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starkiller-009 · 10 months

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Hello!! I love love love your arts. I feel like a lot of them have a sense of 'movement' which contrasts a lot of very polished artworks.

I love works with meticulously planned composition, layers, highlights, etc. I love works with a certain kind of loose yet purposeful application of value and colors. (The Two Cakes thing in the fandom). And I noticed that your arts belong to the latter category which I can rarely find!

If you don't mind me asking, do you have any artists or artworks that you're heavily inspired from? Do you draw on a pen-tablet, IPad, or other media? What application are you using? I feel like three questions are already too much for one ask so you don't need to answer them if you don't want to. I enjoy scrolling through your blog either way!

Hiiiiiiiiii dear anon!!! thank you soo much for sending this message! it made my day 🧡🧡🧡 Loose but thoughtful art is what im striving for so its really make me happy to hear that i have some success in that Answering your question i draw using some cheap old model of genius pen-tablet. Bought it 10 years ago as my first device. Still running. Heard a lot of shitty comments about quality of genius tablets at that time, but even more only about Wacom in recent years i think (fuck them. Wtf with pen's tips that are constanty erasing. For who this product is made for. Ew). as for the apps, i use clip paint studio, for studies - heavypaint (great thing). There are AMAZING artists on tumblr who inspire me heavily with their works. like. i follow ~400 ppl here. because i like to stare at art. so. im gonna talk about my favorites! @crowthis - king. queen. i dont know the pronounces sorry. they draw magnificent things i love their style SO much, its such an inspiration. sometimes i just visit their blog to go through art tag and experience all that beauty. (half of their wrks i have downloaded on my desktop) It's loose, quite 'chaotic', but SO atmospheric. The mood, composition, texture, everything. Themes. I like black and white drawings as much as the ones with colours, it so bright and blatant\bold in a way, but it works perfectly, it gives your the right sense of the work. Even tho usually i prefer more calm colours, it makes me go 'wow!' And their works looks really simple and intuitive but as an artist you know that haha no its fcking hard to do things like that. it takes skill and knowledge. loose work is tricky

@frozensoba - idk how much time i could stare at their recent fish drawings like jesus christ. i wish i could do that. i want to be able to do that. my ass is ready to work every time i see it and drawings like these really inspire me to draw simple things and non-humans bc i feel like you can draw beautifully everything that exists. you just need to know how. Colours, texture, rhytm, lines... everything on its place. I love colours especially. Its very gentle kind of harmony going on there, and the palette is huge, intricate.

@nerdyhideoutphilosopher-2 - going crazy over their works. honesty dont know what to say. go look and see. unique voice Artists id like to mention as well: @dynasoar5 - i mean. just go and look at that. i love how loose and messy kind of rendering is but it looks amazing. and overall. simply amazing drawings fuck yes @jadenvargen - just go and look at his works. i see no point in talking. simply beautiful. looks easy but also hard as fuck. the colours are so bright and rich and very bold but somehow everything is right on its place. it leads you where it should. just wow. the skill i respect @snippit-crickit - once again. beautiful. i really love their studies and how they render things, the colours. @sen-art-acc - LINE WORK. LINE WORK. go check it out. LINE WORK!!!! and i simply like how tidy and clean the drawings look like with colours. i cant do stuff like this. i have zero patience to be this accurate and precise. Also if you love loose artwork i should recommend you those artists for sure @shican, @dude-standin i love as well @wuntrum and @cordspaghetti works a lot. I followed both of them because mcr fanart i guess? tho never was into mcr and stayed for the drawings alone Also, if we're speaking about more "pro" (dont like this term either, forgive me) kind of artists i have some huge inspirations as well (tho my art not in any way reminds of them im afraid lmao. but i hope maybe in ten or ok 30 years or more ill be somewhere). There are a ton of artists i like, but its for another post i guess. To much talk. So here we go Sergio Toppi - he's an amazing at working with lines and composition. I have his comic books on my bookshelf. I open it everytime i want to get energy to draw. You cant look at his drawings and NOT to get inspired. He's incredible. The rhytm, the shapes... damn. i can look at his drawings for hours. And he was the main inspiration to work with lines and composition more, to play with it more. I dont have a lot of line-work on this acc (last quiobi drawing, some year\two-old dghda drawings, eugene one) but i actually exercise it a lot. Lines are extremely powerful tool. And as for composition... The shapes, negative spaces, love it. And he's extremely good at working with colour too.

Francis Vallejo - he's illustrations are so good... he's incredible with composition and rhytm his drawings have. Negative spaces, one again.

Anders Zorn - i adore his black and white graphic drawings. Angles, framing, line work. Spent a lot of time looking at his works. Cant get enough of it. The way he draws people, the plot, themes. What he chooses to portray, the way people look, what they do. There is such a special mood to his drawings, there is something extremely psychological about it, isn't there? he's a master im mesmerized by

Bernie Fuchs - composition, rhytm, once again. I love it when you want to look at something for more then 2 seconds, because the rhytm of the drawings leads you into different places and opens its plot in parts. No matter where you look u'll find something interesting and even though there is lot of going on its still not a mess and looks and feels fucking awesome. And i love his colour palettes too. He's very good at setting the mood (check out his less commercial works)

As for the colour here's a few i love. (Though they're still extremely good with everything else)

Hovsep Pushman - the man is a mystery. His work with colours, light and texture is beyond me. Also it has disco elysium vibe to it. I dream of being capable of something like this when im sixty or so (im not gonna be)

Mead Schaeffer - simple but powerful. Looking at his works like eating a tasty ice cream.

same goes to Dean Cornwell - though its a bit more complex, his composing. You need to pay more attention

I'd like to mention one other artist - Jamie Wyeth. his works are something else entirely, i dream of drawing like this one day. Loosiness, themes, mood. Ill probably cry if i see those ones in real life one day, somehow special to my heart, relates

He has these series - "Seven deadly sins". Ive been in love for some time

As for the inspiration drawings on itself - thinking about it im coming back to dragon age tarot cards. Not all of them, but i still go 'jesus i want to draw like this' at some, through years. This one especially.

Soooo Thats it i guess! I mean. I love to talk and talk about art especially. I probably could write ten more posts like this no problem. I actually heavily into landscape painters since... Well. Nature. Ice, oceans, sky. I sadly havent really tried to get into the genre myself, i do not draw lots of backgrounds as you can see. Should work on this probably, life's short. But im always happy to share my fav artists! So hit me up whenever. dm or send an ask! And a beautiful work for the ending

#ask

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bg-sparrow · 2 years

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🛠🎶😅 for the fanfic asks???

Yay, another writing emoji ask! These are fun! Keep them coming! I have already answered a few here!

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

Well, I am a big ol' Microsoft Word fan. I've been using it since they taught me how to use computers in elementary school, and while I've tried other word processors, Google Drive, etc, Word is my tried and true. I have it on my PC, my Mac, my iPad, and my iPhone. I write in traditional paragraph form in Times New Roman, size 11, spaced 1.15. Though I've tried writing in different fonts when working on two vastly different projects before.

I am also a fan of the college-ruled spiral notebook and the Pilot G-2 Series 0.34 (or 0.5) gel pen in black. That pen lets me write on both sides of a sheet of notebook paper without bleeding through and I love that. Right now, I'm using a smaller, three-subject notebook with tabs (since I have been working on a trilogy).

Other tools:

music! music music music

before Flash Player left us, a lot of different avatar makers since I'm not good at drawing but needed visuals of my OCs

fandom sources (I have the BttF movies on my desktop behind my Word document so I can get the dialogue perfect, explore what's in the frame, etc. I also have all three movie novelizations, the 2015 newspaper, maps, comics, you name it. I draw from all of these sources when I'm writing to give the work a well-rounded and grounded feel.)

Google and Wikipedia are your friends so long as you know how to verify the validity of the sources. And I always triple-check the information I plan to use.

I honestly act some stuff out if I can't choreograph a scene in my head. I can write it, but then I realize what I've written isn't physically possible, so this helps!

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

I do. I love music so freaking much. I planned to do music education when I first entered college! I've been a huge film/ tv/ video game score fan since before I can remember. I have specific playlists for each of the stories I've written -- and not just songs that fit the story, but songs I just couldn't stop listening to.

Right now, I've been finishing up the festival scenes in Where You Were, so I've been listening to a lot of the festival music included in the 25th-anniversary edition of the BttF 3 score. But of course the scores for these films inspire my story!

Songs that come during the course of writing the story and help build my plot and tone are special. Right now, for Where You Were, these are some of the pieces I've been playing on a loop:

"You're Full of Stars" by Max Richter (Invasion, Apple TV) - I played this constantly when writing the opening prologue where Marty brings Doc back to the mansion and has the big, dark space to himself during the storm.

"Zeit" (Remix by Olàfur Arnalds) by Rammstein - I love Olàfur. It didn't fit the tone of the scene exactly, but I played this a lot when writing Doc and Marty in the archives.

"Tell Him" by Rob Simonsen (The Adam Project, Netflix) - Doc has a big revelation! :D

"Stuff We Did" by Michael Giacchino (Up) - This is a softer variation of the "Married Life" theme that I imagine for Doc and Emma's mother. Perfect for their last scene together in the series.

"I Can't Sell" by Amelia Warner (Wild Mountain Thyme) - This beautifully soft and stirring piece is what I officially dub "Clara's Theme" in my series. I also pair her with the softer variations of the main theme from The Patriot (2000, music by John Williams)

"Kings and Queens" by Thomas Newman (Tolkien) - No spoilers, but a very bright, peaceful snippet for a future Marty and Emma scene.

"Teach You To Read" by Mychael Danna (Where the Crawdads Sing) - I have no real scene assigned to this, but I am stuck on this track right now. It's gorgeous. It captures wonder, curiosity, and enlightenment beautifully, but applying the tone to anything in particular stumps me at the moment. Right now, it's just a dopamine hit during research.

The entire score from News of the World by James Newton Howard and the two volumes of the 1883 scores by Brian Tyler & Breton Vivian basically wrote There Are No Roads (Part 2.5 of my series). The main theme from 1883 is what created and what anchors the tense relationship between Emma and Tannen specifically.

A song with words, you ask? Two recent discoveries I love: "Want Want" by Maggie Rogers is what I imagine a pre-series Emma going through when it comes to Marty, and "Love Brand New" by Bob Moses is kind of my anthem for Not Marty and Not Emma in 1985A now.

Sorry. I could talk music all day, but that's just for the fic I'm working on! I love my film and television scores. There are incredible.

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

So, right now, if it's on my FF.Net page and NOT my AO3, I want to clean it up before really calling attention to it again. Most of those fics were written in high school before I took a real interest in pursing writing and perfecting the craft, so the quality is night and day.

One in particular I guess would be "Light Up the Sound" from 2006. This was the appearance of my BttF OC, Emma Brown, and she was SUCH a Mary Sue I can't even read this thing in one sitting anymore. Luckily, I learned a lot in nine years before deciding to get serious about attempting The Time Circuits Series, and Emma went through a HUGE overhaul. When I rewrote "Light Up the Sound" into my series' prequel "Red Letter Date", she was her own person, and the difference in writing is amazing.

I leave "Light Up the Sound" published as a reminder of how far I've come. From that shit show, I've developed an OC that has received high praise for being well-rounded and seamlessly inserted into a beloved story we all know, and I am incredibly proud of that. But my god, I had to practice a lot of tough love to transform this silly snippet into the launching pad for a trilogy rewrite.

I mean, for goodness sake, I had Emma's birthday as November 12th, and it can't get more cringe than that when it comes to a Mary Sue (unless I gave her purple eyes, of course). I wrote three chapters of the first story and had her at Marty's side CONSTANTLY. I was THAT author.

And I've learned a lot since then. And I applied what I learned to change my character and my story for the better.

Gratefully, it seems to have paid off. :)

Thanks so much for the ask! I had a lot of fun answering your questions! Have a great day!

#fan fic writing #fanfic writer emoji ask game #emoji asks #answered asks #back to the future #bttf #fanfic #fanfiction #writer ask game #fanfic writer ask #let's do another one!

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dankusner · 3 months

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#Youtube

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rlxtechoff · 2 years

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#IFTTT #Blogger

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rataltouille · 3 years

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HOUSE PLANTS, UPDATE 7

[novel intro can be found here]

HEY ACTUALLY I FINISHED THIS BOOK!

i don't want to get too sentimental [watch me proceed to get sentimental] but this book means a lot to me and i really could NOT have done it without the support of the wonderful folks on writeblr. the writing community is kind of the reason i even started this novel so it means a lot to me that i’ve met so many of y’all here. this is my first ever novel and i’m so glad i was able to make it so far! here are the final stats:

TOTAL WORD COUNT: 81,049 words.

STARTED: april 17, 2020

FINISHED: january 28, 2021

AVERAGE CHAPTERWISE WC: 3242

NUMBER OF CHAPTERS: 25

NUMBER OF TIMES LILITH SNAPS: 2

NUMBER OF TIMES LILITH SUFFERS: you know it’s too much to count.

the last month of writing this novel was so mixed. like before i hit the 70k mark i’d just been slogging through the novel, feeling uninspired and bored of the story. and then january hit and i was like. wait a minute. my deadline to finish it was the 31st of january. and so i basically startled myself into drafting again and then hit another wc milestone and that motivated me?? so much??? like i remember that drafting the penultimate chapter took me a pretty long time but it was so enjoyable because i was genuinely liking what i was writing and that hadn't been happening for the past few months. and then i wrote the entirety of the last chapter [it’s a vignette so it’s pretty short] for an hour until 1 am in my bed with the lights off and boom. it was such an experience. what makes it even more fun is that i’d drafted 75% of the book in my bed with the lights off at 1 am so this was such a nice full circle moment.

i’m also a little insane from all that lack of sleep but it’s okay we don't talk about that.

excerpts:

chapter twenty-one

this one’s a mix of the weirdest and most broad emotions. there’s a funeral in town, willow’s acting shadier than usual, lilith and juniper finally kiss, etc. etc. literally a rollercoaster. also it’s important that you guys know they kissed in a graveyard. nothing’s more romantic than that amirite.

Residual— that’s how we all felt. Just shells that wash away right before they touch land. We lingered like sleep at dawn, like medicine rimming the lip of cough syrup bottles, like fingerprints on fresh glass. There wasn't a permanence in the way we persisted, because eventually, one leaves their nest. They untether from the source in pursuit of the world. How would a dead girl do that? She won’t reside on the fringes of life like a bad dream.

god this prose is so depressing. even i’m getting sad over it and i’m literally an emotionless husk of a person. hey but the description slaps so enjoy.

also if you’ve noticed i’ve been sharing excerpts less and less in the updates despite the chapters being longer on length [these chapters average at like. 5k words] and that’s because i’m finding it harder to share stuff that doesn’t need context / isn't spoilery.

chapter twenty-two

ah yes the angstiest chapter, probably. something happens to willow that lilith blames herself for and this kicks off the final cluster of events that lead to the climax. i love this chapter because lilith gets angry [but at the wrong person aka herself] and we get to see this side of her she always tries to hide!! another thing that happens is that her garden withers so that’s a fun trip

My garden could have been a fallen kingdom. The ferns were rotting from under the flap, their spores gone. Gardenia blooms had split with their petals discarded like an evening gown all around the pots. The mint had binary fissioned and lay in shreds, the jasmine wilted and spread. All of them like war dolls, casualties of my ignorance, beyond saving.

poor garden :/

chapter twenty-three

this chapter. exists i guess. ISDNJSDUH i sound so disillusioned but essentially this chapter was supposed to end on a the ✨big reveal✨ that the book has been leading up to but then something. happened. and i had to move that into the next chapter and so nothing actually happens in this one! like it’s all important things and we’re setting up tension but overall it’s the least eventful of the final story arc.

We stepped together into our house; it had been abandoned for a day but was the exact same. Dust hadn't suddenly piled up in the threshold, sticking to our soles. The air hadn't musted over in the house’s grieving for its sole occupants. The bathtub was still filled. The water skimmed the floor, and I’d decided. I’d stay with you for the whole week, the fortnight, the month, the year. I’d stay inside with you, because me leaving the house, me choosing to spend any second of my life without caring for you, was a mistake. I’d always seen you as fragile, quiet like moth wings and just as delicate. Maybe I’d needed to feel I was protector just as much as I thought you needed me.

i really like this excerpt because it’s very simple and light in terms of prose but also the implications and that purposeful telling at the end really stick with me. exposing lilith since 2k20.

As morning rose the next day, like a curtain lifting, the sun picked itself up from the horizon, shattering cloudlines in a bright, orange glow. The skies got clearer by the hour as summer sauntered in again. Already the habits of my grounding were kicking in; my circadian rhythm bounded to my outside, too, as I instinctively scheduled and compartmentalized my daily life. First, wake up, check on you. Finish chores while making sure you’re alright. School, eaten with worry, but you're capable and you’ll call if you need help. Home, count your pulse as you inevitably slumped in plush sleep— at the coffee table, at the bathtub, in Aunt Hailey’s chair (rare), in your bedroom (rarer). You’d wake for dinner and read until the lights begin to dim and your eyesight tripped. You’d doze off for the rest of the night. Your internal clock was more functional, more efficient, than mine.

obligatory rhythmic everyday life excerpt that's reminiscent of 2020.

chapter twenty-four

THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER! THE LONGEST CHAPTER!! THE ONE WHERE SHIT GOES DOWN!!! [can you tell it’s my fave chapter]

this took me two whole weeks to draft [it’s around 7.2k words] but it was so enjoyable the whole time!! there’s something so satisfying about making the quiet character, the one who never express anger, finally snap. so satisfying. lilith is actually pretty feral in this and we all stan. it also has a lot of simpler yet more sharp prose? if you know me you know that repetition is literally my favourite device ever. i overuse repetition it’s actually insane. and this one has a lot of that, but in a way that isn't annoying, and i really enjoyed writing it!!

I’d never been in your bathtub before. You haunted the room and it was always yours; I didn’t consider running the tap for myself. Maybe your going out prompted me this time. The water was so high it sloshed over the lip of the tub. The floor was slick like eels’ skin. My skin was blue with cold; the chill gummed my cheeks and ears and I shivered. My reflection stared at me in hatred, the features warped and pulled like taffy. I half-floated, a ghost in liminal space, and the walls were choked with water lines and flower patterns. With my body invaded by alien frost, with the ceiling low and cruel and ready to crush, I cowered. How did you do this every day? Did the clothes make the difference?

lilith’s going through it again ft. willow’s bathtub.

after this it’s a lot of incredibly spoilery stuff!! like the prose slaps but it’s too many spoilers to share. but have another description of the heaviness of midnight because i’m obsessed with that aesthetic

The lock clicked behind me. Silence descended like birdsong and I was paralysed, stuck at the two half-stairs that led to the outer path, stuck at the threshold of no return. My body shook. All around me was nighttime, gooey and heavy. I was unfurling, like a rose, step after step, pushing past the gate and onto the road. The wind was so cold it frosted my tears.

btw the chapter does not end on lilith crying she kind of has a girlboss moment and snaps massively [i mean after all she’s been through she deserves it] and then the main story aka the fictive past ends.

chapter twenty-five

the final chapter, which also happens to be a vignette chapter and is thus set in the fictive present! it’s very short and is only one tiny scene but it really ends on the perfect tonal quality for the novel. i can't share any excerpts because it really is very short so! have this iconic screenshot i took as soon as i finished the draft instead:

[also if you were wondering yes i did type the entire novel [and basically everything i write] on my ipad because i don't own a laptop]

and that really is it! this was such an incredible journey and i’m so excited to share more of my newer writing and upcoming projects with y’all. it feels so weird that this really is the last time i’ll be making official posts about this novel. truly the end of an era.

house plants taglist: @discreet-writer @mp-golfin @jaydewritesfiction @writer-in-monochrome @magnus-s-writes @firesidefantasy @sugarlessbubblegum @theoldcity @n1ghth4wkz @remi-writes-sometimes @suninks @dreamybellatrixanvm @camusbf @fablemancy @isherwoodj @svpphicwrites @spillme @sunwornpages @bijouxs @asadlitficwriter @bookphobe @sirius-xthem @carlyiswriting @hekat-ie

general taglist: @lovingyou-is @haldimilks @andiwriteunderthemoon @coffeeandcalligraphy @shaelinwrites @tuoyu @charles-joseph-writes @eklavvya @wolf-oak @bitterwitchwrites @laughtracksonata @whatwordsdidnttouch @indeliblewrites @thenataliawrites @illimani-gibberish @sienna-writes @jennawritesstories @chloeswords @aelenko @keira-is-writing @cherylinanika @infinitely-empty-pages @jmtwrites @august-iswriting @sarahkelsiwrites @freedelusionbanana

tumblr is being. really really annoying and wont let me edit on the browser so i’ve got the 50 mentions per post mobile thing to deal with. the rest of the taglist will be tagged in a reblog!

#writeblr #am writing #crabappletracking #wtwcommunity #atlastracking #ofcolourtracking #house plants #house plants update #everybody say “goodbye house plants” as i yeet willow off a good somewhere #just ignore how i’ve actually finished the book and this update is a month late please and thank you <3

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i-like-his-charm · 3 years

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I want to talk temper but I’m really tired. It’s hard for me to seriously discuss it unless I go snooping through other people’s blogs for awhile and look at lots and lots of photos and gifs then maybe even watch scenes from stuff on my ipad or phone or even *gasp* tv, and rewind and get obsessive and fill my brain with as many views as possible so that I can analyze for myself why I get so weak in the knees at said photos, gifs and scenes (this is a very long sentence)... so unless I can do all that, it’s hard for me to get into the discussion zone. Thing is, his temper has been on my mind for a couple of days. I’m just too tired to go look at stuff. So I’m going to discuss it (a little bit) anyway.

I absolutely love seeing him lose his temper. Why is that? I hate it when people get angry. I don’t like angry people. Angry people make me sick to my stomach. I find them repulsive. On the news, when protestors are screaming at each other, that’s when I’m ready to check out of the human race - even if I would be angry myself in that situation. But when HE’S angry, I get all shivery (good-shivery). I loved that moment in Ice Station Zebra when he slams his fist down on the table and yells at Rock Hudson. I even stole a gif from someone and pull it out and look at it sometimes. (I scare myself.)

I told my husband about Patrick McGoohan’s face functioning just like a drug. I told him what I had found on the net regarding the akaloyds and endorphins, etc. and he said it all made sense. (Thank God my husband totally gets me.) So that gif is like a little drug sometimes, I think.

Anyway, I love the beginning of The Prisoner, when he breaks the tea cup. I love every time he gets mad in The Prisoner or Danger Man. Love it all. BUT, I wasn’t too crazy about the icy anger in Escape from Alcatraz. So maybe it’s that part of me (that part that always sees him as a hero) that believes that when he’s mad, he’s always right. And, of course, anger is cool if you’re on the right side of that anger (I guess).

But it’s not just that. It’s the face (always comes back to the face, doesn’t it?) The eyes again. He does those things with the eyes where it looks like there is something that is illuminating them from the inside. They get pale and bright, like some sort of jewels, like weapons. And his body tenses up, like every muscle is prepared to strike. Each move is articulated, held back yet harsh. You just know if that fist hit you, you’d be too blacked out to even see stars.

He was more controlled as Drake (thinking about No Marks for Servility when he busted the drinking glass). He didn’t have too many bursts of temper as Drake, but he got angry. As 6 he had the classic one every week and as David Jones, of course. But in almost every part (except Thomasina and even in there, he seemed like a teapot ready to boil over) he has an undercurrent of anger humming like a hotwire. Relaxed is rarely a word I’d use to describe him although there are moments of calculated relaxing.

Whatever, I’m just meandering here.

#john drake #patrick mcgoohan #mcgoohan #no. 6 #number 6 #danger man #prisoner #the prisoner #anger #you’re so cute when you’re mad #it’s not cute #it’s just really handsome

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yourresidenthanakostan · 4 years

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This is from the "65 questions you aren't used to" that are found here (Part 1)

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? All the time 2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? 2 3. The person you would never want to meet? Trump 4. What is your favorite word? Despair 5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? Weeping willow 6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? I haven’t yet 7. What shirt are you wearing? A school sweatshirt 8. What do you label yourself as? Mainly anxious and touch-starved but also a Hanako stan. I mean if you mean pronouns then I use she/her pronouns 9. Bright room or dark room? Dark 10. What were you doing at midnight last night? Laying awake wanting to fall asleep but not being able to 11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? 7-8 12. Who told you they loved you last? My grandma 13. Your worst enemy? idk 14. What is your current desktop picture?

15. Do you like someone? Unless you count Hanako and various other anime characters then no 16. The last song you listened to? https://youtu.be/CW1Q9C-3iKc for falling asleep 17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? No 18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? Katelyn Bennet 19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? This says anyone so I’m gonna assume fictional characters count. Either Hanako or Levi and they have to whatever they possibly can to make themselves happy. Of course they’ll be forced but I think they deserve a day to be happy 20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional) My hair 21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? Probably use it to make cishet men as uncomfortable as possible. Idk how I would look 22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? Other than writing poetry I don’t think so. 23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? Sunflowers but also various other kinds of flowers. 24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. PB & J 25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? What do you think? (Merch for tbhk) 26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? Japan 27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? Mike’s lemonade so I can have a lemonade stand and get all the kids in my neighborhood drunk 28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? No discrimination 29. What is your favorite expletive? Fucking-hell 30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? My iPad 31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? I wouldn’t. The rapid maturity from the trauma is the only thing keeping me alive right now 32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! I don’t know what the question is. 33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? My paternal grandfather 34. What was your last dream about? Trying to find my therapist in a really big house 35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]? [debater] yes. 36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? Yes, many times 37. Have you ever built a snowman? Yes 38. What is the color of your socks? I’m not wearing any 39. What type of music do you like? Classical/orchestral is my favorite but I also like electronic and whatever genre the Carole & Tuesday soundtrack is. 40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? I appreciate the symbolic and visual value of the two equally. 41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? Vanilla 42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer) Seahawks 43. Do you have any scars? A burn mark on my arm 44. What do you want to be when you graduate? A lawyer

#Ask me anything #Questions about me #This is part 1 #Interesting questions #Unusual questions

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thelittlefanpire · 4 years

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50 questions you’ve never been asked

tagged by @probably-voldemort and @the-most-beautiful-broom

What is the colour of your hairbrush? I have a brown comb that may or may not get passed between the kids and I on occasion.

Name a food you never eat? I was (am) a pretty picky eater. some foods that come to mind immediately: tuna, boiled eggs, peas

Are you typically too warm or too cold? I like to complain about both depending on the season; too hot in summer and too cold in winter

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? freaking out over the beliza 1yr anniversary. idk those two just get to me. They’re MARRIED & they’re SOULMATES!

What is your favourite candy bar? Snickers

Have you ever been to a professional sports event? Yes! Mostly Baseball games

What is the last thing you said out loud? “I’m in the potty, Zoom-Zoom!”*

What is your favourite ice cream? chocolate chip cookie dough

What was the last thing you had to drink? Frozen Coffee

Do you like your wallet? I got rid of my wallet and now I have a cute little anti-theft bag

What was the last thing you ate? chicken nuggets and fries from Chick-Fil-A!

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Yes! We’ve been taking advantage of those online sales to get the kids summer clothes.

The last sporting event you watched? my brother-in-law’s basketball game. it was the semi-finals for State. Sadly they lost but the bro made the first basket and played a great game!

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? currently it’s white cheddar but I like movie theater butter and salt.

Who is the last person you sent a text message to? my husband

Ever go camping? I love camping! Last camping adventure was at this private lake in the middle of the Cali desert. With our three kids and the dog, + friends and their kids/dogs...and I started my period with the shittiest bathroom the day we got their for the long weekend. haven’t been camping since

Do you take vitamins? Flintstone Gummies

Do you go to church every Sunday? Not anymore.

Do you have a tan? I have a sunburn lol I’m trying to keep up with this #Floridalife

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? pizza

Do you drink your soda with a straw? Only if it’s from the drive-thru

What colour socks do you usually wear? black

Do you ever drive above the speed limit? I used to all the time, but after 3-4 speeding tickets I just couldn’t afford to live that life anymore.

What terrifies you? Birds

Look to your left, what do you see? Zoom-Zoom on her iPad, X shaking his butt in his big boy underwear*

What chore do you hate? Cleaning up the kitchen after a big meal, especially if I didn’t cook and it’s someone else’s mess.

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Nothing because I have probably melted into a puddle on the floor. Australian/British/etc Accents are a weakness.

What’s your favourite soda? coca-cola

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus? Pre-corona I’d say hit the drive-thrus...during corona I’d say HIT THE DRIVE-THRUS! lol

Who’s the last person you talked to? My mom. She’s reading the last book I read see below and she was telling me she was at the part of the Sun/Moon and I asked her about the Story Sculptor. It’s a great book, please, check it out!

Favourite cut of beef? I’m not picky about meat. So whatever has been cooked to medium.

Last song you listened to? Together by for KING & COUNTRY

Last book you read? The Starless Sea

Favourite day of the week? Friday? Idk all days blend together for me*

Can you say the alphabet backwards? No, and I have no desire to.

How do you like your coffee? A little bit of sweet cream creamer and two spoons of sugar. Preferably before it gets cold*

Favourite pair of shoes? Flip-flops all day, everyday

The time you normally go to sleep? 9-10pm*

The time you normally get up? 7-8am*

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunrises are mystical but sunsets are magical

How many blankets on your bed? sheets and a comforter with a weighted blanket on standby if I need it.

Describe your kitchen plates: .79 cent bright blue plastic plates from target are my new obsession. but my white with colorful dots around the edge from Pampered Chef are my fav.

Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? The answer is always WINE

Do you play cards? Go fish?

What colour is your car? BLUE

Can you change a tire? lol yeah no definitely not

Favourite job you’ve ever had? Military Hospital where I met and worked with my Soulmate BFF. The job itself was stressful and demanding, but the people were awesome.

How did you get your biggest scar? Butterfly-shaped burn on the top of my right foot from the day I as born from an IV medicine spilling and burning my foot.

What did you do today that made someone else happy? The littlies are potty training and sleeping in their beds so when they do that they get a special treat and they’re the sweetest and doing so well with all the changes lately. they make me happy as much as I make them happy when I hand them a treat*

*Kids, y’all, KIDS.

tagging: @dylanobrienisbatman @pawprinterfanfic @kindclaws @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold @marauders-groupie @kinetic-elaboration @teeandsnowflakes and anyone else who sees this! I feel like this has been done by everyone already and I’m just late to the party!

#tag #tag you’re it #tag games #about me #about thelittlefanpire #50 questions tag game

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pawprinterfanfic · 4 years

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50 questions you’ve never been asked

I know @thelittlefanpire and @teeandsnowflakes both tagged me in this, but I feel like someone else did and I? don’t? remember? who???? the last few weeks have been a blur and im not a fan.

What is the colour of your hairbrush? brown.

Name a food you never eat? if you know, you know

Are you typically too warm or too cold? too cold!! always cold!!

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? eating a lemon.

What is your favourite candy bar? Coffee Crisp. apparently this is a Canada thing ? thanks for breaking this news to me @agentsofoakenshiield

Have you ever been to a professional sports event? Yes!

What is the last thing you said out loud? “Your lips are swollen.” LMAO

What is your favourite ice cream? anything honestly?!

What was the last thing you had to drink? lemon water aka the best drink on this planet.

Do you like your wallet? not really lol

What was the last thing you ate? chips? i think? maybe a cookie. I can’t remember which came first.

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Nope!

The last sporting event you watched? I don’t remember tbh.

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? movie theatre!

Who is the last person you sent a text message to? my sister

Ever go camping? YES! I wish I went more tbh.

Do you take vitamins? Not regularly.

Do you go to church every Sunday? No.

Do you have a tan? Nope!

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? Pizza.

Do you drink your soda with a straw? Nope.

What colour socks do you usually wear? Anything I can find lol. I honestly don’t care what goes on my feet, especially in winter when they’re under my boots. and then the other half of the year, I don’t wear socks because it’s too warm and I’m in sandals. Socks are a thing I just..... don’t care about lol.

Do you ever drive above the speed limit? No.

What terrifies you? Missing a deadline. Accidentally upsetting someone.

Look to your left, what do you see? Coffee cup. Which makes me want to have another cup haha.

What chore do you hate? Honestly, not too sure. I don’t really hate anything? I just... don’t particularly like a lot haha.

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Warmth.

What’s your favourite soda? Ginger ale. its so so so good.

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus? I used to love going in to eat. I really like sitting with people and talking/catching up/hanging out while also eating. Sitting down allows the focus to be about us. Going through a drive-thru, to me, usually shifts the focus towards the food and then we don’t get to catch up as much!

Who’s the last person you talked to? My sister.

Favourite cut of beef? I don’t eat much meat so I don’t really know.

Last song you listened to? ??? I don’t really listen to much music OOPS. another controversial opinion haha.

Last book you read? Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. if you know, you know.

Favourite day of the week? Friday or Saturday.

Can you say the alphabet backwards? No. People can do that?!

How do you like your coffee? A lot of sugar, a lot of cream, and slightly warm.

Favourite pair of shoes? Anything I can kick on and off. *chef kiss*

The time you normally go to sleep? I’d say it’s been averaging to 11pm over the last week. Usually its like 4am so this is an improvement haha.

The time you normally get up? 9am? maybe?

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? I’m not sure. I like sunsets because they’re pretty, but I also need to be wrapped in a blanket to watch them because I get cold otherwise haha.

How many blankets on your bed? Currently 4? I’m always cold.

Describe your kitchen plates: a large variety.

Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? No. I lean towards anything sweet though.

Do you play cards? In the summer with my family while camping!

What colour is your car? black and white

Can you change a tire? no :/ This is something I want to learn though.

Favourite job you’ve ever had? I’ve honestly loved all my jobs! I’ve been very lucky.

How did you get your biggest scar? Surgery.

What did you do today that made someone else happy? I found something that had been missing for a while and returned it to the person who was missing it, so that was nice.

tagging: I’m for sure late to the tagging party so idk who to tag here! Consider yourself tagged if you see this and want to do it!

#tag game #about me

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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714

Do you have anyone you fully trust? Yeah, mostly my friends. I wouldn’t befriend them if I knew from the get-go they couldn’t keep a secret or be reliable. What kind of pants did you wear today? I usually wear shorts to keep myself comfortable during the warm April days. How old is your television? Our TVs in the living and dining rooms have been around since we moved in so that’s 12 years. My parents’ TV is around 8-9 years old, I’m not very sure. I don’t have my own TV in my room – I used to, but it got moved to my brother’s room when we realized he’d use it more since he has a PS3/PS4. That one is around 6 years old. Do you have a laptop or desktop? Laptop. When did you last talk on the phone with someone? Not so sure. I think it was a couple of nights ago.

Are you currently sleepy? A little bit, which is why I have a cup of coffee beside me right now. ;) Have you ever deleted Facebook friends for a significant other? No, that’s so childish and obviously possessive eugh. I don’t like some of Gab’s friends but at the end of the day they’re still her friends, so I never feel the need to tell her to delete them. Have you ever had bad trust issues with someone? Yep. That’s why to make things easier for me I just stop talking to them entirely. What accent do you think is the most attractive? There’s a certain kind of British accent that I find very pleasurable to listen to... think the cast of Love Actually and how everyone there talked, haha. Do you own any television series box sets? I have an unofficial box set to the 1980s show Perfect Strangers that my dad bought for me. Other than that, no – I do have copies of some of my favorite shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, but they’re all kept in a hard drive.

Have you ever been in a fight with your best friend? I’ve been in numerous fights with Gab. My last fight with Angela was back in the 5th grade probs. Do you have high standards? Eh, for certain things but not everything. I have high standards for group projects and papers – my groupmates don’t just get away with writing in whatever style they wish or designing our Powerpoint however way they want if they’re grouped with me; I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to that. Which for me is an ok trait to have since more often than not I WILL see a grammar error or a haphazardly-made slide in a Powerpoint.

When it comes to food and vacations I also tend to be a bit uppity since both my parents have worked in the hotel industry for almost 30 years, so over time I’ve learned to identify which accommodations are good and which aren’t. When did you last receive a hug and who was it from? I haven’t received a hug in more than a month. I’m rottinggggggg. Do you take any advanced classes? No. I don’t think we can do that here, or if we even have that concept. What is your lucky number? I don’t have one. Do you own a book bag? If so, what color is it? No I don’t, I only have large backpacks since I tend to carry a lot of stuff for school. Was the last movie you watched a horror film? I didn’t watch it in full, but yeah The Shining is very much a horror flick. Do you own a lot of tee shirts? Yeah, both for outside and for home wear. They’re just comfortable and convenient to have lol. Do you plan your outfits ahead of time? Not always. I plan my outfits mostly if I’m going to be seeing my girlfriend the next day since I always want to look nice for her, and to look cute if we’re gonna go to the mall hahaha. Have you ever spent the night in jail? I have not. I’ve read Chris Jericho’s account of having to stay the night in a cell for a DUI and it sounds like a nightmare, though. Would you say you're a bad influence on others? No. If I do act like a bad influence it’ll always be jokingly - like telling my friends to cut class so we can have lunch together - but in the end I’ll tell them to go to their class, or at least to make their own decision. Describe your favorite jacket? It’s a UP-themed varsity jacket, and it’s maroon and has the name of the school in big letters at the back. Are you a colorful person or quite bland? I always try to be colorful, of course. I would hate to have to describe myself as bland. List one word to describe your significant other? Right now, annoying. In general, she’s understanding. Do you handle pain well? It’s one of the few things that I don’t. I can’t handle pricks to the skin, gashes, paper cuts, etc. Have you ever been so nervous you threw up? No, I find myself feeling barf-y only if I have a bad headache or, more predictably, if I’ve had too much to drink. Where is your favorite place to go when you're depressed? I like going to Skywalk because I can always count on the fact that at least one orgmate will be there at any time of the day, and my orgmates are my family and make me forget about my problems instantly. If Skywalk doesn’t help, I go to my car and cry as much as I need to.

If I’m not at the university I like going to our couch in the living room, because my bedroom only makes me more depressed and I have had particularly bad episodes when I had willingly stayed there in the past. Do you remember the first survey you took? I’ve always recorded my surveys on Tumblr so the first one is on my first survey blog, the one I got locked out of last 2016 haha. How many friends do you have on Facebook? I don’t feel like checking exactly how many but it’s in the 660s or 670s. Have you ever watched fight videos for amusement? No thanks, any video involving any kind of conflict stresses me out. In high school, were you in trouble a lot? Nah. My friend group were mild troublemakers but we all performed well in school, had good grades, and respected teachers at the end of the day so they didn’t really have a reason to penalize us. Do you enjoy your hairstyle? I like it a lot better than my boring straight hair, but with the lockdown making all salons close for the meantime, I have no idea what to do with my bangs that are growing too long now D:

Do you have long hair or short hair? It’s a lot shorter than before. How much make up do you wear on a daily basis? Zero. I only wear makeup for parties or formal events. What is your favorite television show? Breaking Bad and Friends. Do you have a leather jacket? No. I don’t really need that here either... I can’t imagine how hot I’d feel wearing that. Do you think anyone dislikes you for no reason? Sure. Don’t most people have one person they feel this way towards lmaoooo Do you have any children? Nope. Have you ever been interviewed on television before? Nah but we’ve had media crews visit our school before to look for interviewees for segments in news programs. I’ve always just said no and watched my friends from behind the camera. Do you have weak upper body strength? A little but it’s improved a whole lot from my fitness class last sem. What is the worst insult someone can call you? A failure. Do you write on your hands a lot? Only back in high school. I have no idea what made me stop as soon as I started college but thank fuck I did because it was such a poor habit to have. Are you good at sketching? I’m no good at any kind of drawing or creating images. Do you think hugs are awkward? If it’s not with the right person or if I hugged someone who wasn’t a hugger then yeah, they can be awkward. Do you think facial hair is gross? No unless it’s neglected and has like gunk or food bits in it. But I don’t mind hair in general. Would you ever dye your hair an unnatural color? Sure. What color was the last cup you drank from? My coffee mug :) It has a black decor on the outside that turns bright blue when the liquid inside is hot, so that I know to be careful with it. Ever play Angry Birds? I did play it back in 2010 but I was already pretty old then (at least for those kinds of games) so I didn’t really enjoy it. We had it on the family iPad for a while though because my brother, who was 6-7 at the time, liked the game. Did you think it was annoying, like I did? The sounds were a bit annoying, sure. Have you ever been to the zoo before? No, but close. My old school has its own eco-park that we used to visit every now and then. What instruments do you know how to play? Just the recorder, which really shouldn’t count lol. How late did you stay up last night? Till 4 AM, I think. How late do you plan on staying up tonight? I have no idea. Definitely not now, though.

#survey #surveys

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schoe1995 · 4 years

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My Travel Accessories

When it comes to traveling; I don’t play any games to be comfortable. So I decided to share my must have accessories when I’m traveling:

CASES

I’m one of the few people in the world that really doesn’t drop my phone. However, accidents can happen and when you don’t have equipment protection...you are playing a huge gamble. To protect from physical damage, I got the full package: screen protector, case, and equipment protection. My iPhone 11 Pro 256gb is well over $1000...soooo yeah. However if you don’t have equipment protection here are some cases you can get.

I technically have five cases but one wasn’t categorized here for a reason. But let me give you a breakdown:

Upper left corner is my Lifeproof Frē. Turns the phone into complete waterproof, dust proof, snow proof, dirt proof, etc. it’s super handy when I take underwater photos, go on water rides, or accidentally forget to take it out of my pocket. The case is sealed air tight, so if you need to take it off, use like a quarter and pop from the side

Gear 4 case upper right: this is my everyday case. I usually have it for like at home, errands, getting on the plane, etc. The case is super easy to take off.

Bottom left is my LuMee case: everybody needs good lighting and LuMee’s case does that on point. The duo case has lighting on the front and back and you can control how bright the light is.

Bottom right is my Shift cam case: perfect for high quality photos and trying out different lenses. I have this case when I go to concerts.

Headphones

When traveling sometimes you really don’t need all that extra background noise. And since I’m a huge music addict, I’d rather hear my playlist...not some child screaming or an adult who doesn’t know how to shut up. Enter headphones.

I got a few selections so I’ll break it down once again.

Powerbeats 3: super lightweight and compatible. They have I believe a 12 hour battery off one charge. There are probably my go-to just because of size, I really can’t lose them, and again how easy it is to travel with them.

The blue Samsung Level: lol so I got these after I saw them in one of Kpop’s group EXO’s music video Call Me Baby. Btw it’s a bop🤣 they are Bluetooth/ wireless and lasted me a couple of days. Then again I wasn’t really using them a whole lot. But they are really high quality, voice activation, slide up, down, left, right to control volume, skip songs, or repeat, and best part...NOISE CANCELLATION! When I took the train to Chicago and flipped the switch, my world was changed.

AirPods: I was one of those people who really didn’t feel like this was one purchase I needed. But you know that phrase, “don’t knock it till you try it?” Yeah...that was me with AirPods. If you are an iPhone user I recommend getting them. They are lightweight, alternate compatible (meaning you can use left, right, or both), and Siri is actually more useful. All I say is “Hey Siri” and boom. She takes care of it.

Regular cord: these are my everyday headphones. And the most expendable. I try not to lose any items...but things happen. If I lose them, these can be easily replaced. But I carry these around so my other expensive ones are my backup.

Portable Battery Packs

If you are like me, I’m always on my phone. Either checking on my social media, playing games, watching videos, blasting music, calling, texting, etc. your phone can get drained a lot. I was at a concert once in St. Louis when my phone almost went dead. Good thing my Dad and I had spot to meet afterwards. From that point on I decided to always carry around a portable charger. And let’s be real, nobody wants to be in a situation where you need help but your phone is dead.

I have like 5 portable chargers. But these are my go to travel ones I take with me. You can say extra, but hey; better to be prepared than sorry.

Starting from the left: I found this neat solar powered portable battery pack on amazon. The directions say if you want it fully charged; plug it into an outlet. This was super helpful when I was in Disneyland because of the sun. I just attached it using the clip to my bag.

Middle: this is your standard portable battery park. I got this when I saw Instagram model/ actor Matthew Noszka post about this charger. It’s super slick and fashionable. But with a charge of 10,000mH it’s super fast and helpful. Oh! Always look for portable batteries that are 10,000 and higher. The higher the charge, faster and longer lasting it will be. If your going to be out of your hotel all day with no time to sit and plug in your phone, get you a portable pack.

On the right: This is Apple’s smart battery case. This is probably my favorite one out of all three. When you put your iPhone in the case it starts charging. Once the case fully uses all the battery, your phone battery kicks in. What’s neat is that if you have the case on and need to charge your phone, the case also charges. I had to charge up the case twice while I was at Disneyland. But worth the investment.

Bags & Backpacks

When I was younger; talking about like elementary school to middle school my mom always told me carry around a bag. Whenever she went to Six Flags she always had a bag full of snacks, drinks, and if I got soaked on a water ride extra clothes. Now that I’m older and doing a lot of solo traveling I’ve been carrying around a backpack a lot. Especially if I’m going to concerts.

I always have two bags with me now.

See through bag: when I travel, it’s 95% of the time for concerts and amusement parks. I do occasionally do sight seeing stuff as well. However security can be a hassle if they have to check your stuff. So I have a see through pvc type bag that security can easily see all the items I’m bringing into the park or venue. Plus it’s a lot easier for both parties.

Boujee Bag: I always think it’s important to have what I call my Boujee Bag, aka Travel Bag. This is where I have like my iPad, MacBook, chargers, important documents like passport, tickets, etc. I love my Coach Backpack. It has so many different compartment that it makes traveling with tons of times a lot easier.

Water Bottle: Traveling without having a good water bottle is a receipe for disaster. I spent so much money on overpriced water at like sight seeing attractions and grab and go places🤦‍♂️ so to help cut down costs, I have this nice Lokai water bottle. It keeps cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot drinks hot for 12. But you can always find cheaper water bottles at Walmart.

Wallets!

Like cases I have a variety of wallets that I travel with. I hardly carry around cash so this is where like my ID, cards, everything is in.

On top is my everyday Fossil Wallet that I take everywhere. Including traveling as well. I love how it’s RFID protected. While I was working at Fossil, I learned from my assistant manager that criminals are adapting on how they steal credit card information. They can walk past you and use their phone to scan card information. If a wallet that has RFID protection, it blocks the scan. With safety in mind, that is a wallet I recommend. Don’t worry ladies, Fossil also has a beautiful line of collections as well.

Bottom: That is my Coach Men’s Long Zip Wallet. I got it on sale the day o purchased my backpack. I switch into this wallet when I go out to restaurants, bars, and clubs. It has a wristlet so I can hold onto and keep check. I can hold multiple cards in as well, and my phone in there. Sometimes it’s best to keep track when everything is in one place.

That pretty much is all my travel accessories. Remember not everyone is the same, so customize on what your travel neccessities are. I always recommend before any trip, plan on bringing what you need vs the wants. Once you figure that out, it makes life so much easier.

#solo traveller #solo travel #solo trip #travel #travel blog #travel accessories #accessories #cases #iphone

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laurelnoellewilliamsart · 4 years

Text

Christ and His Creatures (Mural)

To see final artwork please scroll to the photosets at the end of this post. If reading this from Twitter, please visit laurelnoellewilliamsart.tumblr.com for the full post with concept art, process photos, etc., if you are interested. Please also note that this post is from fall of 2018 and is being re-posted after the closure of another website.

Hello, All!

It’s been quite a while since my last post but I’m finally back. For the past six weeks I’ve been working on a mural for the Corona Seventh-Day Adventist Church and I can now share it with you.

The mural was commissioned for a Sabbath (church) school room for toddlers. I was asked to cover four approximately 30’ x 10’ walls and the theme was Noah’s Ark. I was also asked to include Jesus in the painting and to go heavy on the plant life so that there would be a lot of green and blue present. Within these parameters, I decided to go for a storybook kind of realism; almost realistic but with an extra dose of vivid color and childlike fantasy. I also wanted to include a lot of specific and rare species of animals so that it would be educational as well. You will find a few of the typical lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) but mixed in with a lynx, lemur, llamas, etc. Wow, those all start with “L”…and I thought I was mixing it up! Oh well, anyway….

As the walls were already covered with another mural it took some time to get them repainted white. Another painting company did this part for me so in the meantime I worked out some concept sketches for approval. I did these sketches in ProCreate on my iPad Pro and they ended up being pretty close to the final work. To do them, I took pictures of the actual walls that I’d be covering, “whited out” the current painting on the walls, did line “ink” drawings of what I’d be painting and then filled it in with some color just to get an idea of what it would look like. In the images you can see the actual doors, windows and cabinets, so don’t be alarmed if something looks off.

After getting the concept approved, I moved on to collecting the materials I’d need for painting. There were many things involved but obviously the main ones were paint and brushes. For paint I went with Behr Ultra interior paint in the eggshell finish so that the end result would be close to matte but just shiny enough to be cleaned and wiped off if necessary. I’m told it’s also good for painting over or adding to later. I chose gallon-size amounts in colors close to what I would use for a normal canvas painting: titanium white, mars black, cadmium light yellow hue, permanent rose, ultramarine blue, Prussian blue, burnt siena, yellow ochre and alizarin red. I also picked some sky blue and grass green since it would be used so often. Behr had different names for the paints but when comparing the colors to my tubes, they were pretty close. For some of the tight details I did actually use my regular tubes of Liquitex heavy and/or soft body paint as well.

As for brushes, I used a hand roller for some of the wide open areas but I also used regular house painting brushes and “smaller” acrylic painting brushes. These brushes were to add details and texture but were large for a canvas painting, so nearly the size of a 1” or 2” house-brush. I also used a sponge for the clouds and bushes. (The plastic tubs in the photoset were for mixing large amounts of the same colors for the clouds, etc. On the color sample cards, I went with the deepest shade of each card.)

After getting the materials together, I set to work tracing my original concept drawings to the walls by using a portable Epson projector. I removed the colored layer from the drawings as well so that I could see the lines more clearly. I traced in colored pencil, using brown, grey, magenta, blue and a dark yellow to help me mark out what colors I’d be using where and also to help the lines disappear easier with paint over the top (I thought Sharpie would be too dark and show through the paint).

Then I went ahead and taped off the ceiling, carpet, doors, windows and anything else on the walls and got right into painting. As you’ll see in the photoset, my process is to work around the entire room at once, from the things furthest in the background to the things closest in the foreground, aside from the animals which I saved for last. I mixed colors and added texture as I went as well. The nice thing about the walls being painted a bright white underneath is that it helped to keep everything brighter so that I didn’t have to work as hard to soften colors. Normally I wouldn’t use straight mars black either but I quickly realized it was a good thing I’d gotten some because it really helped to speed up the process.

As you look at the photoset, you will notice that some of the images look a bit darker or lighter at the top. If they are darker it’s because I painted the sky in a gradient. If they are lighter, it may just be the overhead lights causing a glare. My apologies for that. I was unable to get studio lights into the room and I had to keep the window shades down because they only cast more odd slanted shadows on the mural. You might also catch some glimpses of the furniture in the room which was stacked in the center, so once again, my apologies if it’s blocking the view.

So without further ado, here is the final mural photographed in four segments and with several close-up shots of some of my favorite animals and details. Also, a big thank you to the Corona SDA Church for sending this project my way and to you All for taking the time to check out my work!

#art #artist #fineart #mural #biblestory #noahsark #jesus #wildlife #painting

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ecto-american · 5 years

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I'm actually curious about 32 and what kinds of adaptive technology you use, if any!

have fun with my LONG ASS REPLY

So for me specifically, I just havepiss poor vision. But I mentioned that I'm at a high risk for an eyedisease, so I'll touch on that too based on my grandpa's experienceand my dad's experience. My grandpa has been living with it for awhile, and my dad a little under a year ago got confirmation thathe's starting to show the symptoms.

There's surprisingly not That muchtechnology for vision aid? Because of the eye disease in my family,we've looked into a lot of options. Lot of it's just text to voiceand voice to text technology, or just simple magnifiers. We tried alot of the softwares and devices, and many just aren't really thatgreat. Especially if they don't pronounce words like you've alwaysheard them (such as names or places) or the terminology (like medicalterms) isn't recognizable by the software.

Most of them are also only reallyhelpful for using other technology like the phone or computer, butthey kind of fail in real world applications. A good example is beingunable to see what a piece of paper in front of you says. It could bejust a flyer or it could be an important notice. There are now appsand technologies that can do it to an extent, but factors like thefont or color choice of the words, graphic designs, etc, can causesome confusing outcomes. This is where magnifiers would come in, butthe problem with a lot of them is that they're assuming that theperson in question has enough vision that if you just magnify thewords enough, they can read it. This is just not always the case.

But that being said, I primarily justwant text to be Bigger. But specifically, on my phone and iPad, Imostly just am reducing transparency and the contrast of the colorson the screen, but I also use the zoom function a LOT, especially forreading tiny text in mobile games or on pictures. I use my phone'smagnifying accessibility tool in real life to read small text(normally restaurant menus), because it's really just easier to dothat than carry around a separate handheld magnifier. I'll probablyneed one of those in the future, since it's more powerful, but myphone works for now.

The eye disease that runs in my familyis called retinitis pigmentosa. Basically, it means that the rods(what helps you see at night and your peripheral vision) and cones(color and fine detail) in the eye kind of flake off. Normally it'sthe rods that go, and then eventually the cones get affected. At thistime, there is no cure, and there's no real surgery that fixesanything (though there's some nifty things going on in science atm).Once you get the diagnosis, it's basically just doing what you can toslow the progression. There is a medication that can kind of help youin very late stages, which my grandfather currently takes, but it'snot the best. The preventative measures my dad's currently doing tomake it slow down is wearing sunglasses a lot and taking a lot ofvitamin A. Yup. That's basically all you can do. It's very scary,quite honestly, because I remember my grandpa going from getting hisdiagnosis to being too blind to work anymore and having to retire inthe span of like only five years. Though at the time (mid-90s) theydidn't know that much about it.

My grandpa has a lot of low visionamplifying tools like magnifying glasses. His vision right now is atthe point where he has that tunnel vision, and so he has noperipheral vision, as well as no night vision and his ability to seedetails and colors is starting to go. If you're around him, henormally wants you to kind of let him know where you are, because hecan't really see you right next to him. He relies a lot on touch forhis kitchen appliances (he still cooks homemade meals every day formy grandma and him). He has this massive overlaying magnifier for hiscomputer and his TV, but he primarily listens to audio books andsports on the radio. He uses his phone a lot as his magnifier now,but he still has a lot of physical magnifying glasses and sheets thathe'd put over everything. My grandpa absolutely can't see anything atnight, but my mom found him some night driving glasses that kindahelp him. He normally doesn't go outside much, but he likes to go andcheck on his chickens before he goes to bed.

My dad wears sunglasses a lot, and hehas special tinted reading glasses. He takes vitamin A every day. Heuses his phone as a magnifier sometimes, but not that much. Comparedto my grandpa, my dad did have lasik surgery about 20ish years ago,so his overall vision isn't that bad compared to his dad. So he's notreally at that stage where his vision is shit, but specifically hisnight vision is starting to kind of be effected. So he minimizes howmuch he drives at night.

I have no formal diagnosis, but giventhe family history, it's very likely. I somewhat prepare for it nowby becoming comfortable with accessibility technology. I've begunlooking into hobbies that I can potentially do blind and findaudio-based things that I can enjoy. I take vitamin A and try to dowhat I can to adjust colors/brightness. I have that blue tint thingon my glasses that helps with staring at screens all day, and I haveflux and such installed. One of my ironic goals for 2020 is to learnbraille, so that I can continue reading and possibly even writing ifmy vision starts to die.

#asks #ask nick #nick is blind #lexosaurus

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eerythingisshaka · 5 years

Text

Play Though?

(Dad!M’Baku x Reader)

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: This kind of came to me from the movie Claudine with Diahann Carroll? The characters are gonna have the same sort of attitudes as the main one in that movie. A relationship that isn’t a storybook one, swept off of your feet one, but still good. Who wants that perfect love story anyway?

So, Reader is a single parent and one day in the park meets someone that steals her concentration. The rest is below...

You rub your temples as you hear the clatter of metal and plastic banging around in your brain. Throbbing pain emanates from your skull as you get up and head to the kitchen, walking over the land mines of hot wheel cars, Legos, and army men figures scattered about your living room carpet.

“Mama! I have a big race to do! Wanna see?” The gleaming, round faced, mahogany toned golden child that is your son asks.

You put on a weak but sincere smile as you pour some water to and shake a couple aspirin in your hand. “I do want to see, Xavier. Just give mama a minute to get a drink first.”

“Ok. Mama, can I have some juice?” Xavier gets up, trotting into the kitchen to the fridge.

You stop mid sip, reaching out to keep him from opening the fridge. “What did I say about getting something before I tell you to?”

Xavier’s large brown eyes widen even more as he knows what to say. “You say to wait.”

Nodding, you continue. “Wait for mama to say yes or no. Now get off the door and ask me again.” You cap the aspirin and put it in the cabinet.

Xavier fidgets with his hands, spinning in a circle as he spoke. “Can I have some juice mamaaaa.”

You cross your arms, smiling devilishly. “After you clean up all those toys in there.”

Xavier makes a stink face, coming over to hug your legs. “I want to play still.”

“I thought you wanted juice?” You ask, examining the life expectancy or the braids he’s been wearing.

“Uh huh, but-”

“Then you need to clean up your toys.” Pointing him towards the living room, you dig for your phone to double check your shopping list. “You should anyway, we’re going to the store to get some stuff for dinner. You’ve had nuggets three times this week, and probably more including daycare.”

Xavier noisily throws his toys in the bin one at a time. “Uh uh! Ms. Adams gave us fries one day, and-and pizza!”

You roll your eyes as you scroll your phone. “That’s not a balanced diet, X. They don’t teach you about eating fruits and vegetables yet?”

Xavier clangs his cars hard into their bin, annoying you to the nth degree. “Xavier, you got one more time to throw that in there ‘fore I light you up. Clean up right!”

Xavier hangs his head, braids curtain his face as he slumps to pick up each toy and put them in the tub, painstakingly slow. You rest your head on your fist, jiggling your foot as you watch him get on your nerves in the most minute ways. Xavier peers over at you periodically whenever he goes to pick up a toy to see what you’re doing but you remain unphased, waiting patiently as he wastes your time and his own. What a five year old has to have an attitude about is beyond your thoughts to grasp.

“Xavier Maurice, you have two minutes to pick up the rest of these toys from off this floor, otherwise you are not getting any juice, or iPad time for the day. It’s your choice.”

Xavier moos at your ultimatum, picking up his pace only slightly, but scooping his toys by the handful. You would correct him on his tone, but he caught you on a good day. One thing your son has taught you is how to pick your battles.

The sun was shining and the air felt warm for a change, so you and Xavier walked down to the nearby farmer’s market you’ve been meaning to try out. The place is packed with whites in cargo shorts and Columbia fleece jackets as you calmly peruse the array of tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, apples, fresh herbs, homemade pastas, and all other artisanal, organic ingredients you could get your hands on. Xavier was not having it, doing his best to remain calm but he is five.

“Mama, where are the PopTarts? And-and cereals?” He whines, reaching for an onion on the bottom row of a stack. You swiftly stop him, preventing what would have been an avalanche on him and a hefty guilt bill for you.

“Hey! Same rules at home, apply out here. Don’t touch anything.” You smell a pear just for the hell of it. The possibilities were endless for you to make some sensible and fulfilling meals for the two of you, but you also had to think realistically about Xavier’s picky eater status and your limited time to cook during the week. They may not have had PopTarts, but you found some homemade ice cream that seemed decent enough to try.

After you put together a good looking basket full of items and pay, you head back to your house to get things started. Xavier helps you carry a bunch of bananas in a bag when a nearby park catches his eye.

“Mama! Can I go play there?” Xavier asks, bouncing on his toes.

You look to the playground area. It wasn’t very crowded and he could probably run off some energy to earn a nap later.

You fake like you’re thinking hard, making Xavier beg even more, sticking out his pink bottom lip. You couldn’t torture your baby any longer.

“Fine, go ahead. But stay on the playground, don’t go off with anybody. And if I call you cuz I can’t see you, you better come to me, ok?”

Xavier nods happily, shoving the fruit at you before booking it across the grass and through a gap in the hedges lining the park’s perimeter to get to the bright colored construction.

You take this time to sit back on a park bench, feeling the coolness of the wood against your legs and back, mixed with the warmth of the sun beaming down.

This actually wasn’t a bad idea in the grand scheme of things. You got time to enjoy nature, sit down as your child is occupied, giving the screen time a break for the both of you. And you can people watch, which is your favorite pastime. There are two white women chatting in deep conversation as you see a blonde hair girl lick a rock before tossing it to the ground, and brunette one hanging from the monkey bars falling hard on her back, head bouncing off of the concrete. She starts to scream bloody murder, but when she gets up, you assume it is from embarrassment more than pain. Her mother’s neck whips around to find her before scooping her up and cooing at her questions, asking if she is alright, etc.

Looking past them, you see a little Black girl swinging on the swing set, hair in braided pigtails held by bobbles, smiling widely as her little legs kicked to build up her momentum. Behind her is a man. And by man, you mean a MAN. Dark wash jeans that accentuated his thick legs; clean chocolate sneakers on his feet; and dark brown Henley shirt that took on the privileged task of masking the full extent of his broad shoulders and impressive chest; dark brown leather jacket.

You suddenly feel very aware of your T-shirt with a questionable stain that you hid with an old university jacket and your old worn out jeans that Xavier scribbled on once and you tossed on in a hurry. This guy looked like the last person you would expect to be pushing a little girl in a swing at a park. More like pushing you up against a wall and-

“Mama! Come push me!”

The sound of your child calling out to you snapped you from your sudden romance novel fantasy and you picked up your bag and headed over to the swing set. You tried to avoid looking at the man pushing the giggly little girl in front of him as you took your spot behind your son.

“I’m gonna go higher! You’ll see!” Xavier taunts the little girl as he grips the chains awaiting your assistance. She sticks her tongue out while gliding toward the sky.

“X, be nice! This isn’t a competition.” You say as motherly as you can, without an inkling of a sour tone.

“Oh it isn’t?” When he spoke, you almost missed your next turn to push Xavier. The deepness of his tone shook you more than you cared to admit, along with an accent you couldn’t place? You were done for.. Looking over at him, you get a full and up close shot of his appearance. His smile is youthful and inviting despite his large appearance, with the gap in his teeth you would’ve laughed but not to be rude. It just brought out your playfulness and made your brain melt as you tried to multitask.

Laughing stupidly, you say, “Well, I mean, swinging isn’t a sport or game. You just swing and enjoy it.”

He shrugs, pushing the little girl as she cackled at her speed of motion.

“Harder mama! I wanna go higher!” Xavier demands.

“You heard him Mama, harder!” He says with a slick smile, as he also pushes his child with more force. You shook the implication of innuendo from your mind as you pushed Xavier farther.

“Listen, I’m getting tired of both of y’all telling me what to do. Men, I swear.” You murmur under your breath, looking at he sideways.

“Oh like women are so easy to please? This little girl has had me up since 7 am with her tea parties and Doc McStuffin reruns and baby shark. All I can say is ‘yes ma’am, of course sweetheart’.”

“As it should be.” You chide him. Xavier’s laughter is at its peak excitement as he passes the little girl on one swing.

“I told you, I got you!” Xavier says.

“X!”

“Baba!” The little girl bellows out all of a sudden, dragging her heels across the gravel to bring herself to a stop. So that is his child, you thought.

“Yes, ọmọbinrin?” He asks, kneeling down to her level beside her. She put her small hands to either side of his face looking very serious.

“I want to be alone now. You embarrassed me in front of my friend.” She gets up and goes over to Xavier who stops his swing to. She takes his hand and escorts him to the sandbox.

You couldn’t help but laugh, covering your mouth as you snort. He looks up at you, slowly getting up.

“You find that funny?” He asks, eyebrow raised.

You try your best to look serious but you can’t help it. “Um, ahem. I mean, hey you are right. Nothing but ‘yes ma’am’ with that little girl. You are wrapped around her fingers and toes, Mr….”

He kisses his teeth, looking over at them. “M’Baku Rotimi. And maybe so. But I’d rather have it that way. She doesn’t cower from people who test her, like her daddy.” M’Baku puffs his chest out slightly for mass effect.

You ignore the twitch you feel at when he says ‘daddy’, trying to stay cool as you look away. “How old is she?”

“Jolasun four, going on 40, very mature and bossy like a certain Miss....” M’Baku mutters anticipating your response as you give him your name.

He looks you up and down slightly. “And your boy, X?”

“Xavier. Five, and every bit of it. It’s funny, he seems to follow your little girl’s word more than my own.”

“It’s a blessing and a curse. You might want to warn him about that, Pretty girls grabbing ahold of his attention too quick. Happens to the best of us.” M'Baku says scratching the back of his neck, looking at you like he has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. You laugh in a way that was supposed to be condescending but comes out more like a seagull caught in barb wire.

“Oh am I supposed to pick up on something with that statement?” You ask in a challenging tone.

M’Baku puts his hands in his pockets, taking a small step towards you. “No, no, I’m not a poet, nor do I beat around the bush. You are very beautiful and witty, with a son who looks well taken care of.”

You take a step back, flustered but cool on the surface. “Yeah, of course, because I know how to do that.”

“Alone?” M’Baku asks inquisitively, cocking his head to the side. You exhale sharply, flabbergasted as you take this as your cue to leave.

“I should probably get going. I have to make dinner and stuff so…” You turn to pick up your bag and soon as you do, the ice cream falls out, along with other items. It’s condensation from its container worked a hole in the bottom of the paper sack, rendering it useless.

“Fuck!” You curse, picking up the too soft ice cream.

“Here, I can help you with that.” M'Baku picks up the bag carefully, using the other side of the bag that is hole-less, balancing so the contents don’t fall out the top. You have what spilled outside of it already.

“God, you don’t have to do that!” You say, attempting to take the bag out of his embrace.

He lifts it higher, turning from you. “Eh! I feel at least a bit responsible talking your ear off, please. Allow me.”

His eyes are sincere enough, you thought. It’s not like you watched Dateline the night before and saw something about people using children as bait for kidnapping women. You shake the notion out of your head, figuring you’re being a little paranoid.

“I don’t live far, unless you drove.”

“We don’t live far either, so it’s fine; she felt like walking today. Jolasun!”

“Xavier! Come on, we gotta go!”

“Can Jola come with us, mama!?” Xavier asks out loud as they dust sand off of themselves.

“Yeah, she and her Dad are coming, hurry up!” You bellow, thanking M'Baku again cautiously as you all walked to your place.

The weather almost felt like summer by the time you got back, kicking off your shoes as you and M'Baku plop the goods on the counter as you wiped your brow and caught your breath. Xavier and Jolasun run for the bin of toys.

“Xavier, I don’t want a mess. You can watch TV, no toys right now.”

Xavier is barely phased by the change in plans as he gets the remote, expertly selecting his choice of programs.

M'Baku puts the ice cream in the fridge as you start organizing the food in their proper places. “Thanks again. God that woulda been a mess without you.”

M'Baku unpacks the bananas. “It’s all good. You seemed a little off balance, so I figured this might tip you over if I didn’t help.”

You scoff as you shut your fridge door. “Off balance? What does that mean?”

M'Baku takes a breath before ripping an imitation of your seagull squawk with embellished eyelash batting and a hair flip.

“What? What is all of that? I don’t sound like that either.” You say, offended but entertained.

M'Baku leans on the counter peering at you suavely. “Maybe not exactly like that, sure. Can I make it up to you with showing how to use some of these ingredients you bought?”

You put a hand on your hip, pointing a loaf of bread at him. “Now you have stepped over the line. I can cook burn my own kitchen down, thanks.”

M'Baku chuckles. Looking in the living room at the kids who have gone quiet except for the TV. “I am trying to impress you, but you’re taking it as an offense. The saying is, what is it…’thou doth protest too much’?.”

You roll your eyes walking around him to see what the children were up to. Looking over the couch, you can tell they were slumped in a way that for sure meant they were asleep. Before you could confirm, you feel a sharp pain in your foot.

“AGH-” you exclaim, before clamping your mouth with you hand and bouncing back. You feel M'Baku’s hand on your side, the other holding our arm to keep you steady. His touch is hot on you, his body must run naturally warm, you noted; hands rough but gentle and careful when holding you. His close proximity to you helped you to realize how good he smelled; earthy and natural with a clean laundry finish.

“Are you hurt? What was that?” M'Baku asked, but you hushed him as he spoke, pointing and mouthing that the kids were asleep. He gets wide eyed and mouths an “oh”, letting you go to pick up the spare army man that Xavier neglected to pick up this morning.

You sat on a chair at the kitchen table, rubbing the bottom of your foot as you watch him bend over, some skin exposing on his lower back exposing how even toned his melanin is and you are thankful.

“I would offer to help you clean but you may not like that either.” M'Baku says, dropping the toy in its proper place.

You roll your eyes so deep you see your brain. “Sir, I will never say no to free maid service if you are offering, but my son couldn't care less how many legos stab the soles of my feet.”

As he walked over to join you at the table, M'Baku lays a hand daintily on your knee. “I am at your service. If that means I am seeing you for a second date, I would be honored.”

“Second?” Your voice rises as you question him, watching him smile. You are really beginning to love that smile. “Let me ask you this: what makes you assume I am available to date? That I don’t have a husband on the way home any minute?”

M’Baku looks around the kitchen. “I see no pictures, you have no ring, and if you did, I would curse him for being so lazy as to not help you with your shopping list.”

You stare at him a moment before scoffing. “You really want to cook for me huh?”

M’Baku throws his hands up. “That would be a great start! I have many vegetarian dishes you would fall in l-”

“Oh, whoa, wait. You? Babe the Blue Ox, is a vegetarian?”

M’Baku twists his lip up at the nickname. “I’m not familiar with the moniker, but I am!”

“Is that what life is like from wherever you are?”

“Kansas? Yes, of course.” M’Baku rests his chin on his fist, looking at you innocently before breaking with a smile.

Your body relaxes as you tap the table with your fingertips thinking over your options. A man you met on the playground, gorgeous and foreign man, wants to see you again and make you dinner. Without any weird vibes, bad lines, or perverse insinuations?

“Mama?”

You snap to look in the living room, seeing a little hand stretch up from the couch. “Can I have juice now?” You spring up, thankful for the distraction to go check on your son. Jolasun is rubbing her eyes as well.

“Sure thing baby, you’ve earned it. Mama will have some too, she’s kind of thirsty all of a sudden. Jolasun, you want some?” You ask, grabbing some grape juice to pour.

“I think we’ll just head out actually. It’s been good, you’ve got dinner to cook.” M'Baku answers, getting up to go over and pick Jolasun up in his arms.

You didn’t even feel like cooking, especially now when there were two broad, strong spare hands ready to light your taste buds on fire. “If you truly have somewhere to be, yeah, no problem.”

“Can Jolasun come over again?” Xavier asks looking up at M'Baku with his cup in his hand. Jolasun’s head springs off her dad’s shoulder to glare at him, making M'Baku laugh. “If Jolasun is good with it, I think we can arrange something.” Jolasun smiles, giving Xavier a thumbs as he smiles with purple juice stained lips.

“So, we can all just….meet up again sometime in the future. Make plans between us, and that should be fun!” You say informally, trying to keep things casual, no mentions of a date to roll of your tongue.

M'Baku’s eyes light up as he hugs his daughter winking at you. “Good, it’s a date. Take my number down and we can talk.”

You sink into the floor, submitting your number into his device as he asked. So much for avoiding the ‘D’ word. You all say your goodbyes then, closing the door and feeling like you can breathe for the first time all day as you plop on the couch. But you still feel an extreme amount of energy. Now you have a date to plan, but how long has it been since you’ve been on one? What would you wear? Should you buy more food for him to work with? And shit! He is a vegetarian! Xavier don’t care about not a ne’er vegetable!

“Mama, that was fun! I can’t wait to see them soon!” Xavier exclaims jumping in your lap with all of his weight.

You wince at his knees in your thighs, picking him up and lightly slamming him down on the pillows in retaliation. “Ohh! I can’t either, X.”

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