#last update was 7 months ago oof

[2dmenenthusiast]

Last Night on Earth Pt.4

(Ethan Winters x Gn!Reader)

shoot me in the face, I hate and love this chapter. some parts I really like, but others you can definitely tell I rushed through, but at this point imma say good enough and post it anyway. Lemme know what you think!

warnings/other infor: Vommiting, descriptions of gross shit like um Ethan sticking his hand in a dudes neck

Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5 Pt. 6 Pt. 7 Pt. 8 Pt. 9

You didn’t think your body could survive more training without falling apart. Your limbs ached and your muscles were sore, eyes struggling to stay open as you laid in your bunk.

“Hey.”

Someone slapped your boot clad foot, effectively snapping you out of your near slumber. You grumbled and rolled onto your side.

“Not now, Harding.”

He laughed, fingers pushing into your back. “Come on, thought you wanted to shower after today?”

He was right. You were absolutely disgusting. Dried mud cracked against your skin, and you could practically feel dust settling under your eyelids. God, you were so fucking tired, though. You’d probably end up collapsing and falling asleep the second you stood under the water.

You stuck out your hands, making a grabbing motion. “Carry me.”

Someone chuckled from the other side of the room, and Lee came into your sight.

“You want a foot rub with that, too?”

Your eyebrows raised, pretending to think about it, and she slapped your shin. With a groan, you finally jumped down from your bunk, landing with a quiet “oof.” Harding was then quick to wrap his arm around your neck and get you in a headlock, which wasn’t hard considering he had almost an entire foot on you height wise.

“Ah— Hey!”

You struggled to push against his side, but it was like trying to fight a brick wall. He only laughed at your weak attempt, practically dragging you out of the room and towards the showers.

“You make it too easy, kid.”

“Ugh— Just you wait, I’ll kick your ass in hand to hand later.”

“Oh, I’ll put money on that,” Lee chimed in, her smiling face coming into view.

The hand not gripping Harding’s arm for dear life snatched out towards her face, and she jumped away with a squeal. Yes, every day of basic training, getting verbally abused by your superiors and kicked while you were down, it was hard. You were just grateful to have these two chuckleheads in your life to get you through it.

That reminded you, you had to write back home sometime soon. You knew they were all worried, least of all Lucas, but they were proud as well. When you first came to them and told them you wanted to enlist, your mother had her reservations, and Zoe was scared. But, your father held the fondness in his eyes only a dad could have for their child, and told you that if that’s what you wanted to do, then he’d support you. You knew he’d understand, considering the fact that he was in the service when he was younger.

They sent you off months ago with tears in their eyes, your mother clutching a tissue in her hand and hugging you so tight you could barely breathe. She didn’t want to let go. And if you were honest, you didn’t want to either. You’d never been away from home, not even to spend the night at a friend’s house. This terrifying unknown gripped at all of you, unaware of what your future held.

You pulled away from your mother, gently wiping at her tears, and told her everything would be okay, and that you loved her. It only made her crying worse.

You missed them. Fuck, you missed them every day. They constantly gave you updates on how Zoe was doing in school, what projects Lucas had been up to, and newer renovations your dad was working on around the house. You kept a photo they sent in their latest letter on your person at all times, a constant reminder of the unconditional love they held for you.

You couldn’t wait to see them again.

***

If you were sure about anything, it’s that you’d need to see a fucking chiropractor after all this shit was said and done. You think the last time you ached this much was back during basic training. You could practically hear your drill sergeant barking orders at you and screaming in your face. Hell, you’d spend the rest of your life climbing over walls and crawling under barbed wire while someone shot over your head rather than face another day of this miserable life you currently faced.

The only thing remotely giving you any hope was the thought of seeing your sister, safe and sound in the trailer where she said she’d be.

“Shit!”

Your foot caught in a large tree root and you stumbled into Ethan’s side, almost falling on your face if it wasn’t for his hold on you. Your body twisted uncomfortably and hot pain shot through you, fingers gripping the man’s shirt as he adjusted you.

“Come on, we can make it. Just a little further,” he said.

He tried tugging you along, but you resisted. Pulling yourself away, you kept your hand on his arm and shook your head. “I can’t. You— you have to go on ahead. I’m dead weight.”

Ethan’s eyes were wide as he digested your words, frantically moving his head back and forth and gripping your shoulders.

“Hey, hey! Don’t talk like that! We can still do this, I—”

“Christ, Ethan. I’m not asking you to leave me for dead,” you huffed with a smile.

You took a moment to look at him, and the urge to rub out the crease between his brows that held all his concern for you made your fingers twitch. You’re not positive if he really cares about you, or if he just needs you to get to his wife. But you didn’t particularly feel like making that distinction just yet.

“I can make my way back to the trailer on my own. It’s not far. You can go get the arm and meet me back.”

“And what happened to the second rule, huh? We do this together.”

He seemed desperate, like letting you walk away was signing your death warrant.

“And three: if we’re separated, we meet back at the trailer.”

Ethan huffed out a laugh, “Are you really trying to loophole your way out of this?”

Lips turning up in a smirk, you pushed your hand against his chest, getting some distance between you. “My rules, remember? I think I can bend ‘em a bit if I need to.”

You finally turned your back to him and began making the familiar journey back to the main house. His footsteps followed a bit after, and you thought for a moment he was going to escort you. Like he was that damn paranoid that you were going to die without his watchful gaze on you all hours of the night.

“You better still be kicking by the time I get back!”

“Yeah, right in your face, dick!”

His laughter echoed around the trees, and his footsteps went off in the other direction. The silence that filled the night air quickly surrounded you, nothing but crickets and wood creaking as the branches swayed in the wind. You must admit, you felt a bit unsettled without Ethan at your side. Without his constant questions and his god awful dad jokes, you felt alone.

You brought a hand up and lightly slapped your cheek.

Let’s just hope the asshole makes it.

Something in your head was yelling at you to turn back and go for him. That separating was as bad of an idea as Ethan said it would be. But you knew you had to keep going. You’d only slow him down, and that’d get both of you killed.

You wonder how long it’d take for your father to come after you. What monster he’d regenerate into before trying to tear you all limb from limb. And Lucas. Whatever sick games he was devising for all of you, you weren’t sure you wanted to know.

That was one thing that unsettled you. The fact that Lucas was already messed up before the mold got in his head. A neighbor boy went missing some years back, one that your brother had over a few times. You couldn’t prove it, but you knew he had something to do with it. He had been showing all the signs. You found buried animal corpses in the backyard one day, your stuffed animals and toys cut open and disfigured. You were just grateful he never went after you or Zoe. No, that would make your parents too suspicious.

Hand reaching up, you felt in your jean pocket and felt the coolness of your mothers wedding ring against your fingers. Maybe she was somewhere, looking down at you. You never took much stock in those beliefs, especially since this whole thing started. But it was never bad to hope. To think that maybe she was your guiding hand in all this fucking mess.

The light from the trailer shone through the trees, causing you to pick up your pace with your gun out and ready, and your heart raced as you got closer. You prayed to anything and everything that Zoe wasn’t hurt. 

She’s there! Just behind the door—!

You rushed up the steps and burst through, calling out your sister’s name with a large grin on your face. It slowly dropped though when you realized the trailer was empty. No sight of her anywhere.

“... Zoe?” You turned every corner, looked in the closet… Nothing. “Zoe?!”

The phone rang, and you swore you were going to give her a fucking earful as you picked it up and pressed it to your ear.

“You worried me sick, ya know?! Where the hell are—”

“I’m so sorry, but Zoe can’t come to the phone right now! I thought she uh, needed a lil’ time out. She and Mia are keepin’ each other company,” Lucas laughed.

Eyes widening, your heart raced and your hand slammed down on the countertop. “Lucas, I swear to god, don’t you fucking touch her! I know you really want Ethan and I. Just let them go!”

“Nuh-uh! I got big plans for all of ya’ll. You want that head so bad, right? Feel free to come get it! But only if you participate in a little uh, activity I’ve put together for you both.”

Your eyes squeezed shut, angry tears brimming around them as your fingers curled into a fist. If it was possible, you’d reach through the phone and choke the fucking life out of him.

“Fuck you, Lucas! I’m not playing your sick games anymore!”

“Awww, now don’t be like that. Now, what I need you to do is take a peek inside the fridge there. Come on, you wanna have some fun, don’t ya?”

Chest shuddering with a deep breath, you adjusted your fingers around the phone, feeling like you were about to break it in your grasp. “You better hide, Lucas. Because I’m not gonna stop ‘til I find you and fucking bleed you dry!”

He started to speak again, probably to throw another childish insult your way, but you slammed the phone down onto the cradle before you could hear anymore. The phone was picked up and thrown across the trailer, the cord ripping out of the wall as it clanged loudly to the floor.

You wanted to scream. Yank your hair out. You wanted to wrap your hands around the little bastard's throat and squeeze until his eyes popped out of his sockets and he was choking on his own blood.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

FUCK!

Your fist slammed into the closet door, no doubt reopening what had previously healed, and you collapsed onto the bed with your head in your hands. You were acutely aware of the fact that there was still some disturbing gift in the fridge left by your brother, but you didn’t want to look. What if it was some part of Zoe? You couldn’t take knowing if he hurt her.

God, you were just so tired. All of this running around, looking for the serum. You were still skeptical about it even working. And if it didn’t, shit, you don’t know if you’d be able to handle it. You always tried to remain strong. For you, for your sister. No matter what or who came at you, you didn’t let it slow you down. You pushed and pushed and pushed until it fucking hurt. Until you almost broke. But this. The one hope you have of getting out of here turning out to be a complete and total sham.

That would break you. It would break Zoe. And all hope and reason would be gone.

Your hand sweeped over the covers, gently grasping them before you laid down and curled up on your side. You pressed your face into the pillow, the tears you desperately tried to hold back slipping down your face.

Was this it? You’d just lay down and wallow here in your pain and misery?

But it hurts so much.

It always fucking hurts. No matter which way you wrap it, what direction you take, whatever you do differently. It never stops hurting.

You could feel your body sinking into the bed, pain pulsing through your muscles. 

Get up. Get up. Get up!

I can’t

You don’t want to.

No. I don’t

Your throat burned and your chest ached as you choked on a sob, slamming your fist into your chest and gasping. You just wanted it to stop. You didn’t know if it ever would.

I should’ve been faster, Zoe. I’m sorry.

The door to the trailer creaked open, followed by a male voice calling out your name. You were half tempted to tell him to leave, too embarrassed to have him witness you in such a weak state. You knew he’d try to comfort you, try to give you words of encouragement and tell you to keep going. You didn’t want to hear any of it right now.

He called your name again, his footsteps getting closer. They stopped right next to you, your back facing him, and it was like you could feel the air around you shift with his sudden concern.

“Hey… Hey, what’s going on?”

His voice was soft. Gentle. Having him near you again… it was comforting at the very least.

Shaking your head, you sniffled, nose full of snot and your face crusty with dried tears. “She’s gone… He took her,” you muttered.

The bed sank with Ethan’s weight, his leg touching yours. “Lucas. Listen, we’re gonna get her back. Her and Mia.”

You raised your hand, pointing towards the fridge. “He left us something.”

Following your finger, Ethan hesitantly stood from the bed and walked over. You held your breath when you heard the fridge door open, and he softly gasped. You swallowed down the lump in your throat.

“Is it her?”

The gap of silence between your question and his answer was too long for your liking. Like he was keeping you guessing and in suspense. But you breathed out a sigh of relief when his voice finally reached your ears.

“It’s the deputy.”

With a wince, you rolled onto your other side and looked down the trailer at Ethan staring into the fridge with a look of horror on his face. He slowly let it shut and met your eyes before making his way back to you. He cautiously looked you over, assessing the damage done to you by your mother and whatever other monsters you ran into during the night.

Your bandages were soaked through and dirty, your face covered in muck and debris and your blood seeping through your clothes. You looked like hell. And Ethan was sure he didn’t look any better. But you… You were so strong. So diligent and thought out in everything you said and did. Ethan wasn’t sure if he met anyone nearly as stubborn and headstrong as you. No one would probably come close.

He located the first aid kit from when he last used it and sat beside you, draping one of your arms over his lap. He was slow and methodical as he unwrapped the ruined bandages. You realized he was just as gentle as when he first did them. Back when he didn’t even know you. Ethan was the type of man to give you the shirt off his back if you asked him to. He was someone honorable. Devoted. That you knew now. And you admired it. And here he was, taking care of you when he didn’t need to. Wrapping your arms when it was probably pointless. They’d just get ruined again. You’d just get hurt worse than before.

Why did any of it matter?

“How’s your back?” he asked, his voice soft.

You shrugged. “Hurts.”

“Well, I’d say that’s a bit of an understatement,” he chuckled, finishing wrapping your other arm.

You looked at the clean bandages and slightly flexed your fingers, making sure you still had feeling in them. Ethan got up at some point, you could hear the water from the sink running, and he came back with a wet rag in hand. Sitting back down next to you, he reached out towards your face and paused just short of your forehead, silently letting you know that he was going to touch you. You didn’t flinch. Not this time. But still, he took care in making sure you were okay.

When the cool rag touched your skin, you sighed and closed your eyes, and you could practically hear Ethan smile. He was happy to see you take a moment. To not be so on guard all the time.

“You know, I don’t think getting me all nice and prettied up is gonna increase our odds of getting out of here.”

Ethan chuckled, the rag swiping over your jaw. “I don’t know. Might stop those weird monster lookin’ things in their tracks for a moment.”

You scoffed. “You flatter me, Winters.”

Once he was done wiping your face, he went to pull away, but you grabbed his wrist and sat up on the bed. Silently, you grabbed the rag from him and started cleaning up his own face, sharp features dulled by the dirt covering them.

“Oh I see. Now we’re doubling our chances,” he said, a grin on his face.

Your fist lightly jabbed at his chest and you dropped the rag onto his lap with a small chuckle. “I don’t really think you’re their type.”

He shimmied his shoulders, straightening himself up. “I think I clean up okay.”

“Yeah, okay Fabio.”

He stood from the bed and helped you up, making sure you had your balance. Your muscles and bones ached and screamed in pain, urging you to stop. But you knew now that you couldn’t. You had to keep going, no matter what.

“We have to go back into the house. Get a key or something.”

Shaking your head, you looked through your closet and picked out a clean shirt. You signaled for Ethan to turn around, and he did without question. “So we’re participating in his fucked up games then.”

“Hey, I don’t like it either, but what other choice do we have?”

You sighed, clapping him on his shoulder once you were properly dressed. “Great. Just know I’m gutting him when we find him.”

“I’ve got no objections.”

Checking your gear, you and Ethan made sure you were fully stocked up before leaving the trailer and walking back up to the main house. As soon as you opened the back door, a flood of emotions filled you that you couldn’t quite place. Grief. Longing. Nostalgia. It was overwhelming to say the least. You had so many good memories growing up here. You were loved and cared for. You tried not to let your current situation tarnish those memories… But needless to say, it was difficult.

“Where are we going?” you asked.

“Basement. Gotta find the cop’s body.”

You had a full body shiver at the thought of going down there, making a disgusted noise. Ethan turned to you with a raised eyebrow.

“You scared?”

“I’m sorry, have you seen it down there? It’s something out of some sick prick’s nightmare.”

“Pretty sure this whole place is some nightmare.”

You sighed, checking behind the door decorated with a scorpion. “Yeah. No need to tell me twice.”

You let Ethan take the lead into the basement, knowing full well how capable he was by now at protecting himself and you. If anything proved it, it’s how well he handled himself with your mother. Not to mention the fact that he’s survived long enough without your help at first.

It was darker and more decrepit than you last remembered it. Slime and mold covered the walls, entrails of something decorating the floor. Your nose turned up at the stench of rotten flesh, plastic bags stained red scattered around each room you searched. You never knew what went on down here. You never cared to. But the innocent screams you heard late at night told their own story. One’s that would stick in your mind until you met your own end.

Something rumbled not too far off, and you both paused, weapons at the ready. After a moment of brief silence, Ethan shrugged.

“I feel like I’m hearing things at this point—” 

The wall in front of him exploded and out came one of those mutated monsters, scrambling towards him on all fours 

“Shit!”

He pumped the creature full of bullets until the cylinder was empty, and it collapsed to the floor with a final breath. He turned to you, chest heaving.

“What the hell was that thing?!”

“Another one of Evie’s friends. We don’t see that kind a lot, but keep an eye out for more just in case.”

Ethan nodded, reloading his revolver and continuing forward. Glancing down at the dead creature, you frowned. How could a little girl be capable of this? So much destruction. So much hate. She wanted a family. That’s what she always said. That Mia was her mommy. What happened to her to make her like this? Who did this to her?!

The thought made you angry. Some fucking government corporation experimenting on little girls and profiting off of it. What kind of sick fuck would do something like that? You knew about bioweapons during your service. Many of your peers thought it was bullshit. Made up. But seeing this… It all confirmed it as reality. Your reality.

By the time you made it to the Dissection Room, you felt like you wanted to vomit all over Ethan’s back. The sights and smells were almost more than you could handle, a constant stone in your throat as you swallowed back the bile threatening to rise up. You weren’t usually this squeamish, having seen a lot of disturbing and unsettling things in your life. But comparatively, this was so much worse.

You and Ethan gazed at the headless, rotting corpse of the deputy, his limbs stiff and his body cold as rigor mortis set in. His veins were black and that same gooey substance covered him, suggesting that the infection had spread through his body.

Poor bastard.

You glanced at the wooden board placed next to his head and skimmed over the crude handwriting, barking out a shocked laugh. Once Ethan read it, he shook his head with a groan.

Prove you’re a real man— stick your hand down the pig's throat!

“Oh, absolutely not.”

You immediately stepped away, arms crossing over your chest. He looked at you with wide, expecting eyes.

“You’re really expecting me to do this? He’s your brother!”

“Ah ah— adoptive. I think that’s the key word in this situation here. And I’m pretty sure he’s speaking to you here, Hoss.”

With a sigh, Ethan rolled up his sleeve and flexed his hand, slowly and reluctantly pushing his fingers into the deputy’s neck. Your hand slammed over your mouth as you watched him get up to his elbow in this guy, his flesh squishing and squelching as Ethan searched around for the key. He let out a grunt once he found it and slowly pulled his hand out, and the trigger on your gag reflex finally released as you bent over and emptied your stomach.

Now, normally you’d hold onto a smidgen of shame and would’ve swallowed it back. But now? You were okay with being an upchucking coward for just a few moments.

Ethan mumbled out a curse and hurried to your side, but you put your hand out and signaled to him that you were fine.

“God, that’s fucking disgusting,” you gasped out, wiping the back of your hand over your mouth.

Ethan didn’t say anything, simply staring in horror down at his hand, covered in blood and other mysterious substances he didn’t want to think about.

“Think I’d rather get my hand cut off again,” he muttered, wiping his arm on his shirt.

He shoved the snake key in his back pocket, which you had no objections to because fuck being in charge of carrying that nasty thing. The speaker in the room came to life with a sharp ring, and Lucas’s voice followed after.

“That pretty little thing will help you find the two keycards you’re gonna need to join the party we’re havin’ over here! Y'all gotta earn your way!”

“Oh go fuck yourself,” you sighed, hands gripping your knees. From the lack of response, you're guessing Lucas didn’t hear you.

“Come on, the sooner it’s over with the better.”

You took to Ethan’s side without further complaint, and you both proceeded to scramble all over the house for doors with the large snake charm on it. It wasn’t very difficult, one leading to Lucas’s childhood bedroom and the other leading to the master bedroom. They sent you under and over, scouring around for those two stupid fucking keycards while dealing with more stupid monsters in this stupid house! By the time you finally found both of them, you stomped up to the glowing locked door with murderous rage on your agenda. The target? Your brother. And anything else that stood in your way.

Once the door clicked open, the only thing lighting your way was the flashing lights and the fluorescent glitter covering the floor. You climbed the stairs, and the words “LET’S PLAY” were painted in glitter across the floor and ceiling.

“Fucking dickhead,” you muttered. And maybe it was stupid of you considering the fact that you were ignoring Ethan’s concerned calls of your name, but you barged into the next room without thought. Your only concern was finding Lucas and killing him.

Luckily, nothing threatening was in the vicinity, besides a chair with an old CRTV sitting in front of it.

“Wow. Spooky. Careful, it might bite you,” Ethan said from behind you, lightly nudging your shoulder as he scooted past you and sat in the chair.

“Shut up, dork,” you mumbled. Before you could get another word out, the tv turned on by itself and the image of your brother fiddling with the camera popped up on the screen.

After a moment, he finally sat back and chuckled to himself, a satisfied look on his face. You immediately wanted to slap it off.

“Ethan. E-than! Hold on, hold on. I got somethin’ for ya.” He pulled something out of frame, and you quickly recognized it as the D-series head Zoe said she had. “You know what this is for? You know what Zoe wants to do with this?!”

He laughed maniacally, like he had it all figured out. And maybe he did. Maybe this whole ordeal ended with him winning and the rest of you dead. But you wouldn’t give up until he was dead and burned.

“Hooo-Wee! She thinks this thing is special! Nuh-uh. This— this right here is special.” He held up his hand, and in his other was a pair of pliers. You both watched in horror as he grabbed one of his fingernails and tore it off, leaving nothing but a bloody and raw nail bed behind. “You see, not everybody wants to turn back the clock!” Another nail, and you winced.

He suddenly turned to look at something off the screen, throwing the pliers down. “What?! What, Eveline? I’m just trying to show them! I'm trying to show them that not everybody wants to go back to how things were!” You doubted Eveline was really in the room with him. She could do that, make people see hallucinations of her without really being there. You’ve seen your fair share.

“Zoe’s a stupid bitch! She doesn’t understand that I don’t wanna go back to how things were before my father found y'all. That fuckin’ orphan neither! So,” he turned back towards the camera, getting way too close for your liking, “You can, um, crawl around that filthy, rotten house all you want lookin’ for them ingredients. But you ain’t gonna find a goddamn thing!”

You stepped away from the TV, looking for something long and preferably made out of metal.

“You wanna make that serum? Ooh, baby. You’re gonna have to come through me. You hear—”

A long steel pipe swung into the screen, causing Ethan to jump out of his seat with a loud curse as glass shattered onto the floor and sparks flew. You huffed out a breath, dropping the pipe and letting it clatter to the floor.

“Yeah. I hear you, asshole.”

You moved forward without a word to Ethan, too busy stewing in your own frustration, and he followed without question.

He was a fucking psychopath. Even while you were growing up, something was always off with him. You tried getting along as best as you could in front of your parents, but behind closed doors, you fought like anger was the only emotion you were capable of sharing with one another. He always teased and pushed you around. When you first started living with them, it wasn’t bad. It only got worse as you grew older.

Some days you could keep the peace, Lucas only being a mild annoyance to you at the best of times. But he would constantly poke and poke and poke until you fucking snapped. And he got no greater joy out of anything else than watching you get upset.

You’re not sure if he ever considered you his sibling. If he just thought you were some orphan that his parents took in out of the goodness of their hearts. He never got along much with Zoe either, but he didn’t pick on her nearly as much as he did with you.

3 out of 4 though? You were okay with that.

Your hand shot out and pressed against Ethan’s chest when you entered the next room, silently pointing towards the rectangular bomb with a glowing red light attached to the wall, along with the tripwire extending out from it. Raising your gun, you shot at it and watched it explode.

“He’s probably got this whole place trapped. Keep an eye out and shoot whatever bombs you see.”

“As if this guy couldn’t get any more sadistic,” Ethan said, heeding your warning as he made his way further into the room.

“This probably isn’t the worst of it.”

Ethan raised a hand and unenthusiastically shook it around in the air. “Hooray, can’t wait.”

Being so tedious and careful with every move you made was making you impatient. That was always your Captain’s main complaint about you. Impatient and stubborn. It’d probably be engraved on your headstone if you didn’t make it out of this alive.

Probably shouldn’t say that out loud.

You adjusted your grip on your gun, trying to ground yourself somehow so you didn’t go flying off the handle and rushing through the place. You’d have to say bye-bye to your limbs if you did that, and you didn’t feel like parting with them just yet.

How the hell am I gonna kick Lucas’s ass if I’m legless?

Shooting the last bomb, you rushed towards the metal door ahead of you and tested the handle to see if it would open.

It didn’t.

Of course.

Could someone forget to lock the door? Just once.

Ethan busied himself with the electronic keypad next to it, closely examining the worn numbers and cracked screen. The sound of metal rattling caught your attention, and your eyes snapped to your brother’s face pressed against the door.

“I know— fuckin’ passwords, right? Why don’t you try 0814.” Ethan furrowed his brows, fingers hovering over the keypad. “No-no-no-no! 0612. No, wait! It’s 0514. Come on, take a chance! You never know.”

You pulled the hammer down on your gun and shoved it between the holes in the door, the barrel lined up with Lucas’s head. “How about I fuckin’ blow your brains out instead?”

His eyes slightly widened and his lips slowly turned up in a grin. “Now, you know that won’t do much. I’ll just come back.”

You huffed, chest visibly rising with a deep breath. “No… But it’ll feel damn good.”

He had the nerve to laugh. Of course he did. He felt nothing, the sadistic prick.

“Yeah? Let’s see what happens to Mia and Zoe then when I get back up. Come on. Do it.”

A hand was on your arm, Ethan quietly muttering your name. “It’s not worth it.”

With a sigh, you slowly lowered your gun, reluctant to listen to Ethan. But you knew he was right, and you didn’t want to risk anything happening to Zoe or Mia if Lucas made good on his word.

But then he laughed again. “Awww. Like a trained dog— Shit!”

The bullet went clean through his leg, and he hurriedly limped away into the darkness.

“Feel better?”

You shrugged. “A little.”

A secret door opened next to you, and with nowhere else to go, you cautiously went forward.

“So,” Ethan began, “the whole Special Forces thing. You got any stories to pass the time?”

You let out a chuckle. “Sure, but none of them are nearly as crazy as what’s going on right now.”

“Well I’d be kind of worried if they were. Come on, even if it’s something small.”

Letting out a sigh, you and Ethan entered what looked to be a… barn? Since when the hell was there a barn on your property?

“Well. Ummm— Oh! There was the one time we had to apprehend the supplier of illegal weapons to a local terrorist group. They tried holing up in a building for a few days until we smoked ‘em out. Was kind of a shitshow.”

Ethan picked up a large battery, bringing it over to the panel on the wall.

“Oh—” you cut yourself off with a laugh, hand waving around, “And there was this other time Harding—”

The panel exploded into flames, causing you and Ethan to stumble back. Blue and white lights flickered and spun around the room, and your brother’s annoying voice came over the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the barn fight! Keep it clean, y’all— we have rules!”

A metal shutter on the far side of the barn raised open, and the first thing you saw was yellow acidic liquid spewing through the air, the groans of something large and grotesque following it. The monster that came charging out was nothing short of those two things, it’s body fat and lumpy. Its small arms dangled at its sides, and its legs were so skinny you were surprised it could even hold its body up.

“Holy fuck!”

“Nothin’ fucking holy about it, Winters!”

You just barely dodged the creature's spray of vomit, the smell burning your nose hairs and leaving smoke where it hit the ground.

“What do we do?!” Ethan yelled, making his way up to the second level.

“Uh, maybe shoot the thing?!”

You pumped round after round into the monster’s body, it’s fatty tissue practically absorbing every shot. Its large fist came swinging at you, and you rolled under it’s arm. Thank god it wasn’t as fast as everything else you’ve run into.

“You got anything stronger?! I don’t think normal bullets are gonna work on this thing!”

“Uh, I have a grenade launcher!”

You practically stopped in your tracks.

A grenade launcher?!

“Where the hell have you been hiding that?!”

Ethan was frantically stuffing a round into the chamber, all the while running from the creature's attacks who had taken a sudden interest in him instead of you. “Does it matter?!”

“Yes! It absolutely matters!”

He lined it up and shot, the grenade exploding on impact and flames engulfing the monster’s body. It groaned loudly, but it wouldn’t go down because nothing ever dies that fucking easily around here. You shot at its back, trying to distract it while Ethan reloaded, but it was no use. That thing really took a liking to him.

Maybe cleaning up his face did work.

“Ethan! Get out of there!”

Reaching into the pack attached to your leg, your fingers grasped a heavy grenade and hurriedly pulled the pin. You threw it up next to the creature as Ethan got far enough, and it shook the floor when it blew up in the thing’s face. Letting out a groan, it fell onto its back and rolled around until its body exploded, pieces of disgusting flesh going flying.

“Fat man down, fat man down!” Lucas chimed in. “Meh— he was never my favorite anyways.”

Your heart beat like a drum against your chest, frantically trying to calm down your breathing as you raised your middle finger high in the air and slowly spun in a circle, hoping Lucas would see it.

Racing down the stairs, Ethan hurried to your side and checked over you.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Oh, you’re hurt everywhere. But you knew that’s not what he meant.

“The fucker didn’t get me, don’t worry. How about you?”

He said he was okay, just some mild burns from where the vomit splashed him, but otherwise he was fine. You both stumbled over to the elevator, pressing the large red button on the wall and letting it take you up. Hopefully you didn’t run into those things again.

…You definitely would, knowing your luck.

You cleared your throat, catching Ethan’s attention. “So… Was it like, up your ass this entire time?”

“How in god’s name would I fit an entire grenade launcher up my ass?”

Looking down, you gave his behind a quick, appreciative glance. “I mean, not like you ain’t got nothing goin’ on back there.”

Ethan sputtered and practically choked on his own spit before barking out a laugh, a light red coloring his cheeks.

“Well, add that to my list of assets to distract these things.”

The elevator door opened, and Ethan walked ahead of you. Your brows raised, and you muttered to yourself quiet enough so he couldn’t hear.

“They’re not the only ones.”

#Ethan winters x reader #ethan winters imagine #ethan winters #resident evil #resident evil 7 #resident evil biohazard #re7 #resident evil fanfiction #resident evil imagine

[alukaforyou]

omg u kno my hanbok tailor guy in kr i commissioned to make me hanbok 7 months ago, he originally quoted me 2-3 months and the last time i heard from him was feb when he said it was almost done, so i msgd him for updates yesterday, hes trustworthy so ik he wasnt trying anything, and i didnt want to rush him either, just legit wanted updates cuz im curious af and dying to kno wats going on, and he msgd me back SO apologetic apparently he was/is? sick and was visiting hospitals so he wasnt able to ship it out yet but it is done (!) and i felt SO BAD for troubling him w this when hes feeling unwell like SORRY MY GUY 😭😭😭😭 i told him theres no rush but oof i hope hes ok ;-;

#i feelll so bad i legit dont want him to think / feel like im rushing it 😭😭😭 no i was just curious 😭 #also he couldve just told me he's been unwell i wouldve been totally understanding ;-; but i didnt wanna go 2+ months w.o knowing the #progress cuz i DID send him 700smth upfront for this xD #aaand i plan on tipping him 20% american style even tho tipping isnt rly big in kr #anyhow SORRY FOR BUGGING U WJEN UR SICK SIR 😭😭😭😭 he didnt say wat it was but i hope he gets well asap i love his work #.txt

[amateurwind]

Chapter 2

10 years later.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Crash!

Shaking out his hand a bit, Tim huffs from his position in front of the computer. He didn’t even know why he even bothered setting his alarm anymore. It’s not like he even went to bed most nights anyways.

Gazing down at the abused alarm clock in the corner. He shrugs.

7:30.

Huh. He had to be at WE in about an hour. Turning from the gadget back to his screens. Welp let the suffering begin.

Heaving a sigh he stretches before easing out of his chair, and heading to the shower. Only slightly lamenting his lack of sleep. He had spent weeks hunting down Marconi’s drug trafficking ring, and countless hours pinpointing where they were going to make their next drop. Last night he'd finally narrowed it down to a warehouse; about a block west of Gotham docks.

Stepping into the shower, he recounts the events of last night's patrol…. We’ll the absolute failure of last night's patrol.

He suited up. Brought out all the bells and whistles. Even a few prototypes to field test. The deal never happened. And it seemed like everyone had decided to stay in last night. Not so much as a mugging, all night. Put all that effort to suit up and got stood up! Why were criminals so rude?

Yeah… That was the exhaustion talking. Tim, probably needed to sleep. Scoffing softly as he shuts off the water and steps out of the shower. Yeah, sleep wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. He had too much on his plate.

He pats dry the remains of his shower, then starts getting ready for the office.

W.E. was entering its busiest quarter. There was a plethora of meetings and launches happening over the next few weeks. Don’t even get him started on the R&D inspection this afternoon. He also needed to check in with Drake Industries to make sure preparations for the charity event next month, were proceeding as scheduled. Tightening his tie, Tim breathes.

There was also his patrol. He needed to pinpoint what the traffickers would do next since last night had been a bust. He’d probably have to ask Oracle to scrub the surveillance systems. His regular patrol tonight then maybe after he’d get to the case files Batman asked him to update and close. Tim's steps stutter.

Batman.

Oof that was a can of worms.

The bats hadn’t reached out since he brought Batman home. But to be fair neither had he. He felt, with all that had gone down, it was better to stay away. It had been months now. He wasn’t all that surprised. They all had made it clear what they thought of him. Replacement, useless, crazy, unwanted. Those were the words he couldn’t seem to shake. In all honesty, He knew that they weren’t wrong. After all, he had never been chosen for his role.

He’d fought tooth and nail just to be of use to Batman. Did the same with Nightwing, all to show that he had something to bring to the table. That was a waste of time. When Dick had taken away Robin, saying it was because he and Tim were equals, Tim knew the truth. He never had a seat at the table in the first place. So it shouldn’t have been so surprising that he got nothing.

Batman had recovered ages ago and never tried to find him to talk to. Not one call or attempt to reach out to Tim outside of casework. No olive branch or even an invite to dinner.

Signing he gathered up his paperwork. He was used to this. He has gone on a communications silence for longer. He understood, he didn't have anything helpful to add now that he had served his purpose. Tim tried not to let it bother him, but… Blast It All! He had been right.

He found the clues and gathered the evidence. All to bring his family back together. He had thought things would be ok when he returned with Bruce in tow. Maybe not a full membership but at least an apology. Maybe even one of Alfred’s cookies. But he had gotten nothing. No thank you, or a good job.

Dick just acted as if nothing had happened. Dami still seemed to hate his guts. And somewhere along the lines, Jason had joined up with them and he still had it out for his ‘replacement’. Yeah, Tim didn’t know when that had happened, and honestly, he didn't care. It just further proved his status. They force him out but Jason is welcomed back with open arms.

Cold bitterness settled in his heart.

Be the Adult, give it time, they said. Let’s be real… How was an ‘adult’ supposed to react to nearly getting stabbed, and shot at by an infant assassin and resurrected zombie? Anybody and their mother would have don't their best to make sure they never experienced that again. He grits his teeth in frustration.

‘Yeah, but when I try to defend myself, it's ‘Be an adult’.

He wasn't perfect. That was abundantly clear this past year. He could only take so much. He had cracked when Bruce and his friends died, but he had been right! It was all worth it…wasn’t it? Bruce was alive, and Gotham now had its protector back. So why did he feel as if he lost?

He had proven himself. He’d done the impossible. Played the cards he had been dealt and came out on top. They came home and Bruce was accepted back into his circle of family, and friends. Treated like a war hero returning home.

What did Tim get you might ask. What was his reward for bringing B home? For not giving up? He got a revoked family membership, a new ton of trauma, trust issues, and a missing spleen.

‘Congrats. Thank you for playing’ Tim thinks disdainfully.

He’d deluded himself. This wasn't a fairytale. There were no happy end endings, there was just life and that moved on. There was no consolation prize.

He stares at his reflection in the mirror. Sweet Diana. He looks like death-sucking on a lemon. The dark bruising under his eyes practically tells his story for him. A bit of concealer should help. The last thing he needed was somebody noticing and asking questions. Hopefully, that would be enough for today. One of the upsides of being CEO when you passed by everyone avoided you.

Turning toward the door his thoughts continue to drift back to his family. Family…Yeah, even after everything that’s what they were. It didn't matter if they thought the same, he would always sacrifice for his brothers. He had gone to hell and back for his family. That was his cross to bear. His pound of flesh.

It was obvious he was the only one who considered them brothers. Dick was so quick to throw him to the wolves. Hadn’t he meant anything? Dami is hell-bent on him. Hadn’t he done his best to welcome him? An for Jason… He had no clue what he should have done differently. Batman needed a robin, no one else was gonna do it. But that one choice made him the target of the undead’s ire.

They may have tolerated him but God knows that was a stretch. He had overstayed his welcome. He was an employee and he’d been fired. Maybe there was something wrong with him? Nobody ever stuck around. Everybody either left or cast him off. Collateral.

That’s all he’s ever been. That is why his parents found no qualms in selling him all those years ago.

Agony pierces his heart and a crushing weight pounds on his shoulders. He stumbles slightly catching himself on the desk, as his body suddenly sags with the weight of that revelation.

He had never forgotten that night. He’d kept a lookout since then. Then he became Robin. The man or whoever never came for him. When his parents passed away a few years back he had waited anxiously for someone to come for him. Nothing happened. It has been ten years.

He tried bringing it up to Bruce once in the early days but he brushed away Tim’s concerns. He got that. It is not like Tim had any evidence to go will his claims. Tim had searched for a lead himself but he couldn’t find even a whisper of any courts. He tried looking for anything about owls in Gotham solely based on the strange mask he remembered, but that also yielded nothing substantial.

As for his parents, well… They were dead.

They had been for three years now. They had always made their displeasure of Tim’s continued presence known. They never found out he had heard their intentions for him. He made sure to act as naturally as possible so as not to attract suspicion, but the knowledge was enough to kill any familial bond or love he had possessed. He still made sure he kept his charade strong.

He made sure to fulfill their expectations. He became a pawn and nothing more. When he forced Batman to take him the behavior simply evolved. He would keep Bruce in check but also fall in at a moment's notice. He understood the mission came first, no matter the cost. He knew his place. He’d done his best to hide any hope of something more than that. He needed to be useful.

That’s why he had been useful right? He kept Batman from killing himself or anyone else. Gave Dick the chance to learn how to be a big sibling so he was ready when Jason and Damian showed up. Guess he gave Damian a chance to blow off some steam and gave Jason someone to hunt instead of anyone else.

Oh… wow, that's depressing. Is anybody depressed yet?

He couldn’t deal with this at the moment. He had places to be and emotions to ignore. He needed coffee!

Coffee always helped balance his thoughts and kept him anchored. Brushing aside his…. Well, whatever this was; Tim grabbed his laptop bag, and keys before finally heading out the door. He honestly didn’t want to think about the situation with the bats. Like, at all. As for the man in the mask and whatever cult he was a part of…well nobody come in ten years no reason to worry now.

But that didn’t matter. He had a job to do.

Coffee first.

_______________________

Tim stared. He should have known. Looking up from his desk to the figure before him. Yeah, his fault, he should have guessed today would turn to crap as soon as his mind brought all that up this morning. What did TikTok call it? Oh yeah, a “no bones day”.

The day had been fine (after he got his coffee). He went to the meetings, re-evaluated a few details with the launches, and had a wonderful time going back and forth with the engineers in R&D. Sorted out a few issues with the Charity event at DI. All in all, it was productive.

No, what ruined it was the fact that Bruce, bloody, Wayne had decided to stop by the office for a meeting with him.

No forewarning, no phone call, not even a ‘ Hey Tim, is this a bad time’. He had just walked in. Thank Hera, his secretary saw Bruce walk in. He was able to stall his next meeting as Bruce Wayne sauntered through the doors.

Now he was sitting here in front of the man. He didn't know what Bruce wanted to discuss with him, but hell must have frozen since he was here in person. They had barely spoken since Bruce’s return. Not for lack of wanting to, it was just Tim didn't want to impose.

He had fulfilled his purpose; he brought bruce home like the good soldier he was. Now it was time to let him heal with his family. Tim didn't need to be around for that. He knew his relationship with Bruce was only as Robin. But he wasn’t Robin anymore. Dumb and dumber made sure of that. That and he didn't need any accusation of instigating Damian or setting Jason off. No. it was better he just stayed away.

Now here was Bruce in his office. Bruce looked well. A heck of a lot better than when he came home. But again why was he here?

“What are you doing here Bruce”?

Oof. That didn’t come out as he meant it to. Welp this is already off to a horrible start. Is it too late to jump off the clock tower? The first conversation in weeks and he’s already screwing it up.

Bruce, however, didn’t seem to notice his tone. He just continued to stand there. If he didn’t know Bruce so well he would have thought he was uncomfortable. Nervous? Oh, yup it's finally happened Tim has lost his mind.

Shaking himself out of his deliberation he watches Bruce closely. Analyzing every movement and micro-expression. Trying to gain some clue as to why the other was here. Was it the company? Something to do with one of the up-and-coming launches?

“I wanted to stop in and see if you made any progress on those files I gave you”. Came the man's reply.

Huh? This was about cases? He could have just emailed, or called. There were only 4 files, and from what Tim had seen there was nothing time-sensitive. They were cold cases after all. That can’t have been enough to bring him down here. Tim wasn’t born yesterday.

“That doesn't answer my question. Why are you here? If this was about the files you could have just emailed me”. Tim pressed. “I’ve reviewed those files and there is nothing that warrants your being here to check their status”. Honestly, he was too tired for this.

He waited as Bruce seemed to steal himself and tense. Tim braced himself. What had he done now? He tried to wrack his brain for anything that could be counted against him. Did he forget to send the report from last night?

“You haven't been by the manor in a while, and Dick said you weren't answering his messages. This seemed to be the best way to reach you”.

Wait, what?

Tim can only blink at the man. Whatever he had been expecting from this conversation, this wasn’t it. Maybe a lecture, or even a drop-off at best, but dropping by the manor? Not on the list. Ever since he was … what fired? Yeah, let's go with that. He hadn’t wanted to try his luck. What with Damian roaming the halls? But even then why not call…

Hold on! Did he hear that right? His eyes narrow as a few of his mentor's words register.

“Messages? I haven't received a call or a text from Dick or any of you in months. The only thing I've gotten from you is the files. Nothing else”.

He keeps his voice even. He was even more confused when Bruce looked shocked. Ok, what was Tim missing here? Was this a joke? He pulled out his phone and checked his history. Yeah… still nothing he hadn’t missed anything. He looks back to find Bruce watching him.

“Well… just make an effort to come by the manor. Alfred worries”. Bruce stiffly says. Yeah, that's not going to happen. What the heck is going on right now? He blames sleep deprivation.

“I’ll make sure to call him then”. Tim replied cordially. “As for Stopping by the manor…I have prior commitments”.

“Dick said there was a movie night this weekend. How about then”?

An awkward silence settles. Why was Bruce trying so hard? No better yet… why did he care. He stared. He can't help it. It didn’t make any sense. He searches for any sign that this is a joke. His confusion only grows when he can't find anything in Bruce's expression.

Shaking his head, “I don't think that would be a good idea”.

“And why not”?

Tim sighs, “Bruce look, a lot of things went down…changed while you were gone. And one thing that was made obvious is that I am not welcome in your home. I appreciate the invite though”. Tim massages his forehead, waiting for Bruce's response.

The exhaustion of the day is pressing down on his shoulders now. He didn't want to get into this, but there was no way he would put himself in a position to be attacked or gaslighted. Not again.

“That doesn't make any sense”. Bruce looked confused.

Tim blinked. He felt simmering anger. ‘It’s Ok, calm down. Bruce doesn't know what happened, and I’m not gonna say anything either. Calm down.’

“Dick said he's been trying to contact you and left messages. Jason and Barbra say you haven't responded to their calls either”. Bruce insisted, crossing his arms. “ It’s true I don’t know what happened when I was gone, but there are things I have heard. And I am not sure it justifies you ignoring your family”.

Oh, screw this!

Anger burned hot and fast. The only thing echoing in his mind was, ‘How dare he’. He had no clue what the others told Bruce but he hadn’t heard anything from the bats outside the costume in months. They had all made it pretty clear what they expected from him. He was the one that was seen but not heard. Hate the point of adding insult to injury.

He had kept his distance as they wanted. It took him a while but, he got the message. What did they want from him? He had gone out of his way to respect their wish. He wasn’t welcome. Ok! Why act like it was anything different? This was a new low, even for bats.

They were mocking him. They had to be.

Tim’s face hardens. His eyes narrowed in concentrated anger. His jaw sets as he tries to control himself.

“Allow me to repeat myself. I have not heard from anyone in the last several months”. Tim said, speaking slowly, and pausing in between words so he knew they were understood. “If you don’t believe me I can show you my cellphone records as well as my official transcripts from the phone in this office, and you may see for yourself”.

Tim’s voice was cold and sharp. ‘How dare they’, continues to echo in his mind. He realizes it may be a bit petty but he shoves his phone in Bruce’s face. Showing him his call history. A lot of outgoing calls but no incoming ones from anyone besides WE connections. Tim knows Bruce is well aware that Tim kept records of everything.

“I am not going to sit here and argue about what makes sense or not. I don't know what Dick told you, and I don't care”. Ok, so that was harsh but he didn't appreciate being fibbed on and then ambushed. If they wanted to play this game then he would teach them how to play.

“If this concludes our business, then I must be going. As for the files everything will be taken care of. I’ll send them to you once they are complete. Ms. Fox will show you out”. He said standing and brushing past Bruce.

“And next time please call and make an appointment. This may be your company Mr. Wayne, but please consider the time of those of us who run it.

Yes, he is aware he is being completely petty, but the tiny bit of regret is drowned out but vindictive glee when Bruce freezes in front of his desk. Tim could try to figure out what Bruce was thinking based on the man’s face but he could care less. His eyes scan the man before him as he processes. Tim waits half a second before standing and walking around the desk.

Walking out the door Tim signaled Tam to take care of Bruce. Before heading to his next meeting. A small part of him worried he was out of line back there, but it was too late now. Even then he only spoke what he’d believed.

Despite everything it looked like B was doing well, which was good. But he couldn’t deal with everything at the moment. He wasn't ready for that storm cloud. A small bit of him tells him he is ignoring his problems, but he brushes it off. He would deal with it later.

Now hopefully the rest of the day was less eventful.

Where was his coffee?

_______________

Bruce’s Pov

Bruce stood in front of Tim's desk for what seemed like hours before Tam gently usher him out. What had just happened? And what did Tim mean They hadn't called him. Dick said he tried calling him just days ago and got no answer. Oracle had confirmed that Tim hadn't gotten a new number. So that wasn’t it.

He knows that a lot had happened since his return. He had only just started to settle back into his role. He hasn’t been in touch with his third son in that time. He just got so busy with his recovery he just forgot to check-in. Tim hadn't answered any of his messages or calls. The others experienced the same thing. They had all thought Tim was busy or ignoring them.

But even that didn’t make sense. Tim was always attentive so if he was busy why didn’t he call back? That was the main factor that tipped the scales in favor of Tim. He wanted to come down here to see for himself. And he had. There was no record on Tim’s phone of receiving any calls from them. There should be some record of at least one call.

He should know.

He had been the one to make the call to Tim that morning and had gotten no answer. Only there was no record of his call.

What was happening?

The High pitched whine of worry settled into him. Bruce reviewed the conversation. Tim had looked awful. It was hidden well enough to fool anyone else but a bat could see. He was slumped over in what looked to be exhaustion. The touch of concealer under his eyes was further proof of that. The young man had been bracing as if he expected some form of confrontation. Tim was only 16 when Bruce was lost. When had he become like this?

While professional, he was cold. When had Tim become cold to him? When Tim had brought him back he had felt a piece of him heal at the knowledge that his son had been the one to figure out his clues and bring him home. Then when he returned home he was wrenched from the fantasy to learn that Tim had moved out. He wasn't there. One of his sons was gone.

When he asked after Tim’s whereabouts the others were very closed-lipped. Any information about what has transpired was a well-guarded vault. Dick briefly mentioned that there had been a disagreement at the beginning of his departure (death), which led to Tim disappearing for a while. But the Boy had eventually come back when he cooled down.

Bruce is ashamed to admit that he left it alone. Choosing to believe the words of his eldest as well as the input from his youngest. He wanted to ask Jason for his opinion but the young man hadn’t been involved at that point and could offer no extra information. But now, seeing his third son after so long faced with his behavior today it was obvious that he’d miscalculated. By an extreme margin.

He was missing a vital part of the story, and he needed to find out what had transpired. And he had a pretty good idea of where to start. He needed to figure it out and mend the rift between him and his son before it was too late.

________________________

#tim drake #bruce wayne #fanfic #first fanfic

[incorrectarcana]

*blows the dust off this blog* 

Guess who feels the creeping of a returning hyper fixation???

#spoiler it's me #last update was 7 months ago oof #some suggestions are from just under a year ago i am so sorry

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

No Update Today

Hey guys!! 

I’m very sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to update today!! I finished my first grad school class yesterday and am starting my second one tomorrow (my program has one class per month) and I was busy preparing for tomorrow’s class. I lost track of time and honestly forgot about posting, even though I kept telling myself to remember earlier today, oof. 

Anyway, while I did edit the chapter a few days ago, it’s a pretty heavy one and one I’m not super happy with, so I wanted to go over it one more time to ensure there’s nothing more I can do with it before posting. I will do my best to post tomorrow, but I have both my first day of work (I’m an after school teacher) and a lecture/discussion grad school assignment from 5:30-7:00, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to post tomorrow either. I should be able to post Tuesday at the latest, though, even if I don’t get a chance to look over it one last time. 

In good news, I managed to finish chapter 16 of TPWM! This chapter corresponds with chapter 17 of TPWP, and is about 8k words over the word total of that chapter, ending at about 28k words without edits -.- But at least it’s done! I’m trying to focus on finishing the second sequel of TPWP (entitled The Problem with Families. I’ll give you three guesses as to what that’s gonna be about, ha) before working more on TPWM, since I want to post the sequel before posting TPWM, but hopefully I can get more work done on TPWM soon. I think I’ve been struggling with chapter 16 for... oh... 2-3 months now??? Oof. See, this is why I wrote TPWP so quickly, ha. If I don’t write quick, it takes me ages to write anything. 

#Sorry y'all!! #And after I got a nice comment about someone looks forward to my updates on Sunday 😭😭

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Tagged by: @neurosismancer​

Name: If you know it, you know it. If not, you’ve probably got no shortage of things to call me anyway.

Gender: *siiiiiigh* Goddammit, I’m tired. Potted version: Two of us in here, one woman, one agender using he/him pronouns, and the whole combined entity uses they/them and goes “enh, I guess” to the idea of “demi-woman” as a gender.

Star sign: Sagittarius. Or Ophiuchus, if we’re doing the sidereal thing, which I have a certain affection for because of who it pisses off.

Height: 5'4″/163 cm

Time: 10:41 PM US Eastern Daylight Time as I type this.

Birthdays: ...do people other than my mom have more than one? Anyway, it was a few months ago.

Favorite band(s): Are we doing this again? Anyway, I’ve recently looked back in on Triakel, Garmarna, and Hedningarna, who’ve been quite active while I was gone.

Favorite solo artist(s): Similarly with Kepa Junkera, who seems to average releasing/guesting on three albums a year. The last I’d checked in on him was in 2008 when Etxea dropped, and it took me about four days to listen to everything he’s put out since then. That’s a lot of accordion. (My dad rather liked him, even if he did have a habit of ‘humorously’ mispronouncing his name as “Creepy Junkie”, and I couldn’t help but think he would’ve liked some of the new material—one of the few occasions where I’ve felt anything other than relief that he’s gone.)

Song stuck in my head: Bok-Espok by Kepa Junkera, which he seems to reprise every other album. Which means I’ve heard it many, many times this week.

Last movie I watched: None recently, no.

Last show I watched Last game I played: I don’t watch TV, so let me hijack this question like I usually do. I’m currently partway through the When Twilight Strikes demo, and while I’m thiiiiiis close to offering my services as a local consultant for the NYC stuff and found the “exotic beauty” kind of tone to Blane’s initial description somewhat uncomfortable, it’s otherwise been great fun, and I’m looking forward to future updates.

When did I create this blog: 2013. April, if I’m not mistaken.

When I post: Post post? Not often, it’s just about wall-to-wall reblogs around here.

Last thing googled: "shaped like a friend”, because I was curious about how long ago that phrase was coined. The Internet was unhelpful on the matter.

Other blogs: Nope! I’ve been Team Let It All Hang Out since day 1.

Do I get asks: Sometimes, usually when I’ve posted an ask meme.

Why I chose my URL: Paul Celan, “Die hellen/Steine” (The bright/Stones) Celan’s good, you ought to read him. Depressing, mind.

Followers: 324, which IIRC is more than double what I had a year ago. Dragon Age fandom is probably responsible for quite a lot of the increase. I can only imagine what the people who followed me for my DA diaries think of me now!

Average hours of sleep: 6-7. A bit more when I’m not waking up early for work, but not by much.

Lucky number: 7, I’m boring.

Instruments: Not anymore. Somewhere among the infinite possibilities of the multiverse is a timeline where I’m not cursed with cloth ears, tiny fingers, and bullshit lung capacity and was able to get reasonably good at something. Maybe an instrument, maybe singing. I liked singing.

What I’m wearing: My black pajama pants again, this time with a galaxy-print T-shirt in ace flag colors. (I needed some purple shirts to go with the purple skirts in my summer wardrobe, and I was like, “I know what’s purple!”)

Dream trip: No. I’m done.

Favorite food: All of them, leave me alone. OK, not all of them, I’m actually kind of picky and a lot of fruits and vegetables that I used to like now make me violently sick, but you get the idea. I do make a point of ordering mofongo on special occasions (and Election Day), though. Good stuff.

Nationality: American. Mom thinks I might be eligible for a Greek passport, but I’m not so sure, especially since she was naturalized here years before I was born.

Favorite song: You know I’m not going to give this an actual answer, but here, have a song: Stina by Triakel, which I haven’t found an English translation of but is definitely catchy as hell.

Last book I read: Currently about halfway through Arkady Martine’s A Desolation Called Peace. What an incredible book, she’s somehow gotten even better at writing since the first one. In particular, I’m going to be shoving it in the face of anyone writing about a child being raised for rulership, like a crown prince in a monarchy—the characterization of Imperial Associate Eight Antidote (bright, socially and politically aware, and eleven goddamn years old someone please hug this child what are you doing to him) is one of the highlights of the whole thing so far.

Top 3 fictional universes i’d like to live in: Oof. Teixcalaan might not be so terrible, if I were Teixcalaanli of reasonably comfortable socioeconomic status. (Oh, stop, no way in hell was I the only one idly wondering what I might use as a Teixcalaanli name by halfway through the first book—how’s Fourteen Reflection sound?) I’m starting to feel like the Star Wars universe would be a lateral move, and if I can petition to specifically be plopped into an Alexander Freed novel, at least my self-destructive tendencies will be beautifully rendered in graceful prose. And in the universe of AJ Hackwith’s The Library of the Unwritten, I’d be curious to see what my hypothetical creations would look like (though creators aren’t supposed to see them, at least not while alive).

Favorite color: Burgundy? Purple? Silver? White? Black? I’ve got a few. Basically, if it’s not green or orange, I’m probably OK with it.

[off-by-one]

30 Questions

Tagged by @a-little-mystical​ (thanks 😁)

 1.  Name: Matt

 2. Gender: Cis male 

 3. Star Sign: Aquarius... (I know there’s more but I don’t remember the rest) 

 4. Height: 5′ 11″

 5. Time: 8:11pm CST 

 6. Birthday: February 4

 7. Favorite Bands: alt-J, Mother Mother, Portugal. The Man, They Might Be Giants, Grouplove, Panic! At the Disco, Spoon, Metric, The Dresden Dolls, Queen, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Green Day, Placebo, Dispatch, Muse.    But also like, a ton more I don’t even know the names of, because Spotify is a double-edged sword that way, in lots of other genres haha.

 8. Favorite Solo Artists: Lady Gaga, Regina Spektor, Tycho, Zedd, Imogen Heap, Gui Boratto, Norah Jones

 9. Song stuck in my head:  Purple Hat - Sofi Tukker

 10. Last Movie: Save Yourselves! (it was weird but entertaining)

 11. Last Show: Parks and Rec

 12. When did I make this blog?:  August 2013, because my husband @soulcakeduck had one, and I was intrigued thirsty bored, probably

 13. What do I post: cats, gay stuff, puns, memes, art, space, trippy visuals, nerdy things, meditation and spiritually oriented things on occasion

 14. Last thing I googled:  patricia's 77 sandwiches

 15. Other blogs: I do maintain an nsfw blog

 16. Do I get asks: Almost never. I think I dodged the last one because there was a “must tag 10 others” clause. And my interactions here have not been very broad 😂

 17. Why I chose this URL: It was originally iterate-to-improve, because... code and personal growth I guess 🤣? I knew I wanted to update it and was discussing with @a-little-mystical, and when I explained the joke about the 2 hardest problems in computer science being cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors, he pointed out how good a name it was, and that was that! It basically means that you make one little mistake and it fucks all your shit up good, but it’s usually easy to correct when you see it.

 18. Following: 330

 19. Followers: 764

 20. Average number of hours of sleep: Oof. Over what time period? In the last month, like 5 maybe. Before that, probably 7. I need more, and I know it.

 21. Lucky Number: 7, 17, 23, 27

 22. Instruments: I played trumpet in middle school, I had a keyboard that I never learned to play properly in high school, and my husband got me an accordion years ago because I have grand designs to be a polka musician or something, but again have not learned to play it 😑

 23. What I’m wearing: Grey and blue striped boxer-briefs from express, Grey T-shirt with bright orange birds flying in circles on it, and a fluffy blanket over my legs

 24. Dream Job: Years ago I would have said something like the job I have now, probably (software engineer / consultant). Now, ideally, I’d like to do something good or useful for society or my community too.

 25. Dream Trip:  Would love to tour the UK & Ireland.  Maybe a trip through East Asian countries, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam.  Iceland.  Machu Picchu.  And there are people I’d love to visit in Portland, Seattle, LA, Boulder, and Connecticut too.

 26. Favorite Food:  Tempted to say pizza, or tacos. I love eating, and there’s not much I won’t eat, haha.

 27. Nationality: U.S. 

 28. Favorite Song:  No possible way I could make that kind of determination. So I’ll give you favorite in the last 2 weeks, which is La Mer Des Possibilités by Le Matos. Guaranteed to change again soon.

 29. Last book I read: I re-read Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

 30. Top three fictional worlds to live in:  Discworld (Terry Pratchett’s fantasy series),  Lyra’s world from His Dark Materials (not a fan of the Magisterium but there are many reasons to love the world), and the bending universe of ATLA (physical and spirit realms)

I don’t really interact broadly on tumblr, but I’ll tag some mutuals anyway. No obligations or anything though!

@hexa-gay @rejuvinating-lobsters @ghostwolfgeek @the-kind-wanderer @greyshyguy​ @bennn-ao​ @zeroaria​ (and if i didn’t tag you it’s because i’m too shy or suspect you wouldn’t be interested!)

#questions #ask #answers #about #personal

[purplesurveys]

1055

surveys by lets-make-surveys

1 - Surveys aside, do you use Tumblr for any other reason? Not anymore. I used to have a main blog, but it’s been years since I opened it; this is it (excuse the bad word in the URL lol, I thought it made me look like an edgy teen) but as I got older I used it less and less frequently until I no longer remember the password to log back in. These days I stay on Tumblr precisely because no one really uses it anymore, so it’s the perfect spot to hide this blog in.

2 - Do you have a lot of social media accounts? Do you update them all regularly? Depends on what you mean by a lot; I have all the basic ones - Twitter, IG, Facebook, YouTube, hell I still even have my Snapchat alive lol but I haven’t used it in like three years. I use YouTube the most but I don’t update it per se, like I just use it to watch videos. Facebook I’ve used a lot less often since the breakup, but I’ve shared a handful of posts since September. I’m probably on Twitter the most, but even then my usage hasn’t been the same.

3 - Does it bother you when your socks don’t match? What about your underwear? I don’t care for either situation, especially for underwear. Why would I care about something no one is ever going to see and even think about?

4 - How many times a year do you go on vacation? Do you tend to go to the same places each time? My family plans at least two trips, at least in non-Covid circumstances. We will sometimes repeat provinces but we never repeat hotels or sites, and we seldom repeat cities. The only places I remember visiting more than once are Baguio, Tagaytay, Albay, Subic, and Baler.

5 - How many times did it take you to pass your driving test? Just one. I could not afford to fuck it up; I was at the LTO for 8 hours and was not willing to go through that shitty long wait, so I absolutely had to pass that exam and do my best with the shitty car I had to work with.

6 - When you’re in trouble, do your parents ever “middle name” you? Nah they never used my whole name. My mom’s trademark is to add an -ah sound to my name when I’ve done something wrong though, as in Robina lol. That’s a sign I should know I shouldn’t have done what I did, whatever it is.

7 - Which family member do you look like the most? Which one do you resemble the most in terms of personality? People are always shocked to hear my mom is actually my mom and not my sister, because 1) we look very much alike, and 2) she looks young for her age. As for my personality, I’d say I’m a perfect split of my mom and dad. I exhibit an equal amount of traits they both have and I can’t tell which one I act like more.

8 - Have you ever been arrested? Never.

9 - Do you prefer Apple or Android? Apple. Would rather pay more than be stuck with an interface, camera, and emojis that I personally don’t like.

10 - Does getting sweaty or dirty bother you at all? If so, has it ever put you off doing exercise? I don’t sweat a lot, so I really do hate it when I feel beads of sweat on my temples or when the back of my shirt starts to feel damp. It doesn’t have anything to do with my feelings about exercising; I don’t like working out, period.

11 - Have you ever broken a bone? What were the circumstances that led to this happening? Never happened, hope it never happens.

12 - If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be? I wish I didn’t get the hairy gene so that I didn’t have to shave too much; my hair to be a little livelier and bouncier; and my front teeth to be straighter.

13 - When was the last time your computer crashed or froze? is this something that happens often? It must’ve been around a month ago. It just got too busy, so it froze for a few seconds. My laptop’s a trooper and doesn’t crash/freeze a lot.

14 - Do you ever have problems with your sleep? It’s mid-sleep I’ve been having issues with; I get nightmares almost every night. I don’t have a problem falling asleep as I’m able to do so pretty quickly.

15 - What was the last thing you ate for breakfast? Is this a normal breakfast meal for you? Angel sent over a small box of chocolate chip cookies as a Christmas gift so I’ve been enjoying that :) I’m currently having it with warm coffee. My normal breakfast is no breakfast, so this is a treat for me. Before this I also had to eat my leftover Chapaghetti that I couldn’t finish last night.

16 -  Have you ever thought about how you want to spend your retirement? That has not come to mind a lot, actually. I think more about death than I do my retirement...but this question tells me I should probably take a few steps back. I’d simply love to live in comfort with the person I end up growing old with. For now, that’s all I see myself wanting.

17 - When was the last time you got a new tattoo or piercing? Do you have any plans to get either in the future? A little less than 22 years ago; my mom had my ears pierced when I was a few months old. Haven’t gotten any new ones, nor tattoos, since. I’d love to have a couple of tattoos. Some of my ideas are two pawprints for each of my dogs, a plate of nachos, and lyrics that are personally meaningful.

18 - How would you describe your personality? Oof, what a loaded question. Hmm, I guess I’d generally label myself as hardened until I get close with someone? I’ve always kept a wall up and as friendly and extroverted as I can be, I don’t enjoy letting just anyone in. I value my personal and private space, and it’s important that I don’t lose it. 

From another angle, I also like to keep doing nice things for other people, even at the expense of my own happiness and comfort. I have to keep making people happy to keep me pleased with myself and the world. Maybe it’s rooted in the fact that I’m the eldest daughter in an Asian family? Idrk, but all I know is that I’ve never had a problem putting other people first.

19 - Have you ever heard of “hygge”? is this something you enjoy or participate in at all? I have no idea what this is and I’ve never come across this word before.

20 - What colour was the last vehicle you travelled in? Does this vehicle belong to you or someone else? White. It’s the car that was given to me for college, but when all is said and done it’s not mine.

21 - Would you describe yourself as healthy? Why or why not? In some senses yes, in other senses no. I don’t exercise or actively watch my diet, and I certainly eat too much junk; so proactively speaking, I’m not super healthy. But generally, my gene pool has been pretty fortunate with health. Other than heart conditions that run in certain branches of the family, we’re relatively a healthy bunch.

22 - Would you describe yourself as messy or organised? Is this something you would like to change? It’s a balance of both. I’m very organized at work so I allow myself to let go in my personal space, like my closet and car. I do clean up from time to time and I still like my space to be neat, but I’m not as neurotic as I normally would be with my workspace.

23 - Do you miss anything about being a teenager? If you are a teenager, what’s your favourite thing about it? The innocence. It was a period of being ideal, being a dreamer, being as romantic about life as I wanted to be. It was also a period where you were allowed to make mistakes, because fucking up when you’re younger lets you off the hook. These are the biggest things I miss, but I don’t really find myself pining for my teenage days. I still like where I am, even if things are realistically a little duller in adulthood.

24 - Are you patriotic at all? Why/why not? No. It’s hard to be when your country is shit.

25 - Have you ever had to wear a white lab coat before? Was this in school or for a job? Yeah we had lab coats in Lab class in high school, but they were green. We also needed safety goggles, and if I remember correctly if we had neither of these things we had to sit outside and skip out on the session.

26 - Would you ever want to do the same career(s) as your parents? I can see myself going down somewhere in the secretarial path like my mom as I’m good at organizing things and keeping internal affairs in order, but I don’t know if I would find it fulfilling. But in general, I wouldn’t want to be in the hotel and restaurant industry. I don’t have any attachments to it and I’ve always felt like I belonged in media and communications.

27 - Do you believe in aliens? Is there a reason why (or why not)? Yes. For the most part, it’s more comforting to think and believe that we’re not the only beings around.

28 - Which animated film would you most like to live in? Does it have to be a film? I’d love to be in the Fairly OddParents universe and have fairy godparents of my own.

29 - When was the last time you got into an argument? Have you made up with that person yet? Gab. I don’t know. She’s ignoring me.

30 - What are you going to do now this survey is over? Take another one.

--

1 - Have you ever had your computer or e-mail hacked? Did anything bad happen as a result? No but I had bad viruses on all of my Windows laptops before. The worst virus I got involved my laptop typing out some long-ass Vietnamese paragraphs for me at the most random times. It was like a horror movie lmao. Every time I Googled the text I never got any leads from it, so I never knew what it meant or what the virus was. 

2 - Do you prefer the company of people or animals? I don’t really have a preference when it comes to these two because their companionships are individually different. I like that animals can be playful and sweet; but I also like cracking jokes and having meaningful conversations with people.

3 - Are you a religious person? Were you raised in that faith or did you discover it a later date in life? I was born and raised Catholic, and still legally am. I never saw the appeal of the idea of being saved or of reading the Bible or anything that has to do with Christianity; and the idea of praying was weird to me even from childhood. A lot of Christians/Catholics I know are hypocrites anyway, and to me that says a lot about their mindset when it comes to religion.

4 - When was the last time you went to the beach? What did you do there? August 2019. My friends and I had a day trip to Nasugbu so we could have some fun before the semester started; we mostly swam and caught up with one another. August is a low season so we literally had the beach, the pool, and the poolside bar to ourselves.

5 - With all the COVID restrictions in place, would you feel happy/comfortable travelling abroad right now? Why/why not? I’d be happy, but not comfortable because of the swab test I would have to take hahaha. The selfish part of me is itching to go to other places already. I know my parents would put a million roadblocks to keep me from getting on a plane though, so me traveling is purely theoretical.

6 - How would you describe your dress sense? I like wearing flattering pieces but nothing too flashy or bright. I get items that are currently in style and make sure they match with the rest of my wardrobe, but at the end of the day I still like to blend in with the crowd and avoid neon colors, flashy labels, or whatever it is that would make me stand out.

7 - Do you wait until the sales start before you buy non-essential items? I never really pay attention to sales. It’s led to some pleasant surprises, like the other day when I was looking for a gift for my aunt. There was an H&M purse that caught my eye and it was so pretty, but way above my budget. I decided to get it anyway because that aunt throws amazing Christmas parties over the years and gives us lots of money, so I thought it could would be my way of giving back (especially since her company got hit hard by Covid). Once I got to the cashier the register showed it was like 60% off, even though there were no stickers on it and there was zero promotion anywhere in the store.

8 - What kind of milk do you prefer to drink (if you drink it at all)? I don’t drink milk, but I’m able to consume it in other dishes. I haven’t tried any types other than whole milk.

9 - Do you prefer blonde hair or brunette hair on your preferred sex? I don’t have preferences when it comes to hair color. We’re not really conditioned to consider this factor, since Filipinos have black hair.

10 - Would you be embarrassed to own the same clothing as one of your parents? No. I borrow stuff from my mom all the time. My sister also borrows some of my dad’s t-shirts, at least the ones that can fit her.

11 - When was the last time you wore some kind of fancy dress? Like...a gown? I’m not too sure. It must’ve been Alena’s debut three years ago since that’s the last fancy party I went to.

12 - Do you enjoy dressing up (ie. in suits or smart clothing)? When was the last time you did so? I like dressing up and making myself look cute, but dressing up formally not so much.

13 - What’s worse - being overdressed or underdressed? Personally, underdressed. I’d rather look too prepared than looking as if I didn’t care to look decent for whatever event I’m headed to.

14 - What do you think would be the worst thing about being stuck in solitary confinement? Not having any options or activities to do.

15 -  Have you ever owned an unusual or exotic pet? Would you want to? Nope. I would not want to have one. Unusual pet is just a euphemism for animals that shouldn’t be pets.

16 - How old were you when you learned to tie your shoelaces? I was 5 and had to learn it for a test in kindergarten.

17 - Do you enjoy decorating for the holidays? Sure, it makes me feel festive :)

18 - Would you rather go into a restaurant or just go via the drive-through? These days it’s more wise to use the drive-thru, but to be frank I’ve missed dining in. I would opt for the restaurant but make sure to follow safety protocols in the area.

19 - Do you like having your teeth cleaned at the dentist? I’ve actually always found trips to the dentist soothing, even as a kid. The only time I ever really freaked out was when I went last year to have a tooth removed and I was told that I needed an anaesthesia shot on my gums; even then, I didn’t even feel anything when it finally happened.

20 - Have you ever had a gun drawn on you before? Maybe? My cousins and friends and I doodled on each other a lot as kids.

21 - When was the last time you went to a petting zoo? I’ve never been to one and idk if I can go to one.

22 - Do you bite your nails? Could you physically bite your toenails if you stretched enough? Sometimes I’ll gnaw at my nails and then scrape them off. I’ve found it more satisfying than biting them all the way off. I could definitely bite my toenails, but I choose not to.

23 - How old were you when you first started using Tumblr? Have you had the same blog all that time? It wasssssss 2010, so I was 11 at the time. Nah, I deactivated that blog only after a year of using it and then I shifted to a wrestling blog.

24 - Are you a fan of practical jokes? If I’m watching celebrities pull it on another celebrities, yeah. Most of the time I get anxious that the recipient would react negatively, so I don’t watch a lot of pranks.

25 - How many years older and younger than you would you consider dating? Is this a concrete thing or would you make an exception for the right person? It will still depend on the latter condition, of course; but theoretically I would like to keep seeing people my exact age. No more and no less than the year 1998. Growing up with relatives in such close age to me makes me feel like I’d be dating an older cousin if it was someone a year older, and my sister if it was someone a year younger.

26 - Who did you vote for in the last US elections? If you’re not in the US, who would you have voted for? I don’t live in the US; I would have voted for Biden.

27 - Are you a fan of reddit? What are some of your favourite subreddits? Sure. I don’t visit it as much as I used to, but I still go on there when I’m bored and in need of entertaining or educational content. r/AskReddit is a classic fave of mine, but I also go on r/interestingasfuck, r/todayilearned, r/mildlyinteresting, r/dataisbeautiful, r/SquaredCircle, and r/goodmythicalmorning. Sometimes I’ll visit the r/AmItheAsshole sub as well to have some fun lol.

28 - Have you ever watched those YouTube videos of people popping their own spots or zits? Do you find them gross or fascinating? Not those, but I’ve looked up earwax extractions and blackhead removals before.

29 - What’s a food you hated as a kid but love now? How about vice versa? Chicken curry is probably my best example because I’m obsessed with all kinds of curry now, whether it’s Indian butter chicken, Thai green curry, or Japanese curry. I didn’t understand the complex flavors as a kid, but I’m got to appreciate more and more as I got older.

30 - Do you prefer socks, shoes or going bare foot? Idk, I feel like all these choices are useful and convenient in their own different situations? I’m barefoot when I’m at home but put on socks when it’s chilly, and I wear shoes when I’m outdoors.

#survey #surveys

[mccoys-killer-queen]

This Week’s Playlist (2/14)

Not sure how I got hooked on this idea- but this week I’ll be focusing entirely on 70s songs (and next week I’ll do 80s). Disclaimer: I’m not saying these are my favorite songs of the 70s (believe me that would be WAYYY too hard to narrow down), I’m just filling this week’s list strictly with songs released in the 70s.

I’ve also created a spotify playlist made up of all the songs I’ve used on playlists! I’ll update it every week (before I even post the playlist, so if you check at the right time the songs will be there!)

1.) London Calling- The Clash (1979) I like to define this song as the song that started my descent into classic rock. When I was in 7th grade I had this music teacher who would always play pop music of the late 20th century for class. This song was one of the first songs she showed us, and it became a trademark of the class. We used to get this song played at dances and stuff- so there’s a lot of middle school memory there. Guess we all wanted to be punks- and this is a great boppy song just for that.

2.) All Right Now- Free (1970) Am I being typical for picking this song...? Perhaps (because honestly, at least where I’m from, this is the only Free song anyone knows... yikes. It’s overused in media sometimes imo). But that doesn’t meant it’s not great! It’s got everything! An epic guitar riff that frames the lyrics, a sick beat, funny rhymes, a killer musical interlude with bangin piano and a guitar solo- all while being undeniably CHILL. This one of those chill summer songs to me; the kind you listen to on a hot, quiet, and sunny car ride through the country with the windows down while wearing sunglasses. That’s just the aesthetic I’ve always associated with this song.

3.) Rock’n Me- Steve Miller Band (1976) Just try not to bop. I dare you. This is a real dance-a-little-in-your-seat song with a GREAT, smooth flow to it. Killer rhymes and a fast, subtle beat you can’t avoid even if you try. Steve Miller Band is one of my favorite groups of the 70s and I wish they got more appreciation in general. I could’ve picked so many of their songs already for these playlists, but this one stood out to me this week because I feel like it’s very recognizable (I always heard this song as a kid and I feel like maybe some people on here did too). It’s so damn catchy that it’ll just stick with you, so listen and get ready for an earworm. Also a great road trip song.

4.) Once Bitten, Twice Shy- Ian Hunter (1975) No, this isn’t Great White!! This is the song we all know and love but this one’s the original! I feel like I need to educate anyone who’ll listen about this! *scoff* god, now I can see why Joe Elliott’s always shoving Ian Hunter in everyone’s faces- because he’s worth it! Maybe I’m a little biased, but I personally prefer this version over Great White’s for a bunch of different reasons. For one thing, I think this version focuses more on telling the story rather than trying to make the music over the top. The instrumentals of this one ROCK, but the way it’s constructed with the lyrics makes the story more understandable- essentially, it’s just more raw, and I like the raw sound to it, but that’s just me. You all probably know how the song goes at this point, but after listening to this version you’ll see just how much of it Great White changed. You take it upon yourself to decipher the meaning of the lyrics ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I think we all know what “rock and roll” means at this point...

5.) Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’- Journey (1979) I don’t like to acknowledge Valentine’s Day, nor was I going to mention it in any way on this playlist- but let me tell you a story: last year on VD, I was driving home from school, and this song came on the radio. Then it hit me- I had completely forgotten about ANTI-Valentine’s Day songs! This is a PERFECT example of one. It tells of an unfaithful someone who gets bitten in the ass by someone else’s unfaithfulness. Talk about a SICK burn! This has gotta be my favorite Journey song as well. It’s like a flash-fiction song; telling a huge story while barely saying anything at all. My favorite part of this song by far is how each instrument has a crystal clear part, and you can very easily pick out each one. The intro of this song is just excellent. You can clearly hear the bass, drums, guitars, and piano all introduced in different ways. It’s just a gorgeous song through and through, and those 189 “na”s at the end just tie it all together (and yes, I counted). You’ll have all the words down before you know it.

6.) You’re All I’ve Got Tonight- The Cars (1978) Like I said last week, The Cars are one of the perfect combos of rock and pop. If you think about it, this one can be another anti-Valentine’s Day song. The lyrics have a sloppy and desperate feel to them- kinda like the speaker is drunk and throwing themselves at someone because they’re that desperate. “I don’t care if you hurt me some more, I don’t care if you even the score”- like oof man, you just sound desperate. This song is a banger in every way and let’s face it- the keyboard at the chorus is just the absolute best part. Strong points for these guys are always keyboards and guitars. It’s got this rock hard chill 80s vibe to it (despite it being a 70s song- new wave, you know), you’ll feel that you need to be doing something cool while listening to it.

7.) Rock and Roll- Led Zeppelin (1971) It’s so cliche of me to use this I know I know I KNOW- but can you blame me? On Sunday in a record booth at the market I found an original Zeppelin IV and I feel like this song has been following me all week because of it. This is unarguably one the most recognizable and famous rock songs of all time- because it was so expertly crafted in every way imaginable- just like everything else Zeppelin’s ever done. It’s ALWAYS the drums that do it for me in this song. l That filler at the end is- without question- the best part of the whole song. Bonzo just KILLS it. Overall, it’s a short-ish song that uses its time extremely well; it’s like all four of them went “let’s maximize every single element that goes into a bop, and make a song like that”. In some ways, this song is objectively perfect. If you want pure rock and roll in all its glory- what better song to choose than Rock and Roll itself?

8.) Keep Yourself Alive- Queen (1973) Another objectively perfect rock and roll song with a killer drum solo. I’m super biased towards Queen- but I cannot believe I never heard of this song until I was prepping my brain to see Bohemian Rhapsody! Honestly, who thinks it’s okay to keep this hidden? It’s the leading song off of their very first album- so this is almost like the song that INVENTED Queen fans! It’s a Brian May baby- and hell yeah does it show. I think everyone needs to know this song for artistic and historical reasons. It’s pure, power rock Queen through and through- despite being one of the earliest of their songs.

9.) Cum On Feel the Noize- Slade (1973) NO, it’s not Quiet Riot!! This is the song we all know and love but this one’s the original!! Again, I feel like I need to educate anyone who’ll listen about this! I get so angry sometimes that Quiet Riot gets all the credit for songs like this one and Mama Weer All Crazee now. Slade was super popular in England in the 70s- ahead of their time for sure but definitely one with the glam rock movement- but not as big in America. I never knew these guys existed until about five years ago and damn I felt like I had to be blind before learning that. Just listen to this song and then I think the sound of it’ll make a lot more sense, like “oh yeah- Quiet Riot’s version kinda DOES sound like it could be a glam rock song from the early 70s!” Just goes to show what geniuses these guys were, because their songs can be both glam rock AND heavy metal and work either way. Once you hear this version, though, I believe there’s no going back.

10.) Roll With the Changes- REO Speedwagon (1978) This was my favorite song for a few months when I was 16- it’s absolutely EPIC. The speaker is bursting at the seams with accepting a new found moral understanding of how they feel about trying to please or win over an apparent lover. They come to the conclusion that the other person just needs to keep on “rolling with the changes” and that they’ll be there for them whenever they decide to accept that perspective. The KEYBOARD is to D I E  F O R GUYS. Neal Doughty is a motherfucking SAINT- and SO IS GARY RICHRATH. This song sounds like it’s the finale of a musical or something! Possibly the biggest bop REO has ever created. It’s a groovy, extremely poetic, fast, theatrical, very slightly operatic rock and roll song and I’d highly recommend this to any person on the planet I love it that much. It’s lovable in every possible way.

#the clash #free #steve miller band #ian hunter #journey #the cars #led zeppelin #queen #slade #reo speedwagon #weekly playlists #raydio gaga

[eldritchsurveys]

831.

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? >> I don’t eat cereal anymore, but from what I can remember, I didn’t really like having a lot of milk in the bowl.

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? >> Not usually.

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? >> On the occasion that I’m reading a paper book, if it’s my own, I just dog-ear it. If it’s a library book, I use the receipt that I got from checking out the book.

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? >> Black (or in the case of some teas, with a little honey).

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? >> I’m self-conscious of my entire face.

6: do you keep plants? >> I just have the one spider plant in my room. It looks pretty done for, but like... it’s not dead, exactly, so I have no idea what to do with it. Sparrow, on the other hand, has about fifteen plants on the balcony, two in her room, etc.

7: do you name your plants? >> Sparrow has named at least one of hers.

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? >> I just wrangle the written word the best I can.

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? >> Absolutely.

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? >> Side.

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends? >> Sparrow and I have this thing where we just mangle words as badly as possible. Like “chicken” has become “chimkin”, stuff like that.

12: what’s your favorite planet? >> Mercury and Pluto, for completely opposite reasons (as I’m sure is obvious).

13: what’s something that made you smile today? >> I saw a random crop of mushrooms while walking. It was just... random! I don’t know what died there or whatever that made the mushrooms grow in that one little spot, but it was adorable.

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? >> ---

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! >> I don’t feel like it.

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish? >> I don’t have one.

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? >> I don’t.

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. >> ---

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? >> I technically have one, on Dreamwidth, but I never bother updating it. This is my journal, along with my personal blog.

20: what’s your favorite eye color? >> ---

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. >> I don’t have one of those. I have three different bags for different purposes.

22: are you a morning person? >> Sure.

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? >> I usually have 0 real obligations (aside from ones I impose on myself), so I have no idea how to answer this.

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? >> ---

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? >> I’m not sure.

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit? >> There are no shoes that I’ve had for forever. I only have two pairs of shoes, so basically both of them get worn with every single outfit (the boots in the cooler months, the sneakers in the summer and for walking).

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor? >> Well, isn’t bubble gum only one flavour?

28: sunrise or sunset? >> Both are good. Although I like saying hello to the Sun more than I like saying goodbye to it.

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? >> ---

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? >> Sure.

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. >> I like wearing socks with funky patterns and designs on them, and sometimes I mismatch them on purpose for my own amusement. I do not sleep with socks.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. >> I can’t really think of one right now.

33: what’s your fave pastry? >> ---

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? >> I don’t remember what I kept as a child. I think I had a lion or two. I only remember that because my father is fucking obsessed with lions so of course I had lion plushies.

35: do you like stationery and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? >> I do like them, but I don’t have occasion to use them.

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now? >> I don’t know.

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? >> I like keeping it tidy.

38: tell us about your pet peeves! >> I’d really rather not right now.

39: what color do you wear the most? >> Black.

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you? >> I don’t really have any stories behind any of the jewelry I own.

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving? >> Well, I reread The Phantom Tollbooth recently and I’ve been fond of that book for almost as long as I’ve been alive.

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! >> No.

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? >> I don’t remember.

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? >> Oof...

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? >> I don’t know.

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. Any burger of the day ever written on the board at Bob’s Burgers. I love them though. <-- I’m going to stick with that, those are just utterly shameless puns lmao

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? >> ---

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? >> I was afraid of thunderstorms and flying insects. I still have a reflexive aversion to flying insects when they’re flying around me (even though I actually like a lot of flying insects, like bees and moths and stuff), but I am definitely not afraid of thunderstorms anymore.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? >> I don’t buy CDs and I rarely buy records. I think the last record I bought was a deluxe copy of Pearl Jam’s Ten that I found at ALDI, of all places.

50: what’s an odd thing you collect? >> I don’t collect things.

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? >> ---

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? >> I don’t remember what memes came out this year.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? >> I tried watching RHPS and Beetlejuice and didn’t like either one. Didn’t even finish them, in fact. Heathers was okay. Pulp Fiction was entertaining.

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? >> *shrug* What even is a true look of sadness.

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? >> I have no idea.

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? >> Meh.

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? >> Listening to Bohemian Rhapsody doesn’t really make me feel anything, but it’s fun to reenact sometimes, yeah. Especially in a car, Wayne’s World style.

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? >> ---

59: what’s your favorite myth? >> Oh god, that’s the worst question. I love so many different myths.

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? >> I can’t usually get into poetry, a lot of it is inscrutable in a way that’s just annoying to me instead of intriguing. There are some poems I like, though, but don’t ask me to remember them right now.

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received? >> ---

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? >> Not usually.

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? >> I’m fussy about my everything. I don’t own enough books or physical copies of music to really warrant being meticulous about their organisation, though.

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? >> Pale blue.

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with? >> I mean, sure, why not.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? >> I used to have a really big one that someone on tumblr made for me a long time ago, lmao. That was good.

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? >> It depends on how I already felt. If I was having an okay day, then it’s just dreamy and ~goth~ and I will probably make 100 Silent Hill jokes. If I’m having an off day, then the fact that the Sun isn’t even out just makes me feel worse.

68: what’s winter like where you live? >> Cold.

69: what are your favorite board games? >> I don’t have one.

70: have you ever used a ouija board? >> No, never got a chance.

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea? >> Ginger, peppermint, etc.

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it? >> No.

73: what are some of your worst habits? >> Picking at my lips, mainly.

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. >> ---

75: tell us about your pets! >> ---

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t? >> No.

77: pink or yellow lemonade? >> Either is fine.

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? >> I can’t stand them.

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? >> ---

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? They are the colour of Nothing and I did not choose it. I rent. <-- “the colour of Nothing” is exactly what the fuck it is.

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. >> ---

82: are/were you good in school? >> I was great as a child. Once puberty (and trauma) hit everything went out the window.

83: what’s some of your favorite album art? >> I don’t even know where to begin with this... there are so many album covers I like, but I don’t feel like expending all my survey energy on one question, you dig...

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? >> No, I’m not planning on it.

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? >> Sure. Promethea, Sandman, Preacher, Doctor Strange, various Lovecraftian comics, etc.

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? >> I do like concept albums. Dream Theater has done some pretty interesting ones, and so did Vanden Plas with Christ 0.

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? >> ---

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? >> I had been reblogging a lot of art recently that had a similar look and feel to it, and I was wondering if they were related, like part of a certain art movement... and then I was watching a Youtube video about the movie Silence the other day and I accidentally found my answer in that video! It was the Baroque movement. I really like the feel of some of those pieces, particularly the darker-hued paintings.

89: are you close to your parents? >> No.

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. >> What can I possibly say about New Orleans that hasn’t already been said by more poetic minds than mine, tbh.

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? >> I don’t plan on travelling this year, thanks to the whole pandemic business.

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? >> Er, somewhere in the middle...?

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most? >> I only have one hairstyle.

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? >> Somebody on one of the Discord servers I’m in.

95: what are your plans for this weekend? >> We’re going to the Wayland house for the first time since... early March, I think. Besides that, just the farmer’s market and grocery shopping as usual.

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? >> My computers run on SSDs, so it takes like 2 minutes to do system updates and I’m right back in business. No point in procrastinating that.

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? >> I get a different result every time I take a Myers-Briggs test (which makes sense to me). My Sun sign is Gemini. My Hogwarts house is Slytherin, but being complex-natured like any other human being I know that I straddle both Slytherin and Ravenclaw.

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? >> I don’t remember the last time I went on a true hike. I would love to do that at some point, but aside from the M6 trail (which is just... parallel to a highway and not all that scenic), all the good hiking places in this region require me to be driven to the location first.

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. >> Death Is the Road to Awe by Clint Mansell, Walker by Master Boot Record, Ich dachte schon by Selig, Little Black Submarines by the Black Keys, Nothing As It Seems by Pearl Jam.

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? >> No.

#surveys #survey #random survey

[intricately-silly]

Get to Know Me Tag

I was tagged by @thesimparrot

Ok. So this was sitting in my drafts waiting for the picture for about three years, and I didn’t want to NOT post it. So here it is, very very very late. It did give me a reason to update my simself though. 

Thank you for tagging me friend! <3 <3 <3 Also, omg that’s so many questions... Who is really going to want to know all this about me?

Rules: Post a pic of your simself with your traits and answer the questions!

Traits:  goofball + perfectionist + loner

Honestly, how am I supposed to only pick three traits? I’m a complicated individual. I’m intricately silly. Anyway... 

1. What is your full name? Skye. That’s all you get. 

2. What is your nickname? Well actually, Skye is technically my nickname...

3. When is your birthday? August 8th.

4. What is your favorite book series? Hmm... I don’t know. I tend to like individual books rather than series. Although I read the Hunger Games series a while back and I liked that one. 

5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? I mean, there’s nothing to disprove it. But I wouldn’t say I fully believe in them either. 

6. Who is your favorite author? I don’t really have one. 

7. What is your favorite radio station? I really like a station on Pandora called Summer Hits of the 90′s.

8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? It depends on what it is. 

9. What word do you often use to describe something great or wonderful? Amazing. I think it’s the only word I use. I should expand my “something great” vocabulary. 

10. What is your favorite song currently? Love Somebody by Maroon 5. It’s been my favorite since it came out and it still is.  

11. What is your favorite word? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

12. What is the last song you listened to? Otherside by Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

13. What TV show would you recommend everyone to watch? White Collar I guess. 

14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? I tend to listen to music when I’m feeling down. But Rush Hour. Or Shrek. 

15. Do you play video games? Nope, not at all... Such a silly question.

16. What is your biggest fear? I have a lot of fears. I have anxiety, so it comes with the territory. But I guess it would be being shut out from everyone and being alone. 

17. What is your best quality in your opinion? I’m a very accepting person. 

18. What is your worst quality in your opinion? Oof. Well...

19. Do you like cats or dogs better? Dogs. I’ve always loved dogs. Cats are great too though.

20. What is your favorite season? Autumn. The colors, the cute clothes, the ability to hide under three blankets. 

21. Are you in a relationship? Yep. For a year and a half now. 

22. What is something you miss from your childhood? Insouciance.

23. Who is your best friend? Rori, my six month old puppy. 

24. What is your eye color? Blue.

25. What is your hair color? Dark, dark brown. 

26. Who is someone you love? Family, friends, animals. So many.

27. Who is someone you trust? Trust is a hard thing for me. So only those very close to me. 

28. Who is someone you think about often? My boyfriend.

29. Are you currently excited about something? I dunno. Am I?

30. What is your biggest obsession? Anything made by Apple. It’s such a beautiful company.

31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? When I was two, Dora. I would sit and watch it, purposely giving the wrong answers to her questions. When I got asked why, my answer was “she’s just going to do the right thing anyway.”

32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to? My boyfriend. 

33. Are you superstitious? Kinda sometimes. 

34. Do you have an unusual phobias? I have a fear of ladders. Not heights, ladders. 

35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? Definitely behind.

36. What is your favorite hobby? Video games is the only constant one, all my other hobbies constantly change. 

37. What is the last book you read? It was online and I can’t remember the name to be honest. 

38. What was the last movie you watched? Aquaman.

39. What musical instruments do you play? I played the clarinet when I was younger. Then I played the guitar. Now I’m trying to teach myself to play piano. I’ve always loved the piano. 

40. What is your favorite animal? All of them. But lions and tigers are gorgeous animals. 

41. What are your top five favorite Tumblr blogs? You think I can narrow it down to five?

42. What super power do you wish you had? Teleportation. 

43. When and where do you feel most at peace? When my dog is cuddling with me.

44. What makes you smile? When my puppy is playing.

45. What sports do you play? I played softball when I was younger. 

46. What is your favorite drink? I don’t know. Shirley Temples. Ginger Ale with Lemonade is really good too. 

47. When was the last time you wrote a handwritten letter or note to someone? I can’t remember. So a while ago.

48. Are you afraid of heights? No.

49. What is your biggest pet peeve? I have a lot. But my biggest I think would be people who walk in front of you so slowly that you trip over your own feet. 

50. Have you ever been to a concert? Yep. Maroon 5 was the last one. I hope to go to more too.

51. Are you vegetarian or vegan? No.

52. When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up? A veterinarian.

53. What fictional world would you like to live in? The world from Avatar. That’d be cool. 

54. What is something you worry about? Anything and everything. 

55. Are you scared of the dark? Depends on my mood.

56. Do you like to sing? Yes, I just wish I could say I was good at it.

57. Have you ever skipped school? No. 

58. What is your favorite place on the planet? My bed.

59. Where would you like to live? Not where I’m living now. I’m so over this town. It’s pretty clean and safe though, so I appreciate that aspect of it. 

60. Do you have any pets? Two cats and a puppy. Oh, and five chickens. 

61. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Night owl. I want to be an early bird, but I’m naturally more awake at night.

62. Do you like sunrise or sunsets better? Sunsets because you can see the stars after! <3

63. Do you know how to drive? I do.

64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? Earbuds. Although headphones sound better. 

65. Have you ever had braces? Yes.

66. What is your favorite genre of music? I tend to like specific songs instead of genres. But I really like 90′s music. 

67. Who is your hero? I have no idea.

68. Do you read comic books? No.

69. What makes you the most angry? So many things. I’m a little hotheaded. But mainly when people are illogical. 

70. Do you prefer to read real books or on an electric device? Real books!

71. What is your favorite subject in school? It was always math.

72. Do you have any siblings? Two. A brother and a sister. 

73. What was the last thing you bought? Coffee...

74. How tall are you? 5′ 5″

75. Can you cook? Psh. Not really. But I’m trying to learn.

76. What are three things that you love? Playing games, watching movies with my boyfriend, and training my dog. 

77. What are three things that you hate? It changes daily.

78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? Female.

79. What is your sexual orientation? Bisexual.

80. Where do you currently live? Neverland. 

81. Who was the last person you texted? My boyfriend. 

82. When was the last time you cried? I think it was a week ago.

83. Who is your favorite youtuber? I haven’t had the time to watch YouTube lately. So I don’t know. 

84. Do you like to take selfies? Not in the slightest. The closest thing I’ll do to taking a selfie is make an edit of my simself. 

85. What is your favorite app? Netflix.

86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? I’ve always been close with my parents. I’ve always been really close with my siblings too.

87. What is your favorite foreign accent? British.

88. What is a place that you’ve never been to but want to visit? All of Europe. But specifically Paris.

89. What is your favorite number? Five. Always has been.

90. Can you juggle? For three seconds. 

91. Are you religious? I am.

92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? They’re both so interesting though! Outer space is so pretty and very interesting. But we know absolutely nothing about our oceans. It does peak my curiosity. 

93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? Every once in a while.

94. Are you allergic to anything? Pollen. Grass. Dust. Spring is like death. 

95. Can you curl your tongue? No, and everyone else I know can and they all tease me about it. Meanies. 

96. Can you wiggle your ears? No... I can’t do anything cool OK? 

97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? When it’s clear that I’m wrong, then I’ll admit it. 

98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? I love them both. Oooh! A forest near the beach so I can be by the trees but still hear the ocean.

99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? "Breathe.”

100. Are you a good liar? I am an awful liar. Like awful awful. I don’t lie, but sometimes I’ll do white lies playfully with my boyfriend and he’ll just laugh because I’m so bad at it.  

101. What is your Hogwarts house? Hufflepuff.

102. Do you talk to yourself? I used to. Now I just talk to my dog.

103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? An introvert who loves talking and meeting new people. But at the end of the day, I have to be alone to refill my energy.  

104. Do you keep a journal or a diary? Nope. 

105. Do you believe in second chances? I guess it technically depends. But we’re all human and we all make mistakes. It’s unfair to not give more than one chance. Unless it’s PURPOSELY harming someone else. That’s not ok. No second chances with that. 

106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? I would take it to the nearest business. Hopefully the person comes looking. 

107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? With most things. If they really wanted to. 

108. Are you ticklish? Yeah...

109. Have you ever been on a plane? I have.

110. Do you have any piercings? I have my standard lobe piercings. Then on my right ear I have a forward helix and upper lobe piercing. On my left I have a helix piercing. And my nose is pierced. 

111. What fictional character do you wish was real? Donkey from Shrek.

112. Do you have any tattoos? Yes, just one.

113. What is the best decision that you have made so far? Rescuing my dog, she means the world to me.

114. Do you believe in karma? Yeah, I think so.

115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? I wore glasses when I was younger, but I don’t need to wear them anymore. My eyes magically improved, I don’t know.

116. Do you want children? I’ve always wanted two.

117. Who is the smartest person you know? I know a lot of smart people.

118. What is your most embarrassing memory? This one time...

119. Have you ever pulled an all nighter? Probably too often. Then I got my puppy, and I haven’t since. Puppies are exhausting. 

120. What color are most of your clothes? Maroon. Or blue. I have a lot of grey I think too.

121. Do you like adventures? Yes! “ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!”

122. Have you ever been on TV? Nope.

123. How old are you? 19.

124. What is your favorite quote? I have so many favorites, but... "You’re only given a little spark of madness, you mustn’t lose it.” - Robin Williams.

125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? Savory. But sweet is sometimes welcome too. 

I tag: anyone who wants to... since this is forever late

#nonsims #tag game #get to know me #personal #i.sil

[1358456]

Review Response, March 31 - April 6, 2019

Technically, the last two on this list are from today, aka April 7 and not in last week, but... ehh... 12:18 am and 3:44 am, so... I’ll let it slide. Besides, responding to 8 at once makes me feel a lot better than responding to just 6.

Legacy #006

1) Great chapter, I liked how platinum was calm and collected even though they jumped off a cliff, really should let y have swimming lessons

Thank you. And yes, Y really should learn how to swim, and will probably be doing that some time later on in Legacy. Won’t get proficient at it, but show some progress! ... Assuming there’s enough time to do that.

2) Oof betrayal within the ranks, Poor Y

I love your writing - It’s worth the wait!

A temporary “betrayal”. For now...

And thank you! ... But it would be best to not wait, no?

3) At least it's remaining not dim and grim for now (no offence).

Ehehe... it’s fine. It’s too early for doom!

4) Good thing Platina thinks. I feel bad for Y, but guess being "cold" isn't so bad after all. It is also so nice to see a relatively calm Gold who isn't the complete child that a lot of fans seem to make him out to be. Though I am a bit amused that "quiet" was something that he would look forward to.

Pretty much a setup chapter it looks like, but I liked the characterization of everyone as always. Great writing and I am really looking forward to seeing how the rest of this story will turn out!

“Betrayed” while in a panicked state. Yikes. Indeed, it’s nice to be cold and calm from time to time. Really see things objectively in a desperate situation. Hehe.

Calm and nice Gold, as the aftermath of The Infinite Cycle. The Cycle ended at Week 20. Gold mentions Week 21 in this Legacy chapter, with Week 12 being when he helped Platinum with her Eevee egg. So behold the not-immature Gold! ... That damn freeloader!

Yes, this is kind of a preparation chapter, isn’t it? That means... sh*t is going to happen soon!

5) I started reading this a couple months ago before reviewing and this story so far is amazing! I did NOT see that coming for Y, well at least Platinum still saved her.

It may be just me, but is that some foreshadowing I see there?

Ehe. Thank you! ... I admit, what Y goes through isn’t really realistic. When someone who can’t swim desperately kick and flail to reach the water surface, they will reach the surface and breathe. They just can’t stay above the water, will likely inhale some water while trying to catch a breathe, and then sink. In this chapter, Y never broke the water surface, because I mirrored it after my own near-drowning experience. ... Platinum’s calm response to the situation is also from the said near-drowning experience, and how I saved myself. Being calm for the win!

Foreshadowing, eh? ... You have no idea...

6) Glad to see them safe. This bout to get EXCITING. Can’t wait for the next update!

Sh*t is going to happen! Starting next chapter! ... Which will get here within the week if there are 5 more reviews for this chapter.

7) Things are about to heat up! I'm excited to see what happens next!

Poor Y at that moment that she felt betrayed, but Platinum was right.

Things sure are about to heat up! Remember that sentence for the next chapter!

Yep. Platinum was definitely right. At that moment, Y was not only a danger to herself, but also to anyone around her. I wonder if this will become a theme...

8) Looks like everyone is safe, especially Platnium and Y. I think something crazy is going to happen. Couldn’t wait for the next update.

Something crazy is just around the corner! Now the question is when. Can’t wait for the update? Allow me to spell out the situation!

Here is the current Legacy chapter-reviews chart. The downhill trend can’t be more obvious, with the last chapter failing to reach a double digit count despite existing for 5 months. The current chapter has 8, which is certainly more than what the last chapter had in the same time frame.

But from here, if there are 0~1 more reviews for the chapter so the count remains below 10, then Legacy will probably be updated next in around... November? December?

If there are 2~4 more, then expect the update around May. Double digit but below the average? ... At least it’s better than the last chapter.

If there are 5+ more, then expect the update within the next 7 days. Because that means this chapter has finally gotten more than the average, which hasn’t happened since Prologue - Kalos (3, 14). ... Though back then, the average was much higher thanks to the outlier...

Now, how can I say that the update can be done within the next 7 days? ... Because I know exactly what I want to do for the next chapter. The question is whether or not I feel like working on the Legacy update.

That said, given how it’s only been 3 days since the update and there are 8, and I don’t see some of the consistent reviewers... the update plan is looking GOOD. So... the update probably won’t take more than 2 months at the very least!

#qna

[dezuya]

Rules: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better.

I was tagged by @haru-kaas and @khirishima

Fun fact, I actually did this months ago, but I forgot to post it until now when I was tagged again. Anto, I’m sorry I’m just posting this now OTL. So I redid it and now I’m posting it. Also because the two tag games I was tagged in has a few different questions, I decided to combine them.

Name: Kelly it’s not my real name though

Nickname: Kale, Hugh (technically Kelly is a nickname)

Gender: Female

Zodiac: Gemini

Height: 5′1″

Time: 2:35 P.M.

Favorite Musicians: Halestorm, Lindsey Stirling, Florence and the Machine, Skillet

Song stuck in my head: The Resistance by Skillet (I recently got back into Skillet)

Last movie I saw: Tbh I forgot...I think it was Beauty and the Beast (live action)

Last thing I Googled: SKJDFFKLHDSFSHSA IT WAS “SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG FAKER” I wanted to know what the quote was for a discord server

Other blogs: I have an All Might sideblog, but I haven’ts updated in a while oof

Do I get asks?: Sometimes, but it’s pretty rare

Why I chose this username: I wanted a bnha related url and because Kirishima is one of my favorite characters, I decided to use his name (eijirou kirishima) 

Following: 115 (I really need to follow more people because my dashboard is starting to become dead)

Amount of sleep: Somewhere between 5-9; it depends

Lucky number: 7 

What I’m wearing: A gray-ish sweater and black sweatpants

Dream job: Actor, astronomer, writer, artist, something to do with marketing. Basically something that can satisfy my creative side and where I can also learn a lot.

Dream trip: Maybe somewhere tropical, or maybe somewhere in Europe

Favorite foods: Chocolate I’ve been consuming so much chocolate lately it’s ridiculous 

Instruments: I used to play the clarinet and cello years ago (assuming that this is what it’s asking)

Favorite Songs: The Resistance by Skillet; The Arena, Elements, and Crystallize by Lindsey Stirling; White Dress, Uncomfortable, Black Vulture, I am the Fire, and Freak like Me by Halestorm; Third Eye by Florence and the Machine; Pop/Stars by K/DA; there’s a lot more, especially from the artists/bands I just listed, but these are all the ones I can think of on the top of my head

Extra questions from the other tag game:

Random fact: I have curly hair (type 3A/3B)

Describe your aesthetic things: Uhhh...dark color clothes, stars....idk???

I tag: Idk who to tag, but anyone reading this is welcome to do this!!!

#text #about me #tag game #SJKDJHDSHJSA I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO POST THIS BEFORE I'M SORRY ANTO #which reminds me...i think i have other tag games that i also forgot to post...dammit

[chorddebtor0-blog]

Michael Kenny’s Offseason Plan, and Plan Tracker

Before I get started with my own plan, I wanted to share the link to the South Side Sox offseason plan tracker spreadsheet, which I’ll be updating as all of your plans roll in. This will give us an idea of which decisions are the most popular, how much everyone is giving up in money and trades, and more.

2018-19 SSS Offseason Plan Tracker

Sorry, White Sox fans, but the window is not opening in 2019.

It could have, had things gone better in 2018. Yoán Moncada could’ve broken out for 4 or 5 WAR instead of backing into 2 and looking like 0. Michael Kopech could’ve stayed healthy and lived up to the hype. Any other prospect could’ve stayed healthy. Seriously, was Dylan Cease the only guy in the whole farm system that didn’t get injured? That’s ironic.

With Moncada providing more questions than answers, Kopech tearing his UCL, Lucas Giolito falling apart, Eloy Jiménez being held back, and a big ol’ pile of injuries in the minors, it’s become clear that 2019 is not the year. The Sox need another season of development to get the answers they currently lack, which makes pushing toward contention this winter a futile exercise.

Any moves the Sox make this offseason need to be with 2020 and 2021 in mind. In 2020, Moncada, Giolito, and Reynaldo López will have one more season under their belts, Jiménez will be settled in, Kopech will return, and the second wave of prospects will arrive in the majors. In 2021, Carlos Rodón and Yolmer Sánchez will reach free agency. Those two seasons represent the convergence of most of the organization’s talent, and hopefully enough players will take steps forward to extend the window well beyond that.

Of course, the two names on everyone’s minds are Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. I’m sure either of those guys would be thrilled to sign with a team that just lost 100 games, and I’m sure the White Sox would offer them enough money to do it, especially since they’re known for giving out blockbuster contracts. There are simply too many teams with too much money, too much existing talent, and too much TWTW for the Sox to even be a footnote in those negotiations.

My goal is to set this team up for future success knowing that the blockbuster is not happening, but hoping that they’ll go all in a year from now, when the time is right. Let’s get to it!

Arbitration-Eligibles

José Abreu – $16 million – TENDER

Avisaíl García – $8 million – TENDER

Yolmer Sánchez – $4.7 million – TENDER

Carlos Rodón – $3.7 million – TENDER

Matt Davidson – $2.4 million – TENDER

Leury García – $1.9 million – TENDER

The first four on this list are easy decisions. I wouldn’t blame you if you non-tendered Leury or Davidson, although I think they can both still be moderately useful players and their salaries won’t break the bank. If either has to be DFA’d midseason to give someone else a chance, so be it, but they stay for now.

Options

You already know how this goes in real life; James Shields’ option was declined, and Nate Jones’s option was picked up. Jones presents a tough decision, but I think that it’s wise to give him one more chance to pitch a full, healthy season. He hasn’t lost any velocity through all of these injuries, so there’s still hope that he can get back to pitching effectively.

Impending Free Agents

Miguel González (2018 salary: $4.75 million) – LET GO

Hector Santiago (2018 salary: $2 million) – LET GO

There are far too many pitchers in this organization to give any more innings to either of these guys.

Free Agent Signings

Sign RHP Nathan Eovaldi to a 3-year, $51 million contract.

After missing all of 2017 following Tommy John surgery, Eovaldi picked up right where he left off with a 3.60 FIP in 111 innings. He’s an above-average starter when healthy, and it’s unfortunate that he had such a great postseason because he’s no longer as under-the-radar as he was a month ago. I’m signing him for three years, although now I’m a bit worried that it will take four to get a deal done, so I’m upping the annual value to compensate.

Eovaldi issued just 20 walks this season, so he’ll be a great addition to a pitching staff that led the majors in free passes (653). He also generates a healthy amount of ground balls (46.8 percent career). Basically, Eovaldi should help to stabilize a highly uncertain 2019 rotation, and if he continues to pitch well, he becomes an asset to the team in 2020-21 or a trade chip to acquire help elsewhere.

Sign LHP Drew Pomeranz to a 1-year, $9 million contract.

The Sox already had one hole to fill in the rotation, but with Michael Kopech down for the count it’s probably a good idea to add another. For that reason, I’m signing both Eovaldi, a pitcher on the rise, and Pomeranz, a reclamation project.

Pomeranz posted back-to-back 3-win seasons before bombing with the Red Sox this year. He spent two months on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis, and the issue sapped both his velocity (90 mph average fastball, down from 92) and control (5.35 BB/9). He got some of his zip back in the second half, but the Red Sox bumped him to the bullpen after they acquired... Nathan Eovaldi.

Eovaldi and Pomeranz fill out the rotation, with Jordan Stephens the next man up out of Charlotte. There’s also a chance that Dylan Cease forces his way into the conversation, but given the nature of pitching there will always be opportunities.

Sign C Jeff Mathis to a 1-year, $2 million contract.

I really don’t know what to do about Omar Narváez. His bat is legit, but his glove does not belong at catcher. Like, at all. A guy who hits .275/.366/.429 shouldn’t feel like a fringe major leaguer, but that’s how much value he gives back with his defense. I gave a lot of thought to just moving Narváez to third base this offseason (hey, it worked for Brandon Inge), but I think the most realistic solution is to make him a part-time catcher, part-time 1B/DH. That will diminish his offensive value, but it will also limit his defensive damage.

Given Narváez’s limitations, Welington Castillo isn’t the right catcher to pair with him. I think keeping Omar as a catcher requires bringing in a defensive specialist as his caddy, and Mathis can be that guy. He’s a banjo hitter, to be sure, but he’s also an excellent defender. There’s a reason he’s continued to find work despite a career 50 wRC+. Oof, did I say 50? Well, ultimately he’s just keeping this spot warm for Seby Zavala.

Trades

Acquire 3B Maikel Franco from the Phillies for OF Blake Rutherford and RHP Jimmy Lambert.

The Phillies are looking to make a huge splash this offseason, and they can’t afford to wait around on Franco to realize his potential when Machado and others are there for the taking. At 26, Franco is still mostly projection because he’s yet to live up to his former elite prospect hype. He showed signs of life this year with a 105 wRC+, but his performance has been uninspiring overall, in part due to some conditioning issues. Give him a change of scenery, get him in the Best Shape of His Life, and maybe he’ll run with the new opportunity.

The Sox have such a ridiculous glut of outfielders and pitchers that they can start dipping into it a bit to diversify their assets and take a risk on a player like Franco, who has three more years of control. Rutherford and Lambert are expendable without putting the depth of the system in jeopardy.

Acquiring an everyday third baseman also allows Yolmer Sánchez to shift into a super-sub role, where I think he can be very valuable on a good team. If Franco flops, Sánchez can just take the hot corner back. This also means saying goodbye to José Rondón, but I don’t really believe his low-average power surge is sustainable.

Acquire RHP Stiward Aquino from the Angels for C Welington Castillo and $3 million.

I really liked the Castillo signing at the time. The only reason I didn’t include him in my plan last year was because I didn’t think the Sox would be able to get him. Of course, a midseason PED suspension is a great way to kill any goodwill with your organization and fanbase.

Moreover, as I said above, Castillo just doesn’t fit on this team anymore. Unfortunately, these factors combined give the Sox about as much leverage on the trade market as they had with Nick Swisher. I suspect some team that really needs help behind the plate will allow Castillo to don the tools of ignorance, but they’ll want to acquire him at a discount and give up little in return.

I imagine the Los Angeles Angels would take on Castillo given that their current catchers are a 29-year old rookie, a 26-year-old rookie, and Kevan Smith. In exchange they’re sending Aquino, a 19-year-old pitcher with a lanky 6-foot-6 frame who lost his 2018 to Tommy John surgery.

Other Moves

Offer OF Eloy Jiménez a 7-year, $50 million extension.

I don’t expect Jiménez to sign an early-career extension the way many young White Sox players have. He’s a star waiting in the wings, and the Sox done him wrong at the end of 2018. That said, a record-shattering deal like this might get his attention given that his amateur signing bonus was a mere $2.8 million. It would also spare both sides the “Work on your defense for two weeks” charade.

In all likelihood, the charade is still on. If it is, Nicky Delmonico breaks camp with the major league team and, barring injury, he’s the odd man out come April 12.

Get Matt Davidson on a mound.

Seriously. I don’t think there’s any reason that a team can’t lean on its backup DH to throw two or three innings in garbage time. In an era where relievers are more important than ever, converting a defensively limited guy into a two-way player and pitching him in low-leverage situations can spare the rest of the bullpen. It may even allow the Sox to forego whatever random junkballer veteran swingman they would need instead. It’s the new market inefficiency!

The Roster

Lineup

2B Yoán Moncada C Omar Narváez 1B José Abreu DH Daniel Palka LF Nicky Delmonico Eloy Jiménez RF Avisaíl García 3B Maikel Franco SS Tim Anderson CF Adam Engel

Bench

C Jeff Mathis UT Yolmer Sánchez OF Leury García 1B/RHP Matt Davidson

Rotation

LHP Carlos Rodón RHP Nathan Eovaldi RHP Reynaldo López LHP Drew Pomeranz RHP Lucas Giolito

Bullpen

RHP Ian Hamilton LHP Jace Fry RHP Zack Burdi RHP José Ruiz RHP Nate Jones RHP Thyago Vieira LHP Caleb Frare (Or swap in Ryan Burr, Carson Fulmer, Aaron Bummer, Juan Minaya, Dylan Covey, etc.)

Summary

You may have noticed that this team is not that good, but it’s a pretty big step forward from 2018. If things break right, they could push into the 75-to-80-win range, and that would set the table for a serious push in 2020.

This team’s payroll is in the neighborhood of $88 million, and only Eovaldi and Tim Anderson (and possibly Jiménez) have guaranteed contracts beyond 2019. That kind of flexibility opens up endless possibilities for next offseason, when the free agent market will be headlined by players like these:

Source: https://www.southsidesox.com/2018/11/1/18038098/michael-kennys-offseason-plan-and-plan-tracker

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

[techbotic]

Daily News Update: Galaxy Folded

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Samsung—the first Galaxy Fold hands-on posts looked promising, but then review units started breaking. Now, the company has canceled launch events in China and delayed the Fold’s release indefinitely. Ouch.

The Fold, which went on sale to customers last week, was slated to be released just three days from now, on April 26th. But with all the display issues on review units, Samsung is pushing back the launch. It a statement, it confirmed that it would announce a new release date “in the coming weeks.” That means anyone who pre-ordered the Fold will wait for at least another month, most likely more.

While this isn’t as disastrous as the exploding Galaxy Note 7 fiasco from a couple of years ago, it’s still a pretty bad look for Samsung—especially because we all remember the Note 7 situation pretty clearly. It’s been nearly three years, but that’s still not long enough to undo the damage.

The issue is that this is the second time something catastrophic points back to Samsung’s quality control. The Note 7’s battery problems should’ve been found internally before they became the public’s problem. And while the Fold’s display issues were found before the public release, it’s incredibly troubling that it wasn’t noticed during Samsung’s testing. It took the device getting into reviewers’ hands before it became apparent.

The statement from the company points out that “initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge.” Do they not do any sort of impact testing during development?

Either way, the company claims it’s going to fix these issues before releasing the device to the public. It’s also going to “enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer”—you know, so people don’t remove the screen protector that isn’t a screen protector. Oof.

But on to other news now. Apparently, the Nokia 9’s fingerprint reader can be fooled with a pack of gum, AT&T settled the lawsuit over its 5G E network, OnePlus sets a date for the OP7 announcement, and more!

A sticky situation for Nokia: A recent update to the Nokia 9 jacked up its in-display fingerprint reader, causing everyday objects like a pack of gum to bypass it. What a stupid problem to have. [ZDNet]

AT&T’s 5G E logo is still go: Sprint sued AT&T over its crappy 5G E network logo (because, you know, it’s still just 4G). The companies have settled—but the 5G E logo isn’t going anywhere. -__- [9to5Mac]

The OnePlus 7 is coming: The company announced a May 14th event to announce the OP7, of which there are rumors of a couple of models. Interesting. [Engadget]

Linux on your phone: Linux on DeX, the software that allows users to run Ubuntu from their phone using DeX, is coming to the Galaxy S9, S10, and Tab S5e. It’s like a desktop in your pocket. [Android Police]

iOS apps to get external storage access? The word on the street is that iOS 13 will give apps like Lightroom access to attached external storage. That could be a game changer for creators. [The Verge]

Bing Maps gets traffic cam access: A new feature added to Bing Maps will let users access real-time traffic cameras. Also, Bing Maps is apparently a thing. [MSPowerUser]

ASUS has long been one of the last holdouts making high(er)-end Android tablets, but the writing is on the wall for its ZenPad line. As its ZenFone line continues to get more popular, it’s going to move its focus away from Android tablets—which have long been dying, anyway—and onto something that, you know, actually makes money. I guess if you want an Android tablet now, Samsung is one of the last options for decent large-screen devices. The end of an era.

Daily News Update: Galaxy Folded published first on https://medium.com/@CPUCHamp

[technteacher]

Daily News Update: Galaxy Folded

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Samsung—the first Galaxy Fold hands-on posts looked promising, but then review units started breaking. Now, the company has canceled launch events in China and delayed the Fold’s release indefinitely. Ouch.

The Fold, which went on sale to customers last week, was slated to be released just three days from now, on April 26th. But with all the display issues on review units, Samsung is pushing back the launch. It a statement, it confirmed that it would announce a new release date “in the coming weeks.” That means anyone who pre-ordered the Fold will wait for at least another month, most likely more.

While this isn’t as disastrous as the exploding Galaxy Note 7 fiasco from a couple of years ago, it’s still a pretty bad look for Samsung—especially because we all remember the Note 7 situation pretty clearly. It’s been nearly three years, but that’s still not long enough to undo the damage.

The issue is that this is the second time something catastrophic points back to Samsung’s quality control. The Note 7’s battery problems should’ve been found internally before they became the public’s problem. And while the Fold’s display issues were found before the public release, it’s incredibly troubling that it wasn’t noticed during Samsung’s testing. It took the device getting into reviewers’ hands before it became apparent.

The statement from the company points out that “initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge.” Do they not do any sort of impact testing during development?

Either way, the company claims it’s going to fix these issues before releasing the device to the public. It’s also going to “enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer”—you know, so people don’t remove the screen protector that isn’t a screen protector. Oof.

But on to other news now. Apparently, the Nokia 9’s fingerprint reader can be fooled with a pack of gum, AT&T settled the lawsuit over its 5G E network, OnePlus sets a date for the OP7 announcement, and more!

A sticky situation for Nokia: A recent update to the Nokia 9 jacked up its in-display fingerprint reader, causing everyday objects like a pack of gum to bypass it. What a stupid problem to have. [ZDNet]

AT&T’s 5G E logo is still go: Sprint sued AT&T over its crappy 5G E network logo (because, you know, it’s still just 4G). The companies have settled—but the 5G E logo isn’t going anywhere. -__- [9to5Mac]

The OnePlus 7 is coming: The company announced a May 14th event to announce the OP7, of which there are rumors of a couple of models. Interesting. [Engadget]

Linux on your phone: Linux on DeX, the software that allows users to run Ubuntu from their phone using DeX, is coming to the Galaxy S9, S10, and Tab S5e. It’s like a desktop in your pocket. [Android Police]

iOS apps to get external storage access? The word on the street is that iOS 13 will give apps like Lightroom access to attached external storage. That could be a game changer for creators. [The Verge]

Bing Maps gets traffic cam access: A new feature added to Bing Maps will let users access real-time traffic cameras. Also, Bing Maps is apparently a thing. [MSPowerUser]

ASUS has long been one of the last holdouts making high(er)-end Android tablets, but the writing is on the wall for its ZenPad line. As its ZenFone line continues to get more popular, it’s going to move its focus away from Android tablets—which have long been dying, anyway—and onto something that, you know, actually makes money. I guess if you want an Android tablet now, Samsung is one of the last options for decent large-screen devices. The end of an era.

from How-To Geek http://bit.ly/2VXq68M from Blogger http://bit.ly/2GvdG1n

#Blogger