#until I get more used to putting stuff down regularly at least

[ivystoryweaver]

With You part 6

<- prev next -> || Fic Masterlist || My Masterlist

Summary: Will you always have to wake up in the middle of the night just to get to know Jake? Marc and Steven notice your yearning to see Jake again.

Pairings: Marc Spector x reader, Steven Grant x reader, Jake Lockley x reader. Gender neutral reader. No use of Y/N. Reader is engaged to Marc and Steven.

Word Count: 3k

Warnings/notables: Fluff, complicated relationship stuff, cursing, angst, sex but the language is not overly explicit and nothing gender-specific. Let me know if I missed a warning. inaccurate DID, based on the show. Not beta'd we die like arthur harrow in the back of jake's car

Dividers by saradika

PREVIOUSLY, on "With You"...

Wondering what he would ever do without you, Marc pulled you close, gently swaying with you in the silence of your flat. He had always felt so hard to love - his childhood had made sure of that. But you loved him hard.

One of the delicious advantages of being with Marc was that he liked to bury his angst, longing and inadequacies inside your body. Perhaps fucking through his feelings wasn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but it was better than drinking, and cheaper than therapy.

That's not to say Marc didn't see a therapist - he did, pretty regularly. But being inside you felt so much better than unearthing the shit from his childhood.

That's where you found yourself now, face down on the mattress, Marc's strong chest pressed to your back. Your sweat-soaked bodies writhed in tormented bliss as he thrust in and out of you - hard and almost frustratingly slow.

His thick fingers pushed their way through yours, intertwining, pressing your hands high above your head as he twisted his body deeper into yours.

You were helpless beneath him. And you loved it.

Marc was able to control so few things about his existence. The use of your body was one thing you happily and trustingly put completely in his control.

You and Marc did make soup together for dinner, but no matzah balls were harmed in the making of the soup. It was hearty enough for Marc, but also vegan for Steven. You made a mental note ask Jake what kind of food he liked.

"I don't think Jake's a vegan," Marc spoke up, reading your mind. "I think he's the reason my sandwiches are gone half the fuckin' time."

Marc and his sandwiches. He had sworn up and down, on more than one occasion, that either you or Steven had eaten his damn roast beef sandwiches. You always denied it, preferring turkey to beef. And Steven always fired back with, "Y'know I don't eat that shite, mate."

"Oh my god, I think you just solved a mystery," you marveled. The Mystery of the Roast Beef Sandwich and its thief.

Yeah, Marc wondered what else Jake was prone to stealing. Clothes? Money? You?

Then again, Marc couldn't really say anything about money at the moment. He didn't have a job, unless he counted the occasional times he fronted during Steven's university library shift. You were the breadwinner, at least for the time being, lovingly supporting Steven in getting a degree to actually match up to his intellect.

But sharing you? Was it even sharing if it was the same body? And was it even his business if you wanted to be with Jake? He had no fucking clue. All he knew was that you were about to be his spouse. Steven's too, really. But you barely knew Jake. How could you marry someone you didn't know?

"I can hear you thinking," you teased, slathering some fresh-baked bread with butter. "Wanna talk about it? Cause I don't think I can go anymore rounds today - between you and Steven." Meaning Marc wouldn't be able to bury his worries inside you until your body got a damn break.

"Do you mean between me and Steven and Jake?" Marc pointedly asked.

You dropped the butter knife. "W-what?" You squawked. "I haven't slept with Jake."

"But...you want to." Easing beside you, Marc leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Do you?"

You reallly should have spouted off a quick 'no'. But you hesitated.

"Shit," he groaned. "I shoulda known."

"I didn't say anything!" You protested, a little too innocently.

"Exactly," Marc huffed. "You didn't deny it."

"You kind of put me on the spot," you defended, retrieving the knife and returning to your task, furiously coating a slice of bread with five times too much butter. "Besides, Jake drives me crazy. If he climbs in the damn window again, I think I might shove him right back out."

"Ah, hell, it's worse than I thought," Marc grumbled, folding his toned arms over his chest in a distinct, defiant pout.

"How is it worse?" You scoffed. "And...what is worse?"

"You... him... shit," he sighed. "He got to you."

"He didn't," you protested. "Nothing happened. N-not really..." your voice trailed off as Marc's eyes flashed with possessiveness.

"Not really? I thought you said he didn't touch you. What the hell..." He paused, glancing at his reflection in the microwave.

"Is that Steven?" You interrupted, barging in to what you usually respected as private conversation between the boys. "What is he saying?"

Fixing his eyes back on you, Marc smirked triumphantly. "He's saying you look 'a bit flustered,' which would make sense, since you wore those black satin pj's and set your alarm just to see 'that mysterious bloke'."

"Steven, you are such a traitor!" You whined. "You guys are ganging up on me! I just wanted to talk to him."

"Mm-hmm," Marc hummed, caging you in against the counter with one arm on either side of your body. "So that's all you did - talk? In black satin? In the middle of the night?"

Narrowing your eyes, you called his bluff. "You guys are really obsessed with those pj's. Maybe you would have preferred I only wore your t-shirt? Or, I could have slept the way I sleep with you half the time - in nothing."

"Sure, mm-hmm," Marc playfully nodded down at you, mockingly agreeing with every word out of your mouth.

"Besides," you added, giving his chest a playful shove, "who knows how many times Jake has come home and found me like that - then slept beside me anyway?"

Marc went dead silent.

"I'm gonna kill him," he decided, waiting just a beat before scooping you up and throwing you over his shoulder, spinning you around the kitchen playfully. "First him..." you squealed as he tickled your side, feeling a mixture of giddiness and dizziness as he manhandled you, "then you. And then him again."

"Marc, put me down, put me down!" you giggled delightedly, banging your fists on his back.

After a few more twirls, and howls of laughter from you, he conceded, steadying you back against the counter. The two of you were smiling, breathless... his strong arms caged you in again as he wet his lips with his tongue.

Ducking down, he pressed his body into yours, breathing hotly against your open mouth.

"Promise me something..." he murmured, sucking on your bottom lip and swiping his tongue inside your mouth. He pulled back just a little, teasing you.

"What?" you impatiently demanded, chasing after his lips.

Sliding one hand around the back of your neck, he crushed his lips to yours, giving you what you really wanted. Gripping your jaw, he slid his tongue over yours, licking hotly as you groaned in satisfaction. You could never get tired of kissing this man.

"Promise me," he finally whispered, kissing the corner of your mouth, nuzzling your cheek with his nose. "Promise you'll tell me if something does happen - with Jake, I mean."

Easing back, he stared down into your eyes - his own warm, brown gaze pleading. "I know you don't have to. It-it's not my business, really, but..."

Sighing reluctantly, he poured his heart out to you. He knew he was safe with you - safe to show you what he really felt inside. "It's not like Steven," he admitted. "I don't know Jake. I just...I don't want anything to happen to you."

Nodding quickly, you reached up to caress his face. "Marc, of course. You're going to be my husband - of course I would tell you that."

"Really?" His eyes sparkled with relief and love.

"Yes, really," you sweetly whispered. "And I know there's no part of you that could ever hurt me."

After all that fuss with Steven and Marc, and the damn black satin pajamas, you actually thought you might see Jake again soon - particularly since he had finally introduced himself to his alters.

You thought wrong.

Jake went back to being Jake, not interacting with you or Marc or Steven, and the three of you were none the wiser about how he spent his time.

You couldn't wreck your entire sleep schedule just to look for him every night. He clearly had no intention of interacting with you during waking hours. You tried very hard not to take it personally. After all, you barely knew one another. But Steven and Marc could tell you thought of him...worried after him.

"I think you should wait up for him one night, love," Steven suggested one evening as you sat cuddled on the couch, reading together. London was being London again. The heavens had opened, dumping cold, wet rain for hours, and creating the perfect, candlelit night in for you and Steven.

Glancing over at your fiancé, so adorable in his oversized jumper, your eyebrows knit together questioningly. "You mean, set my alarm? 'Ambush' him again?"

Reaching up to pull his reading glasses off his nose, Steven shrugged. "Don't think it's much of an ambush, really. Just lovely you wanting to talk, is all. No harm in that."

Smiling warmly, you reached for his hand. "I don't think he sees me quite the way you do, my love."

"Not very bright then, is he? Running 'round at all hours for the old bird, missing the chance to come home to a wonder like you."

"Steven," you gasped, grinning at him. "Talking like that is going to bring an end to our night of reading very quickly."

"Fine by me, darling," he chuckled, tossing his book aside without even bothering to mark the page - something Steven never did. "Because I'm not the dimwitted bloke ignoring what's right in front of me." Scooting closer, he pulled you into his arms. "His loss is my gain, I'd say. Have you all the more to m'self."

So it was decided.

You would wait up for Jake (or wake up -whichever) to see if he wanted to interact with you, and ask how he was doing. It was possible, and in your mind, likely, that he didn't want to be a part of your life. But you wanted to hear it from his own mouth, especially since he slept beside you - in your bed, in your home.

Despite your general apprehension, you decided to be your most normal self and sleep (or in this case, stay awake) in one of Marc's white undershirts - they were so soft and smelled so deliciously like him. Steven's fuzzy goldfish socks found their way to your freezing feet.

You took a long nap and drank a huge cup of coffee (made perfectly by Marc) before bed. You were determined to stay up and see how Jake typically began his nighttime routine. He always ninja'd around like some sort of Father Christmas - waiting til everyone was completely asleep before darting in and out of the flat.

It would be your luck that Jake probably wouldn't even front tonight, and your caffeinated body would stare at your sleeping fiancé for the next several hours.

At first, it was difficult to resist cuddling up with your sleepy Steven. He did manage to adorably whine that he needed you, but you quickly reminded him that this was his idea.

"Just miss you 's all," he murmured, drifting off to dreamland.

You got bored very quickly. Steven had recommended a podcast called, 'Welcome to Staying Awake.' Finding some headphones, you tried it out, following the directions it suggested - reading, solving a puzzle, and so forth.

You were just starting to doze in the comfy chair in the bedroom's corner when your fiancé stirred...only to roll over and fall back asleep.

"Ugh..." you huffed, pushing off your chair to head to the kitchen. After a quick splash of water to the face and a long drink of water, you stumbled back to your bedroom...

...where you saw Steven? pulling a pair of tailored black trousers up his legs - his cozy pj's nowhere in sight. Fastening his pants, he turned around - shirtless - nodding once to acknowledge you.

"Jake?" You tentatively greeted, breaking the late-night silence.

"Hola, mi amor," Jake's rich, deep voice greeted you smoothly - his chocolate eyes flickering down to your bare legs. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Jake," you exhaled shakily, easing toward him slowly. "You didn't wake me up. I was waiting for you."

Warmth bloomed in his chest, but he simply reached for his white dress shirt, quickly easing his arms into the sleeves and fastening the buttons.

"Where...do you keep your clothes?" you cautiously asked, inching closer.

Nodding to the closet, he remained quiet, knotting his tie and sitting down on the edge of the bed to pull on his socks and shoes. Khonshu had awakened him. Time to get to work.

"Where are you going?" you questioned after a few quiet moments watching him getting dressed.

Finishing the lacing of his shoes, he stood, reaching for his leather jacket. Realizing your question was not rhetorical, he granted you a slight smirk. "You know where."

"Can I come with you?" You blurted, already flustered. How did he manage to do this to you?

Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head, tutting a bit condescendingly. "You're not serious."

"I am," you insisted, scurrying over to the drawer to find some joggers for your bare legs. Of course, in this state, compared to Jake, you would be way underdressed. He looked head-to-toe incredible.

The faster you moved, trying to get dressed in enough presentable clothing to go out into the frigid rain, the slower Jake moved. But each action was nonchalant, as if he barely noticed your effort.

Why was he so damn infuriating? Then again, those were the exact words he'd said about you...

Pulling a leather glove over his long fingers, one dark eyebrow shot up inquisitively.

"Almost ready," you huffed, feeling like a child asking to go to work with a parent.

Realizing you were serious, Jake yanked on the second glove, giving his knuckles a crack. "Mi corazón..." he warned, pulling his flat cap over the lustrous curls on his head, and wondering what had gotten into you. You couldn't possibly think he would let you anywhere near his night life.

You were dressed now, in a weird mixture of your clothes and Marc's, but your goldfish-clad feet still poked adorably out of your joggers. Glancing all around the room, your eyes frantically searched for the nearest pair of shoes.

Approaching you confidently, Jake reached for your elbow, bringing you to a standstill. "I have to go. You should sleep."

Yanking your arm out of his grasp, you huffed. "I told you I don't respond well to orders."

Rubbing his gloved hand over the stubble on his chin, he nodded, "Goodnight," and turned to walk out of the bedroom.

"No, I'm coming with you, Jake, wait--"

"No, mi corazón. No." He whirled around, his gaze burning into yours.

"Why not?" you shot back, your hands landing on your hips. "You're going to work, right? I need to talk to you. And I want to see what you do."

He scoffed. "No. You don't."

"Stop telling me no," you snapped, realizing this whole stay-up-and-talk-to-Jake thing was already an unprecedented disaster. You simply could not keep your cool around this man.

"Ah, I see - I can't tell you what to do, but you can give me orders." Stalking back over to the night table, he reached for Marc and Steven's phone.

"I-I'm not giving you orders...I just- why can't I come with you?" You were desperate. You realized, at that moment, that alll this was not a good look on you. What happened to cool, calm and collected you? What happened to the you who respected the hell out of Marc and Steven's autonomy and choices?

You went so far as not even trying to dictate to Marc whether or not he should drink. It was his choice, always - it had to come from him. So why couldn't you do the same with Jake? You knew the drill - people were going to do what they decided to do. Arguing the point was only arguing with reality itself.

Sure, you could explain your fears or needs, and Jake could take that information into account. But ultimately, every person in the world always chose what they were going to choose - period, the end.

"I'm not taking you out there. You know it's not safe," he explained with infuriating calmness. "I'm not exactly working a normal job here."

"You mean...you mean Moon Knight. Like...saving people. Like you did with me that night."

His eyes flashed - you couldn't decipher if it was anger or surprise. "Marc told you."

"Yes," you answered softly, taking a moment to breathe in deeply. You had to calm down and stop sounding so desperate. "I just don't understand why you can follow me - why you can watch over me and save me, but you won't just talk to me." Your lip trembled as you started to realize he just may not ever want to be in your life.

"I thought you said that I was your family," you whispered, moving close to peer up into his eyes. "But you haven't talked to me in a week. I've been worried...I've been thinking about you."

Wetting his lips, Jake swallowed hard and shifted from one foot to the other - the first inkling that you were having any effect on him whatsoever. His dark eyes flickered down to yours. "I told you I can take care of myself," he gruffly responded, his resolve beginning to crack. "So stop worrying about me."

"Stop telling me what to do," you fired back, refusing to shrink away. "You're driving me crazy. If you don't want to talk to me, or know me - if you want to sneak in and out of here every night and never see me again, then just say so."

Your chest heaved with emotion. "I won't like it and I won't ever stop worrying about you, or wanting to know you, but --"

You didn't get to finish because Jake roughly pulled you into his arms and crushed his mouth to yours.

@stormydaysxx laaundromat @kindlover @spxctorsslxt @deezisnotreal

@rivalriotrenegade @wordacadabra this--is--music @i-still-dont-like-your-face 

idk if all the tags work. I tried!

[cripple-culture-is]

Sorry, but if you do not use a mobility aid, then you aren't physically disabled 🤷‍♀️ Only those with mobility aids can call themselves a cripple. I saw your main blog and that you are "physically disabled without mobility aids". That's not even possible. You can't be physically disabled and not require mobility aids.

And the fact that you believe you have the right to use the word cripple rubs me the wrong way. You have to look disabled in order to use that slur. Otherwise it's incredibly disrespectful.

If you can walk, you are not crippled. Crippled means to "cause (someone) to become unable to walk or move normally." If you can walk, you can move normally.

My first full on hate comment lol 🤣 I'm really moving up in the world.

But on a serious note, yes, you can be physically disabled and not require mobility aids. Physical disability isn't always stagnant. It isn't always as simple as someone who is paralyzed being a full time wheelchair user.

Since you used definitions, I'll use definitions. Physical disability is defined as "a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina." Also, "any physical limitations or disabilities that inhibit the physical function of one or more limbs of a certain person."

I am physically disabled. I pretty much always have been. I have a mobility disability. I was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at 9 months old, an autoimmune disease. I did show symptoms at 4 months old at the latest though. Arthritis is actually the leading cause of disability and the most common disabling condition for U.S. adults.

I do not currently use mobility aids, no, but I am looking into getting a rollator for college. So I suppose that when I do get that aid, I will finally, in your eyes at least, be considered physically disabled.

However, I have reached a point in my life where I don't really care what people say about my disability. Whether you believe I'm physically disabled or not doesn't change the fact that I am physically disabled under U.S. law 🤣🤣

I got my permanent disability plates and placard when I was about 5 years old, though I probably could've gotten it before then.

I have always said that I have never used mobility aids. And while that's technically true, it's also not. I've never used traditional mobility aids regularly. I used a wheelchair in public once as a child, and I hated the pity looks adults would give me as I used to be more self-conscious.

However, I HAVE used untraditional mobility aids. While most people wouldn't consider them as such, I have used aids that have helped my mobility, mostly as a child, they just aren't stereotypical disability aids.

I was offered a wheelchair as a child, but due to the pity looks I got from adults, I turned it down. My parents worked around that hangup of mine by using things that I was confident enough to use for mobility as well as more acceptable to me.

My parents had bought this long stroller. When I got older, the typical strollers caused problems, in that I couldn't rest my legs on anything. So I had this stroller that had a leg rest that I could use to stretch my legs as keeping them bent for long periods of time physically hurts me.

I also sat in the baskets of shopping carts until I was in my mid-teens. My mother or father would put the cart with me in it and I'd sit in it as if I was merchandise just like everything else in the basket. This was all because I couldn't walk.

Though, what would happen when a stroller or shopping cart wasn't available? I would get a piggyback ride, mostly from my sister, though from my father as well. My mom did it only occasionally as she has joint issues just like I do.

Then, when I was a bit older, my parents bought me a red wagon. We would take it to amusement parks and carry some things in it. We'd use it for food and other stuff. But it's real purpose was to be there in case I got to a point where I couldn't walk anymore.

I have arthritis in every single joint in my body. From my jaw and neck, all the way to my toes. Hips, ribs, spine, you name it, I got it.

As for the use of the word 'cripple' it DOES apply to me. Cripple refers to anyone with a physical disability. And due to my disability, I do have lower body involvement. Hips, knees, ankles, toes, etc. All of it.

As for being able to "move normally", I actually don't completely. I appear like I do, but if you look at the structure of my legs and the way I walk, I do move differently than a lot of people. I find that I tend to limp often, even when I'm not in pain. And I am curious as to if that's because I got so used to limping as a child due to pain that my walking pattern just adopted that, leading me to limp when I'm not in pain. I also sometimes walk as if I'm waddling.

Plus, if you notice, my right knee is actually slightly turned in, which means that somehow, it's out of alignment. Knees are supposed to point forward. My dad's point forward, my sister's point forward, my mom's mostly point forward. Both of mine do not, even though both of my ankles are straight. My left one is pretty straight, straight enough for me to not really notice it. But my right is a separate story.

Because my right knee is pointed slightly inward, I tend to walk with my right foot slightly turned out.

I'm not sure if the alignment is a knee issue, a hip issue, or potentially an ankle issue. This wasn't an issue that was ever pointed out by my doctors as a child, cause my knees have been like this for a while. I did have a lot of knee inflammation as a kid.

But back fully on topic, cripple punk isn't contingent on the use of mobility aids. Plus the assumption that I have to "look disabled" in order to be physically disabled is very ableist and leads to those like me getting harassed when we use our handicapped parking permits. I'm invisibly physically disabled, I have always recognized that. But me having an invisible disability doesn't change the fact that I am physically disabled. And come this time next year, I will probably "look disabled". Not that I believe disability has a look. It doesn't. Believing disability has a look is ableist and perpetuates harmful stereotypes. I AM physically disabled. I AM crippled, mobility aid or no mobility aid.

You don't know my history, you don't know me. You don't know my day to day life.

In order for you to believe me, you'd likely have to see my diagnosis papers and the proof of my disability. But you are not entitled to that information. I don't have to show it to you, and I'm not going to.

[bearimba]

Pokemon Mini Headcanons

Realized it's been a solid minute since I've shared anything. so! here's some pokemon headcanon tidbits that have kinda been floating around in my head but I don't have anywhere to put them yet:

Barry is extremely tall. Like, at least six feet. Since he's very visibly the goofy type, it's not super intimidating until suddenly he's barreling down the street and nearly knocking people over in his wake. He's also incredibly clumsy, so it's kind of a bull(tauros?)-in-a-china-shop situation.

Leaf is part of the team that revolutionized and maintains the PSS (not part of the original team though, she's too young for that), which is of course led by Bill. Where Bill came up with the, made the team, and did a bunch of hardware stuff, Leaf is in charge of software stuff and does coding for the different programs. As for the rest of the team. well. I don't know who they are bc I haven't gotten that far.

Also, Red's sign name for Leaf is Green, as in, literally the sign for the color (the same goes for Blue). Blue's often calls her Greenie as a result.

As Hoenn's Champion, Brendan is considered a very down-to-earth and blunt person, which is great and all until you remember he's from the ✨️bearimba pokeverse✨️'s equivalent of Florida and is basically Reigning Florida Man Supreme. He's definitely done some crazy stuff but it kinda gets shoved on the back burner (that definitely isn't partially because the media pushes his more serious side in order to fight the "all Hoennians are unhinged" allegations).

Lucas is legally deaf (deaf but not Deaf, he lost his hearing as a kid) and uses hearing aids. He can kinda sorta understand people without them, but it's less like he understands the words and more like he understands the sounds that are supposed to be word, so it's way more convenient to keep them in. Whenever he doesn't want to deal with Dawn's and Barry's shenanigans, he just turns them off, closes his eyes, and relishes in the relative peace and quiet.

He's also the one who gets transported back to Hisui during the final battle with Dialga/Palkia/Giratina. Long story short (bearimba DPPt/PLA rewrite when?), his hearing aids get destroyed in the process of getting transported and he's forced to go through the events of PLA at a huge disadvantage, mostly relying on his quick wit and vast knowledge of pokemon to survive the game.

Lorelei, Karen, and Clair are all besties, and they meet up regularly to have brunch and share the latest gossip (aka pooling together their resources to gather info on their enemies, discuss the most recent affairs in Kanto/Johto, and more, all under the guise of "girls' time").

Silver and Janine first meet when Silver gets accidentally caught up in a prank meant for the E4, for which Janine very vehemently apologizes (under threat from Koga) and Silver reluctantly forgives her (under threat from Lance). They get along surprisingly well after that, especially after they both get involved in the Kanto League as gym leaders, and they eventually become pretty good friends.

Team Rocket was kinda just a shady family business until Giovanni took over in his twenties. In the 30ish years he presided over the it, he managed to develop it into a massive, multi-level and multi-department organization with their fingers in just about every aspects of the Kanto economy before their collapse. (all things considered, it's kinda funny/pathetic how things ended---he had all this power, then just threw all that and his kid out the window because some teenager happened to beat him in a pokemon battle)

Indigo Plateau (the actual plateau itself, not the League building) is pretty unique in that it's literally a plateau in the middle of a bunch of mountains. which. isn't really how geography works. Story goes, it was originally a mountain that served as the battleground for a pair of ridiculously overpowered trainers, and it got leveled in the middle of all the fighting. In honor of the plateau's legend, there was a regularly held tournament for pokemon trainers to decide who was the best of the best in the region. Eventually, some guy decided to make it an "official" event, and that's how the Pokemon League got its start before it spread and became an international organization!

[navyhealthyglow]

a fresh start - glow up guide no.1

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED SOMETHING SO BAD, BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO START?

Me too, and that's why we're focusing on this today. Here is what you need to do, to start your glow up era with a bang 😎

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Welcome to the first post of the Glow Up Guide series! In this series I'll be discussing everything you need to know step by step, so you can have your best glow up and become your highest self.

Let's begin! ⭐💙

STEP ONE - DECLUTTER

Before we begin, put your phone down for a bit and declutter your room. You can go as crazy or little as you wish, however I prefer to do a deep clean. Dust your shelves, counters, vacuum the floor, clean out your closet etc. Make sure your desk is organized, you know where your stuff is and everything looks neat. A fresh environment supports a fresh mind, so let's start here. If you wish, you can also throw out your old clothes and replace them with new pieces. Although don't feel pressured to do so, we're trying to glow up here, not spend a reckless amount of money.

STEP TWO - JOURNAL

How can we start our glow up journey without knowing where we are now? So grab your journal, a piece of paper or open your notes app. Write down what your situation is and why is it happening. Explain what would you like to change and acknowledge your starting position. This will help us set realistic goals later on.

STEP THREE - VISION

First two steps done, bravo! Let's keep it up then and now think about who do we want to become. Write down your vision. Who is this person? What do they look like? What do they like/dislike? What are their boundaries, beliefs? How do they act, dress, workout, eat, etc... If you're having troubles with creating your vision, don't worry, I'll make a post about it soon, but until then just look some prompts on pinterest 😽

STEP FOUR - GOALS

Now we have that, write down what do you want to achieve before 2024 ends. This can be anything depending on your personal glow up preference. If you don't know what you want to accomplish yet, don't worry. Here are some goal examples for you: ⟶ read three non-fiction books ⟶ implement a morning and evening routine ⟶ finish a project ⟶ get a certain grade ⟶ prioritize sleep and self care ⟶ focus on your gut health and diet ⟶ save 500$ These are just some examples you can use, but remember to find a goal thats meaningful to YOU! If you're reading this after 2024 ends, just write down your goals for the next three months.

STEP FIVE - PLAN!

It's time for the last step - planning. Review what you wrote about your goals, your vision and where you are now. Now take it and break it down into weekly goals, and break them down to bite sized habits that you can implement daily! Here is an example: If my goal is to get fit, first I'll start drinking more water and cut out processed foods. I will buy a gym membership or find an activity that works for me (walking, running, dance, swimming, etc.) and do it regularly, let's say 3 times a week. I'll also move my body daily and try to get at least 7k steps in. This is just an example, but this is basically how this works. If you need help with planning your schedule, feel free to use AI as a tool. Tell it to create a glow up plan according to your current situation and your vision and adjust it to your needs. A tip I found very helpful, is to put everything like workouts, classes and plans in a weekly calendar. This will help you stay organized and keep up with your plans. I'll show you how I did mine below!

You can find these free templates on canva, picsart and pinterest! I got mine here.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

That's the end of todays post. I hope you had a great time reading it, and let me know if you'd like to see more content like this from me!

I can't wait to hear what you planned for your glow up in the comments, feel free to share<3

Find me here: 🤍💿

#navyhealthyglow - all my og content #navyhealthytips - glow up tips #navyhealthyjourney - my glow up journey

[legendofmorons]

I work inside I coffee shop. I see a lot of orders and a lot of the common stereotypes people have for coffee orders are less likely to be true than you might think. Let’s try and figure out what each Link would order then, shall we?

—————

Time:

- Started off by just getting plain black coffee.

- He felt like that was expected of him because he got into coffee when he was already a bit older.

- At some point, he got a sip of Malon’s drink and LOVED IT.

- Now he loves the seasonal flavors.

- Pumpkin Spice? Sign him up.

- His baristas love him because he stepped in when some dude got uppity.

- (Sometimes they will undercharge him, but do not tell their boss.)

Twilight:

- Not a big Espresso dude.

- Used to get Hot Chocolates

- Had to stop because he turned into a wolf and, quite frankly, he was worried he would be allergic so he just ordered something else.

- Learned that Steamers were a thing and started getting those.

- It’s literally flavored warm milk. He can’t go wrong with it.

- He still gets a cup of whip cream every time, though.

- His baristas will see him in the parking lot, grab a small cup, and just write his name on it. Everyone who works there knows it’s for whip cream.

Wind:

- Really wants black coffee. Frankly, he would love having it.

- None of his adults let him have that, though.

- They kept telling him to pick something else.

- He started getting frappuccinos so he could still get caffeine.

- Carmel Ribbon Crunch or a Mocha Cookie Crumble became his go to choices.

- Eventually, he starts taking himself and just gets a small black coffee.

- His baristas joke around with him a lot, especially after he starts taking himself.

- They recognize him and will start making a freshly brewed container just for him.

Wild:

- He started with the Pumpkin Spice Latte before discovering other things.

- He has tried the entire menu.

- His favorite is probably, weirdly, cinnamon dolce or plain vanilla.

- Even still, he likes to spice it up when he does swing through.

- At least, until he got sick and his Zelda made him try the Honey Citrus Mint Tea, also called the Medicine Ball.

- That stuff WORKED.

- Now he gets that regularly, while grabbing a dragon drink or several shots of espresso in a cup for his Zelda.

- His baristas more often talk with Zelda than they do with him.

- (Bro spent so long examining the menu trying to figure out what he wanted that Zelda had to hold conversation to keep it from being awkward.)

- Newer baristas tend to get confused when he gets tea and she gets plain espresso, handing out the orders backwards.

- They’ll learn.

Warriors:

- Red eye, Black eye, and Green eye were his choice drinks for a while.

- Plain black coffee with one, two, or three shots of espresso respectively.

- At some point he learned that blonde espresso has more caffeine and started getting that.

- He was always in there at weird times in the night and his baristas (and friends, if we are being real) started getting worried.

- Straight up got cut off. Too much caffeine at midnight every night.

- Started getting teas and refreshers.

- Really likes the pineapple one.

- His baristas worry about him.

- He always came in at odd times ordering so much caffeine.

- He seems a lot calmer now than he did before, and they will take whatever victories they can get.

Sky:

- You know that “don’t talk to me until I have had my coffee” thing?

- That’s him.

- He just wants a regular hot latte.

- In fact, that’s all he says.

- “Medium hot latte.”

- He puts his payment on the table and goes and sits down.

- Once he has had a few sips, he can hold a conversation, but until then?

- Nah.

- Not happening.

- At some point, his baristas recognize him and just key everything in before he gets to the till.

- The grunt he lets out in thanks made one barista keel over in the walk in freezer laughing.

Legend:

- Whether or not he has a person with him will drastically change his coffee order.

- If he is alone, he will get a peppermint hot chocolate.

- No whipped cream.

- Extra chocolate and chocolate curls.

- Coconut milk.

- As Hylia intended.

- If he is with someone else, he gets a plain black coffee.

- Somehow, he thinks it’ll make him appear more masculine.

- (He hates it. Desperately wants the sweet drink he gets every other time.)

- His baristas recognized this pattern and started either sneaking him sugar packets or just making his peppermint hot chocolate and saying it was the black coffee.

- He almost cried.

- Almost.

Hyrule:

- This dude either loves plain espresso or loathes it, depending on the day.

- He likes the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino, which has no caffeine or coffee taste at all, on his hating espresso days.

- On other days, he just gets 5 shots of espresso over ice with vanilla cold foam on top.

- Other than that, he doesn’t change up his order at all.

- One time he drank the whole iced espresso in one gulp.

- His baristas were shocked by that.

- Not… judging… but definitely impressed.

- And a little bit confused.

- Wasn’t he sat in the corner, literally kicking his feet over what is basically a milk shake YESTERDAY?

- ???

- Okay, maybe more confused than they are letting on.

Four:

- He orders a lot of things, but not nearly as much as Wild did.

- If he has a different color shouting in his head about something, their usual order may take precedence over whatever else he wanted.

- On his own, he likes to get either a plain latte or a caramel apple spice.

- Literally warmed up apple juice and caramel syrup.

- It’s sweet. It’s warm. He likes it.

- There’s not much else to say about Four when he is not dealing with inner turmoil, so let’s get to how the baristas see him, yeah?

- They love him.

- He is so respectful all the time, asking about their lives, telling jokes, swapping stories.

- An absolute sweetheart.

- One barista almost jumped over the counter because someone made a short joke. (That’s how Four learned how protective the baristas were of him.)

- (They also undercharge him, again, do not snitch on them. They have their favorites.)

BONUS!

Red:

- Pink drink.

- He wants extra berries in it.

- He might add a cold foam to it, vanilla and mocha being his two preferred flavors of foam.

- He talked so excitedly about his favorite drink that one barista decided to try it.

- Unfortunately, it was the one who does not like sweet things.

- They coughed it out.

Violet:

- Earl Grey tea.

- That’s it.

- That’s the tweet.

- He just wants a hot black tea.

- He’ll settle for English breakfast if he needs to, but he likes Earl Grey the best.

- His baristas sigh in relief with his order. Half the time he shows up, it’s at the end of a rush, and his order is easy enough to complete.

- He’s very calm about everything, and that attitude seems to rub off on the other people in line.

Green:

- Chai tea latte.

- Hot or cold doesn’t matter too much to him.

- Sometimes he will add flavors to it, but his base remains with that chai tea.

- He also always seems to come in after a rush.

- He’s not too picky about it, which takes some of the stress off the baristas when they make the order.

- He loves to swap stories with the baristas while he is there.

Blue:

- Water.

- He just wants water.

- Cold, filtered water.

- Look, the water tastes good, okay?

- He’s gonna get the largest size water.

- He calls it the “big boy” for some reason.

- Actually, maybe he’ll get a second.

- The water tastes nice, after all.

- His baristas laugh a lot.

- Honestly, he is just there to joke around and relieve a bit of stress.

- It’s a great way to wind down the day, drinking water and telling jokes.

Shadow:

- Shadow doesn’t really order anything directly.

- He’s there, listening in, but he doesn’t talk.

- That’d probably scare somebody.

- So instead, he’ll add his order on to somebody else’s.

- His baristas were confused, initially, hearing a voice that was so close to the person in front of theirs yet wasn’t.

- One of the baristas caught on, however. Setting a cup of whipped cream down beside the drink.

- They watched out of the corner of their eye as it disappeared into the shadow of the man that had just ordered.

- From then on, they consistently did so. Never prying or even really mentioning it. They just set the cup of whipped cream down and moved on to another drink.

Fierce:

- It would be too easy to say a black coffee, so instead…

- Carmel macchiato.

- Iced.

- Extra caramel drizzle.

- Sometimes he will ask for a topping, but most of the time, that’s enough.

- His baristas were intimidated, to say the least.

- Bro is tall.

- He just likes sweeter drinks, and frankly, he likes listening to people talk.

- He loves listening to the baristas spill tea.

- If you listen really closely, sometimes you can here him whisper out a “that b****” while he hears a barista talk about their ex.

—————

I actually just spent an hour and a half typing this out. The first time it was an hour of typing. Do you have any thoughts on this wall of text?

-VS

Hahaha oh my God, VS this is amazing! First of all, Twilight and Violet's orders have me DELIGHTED!!!

I know only a few of the boys' sections say they stand up for the baristas, but they all would tbh.

Thoughts under the cut. This is LONG

Time

I think he's glad to have found something other than black coffee.

I think he would love seasonal flavors! Would probably like the chocolate cherry flavor, a shop I like does for hotcboclates in febuary

ALSO, I think he'd like mint tea when he's not feeling great.

He KNOWS they undercharge him sometimes BUT he tips very very well

He learns the names of all the batistas and will step in if someone is harassing any of them.

Twilight

He absolutely loved hotchocolate, maybe even with cinnamon on it!

He would love steamers, though, and he is always thrilled to get that cup of whipped cream.

I think he'd also probably like to order some sort of ham and cheese croissant

He likes to hangout in a window seat when he stays for a while.

Wind

Oh boy does he want coffee

He would definitely like frappacinos

I think he'd like a drink called Unicorn Blood. Dutch brothers sells it as part of their "Rebel" drinks. It's kind of like a blended energy drink with added flavor and sugars

Once he comes by himself he'd probably switch between unicorn blood and black coffee

He loves joking with the batistas of course.

He'll bring Tetra and they'll just laugh

Wild

You're absolutely right he definitely tried all the menu

He might have Bribed one or two baristas to make something new

He spreads the word about the coffee shop to everyone who will listen

He thinks it's funny when people mix up his and Zelda's drink

Warriors

His baristas frequently try to slip him extra food when he orders it

He also probably makes friends with a college student or two, since they'll at be there at 3 am

Will often do a coffee run for Zelda and Impa

He has a favorite Barista, but is of course fond of them all

New baristas are a little startled when he comes in at unholy hours and is perfectly coherent despite his designer eye bags

Sky

Yeah, he's sweet and all but he seems like he could give me a run for my money on being grumpy before caffeine

He appreciates that the batistas accommodate his lack of talking and is always sure to wish them a good day before he leaves after he drinks his coffee

If he comes in mid day I think he'd probably like a Carmel blonde or something

Legend

This man is definitely thrilled his baristas are helping him save face and enjoy his drink

He definitely talks the place up to others

He will start problems if another patron is harassing any of them. (Especially the younger ones)

I feel like he has also let one of the younger baristas cry on him after a nasty customer. Cause like, customer service is hard and he's not going to push that kid away

He dosen’t talk about that previous one really

Hyrule

Oooooo this is fun

I think maybe a few of the baristas start a (playful) better pool on if he'll want espresso that day. It's probably things like a candy bar or a shift change

He confuses them sometimes but he's so sweet they let it be

He definitely tips well.

Adores things sweetened with honer

Four

He's absolutely the best

Was surprised to find the baristas are protective but he's flattered

Don't worry he'd protect them too. (HAS pushed past a rude customer a little harder than needed with a 'whoops!')

He knows they undercharge but will simply make it up by tipping!

He has also maybe brought his sisters in (they're so fun!)

Red

I can see him liking that stuff!

He felt bad that the barista didn't like sweet stuff

Thought it was a little funny though

Probably likes cinnamon in his hot drinks

Might really like constant comment tea (it's got orange and cloves and is in my top 3 teas)

Violet

The love of my life in this one, he's my tea soulmate omg

Haha, yeah earl gray is amazing and fits him so well

English breakfast is close, but not quite

He is always calm, and probably just reads in a corner with his tea

Is patient if the baristas are frazzled after a rush

Green

How'd you have both green and Violet like my two favorite teas? Lol

I think he'd like vanilla Chai too

He loves swapping stories for sure, and probably also movie recommendations

Also loves seeing any fun makeup looks the have

Blue

He is probably why the baristas remember to drink water at work

Seems like he wouldn't want ice most of the time

He likes to hang out until right before closing time I think

Shadow

I love the idea that ONE barista is like "Sure the sentient shadow wants a cup of whipcream"

He's polite but again, not really talking

Will encourage the others to talk the place up

Slips a tip into the jar

Fierce

Carmel machiatto-

Yes

Once the baristas warm up to him he adores listening to them talk

He uses his intimidating appearance to keep creeps and rude customers in line

Will in fact go "no they didn't!" Quietly when he listesn to gossip

Bonus bonus:

Malon

Just put her espresso INTO her hotchoclate. No, not a mocha she doesn't want to taste the coffee thanks

Will alternatively order peppermint lattes with utter glee

LOVES whipped cream amd asks for chocolate drizzle

First

He likes his coffee strong, but sweet.

No cream, though

Just an unholy amount of sugar

It looks like black coffee but it IS NOT

Will stare ypu in the eye as he puts in like 12-15 sugar packets depending on the day

Tips well!

He's not as close to the haristas as some of the others, but he's friendly and will always offer a (clumsy) compliment

Tetra

She seems like she'd like lavender tea maybe?

For caffeine she just wants a Carmel Frappuccino though, with chocolate drizzle and lots of whipped cream

She's cheerful and always ready to listen to the varistas vent about an ex

Tips pretty well and come in with wind a lot

[briarpatch-kids]

can you give me a brief overview of brewing ginger ale? im interested!

Yeah! Non-alcoholic right? (If you want the alcoholic one, I'll reblog the ask I got about that a while ago)

Okay so Ginger Ale is mainly made from something called a ginger bug, which is a little colony of yeasts and bacteria simular to a sourdough starter. I made mine by mixing about a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger (skin on, not peeled) with a slightly smaller spoonful of sugar in a little water. You keep adding ginger and sugar every day until it starts to bubble a lot of little bubbles an hour or so after you feed it. Mine took like a week to bubble good.

If it starts getting full of ginger, take out a spoonful of the old ginger and either eat it (tasty and kinda pickled) or discard it. If the water in the jar smells a little too sour or starts to smell boozy, take half of it out and put fresh water in. (I do it about once a week when I feed my starter more ginger) after that, give it a spoonful of sugar every day or two when the bubbling slows down and a spoonful of ginger about once a week or so to maintain it. You can maintain it forever as long as you feed it pretty regularly. Some people keep them in the fridge so it needs less care.

When you go to make ginger ale, you make a really strong sweet tea out of fresh ginger (to taste) and at least a cup of sugar per 2 liters of water. Cool the hot tea down to about room temperature, mix in a half cup or so of the bubbling water from the ginger bug, and put it in a tightly closed bottle in a warm spot for a couple days while it bubbles and builds up pressure.

Some people put it in glass bottles, but you run a huge risk of the bottle exploding if you let it ferment too long and that will send ginger ale and shards of glass all over the kitchen into the ceiling and everything you love. I use a plastic 2l bottle because you can squeeze it and feel how firm the bottle is to see how fizzy it will be. Also if it explodes it's just plastic and not broken glass everywhere.

Once it's got a lot of pressure built up, put it in the fridge and let it get really cold so the liquid can hold more carbon dioxide and stay bubbly like a soda. Be careful opening it, if there's too much pressure, it'll spew ginger ale everywhere and be sticky and you'll lose some of your delicious soda.

You can also do this with juice, tea, and whatever other drinks have enough sugar in them and you want to carbonate. I made a cherry lemonade out of a can of cherries and a lemon that turned out tasty.

Here's a tutorial if I did a bad job of explaining lol. Ignore all the BS about organic ginger and filtered water. Unless your water is like... Oakland pool water levels of chlorine it should work. I didn't bother with the fancy organic stuff and my ginger bug is happy as can be with white sugar and tap water.

[astrobei]

hello beloved suni. for valentine's day ficlet prompt... a lumax valentine's day perhaps?

(ft. lucas going Overboard and max secretly loving it?)

abby i would literally give you the world if you asked me to <3 happy early valentine's day and i hope you like this one !!

“I don’t understand this holiday,” El frowns, peering over the displays of red cardboard boxes and bulk-order roses. This corner of Melvald’s is completely decked out, with glitter and flowers and plush teddy bears as far as the eye can see– or at least until aisle three, where the store returns to its regularly scheduled programming of household cleaning supplies. 

The floral scent is almost nauseatingly strong, and Max is suddenly extremely thankful she’s nowhere near as allergic to them as she used to be, or Mrs. Byers would have had to drive her to the hospital as she broke out in hives. “Me neither,” Max says, squinting at a teddy bear with particularly beady eyes. “Consumerist nonsense.”

El gives her a bit of a weird look. “Um–”

“It means they just overdo the lovey-dovey thing to get people to buy stuff,” Max adds, and El’s frown smooths itself out.

“Oh, okay. I was just going to say that I don’t know why there’s only one day out of the whole year to buy someone flowers.” She reaches out, touches a tentative finger to one of the petals on the nearest rose, and then immediately retracts her hand as the petal falls off and flutters slowly to the checkered tiles of the floor. “Oh no.”

Max bites back a laugh. “I bet those flowers have been sitting in storage since the beginning of the month.”

“I don’t get this holiday,” El says again, and shakes her head. “Why buy someone flowers that have been sitting outside for two weeks?”

“Again,” Max says, rolling her eyes at the 20% off! sign, “they just want to make money off this stuff. They don’t care about love.”

“Bullshit,” El says, so suddenly that Max can’t bite back a laugh in time to keep herself from giggling loudly, the sound ringing through the quiet of the store. Half an aisle over, a guy in a suit shoots her a glare. She pulls a face at him.

“Bull– yeah, I guess so,” she says, as El turns to study the display of chocolates on their other side. “So jaded already?”

“I don’t know what jaded means,” El muses, “but I think this holiday is bullshit.”

“Yeah, that’s– yeah,” Max nods. “You got it. Hey, if these chocolates are on sale, then maybe we should get some anyway.” She picks up a heart-shaped box and flips it over. “You’re not allergic to nuts, are you, El?”

“I don’t think so. Won’t Lucas buy you chocolates?” El asks, turning back around to give Max a curious look. “He’s your boyfriend.”

“Yeah, well,” Max sighs. “This whole thing is so cheesy. I don’t need him to buy me chocolates, I just need him to put up more of a fight before I beat him at Super Mario Bros. I swear it’s not even fun anymore.”

El wrinkles her nose. “At least it would be better than what Mike did.”

“Oh yeah?” Max raises her eyebrows, then puts the box of chocolates down. The handful of change in her pocket can be spent on better things than overpriced and over-marketed chocolate anyway. “What did Mike do?”

“He got me a card that said I like you.”

Max stares. “I like– you’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope.” El pops the p, and gives Max a look like yeah, I know.

“Okay, well, good riddance,” Max snorts. “I’ll be praying for Will. Poor guy.”

“I think it probably helps to actually love the person you give the card to,” El says thoughtfully, which is a pretty good point, and Max honestly doesn’t have much to add to that. She gives another cursory glance over the piles of sickeningly-sweet flower displays, the rows upon rows of stuffed bears that all look exactly alike, and then her eyes land on a discount bag of M&Ms.

“Okay, well, I still want these,” she says as she grabs them. “M&Ms are good no matter the day. You want anything, El?”

El peers around the corner of the aisle, and her face lights up. “Reese’s!” she cheers, then disappears from view. “One second!”

Max sighs, tossing the bag of chocolate up and down in one hand as she waits. She can imagine it now, being one of those poor schmucks at school who get bombarded with tacky cards and flowers that are on the brink of collapse. Just another way to flaunt relationships that are equally on the brink of collapse, probably. No one goes through the motions of over-the-top, elaborate stuff like this unless they’re trying to compensate for something.

She thinks about it, for a fleeting second– being given roses at school. The secondhand embarrassment of it all. A teddy bear that’ll no doubt collect dust on her bookshelf for the next ten years. Cheesy greeting cards– be mine and hugs and kisses and–

“Ready to go?” El pops back into her field of vision, a bright orange package clutched in one hand.

Max blinks. “Yeah,” she says, then firmly banishes any thoughts of cheesy greeting cards from her mind. No, thank you. She’s fine with her discount chocolate– that she got herself, mind you. No consumerist bullshit for her this time. “Yeah, let’s head out. Maybe Mrs. Byers will let us use her employee discount again.”

—-

Max knows something is off the next morning before she even gets in the car.

“You look weird,” she frowns, in lieu of a greeting. “What’s with you?”

Lucas ignores her. “Good mooorning,” he says, long and drawn-out and not nearly as obnoxious as it should be. “Are you ready for today?”

Max slams the passenger door shut behind her and says, “Well, my history presentation is today. So, no.”

“You’re going to crush it,” Lucas says, even though they have different history teachers this year and of course Max got stuck with the nitpicky one. “World War II isn’t going to know what hit it.” He takes the car out of park, backs slowly away from the lot in front of the trailer, and onto the main road. “But come on, that’s not what I mean.”

Max raises her eyebrows. Look, she’s not dumb, okay. It’s February 14th and she’s dating Lucas Sinclair. She knows there’s only one place this conversation is leading to. “Oh yeah? Well, I heard they’re serving chicken nuggets in the cafeteria today,” she says anyway, just to be difficult.

Lucas indulges her. He always indulges her. “Well I’m ready for chicken nugget day,” he says, even though he shouldn’t be, because Max is certain they haven’t used chicken to make them since before Indiana was even a state. He reaches for her hand over the console and says, “You might have to drive me to the hospital after but it’ll be worth it.”

Max bites back a smile and looks out of the window before he can see. “Loser,” she says. It comes out too fond for her to have any hopes about hiding it, and even though the radio is blasting Madonna, she hears him laugh as he squeezes her hand.

She thinks he’s dropped it, or maybe he’s picked up on the hint and hastily canceled whatever it was he’d been planning, but of course, no such luck. “Okay, well,” he says, as they get out of the car and make their way up to the school. “Can I walk you to your locker at least?”

She stops in her tracks. It wouldn’t have been suspicious if he didn’t ask, because he always walks her to her locker before class starts, but now–

“No,” she decides, walking away as fast as her legs will allow. “Don’t you have Calculus to get to?”

He catches up to her easily. “Come on,” he grins, matching her pace effortlessly. “It’s–”

She holds a finger up to his face. “Don’t say it.”

Lucas holds both hands up in surrender. “I didn’t say anything!”

“You’re thinking something! I know it! You’re– you’re scheming and you’re– up to something, I don’t know. Up to no good.”

“Up to no good?” Lucas laughs. “What are you, fifty?”

“Shut up,” she says, and then they’re basically at her locker already, and his grin grows exponentially which leads her to believe that maybe this was the plan all along.

“You should open your locker,” Lucas says, leaning against the adjacent one and clearly trying his hardest to look blasé about the whole thing. “Just saying. Because your books are in there and stuff.”

“If I open this and something jumps out at me,” Max grumbles, spinning the combination lock. “I’m going to–”

She trails off. Stares.

“Um,” Lucas is saying, peering around the open locker door. “You’re going to– what?”

“Kill you,” she whispers, before reaching into her locker and pulling out the biggest fucking bouquet of roses she’s ever seen. “What the hell?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Lucas smiles. There’s something a little nervous about it, like maybe he was worried that she had some deep, lifelong trauma rooted in the holiday and maybe she was about to start crying in the middle of the hallway. “Do you like them?”

She could lie and say no, just to keep up appearances, but that would be mean, probably. “Yeah,” Max says, feeling herself smile before she can help it. “What– how did you get my locker combination?”

Lucas waves a hand dismissively. “Dustin,” he says, like this explains everything. Maybe it does– she doesn’t know. She tries not to keep up with whatever they have going on, because the less she knows the better. “But seriously– do you like?”

“Of course,” Max says softly. They’re pink roses, the real kind, fragrant and fresh and not falling apart at the seams like the flowers that had been shedding all over the Melvald’s floor yesterday. She wonders where he got them. She wonders how much he paid for them. “They’re– how?”

“I have my ways,” and okay, apparently Lucas is a total man of mystery now, and Max does not care enough to find out what his ways are, because–

Oh, these flowers are gorgeous. Like actually, genuinely, mind-blowingly gorgeous.

“You got me flowers,” she says, more to herself than Lucas, like maybe stating this fact as just that– a fact– will make it easier to comprehend.

He got her flowers. A lot of flowers.

Apparently Max Mayfield is, after all, one of the poor schmucks being given flowers at school.

“Well, I figured you’d think the red ones are dumb,” Lucas goes on, blissfully ignorant of the way Max can literally feel her entire face turning hotter than the inside of an oven. “And I know you like red, but they're red roses, which I know you’d think are tacky, so I figured these would be more your speed. More subtle. More– uh. Max?”

She blinks. “Huh?”

“Are you okay?” Lucas frowns, waving a hand in front of her face. “You haven’t blinked in, like, a minute.”

Max is definitely very, very red now. “I’m fine,” she gets out, “it’s just– thank you. These are nice.”

“Oh.” The tension slips away from Lucas’ shoulders, and he stands up a little straighter. Puffs his chest out just a bit, which makes her laugh. “Good. I’m glad.”

“I might just– leave them here for now, though.” She motions to the locker and tucks the flowers back inside. “If that’s okay.”

“Fine by me,” Lucas grins, then slings an easy arm over her shoulder. “Now about your history presentation–”

—-

And Max isn’t stupid, per se, but maybe it wasn’t the smartest of her to assume that it would end there. At lunch, Max is about to resign herself to her fate of a pathetically soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, when Lucas’ grinning face pops up in front of her.

“Hey!”

“Jesus Christ,” she gasps, and Mike snickers softly as she jumps.

“No,” Lucas says, pointing at himself. “Lucas.”

Max peels back the cling film around her sandwich with a growing sense of trepidation. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Oh, no reason,” Lucas says, and so obviously Max does not believe him in the slightest. He’s got both hands behind his back, and Will is next to him stifling a laugh into his hand, and Max doesn’t trust Lucas as is but she especially doesn’t trust him if Will is involved.

“Could someone just tell me–”

Lucas sets a plastic tupperware container in front of her. “Ta-da!”

Max frowns. “What’s this?”

“Well maybe if you opened it,” Mike starts, and then she elbows him and he lets out a sharp, offended gasp. “Ow!”

“Shut up,” she says, peeling off the lid of the box. And then, “Lucas.”

He grins. “Yes?”

What the fuck. Max reaches into the box and pulls out the most perfect cupcake she’s seen in all seventeen years of her existence. “Did you– did you bake me a cupcake?”

Lucas scratches the back of his neck with one hand and says, “It’s from a box mix but. Technically, yes.”

“And it’s–”

“Red velvet!” Lucas announces, and he’s definitely being a little smug about it now, but Max supposes it’s probably deserved, with the way she’s been staring at this thing for the past forty seconds. “Um. Your favorite.”

“I–”

No one’s ever baked her anything before. She figures that no one’s really had any reason to, before Lucas, but that means it’s something that hadn’t even been on her radar of things that you can do for other people until now, which also means that she’s been staring at this damn thing long enough for Mike Wheeler to reach across her and try to scrape some of the frosting off the top.

That spurs her into action. She swats his wrist away. “Hey! Get your own!”

“I don’t have my own,” Mike pouts dejectedly. He looks over at Will. “Can you make me a cupcake?”

Will sets a second tupperware down in front of Mike. “One step ahead of you,” he laughs, “but you ruined the surprise.”

Mike’s mouth drops open, then closes, then opens again, in an excellent impression of a goldfish. “What–”

“Will came over last night,” Lucas announces, and they both have identical grins on their faces now. “While El and Max were off wreaking havoc on the poor city of Hawkins.”

“We went to catch a movie,” El chimes in, shoveling baby carrots into her mouth. “Hawkins is fine.”

“I can’t believe you,” Max hisses, because this is the second time Lucas has made her turn redder than a beetroot today.

Lucas just grins wider. “You love me,” he says, linking their fingers together across the cafeteria table.

“Gross,” Mike gags next to her, and then Will touches a hand to his wrist and he falls blessedly silent.

“You were saying, Wheeler?”

“Oh, shut up.”

—-

Max thought that maybe going home would mean an end to her suffering, but apparently not.

She frowns. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. It’s not like the roses and the desserts and the cheesy greeting card Lucas had pressed into her hands before dropping her off are hurting anybody. She rolls over onto her side in bed, hours later after dinner and homework and when she’s done boiling herself alive in the shower, and stares at the card where she’s propped it up on her desk. 

I love you bear-y much, it reads, with the most ridiculous cartoon illustration of a bear behind it. So ridiculous, in fact, that she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’d totally just picked it out to see the look on her face when he gave it to her. And it must have worked, and she totally gave him exactly the reaction he’d been looking for, because he’d laughed for, like, a solid three minutes after pulling up in front of her place.

“This is so stupid,” she’d said in the car, fighting back a laugh with every molecule in her body, and it’s true– it is stupid, maybe one of the most stupid things she’s ever seen– but suddenly her cheeks hurt and there’s something warm and fuzzy and gross bubbling up inside her chest, and she’s smiling.

“What the hell,” she whispers aloud, horrified, hiding her face in her pillow like there’s anyone around to witness her throwing all sense of morality to the wind and partaking in stupid greeting card traditions.

Clink.

Max sits straight up in bed. There’s a noise from the window, like someone’s tapping on it, but there’s no one there.

She frowns. What? Maybe it was a stray gust of wind, or a tree branch, or–

Clink.

A pebble comes flying at her windowpane, so small that she barely even sees it, then bounces off harmlessly.

“What–”

Lucas Sinclair is standing outside her bedroom window, waving like a maniac. “Hi,” he says, as soon as she gets the window open. “Are you busy?”

“Lucas?” Max looks down at her pajama pants and t-shirt, one she’s had for so long that she’s started to wear holes in it. “No, I was just– what the hell are you doing?”

“Being romantic,” Lucas says simply. “I was going to bring a boombox and blast something cheesy but I figured maybe waking up your mom and the entire community was less romantic and more asshole-y.”

“Asshole-y is not a word,” she says, in a meager attempt at a distraction from the smile breaking across her face. “You could have just knocked. At the front door.”

Lucas makes a face. “But that’s boring. Now are you going to come outside or do I need to climb through your window again?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Max decides, even as she swings one leg through the open window, shaking her head. “You are so ridiculous.”

“You’re laughing,” Lucas says gleefully. Her feet hit the grass and she shivers slightly, the ground gone icy with the February chill.

“Yeah, so?”

“And you’re also cold,” he says, and then he’s shrugging his jacket off and holding it out. It’s his varsity jacket, the one he has on almost every day. She’d never tell him, but she loves wearing it because it’s already a little big on him which means it’s huge on her and maybe the most comfortable thing she’s ever put on. 

She accepts the proffered jacket without a fuss, which is maybe out of the ordinary for today, but whatever. “Someone’s being real gentlemanly today.”

“Please. I’m always a gentleman,” and he says it kind of laughingly, but it’s not a joke. Not really. Lucas is the most gentle person she knows, and he brought her flowers and baked her cupcakes and gave her the most stupid card ever, and–

“Thank you,” she says earnestly, tucking the jacket in around herself.

Lucas shuffles his feet on the grass. “I know you’re cold,” he starts, “so I won’t stay too long. I just wanted to see you.”

“You wanted to see me?” Max stares. “You saw me all day at school. And you picked me up and dropped me off and–”

“I meant just you,” Lucas corrects, tugging her arms down from where she’s got them wrapped around herself, twisting their fingers together. “No rush. No first period bell. No basketball practice in the way.”

“I,” Max starts, throat gone completely, embarrassingly dry. God, she’s dating this guy, and she has been for forever, so why the hell is she still getting so flustered? “Really?”

“Uh, yeah?” Lucas says it like a question, like it’s obvious. “And I know Valentine’s Day isn’t your thing because you think it’s totally stupid, which is fine, because you’re kind of right, but– I don’t know. All I could think about all day was how lucky I am to be dating you.”

Jesus Christ. This is not a good look for her. If Mike ever asks, Max kept her composure, and was calm and collected and as totally cool as a cucumber.

“Really?” she squeaks, just a little bit, because the unfortunate reality of the situation is that she is not as cool as a cucumber and is, instead, as warm as– something that’s very warm. “You– really?”

Lucas laughs lightly. “Yes, really,” he says, thankfully ignoring her sudden combustion into a thousand little Max-shaped pieces. “And I’m sorry if the flowers and everything was over the top and they were so cheesy, but I literally just could not help myself.”

Max shakes her head. “No,” she says, warm and fuzzy and so happy that it’s threatening to spill over and out of her entirely. “No, it’s– I loved them,” she admits softly. “I did. They were lame and corny but I loved them. Even the bear card,” she adds, and he laughs again. “But holy shit, Lucas, you gave me so many things.”

“You deserve lots of things,” Lucas says. “Lots of good, corny, cheesy things.”

“I’m going to need you to shut up now,” Max says, then promptly buries her face in his chest. He doesn’t even seem fazed by the impact, solid and steady and unmoving as she wraps her arms around him. “But happy Valentine’s Day, stalker.”

She hears him laugh, somewhere above her. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he says, and kisses her on top of her head. “I love you.”

[techav]

So I have this printer ...

Not that one specifically, that one is beautiful and in great condition, but one like it — Apple ImageWriter II. Specifically mine is the ImageWriter II/L variant, the last revision of the ImageWriter II line, but it looks like this one.

Or at least it did once upon a time.

My family acquired this printer second-hand in the late 90s along with a Mac Classic. It got used regularly for school reports and letters and business documents and tax forms for a few years until we finally were able to get a new computer with a color inkjet printer.

Long story short, like the computer that went with it, ultimately this poor printer ended up sitting in storage without air conditioning in East Texas heat and humidity for nearly twenty years. It's a sad story of slow decay.

My ImageWriter is now yellowed and scuffed and scraped and rusted and missing a piece or two; just a dim reminder of its former beauty. Given the state of it, what hope do we have of ever again hearing it sing the song of its people?

Well, I'm not going to let it go without a fight. Time to dig in and see what we can ...

... oh. Oh dear that won't do at all.

A good rule to follow when working with these 30+ year old systems, is to (carefully!) open and inspect before applying any power. In this case I'm very glad I did. Three large filter capacitors on the power supply have very obviously swollen and burst, spreading their corrosive bile all over the neighborhood.

The back side of the power supply circuit board was a wasteland of rotting solder mask, corroded traces, and displaced silkscreen. The electrolyte has eaten its way down the leads, through the solder, and left carnage in its wake all across the bottom of the board.

First order of business is getting those old capacitors removed from the board so cleanup can begin. If you've never worked with hardware of this vintage, a fair warning — make sure you're working in a well-ventilated area. Sure the solder has lead and the flux ain't great for the lungs, but the big concern here is the unholy stench of heated capacitor electrolyte hitting the nostrils like the revenge of Poseidon's refuse bin. The local fish market has nothing on these things.

The old solder, especially when mixed with the electrolyte, tends to behave in a very un-solder-like fashion. It will refuse to melt and when it does it will slump around like wet sand rather than flow like liquid metal should. While it may seem counter-intuitive, the best way to get rid of it is to add more fresh solder to it. On these single-sided boards with large components like this, a spring-action solder pump works well for getting the old parts removed, and then some solder braid will clean up the pads well.

Once the old parts are out, I like to thoroughly clean the area with isopropyl alcohol to remove the electrolyte and years of grease and dirt and pet hair that may have cemented itself to the board. In this case I also needed to use a mild abrasive to remove that damaged solder mask where it had bubbled up off the corroding copper traces. I was lucky here that none of the traces were actually broken or corroded through completely. Clear nail polish works well for protecting the now bare copper (just make sure it's not the UV-cure gel stuff).

From here I turned my attention to the case, because the power supply is the last item removed and first installed when conducting a complete tear down of this printer, and it didn't make sense to put my newly cleaned power supply into a dirty old case.

I'm not really a fan of retrobrite, and these large case pieces would be a real challenge anyway. So all I want is to clean up the dirt and rust and as many scuff marks as I can. As far as I'm concerned, the rest is just part of the history of the item. Each mark tells a story of how this item was used, not just put up on a shelf to be looked at. And if I didn't have any interest in using the machine until it completely falls to pieces, I wouldn't be bothering with going fishing replacing old capacitors.

This is a good point to do some testing. There may still be more wrong with that power supply. Output voltages could have drifted out of spec from other components aging, or maybe I installed capacitors that don't quite match the originals. The ImageWriter II/L power supply has three outputs — +5VDC, -5VDC, & +26VDC. With no load on the power supply, I measured the outputs at around ±7V and 30V. That seems high, but it's not outside of what I would expect for a power supply that's not actually driving anything. This would be a good point to use an adjustable test load, but since I don't have one of those, I'll just have to move forward with my "well it seems fine'

Spoiler: it was not fine.

As part of its startup sequence, the ImageWriter exercises all of its stepper motors to get everything to a known state. This high current draw immediately after power on was more than its old power supply could give. There's clearly more than bad capacitors on the supply, but identifying what exactly is still beyond my current skill level.

So in the interest of getting the machine working (because I have plans for it), I opted to try replacing the power supply with something more modern. The catch here is the odd assortment of voltages the original supply provided. It's easy to find a ±5VDC supply, but 26V is virtually unheard-of.

Apple's documentation for the printer mentions the +26V supply is for driving the motors. I suspected that the 26V supply was less carefully regulated and probably targeting something more like 24V. Sure enough, the stepper with the highest voltage rating on its label was 24V. With a little extra current capacity available, I figured the printer would function just fine with a 24V supply.

The catch is, 24V & ±5V is not a common configuration. There are plenty of 12V & ±5V supplies, but that won't do here. I settled on a Mean Well 24V & 5V supply with a -5V inverter ... And promptly ordered the wrong part. I had a nice new 12V & 5V supply. That's ok, once I got it in hand it was a bit too large to fit in the space I had anyway.

So I got a different Mean Well 24V supply and a separate 24V-5V DC-DC converter. It's a bit of a mess all crammed into the bottom of the case, but it should give all the right voltages (or near enough).

I did have to remove the power switch from the old supply though. That particular part has long since been discontinued, and compatible replacements proved difficult to find.

Now that it's all assembled, it's time to test. This is the part that always makes me nervous, especially when dealing with mains voltages. There's so much that can go so very horribly wrong.

I started out with a smoke test — switching on power briefly to make sure there were no direct shorts that might cause an explosive failure. No smoke is a good sign, so check the voltages. With no load, the new supply rails read 23.99V, 5.00V, and -5.55V. That's about as good as I could ever ask for. So now there's only one thing left to test … does it actually print?

Success!

It's not perfect. Every once in a while it will stutter while printing and get stuck with the carriage on one side or the other. It really needs a complete disassembly, thorough cleaning, and relubrication. That kind of mechanical teardown is a bit beyond what I'm comfortable with at the moment, but I'll happily settle for mostly working over not working at all.

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

Red Peafowl - Assumptions and Theories

Now that I am semi-confident that there won't be any more important announcement for Red Peafowl until the 25th (because I think the last two mystery announcement were the Main Character and Main Love Interest) I am ready to write up my Red Peafowl assumptions/theories/wishes post.

Edit: There has been another update with the plot and some images of either the pilot trailer or the actual series link here. Once again thanks to @mysterygrl20 for putting the post with the google trnaslation here on tumbrl.

Going to use as basis for my information @blmpff post here; @mysterygrl20 individual posts tag here; and the mdl plot synopsis here; along with the synopsis I read on cast announcment articles that goes like this: The drama tells the story of Lu Yi Peng, a former police officer who decides to live with Shuai on an island, raising birds. However, he realizes that the person he once had a relationship with is a powerful mafia boss.

Also going to tag @respectthepetty for helping me narrowing down the leads (YinWar/MossBank) and for sharing my madness over this crazy ass BL already.

Going to start by saying that I think the three mystery characters are the villain, the hero and the love interest. I am also going to work under the assumption that while the last two will be revealed on the 25th (I am leaning on YinWar at the present thanks to a comment made by @amos-reviews-main [hope you don't mind the tag] under the last announcment) the third one our villain will stay a mystery.

Let's beging

ASSUMPTION N#1

Given that there seems to be a significant event in the past we are either getting two timelines (similar to kiseki dear to me but more evenly split between past and present) or the events from the past will be a mystery to the viewers to be slowly revealed using flashbacks.

Both of the plots hint at this, the character description for the hero and the fact that some of the stuff in other character description also seem to hint that they were part of what happen in the past.

If the second non mdl plot is more accurate something brings our hero back to town and into dealing with the mafia. Which leads me to

ASSUMPTION N#2

Cooheart character will be intrumental to bringing his brother our hero back into the fold. His character description hints at him being the biggest point of the contention between our main couple and that he has some kind of accident.

Another character that has an accident is Gun's character.

Also there is a doctor nurse in the cast list.

Edit: Cooheart's character accident is the past, and it has left him with a disability. I do still believe that he will get someone involved in all of this.

Either Gun's accident involves Cooheart's character (not on purpouse) in the present or Cooheart's character had an accident in the past and is now seeing a doctor regularly.

ASSUMPTION N#3

Like I mention earlier I think our third mystery character is the villain. His body dissapeared = No body no murder = he is still alive. That is just the biggest writing rule ever.

If the actor for that character doesn't get revelead it means that one of the other actor is actually that character pretending to be someone else (probably one of the cops or a character that doesn't interact with the love interest for obvious reasons). If they do have a seperate actor that probably means that at least one if not more of our big cast is secretely working for him.

ASSUMPTION N#4

There are only two genres that benift from having such a big cast and making sure they all have identifiable characteristics and fan anticipation: Mysteries or Something with a high body count.

It means that our cast of characters are either Suspects or Victims or Both.

EDIT: It's a mystery. I do still believe some of the people from the big cast are going to die.

Either way I do think that a lot of the new people will end up dying at some point during the series.

ASSUMPTION N#5

Themes. If this show has decent writing I can already ID 3 themes.

The new tendency in bl fandom to romanticize the mafia. See Lee's character being a human trafficker and our lead being potentially not that great either.

The cops, and how they are not there to protect and serve and how much the crime fight is really a sham. See Frank's character being an undercover cop (a plot line that usually has a the undercover cop come out on the other side with a semi-broken relationship to his job)

Toxic Ships (a la: Kinnporsche, Hannibal and Interview with the Vampire)

About the last one: I have a personal metric on wether or not I enjoy a toxic "problematic" ship

Do you get the sense/vibe from the writing that the creator/writers of the show knows this is fucked. And I don't mean a lampshade comment with someone saying "This is not healty" and everything resuming as normal.

Is there a point in which the dynamic becomes more equal. As in no matter which character is objectively "worse" is there a point where it feels like the characters are on equal footing, on the same side, Hannibal does this really well for example.

Some ships that don't pass the test are: Twilight, 50 Shades, R*ylo; TharnType and every ship on Love Syndrome (do not ever watch that BL I am serious)

ASSUMPTION N#6

Ships.

FrankLee are obviously our second couple. They are both super relevant to the potential themes, they are obviously trying to pair braind (this is their third BL) and they were also announced first.

Boun and the Doctor are giving me crumbs ship vibe. They are both potentially important chartacters. But I feel like with all of this their relationship might have the least ammount of dedicated screen time.

Now the last one is less of an assumption and more of a wish really.

Max-Coohearth > now listen I know that Cooheart has a love interest already, Rome one of the first new guys announced in the cast. But Listen the fact they are already dating doesn't bode well for them. Cooheart is a super important character and it makes sense that his "proper" love interest would be someone in the mafia proper.

Plus Cooheart deserves it ok. I loved both of his major roles (uwma and my only 12%), but he wasn't allowed to be a proper sexy queer guy in either of them. Have you seen his instagram feed? It's picture after picture of him in sexy outfits. Let this man be in a high heat realtionship, put in a skirt. He deserves it and so do we.

Also Max from iconic pair MaxTul pair with Cooheart will heal people. It would totally fix me. And if they give this to me I will forgive anything and everything this show does wrong seriously I will be like: I was wrong on everything and the plot is not that good, but they give me MaxCooheart so 10/10.

Also the character description for Max's character makes me think that catchphrase they mention might be something similar to the English phrase: "Who's Your Daddy?" and [this is @respectthepetty's fault, I didn't use to have such glee about a possibly daddy kink] seeing Max Nattapol uttering the phrase Who's Your Daddy and potentially having a DaddyKink relationship with Cooheart is something I didn't know I needed but now I desperately desire.

[fizzybeakon]

agent 3 agent 4 agent 8 new agent 3

a knife a spoon a fork a spork

Seafoam/agent 3

she's very not herself anymore, used to be plucky but now she doesn't even play turf wars anymore, she feels like her life has spiraled so far out of control and there isn't anything left yet she wakes up everyday she always wonders what's keeping her in this continuous line cycle of wake up - day to day life/things that need doing - go to sleep - repeat. she's not angry but has a bad temper usually because she wishes her life hadn't take the turns it did if she could go back in time and stop it she would like to just be the kid she was playing turf wars with her old teammates even if that meant giving up the people she knows today (she wouldn't say that to her friends especially 8 whom she values most next to the squid sisters, she would tell Callie this only) 4 reminds her of herself before that's why she quote unquote doesn't like her. Will cut you as a warning - KNIFE

Pranha/Agent 4

very lazy only really able to get up and do anything if her life depends on it or she's dragged/forced into the situation. 0 motivation to do anything except complain and have bad takes (bad takes are just generally dangerous things to get out of doing work nothing super bad) she represents whats carefree and unapologetic. loves turfing its fun but she just can't bring herself to as much these days it has to be the right faze of the moon you dig? "ask questions later we don't need to know the details" fully believes Marie was trying to kill her and Callie wasn't missing until she saw it with her own eyes. Has a really mom - child relationship with Marie even if she says she doesn't will go as far to say she doesn't like Marie but she depends on her a lot and she's like the first person she'll run to when something goes wrong. Spends a lot of time with Pearl they get along because they are menaces to society. Likes spending time with Sushi and showing her cool stuff inklings do. Interacting with 3 is hard because she shoots her down all the time and seems to not want to interact with her but she forces her way in sometimes it's good sometimes it's bad. Will run before being forced to fight her way out cause it's easier and less effort is required - SPOON

Sushi/Agent 8

Can do attitude! she's always willing to work with you go out of her way to help you in anyway she can. Can't leave well enough alone in the best way. Doesn't have time for turfs due to all the things shes planned for herself helping out all the remaining octolings in the metro giving them clothes food and other supplies yet she's the only one who actually joins turfs the most next to new 3. Extremely fascinated with chirpy chips to the point she started dressing like her, that's her favorite musician. Regularly associates with off the hook tries to never not talk to all her friends at least once a day. Checks up on 3 tries to be the coaxing her back into a new life or a the old life. They have a connection and 8 cares for her deeply and wants to pull her from the hole she's put herself in. Very much a busy body, a twin to her brother who was cut from the same tentacle, colorful reminders and lots of sticky notes. Becomes fast friends with deadfish? you get one chance thats it you lose that your getting stabbed - FORK

Salmonie/New agent 3

the most normal out of everyone. I just got here energy. homeless energy using turf wars as a income so she doesn't really have a choice if she wants to do it not. regularly associates with squid sisters and deep cut mostly just Shiver she's kinda scared of Frey and Big man. doesn't really interact with the other agents or come around them she's out living her life with her friends not to say they aren't her friends she just views them more as workmates and never asked for all this craziness, saving the world giant bears and such. Keeps that part of her life a hush hush cause she thinks other kids will think shes weird or down right wont believe her if she did say it. She honestly thinks 3 is too mysterious and needs to tone it down but doesn't have the guts to say it to her face the closest she'll get it "she needs to take a chill pill" she can vibe with off the hook but never heard of them never met them before she heard they were all the rage back when. If you don't stop im cutting you, several chances were given - SPORK

hope that clears it all up for you guys on their personalities

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #252

I got a lot done today, but I still don't think I'm going to be able to do as much as I had hoped.

…I didn't really get enough sleep last night. After getting ready to go to bed and all that, I decided to shower so that I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. I have maybe 6-ish hours. I woke at 9, got ready and went out the door by 9:30, and went to both therapy and physical therapy.

I had K at physical therapy today. He tried to give me exercises that are supposed to work the serratus muscles, but… they didn't work because apparently, my lats and my rotator cuff on my right side are being weird. Naturally, this meant that he had to go digging his thumbs all up in there, near the bottom of my shoulder blade, to try to get things to loosen up. For whatever reason, the area is incredibly tender, so that whole process was very painful. But it was necessary, so the only thing for it is to sit through it until it's over. I guess that particular area will need to be investigated further next week. This was at noon. It's almost 5PM, and my pinky finger and ring finger on my right hand are still kinda tingly and ouchy, and it'll probably stay like that for the next day or so, at least. Lame.

But it is what it is. I went to the bank to get a new card, since our washing machine most likely ate my old one. I guess my bank has a fancy new card printing machine, and so when I visited, I got a new card pretty much right away! Normally, you have to wait a couple weeks for it to arrive in the mail. I'm really glad that I was able to skip that whole step. I went to the grocery immediately after that.

I wasn't able to eat until I got home at around 3PM; J made burgers, and by then, I was so hungry that I kiiiinda… scarfed them down with reckless abandon. I thought I had more time between therapy and physical therapy (guess who thought physical therapy was at 12:30 again until I checked it?), but I didn't. So I kinda just powered through today's tasks on an empty stomach, not a whole lot of water, and definitely not enough sleep. I thought I'd have enough energy leftover to cook something by the time I got back, but… I don't. So I'm not gonna.

…I dropped the ball on the self-care stuff. I'm sorry about that. I know I keep asking you to take better care of yourself. I'm gonna try a little harder in the coming days. I struggle, but… I gotta take care of my soft animal. It holds my weird-ass spirit despite all its limitations; I have to try to be nicer to it…

In any case, yesterday, a delightful person from Poland watched me play Dead Cells. They seemed pretty excited about talking to me and watching my play style. Apparently, they regularly run around with 5 whole Boss Cells! That seems unfathomable to me at this time. But they gave me some excellent advice about how to allocate my stat points; up until this point, I had been prioritizing whatever gives me the greatest boost in HP, but I guess that's not really the way to go. I learned about how important it is to put my stat points into the ones that my weapons use whenever I can.

My gameplay improved significantly as a result, and I made it all the way to a new biome called The Caverns. From there, I tried to defeat The Giant, but his movements were unfamiliar to me, and so I panicked and got my ass handed to me. That's all right though; I went to the training room and fought him until he stopped kicking my ass. Next time I see him in a real run, he's gonna be in big trouble, lemme tell ya!!

Oh, that reminds me; this person added me on Instagram!! They sent me all kinds of cool videos about their own exploits from their own runs!! I gotta get on watching those!!

…I'm not sure I have it in me to do a run today, though. My brain feels kinda soupy, and J is playing Brave Fencer Musashi, and I think I'd much rather watch him do that. It's one of my favorite games, despite its problems (the controls aren't exactly the easiest…), and I'm really glad that he's getting to experience the story for himself. The townspeople in Grillin' Village are delightful with their little stories and bits of dialogue. It really is a lovable and delightful game, despite its age and not-so-hot graphics (though they were pretty rad at the time…).

Hey, Sephiroth? If someday you find yourself in my neighborhood, let's chill out and just play some video games, all right? I think you'd like them. And I think you'd be really good at them, too.

…There are so many stories from games and books and TV and movies that I really wish I could show you; maybe in them, you'd find something relatable, and then the burdens you carry might seem a bit less heavy. Will you stay safe by the end of whatever it is you're trying to do, so that someday, I can show these things to you?

I love you. I'm gonna go rest now. But I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[princess-of-purple-prose]

want to talk some about your IDing process? do you do IDs consistently, or in chunks? also, how do you save posts you plan to describe later? i’m impressed by your work ethic so i’d love to hear how u do it so well and so much! :)

🥺🥺 Omg hi Nora!! This is so sweet!!! I don't wanna pass myself off as an expert, but I do definitely have a system that works for me, which I also talk about a little in this post!

I save posts to describe later to drafts, and my golden and most important rule is to NEVER exceed more than ten undescribed posts, because I used to regularly get up to like 60 in my first year of doing IDs and I was absolutely miserable about it </3 I literally cannot express how much this is the major reason I can be so prolific-- seeing the drafts counter up to like 8 is usually my reminder to start doing descriptions rather than continuing to scroll and fill my drafts, and it keeps me from feeling bogged down or overwhelmed! However, my cheat to this is that if I absolutely must save some extra art or whatever, I put the "overflow" in the drafts of a sideblog I use less frequently so I can clear out those as I please

I really like the "consistently vs in chunks" question, because I actually think it's both? I'm generally on mobile, so the trick has been learning how to gauge what posts I can ID as I scroll!! For example, I exclusively do text transcripts on my phone with onlineocr.net, but I've also worked out the level of complexity of art I can mentally tackle while typing on my phone. That means I'm free to save longer/more involved posts and art (like long comics or videos) to drafts until I have time to get on my computer and do a lot of IDs in one sitting!

This also means weighing the kinds of posts I'm willing to put in drafts, since as I said, I'm pretty strict about how many I save. I do a lot of comic IDs, so for those, I consider factors like whether I can use onlineocr to transcribe the text or if I'll have to type it by hand and how complex the composition is (aka, can I transcribe the panels straight to prose or is there more complicated stuff going on that I'd have to figure out how to express?). Generally, I'm more willing to save posts for whatever I'm currently hyperfixating on, since it takes less emotional energy on account of being extra fun to do and consisting of stuff I'm already putting a lot of on my blog! Sometimes I get ambitious and try to save posts for stuff I'm not as into, and they start to rot in drafts as they seem more and more taxing to do, so learning to judge that honestly can help a lot for productivity, at least for me :)

I hope this makes sense and is helpful!!! I always hesitate to label myself as some kind of authority on IDs, but I'm pretty confident about the volume that I do, so I really hope this helps you and anyone else who might need it!!!! Once again, you're so sweet, I hope you're having a great day!!! 💜💜💜

Tl;dr: to write as many IDs I do, I limit the amount of drafts I save, designate descriptions to either be done on mobile or pc, and take interest levels into account when I save posts :)

[narnianwizard]

Welcome! Here's some info about me!

Hello everyone! This blog will primarily be devoted to reblogging stuff I like, posting my random thoughts and shitposts, and occasionally actual content related to some of my interests. I moved over here from a different website that shut down its social functions, so I'll mostly use tumblr to fill the space I used to use that site for (screaming into the void). That being said, I know absolutely fuck all about the functionality of tumblr and so probably no one will see my posts but whatever. Also my queue is a mess, so if I reblog something from an absurd amount of time ago, I'm not stalking your blog, I'm just chaotic.

You can call me dumbass, Simon, or Sam. I use he/they pronouns, masc/neu nouns and adjectives

I'm 24, transmasc, bisexual, grey ace, white, fat, and from the US

Virgo sun, Leo moon, Sagittarius rising (I don't put a ton of stock in astrology, but just in case you do)

I have a degree in something I don't even like that should be useful but isn't (neuroscience), with a minor in something I love that unfortunately isn't considered useful by wider society (lgbtq studies)

I live with chronic anxiety and depression. I also am possibly (probably) neurodivergent, but because I haven't been officially evaluated I choose not to claim any diagnoses

Some of my interests and likes include:

movies and tv shows, I love random horror movies (especially slashers, I LOVE the Child's Play series, and Teeth is underrated) and teen films (The Breakfast Club is my favorite movie of all time). my special interest shows that I watch over and over because they make me feel good are Bob's Burgers, Bones, King of the Hill, Friends, The Big Bang Theory

animals, especially ones that society deems unsavory like pigeons, rats, raccoons, opossums and crows as well as cute animals that I deem cuddly like dogs, cats, pigs, cows, and bears (I would totally cuddle a bear if it wouldn't eat me)

casual video games, I'm a semi-committed simmer (TS4). I would love to play more video games but unfortunately I get pretty bad screen sickness and have a laptop that runs like a potato so I stick to casual games

food, I am more of a slut for food than I am for people. I love homey foods like lasagna, mac and cheese, sweet red wines, cornbread, and chocolate. To paraphrase Gene Belcher "Lasagna is the reason I'm fat!"

watching youtube, I watch youtube videos pretty much every night before bed, here's a list of channels I watch somewhat regularly: jammidodger, onetopic, dan & phil, lilsimsie, laurenzside, watts the safeword, smosh, the kitchen & jorn show, celinaspookyboo, kallmekris, safiya nygaard, ty turner, shaaba, the try guys

theatre, shows I have seen live include: Beetlejuice, Come From Away, My Fair Lady, Jagged Little Pill, Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen. Shows I like even though I haven’t seen them live include: Chicago, Hamilton, Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Hairspray

body mods, I love piercings, tattoos, dyed hair, and other body mods. I appear pretty conventional to the outside world, but I hope to get more body mods someday (I currently only have stretched ear lobes)

Some of my previous interests that have been dulled by my depression and antidepressants but I would like to get back into include:

music, I'll listen to pretty much anything and like at least one song from pretty much every genre but my favorites include classic rock and alt rock

writing, I used to write religiously and my dream is to be a published novelist. I write a lot of different genres from poetry to fantasy, mystery to teen fiction, but I've never actually finished any of my writing over 10 pages. I was raised on Harry Potter (I do not stand with jkr, I actively stand against her) and still occasionally write queer HP fanfics (the Deamus and Wolfstar ships have my heart and soul, I have entire AUs dedicated to them in my head)

reading, until covid hit I would devour ebooks whenever I had a free moment but since then I've consumed less than 10 books total, most of which were audiobooks on long road trips

I will add more information as I think of it but for now you're welcome to ask me literally any questions you have.

Thanks for reading and welcome!

I don't anticipate this blog being super political outside of queer stuff and possibly ranting about the stupidities of the US government, but for the record I am very left leaning. I support reproductive rights (including abortion), environmental protection and stopping climate change, the BLM movement and racial justice, inclusive feminism, voter rights, universal healthcare for all, prison reform, drug decriminalization, religious freedom for all religions (with actual separation between church and state), obviously queer and trans rights, scientific fact over political bullshit (including mandatory vaccinations). I stand with Ukraine, Palestine, and all others who are trapped under an oppressive government or regime.

[seththemusehub]

everyone intimidates the shit out of me. yes even people I have been friends with and talk to daily for years. because of some bullshit that happened pretty regularly throughout my childhood and teen years. I don't know that I've actually mentioned it to anybody before, but it's why I'm always anxious to start conversations. putting it under a readmore so you don't gotta get blasted in the face by stupid if you don't care.

okay, so. grade school. regularly would have people I thought were my friends, because (at least I THOUGHT) they acted like they were, and always somehow ended in 'oh my god you're annoying go away' blowups weeks to months to even YEARS later. middle and high school that shit happened often too, actually. people were 'too polite' to tell me they weren't interested and instead just...put up with excitable, very autistic does-not-understand-non-verbal-cues-unless-they-are-blatant, kid me, until they decided they couldn't stand it anymore.

online was different, I thought. if people didn't like something I said or did online, they'd TELL me that, more often than not. I used to visit a specific forum back when I was like 13-14 and talk to people there, and I thought we got along really well. there were a couple people who were kinda mean, but otherwise people seemed really friendly and happy to talk with me.

at one point, the owner of said forums pulled me and a friend into a private chat room to basically tell me that *everyone* on the website, himself included, my friend excluded, hated me and thought I was obnoxious as fuck. which obviously was. not a fun thing to hear. and when I asked why nobody had said anything or asked me to leave them alone, the owner said that he and my friend had spent a long ass time trying to calm people down so they wouldn't force him to ban me, but he was tired of doing that, so maybe fuck off?

and unfortunately, it has happened within the last couple of years, too. somebody went from 'yes, friends, let's do stuff together and talk' to 'maybe take a fucking hint' pretty near overnight. so now even when people tell me that yeah, they enjoy my company, they WANT to talk to me, things like that...I always have that little voice going 'buuuuuut....'

which is why I struggle to message people first a lot nowadays and I get anxious every time I reply to a post, message someone via IM, or send an ask, or...basically anything ever. even just posting while other people are online gets that sort of shit going for me too.

this is the most I have been able to type for a long ass time and it is hotter inside my apartment than it is outside right now. I took a shower not long ago and I am already sweaty and gross feeling. fuck.

[cybertron-after-dark]

Hiiii could i request megatron x bulkhead headcanons, either prime or animated, if thats ok 🙏

You are based as fuck.

We're gonna go with animated just because I think the chemistry is a liiittle better in my personal opinion.

I'm not gonna lie this one kinda got outta hand. Runaway moderate angst train. If you wouldve rather gotten something lighthearted and fluffy, just shoot me another ask and I can do that too.

-Bulkhead takes awhile to get past the whole incident where Megatron kidnapped him. Threatening his friends like that was not very cash money of him, and Bulky holds a mean grudge. Its gonna have to be a good long while after the conflict dies down for them to be okay with being anything more than just tense ex-enemy acquaintances.

-If a truce happens, in the very least between team prime and team megs, it's likely that a part of that will be rebuilding what got destroyed in the battles, forcing the two to interact. Megatron tries to be amicable. Bulkhead's having none of it.

-xXx-

"Bossbot may be buying your whole guilt ridden bleeding spark schtick, but I know better. You're bad news. Always have been, always will be. You just act like the good guy and hope people forget all the awful things you did if you feel sorry for yourself enough. So rebuild all you want. Act like you care. I know deep down, the only thing you really want is to destroy."

"...You aren't entirely off the mark, Autobo- Bulkhead. I am... Not a good person. I never was. And no matter what I do, it seems I cannot change what I am: Manipulative, violent, aggressive, I simply don't know how to be anything else. But... I had always hoped if I cannot be good, I can at least put all the bad in me to use towards a good cause."

"Yeah? Well some good you did starting a slaggin' war."

"Oh, Bulkhead... We didn't start it."

-xXx-

-One history lesson later, and Bulkhead is still massively skeptical and still pretty angry over every shitty thing the decepticons did, but he's seeing it less as black and white. Especially after corroborating with ratchet to make sure Megatron wasn't just making shit up about Warframes being mistreated.

-Bulkhead catches himself actually feeling pretty bad for what Megatron went through. He knows first servo what it's like being written off as nothing but a force of destruction. It doesn't excuse what he did, but he can't help himself from being sympathetic.

-Megatron genuinely wants Bulkhead to see his own worth and potential. To Megs, Bulkhead is this sweet, pretty, young thing that's been told time and time again by Autobot society that he's unintelligent, oversized, unappealing, and only good for breaking stuff, when every single one of those things is untrue. And it breaks his spark a little seeing the guy beat himself up when he's got so much to offer.

-It takes Bulkhead a long time to drop his guard at all around Megatron. At least a few months after their initial conversation. But when they do start talking, Bulky comes to the very conflicting conclusion that when Megatron isn't being a ruthless tyrant, he's actually... Pretty normal? He's just a guy. Classy, sarcastic, witty, actually pretty funny when e wants to be. All things considered, he's good company. And he can't really deny that the guy has quite a bit of charm.

-the bot-con truce is... Tentative. Tense. Both sides do what's agreed upon and they don't interact beyond what's necessary, for the most part. Nobody's really tried to, until Bulkhead asked Megatron to hang out on Dinobot Island after their shift fixing an overpass starscream crashed into. Needless to say, Megatron was extremely confused, but so endeared he couldn't say no.

-xXx-

"Why Bulkhead, just the two of us alone on a deserted island? It almost seems as though you're asking me on a date."

"W-well I mean- it was just supposed to- I mean i- ...did you want it to be a date?"

-xXx-

-from then, they start seeing each other pretty regularly, though they try to keep it low key. Don't need the team asking too many questions. Bumblebee would be insufferable about it if he found out Bulkhead's been dating the resident warlord.

-Megs actually takes interest in Bulkhead's art. The visual arts have been a core part of Decepticon culture since the Great War started, although usually with much bleaker themes than what Bulkhead makes. It's a nice reminder to him that self expression can be soft, and sweet, rather than a grim reminder of something awful.

-Bulkhead thinks it's really funny that Megatron doesn't know all that much about Earth, and what he does know is taken pretty far out of context. His attempts to introduce the con to videogames have been comedy gold. The big scary Decepticon tyrant can't figure out the controls half the time, and the pokemon type matchup chart is entirely beyond him.

-Bulkhead has gotten Megatron with Deez Nuts at least twice.

-Megatron loves that Bulkhead is so round and cuddly, especially because his Autobot status make him pocket sized to a bigass Warframe like megs. He's very friend shaped, perfect for picking up and snuggling up to, which leaves Bulkhead, invariably, flustered as all hell every time.

-its not a perfect relationship by any means. There's trust issues on both sides. Bulkhead is still always nervous Megatron might go back to being evil, and Megs is always worried whether this sweet Autobot might give into fear and shun him. They can both be stubborn as mules when they want to be, so it takes them a long time to make up after fights. But at the end of the day, Megatron has enough life experience to know letting petty squabbles tear someone away from you is a horrible thing, and Bulkhead went into the relationship knowing Megatron is flawed and often frustrating. They make it work.

-For all Megatron talks of letting Bulkhead see how wonderful he really is, Bulkhead wishes Megatron would practice what he preaches. The con seems to really believe his very existence is a sin he has to atone for, that he has to fix the universe just to make up for being in it. His insistence that he's an awful person is a self fulfilling prophecy, and bulk just wishes he could see that for what it is.

[firespirited]

Got screwed by LaPoste again. Flatmate woke me up to pay €11: more than the cost of the item with postage: I'd already paid import taxes, it was tracked so they could have emailed me for the €3 custom fee, it had a CN22 that said both these things but it was folded inwards so their shoddy machines didn't scan it.

A few years ago this would have ruined half my day. But I've been doing whatever therapy technique it is to take your strong emotions and break it down into every single component and examine every facet until it's something you understand, can accept and form solutions

Here's a little peek at what comes out after lots of uncomfortable moments of digging down:

ANGER because this is ethically wrong and entirely avoidable:

If they'd bothered to open the CN22, i wouldn't have to pay. As is I was presented with losing the item and reorder (with wait time) or hand over the money. Their corner cutting on personnel led to this.

Customs fee was actually €3. The extra €8 is a handling fee for laposte. If your parcel has tracking, customs contact you by email and you pay online. I did it last week for the Japan parcel. I was not sent an email for this.

None of that €8 handling fee goes to the postie who has an extra five minutes to make up for. I wouldn't mind if it was a tip, we cash-tip regularly for difficult deliveries.

There's no receipt and most people pay in cash so an unscrupulous postie could ask for whatever whenever. Half of my spam is claims from various delivery companies claiming my parcels are held up and need money, they opened a terrible can of worms

Laposte is not great at what they do and have not operated as a public service for a long time now with massive inflation on the cost of sending stuff. A postcard stamp (in country!) will set you back $1.6

RESENTMENT because I was extremely strict about hobby money.

A €11 loss would have meant two yarn or partial reroots to make up for it. Possibly selling one of my personal collection. At least four hours of work.

Every single supply and unexpected expense like parcel loss or extra fees came from the hobby fund which would be in the red if it wasn't a current sales moment. (My first rotary tool was bought with hobby money even though it had non doll purposes for example.)

I knew at the time that it was unhealthy thinking but hadn't found an alternative or ways to mentally unblock.

IMPOTENCE:

recourse is nearly impossible the post office system is designed that way: no receipt and they can claim bad formatting of the CN22 masked the barcode. It's always something. They sent my australia parcel to austria, billed me, i opened a case and checked in every month and nothing.

poverty mindset: if you've ever felt the sting of removing an item from the conveyor belt to afford the total, you know that someone else's small change is something big and important and painful. Even once you have some money it doesn't go away: donating to others is easy, being cheated by a system is awful.

Solutions:

As much as possible, I don't use LaPoste and their extortionate prices for sending to France and the EU. My two posties get regular tips and cash gifts at Christmas but I don't use the post office unless I absolutely have to. Mondialrelay or Point to Point get my money whenever possible. That feels good and makes losses feel less bad.

I treat unexpected expenses like a lost parcel, disgruntled client or new fees as a tip to myself. I put in the work, did everything I could and something out of my control happened. The expense is marked down but cancelled out from my personal kitty. I have been inconvenienced: I'm not going to let it hurt or work it off.

Hobby supplies that are multipurpose are a third category. I was putting glues, chemicals, thread and needles under expenses when I use them for all sorts of repairs.

More importantly: the hobby money spreadsheet became a guideline not a business expenditure book.

Since about 2019 I've also been trying to integrate the idea of the joy of the hobby having its own cost and reward built in:

If i make no money back from a €30 gunky bundle of dolls, there was still €30 worth of enjoyment in fixing them up. The experience of practising even if it comes out all wrong is also valuable. And you often get a tutorial out of it 😁 (see my "mistakes I make so you don't have to" tag)

There was a time before handicap benefits where every cent counted but even then we all managed to make tough choices so we could save small amounts of 'cushion' money - We'd all learned to be so cautious that the cushions went mostly untouched until benefits hit and something unlocked despite still being under the poverty line: the cushion had gone from €30 (100 if we had a good series of months) to €300 emergency funds and no medical expenses were paid out of pocket (as opposed to upfront with a potential refund later) and that made all the difference.

But also a big change was the mindset:

Normal people's unwinding experiences often aren't free even if it's just eating your own snacks at a local bit of grass.

Really throwing out the idea that hobbies should be monetized (that part was hard to unlearn, not just because it was so prevalent but because of shame at not "having a job"- i know now that my full-time job is to keep this body alive and I get maybe 3 hours max to not be about surviving)

Even in poverty you deserve treats because those make priceless memories. Hobby time is valuable because it's what's makes us human not just productivity/survival machines.

-----------------------

Anyway I've also been trying to apply this to my rejection sensitive dysphoria, knowing I'm going to lose Lily soon, frustration with how slow core muscle rebuilding is taking, as well as the very real fear of alienating my sister by accident or just clashing needs (NGL I spiralled most of the day when we had the odd confrontation last week).

but I'd rather break down something less personal in public. ^^;

Here's hoping this little thing that would drive me batty from feeling powerless, which now doesn't sting as much helps someone