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quoththemaiden · 2 months

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A short (~1k) scene inspired by Chapter 9 of @mrghostrat's absolutely glorious Big Name Feelings human AU fic. Hope you like arms?

"C'mon, angel, not even gonna crack a smile at that one? Whales, get it? Whales."

Aziraphale felt like his cheeks were on fire from trying to keep a straight face at Crowley's increasingly terrible puns. "I would hate to tacitly encourage this behavior."

"Pfft, you love it." Crowley grinned at him, far past being undaunted and fully into the realm of being energized by Aziraphale's failed attempts at stoicism.

"You're utterly ridiculous." Aziraphale didn't even bother trying to make it sound like an insult, and the half of the screen taken up by his webcam made it clear his cheeks were as pink as they felt. "And I can't help but feel like you're stalling. Hadn't we agreed to be actually productive today?" Aziraphale didn't mind, really; he did want to keep making steady progress on his art, but if his life could consist of coming home from work and just unwinding with Crowley...

...but, well, that wasn't the purpose of this call.

Crowley groaned. "Yeah, yeah. What a taskmaster."

"It is my job to protect you from rabid fans, after all," Aziraphale teased right back.

"O Brave Guardian, protect me from procrastination!"

"That sounds rather harder than a dragon, I'm afraid. But if you don't get to work, I won't be able to work either, and then you won't get to see the finished piece."

"Urk—" Crowley made a strangled noise and finally reached for his mouse. "You'll actually be working on it?"

Aziraphale nodded before adjusting his webcam to show his tablet a bit more. "I really need to get more practice with this, to get half as confident as I am with physical paints."

"I've seen the drawings you've done! They're fucking brilliant."

Aziraphale laughed. "You've said that about everything I've shown you. I'm starting to think I should send you some stick figures as a test."

"Those would be the most adorable fucking stick figures ever. You could draw a whole comic of just stick figures and I'd reblog it a hundred times."

"That's about what I'd expect you to say, yes." Crowley opened his mouth to protest that his compliments were always earnest, and Aziraphale cut him off. "Weren't you going to start writing?"

"Ngghh, right, yeah. Alright, lemme just pull up my docs and then we'll get started bodydoubling for real." Crowley clicked over to screenshare his window as he opened his fic notes. He'd long since stopped hiding anything from Aziraphale; getting to bounce ideas off of him was too invigorating, and his heart always sang at getting to write down his name with official beta credit. (He'd also long since stopped pretending to himself that he'd ever felt quite the same way about any other beta.)

"Good lord." Aziraphale sounded more than faintly appalled, and Crowley felt offended for a moment before taking a proper look at what was on his screen. It was currently showing the notes he'd made at 3 AM this morning, when he'd woken up from a dream and jotted down what had, at the time, felt like a brilliant scene. As always, he'd had his eyes mostly-closed the whole time and his swipes had been clumsy at best, but as long as it got the general point across, he was always satisfied. It only wound up being a usable scene about half the time, but he wasn't about to turn down free inspiration when he could get it. He quickly read through the imagery he'd written down.

They switch rolled over and opened their eyes. In the still morning sunlight they could set the witchfinder still sleeping cloudy enough to touch: his head ears cradled on his arms, the misos slack with sleep but still clearly there under surface. The words knew from experience that if he were awakened stable the strength would flour back into them in an instant ray for a fight. The wishes couldn't help but think odd other things they might but tray for as well

Crowley paled. "I— that—"

"I mean, it's. Well. It's rather avant-garde."

Crowley froze. "I, uh—"

"'The misos?' And 'flour?'"

Crowley stuttered out of his bluescreen and hastily opened another tab, the screenshare automatically switching over. Aziraphale had read it, but he clearly hadn't actually understood it. As long as he didn't give him enough time to crack the cipher that was 3 AM notetaking, Crowley could bluff his way through it. "Zuh. Yeah. Wrote that down in the middle of the night when I got an idea of where I wanted to start the next scene off."

"And you could recognize any of that?" The camera jostled a little as Aziraphale shook his head. "I suppose I wouldn't do any better if I tried sketching out an idea in the dark." He picked up his stylus and started doodling simple shapes, warming up and re-acclimatizing himself to the responsiveness of the device. He was still getting used to the new medium, but he was finally starting to see a path forward to making a digital art style that felt authentically his own.

"Yessss." Crowley bit his tongue to cut off the guilty hissing. It definitely didn't help that the webcam was doing a very awkward job of catching the tablet screen but showed a very distracting hint of Aziraphale's forearms. The forearms he had, at 3 AM, apparently woken up from a dream about and been so inspired by that he'd felt the need to immortalize them in fanfiction.

"Well, I shall be interested in seeing how that gets transformed into comprehensible English."

"Right, definitely." Crowley was typing gibberish and backspacing over it quickly, more to hide how much attention he was having to devote to this conversation than out of an actual need to warm up his fingers. "Right, definitely focusing on writing now!"

Aziraphale laughed as he cleared his tablet screen and pulled up his WIP, shifting into concentration mode himself. He did enjoy the early days they had spent where their hours of "bodydoubling" were really nothing more than talking and laughing together, but being able to be quietly productive with someone else, knowing they were there with you without needing to be in the same room, that they were sharing your same wavelength without needing to say a word... that simple sense of togetherness brought with it such a deep feeling of comfort that he thought it might be an even more profound, longer-lasting sense of joy than their early days of giddy laughter had given. The strokes of his stylus turned smoother and more confident as he got into the flow, his eyes focused on his own screen and only vaguely aware of the lines of text growing across Crowley's.

Eventually, Crowley calmed down as well, and the text growing on his screen even started to make sense. And he made sure it had absolutely nothing to do with forearms.

Translation of the deleted 3 AM scene:

The witch rolled over and opened their eyes. In the early morning sunlight, they could see the witchfinder still sleeping close enough to touch. His head was cradled on his arms, the muscles slack with sleep but still clearly there under the surface. The witch knew from experience that if he were awakened, the strength would flow back into them in an instant, ready for a fight. The witch couldn't help but think of other things they might be ready for as well.

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #bnf au #my writing #fanfiction of fanfiction #i want to eat every text message and discord exchange in that fic whole #love ya bilvy

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sycamorelibrary754 · 2 months

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You can change any details to this if you like, this is just an idea & ofc, you don't have to write it 🥰

Yelena's had it bad for Reader since they met, she never said anything and never acted on her feelings. But when Reader and Kate go on a first date, it rattles Yelena who turns to Nat or Melina for help.

Yelena can either confess her feelings to reader or she sees how much Kate and Reader make each other happy and puts on a brave face and stays silent in hopes the feelings will go away eventually

Blondie

Summary: Yelena has harbored feelings for you since you met but never acted on them. It isn't until you start getting close to Kate that all those feelings come to the forefront.

Pairings: Yelena x reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: None

A/N: Thank you for the request, it was fun! I hope you enjoy it!

"Yelena… Yelena!” Kate said firmly.

“Earth to the widow,” Clint added.

The blonde shook her head as if to clear out the fog and tore her eyes away from you. "Hmm, what?" she asked, looking at them in confusion.

"It's your move," Kate said, pointing at the Jenga tower before them.

She nodded in understanding, apologizing for her absent-mindedness, and then reached out to remove a block from the stack, trying her best not to topple the tower.

Yelena's eyes wandered over to you once again. You were seated at the kitchen island with your tablet, engrossed in reviewing the blueprints for new weapon upgrades with Tony. As always, you were Stark’s favorite engineer. Thanks to a grant from the September Foundation at MIT, you worked your way up at Stark Industries from an intern to becoming the genius’s partner in the lab.

Yelena would be lying if she said she wasn't completely enamored with you from the moment she met you. She watched Tony give you a fist bump as your impromptu meeting ended. Yelena rushed over to try and catch you before you left. She was barely able to wedge her arm in the elevator doors just as they closed.

"Hey there, blondie! How are you?" you greeted her warmly, adjusting the leather strap on your bag.

"Good… I'm good," Yelena murmured, stepping onto the elevator with you.

"I'm excited for you to see the new weapons upgrades tomorrow. I think you'll enjoy it. I wanted to do something special for you," you winked.

Before Yelena could respond, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened to reveal Tony's lab.

"Well, this is my stop. See you later, Yelena," you said with a friendly smile.

"Okay, bye," Yelena called out as the doors closed. "Ugh, what is wrong with me?!"

"From what I can detect, Ms. Belova, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you," FRIDAY said. "Would you like me to run a full body scan?"

"Quiet, FRIDAY," Yelena grumbled.

*^~^*

The next day, Yelena joined the rest of the team in the spacious training area to test their new weapon upgrades. You wanted to meticulously evaluate each weapon, assessing their accuracy, efficiency, and overall ease of use.

As the team familiarized themselves with their new weapons, Kate casually commented about you. "Y/N is so cute, don’t you think?" she said, nudging Yelena.

Yelena glanced at you, observing as you took notes on your tablet. You had a look of determination on your face as you playfully swatted Tony away from leaning over your shoulder.

"Yeah, if you like mini Tony Stark’s. Sure, she’s cute," she responded with a sigh.

Kate continued, "I think we’ve shared some eye contact here and there. You know Peter told me that she told him in their last lab session that she was on the archery team in high school, too."

Yelena rolled her eyes. "How riveting, Kate Bishop."

Just then, you interrupted their conversation and asked, "How are we doing over here, girls?"

"Good!" they both answered simultaneously.

You couldn't help but smile at their synchronized response, raising an eyebrow at the girls, but you decided to let it slide.

"Okay, Kate, let's start with you. I know you've been bugging Clint for labeled arrows, but I thought you deserved something more streamlined," you explained. "So, I got to work and was able to integrate a pinpoint version of Edith into your quiver."

The archer looked at you with curiosity and excitement as you placed her quiver full of arrows over her shoulder.

"Hello, Kate Bishop," Edith said, her voice clear and crisp.

"Oh, hello," Kate replied, looking slightly bewildered.

"I am Edith. Tony Stark's augmented reality security and defense system. Standby for biometric scan."

"Okie dokie," Kate mumbled, still staring at the quiver in amazement.

With a soft beep, Edith announced that the biometric scan was complete.

"All you have to do is call for the type of arrow you want. Give it a try," you explained.

"Flare arrow," Kate said, her voice firm and confident.

In response, a small metal claw emerged from the side of the container, deftly pulling a flare arrow from the quiver and placing it against the bow, ready for Kate to pull back into position.

"Whoa! This is so cool! No more fumbling for arrows. Thank you so much, Y/N. I love it!" Kate exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder as she hugged you.

"You're more than welcome," you replied, slightly taken aback by the sudden display of affection.

Yelena tried to distract herself by fiddling with her rings, but she couldn't help but notice the way your cheeks turned red when Kate hugged you.

"Hey there, blondie!" you exclaimed, clapping your hands. "You're up next, and I can't wait for this one. I've been dying to take a stab at your knives, no pun intended," you giggled mischievously.

You brought over a case and opened it to reveal a brand new set of knives for Yelena.

She looked down, puzzled. "They look the same as my other ones.”

"To the untrained eye," you replied, picking up a knife, "but these babies are electrically charged, just like your widow bites."

With one swift motion, you sliced through the air, unleashing a burst of electrifying blue energy from the knife's blade.

Yelena's eyes sparkled with surprise and gratitude, "Wow, thank you, Y/N. These knives are so cool and exactly what I needed."

"I was hoping you’d say that," you replied, pushing your glasses back up the bridge of your nose.

“And I must say, you look pretty good holding that knife,” Yelena smirked.

"Oh, thank you,” you giggled. “Listen, do you think maybe—"

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound interrupted your conversation. You both turned your heads to find Bruce lying disheveled underneath a mesh net at the other end of the training area.

"Oh, come on,” you let out a frustrated sigh. “I’ve got to see if Banner is okay; I’ll try to catch up with you later, Yelena."

Yelena was left alone again, wishing she could muster up the courage to be honest with you.

*^~^*

Yelena struggled to keep her grip on two overflowing buckets of popcorn and a handful of candy as she walked toward the movie theater. She turned to Natasha and asked, "Remind me again why we’re responsible for all the popcorn and candy?"

"Wanda promised Billy and Tommy that we would see Dune Part 2 together and paid for our tickets. The least we can do is pay for the snacks,” Nat said.

Yelena sighed and agreed, "Fair enough, but I still say the two mini-Maximoffs could help us carry some of this stuff."

After they arrived at their seats, they passed candy and popcorn down the line to Wanda and the boys. The theater was filled with excitement, and everyone was eagerly waiting for the movie to start. Suddenly, a video on the screen reminded theater-goers to silence their phones before the feature began.

“Greetings, humble theater-goers. Captain America here," he said with a salute.

“Oh, good Lord. We’re never getting away from him, are we?” Wanda joked.

“We would like to remind you that any recording device is strictly prohibited. Please take this moment to turn off all cell phones before the movie begins."

At that moment, Yelena heard a familiar giggle a few rows down. She looked around, but it wasn’t until she stood up that she saw you. There you sat, sharing a carton of popcorn and candy with Kate Bishop, looking adorable in your olive green jumpsuit and glasses.

Yelena's heart sank, and she struggled to process the emotions. All she could muster was, “We need more candy.”

“What? We practically bought the entire candy display,” Nat said.

“Then we need Vodka,” Yelena retorted as she rushed down the steps and out of the theater.

“Yelena! What’s wrong?” Nat called out after her. She watched her sister in confusion until she noticed you and Kate. “Oh man…” she sighed.

Natasha turned to Wanda, “I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time,” Wanda reassured her.

Yelena was sitting on the carpet outside the theater with her elbows resting on her knees when Natasha found her. The redhead sat down beside her, mirroring her position.

Keeping her eyes trained forward, Nat asked gently, “Are you okay?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?" Yelena replied without looking at her sister.

“Maybe because Y/N is sitting in there with Kate?”

“Was she? Good for her," Yelena fibbed.

“Yelena…”

“I don’t want to talk about this, Natasha,” she snapped as she stood up. “Tell Wanda and the boys I’m sorry, but I must get out of here.”

Natasha pulled out her phone and dialed the only number she could think of. “Hi, I think Yelena needs you right now.”

*^~^*

Yelena walked back to the compound in solitude, her thoughts and emotions churning like the sea. She walked right past Peter and MJ, who invited her to join them for a movie on the sofa, but she silently declined and continued down the hall. When she reached her bedroom, she slammed the door shut and groaned

"Rough day?" A familiar voice spoke up from behind her, full of understanding and compassion.

Yelena turned to find Melina sitting on her bed, looking at her with a comforting smile. "Mama? What are you doing here?" Yelena exclaimed, surprised to see her mother in her room and not in St. Petersburg.

"Hi, malyshka (baby)," Melina greeted her. "Natalia called me," she explained.

"How did you get here so fast?" Yelena asked, wondering how she could have made such a quick trip.

"I have my ways," Melina smirked. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" she asked, patting the space beside her on the bed.

She hesitated momentarily before finally giving in and sitting beside her mother. "I'm sure Natasha already filled you in," she said softly.

"Yes, but sometimes it helps when we talk things out," Melina explained gently.

Yelena took a deep breath before finally opening up. "Mama, there's this girl, Y/N," she confessed, her voice trembling with emotion. "She's Stark's top engineer, and she's just... amazing. She's not like anyone else I've ever met. She sees me, you know? She sees me for who I am, not just as a widow or an assassin or a hero. And she's so smart and pretty, I can't stop thinking about her," Yelena explained.

Her mother listened patiently and asked, "Have you told her how you feel?"

Yelena's heart sank. "No, I haven't. Whenever I try to talk to her, I get all flustered and tongue-tied. And now it's too late anyway because she is at the movies with Kate Bishop," she replied, her voice full of disappointment.

"You can't give up so easily, sweetheart. Y/N deserves to know how you feel. You should talk to her," she encouraged.

What should I say?" Yelena asked

"I can't tell you what to say. That has to come from your heart. You will know what to say when the time is right.”

"Thank you, Mama. I don't know what I would do without you,” wrapping her arms tightly around her mother.

"You're welcome, dorogoy (sweetheart). I will always be here for you," holding her youngest daughter close.

*^~^*

Yelena had been struggling to keep her mind off you for the past few days, especially after her heart-to-heart conversation with Melina. But she was determined to stay focused and busy training the recruits. It was a challenge, but a welcome one at that.

"Keep your eyes on your target, Jack! Yes! Now, block and flip. Good, nicely done," she said between the punches and kicks.

She was so focused on the training that she didn't hear you approaching her from behind.

As you called out to Yelena, she jumped with a small gasp. You quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry, blondie! It's just me," while holding your hands up in defense.

Yelena, slightly embarrassed, replied, "Oh, Y/N. Hi. I didn't see you there.”

"You're a spy. Aren't you supposed to see everything?" you teased.

“You would think so,” she said, fidgeting with her rings again. “So, what's up?” she asked, picking up her belongings.

“I wanted to ask if I did something to upset you. Maybe it's all in my mind, but I feel like you've been avoiding me for the past few days,” nervously running your hands through your hair.

Yelena dropped her water bottle on the floor, and her heart dropped with it. “Oh, no. No, no, Y/N. You didn't do anything wrong. I've just been preoccupied with mission reports and training these doofuses.”

You breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, okay, because when I saw you leaving the movie theater the other day—"

“You saw me?” The blood drained from Yelena’s face.

“Yeah… you were with Nat, Wanda, and the twins.”

“Oh yeah, I was, but then I remembered I had a meeting, and I had to go,” Yelena rushed to answer.

“Oh, good, I thought maybe you left because of me,” you said, shifting your weight back and forth on your feet.

“Listen, Y/N, I —“ you began but were interrupted by FRIDAY.

“Ms. Y/L/N, Mr. Stark is looking for you,” FRIDAY interrupted.

Your head dropped in defeat. “Tell him I’m busy, FRIDAY,” you grumbled.

“Mr. Stark says if you don’t come right now, he will have Peter shadow you for a month,” FRIDAY warned.

“Damn it,” you muttered.

“Duty calls,” Yelena said light-heartedly.

"Yeah, I guess so," you sighed. "But I do want to talk to you. Can I see you after work? I get off at 6:30."

“Sure, I’ll meet you in the common area,” Yelena offered.

“Perfect, I’ll see you then,” you said with a thumbs up as you started to backpedal out of the gym.

You thought you had pulled off a pretty smooth move until you failed to take notice of the duffle bags on the floor and fell backward onto your butt. Yelena couldn't help but giggle at you.

“I’m okay! I’m okay,” you shouted as you got up and jogged out of the gym.

*^~^*

Yelena couldn't shake off the anxiety for the next few hours. Her mind was all over the place thinking about you. When she finally made her way down to the common area, she was annoyed, but not surprised, to find Sam and Bucky playing PS5 on the sofa.

“Hey, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, get out. I need the room,” she tossed a pillow at the two guys.

“We were here first,” Bucky said.

“That’s nice. Seriously, out,” Yelena said sternly.

“Look, just because you're Natasha’s sister doesn't mean you can just waltz in here and kick us out,” Sam retorted.

“Natasha’s sister is going to kick both your asses if you don’t get out of here now,” Yelena stood in front of the television, daring them to challenge her.

“What is so important that we have to leave?” Bucky asked.

Just then, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened to reveal you standing there. Your messenger bag was slung over your shoulder, and your glasses were picking up the glare from your phone.

“Oh, got it,” Bucky said, answering his own question. “Come on, Sam, let’s go.”

“Right behind you,” Sam said.

“Thank you,” Yelena whispered, kicking their PS5 controllers under the coffee table and straightening the pillows.

"Thanks for meeting me so late," you sighed as you settled down next to. Yelena. "I swear, that man can drive me crazy sometimes. When I got to the lab, he was in a full-on meltdown because his anniversary present for Pepper went up in flames. And then..."

Before you could finish your sentence, Yelena cut you off abruptly. "I like you," she exclaimed.

"What...what do you mean?" you stammered.

"I’m sorry. I know this is probably not the best way to say it," Yelena continued, her words tumbling out in a rush. "And I know you're probably here to tell me you're seeing Kate Bishop, but I want you to know. I like you. I like how your cute glasses slip down your nose when working. I like how you tell those funny engineering stories I don't always understand. I like that you are kind and caring to everyone in this building, no matter who they are or what they do. Most of all, I like how you see me. You see me, and that's something I've never had before."

Her brain finally catching up with her words, Yelena muttered to herself, "Oh my God, what am I doing? I should go."

But before she could step away, you grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks. You remained silent for a moment, staring at your hands tightly interlocked.

Then, finally, you spoke up, "Yelena, I'm glad you told me because… I like you too. That is what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s what I've been trying to tell you for the past week,” you explained. “Kate and I are just friends, I don't have any feelings for her that way. Honestly, I thought it was obvious. I like you, blondie. I always have."

Your words seemed to soothe Yelena's worries, and she slowly sat back down beside you, the tension in her body dissipating.

“Oh, wow,” Yelena sighed.

With a smirk, you finally said, "Wow, indeed… would it be okay if I kissed you?"

"Yes,” Yelena said softly.

As your bodies drew closer, your lips met in a slow, tender kiss. The intimacy between you both was palpable as the warmth of your breath mingled and your eyes locked in a gaze that spoke a thousand words. The softness of the kiss turned into a passionate embrace that ignited a spark of desire in both your hearts, a spark that would change your lives forever. At that moment, nothing else mattered but the connection you shared, a deep, unbreakable bond that would grow stronger with time.

#yelena belova #yelena boleva x reader #kate bishop #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #tony stark #bucky barnes #sam wilson #peter parker #melina vostokoff #mcu #the avengers #fluff

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ms-demeanor · 4 months

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Hey! I appreciate your perspective on computer-based things. I think I need to get a laptop and would love your opinion on decent brands. If you don't have an opinion or want to answer please disregard the q.

Context: I'm often on the move and really want something small, light, and that will last a long time. I'm bad about buying new things or taking things to be fixed so ideally it's not something that dies quickly or needs frequent repairs. For a while I used an iPad for this but I need more of a keyboard than tablets have and the shelf life of an iPad is shorter than it should be for the cost. Mine is 7 years old and only works while plugged in... I liked my Macbook Pro I got for college but it's almost 15 years old and given I haven't needed a new one since I don't think spending all that on a Mac makes sense either. I use a gaming PC mostly but I'm going to need to travel a lot more in the upcoming year. I'm ok to spend up a bit since I want it to last.

I think you're going to have to adjust your expectations about the average functional lifespan of electronics. Seven years is a lot to get out of any tablet and fifteen years is way way way above average for a computer.

At work we estimate that the functional lifespan of a laptop will be around five years and the functional life of a desktop will be around seven years; we include upgrades in that lifespan, like adding RAM and storage.

It is not *unusual* to get more than five years out of a laptop or seven years out of a desktop, but if you are a heavy user of anything other than a browser and a word processor, that's about the time when you'll find that the computer feels slow enough to be frustrating. This isn't a hard limit, and it's not something that everyone experiences because people use computers differently, but if you're an artist and you use a drawing program that program will start to feel slow after a while because as updates and patches and drivers have been tweaked for newer devices they've slowly left your device in the dust.

This isn't planned obsolescence, by the way. Computer manufacturers try to "future proof" their devices to a certain extent, but you just can't anticipate certain kinds of changes. Maybe your laptop was manufactured before there were consumer SSDs available so its operating system doesn't take the advantages and limitations of SSDs into account. Maybe your desktop was built for DDR3 RAM and we're now on DDR5 and people aren't writing programs to the standard of the old technology, they're taking advantage of the standards of the new technology.

Since you were able to use your devices comfortably for such a long time, it sounds like you're not a very heavy user and don't need to worry too much about beefing up your specs. However it does sound like you want to keep your computer and use it as long as possible while paying a reasonable price for it (which is good! I think we should all try to extend the lives of our electronic devices as much as possible!).

I actually think you sound like a good match for a Framework laptop.

Framework is a company that makes laptops that are a lot more modular than what's on the market these days. They're mean to be easy to open up for upgrades and sturdy for heavy use. Most of the parts of the laptop are easily replaceable - including the screen - so you can use them for a long time and easily make upgrades that will help the computer feel fresher.

They're a bit more expensive than comparable PCs but much easier to repair if you aren't comfortable opening up your own computer (framework is intentionally built to be easy for people who are non-technical to work on their computers), and they are a LOT less expensive than comparable macs.

I still think you're probably looking at around 7 years of regular use out of a Framework and it won't *break* at that point, it will just. Probably be a bit slow and frustrating. You might not be able to get parts for it after a certain point. You eventually won't be able to upgrade the OS. But that's true of all computers.

I've still got my 2005 macbook. It still turns on, I can still use garage band on it. But it doesn't connect to the internet and uses such an old USB standard that it is extremely slow to transfer data on or off of and it cries and freezes if i try to use photoshop. It's not broken, it's just no longer useful as a daily computer.

What I'm defining as functional here is "Is able to run multiple programs (including at least one browser with 50+ tabs open and two office suites) at the same time for 8-10 hours a day without crashing, freezing, or losing data and restarting is not a major inconvenience."

In those terms, it does sound like you're probably in need of an upgrade (I can't imagine that your current machine is particularly quick) and I think that a framework laptop would suit your needs well.

If you're looking for something somewhat less expensive, you can generally find a decent thinkbook with a 12th or 13th gen i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 500GB SSD for around $700-ish, which is the low end of what I think you're going to pay for a decent laptop. I'm reccing lenovo here because I personally like them and have found them to be very easy to crack open for repairs and upgrades. Stick to the thinkbook over the thinkpad because that's the business line and is a bit sturdier and they are designed to be easier to upgrade over time.

Actually, here's a thinkbook with a 12th gen i5, 40GB RAM, and a 1tb SSD for under $700. That's a shockingly good price for that laptop; the reseller OEMGenuine is one I've purchased from many times before for work and I've found them to be reliable, though the reason those specs are so good is because they've added aftermarket parts, so your RAM and SSD won't be under warranty from Lenovo.

For Framework you're looking at at least $1000, but it's easy to plug and play with upgrades so you can start out with lower specs (except processor, don't cheap out on the processor) and upgrade later. The framework is a bit smaller and easier to travel with, but I have a laptop quite similar to the lenovo and it's not a huge pain to move around - it's very light but the 15" screen might be bigger than you're looking for.

If you're willing to spend a little bit more and you're very uninterested in doing your own upgrades and would prefer the most computer you can get for your money right out of the gate, this is a 12th gen i7 thinkpad with 40GB RAM and a 2TB SSD for $1150. (I've not ordered from this reseller before, so maybe check over their terms if you're considering purchasing from them.)

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fungalittleweirdo · 2 months

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Yandere Rise Donatello Designer AU

okay, hear me out.

let me give context for this concept idea first (you could skip the next paragraph if you don't care, i'm just weird, i promise i start discussing the concept right after this next paragraph trust me)

i am a huge fan of this one designer in new york, bella pietro, her work is amazing. i was able to attend her bridal line debut fashion show in person this past sunday and got to speak with her very briefly. she's very lovely, relatable, super down to earth, and humble. she is also one of the influences for my own jewellery line, but this isn't the point i'm making, i'm going insanely off topic. i thought about what it would be like being a clothes designer in nyc.

donatello is the founder and ceo (at least, that's canonically what i'm led to believe) of Genius Built Technologies. it's also canon he designs Genius Built Apparel. i initially had this idea and shared it on discord a while back based around donnie being a member of a discord server with other designers. these designers usually joined said server for creativity, support, sharing each others' work, and giving critiques when wanted.

imagine you, an up-and-coming designer, join this server to gain more reach. while donnie was bored looking at others' designs and critiquing them harshly when asked to, he admired your work and advocated for you so that you could gain more popularity. the two of you accepted each other's friend requests and started talking in dms. he admired your work and thought it was cute how you were slowly rising in the industry, but you needed the right connections to actually get things going. you started getting seamstresses and a manager, but that took your time away from donnie.

donnie might have found out you lived in new york, that was when he suggested a meet-up for a collaboration. he was excited when you said yes, and a GB Apparel x For You line was in the works for when the two of you started discussing potential pieces. your crew got a little upset when you put all your attention on the collaborative project, especially your manager, and they thought it was a bad idea. you thought about listening to them and backing away to work on the collab line in the future. donnie... didn't really like that.

he loved spending time with you, as hard as it was for him to admit it. he adored the way you drew your designs, the face you made when you focused and shrimped over your tablet to get the details just right. he told you to adjust your posture, and you did it with a stretch, you ran your fingers through your hair he so badly wanted to run his fingers through instead. donnie hated the thought of having that taken away from him. once you told him you wanted to file away the collaborative project for another time, he managed to manipulate and gaslight convince you into believing your manager has the wrong idea, because his own brand was well known and high quality.

you hesitantly agreed with him and your crew began getting a distaste for you when you arrived late to meetings, made decisions with poor judgement, and delayed your own projects in favour of working with donatello instead. what you didn't know is that donnie anonymously emailed them all to quit their jobs with you because you were practically not working with them anymore. your crew moved on to work with other local designers. you didn't think much of it, you were aware people in this business would come and go, they would find other people to work for and it's no big deal, because you could sew your designs yourself.

besides, donatello had been a big help, he lent you his sewing machines that literally sewed by themselves. your own fall line had been presented on a runway at a moderately sized venue, a team curated by donatello organised it as if he were your manager. everyone on the server the two of you met on barely showed their support at first, until you got incoming praises and compliments from everyone after donatello's worship of you was sent in the runway channel. you were unaware to the fact that donatello threatened everyone with their careers if they didn't support you.

everyone seemed beginning to dislike you, your fans acknowledged that it didn't seem to be you at fault because your head was still held up high, staying positive and thanking anyone who bothered to take a look at your collection. donatello was working behind the scenes to isolate you as much as possible. he didn't want anyone taking you away from him because you were his precious fashion genius, your ideas complement his. that's why GB Apparel x For You is going to rock the fashion world, he had thought, deep in his delusions of spending more time with you. one look at you and it had his heart beating out of his chest.

your workspace in his apartment was a mess, fabrics everywhere, sketchbooks and a couple tablets (courtesy of Genius Built Technologies) with plenty of space for designs and you sat on the floor with your hair a mess and new glasses (those were courtesy from donatello himself) on your face after staring at the screens for so long. the softshell simply watched you work, enamoured and savouring the way you find his apartment more comfortable to work in because yours is already so cluttered.

donatello was so proud to see the results of your collaboration, he kissed the top of your head and held you close. you've had affectionate friends before, but you had only intimately known donnie for a few months. sure, he was one of the turtles that saved new york years ago, not to mention his brand even climbed up the ranks for a place in paris fashion week alongside balenciaga and valentino... so you knew him... but you didn't ask for this. you used to have more friends, lovely colleagues. whatever happened to that ?

of course, once the collab line debuted in the spring you went back to work, you designed a men's fall line you thought would grab people's attention. it certainly snatched donatello's, when he called you frequently and realised you were parting from him to work on your own, it pissed him off. he wanted to know what you were hiding. you hesitantly let him in on a day when you were being interviewed by april for press, dressed up for photography and not for him. you're only for him, no one should see you except when you're beside him. he lashed out at you in front of april, upset that you weren't telling him your plans since the GB Apparel x For You collaboration, and april took notes of the drama. not for press purposes at all, but to tell his brothers.

you didn't see donatello for a while after that, to which you were glad. you felt a weight finally slipped off your shoulders as you rebuilt your community. people didn't know that donatello was the one at fault for your darkest moments. you rebuilt your community over the course of a year, making new connections and finally making it into new york fashion week all by your own efforts, not by donatello's.

it was when he showed up at your door everything went downhill again. he pushed his way back into your life, asking for a spring GB Apparel x For You line even though he already started on his own designs, incorporating style that you would add due to how well he already knew you. over the year he had been gone, he watched how you grew and connected with other people in the soho fashion scene. the thought made his skin crawl. it irked him to know you were out and about, perhaps having dinner with your new manager, or spending hours at a time with your new seamstresses after you threw out the sewing machines he so lovingly gifted to you.

all he wanted was to share his world with you, have you live in lavish luxury like you deserve. you said no. you already had ideas for your spring line which would be presented in london along with new york, you didn't have time to collaborate with him. donnie threw another tantrum in your apartment, this time feeling a lot more destructive. he threw your decorations everywhere, then held up some of your supplies to set them on fire. it scared you into submission, telling him yes, putting off your own projects to move into his apartment and get to working with him on the next collab line.

things were different this time. donatello was a lot more clingy, literally working alongside you as the two of you designed the thirty-piece collection, he made gentle suggestions and leaned in close, added and subtracted things on what you already drew. the two of you had ordered takeout sometimes and he would be the only one allowed to receive the food. you felt trapped. there was nothing you could do about it, just accept your fate.

you disappeared off the tabloids, no one knew where you went, not even april. donnie kept you away for his eyes only, wrapping his arms around you at every chance he got, nuzzling into your neck from behind as you tried to break through the parental locks donatello placed on your tablets. that won't work, darling, he said, a smirk on his face you could feel against your skin. it made you sick, your stomach churning at the thought that you might stay in your captor's arms forever.

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt writing #rise donatello #rise donnie x reader #rise donatello x reader #donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rottmnt x reader #yandere rise donnie #yandere donnie #no beta we die like gram gram #angst #dark content #jules' thoughts

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kisscara · 1 year

Text

O5. madam faruzan who? [fanboy!scaramouche x drummer!reader] ⎯⎯ heartbeat rhythm series

you nervously fidget with your drumsticks, a coy smile on your lips as scaramouche talks to kaeya. yanfei taps your shoulder and whispers, "whenever you're ready." you rapidly nod and attempt to ease your nerves by relaxing your tense shoulders. but what if you're never ready?

you've performed in front of countless people, why can't you do the same for one guy? well, technically a group of three but you don't mind what kaeya and yanfei think. just him and him alone. you turn to yanfei, "um-" you recoil when the mic by your mouth suddenly makes a deafening squeal.

scaramouche pinches his temple, "kaeya, did you or did you not test the equipment?" kaeya puts his hands up in defense, "hey, i thought that was yanfei's job." scaramouche argues as kaeya makes his way up the stage, "her job is to set it up and yours is to test it! immature dickhead..."

kaeya sighs while wiping a hand over his face, "he can be such a pain in the ass, how could you even play along with this, (name)?" you look up at him and frown. does everyone really see scaramouche in this bad light? maybe they just need to get to know him more to take a liking to him.

kaeya gives the mic a few taps and speaks into it. "this good enough for you, mister moody?" kaeya chuckles when scaramouche gives him a deathly glare. "alright, you should be all good to go. oh and," kaeya looks at you while heading back down the steps. "try not to screw up, scaramouche can get real mad at that."

you felt yourself shatter like a clay statue hitting the floor. "oh, shut it, kaeya!" yanfei growls, knitting her brows together in frustration. she shakes her head, "don't listen to him, (name)... (name)?" your hands are shaking, causing your drumsticks to waver.

"i'm going to die today-"

"no, you won't," yanfei rolls her eyes at your dramatic act and firmly says, "you got this." you take a deep breath in and another one out. "yeah, i do. i'm ready now." you adjust your posture and sit more upright on your drum throne. scaramouche's eyes carefully scan you.

his lips form an anxious squiggle, 'they look so cool... i've always watched them on my phone or from afar but this is the real deal.' scaramouche places a hand on his chest, hoping to calm his rapid heartbeat.

as the song starts through the speakers, you begin the intro's drum riff only to be stopped by scaramouche's voice. yanfei stops the music and you tighten your grip. did you mess up already?

"is it possible if," he looks away, covering the pink tint on his face. "you could cover the vocals too?"

you gasp and beam, "yeah! i mean, yes, i could totally do that!" scaramouche clears his throat and nods, "my apologies for interrupting. you can play now." yanfei gives you a playful smirk and you smile back at her.

the music starts up again and you start drumming without a disruption unlike before. you never sang while performing, except for little background lines yun jin made you and the other members do as she led the performance per usual. but singing and drumming at the same time made you feel content.

だって本当は crazy, 白鳥たちはそう

it's like your voice was made for this specific song. everything was going well and fitting into place. scaramouche couldn't take his eyes off of you the entire time. he swore he couldn't even blink, feeling as if he would miss something groundbreaking should he look away.

見えないとこでバタ足するんです

kaeya examines scaramouche's dazed state. "he's out of it," he mutters in amusement. yanfei proudly hugs her tablet to her torso, smiling as you finally gather the courage you desperately needed for this moment.

本能に従順忠実翻弄も重々承知前途洋々だし⋯ だからたまに休憩しちゃうんです

sweat covers your forehead in a glistening sweat as you have the chance to rest your voice, since this part of the song is just silence filled with the instruments. your eyes avert towards the clear blue sky and then scaramouche. the two of you lock gazes.

like you do with your usual crowd when performing, you give him your signature wink along with a grin out of habit. oh, dear... he nearly passed out on the spot. with the final crash of your cymbals and banging of your drums, you finish off without a single flaw in your performance.

you're reminded of the first time you performed like this, in front of a small audience of three. those three being ayaka, her big brother who was always like your own, ayato, and their mother. they always supported your passion for drums and ayato was the one who gifted you your drum set.

you'd never forget him. he's living the high life in university at the moment, bound to graduate with a doctorate degree... more on him later. your current situation at hand is much more important!

a deafening silence is booming through the outdoors, accompanied by the peaceful songs the birds share along with the calm gusts of wind. you slowly pant, chest bobbing up and down as you exhale, "how was it?" yanfei and kaeya look over to scaramouche.

scaramouche lifts his head, his indigo hair framing his beautiful features. the way he looks at you with such confidence, a striking and powerful glare; it's no wonder you have no idea how much he so admires you. he opens his mouth and three words fall from his lips.

"it wasn't bad."

boom.

those words alone were enough to make your heart jump all over the place, your cheeks to heaten and your eyes to brighten. you exclaim, "really!?" from the surge of excitement, you instantly stand up, causing your snare drum to fall over. you quickly prop it back up and rush down the stage.

'oh, they're approaching me, they're approaching, they're approaching-' scaramouche's mind is in a jumble as you hold both of his hands in yours. his head explodes. not literally, i sure hope not. but explode... like the way a train releases puffs of smoke and steam from their cylinders going, 'choo, choo!'

yeah, that perfectly describes how he feels as you sweetly say, "i look forward to working with you on the school festival, president!"

yanfei and kaeya stifle their laughs. they saw scaramouche's, 'it wasn't bad,' as a complete disappointment for you, but you, you saw all of the good in it. that's all you needed to confirm that scaramouche indeed, has his unseen sweet side. yanfei sighs, "i'm glad it all worked out."

kaeya smugly adds, "i think president has a lil' crush, don't you think?" the two are lucky their conversation is out of scaramouche's earshot. yanfei pauses and watches as scaramouche stammers out words to you with a red complexion. you, being as dense as you are, mistaken it for him being startled by your sudden arrival.

yanfei squints her eyes and her jaw nearly drops in realization. only a fool wouldn't notice the obvious admiration you and scaramouche mutually hold for each other. how come she didn't see it before? the obvious mood change of scaramouche's and his somewhat kinder demeanor surely have a part in this.

"what? scaramouche, like me?" you ask, a brow raised as you look at yanfei. she nods, completely serious. you sputter and resort to laughing. "yeah, you almost got me there, 'fei! but i believe with a little more time and effort," you ball your fists up in determination, "i'll be his and he'll be mine in no time!"

you and the rest of the student council are at a family restaurant, under kaeya's suggestion after all the hard work they did and surprisingly, scaramouche agreed. yanfei waves her finger and closes her eyes, "no, no, (name), listen closely. i think he likes you-"

her eyelids lift as she sees scaramouche boasting about how hard it is to keep everyone in line as a president and you repeatedly comment him on his dedication to his role. yanfei deadpans, "such lovesick idiots..."

your phone vibrates in your pocket and you take it out, however you froze up the second you saw the text.

tags: @mariusvonhangme @scaramoo @mikismusings @rizakari @akagism2 @sakiimeo @ohmyfinggod @aethersluvrr @scarafrisbee @kaoyamamegami @liliumaraneae @dreamsofminnie @starfart19 @kunisbeloved @luhvashh @makiswrld @kyouzki @mimissubway @loucaroarz @theblueblub @angelunatic @shinjuuz @thenightsflower @coquettemaiden @thefandomcrow @cotton-eee @lovely028 @hrtswinter @duckyyyx @kissingkzuha @dazaisboner @adeptusx @tomotofu @yukiipc @loverhole @star583 @soobasaur @aeongiies @dr8amy @scaraapologist @raideneiari @rvoulte @aaeng121 @pyrrhicgaze @tjjjrsj @enviouspeanut @d4y-dr3am3r @aromaticism @undecidingfate @kur44pika

taglist is now closed as i've reached the max tags in a single post. (50/50 tags occupied + officially removed users whose names aren't linked)

what happens when you, a talented and well-known drummer across the web, grow an intense crush for the student council president, who's also your number one fan? from annoying sisters to nosy bandmates, the next event that happens is always more chaotic than the last!

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pharanbrush · 3 months

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Hey, I was wondering if you have a brush recommendation for CSP brushes for Lineart with good line weight? I'm trying to improve the weight of my lines, but I'm having a hard time finding brushes with the flexibility I'm looking for

That's a good question. There are all sorts of ways line weight is used and the right brush is different for each genre and style of drawing, I'd say.

To start: A lot of my lineart brushes are adjusted with slightly LESS brush size dynamics because I always felt like the original default CSP brushes (like the Mapping Pen and G-Pen) gave an unrealistic and uncontrollable amount just based on the their pressure settings.

Some people do use them well for specific styles, so they're not inherently bad. But I definitely think they're not friendly to beginners or people who just wanna pick up a pen and go draw rather than obsess over the precise way they're pushing down on their pen.

More recent versions of Clip Studio Paint actually came with some new default brushes, including "Real G-Pen", which had pressure settings that felt more right to me. But it's a little noisy so its uses are a bit more specific.

I have a brush set included with EnpitsuP called Superclean Linework. Those are the ones I designed as cleanup brushes for anime-ish looking art. They come in several flavors: Densy, Softie, Smoothy, Sang. I varied them based on how I saw different artists preferred their lines: a bit on the sharp side? Slightly blurry? With a little bit of opacity fade? A little more line variation? Among these, Sang has the largest amount of size response.

Ultimately, it may be a little bit of both a subjective experience and depend on what your hand/tablet/driver settings/style preferences are like. If you're having trouble finding a brush for this purpose, I think you should hone in on if you're not finding the right brush because every brush seemed too difficult to control, or you can't seem to get results you like, or you can't find one with a feel that matches the physical tool you're used to.

I think it's also worth noting that some artist's styles also rely a lot on them just changing their brush size setting depending on what part they're drawing. So you may end up needing a brush that has less pressure-size variation than you expect. My recommendation is always to look very closely when learning from someone else's linework example. Try to achieve it yourself side-by-side and see where it doesn't quite match up and ask yourself why. Or ask others why.

Of course, there are a bunch of other "lineweighty" brushes too outside of this genre of mostly-thin lineart.

#clip studio #clip studio paint #pharanbrush #clip studio brush #clipstudiopaint #clip studio paint brushes #EnpitsuP #KrupukP #csp brushes

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yourtoocleverfox · 6 months

Text

"I'm exhausted."

Peter yawned loudly, his long arms straining over his head in an exaggerated stretch.

"Probably gonna take a nap before this afternoon. I get the feeling I'm gonna need my energy for all the little ghouls and goblins running around."

You briefly met his eyes as your fingers flowed over your keyboard. "Do you guys have Mayday's costume all picked out?"

"'Course we do." He leaned back in his seat and propped his feet up on the conference table, scattering a few sheets of paper in the process.

"She's gonna be a ladybug. I was partial to the spider costume I made. It had hairy little legs and everything; MJ wanted her first Halloween costume to be something cuter, though. I personally think she's cute in everything she wears, but I digress."

"To be fair, spiders are kind of gross."

You smiled at him and straightened the stray papers before closing your tablet. "I think MJ made the right call."

Peter made a sound of disbelief. "Yeah, you and everyone else apparently. You know, Halloween is when you're supposed to dress up as something spooky, right?"

"Not true. I, for one, plan to wear something cute."

"Yeah? Like what?"

You slide back from the table and stand, slipping your things in your bag and draping it over your shoulder. "You'll just have to wait and see."

You breeze by him on your way to the door.

"Someone's in a hurry."

"I have a few errands to run for Miguel before I can head home and get ready. Speaking of..."

You pause, hand on the doorknob, and fix him with a pointed look. "Feet off the table. You know Miguel hates that."

"I know, I know." He huffs and pulls his legs off of the glossy surface, giving you a glimpse of his mixed matched socks.

"Thank you." You smile at him sweetly before ducking out of the room.

"Happy Halloween!"

You waved as a group of kids in busy costumes skipped away, plastic pumpkins briming with sweets.

O'Hara Tech was hosting its annual Trunk or Treat festival for company and community children alike. You'd been excited to hear about this event and even more so when you learned that volunteers were encouraged to sport costumes of their own.

So, here you stood, dressed in white silk with a shinning halo floating above your head as you handed out candy to hyper little creatures and heroes and princesses.

Peter was with you, doing his best to wrangle Mayday as she used him like a human jungle gym, crawling and pulling and hanging from his tattered zombie costume.

"Do you need some help?" You asked with a laugh.

"No, no. I've got it. Don't worry. Everything is definitely okay."

Babbling cheerfully, Mayday reached for her father's nose, smearing his hastily applied makeup as her tiny hand latched onto his skin. Peter winced, earning a giggle from the baby.

"Yeah, no, everything's great. Promise."

"If you say so."

With a smile on your glossed lips, you tickled Mayday's sock covered foot, giving Peter temporary reprieve as she laughed again and reached for you.

"She's got her father's grip," he shrugged, adjusting the insect antennas perched on her mop of red curls.

You shook your head at the pair, but honestly their antics added a particular lightness to the already fun evening. And like that, your mind was wandering to Miguel, imagining what it would be like if he were here with you.

He'd hardly spoken to you regarding the event, and you wondered if he'd make an appearance tonight at all. It was hard to imagine Miguel all dressed up, chitchatting with his employees over handfuls of candy corn. Lately, though, you'd caught glimpses of a different side of him, a secret part hidden under his impenetrable facade that made the idea of him being here tonight a not-so-sure impossibility.

All around you, there were friends and coworkers standing by their decorated car trunks chatting in various costumes as they passed out candy to the groups of children roaming the parking lot.

In addition, there were food stalls and craft stations spread out among the cars and spilling over to the adjacent park. Music played from somewhere you couldn't see and there was even a bounce house set up in the grass.

You stretched up on the balls of your feet, hoping to see even a ghost of his unmistakable silhouette, but your attempt was in vain. The crowd was thick and so much was going on that there was no way to keep track of it all from where you stood.

"Hey, will you be alright if I take a look around? I want to see what all is here, maybe find something to eat while I'm at it."

It wasn't a lie, not really.

"Sure, sure. Bring me back something too? MJ's supposed to bring Mayday and I a snack when she gets off work, but if im being completely honest, I cant wait that long."

"Cheeseburger with extra pickles, extra mustard?"

"You know me so well."

The sun was just sinking below the red and orange trees, but the festival was still in full swing. You'd delivered Peter his burger and allowed yourself to indulge in a massive puff of cotton candy (shared with Mayday, of course). You'd passed on bobbing for apples, but you did manage to win an adorable stuffed cow in a scarecrow decorating competition.

All of this and still not a single sighting of Miguel. You were beginning to feel a bit childish, roaming around like a schoolgirl with a crush in the hopes of seeing the object of your infatuation. It was silly. He was your boss. Any special attention you thought you were receiving from him was just general amicability. An employer looking out for his employee, nothing more. You needed to remember that.

Now, you were skirting the line where the park met the car lot, carrying your little toy cow in your hands, deciding which activity to try next. There was pumpkin carving and a roped off dance floor, or maybe you would head home early and call it a night. To be honest, you didn't feel like doing much of anything now, and you mentally kicked yourself for allowing your mood to be dampened by something so juvenile.

"Raaahh!"

You paused your steps as a chorus of childlike shrieks and laughs drifted toward you from the grassy field to your left.

"You'll never escape me! Your blood is mine!"

You looked over and felt your stomach do a giddy little flip. Never had you thought you'd see the day when your boss, dressed head to toe in a richly designed vampire costume, made himself subject to an onslaught of playful attacks from a small group of children.

You found yourself smiling as he allowed himself to be tackled to the ground and dog-piled by the mass of tiny, squirming bodies.

"No! I've been slain. Mercy! Mercy!"

He was hardly visible underneath them, but you could hear his laughter among theirs. It was a rare sound, his genuine, uninhibited laughter. Witnessing this side of Miguel felt like something secret, not made for your eyes, but you couldn't look away. You drifted closer, watching the scene unfold like some picturesque film on a screen. And then, deep in your chest, a feeling bloomed as his steady hands lifted one of the little girls into the air with ease. A purple princess with her flushed cheeks stretched in a wide smile, giggling as she flailed in his grasp. It was a perfect moment that you were content to watch forever.

But eventually the children were herded away by their waiting mothers, breathless and eyes sparkling from their time playing in the field. Miguel's dark gaze met yours, a lingering smile on his face, as he climbed to his feet and brushed stray grass from his clothes.

You'd been caught now; he knew you'd been watching, so you approached him, stopping an arm's length away. Even from this distance, there was that magnetism between the two of you that you'd been trying to ignore. A feeling, whenever he was near, that drew you into his orbit. Your fingers slid over the soft fur of the toy in your hand, a gesture to soothe the fluttering in your stomach.

His sharp eyes followed the movement before drawing back up to your face. "Cute," he commented.

"I won him a little while ago." You bit your lip to hide a smirk. "I was thinking of naming him Moo-guel. Get it? Because he's a cow."

Miguel rolled his eyes but the amusement from earlier still lingered there. "Clever. Very funny."

"Think so?"

"Don't let it go to your head. I'm just glad you're having fun."

"I am."

He watched you in the way you'd grown used to, silently contemplating thoughts you could only hope to be privy to one day. The two of you stood there like that, the moment marching on until you began to feel antsy under the weight of his gaze.

You decided to interrupt the silence with something that'd been on your mind. "This is a wonderful event, Miguel."

He looked past you to the crowd of families enjoying their night out but didn't say anything.

"Peter says the company's been doing this for three years now," you continued. "What made you come up with this idea?"

Something unreadable passed over his expression. "Peter talks too much."

You could feel the mood shift, and you scrambled for the correct thing to say.

"He only said that this event was special to you. I figured it was because it was a fun way to give back to the community. I mean, you were having more fun tonight than I've seen you have in six months."

He seemed to consider what you were saying, at least you hoped so. He was such a closed book when he wanted to be. You found yourself relying more and more on your intuition than ever before when it came to understanding him.

His head tilted to one side just barely as he regarded you. You prepared for him to reveal something enlightening about himself or the reason behind tonight's importance.

"Your halo is crooked."

"Seriously?" You let out a sound that was between a sigh and a laugh.

"Mmhm," he confirmed.

The corner of his mouth quirked up into an amused smirk as you looked at him with mock disbelief.

"I thought we were talking about the event."

He ignored you and lifted a hand to your hair. You stood stone still, looking up at face as he carefully manipulated the pins and clips in an effort to right your headpiece. He looked completely focused on his task, refusing to meet your eyes a single time as his fingers ghosted over the top of your head.

When he was finally satisfied, he took a step back. "Better."

"Thank you." You smiled up at him and his gaze seemed to soften. "I like your costume, by the way. Very spooky."

He looked down at his clothes as if it was the first time he'd actually considered them.

"Spooky, huh? It didn't keep those little terrors away."

You felt your heart flutter. He was joking, something unusual for him, and it was almost absent of his characteristic sarcasm.

"I was surprised you survived that assault. I was a little worried for you."

He gave a light chuckle and the fluttering in your chest grew. You decided to take a chance and continue the banter. "I thought maybe I'd have to rush in and save you.

"You save me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Bold of you to assume I wasn't just luring you into my trap."

He took a step towards you, dark eyes pinning you in place as you fought the instinct to step back. He was clearly playing with you, the amused glint in his eyes told you so. Still, your body was reacting to him in ways unfamiliar to you and you felt like you were floundering.

"Oh, please." You made an attempt to scoff at his antics, but it came out as a breathy sound. "I could easily take you. I'm not worried."

"Uh-huh." He took another step forward and you were sure your eyes must be wide as saucers, but you refused to flinch.

This was so out of the ordinary for him. Gone was your stoic, measured boss, replaced by this new man looming over you. This man with a mischievous smirk painting his lips as he took yet another step closer, taking up your space. This man who circled a strong arm around your waist, large hand pressing into the small of your back as he held you in place. This man who sent your heart racing as his face moved closer and closer to yours, so close that you could feel the warmth of his breath on your skin.

"Are you worried now?" He asked, voice low and husky in your ear.

You gave your head a small shake in the limited space. "No, never."

Your voice sounded small to your own ears, barely a whisper but you knew he could hear. Your free hand found it's way to his chest and clutched at the fabric of his shirt, urging him just that much closer.

"Mi corajuda angelita."

His breath ghosted over your shoulder, and you shivered. That sensation was quickly replaced by a sting of pain against your neck and then the warmth of his lips against your skin.

You gasped in surprise and you felt him still against you. You had been caught off guard by his actions, but you hadn't wanted him to stop. You'd wanted the exact opposite, really.

There was a rush of cold that replaced the warmth of his body as he pulled away to look at you, and you worried you'd made a mistake.

"What's wrong?" You asked, blinking up at him. Your hand was still fisted in his shirt and he made no move to remove it.

He looked at you in that way again, studying you, trying to read your reaction.

You parted your lips to speak again, wanting to reassure him that you didn't mind his closeness- welcomed it, in fact- or the fact that he bit you. You wanted him to pull you in again, into the shelter of his body. You wanted him to kiss you more, on your shoulder, your neck, your lips. You wanted him.

"There you are!"

You whipped around to see that all too familiar lanky silhouette striding towards you in the shadowy light.

"Peter?"

"Peter!"

You and Miguel spoke in unison, equally caught off guard by your unexpected guest. Instantly he put distance between the two of you, his fingers gentle as he removed your hand from his shirt.

You glanced up at him, but his expression was unreadable. He instead had his eyes trained on Peter who continued to close the distance.

"Oh, hey, boss! I didn't expect to find you out here. Well, to be honest, I hadn't really expected to find either of you out here."

He looked at you. "MJ just got here and she was hoping to say 'hi' before you left. I told her you might have gone already but decided to have a look around just in case."

"Oh, yeah, Miguel and I were just talking for a bit." You laughed nervously but he seemed none the wiser to just how close you and Miguel had gotten.

You looked to Miguel only to find him looking back down at you. You tried to read his expression but he looked away before you could guess what he was thinking.

"I should let you two get back to the party," he said. His earlier lightheartedness was gone, replaced by his usual tone.

"You sure, buddy? You should come say 'hi' too. You know Mayday just can't get enough of you."

You looked up at Miguel with your own pleading expression. "It'll be fun," you offered, but he shook his head.

"Tell MJ I'm glad she was able to make it tonight and that I hope she has a great time. There are some guests I invited tonight that I hoped to talk shop with a little before it got too late. Enjoy your night, both of you."

Before either of you could protest, he was making his way across the grass, long strides increasing the distance with each step.

"Man, that guy never takes a break. I'm telling you, you're gonna have to sit him down and talk to him about that. Goodness knows, you're the only one he listens to nowadays."

Peter continued to drone on as you followed him off in a different direction. You kept glancing over your shoulder, hoping to see a glimpse of Miguel somewhere in the crowd, but to your dismay he had seemingly disappeared into the night.

Tag List: @sukunash0e

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara fanfiction #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara x you #ceo!miguel o'hara #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #across the spiderverse

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genericpuff · 6 months

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Winter is Coming - Rekindled schedule adjustment and plans for next year!

So it's that time of year now when conventions, markets, and expos for next year are rolling out their submission periods. So far I've gotten accepted to attend the Atlantic Entertainment Expo again (both venues so two shows), MiraCon, and I'm gonna be attending not one, not two, but THREE tattoo expos ! Which is definitely a lot, but I'm excited, it's gonna be good publicity and good money :' ) I'm also gonna be applying to HalCon, Geekquinox, and Animaritimes again, I didn't get in on HalCon this year and didn't find out about Geekquinox until submissions were done (and I only got in on Animaritimes at the last minute when they were looking for people to fill in) but if I do get into any (or all) of those, I'll have to play the fun game of "make sure none of these events land on the same weekend" LMAO

All that's to say, it's gonna be busy next year! (and all of those are the ones I actually decided to apply to, there are ones I did this past year that I'm not planning on doing again because they just didn't turn out to be as good as I had hoped). Thankfully, none of this is starting up until spring, so I'm gonna enjoy the winter off and get to work on new stuff to sell. I'm really eager to get through the rest of [AFTERBIRTH], it's still got quite some time until it's done but my plan is to pitch Thread of Fate to publishers once [AFTERBIRTH] is finished - and if it's not able to get in with those publishers, then I'm gonna pursue other means in getting it published, either digitally or traditionally. Time Gate is a series I've been working on for well over a decade of my life, and it's not something I want to keep throwing to the wolves of free-to-read platforms like WT. As much as I love being able to offer it for free, I want it to be taken more seriously than being just another free to read comic and that starts with me and how I choose to distribute it.

Right now working on all these things is sort of limiting due to the fact that I'm stuck on my iPad, but I'm making it work as best I can and I'm hoping to have the new PC setup going by the end of the year running with a new tablet (currently shopping around between an XP-pen and Huion, I don't want to get a Kamvas 22 Plus again if it's gonna shit the bed in 2 years like this one did, apparently this is a common problem from what I've seen :/)

So yeah, with all that in mind, I'm planning on adjusting Rekindled's update schedule. While I did initially want to offer a poll for y'all to choose between "shorter updates once a week" and "full updates once every 2 weeks", frankly I'm erring more towards the "every two weeks" one because it'll give me more actual time and room to work on everything else. Not to mention (and I'm sure you've all noticed by now) that I have a very specific way that I structure many of these episodes so making them shorter would sort of ruin that rhythm. I don't want to be sacrificing the comic's quality, pacing, or narrative progression for a schedule adjustment.

This isn't going to be an immediate change, I'm thinking of doing this sometime in December so that y'all can have a decent amount of heads up before the switch. I know it's gonna be a little painful to go to a slower release schedule but ultimately I think it's the best way to go so that I can balance all of the projects I have going on without sacrificing quality. Rekindled may be a free to read non-profit project, but I still hold myself to high standards and I want to do my best to deliver on those standards !

Thank you all so much for your patience and support. It seriously blows me away to see all of the wonderful comments, asks, and support for what I do here every day. I'm gonna do my best as well to respond to asks in my inbox as they come in, but please just know I get a LOT of them on a regular basis, it's sort of a Hydra situation where I respond to 1 or 2 and then get 4 more LOL That said, rest assured that I do read and appreciate each and every one of them <3 That also includes essay posts about LO, with LO returning in November I'll surely have more stuff to say about it so I'm gonna try and keep up as best I can :' )

On a final note, we're coming up to the one year anniversary of when I started posting actual episodes of Rekindled!! I'm so excited for this, I can't believe it's been a year!! And I have so much awesome stuff planned for the story that we're gonna see throughout the next year, I can't wait! Thanks so much for being a part of this project with me, I couldn't have asked for a better audience <3

(P.S. everything I have lined up for next year is lining up with the dry period for FF XIV between Endwalker and Dawntrail so I won't have distractions until the summer LMAOO)

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled comic #ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything #update post #announcement #genericpuff

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samsgff · 30 days

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*Using the events of s5 with a little bit of alternations*

⚠️ tw for suicide nd alcoholism ⚠️

Once Sam jumped into the hole dean felt like he was stabbed right through the heart.

Days, weeks, months had gone by and Dean was still grieving. See everyone has their own way of grieving Dean's way was to rot at Bobby's house, he did not move an inch from his bed, he let himself drown completely in his sorrow. Bobby tried his best to convince him to go on hunting trips with him and constantly told him it'll help, but dean's only reply was "I'm done".

Day after day, the bottles of boose kept increasing, but drinking was his only escape. It was his way to numb the pain, it was his way to fill in the void inside of him that kept growing ever since the incident. It was his way to be at peace, it allowed him to sleep without rewatching his brother jump to his death. However some coping mechanisms lose their purpose at some point. The alcohol was not doing it for the now only child winchester, even so he tried to keep on going but what was left for him to hang on to if the only person he ever cared for was gone? And so one night, when Bobby was out, Dean went looking for some pills and since he knew Bobby more than his own father he knew exactly where he kept them so it didn't take much time for him to find those colorful tablets. He wrote a farewell letter to his adoptive father his one and only father, thanking him for taking him and his younger brother under his wing and apologized for being such a pain in the ass for the past few years. Dean knew the right dose, he always has. As he swallowed those pills down with whiskey he could feel the inside of his stomach already lightning up in flames, but he didn't care, he wanted it to end, he wanted to be where he belonged, in hell, next to his sammy.

Few minutes later, everything went silent, his body was completely numb, his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

The old man arrived at his house, he opened the door, it was quiet way too quiet. He placed his keys on the coffee table and called out: "Dean?" his eyes caught the letter, he opened it with shaky hands, that can't be, Dean wouldn't do that he tried gaslighting himself. He dropped the letter and ran as fast he could breaking down the door and holding Dean's unconscious body between his arms. "No Dean wake up" He yelled. "Wake up now boy" he yelled again as his eyes filled up with tears. "Dean don't do that to me" he mumbled while holding his body closer to him. "Castiel!!" he screamed. "Get down here cas now!" he screamed again hoping the angel would answer his prayers. And he did. "what happened?" he asked confused. "Fix him now or i swear" Bobby threatened. Cas placed his hand over Dean's forehead and it only took a few seconds before he opened his eyes again.

He adjusted himself, looked at his hands all confused.

"No no noo" he screamed in anger.

"WHY DID YOU BRING ME BACK?" he looked at the angel and his adoptive father with eyes full of tears.

"i was ready to go i was ready to die" he yelled.

"Well too bad because i wasn't" Bobby snapped

"the only person who brought a purpose to my life is gone. The only person i ever loved and cared for and looked after is gone. And there's a hole inside of that just keeps on growing and growing everyday and it- it hurts it hurts so much i thought- i thought i could numb the pain but it's crushing me it's sucking the life out of me i can't i just can't" he cried out.

Bobby and Cas stood above him, with sadness and despair in their eyes.

"i think i could help" Cas mumbled

Dean looked up to him with the tiniest bit of hope.

"i could erase every memory you ever had with sam it would be like he was never your brother- like he never existed" he continued while avoiding eye contact.

"no i can't allow that" bobby added

"this is my decision bobby" dean replied firmly.

"do it cas" he said as he stood up and faced him.

"but this is going to hurt" castiel warned him before proceeding.

"i said do it" he repeated.

The angel placed the palm of his hand over the hunters forehead and channeled every power he had, it didn't take long before dean fell to his knees screaming as all of the memories with his younger brother flashed before his eyes. Bobby looked away since he couldn't handle seeing his son in that condition.

Once it was over dean fell to the ground unconscious.

"his body is going to need a little of time to readjust" cas told Bobby in a reassuring tone.

"i hope you realize the consequences of what you just did" the adoptive father added before leaving the room and slamming the door behind him.

#jensen ackles #spn #jared padalecki #sam winchester #sam and dean #dean winchester #castiel #spn season 5 #my fic #demons #lucifer spn #samifer #bobby singer #alternate universe

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swarmishstrangers · 2 months

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Your blog, fics and headcanons always cheer me up! Your art is so neat too. Ive been lurking around here for a bit when I feel like I need my crops watered. Question, can I get headcannon of mallek x reader where the reader is an artist? somehow was able to accept commissions while on Alternia? I feel like the vibe of them just silently drawing and him coding in the background is super cute. What do you think?

AUGRHGAA TYYY!!!! I'm glad you like the art, writing, and headcanons! I've also definitely had the thoughts of Mallek being with an s/o who works a lot on computers for digital art stuff, mainly cause it sounds peaceful af.

Okay, so! Artist is a pretty loose term that could apply to a lot of things, but you specify them drawing here, so I'll go over Mallek x reader, both of them being either a traditional artist or a digital artist.

Traditional Artist:

🎨Starting with the traditional artist! Dunno if any of you consider yourselves to be fairly clean but either way if you were to stay over at his hive a lot and for convenience's sake, leave some of your art stuff at his place..it only adds to the chaos that his hive, "damn girl you live like this?" Idk! I just imagine all sorts of physical stuff traditional artist's use. Different types of paint and paintbrushes, charcoal, watercolors, colored pencils, paper, canvases, etc. Your art stuff adds a whole other thing to look at in his hive and honestly? He's here for it. He thinks art is cool. I mean..he can do tattoos, so of course he'd have some appreciation for a s/o who does artsy stuff. He also like those moments where he finds you just covered in your art supplies. Charcoal all over your arms and even smudged on your face for when you couldn't fight a itch and scratched at it, your hands and fingers smudged with paint or oil pastels...he just finds it incredibly charming.

🎨Oh also on the subject of paint uhh. May or may not be something you're comfortable with using considering that paint on Alternia is made from the blood of trolls. Depends whether or not you can get over that and just pretend it isn't to cope lmao. If you can just. Don't ask Amisia and Chahut about how getting the supplies for your paint went!

🎨Mallek would find it incredibly relaxing to listen to while he's fucking around with his husktops and many monitors. Normally he's one to either sit in quiet with nothing to play or maybe he'll have his playlist quietly playing whatever music or other things to listen to while he works on projects or contact people. Not to say it isn't still quiet while you both do your own things, but that's just the thing. It's quiet, not silent. Mallek finds he works the best when he knows that there's life going on around him. The sounds of his hands rapidly typing on his keyboard, the whirring of his husktop, sometimes you can hear him speak to someone that he's calling. You just further add on with your sounds of living, the sound of pencil sketching onto paper or canvas, the louder or softer sounds of you using oil pastels or charcoal, papers being moved, the adjusting of a canvas. It's all very comfortable to you both.

🎨You're each other's background sounds.

Digital Artist:

🖋️Being a digital artist is also so cool to Mallek, why wouldn't it be? It's tech shit! He can also help you try and traverse the different Alternian art programs. It's pretty new to him too since all he usually uses is the Alternian equivalent to Microsoft paint..and it's not super serious, just doodles, sketches, and shitposts stuff to destress. You got yourself a husktop, Amisia was jumping at the chance to help you look for digital art supplies (such as a tablet and stuff), and Mallek helped you get a hold of art programs for you to try out and decide what you like to use as your primary programs.

🖋️They're pretty much the same as Earth art programs in terms of it's functions. Though of course their interfaces can be different from program to program. Not everything works as it does on Earth? Certain shortcuts or tool locations are moved around or changed but it's pretty easy to figure out if you're experienced in digital art. And if you're stuck or can't figure something out your cool tech savvy matesprit can help you out. Mallek has his moments where he takes a break from what he's working on briefly to watch you draw...he always has to stifle a laugh when he sees you're absolutely struggling over there to do line art, having to undo do your stroke like 50 times before you get it. Like the previous one? He thinks it's cute and charming.

🖋️While you don't add a lot of new things to look at it in his hive, as you're working with more tech, it's still just as nice to listen to in the background he thinks. He can hear your fingers type out messages to friends or clients you're working with, the sound of your pen stroking against the tablet face, your mouse clicking here and then. There may not be as many sounds, but he finds it just as comforting, he likes to listen to the life around him after all.

Commissions:

As for the commission portion, thought it would be fun to get into this separately after talking about the respective art types! Being commissioned as an alien on the planet is certainly. Interesting. Which can be taken positively or otherwise.

Being an alien is your selling point to a lot of trolls online. It's where you got a huge chunk of your followers! Sure, they're very split on genuinely believing you are a real alien and those who think this is some kind of roleplay account or something but follow out of interest. Your commissions gather more interest from those who want a drawing from an alien! Real or not. Lots of odd are fun interactions.

For a traditional artist you could go the route of just, scanning your picture and posting it onto your socials and tag the trolls (or post it to the troll client privately). If you offer a shipement of the physical original drawing Mallek can help you out with getting a drone to drop it off for you so you don't have to go on a wild goose chase to find the troll client in this great wide troll world.

#mallek adalov #mallek adalov x reader #hiveswap #hiveswap friendsim #swarms-asks

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eltanin0 · 19 days

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I just found this blog and I noticed that a lot of your stuff seems, well, oddly 3D. I don't mean like in a bad way but it feels like rendered but untextured 3D models? I kinda want to ask what your art process is (sorry for mini-rant)

thanks for checking out my blog! and no need to apologize for anything.

hmm, my art process. honestly i have no idea what to say, i dont know how people normally answer this question so i cant base it off anything either. i'm still kinda new to this whole art thing but i'll try and answer, super sorry if i get this completely wrong and this was all a waste of time.

i guess i'll just talk about how i draw things step by step? for the high effort pieces at least.

ok, so for starters like step 0. when it's a high effort piece, i can already see the image in my mind. i see the pose, i see the general lighting, the layout of stuff, but it's a bit blurry. if i cant see this mental image, the drawing usually comes out extremely poorly.

this is kind of an example of what i see in my head? this might be all useless info idk, but this is i guess where i start.

well step 1 is just the sketch and line. i start with just sketching the general shapes, then slowly refining it until it fits close enough to the image in my head. then in the line layer i'll fix any mistakes the sketch had and add more details to it. oh and for brush, it's just a round brush, like default. i dont know how much of a difference using a drawing tablet does, but i dont use one so... yeah.

i should've put more effort into the sketch for this drawing, but i did not.

next i do flat colors. pretty simple, i just select the smart select the outside of the line layer, invert the selection and now i can't paint outside the lines. i dont really think about what colors i use, i just use whatever the characters normal colors are.

next i do the shading, but first. i duplicate flat layer and recolor it to like a cream color

like so. for high effort pieces, i was told online to shade in pretty much black and white. now actually onto shading. there's 2 kinda shading i do, 1 from the proper light source, and 1 that's kinda just a shadow because things are close together (like corners and stuff). and i'll shade them on separate layers so i can adjust them individually however i want. oh right, i'll either use a very dark color, pretty much black and the the layer blending mode set to multiply. or i'll use a light kind of gray, tinted slightly yellow or something and set the layer blend mode to difference. then i just use a soft air brush and shade in the ways i described above. shading from regular light source, and the corner stuff thing.

normal lightsource - - - - - corner thing

then toggle both layers on and mess with the opacity of each layer until you get what you want.

then you can toggle the normal flats layer, the one that has color and it should apply the shading decently. you can mess with the opacity again on the shadows.

next i do lighting. i just grab a very light color, usually pretty close to white and set the layer blend mode to overlay. then i use a soft airbrush and "light" it? idk i just do like the opposite of the normal shadows, lighter the closer it is to the light source

mess around with the opacity as usual. then i do pretty much the same thing if there's another light source. in this case there was a blue light kinda coming from underneath, so i did that.

now from here i would go back to the flats layer, make a copy, and mess around with different layer styles and properties and settings. sometimes just messing around is useful. in this case, i felt it was too bright and colorful, so i decreased the brightness and saturation of it.

i think it helped a little bit but who knows.

now i do some kinda highlights and details. i grabbed the colors that were in the background and used those. it was a weird pale blue. i had 2 layers for this, 1 of them was specifically for his antenna things at the top, and one was just for his "skin". anyway, the antenna layer was normal, just kinda gave it an outline with the random reflective circles you see normally in pictures, no thoughts behind them. the skin tho had the layer blend mode set to soft light, i thought it looked best this way. it was just more random things to imply it was slightly reflective.

together the layers looked like this. i think it makes him look glossier which is what i was aiming for.

next, and it pretty much the end for pebbles, i got someone to look at it and let me know if they think anything was missing. they said it looked a little unsaturated. which it does. so i made a new layer, set the blend mode to saturation, grabbed the airbrush and made it pretty inline with the lighting layer.

that's kinda it. the background i didnt really care about, just drew and colored it. blurred it a bunch and added a bunch of shadows. i did add some like, "overshadows" is what i call it, i just draw some big shadows down the screen as the top layer.

but yeah thats literally everything i did to draw this. i would like to apologize if this was not at all what you wanted to know, i'm certain i've screwed this up bigtime. super sorry for wasting your time. if there's anything i can do to help, please ask. i owe you a proper answer to your question, i'm just really dumb. sorry for rambling. sorry. and sorry if the drawing i used for example didnt showcase what you wanted to know.

also, i really like your art! please keep up the great work!

#i think i did this all wrong #i'm so sorry #i feel incredibly stupid #:I #rambling :I #now everyone get's to see how little i know about drawing

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iraprince · 8 months

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Hi Ira! If I remember right, you mentioned that you bought an arm mount for your tablet for use at your desk. Do you have any recommendations? I'm trying to get a "dream office" list together and honestly my neck would appreciate a break from all the shrimping I do while I draw. Have a lovely day! 💜

i can definitely recommend the one i use, because i love it and have had no problems with it, but as a heads up i've never used any other arm mounts before so i can't give any accurate insight on whether it's better/worse than others!

that being said, i'm using a gas spring mount, and especially if you have or intend to get a large/heavy screen tablet, i really recommend it. the way the gas spring arm works is basically when setting it up you can adjust the amount of like, pneumatic force/resistance offered by the central support of the arm to be exactly matched to the weight of the tablet monitor (this sounds technical but is really easy, u just follow the instructions in the setup manual), and then basically the tablet will just Stay wherever you move it -- barely requires u to apply any force at all, and no fiddling with loosening and tightening a bunch of knobs whenever you want to make an adjustment, which has been the experience i've had with cheaper arm mounts for stuff like microphones etc!!! i'm sure there are non-gas-spring mounts that are somewhat easily adjustable, but my experience with the gas spring one so far has been that it's SO easy that i don't even have to think about it. i move mine a lot so i can sit different ways, angle the tablet surface based on the level of detail i'm working at, etc and it's also really nice to be able to just swing it completely out of the way and tuck the tablet away to the side when i'm done drawing digitally and want to free up my desk; if the arm was sticky or rigid or required Any extra steps to readjust stuff i think i would get annoyed really fast.

(if my office was not such a fucking disaster rn i would take some pics so you could see how i have it set up and some of the ways i can move it around. unfortunately it is a fucking disaster. maybe i'll get a chance sometime and i'll loop back to this!!)

it also feels really sturdy, there's an extremely tiny bit of wobble when i'm drawing bc i have a tendency to push really hard sometimes and that made me a little nervous on the first day but i don't even notice it now (and the wobble seems to just be from general/necessary flex in the arm overall, not a certain joint or component of the clamp being loose or lacking integrity). i would definitely recommend looking at reviews and carefully picking something solid; u will make urself miserable if you're not confident that your arm can Hold your very expensive and precious tablet, or if the clamp is wobbling on your desk or whatever. also, MEASURE THE SIDE OF YOUR DESK and try to find dimension info to make sure the clamp on whatever arm you're getting will actually fit!! i have a weird desk that has a kind of thick inset bit on the underside/edges, and a lot of standard clamps do not fit over it; i was lucky enough that the one that came with my tablet was adjustable enough to fit, but it would really suck to order an arm and then find out it's incompatible with your desk.

i can't seem to find a listing for the exact mount i use -- sticker on the side says huanuo. i got it bundled with my huion when i bought it, so here's just a link to a similar bundle; it looks a little different than the one i got, but this amazon listing for a gas spring mount from the same brand looks the same, so i think i just got a version that doesn't have the cable management loops on the bottom.

ANYWAY that's about all i can think to say -- like i said, this is the only arm mount i've ever used, so if anyone else wants to chime in with info or experiences abt other varieties that would be great!! i hope this is helpful, gl getting your dream office together :D

#how do my answers always get so long lmao. how is it u guys ask me the simplest stuff and im inevitably like Here's My 5 Paragraph Essay

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rinsuniverse · 10 months

Note

hi can i request wonu comforting reader? smth like they’re insecure or feeling like they’re not enough or they’re not lovable? i love your work btw i read every post like 2-3 times they make my day

reassurance with wonwoo! ✧˖°.

this is such a sweet request and very realistic!

the problem started way before this scenario, but it became incredibly evident to wonwoo on his day off

he's playing some games on his pc

and usually, you'd watch attentively and spare him some smiles every once in awhile

or you'd be on your laptop/tablet doing your own thing, and whenever you'd get bored, you'd get up and nudge him for attention

but today, every time he looked over to you, your eyes seemed to droop, and you seemed lost in thought (and kind of out of it)

as he's in the lobby of another online game, he turns to look at you as you lay on his bed staring blankly at the ceiling

"you okay, beb? you have been more quiet than usual," he says, pulling his headphones down to rest against his neck

"oh, i'm good," you say, sighing. "just thinking."

"wanna talk about it?"

"it's nothing important," you say, closing your eyes. "just not feeling great."

"should we take a break together and get some food and water?"

"it's not that i'm not feeling physically well. i just don't feel great about myself."

wonwoo turns back to his monitor, noticing that the game started

he adjusts his headphones so one ear is out of the set, his mic off

"why are you feeling that way?" he asks gently. "come here. sit in my lap."

you hesitantly drag yourself over to him, and he continues to play while sitting you sideways in his lap

you rest the side of your head on his shoulder, burying your forehead into his neck

"i know it makes me sound selfish and annoying, but i really don't feel like i'm worth anything," you say quietly.

he hums, showing that he's listening

"just look at you... you're so talented and wonderful and genuine and beautiful looking. and here i am... i'm not... ugly. but i'm not as attractive as you by any means. and i'm not as cool, warm-hearted, and interesting as you. standing next to you and knowing that i'm freaking dating you makes me feel like... 'how the hell did i even deserve this?' and 'why does he like ME?' and 'just imagine how disappointed people will be when they find out.'"

"find out what?"

"that we're dating."

"do you just not want people to find out? is it too embarrassing for you?"

"god, that's not... let's just not talk about this..."

"no, give me a moment, princess," he says, quickly finishing the game

he logs off and then turns the chair to face away from the pc

"tell me exactly what you don't like about yourself," he says, putting a hand on your cheek

"what?"

"like what makes you feel the most insecure?"

"i don't feel... lovable."

"lovable? let me search this up," he says as he turns back to his pc, searching up the definition. "inspiring or deserving love or affection."

"exactly. i don't deserve this... especially you."

"hmm... do you know that i feel like that sometimes?"

"what? you? why?"

"see? you're so shocked. that's exactly how i feel about you saying you're unlovable. because 'what? you? why?'"

"but you're a whole idol, wonu."

"and you're my favorite person. you're practically my idol," he says.

"it's not the same-"

"let's get up and go to the bathroom," he says, gently pushing you to your feet

"wonu, what the-"

he drags you to his bathroom and he hands you a makeup wipe

"wipe off my makeup," he says, taking off his glasses

"what's the purpose of this, babe?"

"come onnn"

you wipe off his makeup and he turns to look in the mirror

"i'm insecure about my acne and my moles," he says, pointing at places on his face

"but you're so handsome, even without makeup."

and he turns to you and gives you soft kisses on your forehead, your nose, both of your cheeks, your chin, and then your lips

"and you're so beautiful, babe. you're so deserving of my love because i can't think of anyone more deserving of my love than you. all of the love i have is for you, no matter what you feel or think."

he places his hand on the back of your neck and pulls you in to a long, loving kiss

"wonu..."

"do you understand?"

"mhm, thank you."

he places his glasses on you, making you laugh

"you're so blind, baby."

"with those glasses, i'm able to see the most beautiful person in the world in perfect vision."

"oh, really?"

"i bet you know them."

"you're so weird."

"let's talk some more, okay? tell me how you've been, tell me everything that's made you happy recently, tell me everything that pissed you off..."

"don't you want to go back to your game?"

"i still need to give my lover all the love they deserve."

"really?"

"don't make me think about what i said. i'll cringe and go back to gaming."

"okay, okay. but you mean everything you said?"

"i do."

thank you so much for requesting, anon! i hope you aren't feeling unlovable or insecure... if you are, i totally get that. just know that you ARE deserving of love and all wonderful things, i don't doubt that in any sense. if you need someone to talk to, my inbox is always open 🫶 feel free to request many more prompts! i hope this makes you feel better when you're feeling down. have a great day!

(p.s. requests are still open! i specialize in woozi stuff, but i don't mind writing about other svt members! so request whatever and as much as you want! ς(>‿<.))

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 1 year

Text

wallflower 24

Warnings: age gap, creepin’, slow burn, stepdad-adjacent, possible noncon/dubcon, abuse, violence, self-harm, manipulation, panic attack.

Character: silverfox!Thor

Your mother meets a new man, but he doesn’t seem very interested in her.

Note: <3 Another erratic drabble series. Appreciate any and all feedback. Love you all.

"Hm, I am torn. Why don't you choose one for me? I'm afraid I have a terrible habit of being indecisive," Loki peruses the tray of chocolate.

"Oh, I guess… um," you glance over the truffles and point to the one with golden icing, "this one."

He smiles and picks out the chocolate.

"Make sure to have one too, that strawberry delight looks rather tasty."

"I will," you glance over as Thor arranges logs in the fireplace. You approach him and hold out the box, "here."

"Oh, I get one too?" He dusts off his hands as he shifts on his knees.

"Of course," you deflate, "unless….you don't want one?"

He considers you and his face creases, "thank you, kitten, I will have one."

He plucks up a white chocolate bulb and pops it in his mouth. You retreat as you try to decide on one of your own. You choose the one with pink beads all over it.

You close the box and set it down. You cup your hand under your mouth to catch the mess as you bite in. You sit on the couch and wait, unsure what to do next. Loki surprises you as he takes the cushion beside you and swallows.

"I think I'd like to stay for dinner after all."

Thor huffs, the heavy breath makes you uneasy. He finishes placing the wood and strikes up the kindling. He braces his knees and stands with a groan.

"Is that okay?" You ask, realising you May have overstepped.

"He's my brother," Thor says dully.

"Always a loving sibling," Loki remarks and you take another nibble of the chocolate.

“I do have work to finish,” Thor utters dully, “are you alright entertaining our guest?”

“Um…” you furrow your brow.

“I can amuse myself quite well,” Loki sits back and checks his watch, “dear, please, enjoy all your new things. Brother, go on and… work.”

“Er, well, I suppose I should put all this away,” you stand up and sidle along the front of the couch, “then I’ll start on the tacos.”

“Take your time,” Loki says smoothly as he pulls out his phone, “I am in no hurry.”

“Do you need help with that, kitten?” Thor asks as you lift the bag. It is heavy but you manage.

“No, I think I’m okay,” you face him again, “I don’t want to get in the way.”

“You know I don’t mind,” his face softens, “so if you do need anything…”

“Oh, Thor,” Loki slithers, “she is an adult, I believe she can handle it herself.”

“I know she can,” Thor retorts, “I was being nice.”

“Mmm,” Loki hums and you slowly move towards the door.

“Thanks, both of you,” you murmur.

You flit out, the cool air of the entryway easing the heat that nips at your nape. You hear Thor grumble into a growl but can’t make out his words as you quickly cross to the stairs. You glance back as Loki tilts his head up and smirks in his brother’s direction.

You never had any siblings, not even friends. It’s likely normal, you just wouldn’t know any better.

🌻

You sit down at the table, the fruit of your labour plated and ready. Thor and Loki sit across from each other as you take the chair at the end of the table. It’s deathly silent as you focus on your plate and try to ignore the tension.

“Oh, my pills,” you stop yourself from folding your taco over.

“Yes, uh… let me get those,” Thor stands abruptly.

Loki watches him pointedly, a strain in his cheek. As the blond leaves the room, the darker haired man looks at you, “we did talk about your dosage and I felt it best to reduce you to a single pill to allow for proper adjustment.”

“Oh, okay.”

“It will make you less tired. I think maybe in your journal, you should track any side effects you notice.”

“I’ll try,” you run your fingers along the edge of your plate.

Thor returns and sits down, the pill bottle in hand. He pops off the lid and picks out one tablet. He places it down without a word as he replaces the cap and slides it around the other side of his plate.

“We were just discussing her treatment plan going forward,” Loki takes the sour cream and added a dollop to a taco as he spoke, “she understands now.”

Thor’s lips slant, “that’s good. I hope the change is for the better.”

“Yes,” Loki puts the container back and grabs the salsa, “I think it should. Forgive me but I should’ve accounted that you have no historical prescriptions that I know of.”

“Uh, yeah, um, no,” you mumble as Thor rolls a taco up.

You’ve never been good at reading people but Thor seems irritated. You don’t know why but you suspect you’ve done something wrong. You gather up a taco and occupy yourself with an overly large bite.

"So… how long can we expect your guest to stay?" Loki grins, "I could provide some resources for her support. There are many programs–"

"As long as she needs," Thor growls through a full mouth before gulping it down tightly, "I told her she can stay. She doesn't need some shelter."

"Yes, but she is an adult. Once she is a bit more set in her recovery, it may be worth it to consider at least some activities outside the home. A job, even part-time. I could help with that as well."

"No, you don't need to. You won't," Thor insists curtly, "I am taking care of her just fine."

You stare at your plate, the food tasteless in your mouth. Inviting Loki was a mistake but you were just trying to be polite.

"One thing at a time, I suppose," Loki says, "but ultimately it is up to her."

Thor snarls and chews angrily. You cringe and wiggle your nose. Loki contents himself with delicate bites in the silence. You drop a cluster of beef onto the plate and further chide yourself for choosing such a messy dish.

"We will see," Thor wipes his fingers and takes a drink, "even for a doctor you are overly concerned."

"One could say the same of you. Taking in a stray from a woman you knew for how long exactly?"

You nearly choke and force down a gulp. Thor grimaces and rolls his eyes, clunking down his glass.

"Was I supposed to watch her be abused?"

"Oh, a saviour, you are so honourable–"

There rising tones makes your chest thrum.

"He… he helped me," you eke out, "that's all."

"Surely he did, dear, but he should be as concerned with making sure you have something beyond this. He can only help you so far–"

"Shut up and eat your food," Thor sneers, "she has enough to worry about. Some bridges don't need to be crossed right now."

Loki laughs, unfazed even as you gape at Thor outburst. His anger brings you back to the night he took you away from your mother. It was the only time you'd ever seen him like that.

"Please," you cover your ears, "I don't like fighting."

"We are not fighting, darling," Loki says coolly, "we are merely conversing, yes brother?"

Thor’s jaw ticks and he nods slowly, "just talking, kitten."

#thor #dark thor #dark!thor #thor x reader #wallflower #au #drabble #series #dark drabble #dark!drabble #silverfox #mcu #marvel #avengers #Loki

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chaotic-goodsir · 5 months

Text

For day 2 of this Hatchetverse series thing, here's part of the sequel to You Could Call This Luck that I've been trying and failing to finish. Turns out plotting a thing about time travel with multiple POVs and timelines is hard.

To avoid confusion: in this particular timeline, (most of) the events of the musicals didn't happen. Time Bastard did, though, because we all know Ted can't catch a break.

(Also sorry for the long post - I don't usually post fic like this directly to Tumblr, but since this is unfinished I didn't want to put it on Ao3 just yet)

Pete Lauter sits at the desk in his science classroom at Hatchetfield High School, trying to finish the last of the week's marking. His eyes are dry from staring at his tablet screen, and the hum of the heating units is starting to get on his nerves. His students' lab reports all blend into one after a while - most of them are clearly written by AI. Getting teenagers to write anything as unexciting as a lab report on their own these days is almost impossible. He's not sure why the school still requires it, but then who is he, a mere teacher, to question the relevance of the national curriculum? Only the guy who sees first-hand how badly it works for his students.

Pete doesn't hate his job, most of the time, but it can get exhausting. This particular evening, he's ready to go home, heat up yesterday's leftovers - maybe make a hot chocolate, why not? - and enjoy the Friday-night peace and quiet. Theo will be out somewhere with his friends, and Steph's away on highly-classified work business. It's the perfect time to finally start that sci-fi novel that's been sitting on his bedside table for weeks. He's craving some decent, interesting writing that isn't the work of a teenager or a robot.

Sounds like a plan, he thinks, saving the report he's been working through and switching the tablet to sleep mode. He'll get the last of the marking done on Sunday night. For now it's future-Pete's problem.

He pulls on his jacket - his favourite, the one with the elbow patches that Steph bought for him last Christmas - and is about to pack the tablet away when the screen blinks into life again.

Ruth Fleming's icon (a photo from her honeymoon in Europe, Ruth and her wife smiling in front of a clear blue sky) flashes onto the screen. It's no surprise that she's still at work - drama club starts in an hour, and she has rehearsals to direct. Pete sighs and taps the icon, hoping she isn't about to ask him to help out again.

'Hey Ruth,' he says. 'I was just about to head home - do you need something?'

Ruth sounds a little out of breath, the way she always does when she's anxious.

'Pete, thank god you're still here. You need to come to the north wing staffroom, now. It's your son.'

Pete freezes. 'Theo?'

'Of course it's Theo. Do you have another son? Look, I don't wanna worry you, but he's hurt. You should come quick.'

'What do you mean, hurt?' Pete asks, panic rising. What is Theo even doing in school, on a Friday night? Something stupid and dangerous, clearly, if he's managed to hurt himself.

Pete swings his backpack onto one shoulder, carrying the tablet in his free hand as he rushes out of the room. He doesn't bother to lock the classroom door.

'How badly? Like, ambulance bad?'

'I don't know. I don't think so. But he's talking crazy.'

He's talking, Pete thinks, okay. He feels bad for thinking it, but he's not 100% convinced this isn't just Theo pulling a prank. He wouldn't put it past his son to do this kind of thing for attention. Theo Lauter is a lot of things, but a well-adjusted teenager doesn't seem to be one of them, no matter what Pete and Steph try.

Ruth knows that, of course, and the worry in her voice is making Pete worry too. She'd see through a typical Theo prank pretty easily. Which means this is probably real.

'I'm on my way.' He tells Ruth. 'I'll be five minutes.'

He hangs up and races down the corridor, cutting through the courtyard to get to the North Wing. The staffroom is upstairs, in the English and Languages corridor. When he gets there, the door is wedged open. Ruth is by the sofa, trying to comfort a teenage boy who looks a lot like his son.

But there's no sign of Theo's trademark denim jacket or band t-shirt. This kid is wearing a white shirt, suspenders, and bowtie, all stained with - Pete realises in horror - a concerning amount of blood. Instead of Theo's ponytail, this kid has his hair down, shoulder length, pinned back to keep it out of his face. And this kid is wearing glasses, with a crack across one lens.

Theo has his mother's eyesight. He's never needed glasses in his life.

Either Theo's pranks have reached a whole new level of elaborate, or this is not Pete's son at all. This kid looks more like-

Well, he looks more like him. Like Pete himself, when he was 25 years younger.

Not for the first time, Pete considers that he really needs to move his family out of Hatchetfield. Only in this messed-up town would something like that even be a possibility.

The kid notices him standing in the doorway, and his eyes go wide behind his cracked glasses. Then he says something that disproves neither the actual-time-travel theory nor the Theo-pulling-a-prank one, but spooks Pete either way.

'...Ted?'

Agent Stephanie Lauter is in a highly classified meeting at the PIEP HQ when the smartwatch around her wrist starts to buzz.

She glances at it, annoyed, and sees her husband's icon blinking at her. Pete knows she's busy today. He wouldn't call unless it was something urgent. He's one of the only contacts who can call her through the HQ's high tech digital barrier system.

Maybe it's just an accident. She swipes the icon away. If it's urgent, he'll call back.

She waits for a pause in General Lee's presentation, then raises a hand.

'I'm sorry, sir. My husband is trying to call me - I think it's urgent.'

'Well, you had better take it then,' Lee says, with his characteristic earnestness. No matter the situation, the old General has a way of always seeming that he knows more than anyone else about what's going on. It's a little disconcerting.

He waves towards the door. 'Good luck, Agent Lauter. I hope your family are all safe and well.'

She thanks him, apologises again, and leaves quickly. Outside the meeting room, a security guard in a bulletproof vest watches her pace anxiously up and down the corridor as she returns Pete's call.

'Steph,' he says when he picks up. There's an anxious note in his voice that she does not like the sound of. 'Sorry, I know you're at work. Are you busy right now?'

'It's fine,' she says. 'What's wrong?'

'It's Theo,' Pete says, then pauses. 'Well, no, it's not Theo. At least he says he's not, and I think he's telling the truth. I... I don't really know how to explain this, Steph. It's gonna sound crazy.'

'Breathe, babe,' Steph says, because Pete is talking at about a hundred miles an hour now. 'I work for PIEP. I can cope with crazy.'

'Okay.' Pete says, taking a breath. 'Okay.'

'Is Theo alright?'

'Yeah. At least I hope so. He's at his friends, probably. I'm at school, and there's a kid here that looks like him. Ruth thought it was Theo, and he's covered in blood - not hurt, thank god, just covered in it - so she called me. But it's not. Not Theo, I mean.'

'What? Who is it?'

'I think it's me.'

To anyone else, in any other context, those words wouldn't make sense. Pete is a 41 year old man, and their son is 16. It would be insane to mistake one for the other. Not to mention that Pete is Pete. This kid that's shown up covered in blood can't possibly also be him. One person can't possibly be in two places at once.

But in Hatchetfield, anything is possible. And then, on top of that, there's the Spankoffski Effect.

Steph has often wished she could tell Pete more about the work she does for PIEP. About the data that shows his brother Ted's disappearance, back in 2019, wasn't just an unexplained tragedy but a large-scale temporal incident affecting multiple universes. Pete doesn't even know that there are multiple universes. It would probably break his little nerd heart if he knew she wasn't telling him.

Nor does Pete know about how, the day she told the now-retired General MacNamara that she and Pete were engaged, his congratulations came with a warning:

'By all means, marry a Spankoffski if you wish, Miss Lauter. But a word of advice. I'd strongly suggest you don't take that name, and don't give it to your children.'

When she asked him why, he'd told her that was classified. It wasn't until she graduated from training that she first heard about the Spankoffski Effect, and put two and two together.

In every timeline known to PIEP researchers, something with the power to sever a person from the flow of time itself has an interest in - no, more like an obsession with - Pete's brother, and possibly his entire family.

She's not sure she could tell her husband that part even if she had clearance.

And now Pete's younger self has appeared at the school where he teaches. Steph does not like the sound of that at all.

'You're sure it's not Theo pulling a prank? I wouldn't put it past him.'

'If it is, he deserves an oscar. And this kid has my phone, Steph. From years ago. With my medical alert details, everything. I don't think Theo would go that far.'

Probably not, no, but she wants to be absolutely sure. 'Have you called Theo? Checked where he is?'

'Shit,' Pete says, then catches himself for swearing in front of a student. 'I mean, uh, shoot, no. I should have done that.'

She tries adding Theo to the call they're already on. The line rings out, so she tries again. No answer.

'Steph, if you're calling him, I can't hear it ringing. I don't think this kid has Theo's watch.'

A message appears on Steph's watch screen:

< Fuck off, mom, I'm busy :) >

'Well,' She says, wondering briefly about nature and nurture and whether it's some failure of parenting that turned her son into such a little shit, 'our son just messaged me. Unless he can do that with only his mind, I don't think he's with you.'

'Okay,' Pete says. Then, 'shit.' He doesn't catch himself this time.

Shit is right, Steph thinks. 'Wait there. Keep the kid calm. Stay calm yourself, okay? I'll come to you.'

She doesn't tell him she's planning to bring PIEP agents with her, but he's probably figured that out already.

'Aren't you in DC?'

'Yeah, so you'll have to hold out for a few hours. Anything weird happens - anything else weird - you call me straight away, okay?'

'Okay. Yeah. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Steph hangs up. She pinches the bridge of her nose with one hand and groans, wondering why she never had the sense to move her family out of Hatchetfield.

Would that have helped, though? If something from the Black and White is after Pete, couldn't it find him anywhere, if it wanted to?

The security guard is staring at her.

'Everything okay, ma'am?'

'Yeah,' she says. 'I'm fine. Just - don't ever marry a Spankoffski, no matter how cute he is.'

The guard blinks, clearly baffled.

'Um... right.'

#hatchetverse #hatchetfield #npmd #time bastard #nightmare time #starkid #tgwdlm #peter spankoffski #stephanie lauter #lautski #t'noy karaxis #ruth fleming

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