#technically not a text post but the images are of text too so it counts for me

[sufferingrelapsed]

I'M GONNA START BAWLING MY EYES OUT

image desc under cut

two screenshots from deviantart notifications. first reads "added Baja (fake) sticker page to their Collection perfects art styles." and the second reads "added Baja (fake) sticker page to their Collection super cute :3." the username is cut out in the screenshot.

[mrs-dr-reid]

In the Still of the Night

Pairing: Aaron Hotcher x Fem!Reader

Summary: Aaron and the Reader are relishing in the first night with their newborn baby

Genre: Tooth rotting fluff, babes.

Warnings: Newborn Dad!Hotch. That's a warning in and of itself. Also potentially inaccurate depictions of post-birth protocol at hospitals, brief mentions of breast feeding, and other stuff I can't think of right now

A/N: Inspired by this prompt for @imagining-in-the-margins's Kid Fic Challenge: "Character witnesses a quiet moment with their partner and their baby during a night feeding", and title taken from the song by The Five Satins of the same name. Nursery image is AI generated.

Word Count: 1578

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Aaron never thought this day would come, but as he snuck glances in the rearview mirror at his wife watching their newborn daughter sleeping in the backseat (while he went as far under the speed limit as he could go without getting pulled over), he realized he finally had what he’d been waiting for: his beautiful baby girl. He’d been counting down the minutes until he could meet his baby since Y/N had told him she was pregnant, and now she was finally here.

Jocelyn Amelia Hotchner, his daughter, was born at 2:37 am on March 11, 2015. She was 20 inches tall, and she weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces of pure love and joy. The second the team found out Y/N had gone into labor, they took over the hospital waiting room and stayed the entire time so they could be the first to know the gender, because both Aaron and Y/N had agreed they wanted it to be a surprise. Y/N had handled giving birth like a champ, and the usually stoic Aaron promptly started crying the second little Jocelyn was laid on his bare chest for contact bonding.

It was well into the wee hours of the morning when Aaron came to find them (Y/N had to kick him out of the hospital room so he’d go and tell everyone the news face to face because if he’d had it his way, he would have just texted the group chat and stayed by her side for the rest of the night), and they all instantly stood up when they saw him standing there. Tears came to his eyes, and he managed to choke out, “It’s a girl!”, before the team swarmed him in a hug and offered their congratulations.

Y/N and Jocelyn had to stay at the hospital for 24 hours for observation, during which Jessica brought Jack to meet his brand new sister (whom he instantly fell in love with), but once they were given the all-clear, Aaron wasted no time getting his two best girls in the car and driving them home. It was just after 3 am when they pulled into the driveway, and Aaron turned off the car before turning around in his seat to look at Y/N, who was gazing at Jocelyn’s sleeping face with just as much love in her eyes as there was on their wedding day. He said, “Y/N, Honey, we’re home,” in a voice barely above a whisper because he didn’t want to wake the baby, so Y/N said, “Okay,” then carefully undid her seatbelt and the one securing Jocelyn’s car seat before getting out of the car.

Hotch grabbed the car seat, then followed Y/N up the front steps and into the house, tears threatening to flow when he realized this was the first night his daughter would be sleeping in her crib. He set the car seat on the floor, and Y/N instantly swooped in to unfasten Jocelyn and bring her upstairs to the nursery, Aaron following right behind her just in case (his Doting Husband and Father Mode™ has been dialed up to 11 since Y/N hit her second trimester).

When they first started prepping the nursery, Aaron was a tad bit skeptical when Y/N commissioned Penelope to paint a map of the US above the crib, but when Y/N explained her idea to put a glow-in-the-dark star sticker on whatever state he ends up in when he’s away on a case so he could technically be watching over the baby no matter where in the country he was, Aaron was too overcome with adoration to disagree with her. Now, as he watched his wife lay their daughter down to sleep in her crib, he felt that same surge of pride and love flow through him.

Despite being barely a day old, Jocelyn somehow already knew that crying in the middle of the night was a requirement because less than two hours after she was put to bed, Y/N woke up to the sound of her daughter’s wailings through the baby monitor. She let out a sigh, then slid out of bed and padded down the hallway to the nursery. She switched on the salt rock lamp Spencer had given them for a baby shower gift, and the second Jocelyn laid eyes on her mother, her cries lessened but didn’t go away completely, so Y/N cooed, “Oh, come here, My Little Love. Mama’s got you,” while lifting her from the crib and bringing her over to the rocking chair.

The second she sat down, Jocelyn immediately started mouthing on Y/N’s shirt over her breast, so Y/N laughed softly and said, “Okay, Hungry Girl, let’s get some milk in your belly,” before pulling down her sleep shirt and helping Jocelyn latch on. For a while, they just sat there together; Jocelyn eating and Y/N rocking back and forth in the chair while softly humming “Baby Mine” from Dumbo. Aaron, on the other hand, woke up to use the restroom and realized his wife wasn’t beside him. He only worried for a second because then he heard her soothing voice floating out of the baby monitor.

He smiled to himself, then rolled out of bed and walked as quietly as he could down the hall to poke his head into the nursery, and his heart melted all over again at the sight of Y/N feeding baby Jocelyn, the warm yellow light of the salt rock lamp making her look almost ethereal and the gentle white noise of her humming lulling the little girl back to sleep. Aaron let out a soft chuckle at the scene, and Y/N shifted her gaze up from her daughter’s sleeping face to see her husband in the doorway with a loving smile on his face.

She smiled right back and whispered, “Go back to sleep, My Love. I’ve got this,” but Aaron just shook his head and whispered back, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” before pulling the little pouf near the dresser over to the chair so he could be closer to his girls. Y/N rolled her eyes lovingly, but kept rocking Jocelyn regardless and whispered, “Is Jess bringing Jack home today?”, so Aaron replied, “Yeah, she said she’d pick him up from school and bring him back here,” in the same hushed tone, making Y/N nod and say, “Good. I’ve missed him,” before turning her attention back to her daughter, who was starting to make little disgruntled sounds while clenching her tiny fists.

Y/N tried to soothe her, but nothing seemed to be working until Aaron said, “Are you grumpy, Sweet Pea?”, and tickled her foot with his index finger, which instantly made her stop making noises. When neither Y/N nor Aaron did anything for a few seconds, Jocelyn started fussing again, so Y/N said, “Ah, okay. She wants Dada,” then started to slide the little girl into her father’s arms. The second Aaron had her held against his chest, she went completely silent save for a content coo here and there, which made Y/N giggle and say, “There we go, happy baby,” a chuckle escaping Aaron at that sentiment. He stood up and walked around the room with her while he said, “Yeah? You just needed some Daddy Time?”, and Jocelyn let out a sleepy baby noise before nuzzling into his chest, making tears come to his eyes before he kissed the mop of messy dark hair on top of her head.

Y/N draped a burp rag over his shoulder, then she said, “Would you mind burping her before you put her back down?”, and Aaron replied, “Not at all. Go on back to bed, Honey. I can handle it from here,” so Y/N smiled at him gratefully before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, smoothing a hand over Jocelyn’s messy hair with a whisper of, “Sweet dreams, My Little Love,” then wandering back to their bedroom with a barely suppressed yawn. He smiled as he watched her go, then turned his attention back to his daughter, who let out a yawn-hiccup combo.

Aaron burped her like Y/N had asked, then once he’d done that, he walked a few more laps around the nursery while gently bouncing Jocelyn and talking about whatever he could think of in the softest voice he could manage until she fell back asleep. He placed her in her crib, and when she curled up into a ball and grabbed onto the tail of the stuffed squirrel Penelope had gotten them, he smiled and whispered, “Goodnight, Sweet Pea,” before switching off the salt rock lamp and exiting the nursery as quietly as he could.

He used the bathroom like he’d originally intended, then slipped back under the covers and held his wife as close to him as was humanly possible. Aaron whispered, “I love you. Thank you for our daughter,” into Y/N’s hair, not knowing she was still awake until she squeezed his hand where it rested against her stomach and whispered back, “I love you more. Thank you for our son,” before snuggling impossibly closer to him. His breath caught in his throat, and a smile came to his face before he kissed the top of her head and let the sweet caress of sleep overtake him.

———————————————————————

CM Taglist: @homoose, @libraryofloveletters, @xgoldentigerlilyx, @less-intelligent-spencerreid, @boketto2-0, @aryaarathornson, @spoookymuulders, @nomajdetective

Let me know in the comments if you want to be added

[lis-likes-fics]

w1sh u were here

Pairings: Hobie Brown x Reader Word Count: 809 words Kink: Sexting Warnings: NSFW, sexting, sending nudes, technically pornography?, swearing, dirty texting... A/N: I lied, I am posting today bc I managed to pull something out of my ass. I hope you enjoyed this short fic bc the hardest thing about this was making all of Hobie's texts. I am a firm believer in Hobie being a terrible texter bc he doesn't commit to one style, and I hate him for it. Enjoy this fluffy smut. <3

hobes: I can’t stop thinking about you, luv.

you: oh yeah? what are you thinking about?

hobes: jus wonderin wut ur wearin 😘

you: your hoodie

hobes: and?

you: nothing.

You sent an image.

hobes: fuck… hobes: You look fuckin amazing in my clothes babe

you: thx bby

hobes: you’d look even better without em tho. Just sayin

you: you tryna get me to send nudes, perv?

hobes: Maybe…😉 hobie: w1sh u were here rn

you: me too

you: what would you do if i was?

hobes: i’d kiss you. a lot. i’d never stop kissing you luv hobes: And, after that, I’d play with your nipples and listen to you start to moan. I’d be so hard for you, sweetheart…

you: yeah?

hobes: yea. id suck on ur tits and feel how wet u were for me.

you: how would you touch me?

hobes: Id put my fingers in your tight pussy, feel you up nice and good, rub at your little clit. hobes: You’d be fucking soaking, I know it. I’d eat you up, darling. hobes: tell me wut u want me to do to u luv

you: everything you said. want you to kiss me, want you to touch me, want your tongue on my tits and your fingers in me.

hobes: want me to eat you up?

you: yes

hobes: I’d make you feel so good. You’d be moaning so loud for me.

you: i wanna ride your face, hobie

hobes: i want you to ride my face

you: guess what?

hobes: wut?

you: i’m touching myself.

hobes: fuck. for me?

you: all for you.

You sent a video. “Fuck, Hobie. Wish you were here…”

hobes: chr1st u sound so pretty when u rub ur cl1t l1ke that

hobes sent a video. “I need your pretty little pussy over here, sweetheart. See what you do to me?”

you: fuck, you’re so hard you: you know what i wanna do?

hobes: Tell me.

you: wanna get on my knees and suck you off.

hobes: yeah?

you: yeah. i wanna feel your hands in my hair when i suck your cock. want you to call me your good girl.

hobes: u r my good girl, babes. ur my best fukn girl.

you: fuck, i’m so wet for you, hobie. wish you were here to touch me. my fingers don’t work as well as yours do…

hobes: Can’t get em far enough? You need my fingers to stretch you out nice and wide?

you: yeah. you: want you to pin me to a wall and fuck me

hobes: fuck youd love that wouldnt you? hobes: I’d pin your hands above your head and kiss you, turn you around and hold onto your beautiful fucking hips. You’d be squirming when I put my cock in you. hobes: Youd be beggin me to fuck you darling and youd be moanin like fuckin crazy for me, Id hold your tits and keep you still while I fucked you from behind and you would scream when you came on my cock. Id just keep fuckin you too hobes: still with me luv?

you: hard to type with one hand

hobes: gonna fucken take you to bed and put your legs on my shoulders. fold you in half while i fucked you babes. you’d be all messy for me.

you: i’m messy for you right now

You sent an image. “Mmm. Ah, I need you, baby. Fuck, m-yeah…”

you: this pussy’s missing you, baby

hobes: this dick’s missing you hobes: I’m gonna cum, sweetheart.

you: me too you: hobie i’m so close.

hobes: will you send me another pic baby?

You sent a video. “Hobie! Hobie, I’m cumming!  Fuck, I miss you so much. Ahhh, fuck!”

hobes sent a video. “Fuck. Mm-mmh, fuck. Yeah. Oh, fuck, yeah! Oh, sweetheart.” hobes sent an image.

you: fuck, hobie

hobes sent a voice message. “I love you, sweetheart. Wish you were here so I could show you how much. You make me so happy and you get me so hard, and I can’t wait to see you soon so I can kiss that pretty face you’ve got. Love you so much, darling.”

You sent a voice message. “I love you, too, baby. I can’t wait to see you either because, when I do, I’m kissing you so hard, you’ll pass out.” You sent a voice message. “Get some sleep… I know you have to  go to 928 tomorrow, and you’ll come see me after. I’ll be waiting for me. I love you.”

hobes: i luv u 2 bby

you: your typing is atrocious.

hobes: Thank you.

you: goodnight, bayb

hobes: “bayb”

you: shut the fuck up.

hobes: make me 😍

you: you make me sick.

hobes: I love you, too. Night.

you: night. go to sleep now.

hobes: no <3

You changed “hobes” to “hobo”.

hobo: :(

Tag yourself here...

[mushysquashythingamajig]

Bucktommy Charity Relay

The Fluff

For the @bucktommycharityrace I prepared 3 fics (fluff, smut and angst respectively) that I'll hopefully post throughout the day. This is so that everyone can read whatever their mood aligns with.

It will be really, really appreciated if you can donate to Lambda Legal here or if you can't just reblog to give it a signal boost so others can. This is an awesome event for a good cause and I'm really proud of the little space that we've built together. I hope y'all enjoy the fic.

~~

"A ball? What is it, the 19th century?"

A ball. The city had organised a small charity balls and the 118 was chosen to be a part of it, obviously.

"Technically balls originated in the middle ages, at least that's what the text says. So they're much older."

"Thanks, Buck. I didn't need to know that. Anyway, who else is gonna be there?"

"Seems like it's just a charity gala." Bobby replied, skimming over the invitation.

"So rich people?"

Bobby nodded and everyone on the table groaned. Seems like everyone has had to deal with a rich, privileged snobs before.

"Is there gonna be dancing?" Eddie interrupted the complaints.

"Looks like it."

"Well, I'm out." Chim gave up immediately, "I'm terrible at dancing. My wife and I almost broke each other's toes during dance rehearsals. And besides, Maddie's well into the pregnancy. She can't dance, and I'm not leaving her."

"Okay, Chim. The rest, you all are coming with."

Another series of groans erupted from the table. Evan did not share their sentiments. He was kind of excited. Except the rich snobs. And the-

"Hey, Buck. Are your dancing skills the same level as your sister's. If yes, than tell Tommy to wear his steel toed shoes."

Buck ignored the laughs around the table because in all honesty, Chim was right. He remembered sometimes when Maddie and Buck used to be alone in the house, they used to dance in the living room and Buck can't count the amount of unintentional smacks and toe-stepping that occurred.

Pulling out his phone, he shot Tommy a quick message.

Hey you know how to dance right?

~~

"This is stupid." Tuns out Evan did stomp on feet like no other. And somehow had zero rhythm too.

"Hey, it's okay. Just be patient, we'll learn okay?"

The 'thirty minutes and we'll be done' lesson had consumed most of their free time together and frankly Evan was over it.

"Y'know, I can just stand near the food table while you dance with someone good. This is pointless."

"Evan. Don't discredit yourself. At least now you're not stepping on my toes every second step."

"I can't understand if you're being sarcastic or genuine."

"Can't I be both?" Tommy snarked.

"You're an oxymoron, emphasis on the moron."

"Okay, let's take a brake, you're getting bitchy."

Tommy deserved the smack upside his head.

Evan collapsed in the chair, exhausted from the extensive dance lessons his boyfriend had made them goo through. Tommy somehow was still energetic, skipping slightly as he pulled the orange juice out of the fridge. Pouring two glasses, he slid one right in front of Buck, kissing his temple. If Evan giggled, no he didn't.

"My offer for you to dance with someone as good as you still stands." Buck reminded him.

"Either I dance with you or I don't dance at all." Tommy declared.

"How about we don't dance at all?" Buck proposed.

"Ooh, I don't think so. Come on Len Goodman, let's get you ready for the dance floor." He stood up, holding his hand out for his boyfriend.

"I don't even know who that is." Buck chuckled as he let himself get pulled up.

~~

"You know I'm probably gonna embarrass the hell out of you today." Buck tried to warn Tommy. He'd been sort of a debbie-downer regarding the ball. He should really stop. Tommy was probably getting tired of the self loathing.

"So? I don't care. If you do something embarrassing, I'll do something twice as embarrassing like, try to do a backflip and wreck my shit on the dance floor."

The image of Tommy trying a backflip and falling face first was funny even if it did make Evan cringe a bit. Knowing Tommy, he'd get it in the first try though. His boyfriend was just that good.

Tommy's suit was not that special, but seeing Tommy wear it, that man could make anything runway worthy. The shirt was stretching over his chest and the coat framed his back and waist nicely. Not to mention the snug pants which framed his ass and turned more than a few heads. Whatever, he was tapping that. And topping- Anyway.

Tommy moved in front of him, bowing slightly and put out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" Tommy spoke in a faux British accent.

Controlling his laughter, he replied,

"Of course."

At least his accent was a bit more believable.

Tommy's hand fitted against Tommy's back like it was made to be there. Their feet were finally moving in tandem and Evan was proud to admit that he only stepped on Tommy's feet twice. He tried to apologise but the way Tommy was looking at him made him swallow his words. Never had Buck been looked at with so much devotion, so much love. It made him squirm in his shoes. He wanted to run around, scream at the top of his lungs, YOU SEE THAT GORGEOUS MAN OVER THERE? HE LOVES ME. HE KNOWS ME AND HE LOVES MY ANYWAY.

"Hey, you're getting into your head again." Tommy pulled him out of his thoughts. He had an uncanny ability to sense when Evan was spiraling.

"I love you." He blurted out.

Seeing Tommy's smile, his nose scrunching up, the wrinkles and Evan wanted to take a picture of it and store it right next to his heart so that he could keep it safe. And he could have this anytime he wanted. He was truly the luckiest man in the world.

"That was random. You know I love you too. I love you, Evan." Tommy tilted his head before smiling.

Grinning, Evan gently cradled his head before diving in, pressing his lips to Tommy's until they were both out of breath.

"Get a room, you two." Hen heckled from the side, forcing the two of them to pull away.

"Are you okay, Evan?" Tommy checked in.

Lets see. His sister was about to give birth to his nephew. He had a beautiful family. He had a beautiful boyfriend. Maybe something more in the future. Yeah, his life was perfect, the kind only shown in movies.

"Nothing, just overwhelmed with happiness."

Tommy gave him another smile and a peck before pulling him towards the food.

"Okay, I'm starving."

[worstjourney]

Pitfalls of Pictures

As polar fandom works its way into ever more serious circles, from social sharing to published works, I thought I might share what I've learned about copyright and using pictures you find online.

Copyright belongs to the person who made the image. This means the artist or photographer in most cases. The photographer is the one who opened the shutter, not the owner of the camera.

Copyright, in most places and cases, lasts for the life of the creator +70 years.

Many Heroic Age polar images are therefore out of copyright. BUT WAIT. That's the photo. If you find it online, it's been digitised by someone. The copyright of the digitised image legally belongs to whichever person, or institution, digitised the image. Therefore the same Ponting photo can be copyright SPRI, Getty, RGS, or Anne Strathie, who scanned it off an original print she bought on eBay. Print: uncopyrighted. Scanned image: copyrighted. Even though the picture is the same, they are discrete things.

A lot of polar photos have been digitised by educational institutions or regional/national archives. They have to balance their mission to drive engagement with the necessity of licencing fees to fund their work. Everyone has a different way of doing this, so it's worth your while to learn the policies of wherever you found the photo.

For the most part (BUT NOT ALWAYS!) so long as you're not making any money on the image or using it to further your career (i.e. just fangirling) you're probably OK. People generally only bother to rally the expensive lawyers when there's cash involved. However it is always worthwhile to check, because there is nuance.

Posting an image which has not previously been public onto a public website (e.g. Tumblr) legally counts as publishing it. If you've been given permission to access it and/or make your own digital copy, that does not necessarily mean you can share it online. There may be different rules around publishing it vs having it, even for free.

Example: In 2014 I photographed all the negatives of Meares' Siberian photos at the BC Archives. I wanted a proper scan of a few of them, for an article I was co-writing at the time. I was allowed to take as many pictures as I liked with my own camera for personal use, and was charged a small fee for the scans. However, if I were going to publish any of them, I would have to fill out paperwork with the BC Archives and pay another, much larger fee. In 2023, I learned that the BC Archives had changed their policy: one needed only to credit the Archives for the photo, with their specified text. I finally got to write my post about Scott's ponies and throw in the photos for free. So keep up to date on usage permissions, too!

Downloading an image and sharing it amongst your friends, via email or messaging or some other closed network, without posting it on a public platform, is not the same as publishing it. But your friends need to be clear that they can't publish it either.

Going into the code of a photo site to find the high-res version of an image? Technically no one can stop you.

Publicly posting that high-res image, which the image holder has buried in code so that people can't distribute it? Not OK.

Printing off merch with that image and selling it as a side hustle? WOW VERY NO.

There is another slightly hazy area called 'transformative works' in which you can take a copyrighted image and change it enough to count as a new image. I don't know if there are any hard and fast rules on this – and they probably vary by jurisdiction – but as a rule of thumb, you're generally OK if no one in their right mind would mistake your image for the original.

I don't think any of us want to raise the ire of the heritage bodies which feed our passion for this stuff, so please make sure to stay on their good side! Photo archives take space and refrigeration and expert curators, which are all very expensive, and this is generally paid for by licensing the photos they keep. (The photo library at SPRI, for example, is the only part of the institution which makes any profit.) So please play nice!

I am far from being an authority on this, just sharing what I've learned over my 15+ years of working with polar photos on and offline. Please research your specific cases, and add anything to this post which you think may be relevant!

[letstalkalatte]

counting tomorrows | hughie campbell x f!reader

Summary: Hughie leaves for work, and while you're left alone with your thoughts to consider the nature of your relationship, you recognize that you're already in too deep despite the worries you have that he's not being completely open to you about everything.

Content tags + warnings: SMUT (18+) It's not super graphic, but there's still sex. (Oral sex f!receiving, p in v, protection not mentioned) With a mixture of fluff and angst. fbsa!hughie, some language, and alcohol consumption. An alternate version of events that takes place sometime between S2 finale to S3 premiere.

Note: This started out as 700 words (blame the diff color of work collars wikipedia page, i didn't realize there were so many lol) from when I last left it, to 6.4k once I finished with it today. This originally was going to be a lot lower stakes and lighter tone, as you can tell by the intro, yet it evolved into this. Something compelled me to give a smidge of backstory and the nature of their relationship. Also, what can I say, Hughie looks good in the shirt and tie. 👔 Enjoy? Seriously, anytime I receive indication that someone's read and enjoyed, it does make me smile. Feel free to pair it with this cover song for more cheesiness. So without further ado,

~

"Mm, look at you, making us pink collars look bad. Traitor." you cooed sarcastically. You continued to look up at him, as you insisted that you would help him fix his tie this time. It's not like he didn't know how to, but really, you insisted.

"Well, I was technically… no collar for a while, I guess." he simply said, with his brows creasing as he was trying to figure out what he would have been classified as a fugitive.

"Details, details. Who needs em, right? We're talking about the present." you grinned, giving his soft cheek a pat, admiring his freshly shaven face.

"Although, wouldn't I be considered a red collar now?" his eyes weren't focused on anything in particular, as you could tell on his face he was actually trying to find the accurate term.

"Hughie." you placed a hand on his freshly ironed shirt, and not quite gripping on it since you didn't want to cause him to look any less sharp. "You're wearing a white shirt. Pretty sure, you've got a white collar job." your eyes narrowed, as you could catch on to him correcting your irony.

"Pfffbt, no, no yeah, white collar, you're right." He cracked a nervous smirk, as he took the hand you pressed against him to hold. "There's offices, so yeah."

Even though you knew the correct terms weren't a big deal to you; it was mainly just a little play on words, especially since you were absolutely smitten when you got to see him right before work, but then the times, post work. In the morning, he looked so spiffy, hair neat, fresh-faced and in a generally bright mood. Although it was also something else entirely, seeing the loosened tie and his form much more relaxed, and at times, the tired look he sported did not escape your notice. You figured that it had something to do with wanting to be the reason to make your man, who's looking all prim and proper-- look a little wrecked.

"Too bad it'd probably be entirely unwise of us… if I tried to visit you during work, huh?" you slowly spoke, running your hand a tad lower from his chest, fingers splayed out across his abdomen.

"Well, I'd probably lose my job… and given the nature of what I do," he gulped, an image of you lying over his desk, giving him your come hither look would likely be branded in his mind for the rest of the day. "I'd probably have to do some time." He laughed at the thought, shaking his head as he gave you a quick peck on the lips. "Very, very tempted, though." he confessed.

"I mean, that's just if we got caught." you quipped back, tapping your fingers gently over his shirt in thought, as you then pretended to be smoothing it out again. "Besides, if you ever have like, an exceptionally slow day, you know I'm just a text away." You punctuated your words by patting his back pocket, the one housing his phone at the moment.

"You know I love you, right?" he exhaled, an affectionate grin gracing his face.

"Mm, love you too." you simply groaned to yourself, probably feeling like you were being a pest about it. Happily, he gave you an even more generous kiss, your lips connecting and melding just a bit longer than your typical farewell morning kisses. "I'll you see you later, yeah? We're making some headway on a case, and I feel really good about it."

"Mm, be careful. I'll lock up when I'm dressed." you shrugged, standing there in one of Hughie's shirts.

"I mean, you know I'm never opposed to you sticking around… a bit longer, or greeting me once I get back." He suggested, as he hugged your waist close to him. "Since it's your day off, but I'm not saying you don't have anything else better to do than housesit…or something, for me."

"As much as I'd love to cook us dinner… you don't exactly have much to work with at the moment."

"Shit. Yeah, I know, I haven't had a chance to get groceries this week." he shook his head. "Well, why don't I pick up something for us?"

"Alright, you've got me convinced." your lips were bursting at the seams with a wide smile, as you slowly felt his arms leaving you, with him heading towards the door.

"Okay, I'll surprise you."

You blew him a kiss, to which he caught with his hand, shutting the door after a wave.

Now, alone with your thoughts, you let out a heavy sigh you had been holding onto. You took a seat on the couch, running a hand through your hair as you considered the nature of your relationship. You had been seeing Hughie for officially close to half a year. But you'd known him for longer, he and his dad were your neighbors, so you'd seen him in passing, so maybe you hadn't exactly known him that well back then.

Really, what took your notice was that he would be out in the yard taking care of the lawn when he could, or taking out the trash. You'd wave when you were getting ready to leave for work some days. And you would occasionally greet each other if you happened to see him as you took your walks in the late afternoon; small talk about weather and whatnot. You didn't always see his dad, which you chocked up to them being kind of private, but you never really liked questioning people about their personal lives if it didn't come up naturally.

Again, you couldn't help but notice the things Hughie took care of while he was home, which made you sometimes imagine how caring of a personality he seemed to take on. All that time, you really wanted to get to know him, but it didn't seem like that much time passed, when you started noticing his lady friend visiting quite a bit. It's not like you were being nosey about it, you just took note of it, and you weren't the kind of person to pursue someone involved already.

It was some time later you actually learned her name, Robin. Unfortunately, it was only then you learned of it because of her devastating death. It was so sudden, and you noticed how those things that were normally cared for by Hughie, would go untouched. You definitely couldn't blame him, and it was hard to see that kind of deterioration grief causes a person. There wasn't so much mention of it on the news after the week initially passed. But you knew that didn't mean the painful sting was any less for those who knew and loved her.

You found yourself attempting to keep to your regular routine for your walks, but you kept alert, in hopes you could catch Hughie. You certainly didn't want to press or say anything inappropriate. But you wanted to at least offer some kind of condolence, or sympathetic thought, as awkward as you felt about mentioning anything. You kept it simple, but you just couldn't act like it never happened.

You slowed to a stop, as you saw Hughie walking out from the front door, likely leaving for work. You paused your music, as you gave him a small wave, coming to a stop. "Hey, neighbor."

Hughie stopped, as he kept his lips closed, attempting a small smile that he likely forced as not to be rude. "Hey," he said, your name following right after.

"Not here to keep you or anything, I just… God, it's so fucked up. I know I didn't know her-- Robin, but I am so, so sorry." Your throat felt so incredibly dry, as you didn't know if it had been better if you just avoided the interaction.

He looked back, his face looking so much more defeated up close, especially his eyes-- normally they were so aglow with his trademark smile whenever he talked about the smallest of things. And just seeing him like this made you feel so much more unprepared in hoping to console him.

"Yeah, seriously." he looked down, mostly at the ground, or his shoes. The broken eye contact, made it that much more obvious he likely needed space, and who were you to question it. "It still doesn't even feel real, honestly."

Your brows furrowed, as you inhaled, feeling as though you might be holding back tears yourself. "I.. I just want to say that, if you need anything. Like, seriously, I'm here."

You wanted to offer your time, and as much as you felt guilty about even the subtlety of it, you couldn't actually say out loud how willing you were to lend him an ear. It just felt wrong somehow, as your mind was the farthest from making any kind of advance, you genuinely just wanted to be a friend somehow.

"I appreciate that, thanks." he briefly looked at you, and then back at the direction he was going to be heading. What he really wanted to say was that, 'There's nothing anyone can do to make it better. She's gone. Not by some accident, but murdered.' Which just made this all the more harder for him to stomach any condolences he heard, no one else seemed to understand what he was going through.

"Of course. I'll let you get going." you said, giving a final wave as you jogged off. Shutting your eyes briefly as you already felt regret for even bothering him at this point.

You were completely out of touch with Hughie at some point, you thought that maybe he even moved away. Not until you saw his photo on television, you couldn't believe that him, of all people who would be considered a criminal, one that was involved in a nationwide manhunt. There was just absolutely no way. Your interactions with Hughie were so surface level, but you never would have imagined him to be a dangerous person. So what the hell was going on?

It was only a couple of years later, that you would have it somewhat answered for you. But you honestly never thought you'd even see Hughie again. Imagine your surprise when you saw him enter the cafe you worked at, you wordlessly dropped the cup you'd been working on, as if you lost control of your hands.

You dropped to the floor as you quickly recovered the cup, rushing to get the mop after you cursed under your breath, one of your coworkers snapping his head in your direction. "Hey, you okay?"

You shook your head, with your face looking unreadable at the moment. He quickly offered to take the mop for you so he could clean it. "Oh, really… you don't have to do that." you sighed.

He insisted, as you immediately went to remaking the order, and you nodded over at Hughie as if he was just some customer. "I'll be right with you!"

You then called out the finished cup for the customer, returning to your register, knowing that you likely would have to acknowledge Hughie. And just as you were about to greet him, he beat you to the punch.

He said your name like it was a question, seeming just as surprised to see you somehow. Even though you were here just as you had always been, nothing really was all that different, you reasoned. "Wow, it's been forever."

Your lips quirked up as you couldn't seem to think of a way to reply for a moment. Your eyes locked onto his, as you thought for a moment. "Hughie, I didn't think I was ever going to see you again. I'd ask how you're doing but, you look… like you're going somewhere important." You noted the suit and tie, as he laughed. While, he seemed like Hughie, there was something remarkably different about him, and it wasn't necessarily the attire. Part of you wanted to question him, but it also did not feel like the time or place, especially with you being on the clock.

"Yeah, sorta. I'm just here to pick up some coffee for work. My boss swears by this place." he laughed nervously, almost as if you put him on the spot, although you saved him from any complicated questions you could have asked.

"It has its moments, and luckily, you just missed one of the rushes." you simply stated, tapping your fingers consciously on the counter, as you seemed to be catching your breath.

Noticing that the door's bell rang as a few more customers entered, he decided to not waste anymore time and gave his order to you. He kept his hands shoved into his pockets, watching you carefully as you didn't seem to look back up at him, as you started on the couple of cups of coffee.

Once you came back up with his order, he smiled, opening his mouth before his thoughts could really formulate what he was going to say.

"Look, don't worry about it, I'm not expecting a tip." you laughed, hoping to divert the subject as this already felt an insane amount of awkward you weren't typically prepared for.

"Oh no, that's not…" he sighed, his gaze seemingly holding so much more than you had ever received from him before. Not that you didn't feel those twinges of chemistry before, but you never thought you would catch a glimpse of it ever again. "I know you have like a ton of questions, and I'd explain. But I'm already late as is, is there any way you would want to get a coffee sometime?"

Your lips parted, as you looked up at him, not quite sure what you even wanted to say. Was Hughie asking to catch up… and with you? You did not wake up today, thinking this was how your Tuesday would turn out.

"Uh, well I already had my espresso today, it might be pushing it if I had another." you said, your laugh sounding a bit guarded.

"I mean, not here but anywhere else, and like another day. Only if you even want to, I completely understand if you don't." he sputtered. He probably didn't wake up today thinking his Tuesday would start out like this either.

"Okay." you simply said. You held up one of the cups, taking out the sharpie from your apron, writing down your phone number over the sleeve. Little did you know, the one with oatmilk was not infact his, as he would have to switch out the sleeve since you just wrote it on Neuman's.

Once he left as quickly as he had been here, your focus for the day seemed to have taken off out the door with him, because you couldn't seem to get a hold of it. And you were so close to leaving early for the day, but you mustered up just enough willpower to finish your shift, somehow.

Back to the physical present, you kept there on his couch, wondering once again how you got this far.

The coffee did happen, and you did get some explanation, but at the time anything would have sufficed, it seemed. You were just genuinely relieved that Hughie didn't end up dead somewhere. You were able to hear his laugh again; able to witness how his eyes crinkled with that handsome smile. But with it, along came with just some of the details. As much as he was vague during your first reunion, you would later find out a bit more each time you two had an outing.

You insisted to yourself that you were just catching up, that these were opportunities-- a way for you to live up to your previous offers to hear him out, the ones you had been unable to truly give back then. You felt hopeless even, because you knew deep down you always had the potential, that familiar gnawing that you could have fallen for Hughie back then. You never would have felt you could have it now. You missed your chance, you thought. It was foolish to even think about it, you were just being neighborly. A friend.

Your perspective, while you were already apprehensive about how the country literally worshipped Superheroes, your idea of them shifted even moreso to one of distrust when you learned more of Hughie's experiences. Save for some details he decided might be better left unsaid. Details about the couple of lives he took, and just how intimate things were between him and Starlight.

He wasn't even entirely sure why he didn't just admit it all to you. Maybe, he was afraid you wouldn't have been able to accept the whole truth, that you would have just walked out to not have to deal with all the baggage.

There was one night in particular, that Hughie seemed to be more troubled and less put together as he appeared recently. He invited you over to his apartment within the next month, to which he might have had a bit too much to drink. And maybe you did, too.

As you both were on the couch, watching something on blu-ray, as you weren't always keen on cable or watching the news. You were laying on the opposite side of he couch, with your knees bent, your legs tucked just enough to not brush Hughie, as he sat on the farther end. Things were abnormally quiet between you two, but you shifted to sit up once it was over. He glanced at you as he shut the tv off, a dazed out expression on his face, as you just half smiled.

You finally spoke with a sharp exhale, "Well, that's my cue."

"I can't just let you leave, we're both clearly not in a state to drive." he sighed, his face reading guilty.

"Well yeah, but I also can't just stay here overnight."

"You could take my room. Because I take responsibility for this, I'll happily take the couch." he quickly suggested, laughing halfheartedly.

"Mm, fine." you shook your head. You were certainly not prepared for this, you never stood overnight at Hughie's. So you weren't even sure how you'd even brush your teeth, and the fact that you'd remain unshowered until tomorrow.

You both continued to sit in silence, not saying anything else, he kind of just stared ahead, fiddling with the fabric of his sweats on his leg. You swallowed, and you figured you would be the one to end the quiet. "Hey, did something happen? You just seem off tonight. I probably shouldn't ask…" you finally said, already fighting with what came out.

"I'm just… I'm still adjusting. I mean, god, I'm so lucky I'm where I'm at right now."

You quietly listened, looking over at him through the dimly lit room, still equally distanced on the couch. It was dark outside by now, and it almost felt a tad too intimate for you to be around right now. It could also just be the alcohol in your system, making you feel a bit fuzzy, and almost like your body was not entirely its own.

"I don't want to lose it though, I don't want to screw it up." he slowly spoke, looking back at you.

"There's people out there who haven't even had to endure a quarter of what you have, and they're total assholes. You're fine, Hughie, seriously." you attempted to soothe his worries.

"Thanks," he carefully continued, "Sometimes I feel like I'm a hypocrite, wanting normalcy. After all that's happened."

"I think it's natural, wanting stability. Considering, you're just, well… you might not feel fully put together. But really, does anyone ever find themselves like that?"

He watched you, not so quick to speak, as he wanted to hear what else you might have to say. It put him at ease, just hearing your sincerity, it was clear in the way you made time for him like you were now.

"Despite everything, if it means something-- I don't think I've ever felt more normal than when I'm around you. I mean, besides the butterflies, but that's… actually, well yeah that's also kind of natural, I guess."

You could see the rise and fall of his chest heightened after your words-- sensing there was something very charged between the short space left in the middle of you two. You also suddenly realized how cheesy that might have sounded coming from you. Quite quickly, you reasoned you should probably start heading to his room so you could sleep away the shame. But that wouldn't be what happened, as you felt Hughie stand up as well, and he carefully crossed over into your space.

Your eyes lowered, feeling a bit small under his gaze, and you just knew this might have been a bit more mutual then you originally thought. He spoke your name suddenly, as you looked back up at him. "If you don't want this, you can slap me, and I would never hold that against you."

With one fluid motion, you felt him gently tug your waist towards him as he met your lips very suddenly, almost as if it was the most natural thing, as if you had only been sitting any closer earlier, it would have been inevitable, as you were absolutely magnetizing to him.

You didn't quite match his kiss immediately, but your hands rose slowly up his shirt, so that you could wrap you arms around him, parting your lips as you allowed him to lead into deepening it. There was something about it that showed how restrained he had kept this hunger beneath the surface, so it had you startled.

"Hughie, we probably shouldn't…" you gasped, your tone a bit more airy than usual, as you withdrew from him just enough to speak.

His nose brushed against yours, as he was a bit out of breath himself, "No, we probably shouldn't. But…"

You looked back up, before giving back into kissing him, your body pressed against his like it had always been this close, when infact it's the first time there was no physical space between you both. You couldn't tell if it was just your heart hammering against your chest, or if you could feel his own beating as well. "But it's stupid, we've been drinking… Hughie, I don't want us to regret… anything."

His grip over your waist felt a tad tense, as you knew it was taking everything in him to stop. "Yeah, no you're totally right. But it's not the alcohol… I promise," he continued, speaking against your lips as it didn't seem like there was anything else that could prevent this from escalating, besides you making it known, of course.

"Mmph," you were once again quieted, just enjoying the moment as it was, as you could feel his excitement growing. It made you realize that if you didn't pull back now, it would escalate and you knew once that threshold was crossed, things could never be the same. And you just weren't sure tonight was the night to brazenly decide that.

So very reluctantly, you broke the kiss. "Hughie… I, let's um, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Don't apologize, I'm the one that kissed you, remember?" he said, shutting his eyes suddenly as he braced for that slap. Yet, it wasn't going to come.

"Okay, okay. Let's just… let's get some sleep, and we'll just. We'll go back to normal tomorrow. This never happened." you sighed, leaving him to find that your response was indiscernible, at least for now.

Without another word, you quickly left for Hughie's room, hoping to escape the embarrassment you felt. You couldn't believe that happened. It was a good thing that Hughie was typically a reasonable guy, so you were sure that things would get sorted out tomorrow.

That next morning, you came out from the room quietly, glancing around the living room to check if Hughie was up before you. He was, he was dressed in shorts and looked like he actually had been up for a while. "Hey, how's your head?" he cracked a casual smile.

You yawned, and walked across heading to the kitchen sink. "I've had worse, honestly. Not too bad, but I am pretty thirsty."

He reached into the cupboards, handing you a glass, to which you mouthed a thank you. You turned on the faucet, so that you could gulp down the water. Afterwards, you placed the glass into the sink, deciding to be the first one to make acknowledgement. "It was weird waking up in a bed other than my own, gotta say." you said, mostly joking as you rubbed the morning out of your eyes.

"Hey, it was the least I could do. I couldn't have you trying to drive back home like that." he shrugged.

You looked over at the digital clock on the coffee maker, before even registering that the freshly brewed scent was wafting all around you. "Hughie, aren't you late for work? Oh, I am so sorry." The realization hit you.

"Hey, hey. It's fine, I called in for today. I wasn't just going to leave you here without saying anything. Figured it'd be better if I just waited for you to wake up first."

Your eyebrows creased as the look on your face was pained, feeling absolutely like a problem already. "No, you should retract that. Just let them know you're late, and that you can make it afterall." you quickly said, not realizing you were kind of chiding him.

"I'd rather just spend the day with you, honestly." His eyes gazed at you with purpose, as you could only stare back a bit dumbfounded at him.

You sighed, rubbing your temples slowly with your fingers. "Hughie, seriously. Please, you really should go to work."

"Look, I remember last night. Not so much anything about the movie, but," he carefully started. You could already feel the blood rushing to your cheeks, as you watched him draw closer to you, rounding the table so that you were facing each other straight on. "And you said something about butterflies, right?"

His face was completely nonjudgmental, as you realized again that you kind of confessed your feelings to him last night. Infact, he didn't seem bothered at all, at least not in the way that would keep him from you. If anything, you knew that it would be difficult to resume being just friends, even if you didn't end up sleeping together.

"I could hardly sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about you. About that kiss," he seemed genuinely taken with you, and he knew he was being a total romantic, but he couldn't leave things without addressing it first.

Your eyes drifted down to his lips, as you met his eyes once more, only just fueling his confidence that he wasn't crossing boundaries. Your breathing became audible to yourself, as you knew that you weren't just going to replay last night's kiss, but you were going to experience a continuation of it. This time, with your initiation of your second kiss.

With that, you both ventured into his room, with your hands never fully leaving each other. You were soon nestled back into his sheets, the door shut as you found yourself in his arms. It was a mutual decision that had been inescapable, and that you would have ended up here sooner or later, it was only a question of your determination to hold back from pursuing it.

You got up from the couch, walking over to the sink, as the memories replayed through your head of how you came to this relationship. You turned on the faucet, absentmindedly washing last night's dishes as you remained absorbed in your thoughts.

You knew it might have felt a bit soon to even broach the subject, but sometimes it felt like it made so much sense how well you two fit together, how you wondered if you could move in together someday. Giving you a spare key to his place wasn't exactly helping matters, as you knew you were absolutely head over heels for him. It kind of terrified you what this could mean for the future, and if things could stay this way. Part of you knew, even if he hadn't exactly expressed it, that he buried his worries about whether or not it was possible.

The rest of your day ended up feeling like a blur, as you didn't feel as though you did much of note, besides deciding to bring back some groceries for Hughie. As embarrassed as he might be, you just wanted to reaffirm the consideration you had for him.

Once he was back home, he unlocked the door, calling out for you. You came back from the bedroom, smiling and greeting him as you took the bag of takeout from him. "Hey, how was work?"

You knew there was only so much he could tell you, as he would usually tell you that his work was confidential. It was kind of difficult for you to take, as you wondered if it was for your protection, or if the nature of his job would only drive the wedge between you both. He was always so sweet about it, asking you in turn how your day went. Now and then, if you were especially persistent, he gave you vague details that would keep you somewhat content.

You just missed him so much when you were apart, whether it was because of work, or not. And he just looked so good tonight, his tie off, and sleeves rolled up as he took care of the dishes this time. Once he was finished, he wiped his hands off on one of the kitchen rags. You watched him from the table, giving him that look paired with your flirty smile that answered the question before he could ask.

"If I didn't know any better, it looks like you're still starved." he started with his eyebrow quirked, noticing you stand up from the chair.

"I'm not quite satisfied yet." you smirked, taking his hand in yours, lacing your fingers together.

"Yeah? Did I forget something?" he teased back. After this prompted him to squeeze your hand back, he then slowly withdrew from yours, so that he could settle both of his hands ontop of your hips, his fingertips pressing into your skin as your shirt rode up a bit from the action. You swayed back ever so slowly yet suggestively, as he moved with your rhythm, meeting each other's lips again.

"Maybe." you murmured against his mouth, your lips moist from your little makeout session.

"Rejog my memory?" he asked sweetly.

"Okay," you breathed, leading him to his bedroom. Once you were inside, you got on the bed, lying down on your back as you watched from above you, with him still standing at the foot of the bed. He was starting to unbutton his white dress shirt, to which you shot up suddenly, grasping his wrist. "Wait, can you keep it on?"

"Anything for you." he eagerly complied. He began running his hands up your legs, as he gently tugged your pants off from your body and pulled you forward with an unexpected force, that had you startled for a moment, your legs were now dangling off from the edge of the bed. He lowered himself to his knees as you knelt your head trying to match the new height, desperately kissing him.

He broke from your lips, his eyes heavily lidded, as he made it very obvious what he was thinking at this point. "I want to make sure you're relaxed," he emphasized, gently lowering you down to lay back again.

He hovered over you, giving you a few more moments so you could feel his lingering mouth on your own, before he traveled downwards. His soft hands continued to smooth over your stomach, as it inched up your shirt, letting it expose more of your skin to be revealed to him. Taking the extra time to let you anticipate where he would end up. You both knew, as his lips were feather light on your stomach and then the dip of your waist, as he peeled your panties down very carefully.

You swallowed, feeling a sudden jolt in your abdomen, as you were extremely sensitive to any touch within the vicinity of your thighs. Once your panties were fully pulled off from your ankles, taking note of a small trail of stickiness that had ran down from being smeared down your thigh.

Your voice coming out a bit high, "Hughie…"

"Mm," he only hummed, as you could feel his mouth enveloping the heat between your thighs. You immediately found your fingertips raking through his hair affectionately, as you cautioned that you would need to remember how to breathe.

You arched your back, as it seemed it only took a few minutes for Hughie to find a rhythm that had your heart dancing, your thighs held down by his grip as you sighed out with a pleasurable relief. You could feel your hips buck suddenly, as you hadn't even realized Hughie was also now using two of his fingers to pleasure you. Your back was completely off the mattress, as you were sitting up, hoping to anchor yourself as one hand remained in his hair, the other grasping onto the sheets for dear life.

"S-So much for making the bed…" you suddenly breathed, finding your eyes shut as you were so shy about watching him whenever he was kneeling for you like this.

Just hearing you speak, made him intensify the pleasure he was working to give you, likely not that it was a goal to quiet you, but so that you could just fully let go and lose your thinly-veiled composure. Maybe, he just enjoyed when you lost your mind with him, temporarily unable to find comprehensible speech during these moments.

It didn't take much longer for you to reach your climax, as he allowed you to reach and ride your high, your body still needing time to recover, as you could feel him help you up the bed. You smiled up at him as your head nestled into the pillows, not even thinking twice about reaching up to kiss him, tasting yourself. Your cheeks burned, as you continued for a few moments more.

Hughie left the bed, so that he could remove his slacks and boxers, moving with purpose as he reclaimed his spot above you, kissing your neck as he looked into your eyes, asking you with that look if you wanted the rest of him.

You wordlessly nodded, cupping his face with both of your hands as you gave him a quick kiss. He gently laid his forehead into yours, as you both found yourself just where you belonged, it was more than just a physical thing. You never felt so strongly about anyone before, you shut your eyes, as you felt him reach deeper inside of you after a few moments of waiting.

He continued to leave kisses that felt ignited all over your skin, from your lips to your cheek, down to your jaw. With a particular thrust, you could feel his face tucked into your collarbone and neck at times, as he breathlessly groaned into your flushed skin.

You could tell that this was never just a way for him to selfishly chase pleasure, but was a way to speak to each other unfiltered, even if it meant that you knew he was not ready to bare his soul to you. You could at least understand, that in a way, you were seeing something more, and yet you could see a flash of it in his eyes. You weren't entirely sure if it was regret for keeping something hidden, or restraint, but as you locked eyes with him in the dark-- you could sense that whatever was to become of you two, you were never going to be the same again.

And maybe you could live with that-- maybe you could have the patience to endure the scars that caused Hughie to feel so far to begin with-- that you might end up becoming some semblance of home for him. You gripped onto his back as you could feel him getting closer to his own release, as he held onto your thighs, lifting them just a bit off the bed, as he huffed with each thrust.

He moaned your name quietly, as he met your eyes, nearly crumbling at the absolute adoration you held for him under your gaze. He repeated your name once more, as your own voice pleaded helplessly for him to not hold himself back from you any longer. With a final shuddering drive of his hips, you felt him still from above you, as your body in turn just drew him in further, welcoming every bit of him.

You laid there catching your breath, as Hughie gently took his place beside you, carefully fixing your hair gently as if he could possibly fit each strand in their usual state.

"I love you," you watched him, hoping that the tears forming in your eyes were not visible in the dark of the room.

"I love you, too." he replied back without hesitation, admiring you as he nuzzled his head into your neck.

"I wish it was always perfect like this." you spoke with meaning, as he watched you, gently taking your hand to leave a kiss on the back of it.

"Me too." he cracked a smile, as his mind raced with the impending paranoia that something, anything could ruin what he had with you. It was not the first time his life was turned completely upside down, he just didn't want to drag you down into it if it happened again. It was the worry that it could be too late, and that by starting this with you, it was only a matter of time that he'd lose you, or the stability he hoped he could maintain.

"I guess we can't worry about tomorrow, though, huh?" you spoke tiredly, closing your eyes as you sighed. "I'm just glad we had today."

He could sense a certain sadness in your tone, almost as if you had read his mind. "We've got tomorrow, too. And every tomorrow after." he soothed, his tone reassuring. God, how could he have such an effect on you? You were as unsure as you were certain.

"Mmm." you leaned your forehead against his, as you could feel yourself surrendering further into slumber. You were in too deep, you knew that. You were ready to fight for your future with Hughie, even if deep in the pit of your stomach, knew that it could mean that these moments were just before the fall.

[piggyinthesea]

The Night After Monaco

part 2 of this fic

pairing: charles leclerc x reader, max verstappen x reader

word count: idk prolly more than 2k

warnings: shouting, smut, messy charles, stress, anxiety, fluff, kind of sugar daddy charles, max being desperate, gaslighting

summary: charles teaches you things you didn’t know about yourself he shows you what it means to truly be taken care of. but, does this mean things are really done with max?

Son las cinco 'e la mañana y yo no he dormido nada

It’s 5 in the morning and I haven’t slept at all

Pensando en tu belleza, en loco voy a parar

Thinking of your beauty, going to end up crazy

El insomnio es mi castigo, tu amor será mi alivio

Insomnia is my punishment, your love is my relief

Y hasta que no seas mía no viviré en paz

And until your mine, I won’t live in peace

There’s always someone watching. Every time you do something there’s always someone or something watching. You realized that when you found a post on Instagram about the other night.

f1exlusiveupdates

f1exlusiveupdates: Charles Leclerc, ferrari driver, spotted leaving an exclusive club with company shortly after his Monaco Gp win. No images including the female’s face.

↳ user233 just a hook up, not a big deal.

↳ charlesismybf it’s me guys, I’m the female☺️

↳ formula1luver baby come home the kids miss you

327 comments 15,000 likes

Charles had sent the article to you that had been posted that same evening with a message asking to talk. It shouldn’t have bothered you the way it did but, you became extremely anxious to hear what he had to say.

The moment Charles’s had woken up he was met with a text from his brother, Arthur. Arthur had sent the article with an abundance of questions of who, what, when, why. After Arthur persisted, Charles had told him everything.

He explained your situation, the ‘break’, and he even threw in the hickey on Max’s neck to ease it all. Arthur had nothing to say. His moral compass was being challenged and he didn’t know whether the whole thing was right or wrong.

1. It was Max’s idea to take the break.

2. The relationship was already running its course (Due to mainly Max’s fault).

3. Max cheated on you too.

He explained to Charles that it wasn’t right to take his chance with you right after taking a break knowing you were vulnerable and just needed a friend, however, technically speaking he did nothing wrong. Charles definitely needed to talk to you and figure out what exactly was going on and what the both of you intended to do. He had an entire speech prepared. He wanted to ask you if you’d consider pursing a relationship with him. He understood that it’ll definitely cause a scandal and he planned to assure you he could take it as slow as you wanted to. He wanted to tell you he didn’t see you as just ‘a hook up’. He wanted a deep and meaningful relationship with you, if you’d let him attain one.

However, his speech was forgotten and completely eradicated from his brain when he saw you. You wore a simple outfit. A graphic t-shirt with jeans. Yet, you still knocked the breath out of him.

For a moment he didn’t know what to say. “Hey.”

You awkwardly smile. Your anxiety was booming and him looking so gorgeous did not help you. You had already mentally prepared yourself for rejection.

“Hi.”

You let him in and the both of you begin walking towards the couch in the living room. Awkward silent moments pass. Still, no one had said anything and the both of you stayed staring at each other.

“H-“

“Y-”

You cut each other off.

“You go first.”

“No, sorry you go first.” He says with his cheeks burning up.

“I understand if the other night was just something casual to you. And I’m sorry about the article.” You ramble. You didn’t mean to cause a scandal and make things messy for him. You hoped he didn’t hold anything against you.

“It wasn’t casual! Sorry. Sharing that night with you was so amazing. I want more of that. I know it’ll be extremely hard for you but, if you’d have me, I’d enjoy a serious relationship with you.” He quickly states, mentally cussing himself out for acting a fool.

His words take a few moments to process. You hadn’t considered the possibility that he’d want a relationship with you. Maybe it was because you had low-self worth but being in a public relationship with Charles scared you. His fan base was crazy.

The internet would have a field day if they had ever found out you have a relationship with Charles. They’d call you out kinds of names. Slut, whore, homie-hopper. You could see it clearly. “I don’t know if having a relationship would be the best idea. I don’t even know if I still have one. And besides the internet-”

“Forget about the internet. Do you want me?”

You answered within a flash, “Yes.”

“We shouldn’t let it the internet rule our lives. They won’t understand, but at least we’ll have each other.” He reaches towards your hands and holds them together, “Ma belle, I promise we can take it as slow as you need to.”

His eyes silently pleaded at you. He looked at you with his big brown eyes and long eyelashes. He was irresistible and oh-so-pretty. He acted as if he expected you to say no. How could you though? When he looked at you with longing and passion the way he was doing right now…it’d be hard to ever say no.

“Okay. But first I need to talk to Max. We never officially broke up.”

“Of course.” Before leaving, he pulls you in and leans forward. His lips feel soft against yours. A simple act of affection is so tempting and before the kiss is deepened, he pulls away and leaves your flat.

You knew what you had to do now. You dreaded every second of it but you texted Max.

vroom vroom

come over, we need to talk.

I’ll be there in a couple minutes

read 2:03 pm

It didn’t take long for the door to your pad ring. Each step you took as you walked closer and closer made you feel extremely uneasy. The door knob felt sticky against your sweaty hands.

Max stood in front of you with a bouquet of flowers. Without asking, he let himself in (a perfect reminder that he’s been here plenty of times before and this might as well been his second home).

“These are for you. I decided to forgive you and move on. Look, we can just forget this ever happened.” He handed the bouquet of flowers to you. You stood confused, yet you quickly became agitated the moment his words process.

“You forgive me?” You questioned, daring him to elaborate.

“Are you serious right now- look, I didn’t come here to fight. Baby, I don’t want our relationship to end. Don’t end this because of one mistake you did.” He says in a condescending tone.

The nerve of him. There’s no possible way he believes he’s still in the right. For fucks sake, he still has a hickey from another woman on his neck yet he’s coming to you as if you were the one in the wrong.

“My mistake? Max you have a fucking hickey from another woman on your neck. You don’t think this has anything to do with you?”

At this point, you were seriously debating throwing his shit-bouquet at him. He remained speechless, standing like a dumb ass waiting for another word to come out of your mouth. “You know what just leave. We’re done .” You angrily push him out and (gladly) shut the door.

You let out a huge sigh and ran both hands through your hair, frustrated as ever.

y/ninstagramuser has unfollowed maxverstappen1

y/ninstagramuser has followed charles_leclerc

charles_leclerc has followed y/ninstagramuser

It was only half an hour you’ve unfollowed Max until you heard a notification from Charles. It was a link…to yet again another gossip article. You physically groaned and mentally prepared yourself to get bashed.

formulaonebestgossip

formulaonebestgossip: Has the beloved grid couple broke up? Evidence to back this claim up consists of the fact that Y/n had just recently unfollowed Max. No posts from either party has been released confirmed this.

↳ user288 highly doubt this lol

↳ redbulll24 prolly was an accident since he still follows her🤷‍♀️

↳ user444 wait, does anybody know if Y/n followed Charles before this? I just checked and they’re both following each other 🌚

replying to user444 I think so? I’m not sure tbh but it doesn’t make sense why she would follow him after all this time

replying to user444 she definitely didn’t, I remember cause I used to stalk her followers all the time

8,600 comments 20.6k likes

3 familiar bubble dots popped up on your chat with Charles. After what seemed like a minute or so, they disappeared. Then, they came back.

charles🫠

did you break up with him?

yeah, he says he still wants to work things out though.

…do you want to?

Nope.

Good.

I want to take you out.

what if someone sees us?

If that’s something you’re worried about, I can work around that. I told you, the other night wasn’t just causal.

Okay then. I’d love to go out with you☺️

I’ll send you the details ❤️

seen 12:04 pm

Suddenly, you were in high school all over again having a schoolgirl crush. It didn’t take long for Charles to let you know the time he would pick you up tomorrow. You were excited and weirdly intrigued. What type of date could either of you go on where the public wouldn’t see you?

max v.

why’d you unfollow me?

because we’re not dating anymore ??

we’re not done. I’ll have you again, for sure. 😴

what the hell weirdo. don’t make me block you.

seen 12:26 pm

Without thinking of how Charles would feel, you took a screenshot and sent it to him. Within seconds, Charles replied.

Charles🫠

I’ll make you forget him tomorrow, don’t worry sweetheart.

oh yeah? how so?

First, I’d fuck you dumb on my private jet we’re taking tomorrow. No one else would be around, so it’d be just the two of us. Then, we’ll look through online lingerie shops together while you’re sitting on my lap as I picture you wearing them. I’ll make sure you always have something pretty. Maybe I’ll even get you some nice Versace heels for funsies. By the end of the day, you’ll probably memorize my bank digits. Not that I mind, as long as I get to see you wear the stuff you’ve bought.

are you alone?

why, are you touching yourself?

can you answer my question first?

Yes, im alone. Now you answer mine.

Of course I am. I feel like you say the right words to get me going on purpose.

No, it wasn’t on purpose. How was I supposed to know you were that needy?

I’m sorry

Don’t be sorry, I love when your needy for me baby. Tell me how your touching yourself.

I have my fingers in my shorts. They don’t feel as good as you though. My body misses you.

I bet it does. Don’t worry though, I’ll see you tomorrow princess. Can you insert a finger into yourself?

I did it. I wish it was you instead :(

Don’t be sad, ma belle. Just keep touching yourself.

I’m close Charles. I wish you were here.

keep touching yourself sweetie.

I didn’t come. Max texted me.

Can you block him for me, cheríe? With the cherry on top.

Of course, anything for you.

Thank you 💗. I have to go but I’ll talk to you soon.

liked message

You felt as if you’d been robbed from you high. The pleasure you’ve felt until the moment Max texted you was something you’ve never experienced by just merely looking at words on a screen.

Max was still ‘asking’ to start over. Yet, it was something about the way he said it that proved he still truly didn’t think he did nothing wrong. He pointed the faults at you and hasn’t realized his own mistakes in the process. This had got you second guessing. What if you really were the one in the wrong? You quickly shook the thought away and scrolled through Instagram.

Nothing interesting had happened today and so you took a small walk around your neighborhood before returning back, sweaty and tired. When you arrived to your door, a large bouquet of flowers sat in the door step. It didn’t take much to figure out they were from Max. You like being gifted things. Receiving gifts was your gift language, something you’ve told Max plenty of times, yet only now he’s doing the gifting. You ponder for a moment. Maybe it was because of how pretty the flowers were that you began to second guess yourself. You looked at the pink wrapping and the white roses decorated with golden butterflies and fairy lights. You wondered if you’d been to hard on Max.

You tossed the flowers onto your couch, not caring about the fragility of them. The rest of the day had been spent with updates from Charles, who had been attending formula 1 meetings all day long. Once night came, you texted your good nights to each other and went to bed.

It didn’t take long for the sun to rise and finches to start singing. The color of the sky had been a beautiful light blue color with cotton candy shaped clouds. You got up and splashed water on your face and rubbed your inner eye boogers away. The time read 11:49 am as you checked your phone. No new notifications other than Charles good morning text had been sent to you, sadly. It’s your own fault for having no social life.

Since Charles was meant to pick you up at 1:30, you had a decent amount of time to get ready. You picked a white summer dress with spaghetti straps and floral prints. It reached towards your mid thigh, enough to be slightly scandalous yet still long enough to remain a proper dress for any occasion. For jewelry, you opted to a small pearl necklace and shiny small earrings. The shoes you were white platform 3 inch heels with a cute lace ankle buckle strap. After putting on light make up, it was 10 minutes until 1:30 and someone knocked on your door.

You fully expected it to be Charles, until it wasn’t. Max was standing in front of your door once again with a plain light blue button up and navy jeans.

“Where are you going looking so pretty?” Max stares at your body with intent as leaned against the door frame. A voice behind him spoke to him,

“She’s going with me.” Charles held a luxurious looking box and he pushed himself in front of Max and passed it to you.

Inside, there was about 50 small cut roses mixed in with a couple pink roses to make a heart effect. The black box had a bow around it. The brand was in another language you couldn’t pronounced in a gold and Italian style.

“These are beautiful, Charles.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek as Max had burned holes through his back.

“Those are okay. Where are mines though?” Max desperately looked through doorframe into the apartment.

“Somewhere on the couch. Probably dead by now.” You said, locking the door behind you and holding Charles hand. “We have somewhere to be, don’t we?”

He nods in agreement as you guys begin to walk away from Max who still stood in front of your apartment.

Click📸

The ride to the airport was talks about each others childhood and teenage years. His hand rested upon your thigh as he drove with his other arm. You’d found out Charles had 2 siblings. One older and another younger. He asked questions about, where you grew up, where your family’s from, and asked questions about your job. Your mother was a well-known model in the 80’s, so with the amount of traveling, you technically grew up everywhere. Naturally, you pursued a career in modeling. People loved you. Not because of your ‘beauty’ but many say it was the way you carried yourself and how you manipulated the energy around you to feel comforting and safe. Some called you a nepo baby, but really, that’s just what they want to believe. You believed modeling was made for you. You loved the sponsered gifts from extravagant brands, the free beauty products, the party invitations, traveling, but overall it was the way you felt on the runway that won your heart. Some may argue you were a little too materialistic, but if there’s no harm in it, what’s the problem? Max was sweet, most of the time, during your relationship. Though there was this one time, he ‘jokingly’ called you a gold digger. It was one of those phrases that just stuck with you for some reason. You didn’t believe it. You rarely asked for him to buy you stuff and so you were just confused, not offended. Besides, you had your own money. If there wasn’t a man to spoil yourself, you’d do it yourself. As you arrived to the port, Charles took a different entrance than the regular one. He pulled into a large lot with big green hangars in a row, each holding a different jet. There was only one jet outside the hangar. It was standard size yet smaller than the average public jet and by the looks of it ready to go on any command. Boarding the jet and taking off didn’t take long however the cocktails that you’ve both ordered did.

The attendee had finally returned with the cocktails and before drinking, you and Charles clinked your glasses. His hand rested on your thigh and you asked, “Where are we going?”

“Las Vegas. I was hoping you’d attend attend the gp there.” He said. He lightly traced circles around your thigh. You felt small shockwaves of electricity shooting towards your core. Even though he sat right next to you, you felt as if you were so far from each other.

“Don’t you think it’s too soon? The internet thinks Max and I only broke up barely a week ago.” You said, looking into his eyes while scanning his reaction.

“But…” his hand inches closer to your inner thighs, “I want to see you.” He quietly pleads into your ears as his hands travel further and further. There was an urge in your core begging him to go further, like it was thriving off his touch. His hands caress your inner thigh, squeezing them and teasingly brushing over your panties. One of his hands reach your head and pulls you in a breath taking kiss. It was deep and slow yet it was enough to get your heart beating like crazy. His other hand reached towards the inside of your dress, snapping the band of your panties against you in a teasing manner. He pulled away, grabbing your hand and lifting you from your seat towards his lap.

You sat on his lap, facing towards him while your legs were in an M position sticking out. Your heads clashed as your mouths merged together, intensifying the feeling in your crotch. His hands felt like fire as they traveled from your thighs to your waist. He ran them slowly up your waist during your kiss and then slightly pushes you further down his lap, letting you feel his hard-on. You feel your core soaking up and you find yourself wishing you were doing more than tongue kissing. Not breaking from the kiss, you grind down on him and as a result a soft groan left his mouth. “You drive me so crazy.” He whimpers, eyes never leaving you.

“I sure hope so.” You tell him, hands trailing down his chest down towards his crotch. He looks at you daringly, gasping when you cup his clothed crotch and slowly pull down the zipper to his pants. You take his member out, admiring the beauty that laid in front of you. His pink almost red tip with pre-cum sliding down looked so perfect in your hands. You slowly massage him up and down. He tilts his hand back and lets out a pornagraphic moan.

You suddenly let go of his shaft to turn around. With your back facing his face, you pulled down your panties and raised your pretty summer dress, flashing your ass for just a moment before aligning yourself to him. You sit down on him and instinctively the both of you let out noises of pleasure. You feel him slowly filling you up more and more until you finally sink down all the way. You begin to grind forward before you sharply get pushed back down.

“Stay still.” Charles warns you. “Let’s get you a new wardrobe.” You confusedly wait for Charles to pull out his laptop and place it in the movable table in front of you guys. He types in his passcode and searches up, ‘Victoria Secret’.

“Each set you get, you’re allowed to move once.” He whispers to your ear then pulled the computer closer towards you.

“But I want to move already.” You begged and whined.

“Then start shopping, baby.”

You scrolled down the page, quickly browsing to add the first thing you see into your cart. The first set was a light red pretty coquette set. The bra had beautiful lace designs with a tiny bow in the middle of your breasts.

“Wouldn’t you look so pretty in that?” He says, trapping your hips and grinding on his dick, finally creating some sort of friction for you. You were craving more movement by the second and so you glued your eyes to the screen.

The next set was a navy blue set that had a strap design around your hips. As you were about to add it to your cart Charles stops you, “You’d look absolutely beautiful in this but, I don’t like the color blue.”

You whined but continued scrolling until you found a maroon 3-piece lingerie set. It had heart shaped garters around the thighs and another connecting to your stomach with the ring of the garter stopping in the middle of your stomach, where your belly button was at. Charles had hummed in approval and moved your hips up and down with his hands stuck on your waist.

This had gone for what you thought was eternity. At the end there were 17 sets of lingerie in Charles cart which he had pay for (happily). The sets ranged from dark to light shades of red with the occasional pastel purple sets. It got to a point where you got so desperate that you outsmarted his game. You filtered the results the block all blue sets and after you started spam pressing ‘add to cart’.

After your post-orgasm bliss wore off, you had excused yourself to the restroom and roughly cleaned yourself up. You returned from the restroom and sat in your original seat next to Charles. He took your hand and entwined it with his. He rubbed circles around your hand before pressing a kiss to the top of your head. It didn’t take very much for the two of your to fall asleep, hands still entwined lovingly.

Charles had woken up groggily and let go of your hand to rub his eyes. He looked out his window seat into the dark sky and reached into his pocket for his phone. He grabbed it, only to find out it was yours. Yet something had caught his eyes. You had a message from a random number.

1+400-765-3479

Unblock me, Y/n.

He wasn’t sure who this was at first, then something in his brain clicked. He needed to be sure, though.

who’s this?

Max.

Charles had physically laughed. A little part of him wanted to show his claim on you yet there was still a rational part in him begging him not to be messy. Except, Charles is a messy person. Without a blink, he grabbed your hand and entwined it with his. He took your phone, took a picture, and sent the photo to Max. Max left him on read for the remainder of the flight.

A firm hand on your shoulder shook you awake. You learned outwards to the window and saw a bright blue sky then you looked to the right and saw Charles smiling at you.

“Morning, cheríe. We’ve landed, let’s go.” He said, gathering his carry on bag. You gathered all strength to get up and walk down the hoarding stairs. You felt a pit of hunger dwelling in your stomach and you suddenly wished you had ate before the flight.

“I have a special day for us. We’re going to this beautiful private beach and I’ve had someone set up a small picnic for us. You’ll like the beach, it’s beautiful.” He says, holding your hand down the stairs. His infamous ferrari was only a couple meters away.

“How come we didn’t come in that car on the way here?” You asked, curiously.

“Well, I had to ship it out here so I sent it out earlier than when we left. That’s why.”

You let out an ‘oh’ as he opened the door to the passenger side for you. He gets in his seat, turning on the roaring engine and drives out of the port. As always, his hand rests on your thigh rubbing circles into your skin. A sudden realization hits you.

“I didn’t pack any clothes.” You say, looking at him in disbelief.

“I didn’t either. We’ll hit the mall after we get to the beach.” He says, unworried.

The drive towards the beach was fairly quick. You figured it was because the port was close to the ocean. He pulled into what looked like a cliff only to surprise you by stepping off the cliff into well hidden stairs. The stairs were narrow and so he reached backwards to guide your hand down and ensure your safety. The stairs were long and risky yet you made it down with no issues. At the bottom, there was a small booth with a worker in it, giving a small nod towards Charles. Charles continues guiding you into the sand and he leads you to a gorgeous picnic set up. There was a white blanket across the sand with pillows placed elegantly in front of a white small table.

The table was placed under the shade of a white with hints of beige umbrella. China plates were set on the table with napkins on top of them shaped in elaborate designs. There was 2 fairly large wooden basket and a glass of wine next to it.

“How did you set this up?” You asked, walking around the beautiful set up. He sat down and you mimicked his actions.

“My brother’s in the country. I paid him to do it. I thought he would’ve just did something simple but he impressed me.” He reached towards the wooden basket. “Let’s see what he chose for our lunch.”

Inside the first basket, there were endless fruits such as watermelon, grapes, cherries, dragon fruit, and pineapple. Two silver sporks were set in the side of the basket along with extra sets of napkins. In the other basket there was plenty ingredients for a do-your-own sub. Two butter knives were also included. One to spread the mayo and another to cut the 2 medium sized baguettes.

The two of you began making your own, adding the right ingredients to satisfy your taste buds. You munched on your subway sandwiches until they finished, then the two of you fixed yourselves a plate of fruits. A comfortable silence was shared between the two of you as you took in the view in front of you.

Charles had pulled out 2 wine glasses and opened the wine bottle letting out a loud ‘pop’. The red liquid poured beautifully into the glass cups. Within moments, the two of you clinked your glasses and drank the liquid. You ached to be closer to Charles and so you moved yourself to his side. He wrapped of his arms around you and continued sipping the wine with the other.

“This is beautiful, Charles.” You murmur softly. He holds you tighter in response.

“You know I really like you?” He says, while staring off into the ocean. His eyes move to you only to find you already staring at him.

“I really like you too.”

He places a kiss on your head. “I hope one day we can walk through the entrance of the paddock holding hands in front of everyone.”

Your heart warms up. You’ve never felt happier than you do right now and you find yourself hoping that maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to maintain this happiness forever.

[hellsite-proteins]

I've noticed that when you re-write the text in your "Text To Analyse" section of your post, some letters get dropped. Can I ask why that is?

there are only 20 canonical amino acids (ones that are included in proteins in living cells), while there are 26 letters in the alphabet, so some letters just don't code for anything. while there are plenty of other amino acids that are important in a biochemical context (some examples off the top of my head are ornithine and homocysteine), these do not match any codons or tRNAs, and so cannot be incorporated into a protein under normal circumstances.

while B, J, X and Z do not code for any amino acid, U and O technically do. However, U (selenocysteine) is not directly encoded in DNA and O (pyrrolysine) is encoded by UAG in some archaea, which is otherwise a stop codon in most species. so, they are considered rare/unusual amino acids and not usually considered.

letter sequence in this ask matching protein-coding amino acids:

IventicedthatwhenyrewritethetetinyrTetTAnalysesectinfyrpstsmelettersgetdrppedCanIaskwhythatis

protein guy analysis:

this not a protein, but rather a sad tangle of amino acids. there is no secondary structure, unless you count the half turn of the alpha helix. it's not even a full circle, and feels like its just there to mock me and my efforts. i am not impressed. the only reason i've included a picture with the (way too hydrophilic) side chains is so that the image looks slightly less pathetic.

predicted protein structure:

cartoon representation

cartoon with side chains

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

my re-review(?)/opinion rewrite of bsky now that it's been a lil while since i got on it

basically: still has a long way to go b4 i like it :l

(edit - some functions i complained abt not having are slowly being changed ie: the video length is now 3mins instead of the original 60secs)

for negatives:

still missing basic twitter features like gif support n bookmarks (unless you do some work arounds), saving drafts, privs, n vids longer than 60 seconds.

blocking someone does not remove them from your follower count n you cannot softblock or remove them yourself either! why!!

most of the artists i follow on twitter barely use or straight up don't use bsky even if they set up accts.

staff there continues to suck. not banning jesse singal despite him breaking tos + they're still censoring posts of ppl in need of donations by slapping vague no context "content warnings" on them. recently i heard they're mass deleting those accts as well. someone got mass reported for doing daily mutual aid threads too.

you can get your posts auto hit w a content warning if anything that a bot can interpret as sexual is in there (it's not consistent either???)

i never use blocklists anymore bc malicious n false lists made for harassing ppl keep popping up, some of which i've been added to before. i also keep getting added to "fandom fascists" n "bad vibes" ones right next to terfs n rightwingers bc pr*sh*ppers don't like me. you technically can just never check what lists you're on so you don't have to know, but for me personally, not knowing adds a whole can of paranoia bc i'm aware other ppl still praise + use these lists...

^ blocks are public which can lead to the people you block finding out n adding you to bad faith lists out of spite too. plus there's list spam (adding the same person to tons of them at once)

there's follow farmers: ppl/bots who spam follow thousands to 100k+ random users just to get them to follow back (bc theres also a weird thing where some ppl just instantly follow back everyone no matter what - n call u weird for not doing the same thing).

fake accts (not sex bots) follow often just in general; i got spam followed by "sa offender awareness" accts once.

lots of bsky users constantly complain abt having to see politics. any kind of world news at all. which ig it has in common w tumblr

^ my drawing of harry got autoflagged as sexually suggestive; you can see the caption/text but the image is completely hidden until you click 'show'.

*later edit: i eventually found out that "sexually suggestive (cartoon)" is on a separate page from "sexually suggestive" so i could change how the post appears to me; making part of what i said b4 wrong... but then it leads to 2 different problems (other than being annoying):

you currently can't use the (cartoon) label yourself - only 4 labels are available to users rn n they don't include the ones only in advanced settings. meaning you can still get forcefully labeled by the mod bot, which could make ppl think you were "too lazy" to do it yourself n then block you

having your moderation settings on "show" instead of "warn" will make the labels on ppl's posts entirely invisible to you all together. the only reason that i could still see the ones on my self-labeled posts w "show" was bc they were my own ig? which can lead to ppl seeing you unknowingly rting unlabeled posts n blocking you

^ a whole profile that has been flagged with just "content warning". entire posts are completely hidden. this was someone asking for donations

for remaining positives:

hashtags work; links don't suppress

you can get rid of the discover tab

you can add warning labels to your posts (though there's not enough options)

muting words is still pretty nice

ig it'll cut down your socmed time?

some ppl like the fact that there's no algo

there's no elon or grok

all in all i feel like ppl who praise this site a lot just miss twitter but don't wanna stay there. which is totally fair? though some of them will call anyone who still has twitter a n*zi now. also, i think more users who crosspost between both sites would be willing to make a complete move if bsky had privs

its a lil funny that i've been facing way more bullying attempts on bsky than twit oh well

[mspaesthetic]

Tidbit: The “Posterization” Effect of Panels Due to the Consequences of GIF Color Quantization (and Increased Contrast (And Also The Tangential Matter of Dithering))

There’s this misconception that the color banding and patterned dithering found in panels is an entirely deliberate, calculated effect Hussie manipulated the image into looking with some specific filter, but this isn’t the case, exactly. It wasn’t so much a conscious decision he took but rather an unavoidable consequence of the medium he partook in: digital art in an age where bandwidth and storage was at a premium.

Not to delve too deeply into the history and technicalities of it, but the long and the short of it is back in the early nineties to late aughts (and even a bit further into the 10s), transferring and storing data over the web was not as fast, plentiful, and affordable as it is now. Filesize was a much more important consideration than the fidelity of an image when displaying it on the web. Especially so when you’re a hobbyist on a budget and paying for your own webhosting, or using a free service with a modest upload limit (even per file!). Besides, what good would it be to post your images online if it takes ages to load them over people's dial-up Internet? Don't even get me STARTED on the meager memory and power the average iGPU had to work with, too.

The original comic strip's resolution was a little more than halved and saved as a GIF rather than a large PNG. That's about an 82.13% reduction in filesize!

So in the early days it was very common for people to take their scans, photographs, and digital drawings and scale them down and publish them as smaller lossily compressed JPEGs or lossless GIFs, the latter of which came at the cost of color range. But it had a wider range of browser support and the feature to be used for animations compared to its successor format, PNG ("PNG's not GIF").

You'd've been hard-pressed to find Hussie use any PNGs himself then. In fact, I think literally the only times he's ever personally employed them and not delegate the artwork to a member of the art team were some of the tiny shrunken down text of a character talking far in the distance and a few select little icons.

PNGs support semi-transparency unlike GIFs, which is why Hussie used them to preserve the anti-aliasing on the text without having to add an opaque background color.

While PNGs can utilize over 16 million colors in a single image, GIFs have a hard limit of 256 colors per frame. For reference, this small image alone has 604 colors:

For those who can't do the math, 256 is a pretty damn small number.

Smaller still were the palettes in a great deal of MSPA's panels early on in its run. Amazingly, a GIF such as this only uses 7 colors (8 if you count the alpha (which it is)).

Not that they were always strictly so low; occasionally some in the later acts of Homestuck had pretty high counts. This panel uses all 256 spots available, in fact.

If he had lowered the number any smaller, the quality would have been god-awful.

To the untrained eye, these bands of color below may seem to be the result of a posterization filter (an effect that reduces smooth areas of color into fewer harsh solid regions), but it's really because the image was exported as a GIF with no dithering applied.

Dithering, to the uninitiated, is how these colors are arranged together to compensate for the paltry palette, producing illusory additional colors. There are three algorithms in Photoshop for this: Diffusion, Pattern, and Noise.

Above is the original image and below is the image reduced to a completely binary 1-bit black and white color palette, to make the effect of each dithering algorithm more obvious.

Diffusion seemingly displaces the pixels around randomly, but it uses error diffusion to calculate what color each pixel should be. In other words, math bullshit. The Floyd-Steinberg algorithm is one such implementation of it, and is usually what this type of error diffusion dithering is called in other software, or some misnomer-ed variation thereof.

The usage of Pattern may hearken back to retro video game graphics for you, as older consoles also suffered from color palette limitations. Sometimes called Ordered dithering because of the orderly patterns it produces. At least, I assumed so. Its etymological roots probably stem from more math bullshit again.

True to its name, Noise is noisy. It’s visually similar to Diffusion dithering, except much more random looking. At least, when binarized like this. Truth be told, I can’t tell the difference between the two at all when using a fuller color table on an image with a lot of detail. It was mainly intended to be used when exporting individual slices of an image that was to be “stitched” back together on a webpage, to mitigate visible seams in the dithering around the edges.

To sate your curiosity, here's how the image looks with no dithering at all:

People easily confuse an undithered gif as being the result of posterization, and you couldn't fault them for thinking so. They look almost entirely the same!

Although I was already aware of this fact when I was much younger, I'm guilty of posterizing myself while editing images back then. Figured I may as well reduce the color count beforehand to help keep the exported GIF looking as intended. I view this as a complete waste of time now, though, and amateurish. Takes away a bit of the authenticity of MSPA art, how the colors and details are so variable between panels. As for WHY they were so variable to begin with, choosing the settings to save the image as requires a judicious examination on a case-by-case basis. In other words, just playing around with the settings until it looks decent.

It's the process of striking a fine balance between an acceptable file size and a "meh, good enough" visual quality that I mentioned earlier. How many colors can you take away until it starts to look shit? Which dithering algorithm helps make it look not as shit while not totally ruining the compression efficacy?

Take, for example, this panel from Problem Sleuth. It has 16 colors, an average amount for the comic, and uses Diffusion dithering. Filesize: 34.5 KB.

Then there's this panel right afterwards. It has 8 colors (again, technically 7 + alpha channel since it's an animated gif), and uses Noise dithering this time. Filesize: 34.0 KB.

The more colors and animation frames there are, and the more complicated dithering there is, the bigger the file size is going to be. Despite the second panel having half the color count of the first, the heavily noisy dithering alone was enough to inflate the file size back up. On top of that, there's extra image information layered in for the animation, leaving only a mere 0.5 kilobyte difference between the two panels.

So why would Hussie pick the algorithm that compresses worse than the other? The answer: diffusion causes the dithering to jitter around between frames of animation. Recall its description from before, how it functions on nerd shit like math calculations. The way it calculates what each pixel's color will be is decided by the pixels' colors surrounding it, to put it simply. Any difference in the placement of pixels will cause these cascading changes in the dithering like the butterfly effect.

Diffusion dithering, 16 colors. Filesize: 25.2 KB

This isn't the case with Noise or Pattern dithering, since their algorithms use either a texture or a definite array of numbers (more boring nerd shit).

Noise dithering, 16 colors. Filesize: 31.9 KB

Pattern dithering, 16 colors. Filesize: 23.1 KB

There's a lot more I'd like to talk about, like the different color reduction algorithms, which dither algorithms generally compress better in what cases, and the upward and downward trends of each one’s use over the course of a comic, but since this isn’t a deep dive on GIF optimization, I might save that for another time. This post is already reaching further past the original scope it was meant to cover, and less than 10 images can be uploaded before hitting the limit, which is NOWHERE near enough for me. I should really reevaluate my definition of the word “tidbit”… Anyway, just know that this post suffers from sample selection bias, so while the panels above came from an early section of Problem Sleuth that generally had static panels with diffusion dithering and animated panels with noise dithering, there certainly were animated panels with diffusion later on despite the dither-jittering.

Alright, time to shotgun through the rest of this post, screw segueing. Increasing the contrast almost entirely with “Use Legacy” enabled spreads the tones of the image out evenly, causing the shadows and highlights to clip into pure black and white. The midtones become purely saturated colors. Using the Levels adjustment filter instead, moving both shadow and highlight input level sliders towards the middle also accomplishes the same thing, because, you know, linear readjustment. I'm really resisting the urge to go off on another tangent about color channels and the RGB additive color model.

Anyway, there aren't any examples in MSPA that are quite this extreme (at least in color, but I'll save that for a later post), but an image sufficiently high in contrast can be mistaken for being posterized at a glance. Hence the Guy Fieri banner. In preparation for this post, I was attempting to make a pixel-perfect recreation of that panel but hit a wall trying to figure out which and how many filters were used and what each one's settings were, so I sought the wisdom of those in the official Photoshop Discord server. The very first suggestion I got was a posterization filter, by someone who was a supposed senior professional and server moderator, no less. Fucking dipshit, there's too much detail preserved for it to be posterization. Dude totally dissed me and my efforts too, so fuck that moron. I spit on his name and curse his children, and his children's children. The philistines I have to put up with...

In the end, the bloody Guy Fieri recreation proved to be too much for me to get right. I got sort of close at times, but no cigar. These were some of the closest I could manage:

You might be left befuddled after all this, struggling to remember what the point of the blogpost even was. I had meant for it to be a clarification of GIFs and an argument against using the posterization filter, thinking it was never used in MSPA, but while gathering reference images, I found a panel from the Felt intermission that actually WAS posterized! So I’ll eat crow on this one... Whatever, it’s literally the ONE TIME ever.

I can tell it's posterization and not gif color quantization because of the pattern dithering and decently preserved details on the bomb and bull penis cane. There would have had to have been no dithering and way fewer colors than the 32, most of which were allotted to the bomb and cane. You can't really selectively choose what gets dithered or more colors like this otherwise.

Thank you for reading if you've gotten this far. That all might have been a lot to take in at once, so if you're still unclear about something, please don't hesitate to leave a question! And as always, here are the PSDs used in this post that are free to peruse.

[chynandri]

How to Survive Enstars Events Without Wanting to KYS

The event of my Enstars life is coming up next week on the English server (the only server I actively play on): Rouge&Ruby. I can’t describe what Melting Rouge Soul did to my brain in February 2023. It’s an incredibly important song, card, event, story to me! And my goal is to get max copy of Ibara’s card, just as I did for Bogie Time Ibara.

My pride and joy. It’s funny that this card is called ‘Extra Undurable Time’ cuz that is exactly what enstars events are.

However, we don’t play gacha games for fun. We play for collecting the little guy they make you get deeply attached to. If I get adhd hyperfixated I can deal with it. But how the hell did I get max copy Bogie Time Ibara in 2023. I remember how mind numbing it was, even if by some amazing stroke of luck God and the universe created the perfect situation to allow me to no life enstars that week.

So this post is to compile my personal ‘strategies’/mindsets, how to even want to keep playing this game - basically to steel myself for the biggest trial of my ensemble stars ‘career’. Because to me, grinding enstars events is always a battle of the mind more than anything else.

Song events just seem more daunting to me, even if they’re technically ‘easier’ gameplay wise because you can just spam autoplay - compared to manually playing 120 songs for a tour event (and then spamming autoplay). I will not say tour events are better. They’re all their own equally terrible hells to me.

Motivation Notes Staying motivated and focused is SUPER IMPORTANT. I find that visuals like ‘motivational posters’ I make for myself are fun and helpful. See above my specific home screen page JUST for enstars. I don’t really play cnstars, but since that server allows you to change the app icon I use it as additional visualization. Calendar can be helpful for keeping track of how much time you have left.

Customizing your enstars in-game homescreen and profile to match the character you’re working so hard for is also fun. Overall, it’s like a vision board but for your goals in video games (important) instead of real life (not as important).

I have this homescreen for (Ei/)Chiaki purposes but honestly the small movements of the live 2D can be extra sensory input. Treat your brain and eyes like a sensitive little baby.

I REALLY should’ve done this for the Universe event, but as of writing this I’m nearly at the 1 million point goal of getting the Chiaki 4 star card. Now this is the most flat, ‘boring’ layout that will not subtly tire you out.

There needs to be minimal audio and visual stimulation in-game. I found that even changing the MV background to no image but the stage image to be helpful in reducing visual stimulation. Putting the game audio on mute is a good way to reduce audio stimulation. The UI/UX of enstars is clunky, tedious, and busy itself so any effort in reducing its sensory input is a plus.

Simple mode is the most basic you can get. Turn off lyrics here and in the details settings if you want even less stuff on screen.

As much as I love the azukisan notes, a note style that’s not too confusing/designed is probably better too.

Another thing I have not personally tried out for playing the game, but have done so to turn my iPad into an ‘e-reader’ is to turn on greyscale mode for the entire phone. I believe e-readers are usually greyscale to simulate a real book, and to limit distraction. This concept could be used for playing games too… Enstars is quite colorful after all and that is also - sensory input.

Here’s how to toggle greyscale on iOS: Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters

Beyond that, publicly sharing your progress is another source of motivation - whether on social media or with friends. Be careful not to reveal too much info about your account at the same time (exact dia count, don’t show ALL the cards you have, etc.).

But you have to be your own biggest hypeman. Channel the energy of the most annoying and loud characters you know (Chiaki, Madara, and Ibara are good examples - I say this with LOVE AND AFFECTION). Celebrate as many event point milestones as you can. RISE AND GRIND!!!!

Gameplay Notes

Important info to know for song events is what is your highest scoring song. You can use the search button in the Live page to filter all the songs by score.

Favorite it so you can make your song menu as simple as possible. This isn’t relevant for tour events tho.

Song Events: Have not maxed out a song event card before so I don’t have any experience to draw upon. I just go for 10BP sometimes 3-6BP each time as I can’t open the game that often during the day. Maybe it’s not technically efficient but I’d rather not be anxious over keeping track of BP regeneration. Very helpful to turn on notifications for Enstars so it can inform you when your BP and work tickets are at max.

Tour Events: I remember at some point I tried spending 10BP on EACH song even if that is not wise. But still mostly kept to the 3-3-6-10 format. Tried 3-6-6-10 too. Maybe I was just losing my mind during Bogie Time and wanted to mess around with the pattern for some sort of ‘fun’.

I can’t wrap my head around the technical aspects of BP spending strategies tbh. The consistent effort is what matters I think. I will not and do not spend much brainpower on this.

Spending Real Life Money: I did spend Real Life Money on prime mission and the 15 whistles per day perk for bogie time. Did it help? A bit. Did it make me want to die less? Idk it feels good to get extra rewards from playing the game so much from prime mission. I used to subscribe to it more often when I first started playing but have long since stopped. The autoloop song vip perk is useful but if you are playing on your phone - I need to use my phone for other things so I can’t keep the game open to complete loops that long. Perhaps a setup of grinding on a tablet instead would be less anxiety inducing/less to keep track of. But I also use my tablet for other things. So from this angle is it truly an upgrade…?

I think the best deal is to buy as many permanent whistle packs from the store as you can and save them for the event. But especially when they have special deals or at the same time as those top up reward events so you maximize your purchases.

I’m not sure if I will buy VIP or more packs for Rouge&Ruby. I had around 76k dia for Bogie Time and did not burn through it all. I must’ve spent around 50k dia. But I read that song events are much more expensive. I’ve saved over 100k dia this time, but I did also buy/win (thru minigames during events) over 500 permanent whistles. I have no idea how this will all pan out so it will be interesting to see how much I burn through. I feel very prepared, so that’s why I don’t see a need for more store purchases right now.

So basically - of course throwing money at things has its benefits. But if you don’t go all out on the perks and spending, it still requires some willpower I think. I got to 80k dia from clearing every single song/song difficulty in the game, clearing the story objectives, and completing all daily free missions in a period of 3-2 months. The rest came from freebies, stories, or seasonal events as they happened. I didn’t start from 0, I think I had somewhere around 10-20k dia before I decided to painfully farm dia from every single song. I used to diligently complete starry live but I don’t think it’s worth the time for a random amount of dia. This is also why I banned myself from scouting (unless it’s limited cards) - only care about what you can get GUARANTEED. Event cards do not rely on rng.

Event Point Ranking: The validation you get from having a high point rank is great. It’s hard for me to ignore and pushes me to grind more. But I also think it’s bad for my brain to care so much when my goal is NOT tiering for the sake of tiering. It’s an extra source of anxiety. I really don’t have any tips for this but to just try to not look at it. Progress - but also reasonably taking care of yourself - is all that matters. You can’t compete with the hardcore f2ps or whales. Just forget it. I’m not here to excel. I’m here to survive enough to get 22 million points.

Event Card Bonus: I had the 4 star bonus card for bogie time. It did feel helpful, but I’d rather not spend tickets or dia on characters I don’t produce so I won’t try to get them anymore.

Live Score Dia Boost: I’ve never tried using dia to boost my score as it just feels better to me to keep dia for BP purposes.

I think that’s about it… Writing this all out was pretty helpful for outlining what’s in my mind. I genuinely can get so over-excited for things. I was so excited/anxious for New Start Go I had trouble breathing right at the very minute the event started 💀 And I was only getting one card of Hajime. Hopefully this all will help me deal with the mounting anticipation of the Ibara event/song/card ever and maybe something was of use to whomever read all this.

[timeless-fanfic]

Out of Time: Chapter 4

Lost in Translation

Word Count: 1221

Andrew x Reader

The morning air was cool and crisp as the group stepped out of (Y/N)’s apartment and into the bustling city streets. The sound of cars honking and people talking filled the air, a stark contrast to the quiet mornings they had once known by the Sea of Galilee. (Y/N) led the way, pointing out landmarks and answering questions as the disciples tried to make sense of the chaotic modern world around them.

Andrew walked close behind her, his eyes scanning the streets with curiosity. He still felt out of place, but the initial shock of their new surroundings was slowly wearing off. He found himself adapting, relying more and more on (Y/N) to guide him through the strange maze of modern life. She had become a steady presence in the whirlwind of confusion, and for that, Andrew was grateful.

Peter, on the other hand, was still tense. His eyes darted around, taking in the sights, but he remained wary. Thomas asked endless questions about everything from the skyscrapers to the strange contraptions they called "cars," while John lagged behind, his new camera in hand, capturing images of the city as they walked. James, too, had his own quiet focus, already thinking of how he could help those in need in this new time.

As they walked, (Y/N) pointed to a large screen on the side of a building. Bright images flashed across it, accompanied by bold text. Andrew squinted, trying to make sense of it all.

“This,” (Y/N) explained with a grin, “is social media.”

Andrew blinked, confused. “Social what?”

(Y/N) chuckled, pulling out her phone. “Here, I’ll show you. Social media is... well, it’s a way people communicate and share things with others. Photos, stories, ideas... it all happens online.”

Andrew stared at the phone in her hand, still not fully grasping the concept. He had heard about the internet from Matthew, who had already dived into the technical details, but it all seemed so foreign.

(Y/N) opened an app and scrolled through a series of photos and short videos. “See? People post pictures of their lives, their thoughts, or anything they want to share. It’s a way to stay connected with the world.”

Andrew watched the screen, trying to process what she was saying. “But... why would people do this? Why share everything with everyone?”

(Y/N) shrugged, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “It’s just the way things are now. People like to feel connected, even if it’s just through a screen.”

Andrew shook his head, amused. “In my time, we didn’t need screens to feel connected. We had the sea, the stars, and each other.”

She laughed softly, and the sound of it made Andrew’s heart skip. He glanced over at her, noticing the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled.

“You’ve got a point,” she said, her voice teasing. “But I think you’d be surprised how much people depend on this now.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

(Y/N) paused, her fingers stilling on the screen as she considered the question. “Sometimes. But I try not to. I like real connections better.”

Andrew’s smile grew, feeling a warmth spread through him at her words. There was something about her that felt so genuine, so real in a world that seemed so artificial. He had always appreciated simplicity, and (Y/N) had a way of grounding him, even when everything else felt too fast and too overwhelming.

The day wore on as (Y/N) led the group through various parts of the city. Each disciple experienced the modern world differently. Peter stayed on edge, constantly scanning for potential threats. Matthew found himself fascinated by the sheer complexity of the technology around him, while Simon Z questioned how people could live in such a godless place. Even though the city was filled with people, it felt lonely in a way that their small villages had never been.

James, however, was drawn to something else entirely. As they passed by a large building with people lined up outside, he stopped, staring intently.

“What is this place?” he asked.

(Y/N) glanced at the building and recognized the sign above the door. “It’s a shelter for the homeless.”

James’s brow furrowed. “Homeless?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Yeah. People who don’t have homes or money. They come here for food and a place to stay, at least for a little while.”

James stood in silence for a moment, watching as volunteers handed out food to the people in line. He saw the worn clothes, the tired faces, and something inside him stirred. It reminded him of the poor and the beggars in their own time—the ones Jesus had always told them to care for.

“I want to help,” James said quietly, turning to (Y/N). “Can I?”

(Y/N)’s eyes softened. “Of course. They’re always looking for volunteers.”

James gave a determined nod, his mind already set. “This is something I can do. I’ve seen people like this before. It doesn’t matter the time or place—there are always those in need.”

(Y/N) smiled warmly. “I think you’ll be a great help here.”

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the city, the group made their way back to (Y/N)’s apartment. Andrew walked beside her, his mind still spinning from everything he had seen and learned that day. But despite the overwhelming nature of it all, there was a sense of peace in knowing he wasn’t facing it alone.

As they reached her building, (Y/N) turned to Andrew with a playful grin. “So, what did you think of your first full day in the 21st century?”

Andrew chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s... a lot to take in. I’m still trying to understand half of it.”

(Y/N) laughed, her eyes sparkling. “You did pretty well, all things considered. I mean, you’re learning about social media and vending machines. That’s progress!”

He smiled at her, feeling more at ease than he had since they arrived in this strange new world. “It’s easier with you helping us.”

There was a brief moment of silence, and Andrew realized how true those words were. He hadn’t fully understood how much he had come to rely on her presence, her guidance. Being around her felt natural in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

(Y/N) glanced away for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly. “Well, I’m happy to help. You guys are... different, but I like that.”

Andrew’s heart raced a little faster at her words, but he quickly pushed the feeling down, reminding himself of the mission, of the life he had once lived. There wasn’t room for anything else. But that didn’t stop him from smiling a little more around her.

“Thanks,” he said softly, his voice filled with gratitude.

As they made their way inside, Andrew couldn’t help but glance at (Y/N) one last time. She had become more than just a guide through this strange world—she was someone he felt drawn to, someone who understood him in ways he hadn’t expected.

And despite the weight of time and the uncertainty of the future, Andrew found himself holding onto the hope that, somehow, they were meant to find each other in this vast, unfamiliar place.

[squawk-chatterbox]

Jeepers, it’s really tempting to just leave a bit of art like this and then vanish with no context but that seems a bit too much like I’m screaming into some kind of void.

Actually I guess this technically still counts into screaming into some kind of void because I don’t know how tumblr…works? I don’t mind being unseen in the eyes of the vast public currently, I fully believe if I just stay active and keep posting things people will eventually congregate into some amorphous blob I can then manipulate with all the various subliminal messaging in my art.

Haha what? who said that? I’m joking though (for now in this case) because this art doesn’t have anything like that.

But I must satisfy the people who don’t like reading so before the text strays too far from the image…

TL:DR Folks it’s a deceptively peaceful scene, in actuality what you’re seeing is a picture straight from one of the most inhospitable places in this fictional world!

And now if you’ll follow me to the context…

This is a thing I drew for some worldbuilding I’m doing. The location is an environment that was once a rainforest, but too much farming and industry turned it into a bit of a hellscape.

Centuries after, the people have - mostly - learned the errors of their ways and the vegetation is reclaiming the land once more, albeit slowly. Very slowly, for the atmosphere is crippled and the land lacks nutrients, so grass practically owns the landscape, and makes trees kind of a rarity.

It does rain around here, but without a mass of trees the further into the hellscape you travel the less rainfall you’ll see, and the more wildfires because phoenixes absolutely adore a nice sun scorched savannah, it’s practically a playground for them.

Of course, despite all that, where there’s plants, there’s animals to eat those plants, and those wyverns sure animals.

They are grazers, not likely as big as what you may be imagining, they’re a bit smaller than the size of your average coyote. They can also fly, which is helpful in a place that is so hot and dry it spontaneously combusts.

Y’know what auto ignition is? It’s a term that’s used to describe an environment that has enough heat, oxygen, and fuel to get a fire going without a spark. Usually it happens in burning buildings, or where there’s a fuel that’s really combustible.

So, yes, this place is that inhospitable. You thought deserts were bad? Imagine being a dehydrated traveler trying to get through THIS place and suddenly everything from the grass snagging at your clothes to your hat is on fire. So yeah, flying is useful for running away.

Note there’s no real megafauna in this place, it’s not possible, you get caught too far from what remains of the rainforest on a particularly hot day, and can’t book it before noon you’re dead.

[an-alexa-k]

On Yellbot Dot Online

Over on @lazardotsocial I’ve gotten into the habit of writing essays about each generation, discussing generally thoughts on the project. I've been enjoying it, so now I’m going to do that for Yellbot.

Yellbot obviously was inspired by the classic Endless Screaming bot, but also because I had an ActivityPub idea and the yelling was an easy way to try it out. A neat technical detail of Yellbot is that there aren't any accounts or users. I have database tables for posts and follows but nothing for each individual bot. When someone looks at an account, all the information is created on the fly. When I’m making new posts, I look at all the letters people have followed and make posts for them. Until someone looks at or follows a letter, it doesn’t exist and it doesn’t need to exist.

This enables behaviors that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. You couldn’t make Yellbot on twitter - you’d have to create over a billion accounts or get permission to create as many accounts as you wanted, whenever you wanted. Neither option is realistic. But by having my own server and connecting to the larger ActivityPub network, it’s easy. A centralized service could never.

Now, yelling isn’t very valuable but I think this basic structure here could be applied elsewhere. You need two things:

1. Something that can be reference just through a username, like a name, definition of behavior, a start state, etc.

2. A behavior that happens occasionally – those are the posts.

So, you could have

Each account is a zipcode that posts whenever there’s a dangerous weather alert.

Each account is a wikipedia page that posts whenever the page is edited.

An account for every book on Project Gutenberg. When someone follows one it starts posting the book, sentence by sentence (in the style of Bedtime Story Bot). When it finishes, everyone gets unfollowed and the account is deleted, until someone follows again and it restarts.

Something like Sam Lavigne and Tega Brain’s project The Good Life – an account for each e-mail address and it posts each e-mail in real time.

Each account's username defines the rules for a cellular automata and each post is a generation.

Thinking up examples and possible applications lead me to thinking about what kinds of information ActivityPub is suited for. For example, here in Chicago every bus station has a 5 digit code on the sign. You can text to a number to receive schedule updates. So you could make a server with an account for each bus station.

Like this. Image from the Chicago Transit Authority

But what would it post? Nobody wants to know every time a bus arrives at a station. That’s too many posts cluttering up your timeline and all but the most recent one are irrelevant. Similarly, you wouldn’t want to receive the temperature through ActivityPub, because you only care about the current temperature, not all the past temperatures.

When you make a post on Mastodon, your server sends the messages to all the servers of accounts who follow you and they’re responsible for storing and displaying them. That’s the “publish” in ActivityPub. This makes it suited for activities where having the entire history is desirable - you don’t want to know just what your friends said most recently, you want to know everything they said. For cases where only the most recent version counts (like temperatures or buses), you’re better of letting the client request the data when they want it.

(I have loose thoughts here about Robin Sloan’s Spring ‘83 protocol, which is a person-to-person social communication system that doesn’t maintain any kind of history and (if I’m understanding the protocol correctly) doesn’t guarantee that you see every board from the people you follow. You couldn’t build Yellbot (or something equivalent) in Spring ‘83 due to key limitations, but the board format would be well suited for a dashboard type application.)

If your behavior doesn’t happen too often, you could still use ActivityPub and it wouldn’t be too annoying even if you don’t care about history. And it would have the benefit of putting the information someplace you’re already checking. If you’re already checking your the timeline daily, if a piece of info is added in there, you’re guaranteed to see it. That’s a big advantage and in many cases it'll be worth the clutter. I think daily is infrequent enough but exact amount of time would vary by person.

This project was an extension of the ActivityPub implementation I did for Lazar gen 7 and it takes the implementation a couple steps closer to totality. I have another project, which I put on hold to make Yellbot, which requires a complete implementation and it seems a lot more manageable now. So there may be more ActivityPub in the future, although no guarantees about how far in the future.

[lumenflowered]

Hello. My name is Maria. I am a Faller hailing from Yharnam, a place that is comparatively far darker in a literal and figurative sense than this world. If you also hail from there, I would not mind commiserating. If you know of the name Yharnam from elsewhere, my condolences. If you are not familiar with it at all, I would not recommend requesting further information on it without being mentally prepared.

Out of a lack of anything better to do after Falling into the Johto region and a desire to do anything but think extensively upon my past, I embarked upon the local Gym Challenge. Since then, I have forged an alliance with a god considerably kinder than those I am familiar with, driven the cowards calling themselves Team Rocket out of that region, and defeated the previous Champion of the Indigo League.

While I am technically the new Indigo League Champion, I am not yet formally so due to the re-emergence of Team Rocket in the adjacent Kanto region. I will be putting an end to their schemes once and for all, for the machinations of Giovanni pale in comparison to the horrors I witnessed before Falling into this world.

My trainer card is attached above, for I've found that I look rather dashing in it even if the image refuses to embed itself properly, and my team is as follows:

Rakuyo (Meganium, X) Hunter (Furret, F) Molotov (Arcanine, M) Adeline (Gengar, F) Evelyn (Kingdra, F) Eileen (Honchkrow, F)

My Gengar, Adeline, rather enjoys borrowing my Pokégear to make posts for herself or to provide additional commentary on my own. As she is considerably better versed in the technology of this world than I am, I have no qualms with this, and she favors the color purple.

I suppose that Silver does still count as my rival, even if the rivalry was always rather one-sided. She is twelve years old and as such does not borrow my blog often, but when she has occasion to, she uses blue. She is currently undercover and has requested that I and others refer to her as a girl until she no longer has need to be. She is a girl now and you will refer to her as such.

On occasion, Ho-oh utilizes this platform and blog to communicate with me and with others. They do so in bolded orange text, and have since chosen an additional name that they use interchangeably with that of their species: Solaire.

The first person I met in this world was a ten-year-old boy named Ethan. He introduced me to his mother, Reina, a woman who I hold in great esteem and bear much affection for. Though I do not anticipate either of them having much reason to use my blog again, both did appear in conjunction once—Reina using pink, and her son using yellow.

(Unfortunately, the color yellow seems to have been removed since then, and Ade is uncertain as to how one might go about restoring it. On the off chance Ethan does ever have reason to come here again, I suppose I will ask him what he would prefer instead.)

Recently, there was an... incident... where my Pokégear was stolen from me via Pelipper Mail, and delivered to a woman in the same world as I. This woman referred to herself as simply "Dee", favoring green text to differentiate her posts from my own, and did eventually return my device... if not face to face.

For the most part, I can only speculate as to what the truth about Dee may be, but I know she has some association with the individual who stole my Pokégear in the first place (whose messages were all sent in bolded red text, oddly enough) and I have reason to suspect that they may be a Faller from Yharnam as well.

I do not know why, or how, I have come here. I suppose it ultimately matters little; the people of Johto have shown me great kindness, and I have no intention of allowing Team Rocket to continue their heinous acts any longer. I simply have to locate them, first...

(OOC info under cut!)

Still @ofstormsandfire, still way too invested in my silly little pokeblog where I thought it would be funny to throw a bloodborne boss (and perhaps some others...) into the world of pokemon. I already had three pokeblogs, but I realized I could do really cool things with a faller blog, and I'm so normal about Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, come closer.

Worth keeping in mind that Maria is an ex-Bloodborne boss (she lost her bossfight, that's how she got here) and so canon-typical themes for that will be unlikely to faze her as much as they would the average pokeblog or even the average faller. This includes, but isn't limited to: death, blood, cosmic horror, nightmares, probably some other things I'm forgetting. I do my best to tag for stuff but if you'd like me to tag for something else, just ask!

Some navigational tags for y'all (if I could figure out how to make them chronological, I would):

#firebird arc: I smashed together the Radio Tower plot and the Ho-oh plot, made the Kimono Girls more relevant, and also ramped up the stakes a little. Called that because Ho-oh is a firebird and also I'm 90% sure there's a kind of rocket called the Firebird. I like puns. I also put way too much effort into this and I regret nothing.

#from the ashes arc: I made Giovanni a significantly larger threat, threw a full on Rocket base into Tohjo Falls, and traumatized Silver a whole bunch. Please mind the tags on this one; someone dies here, though they don't stay that way for more than five minutes.

#kanto rocket arc: Remember what I said about Giovanni being a Threat? Team Rocket is actually up to more than a little petty crime in Kanto, and posts relating to that will be tagged with this.

#milf time and sonboy hours: The fairly brief takeover by Ethan and his mom (mostly his mom) on Valentine's Day. They might show up again sometime, you never know.

#passing stranger: Posts made by or in relation to someone known only to you, and to Maria, as "Dee" for the time being. While Dee's true identity is currently unknown, it seems that she knows Maria... even though Maria doesn't know her. (This tag will be reused; "Dee" will be returning, and you'll likely even know who she is by then!)

#rainbow wings: That time Ho-oh showed up on the blog specifically to tell Maria to take a break. Same tag is used whenever Ho-oh turns up now, which is not particularly often but does happen.

#what's with this sassy lost child?: The Silver takeover, as well as future posts by her. Has a Crobat. She's not sure how to feel about that one. Has also spent a nonzero amount of time attempting to steal Maria's drip via cosplay.

#ask game: Reblogs of ask games and responses to asks for said ask games. Fairly self-explanatory.

#hints to the future: Bits of prose foreshadowing things to come, because I got really into that one ask game with the gears. (I'm always open for that particular ask game, btw, no matter how long it's been since I last reblogged it. I can always think of something.)

#the vampire allegations: A couple of people made jokes about Maria being a vampire. Admittedly, she is from Cainhurst which is the closest Bloodborne gets to proper vampires, and I thought it would be really funny to have her be allergic to garlic for legitimately mundane reasons.

[dorefasolsido]

35.

Habits

Do you tend to speed when you drive?

Not normally. I've learned my lesson with two speeding tickets (I overstepped the limit by just a bit) and I'm not giving my money to this country or any related institutions more than I have to.

Do you smoke cigarettes?

Nope. I tried one once just to see how it is and I hated it. Never felt the peer pressure either since most of my friends don't smoke.

Does your temper flare a lot?

No, when that happens you know it's serious since I really am super phlegmatic.

Do you get emotional easily?

Again, not too easily. I mean, I think I'm a fairly sensitive person deep inside, but there's no way in hell I'm letting other people see that side of me unless they are really close to me. And even then.

Do you get obnoxious when you're drunk?

I don't think so. I've never been 100% drunk, so I can't honestly say, but I think I'm kinda the same as I normally am, only more relaxed and fun. Like, I'm way less in my head and care much less about what other people might think about me, so I can talk more openly.

Which shoe goes on first?

I think I do the right first.

Are you lazy?

I probably am. Tbh, I'm a weird mixture of a workaholic and couch potato. I don't know how it works, but yes, I can procrastinate forever but I can also work 12+ hours when deadlines approach. And I hated those two weeks I was basically jobless this summer. Although at the same time, I love taking days off.

Name one thing you do that people always tell you about.

Mmm, nothing specific comes to mind right now.

Are you superstitious?

So listen, I'm not really superstitious, but I like my lucky charms and I find such things generally interesting. I think they're a fun part of the culture.

Do you get bored with relationships quickly?

Well no, but I also struggle with my avoidant personality very much.

Can you sleep without blankets covering you?

Normally not, it's just comfier to have at least something covering you.

What position do you sleep in?

On the side (well, more like half stomach) without a pillow.

What do you do when you're angry?

Well, I usually go quiet and talk very little to others, especially those that pissed me off.

What do you do when you're sad?

Depends, if I'm alone then I just snuggle up in my blanket on the floor and watch videos or shows I find comforting. And preferably eat some chocolate.

Who do you call when you have a bad day?

I don't, I prefer to be alone then.

YOUR ABC'S

A - is for the last person that made you ANGRY.

My friend for not responding to a text for days. I'm not very demanding when it comes to texting, but geez, at least once in a day would be nice.

B - is for BEER you prefer.

I don't have a preference, beer is kinda gross. I still drink it sometimes because it's the easiest to order, but yeah.

C - is for do you have a CAT?

Yeees.

D - is for can you DANCE?

Lol, I don't know if I can but I love to.

E - is for do you have your EARS pierced?

I do, several times.

F - is for your best FRIEND.

Sam.

G - is for did you ever watch GUTS on Nickelodeon?

I've never even heard of it. But I didn't actually have Nickelodeon growing up.

H - is for the last person who HUGGED you?

I honestly have no clue who it was. I don't get many hugs, if that hasn't been clear lol

I - is for close your eyes.. what IMAGE do you see?

Like those weird star thingies you see when you close your eyes. And red blackness.

J - is for have you ever been to JAIL?

Nope.

K - is for when is the last time you flew a KITE?

I don't think I ever did.

L - is for the LOVE of your life.

Well if we don't count Park Jimin... which we don't because he doesn't know I exist, then no one.

M - is for the last piece of MAIL you got.

Probably some bills. I should check my post office though, I ordered something that should probably have arrived by now.

N - is for do you remember NERF guns?

I do.

O - is for do you OWN a car?

I don't yet, but my parents will soon give me and my sister their old car since they got a new one. So I technically will own one.

P - is for your favorite PASTTIME.

Doing surveys, reading, watching stuff on YT or wherever, scrolling through apps, etc.

Q - is for do you like peace & QUIET?

I definitely do. But I also like chaos.

R - is for do you like the color RED?

I'm okay with it.

S - is for how many hours of SLEEP you need to function?

My phone actually tracks that now, it turns out I get like 5.30h on average almost every day. And I feel totally fine with that, but I probably shouldn't.

T - is for what TIME is it?

1:19 PM

U - is for what is UNDER your bed?

Nothing, I think. I hope.

V - is for what you did last VALENTINE'S day.

Nothing, Valentine's is nothing special for me.

W - is for do you drink a lot of WATER?

Not as much as I should, though I've increased the intake a bit.

X - is for have you ever had an X-RAY?

When I was little yes, and also one for my wisdom tooth.

Y - is for the last person you YELLED at.

I actually have no clue. It's extremely rare that I yell at someone.

Z - is for have you ever watched ZORRO?

Nope.

RANDOM

Who do you wish you could hang out with right now?

Tbh no one right now. I haven't seen anyone aside from my sister for almost a week, but I don't really mind. I'm honestly just tired of always pushing for plans and waiting for people to answer messages and then them suddenly cancelling plans and so on and so on. So I decided not to bother this weekend and I just stayed at home.

Name one thing you absolutely can not stand.

Andrew Tate fans.

Where do you spend most of your time?

In my room, probably.

If you could fly, where would you go first?

Japan.

What was the best vacation you've ever been on?

Thassos in 2007, such fun times.

Have you ever hit a squirrel when you were driving?

No, and I hope I never do.

Did your car ever break down?

One time I think something was with its battery while I was driving, but we resolved that.

What's your favorite thing to do on the weekend?

Hang out with my friends, which is why they piss me off so much with their constant indecisiveness and inability to get to their damn phones and answer. Actually, I know they are on their phones, which only makes it worse.

What radio station do you listen to most often?

I don't normally listen to the radio unless I'm in the car.

Pick one: Papa John's, Dominoes, or Pizza Hut.

I've never tried any of these.

What is the longest amount of time you've been awake?

Like hours? Idk, less than 48, more than 24.

What would you do if you found out the world was ending in one week?

Lol I don't know. I guess I'd follow the development on social media or something. Also, I'd just quit all of my jobs and do nothing all day.

Do scary movies make you paranoid when you watch them alone?

No, or at least not seriously paranoid. A little bit, yeah, but that's exactly the charm.

Name one thing you've lied about recently.

I'm not sure, it was probably something really small and silly. But I always lie about the smallest things because it's more convenient or because I don't want the other person to feel bad or whatever. Like, for example, if I make plans to meet with someone and wait for a long time, when they ask me how long I've waited, I just say 5-10 minutes.

What is the worst movie you've ever seen?

I don't know, because some movies are so bad they are good. I'm trying to think of one that really pissed me off, but nothing comes to mind right now.

Who was the first person to ever give you flowers?

Not sure about the first person, but one friend gave me a sunflower for my birthday which was super cute but I made it super awkward and I still hate myself for it lol. Tom, I'm sorry, man.