#theirs is in the donation period | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

greenishghostey · 2 years

Text

Dungeon Master meet Prop Master | part 3

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Drama Club!reader

Summary: The blossoming relationship between you and Eddie was still new but you were both already in too deep. Turns out that your friends love a little romance gossip too.

Warnings: I've decided that this series will be 18+ eventually, so please DO NOT engage or interact if you are underage. More fluff, friendship banter, swearing, a very vague understanding of the US education system.

Word Count: 5,236

Authors Note: So this chapter is a bit more dialogue-heavy and goes into friend group reactions to Eddie and specs' budding relationship and where it will potentially go. This was going to be the first half of one chapter but I felt it was better as a stand-alone piece.

Part 2 /// Part 4 (Coming Soon)

Friday at school was surprisingly busy, with most of your classes hitting the first assignment stage. You loved a long-winded, formulaic piece of homework as much as the next person, but your mind had been busy. Eddie kept your mind so fucking busy. Even your favourite classes were a little bit tuned out by the sound of a boyish snort, metal rings tapping a steering wheel and “specs”. You were in a near-constant state of fluster, removing your glasses to rub your eyes or pinch the bridge of your nose. Your mom had asked if you were sick while eating breakfast. She asked if it was a boy. God, she made it sound so juvenile. You were legally an adult. However, she was right on the money - not like you were going to tell her that.

You had a giggly, schoolgirl crush on a boy who was nice to you.

But “nice to you” wasn’t doing him enough justice. He was exceptional to you. The closest thing to Eddie’s comfortable presence you could think of was Penny - the person who had been your rock since elementary school. Eddie Munson had achieved that astronomical status within, what, like, 4 hours?

Fuck, if he actually did have a weird cult thingy going, you might just have to look into joining. Maybe he gave out welcome packages along with the Hellfire shirts. An introductory pamphlet and a complimentary goat skull or something. You could bring snacks to the ritual sacrifices.

You had a study period before lunch and took the opportunity to be a hermit in the library, trying to power through as much homework as you could in an hour and ten minutes.

English gave you an essay on The Crucible, which was convenient since you were already knee-deep in annotating the play for prop and set ideas. Colonial melancholy mixed with fire and brimstone was your current plan. Now you just had to add in a few notes about John Proctor’s inner demons and how Arthur Miller was, unfortunately, a “national treasure”. The usual English class spiel that Miss Samson would slap a lovely A or B on. If you found yourself feeling adventurous, you could even pepper in some gender commentary discussion points.

Woodshop was the only assignment you couldn’t make some progress on from your little library alcove, which was a shame because you were strangely excited about it. The project was simple enough for early in the year, making a small storage box with divided sections inside and a hinged lid. But you had a potential plan for your box if everything went well.

Eddie had a zip-lock bag to keep spare game dice in. He had shown you the polyhedral cluster fuck of colours while you helped with Hellfire redecorating. It was cute that Eddie had collected so many spare sets just in case someone forgot to bring theirs on a Friday. He explained that he tried to get a wide enough range of designs so that they would work for every class and race - whatever that meant. Such an extensive collection deserved a proper form of storage and display, so you planned to give Eddie, and his club, another donation in the form of a dice box. Originally, you were going to give the box to your mom to keep her funkiest, fanciest jewellery, but your dad beat you to the punch on her birthday.

Mr Kennedy, your shop teacher, might even let you carve a pattern on the lid too - flames or a skull, something befitting the Hellfire vibe. Mr Ken always liked you because you were interested in his subject rather than seeing it as an easy grade for senior year credits.

Giving Eddie a gift, regardless of how practical it would be, was maybe a little much. He had already lightly teased you for “donating” aged paper to Hellfire so they could have more immersive maps and in-game documents. But that was friendly and with good intentions - he did really want that brown paper. If he seemed apprehensive, you could easily pass the dice box off as a peace offering from the drama club. From one group of oddballs to another.

You polished off the introductory paragraph of an essay on the Reconstruction Era. The name Ulysses had stopped looking like a real word after reading it so many times in your History textbook. The bell rang, and you heard shoes squeaking and doors slamming outside the library's silence. You and Penny always met at your locker before heading to the cafeteria, so you made your way through the halls, weaving between hoards of backpacks, denim and school spirit.

In your opinion, the lockers in Hawkins High were pretty shitty real estate. Too narrow, stupid stiff locks, and they always smelled weird. It was unlikely that they were cleaned out properly when the owners graduated. Some crumbs and a sticky stain had welcomed you in freshman year. You were playing Tetris with your textbooks when you heard your name being yelled down the emptying hallway, followed by an icy bellow of, “We need to talk, young lady!” Penny was always really good at projecting to the back of the room. It was one of the main reasons Miss Butler loved her so much. A ginger, permed head came bounding over to you at a rate of knots, skidding to an abrupt stop in her grass-stained tennis shoes.

“I didn’t do anything. You can prove nothing - Shit, are you okay?” You sniggered, watching Penny pant and lean against your open locker door. She must have bolted to you from across campus; her bangs were sticking to her pale powdered forehead.

“Quit laughing,” she was clutching her side like she was in agony, “I ran from the fucking track field to get here as soon as possible. We need to talk. Now.” Penny straightened up, crossed her arms and fixed you with a stern look. This particular look was reserved for when you forgot to fill her in on gossip or when you stole chips from her during lunch. You hoped she had some of those little pretzel chip pieces in her bag.

“Since when did you know where the track field is?” You joked with a similarly pinched look on your face. It was a mystery as to why she seemed so miffed at you. Ben hadn’t struck out with the costume designer, Lily, again. No one in shop class had narrowly missed losing a finger. The Hawkins gossip pool was rather dry. What a shame.

Penny flapped her hands in your face, “Shush!” She snipped. It was like you’d told her she wouldn’t ever get that Oscar she always dreamed of. Like you had pissed in her cornflakes that very morning. “Munson does business out past the track field.”

Ah. Crap. You should have called her last night after dinner and told her about that. About Eddie and you. Whatever you and Eddie were. Friends? Acquaintances?

You felt your eyes widen, “Oh, forgot you were doing that today. How’d it go?” You asked innocently. As much as you wanted to play dumb, you couldn’t make it convincing. The warmth painted across your face, and your sudden interest in your locker shelf was a dead giveaway.

“Well, a freaky little birdie asked me if I was “the friend of specs” and called me ‘Pennies’ the entire deal.” The nickname was sort of sweet. It was better than if Eddie had called her Penelope like her parents did. She would have slapped him with the weed baggie if he’d done that.

“To be fair, a lot of people you know have glasses. Plus, he’s in our grade, even if he’s been around a while. Isn’t he in Home Ec with you?” You knew he was in that class with Penny. She talked about how out of place he looked in an apron with his hair tied back and without his heavy silver rings. Apparently, he was pretty good at cooking and could fix a jammed sewing machine in under a minute. She’d called him a “domestic demon”, in a nice way, of course. Honestly, you had started to wish you had given in to Penny trying to bribe you to take Home Ec with her. A fucking apron.

“Yeah, and he’s Mrs Collins’ favourite. Now, stop interrupting me. How much do you think he charged me?” Penny pressed. The situation was beginning to feel like a bad cop style interrogation very quickly. You could sense where Penny was going - to be honest, you could read her like a children’s book.

“You said it was gonna be like 30 bucks, right? Seems reasonable for illegal stuff.” For the ‘weed parties’, $30 was possibly even a bit too generous. Eddie could use a better business plan.

“Yep, that’s what Connor told me. But that’s not what happened.”

Connor! That was his name. You had been so sure it was Keith for some reason. He looked like a Keith with his product-saturated hair and gym shorts that were too tight to be comfortable. It wasn’t even like he had anything to show off in the shorts. Now, Eddie, you could tell there was something stunning in his dark jeans. If only you’d had gym with him.

“Where are you going with this exactly, Pen? I’m hungry. All the good juice boxes are gonna be gone by now. You’ve stuck me with crappy orange.” You whined. The orange juice they had in the cafeteria was rancid. It was sickly sweet to the point of tasting like children’s medicine. Apple juice was the superior choice, but everyone in the school agreed on that too.

“He charged me 15 bucks! He smiled and was like, “ah, friend of a friend discount, don’t worry about it”.” Penny said in a mimicking voice, her eyebrows were almost in her hairline, and she was a few seconds away from shaking you down for information.

“Oh.”

Fuck. Well, now you would have to spill the beans about your wonderful little evening in the drama room. Part of you was itching to talk about it, and you knew that Penny wouldn’t be too judgemental of Eddie. However, you also wanted to keep it to yourself for a little longer. Hold the warmth of your meeting close to your chest and only have Eddie to share it with.

“Yeah. Oh. Firstly, when did you become chummy with Munson? Secondly, what did you do to get a 50% discount!?”

“You wanna go scream it on the roof? Shut up. He came by the drama room yesterday, and we hit it off, I guess? He’s really sweet and gave me a ride home since it was dark out.” You said, leaning in close and tempted to slap a hand over Penny’s mouth because she was going to start shrieking eventually with this level of gossip.

“…Do we need to clean the room?” Penny grimaced, pulling away from you.

“Ugh! Jesus, Pen!” You swatted at her with your backpack. As if you would soil your beloved drama room. Eddie would have to, at least, take you on a date before you entertained that idea. Like a pay for your dinner and brush hair behind your ear before kissing you sort of date. The fact that that scenario had started to morph into a fantasy was mildly concerning, but it maintained a solid PG-13 rating.

“What? Excuse me for making assumptions based on fifty fucking percent!” Penny exclaimed. Thankfully the hallway was empty, but her voice still echoed off the rows of lockers.

“We hung out, and that’s all. I swear on your hair.” You huffed. By swearing on Penny’s crazy, fiery mane of hair, she would know you were telling her the truth. You just really loved the hair. “What did you think I’d done anyway?”

“I dunno. Some girls say the other drug dealers around Hawkins asked them to flash their tits for a discount. Thought you might be going through a rebellious phase?” Penny wiggled her eyebrows. God, she really was gunning for you to let loose one day. “He is cute in, like, a funky way. His eyes are the size of my mom’s fancy dinner plates, though; it’s weird.”

You rolled your eyes at her, continuing to sort your locker, “Eddie’s not that kind of guy,” You stated firmly, “besides, you’d get too jealous if someone else got that much of my attention.” Easing the slight tension of the conversation with a little friendly jab. The “cute” comment wasn’t even going to be discussed or acknowledged. Penny huffed and slammed your locker closed once you gathered your lunch.

The two of you continued the Eddie conversation. Penny needed to know every syllable that you and Eddie had said to each other. She needed to be able to visualise the interior of his van. Any speck of information was not a request but a necessity. As you had hoped, she wasn’t being judgemental in her pestering. Just being a concerned best friend. You had never expressed any real interest in a guy to her in the years you had been best friends - well, any guy that you knew in real life anyway. Robert Downey Jr in ‘Tuff Turf’ awakened something in you when you saw it during winter break. The movie wasn’t all that great, but you had learned that big brown eyes and endearing charm were “your thing”. An educational experience, if nothing else.

The “Eddie territory”, as Penny dubbed it, was new for everyone involved. No threats had been detected so far, but as you stressed to your friend, it had less than 24 hours. The one piece of information that you withheld was the promise of future Thursdays in the drama room. You were the unofficial Hellfire interior decorator now.

The cafeteria was as you had expected, buzzing with life and smelled like really sad mac and cheese. Your eyes glanced towards the lunch counter and took note of the lack of juice. God damn it. You linked arms with Penny and started navigating your way towards the usual table - a mix of drama club juniors and seniors, their plus ones, and a few other “artsy fartsy” types who needed people to sit with.

You slid into your usual seat quickly and swung Penny into hers with just a little more force than was necessary. That was for the implied flashing comment earlier. Subtle and immediate karma was a beautiful thing in your friendship. You dug into your sandwich, the chatter of the table fading to background noise in your mind.

Your head was still unbelievably busy. Not even a turkey sandwich and tomato soup could put you fully back to normal. Penny nudged you with her elbow and pushed a zip-lock bag of pretzel pieces towards you. Like a little peace offering for her dramatics. But then she had to ruin it, “You only get five; I will count. My mom and sister eat them, too, so I can’t bring as many. Meaning you are on rations.” You were in the midst of your first real battle with emotions and hormones, and she was getting stingy with the goods.

“Can I get the extra salty ones you don’t like?” You asked, blinking at her with your best puppy dog eyes. They were shit, but at least it guaranteed she would give in quickly just to make you stop. “Pleeeease, Penelope. Sweetest Penny-lope.”

Penny shuddered at the use of her full name and the silly nickname you used when you wanted something. It was like she was born as an 80-year-old woman and her parents just went with it. At least “Penny” was a cute nickname, very her. She turned her nose up at you and sighed, “Ugh! Fine, but if you take the kinda burnt ones, you’re not getting that Siouxie cassette back.”

“Well then, you can kiss that Bon Jovi t-shirt you left in my room goodbye,” You threatened. Your fingers wiggled into the zip-lock bag to gather your pretzel rations as you and Penny dissolved into giggles and snorts.

Lunch continued much the same after that. You and Penny tended to stay joined at the hip at the lunch table since drama kids were just strange. But it had always been like that. It was you and your beloved Penelope against the world. On the road to Broadway, or at least off-broadway, if you were being realistic. Lily, the club costume guru with the most impressive black springy coils you had ever seen, kept glancing over your shoulder, eventually meeting your gaze.

You raised your eyebrows in question, mouth full of salty snacks, “Mmmm?”

“Eddie Munson is, like, trying to stare through the back of your head,” Lily whispered, her blouse almost dipping into the cup of your thermos.

You didn’t dare turn around. Not because you were embarrassed about people knowing the two of you were kind of friends, but because you would melt into the gross tiled floor if he waved. If the corner of his mouth so much as twitched into a smile, you’d flatline for a few seconds. Due to Lily’s observation, your heart picked up until it pulsed heat through your veins. God, this was the fucking pits.

Lily leaned in a little closer, her voice just above a whisper again, “Is he bothering you? Need me to go say something?” Lily Warren was quite possibly the sweetest girl in your entire grade. But, this was the one time you wouldn’t need her help when it was offered. Part of you wanted to go chat with Eddie, maybe make yourself known to his friends, like he was with yours. Minus the drug dealing, obviously. The distinct bark of his voice rang through the cafeteria, and several people at your table either grimaced, rolled their eyes or scowled in his general direction. It broke your heart to have the evidence that Eddie was like sunshine personified while most people around you loathed his existence. “If he messed with you, I swear to god.”

“No messing, I promise, but thanks, Lils. He came by the drama room yesterday for club stuff. Probably just let his eyes wander and remembered he knew me.” Your reply wasn’t entirely untrue. You didn’t think he had been staring a hole into the back of your skull like Lily had said; his gaze just tended to appear that way. “It’s just Eddie being Eddie.” You hummed, suppressing a smile. However, your heartfelt introspection was short-lived as Penny snorted into her can of Tab.

“Eddie?” Jeff asked, nudging his friend in the rib, trying to pull his attention away from the other side of the cafeteria, “You good, man?”

“Fabulous,” Eddie mumbled.

Eddie was off in a world of his own. He did that sometimes. It was similar to a robot powering down - his eyes glazed over, he sat straight as a rod and barely moved an inch. But this time, it was different; Eddie was deep in thought, putting all of his attention into a specific spot a few feet away from his seat. The drama club table. Jeff and Eddie had walked to the cafeteria together and were, surprisingly, the first at the table. The freshmen, Dustin and Mike, were probably still trying to get their bearings about the school or were still in that kiss-ass phase with teachers.

Jeff moved in his chair, positioning himself to try and catch a glimpse at what Eddie was honing in on. If it was a person, they could probably feel his stare like a ghost hanging on them. “Whatcha looking at the drama girls for?” There was a smugness in Jeff’s voice - Eddie didn’t appreciate the attitude, even if he was bringing it on himself.

“Glasses girl has a cool sweater. Orange and black are complimentary colours, ya know,” what a bullshit answer. He was losing his edge, and it was all your fault. You had him making up colour theory facts. Black and orange only worked together when it was Halloween - and on you, but that was beside the point.

Before Jeff could start an entire interrogation, the rest of the Hellfire club members arrived. Gareth and Simon were in the middle of a discussion about which spells Simon’s Cleric, Rothgär would learn once he levelled up - the favourite option so far was Holy Aura, so he could blind enemies with Godly light. Dustin and Mike were trailing behind the older boys, having two conversations at once. One was about the upcoming campaign that evening, and the other was about how much of bitch their chemistry teacher was - Ms Wheaton was quite the battleaxe, Eddie could remember all too well. He and Loise went way back.

Gareth was the first to notice the uncharacteristic silence from the head of the table. No all-mighty knowledge coming to weigh in on the spell discussion, no greeting, absolutely nothing. Just Eddie looking almost a touch flustered and focusing so hard on his lunch that he was going to burst a blood vessel in his eye. Soon, each of the Hellfire boys noticed Eddie being… not Eddie, expressions morphing into concern and curiosity.

“You guys want a picture or something? An autograph, maybe?” Eddie snapped, taking an aggressive bite of his slightly bruised apple, his face twisting at the sour taste - Granny Smiths, man, he needed to start buying the other green ones.

“Dude, are you sick?” Gareth asked, “You’re being quiet, and it’s fucking weird.”

“Yeah, usually we can’t get a word in when we sit down,” Dustin pointed out, “you were kinda weird this morning, too, when you picked me up.”

Eddie had been super weird that morning. In a good way. In a way that he hadn’t felt in a long time. His mind was still going a mile a minute because of that clumsy little wave you’d given him. Eddie was a fan of dramatics; anyone within a twenty-mile radius of the guy could see that, plain and simple. But, he never thought he would be in a position where he almost swooned, like some damsel NPC in his campaigns. You being friendly and talking to him like he was a person was pretty damn good, then you had to go and call him a “sweetheart”. His hands hadn’t been that clammy since the middle school talent show before he and the guys went out on stage.

“You been looking at funky sweater gal all day, huh?” Jeff loved every second of that lunch period.

“You’re on thin ice, Fulton,” Eddie mumbled, shooting a glare at his friend, who was still basking in his smug glory. That was when the absolute avalanche of questions started.

“Shit, why didn’t you say, dude! Who is she? She hot?” Gareth immediately honed in on the mention of a girl. A potentially hot girl. Christ, he needed to get laid or just go on a date - something would be better than nothing. A handhold would probably do him a world of good.

“Since when were you actually into girls around here?” That prodding comment came from Dustin. He was craning his neck in all directions, trying to scope out the women in the room. Like he knew Eddie’s type. Eddie didn’t have a type. “Nice to him” was all the type he needed. “Is there some goth or metal girl that’s new or something?” Dustin whispered to Mike, who shrugged his lanky shoulders. Eddie had slid down in his chair; teenagers were hard work. No wonder parents complained about them all the time.

Simon, the stand-up guy that he was, had decided to busy himself with eating and reading through his campaign notes, sniggering to himself when he re-read a good joke he had made last week - “every warlock requires his war key”.

“Si?” Eddie poked at Simon’s book, “you get first rolls tonight. Your initiative is 20 from now until 10:30.” He and Simon shared a knowing smile and nodded. Always good to conduct business with him.

“BULLSHIT!” Mike yelled. He tried to speak with a low bite to his voice, resulting in a wavering crack. Eddie used to do the same thing, thinking it made him cool, so he couldn’t judge the kid too harshly.

“How is that fair?!” Gareth whined, eyebrows furrowing harshly. He was still trying to scope out the object of Eddie’s interest, though. That information was a teeny tiny bit more critical than Eddie’s piece of shit, made-up rules.

“Cause I said so and because he isn’t about to go and bug every chick in here to see if I’ve breathed near her!” Eddie barked.

He could sort of understand Gareth foaming at the mouth. Massive virgin that he was. Jeff just lived for gossip, which explained his enjoyment of the situation. But Dustin and Mike said they had girlfriends - they had no excuses. Were they both raised in a fucking barn? “Besides, there’s no fucking point in keeping it to myself now anyway.”

Eddie was embarrassed. Eddie never got embarrassed. Especially not in front of his brethren and the underlings. It was just like in his van again, when you were being all cute and cool without even trying.

“Knew I could wear you down. So, what’s her name? Where’d you meeeeet?” Jeff sang, resting his chin on his palms. If he started batting his long eyelashes at Eddie, he was getting kicked off his chair.

With your identity about to be revealed, each of the boys turned to face Eddie, eyes wide with curiosity. Their depressing cafeteria macaroni cheese was going to get so soggy.

“In the orange polka dot sweater. Big glasses. She’s the prop girl for the drama club. I went to do Hellfire set up yesterday, and she was still doing drama-y stuff,” Eddie explained, gathering his friends closer so he didn’t announce anything to others in earshot. “To make a long dick short-”

“Dude, ew.” Jeff cringed.

“To make a long dick short! We hit it off. Like really well. She made that sick prop sword I use as The Sun Strike-“

“Made it?!” Dustin, Mike and Simon gasped. The three of them were the characters putting in the most work to find the sword. Simon’s character was a cleric for the Sun goddess who blessed it, so everything worked out very nicely.

“Quit interrupting! But yeah, that’s what I said too. She handmade all of the weapon props in that one big box. How fucking cool is that?”

“Is she cool with us using it?” Gareth muttered, a grimace worming its way onto his face. “I asked Janie in my math class for a pen, and she looked like she wanted to slap me.”

“Nah, specs is cool. Actually, she was super psyched that we named it and made it into the legendary slayer of midnight.” Eddie’s Dungeon Master voice began to creep up his vocal cords, “The bearer of brilliant fire. The almighty-“

There was a giggle. A little shit type of giggle. “So she’s got a nickname already?” Dustin sniggered, cutting Eddie’s dramatics short. He was having the time of his life seeing Eddie practically swooning over you.

“Wears glasses, aka specs. Therefore, she’s “specs”. What’s the issue?”

“Nothing, nothing. Forget I said anything,” Dustin mumbled, a goofy little grin plastered across his face as he dug into his lunch. Eddie was used to all eyes being on him at the table - he thrived on the admiration and comradery that came from Hellfire. However, he was not a fan of the teasing. Sure, he would definitely be joining in if it were Jeff, who was into a girl, but this time it was him, so it made him feel flustered. It was uncomfortable being the centre of attention for a fluffy, fuzzy reason.

“Found her!” Mike whisper-yelled, shaking Gareth’s arm so he could laser focus in on you and your dotty sweater. The boys also noticed Penny, who was leaning on your shoulder with a big grin on her face. Gareth could swear he heard angels singing songs about her.

“Damn! She talked to you?” Gareth pressed. He tried to cover up a laugh since he knew Eddie would either kick him under the table or make his character’s life miserable in their session that evening.

“You’re on thin ice too now.” Eddie cursed, crossing his arms, “For your information, I also gave her a ride home. Might want to brush up on your game, Campbell.”

“She willingly got in your shit box!?” Gareth wasn’t trying to push Eddie’s buttons, but it was almost too much fun. “Aw, she must like you.” Eddie was going to strangle the junior. However, he also wished that Gareth was right - sarcasm be damned.

“Probably gave the poor girl a heart attack,” Jeff mumbled to Simon, trying to speak quietly under the cafeteria noise so Eddie wouldn’t blow a gasket.

“Great to finally know what you guys think of me. Really! I’m touched.” Eddie scowled. Only a peppering of malice was in his expression; he knew everyone meant well. Plus, they were right about the van. It was well and truly a shit box. “I bare my soul to you people, and it gets thrown right in my face….” Eddie turned his attention back to his apple, which was now beginning to brown.

Dustin patted Eddie’s shoulder encouragingly. It was a sweet gesture. The teasing chatter had come to an end, but each of the guys still had a small smirk on their faces. It wasn’t every day that they were the ones able to get Eddie all riled up in that playful way that friends do. That brothers in arms do.

“Eddie,” Dustin said with a genuine smile on his face now, “I saw a girl in that exact sweater putting a note in your locker when I went to the bathroom during History.” The sound of a chair strapping and clattering to the floor rang through the cafeteria - some cheerleaders passing by the table almost jumped out of their scrunchies.

Eddie had a general tendency to move rather sporadically and quickly. He bounced around a lot, mostly to burn off excess energy that usually struck him at around eleven every day. That being said, Eddie felt as though he was nearly breaking the sound barrier while running from the cafeteria to his locker after Dustin finished his sentence.

The little scrap of lined paper read, “I hope the set goes down well with your guys today. Let me know everyone’s thoughts on Thursday, please! Meet you at 3:30!” it was signed off with a small doodle of a pair of glasses.

Eddie quickly glanced around him to make sure that the coast was clear. When it was confirmed, he started drumming his hands rapidly on his locker door. Soon, his entire body joined in on the celebration, and he was cheering through clenched teeth. No one needed to see him looking this type of ridiculous - it would ruin his long-established reputation.

“Fuck yes, I’ve still got it!” He grinned, thrusting his fists into the air. Eddie was almost dancing his way up and down the hallway. Power sliding on his knees was actually sounding like a fantastic idea. He’d willingly take the friction burn to his kneecaps because you were meeting him on Thursday at 3:30 sharp.

Tag list: @fan-girl-97 @lunatictardis @eddiesprincess86 @kimmi-kat @strangerthings1983fan @moviefreak1205 @becca-alexa

#my writing #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #fluff #fic #eddie #stranger things fic

280 notes · View notes

unforth · 1 year

Text

I started to write this as a reply to @vex-verlain but realized it should be it's own post.

To be clear, this is about @end-otw-racism and why I support this movement (even if I don't agree with all their proposals).

I am profoundly anti-censorship. It has been one of my biggest personal issues my entire adult life. I will absolutely defend the speech rights even of people I think are utterly reprehensible, even the rights of people who want me and my family dead. I think their speech has a right to exist, full stop.

But.

Being anti-censorship in no way means being anti-moderation. I often see people who are pro-ship, anti-anti, or "too old to use a name for telling yall you're clowning" say that AO3 is supposed to be a safe space for WRITERS, not READERS, and that to me is one of the big ways that the current harassment and moderation policies are badly failing writers of color. There's no way to 100% protect all writers, period, on AO3, and to me it seems like a no-brainer that if the goal is "protect all speech, avoid all censorship, minimize harm to real people," the only way to accomplish all those goals it to have a really robust, well-moderated system that prioritizes reducing harassment - ALL harassment - without looking the other way on certain topics just because they're harder and thornier to sort through. A way to section the groups that are oil and water away from each other, through blocking, powerful filters, comment options, etc (some strategies we do have now, btw! They HAVE been adding functionality in this direction, but it's clearly not enough.)

Currently, protecting people who write bigoted shit is causing active harm to fans of color. We see the impacts of this harm constantly; I personally have seen many, many Chinese and Chinese diaspora fans driven out of white danmei fandom circles for all sorts of reasons, and if yall are in fandoms that often have bipoc in them I'm sure you've seen the same (and if you are in a fandom that doesn't have many bipoc it might be wise to take a moment and consider why it doesn't.)

I just really want more people to take a step back and ask themselves why they think an anti-censorship position necessitates an anti-moderation stance, and also why they think being pro-moderation is the same as being pro-censorship.

I defend the rights of bigoted shit to exist.

What I don't defend is the right of the people who create that stuff to weaponize it against vulnerable people.

Regarding AO3, I personally support a solution that involves some way of sectioning off the bigoted shit. I'm not sure exactly how that would work but I think some kind of major archive warning is a solid start. Also maybe a way of flagging authors who are frequent offenders. And to be clear...it's not my job or responsibility to know exactly how to accomplish this. I'm no expert. That's why I'm supporting a movement that explicitly says AO3/OTW SHOULD HIRE AN EXPERT. And I know it would be expensive...and I know many, many of us would donate to a funds drive to raise the money to cover that expense.

I've seen too many friends get profoundly hurt, and I'm so tired of (overwhelmingly white) fandom circles pearl clutching over this not being an issue, that the real problem is that this will lead to censorship of (checks notes) Nazi shit, spitefic, and the other dregs of fanfiction (which, again, has a right to exist! But God why are so many of y'all favoring IT over ALL THE FIC THAT WILL NOW NEVER EXIST BECAUSE BIPOC GET BULLIED OUT OF WRITING IT.)

It's clearly an issue.

And we have to speak up and demand better or it will continue to be an issue.

Please, please listen to the bipoc who've managed to not be driven out of fandom and understand that *things need to change,* which means, for us white folks:

1. A lot of listening to the people who've been harmed

2. Using our voices to amplify theirs

3. Standing up to bigotry we see in our fandom communities

4. Shutting up when they ask us to shut up

5. Checking our own behavior and doing our best not to be part of the problem, and, if and when we go awry, owning it with maturity and apologizing and doing our best to make amends and not repeat our mistakes

...and probably more but those are the first things to come to mind.

Please stop siding with people who've decided they are entitled to spew vile shit, stop prioritizing their writerly protection over the safety of equally valid writers who also deserve protection and are being targeted and hurt. All you do by siding with the assholes is amplify their voices while silencing bipoc and create a space that protects bigots. Is that REALLY the hill you want to fight on?

None of us know it all. We can all learn to do better. I'm personally here to learn, and listen, and improve.

And I'm here to shout from the rooftops that we can be anti-censorship and pro-moderation.

I am, and you should be too.

#unforth rambles #end racism in the otw #end otw racism #hi folks this white jew supports you #id like more tools for moderation too cause ive gotten a little antisemitic shit over the years #but thats not in the post cause this aint about me and its not really about judaism #and if we protect bipoc jews will have more protections too #there are so many reasons to support this guys #just cause yall cant imagine what better would look like doesnt mean better doesnt exist #demand better and expect better and be part of trying to make things better #i will never stop supporting all authors and right now doing that means protecting some of the most vulnerable #from some of the most heinous #i truly think we can develop better protections and maintain posting freedoms

77 notes · View notes

jasminebutintaiwansojiemin · 2 months

Text

July 22nd, 2024 星期一 - NCCU tour, Taipei Zoo, Teahouse in the Mountains

This morning I was so extremely tired so I woke up around 8:45 am and got ready to go to a nearby bakery for breakfast. I sped over there and ended up buying a ham and Swiss croissant and a walnut cinnamon bun thingy. They were pretty tasty and fairly cheap. I then met up with my class and we headed out on a (non-party) bus to visit NCCU, our professor’s alma matter hehe. It was definitely a long drive there but I just ate my pastries on the way. I carried my new water bottle with me all day but quite literally never filled it up 😭

Our first stop at the university was the international dorm, where we were greeted by some of the buildings staff. I lived in the international dorm back when I was a freshman so it was interesting to see what theirs looked like. It was a seven floor building that included both single and double rooms. The size of the single room we toured was at least twice that of the ones at UF. The rooms also had a balcony, its own bedding, and a fairly large mini fridge.

Next we toured the common area which was pretty large BUT lacked a real stove or oven. It was also pretty interesting that there were little cards everywhere with the Chinese name and pinyin of random items such as the fridge and fire extinguisher. The NCCU representative told us that the building is 90% international students and 10% Taiwanese students, which is definitely more than the 60% American students to 40% international students at UF. But I guess having less Taiwanese students gives more space for international students to have housing. The representative also mentioned that a lot of the visiting students are finance majors.

After this, we headed to view the different study spaces around the building before hopping in the bus off to our next tour stop. We ended up at the Dah Hsien Seetoo library, which was donated in 2018 by the former MBA students of NCCU professor Dah Hsien Seetoo. The library was very nice and modern inside, although the temperature was abnormally warm. We toured around the different floors and viewed spaces such as the study rooms and the maker space. Something I found interesting about the study rooms (for undergrads) is that instead of having individual spaces in a room, it was different cubicles you could reserve. For example, one room would have spots ABCDEF, and you would reserve seat D to study. For graduate students, however, there were also designated study spaces that they had the key to for whatever period of time. There is also something like that at UF in Library West, though less modern of course. In the maker space, there were multiple types of 3D printers, an engraver, and a heat press. All machines are free to use and long as you bring your own graphic or AI file to send to the machines.

At the end we visited a famous cafe in the bottom floor of the library. Some students got coffee and deserts but I was more interested in watching the ducks that lived in a little house outside by the nearby pond. There weren’t out when we first got there but later they came out and swam around. I went to the shore of the pond a few times to look at them better and they came onto the bank to play in the bushes. After the coffee shop, we headed out to NCCU’s version of University Blvd, a street with a lot of restaurants and boba shops. Some classmates and I decided on a dumpling shop down the street. I got pork and veggie potstickers, Korean style potstickers, and a pork and veggie wonton noddle soup. After lunch, we walked around for a bit and our professor bought us ice cream (<3) since it was so hot. I also ended up buying a passion fruit tea with coconut jelly.

We then headed to the zoo. It was a very very large zoo, it had a tram to take from one side to the other. We first viewed the kolas and pandas as a group. The kolas were so cute and fully. They looked very sleepy which I resonate with HEAVY. At first we couldn’t see much of the pandas, but after the zookeepers brought out their lunch, they were visible. They were so cute and large and fluffy. They almost looked fake haha. I visited the upstairs gift shop of the panda exhibit and bought a fairly good quality canvas tote bag with a drawn map of Taipei on it. Next, we took the tram to the reptile exhibit. There were more turtles and tortoises in this zoo than I think I’ve ever seen in my life. We explored several other exhibits afterwards— including the penguins, giraffes, elephants, sun bears, zebras, mandarin ducks, and Pygmy hippos. Something interesting about this zoo was the insane amount of food options. I feel like zoos in the U.S. barely have food places, and if they do, it’s super overpriced. At the end, we met with the rest of the class at the main gift shop. I folded last minute a bought a cute turtle keychain and a capybara with a turtle backpack (I might like turtles idk).

Next we took some group pictures outside before heading in the bus up a mountain to go to a famous teahouse. We got to experience the tea ceremony with jasmine tea (hehe) and I ordered some soy sauce braised chicken wings and a bowl of rice as a snack. After eating, I walked around outside and watched my classmates search for a large stick to beat up a spider so they could go down a path to cross a bridge to get closer to the nearby waterfall. There were some crazy mosquitos out there but thankfully our professor lent us mosquito spray when we had first got off the bus. I pet a very talkative orange cat while I was walking around outside (the cats in Taiwan so far tend got be so talkative). Eventually we did the drive home, where I showered, and then met with some of my classmates to get Indian food.

Academic Reflection

Taiwan Zoo was originally just the privately owned zoo of a Japanese man in the northern part of Taipei City. After just a year, the then Japanese government of Taiwan bought the land and turned it into a public park called the Maruyama Zoo (Maruyama is now called Yuanshan). After World War 2, the park was taken over by the ROC Taipei City government. One of the most popular animals was Lin Wang, an Asian elephant that worked during the second Sino-Japanese and relocated with the Kuomintang. He was the most popular animal until the zoo received 2 pandas from Mainland China.

In 1973 they made plans to build a modern zoo and after thirteen years, the original zoo in Yuanshan was closed and a new zoo in the southern part of Taipei was opened on New Year’s Day. The location was moved to accommodate more animals and give more space for the both the recreation and research sides to function. The new Taiwan Zoo is now one of the largest zoos in Asia, and focuses on the conservation and research of animals and insects. Something unique about this zoo is the Formosa animal area, where zoo visitors can see native Taiwanese animals such as Eurasian otters, Pangolins, and sika deer.

#chinese language #taiwan #taipei #travel

3 notes · View notes

takeoutchopstix · 7 months

Text

periodic reminder to other nonblack people that every right we have is due to black liberation movements throughout history.

as a nonblack person of color in the so-called United States, black liberation movements paved the way for increased civil rights for nbpoc.

black feminists created the theory and practice of intersectionality that allows my voice as a queer woman of color to be represented in some capacity in feminist spaces.

black trans women threw bricks at cops and started the gay liberation movement.

it's time we stopped bugging black people about showing solidarity for our liberation and started showing real solidarity for theirs.

this is your call to actually engage in black liberation in a meaningful way.

this is your reminder that black people calling out antiblackness in left wing spaces is not dividing us, rather, our perpetuation of antiblackness through our failure to address it within our communities is dividing us.

this is your push to engage in real, tangible action towards the liberation of Sudan, the DRC, and Tigray, to learn about pan-africanism and black leftism, to engage with Stop Cop City, and to fight antiblackness in your communities. to call out your friends, coworkers, family members, anyone you know. to donate what you can. to protest when you can.

stop arguing with no one. stay focused. check your privilege.

#my only thoughts on the discourse™©®

4 notes · View notes

tuliptiger · 5 months

Text

A vent post

I am exhausted in this week of weeks. Im exhausted of being alive and living in this world. Bone deep, and tired. 27 years old and I'm so, so weary.

I don't understand how people can live freely and unburdened, or in the very least they've figured out how to move forward and dream and build their lives. I don't feel like I can dream, I'm tired of my privilege and that's a privilege in of itself. I'm poor, I'm alone ie I support myself and I'm there for myself, I'm in a transition life period right now and it's nightmarish.

I still enjoy thing from time to time, I still have my pets at my moms when I visit I only dream of one day having back at my house that isn't built but has been in construction for a year and a half now. I try to eat healthy but still enjoy the foods I like, I'm heavier than I've ever been. Unemployment still isn't figured out but looks hopeful, hopeful enough to believe it resolved this or next week.

I think I'll be fine in the long run but I can't enjoy what I have knowing others have less because in all of these personal life issues and challenges and joys there is still a war we're complicit in. There are still horrific famines and struggles and I cannot take on the world's burdens but. As an American I'm tied to it and there is only so much I can do.

I don't want to give up my life. Some don't have a choice I feel bad about that but I can't give up my life, for the last couple years of my life I've finally relearned how to like living and regained the want to live again. Guilt does nobody any good especially in this instance, I know I know I know it's a white American privilege to even get to feel this way but I don't know what to do about it within my power.

I can't not feel bad about it but I don't know how to make it not crippling. I cannot enjoy my life knowing these atrocities are happening I don't know how. Is it ok to enjoy my life? Why do I need someone to tell me that. I grew up poor, I lived poor, I am poor but I'm building a house with all of my willpower and money I possess I don't think I have a bad job $42,000 a year (if I get to work the full year) I don't think is bad I can live this way I am living this way and I don't desire more other than to cover the house costs.

I feel privileged to have a car, to get a loan and go into debt and to be able to, as hard fought and disaster ridden this house buying/building process has been I FEEL the privilege but it feels like a lead anchor and not a joy. There is no joy in any of this the only thing I truly feel grateful for is my car.

How can I be building a house when thousands and hundreds of thousands have lost theirs over and over again how can I complain about loans and debt and prices. I deserve a house too but I don't feel like it right now even if it isn't helpful. We all deserve housing, I am not excluded but I just. I don't, I can't feel any different man.

This will never be over in my lifetime, the Palestinian struggle will end eventually it must. They will be free they will be safe I have to believe but American horrors and involvement in all of the worst parts of the world will never end in my life. People will give their lives to try and slow it and mitigate it but I don't see America changing without a full blown internal war. And I can't cope with the loss of life, the loss of these modern day current heroes protesting and dying and losing parts of their lives for what?

Americas puppet, americas arms, americas power and money and profit. For what for what for what for what for what I can't understand it at all. I don't have the power, the money or the people to help. I just reblog posts, share info, keep my support unwavering and beliefs firm but I'm not doing anything of importance. I'm not showing up, I'm not donating I'm not doing anything of value whatsoever I'm just chattering. I'm scared when I don't have a right to be.

People with american flags and guns, firm beliefs of sexism, racism, who regularly say they wouldn't mind killing minorities and women and anyone not in their approved people list. People who the people in power would throw away and kill readily for the hell of it willing to kill others for nothing. I am scared to face them I am not going to lie. It's terrifying knowing people that are dangerous, stupid and blind are on the other side waiting for an excuse.

I don't control any fate or events in the future. I can't see this getting any better, I've felt it in my bones since COVID but we're on the track of it getting worse, and worse before it gets better. And man rock bottom feels like a long, long way away from here. Sorry for the tone of this entire thing but, I've not been feeling good lately. And I don't know what to do about it.

#words #vent #war #loss #idk what to tag this #content warning #depressed #privilege

4 notes · View notes

40sandfabulousaf · 10 months

Text

大家好! After trying - and falling in love with - Anta's tees, sports bras, shorts and shoes, my latest buy: their tights! In preparation for rainy weather ahead, I purchased 2 pairs and I'm so delighted with this first one. Thick, durable yet soft and stretchy, they're extremely comfy and high quality. I'm thinking of buying 2 more pairs so that I have them on rotation during colder periods.

Grace and Douglas made ju geok chou (vinegar pork trotter) and their version, stewed with lots of higher quality Bentong ginger and vinegar, tastes better than that sold by restaurants and other dining establishments! I always have at least 2 servings of rice whenever they cook ju geok chou or gai zao (chicken wine). After our catch up, I danced for 45 minutes to get rid of the jelak (saturated/bloated) feeling. This was my red meat for the week and it was satisfying! I don't eat this dish from commercial dining establishments because the couple does theirs so darned well.

youtube

Char kway teow, on its own, is another of our national staples; flavourful, fragrant and full of wok hey, this is a local favourite. A simpler and plainer version is sometimes sold at some cai fan (mixed dishes and rice) stalls and customers may opt for it to go with their chosen protein and veggies instead of rice. It was a delicious accompaniment to steamed fish, scrambled eggs with carrots, stirfried bean sprouts as well as stirfried cabbage with fu pi (beancurd skin). Not only are we spoiled with moderately healthy and delicious options, a digital nomad from the UK also thinks our local coffee is 1 of the best she's ever tasted. I totally agree with her, btw.

youtube

Our national dish, chicken rice, is globally loved and acclaimed; locally, it's so delicious, entire gatherings are organised around it! SC, CY, MI, and I feasted on the most tender chicken in the world and all of us wiped our plates clean. Food is so needed in Gaza that wasting any seems unforgivable. About 1,400 Israeli and 10,000 Palestinian civilians have died since 7 October - a tragedy. I'll continue to pray very hard for a ceasefire so that innocent lives may be spared.

youtube

Israel's ties with my country go back a long way and I must condemn terrorist attacks against Israel because of this relationship; that doesn't mean I can't feel sympathy for Palestine when their civilian death toll is so high. I sympathise with Palestinian civilians' suffering very deeply as a human being. Let's remember a prayer: Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy so I pray that just as people pray for mercy, so should they practise it towards others. Let there be a ceasefire because it's the merciful thing to do. 下次见！

#Youtube

0 notes

kevinaleja03 · 1 year

Text

The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Your Twitch Viewer Engagement

In the ever-evolving world of online content creation, Twitch has emerged as a powerhouse platform for live streaming. With millions of content creators and viewers worldwide, it's become imperative for streamers to find effective achat viewer twitch ways to stand out and attract a loyal audience. If you're looking to enhance your Twitch viewer engagement and ultimately grow your channel, you're in the right place. We've compiled a comprehensive guide that will equip you with the strategies and insights you need to succeed.

Understanding the Importance of Viewer Engagement

Before diving into the strategies, it's crucial to comprehend why viewer engagement is the cornerstone of a successful Twitch channel. When viewers feel a strong connection with a streamer, they are more likely to:

Stay Longer: Engaged viewers tend to watch streams for extended periods, which can boost your average viewership.

Interact More: Engaged viewers are active in the chat, fostering a sense of community and interaction among your audience.

Subscribe and Donate: Engaged viewers are more inclined to subscribe to your channel and even make donations, providing a vital source of income for streamers.

Crafting Compelling Content

To captivate your audience, you need to provide them with content that resonates. Here's how:

1. Find Your Niche

Identify a niche that aligns with your interests and expertise. Streaming content that you are passionate about will make your broadcasts more authentic and engaging.

2. Plan Your Streams

Create a streaming schedule that your viewers can rely on. Consistency is key to building a dedicated audience. Make sure to announce your schedule on your channel.

3. Interactive Content

Engage with your audience by asking questions, responding to comments, and involving them in your gaming or creative process.

Enhancing Viewer Interaction

The more you involve your viewers, the more invested they become in your channel. Here are some effective ways to boost interaction:

1. Chat Engagement

Greet new viewers by name.

Use chat overlays to display important messages.

Encourage discussions and debates on relevant topics.

2. Loyalty Programs

Implement loyalty points systems that reward viewers for their activity. Offer unique benefits for loyal subscribers.

3. Q&A Sessions

Host regular Q&A sessions where viewers can ask questions about your streaming setup, gaming strategies, or personal interests.

Technical Optimization

Technical aspects play a crucial role in viewer engagement. Ensure that your stream is of the highest quality:

1. High-Quality Equipment

Invest in a good microphone, camera, and gaming setup. Clear audio and video are essential for retaining viewers.

2. Stream Stability

Use a stable internet connection to prevent buffering and disruptions during your streams.

3. Overlay and Alerts

Customize your stream with overlays and alerts that match your brand. These visuals can make your stream more visually appealing.

Leveraging Social Media

Expand your reach beyond Twitch by leveraging social media platforms:

1. Twitter

Share highlights from your streams, announcements, and engage with your followers regularly.

2. Instagram

Use Instagram to offer behind-the-scenes glimpses into your streaming life and showcase your personality.

3. Discord

Create a Discord server for your community to foster a sense of belonging among your viewers.

Collaboration and Networking

Collaborating with other streamers and networking within the Twitch community can help you reach new audiences. Consider the following:

1. Guest Appearances

Invite fellow streamers for guest appearances on your channel or participate in theirs.

2. Raiding

Raiding is a great way to introduce your viewers to another streamer's content and vice versa.

Analytics and Adaptation

Regularly analyze your channel's performance using Twitch Analytics. Adjust your strategies based on the data:

1. Viewer Demographicsa

Understand your audience's age, location, and interests to tailor your content accordingly.

2. Popular Content

Identify your most popular streams and replicate the elements that made them successful.

3. Engagement Metrics

Monitor chat activity, subscriber growth, and viewer retention to gauge the effectiveness of your engagement efforts.

In conclusion, the key to outranking other articles on Twitch viewer engagement is to consistently provide value to your audience. Building a dedicated community of engaged viewers takes time and effort, but by following these strategies and adapting to your audience's preferences, you can create a Twitch channel that not only ranks well on Google but also thrives in the competitive world of online streaming.

0 notes

alyjojo · 1 year

Text

Advice to Work on Yourself 🏊🏼‍♀️ in August 2023: Libra

Justice - The Star - Death

Regarding: The Magician

Right off the bat, your reading is about healing, but it’s something you’ve put off. There is a romantic relationship involved with this, and you’ve been needing to come to Justice - making a decision - which 2 Swords shows you’ve not been doing. Both Libra energies. It’s the waiting to make a decision that’s causing resistance, possessiveness, grudges, negative behaviors towards you, people involved are seeing you as greedy and out for yourself. Which is just more for you to heal, the perceptions of others matters greatly to Libra placements. Not all, but generally as a rule.

These rows are showing you can A) Heal the connection with this person, probably a romantic one with The Lovers here. Or B) End it for good, 10 & 9 Swords, you know this is a betrayal, you know it’s going to cause a lot of pain, and you stress out constantly because you don’t want to make this decision or be put in this position at all. But the advice is Justice - make a decision. Cut through the options until one is left - your decision. If you’re unhappy, ok leave…but like, leave. Otherwise, heal - The Star, and take actions towards making this relationship better and not just more of the same thing different day. Marina is showing this person can intuitively see through you, and that freaks you out, you worry about what they see. You don’t think this can heal, but it’s more like you don’t want to face yourself & actually make necessary changes…shadow work 😈 , it’s easier to start over. Justice comes with karma, either decision is a consequence whether positive or negative, and will have further karmic situations attached, depending on your own life, path, theirs & this situation. Honeybee nods towards healing the connection, or at least acting with integrity & compassion. For having all major arcana cards, it’s still free will, it’s more of a “be certain, and choose” sort of message. Death with 10 Swords is death, there’s no coming back from that. It feels like karma & progress is stuck until you decide, and only then will things begin moving again. Being majors, this is a major & transformative period of your life.

Animal Oracle: Honeybee 🐝

“Let compassion and forgiveness be your top priority in this situation.”

To reap all the sweetness that life has to offer, focus on compassion and forgiveness. Compassion means that you have heartfelt empathy for the suffering and misfortune of others yet remain somewhat detached so that you don’t take on their sorrow and distress as your own. Forgiveness requires that you first acknowledge and accept responsibility for your judgements, rather than pretending they don’t exist or proclaiming to always have a nonjudgmental attitude. The next step is to release those judgements. To do so, think of someone, past or present, with whom you have judgements or criticisms. Trust that the first person that comes to mind is the appropriate one to start with. Consider two or three specific criticisms you have about this individual, preferably captured with one word, like selfish or cold. Now go inside yourself, and look for the part of you that’s exactly like what you’re judging in the other person.

It may be a very prominent part of yourself, or it may be very small. Once you find that part of yourself, and recognize it, say to it “I love you and I forgive you.” Practice this one time every day, and pay attention to any feelings that come up throughout the day that remind you or recall you to this experience as you work through your judgements, they’re important.

Artist Oracle: MARINA ABRAMOVIC

- Sceptic, heal thyself.

- Discipline is both a noun and a verb.

- When a stranger stares into your soul, do not press charges. Stare back.

Advice:

- Donate to Your Local Food Bank

- Practice Being Assertive

Charms:

Intuitive ♓️ on 4 Pentacles is your person picking up on your energy, they can sense something is off about you. You’re holding back from them, and it’s making them feel defensive and guarded, like they can’t trust you. Could be dealing with a Pisces, or someone that can read emotions, energy, they feel like you’re tapped out but you aren’t actually, and it’s causing a lot of unnecessary hurt & confusion for them, which is making it worse for you too, karmically, not better.

Hummingbird 🌺 on The Star is swift action towards healing, if you want to heal the connection with this person then you have to step up and say so, no acting indecisive and unsure. Your indecision makes this person insecure, and nothing goes anywhere positive with that, that’s why the advice is be sure, then decide. But like…now.

Wedding Bells 🔔 on 10 Swords could be an actual marriage that’s splitting up, Justice would show divorce & a legal case in that situation. Or it feels like one, you’ve been together for quite some time, and part of you wants to split while the other part of you can’t imagine actually splitting up assets, putting things in boxes…being without them. But you torture them and yourself with constant indecision, like that’s love? A lot of this you’re not even speaking to them, none of these swords cards are open or honest in communication at all.

Angel 😇 on Donate is pointing out your kind & giving nature, reminding you this is a part of you. I see this card come out a lot for people that are stuck, as a gentle reminder that a lot of people are in worse situations. You could see things differently from the perspective of someone that would need what you’re donating, if that makes sense, I’m just hearing “think about it”.

#libra tarot reading #Libra #advice to work on yourself #august 2023 #tarot #advice #tarotblr

0 notes

katkenyon · 2 years

Text

Why I Did My Own Photoshoot.

There may be a lot going on in the world, but I'm in the middle of testing new covers for my books and the subject of the photoshoots for my series has come up.

Smart people will tell you to start small. Get a premade cover from the many brilliant designers who do amazing things with stock images.

Hell, that's what I'll tell you to do. And I am doing it for a small project, but for my series, ugh. I'm a bit extra.

For Blood & Iron Warriors I needed the same people on for 7 straight books. That's a lot of images of the same models. Given it's a new adult/college and sports romance/football romance series, that meant getting my hands on images taken at the same time period so they don't age.

7 books, 7 covers + back images. Then looking at any possible recovers, that would be nest to impossible to get from stock and match up. Not to mention the marketing images.

And to be fair, I suck at sharing.

Even as a child there's a legend of me being horrible in kindergarten and getting a bit "hostile" about sharing the cardboard bricks, and not much has changed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to donate to good causes, I give things to others, but in my head those things become theirs. Mine is still mine. I kill every bug that comes into my house because I didn't invite them. It's my house. They need to make their house somewhere else.

I know, I know, it's weird, anyway that glitch in my personality and the difficulty in finding matching images for 7 books, plus the cost...led to me to say.... oooh yeah, an exclusive shoot.

Now, I have an advantage. Before writing I was in law, and before that, I was in marketing for 10 years.

Which meant for me, photoshoots are fun. Don't get me wrong, they're a ton of work, months of it in fact, but they're an amazing experience. Intensively creative, and give you the creative freedom to explore your story in the visual medium. Also, for us control freaks and detail divas, it gives you better control over the final outcome.

Of course I am not a photographer. My talents and experience make me qualified to be an art director, but the first thing I did was reach out to photographers in the industry. Honesty, I didn't want to do the work from front to back. I'd done it back in my marketing days and I knew what it would take to do it.

I won't go into detail about why that path didn't work, but what I will say is, based on what I wanted creatively and legally, and my experience working with commercial photographers, I made the call directly to the agency representing the model I wanted to work with, and a local photographer who, while not having cover model experience, had plenty of experience and charged per hour and gave me a buy out.

That's not something that everyone can do. I've been an art director on a set. I've called agency and know the legal issues. But it worked for me and it was a blast. Keep a fun set, keep it moving, and everyone's happy. It also meant was that instead of paying between $700-$1500 per exclusive image of my model with no merchandising and marketing rights... I paid 2 models for 2 half day sessions, my photographer for 2 from Cleveland, the studio rentals, and ended up with over 1500 images and the right to do whatever I want with images as long as it's for this series.

I'm not going to give the exact amount it cost, but the amount is less than the first round of front covers of the exclusive covers of my model.

And now that I'm testing new covers and working on the boxset, the cost savings is huge. And keep in mind that many of the exclusive licenses have time limits, and for slow-poke writers like me, I don't lose the rights. Ever.

And bonus, I have so many images for marketing it's ridiculous. I was able to get legitimately meta.

Then there's the copyright. Normally, the photographer owns the copyright. Full stop.

Authors need to understand that and trace the ownership of the images they use in their marketing. Which was hard a year ago, and going to be even harder going forward with AI art. When yo know who owns it, then you have to get the rights, and obey the rights, But, when you do the photoshoot yourself, and do it work-for-hire, it's not an issue.

Which means I own enough pictures to recover for over 20 years with the same people in different poses. I may change the tone of my covers, but the people will be the same. Which saves me money. A lot of money. And the images will never be mistaken for someone else's book.

When the book is a series it makes sense. When you have a primary skill set it makes sense. When you are a child with an inability to share it doesn't make sense, but it's slightly understandable. And when your models are absolutely lovely, it's fun enough that sense flies out the window.

-Kat

#writerslife #photoshoot #romance covers #copyright #work-for-hire #photograher #romance series covers #self-publishing

1 note · View note

addypokmadid · 2 years

Text

12 Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Home

Ah yes: It is that time of year in which you are going to hear the birds begin chirping; the sunset sets later thanks to Daylight Savings Time; the audio of someone with a lawnmower to cut the lawn of theirs and also someone operating in the automobile of theirs, SUV, truck, etc. while listening to that ever present thump of the bass from the sound system of theirs. Almost all of this implies Spring will be here (actually the season officially took place on March 20.) Spring is a period for re birth, forget about brand new year's, this's the season getting hectic and do things that you always aspired to do. In the personal opinion of mine, Winter is as the guest which wouldn't leave: that individual was awesome whenever they stopped by. But after some time, you get fed up with them and also you wish to kick them out there.

When you would like to get involved with Spring Cleaning, below are a set of directions to assist you along the way:

The Inside Job:

Storm Windows

Your storm windows were up for an honest while by now. I'm guessing the last time you really started your windows was perhaps between Early October as well as last September. This's the perfect time to take on the storm windows. After an approximate Winter of cold rain, ice, sleet, ice, conditions in the single digits with wind chills below zero occasionally during the time period, the thought of opening the windows and let the new air come into your house is sounds good.

Mop and Dust each kitchen in the home

After dealing with folks tracking in dirt, salt, and the snow while walking interior during the wintertime, Spring is time that is perfect to work with a mop to thoroughly clean the floors. Get a mop, pail, some cleaning and dust rag items (Pine Sol,Windex, Clorox, etc.) for busy. If you've carpet in the family room of yours as well as dining room floor, do the vacuum to sweep the every single space to eliminate additional debris and dirt. When you do not wish to do that here, employ a certified carpet cleaner to do the job.

Clean the Basement and Attic

Yeah, it is annoying to clean both the crawl space and basement since you've to proceed things around together with trying to determine what to stay and what you should throw out. Though this particular task is worth due to 2 reasons: one) you are able to produce lots of room in both areas and two) you might get generate money off of your unwanted things by the method of a Yard Sale. It is that way old stating "Another male's trash is another male's treasure."

Clean the closet and dresser drawers

All of us have clothes that possibly we do not use anymore; are extremely small; way too big; or perhaps never ever had the opportunity to put on it at all and so it is of style. When you would like to develop a little area in the closet of yours for some new attire, why don't you donate those outdated garments, shoes, caps, belts, jewelry, etc. to the local Salvation Army of yours, Thrift or Goodwill shop. The very same thing goes on your dresser drawers. You have to clean off the top part and inside every drawer therefore you not produce a little room but also become in a position to shut them without getting something sticking out.

Remove winter curtains

The heavy curtains served the purpose of its during the cold months to safeguard us in the chilly air/breeze from coming into the houses of ours. Today may be the time frame to take on the large curtains and erect the lighter curtains therefore after the windows are opened, we are able to really feel the heat of Spring.

Clean the ceiling fan

If you've a ceiling fan, clean it frequently. There's absolutely nothing much more awkward than having business over to the location of yours and if you switch on the lover, the dust simply flies from the fan handle and the guest of yours will view the debris fall on the floor. In order to save the embarrassment, buy a dust rag and spotless each fan blade at least one time a week.

Let us go outside:

Remove Decorations and christmas lights

When you haven't taken down the outside Christmas lights of yours or maybe decorations by now, particularly if the weather in the city of yours or maybe town was pretty decent during winter months, please do it immediately. You do not wish to be The person that also has their Christmas decorations when it is 75 80 degrees outside.

Rake up tree limbs

Your front along with backyard (in case you've one) may be covered with tree limbs, foliage, other debris leftover and garbage during winter months. What you have to accomplish is get a few of garbage bags, rake, broom, shovel and a sturdy garbage can and handle business. After you are done with that job, you may consider cutting the grass. However, in case your lawn is in poor form, utilize some grass seed to assist the lawn flourish during the Summer and Spring (Experts state that the most effective moment to use grass seed is in December and November because the rain, ice, along with sleet may truly make the grass grow more quickly, but that shouldn't prevent you from adding lawn seed right now.)

Plant flowers, trees, bushes, shrubs, trees, and yard maintenance

If you've a green thumb and really like the thought of working outdoors with vegetation, this's up the alley of yours. Springtime is an excellent to grow flowers as well as trees, then add seeds into the soil to be able to grow veggies and in case you opt to do this, add a little bushed and shrubs. Spring will be the season in which the grass grows really fast. So you have to cut the grass of yours at least one time a week until June, where lawn does not develop as rapidly. As a homeowner, it's really important to have a well maintained lawn since it gives the suggestion that you genuinely care about the community of yours.

Set out the deck furniture

It's an inconvenience to obtain the deck furniture out of your basement or storage area, but hey it's well worth it setting the chairs as well as tables outside, particularly after being cooped up in the home throughout the Winter long and at exactly the same period, you look ahead to sitting outdoors during a warm and nice Spring day. Be sure you wipe down all of the chairs and also tables thoroughly with water and soap after you put them outside. Furthermore, in case you've seat cushions for all the seats, wash and wash all those down as well.

Clean out the barbecue grill

Unless the grill was used during the Winter since you skipped experiencing barbeque, you most likely haven't used it after Labor Day. Before that very first barbecue, fresh out the grill quite thoroughly with water and soap. Make certain you can find no debris, cobwebs, etc. in the grill of yours. After some time, you are going to have a shiny and clean grill and within absolutely no time getting cookouts during the Summer and Spring will become a normal item at the house of yours. However, in case your grill is both old or on the final legs of its, my suggestion is you invest in a brand new one. Check your local online or newspaper for a number of bargains on a grill.

Clean the Garage

The same as the attic as well as basement, cleaning the storage area is a huge time headache because most of us have put a lot of things in there, we frequently say "I must cleanse the garage" so we do not ever get around to it. Well, today will be the day to wash it out. Yeah, it may be an all day work (or a 2 3 day job depend upon just how much things you've in there) though it's worth every penny. Begin by producing a heap of what things to stay and what you should throw away. Next, eliminate any garbage and boxes that you have in the storage area. Then, determine if you wish to use a garage sale for the products that you have to toss out--who understands, just like the yard sale example discussed previously, you can generate money off of your unwanted items. Lastly, when you've completed the project, have a look to find out if you are pleased with the storage area of course, if not, keep at it until you think it's entirely spotless.

Spring Cleaning is a difficult process to deal with. This article provided a number of measures to take to be able to receive the job done. One last element, in case you would like turn the task go just a little quicker, switch on some music - it operates every single time.

Find More Information: koschs.com

youtube

#Youtube

1 note · View note