#super fast build mode [asks]

[jellie-tamer]

"Knock knock!" Mumbo called in lieu of actually knocking. He carefully stepped into the room, cautious of disrupting Grian from his perch by moving too fast. "Sorry we kind of disappeared on you there. You still awake in here buddy?" @askmumbojumbo

The room looked nearly empty, and there was barely any sound beyond the quiet whirring of Scar's oxygen concentrator. The nest looked empty at first glance.

If someone were to look for a moment beyond a glance they would notice the tube of Scar's oxygen concentrator disappearing into the nest and his grey and brown furred tail drifting lazily from side to side, but the nest itself seemed nearly undisturbed.

Every blanket looked like it was in almost the exact same place it would be if Scar was never in the nest at all, despite him being burrowed inside of it sleeping soundly.

[jezebelblues]

so not cool | h.s

summary: in which spiderman is obviously much cooler than dad

cw: dadrry. overuse of the word spider-man. u could play a drinking game by how much its mentioned prolly

word count: approx 1.7k

| the result of being up for 20h, writers block n being bored out of my mind !! idk what this is but…it’s..definitely an addition to the dadrry universe .. for sure (prob will delete 🔥)

not necessary but here’s the first dadrry post if ur into that

masterlist

July 2021

The sound of the credits rolling filled the living room as Harry leaned back against the couch, a sleepy grin tugging at his lips. Atlas, now three years old and still wide-eyed with excitement, sat curled up against his father’s side, his tiny fingers clutching the corner of a fleece one direction blanket that Harry had bought off Etsy, something he found to be absolutely hilarious. They had just finished watching the original Spider-Man movie, the one with Tobey Maguire, and Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the awe that was practically radiating off his son.

“Dad,” Atlas breathed, his voice filled with wonder as he looked up at Harry with those big, round eyes that mirrored his mother’s. “Pider-man s’cool.”

They were working on his pronunciation of R’s and S’s. Not too much progress yet.

Harry bit back a laugh, ruffling his son’s messy curls as he glanced down at him. “Yeah, he’s pretty cool, isn’t he?”

Atlas nodded vigorously, his little legs kicking against the couch as his excitement bubbled over. “He climbs n’ has webs n’ fights ba’guys!”

Harry grinned, watching the way Atlas’s face lit up as he recounted all of the abilities with the fervor only a toddler could muster. His little hands gestured wildly as if he were mimicking shooting webs out of his wrists.

“Best superhero in’a whole world!” Atlas declared, sitting up straighter as if this revelation were the most important one he’d ever made.

Harry chuckled, reaching over to grab the remote and lower the volume on the TV. “Better than Batman?”

“Super much better.” Atlas exclaimed, his voice incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe Harry would even ask such a thing.

“Better than Iron Man?” Harry tried again, his tone teasing as he listed off another iconic hero.

His boy paused for a moment, his brow furrowing in concentration as he thought it over. His little hand lifted to his chin in the same way Harry often did when he was deep in thought, and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of it. After a moment, Atlas shook his head decisively. “M’yeah. Way cooler.”

Harry leaned back against the couch, folding his arms as he played along. “So, that’s it? Peter Parker’s just the best?”

“Yeah!” Atlas said excitedly, jumping off the couch and running around the living room, pretending to shoot webs from his wrists. “He’s fast ‘nd he can climb buildings like this!” He hopped up on the couch and began to scale the back of it with his small, wobbly legs, pretending he was on the side of a skyscraper.

Harry leaned forward, his hands hovering near Atlas to catch him in case he lost his balance. “Easy there, spidey,” he chuckled. “No need to break the couch, bub.”

Atlas giggled as he perched himself on the top of the couch, still caught up in his make-believe world. He turned to Harry, his eyes bright with excitement. “Daddy?” He paused, watching his father’s gaze resettle upon him. “y’think spideys stronger than you?”

Harry raised an eyebrow, smirking as he leaned back against the couch again. “Stronger than me, huh? That’s a tough one. I mean, I’ve got some pretty strong muscles too, you know.” He tried to persuade his son, flexing his bicep in front of him.

Atlas tilted his head, considering this for a moment before a mischievous grin spread across his face. “M’no cause he can do this!” He flung his wrist out, making a thwip! noise as he pretended to shoot webs across the room.

Harry’s grin widened as he watched his son in full superhero mode. “Alright, alright, you’ve got me there. I don’t have webs.”

“Duh!” The boy exclaimed again, leaping off the couch and landing with a soft thud on the carpet. He scrambled back up and raced over to Harry, his little hands grabbing at his dad’s arms as he looked up at him with pure adoration. “But y’cool too, dad.”

Harry laughed, his heart swelling at the sight of his son’s wide grin. “Oh, just cool am I? Not the coolest?”

Atlas giggled, shaking his head, jumping in place with his palms against his dad’s knees. “Nope, he–he still more better.”

YN had been listening from the kitchen as she prepared dinner, the scent of garlic and herbs filling the air. She leaned against the counter, smiling to herself as she heard the playful back-and-forth between her husband and their son. Harry always had such a way of connecting with Atlas—whether it was through silly games, bedtime stories, or, in this case, debates over superheroes.

She wiped her hands on a dish towel and wandered into the living room, catching sight of Atlas now climbing into Harry’s lap. “What’s all this about Spider-Man?” she asked, crossing her arms with a mock-stern expression.

The curly haired boy whipped his head around, his face lighting up when he saw his mom. “Mama! We watched’ed pider-man!”

YN raised her eyebrows, glancing at Harry, who shrugged with an amused smile. “I see,” she said, nodding seriously. “And where does daddy rank on the superhero scale?”

Without missing a beat, Atlas giggled and pointed at Harry. “M’he not a superhero—he’s just daddy!”

Harry feigned offense, gasping dramatically as he clutched his chest. “Just dad? C’mon, mate, I’m way cooler than that.”

Atlas giggled even harder, clearly enjoying the game. “Y’climb on buildings?”

Harry chuckled, wrapping his arms around Atlas and pulling him into a gentle bear hug. “Okay, I can’t climb buildings, but I bet Spider-Man can’t make pancakes as good as me.”

The boy paused, clearly torn by this new piece of information. He loved his dad’s pancakes, after all. But after a moment, he shook his head, his resolve firm. “Pider-man don’t eat pancakes.”

YN laughed as she sat down on the couch beside them, placing her hand on Harry’s knee. “He’s got you there, babe. You might have to accept second place.”

He sighed in mock defeat, his dimples deepening as he looked down at his boy, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Alright, fine. he can be the coolest for now. But when you get hungry in the morning, don’t come crying to me for pancakes.”

“He make them for me!” Atlas shot back with a laugh, clearly enjoying teasing his dad.

He laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of Atlas’s curly head. “You think Parker knows how to make chocolate chip pancakes like I do? I doubt it.”

YN watched them with a soft smile, her heart swelling with affection. She loved these moments—the way Harry could be completely goofy and playful with their son, never taking himself too seriously, and the way Atlas adored his dad with a fierceness that made her heart melt. It was a kind of magic, watching the two of them together.

She ran a finger through Harry’s curls, pressing a kiss into the locks as she breathed him in. “I’m plating dinner.” She mumbled as she ambled back into the kitchen.

Harry grunted as he stood up, pulling his son up in his arms along with him. “To the table, web-slinger.” He told Atlas, swinging him in his arms with small little swooshing sounds.

Their boy giggled as Harry swooped him through the air like an airplane, his little arms stretched out as if he were flying. They made their way to the kitchen, where YN was setting plates of steaming food on the table.

"Hungry?” YN teased as Harry plopped Atlas into his booster seat.

He nodded enthusiastically. "I want 'tatoes!"

Harry chuckled, grabbing a spoon to serve Atlas a helping of mashed potatoes. "Here you go, bubba. But no webs at the dinner table, okay?"

He giggled, pretending to shoot webs one more time before focusing on his plate. Harry and YN exchanged a fond smile, and for a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the sounds of dinner-plates clinking, forks scraping, and the occasional happy hum from Atlas as he devoured his meal.

After dinner, they settled into their nighttime routine-baths, pajamas, and a bedtime story.

Atlas, freshly bathed and smelling of lavender, jumped snuggled into his bed. It was navy blue with cartoonish planets littered about, but his favorite thing would have to be his rainbow zebra-print 1D blanket tucked around him. Harry sat on the edge of the bed, the familiar worn copy of Goodnight Moon in his hands.

"Goodnight room, goodnight moon," He read softly, his voice soothing. Atlas's eyelids grew heavy as he clutched his favorite stuffed animal, a plush giraffe.

YN stood in the doorway, watching her two boys with a soft smile. She loved these quiet moments, the way Harry's voice softened as he read to Atlas, the way their son's small body relaxed into sleep. "Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere."

As he closed the book, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Atlas's forehead. "Goodnight, spidey."

Atlas's lips curled into a sleepy smile, his voice a soft mumble as he drifted off. "G’night, daddy."

With that, Harry quietly stood and tiptoed out of the room, YN slipping her hand into his as they left their little guy to dream of webs and skyscrapers.

The door closed behind them with a soft click before he scooped his wife over his shoulder quietly, trudging toward their bedroom and throwing her onto the bed through her soft protests.

YN laughed as she landed on the bed, playfully swatting at Harry as he crawled over her. "You're ridiculous," she whispered, though her smile said she didn't mind one bit.

Her husband grinned, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of their bedroom. "Well, if I'm not the coolest in the house, l've got to show off my other skills, don't I?"

She rolled her eyes, pulling him down for a kiss. "You're still my favorite," she murmured against his lips.

He smiled into the kiss, his hands resting on her hips as he whispered back, "Good, because I'm not giving up that spot anytime soon."

The house grew quiet, the hum of the evening settling in around them as they lay together.

Outside, the stars were beginning to twinkle in the night sky, and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze was the only sound breaking the silence. Harry reached over to switch off the bedside lamp, wrapping his arms around YN as they snuggled into each other.

It was in those days that Harry realized—he didn't need to be the coolest superhero. Being Atlas's dad, YN's husband, and the maker of the best chocolate chip pancakes in the world was more than enough. It was everything.

[jinjeriffic]

DCxDP Prophecy Universe Part 7

Part 6

It took Damian the rest of the afternoon to prepare for his trip to Amity Park. Jon helpfully agreed to cover for him, on the promise of a copy of the upcoming Cheese Viking 2 and getting filled in on all the hot Bat gossip afterwards. Wasn’t friendship grand?

Pennyworth thankfully agreed that ‘bonding time’ between the Super Sons was a good use of fall break and even took the time to ‘Prepare some healthy snacks for the young Masters, lest you eat junk food the whole week’. The task also handily distracted the butler while Damian packed the Batwing with all the necessary surveillance equipment he would need and set up the program to spoof his flight data. Damian had no doubt that Father wouldn’t be fooled for long, but with the Bat it was always better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

The flight to Illinois was mercifully uneventful. Damian rappelled off in the middle of the eponymous city Park, then instructed the autopilot to take the plane to a wooded area outside city limits and park there in camouflage mode. Once he was sure his arrival had gone undetected, he changed into civvies and with his backpack full of gear set off in the direction of Fenton Works on foot. In jeans, sneakers, a dark hoodie and a baseball cap he looked like any other kid his age, even if he was out after curfew. Damian made sure to stick to the shadows and ducked behind cover whenever a car passed him.

All in all it took him until the early morning hours to arrive at the correct address. Intellectually, he had known the Fentons operated their workshop out of the family home, but he was in no way prepared for the monstrosity of a building that greeted him. Damian couldn’t help but stop and stare in disbelief.

What had once started out as an ordinary brownstone building had a glaring neon sign out front, proudly proclaiming the company name. Perched precariously on the roof was a gigantic metal structure that looked like a cross between a cartoon UFO and an observatory. There was no way this was legal or sane. If something like this had popped up in Gotham it would have been flagged as a Rogue hideout and bugged to hell and back. Hell, Damian was half tempted to break in immediately to start planting cameras but was held back by the likely presence of a custom security system. Mad scientists were rude like that and Damian didn’t want to tip his hand too early. He would have to at least wait until he was sure the Fentons weren’t at home.

Damian tucked his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and strolled past the building at a fake casual pace. The windows were dark and the building was silent, except for the faint hum of the neon sign. This early on a Saturday morning, the residents were likely fast asleep. He spotted an electric scooter chained up next to the stairs leading up to the entrance and made the deduction that it likely belonged to Daniel. Under the guise of retying his shoelaces, he dropped to one knee and surreptitiously attached a bug to the vehicle. Ideally he would get the opportunity to bug Daniel himself, but for now this would have to do. Hoping that no one had noticed him, Damian continued down the street.

He had researched the area ahead of time and had found an apartment a few buildings down and across the street that was advertised as available for rent and was unoccupied. Breaking in and disabling the home alarm was child’s play, and after making sure he was alone in the apartment, Damian settled in to begin his surveillance.

He pulled the handheld radiation detector out of his backpack and after making sure it was operational he slipped it into his pocket. With no way to boost its range he would have to get pretty close to Daniel with no major obstructions in the way in order to verify if he had been in contact with the marked bills he had slipped Phantom. But Damian was confident in his ability to stay undetected. After all, Daniel had no reason to suspect he was being stalked by a curious Bat.

Damian kept himself occupied by listening to the local radio broadcast over his comm. The hosts sounded like chipper twenty-somethings, excitedly shilling for various local events happening over fall break, in-between shilling for local businesses. Why anyone would want to eat at an establishment called the Nasty Burger was beyond Damian. Whenever they stopped nattering to play actual music it was a blessing even if the appeal of the songs was entirely lost on the young vigilante. Finally, at 8am they had an actual news segment. Most of it was covering major US and global events, nothing Damian hadn’t already heard. Elections, natural disasters, rising tensions in Bialya…

“...and in local news, the City Library has announced that clean-up after last week’s ghost attack is finished, and they will be open at their normal hours on Monday!” the female host said cheerily, as if she was talking about the weather. “As usual, we would like to remind our listeners to keep their third eyes peeled for any ghost sightings! In case of a ghost attack, follow standard protocol and head to your nearest ghost shelter. Thank you! And here’s Mark with sports!”

Damian was flabbergasted. Ghost attack? This city experienced supernatural incursions and treated it like it was a normal occurrence? He’d read that the Fentons were ghost hunters, but he hadn’t thought anyone was taking them seriously! If Amity Park was under attack on a regular basis, how come the Justice League didn’t have a file on the city? Surely the news should have leaked to the outside world by now!

It was rare that Damian was caught so utterly wrong footed. His cursory research into Amity Park had turned up nothing like this! He was itching to get back to the Batcomputer to do a deep dive on the city and its history. Unfortunately, all he had on him was his phone which was ill suited for serious data compilation. At best he could scour local news sites and social media for any hint as to what was going on.

After half an hour of fruitless searching, he gave up in disgust. There was no mention of ghosts anywhere, save for the Fentons’ own website. Yet the news report had been almost blasé about the subject! Something was rotten in the State of Illinois.

All he could do for now was stare out the window at the Fenton’s front porch and hope his quarry made an appearance soon.

At 9.13 AM there was finally movement at the Fenton house. A dark-haired teenager in jeans, a light T-shirt, a backpack and a bicycle helmet bounded down the front steps and unlocked the electric scooter. It was unmistakably Daniel.

Damian hurriedly packed away his things, grabbed his backpack and left the apartment. He made sure to rearm the security system and lock the door, leaving no trace of ever having been there. Of course Damian wasn’t about to pursue his target across the rooftops of an unknown city in broad daylight. He would just have to wait for Daniel to arrive at his destination and follow him there. He retrieved his phone and pulled up the tracking data. It looked like the teen was headed towards the city center.

Damian tuned his comm to the listening device he had planted and set off towards downtown Amity at a light jog. For a while, all he heard was background noise. After about ten minutes, Daniel came to a stop.

“Hey Tucker, ready to go?” That had to be Daniel.

“Hey Danny!” a second male voice answered, “I was just waiting for you. Sam says she’ll meet us at the main entrance of the mall.”

“Sweet. Hopefully we can grab something cool from Game’O’Rama if we beat the rush.”

“You said it, my dude. Come on!”

The tracker resumed its movement. Now that he had a destination, Damian used his phone to call a cab. There couldn’t be that many malls in a city this size.

Daniel and his friend ‘Tucker’ kept up a steady stream of idle chatter on their journey. Damian learned more than he ever wanted to know about the attractive qualities of the female students at their high school, the tediousness of the homework assignments they had received for the week and the reviews of recent horror movie releases. Inconsequential chit chat as far as Damian was concerned. Once the pair arrived at their destination they parked their scooters and were soon out of range of the listening device. Damian cut the transmission and spent the rest of the short cab ride trying to find information on Daniel’s companion. Since they were apparently classmates and he had a first name to go on, it didn’t take long to narrow it down to Tucker Foley. Damian made a mental note to investigate him in depth later.

The mall was moderately busy when he arrived but nowhere near as bad as Gotham. Luckily there was a floorplan displayed at the entrance and it didn’t take Damian long to find the Game’O’Rama store. Predictably, it was dedicated to video games, gaming accessories and memorabilia. A sign in the window announced a major weekend sale, likely what had drawn Daniel and his companions. Damian slipped on a pair of mirrored sunglasses to conceal his eyes and meandered into the store. Wandering between the aisles, pretending to examine the games on offer, it didn’t take him long to find his quarry and Damian got his first good look at the trio.

Daniel was almost a head taller than Damian, slightly paler and with his dark hair mussed up from the scooter ride earlier. His clothes were slightly threadbare, and not the kind that was intentional. His white T-shirt bore a faded NASA logo and his jeans were frayed at the cuffs. He had dark circles under his eyes, though not nearly as bad as Drake got when he was on a case. Nonetheless, for the moment he seemed cheerful and at ease. He was examining the back of a disk case.

“I don’t know Tuck, I’m not much for medieval fantasy,” he said amusedly, “and a lot of these monsters look like ghosts we’ve seen. I get enough of them on a day to day basis, I don’t need them in my video games too.”

Again, this talk of ghosts.

The African American male next to Daniel had to be Tucker Foley. He was just a few inches shorter than Daniel, with his hair in shoulder length dreadlocks partially covered by a red beret. A matching red T-shirt with white Atari logo and baggy camo pants screamed nerd even before you got close enough to notice the black rimmed glasses and the clunky looking device he was tapping away on. Where did he get it from, the middle-ages?

“Look, the reviews are pretty great, and if we avoid everything ghost related what’s even left?” the boy argued, “You can’t let ghosts ruin your fun, man.”

“Tucker’s right, Danny.” the third member of their group chimed in. She was dressed head to toe in black, with a sheer, lacy top, a knee-length skirt, fishnet gloves and stockings and a pair of combat boots. With the thick soles giving her added height, she was almost as tall as Daniel. She wore eerily pale foundation making her dark purple lipstick and eyeshadow pop out even more. She had a small nose stud with a matching purple stone. Her earrings were shaped like spiders dangling from a web and she wore a pentagram necklace. Damian knew some of his schoolmates belonged to the goth subculture, but Gotham Academy’s dress code heavily limited such self-expression on campus. He guessed this girl was either really dedicated to the style or really dedicated to pissing off her parents. Maybe both.This had to be ‘Sam’.

“Besides, if Technus couldn’t ruin gaming for us no one else should either!” she continued.

“Fiiiiine,” Daniel sighed, clearly playing up his reluctance. “but if Amity gets attacked by an army of goblins next I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’!” He double checked the price tag. “Splitsies?”

The girl scoffed and plucked the case from his hand. “I’ll take this one, you can pay for lunch later. Why don’t you two go ahead to Pineapple Republic for those jeans you wanted? I’ll catch up to you.”

“If you’re sure. Thanks Sam!” Daniel leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I guess we’ll see you there.”

“Yeah, thanks Sam.”

“Go on, shoo!” she laughed and headed over to the cash register as the boys left the store. Making a split second decision, Damian grabbed a random game from the shelf and got in line behind Sam. He leaned slightly towards her, pretending to examine the figurines behind the counter and stealthily stuck a bug to her skirt. Now he could listen in on their conversation without having to risk being noticed.

After paying for his purchase he wandered off in the direction the other teens had taken. He would just have to leave the game somewhere ‘accidentally’ at the earliest opportunity. Pretending to check his phone he tuned his comm to the frequency of the new bug. 

“...I think those are still a little short on you.” Sam said amusedly.

“Man, I’m glad I finally got my growth spurt, but having to replace most of my wardrobe is gonna be a pain in the ass!” Daniel complained.

“Look at it this way Danny, this could be your chance to branch out. A whole new style, a whole new you!” Sam countered enthusiastically.

Damian walked towards the source of the signal. He didn’t follow the trio directly into Pineapple Republic, instead heading into the shoe store across from the clothing store. Browsing there would let him keep an eye on the entrance.

“Let me guess, would this style include black, black and more black?” came Foley’s snarky voice.

“Black is timeless, I’ll have you know,” Sam sniffed in mock offense, “and Danny does look good in it. Just try it?”

“I don’t know Sam, I don’t wanna blow my allowance on clothes that don’t feel like me.”

“Oh! We could always try the thrift store, they have plenty of cool stuff! And upcycling is great for the environment.”

“Uh, hard pass,” came the flat reply, “I would like to survive the year with some of my dignity intact, please.”

“Yeah dude, if Dash and his cronies caught wind of Danny going to Goodwill or something they’d never let him live it down.”

“There is nothing wrong with buying second-hand!”

“Says the girl in $500 guaranteed cruelty free designer boots.” Foley shot back.

“That’s different!” Sam sputtered, “And besides, I don’t see why you still chase the approval of those jerks.”

“Easy guys, settle down,” Daniel said placatingly, “Sam, you know it’s different for us. You might be able to brush off Paulina’s snarky comments, but I can’t just brush off Dash trying to rearrange my face. I’d rather not paint an even bigger target on my back.”

Sam gave a loud sigh. “Ugh, stupid high school politics. I can’t wait to graduate.”

“I dunno, if things go according to plan you’ll have to deal with real politics, Ms Future Administrator of the EPA Manson.” Daniel teased.

“You mean Senator Manson.” Foley chimed in.

“Madam President Manson!”

“Stop it guys!” the girl laughed, “I’ll leave the political ass kissing to someone else. I just want to save the planet! But I gotta get my doctorate first.”

“Well if you do end up having to take over the country to do it, there’s one thing to keep in mind,” Foley said sagely, “You can’t be much worse than President Luthor.”

The two replied with fake gagging noises while Foley just snickered.

“But seriously, since you brought up mixing up my style… I was thinking of getting my ears pierced.” Daniel said hesitantly.

“Really? Ooh, do you want studs? Danglers? An industrial?” Sam gushed excitedly.

“Well… aw nuts.” Daniel’s voice was suddenly tense.

“You know what?” Sam rushed out, equally tense, “I think you should go and try these pants on. In the changing room. Right now.”

Damian frowned. What the hell had happened? He glanced out the shop window but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, he heard distant screams and the sound of glass breaking. It’s almost like being back in Gotham.

Part 8

[deepestdelulu]

How to study like Paris Geller (detailed)

Create a "War Room" Study Space: Transform your study area into a command center. Fill a wall with whiteboards, calendars, and progress charts for each subject. Use different colored sticky notes for key topics and goals. This not only helps you stay organized, but also visually aligns you with your objectives.

Keep an Intensive Study Journal: Paris tracks her progress closely, and you could do the same with a daily study journal. Write down which topics you covered, how challenging they were, your energy levels, and what you’ll do to improve tomorrow. Review this journal weekly to track your progress and adjust your strategies.

Set "Record Times" for Difficult Topics: Paris loves challenging herself, so take the hardest topics and set time limits to master them. For example, "I’ll learn this chapter’s theory in two hours." Make it a personal “challenge” and track your record times. This gives you a sense of urgency and helps you progress quickly without getting stuck.

Find a Friendly Rival: Find a friend or classmate willing to “compete” with you, like Paris did with Rory. You can have “knowledge battles” where you race to see who can answer more questions correctly in less time. This builds confidence in your abilities and keeps you motivated.

Have Themed Study Nights: When you need a super-focused study session, try a “themed night.” For instance, if you’re studying history, play music from that era, surround yourself with related books, or even watch a short historical film before you start. This immersive approach can make studying feel more engaging.

Boot Camp-Style Q&A Training: Arrange “training” sessions where friends or family ask you rapid-fire questions on a topic while you try to answer at top speed. Paris would love this method to sharpen her mental agility and ensure she could think fast in oral exams or high-pressure situations.

Build a "Power Library" of Master Notes: Gather your best notes, summaries, and guides for each subject into a “power library” notebook or digital file. This should be your go-to resource, filled with diagrams, formulas, and key explanations. Keep it organized and up-to-date; having this will make you feel much more prepared and confident.

Explain and Analyze as if You’re Teaching: Paris masters topics by explaining them to others. After studying a topic, sit in front of a mirror or record yourself on video, explaining it out loud as if you’re teaching it. This teaching “rehearsal” reinforces your understanding and helps identify areas that need review.

Create a "Focus Code": Design your own unique focus ritual—maybe setting up specific objects on your desk or putting on noise-canceling headphones to help you get into “study mode.” This repeated ritual lets you focus quickly and trains your brain to associate these actions with peak productivity.

Schedule Mini-Tests and Mock Exams: Be your own teacher, like Paris, and plan mini-tests for each topic. These could be questions from books, articles, or even ones you make up yourself—just answer them as if they were a real exam. This prepares you for actual tests and reduces any exam-related anxiety.

I hope this helps, the key of studying is to romanticise it, at the end of the day you have to like it to make it productive. I you have more suggestions don´t even hesitate and write it down in the comments, I´m sure we can all help each other <3

✩‧₊*:・love ya ･:*₊‧✩

[where-is-hotguy]

If Hotguy's everybody's therapist now, may I aak him for advice? Lil' ol' me is too shy to go to the store on my own :'D

i mean,,, i can try! hang on, aye, Hotguy, do you take questions? you're a therapist now, you have to-

here we go:

"Why, but of course! I'm glad you asked, as a super-strong super-hero, I'm probably the best man for the job!"

"If lil' ol' you is too shy to go to the store alone, there's absolutely no shame in asking someone to go with you! Sometimes even the bravest of heroes need a sidekick sometimes, just look at me and Cuteguy!"

"If you're determined to try it out on your own though, perhaps a little music will do the trick! I always find that a little triumphant music in my ears helps me get a job done, that way you can tune out those noisy anxieties! Personally, I would recommend some of that super fast build mode music... make your shopping trip a super cool montage!"

okay, okay, that's enough from him. but, yeah! actually as the guy behind this blog that's my genuine advice too lmao

good luck mate! sorry this response is ahhh a few months late-

[soul-controller]

Influencing The Influencer II

In the two months since first possessing his friend Chris Nelson, Tom had been absolutely thriving in his new life as a hunky influencer. While the man’s gift of possession afforded him the ability to tap into the real Chris’ memories and persona from time to time, he had still expected to encounter some roadblocks along the way. But alas, the possession was an absolute success and Chris’ life was one that Tom was seamlessly able to take over.

In fact, Chris’ normal routines had become so easy to adapt to that they were second nature to Tom. Every morning, he would wake up and do Chris’ usual breakfast routine and workout before taking advantage of his apartment complex’s swimming pool. Of course it was a blessing to cool off into the calming and chilled water, but it was even more fun for Tom to watch his fellow neighbors stare at him and his gorgeously buff and tatted-up body. Eager to put on a show to give them more reason to stare, Tom wasn’t afraid of lifting up his arm to “accidentally” flex his biceps or allowing himself to get rock hard from the attention to cause his prominent manhood to strain against his swimsuit.

Although Tom himself hadn’t really been a super cocky individual, the time spent in Chris’ body had quickly corrupted him. While this was surely not only due to him tapping into Chris’ own confidence and inflated ego when it came time to go into “Chris Mode” and record content for his followers, a lot of this ego was gained from Tom’s own experiences in such a buff body. Everywhere he went, he was treated like a king amongst peasants, so it was no surprise that the man began to feel even more cocky and proud of the body he had hijacked. Every time he saw a mirror, this newfound narcissism was on full display as he admired his gorgeous tanned and tattooed skin, buff physique, and bright and perfectly aligned smile.

Upon finishing up and gathering all of his desired attention, the new Chris made his way back to his apartment to shower and get ready for the real work of the day. Of course, he often found himself distracted by his nude body, which caused him to jerk off multiple times to his own reflection, but he moved as fast as he could despite the vanity-centric hindrances. Upon drying off and getting dressed, Tom finally sat himself down at his sound-proofed office and began to record a slew of content that consisted of TikToks and podcasts with Chris’ friend Jay.

But unlike the real Chris Nelson, the new one was eager to build upon Chris’ follower count and came up with the perfect plan to do it. Throughout the past two months, the man had reached out to several other popular influencers or social media personalities in hopes of doing a collaboration. While most of these influences and his fans had assumed that this was just due to Chris’ desire to grow more popular by interacting with just as popular individuals, Tom had an ulterior motive behind these collaborations. In reality, Tom was working ahead by establishing connections with potential possession victims to hopefully make it easier for him to possess them himself. Given the fact that Chris would likely remain his host body to live as and possess others with, Tom had to regain connections with the people he used to know back when he was a 34-year-old Alabama native. Luckily, his plan had worked out well as he was able to get the large majority of his ideal possession choices to hang out and create content with him.

Although this posed several options for him to become someone new, Tom still found himself struggling to leave Chris’ life to take over someone else’s. But as he finished up his work for the day and sat back in his office chair, he finally told himself that the time had come to move on and become someone else for a little while. So, as he scrolled through his contacts list, the man ultimately decided on the perfect choice for his next body and fired off a message asking if they’d be up to collaborating the next day. After receiving a response that approved the idea, Tom smiled to himself as he tucked his phone back into a pocket of his shorts.

Now with the rest of the day free, Tom decided to go out with one last hurrah as Chris Nelson (at least for the time being). As such, he decided that the best course of action would be to head out to his favorite bar and get absolutely wasted. Of course, there was also the additional goal of finding a woman hot enough to go back home with him. Although Tom himself hadn’t been interested in women prior to possessing Chris, he had allowed himself to tap into the man’s psyche and become an almost exclusively heterosexual man. While Tom would have loved nothing more than to be his homosexual self and thus use such a gorgeous body to attract the attention of equally attractive men, he didn’t want to completely shake up the man’s life just in case he decided that he wouldn’t want to become Chris permanently one day.

So given his own kindness, Tom was forced to not only adopt the man’s own heterosexuality but also his specific taste in brunette women as well. As he arrived at the building and walked up to the bar to place his drink order, the man wasted no time then scanning for suitable partners for the night. By the time he had finally received his drink, his mind was already made up and thus wasted no time downing the shot and making his way over to a girl sitting by herself. Throughout the journey, he took the opportunity to alter his stance to try and look as impressive as possible to the girl (mainly through puffing out his chest so his skin-tight clothes looked even tighter on his body).

Upon arriving at the girl’s table, Tom used his countless knowledge about Chris and his content that discussed talking with and seducing women. As such, the man was practically on autopilot as he said all of the right things until he was given access to sit at the booth with her. Upon sliding into the seat, the man took the opportunity to display his gorgeous physique by spreading his legs out into the aisle and tensing up his arms. To his amusement, the woman was easily transfixed by his thick and defined quads and thus couldn’t help but stare at the small and tight black shorts he was wearing. While he was amused by the woman’s clear desire to know what was contained beneath the piece of fabric, Tom was a glutton for admiration and thus caused the woman to spend equal time admiring his tattooed arms by tensing his arms and even flexing for the woman in between the several rounds of shots that he had ordered for the both of them.

After these additional rounds of drinks, it was safe to say that both members of the incredibly photogenic duo were quite inebriated and extremely horny. Before they even made it to the Uber awaiting them outside that Tom had ordered a few rounds prior (he already could tell that she was more than willing to go home with him), the woman had fully jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs around Chris’ impressive physique. Knowing that the woman was essentially putty in his hands, he wasted no time moving his hands to her backside to cup her perky ass while continuing to passionately make out with her tongue and all.

Upon being accosted by a few bartenders to get out before they started fucking on the tables of the bar, the couple hurled some slurred insults back at the workers before finally exiting the bar and entering their Uber. Throughout the entire journey back towards his apartment, Tom kept a cocky smirk on his face while maintaining contact with the mousey twig of a driver as he continued to peer into the rear view mirror to look at the backseat. While most times Tom would have been quick to tell the man to keep his eyes on the road, he couldn’t blame the man for wanting to glimpse it all. After all, he was an absolute stud with an equally gorgeous woman still wrapped around him. In his drunken state, it would have pissed him off more if the man hadn’t been watching him.

Before either Chris or the woman were aware of what was going on, the driver was already parked outside of the apartment complex and telling them to get out. While both of them could have been pissed by the man’s bluntness, they weren’t going to complain about it too much since it just allowed them to get to the main event sooner. By the time Chris had unlocked the door and entered his residence, the two of them were back at it making out and peeling off each other’s clothes. While she was quick in removing the man’s shirt, Tom was feeling especially cocky and thus eager to put on a show for his female companion. So, with his thicker hands, the man purposely fumbled with the woman’s button-up top for a few minutes before deciding on a much hotter alternative. Licking his lips while staring down at the shorter woman, the man suddenly grit his teeth as both hands wrapped around the top of the shirt and tugged. Immediately, the fabric split down the middle, creating casualties in the form of small buttons that popped off of the garment and tumbled down onto the man’s tiled floor.

To the man’s amusement, the woman attempted to stifle a moan at the erotic display of strength. These moans only began to grow more intense as Tom took the opportunity to unclasp the woman’s bra and free her sizable breasts. Smirking at her exposed and perky melon-sized breasts, Tom took a moment to give her a reward by getting onto his knees and running his luscious lips down her chest and across her nipples. As the woman groaned and moaned above him from such undeniable pleasure, Tom showed no plans of stopping as he progressed down the woman’s taut torso and found himself staring face first at her lace-covered crotch. Despite not actually being into women prior to becoming Chris, Tom’s tapping into Chris’ personality had caused him to start second-guessing his identity as a gay man. So with an animalistic desire filling his mind, the man couldn’t resist moving his lips up to the waistband of the panties and lightly biting down on them before pulling them down. Keeping his eyes staring upwards at the gorgeous brunette, he couldn’t help but chuckle through the fabric in-between his teeth due to just how horny she looked. It was erotic as hell to visually see how much pleasure he had given her before he had even fucked her senseless!

But upon letting go of the panties and allowing them to tumble onto the floor, the woman was quick to step out of them and prepare for the next round of foreplay. With such an inflated cockiness within him now, Tom was eager to have his ego stroked by the woman. So as he got back up onto his feet, the woman was totally content with having him take control and force her down onto her knees. “That was fun, but now it’s your turn to put in some work. How about you start admiring these muscles to show just how much you want me…” he slyly teased, relieved as the woman was quick to jump into action.

Tilting his head back, deep moans began to escape from Chris’ mouth as the woman eagerly did as she was told. This hadn’t been the first time that Tom had his female companions worship his gorgeously buff body, but this woman was by far and away the best at it. Her lips and tongue were a killer combination as they ran along the curved musculature of his biceps and even ventured deep into his sweaty armpits. Continuing downwards, the woman peppered kisses from her bright red lips as she went from the man’s pumped up pecs to his cobblestone abs. At her lower elevation, it wasn’t much of a shock that her mouth took advantage of the opportunity and began toying with Chris’ thick manhood. “Aw fuck,” Tom groaned, turned on by just how well the woman was pleasuring him while using her well-manicured nails to grasp onto his firm yet perky ass cheeks for support.

Given the fact that he felt himself rushing towards orgasm, he was quick to pull the woman away from his cock and instead lead her directly onto the bed. As such, the two individuals didn’t even bother to grab a condom before he plunged his thick rod into the woman’s tight pussy. As the two of them grunted and groaned in near-unison, it only took a few minutes before the main event had finally ended and Tom had shot a thick load deep within the woman.

After such a physically intensive day even before their rendezvous, it wasn’t much of a surprise then that the two of them were quickly growing tired from the exhaustion. Still eager to be a gentleman, he allowed the woman to stay the night as they both fell back into the bed and almost instantly fell asleep. While the woman’s final thoughts before passing out considered the potential of a future relationship with Chris, the man next to her wasn’t thinking the same things. Instead, he was thinking about an even better relationship on the horizon, the one that would begin tomorrow when he possessed a brand new man and took over his life…

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[cottoncandyswirl828]

Zuma Appreciation Week: Day 6 - Favorite Vehicle

I honestly never gave much thought to which vehicle was my favorite, so this is another one I had to think about for a minute. Ultimately, the title of favorite Zuma vehicle has to go to the Adventure City Hovercraft. A hovercraft is just a super cool vehicle in my opinion, and the Adventure City version can separate into a submarine and a life raft, which is just such a clever and unique upgrade to the hovercraft’s original submarine mode that really makes the Adventure City hovercraft stand out against the rest of Zuma’s vehicles. That means that for today’s prompt, we’re headed to the big city!

“Hey guys! Great to have you all back in Adventure City!”

“Great to be back, Liberty.” Ryder replied, “Skye’s been looking forward to this trip for awhile now.”

“Hey girl!” Skye called as she practically bounced out of the Paw Patroller, “You ready to hit the town? I heard there’s this big arcade that just opened downtown.”

“Heck yeah! I’ve been dying to go there! They say it’s the biggest arcade in the city!”

“Would you girls mind if I tag along?” Zuma asked, “It sounds like a ton of fun.”

“Sure! From what Skye has told me, you’ve got quite the competitive streak. I don’t mean to brag. But I do hold the high score in every game at the old arcade restaurant by the park.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe…”

So, Liberty brought Skye and Zuma to the brand-new Adventure City Mega Arcade, and boy was it mega. A two story building decked out in enough neon lights to been seen from space, with a food-court, laser-tag arena, and according to the advertisements ‘Over five hundred games for countless hours of fun!’ Zuma had half a mind to try and count all the games in the arcade to see if that statement was actually true.

Skye was immediately drawn to the Pup Pup Boogie machine: Pup Pup Boogielution, while Liberty and Zuma made a beeline for every competitive game they could find.

“I’m gonna crush you AND these Wack-a-Moles, Zuma!”

“Oh, racing games are my JAM! Prepare to eat my dust, Liberty!

“That No.1 highscore slot is mine!”

“I’ll wipe out these aliens before you even get the chance to reload!”

“How you like them apples, water pup?”

“Get owned, wiener dog!”

The two pups were racking up tickets so fast they could probably sell out the prize shop if they wanted to, but the amount of tickets they were winning was the last thing on either of their minds.

However, a beep from their pup-tags stopped both the pups in their tracks.

“Paw Patrol, to the Pup Tower!” Ryder’s voice called from their communicators, so Liberty, Zuma, and Skye raced out of the arcade and met up with the other pups in the Tower’s elevator, where Marshall crashed into the others with his usual clumsy flair.

“Talk about a metro-fall-a-ton!”

The pups laughed as they rode the elevator to the observatory, where Ryder was waiting.

“Alright, pups, we’ve got a big mission on our hands. The waterway connecting Adventure City’s river to the ocean has been blocked, causing the river to flood. We need to clear the waterway before it causes any more flooding. Zuma, I’ll need you and your submarine to clear whatever may be blocking the water flow, we’ll also need your rescue raft to help anyone who’s been swept away in the river.”

“Let’s dive in!”

“Marshall, you’ll be in Zuma’s rescue raft to search for anyone caught up in the floodwaters and administer first-aid if necessary.”

“I’m ready for a ruff-ruff rescue!”

“And Chase, I need you to secure the perimeter of the flood zone and handle crowd control.”

“Chase in on the case!”

“Everyone else, stand by in case we need more help. Paw Patrol is on a roll!”

The three pups followed Ryder to the deployment room, howling with delight as they were launched down the ramp and onto the streets. Zuma would never admit it out loud, but a part of him was always really happy whenever they got a mission in Adventure City, he loved the excitement and thrill of getting launched at roughly 50 miles an hour. It was moments like that that made him love his job all the more.

It wasn’t long before they got to the flooded river. The water had already risen past the banks of the canal, spilling water onto the nearby streets, so Chase immediately got to work closing off the roads and redirecting traffic.

Zuma drove his hovercraft off the edge of the river, separating it into his submarine and rescue raft as he dove into the water with Marshall right behind him to man the raft.

As Marshall scanned the water for civilians, Zuma headed downstream to locate the blockade. If Zuma remembered correctly, the river was connected to the ocean via the sewer system, which was probably where the blockage was. Fortunately, the river entrance to the sewer was pretty big, so Zuma had no trouble getting inside.

The sewers were completely flooded, and the first thing Zuma noticed as he entered was the large amount of garbage and debris floating around. There had been a lot of rain in the city recently, so it was likely the garbage was washed into the sewers from the storm drains. He’ll have to talk with Rocky later about improving the city’s waste management, maybe a system to catch the garbage as it fell into the storm drains, but that was a problem they could tackle later, right now he needed to focus on the task at hand.

Zuma’s eyes widened as he turned a corner, slamming on the breaks to avoid hitting the literal wall of trash in front of him.

“So this is what’s blocking the water. Yeesh, this city sure makes a lot of trash. I’m gonna need some back-up.” Zuma reached for his pup-tag, “Ryder, I’ve found what’s blocking the waterway. A bunch of trash got clumped together and got stuck inside the sewer. I’m gonna need some type of net or something to collect all the trash in.”

“Great work, Zuma. I’ll have Chase meet you at the sewer entrance with one of his nets, do you think that’ll work?”

“That should do the trick.”

After meeting up with Chase and getting the net he needed, Zuma dove back into the sewer and used his submarine’s claw arms to start collecting the trash. It was a long and tedious process due to the sheer amount of garbage, but after awhile of chipping away at the trash wall, he managed to break through to the other side, creating a swift current that pulled him along through the sewers.

“Woah! Ryder, I’ve cleared the garbage. The water is rushing pretty fast, so make sure everyone is out of the river.”

“Got it. You okay, Zuma?”

“Yeah, I’m good, just going for a little joyride in the rapids. I’ll meet you on the other side.”

It was a pretty rough ride as he was carried through the sewers, but Zuma had plenty of experience with rough waters and was able to keep his sub under control until he was spat out into the ocean, along with the rest of the trash.

“Whew, talk about a wild ride.”

Zuma made his way to the Adventure City beach, where Ryder and Rocky were waiting for him.

“Great job, Zuma,” Ryder applauded, “Rocky can take your sub to clean up the rest of the trash while you get your rescue raft from Marshall.”

“Thanks Ryder, though, are you sure Rocky knows how to drive my sub?”

Rocky just shrugged, “Eh, how hard can it be?”

Zuma went silent.

“… Rocky, so help me, if you crash my sub, you’re gonna be washing my pup-pack for a month. And believe me, that thing is a pain in the tail to clean.”

[yinyuedijun]

Hellooo !! Hope you are doing well :"). This is so random but as someone who play pure fiction once a while, I always find you so cool and admirable for beating pure fiction ! My only highest score is prob at stage 3 and at the phase where the power up is leaning toward dot. If you dont mind me asking, do you have any tips on defeating pure fiction ? Maybe which character that you built, etc :"". I just got himeko and idk if i should use her or not

HELP ANON this ask is so funny to me bc I rarely clear pure fiction and it's my most hated form of endgame content 😭 I usually only get only 2/3 stars on the last stage 💔💔💔

I find that more than MOC or Aposha, PF is super affected by the meta of the month. If there's a DOT character banner running, then you need to play a DOT character or you're kinda screwed. If a break character is out, you need a break team... etc.

That being said, there are some characters who are just good to build and have for PF no matter what month it is:

🔥🔥🔥HIMEKO🔥🔥🔥yes u should ABSOLUTELY build her!!!!! she is our PF queen and will destroy those fire-weak mobs for you! 🕊️👑

Herta - our other pure fiction queen!!!! She is a must-have for this game-mode and everyone has her so there's no excuse not to use her! (I've never built her and I think that's why I often don't clear it lol)

Argenti - he was basically built for PF. if you play him against phys-weak enemies it lowkey feels illegal lol. imo he is an expensive investment though because he's not a strong pick for MOC or Aposha and you can't get him for free 😭

characters who carry me in PF aside from the above 3:

Aventurine - his AOE damage output makes a huge difference, plus he keeps you immortal. he's a killer unit in basically any endgame content also, so a great investment

Gallagher - against fire weak enemies, his damage output is just bananas. plus he's FREE! you need to have him built speedy as hell though.

Acheron (with Jiaoqiu & Pela) - Acheron can be nuts in PF but you really need Jiaoqiu and Pela to get her to ult asap. however it's a really expensive team and I wouldn't recommend pulling them all just for PF (this team also crushes in Aposha and MOC though)

Dan Heng IL with speed boots and an ER rope - this is meme behaviour and I don't recommend it for anyone other than my Dan Heng anons who are as insane and devoted as I am 😭😭😭

Honourable mentions to Robin (who I should really get for PF but haven't) and Sunday, who I'm sure is good but I haven't tried him yet

Additionally, something I do for PF is change everyone's builds to be as fast as possible. If I can get a support to 160+ speed, I do it. I never play my DPS units slow except for Acheron, whose speed is more dependent on her supports anyway!

hope this helps!! and if any PF enjoyers have additional tips, please do let us know in the comments!!!!

[blacksapphhicmaddonna]

CHAPTER ONE - WHAT I HAVE TO DO.

a/n: hey y'all! so, I tried to post this in response to the anon who asked for a snippet but I saved it as a draft and Tumblr ate it😭 SO THIS IS DEDICATED TO YOU, ANON, WHOEVER YOU ARE!! sorry babes!💔💖💖💖💖

its been a minute since I've written anything fully, this was fun!!! as always, please ignore any grammar/syntax/spelling. I proof read it but you feel me. I'm super excited to be writing something so long and multi chaptered and definitely out of my comfort zone! am I an action girly now? LMFAO but anyway, I'm super open to any feedback and 👀 as always, if you wanna see sum, say sum.

anyway, I love my science gays and I will stan shuriri forever. this is pretty much all angst at this point❤️‍🩹, but I truly hope you enjoy LMFAOOO. lmk how you feel.💗 (and yes, I love a good flashback real bad and ima do it every time if I can. not too much on me LMFAO)

✮ taglist: @mybonafidefeelings@zeezeecave@gr00vyminibus@lppriceisright@darkangelchronicles@princessmel-1995@xenaizogie@nanii2x, and tagging a few folks that enjoyed the sneak peak and a few shuriri/shuri/riri folks who might! @karimwillia @inmyheadimobsessed@mal-urameshi@somethingcleaverandwhitty@imjusthere2readbruv@imagineandwrite there's more but my computer glitching so we gonna get this show on the road! lmk if you'd like to join the taglist or check the link in my tagged post! love y'all, muah

✮ word count: 11,193

✮ panther divider: @firefly-graphics

✮ some of the xhosa translations are from @iinkonde! here's where you can find some of their amazing resources: 1 2 3

Shuri paced the room that seemed to be growing smaller by the millisecond around her, searching for something - anything - inside of the brain most people considered the smartest in the universe to offer the scientist in front of her. She found nothing but the desperation she had been pushing down since the moment they met.

A desperation that mirrored the effects of the herb she had reproduced, also made from the desperation to save something that she felt was slipping through her fingers at the time. Just like the herb had found its way through her body when she first took it, this feeling spread from her throat as she choked when their eyes met as she pushed herself into the dorm room she was once again standing in. Down to her chest, pulling heart strings she didn’t know she had. Plucking them in a rhythm that felt intrinsic, ancestral, almost painful in the way that they made everything feel superimposed. She resisted, but she felt her toes and she felt her finger tips and she felt the curls framing her face dance above her eyes ever so gently. It spread through every atom that comprised the panther and she could barely breathe. She felt everything and she felt nothing, like she was sinking in an ocean of clouds. She could barely look at the woman who was staring back at her with a look of confusion, and an equal desperation that she couldn't explain.

Shuri still had nothing to offer in terms of speech. She paced at a speed that had only just registered as super fucking fast, clearly adding to the concern building in Riri's eyes.

"Shuri-" Riri started, but couldn't even try to finish as her voice had triggered the awaiting and building eruption in Shuri that it always did. Riri, if she did anything to Shuri, she made her feel things she wasn't used to feeling.

"Anything you want, just name it. It's yours. I'll make it happen. I'll build it myself. Just please don't do this. Please." Shuri froze in her place, finding herself begging for something she couldn't explain. She knew she was almost yelling at the other woman, which she would never do but she couldn't find the part of her that could compose herself. She was thankful for the kimoyo beads she had scattered in the room when she entered, enabling a silencing mode and cutting through anything that the government had tapped in Riri's room.

Riri froze too, only moving to fumble with her fingers nervously. She didn't have anything to offer the panther, the queen standing in front of her. She didn't have anything to comfort her friend. The woman she loved more than she could explain. More than almost anything. 

"I don't... I don't want anything from you, Shuri... We both knew this day was coming. You had to have thought about it. I thought you were.. I don’t know... It almost felt like-"

"Please, Ri. Please. Just find something and I'll do it. I'll make it myself if I have to. Please just find something else."

"I don't want... I don't understand, Shuri. We only talked about this like twice, I didn't even think you cared that much or even had time to care about it... or me, really. Just... lets just sit down for a second." Riri tried to redirect, trying to give herself time to figure out what was going on. She felt her mind trying to run back through memories and conversations the two had shared in the past year and some change, but it was few and far between that they ever really had time to talk about their lives in depth lately. At first, they talked a lot after they had finally reconnected. They had even spent a few nights together. But lately, Shuri had been working a lot and it seemed like their connection was running dry. Riri had shared her plans a few months ago and hadn't really heard much back from the woman standing in front of her looking like she was fighting a battle she wasn't sure she'd win. Riri had committed herself to this, to showing up and doing what she felt she needed to do to make up for all the ruin she had caused - or at least what she thinks she caused. And now Shuri was trying to offer her a chance out of it. She didn't know what to do or what to think. That's something she felt often with the panther, she figured out. She had zoned out for only a split second before Shuri was grabbing her wrists and looking in her eyes.

"Riri, I'm begging you." Shuri stared into the Iron Heart's eyes, searching for something she knew she was missing. Something she needed the way she needed air, she felt. Riri searched back, trying to decipher something Shuri wasn't ready to let her see.

"Shuri, you know I feel responsible... But, I just.. I don't understand what's going on. What's wrong? Please just talk to me. It's okay." Riri tried to pull them closer, tried to grab the Panther's hand but her grip was too tight around her wrists. Shuri relaxed it, she hadn't intentionally been holding on so tight but she wasn't ready to let go. She's never been ready to let go of who she loves. She saw that same resolute look in Riri's eyes that was always there when she was sure about something. It broke something in Shuri that she knew she couldn't mend on her own. One final try, she told herself.

"I will give you anything under the sun. Please just don't go to them. Don’t go to him. I- I know you're trying to help and change things for the better, and you will. But not like this. Not until it's safe. He will find you, Riri. He will do anything to get to you and to get back at me. You know this and you still choose to go? You don’t have to make this easy for him. We can figure this out a different way. Please. I will give you access to all the technology Wakanda has to offer, just please find something else to focus on, to take place of this. Please."

Riri tried to pull her closer again but the panther moved back, sending a shiver of rejection up Riri's spine.

"I don't want anything from you, Shuri... I just want you. I- I mean I just want you to-"

Shuri felt her body getting hot and somehow freezing at the same time. Riri just wanted her? But she also wanted to go on this suicide mission, which is what it was regardless of what Riri thought of it. She fought back the defensiveness she felt crawling up her throat like it always did when she was hurt. She didn't want to lash out on Riri, she only wanted to protect her. She only wanted her to be safe, alive. She only wanted her. But it was to no avail. She felt the ferocious beast pull itself through her. She scorned herself as her words burned their way through her skin, landing on Riri's.

"You just want whatever you want. You just want to fight whatever moral war you have going on because you're the one who survived! You would give up your life for what? For who? Not for my mother! Not for me!"

Riri hadn't noticed the tears stinging down her cheeks until she saw the ones pouring out of Shuri's. It was something she had never seen before. She had seen Shuri lash out, though. She knew this was just the first wall of defense the panther had when she felt hurt, afraid, abandoned. She couldn't take this personally, though she had to fight back the sting of the words as they came at her. She reached out to try and touch the woman in front of her.

"Shuri, please. Let's just ta-"

"What?! Sit and talk? For what? For you to tell me again why you have to do this, why you have to go and die? Do you care so little for me? For yourself?"

"You know that's not true!"

"Why wouldn't it be true?! Ungayenza njani le nto kum!?"

"Please just listen to me! I don't know what's going on but we can talk about it! I'm right here, I'm right here!"

"But you won't be after this! You don't have to do this! Just let me try, let me show you that there's other things to give you purpose, there’s other ways we can handle this! PLEASE!" Shuri felt herself starting to cave in, her chest becoming a cavern filled with the screams of the orphaned girl inside of her. The girl who needed her family. The girl who couldn't save her brother. The girl who was held back from her mother as she drowned. The woman who loves women, specifically the woman in front of her who was planning to give herself up. She couldn't keep it together. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.

"That's not for you to decide, Shuri!" Riri shot back, starting to feel the same layer of armor pull itself over her. She didn't like being yelled at. It triggered something in her that she herself had pushed back as far as it would go. She just needed to get Shuri to listen to her.

"I don't care! You can't do this Riri!"

"Please stop yelling at me!" Riri gave in, covering her ears and turning her back to the panther, who felt herself go still. She hadn't meant to unleash this part of herself. She felt embarrassment mixing with her desperation, afraid she had only made things worse. Who was she to be trying to control the actions of a woman she only met a little over a year ago? Who she was just friends with, and barely that if you based it off what normal friendships looked like. They rarely even spoke for longer than a few minutes every couple days and that wasn’t even true anymore. Shuri scorned herself for the time she hadn’t spent with her, for the time she had been forced to spend trying to fix, defend or save her country. She resented her royal blood now more than ever, wishing she could be nothing more than a girl again. Maybe a student. Maybe just different. Shuri felt herself starting to crack, she felt like she would disintegrate if she stood there any longer. She had done enough damage. She and Wakanda and the Talokan had put Riri through enough and she knew that. She could see why Riri would think this guilt was hers to bare but Shuri knew better, knew more secrets. She knew that her father and his father and so on hadn’t handled things right, and no matter the good T’Challa had tried to do - maybe he didn’t do it right either. So now it laid in her hands, forced once again to stand in the way of something she wasn’t ready for. She felt bad for herself, but she felt worse for Riri. She wishes she had never sent her home with the beads, that they had never touched hands, that they had never even met. Maybe if no one ever knew about Vibranium, no one would be trying to take it. Or maybe if the world had always known, if her ancestors had done things differently, this wouldn’t be Riri’s life. She was part of the lost tribe, as N’Jadaka would call it. Maybe he was right. She didn’t know what to think, but she also knew who she was, herself. She was the most powerful person on the surface world and she was the Queen of the most powerful nation in the world. And she was in love, helplessly, with Riri Williams. She would not let her go again.

"I am sorry for coming here and making you upset." Shuri said blankly, masking any emotions she had just shattered into the room as best as she could to regain any self control she had left.

Riri turned around, tears still swelling in her eyes. She hiccuped and it made Shuri's heart pound.

"I-it's okay. I just don't like b-being yelled at. Can we just sit and talk?"

Shuri nodded, knowing Riri needed a minute. Riri turned to grab a blanket off her bed to wrap herself in as she took a seat on the floor in front of her bed. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before motioning to Shuri to sit next to her. Shuri stared at her for a moment too long, before kneeling down next to her. They sat in silence that wasn't comfortable for the first time in a long time. Neither missed this feeling, the feeling of such uncertainty between them. Sure, it was always there, biting at the backs of their minds and hearts. But they had both worked hard to be comfortable with just having what they had. But now more than ever, neither was sure what was really going on. Shuri mirrored Riri, taking a few deep breaths. Riri felt herself relax, misreading the quiet sigh Shuri let out.

"Are we okay? I don't want us to fight. I just... need you to help me understand why you're so upset. It didn't seem like you even really cared about this. I know you've been busy with what you have going on so I just figured this... I.. wasn't really on your radar anymore."

Shuri stayed silent, fighting that feeling nudging her.

"Please say something." Riri pleaded quietly after a few too many more moments of silence. She couldn't stand it. Neither could Shuri. She needed to escape. Get out of the room, out of America. She needed to run and scream and break something. She needed to kill Namor. That was her only option, once again. She knew it would come. She knew the fate of her country would be in the air again, and part of her knew she shouldn’t do it. Equal parts yes and no. Blood on either hand, regardless of what choice she made. But she also knew that Riri's life was once again in question and there was only one answer Shuri would accept. She would deal with the aftermath the same way she had been. She would accept whatever came. She knew she wasn't thinking clearly, that maybe she would be exiled or worse, but she also knew she couldn't live with herself if Riri wasn't alive tomorrow, and that was enough for her right now. If Riri wouldn't listen, then there was only one choice.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Riri. It won't ever happen again."

Riri was startled at the sincerity in the Panther's voice. She was confused why that was what Shuri felt she had to focus on in the midst of whatever the hell was going on.

"It's okay, I promise. I'm not mad at you for yelling at me. I'm just confused..."

"It's not okay. This, whatever you're planning, whatever he's planning... None of this is okay." Shuri said, pinching between her eyes as she tried to swallow the same beast from just a few minutes ago.

"Shuri... it's not like before. It's not about him. It's not even just about what happened in Wakanda. You know I'm Iron Heart. You knew I was going to start doing these things at some point. Missions that weren’t just flying around Chicago and Boston stopping robberies. And you know that something has to be done. And I can’t let this go on again when we all know it’s my fault.” Riri sighed. “We all know it is. So, please just try to hear me..."

"I have always heard you, Riri."

Riri digested that sentence with a gulp. She replied after a moment.

"Then let me hear you, for once. Tell me why you're here. Tell me why you're reacting like this. Tell me who you are and what you're feeling. Let me in, Shuri." She said, reaching out to grab Shuri's hand again. The Panther's hand was hot, almost burning. She didn't pull away this time.

"I'm here because I lo-.. Because I won't let this happen." Shuri caught herself before she said something she couldn't explain. Riri looked into Shuri's eyes with a pleading, less sure look. Shuri couldn't hold it this time. She couldn't freeze. She couldn't tell Riri. She reminded herself what happens every time she loves someone. She reminded herself of what she was capable of and what needed to be done. Regardless if Riri ever shared her feelings or not, she would swear her life to protecting the woman until the day she met the ancestors and maybe after if she could. She would do whatever it took, every time, no matter what, she resigned to herself. She squeezed Riri's hand.

"What're you gonna do? Lock me in my room, Shuri? I don't get what's going on!" Riri pleaded.

"I would never. You are not a prisoner or someone I want to control. You are free to do as you please, just as I am. Please understand that much."

"What does that mean... Wait, please don't go!" Riri tugged back at Shuri's hand again as the Panther got up to leave. Shuri looked down at their hands touching, taking in every second that their skin touched. She remembered what it felt like to reconnect after a long time apart. She wishes she could live in it like she had before. She brought their foreheads together and closed her eyes.

"I will protect you with every part of me. The cost will never be too much."

"Shuri, please don't do what I think you're about to do..." Riri pulled Shuri's hands into hers and brought them to the sides of their faces. They were so close they could feel each other's breath on their lips. Riri prayed in her head that Shuri would listen to her, knowing the strength and power the woman in front of her wielded. Shuri choked out a pained laugh before kissing Riri's forehead and pulling away, taking in the scent of Ghanian Shea Butter and the sweet scent Riri always had.

"Andizukuphulukana nawe. Impilo yami ngeke ibe lutho ngaphandle kwakho, Riri Williams."

Before Riri could open her eyes, the Black Panther was gone, the sound of a closing door shaking Riri to her core. She felt like she was in shock, having nothing to do but curl into a ball and pull the blanket around her body, covering her face as she let the rest of the tears fall silently. She laid there for what felt like an eternity until she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Miss Williams?" Riri jumped up, running around her room tracking down the voice. She picked up a purple and black kimoyo bead and held it up, suddenly seeing several others connect like magnets from across the other corners of the room.

"Griot?!" Riri both yelled and whispered.

"Hello, Miss Williams. Are you feeling alright?" Griot asked as the AI began taking a scan of her body to check her vitals.

"I've been better... what's going on? Why are you here? Not that it's not nice to... well you get what I mean!"

"It seems you have suffered a panic attack of sorts. Please get some water and take a seat before I proceed."

Riri rolled her eyes with a tired huff, giving in because she knew Griot wouldn't budge until she obliged. She grabbed a half empty bottle of water from her desk and sat back down near her bed, pulling the blanket up around her. She suddenly felt the absence of Shuri in her space and fought back the tears threatening to make way through her as she pulled the bracelet on, watching it activate. She had felt this way before, but it was different now.

"Feeling better, Miss Williams?"

"Just Riri is fine, and I guess. Can you explain what's going on now, please Griot?"

"Yes, Miss Riri." Griot replied as a hologram of Stark Tech floated in front of the scientist. She felt even more confused.

"Why are you showing me Stark Tech?"

"The panther has created and assigned your own AI for you, it's name is VIV. It is nearly identical to the JARVIS, or Vision, that Tony Stark had. It has been being developed for over a year, and seems to have just finished."

"What the fu-"

"The Panther also has an updated version of your vibranium Iron Heart suit on it's way to your lab location, or garage currently. She has given you access to me as well, with some restrictions. She has instructed me to inform you of this when the AI download is complete."

Riri sat in even more shock than she was in before. She was even more confused about Shuri's intentions now. More confused about her feelings, than anything. She replayed the words the panther had said to her before she left, she knew some Xhosa but it wasn’t great. 

"Can you translate what Shuri said to me in Xhosa before she left, Griot?" Riri asked, hoping for some clarity. Griot calculated for a moment, before answering.

"It would seem I am not permitted to complete that task at this time, Miss Riri."

Riri felt a pang of frustration rise in her, as she let out a laugh.

"Of course not... Can you tell me where the panther is right now?"

Griot took a moment again before answering.

"The Queen was on her way back towards Wakanda as of her last status, but it would seem she has powered off her location devices. Would you like me to contact her for you?"

Riri sat for a moment, considering her options and her own feelings.

"No, that's alright Griot. We're going to my lab. Can you help me boot up VIV when we get there? We're going on a trip."

"As you wish, Miss Riri."

Riri stood up, grabbing a hoodie and sliding on some J's. Before she walked out the door, she slid on the kimoyo beads and asked a final question.

"Oh, one last thing Griot. Can you turn on privacy mode? I would like my location hidden from everyone, including the Panther. Can you do that?"

"It seems I can, but I would not advise that action Miss Riri. There are safety protocols in place that the Panther can activate for you remotely."

"That's fine, just turn it on. I have my own safety protocols."

"As you wish, Miss Riri."

"Thank you, Griot."

Riri made her way to her garage in no time, paying no mind to the world around her or the messages on her phone from MJ about their project. When she got there, she did decide to shoot her a quick text explaining that she was heading home to Chicago for a family emergency, that MJ could find her portion already done on a small drive in her room and that she had permission to break in, and that she would make it up to her later. MJ did reply, but Riri didn’t have time for that. She got to work, with the help of Griot, or the portion of him that she was allowed to operate, and booted up her own AI and implemented it into her nano suit. The one from wakanda was on its way but wouldn’t be there in time. Thankfully, she didn’t have to meet with Namor for another day and a half. She needed to think quickly but after working everything out with her suit, she was unsure where to go from there. 

“Griot, can I use both you and VIV?” 

“Yes, but you likely will not need me once the AI is turned on. I will be there when you need me, though Miss Riri.”

“Thank you Griot.” Riri smiled to herself, always fond of Griot and their robot voice. It made her think about the time she spent in the lab with Shuri, where they would borderline argue and Riri would laugh at them. This brought back that pang in her stomach and chest. She got to work on turning on and engaging with the AI so that it could mold to her needs, voice and patterns. After about an hour, she felt ready to head off. Except she had no idea how to get to Wakanda, let alone how to get in. She ruffled through her bookbag to find the information Namor had sent for her. A small teal envelope with her name on it, looking like it was written with a quill and ink. She shuddered at the thought of how old this man was and how intentional he had been to get this note to her. She opened it and read over it again, hoping to find more information than last time. Then, an idea came to mind.

“Hey VIV, and Griot, not that I don’t think you can handle it by yourself VIV. But uh, can you both scan this for me? I don’t have my Black light. Look for anything and everything. Cross reference what you find, if anything. Please.” 

“Yes IronHeart.” “Yes, Miss Riri.” They both answered in tandem. While they got to work, Riri sat down finally to think about what she could do. She couldn’t exactly call up the avengers to help her figure this out. She had to be lowkey, she had to be smart, and she needed it to work. She had only been to Wakanda once, and wasn’t really in the know about how to travel there let alone get through the border forcefield. As she went over all she did know, trying to remember any details that would help, the AI duo alerted her. 

Griot speaking first, since VIV seemed to sense a deeper trust from the IronHeart’s patterns. 

“There are markings on the back that would indicate a geolocation where Namor would like you to meet.”

“So, coordinates? I can work with that.” Riri said out loud, still trying to figure out exactly how she could work with that. Until she looked over at her father’s red car, in pristine condition thanks to Shuri. And it dawned on her. 

“Griot, do you have contact information for anybody besides Shuri?”

“I have contact information for Queen Shuri, and Okoye, former general of the Dora Milage.”

“Perfect. Please contact her now.”

“Yes, Miss Riri.”

“Wait, before you do, please transfer this contact information over to VIV. I’m not sure if Shuri knows that I have VIV yet, but in case she does, I don’t doubt that she would shut you down.” Riri explains to her favorite robot as if they needed it. Griot complied and sent a call out to Okoye.

Riri waited, holding her breath. She wasn’t sure is Okoye would answer, or even be willing to help. But this is what she had to work with. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Okoye answered.

“Small girl. Is everything alright?” Okoye answered seeming cheerful enough to hear from the girl but not without worry for the cause. Riri took a deep breath and explained the situation, truthfully, to the best of her ability. Somehow, as a surprise to both of them, Okoye was on her way in a matter of minutes as a Midnight Angel, with a jet that Shuri had let her keep. They both knew Shuri would be upset, but somehow it didn’t matter enough to let her get to Namor. They both knew what could happen, and what Shuri would likely do. 

No time was wasted when Okoye arrived, Riri running in the open hatch as fast as she could. Okoye pulled off without a trace, both of them hoping they hadn’t alerted any American law enforcement this time.

Okoye charted course for Wakanda and they both sat in near silence for most of the ride, only sharing a few words when Riri boarded, Riri showing Okoye the letter before she began piloting. They would make it in time. Riri sat near the back, not feeling like she belonged at the mantle of the machine. She had always liked these, having begged Shuri to teach her how to fly one before they set off for war. Riri sunk into her feelings that she had been trying to keep at bay since finding out about the AI. Before Shuri came, she honestly really wasn’t sure what she was going to do or how she was going to do it. But it seemed like the timing would suggest that she was supposed to, whether she really wanted to believe that or not. She didn’t want to believe that she was this horrible monster who brought death and destruction with her everywhere she went, but sometimes she really did. She tried to fight those thoughts back and began to feel the weight of her body, sinking into the seat. Sinking was a familiar feeling to her. She tried to remember how to swim in her own thoughts. She remembered how Shuri would talk her through her episodes. How she would call right away when she sensed anything off, even if Riri wasn’t wearing her beads. She remembered how it felt to think everything would be okay, and how often that was proved to be untrue. 

It was too easy to remember. Too easy to feel like it was just yesterday. Riri couldn't keep her mind from wandering back in time while the Wakandan jet made its way through the air. Trying to focus on anything else, trying to pay attention to the Dora silently flying or guarding the exit, trying to watch the sky around her. Anything. She couldn't bite down hard enough on the inside of her cheek, leaving a sore mark wasn't enough to keep her mind from its current occupation. 

"What are you doing here?!" The shorter of the two screamed, almost screeched as she ran into the panther's arms. 

"I had some time to myself finally. Where else would I go?" Shuri chuckled as she picked the scientist up. 

"You could literally go anywhere in the world and probably... out of the world? At this point with Wakandan tech." Riri explained, seriously, as she hung onto the slim but toned body holding her off the ground with ease, not realizing she was holding on as tight as she was. Not realizing there was nowhere else Shuri would have gone. Nowhere. 

"You're so... anyway, what should we do?"

"How long do we have?" Riri asked as she pulled back, not even trying to contain her wide grin that was plastered across her face. Shuri recorded it to memory, as she always did with the smaller woman's features. 

"96 hours. Well, 96-ish, less now that we've been standing here debating where I could've gone." Shuri jokes as she lets go, making sure Riri found her footing. 

"Shut up! Four days?! We have so much to do!" Riri definitely screeched this time, pretending to slap Shuri's arm. Fighting the urge to grab it and pull her in, Shuri picks up Riri's book bag from where she dropped it and places it in her desk chair as she walks to the bed and pulls her own bag out from under the bed.

"Exactly how long have you been here? You seem comfortable." Riri jokes as she grabs two waters from her mini fridge and hops up on her bed. 

"I am." Shuri chuckles at the sight of the shorter woman having to jump to get on the bed. "And since your first class."

"Are you serious?! Why didn't you say anything dickhead?!" 

"Ouch!" Shuri feigns pain as she catches the pillow Riri throws at her head and plops on the bed next to her. "I had a few things to handle, and needed to secure the dorm building. I didn't want to disrupt your day, I know midterms are coming up no?"

"Yeah, they are but you could've let a bitch know! I would've cleaned!" Riri states, noticing that she sounds much like her mother. 

"I like your mess." Shuri smiles. 

"Shut up. How did you secure the whole dorm building?"

"Well, I hope you don't mind. I have beads in every corner of the building. And a few around campus as well. Including in here. Is that alright with you?"

"Sheesh. Do I have a choice?" Riri jokes, but Shuri nervously answers.

"Yes of course! If it's not comfortable for you, I can sleep at a hotel. I should've asked, I'm sorry about that. Next time I'll-"

"There's a next time too?"

"Well, if you'd li-"

"Are you crazy?! Of course! And yeah yeah, that's all fine with me. I get it. Don't start worrying about it or nun. I was just curious."

Shuri's smile returns and she relaxes back into the bed. It was oddly comfortable, being that the last time she was here was before the war. Sure, they'd been talking for months over facetimes and calls. And texts. And letters.. oddly, but not to them. They were both truly as desperate as they felt, but excused it since it seemed mutual - opting to call it a mutual interest in friendship, as opposed to what it really was in the bigger picture. And sure, they had seen each other one other time, but it was so brief that it shouldn't really count - although it did, to both of them. 

Shuri had arrived at an American event in Boston, forced to show face by the elders after the uproar surrounding her mother and everything. She felt it was too soon and didn't make sense to attend a tech gala when none of it was even touching Wakandan tech. But regardless, she put on her best suit and went, disregarding the elder's request for her to wear traditional royal attire. She sat there, wishing she hadn't come, while big investors droned on. The only part that peaked her interest was listening to the stories of young inventors. They reminded her of herself, so excited and in a hurry. They reminded her of someone else too. Someone she had been longing to see since she left Wakanda only a few months ago at the time. 

Shuri muddled around the thought of calling Riri, or just showing up at her dorm. She knew she had responsibilities to attend to the next afternoon after she returned home, and it really hadn't been that long. Maybe Riri wasn't ready to see her yet? Or maybe she never would be. Or maybe Shuri had really made their connection up in her own mind. Or maybe she didn't? And maybe she should just call her, or maybe send her a quick text to keep it more casual? Keep what, casual exactly? She wasn't sure. She paced around her own mind anxiously the entire night, not realizing it was her turn to speak until the Doras were next to her asking if she was alright. She collected herself and headed to the stage, performing a speech much like her brother had about the importance of innovation, supporting the youth - especially the Black and Brown youth, etc. She meant what she said but she hardly felt as connected or present with it as she was when she wrote it. Still circling her mind was her favorite innovator, the scientist who made everything make sense to her. Pining so badly, by the end of her speech she had resolved to call Riri. Faking her smiles through the eruption of clapping and handshakes as she left the stage, she made her way back to her seat while the closing speech began - only to lose her resolve when Ayo bent down to whisper a reminder of their exit plan and their intended arrival time back in Wakanda. 

She had known it was a foolish thought. Who even knew what the small scientist would be doing at this time? She could be working, studying, partying. God, Shuri hoped not but recoiled at her own thoughts. She wasn't heteronormative and she wasn't the toxic type. She just also felt jealous of anybody and anything that got to be around Riri when she wasn't. Which was most times. Essentially all the time. Really, she reasoned with herself, she had only been around Riri for a few days and it had been against her will anyway. Maybe she really was making all of this up in her head. 

The Queen of Wakanda continued her mental pace as she made her exit, later than most guests and certainly not from the front entrance. She walked through the beautiful building with the Doras who were talking amongst themselves about logistics, seemingly all having caught onto another one of Shuri's "moods". Shuri paid them no mind, as they expected, while she began brooding. What was the point of coming to America, aside from like... the actual point, politically - if not to see her scientist? She caught herself scoffing at "her scientist", making fun of herself in her head as they headed outside and around the back when the Doras suddenly stood alert around her. Shuri looked around her and back at her beads quickly, doing a quick scan of their surroundings, only to hear a small, out of breath "Hey" from her left.

"Williams?"

"Yeah, yeah.. haha. Hoo. Crazy catching you here." Riri joked awkwardly as she tried to catch her breath from clearing having run.

"Yes, well I was-"

"Giving a speech. I saw on tv. Just happened to be in the neighborhood myself so I figured I'd uh, say hi." Riri cut the Panther off as she caught her bearings and finally made eye contact. Shuri made contact back, silently signaling for the Dora to drop their guard. Ayo looked between them but of course followed command. Shuri stepped between them and closer to the scientist, who was now twiddling her fingers and looking anywhere but at Shuri. Just like she did in Wakanda. Just like Shuri had replayed in her head a billion times over. While Shuri took the absence of eye contact as a chance to damn near gawk at the smaller woman, Riri was doing her own mental laps. 

She also questioned her intentions and if she had been making this all up. She also questioned how crazy she must look, showing up here like this. She couldn't stop herself, leaving MJ, Peter and Ned in her OWN room after they had been flipping through channels and Riri caught a glimpse. That was all it took, one, maybe two seconds and she was out the door. And granted, she kind of was in the neighborhood. If you consider being four miles away in the neighborhood. She had considered grabbing her car from the garage but figured it would take too long, so she jumped in her nano suit her and Peter had been working on (that definitely still needed some work), and flew over. Of course she couldn't land in front of everyone, so she landed in a park a few blocks away and took off on foot. None of which she will EVER tell anybody, although she could barely remember her excuse to the three friends she left in her dorm as she forced herself to look back up and meet Shuri's eyes. 

"In the neighborhood?"

"You could say that." Riri joked awkwardly again.

This made Shuri laugh. Riri had that effect on her, she had learned during their late night lab sessions. Even in the midst of the grimmest of days and a literal war, Riri had Shuri laughing so hard she cried a few times. They both seemed to be thinking back while they laughed together and smiled at each other shyly until Ayo cleared her throat. 

"We must get going, Kumkanikazi." Both women seemed to jump a bit, having been pulled out of their staring contest. Riri shuddered at hearing Shuri be called that, she recognized it from when Okoye would speak about Queen Ramonda. She had done her best to pick up on as much of the language as she could when she was there, for some reason unknown to her - she just figured it would come in handy. But now, hearing it and knowing it meant Queen, shook her to her core. She remembered why she hadn't reached out, the guilt that sat in her bones about it. She nearly turned on her heels until she heard Shuri speak. 

"One moment please."

"My Queen, we really must-" Ayo begun speaking in Xhosa but was cut off by the Panther Queen. 

"Please. One moment." Shuri said, a command but almost begging, not turning to face the general one step to the side of her. She pulled at the necklace around her neck and Ayo nodded silently. 

"I will ready the jet." Ayo answered and turned around, her and the two other Dora briskly walking to the jet that was just now coming into Riri's focus. She assumed it was using the new camouflage tech she had heard mentioned before she left Wakanda. 

"Those things get cooler every time."

"Yeah, I suppose they do." Shuri laughed half heartedly. They both tried to speak but cut each other off.

"So-"

"I do-"

"You first." They both sheepishly smiled as they spoke in unison. but Riri insisted. "Go ahead, please." 

Shuri would've resisted if she wasn't so desperate and struggling against showing it. 

"How have you been? I've mis- I've been wondering. We haven't spoken since you left." Shuri caught herself, suddenly feeling like twiddling her fingers and looking at her shoes too but she resisted that too. She was good at resisting. 

"Oh.. well yeah. I've been. You know, school, work. Just been trying to get through the semester. I wanted to re- well I wondered how you've been too."

"I've been, too." Shuri shrugged with a smile. She wanted to know more, everything. To devour the stories Riri could tell her, even the most mundane. She wanted to know what pencils she used to write equations and what she thought of the food in her cafeteria. Riri just smiled, feeling the weight again. She knew Shuri hadn't been good, and she knew she hadn't either. 

"Can I ask you-" They both spoke in unison again. 

"You first." Riri insisted again, before Shuri could. Shuri didn't like it but she also didn't have much time to waste. 

"Why didn't you reach out?" She asked, leaving Riri out of breath all over again. After a second that seemed like a million, Riri answered.

"I didn't know how." She said truthfully. 

"I left you beads. Maybe I should've left a note too. I'm sorry, I figured you'd-"

"No, no. Not like that. I figured that out, it was actually pretty easy." Riri smiled, thinking about how much fun it was to try to get the beads to work. Fun until it wasn't. Fun until she heard Shuri's voice message and left it for months.

"Then you didn't want to?"

"No, I did. I just didn't know... how. I didn't know what to say, or how to say it. But trust me, I wanted to. I really wanted to." Riri said earnestly and more quiet than she intended. Shuri believed her and took her answer, even if she didn't like it. Again resisting herself. Resisting Riri. 

"I understand. Thank you for letting me know. Well..." She looked back at the Jet and sighed. They made eye contact before Shuri decided it would be best to count her losses in her own country, turning to leave. 

"Wait, I still have a question!" Riri almost shouted. "If that's okay... of course." She said more quiet. Shuri turned around eager to hear. Hoping. Resisting. But hoping. She nodded her head.

"Well..." Riri twisted her fingers around in her hands. She still didn't know what to say or how to say it. But she didn't have much time to waste. 

"Well?" Shuri asked, trying not to sound pushy but anxious to know. 

"Is it too late?" Riri asked, looking back up at the woman in front of her. The face she had committed to memory, but a bit different. More mature. Somehow even more beautiful. Shuri said nothing.

"...To reach out... To talk?" Riri finally drove it home, sending a silent prayer to whoever would answer that she wouldn't further embarrass herself. 

Startling the both of them, Shuri's beads lit up and Ayo's face appeared. 

"My apologies my Queen, but if we do not leave in the next three minutes, you may be late to your engagements tomorrow."

"Yes, thank you. I'm coming." Shuri said back, eyes still on Riri. 

Riri felt defeated as she watched the panther tuck her beads back up her sleeve. It probably was too late. And who knows. Maybe it was the right thing to do to not stay in contact. Maybe that's what was best for Wakanda or Shuri. She remembered her mother always telling her that sometimes "doing the right thing feels like shit". In this case, she thought, it felt worse than shitty.

That was until Shuri grabbed her hand. Softly, almost too soft in comparison to what you'd expect from a super powered panther. It was so soft yet sent a shiver through Riri, like electricity was coursing through her. Like her heart was beating for the first time. The eye contact was somehow not as awkward as it was a second ago when they were standing a few feet apart. It was like they were all alone.

"Use the beads. If they need to charge, just set them in the sun but they shouldn't."

"Oh- Okay. I will. I will." Riri said twice, almost like she was confirming with herself first and the Shuri.

"Good." Shuri smiled. She took a step closer before she heard another beep on her own beads. Before the General could speak, Shuri was already responding. 

"I heard you. I'm coming."

She looked at Riri again and sighed, and suddenly Riri saw just how exhausted the Panther really was. And maybe something else too. Shuri stepped back again, not wanting to let go of Riri's hand. 

"It'll never be too late. I'll see you soon?" Shuri said, finally letting go and letting the physical distance regrow between them, hoping that the emotional distance wouldn't grow again too. 

Riri watched as the panther walked back to the jet and boarded, looking back only once, only long enough to catch Riri's small wave but not return it. The younger scientist stood there feeling disassociated, unsure of what to do next. Really, she knew she had to go back to her dorm and go back to living her real life just like she had after she left Wakanda. Although, as dreary as that still seemed to her, this time felt different. Like there was something to look forward to, if she had the balls to actually use the beads like Shuri had said. She mulled over whether or not it was an instruction or a question from the Panther as she chose not to watch the jet fly off behind her. She heard the media start to buzz again when they heard the jet, upset that they had missed the person they were waiting for. Yet, Riri stood there and stared at the ground where Shuri was just standing. She still felt that pathetic feeling, and worried that she hadn't had a chance to explain how she found Shuri or even knew she would be there. She felt the weight of grief again, after seeing how tired Shuri looked when you really looked at her. And she felt guilty, for feeling excited. For feeling the butterflies she always pretended she didn't feel. She wondered, briefly, how Shuri was feeling right now but per usual, tried not to wonder too much as to not become delusional. She knew better than anybody that assuming to know how someone else thinks is the worst mistake you can make. 

Shuri, back in the jet that was flying faster than she would like, was afflicted by similar thoughts. She wondered how Riri had found her and wondered if she really was as lucky as that just felt. She wondered why the girl even came. She wondered if she thinks about her too. She wondered if Riri would use the beads. She sat awake, replaying every moment of their time together since their first encounter over and over until they arrived in Wakanda, despite the Doras concerns for her not getting rest. Shuri would rest when things were well enough for her to rest, she told herself, but even she was starting to notice the cracks. She knew she could only stay awake for so many days until her body would shut down. She had secretly tried some of the elixirs and teas that both Nakia and Aneka had sent her, and she had read what Okoye sent her after hearing everything. She had slept every now and then, but it was never restful. It was never without torment from some figment of her mind taking shape of someone she wasn't ready to face - whether that be Namor, N'jdaka, or her mother. She always prayed for T'Challa to appear, who she wasn't sure if she was ready to see but longed for the comfort of his voice or face, but each time her body fell asleep, her mind fell into a well pit of despair. 

That is, until later that night. Shuri had been through her daily responsibilities after making it back to Wakanda. Once her meetings were over, she made her way to the lab. She did her best to avoid checking the status of Riri's beads, trying to keep her mind busy as she usually did. It was harder this time, knowing that she'd actually spoken to the girl. After bopping around a bit, her body started to feel the weight of the past few days. She hadn't been physically training as much as she should've the past few weeks, because she knew it would knock her out but she was starting to feel stiff. She finally let up and sat down at one of her desks in a back room of the lab after Griot had let her know her vitals. She didn't usually sit in this room, so she hadn't been aware of what was placed in there. As she lazily sifted through the papers on the desk to try to keep her mind occupied, she saw blueprints for Riri's Iron Heart suit. The same feeling of nervousness and excitement rose in her as she more hurriedly looked over them. Despite all the work they did together, she never really got to see too much of Riri's initial process from scratch. She ran her slender fingers over Riri's pencil marks, reading over all her notes to herself. 

With a yawn, Shuri sat back and relished in the fact that Riri actually existed. Sometimes, when Shuri was really out of it, she couldn't believe that everything really happened. She was sometimes convinced she would wake up and her mother would still be here, or that Riri was just a figment of her desperate imagination. Sure, having her mother back would be... well, everything. But it scared Shuri to think Riri might not have been real, that she didn't really happen. She felt selfish for this, knowing that Riri's life would probably be better without the trauma she endured in Wakanda. But nevertheless, Shuri held on tight to the memories she had of the woman, hoping that they would be enough for her. 

She thought about how it felt to hold Riri's hand, to touch her skin again. It was just as soft and delicate as it had been when they parted ways a few months ago. Her face looked the same, maybe more mature in some ways. She looked tired too, underneath the face she put on for other people. They had gotten past that with each other during their long nights alone working together in the lab. 

She thought about what it would feel like to fall asleep in Riri's bed. The mattress probably wasn't super comfortable but she remembers all the colorful pillows she has, messily strewn across the surface. The different colored blankets would probably fit them both well, even with the little space a twin bed supplies. They would have to be close, touching. Shuri imagined breathing in sync, feeling Riri's ribcage rise and fall in her arms while they were pressed against each other. She thought about how Riri smells. She's been trying to replicate it for months. She thought about breathing her in, laying her face in the crook of her neck and sleeping. Not thinking. Sleeping. Not even having to dream. She thought about waking up next to her, seeing her sleeping still until Shuri shifted too much by accident. Riri waking up and no doubt saying something funny. Or soft. Or just saying hello. How her eyes would look. She thought about not being afraid to make it real, that in her thoughts she didn't have to pretend that these touches were by accident or out of necessity. That they could spend an eternity, wrapped in colorful blankets, sleeping and touching skin to skin. That maybe Riri would feel the same, and they would laugh about how long it took to figure it out. That they would laugh until they couldn't, and talk until they couldn't, and then they would kiss. And everything would melt away, and neither would know where their skin would begin or end. And they would kiss until they couldn't. And they'd sleep. 

She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep at the desk until she heard Griot's voice. 

"Sorry to startle you, Panther. But, Miss Williams is trying to contact you. How would you like me to proceed?"

Shuri was shook, unsure of what she looked like or even what time it was. She felt nervous. She felt groggy, not even sure if this was real either. Nevertheless, she answered. 

"Patch me through, please."

She waited a moment with bated breath, hoping this wasn't a dream or some fluke. Until she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello?" Riri asked, sounding nervous herself. Shuri wondered what time it was there, too. 

"Hey." She said, in a more relaxed tone. Even if this wasn't real, it was still the best dream she'd had in months. Maybe ever.

And they talked, for a long time. Eventually working through any awkwardness. Riri never explained how she made it to the Panther, and the Panther never asked. She did explain, however, why it took so long for her to call. Shuri just listened and let herself laugh, like she'd been dreaming about. Finally feeling free for a little bit, even if it was just for a little bit.

On the other side of things, once Riri had cleared everyone out of her room when she got back and promising to explain to MJ later, she had sat down and thought about what to do. That turned into pacing and talking outloud. She had been avoiding the beads like the plague for months, unsure of what to do. Unsure of what choice would cause the least harm, since she already felt guilty for what she had caused. She found herself awake all night feeling anxious. She left for class that morning, deciding that she would get through her day and take a nap. She would figure it out after that. What she didn't tell Shuri, is how hard its been to sleep since she left Wakanda, or really even how hard it was while she was there. But when she tried to take a nap, she realized that all she dreamed about this time was Shuri and how soft her hand was when they had touched and how peaceful it felt to talk to her, even if only for a few moments and only a few words. She decided when she woke up that even if they ended up never talking again, she would keep her promise and use the beads.

And that's what she did. And that's what they kept doing, for weeks and months. They talked, they listened, they laughed, and on rare occasion, fell asleep. Both free from nightmares, even if just for a little while. Until Shuri finally arrived.

And finally, they had some time to really figure things out. Shuri promised she wasn't missing anything important by being there, and that she had allotted enough time. Riri was still unsure about it but couldn't resist the opportunity to finally see the woman she had been pining over for months - as a friend, of course. 

As Riri remembered back fondly, she had forgotten what was ahead of her until she was jolted by turbulence that was usually well controlled by the Wakandan tech in the fighter jet. She couldn't process how she could possibly be on her way to confront the man that almost killed her and did actually kill the Queen of Wakanda. She couldn't fathom that she was racing there, against her love, her best friend, to make sure she didn't kill him first. Suddenly her clothes all felt too tight, and her suit felt heavy despite being nano. Suddenly the air felt hot and her lungs felt empty and she felt dizzy. She had felt all of this before, a panic attack. Riri Williams was no stranger to a panic attack. Not before Wakanda, and definitely not after. Though, for the past few months, she had always had Shuri to help ground her. Now, she was floating in the air, literally and figuratively. Everything was moving so fast. She felt herself spiraling and cursing herself in the process, unable to stop it but ashamed nonetheless. She had worked hard, since she was younger, to have a control over her emotions and thoughts. She needed to, especially if she was going to take this super hero shit serious. Especially if she was going to be there for her mom and sister after her dad passed. Especially if she was going to make it. But she felt that control slowly ripping itself to shreds, doing a number on all the mental blocks she had in place. She couldn't lose Shuri. She couldn't be the cause of another war in Wakanda. She couldn't live with the guilt. She couldn't let Shuri get hurt, or worse, for her again. Even if it meant confronting a man much more powerful than her. Even if it meant losing. Even if it meant drowning all over again. 

Suddenly, she felt a cool hand grace the side of her cheek. She felt her suit dematerialize around her until it was just a bracelet again. She felt Okoye kneel down in front of her, eyes kinder than they usually were. She felt her pull her in close and squeeze. The pressure of the embrace bringing Riri back into her body. They stayed like that until Riri could breathe again. 

She went to apologize as Okoye pulled back silently, just as she had appeared, but she was cut off. 

"Aht aht. There is no need." Okoye softly but firmly let her know, sitting down next to her. They had never been this close before. Riri looked over to see the jet flying itself. The first time she saw that happen she was crazy nervous, but she's grown to trust both Wakandan tech and Okoye. After a few moments of silence, Okoye spoke again.

"I know what she means to you, you know."

Riri looked at her finally, noticing how somber her eyes really looked. She had seen those eyes before, but not like this. Okoye continued, looking back out the windows. 

"I was T'Challa's right hand. I saw it all, from the beginning to the end. I saw him be the panther, I saw him be the king. I saw him be Shuri's brother." Riri felt a pang in her at the use of Shuri's name. She listened.

"And I saw him fall in love. I saw him devote himself to Nakia, and I saw her unravel at the loss of him - until she left. I saw it all, as much as I could. And I often wondered why I didn't feel the way they seemed to feel when my husband betrayed me and Wakanda. But their love... it was pure. It was something out of this world, it was something built into them." Okoye sighed, feeling grief in many directions. Riri found herself fighting back tears again until Okoye looked at her with different eyes, almost loving eyes this time.

"I have seen that kind of love before and that is how I know you have it. Both of you. And that is how I know we will figure this out." Okoye looked at her and squeezed her hand again, affirming what she said. They both heard the AI tell them they were approaching in the next 5 minutes. Through her tears that were now shamelessly falling down her face, Riri gulped out a question, in true Riri fashion.

"Do you think you will ever love like that?"

"I already do." Okoye said, getting up and adjusting herself to get back to the front of the plane to chart their secret entrance into Wakanda. Riri looked confused.

"Ngudade wethu." Okoye answered again, before sitting down and being who she needed to be. Riri knew what she said, and knew that she was right. About all of it. 

As they prepared themselves, Riri suited up and made her way to the front of the plane. 

"Where did he say to meet?" The midnight angel asked Riri. She sent the coordinates to the jet and looked at them wistfully. She hadn't really thought about where she might actually be going to "talk" to him when she was rushing to get herself to Wakanda. She jumped when Okoye gasped. 

"What?! What is it?!" Worry filled her from head to toe again, hoping it had nothing to do with Shuri. 

"That bastard... We are going to have to find a way to break into the palace. He wants to meet in the throne room."

Riri was speechless, knowing that this was a tactic to try to make her feel weak. She also couldn't deny that it was working. She felt her heart rate increase at the thought of being back in there. Of seeing the place where she almost died. Of... all of it. She had visited many times in her dreams, all against her will. And now she would face him there, against her will. She knew he was doing this to weaken her resolve, much like her and Shuri did with the dehydrating jet. She knew his intent all along, but this certainly solidified it. 

Riri tried to make peace with dying in Wakanda. Once again, her mom wouldn't know where she was or how any of this happened. She wondered what lie they would tell her. She wondered if she would fight or just give herself to him. She wondered what Shuri would do, knowing this wouldn't end well no matter what she did. But she held her mind together as best as she could. She knew she had to meet him before she did. She knew she had to do what she could to prevent a second war. Okoye knew too, looking at her and then pulling up her own beads to try and locate Shuri. 

"The Panther's location services are currently offline." The Ai spoke to them. 

"Let us pray she is behind us and not ahead of us."

"Will she know where to find us?"

"We are about to break into the most secure place on the planet earth. I'm sure everyone will know where to find us in a matter of moments." Okoye answered and they shared a look. 

"I hope you know, I will fight until the end with you. I have stood with the Wakandan throne my whole life. I have stood with Shuri and those that came before her. I have stood for the safety of my people as best as possible, but I have made my own mistakes before. I will stand with you, now, Riri. No matter the outcome."

Riri felt the pull of her tear ducts again but different this time. Okoye reminded her of her own sister, and of her own mistakes. She reached out a hand and found Okoye's. They held hands until it was time to land. 

Once they had maneuvered their way into the country using Okoye's knowledge as former general and her new disguising tech, which Riri made a note to recreate if she made it out of this, Riri followed Okoye into the dense jungle around them.

"The best chance we have is to stay low until we can't anymore, and then charge in. The Doras won't see it coming but they will react, with their full might as they've been trained to do. Even to me. Our goal is not to harm any Wakandans, but we have to get to the throne room before he does. I will do my best to reason with Ayo and Aneka but they will resist a meeting with him there. Once we spot him, we must draw him away from the palace. Even if it means drawing him to the sea. Remember that he is most powerful near water."

Riri nods as she listens. Okoye wishes there were another way.

"Remember that if we see Shuri, we may already be too late. We must keep them separate. I do not know if she will choose peace a second time. Not when it concerns you."

"I don't want her to do this, I hope you know. You were right. You were right about it all. I love her. But I don't want her to risk everything for me. You all already have and I can't live with that. I can't live with any of this. I don't want to die but... But I can't let everyone else die for me either." Riri spits out, hoping she's being believed. She means it. Okoye looks at her and hears Nakia's voice in her head. "I just know his spirit. It is simple in that way for me."

"Ndiyawazi umoya wakho. I believe you. And I will fight to make sure no one has to die today, unfortunately even him if it means peace."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, small girl."

"For what?" Riri asked, genuinely surprised since most of the mayhem the past few months has been a result of her actions - intentional or not. 

"For giving her something to hold onto again. Something to believe in." Okoye answered truthfully. Riri didn't know what to say but she took in what the older woman said, against trusting her. After a few moments of silence, it was time.

"Stand behind me and do not fly until I tell you. If you enter the air space anywhere near the palace, you will be shot down before you can count to one. Do you understand?" Riri nodded. 

She did understand. Now, more clearly than ever.

🖤

[kissycat]

when did you start running if i may ask? i'm thinking about starting too, so if you have advice for a beginner i'd love to hear it 🙏

A few months ago, I think

In the beginning for a while I did it "wrong" and would run for ~20 min at pretty high speed, so I was exhausted after - this (running too fast) is how you should NOT do it, and I don't really count that time now because it didn't improve anything

I started consciously training when I found out that to build endurance you're supposed to run at a speed that doesn't feel exhausting, with your heart rate something like 65-75% of your maximum heart rate (which for my age is supposed to be ~200, so the target heart rate is around 130 to 150). Having a watch that shows my pulse was very helpful for me, idk how I would have monitored it otherwise - there's guidelines like "you should be able to talk while running" but that's all quite vague

For me in the beginning staying at this heart rate meant being VERY slow, so slow that I could almost have been faster walking, and in fact often taking walking breaks if my heart rate went too high. Honestly not super fun imo, kind of boring, but then I improved pretty fast and can now run at a constant speed without my heart rate going too high.

Then once youre at that solid point you can include stuff like higher intensity/speed intervals but I haven't really done that systematically yet. For now I'm happy running ~8 km slow af and trying to increase my distance...

Ig the key thing for me was that it's NOT supposed to feel exhausting, you're NOT supposed to be out of breath and then afterwards completely destroyed. That discovery itself made running much more attractive to me because I knew it from school as something deeply unpleasant (and forced), but you're really not supposed to feel like that. Just be slower if it does feel like that, even if it means barely running

One more note is that for me the beginning of a run often feels the most exhausting, when my body is kind of not in the mode yet and I'm like ughhh no way I can do this for an hour... But then once I settle into the rhythm it starts to flow.

Someone here recently recommended me the book "Slow AF Run Club" and I haven't actually looked into it yet but it sounded very helpful!

Obligatory disclaimer that I'm not qualified to give advice on exercise and this is just my own experience :) good luck! It has been really good for me on a lot of levels, but especially as someone who was extremely terrible at sports in school and failed out of running lmao

[twotangledsisters]

My First Week Learning 3D

Do I ever stop picking up random skills and hobbies? Nope. It's my horde. As a dragon I must collect them forever and ever.

Last Friday I decided to learn Blender! Here's how that went:

First I did CG Fast Track's Begginer Tutorial.

There I build a minecraft scene:

Then joyfully tore it down :D

Then in the next parts of the tutorial I made a sword!

And some quick animations with said sword:

After that I needed to just, make sure I had some control over the movements, habit of changing into the right modes, habit of applying stuff, so I did 3DGreenHorns Smooth living room tutorial.

Which may or may not now have me obsessed with the idea of tiny isometric rooms...

I then did Polygon Runway's Spaceship Loop tutorial so I could practice animation.

I learnt soooo much with this one! Like... key framing in blender is AMAZING! I love it! I am obsessed with the idea of animating in this program!

After that I decided to learn to do characters... I tired to make a little Cassandra using Eve Sculpt's character modeling tutorial... But I just got really confused (my fault 100% the tutorial was really good!) and eventually gave up.

But here's some nightmare imagery for you!

This had me feeling a bit sad so I decided to do a quick and easy tutorial, and cause I loved Polygon Runway's first tutorial, I went with their little coffee shop tutorial.

This was so fun to do! It was quick, easy, and I learnt about lighting! :D

After this I allowed myself to indulge in a quick personal project and made a lantern:

Not much to say about this, it's a lantern xD don't ask about the sky, I'm learning, okay!

Then I indulged in yet another personal project as I wanted to test out physics and it's almost October soo....

Little ghost!!

I technically tried to animate it but umm.... my computer does not have that sorta power XD

Finally, having picked up my moral I knew I had to learn character modeling so I chose Keelan Jon's character modeling tutorial and this time I pulled it off!

I love how cute this little character is!

There are a few glaring mistakes but.... shush.

I learnt sooo much from this tutorial! It was sooo much fun! And I'm definitely feeling like character modeling isn't too far out of my reach now.

So yeah, that was my first week with Blender. I actually wanted to do a final personal project yesterday to complete the week, but my ex came over and I didn't get the chance. But despite the week being cut short I'd say it was still a very successful first dive into a new program!

I have a few projects planned, but I'm also aware to really get the hang of a program like blender doing a bunch of tutorials is super important, especially just getting used to the keyboard shortcuts, navigation, etc..

Anyway, that's where I've been this week xD

Also, I kinda lied... I said first week with blender but I actually downloaded blender back in February and did one singular tutorials before quitting....

Blender Guru's Donut Tutorial amazing tutorial but... I might suggest starting with something a little less comprehensive xD

[jellie-tamer]

*gives box of chocolates* (cuteguy!pre Au @ask-the-grian )

Oh! Thanks for the chocolates but ah... Can I ask why?

These aren't poisoned or something are they?

[wjehfshs]

Hello гайхалтай хүн! Wow! Never actually thought you would do my request but im very happy about it!! Could i ask for another request

So basically reader is ghosts son and reader is in middle school. Ghost is off on a mission and reader is at home when a zombie apocalypes happens and when ghost finally arrives at his house he finds the house in horrible condition, reader is no where to be found and ghost thinks that reader is dead. Fast forward to about 2 to 4 years and tf141 is searching for a place to stay and then price mentions a military base that was in a wooded area far from any town or city with high strong walls, so they were going there when a pack of wolves and dogs stop them and circle around them and they know that cant win this one bc for every one person theres 5 wolves but then a masked figure with a gun walks towards them and he is about to kill them when ghost says something and reader instantly recognizes ghosts voice, orders the wolves and dogs to stand down and goes "dad?" While taking off his mask, then the two share a hug and reader takes them to the base which was turned into a survival base and theres about 11 teens there that reader rescued and the base has a few animals such as cows, chickens, cats and ofcourse the dogs with clean running water and all of the teens have a job such as taking care of the animal, making defense weapons for when zombies come and farmers. Reader also became super cold and stoic and took in the role of leader, ordering the people around to make sure they all survive. And then a tornado was forming so reader goes into leader mode and immidiatly starts to tell the teens what to do and after the tornado passes (safely) reader and tf141 share some quality time together and reader bonds with his dad again?🥰

Again, thank you so much for doing my request!

I am very gratefull!!♡

Teen reader with dad Ghost during the zombie apocalypse

The zombie apocalypse, reader is traumatised, Ghost thinks reader is dead for a couple years, tornado, reader has a barn, gore mentions, blood mentions.

You where 13 at the time it all happened

Ghost, or as you called him “dad” was your father, he was a single father after your mother left for some other guy

You where happy with your dad, your averaged sized home and overall your life

Since Ghost was in the military he went on mission often, he cut down since you where born but he still went out on missions, I mean he had to make money somehow

You had some friends of you dad who would check up on you everyday and make sure you where safe and sound

One day, the day Simon was supposed to get back, you where walking home from school

It was dark outside since you stayed back in the library to finish an assignment

As soon as you unlocked the door you heard growling

You turned around and saw something that would haunt you forever

A grotesque looking man, looked like he was decaying, literally, with blood and bits of flesh dangling from his mouth as he stumbled/ran towards you

You dropped your bag in fear of the man

You immediately ran inside and locked the door

From your dads perspective he was in the car with the 141 when he saw it

The town around them was in chaos

Some buildings were aflame, some broken into, and some bordered up

But what stuck out the most was the disgusting, erratic people devouring others around them

His mind immediately switched to you, where you safe? Were where you? What if you got hurt?

“Turn this fuckin car around John we’re going to my place I need to see if [names] ok” Ghost said sternly

Price wasted no time turning the car around and speeding to your place

When they got there he was mortified to find a young looking person, most of their body torn to shreds except for their legs and arms, face not even there anymore

But what stood out to them was the bloody backpack… it was yours

He didn’t even have any time to grieve before Price yanked him back into the car and sped off back to the closest military base

3 years later, Ghost, Soap, Gaz and Price where all walking together in the forest in hopes of finding food

It had been 3 years since the zombie outbreak and 3 years since you had died

Simon became visibly colder, not caring about himself when fighting, feeding himself last, drinking last. It was like he didn’t care if he lived or died

That’s when they came across an abandoned military base in the woods

They had no fucking clue why it was there but decided to snoop anyways

As soon as they opened the door to the main area they heard a gun click

“Don’t fucking move. Drop all your gear” they heard a youngish voice say

They turned to see a teenager, looked to be around 16-18 but hard to tell since they had a mask on their face, holding a hunting rifle up at them

They did as they where told

Simon spoke up

“We’re not here for trouble we where just here to see if this place had any supplies, we’ll be outta your hair now.” He had his hands raised

That’s when the figure faltered. Pausing for a moment before lowering the gun

“…dad?” They heard them ask

The figure dropped their gun and pulled off their mask

Simon felt his heart jump

It was you, his beautiful child

You ran up to him and suffocated him with a hug

He pulled off his mask and hugged you tightly back

“Oh my god [name] I thought you where dead?!” He sobbed

Your reunion was short lived as another member of your team ran up to you

“We have a tornado forming on the east! We need to lock all the windows and doors now!” They basically yelled

You all sprung into action and after everything was set up and done you all formed back into a group

There where 11 other teenagers, ranging from what looked to be 14-19

You where at the front of the group

“Ok we can’t panic in a moment like this, don’t open any doors leading outside until we are completely sure it’s safe. If there’s someone outside who needs our help. Do not help them…” your voice was stern and loud, commanding even

You walked off and met up with your dad again

Before he could talk with you he looked over and saw a pack of 5 wolves all sitting together

“Bloody fuckin hell!” He stumbled back

“Oh don’t worry, they’re tame, they help us hunt.” You started to list of each of their names

“We also have some other animals in the other room, we made it into a makeshift barn!” You seemed almost excited, completely opposite of your demeanour 2 seconds ago

You lead the 141 to the other room, there was animals like cows, sheep, dogs, cats, chickens, a whole ass farm

“We also have running clean water!” You seemed so proud of yourself as you closed the barn door

Simon felt himself tear up “my strong child, I missed you so much I’m so happy to see you alive.” You where shocked for a moment before hugging him back tightly

“I missed you too dad” you smiled as you both cried together

Eventually the tornado passed and nothing was damaged

But the entire time you where catching up on the recent year, introducing each other to your team mates and you even showed him your modded military weapons you had

He was unbelievably proud of you and so so proud to be your father

[cat-skull]

Would you mind talking a bit about your most recent project zomboid game/character? Or maybe your favourite mod or some fun facts about how you play? I'm super interested in this game but i have to wait a little longer before i can get it but i like to see others online talk about it! (i wanna buy it for myself as a xmas present hehe)

oh hell yes i love zomboid!! i started playing this past summer and i have uh

i have a normal amount of hours in this game. anyway i play with a TON of mods but if youve never played before id recommend getting to know the vanilla game before trying mods because its a great game on its own as well. heres my guy chilling with my sister's character:

shes on the left in the bear cloak, im on the right with the cat ears. we're in louisville here because we're insane. its a pretty high population area but once you get the hang of the rhythm of the combat system it can be easy to clear huuuuuge crowds of zombies so i usually head straight there. most of the clothing/armor we're wearing is from mods, specifically brita's armor pack, authentic z, the stalker armor packs, and clothesbox redux.

but yeah its SUCH a fun game with so many different mechanics and systems and little details, and its so customizable even without mods thanks to the sandbox mode -- literally everything can be adjusted and configured, theres so many different ways you can play. i usually play with a build similar to the "builder" preset with the population modifier set to "high" or "very high" if i feel like dying a lot and becoming frustrated lol

ALSO in the vanilla game theres the challenges which i looooooove especially kingsmouth, it has you on a much smaller map with very high zombie population and theyre FAST AS FUCK so youre just dying over and over but each time you have the advantage of all the loot you previously accumulated, and you tweak your character's traits and perks each time you die, and eventually you realize you've survived days as the same character and youre actually getting stronger!! its so so so fun. especially if you let yourself rely on online resources like the project zomboid map project and the wiki. the map project lets you see how huge and detailed the map is and points out specific landmarks -- very very helpful

i do have a bold and controversial (according to my sister) character building opinion: the deaf trait is basically free points and i apply it to pretty much all of my characters. like if you can, definitely play with the sound on for at least a while, because the music and sound design is excellent, but if you lock tf in most if not all of the important sounds in the game also have visual signals. for example when a zombie is behind a door, obviously it makes a sound as it hits the door BUT the door also visibly shakes. you have to be a bit careful to not let them sneak up behind you, but i personally have not yet died because of that. so if you're hurting for perk points or if you just want to listen to something else as you play i would really really recommend that trait. its TWELVE POINTS its just too good to not take imo

i could talk forever about project zomboid but i'll cut myself off here. thank you for asking about this i love this game so much <3

[teraluceo]

THE PALDEA MINECRAFT META POST NO ONE ASKED FOR

Clavell - Penny had to convince him to get a server for the academy and that one wasn't going to be enough. He's a big fan of the Education version. Jacq - He's really into the redstone to the point where he had to be shown what a lag machine was and why not to do it. Tyme - She knows exactly where everything spawns for mining but doesn't actually do it. She also spent ten hours organizing everything with droppers and so help her if you mess up the system- Salvatore - Is busy correcting every translation error in all the languages of the game and hasn't actually played the game yet. Raifort - She mapped out the entire server in a week and no one actually knows how she got all those maps so fast. She found the death boundary of the world. Dendra - Dendra has died to a Creeper explosion. Dendra has died to a Creeper explosion. Dendra has died to a Creeper explosion. Dendra has died to a Creeper explosio- Miriam - Likes to make potions. She's made all of the potions. All of them. No one knows when or how she has the time to do it.

Katy/Kofu/Saguaro - Making use of those two food and furniture mods and getting Minecraft confused with Stardew Valley. They have their own virtual kitchen and are having a great time. No one has to complain about needing food. They compare IRL recipes with ones in the game and make them for lunch the next day. Brassius - You see that giant wool statue that reaches the height limit? Brassius spent 21 hours making it. Non stop. Please make him take a nap. Make the man sleep. Iono - Sped run the server in 1 hour and is now regulated to helping Dendra get her inventory back because she was super impatient about fighting the Ender Dragonite. It messes with her build times. No one understands what she means when she says she's going cakeless. She just wants her streaming content. Larry - He made a dirt house last week. Be proud of him. Ryme - Spends all her time harvesting bones between overworld and nether because she has to collect all of the new dogs in the update that came out. Tulip - Her CPU almost catches fire every time she turns the game on because she installed every pretty shader imaginable. Her computer was upgraded twice and it's still overheating. Grusha - Actually knows how to play the game but no one knows where he's camped or when he logs on because he's avoiding any info getting out to annoy Iono on purpose. He's only here because he can't say no to Poppy. She asked him very nicely. Rika - Manages the entire server and sends out group emails with a cc to everyone when Poppy really wants to do something as a group. Her Clodsire plays more than she does on a laptop. She will not turn Keep Inventory On for Iono's sanity. Poppy - Has admin powers just so she can make things in creative mode and show it off to Larry so he plays the game with her. This whole server was her idea. She's secretly in charge. Hassel - He and Poppy spent so much time making everyone unique skins. Hassel cried about it for several hours, learning this new artistic medium and the lack of Professor Gible in the game. Geeta - Poppy is teaching her what a Minecraft is and how it isn't a movie first.

[felixstudios]

Random Corporate Clash Headcanons, Playing Subnautica Edition

Ft. my art as a bonus

It's as dark as a movie... YOU CAN'T SEE IT!!!!! :D

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SUBNAUTICA SPOILERS!!!

Duck Shuffler

🎰Causes chaos

🎰Dies often and literally doesn't care

🎰This man does not know fear. He will approach a reaper armed with only a scanner and a repair tool, get bitten for 80 damage, and say, "Wow! Thith game ith tho cool!"

Prethinker

🧠Plans EVERYTHING

🧠"I'm going into the Lost River, which means I'll want to fill at least 2 lockers with titanium in my Cyclops to build a base by the Cove Tree. I'll bring the materials for a Moonpool and a Thermal Plant as well as all the interior modules. I'll stop at Lifepod 2 to grab the Cyclops Depth Module MK1 and also explore some wrecks in the Grand Reef and Underwater Islands for PRAWN Suit drill and grappling arm fragments. Once I get to the Lost River I'm going to..."

🧠"...and this Stasis Rifle will work to keep Warpers away for only a few seconds, but it will be enough time to..."

🧠"...perform this glitch speedrunners use to get access to this Purple Tablet hidden out of bounds, which will save me an ion cube as well as a trip to..."

Derrick Man

🛢️Does everything in the most practical, efficient way possible

🛢️Not afraid to hunt down a few Leviathans if they get in the way

🛢️Likes the PRAWN Suit quite a bit

Deep Diver

🫧Refuses to use the wildlife for food and water

🫧"This creature was probably inspired from [sea creature] in the real world."

🫧Will build a base with a LOT of glass and windows. She wants to watch all the wildlife swim around

🫧I feel like if you asked him his favorite creature or biome, he'd say all of them

Rainmaker

⛈️Scared of everything. Even screamed when she saw her first stalker

⛈️Refuses to explore at night because it scares her

⛈️When she saw a Reaper while trying to explore the Aurora, she had to pause her game and cry a bit internally

⛈️Really loves the creatures though and will make a massive aquarium in her base

Land Acquisition Architect

🚦LOVES base building. A little too much maybe?

🚦He especially likes doing it on creative mode where he's not restrained by power or hull integrity

🚦Still is the guy who builds a massive base in survival mode and like CONSTANTLY expands it even though it's already like a quarter the size of the biome

🚦Completely disorganized storage rooms

Gatekeeper

⚔️Has already killed every Leviathan in the game armed with a Seamoth and a Thermoblade

⚔️Builds a base in the most dangerous places JUST out of spite

⚔️Beats the game really fast, even for her first playthrough. Like... less than 10 hours fast

Witch Hunter

🔱He doesn't play it

Public Relations Representative

🧱Basically Buck except he gets scared of the Leviathans

🧱His base, is, erm... it sure is a base of all time {it's a complete architectural nightmare}

🧱Crashes the Cyclops into walls constantly

🧱Has an irrational fear of Mesmers. No, I cannot explain this oddly specific headcanon

Bellringer

🔔"Affectionately" insults the creatures and tells them to shut up

🔔Hurts his Seamoth so he can hurt aggressive fauna while he's driving

🔔Otherwise he's a pretty chill and normal player

Multislacker

🥪Has a little drive for exploration, but not really

🥪Mostly just clears the game and doesn't care enough to find out more about it

🥪"Oh... I'm supposed to cure a disease. That's a... lot of effort. Could you, like, just beat the game for me and I'll watch?"

Mouthpiece

☎️Thinks it's fascinating technology has come far enough for a game like this to exist, though she doesn't actually care much for Subnautica itself since it's just not her style

☎️She did find making small bases and exploring pretty fun, though

☎️Struggles a lot to control the game since gaming doesn't come naturally to her

☎️Likes to keep small aquariums

Major Player

🎹LOVES the audio and the ambience of the game, it's super immersive for him

🎹Not necessarily scared of Leviathans, but he's had some jumpscare moments with them

🎹He's the kind of guy to set his Cyclops on fire just to listen to Abandon Ship

🎹Loves exploring and just wandering around since the game is SO immersive for him

Firestarter

🔥"I, uh... I'm sorry, Peeper... I have to eat..."

🔥"Where am I?"

🔥The ceiling above him might get a little singed if he gets jumpscared

🔥"...Graham? Do you know where I am?"

🔥"What's the Ecological Dead Zone...?"

Plutocrat

🌑Doesn't really know how to play games, so he gets frustrated pretty quickly because he can't figure out how to do what he wants to do

🌑Starts thinking about a realistic survival scenario and often tries to solve problems that aren't even in the game {such at the bends, keeping skin dry, ETC}

🌑Doesn't care much for the story until he does after it FINALLY catches his interest like halfway through

Treekiller

🪵Finds very interesting solutions to his problems...

🪵Violence. He chooses violence.

🪵Sometimes purposefully kills innocent fish with his vehicles for laughs

🪵Genuinely thinks if he had Kharaa that he'd essentially be able to just walk it off

Chainsaw Consultant

🪚Who let this man play a horror game?

🪚Well, he's gonna be plenty traumatized by it

🪚He likes the peace and quiet of the safer biomes and will probably just sit with an observatory and vibe, but the sounds of aggressive fauna scares him a lot

Featherbedder

💤Falls asleep at the keyboard a lot

💤Even if it's high intensity like a Reaper chase, they will just. Suddenly fall asleep

💤The Cove Tree makes her especially sleepy though

💤Not really scared of anything and finds the story very interesting, just finds it difficult to sit through a gaming session without falling asleep

Pacesetter

👟Tries to beat the game as quickly as possible

👟"I'm not scared of Reapers!" 10 seconds later... "AHHH!!! FLINT THERE'S A REAPER CHASING ME!!!"

👟VERY dramatic about EVERY encounter. Example: "And then the Bonesharks started swarming and chasing me and biting my Seamoth! I was able to scan the Cyclops Engine Fragments and get away by just barely!" and all that happened was a single Boneshark bit his Seamoth and then swam away.

👟Example B: He'll see a Reaper in the corner of the screen swimwing away, he leaves, and then will try to describe it like this:

{WARNING: LOUD NOISES AND JUMPSCARE}