#site has some missing pages here and there but otherwise good

[silk-bullet]

Why do Jjk characters make such weird faces

like it makes them very expressive and that’s a good thing, but like I had to look at this, followed immediately by this on the next page 😭😭

I had to put my tablet down to giggle for a minute before I could continue hahaha

[vikenticomeshome]

The Cyberchase Homepage Through the years: part 1 (December 28, 2001 through December 12, 2004)

I decided to collect some screenshots showing the evolution of the Cyberchase area on the pbskids.org website over the years. Keep in mind that this is based off Wayback Machine archives, so I am limited to whichever variants the web crawler captured. They didn't necessarily crawl every time the page updated. There may also be assets missing, as the Wayback Machine doesn't always grab everything.

Let's start with the earliest known capture. This is from December 28th, 2001. This was 24 days before the show premiered.

We can see links to the webisodes, which were a set of official prequel web comics. There is a link to the original e-card creation page, as well as a link to the "What is Cyberchase?" page that explains the premise of the show.

The next major revision came up after the show released. The earliest capture of this page was on February 2nd, 2002. However, I picked a capture from August 3rd, 2002, as it was the earliest capture that wasn't missing any assets. We can see Jackie setting down to play the old Cyberchase flash game "Symmetrizer", while Matt is leaning on a small table near the TV that is advertising Season 1 Episode 18 "Problem Solving in Shangri-la". Inez and Digit are missing for some reason. Why is Buzz here without Delete?

They made a Christmas version of this page. The only capture I found was from December 3rd of 2002. They put some lights around their logo. Matt is now wearing a Santa hat. Jackie has a giant bow in her hair. Inez and Digit are still nowhere to be found. Did Matt and Jackie kick them out for breaking the TV?

The earliest capture I found of the next major update to the site was from December 3, 2003. Does anyone remember the "PBS Kids Go!" rebranding where they tried to market some of their shows to slightly older audiences? Inez and Digit are finally allowed to be in the group photo. They now have two TVs, as well as some combination of a computer and arcade cabinet. Why are Buzz and Delete here?

This version of the site got a Valentine's Day update to promote Season 2 Episode 1 "Hugs and Witches". This capture is from February 8th, 2004.

So, this capture from June 9th, 2004 is the same version of the site as prior to the Valentine's Day update. However, I thought I should include it because Creech and Slider popped in for a cameo.

Here is a capture from June 6th, 2004. It contains a summer promotion by Delete. It also replaced Jackie with a clone of Inez. This may have been a mistake in the website itself, since it seems to randomly pick a kid to put in a place on this background. Otherwise, the Wayback Machine may have grabbed the wrong image somehow.

And then, they cloned Matt on June 27, 2004. This must have been a mistake in the webpage code where they put the same kid in two places.

Yeah, Jackie got her turn to be cloned on June 29, 2004.

There was a layout update that added a promotion for new shows. I grabbed this example from September 3rd, 2004. It also shows off a contest from the time, which deserves its own post.

Fast-forwarding to October 13th, 2004, we have the kids in their Halloween costumes from Season 2 Episode 14 "Trick or Treat". We also see an advertisement for Season 3 Episode 11, "Shari Spotter and the Cosmic Crumpets". Apparently, they also fixed the duplication glitch.

On November 11th, 2004 We get a link to the winners of that contest.

This capture from December 12, 2004 shows that the kids have decorated for Starlight Night. We also see an advertisement for Season 3 Episode 12 "Starlight Night".

This seems like a good place to leave of for now. I didn't realize how many variants there were until I got into it. I will make a part 2 at some point.

[spookystarfishzombie]

Just a little 'hello & welcome to my blog' post.

Most people have a pinned introduction post & I thought I should probably get on that. This will also double up as a FAQ post too.

Also, if you wanna buy me tea, you can -> (green tea of course)

First & foremost: FREE PALESTINE! I won't hear any different, go argue with a wall (no it's not performative, as I have been accused of in the past (all because I criticised an actor), I've attended marches, signed petitions, written to my local MPs, attended meetings & help set up fund raising events, so fuck off with your 'performative activism' buzz words, I'm not here for it). As I run a Stranger Things page, it's worth noting that I do not support the zi0nists in the show, most notably No*h Schnapp (tagged as 'he who shall not be named) & Br*tt Gelman (tagged as 'other he who shall not be named'. I honestly think he's down right insane). If you are one of these people that venomously supports them then this page isn't for you. You're not welcome here. And since some children in the fandom can't tell the difference between criticism and hatred, I don't hate these people (well maybe Gelman because he's actively causing my community a terrible reputation), I hope that through education and compassion they see how wrong & hurtful their words have been. Thankfully, I've been educated my whole life about isr*el through the Holocaust legacy we have in our family, my great grandmother having survived it and actively fought against the idea of isr*el, how it's just going end up brainwashing so many youths into thinking they can just turf indigenous people from their literal homes. I've unfortunately been to isr*el when I was a child because my dead beat father seemed to think it was a good idea, even if my beloved great-grandmother pleaded with him not to. Luckily my mom did the right thing and left him and my step-father has been great. He used to blindly support isr*el until he finally educated himself and has felt terrible that this was his mindset for so long. Change can happen, but you need to detangle yourself from isr*el's cluthes and realise that it's more important to protect the real indigenous people of Palestine. Listen to the Rabbi's out in the streets, protesting. Listen to the Jewish Community when we tell you that Zi0nism is a dangerous thing that has weaponised Judaism and played the victim to use as a shield ... okay that got heavy. Moving on!!!!!

Secondly, Hi, I'm Kay (she/her), I'm a veteran of Tumblr, unfortunately. I love watching films, I love to draw, read and have green fingers, yes I'm a plant mama, I just love plants. My prized plant is my monstera because she started off so small & now she's doubled in size. So happy! I also put the B in LGBTQ, I'm very proud of the bi community & love being part of it (biphobes, especially within the queer community, are truly baffling to me - so take your biphobia elsewhere, or better yet, you know, educate yourself? It's not a hard thing to do). I also have crippling anxiety and I'm irritatingly shy, I wish I wasn't but I've always been shy, so if you want to talk to me, you're going to have to be the one to reach out otherwise I'm radio silent (I'm working on it). I'm a millennial, so if you're a minor, sorry, I won't be forging friendships. But you're awsome, just know that!

I used to have Texts From Last Night (TFLN) blog for Stranger Things a few years back that was basically the same as this blog (except back then I had thousands of followers *sigh*). I deleted it because a) people were annoying about it, b) people didn't seem to understand that this wasn't to be taken seriously and c) I got chased off the site because apparently labelling Mike as bi was a death sentence. I said fuck it, and deleted. I started it around when season 2 came out & deleted just before season 4. But I'm hoping the fandom is a little more mature now & I can start up with a fresh, new Stranger Things TFLN blog again, mainly because I miss making edits. Making edits helps take my focus off my anxiety. Yay anxiety.

I take texts from the site Texts From Last Night (it's no longer being maintained, unfortunately), then I take screencaps from my own laptop or from a site called screencapped, then throw it altogether (if you want to look at the site for yourself, just a trigger warning, some of the texts are either gross or bigoted - so just a heads up, I obviously filter out those ones from my blog, I don't want that on here).

I do sometimes edit the original TFLN to fit the screencap, so if the original TFLN mentions a name, I'll change the name to say, for example, Lucas or Nancy. I'll change it if it includes ages & place names too, just to fit with Stranger Things. I also sometimes add my own Text to make it flow smoother, for example this one with Steve & Eddie (the post), the original TFLN only had the 'Eddie' part but I didn't think it flowed well, so I made up a 'Steve' text with a made up area code, so it made more sense that 'Eddie' was responding to 'Steve' rather than just having it as a stand alone text (I really over-complicate my descriptions, huh?).

The numbers on the posts are area codes, and the texts aren't colour coded, I just use what ever colour stands out against the background. I also don't do it by ships; I'll find a text that I think is funny and find a screencap that roughly matches up, so please don't request ship/character posts. I'll maybe do submissions at a later date, where you can send in your funny texts but right now, I'm just making my way through the TFLN site.

Not a particularly interesting introduction post but there you go. I ain't got much to say, I guess. But I will say thanks for your support so far on here, you guys seem to be enjoying the posts and that's all that really matters. Much love!

Kay

x

[fitgothgirl]

⬆️ Lovely sunset walk the other day, and the venue of a wedding I went to this past weekend

⬆️ My outfit for said wedding, and more pretty walk views. Not my favorite pic of me but didn’t get a better full body one and I loved my shoes 🥰🕸️🖤 (purchased them a while ago, hadn’t had a chance to wear them yet). The dress and belt were also new!

Hiiieeee I’m still alive. Been enjoying some time away from social media again. Most times I get the compulsion to click on tumblr or Reddit or something, I just click Solitaire or Wordscapes instead. And times when I have clicked on social media have been fairly short sessions before I remember why I stay away.

Of course I do always miss tumblr peeps... 🖤 That’s always the biggest downside of these breaks.

Went to the gym the day before yesterday for yet another “kicking out the cobwebs” session. Last workout was 4/2, and before that my last one was 3/22, etc... Bit of a pattern haha. But I’m already planning to get back today! I don’t want to keep doing this once-every-1-to-3-weeks thing. It’s better than nothing of course but I want to be doing at least twice a week... Ideally 3 times a week, but I’ll take fewer days first while just getting some friggin consistency down.

Therapy is going well, I wish I could see her more than every other week but it’s okay as it is for now. I’m still trying to get my official ADHD diagnosis and am in the process of switching psychiatrists at the service I use. But in the meantime my therapist sent me a couple links to sites for ADHD assessment that she’s pretty sure the psychiatrist will refer me to anyway (therapist and psychiatrist are from the same telehealth service). I tried one and it let me know it’d be a 60-90 minute process that I’d do on my own and then someone would reach out to me to schedule an appointment for me to talk to a doctor. The very first thing of this assessment was a page that just said “In your own words, please tell us more about why you are here, and your long term goals” and it had a blank area for me to type with no character limit... I was like ohhhohohooo wow... Where to begin... They’re going to get an essay from me. But it also just triggered some major overwhelm-shutdown too. The irony of it is great. I’ll need to get in the zone to tackle this, but it did warn me it’d be up to 90 minutes; we’ll see if I even stay within that lol.

Otherwise with therapy, I’ve been good about doing my “homework.” I keep a little post-it on my desk’s hutch near my monitor so I see a bullet point list of the key things for me to remember until the next appointment. Those are my priorities and anything else is just bonus. Some things don’t get done but that’s to be expected - she says if I always did 100% in everything then she’d ask if I was really being honest lmao. But no self-deprecation or guilt allowed!

Weather has been beautiful and I’ve been spending time outside, either in the backyard or going for walks. One thing my therapist brought up with me when I was talking about wanting to get 10,000 steps a day since it’s so good for so many things, was that it’s a little unrealistic to expect myself to suddenly do something every single day when I’m hardly ever doing it to begin with. My Fitbit makes me want to hit daily goals but what other habit changes would I expect to suddenly do daily? Most of the time we try to do new things once or twice a week or whatever. Kind of was like an aha moment for me and helped lessen the guilt of how much I struggle to get that done. So now my daily step goal is 5,000, which is still a little more than I’d get just sitting around all day, so that’s a good goal. And for 10,000 steps, for now I’m aiming to hit that once a week. I’ve dedicated Tuesdays for that. And if I get it more days than that, then great! And I’ve actually gotten 10,000 steps on 5 out of the last 10 days... 😳 Plus another day of 9,000. Funny how that works lol.

We had a slender salamander in our backyard 😭 Look at him legs do steppies!!!! 🥺🥺 Also peep my bf helping take off the thing stuck to him lol. We’re in a moderately dense suburb-ish area so we don’t get much besides some birds and the usual stuff. Wonder where he came from and where he went…

I could probably keep going, but I’ll end this essay here for now lol.

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Short Fiction Weekly Challenge

Time for a new prompt from the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge, tumblr edition.  Let it spark your imagination.  Any character, any fandom, any original world.   Reblogs welcome!

Post your story to your blog and send the link to Short Fiction Weekly Challenge!  The link will appear in our feed and the site index, and your blog will be listed on the Participating Blogs page.

It’s a new Month of Meta from Short Fiction Weekly Challenge! These prompts focus on craft and writing tools, as opposed to scenario prompts. This month’s theme: Canon, Schmanon!

Fanfiction--and SFWC has its roots firmly planted in fanfiction--always had a loose relationship with show/book/game/movie canon. Every writer draws their own lines as to how canon-compliant they want to be. This month, we’re throwing out specific canon and replacing it with our own.

Don’t write fanfic? Working on something original? Guess what? You made your own canon, and this month you have permission (if you feel you need it) to explore alternatives and write AU fanfic of your own work. Try it! 

This week’s Canon, Schmanon! SFWC prompt:

Week of March 3, 2023

The Big One: Kill a Canon Character Starting out with a bang! Maybe literally! It could be a character you hate. It could be one whose close call ought to have (or could easily have) been fatal. It could be one you love, but their death would change the story in dramatic and interesting ways. Maybe it’s a character that canon revived but shouldn’t have (looking at you, Palpatine). Their death might grant another character closure, or vengeance. Maybe they’re just extra and removing them tightens the tale. Their death could be funny or gruesome, or they might have never existed in your new continuity. This week, someone dies.

Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt.  A masterpiece missed the deadline?  Don’t let it gather electronic dust.  Submit it anyway and Short Fiction Weekly Challenge will publish it.  

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

Paying the Bills: Adventuring often pays well-- if erratically. Some characters ply a trade or rely on other, more reliable, income sources. At the same time, our characters incur expenses less adventuring types never worry about. How does your character deal with routine bills? What constitutes "routine" for your character? Can they trade the "good laying hens" they received from a villager in gratitude to the local temple for a curse removal? Suppose Republic Credits are no good and they need something more real? Write about a time when your character had to balance their budget.

None Shall Pass: Gates and those who protect them keep your character out of places they want to go. Physical ones and the associated guards might bar the way to the castle, the detention block, or the treasure they want to steal liberate. Physical gatekeepers overlap some more figurative: the ones who decide, based on their own criteria, who gets into a space. Those criteria don’t have to be (and often aren’t) logical, and may be changed on a whim to keep the “wrong people” out. They might be the security around the concert or ball your character wants to attend. They might be the superfans quizzing someone new on fandom minutia. Perhaps your character is one of the guards at the gate, keeping out the “undesirables.” Write a story involving your character’s interactions with gatekeepers, physical or otherwise.

Got an idea for a prompt?  Submit it here.

[1prabhatsingh]

How AI Helps in SEO for Web Development

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has worked wonders for many industries and the same can be said for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for web development. The integration of AI in SEO is helpful to businesses because it helps them in improving their website optimization and increase their ranking on search engines. Here's how AI helps in SEO for web development:Here's how AI helps in SEO for web development:

1. Keyword Research and Analysis

AI tools can assess large amounts of data within a short time and give a business the keywords that are frequently used by the public. Therefore, using AI, one is able to determine search intent and user behaviour to give related and likely to be searched keywords. For example, an SEO company based in Jaipur or an SEO agency based in London can use AI to find out keywords that are relevant to their markets only and hence they will be able to compete for the local and international searches.

2. Content Optimization

It does this by examining high-ranking pages and determining why they are successful in an effort to apply similar strategies to content. This comprises keyword density, content organization, readability, and many more. Applications such as NLP help the AI in understanding the meanings and the overall context of a piece of content in order to generate more engaging content for the users as well as for the search engines.

3. Automated SEO Audits

Auditing a website for SEO is very important to ensure that the website is in good condition. Some of the features that AI SEO tools can perform is to crawl a website and check for any problem such as broken link, slow page speed and even missing meta tags. This is useful for web developers and SEO firms including an SEO company in Delhi to easily fix these problems and make sure that the site is always in the best shape for search engine crawlers and indexes.

4. Personalized User Experience

This is because AI is capable of understanding user behavior on a website and changing the content accordingly to meet the user’s needs. For instance, if a visitor is in search of services from an SEO agency in London, then the website can display content relevant to the visitor’s interest thus enhancing engagement and sales. This makes the user experience better while at the same time helping improve the website’s ranking in the search engine results page.

5. Voice Search Optimization

Due to the increased usage of voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa, it is necessary to focus on voice search optimization. AI enables the identification of the user’s intent from natural language queries helping businesses to better tailor their content. Using conversational keywords and phrases will help businesses to rank for voice search queries, which is essential for an SEO company in Jaipur that is targeting the local market who actually uses the voice search to find services.

6. Enhanced Data Analysis

This means that the algorithm performs analysis on large sets of data in order to come up with conclusions that would have otherwise been hard to reach. This entails traffic flow analysis, user demographics and other critical metrics among others. These insights can be valuable for an SEO company in Delhi or any other city as it will help the company to know its target audience and make the right decisions based on the data collected.

7. Automated Reporting and Monitoring

SEO reports can be created by AI-powered tools that will help in monitoring the results of different SEO strategies used in a particular period. This is beneficial for SEO agencies like the SEO agency in London for it allows them to check their performance with time and change things accordingly. Automated monitoring also notifies the web developers of any changes in the traffic or the rankings and they are able to respond accordingly.

Conclusion

Thus, AI has already found its application in SEO for web development as an essential instrument that improves the overall performance. Whether you are an SEO company in Jaipur, an SEO agency in London, or an SEO company in Delhi, you can use AI to stand ahead of the competition by getting better keyword research, content optimization and data analysis. Therefore, as AI technology advances, it will become more and more involved in SEO and thus should not be neglected by any SEO strategy.

[cindylouwho-2]

Recent SEO & Marketing News for Ecommerce, January 2024

Here's my first SEO and marketing news report for 2024 (please read my ecommerce and Etsy news report as well, if you want to keep up to date! They were previously one large report together)

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

If you have ever wondered how Google ranks pages, this correlation study [infographic] by Semrush may shed some insight. 

And if you have ever wondered how Google assesses page or site quality, this good overview of Google’s “E-E-A-T” standards can help you gain better reader satisfaction and even higher rankings. “Although these guidelines might not have a direct impact on rankings, adhering to the principles of E-E-A-T is aligned with creating content that meets user needs, which can positively influence search performance.”

If you want to optimize a page for Google do that search first and see what Google displays, including related searches and related questions. 

An interesting study shows that tons of people use Google search like a bookmark service, to search common sites instead of typing the full URL. On the other hand, the long tail numbers have grown as well. 

Some Google search results in the EU will be changing a bit, due to the Digital Markets Act. Most of them involve Google giving searchers more options to see Google’s competition. 

Periodic reminder that you should not move your website or otherwise alter the URLs without making sure you won’t lose Google traffic in doing so. 

Google’s Helpful Content updates have really hurt some sites. There are things ecommerce sites can do to improve their “helpfulness”. 

While this Semrush blog post claims to focus on ecommerce SEO, it’s useful for most types of websites and has little in it specific to ecommerce. This post on ecommerce product pages specifically has more ecommerce-focussed info. 

A great article demonstrating how SEO is done on content blogs, and why it often means we get substandard content and confusing Google results. As with the The Verge’s last piece on SEO, some SEOs were not happy with this, and Google reps directly contradicted some of the info, including the claim that you need author bylines to rank better. 

“There is no such thing as perfect SEO”, and Google confirms that. 

If you missed any Google developments in December, you can catch up on them in this webmaster report. Missed November as well? That’s covered too. 

Not Google

Despite Bing’s AI chat being widely preferred to anything Google has put out, Bing only gained an extra 1% of search traffic worldwide in 2023. 

Baidu is China’s largest search engine; here’s a correlation study on ranking factors. 

SOCIAL MEDIA - All Aspects, By Site

General

A US federal court blocked Ohio’s ban on under-16s signing up for social media accounts without parental consent. 

Facebook (includes relevant general news from Meta)

Meta has introduced Link History, so that users have more control over privacy, but note that “Meta is just asking users for permission for a category of tracking that it’s been using for over a decade.”

Meta ads no longer have some detailed targeting options, as of January 15. 

Meta collects info on you from thousands of companies, an average of 2,230 different ones, according to a study by Consumer Reports. The study was not a representative sample, and “[p]articipants were also likely more privacy-conscious and technically inclined than typical users and more likely to be members of Consumers Reports.”

Instagram

Instagram now lets you make custom stickers from your still images. Note that you can do this with other people’s still images as well, unless they have disabled permission. 

Reddit

Reddit is expected to introduce its IPO in March, after a few years of rumours. 

Threads

Threads became available in the EU in December. And it even has hashtags now. 

TikTok

We’ve heard a lot about Gen Z using TikTok as their primary search engine, and this study from Adobe confirms it: 64% of Gen Z say they have done this, while only 29% of Gen X has. Almost 10% of Gen Z prefers TikTok to Google for search engines. Also of note: across the whole study, YouTube finished second to Google as the most useful search engine. 

If you market on TikTok, check out their Valentine’s Day guide. 

YouTube

Shorts are doing well on YouTube, and the company now provides a tool to change your long form videos into Shorts. 

(CONTENT) MARKETING (includes blogging, emails, and strategies) 

To get results from content marketing, you need a solid content strategy. This Search Engine Journal article outlines 11 reasons a strategy can underperform, with some tips on avoiding these issues.  

Get next month’s promotions ready early with 5 content marketing ideas for February. 

New Yahoo and Gmail email rules take effect in February, which may mean more promotional emails get sent to spam filters. There are some things you should do to improve deliverability rates, including not sending from free email addresses. 

Is a business’ blog eligible to show up in Google News? Possibly, but you still have to follow the content rules. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (EXCEPT INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND ECOMMERCE SITES) 

While Google Ads is not planning on phasing out free support for the product after introducing a paid support service, they are looking at AI to improve service. Hundreds of employees in the Ads division have been laid off as AI-options become more available. 

Google’s Chrome browser has begun removing tracking cookies for 1% of users, the first step in removing them for everyone by the end of 2024. “The impact of Google removing tracking cookies will be significant, with cookies traditionally providing key insights that help power the internet’s targeted ad system. Google’s replacement will instead see users categorized into topic listings, in an anonymized way, so brands will still be able to show their ads to subsets of users, but they won’t be able to utilize granular targeting based on the specifics of what people have engaged with across different websites.” If you use Chrome, you can figure out if you are part of that 1%. [Sadly, I am not in the initial test.] Remember that Google “makes the vast majority of its money tracking you and showing you ads online” so this is a big change, but “Google isn’t about to destroy its own business.”

Not sure if you can afford Google Ads for your website? This article walks through the current average costs and how to control them. For example, “[a]d scheduling, also known as dayparting, involves specifying the hours or days to show your ads to potential customers. This practice enables you to allocate more of your budget to peak times when potential customers are more active, ensuring better visibility and more clicks.” As for setting bids, “If you’re unsure where to start, Google suggests a $1 max CPC bid. But the golden rule? Set a max bid below the point where you no longer profit.”

You need to set up GA4 in certain ways to get the most data out of your Google Ads. 

Microsoft will soon launch an AI tool to generate banner ads for you, based on the product page you want to advertise. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER TRENDS, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

When asked in surveys, free shipping is very popular with most US shoppers. Yet another survey had similar results, noting that same-day delivery is far less important to buyers. 

IMAGES, VIDEO, GRAPHIC DESIGN, & FREE ONLINE TOOLS

So many artists are furious about AI image generators scraping their work that there is now a tool, “Nightshade”, that you can embed in your work to poison the data set. “This can result in the algorithm mistakenly learning to classify an image as something a human would visually know to be untrue. As a result, the generator can start returning unpredictable and unintended results.”

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour) 

Looking to give away surplus stock? Here are some ideas. [The charities linked are in the US, but there are many general ideas that will apply to other countries as well.]

People are so careless with their AI use that they are posting items to marketplaces containing OpenAI’s refusal to generate a response. It’s hilarious. 

AI-created items can’t be patented in the UK. 

[thewul]

Yes but the status bar, well any good webdesign is going to automatically resize what we have, rather the focus is on how Open SDG, an open source SDG tool, quite extensive and customizable has now become the main nav of the site

India is doing some mind boggling stuff with SDG graphics I should say

SDG 15 from the side nav doesn't take you to this page, this is a rotating teaser page there are others, SDG 15 from the side nave takes you to Open SDG with SDG 15 breakdown and stats, to which we want to add projects and initiatives using both a scroll list and interactive map

I guess we should break down SDG 15 because other goals will be like it

A 25% opacity black fill is versatile and unobtrusive to serve as a side nav

And we have the breakdown here of SDG 15, the color gradient can change to match the goal color

So it is only the site landing page that is missing

I like it it's quite transparent in terms of interface, easy to understand and to use, color coded gradients on top of that, so it taps into the color coding of SDG's

And yes different teaser pages, features, each time you visit

Next we have that same goal broken down in regions using an interactive map that lets users see how that goal is distributed regionally

The gradient fill, well it's nice to have it fills the screen the background would be white otherwise, but further down that page using signets we have either a white or light gray background

The map is versatile and useful for bringing that geographical dimension to each SDG goal or sub goal or attached projects and initiatives, on this map for example we can see where the palm trees plantations should take place

That's a lot of palm trees, so like we said the strategy is to invest heavily in our southern provinces, have assets there, that's half the superficy of the country that can be developed and a strong growth factor for the Kingdom

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: March 30th, 2021- Part 1

We’ve been really focused on getting the Step 3 DLC done and keeping up with asks kind of got away from me, aha. Thank you for waiting for a reply! We’re still definitely behind, but here’s a good chunk of responses!

I love Our Life so much but if the release of the step 3 dlc is in April, please don't "release" it on April 1, my poor heart can't take that prank 😭

Don’t worry! I’m horrible at pranks, haha. When we do post something specifically for April Fool’s it’s always to pretend it’s a joke when in reality it’s something we’re actually planning to do. But we don’t have anything like that arranged for this year. Any posts on April 1st will just be like normal.

Omigod, can you end the game in love with Cove but not in a relationship? My character stayed calm at the restaurant and Cove slept over at her home and I think I may have missed it. I'm delirious if I did, may never stop laughing. The children are idiots 

Haha, yes, it is possible to be in love and still not get into an actual relationship. There’s no forced ending where the two are made to confess their feelings and accept, it’s all optional/avoidable.

How can you see the new main character cut-in images? I'm not trying to be rude, but, all of my playthroughs, but I haven't seen them yet. (I know you can go through an entire game without seeing them, but I have went through multiple games.) 

It’s a bit of a spoiler to say here, but you can check out the guide we posted on Steam HERE!

Is it possible to win first place in the library quiz with Lizzy (Step 1 DLC) 

Yep, it is! Someone made a guide for the answers HERE (it’s also on Steam). We probably shouldn’t have required a perfect score to win a children quiz, but oh well, haha.

Hello!

In the future (in step 4) can you marry Cove even if you are friends? I would love to have a platonic wedding with him!

I’m afraid not. As much as he cares for the MC when they’re besties, Cove would only really want an official marriage if it’s based on romance.

Hello! I bumped into Our Life randomly last month, and it is one of the best coincidences I have ever laid on. I love how the choices and little details in the story changes throughout the game, and I'm excited to keep supporting you! I'm absolutely in love with Cove and would like to ask what keeps him to be especially interested in the MC? Other than how you can choose what fondness level you have with him, what ultimately leads him to be in sync with us? Sorry if it's a little much & thank u! 

Cove likes the MC because, regardless of the different personality traits you can give the MC, they meet him on his level, listen to him, understand him (even if you’re indifferent and not really close the MC still gets where he’s coming from), and if you’re fond/crush/love than you’re there for him. He finds the MC someone he can respect, trust, and, if they’re close, feel safe with. I’m glad you enjoyed the game!

hi there! for xoxo droplets i see the that female pronouns are used in the description, in the actual game can you change the pronouns or are they stuck as female? i'm aware the game is free, but i have a bad habit of buying dlc's before playing the game so it would be helpful to know before i spend money on it. if anything i'll save that money for more our life dlcs when they come out :D

XOXO Droplets does have a set MC. It’s the story of a specific person rather than a game about making your own story. All of our games prior to Our Life were about exploring MCs that were fully fleshed out people in their own right, so you can’t get the OL experience from what we did before. But we do plan to do more custom-style MCs going forward from here!

For the our life nsfw dlc, will you have to be in the patron to have it or  will there be another way for people who really support the game but can't pay to get it? 

I’m afraid not. We might put it up for sale somewhere other than Patreon someday (though never on Steam or Itch) since we know not everyone can use that site, but it will still cost money on any other hosting page we use. It’s unfortunately not a piece of content we can give away for free.

Hello! I finally got to play Xoxo Blood Droplets and it mentioned about a DLC coming out soon. Is it already out or are you still planning it?

We are still planning to finish it when we can, we just had to put it on hold because 2020 was a tough year and we needed to put all our focus on Our Life. There’s some of the extra DLC stories available for beta testing on the Patreon.

Is there a link to the soundtrack for Xoxo Blood Droplets? I really like the music in this game! 

That’s not available yet, but we’ll probably put it up for sale once the rest of the stories are done.

Would there be any chance for XOXO Droplets OSTs to be released in the future? (Please take my money-) 

We might! There are some things we wanna do and fix before we really start advertising XOXO Droplets things again, but hopefully it all comes together.

Why does Cove dislike Shiloh so much despite all of Shiloh's efforts to get along? I can understand his dislike for Lizzie, but why Shiloh? 

They met under bad terms (with an arranged play date he had no choice in), Shiloh’s sort of pushy himself when it comes to trying to get along, and Cove thinks he’s just kind of unusual in how he interacts/reacts with people. They don’t click, basically.

Is there a way to have your character be a tsundere? And have Cove toughened up a bit due to that? Sorry if the is a stupid question! ^^;

Maybe? The options in the game aren’t based on those types of personality tropes and I don’t know them well enough to say if you can accurately find a way to make it work with the available options. But it’s not a stupid question, I’m sure plenty of other people have considered something similar c:

do voiced names work only with their exact spelling? cause my mc is called Sophia and one of the voiced names is Soffia so i was wondering but if only works like that it's fine (sorry if i made any mistakes, english isn't my first language) 

“Voice” and “text” are separate! You can pick the “voice” you want and then type in whatever “text” you prefer. And your English is really good.

Will OL:NF be based on a season/break like the first game? Or some other type of setting? 

Our Life: Now & Forever takes place over the full course of Autumn. So, the start of school and then into the fall holiday season type of time period.

Will we ever see a jealous cove😭😭 please im begging u- 

Only in small ways, really. Sadly, I’m just not someone who enjoys jealousy in stories and therefore I don’t know how to implement it in a way that feels enjoyable. Maybe I’ll figure out a angle I can work with in future projects.

Do you have any plans with Our Life once step 4 has been released along with step 3's DLCs? 

After the Step 3 DLCs and Step 4 we’ll be releasing the Cove wedding DLC, the Derek romance DLC, and then the Baxter romance DLC. The project will likely be considered fully complete at that point.

Hello, I just needed to first of all sat how amazed I was when I discovered this game. I thought I would be disappointed by the lack of love interests, but you worked so hard to make sure Cove is the Best Boy for so many different people!! It really has been my comfort game for a while now, and I think all the different choices you allow make it the best romance game I’ve played in my life. The only problem is now my expectations for love are Cove level, and no one can live up to that. You’ve put so much consideration to make this game super inclusive and I think it’s amazing. If I can ask, for the exclusive NSFW Patreon dlc, will it only be available for the month it comes out? Or could I become a patron months later and still be able to download it. I just don’t have a job right now otherwise I would LOVE to subscribe to your Patreon and definitely will once I have the money again!! Thank you so so much for making such a lovely game that’s brought me so much joy.

&

Hiya! I'm so sorry for sounding like a complete degenerate for asking, but will the nsfw moment on patreon still be available even if i'm not a patron of the month it comes out? (e.g. i didnt pay/join the necessary tier before the moment is released) Thank you for your hard work on OL, I really connected with Cove in a way I never anticipated.

Thank you very much for such kind words! The Patreon DLC will be up for download on the Patreon indefinitely once it’s done. Just like the normal DLCs, you can pay to get it whenever you like but it won’t be up for sale until it’s finished. So take all the time you need.

Sorry to bother you guys, but there was an earlier ask detailing the OL LI's love languages and I was just wondering- Would that be for them personally, as in what they do, or the love language they enjoy receiving the most? Because I know for some people it's different for both on giving and receiving and was a bit confused, haha. Sorry for the trouble, your games are really nice!

For Cove and Derek it’s what they like to receive and what they give. For Baxter, it’s what he likes to get. What he gives is tailored to his partner. He’s flexible that way~ And it’s no trouble.

asking (and also fanning... fanboying? fangirling? fanpersoning? screw it- from a distance) anonymously because my confidence is nonexistent.

will you be doing a kickstarter for our life: now and forever? i know it's probably been asked and mentioned before, but will you be doing a kickstarter akin to the one done for our life: beginnings and always? if so, will you be doing similar tier rewards? (if you guys do so, i will [politely] throw my money at you).

now, to the fan.. personing? FAN. uhm. to the part where this anonymous agender idiot will begin to act as the fan they are.

THE GAME IS SO. SO NICE. IT'S CUSTOMIZABLE. I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT PART. AAAAA I ALSO ENJOY THAT YOU GAVE US THE OPTION TO JUST STAY BEST FRIENDS OR SOMETHING A8DBAIHEW- AND YOU INCLUDED AROS AND ACES IN THAT SEXUALITY CHOOSING PART- aaaAAA AND YOU MADE ELIZABETH FILIPINO- THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR CREATING SUCH AN INCLUSIVE GAME!!!

to summarize; will you be doing a kickstarter? and thank you for creating such a nice game. i, and likely the majority if not all of those who have played the game, am thankful.

Aw, thanks <3! I’m so happy it was such a nice experience for you. We are planning on having a Kickstarter for Our Life: Now & Forever. It’ll have similar rewards to the Our Life: O&A Kickstarter, but some changes will have to be made. Like, we’ll definitely need to increase the rate for getting a voiced name. Originally it was $3USD, which was super low for how much work it really took to add in a customized piece of voice acting, aha. Live and learn.

So sorry if you've already answered this, I looked but I couldn't find anything. Is the 18+ DLC coming out alongside the Step 3 DLC, or do they have different development timelines entirely? I'm so excited for all the DLC coming out in the future, and even though the release dates aren't out, I'm already counting down the days. :)

They have different development times and will come out separately. Despite taking place in the same Step period, they’re disconnected pieces of content and making progress on one doesn’t mean the other is closer to being finished. The normal Step 3 DLC is releasing first. It’s great to hear you’re looking forward to them!

Hey!! I'm absolutely LOVING Our Life! I have been pondering on one question though, what's Cove's ethnicity, if there is a set one? Or is it something we can Headcanon? 

&

hi hi! i wanted to say first of all that i absolutely adore our life. it's one of my favourite games of 2020, and i think it was just the perfect dose of positivity we all needed, even if you didn't intend to release it during such a hectic year lol! secondly, i wanted to say: if it's alright to ask, what ethnicity is cove? :-0 and what about his parents? i was just curious about it ^^)/ thank you!!

Cove’s mom, Kyra, is white. But his dad’s, Cliff’s, race doesn’t come up and players are able to headcanon it. So Cove is half white and half whatever you prefer Cliff to be! 

hello! there was a post on the patreon where you can run your fingers down cove's chest in errands - how do you get that scene? ♥ 

That was an old mistake on my part- you can only get that scene in the Ending rather Errands. You have to leave the big family dinner at the restaurant to go into the car, be dating Cove for a while, have Cove come see you there, and then mention using your hands when Cove makes a joke about hands.

in baxter’s dlc, is there any point where you can tell him about the previous renters of the condo? 

You can talk to him about that in the normal Step 3 DLC!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you for all the interest in our games everybody :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Extreme Aggressor: Part Two

Pairing: Eventual Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill, and angst

Summary: Jason Gideon is called back from a six-month leave from the Behavioral Analysis Unit to profile a killer. Meanwhile, the team flies across the country to Seattle when another young woman goes missing at the hands of "The Seattle Strangler," another serial killer.

Author’s Note: Here is it finally! After hard work, it is finally ready for your viewing pleasure! Please, feedback is always appreciated so let me know what you like about it and what you didn’t!

I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there is any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated.

So without further ado, please enjoy!

After arriving at the police headquarters, you followed Gideon and the rest of the team inside the building. It still felt awkward between you and the rest of the team which is why you stuck to Gideon’s side the whole time. He walked fast throughout the building, and you did your best to keep up.

“He never stands with his back to a window. When I was between him and a doorway, he asked me to move,” Derek gossiped about your friend.

“That's hypervigilance. It's not uncommon in post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Just how much disorder are we talking about?”

“Morgan, it's been six months. Everything's okay,” Hotchner calmed him down.

“And he brings along a woman we don’t even know? How do we know we can trust her? I’m sorry, but she doesn’t mean anything to me yet,” Derek asked just as you passed them.

Looking at them over your shoulder, you caught Spencer’s eyes before moving on.

“Give her time. You gave me time,” he said, catching up to you. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. He’s right. I’m a stranger to you guys.”

“Hopefully by the end of this, you won’t be,” he smiled, walking into the main room with you that was crowded with uniforms.

“This is special agent Gideon, special agent Morgan, our expert on obsessional crimes, special agent Reid—”

“Dr. Reid,” Gideon interrupted.

“Dr. Reid, our expert on well, everything, and the newest member of our team, Y/N Y/L/N. And after two years busting my ass in this office, I hope you all remember me,” Hotchner smiled with the laughter that ensured throughout the room.

“He's willing to travel with the body,” Gideon speaks, looking at the map.

“Then he drives a vehicle capable of concealing one,” Hotchner added.

“1 in 7.4 drivers in Seattle owns an SUV,” Spencer spat out.

“But how do we know it's his car? Ted Bundy drove a VW Bug. What about a Jeep Cherokee? Jeeps are more masculine,” Derek voiced his thoughts.

“We all know how an unsub feels about asserting his masculinity,” Gideon chuckled.

“When did the bureau become involved in the case?” Hotchner asked the lead police officer.

“After the fourth body. He dumped that one out of state.”

While everyone was conversing and talking, you walked up the board with the recent pictures of the latest kidnapped victim, Heather. She went missing about a day ago which means she has about 24 hours left until she is dead—and the clock is ticking. Her image and the photos of the abduction site certainly does something for you, but it’s not enough. Reaching up to touch the image of her, you closed your eyes to see if you can get anything from a picture.

A flash of an orange car here, her heart rate increasing while inside the car, but other than that, you got nothing. It would be better if you were touching some of her things since the human body leaves traces wherever they go, whatever they touch. Since she wasn’t murdered, there isn’t a dump site that would give you even more clues and answers.

“What are you doing?” Spencer asked when he saw you.

Opening your eyes, you lowered your hand before looking at him.

“I am trying to connect myself with her through a photograph. It’s not that common to get anything, but it does happen. I see an orange car and her fearful expressions, but that’s about it.”

“What do you need in order to get a clearer picture?”

“Her belongings. Every human leaves a spiritual trace wherever they go. It’s stronger with personal items.”

“Agent Gideon, where would you like to start?” one of the policemen asked.

“Let's start at the site of the last murder. Y/N, you coming?”

“I think I’ll get a better read on Heather and whether she’s alive or not if I’m with her things. I’ll go to her house.”

“Reid and I will go with you,” Hotchner announced.

Knowing you wouldn’t go alone, you bit your own tongue and followed the two men out the door. The fact that the Bureau provided government standard SUVs were pretty cool. It didn’t take long to go to Heather’s house, and when you arrived, you met her brother and the dog she owned.

“Sandy, no, no, no. I'm so sorry,” Heather’s brother, David, apologized when the big dog started barking and trying to playfully attack you three. However, when it came to you, the dog just stared at you silently.

“No, it's okay. It's what we call the Reid effect,” Hotchner stated, causing the young doctor to be confused. “I'm agent Hotchner. This is special agent Dr. Reid and Dr. Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Y/N is fine,” you quickly added.

“You two look too young to have gone to medical school,” the man observed.

“They're PhD's. 3 of them. She has two.”

“Spencer,” you whispered softly to get him to shut up about it.

It’s not like you don’t want people to know you have 2 PhDs, but you just didn’t want the attention. Plus, if your dad knew you went to school to be a profiler in the FBI, he’d have your head.

“Are you a genius or something?”

“I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified, but I do have an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute,” he gushed. The man stared at him like he was crazy, so the young doctor just agreed. “Yes, I'm a genius.”

“Sandy, you get a lot of attention, don't you?” Hotchner asked the dog who just panted.

Instead of being with them, you took a look around the room to see if you can get a feel to the place. Heather’s spirit was here through certain items, but because there are more than one, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where it’s coming from. The conversation went on about her dog until it got back on track.

“David, does your sister drive a Datsun Z?” Spencer asked when he picked up a magazine.

“No, but she's in the market for one. How'd you know?” he asked, and Spencer held it up. David just shook his head and took his dog outside since she was getting antsy.

“There's an immediate relationship established between a buyer and a seller, a certain level of trust. If I want to coax a young woman into my car, I’d offer her a test drive,” you said, causing the two men to stare at you.

Their bodies were emitting tension, and you knew they didn’t trust you at all. You needed to do something to prove to them that you were worthy enough to be on this team.

“Let me show you what I can do, okay?”

“Alright,” Hotch said.

Taking the magazine from Spencer’s hands, you closed your eyes in concentration. A multitude of pictures flashed through your mind due to the residue that Heather left behind, until those pictures turned into film. Heather was seated on the couch right behind Hotch and Spencer, flipping through the magazine happily. When she got to the page she wanted, she grabbed the red marker on the table next to her and circled the orange car a bunch of times. She then grabbed her money and began counting it to see if she had enough money to buy it.

“Heather is sitting on that couch, super excited to buy the orange car I keep seeing. She circles the one she wants with a red marker, and she starts to count her money,” you open your eyes, and began to flip through the magazine until you found the page you were looking for. “If I’m right, it’s this page she was on. She found someone with this exact car, and whoever took her did it because they got her to test drive it.”

The page you landed on was the same exact page with the red marker.

“Nice job,” Hotch complimented.

“That’s amazing,” Spencer muttered.

“Thank you. I just want to help, Agent Hotchner.”

“Please, call me Hotch.”

“Okay, then how about the fact that on one hand, we have paranoid psychosis, but the autopsy protocol says what?” Derek asked.

Back at the office, everyone was talking about the case and how the MO of this unsub didn’t make any sense. Derek was the one who was freaking out about everything since apparently not having a profile ready didn't bode well for him.

“Adhesive residue shows he put layer after layer of duct tape over his victims' eyes,” Spencer answered.

“He knows he wants to kill them, but he still covers their eyes. He doesn't want 'em looking at him, apparently. Okay, but then he takes the body and dumps it right out in the open, murder weapon nearby.”

“Not the MO of a paranoid convinced he's being watched or surveilled,” Spencer added.

Gideon stares at the drawing board while the rest talked about the case. Just by the look of his face, he was drowning out whatever they were saying. Even though you can get a read on his spiritual energy, that didn’t mean you could understand what he is thinking.

“Jason? What’s wrong?” you asked quietly, making sure only he could hear you.

However, he didn’t answer you directly.

“Alright, enough,” he interrupted the chatter in the room. “Let's tell them we're ready.”

“We're ready?” Derek gasped as Gideon left the room. The young genius started to write something down on his notepad, but the older agent wasn’t finished. “Reid, you're good with this? We've got a woman who's only got a few hours left to live, an incomplete profile, and a unit chief on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”

“They don't call them nervous breakdowns anymore,” you noted.

“It's called a major depressive episode.”

“I know, Reid,” Derek sighed.

Walking away from the board, you looked at Spencer quickly right before you left the room. Gideon gathered everyone in a conference room to deliver the profile and stood in the middle of the room with the tables blocking him in on three sides like a square. The rest of his team stood off to the side, and while Hotch, Spencer, and Derek were listening, you were watching the reactions of everyone in this room. If your abilities told you anything, it’s how untrustworthy even the most highly respected person could be.

“The unidentified subject is white and in his late 20's. He's someone you wouldn't notice at first. He's someone who'd blend into any crowd. The violent nature of the crime suggests a previous criminal record--petty crimes, maybe auto theft,” Gideon began. Running your eyes over every person in this room, you tapped into their energies to see what the normal eye couldn’t.

“We've classified him as an organized killer—psychopathic as opposed to psychotic. He follows the news, has good hygiene, and he's smart. 'Cause he's smart, the only physical evidence you'll find is what he wants you to find,” Gideon continued. The person right in front of you wanted to pay attention, but all of his focus was centered on his phone. He’s got some private issues at home that you rather not delve into right now.

“He's mobile, and his car in good condition. Our guess is a Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows. The murders have all involved rapes, but rape without penetration is a form of piquerism, and that tells us he's sexually inadequate.”

The person to your right is paying very close attention to what Gideon is saying, but she is focused on his lips and the way he talks which says that she’s attracted to him right now. That made you want to laugh because you knew for a fact that Gideon was seeing someone on the down low.

“What is it?” Spencer whispered when he saw the hint of your smile.

“That woman over there wants to bone Gideon,” you whispered back.

“How do you know?”

“I’m psychic, Spencer. I know more about a person than you think. Want me to do you?”

“No, thank you,” he whispered and got back to what Gideon was saying.

“Psychiatric evaluations will show a history of paranoia stemming from a childhood trauma—death of a parent or family member, and now he feels persecuted and watched. Murder gives him a sense of power. Organized killers have a fascination with law enforcement. They will inject themselves into the investigation. They will even come forward as witnesses to see just how much the police really know. That makes them feel powerful, in control. Which is why I also think in fact, I know you have already interviewed him,” Gideon finished, causing the entire room to feel shocked at the news.

wanna be tagged? add yourself to this document! if your tag doesn’t work, find out why!

@averyhotchner​

[cheri-translates]

Headcanon - Fights with the guys

[ this Ask was wheelbarrowed over from @cheri-cheri​ ]

Hello~ Angst is inevitable with such a prompt, but I hope the fluffiness at the end makes up for it! (´･ᴗ･ ` ) Lucien isn’t here because I’m not familiar with his character :<

[ Gavin - spending too much time apart ]

It begins with a pang of disappointment when a date she’s been looking forward to for weeks gets interrupted halfway by a phone call

With that, Gavin gets whisked away abruptly for a month-long mission

During the first week, she cheers herself up with a reminder that Gavin is doing something noble - keeping the streets of Loveland City safe.

During the second week, she consoles herself with the knowledge that this isn't the first time Gavin has been uncontactable for a long period of time. Shouldn’t she have gotten used to it by now?

During the third week, doubt creeps in. Despite him telling her in advance that the mission site could lack a proper signal, the heaviness in MC’s chest gets weightier with each unread message and unanswered call.

She doesn’t know if her boyfriend is dead or alive.

She doesn’t even know where he is.

During the fourth week, she’s frustrated. She's frustrated at the STF, at Gavin, and at herself.

She’s frustrated that this isn’t the first time the STF has deployed Gavin on missions at short notice, as though he’s simply a tool ready to be wielded at any moment.

The frequency of missions over the past few months suddenly skyrocketed. It’s the main reason why she was looking forward to the date before he left - she wanted him to get a proper rest.

She’s frustrated that there doesn't seem to be anything she can do about the situation.

She's frustrated that the days without him pass by so painfully slowly.

She’s frustrated that-

“MC, I’m back.”

The fight is a quiet affair.

It might not even be considered one, since MC is the one doing most of the talking. She pours out everything in her heart, and how she’s very, very tired.

She doesn’t know if she can continue being in this relationship if she's going to be the only party in it.

Gavin listens quietly.

Then, he takes out two plane tickets from his pocket

The reason why he was deployed on so many missions recently was because he actively volunteered for them. That way, he would be able to clock in enough hours to take her on a long, undisrupted vacation

He intended for it to be a surprise, but didn’t expect that his actions would make MC upset instead

Aside from this, they also try to make future time apart more bearable:

When Gavin knows that he’d be embarking on a mission where remaining contactable is an issue, he would write a bunch of letters beforehand and entrust them to Minor, who would secretly place one on her office desk every morning

The letters vary in length. They could be entire pages filled with a somewhat clumsy yet heartwarming documentation of what went through his mind on certain dates they had together... 

Or a simple: I love you. I’ll be safe. I can’t wait to come home.

MC finds out very easily who Gavin’s “messenger pigeon” is, and she forces Minor to hand over the entire box just in case he loses it or decides to take a peek out of curiosity (which he already did)

Meanwhile, MC leaves tons of voice messages in Gavin’s phone for him whenever he needs a pick-me-up.

They could range from her reading works from Byron’s Poetry Collection, or a clip of her playing the piano...

Or a simple: I love you. Be safe. I’m waiting for you to come home. 

[ KIRO - the fatigue of a secret relationship ]

Initially, MC thought that having a secret relationship with a world renowned celebrity would be as thrilling as what’s typically depicted in TV dramas

Whenever they go on dates outside the studio or their homes, Kiro has to disguise himself with various props

e.g. wearing an ugly wig, donning oversized sunglasses, peppering his face with fake freckles, and even changing the tone of his voice

While it was funny the first few times, it gets exhausting after a while.

It’s mentally exhausting to always be on the look out for paparazzi and discerning fans at the expense of enjoying the date and each other’s company

It’s emotionally exhausting to see gossip magazines speculating about Kiro’s relationships with gorgeous women in the entertainment industry

It’s exhausting when her mind wanders afar off, leading her to ask:

“Are you... ashamed of me?”

The fight is one akin to daggers to his heart.

“Of course not! Miss Chips, why would that even cross your mind?” 

Kiro explains that he’s more than capable of renting entire restaurants, and even the entire amusement park so he can remove all his stuffy props and be with her without worrying about the fans

But at the same time, he wants their relationship to be as normal as possible.

Because when he’s with her, he doesn’t feel like Kiro the celebrity. He’s simply a boy in love who wants to go on normal dates like any normal couple would

He doesn’t want MC to get tied down by having every social media post and every move scrutinised by the public.

But MC has considered all of this. And she's ready to shoulder the relationship with him - both the good and bad.

Eventually, when the time is right, and after much discussion with Savin and the PR department, MC and Kiro go public with their relationship

He starts doing livestreams more often where he does cute couple activities with MC, in the hopes that his fans are won over by her just as much as he is

It turns out that MC wins his fans over a little too much

Sometimes, they even ask Kiro to step aside and let MC take over his livestream instead QAQ

[ SHAW - good intentions gone wrong ]

“I’m grabbing dinner with Minor and Gavin. Want to join us?”

“Eli and Gavin were telling me about the new dishes in Lynn’s Kitchen. We should drop by sometime.”

“That tin of biscuits? Gavin gave it to me. Help yourself to them!”

...

For some unfathomable reason, MC has been bringing up his brother in their conversations every day over the past two weeks

When he sees MC putting on Gavin’s ginkgo bracelet before heading out, he finally snaps.

“Since you’re always going on and on about Gavin, why not date him instead?!”

The fight is one he wishes he could take back.

“I’m not... You’ve got it all wrong! Gavin’s been wanting to meet you, and I-”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

MC flinches at Shaw’s harsh tone.

Then, she averts her eyes, hoping her tears wouldn’t spill out

“Yeah, I clearly don’t.”

And she runs out of the apartment, and into the storm.

After chugging down a can of iced Cola, Shaw more or less cools down

In the process, it dawns on him that MC does know many things about him that he’s never shared with anyone else

She’s caught the nostalgic gaze in his eyes when he talked about the little guardian who held his hand from the moment he first started walking

The little guardian who had fathomless patience for his endless ‘why’s

His very first best friend, and someone he could rely on.

And how the little plane from so many years ago wasn’t the only important thing he left behind that day.

And right now, he’s close to losing another important person.

Ignoring the dampness on his face, he grabs his phone and calls MC, before realising that she left her phone in the apartment

So, he sends his first text to Gavin.

Together, they manage to locate MC, who’s drying herself off in the rehearsal room of Live House.

“I’m sorry.”

Shaw’s apology is soft, but it reaches the hearts of two people.

Before Gavin turns to leave, Shaw calls after him.

“Thanks. Your bracelet was of some use.”

Of course, Gavin will never tell him that he doesn’t actually need it to find MC

“Cough, no problem.”

Although the estranged relationship between the brothers requires much more than a stormy night to mend, having dinner together is a promising start.

-

Just want to put it out there that it isn’t confirmed if Shaw and Gavin are brothers. It’s a very sensitive topic within the CN community where a sizeable portion of the players believe they aren’t, and the players aren’t afraid to tear you down if you believe otherwise LOL

But for me personally, I love the idea of them being brothers!

[ VICTOR ]

I couldn’t think of any major things they could fight about aside from his sharp tongue. But that’s painfully cliché so I shall just leave you with two petty reasons why they would argue instead:

Whenever MC visits Souvenir, she doodles on the serviette while waiting for the food. She eventually makes it a habit to draw really awful caricatures of Victor and laughs over them with Mr Mills. Victor gets all pouty because he can hear their laughter from the kitchen but is missing out on the fun :<

Victor decides to test MC one day, and gives her a pudding from a convenience store instead of his. MC does taste the difference but doesn’t say anything because she thinks Victor is just having a bad day. On the other hand, he gets irritated because HOW DARE SHE mistake this low-grade jiggly thing for his perfect pudding??

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Short Fiction Weekly Challenge

Time for a new prompt from the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge, tumblr edition.  Let it spark your imagination.  Any character, any fandom, any original world.   Reblogs welcome!

Post your story to your blog and send the link to Short Fiction Weekly Challenge!  The link will appear in our feed and the site index, and your blog will be listed on the Participating Blogs page.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of November 19, 2021

Beneath Notice: What things in your character's life or world are invisible because they’re common or believed to be unimportant? Cooks and cleaners are often beneath notice, giving a clever character a way into a secure place. Or, an enemy a way into your character’s stronghold! Most such duties are also necessary--so what happens when your cyborg character’s mechanic is kidnapped, or their janitorial staff quits en masse? Could your character cripple their enemy by stirring up unrest among their underlings? Notice who’s usually overlooked this week.

Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt.  A masterpiece missed the deadline?  Don’t let it gather electronic dust.  Submit it anyway and Short Fiction Weekly Challenge will publish it.  

This week’s prompt not for you?  Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive.  Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.  

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

Bodies: Everybody has a body, your character included. How do they take care of themselves? Are there features they like and ones they don’t? Things they change regularly? Others they accept as permanent? Do they make allowances for their own unique issues and inform others of their requirements? Do they try to hide what they see as imperfections? Compensate for a lack, reasonable or otherwise? What about upgrades or other alterations? A cyborg might replace parts for any number of reasons. In a magical or biologically advanced setting they might regenerate, regrow, or augment what occurs naturally. Alternately, they might be stuck with what they were born with, good and bad alike. This week, give some thought to how your character relates to their physical form.

A Matter of Life and Death: This week the stakes are high. Your character has to intercede or maybe they're the one in the situation. It's a matter of life and death. Whose? Why? How did the situation get this serious? Is there any way out? Is it really a Matter of Life and Death or did someone use the distress beacon to order pizza?

Got an idea for a prompt?  Submit it here.

[tiramisiyu]

Tears of Themis: Lu Jinghe’s Birthday - 6.13 “Decision to Compete”

Translation Masterlist

Event Story: 6.13 Decision to Compete | 6.15 Personal Instruction | 6.17 Building Block Dolls | 6.19 Participating in the Competition | 6.21 Birthday Celebration

Event Story Interviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Art Gallery Boss: Young miss, all pieces displayed at the Rembrandt exhibition this time are priceless authentic versions. Your request is very…

MC: But he really is my very special friend. Just like you, boss, Rembrandt is also the artist that he holds in highest esteem.

Not long ago, I found out that June 21 was Lu Jinghe’s birthday. To give him a birthday surprise, I came to Stellis City’s antique art gallery, where they were about to hold an exhibition on authentic Rembrandt works. 

With Lu Jinghe’s current identity, if he were suddenly appear in a well-known art exhibition, aside from garnering attention, it might also cause additional problems. So, letting him enjoy the works of the artist he so admired without disturbances should be an excellent idea. After a sincere, long conversation, the boss finally agreed to rent out the venue for me before the exhibition opened.

Art Gallery Boss: You absolutely must be careful – do not bump into or damage them.

MC: I will be careful, don’t worry.

After confirming the venue, I opened my notes, checking over the other things I needed to prepare.

MC: Cake… I’ll order taro mousse, but what should I give as a gift? Watches, leather belts, ties? Lu Jinghe definitely isn’t lacking on these.

I logged into the shopping app, and “Today’s Main Recommendations” on the gift recommendation page caught my attention.

MC: These are… building blocks?

On the product pictures, hundreds of building block components piled together, creating a flowing, miniature city. In an instant, the scenes of what happened at the Lu Mansion played in my head…

--

Three days ago.

 Lu Mansion

Lu Jinghe: Careful!

In the Lu Mansion, gift boxes of all sizes were piled up, making it easy to trip if one weren’t careful. Good thing Lu Jinghe caught me in time.

Lu Jinghe: Jiejie, you’re too careless.

MC: It’s clearly because you have way too many gifts here. So is it almost your birthday? Otherwise, why would so many people give you gifts?

Lu Jinghe: Sure enough, I can’t hide anything from you. There’s still over half a month until my birthday, so those people came running over in a rush.

MC: “Those people” are…?

Lu Jinghe: Past business targets, children of other major families, plus some entertainment stars. Lots of people want to get in on the Lu family’s good graces.

MC: (As expected of Lu Jinghe – even his birthday’s got to shake up all of Stellis City.)

Seeming like Lu Jinghe had seen through my thoughts, he laughed quietly.

Lu Jinghe: So… shouldn’t you also send me a gift?

MC: Lu Jinghe, you’re not lacking on gifts, are you?

Lu Jinghe: For those sent by others, of course I’m not lacking on them. But ones sent by you…

MC: Ahem ahem.

After receiving Lu Jinghe’s hint, I faked a cough. Turning my head around, I saw the “main offender” that had just tripped me. This was a meticulously-wrapped box of building blocks, with modern-looking buildings printed on top, with “limited edition” written on in conspicuous text.

MC: Lu Jinghe, you play with building blocks?

Building blocks were a toy invented by the Austin family. They became popular worldwide as soon as they were launched, and now have nearly a hundred years’ worth of history. If they didn’t suit someone’s tastes here, toys like this would not appear here.

Lu Jinghe: I have played with them before – someone probably remembered that up until now. Although, I haven’t played with them in a long time.

MC: Why?

Lu Jinghe started to speak, then stopped, a troubled look emerging in his clear eyes.

--

Building Blocks Room

MC: So many… did you build them all?

Lu Jinghe took me to a room on the second floor of the Lu Mansion. What appeared before my eyes were innumerable building blocks models. From rich, colourful flower fields to the little roads of a foreign country’s streetscapes – there was even a proportionate reconstruction of Stellis University.

MC: Amazing! You must have spent a lot of time to make so many works, right? You’re so talented, so why didn’t you continue?

Lu Jinghe: Because…

Lu Jinghe walked to the French windows, sinking into a short silence. Golden sunlight shone on his side profile, creating a dappled light effect.

Lu Jinghe: On certain levels, I can no longer continue creating with building blocks…

MC: (What… Certain levels means…)

Lu Jinghe: My mother passed away right after I was born.

Lu Jinghe slowly began to speak, his voice quiet. I suddenly regretted asking a little.

MC: If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t need to force yourself. Everyone has their own secrets.

Lu Jinghe: It’s fine. I have no secrets in front of you.

Lu Jinghe’s words were indescribably gentle, but my heart felt like a little like it had been yanked.

Lu Jinghe: Though I lost my mother, my father and older brother loved me dearly. Compared to others, I’ve never been lacking in anything. I even had more than them. Until I noticed that for both oil paintings or building blocks, I couldn’t create anything related to “family”…

MC: (How could that be… Speaking of which, “Z” has indeed never made anything related to “family”.)

Lu Jinghe: Are you feeling sympathetic? Looks like not being able to create “family” is no big deal, because it’ll at least make you sympathize for me.

MC: … Lu! Jing! He!

I faked anger, but my sad feelings had been swept away by Lu Jinghe’s seemingly joking words.

Lu Jinghe: Alright alright, don’t be sad. I thought about it after – perhaps I can’t create anything with a “family” theme because I’ve never had a major female figure around me, ever since I was little. If…

MC: If what?

Lu Jinghe: Ahem ahem… nothing.

MC: …

--

After coming back to my senses, my fingers slid over the screen.

MC: Since Lu Jinghe likes building blocks, I’ll send him a building blocks set as a gift. Although… which set should I send?

--

Home

To find a suitable gift set, I looked up lots of information online related to building blocks after getting home. Among them, an article titled “The first Stellis Building Blocks Competition will be held soon” caught my attention.

MC: Building blocks creator Mr. Austin’s out-of-print posthumous work – the “Future” series’ first public reveal; only one set worldwide. Cabin in the woods, a glass flower room, and an open-air art studio that faces the mountains. This work is called… “Future Home”?

Note: “Home” and “Family” are the same word in Chinese.

MC: (This set… looks like one that Lu Jinghe would like.)

I couldn’t help thinking of joining the competition, but I froze after scrolling to the next article.

MC: “Z” will appear at the building blocks competition as an evaluator, and many fans have signed up… “The Shepherd Girl” may become a competition topic.

MC: (Lu Jinghe’s going?!)

The theme of this competition was “World-Famous Artworks”, where people were to reconstruct world-famous artworks using building blocks. With Z’s works being so famous, becoming a topic of the competition wasn’t out of the question.

MC: (If he really is an evaluator, my participation will definitely be exposed, and I won’t be able to give him a birthday present.)

But would Lu Jinghe really appear in public under Z’s identity? Though this might be something made up by the hosts, I still decided to call and ask Lu Jinghe, just in case.

Lu Jinghe: Hello?

MC: I-it’s me.

Lu Jinghe: What’s the matter, did something happen?

MC: Nothing, I just wanted to ask – do you know about the building blocks competition being held next month? I heard that “Z” was going to be a competition evaluator.

Lu Jinghe: There’s actually this sort of news, huh. The host probably was probably afraid of being low on hype and let out fake news. If you’re suddenly asking this… did you want to participate? Then I can teach you for free.

MC: (Since Lu Jinghe’s not going, getting taught by him is indeed the best introductory method.)

MC: Is that alright?

Lu Jinghe: Of course. If you need it, I always have time. Besides, after today… Z’s appearances may become very rare.

MC: ?!

MC: I-is it because of Pax?

I brought up the guess I had. Sure enough, Lu Jinghe signed almost inaudibly on the other side of the phone.

Lu Jinghe: Yeah, balancing studies and Pax already expends too much of my energy. After graduating, similar impediments will only continue to increase. To an artist, it’s really easy for these sorts of conditions to cut off creativity, so…

Lu Jinghe’s voice had an exhaustion in it that was impossible to ignore.

MC: Lu Jinghe, if you’re working too hard, you can stop for a bit and rest.

Lu Jinghe: … I understand. But unfortunately, no one will give me time to rest. Before being “Z”, I am first and foremost Lu Jinghe of Pax.

--

After hanging up, Lu Jinghe’s words echoed in my head.

MC: So many people clearly like “Z”. Can Lu Jinghe really give it up?

MC: Right! It just so happens that lots of “Z” fans will be participating at the building blocks competition. I should gather some things that they want to say to “Z” and give them to Lu Jinghe! Even if he really can no longer create in the future, the fans’ encouragement would be memories worth treasuring.

--

That night, I submitted a registration form on the building blocks competition official site, as well as an application to interview the participants to the hosts. After registering, a participant list, including methods of contact, was sent to my inbox.

MC: (Next, I’ll practice building blocks as I interview people for what they want to say to “Z”.)

[ey8508]

Impermanence [ 无常 ]

Rumors and Secrets: Li Zeyan / Victor

[From the beginning to the end, he only cared about the most common thing.]

Note:

R&S for this card (CG above)

Chapter SPOILERS up to Season 2: Chapter 2-5 (read at your own risk)

Contains 4 chapters

Translation isn’t 100% accurate (or include grammar errors)

Every part for LZ’s dialogue would be in “this setting”

Do not repost to any other site (reblog is fine)

Chapter 1 Page 1 The night breeze was slightly cool, and the feathers slowly fell, like a misty dream. A feather was lying on Li Zeyan's palm, and he looked down for a long time as if he wanted to engrave this small white shadow in his pupils.  The girl asked him before leaving, what he would be like if all the external burdens were removed.  Maybe it's like this feather. He thought it was very light, small, and lying quietly in the boundless night, just like the countless feathers on the feet. At this moment, he, like everyone else, stayed in place listening to the countdown of the clock.  He believes that he will be saved in the future, but what about after that? Page 2 A gust of wind blew off the feathers on his palm, and Li Zeyan watched it land slowly, and sighed softly. I said I believed in her power, but I was still a little worried.  He spent so long waiting for a miracle, and the girl faced the whole world, how much did she have to pay? He took the pocket watch from his pocket.  The once shocking crack has been repaired since, and his fingertips lined up the smooth glass dial, and he seemed to see a light that did not belong to the eternal night in an instant. The distorted feeling of time and space suddenly wrapped him, and in a moment it led him to an unknown path- Page 3 Familiar streets, traffic lights alternately lit up at intersections, scenes tumbling thousands of times in memory, unfolded before his eyes again.  He breathed a sigh of relief. Lianyu City seemed to be calm again, the sun was good, and someone in and out of the supermarket on the street was carrying a bag. She did it, as he always believed. But after observing around, Li Zeyan found that there was a trace of violation in this familiarity.  He raised his eyes to look in the direction of Hua Rui. The building has fewer floors and the facade has not been changed to a glass curtain wall.  According to his memory, Hua Rui in front of him should be what it was when it was first established. Page 4 Did you go back in time?  Why did the pocket watch send him here? Li Zeyan was about to look away when the clear sky suddenly started to rain.  He subconsciously walked to the house spear on the side, and the moment he turned, but suddenly was alert to the petite figure. Li Zeyan suddenly stopped. The girl is walking towards a crossroad not far away.  Her face seemed a little more tender than she thought, she stared at the other side of the road blankly, took a small step forward, and stopped again, as if she was stunned about something.  Li Zeyan looked in her direction, and across the road was actually himself a few years ago. Page 5 He carefully recalled the past fragments in his memory, after the kidnapping in childhood, until later accidentally rescued the girl on the road, before that, he seemed to have never seen her. The signal light flashed several times, from green to red.  The girl in front of her has not taken any steps, and the opposite herself is ready to move on. Li Zeyan frowned as he watched this scene, and doubts grew in his heart.  Could it be that during those 17 years, did he cross her? Wanting to answer his doubts, he tried to get closer, but found that he could not get close to her.  The world seems to be repelling his existence. Page 6 As if hearing his wish, the world suddenly became quiet, and time seemed to pause.  Someone behind him tugged at his cuff, and he looked back and saw a little boy in a weird dress looking up at him. "It's better not to be discovered by her." The little boy in front of him was about seven or eight years old, smiling at him with a calm tone that was not suitable for his age. "Don't worry, this is the world you were in before, and you have indeed successfully traveled to the future of this world." Page 7 The little boy pointed to the direction behind him, "But there cannot be two identical beings in the same world, so you can't do anything here, and you won't stay for long. Li Zeyan frowned slightly, squatting down and looking at him. "Who are you and why do you know this?" "I know everything in this world, and I know why you came here." The little boy looked down at him and tilted his head slightly. "You are great, but the future is always full of variables. If you are not prepared,  everything will not go as desired." Page 8 The little boy slowly put away his smile.  Li Zeyan looked at his eyes, and the bright pupils seemed to reflect the light and shadow of the whole world. After a long time, he stood up and nodded slightly. "I know." The little boy laughed again, as if he had sensed something, and waved at him.  The distorted feeling of time and space strikes back, Li Zeyan finally raised his eyes and looked deeply at the familiar intersection. The scene that seemed to be about to be missed just now was printed in his mind.  He understands that after every choice there will be countless variables, but for this alone, he must make sure that nothing is lost. Chapter 2 Page 1 Back to the present time, Li Zeyan still has some characteristics.  Occasionally, he also imagined the future, whether it was good or bad, tacitly acquiescing to the premise that he would meet her.  But if there is no meeting, let her fight the world alone... He has no doubt that after facing the world’s greatest danger, she will grow better, stronger, and be able to stand alone. But the world is not destroyed, there are still many things to do in the future, and there may be many unexpected dangers.... And he promised her that he would never leave her alone. Page 2 There is no new crack in the pocket watch, and he still has the opportunity to reconfirm and look into the far future.  Li Zeyan used Evol again, and the pointer of the pocket watch rotated, chasing the time year after year.  At the moment of stepping into the vortex, the pocket watch suddenly made a continuous sound of "crack", and dense cracks covered the dial.  The familiar tearing sensation climbed to every inch of his skin, and a fierce pressure came from his chest, as if he was walking forward in a rush of countercurrent.  A huge loud noise appeared out of thin air in the otherwise quiet space, like playing an upside-down disc, screaming vaguely and harshly. Anyone's first response to suffering is to escape, but the consciousness he struggled to maintain is still reminding himself that time is running out and he must get there before the day. Page 3 When the ears finally calmed down, the cold sweat had filled Li Zeyan's clothes.  He held on to the wall beside him and took a few deep breaths.  When the dizziness subsided and his vision recovered, he carefully opened his palm to check the pocket watch. Fortunately, the pocket watch was not broken, and his judgment was not wrong. Li Zeyan observed his environment.  This seemed to be the inpatient department of a hospital. There were no people in the corridor, so when he turned his head, he easily saw the girl walking towards this side. Page 4 Li Zeyan walked to the corner and watched her walk into a ward.  This time the girl looks like she remembers, but she has a more confident expression, and her tone of voice is polite and generous when she greets the people in the ward. Li Zeyan smiled slightly, his eyes were filled with comfort and pride that he didn't even notice. After a while, the girl opened the door and left, frowning slightly, as if thinking about something.  Soon, the alarm sound of the instrument suddenly sounded in the ward just now, and the girl ran back after hearing the sound. A dark figure sprang from the ward with a cold light flashing in his hand and went straight to the girl. Page 5 "Be careful!" Li Zeyan shouted almost subconsciously, and the girl quickly reacted at the same moment, turning and running to his direction.  Just when he thought that the crisis could be changed, the instrument in the ward rang again, and the girl looked back. The man in black who's face couldn't be seen was getting closer and closer, and the sharp blade in his hand always declared a bright threat. The time of the whole world seemed to stop at this moment. Page 6 The blood in his body seemed to freeze instantly, and circulation came back after a long time... At this time, he sharply pulled his nerves.  From beginning to end, he only cared about such a simple thing: I hope she will live safely, no matter how the world evolves, he will come to her again. But right now, what he worries most still happened.  He could not see the result of that scene, and the huge repulsion urged the pocket watch in his hand.  However, just seeing her being chased by danger was enough to make his long-silent fear all come to his heart. This is not the future he wants to see. He does not accept such a situation. Even if it is only a small possibility, he will never allow. Page 7 The sharp pain of the body enveloped the throbbing of the heart, and he finally closed his eyes, and the flow of time brought him back to the original point. This pain made him clearly realize that he still needs to do more preparation. Chapter 3 Page 1 When Wei Qian received Li Zeyan's call, there was not much time left before the end. The long-standing habits made him subconsciously act in response. The task given to him by Li Zeyan is not difficult. Contact an Evolver who has the ability to transmit sound. Wei Qian remembers that this person is a member of Wumingdao and his contact information should be on the list.  The phone vibrated again, Wei Qian picked it up and took a look, then widen his eyes in surprise. It was Li Zeyan’s text. He said, ‘I’m sorry, for troubling you at this hour.’ Page 2 In his impression, the CEO rarely speaks in this tone. Although he is a strict boss, he never gives useless tasks.  Even if he is asked to deal with some personal arrangements occasionally, it is definitely not a "trouble".  Wei Qian just froze for a moment, and then quickly responded. "President, you are welcome, this is what I should do." Perhaps it is because everyone has to be beaten back to the original point by force majeure, and many people no longer care about their social relationships.  But Wei Qian didn't think so. His life creed always looked upward. Even if it was just a small favor, letting him know that there are people in this world who needs him, it is not a waste of time. Page 3 Li Zeyan walked out of the bathroom and put on a clean casual shirt. When he returned to the present from that hospital, he almost lost his strength and had to hold the table to stabilize his figure, accidentally knocking down a stack of documents.  He noticed that the form that fell out was a list of personnel compiled at the beginning of Wuming Island, and it simply recorded the identity and ability information of each members.  Li Zeyan's mind flashed through many records on the list, and finally stopped on an Evolver that once interested him.

The pocket watch can no longer bear more pressure, and the countdown to the future is constantly approaching. He is not sure what he will be like after the end. He must change everything now. Page 4 Wei Qian’s message came in time, saying that the Evolver had been contacted and he is now on Huapu Street.  Li Zeyan asked Wei Qian to send him Souvenir's address not far from Huapu Street, where they could meet. Not much time, but enough.  He must be able to do more. Chapter 4 Page 1 When Li Zeyan arrived, Souvenir had put up the store closing sign, and a young man was sitting at a small table outside the store and playing with his mobile phone.  When the young man saw Li Zeyan, he was taken aback and blinked. "You, are you the boss of Wumingdao? You’re  the one who is often on the news." "Hello, this is Li Zeyan." Seeing Li Zeyan stretched out his hand to him, the young man hurriedly put down his mobile phone and stood up and shook his hand firmly. Page 2 The meteors in the sky became denser, and the two of them did not say much, and went straight to the subject.  In summary, the youth’s ability is to “send” the voice at a specific point, and at the selected time point, directly convey what they want to say to the designated person.  Although you can choose any time, the number of messages in a short time is limited. The young man looked at Li Zeyan's frowning eyebrows, and tried his best to think about the words. "You can understand it as a microphone. My Evol is the line connecting two paper tubes, but after all, it's just a line. It's hard to talk like face to face." Li Zeyan thought for a moment and nodded. "How many times can I leave a message?" Page 3 "According to the time span you choose, you can stay about four times. But if I work hard, I can do it again." " Thank you." The young man looked at Li Zeyan and didn't feel any hesitation from him. He didn't seem to be worried about the outcome of this incident. "That... Have you ever been through this crisis? Mr. Li, you do this to make sure we can survive" "I am sure." " Why?" Page 4 "Because I saw that future." The youth froze for a moment, "But even if this message is successful, the future may not develop as you want." Li Zeyan looked at him, and seemed to be looking at a figure that emerged in his mind. "It doesn't matter. The future is still very long, I have the patience." He is always patient, waiting for her to get the hang of it. The young man unlocked his mobile phone and handed it to Li Zeyan. Page 5 "I'll give you a reminder later, just say it as if you were calling." Li Zeyan took the phone and looked at the blank call interface.  He still likes to talk about important things in person, but it is undeniable that there is often a time difference between people.  As the little boy said, many things are probabilistic events and will not be as you desire. He cares about results more than form. The young man began to use his abilities, and a slight electric current sounded in his ears and ripples appeared on the interface of the phone.  A feather suddenly fell from mid-air, slowly staying on the small table between the two of them. The evening breeze turned it slightly, and the soft feather gently rubbed his little finger. Page 6 Li Zeyan bent his knuckles subconsciously, and in a daze he could still feel the girl's slender fingers hooking on him, chanting various promises. They still have many unfinished agreements.  Only when you meet again can you keep the appointment. "The timing is set, is President Li ready?" Li Zeyan recovered and put the phone to his ear.  The young man cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Hello Miss MC, here is a message from the past. President Li, you can say it." Page 7 Li Zeyan thought of the back standing still at the intersection, gently curved his mouth. " Dummy..." "Why are you hesitating?" The bell rang over the city, and the expected end had arrived.  The dense meteor shower is like someone who has burnt a match in the night, illuminating the eternal night with dazzling white light. Page 8 Li Zeyan looked up and saw a nearly transparent light curtain shrouded under the white light.  The body seemed to lighten a bit, and the ability to melt into bone and blood was summoned from a distance, as if someone was pulling him to his side. The hands on the clock tower stagnated briefly, and in the next instant, they moved slightly in the counterclockwise direction.

[davidcampiti]

A SCREENPLAY IS NOT A COMIC BOOK SCRIPT

I'm frustrated by writers who hire a comicbook artist then send a screenplay as their script.  My first question to them is, "Are you hiring one of our writers to adapt this into a comic book script?"  Usually they'll respond, "No that's the script to work from."

But it's not.  

Word balloons aren't broken out or numbered, SFX aren't identified, the pacing is wrong, and most panel descriptions are missing, causing the artist and the editor to do twice as much work without a corresponding increase in pay.

Here's a good article from Nick Macari about the differences --

I think you’d be hard pressed to find some work of fiction, some type of writing, that you could NOT turn into a comic. That is to say, you could create a comic from notes on bar napkins, a published novel, heck I bet you could even create a comic using nothing but a movie as the source material.

If you’re making a comic yourself, like literally by yourself, it doesn’t really matter how you do it… only the final product matters. If you have some crazy process that gets you a beautiful finished product, good on ya mate.

But for those writing spec scripts, trying to write for others, or trying to entice others to their project, it pays to create scripts that open doors instead of closing them.

In 2020, there are a million writers writing screenplays and pawning them off as comic scripts.

If you want to be one of those guys… as you were.

But if you actually want to write comics, if you want to be a comic book writer, you should learn how to write an actual comic book script, not how to sell some other script as one.

There are lot of useful technique comics can borrow from screenplays.

For the innocent novice writer, it’s understandable to see some technical execution confusion. But for working and professional writers, knowing what transfers over and what doesn’t separates the riff from the raff.

Before we get into it, let’s put to bed, once and for all, why a straight screenplay script is not a comic script. Here’s why;

Director Production Designer Art Director Costume Designer Cinematographer … Camera Assistant Director of Photography Scenic Artist Set Decorator Storyboard artist … Makeup artist Wardrobe stylist Assistant Director Production Assistant Production Coordinator Production Designer … Script Supervisor Sound Mixer Special Effects Coordinator

oh yeah, and actors.

These are a few of the people involved in a film.

Individual roles dedicated to a specific area of production. In essence, a screenplay can deliver fairly minimal information and it’s someone’s specific job to interpret that information, its context, and otherwise apply their knowledge, experience and skill, to turn that information into some tangible, successful element.

If you think it’s the artist’s job to fill all these roles, you’re crazy… and mean to artists.

Ok, you still here?

Good.

Let’s showcase some specific examples of why a screenplay doesn’t hold up for comics;

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Drug Dealer I don’t…

Doyle Ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?

Drug Dealer What?

Doyle Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?

Drug Dealer I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.

Doyle Were you ever in Poughkeepsie?

Drug Dealer No… yeah…

Doyle Did you ever sit on the edge of a bed, take off your socks and stick your fingers between your toes?

Drug Dealer Man, I’m clean.

Doyle You made three sales to your roaches back there. We had to chase you though all this shit and you tell me you’re clean?

Russo Who stuck up the laundromat?

Doyle How about that time you were picking your feet in Pougheepsie?

The drug dealers’ eyes go to Russo in panic, looking for the relief from the pressure of the inquisition.

Russo (in pain) You better give me the guy who got the old Jew or you better give me something or you’re just a memory in this town.

Drug Dealer That’s a lot o’ shit. I didn’t do nothin’.

14 dialogue exchanges, with for all intents and purposes not a single visual description (one minor one toward the end about the dealer’s eyes.). This is likely at least one page of comic with this volume of exchanges and dialogue, and there is literally, nothing cuing the artist as to how this should go down.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Mutchie

That’s right, he couldn’t fight legit. One night at the Garden about 1950, ’51—he fought either Jake LaMotta or Gus Lesnevish, I think it was—he took one o’those cream puff punches in the sixth—the laziest left you ever seen—missed him entirely. Down goes Blackjack without even workin’ up a sweat and the whole Garden gets up on its feet and I swear to Christ, everybody starts singin’ “Dance with Me Henry.”

75 words. Way too much for a single panel.

How many ways can you break the dialogue into how many panels?

Is one way to break it up more effective than the others?

Because if it is, and that’s NOT the method you write up, you’re producing a less effective script.

But ultimately, what works in film as a 30 second monologue (doesn’t work in comics), would be far more effective as caption narration over flashback action.

THE EXORCIST

EXTERIOR – IRAQ- NINEVEH- DAY

The old man arrives back at that dig site in a small jeep. As he pulls up two armed guards rush out. When they see who it is the old man gives them a wave and they slowly walk back to there quarters. The old man walks up the rocky mound and sees a huge statue of the demon Pazuzu, which has the head of the small rock he earlier found. He climbs to a higher point to get a closer look. When he reaches the highest point he looks at the statue dead on. He then turns his head as we hear rocks falling and sees a guard standing behind him. He then turns again when he hears two dogs savagely attacking each other. The noise is something of an evil nature. He looks again at the statue and we are then presented with a classic stand off side view of the old man and the statue as the noises rage on. We then fade to the sun slowly setting as the noises lower in volume.

Hey! this has some nice direction, this screenplay stuff is perfect for a comic.

NO.

Let’s break it down;

The old man arrives back at that dig site in a small jeep. As he pulls up two armed guards rush out. When they see who it is the old man gives them a wave and they slowly walk back to there quarters. The old man walks up the rocky mound and sees a huge statue of the demon Pazuzu, which has the head of the small rock he earlier found. He climbs to a higher point to get a closer look. When he reaches the highest point he looks at the statue dead on. He then turns his head as we hear rocks falling and sees a guard standing behind him. He then turns again when he hears two dogs savagely attacking each other. The noise is something of an evil nature. He looks again at the statue and we are then presented with a classic stand off side view of the old man and the statue as the noises rage on. We then fade to the sun slowly setting as the noises lower in volume.

This passage is 15 beats, give or take. One beat a panel, 3-5 panels per page, we’ve got 3-5 pages of comic in this passage alone.

Hang on we’re not done.

If you fill your page with this type of description (you shouldn’t, but let’s say you did), you could get almost double that amount of beats. So one page of screenplay delivering nearly 6-10 pages of comic content!

Tell me, when was the last time someone delivering a screenplay “comic script,” delivered a 2 page script for a complete issue?    Never says I.

BONUS on this example:

Did y’all notice the soundtrack emphasis in this excerpt from the Exorcist script? Of course you can have sound effects in a comic, but no matter how you crack it, comics DO NOT have soundtracks. Relying on film soundtracks in a comic script is a sure fire way to deliver less effective scripts.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

JACK Alright, where’s my truck, Wang? I’m outta here. And my money, too.

WANG Forget about your truck, Jack. You don’t wanna go back there. You’ll have to go through the Wing Kong to get it. It’s insured, right?

JACK Of course it is. But that’s not the point.

WANG The smart man comes back for it later…

JACK The smart man calls the cops!

WANG Cops have better things to do than get killed.

We showed the typical lack of visual description a screenplay gives in the first example. [Screenplays tend to focus on the scene setup, then briefly hit key actions of the scene.] Here we have another example of missing visual description, but I point it out for something more specific–LACK OF EMOTIONAL context.

As I point out in the Writer’s Guide, Emotional content is one of the essential elements of each and every comic panel. So not only do we not have visual cues to support the action in the screenplay, but how are the characters delivering these lines!?

JACK Alright, where’s my truck, Wang? I’m outta here. And my money, too.

How many ways can you say this line?

I can say it pissed. Irritated. Fearful. Sarcastically. Comically.  Those are just a few that pop in my head… and I’m no actor.

Leaving emotional context open to interpretation undermines narrative control–in a big way.

A good, effective scene, could die a horrible misinterpreted death.

For the record, you can use parentheticals in a screenplay. This can give emotional context, like the one from Jack’s first line I omitted to make the example more effective

JACK (pissed off)

But where parentheticals do contain emotional context, you use them in a script sparingly. Just like you don’t tell the director how to do his job filling your screenplay with camera direction, you don’t try to tell the actors how to do theirs. (Remember, the answer to why Screenplays aren’t Comic Scripts, there’s a lot of people, hopefully professionals, bringing their expertise to the table.)

CASABLANCA

Ilsa Your secret will be safe with me. Ferrari is waiting for our answer.

At the bar Ferrari talks to a waiter.

Ferrari Not more than fifty francs though.

Ilsa and Laszlo walk up to him.

Laszlo We’ve decided, Signor Ferrari. For the president we’ll go on looking for two exit visas. Thank you very much.

Ferrari Well, good luck. But be careful. ( a flick of his eyes in the direction of the bazaar) You know you’re being shadowed.

Laszlo glances in the direction of the bazaar.

Screenplays live in movement. Unless you’ve got a static insert of a letter or photo or something, everything is in motion and there is constant change (even if subtle) from micro-second, to micro-second.

While comics work to capture movement (and  there are some tricks), it is ultimately a static medium, locked into showcasing moments frozen in time.

What I explain in the “works in movies not in comics article” is that the constant movement and motion, supported (primarily) by actors, but by the lighting people, the art direction people, director, etc. all gives depth and purpose to every single second of a film.

With all these people doing their job, a screenplay can give super general stage direction, like what we see here in this Casablanca excerpt.

At the bar Ferrari talks to a waiter.

Ilsa and Laszlo walk up to him.

Laszlo glances in the direction of the bazaar.

These trivial actions carry no narrative. They work in film because of performance and motion, which steps in to create narrative.Without performance and motion, a single frame captured from core stage direction translates to ineffective comic panels.

By the way, all the examples I’m giving here, are from solid movies. The big pink elephant in the room when writers deliver “comic screenplay scripts,” is that they assume they know how to write a good screenplay in the first place. Trust me, novice writers rarely do.

There’s a lot of technique and skill in writing a solid screenplay. And if you think a good screenplay causes problems converting to a comic, wait till you try it from a shitty screenplay.

Still thinkin’ screenplay is synonymous with comic script? Well you’re wrong sunshine, but what do I know?

I’m just a non-famous full-time mercenary writer, writing almost exclusively in comics and games for a decade or so. :p

I’ve spent a few hours writing this article, but there are plenty of other examples I haven’t touched on.

I’ll come back and add some more as I think of them in my down time. Maybe eventually when the list is so long it takes you a couple hours to read this article,  y’all get it through your noggins that comics are there own medium which demand the attention and respect of a unique format and writing approach. Something the comic book writers reading this, already know. #justsayin

About the Author — Nick Macari is a full-time freelance story consultant, developmental editor and writer, working primarily in the independent gaming and comic markets. His first published comic appeared on shelves via Diamond in the late 90’s. Today you can find his comic work on comixology, amazon and in select stores around the U.S.  Visit NickMacari.com for social media contacts and news on his latest releases.

[harrystyleswatermelon-sugar]

The assistant

„Miss Y/L/N, I can´t bring any of the other women here, when they would hear who the client is…they would freak out. I know you hate being the plenipotentiary and to certify the purchase contract outside of the notary…but you literally have no choice,” my boss says and I sigh. I know he is right and I know I have to go, but I don´t want. I hate it. I like being in my office, having no contact with strangers and do my thing.

“I can do it, I think. But who is this mysterious famous client? Bon Jovi? The Queen?” I ask and laugh a bit my boss rolls his eyes at me and I stop laughing. Sometimes I forget what a jerk he is and try to be myself.  

“It´s Harry Styles, you know him?” he asks and hands me the file. I flip through the pages until I find the draft. He buys a huge mansion in Hampstead Heath. Its value is £8.5. million and I gasp at the numbers. So much money.

“Yes, I do know him. I like his music, but I am not an obsessive fan,” I answer my boss´s question and he nods.

“I thought so, okay the appointment is tomorrow at 10. We are meeting at his house. Please dress formal,” he says and I nod. Normally I just wear denim and a nice top, but with someone this range, I understand that we have to look presentable.

 The next morning, I am indeed a bit nervous. It is not every day that I have to accompany my boss or meet a famous singer. I look at myself and nod in agreement. This is perfect. I chose a formal tight fitted dress in dark blue with a brown blazer and brown shoes. I put on some makeup and took the time to curl my hair, so it falls in flowy waves over my back.

Last night I googled our client and to be honest, I am pretty excited to see him. He seems nice and very attractive.

My boss collects me at our law firm and we drive to Harry Styles house. I carry Harrys file with the certificate and my bag. Mr Smith holds in front of a gate and presses a small button. No name is on the sign, but I think that is for safety reasons. The gate opens and I wonder, why he opens without checking who we are but then I see a small camera and realise, he sees us.

As we walk to the front door, it opens and I see him. He is beautiful, just stunning. Mr Smith shakes his hand and introduces me.

“This is Miss Y/L/N. She will sign the contract for the seller, he can´t be here today. She is authorized to do so,” Harry smiles at me and shakes my hand as well. He is tall and his eyes are sparkling, wandering over me.

“Hello, very nice to meet you,” he says and I smile back at him.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr Styles.” he leads us into his house and we sit down at the huge dining table. He already set up some glasses, water and cookies. They look hand-made, did he really bake?

Mr Smith explains Harry how it will work and starts reading the contract. He has to do so, but I don’t need to listen. I look around me and wonder how it is to be living in such a huge house all by yourself. It must be very lonely.

I see some guitars next to a piano, some sheets with notes and a few books. The room is dominated by a huge couch and a Flatscreen. In the corner, there is a fireplace and everything looks fancy and expensive. I look at my hands, my not so fresh manicure and I suddenly get embarrassed of myself. I am usually not self-conscious but in front of this gorgeous human being, I suddenly am. I get a bit nervous and Harry seems to notice, that I am not as comfortable as before. His eyes look a bit concerned and he cuts Mr Smith off by asking me:

“Are you okay?” I turn red and nod.

“Yeah, everything´s fine,” I answer and smile at my boss, scared that he might get upset. Sadly, I don’t have the best relationship with him, he often gets really annoyed and shouts at me. I am his personal assistant after all, but he is an idiot. If he wants something, he can be really nice but otherwise he usually is an idiot.

Harrys eyes follow mine and he looks at my boss. Mr Smith raises an eyebrow at me and I bite my lip. Oh god, I think I will be in trouble. He continues reading the contract as I can feel, that Harry is still looking at me. I avoid looking at him and stare at my hands.

Mr Smith finishes reading and shows Harry, where he has to sign. Harry does what he has to do and then it is my turn. I look at his hand, as he hands me the pen and smile at him.

“Thanks,” I mumble under my breath and he smirks, touching my hand on purpose as I take the pen. My hand is shaking a bit and I know, that both men notice it.

“I just check, if my information is alright,” I say and flip to the correct site. I read the paragraph and nod. Then I sign right under Harry and hand everything to Mr Smith. He signs and puts everything back into the file, so I can make an official document out of it, when we are back.

“Mr Styles, it was a pleasure meeting you. I think we will head back now and don’t bother you anymore,” Mr Smith says and I am eager to control the reflex and not roll my eyes. He is so over the top friendly, that I cringe. It is disgusting. Harry notices it too and snorts inhumanly. He shakes his hand and then smiles at me, as he says:

“It was nice meeting you too. Have a good day,” he takes my hand in his as Mr Smith walks already out the door.

“Maybe somewhere else,” Harry winks at me and I beam at him. He is flirting with me! With me!

“I doubt that. I don’t think you hang around the same places as I do,” I answer and he shrugs his shoulders.

“You never know, Y/F/N Y/L/N…I will find you, in a not creepy way hopefully,” we both laugh and I look at my boss, who is waiting for me.

“I have to go, he will get mad,” I say and let go of his hand.

“Don’t let him treat you under your value. No one deserves that,” I hear Harry say and walk to the car.

“Was about damn time, what did you two talk about?” my boss asks me and I better get a good reason, or I will definitely be in trouble.

“He wanted to know what the next steps are,” I say and buckle my seatbelt in. I look at Harry, as we leave and he smiles at me. I am a bit sad, that I will probably not see him again, he is really gentle and nice.

 A few weeks later I get a call in my office from our front desk.

“Hey, Y/N. Here is a young man in the line who wants to talk to you. He says his name is Selyts but I couldn’t find anything on him” I laugh and immediately get what happens here. My heart skips a beat and I tell Mary, it is alright.

“White Horse Solicitors and Notary Public, my name is Y/L/N, how can I help you,” I say my usual line, as I am not 100% sure it is Mr Styles.

“Hello Miss Y/L/N. This is-“I interrupt him, because as I hear his voice, I am sure.

“Mr Styles, hello,” I say and he laughs surprised.

“Oh, I was able to fool the lady at the front desk, but not you. I´m not surprised, you figured it, when you heard the name, right?” He asks and I grin. He is such a flirt.

“Yes, I knew it immediately. How can I help you?” I reply and lean back in my chair.

“Well honestly…I just wanted to hear if everything is going it's way?”

“Yes, sure. We sent everything away and I think there will be the announcement of registration and then it is officially yours. As soon as you pay,” I explain to him over the phone. He laughs and I can imagine how his eyes squeeze and I shake my head. He is a fucking client, get your shit together Y/N.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, as long as I get a receipt. So, I don’t need to come to the office or anything else? That´s just it?” he asks and I smile sadly.

“That´s just it. No need to come here, besides my colleagues would freak out if they saw you,” I warn him and hear him laughing once again. His laugh is really cute – oh, stop it Y/N!

“So that’s why you were here? Because you don’t care who I am?”

“Uhm…well, at least I can be professional, what doesn’t mean I don’t care. Please hold on a minute, Mr Smith is coming in” I say just as my boss enters my office, of course without knocking. Before I can put Harry on hold, he already shouts at me.

“Miss Y/L/N, what the fuck did I say about putting the pieces IN. THE. RIGHT. ORDER. Into the file? Is it really that you are so stupid, you don’t even get the simplest thing right? Can you even brew a proper coffee? Probably not, I know why you aren’t a lawyer, because you are just to damn stupid to put the papers in the correct order!” his voice is bitter and he looks so pissed, that I just stare at the ground ashamed. I am sure, I put them in the right order, so it has to be someone else´s fault, but blaming someone else wouldn’t make this better.

“I´m sorry, Mr Smith. I will take care of it,” I mumble and he throws the file at the carpeted floor. Papers fly around and the cover rips open. It will take me at least three hours to get this massive file in order again. Great, I had planned to meet a friend after work. I guess I can quit that now. My boss slams the door shut when he leaves and I get on my knees to collect the papers. I suddenly remember the phone and gasp. I forgot to put Harry on hold, he probably heard everything and I run back to the phone.

“Shit, shit, shit!” I mutter as I see, that the red light is still out. It should be on, to prevent the caller from listening.

“Mr Styles? I´m back…do you have any more questions?” I say and I really hope he didn’t hear anything from the previous conversation.

“No, I mean…yes…what happened?” he asks and I can´t possibly tell him what happened.

“Oh nothing, everything´s fine here. It´s just a bit stressful, I am going to work overtime today, that´s all,” I answer and close my eyes. Hopefully he buys it.

“Okay, then have a good evening and don’t work too much. Don’t forget to eat and don’t let your boss get to you. You are awesome,” he says and I turn bright red. He is so nice, I can´t handle it.

“Don´t worry. Bye, Mr Styles. It was nice meeting you” we say our final goodbyes and as I hang up, I bury my face in my hands. Oh, dear god.

The whole new organization of the file takes way longer than expected. It turns out, someone messed up the whole file and it is one of the biggest we have. At 11 PM I am devastated, hungry and tired. Good thing is, tomorrow is Saturday so I can sleep as long as I want.

I let my head sink on my desk onto all those papers and sigh. This was such a hard day and it is not yet over. I still have a few papers to organize and I flinch, as someone knocks on my office door. Everybody left hours ago, I thought I was alone.

“Who´s there?” I ask and hope I look at least half presentable. The door opens and I see Harry Styles lurking around the corner. He smiles as he sees me and I sit straight up.

“H…ello Mr Styles. What are you doing here? It is the middle of the night,” I say and rescue myself by turning the original H from Harry into the H from hello.

“Hello, love. I thought you might be hungry and overworked, so I brought you some food and company,” he says and I smile. Too sweet, but why? I don’t even know him.

“Thank you, that’s so nice of you. But really not necessary, you are our client. You shouldn’t be here,” I answer and he presses his lips together.

“Look, Miss Y/L/N. I heard your argument with Mr Smith and I noticed, that you are afraid of him. I thought I am coming around and show you some appreciation of what he clearly doesn’t do, so this is for you. If you want me to leave, that´s fine…I will. Just take the food and be sure your work is greatly appreciated,” he says smiling and puts the bag on my desk.

This is the nicest thing someone has done for me in a long time. This is amazing and so thoughtful of him. He turns around and walks to the door.

“Wait…would you like to eat with me?” I ask him and he turns half around, smiling.

“Sure, I´d love to. But please call me Harry,” he suggests and I put the files and papers away. He sits down in front of my desk and gets out all the stuff he bought.

“Oh god, Mr Smith will kill me…but my name is Y/N,” I reply and sit down. We eat together, talking about the contract and my boss.

“I am not allowed to talk about such things, but you are right. He is horrible,” I just reply to his question.

“Why do you work here, then? I think you could work anywhere you want. I bet you have a good education,” he assumes and I nod. He is right, my education is pretty good.

“I don’t know, maybe I am afraid of changes,”

“Change is good, really. We need change. You clearly need it.” He answers and I look at him. His green eyes never leave mine until I break the eye contact and sigh.

“I don’t know, I´m always so afraid,”

“Don’t be. Just do it, be brave. It´s worth it,” he says and I roll my eyes at him. Sure, being brave sounds good, if you have a fortune and don’t care about any normal job.

I get up and begin collecting the waste, to throw it away.

“I am not brave at all,” I finally answer and look at him. He gets up from his chair and sees directly into my eyes. His hands are on my arms, as he now says:

“Then be it. Just try. What would you do, if you´d be brave and would care less about this job?” he asks me and I can´t look away. I would kick the file from my desk, kiss Harry, fuck with him on my desk and then go home and face my boss with no fear on Monday. But I know I´d never do one of those things.

“Do it. Whatever you are thinking now, do it,” he requests and I look over to the file on my desk. He is right, I should just be brave and do it and don’t care about this job. I will find another one, definitely. I smile shyly, move to the file and throw it on the ground. It feels good. Really relieving.

“Very good, I am proud of you!” Harry cheers and I laugh.

“Felt good?”

“Hell yes. You are right, I should do what is best for me, not for the company. I will quit, I wanted it for so long, but I was afraid,” I tell him and he nods.

“If that is what you want, yes. Do it.” He supports me and I think about how a stranger is capable of getting me to the final point to quit. My eyes meet his and I decide, to just do it, like he said. I walk over, grab his face with both my hands and press my lips on his. He immediately grabs my hips and pushes me backwards onto my desk. Two hearts, one idea. I rip off his shirt and he pulls mine over my head.

Sometime later, we both look at each other, swollen lips and panting. His chest is covered in sweat and I can´t believe I just got fucked by Harry Styles on my office desk. And it was damn good.

“That was…unexpected. I did not plan for this to happen,” Harry says out of breath and I grab my undergarments, to get dressed again.

“Well, it did happen,” I reply shy all of a sudden. Being naked in front of someone like him, who has seen models naked makes me insecure. As fast as I can, I put my dress back on and skip sliding into my thighs. I just shove them into my bag.

“Hey, look at me, Y/N.” he says with a calm voice and as I turn around, he comes to me. His eyes wandering over my face, when he takes my hands in his. He is in his briefs and his Shirt, but no pants yet. I look up and meet his green, mesmerizing eyes.

“This was not wrong. I want you to know that I came here to be close to you, to get to know you. I didn’t mean for this to happen right now and here, but it just shows that you feel the same as I do and that’s unbelievable. I want to date you, in private, no cameras, no media, just the two of us. How does that sound to you?” he asks and I can see the hope in his eyes. I am not sure, it is so unprofessional to date a client, but I like him. I do. He is so friendly and nice and to be honest, I already had a crush on him, before I met him but knowing him a bit better now…I am absolutely falling for him.

“I´d like that very much, yes,” I reply and smile at him.

“That´s good news but from now on, we take it slow okay? This happened, but I will date you the normal way, like any regular guy does,” he proposes and I laugh. As if he is a regular guy, but I just nod and hug him. He is so warm and his hug is very comforting and he smells amazing.

 Four months later Harry and I are still dating, I quit my job after we met in my office and found a new job almost immediately. I get more salary, have a nicer work environment and it is closer to my home.

Until today we have been very secretive about our dating and mostly kept it out of the media. Here and there we were papped leaving a restaurant or just strolling around, but there is no evidence, that we are really dating.

“You, ready, love?” Harry asks and enters his bedroom. I am standing in front of the mirror and checking my appearance again and again.

“No, I don’t know. Maybe I should wear the other dress, I am scared this won´t look good next to your suit,” I whine and feel his arms snaking around my waist. Today is the day, we are going public. It is the world premiere of his new movie and he asked me to join him on the red carpet.

“You look absolutely beautiful, don’t worry,” he assures me and kisses my cheek. I look at us in the mirror. His suit is plain dark grey and he looks so good in it, it should be forbidden. My dress, on the other hand, is a sparkly dark red one with no straps or sleeves.

“I am so scared, what if your fans won´t like me? What if it would´ve been better to hide me?” I ask and look at the ground, as he turns me around in his arms.

“Darling, Y/N. I love you with all my heart and I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I am not leaving you, if my fans don’t like you. Which will not happen. There is nothing to not love on you,” he says and I smile at him. He just said that he loves me. I mean, I figured it but it is the first time one of us said it out loud.

“You love me,” I say and he giggles, resting his forehead on mine.

“I do. I love you,” he repeats and I kiss him passionately. My heart is about to explode and I just want to be near him, hold him, smell him.

“I love you too, Harry,” I reply and look at him. He hugs me and I press my body against him, clinging to him as if I am going to drown without him.

When we arrive at the premiere venue Harry takes my hand, as soon as we are out of the car.

“Just never let go, okay?” I beg him and he nods smiling.

“Never,” his voice is deep and raspy as I take a deep breath. We step into the flashing lights, are fired with questions and I just smile, holding on to Harry hand, turning, feeling him pulling me closer and letting go of my hand. I look at him in panic, but he grabs my hip, pressing me to his side and showing me off a bit, I think.

We finally get to the interviewers and I thought he has to be there alone, but he keeps tugging me with him. He does his interviews and finally, the big question comes.

“Who is joining you tonight? You look stunningly beautiful, by the way” the interviewer says to me and winks. I smile and nod thankful because he is so nice. Harry looks at me and smiles, as he answers.

“This is my girlfriend Y/N, she is breath-taking, you are right”

“It is official, Harry Styles is off of the market, dear ladies. Have a good night today and enjoy yourselves, but be careful this beautiful lady does not steal your show” he winks at us and I look down at our entwined hands.

“Oh, she always does, I am sure. Thank you mate, see you around” Harry says his goodbye and moves on to the next one. It takes so long, that I am nearly dried out when we finally get to the fans. They are so sweet, asking for pictures and autographs, some ask who I am and then want me to join the picture.

Inside we find our seats and I greet his co-stars, which I mostly know. The film is brilliant and I have to decline Harrys snogging attempts because I don’t want to miss anything. He frowns at me and sticks his tongue out. I laugh and when the credits appear I look at him, like a proud mom.

“I loved it, you were brilliant,” I say and lean in to kiss him.

“Thanks, babe. I love you,” he replies and smiles into the kiss. We hear some fans cheering behind us, as the lights turn on and we are still kissing each other.

“See they like you, just as I do,” he kisses my cheek once again and I laugh.

“I hope not, I don’t want to sleep with all of them,” he grins and winks at my response.

“Dirty girl,” we chuckle and then meet some more fans outside the venue before we head home to Harrys house.

Hello lovelies, I hope you liked my newest OS. Yes, I tried a bit smut and if you like it, I have another one with even more smut.

Let me know. 

Love, xx