talk about, dear? Because if it’s about Noah,” her mother grabbed a wooden spoon and stirred the brown gravy that was simmering on the stove, “then I frankly don’t have time to listen to your childish reasons for ending the only good thing you had.” 

“You know?” Y/N choked out

Her mother grabbed the pepper grinder and began to twist the top over another pot of food, “I called Noah after we spoke last week since you couldn’t give me a straight answer when I called you.” 

“Oh…” Y/N placed her hands on Charlie’s chest and gently pushed him backward. Her eyes pleading with him to give her a minute. She didn’t want him to bear witness to the reprimanding she knew was about to come. Charlie hesitantly left her side and waited on the other side of the door. 

Her mother finally turned around to face Y/N. She placed her hands on the edge of the counter, her knuckles white from the tight grip. 

“Honestly, y/n. I don’t know why you can’t get your life together. You graduated college just to throw away your education for this silly photography hobby of yours and now you threw away a perfectly acceptable relationship because you want to travel and have adventures? You’re not a child, anymore, y/n. When is this going to stop? When are you going to grow up?”

Y/N stood silently as the words washed over her. She could feel the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and let out a shaky breath. 

“I…”

“What? You what, Y/N? What explanation could you possibly have this time?” Her mother cut her off. 

Charlie pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning on from the other side of the door and quickly made his way back into the kitchen. He felt her mother’s eyes on him as he quickly pressed a kiss to Y/N’s cheek, his hand sliding across the middle of her back before he put on his best smile and made his way over to her mother. 

“You have a lovely home, Mrs. Y/L/N. My mother would be insanely envious of the spread you’ve created, it’s magazine worthy!” 

“Thank you, dear. You are much too kind! I am so sorry, but I don’t believe I caught your name?”

Y/N looked down at the floor and smiled to herself at the charm that Charlie exuded as he introduced himself to her mother and offered to help her bring the endless amounts of food to the formal dining room for her. 

“I’ll go gather everyone.” Y/N shot an appreciative smile to Charlie before she made her way back to the den to gather the rest of the family into the dining room. 

Y/N made her way over to the empty chair next to Charlie, the latter getting out of his own chair to pull her chair out for her before sitting back down. He placed his hand on the inside of her thigh and let his thumb rub circles on the top of her leg. 

Her dad stood at the top of the table and carved the turkey while small talk was exchanged between her brothers and their wives and suddenly the question finally came from her mother. 

“So, how did you two meet?” 

Y/N glanced over at Charlie not sure if he was going to take the lead or not and was surprised when he started spitting out a story that was definitely not the one they had agreed on during their lunch meeting, 

 “I met your daughter several years ago on a hiking trip with my family,” Charlie paused and looked over at her before continuing, “my older brother, Patrick actually took that photo that you have on your wall in the entryway!” 

Y/N’s heart was beating erratically as Charlie squeezed her knee before turning his focus back to her mother “your daughter took my breath away that day and I kicked myself for weeks for not getting her number and just having this missed connection. I guess you could call it a twist of fate, really, that I found her again.” 

Y/N’s mother smiled at the two of them and Y/N felt her body tense for just a moment before relief rushed over her at her mother’s words “that may be the most romantic thing I have ever heard in my life.”

“Can we eat now or?” Josh hesitantly asked as he grabbed the plate of yams and began piling a portion onto his plate. 

Y/N felt at ease for the rest of the evening as their shared meal went off without a hitch. Her family shared embarrassing stories of her with Charlie and she sipped glasses of wine as he endlessly complimented her. Her heart felt full as the night drew to a close and her dad pulled out the last Thanksgiving tradition. The wishbone was passed around the table until it landed in her hands. She turned to Charlie and gestured for him to grab the other end of the bone. They both tugged on the bone with their eyes closed until it snapped. 

Y/N opened her eyes and looked down at the fractured bone in her hand and then over to Charlie who was holding the larger side. 

“Make a wish,” she whispered to him with a soft smile on her face. Charlie shook his head and kissed her forehead. 

“I don’t have to, I’ve got everything I want right here.” 

Y/N dropped her eyes to the table and reminded herself that as much as she felt the connection between her and Charlie, that he was just playing a role.

She looked up as the sound of chairs sliding against the floor filled the room. She followed suit and slowly stood up from her chair. 

“Do you need help, mom?” 

“You go ahead and head out honey, I know you have a long drive.”

Y/N made her rounds of goodbye to her family before looking back at Charlie and grabbing his hand. They silently walked to his car and he opened the car door for her. Y/N hummed along to the songs that played on the radio during the drive back to her place. She tried to ignore the heat that she felt in her stomach as Charlie’s thumb ran across her knuckles every now and then. She watched the cars that passed by them, red tail lights lighting up her face as they drove on the highway. Before she knew it they were parked outside of her apartment. 

“I guess this is it then…” Charlie looked over at Y/N as she unbuckled her seatbelt. 

“I guess so.” Y/N agreed, her right hand rested on the door handle as she looked at Charlie, her eyes searching for any indication that he didn’t want her to leave. She let her hand pull on the door handle when Charlie didn’t respond. 

She swung the car door open and stepped out into the street before making her way to the sidewalk. She turned around at the sound of another car door shutting and was taken aback by Charlie running over to her side 

“I should walk you to your door,” Charlie answered the silent question

Y/N smiled and led the way through the apartment corridor until they stood outside of her door, her keys dangling in her left hand. She looked up at Charlie and smiled, “you didn’t have to see me inside, ya know?” 

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and shrugged, “all part of the job.” 

Y/N felt her smile falter and turned around to place the key into the lock of her apartment door. She quickly turned the key and opened the door before stepping inside. She turned to look at Charlie one last time, “well, thank you for giving me my money’s worth,” she let her eyes fall from his. 

“Goodbye, Charlie.” She closed the door and dropped her keys into the catch-all bowl before kicking her heels off and making her way over to the couch. She let her body slump into the soft cushions and pulled her phone out to call the only person that was going to understand. 

“Tell me everything!” Leigha demanded as soon as her face appeared on the phone. 

‘Well,” Y/N sighed, “I think I accidentally started to fall in love with him.” 

Leigha couldn’t stop the giddy laughter that erupted from her small frame “I knew this was going to happen! I so called this!” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at her best friend and poked her bottom lip out in a pout “it’s not funny Lee...I’m never gonna see him again and now I have all of these feelings to deal with.”

“You don’t know that!” Leigha argued

“I appreciate that you’re a hopeless romantic, Lee, but I was nothing but a paying customer to him...he basically said so himself.” Y/N frowned, thinking back to Charlie’s words as he walked her to her door. 

“Oh...hun, I’m so sorry.” 

Y/N let a sad smile slip onto her face, “I’m gonna go to bed, coffee tomorrow morning?”

Y/N hung her phone up and pulled herself up from the couch. She shuffled through the apartment until she reached her room and slowly peeled the sequined dress from her body. She made her way to the vanity and grabbed a makeup wipe and slowly removed the makeup from her face before she crawled into bed and pulled the covers tight around her body. 

It was 8 am when Y/N was pulled from her slumber by her phone blaring the ringtone that Leigha insisted she set for herself. She rolled over with her eyes still closed and fumbled around for her phone before slowly cracking her eyes to hit the green button.

“What?” Y/N grumpily answered

“Don’t what me!” Leigha chastised, “there’s a cute boy at the cafe and he just ordered your order! Like to the T!” 

Y/N set up in her bed and pressed her fingers into her eyes, rubbing the sleep away in small circles. 

“Ok? And?” 

“AND?! AND!!! His name is Charlie! I swear to god if you don’t get out of bed and make yourself look decent, I will literally kill you!” 

Y/N dropped her phone onto her bed and pulled the covers back. She quickly made her way to her bathroom and brushed her teeth. She stared at herself in the mirror and ran her fingers through her messy bed head, her curls tangling together between her fingers. 

“Shit..okay….okay…” She muttered to herself and opted to twist her hair up into a top knot. She secured it with a hair tie and ran back to her room where she threw on a pair of black leggings and an oversized jumper. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she heard a knock on her door. 

She wiped her hands on her leggings and quickly made her way to her front door. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves before reaching forward to unlock the door. Her hand shook as she turned the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open. Stood on the other side was Charlie with a small brown bag and a hot coffee extended out to her. 

Y/N stepped to the side and opened the door wider, allowing Charlie to come in.

“What are you doing here?” She asked as she took the bag and coffee from his hands. She sat the bag on the counter and pulled the cup to her lips, taking a small sip. She hummed to herself as the warm liquid slid down her throat. 

Charlie stepped forward and hesitantly took the drink from her hands, setting it on the counter behind her. Y/N watched anxiously as Charlie’s eyes moved across her face, flickering between her eyes and lips several times before he lifted his hands and placed one on her right cheek while the other cradled her neck.

“I’m gonna kiss you now,” Charlie whispered into the space between them before catching her lips with his. Charlie pulled away before Y/N had a chance to react, his face glowing red as he held his bottom teeth between his top two teeth. 

“Is this free of charge?” Y/N joked as she placed her hands on Charlie’s chest and leaned forward, bringing her lips back to his. 

@straywonpil @siennanoelle01 @choppedhoundsludgeclod @cool-ultra-nerd @hxney-bunches-x @crybabyddl @sorryyoureoutofmyleague @dream-a-little-bigger-x @kcd15 @all-in-fangirl @ifilwtmfc @onlygetaway @iainttakingshitfromnobody @angryknightstatesmantrash @jazzyhales @bathtimejish @lanasfandoms @miranda0102 @emotionalbruv @aliandthephantoms @multifandombabies @kinda-really-lost @5sosmukefan @alexpjoyner @mo-d3ans @hannahhistorian92 @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve @i-should-be-writing-my-own-fic @sunflowerbecca @n0wornever @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic

[magistralucis]

Ed Banger House Party @ Electric Brixton, 25 Jan 2019 [Review]

😍 Fucking fantastic you funky little Frenchmen... 😍

This was a very wild night. I can’t quite believe I survived it, even as I finish off writing thousands of words about it. It’s probably the most detailed review of a concert or show I have done to this date. I finally saw Sebastian in the flesh, was treated to over eight hours of sweet sweet music, and feel that I have begun my Ed Banger-related pursuits for this year in the perfect way.

And the loot. The sweet, sweet loot.

Read on for more. Mobile users, be warned this is a very long post.

The Journey

If you’ve read my other gig reviews you know the drill: I don’t live in London, have to commute there from wherever I’m living at the moment, London is difficult to navigate. But I had no trouble with my journeys this time, there were no Underground closures, and this venue was exactly the same one as the TBB show two years ago. Nothing to report there, only that I give props to our driver. There was an accident on the motorway, about 25 mins into a 2hr 20min journey. He took us on a thirty-mile detour to avoid the scene of the crash and still got us to London in time. If you’ve ever been on a National Express coach, you know what a big deal that is.

That wasn’t the only accident we stumbled upon in our journey, somewhere in Croydon (part of Outer London for non-UK readers) there was an altercation between two drivers and something like thirty police officers were present. It is rare to see that many police officers on scene for a single collision, so I wonder whether something more sinister was going on. All of them were wearing fluorescent vests and they reflected the light of the traffic most gloriously for a ten-meter stretch of the pavement. It was very attention-catching. I like to think they shared the same general sentiment of (o_o  ) when they looked over and saw an entire busful of people goggling at them, but that’s neither here nor there. It was around 8:30PM when I got to London, and I spent some time lingering in the train station before making my way to Brixton.

I like queuing up early. I had no idea what I was going to find there.

9:20~PM: If you follow Thibaut on insta you might have seen this.

This instastory. It’s not obvious, but these three were far from the only ones in this picture. I know this because I FUCKING WALKED IN ON THIS PHOTOSHOOT. THESE THREE WERE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE THERE. THIS WAS A VIP GROUP SHOT SESSION WITH 25+ PEOPLE OUTSIDE ELECTRIC BRIXTON AND I NEARLY BARGED IN AMONGST THEM LIKE A MOTHERFUCKING IDIOT

I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! ;A  ;

I’ve met my favourite bands spontaneously. Gone for signings. Received compliments from Rammstein. I’ve shaken hands with Xavier. But I’ve never just happened upon an entire group of my favourite people engaged in a situation not meant for ordinary fans. I was honestly more terrified than elated. I knew they were VIPs because they (all DJs included) had blue wristbands on which allowed continued re-entry into the club, instead of the usual red club stamp on the back of the hand. Later in the show I recognized two of those people as stage photographers. Pedro was closest to me, Irfane passed by (he had very vivid eyes, even under poor lighting), and around the right-hand side Thibaut was putting his arm around Sebastian. I may have seen Vladimir Cauchemar unmasked. Shit was surreal.

This could potentially have been a good place to greet Sebastian zdravo. Unfortunately there’s a time and place for such things, and a VIP photo session I wasn’t involved in was not one of them. (Electric Brixton isn’t known for facilitating after-show fan meets either, due to the club’s structure and how everyone has to be herded out at the end.) Even if it were just the Ed Banger folks milling around, I'm not sure if I’d have been able to approach them in this case. ‘Cause ultimately, I am just an Animal Experiencing Fear, and I was caught so off guard; I stepped back and pretended I had nothing to do with the area. At least that way I could gather my thoughts and continue to observe.

I can tell you this entire moment took five minutes from 9:23pm to 9:28pm, but only because I checked my phone later. I didn’t want to take it out in the moment because I got paranoid they’d think I was a creep. As the phones and cameras were put away and normal conversation resumed I looked up and saw Sebastian five steps in front of me.

You know that recent Seb + Vinco picture. Hang on I’ll find it. You know the look Seb has in that pic?

That. That is his actual gaze. That is what Seb actually looks like when he has nothing to pose for and nobody to speak to. Unless something mind-boggling was happening in the empty space several feet away from where I was standing, that’s his normal nothing-to-see-here expression. At one point we met eyes. I think he blinked like once. You can’t tell his eyes are blue even from a short distance. He looked down, exhaled vape smoke, and bit his lip. Then someone (Myd?) ushered him into the open doors. And that’s how I accidentally stumbled upon the Forbidden Ed Banger Content, and while I was excited at what I saw, I think I’d prefer a do-over in the future. When they’re not all engaged in other business, when I have a pen and an adequate surface, and when I am not a fool with poor timing.

Also Sebastian was not as tall as I thought he was, but also far from short; Irfane was taller than I thought, but visibly shorter than Thibaut; Thibaut was taller than I thought, but no match for Pedro, whose height continues to boggle my mind. I have seen all of those people before, save for Sebastian. Pedro I have seen multiple times, with multiple people, in multiple contexts. Yet I still have no grasp of how tall anybody is in this label.

I don’t know what that implies about my visualization skills. At this point, I’m too scared to find out.

9:33PM: I’m going with this timestamp because that’s when I noted down that security cleared out completely with the VIPs, closing the front doors behind them. A girl comes up near me and stares at the venue, the ‘Ed Banger Records’ written in lights, then at the queue barriers (not open) for some time before turning to me. There were maybe five people altogether waiting.

Girl: Excuse me, is this the queue for people with tickets?

Me: I don’t know. We might be queuing to find out where the queue is.

Girl: [To a freshly emerged security guard, holding a sandwich.] Excuse me, do you know if there’ll be tickets at the door?

Security guard: [Incomprehensible - he’s speaking at close distance and a bus is freshly pulling up behind me, so I can’t hear them. He goes inside and shuts the door as soon as he says his piece.]

Girl: He doesn’t know. What am I going to tell my friends.

Me: Oh my God did you not get tickets.

Girl: My friends did! I was meant to get in early and get the drinks and stuff oh my God I DIDN’T KNOW THEY WERE GOING TO BE SOLD OUT 😰

Me: DIDN’T THEY SAY THERE WOULD BE A LIMITED RELEASE THOUGH 😰

By this time we’re both mired in anxiety.txt and others were coming forwards with the same experience. A group of three girls who got there shortly after me were all waiting for door tickets, and a guy came along who had a ticket for himself but was trying to get his friend (Asian girl, very pretty) in. (I will see this friend repeatedly throughout the show, but not the dude.) Eventually we looked up what the Electric Brixton website had to say, and gathered that a very limited number of tickets were available and they were all here at the right time to purchase it. As far as I know, everyone there got in without trouble.

First release tickets were £15.00. Later I was told it was £25.00 at the door.

Yeesh.

9:50PM: They finally open up the queue barriers. I’m fourth. Several of us in the line take a poll on who we’re here to see:

Pedro: ///

Breakbot: //

Sebastian: ////

Riton: /

Vladimir:

Myd: /

‘Everyone’: //

‘I’m here because of my friends’: /

The girl in the above section answered with the last one. Ed Banger rookie. Writing this now, I’m sure she had the time of her life.

I say Sebastian. Two guys in front of me nod sagely. One of them wears a Woman Worldwide T-shirt and a Justice logo jacket. We mutually express wonder that Seb’s, like. Doing anything again. At this point, however, the queue is split into two: ticketed and buying at the door, on the opposite end of the entrance. The girl and I say farewells as she departs for the latter. Unfortunately, I do not get to see her again. It’s a shame. She was lovely.

9:55PM: Security emerges with QR code readers and club stamps and starts to call us in go go go go go go go go

9:58~PM: The bouncer initiating pat down pauses over my portable battery for a very long time, seemingly considering whether that’s legal. Fuck my life. Eventually, though, he lets me in and I s p r i n t for the bar.

It has begun.

A note before I start: like the XOYO gig review last year, this review has been composed via rough notes, photos, and videos I took through the show. It was a longer night than last year, and everyone played for a lengthy period of time; this review is thus split into six sections, one for each DJ, including timestamped observations and photos/gifs of the night.

The gifs are taken from my own videos. Unfortunately, Electric Brixton’s setup made photography difficult for three reasons: 1) an abundance of flashing lights, 2) the elevation difference between the dancefloor and the DJ booth, unlike in XOYO where there was no audience-DJ divide, and 3) smoke machines, as well as actual vapers in the form of Sebastian Akchoté. Those three things make a mess onscreen, so images are potato quality compared to where I was (front center). This was a constant problem during the night, so instead of complaining about it with every DJ, I’ll just refer to this as the I Cannot See For Shit (ICSFS) syndrome and call it a day.

Busy P (10PM to 11:50~PM)

10PM: Mother fucking sons of bitches raised the price of water!

As mentioned in the TBB review, a 500ml bottle of water at Electric Brixton was £3.00 in 2017. (Even in 2019, at a supermarket it can be as little as 55p/500ml.) Harsh, but it is what you’d expect from London. But when I came back they’d raised it to a whopping £3.60. You could buy yourself a meal with that kind of money, albeit a small one, even for London. Disgusting.

But what can you do with something as necessary as water. I did expect it. I’m sore about it, is all.

10:05PM: Restroom visited, water bought and tucked into bag, jacket tied around waist. I was wearing armwarmers. I take my place by the barriers, front row center, with a guy on my left and an empty space on my right. Left-hand arrangement will not change during the night, while on the right it will be chaos.

10:10PM: Very superstitious / nothin' more to say / very superstitious / the devil's on his way / thirteen month old baby / broke the lookin' glass / seven years of bad luck / good things in your past

This is my first video of the night. Might upload it later.

10:21PM: USE IMAGINATION 💫 AS A DESTINATION 💘 USE IMAGINATION 💫 AS A DESTINATIoOoON 💘 USE IMAGINATION AND COME CLooOoOSER 👄✨ 👄 FOREVER BEEEEE 😘 😘💋

‘Pleasure’ summons the two dudes I was talking to in the queue to my right, especially the Justice fan guy. They stuck with me through Pedro’s set.

10:30~PM: Pedro looks a lot happier than he did at XOYO last year. He’s interacting a lot with fans, smiling, bopping about the way we have all come to expect from him.

10:40PM: I see the first glimpse of another DJ hanging around at the back. It’s Myd, drinking in a corner.

10:50PM: Is that what I think it is. I think it’s what I think it is

10:51PM: POP THE GLOCK THE GLOCK YOU POP IF YOU OUTTA LINE IT’S YOU I’LL BANG POP POP THE GLOCK THE GLOCK YOU POP IF YOU OUTTA LINE IT’S YOU I’LL BANG POP

Fantastic to hear some Uffie in the mix. I missed her so damn much. I think I might upload that clip as well because I want to share the experience with y’alls.

10:54PM: Thibaut jitterbugs into the scene. The lighting’s too bad for a photo so I post about it on the hellsite instead.

11:19PM: The display in front of the DJ booth has remained constant until this point, displaying the Ed Banger logo with only the occasional change in lighting. But now the display suddenly starts changing. Check it out.

It got really trippy with Breakbot.

11:29PM: ‘Genie’ comes on. I can see Thibaut and Irfane at the back now, ready to take over. I take my first drink since I entered the club.

11:52PM: HE PUT ON ‘BURNIN’. HE ACTUALLY DID THAT.

Pedro picks up the mic at this point and greets us for the first time during the night. I have what he said on video but it’s hard for me to transcribe it over all the audience noise, it might have to be an upload later on; I have videos of most DJ-DJ segues of this night, so hopefully that should be an interesting exercise. According to the timestamp on this video, 11:52-53PM is when Thibaut put on the headphones and took over from Pedro, but he continues to linger

11:55PM:

just so he can cOMPLETELY LOSE HIS SHIT APPARENTLY.

Breakbot (Thibaut and Irfane) (11:50~PM to 1:30AM)

12:00AM: At midnight Thibaut and Irfane take over fully with ‘Break of Dawn’. There’s something wild about listening to people sing a song with no lyrics (da DA DA DA darararaRA).

12:05AM: Irfane was on serious mode all night. I’ve also realized that the light situation is not going to get better; if it was Pedro alone I could have forgotten about it, but Breakbot’s set was where the ICSFS got really, really bad. There are so many photos where I tried to capture beautiful moments between Thibaut and Irfane, as they were quite touchy with one another (not as much as they were at XOYO tho), and yet it all turned to shit. I’m so sad.

12:10~AM: The two dudes to the right of me leave. The music is most funky fresh and the smoke machines are on max, so much I cannot actually see either of the DJs on scene. A girl wearing light blue takes over to my right.

I think Electric Brixton has reached full capacity. It’s not a big venue, fitting only about 2000 people or so, but I can feel it in the air. I look behind me and all around me are unfamiliar faces, packed tightly in a crowd. It’s hot. I take off my armwarmers and cram them into my bag. 

12:16AM: Irfane baby I love you but that was not a smooth segue.

(I don’t actually know what song he was on but the music like. Stopped 100% for a second. It didn’t sound intentional.)

12:25AM: I have a note on my phone that says ‘12:25 Pedro making heart’. I have no memory of this. Fangirl magistralucis what are your secrets.

12:30AM: you 😍💖 are all I think about 😍✨😍✨😍 keep me sulking and down 😘👇🏼 but you fill me with 🔥 so much 🔥 emotion 😳💖😳 and I’ll show my 🙏🏼🕊💐 devotion 💐🕊🙏🏼 to you ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

12:31AM: I cannot see for shit. Here have a light show I guess.

12:36AM: Dance, dance with me / Life's a fantasy / Stand next to me / Like ecstasy

12:48AM: Irfane puts on ‘Funkytown’. Thibaut dances beautifully. I’ll drink to that.

12:51AM:

What the hell is this?

1:07AM: Extra, extra, read all about it! The Mysterious Ninth Planet, located at last! Turns out it was in the hands of funky Frenchmen all along, who were hoarding not just the ninth planet, but ALL THE PLANETS

1:08AM: You may have seen what was happening during the above in Irfane’s instastory, actually. He put on ‘Le Freak’. I wonder whether I should upload this clip from where I was.

1:10AM:

?????

1:20AM: Pedro comes back into view. I try to film him but it doesn’t work out, and for once it had nothing to do with ICSFS. The girl to the right of me, who was rocking out for all of Breakbot’s set, is beginning to slump over on the railing. "Are you okay?” I call, but I don’t think she heard. From how rapidly it came on, how she could barely stand during the first five minutes of VC’s set, and how frantically her and her friends left afterwards (she could barely walk), it is quite possible she was going into diabetic shock. She did not return.

This is a known issue. You generally cannot bring food into London clubs, even if you’re diabetic. Electric Brixton had a complaint two years ago that a diabetic person was not permitted to bring in their food to prevent this exact thing happening. I hope whatever she had wasn’t that serious, but. I do wonder.

This leads to a note about security, I suppose. There were none up front by the barriers. There was no one to call for help to, except for maybe the stage photographers, and that’s not what they’re trained to do. People who were falling sick or too inebriated to stand would have benefited from having security help them beyond the barrier straight away, instead of having to wade their way back through a tight crowd.

This continued to be a problem.

1:20~AM: Vladimir Cauchemar is visible. He doesn’t have the skull mask on, but with something smooth concealing his face, kind of like the Taikobots of Danger’s Taiko-era set. When he takes over he has put the mask on.

Vladimir Cauchemar (1:30AM to 2:30AM)

1:30AM: I gotta say, VC was the easiest and the best to photograph in this show, and I both respect and resent that fact.

VC’s lighting stayed a consistent red and black through his set, similar to how it was at XOYO, and the clearest images I have of the night are of him. I’m still not over his collab with 6**9*** so my impression of him isn’t out of the woods yet, which is why my notes for him are brief.

I tell you what, though. He got the crowd going. VC was the first DJ to get the dude standing to the left of me dancing, and this is the dude who stayed the entire eight hours of the night by my side while on my right people faded in, faded out, barged into places. (Dude was holding out for Sebastian, but stuck around for all of Myd as well.) His set had serious limitations - the most gregarious sin of which I’ve noted down below - but he had a great stage personality. I have very mixed feelings.

Still didn’t prevent me from standing out certain songs to go on Russian duolingo, but that was my pride.

1:35AM: ‘Aulos’ comes on. I will upload that video because I might as well, I’ve little else videoed for VC. Someone taps my shoulder. It’s the friend of the dude whom I encountered outside, the Asian girl. “Can I put this here?” She calls, and places her coat down beyond the barrier; there are steps on the other side where you can place your drinks, bags, coats etc if you’re front row. She withdraws behind me afterwards, and when I next look back, she’s gone.

1:40AM: I’m honestly surprised how many people are digging VC’s set. He was not first choice for anyone I asked.

1:51AM: Vladimir, Aulos is great but not twice in the same set.

2:00AM: Third drink of the night. My legs are getting numb. The first 3-4 hours of a set are always the hardest. I don’t remember what VC was playing. At several points he played Michael Jackson but I have no record of when. I stood still to rest my legs and distracted myself with other pursuits.

2:18AM:

Hi I’m in this photo and I don’t like it.

2:26AM: VLADIMIR. AULOS IS GREAT, BUT NOT THRICE IN THE SAME SET.

This. This is the major problem with his set. I know it’s his biggest hit, but VC exploits ‘Aulos’ way too much, and from what I hear he essentially does this for every set he plays. Would it injure him to play a different song every now and then. Seriously. There are so many excellent songs in the world, and some of them might even be ones he’ll drop in the future. Why stick to ‘Aulos’ alone. I don’t get it.

2:26~AM: As I was noting down the third instance of ‘Aulos’, the girl who put her coat down returned. “Can I have my coat back?” She calls over the sound, and I peer over. I can’t see the coat. The red spotlight passes over the floor; the coat’s rolled off the steps and is now lying on the ground.

“I can’t reach it.” I shout. “It’s fallen off.”

“Oh no.” She shouts. 

“Can you wait until the segue?”

She shakes her head. “I’ll go over the barrier, but thanks.”

I offer to help her over, but she doesn’t think she'll make it. She ducks out past the crowd and goes around the side instead (no security to stop her), runs over to grab her coat, and then leaves straight away. She’ll be back for Sebastian’s set, but now it’s Riton time.

Riton (2:30AM to 3:30AM)

I didn’t enjoy Riton’s set very much. This had 0% to do with his music and everything to do with the chaos on my right-hand side, which made it worse. If it was the artist that was bad you chalk it up to a mismatch in interests, but knowing other concertgoers unilaterally deprived you of a good experience is a unique level of terrible. There are no timestamps for this section because I was too busy keeping an eye on my surroundings to take notes; he was also afflicted with the ICSFS, which didn’t help, but it’s a darn shame how much I missed out.

Oh and that too. That was his light show. Riton was a special guest and his name/logo was the dominant display for the entirety of his set. But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about the chip on my shoulder.

Here’s the thing. I attend most of the gigs I go to by myself. I prefer it that way because I get anxious when things go wrong. I have a very specific set of items I bring with me to concerts, and practice very meticulous timekeeping. One of the rules I observe during gigs is that I do not move from my position: I prefer front centre or front centre-right generally, but wherever it is, I stay put.

I am not a tall woman. If I lose my place, it is unlikely I’d get it back. I’m full of anxiety about being at my place, but I’m more anxious to avoid losing it, so I defend it with all my might. I have never lost my place in almost ten years and this show was no exception. But my goodness did the guys to my right push my buttons this time. The guy who was to the right of me for Riton was with a group, all of whom were banging on the barriers and creating a ruckus. Just my luck he was the only one who seemed actually inebriated. He kept putting his head down on the railing, slumped over for minutes at a time, before suddenly raving and flailing around whenever Riton dropped a beat. He had no consideration for whoever he was accidentally knocking about (i.e. me) during this. And as I said, there was no security up front, so I was on my own.

At first I had some sympathy, because I still wasn’t over the girl who left earlier. I’ve never seen people who were inebriated/high during shows last very long where they were, either. But the fifteenth time dude nearly poked my eye out, it was just too much. I do not like people prodding their way into my personal space. I do not like it, Sam-I-Am.

The last time I had to be vicious with a concertgoer was at TBB, where a ginger-haired girl kept on trying to tear people from their place up front, and eventually was ejected by security after she got into a catfight with another girl next to me. Apparently this time it was my turn to give into Righteously Indignant Bitch Hours and the next time he started flailing his arm into my neck, I grabbed him and slammed his hand onto the railing and shouted “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU.”

I wish I could say this made him stop. However, life is dumb. Dude was too out of it to comprehend his own actions, let alone my complaints. His friends pulled him out of the front row for about five minutes but then he came staggering back, muttering something about his lens cap (?) and if I’d seen it. It wasn’t long before he began to barge into the surrounding people again. Only elbows were the solution; I can barely move my right arm even now, it feels so bruised. I’m not proud of what I did, but I’m not sure what I could have done differently, and I would do the same even now.

But, you know. It could have been worse. If you’ve been front row, you know there’s a difference between those who’re trying to grab a good time and those who act out of malice. The former usually try to sneak a hand in next to yours on the railing, or crash into you from the back, or wedge their way in - but they almost always follow it up with an apology, and they tend to carve out their own little space, not actively steal yours. Yes I’m talking about that ginger-haired girl at the TBB show again. I’ve attended full on firebreathing industrial metal shows at much bigger, suffocating venues, and yet those audiences still managed to avoid being vicious and petty. She was the worst. Holy shit. It’s been two years and I’m still mad. Fucking bitch I hope you step in a puddle. What was I writing about again? Oh yeah the dude. He wasn’t acting out of malice, but out of irresponsibility. And to be honest, his friends weren’t that better, save for a girl who was about five feet eight tall and complimented that I was still standing later in the set: “I had to sit down after Thibaut and you’re still jumping like nothing happened!”

That made me think about my own stamina. I never thought I had much. I’m twenty-five years old. I’m in my prime, but I had more energy when I was eighteen, and I am old enough to keep that in mind. I’m not getting younger. After a show I’m bruised and my muscles ache and I pass out asleep for hours at a time. I’m usually awake for 30hrs~ during those times. I don’t eat or drink much before shows to prevent bathroom breaks. I ate on 3:30pm on the 25th and didn’t touch a single morsel of food again until 7am on the 26th, and even then it was a sandwich. After dancing for eight hours.

It’s been that way for years. But maybe most people? Don’t? Do that? And maybe I am? Actually quite strong? For regularly surviving what I do to myself?

I don’t know. Let’s move onto what I think 70% of you are here to read about.

Sebastian (3:30AM to 4:30AM)

3:30AM: Predictably, Sebastian gets the loudest cheers of the night when he comes on. Riton announces him and passes him the headphones. He still does the hand thing, by the way.

This thing.

3:30~AM: Not an observation of the moment, but of the entire set. Seb played some big name EDM songs and what I believe are versions of his YLS tracks. He was the only set I wanted to record in full, but I wasn’t tall enough and my equipment wasn’t good enough to do so. ICSFS is in play. I sort of hoped he'd stuck with his vicious red lighting from Primary Tour, and he did, but not to a degree where I could get good shots of him.

Is anyone excited for him to drop an album this year or what. Pedro said he would.

3:38AM: Seb also has the dubious honour of being the only DJ who contributed extra to the ICSFS problem. He vapes through the entire set. I have lots of feelings and I don’t know what to do with myself honestly.

3:39AM: Neither do the dudes to my right. They are the friends of the inebriated dude who has since staggered off into the crowd. They are completely losing their shit, screaming and taking their shirts off and kicking at the barriers. They contributed to some of the bruises on my right arm. But they still didn’t take my place so whatever.

3:40~AM: Seb is not a smiler. Photographer comes by and he gives him a single glance before turning back. I don’t know why I’m surprised.

3:43AM: The Asian girl with the coat from earlier comes back. She asks me to deposit a different layer of coat this time over the barrier, and stands behind me. I feel very protected.

3:50~AM: Balm to aid my pain: photographers start coming down from the stage to pass out Ed Banger pins and stickers. The first lot are thrown into the audience, but the second photographer takes the time to give all of us one. This is the first time I’ve scored thrown Ed Banger merch during a set. I usually can’t reach them because I am smol.

I am also bonding with the dude to my left during this time. We collaborate to catch the pins we want and share them out between the two of us. He gets the Ed Banger melody logo pin, and gives me the Ed Banger 15 Ans pin. “Are you sure?” I ask. He smiles and nods. I thank him and hand him a Breakbot sticker, one that’s of his name. 

4:06AM: What the fuck the lights are changing

4:06AM: Is that

4:06AM: IT IS

4:07AM: IT’S JUSTICE. IT’S HEAVY METAL. SEB’S PLAYING HEAVY METAL AND HE’S DOING THE HAND THING AND THE LIGHT SHOW’S TRIPPY AS FUCK ALL OF A SUDDEN AND EVERYONE IS SCREAMING AND THE DUDE LEFT OF ME IS DECLARING HIS LOVE FOR SEB IN FRENCH AND I AM SCREAMING OH MY FUCKING GOD

4:09AM: HE SEGUES TO ROLLIN’ AND SCRATCHIN’. HE LITERALLY DID THAT. SEBASTIAN AKCHOTE IS PLAYING ROLLIN’ AND SCRATCHIN’ AND WE’RE ALL GOING BATSHIT INSANE. I’M SORRY FOR THE BAD CAMERA WORK. THIS IS HOW I DIE.

4:15~AM: Myd is finally going back and forth. He will close the night after Sebastian has finished his set. Looking back on the videos of the night, I can’t believe he only played for an hour; it felt a bit longer than that, Sebastian never let up for a single second as long as he was onstage. Not a single minute wasted. And now you’re going to have to excuse me babes because he’s puttING ON STRESS AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE AGAIN RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW

4:24AM: AAAAAAAAAAAA

(Seb’s still playing Stress. Looping the chainsaw noises. Steady camera work lmao what steady camera work)

4:30AM: Sebastian hands over the reins to Myd at this point. I do not have a video of this segue because he does not announce the takeover; with one of his inscrutable hand gestures and a proud look, Sebastian takes up a whole bottle of wine and silently walks offstage. Again, I don’t know why I am remotely surprised. That is probably the most Seb thing I have seen Seb do all night, and it was a night extremely full of Seb things.

At this point I stop jotting down notes on my phone. But I’m at about 58% battery and going strong, so I’m still taking photos and videos whenever I can. Myd’s section is reconstructed from these records.

Myd (Round 2) (4:30~AM to 6:00AM)

4:30~AM: Not a specific observation. As mentioned in the Breakbot review of May 2018, I have unfinished business with Myd. Or at least: had. Myd played the closer in XOYO last year, and back then I was weak and I could not stay through his entire set. I swore to myself the next time he returned, and I was able to see him, I would last as long as he was onstage.

And I did. That’s one promise to myself kept, and what I hope was a little justice done for a DJ of Myd’s caliber.

4:35AM: Coat girl taps my shoulder again. “I’m going home. Could you...?” She gestures to the barrier, and I reach down and pull up her coat. It didn’t roll onto the ground this time.

“There you are.” I say. She takes it and gives me a hug. “Have a good night.”

“Have a good night!” Then she’s gone, alongside the exodus of people who are leaving the club. More people stuck around for Myd here than in XOYO. Guy to my left nudges me to look; stickers are coming around again, specifically the ‘Hello My Name Is _______ [Myd]’ one. We each take one.

4:44AM: I’m out of water. Actually I was out of water immediately before Seb finished, because for some reason I thought downing the last of my only means of hydration with over 1h 30mins to go was a sensible thing to do. I regret this decision bitterly, but I’ll probably survive.

4:58AM:

@_@

5:03AM: It is very difficult for me to ID Myd’s tracks. I suspect a lot of them are original or are from his recent release that I haven’t yet listened to. Appropriate to a closer, he takes a very trance-inspired line to his entire set, with lots of repetition and few loud drops; this was the same in XOYO. I wonder what a Myd headliner set must be like.

5:10~AM: The guy to the left of me is struggling. So am I. But further to his left, there is a guy slumped on the rails. His girlfriend is beside him. They’ve been there all night, but they’ve clearly reached their limit. My right hand side keeps refilling and emptying as people step away or leave.

I talk about that other guy because he summons Thibaut to him.

5:28AM: I took several vids of this but this timestamp belongs to the longest. Thibaut comes back with his own phone to film the audience. He winks and shyly gestures all of us to gather our strengths and be more pumped up, and I recall we obliged him because he asked so nicely. He lingered for some time, gazing at us as fondly as we were gazing at him. He then looked at the guy slumped over on the railing and hopped down from the stage, gently patting his shoulder to talk to him.

I didn’t hear any of their conversation, save for Thibaut asking the dude ‘where he was from’. By the way he clasped his hand to his chest several times, though, I’m inclined to think he was really concerned about the guy. They eventually shook hands and Thibaut made as if to hop back onstage. (The photo was taken as he was leaving.)

Except he couldn’t jump that high. He gave us another shy look and braced his foot against the barriers, perching neatly on the stage before clambering up. He stuck around for about five more minutes to check up on the audience.

I love Thibaut so much. He’s so gentle.

5:34~AM: Holy fuck my bag is full of crap. I haven’t organized it in some time. Discarded cups, beer cans etc have accumulated by my feet, and as I kick them away I’m trying to check my loot is in place and I still have my items. I can’t feel my passport and my blood runs cold for a moment. I turn the camera flash on to look.

“Are you looking for something?” The guy to my left asks worriedly.

I feel my passport in my front pocket. False alarm. “Just organizing my bag.”

(I didn’t see any lost foreign ID or driver licenses on the floor this time.)

5:43AM:

Russian duolingo says fuck millennial lives

5:50~AM: The smoke machine is turned off. I still can’t see for shit, though, because the lights flash rapidly between deep blue and violet and Myd’s hidden behind it.

My last video of the night is timestamped 5:55AM. Myd has a most benevolent smile on his face. He knows the night is drawing to a close.

6:00AM: I did it.

We made it.

I have made it through a Myd set fully and have survived the night.

Myd finished exactly at 6am and exited to a crowd of applause. There are calls for an encore, but given that it's... like, literally morning, it’s not realistic to expect him to stay any longer. Security comes by as soon as he exits, and we all leave Electric Brixton behind at last. The sun has not yet risen. I fall in step with the guy next to me.

Guy: Where are you heading to?

Me: Coach. I came up from Brighton.

Guy: From Brighton?! Was that last night or what?

Me: Yep, two hours before the show. I haven’t eaten or slept all night.

Guy: Wow. [Pause.] Though I think that’s the longest I’ve danced in my entire life, too.

Me: You’re not kidding. I really didn’t think I was going to last beyond Sebastian.

I think he was a Londoner. We say farewells in front of the Electric Brixton bus stop, and I leave for the Underground. My legs are numb and I can barely walk, but somehow I stumble past the barriers and sink into the seats of the train. Back at Victoria Train Station I drop in at Sainsburys for a sandwich and two cans of grape soda, and then realizing I need a resealable container to take on the bus, buy a bottle of Pepsi. The grape soda was just because I really love grape soda and I cannot find a place in Brighton that sells any. It was around 8AM when I finally got on the coach back home.

I had not slept for some twenty hours. I continued to not sleep on the bus. I tried very hard to, but I couldn’t, because I was still buzzing from the adrenaline. It wasn’t until I got home, just after 11AM, that I began to feel sleepy for real. Sig. other made me a cup of tea, and I took the interval to admire some cat slippersocks that had arrived for me in the meantime.

LOOK AT IT.

Overall I’d say this was a fantastic night. I have taken care of unfinished business and seen Sebastian in the flesh. I have, however, come away with another unfinished business to replace the deal with Myd - I should seek out Riton again, the next time he comes here, and deliver a full review of what that was like. To think of the Ed Banger crew making their way across Europe in 2019, with new material and a new Sebastian in tow...

😍😍😍

[anywaffle]

More Than Things

  More than Things

Fandom: Bright

Pairing: Kandomere x Reader

Word Count: 3,627

Warnings: Very lightly implied nudity, otherwise it’s all fluff. 

Summary: A week of affection shown in the gifts Kandomere gives. Often times they’re far more than things.

    Monday is surprisingly grey and dreary for L.A. and your mood decides to match the weather. Work hits a lull and you find yourself bored and disinterested in whatever tasks you pick up. By the time your break rolls around you’re wishing it was actually the end of shift but you’re fine enough with settling into the break room with a snack and your cell phone.

    Two bites into granola bar your coworker calls you and you groan, anticipating an early call back to the front. You’re just standing when they trott in, grinning over a bouquet of beautifully arrange flowers in a lovely vase.

    “Somebody’s got an admirer!”

    They set the flowers on the table and point out the little card kept among the blooms with your name typed on it. You feel your heart flutter and pluck it up with gentle fingers, flipping it open to read the message inside.

    To brighten your day. - K

     It would be hard to argue that the smile on your face isn’t a little goofy, cheeks warm with the giddy joy suddenly filling you up. You plunk back onto the couch, letter clutch to your chest, and sigh happily.

    The rest of your day is a cheerful breeze, bright as the flowers you take home to lighten your living room.

    Tuesday you wake up late and scramble into work frazzled. When Kandomere texts you good morning and asks how you are you relay this to him, tone light despite your mild frustration. Work ticks on normally enough, the two of you texting back and forth when you have time.

   What time is your break? He texts you a little before noon.

   About 1:30 if everything goes right. Only a 15 though. You shoot back.

   He goes quiet after that but you figure work just picked up, wish him safety, and hope for the possibility of a phone call later. You saw him on Saturday but that already seems so far off. Time goes on and you daydream about him.

    At 1:28 your coworker calls you over. You’ve got a visitor apparently and you feel your heart racing in anticipation. You can’t help the smile that comes when you see him.

   “Afternoon,” you grin, walking up to the blue haired elf.

    “Afternoon,” he replies, a slight smile on his face. “Do you have time for coffee?”

    It’s now that you notice the drink tray and pastry bag he has in hand, bag and cups decorated with the logo of your favorite cafe several blocks down.

   “Definitely!” You chime, “you’re a sweetheart you know.”

   He simply shrugs, following you out to find a patio table nearby. “I was in the area, thought you could perhaps use the caffeine,” he teases lightly.

  The coffee certainly helps keep you up but the 15 minutes you get together are what truly carry you through the rest of the day.

   Wednesday your laptop quits. It goes from working to blue screen to black and refuses to turn on again. It’s a long time coming honestly, you’ve been putting off upgrading for years in a bid to save money but it’s finally come back to bite you.

   You’re glad to hear the files are recoverable when you go to see someone at Best Buy but they let you know you won’t be getting any more use out of the CPU or frame. Small victories, you guess. Still laptops are expensive.

    Your looking at the cheapest possible replacements when Kandomere calls, a lul in work giving him time to talk to you, to let you know he’s being made to take Friday off and ask if you would possibly want to go out for dinner then, have a proper date?

   The thought makes you feel a fuzzy, warm sort of happy and you answer in the affirmative before asking after his day.

   “The usual,” he says, as if there’s anything usual about working to regulate and contain magic and magical items “yours?”

  “Eh,” you sigh, “laptop finally died. I’m sitting in a Best Buy parking lot right now.”

  “They’re selling laptops in the parking lot?” His joke catches you so off-guard you snort a little when you laugh.

  “No silly, price checking. Laptops are expensive.”

   “What make would you like? I’ll buy it.”

    “What no! Laptops are expensive!”

    “And?”

    “You fixed my car 2 months ago.”

    “And?”

    “I can’t just… let you keep buying me things, can I? You’ll start thinking I only keep you around for your money.” You keep your tone light but it’s a legitimate worry.

    “I promise I won’t,” he reassures you. “Does it really make you that uncomfortable?”

    “I mean no… Yeah…? I don’t know, kinda?” you settle on.

    “Half then?”

     “What?”

    “Would half be acceptable? That way at least you won’t be getting a cheap piece of junk.”

    “You think on it a moment. That would still be a few hundred dollars but…

     “Okay, half. I think I saw a nice one on sale for $600.”

     “Whatever you like, darling.” The note of amused affection in his voice and the pet name make you smile. You have a new laptop before 8 and a promise of date night for Friday.

    Thursday a package arrives at your house. It’s wrapped plainly, an Amazon box stamped with Fragile on the side, and you rack your brain trying to think of what it might be or when you last placed an order. It definitely has your name and address on it. A present? It’s not your birthday though, not even near it, and there’s no major holidays coming up either.

Cautious but also curious you grab a pair of scissors and cut into the tape with your face away from the box, peeking into it when it doesn’t explode or start screaming.

    Whatever it is has been wrapped in brown paper and bubble wrap and surrounded by those air packing things. The fragile stamp was there for a reason then. What is this?

   You reach in and start to pull away the various layers of packaging until your prize emerges, your shoulders shaking with muffled laughter at what you find.

    My puns are koala-tea! is printed around a cute cartoon koala and a teacup on a coffee mug bigger than your fist. You’d seen the stupid thing online last weekend and laughed when Kandomere rolled his eyes at the pun and your declaration of, “You’re pretty quality yourself!” You’d thought it was hilarious at least.

   “I can’t believe…” you mutter to yourself, going to retrieve your phone.

    Kandomere is fully expecting another inconvenience when his text tone breaks the relative silence of the room. Today has been mess after mess and he’s anticipating more at this point. So, when he flips it face up and spies your name on the screen he lets himself feel a little more optimistic, and when he opens your message and is greeted by a snapshot of your smiling face he feels his spirits lift. And then he scrolls down, sees the mug in your hand, sees your photo’s caption,

    looks like I got a gift from quite the koala tea fellow~

He lets himself huff a little laugh and text back

    You’re welcome, hermosa.

    Friday is a pleasant surprise. You love going out with Kandomere but sometimes the places he takes you have you feeling a little out of your depth. People are always kind of course, or at least cordial, but the sheer amount of affluence present can make your head spin. With that in mind you’ve really enjoyed the night so far. Dinner was somewhere more low-key, a place of with a cozy atmosphere where you didn’t feel compelled to dress like you were red carpet-ready and could pronounce most of the menu. It was nice to sit together and eat and talk about things that got missed in your Cliff Notes conversations on the phone and by the time you left you both felt light and warm and satisfied.

   Now you’re riding along in the car, jamming to a playlist the two of you have been slowly building together, wondering where exactly it is you’re going. You never would have taken Kandomere for someone who likes surprises but his smirking silence now makes that clear.

    Wherever it is he says you like it and you don’t doubt that. You trust him after all.

    You don’t recognize the building you pull up to or the parking lot, but you note several other cars, other people parking and walking up. From the signs posted here and there you can guess that you’re on a school campus, though you’re not sure which one. Kandomere helps you out of the car, keeps his hand in yours while you approach the building. You see a lot of couples but some singles and small families too.

    “Okay but seriously, where-”

    His smile is frankly self-satisfied when you trail off, eyes catching the sign by the door you’re approaching.

Planetarium Shows Friday 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. $6 or $11 couples

    The happy noise you let out turn his smile fond.

    The kind young woman at the counter inside scans the qr code on his phone and directs you down the hall and up a set of stairs. The room you settle into is spacious and warm and you take your seats just a few minutes before the show starts. Watching the stars bloom beautifully around the room you feel your heart flutter when Kandomere reaches over and grabs your hand again. You lean into him smiling. It’s a lovely night.

   Saturday you sleep in. His bed is soft and warm even without him in it and you’re happy enough being able to hear him padding around his home. You press your face into his pillow, pulled close to your chest sometime after he’d gotten up, and inhale the scent of him. The butterflies in your stomach make you smile.

   You hear the bedroom door open, the soft approach of footfalls and perk up the slightest bit, turning over lazily to look up at Kandomere when he stops at your side.

   “Good morning, mi alma,” he says fondly, sitting by your side. “Breakfast?”

    “Sounds great” you hum sleepily, reaching up towards him to pat his cheek. “C’mere though.”

    He leans down at your urging, lips meeting yours in a soft, sweet kiss. His hair falls over his shoulders and tickles your cheeks enough that you find yourself giggling against his lips. Slowly he pulls away and your taken by his starlight gaze. His eyes are soft when he looks at you, adoring and gentle.

   He presses another parting kiss to your forehead and stands, calling over his shoulder “come on, before it gets cold.”

   You take a moment longer to enjoy your warm cocoon, stretching arms and legs languidly between the duvet. When you finally emerge you have to take a moment to locate your clothing, no longer scattered on the floor as you’d left them but now folded neatly on the loveseat situated across the room. You pull your underwear on but pause a moment after, eyes catching on the blue button-up Kandomere had been wearing last night, settled beside your clothes. He wouldn’t mind, right?

    He’s already sitting at the table, scrolling through his phone with one hand, a fork full of eggs in the other. His back is to you and you take the opportunity to drape your arms over his shoulders and hug him, face pressed into his soft hair.

   He chuckles quietly when you press a solid smooch to the back of his head and then back off, walking around to the other side of the table. You hear him hum when you enter his line of sight.

    “Nice shirt.”

    “Thanks, just got it” you joke, twirling quickly before striking a silly pose.

    There’s that fond smile again, setting your heart all aflutter.

    “The color suits you.”

    You feel your cheeks warm at the compliment, ducking your face into a glass of water you find next to your plate. He always gets you, doesn’t he?

   The two of you eat in companionable silence, discussing plans for the day over a shared load of dishes after. Mostly it boils down to cuddling on the couch, your body draped over his while you watch the movie one of your co-workers suggested. He’s free today, or at least he’s supposed to be.  

    His phone rings a little passed four, the noise distant to your half asleep mind. You come back slowly with the sound of his voice rumbling in your ears, it’s usual measured timbre underlined with slight annoyance at being disturbed.

    “I’ll be in shortly then,” he says, hanging up a moment later.

    “You gotta go?” you ask, voice husky with sleep.

    “It seems so. Come, get dressed. I’ll take you home first.”

   You think to protest for a moment and then realize he wouldn’t offer if he didn’t have the time to. You raise yourself up off of him and the couch and follow him to get dressed propper. It’s a little hard not to get distracted watching him put his ensemble together, go from your lazy day boyfriend all soft at the edges to the striking MTF agent most know him as. He raises an eyebrow when he catches you staring a little too long and you decide it’ll be better if you’re facing the other direction while you pull the rest of your clothes on.

    “Where do you want this?” you ask finally, holding up the shirt you’d borrowed.

     “Keep it, if you’d like. It looks good on you.” He says this as he finishes buttoning his suit and you can’t help but think that he looks much better by far in anything and everything he wears. You’re happy to keep the shirt though.

    You kiss him before you slip out of his car, longer and harder than the usual goodbyes you give each other. Something about his sudden calls into work make you nervous, make you worry. Sometimes you forget a bit how dangerous his job is, for all his talk of paperwork and procedure. His hand is gentle on your cheek, thumb stroking softly against your skin.

    “Be safe,” you mutter against his lips.

    “I will,” he promises.

    You watch his car disappear down the block before you head inside, missing him already. When you dress down again, up in your appartment, you slip on his shirt and manage a small smile. It smells like him, obviously, and you can almost pretend your lazy day didn’t have to end. He’s holding you in your dreams.

    Sunday you worry. Evening rolls around without a peep from him, no good morning, no good night as the time creeps closer to 11 p.m. You realize that this isn’t the first time this has happened, sometimes he gets far too busy, has a case far too important, to use his phone for anything nonessential. You’re sure some days he probably doesn’t even think of you, and while that thought stings a little you reason that it’s not out of a lack of fondness. He’s a busy man with an important job. Still, tonight has you worried, has your stomach twisting in knots at the sound of every police siren that zooms by. Perhaps it’s because there’s been quite a few.

    The judge show you’ve been watching in an attempt to avoid looking at your phone or email cuts out suddenly to a special news report. There’s a hostage situation happening just a few miles away, a man threatening some dozen people if his demands aren’t met. Possible magic artifact on the scene, two officers already injured.

    With every word from the newscaster, ever extra bit of information, you feel your anxiety grow. Is this what Kandomere is dealing with right now? Is he safe? Is he one of the officers injured? Or would they have said agent?  Did it matter? Is he okay?

     You’re torn for a moment between changing the channel and continuing to watch but decide leaving it on will only add more fuel to the fire that is your racing mind. It’s not as if you could do anything about it right?  You’d only be in the way, likely wouldn’t even be able to get near what was happening. And anyway, Kandomere was trained for these kinds of things, he knew what he was doing. He’d be fine…

    You change the channel back and forth a few more times before leaving it on the news once more. You feel nauseous either way.

    The volume is most of the way down because you can feel a headache coming on, likely stress induced, a growing pain at the front of your skull. You’re wearing his shirt again, fingers of worrying at the hem while you try to sit still and calm yourself down. At some point you fetched your phone and now it sits in your lap, seemingly defiant in its refusal to give you news of the man you’re coming to love so dearly.

    It’s cool in your hands when you pick it up but warms slightly with every up and down pass as you fidget, try to decide what to do. Is there even anything to do?

    Please be safe you finally type out with shaking hands.

    …

    …

    …

    Nothing in five minutes. You change the channel in favor of cooking shows. Ten minutes, you curl up on the couch. Thirty and you can’t count how many times you’ve looked at your phone. In an hour you’re fitfully dozing, jolting up at the slightest sound, the smallest of phantom sensation against your palm. Your heart is pounding unpleasantly, pulse an uncomfortable thrum, but you feel exhausted all the same. You’ve been worried about him before but for some reason this feels different, worse. You think you might cry but instead you tow the line, fists wrinkling the blue fabric where you clutch at it, bring the collar up to breathe in the soothing scent of him. It helps a little but you still feel a pang.

    The soft vibration wakes you around 1:30 and you drop your phone in your disoriented surprise. It takes a second to fish it out from underneath your coffee table but once you do you feel your body slowly start to wind down from the fear you’d been feeling.

    I am is the simple reply on the screen, an answer to your earlier plea. It’s amazing how much easier it is to breath with that piece of mind and you slump back into the couch, tension draining from your body. You’re so tired.

    Your phone buzzes again and you check the message, the first smile you’ve had in hours making its way onto your face.

    May I stay with you tonight? I’m closer to your home than mine.

    As much as you’d like to fall right asleep you’re sure you can stay up a bit longer to let him in. Of course, you shoot back, and decide to start a pot of tea to keep yourself up, it’s ready by the time you hear a knock at your door.

     He looks exhausted when you finally see him, bags under his eyes more pronounced, hair slightly disheveled, suit wrinkled. You notice the slight pinch in his brow and think he’s probably making the same assessment of you, a certified hot mess after an entire day of worrying. You can’t help the look on your face, smile tired and worried but still there and full of adoration.

    “Hey,” you say, taking his face in your hands gently.

     “Darling,” he sighs, lips pressing against yours.

     You offer him tea but he declines, asking after your shower instead. You listen to the sound of running water and the chug of your washing machine from the couch. He gets out just after you toss the laundry, you can’t wash his suits but his underwear are cotton at least, into the dryer. You set it to time dry and follow him into your room.

    “Candy?” you ask, surprised at the sight of Kandomere perched at the edge of your bed unwrapping a chocolate bar.   

    “It’s been a long day,” he shrugs and motions to the pillow on your prefered side of the bed. “For you too, it seems.” You certainly hadn’t expected to be brought your favorite candy tonight but there it was.

    You pick it up and get into bed, turning to thank him when you see the large bruise starting to darken on his back. It makes your heart ache, seeing him hurt, remembering that despite his strength and resilience he’s still mortal, still breakable. You put the candy on your bedside table and scoot up behind him, careful of the bruise when you wrap gentle arms around him.

    “Thanks hon,” you say softly. “I think I’ve got all the Kandy I could ever want right here though.”

    You can’t see his face but you’re sure he’s smiling, breath coming out in an amused little huff. He takes one of your hands in his and kisses it, thumb stroking your skin gently. It’s a nice moment, quiet and calm after a day of anxiety. You pull back first, slipping under the covers, and he follows suit, pulling you close.

    You curl into his chest, forehead pressed near his heart so that you can feel its steady beat. He’s here, alive and breathing and safe, real under your fingertips. His hands slide slowly up and down your back, gentle and soothing, lulling you to sleep.

    “Night, Kandomere,” you mumble, pressing a kiss to his chest before you drift away.

    “Good night, mi amor,” is his whispered answer.   

The second love language story~ Still not a drabble but whatever. Proof reading happened at 1am so forgive me for mistakes. I’ll probs come back to edit soon. Tags for @starscreamerrr @theawfuledges @kandomereappreciationblog @kandomerx @kandomeresbitch @anise495 Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in my future works =D there should be at least 8 more of these.

[hell-yeahfilm]

THE EXTRAORDINARY PAUSE

With a minimal but meaningful text and naïve illustrations in a limited palette, the book focuses on an unnamed child who lives with their parents through the strange time when the virus, depicted as a bipedal, rusty-red monster, appears. “The world changed overnight. Schools were closed. Restaurants were emptied. Birthday parties were postponed.…And all the world’s swings, seesaws and slides were abandoned.” The main characters, who also include the child’s grandfather, are White; other humans depicted are racially diverse. To signal the universality of the virus, small vignettes of different countries are included, with well-known monuments like the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben as well as, in a rather stereotypical shorthand, giraffes and camels. In some of the city scenes, signs in different languages are posted about stores and restaurants. As time goes on, after the new reality of “the extraordinary pause” settles in, eventually there is hope. “There was loneliness, but also connection. Light was starting to shine between the cracks.” There is nothing specific about the illness itself or the worldwide deaths, but this short picture book speaks directly to young readers about the many life changes that happened as a result of Covid-19 in ways they will comprehend. Discussion questions at the book’s close encourage reflection, and a QR code will take readers to a resource page for further engagement. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

from Kirkus Reviews https://ift.tt/2XiIm1F

[thepageloot]

Reliable and Compatible Scanner to Read QR Codes

One of the great marketing tools, quick response code, helps in sharing information and data with people. Users can access website pages, make payments via secure gateways, and a lot more via such codes. The code image can be scanned by using mobile devices, and the details or the information can be fetched in a readable format. A QR code reader is used to scan the code. It can be downloaded and installed in the smartphone and other mobile devices; it translates the stored information into something that users can read.

How Does Scanner Function?

Basically, a quick response code scanner is programmed with a decoder to send the information to the mobile phone instead of a computer. The programming of the QR reader supports the illuminator as well. In this kind of technology, there is a red light that runs across the screen when the application is active. The sensor and the decoder function to decode the code. In this way, users are able to scan QR code to see the information or to access the page or link.

Importance of Having Effective Scanner

Presently, hundreds of scanner software applications are available on the Internet. But the point is to have an effective scanner, so there are no issues of facing errors while scanning the codes. Generally, due to the option of QR code customization, a lot of people face errors while processing QR code scan that is because they don’t pay attention while selecting an effective scanner. Also, make sure to choose a tool that allows you to save codes in an organized format.

If you are looking for a reliable QR scanner compatible with different operating systems, then you can rely on the web platform, Pageloot. Not only a scanner, but you will also get a reliable QR code generator tool.  

For more information, visit - Pageloot.com 

Original source - https://bit.ly/3BSLhhI 

[inhandnetworks-blog]

Atomic-Scale Structure of Ribosome  industrial wireless  Could Lead to Better Antibiotics

www.inhandnetworks.com

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have imaged the atom-by-atom structure of the ribosome attached to a molecule that controls its motion for the first time, providing a step forward for the development of better antibiotics.

The above image may look like a tangle of squiggly lines, but you’re actually looking at a molecular machine called a ribosome. Its job is to translate DNA sequences into proteins, the workhorse compounds that sustain you and all living things.

The image is also a milestone. It’s the first time the atom-by-atom structure of the ribosome has been seen as it’s attached to a molecule that controls its motion. That’s big news if you’re a structural biologist.

But there’s another way to look at this image, one that anyone who’s suffered a bacterial infection can appreciate. The image is also a roadmap to better antibiotics. That’s because this particular ribosome is from a bacterium. And somewhere in its twists and turns could be a weakness that a new antibiotic can target.

“We’re in an arms race with the resistance mechanisms of bacteria,” says Jamie Cate, a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab&rsq Vending Telemetry  uo;s Physical Biosciences Division and a professor of biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology at UC Berkeley.

“The better we understand how bacterial ribosomes work, the better we can come up with new ways to interfere with them,” he adds.

Cate developed the structure with UC Berkeley’s Arto Pulk. Their work is described in the June 28 issue of the journal Science.

Their image is the latest advance in the push for more effective antibiotics. The goal is new drugs that kill the bacteria that make us sick, stay one step ahead of their resistance mechanisms, and leave our beneficial bacteria alone.

One way to do this is to get to know the bacterial ribosome inside and out. Many of today’s antibiotics target ribosomes. A better understanding of how ribosomes function will shed light on how these antibiotics work. This could also lead to even “smarter” molecules that quickly target and disable a pathogen’s ribosomes without affecting friendly bacteria.

Cate and Pulk used protein crystallography beamlines at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source to create diffraction patterns that show how the ribosome’s molecules fit together. They then used computational modeling to combine these patterns into incredibly high-resolution images that describe the locations of the individual atoms.

The result is the colorful structure at the top of this article. Those blue and purple halves are ribosomes. They’re from E. coli bacteria, but they work in similar ways throughout nature. Ribosomes move along messenger RNA and interpret its Vending Computer  genetic code into directions on how to stitch amino acids into proteins.

But sometimes ribosomes want to move backward, which isn’t good when you’re in the protein-making business. That’s where that yellow-red-green squiggle wedged between the two ribosome halves comes in. It’s elongation factor G. It acts like a ratchet and prevents the ribosome from slipping backward. It also pushes the ribosome forward when it’s sluggish.

Scientists knew that elongation factor G performs these jobs, but they didn’t know how. Now, with an atomic-scale structure in hand, they can study the chemical and molecular forces involved in this ratcheting process. Cate and Pulk found that the ratchet controls the ribosome’s motion by stiffening and relaxing over and over. This is the kind of insight that could lead to new ways to monkey-wrench the ribosome.

“To create better antibiotics, we need to learn how bacterial ribosomes work at the smallest scales, and this is a big step in that direction,” says Cate.

The National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute supported the research. The U.S. Department of Energy provides support for the Advanced Light Source, where this research was conducted.

Publication: Arto Pulk, et al., “Control of Ribosomal Subunit Industrial 3g router   Rotation by Elongation Factor G,” Science 28 June 2013: Vol. 340 no. 6140; DOI: 10.1126/science.1235970

Image: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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[vedrconnect-blog]

All you need to know about AR (Augmented Reality)

AR (Augmented Reality)

 Augmented Reality is the integration of digital information with the user’s environment in real time. Augmented Reality uses the existing environment and overlays new information on the top of it.

It is an enhanced version of reality where live direct or indirect views of physical real-world environments are augmented with superimposed computer generated images over a user’s view of the real world, thus enhancing one’s current perception of reality.

The origin of the word augmented is augment, which means to add or enhance something. In the case of Augmented Reality, graphics, sounds and touch feedback are added into our natural world to create an enhanced user experience.

Types of Augmented Reality

 1. Marker Based Augmented Reality

 Marker-based augmented reality (also called Image Recognition) uses a camera and some type of visual marker, such as a QR/2D code, to produce a result only when the marker is sensed by a reader. Marker based application use a camera on the device to distinguish a marker from any other real world object. Distinct, but simple patterns (such as a QR Code) are used as the markers, because they can be easily recognized and do not require a lot of processing power to read. The position and orientation is also calculated, in which some type of content and/or information is then over-layered the marker.

 2.  Markerless Augmented Reality

 As one of the most widely implemented applications of augmented reality, markerless (also called location-based, position-based, or GPS) augmented reality, uses a GPS, digital compass, velocity meter, or accelerometer which is embedded in the device to provide data based on your location. A strong force behind markerless augmented reality technology is the wide availability of smartphones and location detection features they provide. It is most commonly used for mapping directions, finding nearby businesses, and other location-centric mobile applications.

3.  Projection Based Augmented Reality

 Projection based augmented reality works by projecting artificial light onto real world surfaces. Projection based augmented reality application allow for human interaction by sending light onto a real world surface and then sensing the human interaction (i.e. touch) of that projected light. Detecting the user’s interaction is done by differentiating between an expected (or known) projection and the altered projection (caused by the user’s interaction). Another interesting application of projection based augmented reality utilizes laser plasma technology to project a three-dimensional (3D) interactive hologram into mid-air.

4.  Superimposition Based Augmented Reality

 Superimposition based augmented reality either partially or fully replaces the original view of an object with a newly augmented view of that same object. In superimposition based augmented reality, object recognition plays a vital role because the application cannot replace the original view with an augmented one if it cannot determine what the object is. A strong consumer-facing example of superimposition based augmented reality could be found in the Ikea augmented reality furniture catalogue. By downloading an app and scanning selected pages in their printed or digital catalogue, users can place virtual ikea furniture in their own home with the help of augmented reality.

 Key Components of AR Devices

 1. Sensors and Cameras

 Sensors are usually on the outside of the augmented reality device, and gather a user’s real world interactions and communicate them to be processed and interpreted. Cameras are also located on the outside of the device, and visually scan to collect data about the surrounding area. The devices take this information, which often determines where surrounding physical objects are located, and then formulates a digital model to determine appropriate output. In the case of Microsoft HoloLens, specific cameras perform specific duties, such as depth sensing. Depth sensing cameras work in tandem with two “environment understanding cameras” on each side of the device. Another common type of camera is a standard several megapixel camera (similar to the ones used in smartphones) to record pictures, videos, and sometimes information to assist with augmentation.

 2. Projection

 While “Projection Based Augmented Reality” is a category in-itself, we are specifically referring to a miniature projector often found in a forward and outward-facing position on wearable augmented reality headsets. The projector can essentially turn any surface into an interactive environment. As mentioned above, the information taken in by the cameras used to examine the surrounding world, is processed and then projected onto a surface in front of the user; which could be a wrist, a wall, or even another person. The use of projection in augmented reality devices means that screen real estate will eventually become a lesser important component. In the future, you may not need an iPad to play an online game of chess because you will be able to play it on the table top in front of you.

 3. Processing

 Augmented reality devices are basically mini-supercomputers packed into tiny wearable devices. These devices require significant computer processing power and utilize many of the same components that our smartphones do. These components include a CPU, a GPU, flash memory, RAM, Bluetooth/Wifi microchip, global positioning system (GPS) microchip, and more. Advanced augmented reality devices, such as the Microsoft HoloLens utilize an accelerometer (to measure the speed in which your head is moving), a gyroscope (to measure the tilt and orientation of your head), and a magnetometer (to function as a compass and figure out which direction your head is pointing) to provide for truly immersive experience.

  4. Reflection

Mirrors are used in augmented reality devices to assist with the way your eye views the virtual image. Some augmented reality devices may have “an array of many small curved mirrors” and others may have a simple double-sided mirror with one surface reflecting incoming light to a side-mounted camera and the other surface reflecting light from a side-mounted display to the user’s eye. In the Microsoft HoloLens, the use of “mirrors” involves see-through holographic lenses (Microsoft refers to them as waveguides) that use an optical projection system to beam holograms into your eyes. A so-called light engine, emits the light towards two separate lenses (one for each eye), which consists of three layers of glass of three different primary colors (blue, green, red). The light hits those layers and then enters the eye at specific angles, intensities and colors, producing a final holistic image on the eye’s retina. Regardless of method, all of these reflection paths have the same objective, which is to assist with image alignment to the user’s eye.

 How Augmented Reality is Controlled?

 Augmented reality devices are often controlled either by touch a pad or voice commands. The touch pads are often somewhere on the device that is easily reachable. They work by sensing the pressure changes that occur when a user taps or swipes a specific spot. Voice commands work very similar to the way they do on our smartphones. A tiny microphone on the device will pick up your voice and then a microprocessor will interpret the commands. Voice commands, such as those on the Google Glass augmented reality device, are pre-programmed from a list of commands that you can use. On the Google Glass, nearly all of them start with “OK, Glass,” which alerts your glasses that a command is soon to follow. For example, “OK, Glass, take a picture” will send a command to the to snap a photo of whatever you’re looking at.

 “Simply put, we believe augmented reality is going to change the way we use technology forever. We’re already seeing things that will transform the way you work, play, connect and learn.” —Tim Cook

[unixcommerce]

20 Best New Portfolios, October 2018

Hello Readers! Can you believe that I have not found one single Halloween-themed portfolio? I guess no one wanted to base their entire site on a one-day holiday. While understandable, this disappoints me.

Someone get me a vector skeleton!

What we do have is a general mix of calm and soothing minimalist sites punctuated by riotous color which might, if you’re not ready for it, hurt your eyes for a second. Enjoy.

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

Landscape

To start us off, Landscape brings us an almost classically minimalist design, with a bit of an asymmetrical, collage-style layout. The (thankfully soundless) highlight reel on the home page can be a little jarring, but does a good job of showing the striking variety in their work.

Platform: WordPress

Louis Ansa

Continuing under “L”, Louis Ansa has an even bolder and even more animation-heavy site, though the animation is a bit easier on the eyes. There is a bit of “collage” in the design, but it’s a light touch that quickly gives way to a more typical layout style, while keeping everything (literally) moving. I personally love the way they used color for this one.

Platform: JS App

Serious Business

The logo for Serious Business has an ironic smiley face because of course it does. They even go so far as to promise to “make Millenials fall in love with your brand”… but I’ll try not to hold that against them.

I’ll say that they’re good at branding, though. The typography combined with some small graphical elements gives the site a distinct personality, while the variety in layout and presentation encourages exploration of the site. Animation takes you pretty seamlessly from one page to another in a way I can’t deny that I like.

Platform: Vue JS App

Fleur Moreau

Fleur Moreau is a studio that seems to make very minimalist and modern school supplies. When it comes right down to it, they do some pretty precision engineering, so their site reflects that professionalism, rather than going for the throw-colors-everywhere approach you might expect. For a site that sells things kids will inevitably destroy, it looks downright elegant, and this is accomplished mostly through typography.

Platform: Vue JS App

Ahmad Fakhry

Ahmad Fakhry is an interior/furniture designer, and so his site is predictably minimalist. What makes it fun for me is that I’m a sucker for those 50/50 split website layouts, though this one adapts, depending on which content is taking priority at any given moment. That last bit is something I like to see.

Platform: Static Site

Adele Bates

Adele Bates’ portfolio is one of those that puts the navigation all around the edges of the design. I’m normally not a fan, but there’s enough contrast to make it work.

The rest of the site is even structured specifically to draw your eyes to the sides of the page at any time, so you can’t miss the bits you’re supposed to click on. Combine that with a solid modernist design aesthetic, and it all works rather well.

Platform: WordPress

Mynd

Mynd’s portfolio site is fairly standard layout-wise, and depends on the graphical talents of its creators to stand out, and stick in your head. Said graphics are simple, but visually striking enough to pull it off. To paraphrase Star Wars, it’s an older approach, but it checks out.

Platform: Static Site

Erudito

Random blobs of color used to be the domain of cheap flyers made for local businesses in the ’90s. But if you make those colors kind-of-pastel, use the blobs sparingly, and throw them on to a delicious yet solid foundation of simple type and layout, you get Erudito.

I haven’t been this excited about blobs of color since I was eight years old, or so.

Platform: Static Site

Moshin

Moshin makes use of the good-old grid-as-aesthetic-element trick, though you’re not going to see any actual lines outside of project preview images. However, those hints at simplicity and order sort of train the eye to see the same principles at work in the rest of the website, which I thought was a nice touch.

Platform: WordPress

Brand Affair

Is it just me, or are branding-focused studios usually the ones that really go all out with the fun stuff? Well Brand Affair is carrying on the tradition with their sunsets, their animals, and their clear and ever-present flair for the dramatic. I guess when your color palette is “all of the colors”, you truly have some room to get wild.

And yet, according to my browser, it’s not quite as bandwidth-heavy as you’d think. On top of everything else, I have to give them props for their optimization.

Platform: Static Site

Fully Studios

Fully Studios is another one that’ll throw the rainbow at you, but this time it comes with a healthy dose of illustration, and SVG animation. The rest of the site is a lovely mix of soft colors, retro-style UI elements, and a bit of monospaced type.

Platform: Static Site

Benjamin Guedj

Bringing us back from the edge of color-induced hypnosis, Benjamin Guedj’s portfolio is clean and pretty, with elegant-feeling type. The serif font chosen here can get a little hard to read at smaller sizes, but otherwise this is just a small, good-looking site that doesn’t do any more than it needs to.

Platform: Static Site

Series Eight

Series Eight: It’s simple. It’s somewhat monochromatic. It’s very “sans-serif”. Those are all compliments.

Platform: Static Site

Faculty

Faculty doesn’t quite look like a spreadsheet or database, but it kind of feels like it was inspired by one. All of the content gets its own column, and stays there across all pages. The overall effect is one of clear organization and goals, and I love it.

Platform: WordPress

Alex Firs

Alex Firs’ portfolio evokes a little bit of comic book flavor in its typography in with its modernism, and goes for a quite bold look. It’s all black, white, and solid reds.

One thing I’d like to note for other portfolio designers: the video backgrounds are only animated when you hover over the projects associated with them. This is a good way to focus a user’s attention, and save bandwidth. I’m just saying.

Platform: WordPress

Common Works

Common Works embraces some, well… common design patterns, but it is a beautiful site nonetheless. It made the list specifically because I am a sucker for Easter eggs, though. The animated QR code can be a bit tough to scan because of the animation, but it’s worth it.

Platform: Static Site

Bix Archer

Now Bix Archer’s portfolio does have a spreadsheet that serves as her main project archive, and a collage of modals to feature specific projects. As models of curation go, it’s a good setup for a one-page portfolio.

Platform: Static Site

Light and Shadows

Light and Shadows evokes an early 00’s idea of what a futuristic interface would look like, while still retaining a distinctly contemporary feel overall in its presentation-style UI. It comes complete with animated lines, text that “descrambles” itself, everything.

And yet, there’s no auto-playing audio. Good work, guys. You designed a site that excited my inner child without annoying the rest of me.

Platform: WordPress

Bison Studio

Bison Studio is a lovely-looking portfolio with solid type (except for a few instances where it could use more contrast), and that thing where almost every elements will, at some point, overlap onto another one. Plus, how many websites will put a buffalo chewing on something on their home page? How many?

Platform: JS App

Dragon Rouge

Dragon Rouge doesn’t hold back on the personality. Start scrolling through the site, and you’ll get hit with some pretty large images out of nowhere, and then there’s that mouse cursor.

Look, I’m usually not a fan of custom cursors, because half the time they’re just harder to see. This one is… not like that. Just give the link a click. You’ll see what I mean.

Platform: WordPress

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20 Best New Portfolios, October 2018

Hello Readers! Can you believe that I have not found one single Halloween-themed portfolio? I guess no one wanted to base their entire site on a one-day holiday. While understandable, this disappoints me.

Someone get me a vector skeleton!

What we do have is a general mix of calm and soothing minimalist sites punctuated by riotous color which might, if you’re not ready for it, hurt your eyes for a second. Enjoy.

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

Landscape

To start us off, Landscape brings us an almost classically minimalist design, with a bit of an asymmetrical, collage-style layout. The (thankfully soundless) highlight reel on the home page can be a little jarring, but does a good job of showing the striking variety in their work.

Platform: WordPress

Louis Ansa

Continuing under “L”, Louis Ansa has an even bolder and even more animation-heavy site, though the animation is a bit easier on the eyes. There is a bit of “collage” in the design, but it’s a light touch that quickly gives way to a more typical layout style, while keeping everything (literally) moving. I personally love the way they used color for this one.

Platform: JS App

Serious Business

The logo for Serious Business has an ironic smiley face because of course it does. They even go so far as to promise to “make Millenials fall in love with your brand”… but I’ll try not to hold that against them.

I’ll say that they’re good at branding, though. The typography combined with some small graphical elements gives the site a distinct personality, while the variety in layout and presentation encourages exploration of the site. Animation takes you pretty seamlessly from one page to another in a way I can’t deny that I like.

Platform: Vue JS App

Fleur Moreau

Fleur Moreau is a studio that seems to make very minimalist and modern school supplies. When it comes right down to it, they do some pretty precision engineering, so their site reflects that professionalism, rather than going for the throw-colors-everywhere approach you might expect. For a site that sells things kids will inevitably destroy, it looks downright elegant, and this is accomplished mostly through typography.

Platform: Vue JS App

Ahmad Fakhry

Ahmad Fakhry is an interior/furniture designer, and so his site is predictably minimalist. What makes it fun for me is that I’m a sucker for those 50/50 split website layouts, though this one adapts, depending on which content is taking priority at any given moment. That last bit is something I like to see.

Platform: Static Site

Adele Bates

Adele Bates’ portfolio is one of those that puts the navigation all around the edges of the design. I’m normally not a fan, but there’s enough contrast to make it work.

The rest of the site is even structured specifically to draw your eyes to the sides of the page at any time, so you can’t miss the bits you’re supposed to click on. Combine that with a solid modernist design aesthetic, and it all works rather well.

Platform: WordPress

Mynd

Mynd’s portfolio site is fairly standard layout-wise, and depends on the graphical talents of its creators to stand out, and stick in your head. Said graphics are simple, but visually striking enough to pull it off. To paraphrase Star Wars, it’s an older approach, but it checks out.

Platform: Static Site

Erudito

Random blobs of color used to be the domain of cheap flyers made for local businesses in the ’90s. But if you make those colors kind-of-pastel, use the blobs sparingly, and throw them on to a delicious yet solid foundation of simple type and layout, you get Erudito.

I haven’t been this excited about blobs of color since I was eight years old, or so.

Platform: Static Site

Moshin

Moshin makes use of the good-old grid-as-aesthetic-element trick, though you’re not going to see any actual lines outside of project preview images. However, those hints at simplicity and order sort of train the eye to see the same principles at work in the rest of the website, which I thought was a nice touch.

Platform: WordPress

Brand Affair

Is it just me, or are branding-focused studios usually the ones that really go all out with the fun stuff? Well Brand Affair is carrying on the tradition with their sunsets, their animals, and their clear and ever-present flair for the dramatic. I guess when your color palette is “all of the colors”, you truly have some room to get wild.

And yet, according to my browser, it’s not quite as bandwidth-heavy as you’d think. On top of everything else, I have to give them props for their optimization.

Platform: Static Site

Fully Studios

Fully Studios is another one that’ll throw the rainbow at you, but this time it comes with a healthy dose of illustration, and SVG animation. The rest of the site is a lovely mix of soft colors, retro-style UI elements, and a bit of monospaced type.

Platform: Static Site

Benjamin Guedj

Bringing us back from the edge of color-induced hypnosis, Benjamin Guedj’s portfolio is clean and pretty, with elegant-feeling type. The serif font chosen here can get a little hard to read at smaller sizes, but otherwise this is just a small, good-looking site that doesn’t do any more than it needs to.

Platform: Static Site

Series Eight

Series Eight: It’s simple. It’s somewhat monochromatic. It’s very “sans-serif”. Those are all compliments.

Platform: Static Site

Faculty

Faculty doesn’t quite look like a spreadsheet or database, but it kind of feels like it was inspired by one. All of the content gets its own column, and stays there across all pages. The overall effect is one of clear organization and goals, and I love it.

Platform: WordPress

Alex Firs

Alex Firs’ portfolio evokes a little bit of comic book flavor in its typography in with its modernism, and goes for a quite bold look. It’s all black, white, and solid reds.

One thing I’d like to note for other portfolio designers: the video backgrounds are only animated when you hover over the projects associated with them. This is a good way to focus a user’s attention, and save bandwidth. I’m just saying.

Platform: WordPress

Common Works

Common Works embraces some, well… common design patterns, but it is a beautiful site nonetheless. It made the list specifically because I am a sucker for Easter eggs, though. The animated QR code can be a bit tough to scan because of the animation, but it’s worth it.

Platform: Static Site

Bix Archer

Now Bix Archer’s portfolio does have a spreadsheet that serves as her main project archive, and a collage of modals to feature specific projects. As models of curation go, it’s a good setup for a one-page portfolio.

Platform: Static Site

Light and Shadows

Light and Shadows evokes an early 00’s idea of what a futuristic interface would look like, while still retaining a distinctly contemporary feel overall in its presentation-style UI. It comes complete with animated lines, text that “descrambles” itself, everything.

And yet, there’s no auto-playing audio. Good work, guys. You designed a site that excited my inner child without annoying the rest of me.

Platform: WordPress

Bison Studio

Bison Studio is a lovely-looking portfolio with solid type (except for a few instances where it could use more contrast), and that thing where almost every elements will, at some point, overlap onto another one. Plus, how many websites will put a buffalo chewing on something on their home page? How many?

Platform: JS App

Dragon Rouge

Dragon Rouge doesn’t hold back on the personality. Start scrolling through the site, and you’ll get hit with some pretty large images out of nowhere, and then there’s that mouse cursor.

Look, I’m usually not a fan of custom cursors, because half the time they’re just harder to see. This one is… not like that. Just give the link a click. You’ll see what I mean.

Platform: WordPress

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[iyarpage]

20 Best New Portfolios, October 2018

Hello Readers! Can you believe that I have not found one single Halloween-themed portfolio? I guess no one wanted to base their entire site on a one-day holiday. While understandable, this disappoints me.

Someone get me a vector skeleton!

What we do have is a general mix of calm and soothing minimalist sites punctuated by riotous color which might, if you’re not ready for it, hurt your eyes for a second. Enjoy.

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

Landscape

To start us off, Landscape brings us an almost classically minimalist design, with a bit of an asymmetrical, collage-style layout. The (thankfully soundless) highlight reel on the home page can be a little jarring, but does a good job of showing the striking variety in their work.

Platform: WordPress

Louis Ansa

Continuing under “L”, Louis Ansa has an even bolder and even more animation-heavy site, though the animation is a bit easier on the eyes. There is a bit of “collage” in the design, but it’s a light touch that quickly gives way to a more typical layout style, while keeping everything (literally) moving. I personally love the way they used color for this one.

Platform: JS App

Serious Business

The logo for Serious Business has an ironic smiley face because of course it does. They even go so far as to promise to “make Millenials fall in love with your brand”… but I’ll try not to hold that against them.

I’ll say that they’re good at branding, though. The typography combined with some small graphical elements gives the site a distinct personality, while the variety in layout and presentation encourages exploration of the site. Animation takes you pretty seamlessly from one page to another in a way I can’t deny that I like.

Platform: Vue JS App

Fleur Moreau

Fleur Moreau is a studio that seems to make very minimalist and modern school supplies. When it comes right down to it, they do some pretty precision engineering, so their site reflects that professionalism, rather than going for the throw-colors-everywhere approach you might expect. For a site that sells things kids will inevitably destroy, it looks downright elegant, and this is accomplished mostly through typography.

Platform: Vue JS App

Ahmad Fakhry

Ahmad Fakhry is an interior/furniture designer, and so his site is predictably minimalist. What makes it fun for me is that I’m a sucker for those 50/50 split website layouts, though this one adapts, depending on which content is taking priority at any given moment. That last bit is something I like to see.

Platform: Static Site

Adele Bates

Adele Bates’ portfolio is one of those that puts the navigation all around the edges of the design. I’m normally not a fan, but there’s enough contrast to make it work.

The rest of the site is even structured specifically to draw your eyes to the sides of the page at any time, so you can’t miss the bits you’re supposed to click on. Combine that with a solid modernist design aesthetic, and it all works rather well.

Platform: WordPress

Mynd

Mynd’s portfolio site is fairly standard layout-wise, and depends on the graphical talents of its creators to stand out, and stick in your head. Said graphics are simple, but visually striking enough to pull it off. To paraphrase Star Wars, it’s an older approach, but it checks out.

Platform: Static Site

Erudito

Random blobs of color used to be the domain of cheap flyers made for local businesses in the ’90s. But if you make those colors kind-of-pastel, use the blobs sparingly, and throw them on to a delicious yet solid foundation of simple type and layout, you get Erudito.

I haven’t been this excited about blobs of color since I was eight years old, or so.

Platform: Static Site

Moshin

Moshin makes use of the good-old grid-as-aesthetic-element trick, though you’re not going to see any actual lines outside of project preview images. However, those hints at simplicity and order sort of train the eye to see the same principles at work in the rest of the website, which I thought was a nice touch.

Platform: WordPress

Brand Affair

Is it just me, or are branding-focused studios usually the ones that really go all out with the fun stuff? Well Brand Affair is carrying on the tradition with their sunsets, their animals, and their clear and ever-present flair for the dramatic. I guess when your color palette is “all of the colors”, you truly have some room to get wild.

And yet, according to my browser, it’s not quite as bandwidth-heavy as you’d think. On top of everything else, I have to give them props for their optimization.

Platform: Static Site

Fully Studios

Fully Studios is another one that’ll throw the rainbow at you, but this time it comes with a healthy dose of illustration, and SVG animation. The rest of the site is a lovely mix of soft colors, retro-style UI elements, and a bit of monospaced type.

Platform: Static Site

Benjamin Guedj

Bringing us back from the edge of color-induced hypnosis, Benjamin Guedj’s portfolio is clean and pretty, with elegant-feeling type. The serif font chosen here can get a little hard to read at smaller sizes, but otherwise this is just a small, good-looking site that doesn’t do any more than it needs to.

Platform: Static Site

Series Eight

Series Eight: It’s simple. It’s somewhat monochromatic. It’s very “sans-serif”. Those are all compliments.

Platform: Static Site

Faculty

Faculty doesn’t quite look like a spreadsheet or database, but it kind of feels like it was inspired by one. All of the content gets its own column, and stays there across all pages. The overall effect is one of clear organization and goals, and I love it.

Platform: WordPress

Alex Firs

Alex Firs’ portfolio evokes a little bit of comic book flavor in its typography in with its modernism, and goes for a quite bold look. It’s all black, white, and solid reds.

One thing I’d like to note for other portfolio designers: the video backgrounds are only animated when you hover over the projects associated with them. This is a good way to focus a user’s attention, and save bandwidth. I’m just saying.

Platform: WordPress

Common Works

Common Works embraces some, well… common design patterns, but it is a beautiful site nonetheless. It made the list specifically because I am a sucker for Easter eggs, though. The animated QR code can be a bit tough to scan because of the animation, but it’s worth it.

Platform: Static Site

Bix Archer

Now Bix Archer’s portfolio does have a spreadsheet that serves as her main project archive, and a collage of modals to feature specific projects. As models of curation go, it’s a good setup for a one-page portfolio.

Platform: Static Site

Light and Shadows

Light and Shadows evokes an early 00’s idea of what a futuristic interface would look like, while still retaining a distinctly contemporary feel overall in its presentation-style UI. It comes complete with animated lines, text that “descrambles” itself, everything.

And yet, there’s no auto-playing audio. Good work, guys. You designed a site that excited my inner child without annoying the rest of me.

Platform: WordPress

Bison Studio

Bison Studio is a lovely-looking portfolio with solid type (except for a few instances where it could use more contrast), and that thing where almost every elements will, at some point, overlap onto another one. Plus, how many websites will put a buffalo chewing on something on their home page? How many?

Platform: JS App

Dragon Rouge

Dragon Rouge doesn’t hold back on the personality. Start scrolling through the site, and you’ll get hit with some pretty large images out of nowhere, and then there’s that mouse cursor.

Look, I’m usually not a fan of custom cursors, because half the time they’re just harder to see. This one is… not like that. Just give the link a click. You’ll see what I mean.

Platform: WordPress

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

Source p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;} .alignleft {float:left;} p.showcase {clear:both;} body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;} 20 Best New Portfolios, October 2018 published first on https://medium.com/@koresol

[axicon]

An Overview of 2D Barcode Technology

By John Nachtrieb 18/01/2018

If you are already familiar with 1D or linear barcodes such as UPC and Code 128, you will find many familiar things in 2D or matrix symbologies, but some of those familiar things apply in unfamiliar ways. Generally, 2D symbols work the same as 1D barcodes: the scanning technology is based on reflectivity or more precisely, the reflective differences between the dark and light reflectance elements in the symbol. Here is an explanation of some other similarities. 

The stop/start patterns in 1D barcodes signal the scanner to the presence of a barcode. Because different 1D symbols have different start/stop patterns, they also enable the scanner to identify kind of symbol it is—UPC, Code 39, or whatever. Start/stop patterns provide basic, format information that is always the same for every UPC, every Code 39 or code 128 or ITF. The “intelligent” or meaningful encoded information will vary but the start/stop pattern remains the same for each symbol type.

In 2D symbols these are called Fixed Patterns—they perform the same function as start/stop patterns in 1D codes with nuanced differences:

they orient the scanner to the symbol directionally—what is up and down, what is left and right so the data can be decoded in its proper sequence

they tell the scanner what type of symbol is present

they help the scanner determine X dimension so it can select the correct aperture

1D barcodes must have a blank area of a specified, minimum size leading and trailing the barcode. Quiet Zone dimension is expressed as a multiple of the X dimension; for example in UPC the minimum left and right quiet zones are each 9 times X.

2D symbols also have a quiet zone that completely surrounds the symbol on all four sides, but it is relatively small, and differs for different types of 2D symbols. The Quiet Zone surrounding a Data Matrix code must be equal at least 1X. The Quiet Zone for QR Codes intended for mobile scanning (smart phone) is >2X; for all other scanning is >

Quiet Zones as expressed above and in the ISO15415 Specification designate the required Quiet Zone as a > Larger Quiet Zones are always better. This is equally true of ISO15416 regarding 1D barcodes. 

Bar Width Reduction Bar width reduction is applied in a linear barcode to compensate for a predictable  amount of press or dot caused by the printing process. Pigment applied to a substrate tends to spread. Bar width reduction compensates for that spread so that bars gain into their nominal width rather than exceed the allowable bar width tolerance and degrade scanning performance.

Bar width reduction for 1D barcodes affects only bar width and not bar height since bar height is not critical to scanning success.

Press or dot gain also occurs in printing 2D symbols so bar width reduction is an important consideration here too, but since 2D symbols are two dimensional, BWR must also occur in both the X and Y axis.

Since printing (with some exceptions) is an in-motion process, transport speed can affect image quality in the direction of travel. 1D barcodes printed with the bars parallel to the direction of travel are somewhat less sensitive to gain than when oriented perpendicular to direction of travel. Similarly, 2D symbols are more sensitive to gain in the perpendicular axis. Bar width gain is also related to print speed. Rather than attempt to compensate for high transport speeds when printing 1D or 2D symbols, bar width control improves at constant, lower transport speed.

1D and 2D symbols with smaller X dimensions have smaller plus or minus width tolerances than symbols with larger X dimensions. Thus, accurate bar width reduction is more critical when printing smaller symbols.Error Detection vs. Error Correction   1D barcode check digits are like the spell checker in a word processing application: they detect an error but do not correct it. Check digits prevent misreads. Check digits are optional in some 1D barcodes, and when present, add only one or two characters to the encoded data string.

2D symbols have error correction capability, which is like the auto-correct function in word processing: it finds and corrects errors. Most 2D symbols use the Reed-Solomon error correction methodology.

Reed Solomon error correction originated in 1960, many years before barcodes. We unknowingly encounter it in mass storage systems including CD’s and DVD’s to correct for tracking errors by the reader (player).

QR Code has four levels of error correction, which is determined at the design stage; a QR Code can survive as little as 7% damage or as much as 40% damage.

Higher levels of error correction increases the data content of the QR Code, which can require it to occupy more space, or to reduce the X dimension. Data Matrix code error correction is user-scalable depending upon the symbol size and total number of codewords. 

X Dimension

The X dimension of a 1D barcode is the width of the narrow bar. In a 2D symbol the X dimension is called an element or module. In both symbol types, the X dimension is the basic building block of the symbol. In a 1D barcode the X dimension, in conjunction with the narrow-to-wide ratio of bars and spaces, and the amount of encoded data, determines the physical size of the entire barcode and its quiet zones. In UPC, X dimension is expressed as “magnification” but otherwise means the same thing—physical size of the symbol.

In 2D symbols, the element or module size and the amount of encoded data determines the physical size of the 2D symbol. The level of error correction factors into the amount of encoded data: more error correction increases the amount of encoded data.

Symbol Contrast    

In 1D barcodes, there are three factors to consider in symbol contrast.

First, there must be a minimum reflectance difference between the barcode and the background. The minimum reflectance difference for 1D barcodes is 50%.

Second, the background is always the Rmax maximum reflectance or “light” value; the barcode is the Rmin minimum reflectance or “dark” value. The Print Contrast Signal or PCS system specifies this reflectance requirement. Presently, reverse-imaged 1D barcodes with light reflectance bars and dark reflectance background (spaces and quiet zones) violate.

Third, 1D barcodes are always* scanned in 660nm light. Originally the light source was a laser but even with modern camera imagers, the light source emulates the 660nm laser. The red spectrum light source prohibits 1D barcodes printed in reddish colors, which would render the barcode invisible in red light. Neither can barcodes be printed over a green background, which would appear black in red light.

QR Code symbols are not held to the PCS system, and since the “scanners” are often smart phone cameras that do not use 660nm light. These symbols can be printed in a light color against a dark background and in a wide range of colors. Ironically this makes it more difficult to be sure the color combinations are acceptable, but the key issue is contrast: there must a minimum amount of contrast difference. However, the two reflectance values—light and dark—must be uniform. There must be no significant differences in the light reflectance value, and no significant differences in the dark reflectance value. The QR Code above violates that rule due to an ill-advised design decision.

Data Matrix symbols printed on labels and packaging are subject to the PCS system with Symbol Contrast grading based on the 50% minimum Symbol Contrast threshold.

Direct Part Mark (DPM) symbols are imaged directly onto substrates such as metal, plastic or glass, and are not held to the Symbol Contrast standard but are still verified (and scanned

) with 660nm light. The basic requirement is to achieve minimal or better contrast difference between the symbol and its substrate to be able to decode it, but no contrast threshold is expressed.

DPM verifiers are required to provide lighting at 90°,45° and 30° to optimize the likelihood of capturing a successful decode, from which it is then possible to evaluate and grade the symbol on its other properties.

*The Laetus Pharmacode 1D symbol can be printed in reddish colors and needs a special white light scanner to scan it.