#the bottom right clip is one of my fave fave faves

[httpiastri]

this made me wanna share a few of my all time fave lando nose scrunches <3<3

[moe-broey]

Miwabiwis.......

I actually do like her official outfit! I just... had a deep need.... put that girl in a nightgown and slippers RIGHT NOW‼️‼️‼️‼️ Also it is admittedly so much easier to draw 🧍

I did try to keep in line with most of her official look though! Or add more emphasis to little details, like the red berries... other details I added, like the bloomers, keep the roundness of her og dress! BUT ALSO.... they are just so cutes.... I imagine they're made of rose petals...... I was also thinking angelic motifs. With the dress shape, and the smaller wings shaped as such!

[lemonandpie]

Sladick for the ask game :)

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when I started shipping it if I did: Saw a clip of TT!Slade monolouging while pressing Dick into the ground. My brain came back online just in time to see Dick to fall into a Slade obsessed spiral, and Slade to return the favor, and now I'm stuck at the bottom of this pit.

my thoughts: I fangirl over them so much i'm honestly struggling to come up with something new. Good ship, they feed me well

What makes me happy about them: I am hero/villain trash and every time they do something absolutely unholy to the other I get giddy. But also they genuinely fucking like each other, it's the best

What makes me sad about them: The untouched yet wasted potential of the apprentice arc. It's what, two episodes in TT, not in the comics, not in the live action Titans, give me more goddammit. The reason why every fic has bits of it is because it's a great premise and apparently no one recently cares about making Dick Grayson interesting

things done in fanfic that annoys me: tbh I wish there were more fics set during the Renegade arc where Dick actually wants to escape. Don't get me wrong, I love when Dick ends up completely broken by Slade, and I love fic of Nightwing having to reconcile his past with Slade, but I'd love more fic of how we get to A to C

things I look for in fanfic: I feel like the thing that really sets apart my fave Sladick fics is when it's obvious just how much Slade admires Dick. Related to the prev, I think Sladick works best when Dick is setting Slade's competency kink off hard.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: When it comes to Sladick specifically I am all for Dick ending up with Kori. It just feels like the right move for me

My happily ever after for them: I've said it before, but I kinda love when Slade knows he isn't going to get to keep Dick. Canon universe has their morals be too firmly set for them to end up together. So for me, a happy ending would be for them to be... hookup partners, I guess. Slade helps the heroes out just enough. Dick comes to him for advice or help. They have mindblowing sex, and then Slade moves on to his next job. But they will always have a next time.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Slade is the biggest of big spoons, but also someone please draw Slade being spooned by Dick it would be great

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Trying to outsmart each other that counts even if it's totally their foreplay

[mouldymp3rotations]

0824-011

Part IV of my 20th anniversary series !

Part I Part II Part III

This post was brought to you by Node of Scherzo before Versailles even was a thing :D I was really, really excited when Versailles happened, and even more when they teamed up with Kaya and Juka to make Node of Scherzo. Here's why lol (ok there are no Juka songs here but eeeeeh)

As usual : Song titles link to individual mp3 file download

All 5 songs can also be downloaded together, in a zip file, from the link at the bottom

藍華柳~aikaryu - すすめ!パイレーツ (susume! pirates)

Aikaryu being Teru's band before Versailles :)

Another iconic piece from Aikaryu, probably their best, imo, that still makes me wish their van never crashed (but then again, if that didn't happen, maybe Teru and Hizaki wouldn't have started working together, and they do riff well together aaah...)

Susume! Pirates was on the mini-album 海賊盤~Aye.藍.sir~ (kaizokuban~aye. ai. sir~ more puns from our buddy aikaryu uhuhuh), released in 2004.

aaah, indie goodness ♥

HIZAKI - Ritual (featuring fu-ki from BLOOD)

... Well Hizaki was also Hizaki before versailles, I suppose. His solo career is pretty solid, though ! I was already vaguely aware of BLOOD at the time, and this song convinced me to look further into it :)

This version of Ritual was on Maiden†Ritual, released in 2004 (it was somewhat self-covered under HIZAKI grace project and sung by Juka a few years later, but Juka's falsetto is so bad you might as well stick to the fuki version ahahhaah)

LAREINE - Scarlet Majesty

Lareine being one of Kamijo's bands before versailles, if I even needed to introduce him...

Now this was one of the first Lareine song I heard, I don't remember what was the very first, but this one was the one that made me love Lareine :3 And it's another one of these songs I didn't realized was so new, at the time... (but also, in my head, somehow, lareine disbanded in 2001 LOL)

Scarlet Majesty was a single released in 2003.

Malice Mizer - au revoir

The thing is, I thought that malice would suit the mood better than m10m (but then again here's Schwarz Stein at the end lmao), especially right after Lareine, AND once you've heard one m10m song, you've pretty much heard it all (there's one in the 1st post of the series ;) ), BUT that statement isn't true about Malice. I've done Klaha era, now here's Gackt lolz. (also Juka wouldn't be Juka without a good Gackt base, so eh...) (also, also : i'm pretty sure that at least Közi showed up to a node of scherzo event, back then, iirc)

Also, ngl, I chose between this, Le Ciel, and Bel Air, and I'm not sure how I elected au revoir... It might just be that Mana's flower costume is my fave of all time ♥

Au revoir was a single released in 1997.

(enjoy this non-crunchy clip omfgoth im always emotional when I actually see it and I dont have to guess what the pixels mean T^T)

Schwarz Stein - Rise to Heaven

Schwarz Stein being Kaya's band bef... WELL. They were active from 2001 to 2004, and have been semi active since 2011. Kaya started his solo career in the meantime, partaking in several side projects, including Node of Scherzo. (And Hora spent his time buying shoes and living (?) in Hawaii, I guess...)

IT'S THE FIRST SCHWARZ STEIN SONG I EVER HEARD !!! At the time, this, queen of decadence and fester love was all I could find on lime wire lol. And it stayed like that until a parental unit gifted me a legit copy of New Vogue Children (there were a lot of "miya records" copies circling on ebay, back then). So anyway, I heard that and I fell in love and it's been 20 years and counting :D

Rise to Heaven was on the album New Vogue Children, released in 2003

Bonus because it was already uploaded in mega :

Node of Scherzo, featuring Teru, Hizaki, Juka, Kamijo, and Kaya here, and among others

Node of Scherzo was a series of concert put up together by versailles, Kaya, and Juka, in 2007. They basically created a musical based on beauty (lol) involving a love triangle and songs from Versailles, Hizaki grace project, and Kaya's solo career. After the released of Carmilla, it became a vampire story as well.

NoS also paved the way for the monstrosity that is JVM Roses Blood Symphony lol

.zip file downloadable HERE~

[thelivingmemegod]

What are your thoughts on Rainbow High series 3?

Number 3, Budget and Normal dolls!

Emi Vanda!

Emi is…a doll. Her budget is really a nothing burger and her full price is. E h?

She feels very all over the place. She’s got like 7 different shades of purple or magenta going on and it’s throwing everything off.

The basic shapes of her first outfit; the baggy sweater, pleated skirt and high boots-are all good ones! But the ribbons around her boots and the colores are fighting with each other.

Her second one is the same formula; good base, good shapes. But here the color, patterns and the ribbons on her shoes are throwing it really hard. The gold heels, but black bottoms and magenta toe caps are so…why-

Note: my lovely Qpp and the asker of the question, @the-lavender-creator actually has a full price Emi with some god awful hair rooting.

Gabriella Icely!

Not a fave but a solid doll!

My only real gripe is that her first outfit shoes and the second outfit jacket….what is that teal. It’s not bad but ehhhhhh I don’t love it.

The rest though? Fabulous! I especially love her skirt chain in the first outfit I’d love that as a real belt. I love the studded heels from outfit two and the choker…she makes it work. Also like the hair clips throughout!

Budget doll is meh but she still looks good

Daphne Minton!

Loving herrrr- singular question is that lil tie on her skirt but that’s mini

Another doll with very swappable clothes between outfits! Love the reflective gold on the first outfit. I like her strappy heels and the gold accents and her shoes matching her stand: Slay-

Outfit two is another I’d LOVE in real life. Give me that settttt. Love her big ass hoops

Her budget is actually cute! It really just looks like the first outfit on a day with a smaller tie and like she took off her jacket. And didn’t curl her hair. She looks good!

Sheryl Meyer!

Literally Cher Horowitz from Clueless a little to the left and I LOVE that for her.

Love the two layer dress, love the three button, double breasted blazer, love her belt, love the high socks and yellow shoes, adore her earrings and BROWN EYES and fantastic hair- I don’t even hate the shirt underneath the jacket-

As for outfit too…I wish they just gave her a sweater vest and a shorter, opaque button down. Shoes are still a slay, skirt is beautiful. Love her headband

Budget Sheryl…sure looks budget- it’s giving 50s house wife and not in a good way. Hair still slays though.

Georgia Bloom!

Adorableeeee she can have my heart and soul I love her from her hair clips, curls and Brown eyes to the sneakers I want right now.

Second outfit is vast majority a second verse same as the first, but RH I will come to your house if you don’t stop making see through shoes.

Other then that I have no notes other then I, for some reason, Think Jewel Richie is her cousin.

Budget….why is her hair a completely different color-

AND ONCE AGAIN STOP MAKING SEE THROUGH SHOES.

Aside from that this almost feels like pajamas- just make the shorts a knit set rather then denim and boom. It would be better as a sleep set-

Daria Roselyn!

I AM GRINDING MY TEETH I WANT HER JACKET SO BAD. I again, don’t mind the shirt under her dress and the dress itself is just fine. I wish the soles of her shoes were opaque but that’s my only problem, they’re adorable otherwise and I’d love to have them.

Outfit two looks BOSSY. Thats a boss bitch right there. She is walking into the office and sending everyone spiraling, this is editor in chief at RUNWAY BABY

I do pray for her feet in those skinny ass heels though.

Budget…I wish the main doll had the budget shoe soles. Dress is still fine. WHERE DID HER LIPLINER GO.

The only reason main Daria’s lip color doesn’t look crazy is cuz it looks like she lined her lips with brown and filled in with pink, budget Daria did n o t-

[terastalungrad]

BB20: Wednesday 11 October

"You don't have to be clever to be in a boarding school, it's all down to your parents, what they can afford."

Big fan of Farida explaining this to Zak in front of boarding school-educated Henry.

Shopping task is to pretend to be a company. Yinrun, Trish and Henry become bigwigs, so they're in charge. And they wear big wigs. Those are two Steff faves, and the Tory himbo.

Four days in, Hallie continues speak directly into the cameras to address Big Brother. Iconique. We have no choice but to stan. Etc.

Bigwigs get to decide who will be middle management, and who will be the Bottoms (language that reassures me that ITV haven't forgotten Big Brother's core demographic of filthy queers).

Instinctively, I feel like the right choice is to make middle managers out of the housemates most likely to sulk. Olivia, Chanelle, maybe Kerry. I bet that's not what they've done.

Okay, wow, the only one of those three they've picked is Kerry. This will cause discord, you mark my words.

Dylan, Zak and Paul will be solid Bottoms I reckon. Yep. I said what I said.

Aw, I'm so right about Zak. He's been amazing so far, actually. Very good for morale, very good at ending conflict before it begins.

Oh no, the power of middle management has gone right to Kerry's head. Calling a meeting when there's nothing to discuss - except for her disapproval of Zak's approach of being nice to the Bottoms so everyone's on side. Kerry favours an approach where the middle managers make every decision and force the Bottoms to do what they say.

Meals are provided - more luxurious food for those higher up the food chain. Kerry complains about her perfectly lovely middle manager meal.

Kerry's going to cause a lot of conflict this series I reckon. On the first night, she was asked to pick the worst-dressed housemate. She picked Jenkin, who lost his suitcase, and I thought she'd failed to understand the premise of the game - that the housemate she picked would face a punishment.

Now, I've changed my mind. I think she knew full well - and it simply didn't matter. She's a no-nonsense person, by the book. You ask her to pick the worst-dressed housemate, that is exactly what she'll do. She won't pick a second choice instead, even if her first choice has already been given multiple punishments.

Kerry's told to be a middle manager, and that's what she does. Doesn't matter that this isn't really a company - that this is just a task within a TV show. The moment she's given that role, she expects absolute obedience. Not only from those underneath her, but from her fellow middle managers too.

Henry has a Big Brother mug with the new logo on it. Let me be very clear that I want one of these mugs.

I wonder who wins this sort of Big Brother? I'd love it to be Hallie. I reckon Jordan stands a very good chance.

People on the internet hate Olivia, so I'm automatically on her side. Not fun seeing her clash with Zak, though. The Bottoms are all doing a tedious job - sorting hundreds of paper clips by colour - and Zak comes to keep up their spirits.

Olivia's annoyed by his presence - but that's unreasonable, so she needs to think of a good reason to resent him. "I know you love being in charge," she says. But - he isn't here on a power trip. He either wants people to be happy, or he wants to be liked. Either way, he's absolutely not motivated by wanting to rub people's nose in his status.

Tell you a video game I like - KeyWe, which Tumblr recommended to Elanor. Co-op game where you play as two kiwis who get a job in a post office. You obviously cannot single-handedly do the job of an actual human, but with two of you, you can get basic tasks done. Anyway, the task where Paul and Zak sort through post IS this game, down to the final detail. It even has troublesome animals, in the form of pigeons who shit on you.

Interesting - Yinrun feels like nobody except Trish and Henry speak to her very much.

Now listen. I love Farida and Kerry. But I would not stay in a job where if they were my managers.

"I honestly thought we were going to be bored," says Farida of the show so far. She really hadn't banked on the ITV version being so full of action.

Aw, Hallie checking in on Kerry is adorable.

A really sweet generational thing. Hallie wants to offer physical comfort, but only on Kerry's terms. So even as Kerry starts to tear up, Hallie doesn't hug her - but holds out her arms, which Kerry can choose to take or not.

And Kerry doesn't take Hallie's arms, because she's a different generation. Instead, she says, "Have you smelled this?" and offers Hallie a nice-smelling product. And then Hallie DOES hug her.

Ahh, Hallie has absolutely clocked Farida's need for control.

Fair play to Kerry - she has the idea to let the Bottoms decide on the shopping if they win the task. That's really nice.

Oh no, but Farida is dead against the idea!! Actually, maybe I've been too quick to judge Kerry's management. She's really good here.

Zak comforting Hallie. Steff faves unite! ... oh, is Zak a Steff fave now? I suppose he is!

The bigwigs talk about demoting Farida, since she wants to do the Bottoms' pointless busywork. But that's not going to work, is it? Farida's not going to become easier to manage when she feels she has less control.

Who gets voted out in a show like this?? On Channel 4, we'd lose the most-hated housemate. Sources of drama would be in trouble - probably Farida, since Olivia's immune.

On Channel 5, we'd lose the least-loved housemate. Someone who's failed to stand out. Noky could be in trouble, just because she's not been especially prominent.

Farida thinks Kerry is conniving! She isn't, Farida. You're annoyed about Kerry wanting to let the Bottoms choose the shopping. That is ... the opposite of conniving? Right? That's Kerry wilingingly conceding power and control to reward the hardest workers. The most cynical possible reading is that Kerry wants to be liked.

[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

100 questions

How long have you been online today?

off and on the last few hours in between dozing

First name?

Morgan

Middle name?

not saying

Age?

turn 31 next month

Male or Female?

female

What part of the world are you from?

Pennsylvania

How tall are you?

6′0″

How’s your hair?

few inches past the shoulder and brown

What’s your favorite color?

black, cerulean blue

What color(s) are you wearing right now?

black, blue (jeans)

What’s your shoe size?

11.5 wide in women’s shoes, which means about 10/10.5 in men’s

Who owns the computer you are on?

me

What is the first thing you see when you look in the mirror?

everything I hate

What was the last dream you remember about?

all I remember was it was very vivid and fucked up nightmare

Do you have any birthmarks?

no

Do you have any tattoos?

yeah a Harry Potter one on the inside of my right wrist

Do you have any peircings?

yeah, the standard one in each ear and belly button ring

How many siblings do you have?

a stepsister by marriage and a biological half brother I’ve never met

What’s your favorite type of music?

just about most of it, I’m not real picky

What’s the worst song ever?

oh lord...Baby Shark and WAP are a good tie for me

What’s your favorite movie?

this is never possible to answer cause there’s way too many

How long ago did you watch it for the first time?

-----

What’s the worst movie ever?

can’t think of one right now but I know there’s many lol

When was the last time you went to the theatres?

last year to see Jurassic World: Dominion...way overdue for theater popcorn!

What’s your favorite show?

too many to list, same as songs and movies

What’s the worst show on television?

ugh all the reality shows like 90 Day Fiance, The Bachelor, that new one with multiple husbands or married to twins...like seriously??!

What’s in your pocket right now?

bobby pins, my carabiner (big clip with multiple keys/keychains on it altogether) 

What is your first childhood memory?

sneaking out of bed in the morning to go watch tv at Mimi’s (grandma who passed in 97) when she’d be babysitting me and getting caught lol

Are your parents still together?

nope, dad/stepmom and mom’s been single since

Are you adopted?

no

Are you strait, gay/lesbian, bi, or unsure?

straight

Are you in a relationship?

engaged

For how long?

been together since Feb 13/14 of 2016 so 7 years, engaged since Christmas day of 2020

Ever been in love?

yeah more than once

Are you in love now?

yes whole heartedly

Do you have kids?

not yet

Do you want kids?

eventually

Do you drink? How often?

recovering alcoholic so...

Do you smoke? How often?

yeah, half a pack to a pack of menthol cigs a day

Do you do drugs? What? How often?

no

Look left: What do you see?

coffee table, tv, fan

Look right: What do you see?

bathroom, kitchen

Are you right or left handed?

lefty and proud of it

Can you say the alphabet backwards?

hell no lol

How long are your fingernails?

short

Is your bedroom a mess?

ha mess is an understatement

What’s under your bed?

nothing it’s a day bed that pulls out and has drawers in the bottom so it’s on the floor no space in between

Do you keep a journal or diary?

no I used to, and used to blog on here a lot but it just turned into shares of interests and surveys lol

Do you have a house phone, cell phone, or both?

both but the landline is only for emergencies, we never use it. cell phones are our lifeline

Can you keep a secret?

yeah

What color are your curtains?

we have blinds and they’re beige

Do you remember faces or names more easily?

honestly I suck at both, it’s hard to really say if one’s slightly easier than the other

What did you eat for supper last night?

pizza and loaded potato

Who made it?

a restaurant here called Cousin’s

What is your favorite school subject?

was* and English Lit was always one of my top faves that I always aced, really loved Social Studies too

Are you in school? What grade?

nope I’m old lol I graduated 2010

How long have you been out?/When do you graduate?

13 years, graduated 2010

Can you do a handstand?

used to when I was a kid and in gymnastics but not anymore

What’s your favorite game to play?

I’m a gamer! some of my main faves are Pokemon, Zelda, Tony Hawk, Kingdom Hearts, Harry Potter, Spyro, Super Mario...also Candy Crush and Pokemon GO

I also love board games, and I’m a crosswords addict!

What’s your favorite sport?

to play, basketball and golf. to watch, football and baseball

Would you rather watch sports on TV or go to the game?

oh lord I’d love to go to a game again I’ve only ever been to one Yankee game! but yeah preferably watch at home

Ever broken a bone?

I made it 21 years without any, unfortunately late 2013 I finally did it...broke my right collarbone :|

Ever had surgery?

many for skin tumor removals and jaw cyst removals due to my rare form of cancer I was born with 

Ever embarrassed yourself in public?

psshh a lot yeah

What happened?

a variety of different things, nothing real crazy just usual small stuff most everybody’s had happen one or twice in their lives lol

Ever had a long distance relationship?

had to due to deployment with my ex, he was active Air Force at the time and it was hell...never again.

Ever had an online relationship?

not exclusively online, however I have dabbled in dating sites, the last of which is how I met my fiance so it finally after several horror stories worked out in the end :D

Would you ever do it/do it again?

hopefully not

What do you hear right now?

TV in the background

What are you afraid of?

the dark, complete silence, being abandoned, losing everyone I love especially due to death, spiders, heights above a certain point, failure...

Do you like scary movies?

fuckin LOVE THEM!

Ever gotten a prank phone call?

no

Are you thirsty?

not really

What was the last thing you had to drink?

drinking Pepsi right now

How well can you hoola hoop?

enough to pass lol

Who is the most annoying person you know?

mom

What is your dream job right now?

I’m currently in a place mentally where I’m interested in being a criminal investigator or reporter

What was your dream job in kindergarten?

to be a vet

Do you have a job now? What?

haven’t worked in 5 years due to medical condtions that lost me 3 jobs in just under a year the last I was working...once I have a car again which should be pretty soon, I’m gonna apply for DoorDash this way I’m working again but it’s as little physicality as possible to make it easier 

What would you do with $1,000,000?

pay off debt, save up for us to move, finally plan our wedding and have it

Do you have any pets?

yeah a cat named Danyell (inside joke on the spelling) 

Do you have any hidden talents?

I personally don’t think so but who knows?

Are you double jointed?

my thumbs are

Can you dance?

hell no I’m a white girl all the way with no rhythm lol

What color are your eyes?

blue

Do you need glasses/contacts?

glasses, I’m severely nearsighted I need em all the time

When is your birthday?

May 1992

What would be the best present?

given my current situation over this past year, a car

What is the worst present you ever received?

a screaming match of family drama and domestic violence.

What is your pet peeve?

got several lol being interrupted, competition with experiences like someone always has to one up you and make it like their life is way worse than yours for attention kind of thing, triggers, slow drivers, being ignored, judgmental assholes, entitled people...etc.

What did you do last Saturday?

waited for my fiance to finally get home from a job in New Zealand to be home for a little over a week before he has to go back next week

Did you shower today?

nope

If you were one of Snow White’s seven dwarfs, which one would you be?

Dopey or Sleepy, for sure

What will you do after you finish this survey?

probably another one lol I’m bored

How much sleep did you get last night?

an hour or so here and there...basically shit sleep

What kind of chair are you sitting in?

I’m stretched out on the couch

Ever been to jail? For what?

no thank god

When you go swimming do you like oceans, lakes, or pools?

ocean’s fine, long as I don’t go out too far but it’s usually pools

What is the temperature outside?

49 degrees F

What do you want the temperature to be?

around low 70s F

Congratulations and here’s the last question:

okay

What did you think of it, be honest:

it was alright

[salds-miegs]

okay here we finally go: my opinions/first impressions of all 37 eurovision songs.

i listened through them all in alphabetical order by country, choosing a live/national selection clip where available except for albania and ukraine, which i understand have both revamped their song since the selection (i mean i know ukraine has, re: albania i might have hallucinated reading about it?). spoilers: my bottom 3 are poland, israel, and san marino.

albania - i pretty much like albania every year, and i enjoy them this year as well.

armenia - i guess i liked this more than i expected? which isn't to say i liked it much, but, still.

australia - i liked it but not as much as i expected to. i think this will become one of my favourites once i start hearing the song for what it is and not for what i expected, you know? this is kind of why it's hard to do a first reaction when you've already seen other people's opinions and promotional material etc bcos right now i'm reacting more to the gap between "the song" and "what i thought the song would be like", as opposed to just the song itself, and that's going to be a theme throughout this reaction honestly.

austria - first impression: a banger. i feel like i have to return to this one to fully Get It.

azerbaijan - huh. i think i do actually like this one but not in a way i can totally justify.

belgium - camp!!!! is this song anything fresh or groundbreaking? no. is it really fun and giving 00's eurovision? it sure is and i love that for belgium.

croatia - i like that this is at eurovision, i like the vibes, but idk if the song itself is anything too special. that said i don't think that's the point.

cyprus - snoozefest lol.

czechia - i feel like i really enjoyed most of the song but then it also had parts that completely fell flat for me? i'd still rank it as one of my favourites though

denmark - hmm. i feel like the song was just okay, with a side of that vocal effect really not working for it. it might be fine in the studio version but i listened to the live and you know. eurovision's gonna be live. so.

estonia - this is another song that's really giving 00's eurovision but in a very different way to belgium. i find it hard to really say anything about it bcos i can't figure out whether i like it, or whether my 12-y.o. self would like it, you know what i mean?

finland - okay well i have heard this one before. i watched umk. someone i know compared his outfit to vihreät kuulat and i think that's the best way to describe how i feel about this song actually. this song is a vihreä kuula. i enjoy it, in general i think it's one of the best things to come out of finland, but also i get sick of it very quickly.

france - i always enjoy france at eurovision, so. no one will be surprised to hear i like this.

georgia - hmm. this didn't sound like a song made to be performed live. i think with this one and armenia i'm really going to have to wait until i do hear them live to figure out how i feel about them.

germany - i know a lot of people really liked this but… i didn't, sorry. i didn't like how it felt like the song kept stopping and starting, and even aside from that, it just wasn't for me.

greece - see: cyprus.

iceland - it's fine. i liked the vibes of the performance but the song itself was just okay.

ireland - it's fine.

israel - i found myself rolling my eyes at this one, and there was some cringing as well. one of my least faves rip

italy - it's impossible for italy to send a bad song to eurovision, credit where credit is due. but have they not sent this one before?

latvia - it's fine.

lithuania - it's fine.

malta - fun!

moldova - overall i liked it but it did also leave me with some questions. very much the sort of thing that appeals to me at eurovision though.

netherlands - so i reviewed all the songs before listening to them just for my own notes and for this one i wrote: "i won't like this at first and then it'll grow on me". i was right about a lot of the songs and i was right about this one. i think this'll be very lovely live on stage.

norway - i expected to be blown away by this, based on the hype, but instead i only liked it just fine.

poland - i went to karaoke night at my local dive bar last week and heard better performances than this.

portugal - i love that portugal always send something a little offbeat and i do like this, but compared to some of portugal's previous entries it's not… that exciting to me, you know?

romania - i enjoyed the song but the staging was a little questionable was it not

san marino - didn't san marino have like a hundred songs in their selection? and they picked this? not judging, just asking. anyway this is in my bottom 3 for the lyric "i can smell you like an animal".

serbia - i like this guy's vibes but i'm not in love with the song.

slovenia - again based on my notes from before listening, i predicted that out of all the groups of lads these would be my faves, and i was right! i liked this one!!

spain - oh yes i like this!! thank you spain

sweden - i hope sweden knows what they have in loreen. she's an incredible singer and performer, and she makes this song sound completely magical despite the fact it would be bland as hell with any other artist. the massive screen on top of her makes me really nervous though, i hope they don't bring it to liverpool bcos i know how much that thing weighs and i have anxiety.

switzerland - there was a post about switzerland's song last year that was like "i agree but can't y'all say that a little less boring", and, well, that.

ukraine - is it possible for ukraine to send a bad song? no. is it possible for them to send a bland song? maybe!

united kingdom - this was the last song i listened to so i was very tired by this point BUT i did think it was fun, so. there ya have it.

[gchoate17]

I only read 12 books in 2022, fewer than any year since 2010. Like the rest of my life's shortcomings, I am going to unfairly blame my children. Publishing a top 10 list when I only read 12 feels weird, so instead, here are my top five. If you want more books than that, my previous years’ top 10 lists are linked at the bottom.

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris (2022)

How David Sedaris has managed to do what he does so well for as long as he has amazes me. Especially after the fame and fortune. He's not hiding anything about parts of his life that should make a reader grow tired of him -- complaining about annoyances that only affect those living a lavish life. He casually mentioned that he basically bought a neighbor's home so no one else would, etc. These are things that would make me dislike a normal person, but not Sedaris. Probably because he's so vulnerable with his readers. He may be the rich...dare I say...high-maintenance asshole, but he does a good job of reminding us that he is still the little queer boy who never got his father's approval. And he writes a lot about his father in this book. He details some disgusting behavior from his dad, but he does so in a way that shows why Sedaris the a master of the storytelling craft. He writes honestly and hilariously about things that are sad. He's processing his own thoughts for us right there on the page.

2. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (2000)

I spent 13 years in and out of the industry — front- and back-of-house — I was drawn to the universal truths of restaurant life Bourdain documents here. The personalities in a high-end kitchen in New York has a lot of the same personalities as those in a sweaty Memphis kitchen and every other restaurant I worked in. I appreciate how unapologetically Bourdain writes about it all. This book made me want to go eat more things, and pay more attention to what I’m eating.

3. The Premonition by Michael Lewis (2021)

I kind of want to put this book on my "true crime" list. A solid look at how prepared the United States was/could have been for a global pandemic. Basically a bunch of people willing to prioritize their short-term reputations instead of preventing long-term impacts on society -- like hundreds of thousands of deaths. Maddening to read.

4. Down and Out in Paradise by Charles Leerhsen (2022)

I don't think I've ever seen more than a clip or two from Bourdain's TV shows, and I've never read his books, but I have spent more than a decade listening to friends sing his praises. It's interesting for my first understanding of who he was to come from a biography, one in which the hero is presented as deeply flawed. There were typos, and there seemed like some overly speculative theories put forth, but I never got bored with this book. And I'm eager to dive into Bourdain's own work now.

5. Best American Short Stories Edited by E.L. Doctorow (2000)

Faves (in order): 1. "He's at the Office" by Allan Gurganus 2. "The Beautiful Day" by Michael Byers 3. "Call if You Need Me" by Raymond Carver 4. "The Anointed" by Kathleen Hill

Previous Book Lists: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011.

[crow-with-a-pencil]

Doodling with some random star brushes

[peiart]

I bought clip studio and tested it out with Hawks 🐦🐤 This was such a stress relief piece lmao

Lmao I drew this in 2020 during Quarantine and never posted it on here. Sorry guys ☠️

[gender0bender]

Round up of my fave graphics made in September.

IDs: a photo of four televisions, with two smaller TVs stacked on top of larger ones. The TVs on the top right and bottom left are switched on and showing static. The words “Do not count on corporate media to tell you the truth about trans life” are written on the four screens.

a mint green background with rows of scorpions at the top and bottom. Among the scorpions is a pseudoscorpion. The scorpions have been edited to have a pink tint, and the distorted words “I’m not fooling anybody.” are written in pink inbetween the rows of scorpions.

An image of someone’s lips being held apart by a dental device made of white plastic which exposes the gums and teeth completely. The rest of the face has been erased, and the gums have been edited to be bright red. The background around the teeth is black, with distorted letters reading “Show me your teeth” in red.

a light pink background with a circle of heart shaped candies that are pink and orange and have help written on them in the centre. Inside this is another circle made of teeth, inside that the words maggot faggot are written in letters taken from magaxine clippings. Inbetween the words maggot and faggot is a picture of a smiling mouth wearing purple lipstick. ED.

[kpopper]

How do you make your gifs? I really like the way you do it and would love to learn how

Hello nony! It really makes my heart warm that you like the way I gif, thank you so much! I'll make a detailed step by step of how I do things and give you the download links and other tutorials because learning it from scratch is usually a long process:

1. Vapoursynth

windows (if you have a x64 windows, I’d advise downloading the  VapourSynth64Portable(200616), I just tried that one and the folders look like the tutorial video, I’m not sure about the others.)

macOS

Tutorial:

You have these two icons on your desktop. You drag the file you want to gif on top of the one on the right, the one written vapourscript. It's going to pop up a window like this:

Then you write down when your footage starts, say, 00:00:07. Click enter and then you write down for how long it lasts, say, five seconds = 00:00:05. So when it starts > enter > for how long it lasts > enter. VS will do its own thing and you just have to wait until it pops out this window in your browser:

You can resize the footage however you like. 

(Photoshop dimensions:

1 column set: width of 540 px

2 column set: width of 268 px

3 column set: width of 177 px)

For denoise + sharpening I use this:

Just check out both and leave it like that. I hardly ever make either setting stronger than the minimum. If it is a TS file I also check out the qtgmc 30 fast on the Preprocessor option. If it is not a TS file and just a normal video, I don't click on it.

Then you copy everything from here

And you paste it on the other VS window that will pop out here:

I just ignore everything else. I have no idea what the coding actually says.

Now we go to:

2. Photoshop

download here *blows a kiss for @woodzm my fave lil hacker*

download from the torrent one,  you’ll need the file that already have all the parts. do not download the parts separately. 

Tutorial

After you open photoshop, click ctrl + O to open a file. This is the pathway to the folder where my files from vs are (pay attention to the top in case you need to go through your folders) (vs > vs > gifs > output)

The next steps will depend on what you like / how your original footage looks like. 

A) Blur > Gaussian Blur. Either 1,0 or 1,5. Set opacity to 30 - 40%

B) Sharpen > Smart sharpen. 

Red is fixed. Green you decide what you think looks better.

You can add A + B together or use one or the other. To know what will help requires practice, so gif a lot! 

Now this is a personal preference, I can’t gif in another way:

Convert Frames > Flatten frames into Clips.

Click on those three little squares on the bottom left, and then Make Frames From Layers from the same place you clicked to Convert Frames just a step prior. 

Delete the first frame and whatever else doesn’t fit the gif you’re making.

This is when I color, which is personal and it depends a lot on what I’m dealing with. If you want I can make a tutorial of tools I like later, but my advice is to find something that suits you. This is the most fun part!

Now the last touches are:

C) Select all frames and set their timing to 0,07. I always use this one, it’s neither rushed or slowed down.

Save it with ctrl + shift + alt + s (at the same time). 

And you’re done! (E tá pronto o sorvetinho :D)

Now for more info:

This post by @chawoongs with everything you need to know regarding TS files and where to get them *blows a kith for my fave boy*

These two alternative tutorials, which I did not read but might just be more coherent than my own: 1 and 2

I’ve done this for a while so things are mechanic for me. If I jumped any step that is not clear to you don’t hesitate to send me a message! 

[outrunningthedark]

Maybe I’m just thinking controversially but I feel like T*ylor is the only example out of the two where some of the shit she gets is cause she’s female. Like a lot of it’s good reasons but it’s more hate than if a male character did the same. But she also has a lot more people protecting her at the same time which (hypothetically) wouldn’t be the case with a male reporter. Like the whole plot point of wanting to stream the clips she got of Bobby when he was high and just wanting to stream those clips in general and only not doing it because the stations lost a lawsuit. Honestly I’ll never know cause ya know they used a female reporter but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this

I won't attempt to psychoanalyze everyone else's dislike of T*ylor, but for myself, I have no real issue with the character on her own. I'm a lesbian. M/F romances do nothing to keep me interested. I realize I'm in the minority here, because from my perspective, this fandom is made up of folks who are "okay" with either outcome (Buddie vs. BT). Had BuckT*ylor remained platonic, then my only *gripe* would be a het white (side) character's screen time exceeding that of the three black characters who also happen to be canonically gay (Michael, David, Karen). We all to see storylines that match our personal experiences, no? It's why people attach various LGBTQ+ labels (headcanons) to their fave(s), right? I relate more to the gay characters, specifically Karen and Hen as they are also lesbians, than I do T*ylor Kelly. That's the bottom line. And because I know this fandom loves nitpicking someone's POV to find "inconsistencies" - yes, I am a lesbian interested in seeing a M/M ship go canon. However, I don't dwell on whether Tim & co. will "go there" re: intimacy of any kind. I don't need it to feel satisfied with their relationship. Just tell me they're committed to each other and I'll be happy. Canon!Buddie (for me) is about so much more than watching two dudes kiss/have sex or even having confirmed bi characters. (Tim could never define their sexuality and I wouldn't give a fuck as long as they were together, but then again, I am not bisexual and I understand that kind of representation matters to those who are. Empathy. What a concept.) Re: protecting/defending her BECAUSE she is a woman - 💯💯 you're right and you should say it! If the roles were reversed in the finale and Buck said "you didn't chase after me" he would have become fandom enemy #1 and everyone knows it. But because T*ylor "chose" Buck in the end, her behavior is seen as a good thing - finally! Buck is the one being *chased*! As far as the incident from Dosed is concerned...IMO, the fact that (so far) Tim & the writers have gone out of their way NOT to bring it back up is helping the T*ylor stans make peace with their love for her. We're supposed to believe everyone has moved on, right? There's no need to dwell on who she used to be when she's CLEARLY trying to be a better person. (Plot twist: T*ylor's past actions are gonna come back to bite her in the ass and lead to the end of BT 👀)

[i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend]

Carnival of Hearts (Part 2/6) ~ Bucky x Reader College!AU

A/N: Hi lovelies! Hope you’re all doing well! So good news! I’m pretty sure I’m going to be able to do regular updates for this fic. The plan is for weekly updates on Fridays at 12 PM EST. I will let you know if I can’t do it though. For now enjoy! 

This is my entry for @buckysknifecollection​ ‘s 3k Follower Challenge. Congrats on the milestone lovely! Go check out the blog. Personal fave is Hush (a must read if you’re into soft!Biker!Bucky)

Prompt: Our friends set us up on this carnival date but we’re both pining after someone else and this a bit awkward

Summary: When you’re set up on a carnival date with Bucky Barnes NOTHING turns out the way you expected.

Rating: T

Warnings: Language

Word count: 1916

Story Masterlist | Main Masterlist 

After six outfit changes, you were finally satisfied with your appearance. The red wrap shirt was your favorite, your jeans hugged just right, and you were rocking your favorite white converse. The last touch was to clip in a white hair flower just behind your ear before declaring yourself ready.

Steve was on set up duty so he had already been at the fair grounds for hours and Natasha was meant to meet you there after her shift at the coffee shop, so you grabbed your backpack purse and headed out, cautiously optimistic for the day ahead. You paced back and forth a little ways away from the ticket booth as you waited for your friends and your date.

Your phone buzzed in your hand as you checked the time again.

Nat: Coffee shop got slammed last minute. Going to be a while. Sorry. Just go meet Bucky and Wanda.

“Wonderful,” you muttered.  

You could go meet Bucky and Wanda if you had either of their numbers. You were about to text Nat and ask her to pass the info along when your phone buzzed twice. One from Steve and one from an unknown number. You opened the latter.

Unknown Number:Hi this is Bucky. Wanda is running late so she said for me to just meet you and Natasha.

You rolled your eyes, but snapped a quick selfie and responded.

Y/n: I'm by the ticket booth. Red shirt and a white flower in my hair. Just me though. Nat’s late too.  

Bucky: Be right there!

He responded with a selfie of his own.

"Y/n?"

You turned at the shout of your name. Bucky shot you a shy smile and a small wave, wading through the crowd of people.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out.

“Nice to meet you too, Bucky.”

“Sorry, I’m late. I was technically on time, but I was waiting for Wanda.”

“No problem at all.”

He had a kind smile and it eased the knot of tension in your stomach, though an awkward silence stretched between you. It broke when you both laughed.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never been on a blind date before,” you admitted, worrying your bottom lip with your teeth.

“That makes two of us. But,” he continued before the conversation could lapse again. “I have been to a lot of carnivals with friends in my time.”

You clung to the lifeline.

“Well that we have in common. Although-” You crossed your arms over your chest. “I did just meet you so I’m not sure we can be called friends yet.”

Bucky put both hands up to concede the point.  

“Well let’s start with the carnival part and we’ll see the friendship comes naturally.”

“I can work with that.”  

Bucky bought an armload of tickets and the two of you entered the fairgrounds. Happy screams from the roller coaster mixed with ride music, and you were practically vibrating with excitement.

You grabbed a map from the information booth, smiling at Hope who was manning it.

“Enjoy the carnival!”

“Thank you!”

You huddled out of the way of the hoards of people, carefully surveying the map.

“Now, what I have learned over the years, is that there are two types of people. Ones who plan their carnival route. And chaos entities who cause their friends to miss their favorite rides.”

You raised an eyebrow at him.

“I sense some bitterness there.”

Bucky chuckled and shrugged but didn’t elaborate.  

“Well, I’m certainly not a chaos entity.”

“Excellent. So where should we start?”

“R.C.F.A.”

“Excuse me.”

“Roller coasters first always.”

“A girl after my own heart. Any rides that are a hard no?”

“Not a one,” you announced proudly. “But don’t let me eat before any spinny ones.”

“Noted. Okay, then.”

Bucky scanned the fairgrounds trying to track the flow of the crowd.

“It looks like the tilt-a-whirl has the shortest line.”

“Ooh and it’s right next to the two best coasters,” you pointed to the cluster of rides on the map.

“Then we’ll start there. And then we can follow the circuit back to the food area for lunch.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go!”

Unable to contain your excitement any longer you grabbed his hand and dragged a laughing Bucky through the crowds.  

“So what happened to Nat?” he asked as you waited behind a group of middle schoolers.

"Stuck at work. Cafe got slammed last minute. Wanda?"

"She was getting a haircut and they were running an hour late.”

You poked your tongue into your cheek. Bucky voiced what you had been thinking.

“Do you smell a setup?"

You let out the laugh you’d been holding back. "Oh yeah. I mean technically both of those are real things that could happen, but…”

“Yeah, it seems a bit suspicious.”

“I should have known Nat would weasel out of her end of the bargain."

"Bargain?" Bucky asked.

You inhaled through your teeth and offered him an apologetic smile.

"It may have taken a bit of convincing to get me to go on this date."

“What were the terms of this deal?”

You counted them on your fingers.

“We would meet as a group. I had a guaranteed out at lunch time. And she wouldn’t set me up for the rest of the semester. It wasn’t anything against you. I promise,” you explained.

He waved off your concern.  

“Trust me I took a similar deal. But you were smarter than I am. I should have gotten the no meddling clause in there.”

You exhaled a laugh, relieved you hadn’t offended him.

“Well now you know for next time.”

“True. Though based on how Wanda talked about you there won’t be a next time because you’re supposedly exactly what I need.”

"Nat gave me the same speech. Think they practiced?”

“Probably,” he snorted. “She says you're perfect for me. So my expectations are high just FYI.”  

"That’s fair. Personally, mine are astronomical,” you replied in a haughty tone.  

“I guess we’re both in for disappointment then.”

“Not so far at least,” you admitted with a sly smile that he returned as you were strapped into the tilt-a-whirl.

The line for your first roller coaster was longer than you anticipated, but Bucky kept you entertained. He questioned you on your taste in movies and TV shows which led to an in depth debate of the character arcs in Supernatural. In the next line you discussed Bucky’s favorite book which happened to hold a special place in your heart.  

 When you stopped for snacks -cotton candy for him and watermelon slush for you - you were comfortable enough to tease him.

“So, did you find Insta-stalking me last night helpful in preparing for this date?”

Bucky’s cheeks went red despite his best efforts to appear nonchalant.

“Pfft. I didn’t Insta-stalk you.”

“Oh, so it was a different JBBarnes317 who liked the picture of me moving into my dorm Freshman year.”

“I…” he hung his head, peeking at you through his long hair. “Okay so maybe I did. I tried really hard not to, but I was really nervous and I thought maybe if I knew something about you we could avoid a lot of awkward pauses. Sorry.”

You shook your head and patted his knee.  

“Don’t be. I had been arguing with myself all night. And when I saw that you liked my photo I totally caved. It was honestly a relief. Though I’ve got to say that your profile picture on Facebook does not do you justice.”

“Well I only change my profile picture if it’s a leap year.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but nothing came out. You tilted your head with an incredulous laugh.

“I have nothing to say to that. Are you serious? If so, why?”

He snorted at your expression.

“No. I just haven’t spent more than like ten minutes on Facebook since I was seventeen. I don’t even know why I have it any more.”

“That’s fair.”

“Well, since I’ve been exposed. I’ve got to ask. How far did you row yourself in the moving cart?”

“About 500 feet before I hit a bump and nearly pole vaulted myself out of said cart.”

“That was the funniest video I have ever seen. And I’m kind of mad I never thought of it.”

“There’s always move out.”

“I don’t live on campus. So no yellow carts for me when I move out. Just lots and lots of boxes.”

“Bummer. You can always help me move out!” you concluded triumphantly.

“Let’s see how the rest of the date goes before I agree to that,” he laughed. “But maybe.”

You smiled at the implication before returning the conversation at hand.

“Are you in an apartment then?”

“Yeah. It’s a really nice two bedroom about ten minutes from campus.”

“I assume two bedroom means roommate?”  

“Yes. Sam. He and I got randomly roomed together sophomore year, but it actually ended up being the best thing to ever happen. He’s my best friend. I can’t imagine living with anyone else. We thought we were going to have to get a third roommate, which would have been a bummer, but luckily we were able to find a place for just us.”

“That sounds ideal. I’m lucky because my scholarship pays for housing, but honestly I would kill to have a full kitchen again.”

“Or you could just ask nicely.” He smirked. “Do you like cooking?”

“No, I am a mediocre cook at best. But I love baking.”  

Bucky’s eye glittered.

“Well then you’re definitely invited to use my kitchen.”

“Let me guess. Payment in baked goods?”

“It seems fair.”

“It does. Do you cook a lot.”

“I can manage. But Sam’s an amazing cook. I keep telling him he’s in the wrong career path.”

There was a hint of frustration in his tone.

“What’s he studying?”

“Business. He plans to open and manage restaurants. Says it’s the smarter path. Which like I get it. But man, the look he gets in his eye when he makes a good dish. He just lights up the whole room. I mean he usually does just by being there, but this. It’s pure joy. It makes you excited to try his food. Even if you hate the ingredients. I just don’t want him to lose that. It makes him special.”

“He sounds pretty amazing.”

“He definitely is,” Bucky sighed, before shaking himself slightly. “But he has his flaws. Like, he likes to run. Every morning.”

“I’ve got one like that too. Steve gets up at the crack of dawn every morning. He’s even in the running club.”

“Sam is too.”

“Really? Huh. I wonder if they know each other.”

“They must. There can’t be that many people who willing give up sleep to run.”

“I swear it’s an illness.”

“Agreed. But I do get fresh muffins out of the deal. Steve always brings me my favorite. This summer, we lived together and he’d wake me up after his shower and we’d eat on our little balcony before work and it was perfect.”

“Sam and I eat on the roof sometimes and he always brews the best cup of coffee. He even manages to time it so it’s at the perfect temperature when I get to the kitchen. He may have magic powers.”

“We’re really spoiled aren’t we?”

“I think we are the appropriate amount of spoiled.”  

You both laughed as you tossed your trash and continued on your way.  

A/n: I hope you enjoyed and I’ll see you next week (hopefully)

Tag lists are open (Please send an ask) I am removing all tags that don’t work after three failed attempts. 

Carnival of Hearts 

@deepmuffinspymaker​  @dee-vn​

Bucky/Sebastian Tag List 

@waywardpumpkin​ @sadanddeadsoul​ @captain-maaarvel​ @caylast @isaxhorror​ @run-your-cleverboy​ @ria132love​ @mbsgr​ @hereisanapplepie​ @pierrxt-uta  @thejourneyneverendsx​ @stevieboyharrington​ @catsandbooksinafarawayplace @mywinterwolf​ @andreagf956 @jendz33

Marvel Tag List 

@hdthdthdt​​  @sophiatomlinson23​ @misty-panther @supermusicallee​ @scarlettsoldier​ @acupofhotlatte​ @slender--spirit​ @petitesmate​ @libbymouse​

Permanent Tag List 

@iamwarrenspeace​ @jayzayy​ @bexboo616​ @neoqueen306​ @santheweird​ @rowenaravencalw​ @buckitybarnes​ @prxttybirdz​ @sergeantjbuckybarnes​ @captainsamwlsn​ @broitsmydick @ailynalonso15 @nyxveracity​ @queenoftrash97​ @walkingtravesty97​ @lamia-maizat @memyselfandmaddox​ @lowkeybuckyb​ @whiskey2011​ @averyrogers83​ @lovingpeterparker @buckybarneshairpullingkink​ @beansparker​ @coralphantomninja​ @xxashy999xx​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @ravennightingaleandavatempus​ @paintballkid711​ @whosmarisaaarw​ @silverkitten547​ @yknott81​ @thefridgeismybestie​ @crispy-kitten​ @isabelcrichards @greyeyedsmile14​ @loving-life-my-way​ @geeksareunique​ @rachelsficcollections​ @captainscanadian​ @palaiasaurus64​​ @sea040561​ @kakakatey​

[recurring-polynya]

for the drabble request event: Shunsui/Nanao, "there’s an overnight IT person at school who always answers the phone when i call about a problem with my computer and i totally have a crush on their voice and their exasperation and ALSO the bakery down the street is always running out of my fave scones and the adorable person behind the counter can’t hide their amusement and i think it’s super rude but also super cute AU" (from a prompt list)

So, normally, I am not a fan of Nanao/Shunsui, but I forgot to put it on my list of no-go ships, and as... convoluted as this scenario is, I actually had kind of a way to make it work. I checked with the asker first, and they said it was okay to put Juushirou in it, too. I feel like the point of the prompt list this was from was to have two possible ships in any case, otherwise I don’t understand at all how it would work. Anyway, I tried to make it shippy-but-only-if-you-squint on both sides, I hope it’s okay. I really just wanted to write about IT and scone flavors anyway.

Oh, also, I have no respect for Shunsui, so sorry for that, but at least I had fun.

Read on ao3 or ff.net 

💻     ☕     🧁

Professor Kyouraku Shunsui of the Seireitei University Mathematics Department was very pleased with himself. He had timed his arrival at his favorite campus coffee shop for ten minutes before the end of a class period, exactly at the time when the students would be departing for their 10 o’clocks, but the 9 o’clocks had not yet finished. He had been able to score his favorite table, the one next to the front window, so he could watch the foot traffic. He’d laid out his workspace perfectly: laptop front and center; a fresh, fragrant Americano just off to the right, and his little notebook of handwritten instructions to his left. With everything laid out so nicely, he was sure to be very productive. He just needed to remake a few plots for that journal paper. It was only a week overdue at this point, but those editors got so antsy when you just went a smidge over a deadline.

Humming to himself, he ran his finger down the list of procedures as he completed each one. “Amazing!” he exclaimed when a black window popped up on his screen, his own username displayed and a little white cursor cheerfully blinking beside it. “Look at me, a computer genius! I should call my good friend Nanao. I’m sure she would love to hear how well I was able to follow her instructions.”

Shunshui wiggled his fingers, gleefully typed “matlab &” after the prompt, and hit “enter” with a flourish.

Nothing happened.

Shunsui tried again.

Once again, nothing happened.

“Well, that’s a shame,” he frowned, and picked up his phone.

He selected the main campus IT helpline from his contacts, then entered the extension for the math department special helpline, and then he typed in the super-secret extension for the math department special helpline manager.

It rang 9 times. Finally, a clipped voice answered. “Math Department IT Helpline, may I have your name, please?”

“Hellooooooo, Nanaoooooo! It’s meeeeeeee!”

“Your name, please.”

“I’m so hurt, Nanao. It’s your good friend, Shunsui, of course!”

There was a loud clacking of keys from the other end of the line. “And how may I assist you today, Professor Kyouraku?”

“Would you believe it, Nanao, but Matlab won’t open again?”

There was a long silence on the other end, and finally, a dragged out sigh. “What step are you on?”

“I made it all the way to the end of the steps. I even typed in the little ampersand, but nothing! I am all ready to make these figures, and Matlab just doesn’t want to get out of bed, you know?”

“So, you successfully used PuTTY to open a Bash terminal?”

“That’s right, I am very skilled at computers, you know.”

“If you say so. Close it.”

“Close it? But I just got it open!”

“Close it.”

Shunsui sighed. “Goodbye, little friend,” he lamented, hitting the ‘x’. “It is gone.”

“Okay, open PuTTY again. Are you using the saved session I helped you set up last time?”

“Doot doot doot,” Shunsui sang as he double clicked on the PuTTY icon. “There it is! Yes, I am using my saved session, the Shunsui-at-Work one.”

“Great. Select that session and hit ‘load.’”

“I did it.”

“Perfect. Now, over on the menus on the left, expand ‘SSH’ and pick ‘X11’.”

“Ahh, Nanao, what a brilliant person you are to remember all these things!”

“I do this all day, Professor Kyouraku.”

“And you’re so polite, too! You know you can call me Shunsui, though. Yes, here I am, at ‘X11’.”

“There’s a little box that says ‘Enable X11 forwarding, you need to check that.”

“It’s already checked.”

There was a pause. “It is?”

“Yes, there’s a little ‘X�� in it.”

“Oh.”

“We set that up before, I think.”

“I never know with you. Okay, let’s brainstorm. You aren’t part of the cloud computing pilot, are you?”

“I am, actually!”

There was a low muttering, followed by Nanao clearing her throat. “You aren’t trying to launch Matlab from the sentinel node, are you? You use PuTTY to connect to the sentinel, but then you have to manually SSH to your cloud server from there, do you remember?”

“Oh, Nanao, I don’t know what any of those words mean. I am not actually trying to get on the cloud right now, I am just trying to use the department server, does that help?

“Oh, thank God,” Nanao’s beautiful voice muttered.

“I didn’t even know I could use the cloud servers if I wasn’t in my office,” Shunsui mused.

“You can, you just have a different IP you need to-- wait, you’re not in your office?”

“I am in the little coffee shop on the north end of campus. They have the most delightfully lemon ricotta scones--”

“I have been there, the scones are great. Are you connected to the VPN?”

“We should meet here sometime! I love to come here, it’s so relaxing and both the tea and coffee are always so fresh. Do you like matcha?”

“I hate matcha. Are you connected to the VPN?”

“I hate matcha, too! How funny! I just heard from one of my colleagues that they do a really good matcha latte here and I thought--”

“The VPN, man, are you connected to it?”

“Ahhhh.... no. Do I need to be? I thought that was only when I was at home. I’m still on campus.”

“You’re still on campus, but if you’re not in your office, you’re not on the department LAN and you need to connect through the VPN.”

“Ohhhhhhh.”

“Do you know how to connect to the VPN?”

“Ah, I should, I do this when I am working from home. Let’s see, it’s over here on the bottom right…”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Right click… select Cisco…” Shunsui picked up his coffee. “I think my coffee is just about the perfect temperature right now.” He took a sip. It was delicious. “I probably should have had my coffee before I called you, eh?”

There was a muffled thud on the other end of the line.

“Nanao, did you fall? Are you all right? I can come over and help you if you need.”

“It’s fine. Someone, uh, dropped something.”

“The VPN is connected.”

“Fantastic. Just… just go through the steps you did before to get to the Bash terminal. Can you do that? I will just sit here and drink my own coffee.”

“You have your own coffee? Oh, that’s delightful! We’re coffee friends!”

“Just try to start Matlab again, please.”

“Everything just takes so long to connect, you know, once you’re on the VPN. This coffee shop should have better wifi, in my opinion.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Any plans for the weekend?”

“Probably helping you open Matlab again.”

“Ha, ha, oh, Nanao, you’re such a kidder! You know I don’t work on the weekend. I bet you have many exciting hobbies, like going to the theater… or writing poetry…”

There was a long pause. “I’m actually really into historic costume recreation, and a friend and I are going to a millinery workshop.”

“Ah, I knew you were artistic as well as brilliant,” Shunsui sighed, carefully typing in his password once again. “Here we go, Nanao, do you have your fingers crossed for me?”

“I have all my fingers crossed for you.”

“I am typing in ‘matlab ampersand’ again, that should do it, right?”

“Look, the ampersand has nothing to do with the graphical display, it just runs the program as a background process so you can still type things into your terminal.”

“Amazing how you can remember so much! I am hitting ‘enter’ and-- and--”

“What’s happening?!”

“Ah, that beautiful orange saddle surface is here to greet me, once again,” Shunsui sighed as the Matlab logo filled the screen. “You have saved me once again, Nanao. You must allow me to buy you dinner sometime, or at least a coffee.”

“You can tell your department head how much you use the helpdesk, and that I deserve a raise and three more work-study students.”

“I will certainly do that. Have a tremendous day, Nanao!”

“You, too, Professor Kyouraku.”

Shunsui stretched and interlaced his fingers behind his head. All that hard work was exhausting. He’d been so ready to get started, and now his rhythm was off. There was no way he could jump directly into those plots. He stood up and meandered over to the counter.

The cute barista was on duty today. His pale hair was tied up in a casual bun, and the sleeves of his sweater pushed up over his forearms. “Good morning, Professor,” he said with a sunny grin. “Working hard or hardly working?”

“Oh, causing trouble for our IT department, once again,” Shunsui sighed.

“The one you have a crush on? Did you ask for her number?”

“I have her number, I call it every day when I cannot figure out how to use my computer. She has no interest in an old fellow like myself. She is far too good for me, Juushirou! But speaking of things that are too good for me, please tell me that you have one of my favorite scones for me today?”

“Hmm, we just had a big rush at breakfast time,” Juushirou frowned. “I’ll have to go check. Oh, we have a new flavor today!” He leaned forward over the counter and waggled his eyebrows. “Strawberry basil?”

“I am sure they are a delight, but I have had a very harrowing morning, and I need the comfort of the familiar.”

“I understand!” Juushirou shook a finger sternly. “Shunsui’s favorite flavor… Shunsui’s favorite flavor… it’s not orange ginger, he finds those too zingy.... maple bacon, too trendy… the less we say about the matcha scones the better… oh dear, oh dear, it appears the lemon ricotta basket is empty.”

Shunsui flung his arm over his eyes. “I knew I should have ordered one with my coffee! I have been trying to cut calories, but today has been so trying…”

“I’ve got Morning Glory muffins? Or egg white breakfast cups?”

Shunsui made a face. “Thank you, but I think I would rather just go without.”

Juushirou gave off his hearty laugh. “I’ve never seen anyone make such a sad face over scones.” He furrowed his brows. “Those lemon ricotta scones are very popular, you know. We run out of them almost every day.”

“I am a man of discerning taste, Juushirou, who is frequently disappointed.”

“You know what you need?” Juushirou suggested perkily. “A savory scone. Completely different flavor profile. It’ll take your mind right off the lemon. We have cheddar chive? Pancetta sage?”

“Juushirou,” said Shunsui. “I will take a white chocolate blackberry scone.”

“Wonderful choice!” Juushirou agreed, and then leaned forward conspiratorially. “Those are my favorites.”

“I know,” Shunsui replied.