#this was fun even if i’m a bit rusty drawing max

[isadraws13]

Okay so I’m trying to add some things to Walter because I want him to be an interesting character (he already was to me before amulet because I grew attached to said character after creating him over the last few years I made him)

So here’s what I got(though some of these involve Winniko in them) (pronounced Win-E-Ko)

Walter was raised by Winniko as a single mother, and he barely remembers his father since his father left him and his mother when he was around three years old.

Walter was raised fairly well by his mother but he in the beginning he believed that horseplay and genuinely having fun and taking time for yourself was pointless if you’re not earning, because of that he often worked himself to the max when he had a few part times jobs since he wanted to save up as much as he could for his future.

Walter wasn’t the best at communicating with others or talking, because growing up he often was by himself or he couldn’t find the words to express himself or to start up conversations, because of that he often had a lot of miscommunications with people.

He really loves animals, whether if it’s cats, dogs, chinchillas, parrots, he thinks they’re adorable and wanted to have one, but because felt like he wasn’t ready to have the responsibility to get one at the time.

Sometimes when he has trouble trying to find the right words he wants to say out loud in the moment, he’ll usually keep a small notepad and write it down so he can think and find the words he wants to say and then recite it back to the person he’s talking to.

He has slight social anxiety, because of this he tends to be a bit quiet and doesn’t say much to the person he meets, however given enough time with the said person and he’ll warm up to them and eventually smile at them and enjoy their company.

He’s a tad stingy, not wanting to spend too much or buy meaningless things that won’t benefit him. (If it costs a lot then the item needs to have value for him)

He really enjoys photography, often prioritizing his work and making sure his clients are satisfied with the photos he takes.

He often edits the photos he takes so that he can make them better and stand out more so that the clients he has will be satisfied and happy.

He’s trying to learn how to dance, though he’s a bit rusty with his dance moves so he gets a tad embarrassed when he gets on the dance floor because he thinks he’s awful with it.

He paints as a side hobby, but he struggles with drawing as it’s a bit challenging for him to get into details sketching.

When meeting Audrey, he thought she was insanely hyperactive and too much for his energy, but after seeing what the workplace was like and how relaxed it was, he became used to her and the other co workers, even helping Audrey out with editing the said photos. He grew to have a liking to her and appreciates her company, even if she’s a bit much at times.

#Walter Orpheus #Winniko Orpheus

[cucumber-cut-lengthwise]

max week day 1 - dress up!

never participated in any of these newfangled ‘weeks’ and i wasn’t planning to until a vision of maxsune miku implanted itself into my mind

#this was fun even if i’m a bit rusty drawing max #alt colour ver cause i think they both look really cool #max week 2021 #maxweek2021 #sam and max #my art #sam and max max #maxsune miku #may or may not do more days #depends if i have ideas lol #but i forgot how fun it is to draw max #max is the easiest thing in the world to colour

[serendipitous-magic]

Pay no attention to the sneak-peek behind the read-more line...

-_-_-_-

Dustin’s duffel bag thwumps onto the mattress, bouncing slightly.

Home sweet home.

He punches a button on his radio and flops down onto the edge of his bed, rubbing at his eyes as the local radio personality announces Small Town Boy by Age of Consent. He takes a big breath - in and out. It is eight hundred and nineteen miles from Camp Know Where to Hawkins, Indiana, and Dustin just spent the last two days travelling them in a small car with his mother. Which was fun at first. Impromptu sing-alongs with his mom have been a staple of driving to and from summer camp for years. They got Frosties in the drive through, they talked about camp, they played the alphabet game while they made their way across three states... Good times. He didn’t even mind being stuck in a confined space with a parent for their mini-road-trip - much. That part wasn’t so bad. It’s just the last leg of the drive that got a little bit less than awesome. Mainly because it would seem that his friends have forgotten about him. 

Eight hundred and nineteen miles, and the Party should have been in range of his supercomm for at least two or three of them. 

You know, he always kind of forgets what his home town smells like until he’s been gone for a while. It’s like the way you don’t realize what your own house smells like until you get back after vacation. Granted, it’s no bed of roses. Hawkins tends to have a sort of... aroma. Like the farms on the outer edge, and like the forest that grows thick and green during the summer, and dusty, cracked asphalt in need of repairs, and humidity, and hay, and old brick buildings. It’s not exactly a scent you’d find in a candle. But it’s not bad, per se, and moreover: it’s home.

“This is Gold...” he starts to say, but halfway through the hail, his voice stalls. 

This new hat isn’t quite molded to the shape of his head yet, like his old one is, and he keeps reaching up to adjust it. Tugging it down over his forehead, then pushing it back. This time, when he reaches up, he snags his headset and tosses it onto the bed. What’s the point?

He drove his mom up the wall during the last fifteen minutes of their journey, trying to get in contact with the Party.

“This is Gold Leader returning to base, do you copy? Over.” 

He must have said that at least two dozen times. He could feel his mom glancing at him as she drove, but he just ran his tongue over the rough string of braces on his lower teeth and leaned forward anxiously, as if tilting forward in his seat would help him see around the curve. The bobblehead cat on the dashboard headbanged along to the oldie on the radio as he tried again. 

“I repeat. This is Gold Leader returning to base. Do you copy? Over.” 

Silence. Silence, and static, and the car radio bopping along to the beat. Come on. Come on. He jammed the talk button hard enough that the plastic edge dug into his thumb. 

“This is goddamn Gold Leader -” 

“Dusty!” his mom chided, and he slapped the supercomm into his lap. 

“What?” 

“Relax. For goodness sake.” 

“I’m in range, they should be answering.” 

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun, maybe they just...” She wiggled her shoulders with a tilt of her head. “Forgot.” 

She didn’t mean him. Of course she didn’t mean that they forgot him. She meant the radios; she meant they forgot what channel they’re supposed to be on. Or that they forgot what day he was coming home. She didn’t mean that they forgot about Dustin himself. 

It’s just, it’s not exactly reassuring, you know? It’s the middle of summer already. All the roads are lined with tall, dark weeds. In a few days, everything will smell like sparkler smoke and kettle corn from the annual 4th of July fair. When he left it was barely June, and the weeds along the roadside were barely sprouts. What else has happened since he left? What else has changed?

A muffled little tink draws his attention to the vivarium on his left, where Yurtle is bumping against the side, stumpy little legs flailing as he fails to comprehend glass. Dustin grins at him.

“At least someone’s happy to see me.”

Yurtle continues his mission to pass through the solid glass wall, unperturbed by his complete lack of success. Determined little guy. Never gets very far, but he tries.

Dustin isn’t worried about it - the Party, that is. Honestly, he’s not. It’s not like they’ve all been acting weird for the past few months anyway. It’s not like ever since El reappeared Mike has been MIA more often than not, visiting her at the cabin for as long as Hopper would allow. It’s not like Max and Lucas have developed their own little language and routine together - not just boyfriend and girlfriend, but best friends. It’s not like Will has been a slightly different person since... well, since everything. It’s not like he misses how the Party used to be.

But Dustin doesn’t like to mope. He slaps his thighs and stands up, reaching into the vivarium to turn Yurtle around. Yurtle lumbers off towards his pool, apparently assured that his ability to move is due to his own success, and Dustin hums along with the radio as he unzips his duffel bag with a flourish. Who is he to complain? He just got back from possibly the most amazing summer camp ever. He’s got the whole rest of the summer ahead of him. He’s got things to do. Places to go. Popsicles to eat. (You know what they don’t have at Camp Know Where? Otter pops. Unbelievable, right? Three hundred acres, over five hundred campers and dozens of counselors, and not a single person could produce even one pack of sugary, brightly colored frozen goodness.) 

He’s got plans. Specifically, an invention to get up and running - and he has the perfect place in mind. He bets he can get the gang to help him set it up - if they’d just answer.

Okay, maybe he’s a little unsettled. The Party doesn’t just go radio silent on each other, okay? Because when a Party member goes radio-silent, it usually means that something is wrong. Really wrong.

His eyes slide over the stain in his carpet. It’s a barely-perceptible rusty brown, now, blending in with the striped carpet unless you know just where to look. He had to tell his mom it was spaghetti sauce.

His toy robot starts marching out of the corner just as Dustin turns away, chattering unintelligibly in its perpetual-low-battery fizzle, red eyes glowing.

Wait.

What.

Dustin turns back, slowly, and this time the robot is joined by a toy tank and R2D2. 

Now, he’s no expert, but in Dustin’s fourteen years of experience on earth, toys don’t come alive. So he’s understandably befuddled when he closes his eyes, counts to five, opens them again, and is met with a small crowd of miniature robots, vehicles, and one small mechanical dinosaur all moving with apparent purpose towards his bedroom door.

Okay. Cool. So either he’s dreaming, or he has to burn the house down and salt the earth. He’s seen Poltergeist. He knows how this ends.

Hopping carefully over a hotwheels car, Dustin grabs the first weapon he lays eyes on: a heavy, solid can of Farrah Fawcett hair spray from his dresser. R2D2 whistles cheerfully, as if beckoning - and, like the idiot that dies first in a horror movie, Dustin follows.

His hat slips down a little too far over his forehead, and he shoves it back as he creeps along in his socks. He has got to adjust the band on this thing.

“It’s just a dream,” he mutters to himself. The shiny plastic robot at the head of the small army bumps into a wall, adjusts its trajectory with an affronted little grumble, and leads its followers across the hallway. Through the house. Into the living room. “You’re dreaming.”

The feeling of being watched makes his skin crawl. He swears, in about five seconds he’s gonna punt one of the little - 

They stopped.

Dustin freezes, eyes flicking over the now-inert toys. Then he darts forward to scoop up their leader, turning the robot over in his hands, inspecting it. An electrical disturbance, maybe...? He picks at the battery panel. That still wouldn’t explain the -

Fweep!

The shrill blast pierces the air directly behind him and he screams, spins, and deploys his weapon - directly into the eyes of his best friend.

Lucas screams. Dustin screams. Lucas screams louder. Dustin realizes he’s still spraying the hairspray and abruptly lets go, dropping the heavy can on Lucas’s toe. Lucas screams again, hopping sideways, one hand over his eyes and one still clutching the Welcome home Dustin! sign that Dustin has just taken note of. Lucas then trips and hits the floor with a thump. The rest of the Party, who Dustin now sees behind him, gawks - and then explodes into guffaws.

Mike and El are holding hands, El hiding behind Mike’s shoulder from the spray of Farrah Fawcett, laughing around the noisemaker in her mouth. Max’s hair blazes down around her shoulders, the burnished-copper-red slightly frizzy with the humidity, her face screwed up in helpless bouts of belly laughter as she holds her stomach and watches her boyfriend roll around on the floor. Will’s hair has grown out maybe half an inch since Dustin last saw him, the straight line of his bangs creeping towards his eyebrows and the fringe of his hair warped slightly where it gets caught on his ears. For a split second it gives Dustin a sinking feeling - like that’s just one more thing that’s changed since he left. But then Will laughs, that exact same chortling laugh he’s had since they met in the fourth grade, and Dustin’s face splits into a grin.

“Guys!” he yells, throwing out his arms, and they dogpile him.

From the floor, Lucas groans, “Welcome home, asshole.”

#the real season 3 #upcoming fics #sneak peek #sts3 #posted for that one anon

[mobius-prime]

159. Sonic Super Special #15

Welcome to the final Sonic Super Special ever! Here's my opinion on it. Past Super Specials have ranged from okay to amazing, depending on the writer and the subject matter, and their long length has usually, if you ask me, worked in their favor, as it meant more time and space to tell a compelling story. This is not true of this one. Unfortunately, the last super special of the comic is utterly awful, with two stories that do absolutely nothing to grip my attention, one of which ends in a status quo with a net gain of absolutely nothing, and the other of which is cringeworthy and isn't even very clear on when, where or how it takes place. Let's just get this over with, shall we?

Naugus Games

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Many Hands Colors: Josh and Aimeee Ray

This first story is far, far longer than it has any right to be - it really feels like they were trying to find ways to pad it out it to take up the full 48 pages of the special. Furthermore, you might notice some oddities about the credits above. First of all, Aimee's name is misspelled with three E's for both stories for some reason, indicating some lazy copy-and-pasting as well as a lack of care from the editors. Even more frustratingly, no one is actually credited directly for the pencils (or inks), with the art instead just being credited to "many hands." Remember how I said the comic was getting annoyingly bad about properly crediting people? Now, in case you're confused, there's not just some artist out there literally named Many Hands; instead, that's the comic's way of sidestepping actually bothering to credit any individuals for their work. It just means "eh, a lot of people worked on this I guess, but we don't care enough to actually tell you who." Unfortunately, unlike a few issues ago where the art style was immediately recognizable as Steven Butler's, the art style for this story is foreign to me, suggesting they got some people who weren't their usual artists to work on this one, so I can't even take an educated guess here. All I know is that both the art style in general and the quality of the inks are very poor, and as we'll see, the art gets unforgivably lazy at times. Perhaps best of all, this story was later retconned into a much more interesting and concise version of itself at a later date, with better storytelling and artwork to boot. The only reason, then, that I'm covering it at all, is honestly as a demonstration of just how lazy the comic could get at times, as well as due to the fact that this is the first appearance of "Many Hands," who later pencilled one other issue for the comic that was of equally poor quality.

So this story takes place at an unspecified time in the recent past. It seems to be sometime after Eggman's return, judging by some of the lines of dialogue within the story, but the actual timeframe is pretty vague. Sonic has returned to the Southern Tundra to pay his respects to Eddy, recalling how Eddy sacrificed himself when he, Tails, and Nate all fought Naugus here some time ago. He's brought a single rose to lay on the site of the wreckage, but the ground isn't quite stable…

And here we have the first instance of a truly terrible art decision. Sonic falls into a pitch black cave system, but instead of representing this with maybe one page max of blackness or darker lighting, we're treated to nearly four pages straight of nothing but this:

He blindly stumbles around for a while, informing us of this fact through dialogue bubbles because everyone knows that telling is better than showing in fiction, right? He finally hits a wall and sees a glow through a crack in it, so he tunnels his way into the next room only to find it full of glowing rings - apparently, either he, Tails and Naugus somehow didn't use up all the rings when they fought, or these one have just auto-generated themselves somehow down here. Sonic recalls memories of the previous battle when Nate sealed Naugus away with a wish from a ring, and then decides to try to use one to get out of the cave system.

Wonderful! Apparently, a "wish" as defined by the magic of the rings just means that you think of someone's name while touching a ring, and so with a flash, Naugus is back from his imprisonment in the zone that Nate sealed him into! But how is this possible?

That explanation makes… basically no sense, dude. Naugus was definitely sealed away in another zone, he didn't just get turned into a pile of telepathic rings. But whatever. He and Sonic start battling it out, and somehow make it outside, where Naugus conjures up a snowstorm that consistently stays centered on Sonic no matter where he runs. Time for the second awful art choice of the issue - now instead of four pages of pure blackness, we get six whole pages of this:

I think the best thing about this is that the blizzard backgrounds are clearly not even hand drawn like the rest of the comic is - there's only two types of snowflakes up there, and they're consistently just copied and pasted in that same repetitive swirl pattern on every single page. I get that drawing for a big story in a super special like this can be long and tedious work, but this is why you don't try to find a way to artificially elongate a story like this which could easily be told in the span of a normal issue length. It just ends up making the audience feel like their time is being wasted. Anyway, the blizzard finally ends when Sonic pulls out a ring from his jacket and wishes for Naugus to be sealed away in his previous zone once more, and thus, Naugus is out of our hair again, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Man, if it's this easy to defeat people in this universe, why hasn't anyone tried this on Eggman yet?

Sonic then leaves back for home, thinking one last time of Eddy, who is shown looking down on him from the heavens above. And thank god that story is over.

Sonic Spin City

Writer/Pencils: Michael Gallagher Colors: Josh and Aimeee Ray

Michael Gallagher, over the course of the comics, has gone from one of the series' main writers to basically a guest writer who's brought on every once in a while for special occasions. In this case, he even makes his return as a penciller! Unfortunately, his goofy writing style has begun to clash with the much more serious plots of these later issues, and this story is no exception. It's entirely unclear about whether we're supposed to take this story as actual canon, as a story from an alternate zone, or as just a silly joke story that doesn’t mean anything - and while I tend to try to avoid looking at non-canon materials in this review series (I've already skipped a few stories and issues for exactly this reason), the ambiguity of this one forces me to cover it. In addition, I don't even know why Josh and "Aimeee" were credited as colorists for this story, considering the entire thing is black and white with no color to be found.

Much like the first story of StH#52, this story has the flair of an old detective serial. Sonic is wandering the streets on a rainy night when two swatbots ambush him. Of course, two swatbots are no match.

What does a swatbot need matches for? Eh, whatever. Sonic races over to Rusty's, a hangout for abandoned badniks, and orders himself a "chili dog float," which in addition to sounding absolutely disgusting doesn't even seem like something a bar for robots would serve in the first place. As he takes his seat, the lights go out, and… this abomination emerges onto the stage.

Yes. The badniks are going wild for a swatbot with tits dancing seductively on a stage for them. What is she gonna do, plug them into a wall outlet? They even start screaming out for "the stretch," and appear to get even hornier as she massively elongates her legs for them. I mean, just, what? I swear, Michael, if we get one more weird borderline-sex thing like this from you in this comic, my eyes are gonna pop out of my head like Natsuki. A bot grabs the dancer's ankle, and she's thrown off balance and crashes down, with the head popping off to reveal that underneath, it's Bunnie in disguise.

You know, after her claim all those issues back that she's a "sax cymbal," I'm not even gonna contest the idea that she'd do a sexy dance during infiltration for a mission. Hell, I get the impression she'd do one anyway just for fun back in Knothole if she got the chance. You might also notice her arm is the arm from her old design, and that coupled with Sonic's own design seems to indicate that if this took place at all in actual canon, it was before Eggman's return, though I'm immensely skeptical that this is supposed to be canon at all. Sonic and Bunnie take out the rest of Rusty's customer base, and then evacuate before the last swatbot activates its self-destruct chip, blowing the place sky high. Congratulations, nothing important was accomplished in this issue and nobody cares!

It's kinda sad that the final Sonic Super Special turned out to be so low-quality, honestly. However, this marks a bit of a turning point in the comic. For the first time in its entire run, from now on, there are no more special issues, no sister series, no miniseries, nothing. From the next issue, all the way to almost the 200th, with one exception in the form of a Free Comic Book Day issue, there are absolutely no interruptions from issue to issue. While this may not seem too notable at first, since we've just been reading everything in mostly-chronological order anyway, keep in mind that as far as the comic is concerned we're still in the year 2000, with a mere seven years having passed from the beginning of the comic all the way to now over the course of 159 issues. Over the course of the next 106 issues, we're going to blaze through nine years of comic history, meaning that the story is going to flow a lot faster, with more plot points being covered in a shorter amount of time. While this does make the order of issues a lot easier to follow, since there's no questions about which issue fits in where or anything, I am sad to see all the special issues go, as I quite enjoyed how they served to break up the flow of the comic as a whole with special stories and side content. Though we're still in the middle of our current plot era, we're entering into a new era of the comic as a whole, where we've got a straight shot through the next hundred issues. So I say - let's do it to it!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sonic super special 15 #writer: ken penders #writer: michael gallagher #pencils: many hands #pencils: michael gallagher #colors: joshua d ray #colors: aimee r ray

[ff-chizuruleech]

I’m going to answer some of the question i got on the anon survey i linked in >this post<

But before that i wanted to thanks everyone for the support on the project, i’m really happy to see so many people are willing to partecipate and are interested in it!

Also, I’m thinking on opening officially the blog on 1st december, and before that i’m already accepting reservations for the scenes in Dms to help me start organizing the spreadsheet, I’ll just need

◆ A little description of the scene (1 sentence max)

◆ Screenshot of the specific scene to help me state it’s really from the lore and to avoid others to draw the exact same scene (a bit before/after is allowed)

◆ From where is it taken (X chara backstory/x Event)

◆ Which name would you like to be credited with

Regarding the questions:

No, I don’t plan to set a limit number of scenes for person, **however you can do only one per time, **when you finish the scene you have currently reserved you can then reserve a new one and so on!

-You have all the time you want, however after one month from reservation if i didn’t hear anything from you (wips, “i’m still working at it”, “sorry i’m late i had issues”) i will free you reservation, on the contrary if i hear from you I will extend the reservaton time, but all in all no time restriction at all! -Above question answers this -Digital and traditional, both are good!

wah, thank you??

No list of scenes avaiable will ever be realeased, the reason is: the list of scenes is **ALL THE CANON LORE!! **You can literally draw any existing scene that there is in the game! however the 1st of december along the blog I will release the spreadshit with the reservation I’ll collect during these next days so you will see which scenes are already reserved, main reason is..i’m still rusty with excel and have to get re-used to it so right now the draft is a big mess.

Thank you so much, I’m really looking forward to see this little dream of mine start and grow, I’m thankful to everyone who’s excited to partecipate!♥ By the way, both are good! You can do a still drawing or a short comic (let’s not make it 25 pages of backstory tho or else other people won’t get the chance to draw a scene from it) I wanted to quote the specif part of the story the scene is taken from under the drawing to help people connect it better!

Questions done, I’ll reply to suggestions now!

I didn’t really deem important making one as people basically only has to interact with me to partecipate, so I don’t really see the need for a group chat or a discord of sort, at least for now, I’ll see in the future if I’ll get many group chat requests or if the situation gets really busy.

Never actually heard of it? Btw what i’m making is not a zine at all! It’s just an online place where to collect everyone’s fanart from the lore, I don’t consider myself good enough to organize or even draw in a zine </3.

Mhhh this seems a bit too forced tho, I’d like to keep the chosing pretty much free to everyone’s liking, main reason is people work better and more chill if they are the one to choose something that they like, if I’d start assigning things to people it wouldn’t be so fun anymore imho, also i believe even the less popular FS will get at least a fanart anyway, in the end this is a project I would like to last long in order to give to everyone a chance to join whenever they want, as time passes the collection will grow bigger and bigger and even less popular fs will get theire moment, i’m sure of it :) for now i’ll just let everyone choose what they want avoiding doubles!

If I see the situation gets too chaotic for me (unfortunately I am an adult with adult tasks irl so I have my busy periods) I’ll definitely search for trustable admins to give me a hand, for now should be allright tho since december/the holidays seasons is the most chill for me!

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I really treasure it! I’ll keep the anonymous survey open and I’ll probably do another Q&A before the 1st december, so if you have questions don’t hesitate! Also I’ll be waiting to start getting your reservations, waah i’m honestly so excited I can’t stop thanking you all to support me in this little dream of mine♥♥

#food fantasy #yay i remembered how to #put the read more #pls show in tags #chizuru dot jpg

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 58

While it may not have been wise, Thor’s need for open space to transport Loki home- Asgard, you quickly reminded yourself- led you to Central Park. Some people were still to wrapped up in taking care of themselves, or perhaps wondering simply what the fuck had just happened . But many were starting to gather in small circles to themselves. Taking pictures, videos. Whispering. Wondering if these were the heroes who had just saved not just the city, but the planet.

You were wondering much the same yourself. 

It seemed too soon for goodbyes. You’d only met Thor … what, like ten hours ago? The thought alone was shocking. How fast everything had happened. All seemingly in the blink of an eye. Which made it that much easier to realize you didn’t want him to leave just yet. Especially not to a place you had no ability to reach. No way to communicate with him. He was part of your team now. And maybe not just that. Maybe you also wanted to have a way to make sure Loki not only got what was coming to him, but was going to be contained as well. You’d have to take Thor’s word for it. 

Technically you already had, as you’d told a high ranking government official to piss off over it. Oh well. 

When he turned to you, the last of his farewells, you stepped up. You’d already imposed with a perhaps ill-timed hug on the battlefield. But this time he obliged you by drawing you in first for a squeeze. Though you’d only just met him, he was sweetly familiar to you already. And when he drew back he laid a hand on your shoulder. “This was your first battle, correct?” 

“That bad, huh?” That he could tell such a thing. Maybe on the helicarrier he’d had time to read your file. You still had to check into that, to see what it was SHIELD was saying about you. 

But he shook his head. “Quite the contrary. You fought bravely. It was an honor. Your people are lucky to have you.” 

While bravely wasn’t exactly good, you took the compliment for what it was, smiling at him. “Your people, too, you know? Look around.” Gesturing behind you to the people waiting. Waiting for anything. Acknowledgement. A sign. And as he looked to them, some cheered. “You might not be from here, but you protected them all the same. Which is why I’ve gotta ask… when will I see you again?” 

When would Thor grace this planet again? He had Jane, you remembered- who you were now making a mental note to reach out to. So he couldn’t stay away for too long, right? “Soon, I imagine.” 

“Tony’s got a birthday party coming up. How should I send you your invite?” Grinning lightly at him. In the back of your head you registered it might not have been the right time to throw a fancy party anymore, considering what had happened… 

“You just did.”

That was your cue that perhaps you were holding him up a little longer than necessary. So you tried your luck at one last hug, finding it still held as he squeezed you back. But then you stepped away, back to where you belonged at Tony’s side. He put his arm around your shoulder as the two of you watched Thor activate the cube, now in some sturdy device. An all too familiar blue light poured down on the two of them. And then just like that, it left, taking them with it. 

The Asgardians were gone. 

While Tony called for one of his fancy cars, you took a few more moments to bid your friends goodbye. They were much easier to reach, so the so-longs didn’t have to be quite as big. Clint and Natasha were off on their own ways, and you wondered briefly, “Does this mean I’ve graduated from training?” 

She only smiled. “Not a chance. Can’t let you get rusty. But… all things considered, let’s keep the pause button on.” Meaning, simply, there was a lot of shit that needed to be done now. And no time for you to disappear to the gym. 

Once on their way you turned to Steve, and really could only think of one thing to say first. “...I’m sorry for punching you.” It was more like a side-swipe, but in the heat of the moment it hadn’t really mattered how you’d hit him. Just that you had so that he would let go of you. 

He shrugged, all smiles. “Not necessary. But accepted. You did what you had to.” There was an underlying thrum of pride here and you weren’t exactly sure why. 

And you couldn’t exactly ask him about it, either. It would just have to go ignored. “What do you plan to do now?” 

At this he seemed less sure, head turning down. “I don’t know. I was thinking… maybe I should visit Peggy after all.” 

That was a tough decision to come to, you knew, and one harder still to face. To put into action. You reached out, just taking his hand for a quick moment. “You want me to come with you?” It was probably better left as a private moment, but if he needed you, you’d be there. 

“Nah. Thanks, though.” A quick shake of his head. “Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you. President’s got you on speed-dial, huh?” 

Your head fell back in defeat with a sigh. “Yeah, seems that way.” Not something you wanted to deal with right now, but the window to do so was closing. The longer you left it, the more messy it would inevitably become and harder to untangle. But this did have you realizing something. “When’d you learn about speed-dial?” Grinning lightly, a little elbow to his side. 

He grinned back. “I’m a quick study. Don’t treat me like they do. You know better.” It hadn’t really been too hard to see that everyone sort of thought Steve was a dinosaur lumbering around in this time. Stupid and slow on the draw. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

“I do.” Reaching up you gave him a quick hug. Just seemed like the day for it, apparently. Once you let him go, “I’m sure you heard me say it- and I’m actually not sure we still will, but just in case we do the birthday party thing-”

“I’ll be there. Just tell me when and where.” Firm and understanding. Still at your side. His cover as a Stark employee was definitely blown now- yours too, for that matter, although not in the same way- but he was still always ready to help you however you needed it. 

A reassuring thought. “Thanks. You want me to get you on a flight to DC?” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find my way.” 

The two of you left each other with a nod, and just like that, he was off, too. It left you turning to Tony and Bruce who were busy chatting. Tony’s car had come, some fancy sports thing as usual. Even more surprising, Bruce had a suitcase in tow. That only meant one thing. As you came up aside them you beamed at him. “Accepted our offer? The Tower’s a little messed up but I’m sure it’s better than any hotel around here still.” You hoped it was facade damage more than anything. Although you knew the penthouse had seen its fair share. 

He gave one of those shy shrugs with an even shyer smile. “You guys drive a hard bargain. Also I’m kinda curious to see if these labs are all you’re saying they are.” 

Tony gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Oh they’ll drive you wild.” Grinning briefly. “Relatively speaking.”

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

Back at the Tower there was still a flurry of activity happening all around. Not to mention the press parked on every available inch outside. First order of business, in that case, you grabbed a guy walking by, “Call the police. If they’re not busy. I’m sure they are. But when they’re not, can you tell them to escort the press off my property, please. Thank you.” 

No statements today. Absolutely not. You needed a little more time to gather your thoughts and think about exactly what you wanted to say. In the private elevator, the doors opened on the fifth R&D floor, and Bruce stepped out. Although he paused to turn back when Tony didn’t come with. “Should I just… make myself at home?” 

“Anything you want, buddy. Just give me twenty minutes.” Tony reached forward to press the close door button and then gave a little wave. 

Just a tiny bit unsure, Bruce turned away. “Take your time…” 

While you wanted to tell Tony to go off and have some nice relaxing, fun science adventures with his new best friend, the other part of you that was reaching max capacity for staying stable was grateful that you were first in his mind. And yet even then you found yourself saying, “You can go with him. It’s just gonna be phone calls all day.” 

“He’s fine. We’ll deal with this first.” 

Easing into his side, you wilted slightly. “Thank you…” It came out in a mumbling whine and a wave of emotion overtook you. You had to bite it back immediately. Now was absolutely not the time to start crying. 

The first order of business came as soon as you stepped off the elevator into the penthouse, as your phone started ringing. Pepper calling. You answered it as you walked away, purposefully ignoring the debris and mess everywhere. “Hey, Pep- I spoke with Ellis, don’t worry- he’s next on my docket. I’m sorry he’s bothering you- about the party-” 

“Party? You think we should care about the party ? I kind of need you to focus a little more on telling me what the hell happened. What’s going on? With Tony- and you now- you’re some sort of superhero? And the aliens thing? And who were those people you were with? And the big green thing-” 

Going beyond into the master bedroom, you sat in a light crumple on the edge of the bed. Tony had been left behind, you weren’t sure what he was doing in the main room of the suite, but you had a good idea that he may have actually literally started cleaning up. “Okay. Okay… let me just think about… how to say this-”

“We’re past delicacy. That would have been two days ago. Or any time before then. You just need to talk to me.” She was a little more than pissed. Which was fair. 

So, you just had to start talking. Easy, right? “Those people I was with are part of a team called The Avengers. We were put together by a secret government organization called SHIELD. I was first contacted by then when Tony got back from Afghanistan after the kidnapping. The point of the team is to try and deal with threats that the military can’t handle- speaking of which- where the hell is Rhodey?” The thought just occurred. 

“I don’t know. That’s not important right now. Continue.” 

You sighed. “Okay. Well- so- There’s Tony, obviously, and me- he built a suit for me. It wasn’t originally for this but it sort of became about it. You know. When aliens started trying to kill everyone. Then there’s Steve Rogers- Captain America-” 

“That’s the- that’s Steve, your New York security lead. You’ve been hiding him this whole- ...did you just say Captain America??” 

“I did. Yes. Captain America. From like. The forties. Yeah. That’s him. His jet was found in some ice in the arctic and SHIELD thawed him out. I was part of the team who met up with him and… well obviously that became a whole thing so I had to try and cover it up.” 

“Seems like you’ve been covering a lot up these days.” 

“Okay. Ouch, but fair.” Extremely. This really would have been a much easier conversation to have in pieces, but that was your fault. You knew this would come eventually. You should have just tried to find a way to be honest with her. “Then there’s Natasha and Clint, they actually worked for SHIELD long before I was part of this whole thing. And Thor, the guy with the hammer. He’s from a different planet. Asgard. And the big green thing is actually a very nice man named Bruce Banner who we’re hosting right now.” 

“...he’s up there with you?” 

“Look. He’s not always a big green thing. Most of the time he’s a normal guy. And he’s a scientist.” 

“Like a- like a mad scientist?” 

You knew what she was trying to get at. “No. He’s very nice, like I said. ...but yes, him turning into a big green guy did have to do with an experiment gone awry. But some of that wasn’t his fault.” In his file you’d read, in fact, that it had been Ross’ fault. Which made all the more sense why Tony was keen on him. Mutual enemies, he’d said. That was fine with you. You agreed with the notion. She went silent for a long moment, then you heard her sigh. “Okay. Next.” 

Next what? The aliens? “Okay… uh. So we put the team together because Thor’s brother Loki decided to go crazy and try and enslave everyone on earth with an alien army. So we stopped them. The end.” 

“I feel like you skipped some parts.”

“Yeah, Pep. I did. Because I’ve basically slept a total of twenty minutes in two days and spent the last four hours fighting fucking aliens. Is that good enough?” It wasn’t like you wanted to fight with her, and she certainly didn’t deserve it, but after everything you were worn a little bit thin. There were bigger things to deal with right now than giving a detailed explanation of your absolutely insane life. 

She made a dismayed, possibly annoyed, noise from her end of the phone and you worried she may have had enough. Wouldn’t a normal person walk away from this? But, to your surprise, “...so. The party. We’re not doing it anymore?” 

You fell back on the bed. A dangerous thing to do considering how nice it felt to be lying down. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to throw a big fancy party when half of New York was just destroyed. Might send the wrong message. - no , wait!”

“Waiting.” 

“That’s perfect.” One hand shooting up in mock victory. “We’ll throw a charity ball at the Tower. Funds go to the survivors and the city. Then we’ll throw a sort of block-party uh… thing. Sponsored by Stark Industries. People can come, have a good time, unwind, pick up care packages, eat… come together…” 

“Okay. Sounds good. I’ll get to work on that. Just one thing.” 

“What?” You imagined there were many things.  But if she was calling out one, it was probably the most important. 

“The Tower is kind of wrecked, isn’t it?” 

“It’s not so bad. We’ll get it cleaned up in time.” That was a promise you were sure you could deliver on. You hoped, at least. 

“Mn. Well. Maybe get to work on the Stark part. Your letters kind of fell off.” 

Oh that was right, wasn’t it? “All of them?” That really sucked. You’d thought at least a few had made it… 

“Just the A left. Channels are playing footage of the letters falling on a loop.” 

Of course . “Yeah. Great. Thanks Pep. I’ll finish up with Ellis so he stops bothering you.” 

“Very appreciated.” After that she hung up. 

Only the A left, huh? Maybe it was time to rebrand. Even though you’d just finished this fucking thing. Even though you hadn’t even gotten a chance to do a presser about your beautiful new baby that had been Stark Tower. Life was so unfair. You’d worked so hard. But now an image shift was necessary. More personal quarters would have to be built. Because this tower was about to become a beacon of this city, and the world. 

This was where the Avengers fought. This was where the Avengers won. And this is where you could find them. Avengers Tower. Yeah. It had to be done. 

The bed called to you. It would be so nice to just drift off. For too long a time. Let the world go on without you for a little while longer… but your phone started ringing again, and reminded you you were no longer allowed to sit silently. No longer allowed to be still. Not in the aftermath of all this. 

Seeing it was the President himself, you transferred the call to the desk in the lounge outside, forcing yourself to get up off the bed. The room was much darker than it should have been, being midday, lit by the lamps instead. Tony had drawn down some sort of security barriers over the broken windows to keep the air from flowing in. It didn’t really surprise you too much that he had a protocol like that ready, always prepared for the worst. Even if before you two really had had no idea what the worst could be. 

Sitting at the desk you pulled up a conference window, forcing Ellis off the verbal phone and onto a video chat. It seemed to work out fine for him, because he immediately started pacing. “You got anything for me yet?” 

“What do you want from me, sir?” As you asked, Tony came over, finished sweeping for the moment, sitting on the corner of the desk.

Spying him, Ellis perked up. “OH! Stark! There you are! What are we going to do about this?” 

Tony crossed his arms. “With all due respect, sir, you’re the President. Shouldn’t you be telling us that? Who usually cleans up these messes for you?” 

At the same time, you and Ellis sounded off an answer that only made you that more exhausted. “SHIELD.” You continued. “Of course it’s SHIELD. Well- imagine for a minute that our government isn’t made out of rubber bands and string. If SHIELD wasn’t here, what would your next step be?” 

“I don’t know… what did you say- about… what happened out there? Aliens? ...I mean we’ve got Area 51, but-”

Tony snapped. “Fine. I’ll overnight you ownership transfer paperwork.” At this you shot him only the most exhausted look you could imagine. “...what? Stark Industries will buy Area 51. What’s wrong with that?” 

“For containment- for storage? Sure. Fine. But that’s not gonna help with cleanup.” Sure you could have a team haul dead alien bodies and space whales off to the desert, but who was going to do that? Safely and securely? Tony had a point though… this was a good start. 51 would at least give you security measures to make sure nobody got their hands on those bodies, or those weapons. There was no telling what kind of havoc could be wrought if someone tried to reverse engineer that stuff.

Like SHIELD. Which was what had started this whole fucking mess in the first place. Which was exactly why you had to get ahead of this before them.

“We have them um… Department of Damage Control, but it’s underwater. There might be about um… fifty people on payroll, if that.” 

“Damage Control?” You’d never heard of such a thing in your life. But after a brief glance at Tony you looked back at Ellis on the screen. “Fine. Stark Industries will buy the Department of Damage Control. I need staff to start vetting agents for transition. And I want the next top picks in my office at some point so I can interview them.” If you sensed even an iota off about anyone, they were out on their ass. This was all delicate stuff, and it was a shame your powers weren’t replication. Having ten of you would be nice. But there was only the one. So you’d have to delegate where you could. 

Ellis seemed a little unsure. “And this is… all on the record…?” His image, he cared about, more than doing the right thing. Of course. 

“We’ll do a press briefing together. I’ll talk about assuming Damage Control. Area 51 is off the public books.” You didn’t need that amount of nonsense on your back. 

“Oh. Good. Good… so when can you get here by?” 

“You’re coming here, sir. New York was just attacked. No offense, but if you’re worried about what people think about you, you might want to pretend enough to come talk to them where they got hit. Not behind your desk. I’ll expect you tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to post a date. Don’t be late.” 

Tony tapped your shoulder. “You seem like you’ve got this.” 

Forcing a smile that was not too tired, you gave him a little pat back on his side. “I’m fine. Go. Have a good time with Bruce. It’s all logistics and speech writing from here.” 

Leaning in he pressed a kiss to your temple. “Write me something good.” 

“I always do.” 

You waited, watching him amble away from the desk and to the elevator. Just as the doors closed he gave you a salute. Instead of returning it, you brought your hands up into the shape of a heart, and watched him melt. Just a little. Feeling relief and warmth radiate from him before the elevator went on its way down. 

With him gone, you interrupted Ellis’ mumbling. With a hard stare and an even harder tone, “Did you order that nuke on Manhattan?” 

“A nuke?! No- I have no idea what you’re talking about! What nuke?!” 

“Someone authorized a nuclear missile on the city- I assume because they thought we couldn’t contain the situation. Someone authorized a total loss of life to try and clean up. Did you do it?” 

“No! God- no! I would never! I’ve been in my office calling you two all day! I swear!” 

You glared at your screen. “If I find out you’re lying to me, you’ll regret it.” 

“I’m not! I’m not!! I wouldn’t do that- do you know how much you have to go through to authorize a god damn nuke on a city?? On your own city?? I wouldn’t have even had the time to cut all that red tape!” He seemed desperate for you to believe him. 

It didn’t mean you should. And you’d consider the possibility that it had been him. But… Ellis wasn’t the sort of man that would do that, for exactly the reasons he’d laid out. He’d been looking for help. For answers. He just wasn’t the type to fire blindly. But someone had. And if it hadn’t been the President, you knew the next person to ask. 

“Fine. We’ll talk later. Be here by tomorrow.” Before he could start either protesting or asking more questions you hung up on him. Moving on to the next and last person you wanted to talk about this today. You were almost a little surprised he picked up. 

“You are not to talk to the press- or anyone for that matter- until we get you in a debrief. I can’t believe you let Thor off planet-”

Silencing him with coldness, “Who ordered the nuke, Fury?” 

A huff of indignant yet amuse air came from him. “How much time you got? How secure is your channel?” It was at least a little bit shocking that he was even entertaining telling you. Maybe after you’d called him out on all his lies- and how much trouble they’d caused- maybe he was finally learning. 

You doubted it. But maybe. 

“JARVIS-” 

“You are fully encrypted, Ms. INY. This conversation does not leave this room.” 

“Thank you.” Even though it wasn’t like he lived in the ceiling, that’s where you directed your smile, until it died and you looked back at your screen. “Tell me.” 

He stared at you. For too long a time. A little  bit unnerving, but you held and waited. Finally, “They’re called the World Security Council. Made up of what they’d like to think are Earth’s smartest politicians.” 

You couldn’t help the screw in your expression. “Excuse me? Who are they?” 

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t fucking bullshit me-”

“I don’t know . That’s the whole point. You think I’m allowed to know the identities of the people who authorized a nuclear launch on New York City?” He was making a fair point. Of course these people would operate in shadow, with that kind of power. With what they could do with it, and the consequences that would come with it, should they make the wrong decision. “They oversee SHIELD. I don’t get to call the shots with them.” 

Something in your head finally clicked. “...they were the ones that tasked us with securing Abomination?” You’d wondered, when Coulson said someone had ordered SHIELD to do that. “-so your work-around when they tell you to do something you don’t like is to just-”

“Ignore them or botch it. Yeah. Usually. This time it didn’t go my way.” 

Meaning there was always a next time where it would just as equally be out of his control. And if Tony hadn’t done what he’d done… “How do I find out who they are?” 

“You let me know when you do.” It was hard to tell if he was being purposefully unhelpful. For all you’d been through with him, you imagined that may be the case. And there was probably a lot more he wasn’t saying. 

“They considered New York to be a lost cause- scratch that- New York City and anything about fifty miles out from it. You understand that? Because of what they did- if Tony hadn’t taken that missile-”

“Why do you think I called him?” He stopped your ranting. A good thing. You might not have been able to keep from shouting. Maybe even crying a little. It was all mounting. “They pretty much run on needs of the many. And they’re not always right.”

“Then why are they in charge?” He scoffed, grinning, which only angered you the more. “They made the wrong call, Nick. And a lot of people almost paid for it. We’re still paying for it.” It wasn’t his business that you and Tony were suffering, but the cleanup was going to have to be massive. And it fell on you. Your team. Not them. 

His head tilted up. “Looks like you’re pretty settled in over there.” 

You knew what he was getting at. “I didn’t ask for this.” 

Eye closing, he scoffed again, a little shrug. “Nobody did.” His last poignant words before cutting the communication. 

For a long moment you sat there. Surrounded by silence. Breath in. Then out. While Tony had tried to sweep, the place was still a wreck. A piece of drywall on the corner of your desk upset you the most, enough for you to reach your arm over to swipe it away. In doing so you knocked over a very expensive decorative desk piece, sending it to the floor in an ear shattering clatter. 

You’d deserved that. You’d deserved that. 

Trying to fix one mess, made another. 

It happened so fast, your arms folding on the desk, you laying your head in them, and then the crying started. Hard, until it became a chore to breathe. The worst part was, it didn’t feel like it was helping. It just felt terrible. 

JARVIS spoke- your name , not Lady, not Ms. INY, but your actual name. The strangeness of it got your sobs to quiet down for just a few seconds, sniffling as you tried to listen to him. “It appears that you are in distress. Shall I call Tony?” Tony. Not Mr. Stark. 

What was happening? 

“No… no don’t… please leave him alone.. I’m okay…” Each word soft and a struggle in the middle of your weeping. If Tony was having a good time with Bruce, you didn’t want to interrupt that. He deserved some peace, more than anyone. Certainly more than you. 

“This is not what I would call okay, ma’am.” 

His gentle sass at least encouraged a watery smile. “You’re right.” 

“I can put together a list of mental health professionals.” He was being incredibly kind. Although just a touch robotic. But how could he help that? It’s what he was. You were grateful for it nonetheless.

“Thank you, but… I don’t think anyone can help me.” Not with everything you’d been through. Not with what you were dealing with. 

“You are not beyond help.” Those words sat in your chest. Maybe for too long a time. You wanted to ask him why he thought that. Or why he was trying to help you. He wasn’t programmed to deal with crying. Was he? But before you could get to asking he spoke up again. “Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes is approaching.” Strange. You almost expected- maybe even wanted him to say Rhodey. 

Pushing yourself up, you wiped at your eyes. What a terrible time to be caught. There wasn’t enough that you could do to hide the signs of your struggle as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out. Embarrassed, you still tried your best, going to him in a rush, hugging him tight, hiding your face. “Where in the absolute hell have you been?!” 

An extremely valid question, you felt.

“Hey- whoa- sorry. I kinda got sidetracked on a mission in the middle east. I was dark. I had no idea- uh… about the uh… aliens?” 

He was angling you away, which was a shame, you weren’t finished trying to keep your tears at bay. “Yeah- aliens.” Wiping them away again with your fingers, putting on a valiant pretend smile. “We really could have used you.” War Machine would have been a great asset to have on the field. 

“I don’t know. Seems like you guys did alright.” He set you back, hands on your shoulders. Taking in the sight of your shameful crying. “...for the most part. You wanna talk about it?” 

Shaking your head, you pressed at your eyes. Stop crying, damn it! “What’s there to talk about? Aliens came and we fought them and we won.” 

“War is war.” He said this with such sturdiness, it broke you again. Of course he’d understand. 

“Yeah… yeah …” Hands coming up to cover your eyes again as it all came crashing down. 

His arm came around your shoulder. “Come on. Let’s sit. You got food here? Coffee? I’ll make you some coffee. Tell me about it.” 

So you showed him to the kitchen. He put a pot of coffee on. And you tried to tell him everything. How you and Tony had been brought in by SHIELD. How you and Tony had rifled through their things. Who Loki was and how you’d fought him. And the aliens, and how you’d fought them too. Crying through most of it. But with him sitting and listening, it wasn’t so bad. 

It was just… 

It didn’t make you feel better. Just empty. Even though you’d gotten it all out, it just left a hollowness. Yet a heaviness that made it that much easier to slip until you fell. You were sure you’d fallen asleep at the table when he’d turned his back to put more coffee on, but in between one daze and the next you were sure you were in bed. Stirring a little when Tony came to lie down next to you, and then falling deep when his arms came around you, pulling you close. Holding you. Tight. 

He was murmuring something...

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

Anger was coming to a rumbling storm inside Rhodey’s heart. He’d never expected half the things she’d been talking about, but that wasn’t really the point of it all. It was her suffering, and how she was treating it. How she was framing it all. And there was only one person who could even begin to try and fix it. Considering how centered that focal point was. 

Going down to the lab, he saw Tony, goggles on, with the guy she’d labeled as Bruce. Heavy hand on Tony’s shoulder he turned him around, forcibly walking him out into the hallway. “You gotta start cleaning up." She needs you. Rhodey was sure he said it more than once- the way Tony was staring at him was sort of off-putting. Like he was trying to register who they were even talking about.

Tony balked, when he finally answered. "What do you mean? I was just there- she seemed fine-"

“She just spent two hours telling me a story about how you saved New York City.” 

“Fair point. I did.” 

"Tones.” Recapturing his attention and trying to direct him away from getting self-inflated. “I’ve been through a lot- I’ve seen soldiers go through a lot. Not like what she’s just been through. What you've been through. But I’ve never seen anyone view it through a window that’s not theirs.” 

Tony’s brow arched. “Mind dropping the paraphrasing and being straight with me? It’s been a long day.” 

“Here’s straight. She’s suffering up there but all she can think about is you. And you’re down here playing with eighth grade lab kits.” 

It did him no good when Tony wilted. Even less when he tried to pick back up. “Technically speaking, we’re trying to stabilize a gamma-” 

“Whatever. Can you do it later?” 

Tony looked back at Bruce who tried to hide that he’d been watching them. “Yeah. I- ...yeah.” 

“Good. Look… you probably need someone to talk to, too. I can recommend some people-” 

“I’m fine. Hey- where have you been, anyway? I put in a dozen calls to get you over here. And you just show up now? ” Tony crossed his arms. 

Rhodey waved a hand in his face. “Don’t start. She already caught me with that.” 

At this Tony’s expression moved into a warm smile. “Yeah. Of course she did.”  Big breath in and then out. “Yeah. Alright. Good chat. Don’t go far, okay? Stay local.” 

“Sure thing.” A firm handshake turned into a hug that Tony was just a little reluctant to get out of. 

After excusing himself from Bruce, who understood wholeheartedly, he went upstairs. Past the lounge and into the dark bedroom, he was relieved a little to see her curled on her side asleep. It wasn’t the best time to just lie down and take a nap, but drawn to her as always, he slipped out of his shoes and got in beside her. Wasting no time in wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him. 

One hand at the side of her hair, lips at her temple, “I’m alright, you know…?” Lying. Lying because he couldn’t bear to think she was holding it all in on his behalf. He needed to be stronger. Even if every time he closed his eyes he saw-

“I love you.” She mumbled back. Still very much asleep. 

“We’re okay. Aren’t we? We’re okay…” Very soon holding turned to clinging to her. 

“We’re okay…” She murmured in her sleep. 

“We’re okay.” Just saying it a few more times. Trying to make it true. But at least he knew one honest thing, “I love you. I love you…” 

I love you. 

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter Fifty Eight

[halfwayoverthere]

/ahem/ im alive

below some closure for myself

It’s been like, what two years since i’ve logged on tumblr? It feels weird even writing on here after so much time, i have to spellcheck everything since apparently i even forgot how to fucking write in English D: But bear with me. Or don’t, it’s not that important anyway, im typing this more as closure to myself.

Anyway, i have a main art and shitposting blog and side blogs i use mostly for roleplay. I had a few friends around who i couldn’t keep as close as i would’ve liked because of very poor time and energy management and, as a conclusion, might not really be so eager to chat me up again. But i wanted to just say that i had nothing against anyone and i’m really sorry i ignored everybody, it just kinda got out of my control and, before i realized it, interacting with people here wasn’t a priority anymore.

What happened? Well, a couple of years ago, right around when i started to ignore my online activity i went through a break up. IT’s cheesy and stupid af, i know, but at the moment it felt pretty bad. It happened after a solid five years of relationship when i was away at a friend in a different city. Things were already tense for the past few months but i kinda got used to the bad parts so i stayed. My SO was the one who ended it, through the phone, after we had a fight about me going on the trip to see my friend.

I really did feel like shit for the longest time and, while i try to avoid sounding too pitiful of myself, i wasn’t in the mood to write nice things about ships, or dramatic interactions or rp plots, or draw my characters, my rp muses or fanart, i wasn’t in the mood for anything. The sky basically fell on my head and left me numb for a while. Yea, i could’ve used my online friends to talk about it, and i tried it on a few occasions, but i felt like i was bringing everybody down. My real life friends were also hard to access, as i was going through the “social divorce” you know, the “his friends were my friends” stuff) and the ones i made at uni were in different cities.

So i quit it without really realizing it. In my head felt like a matter of a month or two at max before i’d go back to posting, but i never found the energy to do it.

Time passed and i kinda got better and better, got a job in my field, i was trying to do commissions in art area i hadn’t tapped in until then, changed my look, you know, things you do a few months after a break up, and it got me back to my feet. I did have to go into therapy a bit, but then again, that’s an on and off thing for me for the last ten years, so it only felt normal.

The next big step for me, and this is gonna sound super stupid, was Tinder.

/someone pls punch me in the face/

BUT BEFORE YOU DO THAT, seriously now, what other way there is to meet new people? Just go to them while in line for grocery shopping and ASK THEM?! Hell no, i was too awkward for that. And i was also super shy and rusty because my last relationship flattened me out (for context, my ex an arab guy and fairly traditionalist, but i didn’t notice how toxic it was until the whole deal crawled under my skin and made its lair there). 

Thus, when i tried to start dating all my energy was funneled in that direction. More time to make myself feel comfy in my skin, more time to appeal to potential companions, acquaintances, friends or even romantic partners. And, even if i was awkward and anxious af, it was still fun and hella distracting.

Then i actually got into another relationship. Then i got a job. Then i started to earn money and i felt responsible for my money. Then i kinda got super romantically involved aaaaaaand to spare you of all the other sappy details, i generally got my shit together.

So, fast forward to the present moment, when i can say i’m pretty happy but also organized enough to get back to my hobbies. Or at least attempt to. So i made this huge post to try and start somewhere.

If there is anyone who’s still interested to chat with me or interact with me or anything for that matter, i guess this is kind of my super informal and detailed “Hey there, i’m sorry i’ve been an ignorant asshole, but i kinda missed this community and the interactions here and now that i’m well rested i guess i’ll try to hang around for a bit again.”

Thanks for reading this shitpost, have yourself a nice day :D

#personal #shitpost #why i went missing

[microsuedemouse]

HEY HO

WERE YOU WONDERING WHAT GWEN’S APARTMENT IN RAH LOOKS LIKE?

I had some floorplan sketches (close to this, though not exact) but when I went to draw rooms in perspective I discovered that I’d gotten... very rusty with that kind of thing. So I decided I’d hop into Google SketchUp and put the place together quickly for my own reference. It’s missing some details (mostly due to me just forgetting) but it’s kinda fun I thought? Good ref for me to keep my writing consistent and for anyone who wants to draw anything here, me included

I’m gonna make some tweaks to this yet but if you want any other angles (or even access to the file), or if you have any questions, hit me up! I’ve thought way too much about this.

Quick notes here and more detail under the cut:

All of the furnishings are from the 3D Warehouse - it’s been a long time since I used SketchUp much and I’m not THAT skilled any more, lol. I edited some colours and sizes but that’s about it.

I know it’s a bit big to really be realistic... I have excuses.

it’s a fanfic, guys.

floorplans are hard. the bedrooms and living room were actually supposed to be a smidge smaller but scaling is tough and this program is a bit of a hassle at times.

it’s cheap bc it’s in a shoddy neighbourhood and totally lacks storage? or something?? idfk

LET’S JUST SAY THIS ISN’T PERFECTLY TO SCALE OKAY I only meant it as a guideline

(Many) room-by-room details and goofy headcanons/trivia below:

Outdoor-

the hall is an outdoor one, like you get in a lot of motels. going out the front door, the stairs are a few units to the left. this apartment is on the third floor of five.

the units are arranged symmetrically, so the balcony has one wall to divide it from the one on the other side. in the other direction they might occasionally see their neighbours out on their own balcony, but they’re two bedroom-widths apart, so it’s not too bad.

eventually David buys a couple more chairs for the balcony so they can all sit out there. to Gwen’s surprise, he really likes the urban view, even if he misses the trees and nature he can see from home or camp.

Front hall-

coming in the front door, the bathroom’s on the left and there are hooks on the wall to the right for coats and things. shoes are generally left under those. it’s usually kind of a mess.

Bathroom-

I meant to put a mirror over the sink but I forgot lmao

the bathtub is too small for Gwen or David to really use for a ‘nice’ bath (they would have to be sitting up), but it works for Max bc he’s tiny

the plumbing kiiinda sucks - not enough to be REALLY off-putting but enough to notice

Kitchen-

this is all after David’s moved in, so his table is there, making the whole space a bit more usable

the decor is kind of dated (the stove is yellow and so is the backsplash), the blue cushions on David’s bench seats don’t really match, but it’s all functional

another thing I forgot to include: Gwen kept the three chairs from her old table and put them around the outside of David’s table, just in case they needed them.

the kitchen doorway is open, with no door in it

the microwave is to the left of the stove; other appliances (toaster, kettle, coffee maker, etc) kind of clutter the space to the left, around the sink. Gwen always just shoved things back into the corner if they were in her way, but David starts putting them away when they’re not in use, because he likes having space to move when he’s cooking.

Living room-

the purple chair is Gwen’s. the corner shelf is overflowing with books. They pushed the tv stand over a bit to fit David’s green chair in there too.

there’s a shitty lamp on the side table next to the couch, which is also where Gwen dumps things like take-out menus and notebooks and stuff. David often puts them away while tidying up and as a result Gwen never knows where any of her shit has gone.

when the couch-bed is in couch form, the coffee table (David’s, way nicer than Gwen’s old one) is pushed up closer to it, leaving some space between there and the tv stand. Max and Gwen sit there while playing video games, or they perch on the end of the bed if it’s pulled out.

(Much later, after David moves into Gwen’s room and the couch is back in couch form almost all of the time, they buy Max a beanbag chair for gaming)

fun trivia: that tv model I used has a still from M*A*S*H onscreen, which led me to imagining Gwen and David watching M*A*S*H in the afternoons... I love

there are no blinds or curtains or anything over the sliding door for the longest time. in the winter the living room starts to get pretty cold and David buys a nice heavy set of curtains to keep the heat in - he doesn’t mind the morning light but the temperature starts to be a problem.

Gwen’s room-

for some reason I could not edit that particular bed model’s colours? I imagine her bed is always that messy but her bedding is shades of purple, not grey.

I forgot to rotate the mirror in the corner to not be at a stupid angle... I also forgot to include the garment rack I imagine she has, in want of a closet. the object across from the end of her bed is a tall dresser.

once David (eventually) starts sharing her room, they move his wardrobe in next to her dresser, get a second bedside table, and find a longer desk they can both use at once. the room’s a bit crowded by then, but it’s workable.

there should be a laundry hamper somewhere idk

Gwen leaves her stuff in piles all the time by nature but David’s pretty tidy. eventually she starts learning to pick up after herself just so she knows where her stuff has gone. because if he puts it away she might never find it.

Max’s room-

he’s not wild about sharing the space with David but he makes it work. once he eventually gets his own computer they have to coordinate desk time. (Max gets priority if it’s homework-related.)

additionally: once Max has his own computer, David remembers Max’s search engine habits and puts parental controls on there. Max hates them. David forgets how to use them immediately after installation and Gwen is the one who has to figure them out and monitor them in the future.

Max doesn’t have much stuff with him at first (as you all know) but over the years he covers the walls in posters and stuff that Nikki and Neil have sent him (and later Maureen, as well, once he comes to like her more). 

once David’s moved into Gwen’s room and has his own desk/moves his wardrobe out, Max’s furniture situation also changed over time. he gets a bookshelf (mostly for movies and games, more than books) and later his own armchair, plus he keeps his beanbag chair in there when he’s not using it in the living room.

the rug came from Maureen. she thought his room could use a little something bright, especially given the bland paint job in the apartment. he loves it but he’ll never tell her.

he’s a nester and a pillow-hoarder. any time Gwen or David replace their pillows he takes over the old ones, adding to the pile of softness that is his bed (and eventually his floor). he also aggregates blankets over the years, though at a slower rate. his whole room is very comfy, actually.

#cc Run Away Home #Camp Camp #cc Max #cc David #cc Gwen

[robacosta]

Another week is done and we still have no rain here in Phoenix.

I guess Tucson just south of us received some showery blessing but that’s still a big “No” from us here in the valley. We’re still a giant heat bubble pushing away that which is the most beneficial to us desert rats.There’s something poetic here, but I’m not classy enough to put the pieces and metaphors together.

All we can do is stay inside, pray to the sun god not to kill us, and use as much A/C as our wallets permit.

Hello, welcome to my Weeknotes for July 6 to July 13.

Book writing is a slow, arduous process and I don’t recommend anyone try it ever again unless they want their glass heart repeatedly shattered with a rusty hammer which was probably used in at least 9 previous murders.

…

So book writing is going well.

Since I took the initiative to move the deadline of Project: BIANCA back another month, now due at the end of July, it’s become a little easier to breathe. Real life got in the way, as it wants to do, so I needed to adjust. Make time. Make space. After all, the whole reason I’m doing what I’m doing is because I wanted to be my own boss.

But then house hunting started.

My wife and I are expecting twins (no, we don’t know what they are yet) in the middle of December so a move was required. Didn’t think raising two baby-something-or-others in a 4th floor apartment in downtown Phoenix would have been too pleasant for our bank accounts.

Or our downstairs neighbors.

The stomping. Good lord, can you imagine?

This brings up the topic of real-world responsibilities vs. writing commitments. I committed to writing at least 1,500 words a day for the book, sometimes more, sometimes less, but always in that ballpark. However, for 3 days straight, I wasn’t afforded any time to sit and write…

I did, however, take that time to start training to defeat all the Master Trainers in Pokémon : Let’s Go Pikachu.

https://twitter.com/RobAcosta/status/1147341982148124672

…You don’t need to slap me in the face. Obviously, that’s where my writing time should be.

I think I believe the Pokémon time is me unwinding, relaxing, and I guess in many ways I should still be doing that. After all, if the gasket blows on this body that’s it, there’s no more writing for anyone.

But maybe I don’t need to relax and catch 120 Rattata to max out the state of the one Rattata I have. Maybe I draw the line at 80 Rattata, take that 30 minutes I saved, and write.

Balance.

I surpassed 100 #7SecondShortStories this week on my Instagram.

For those that may not know, as a daily writing warm-up, I post short stories on my Instagram feed which disappear after 7 seconds. The challenge is to try and condense a cohesive narrative into a few lines, something that will leave the audience chomping at the bits, wanting to know more, but knowing exactly enough to be satisfied. It’s a fun challenge and I’m going to continue at least until I hit story # 365.

As part of the week long celebration I decided to do one narrative over the course of seven days. One part, each day. All together, to read the entire story, it should theoretically take only 49 seconds.

49 seconds to tell a story.

For your consideration, here it is:

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide and The Seeing Stone by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (Goodreads)

I, like I’m sure a lot of you, only have experience with this franchise through that very underwhelming movie that came out back in the mid-00s when every young adult fantasy series was being bought up and turned into movies to try and compete with the juggernaut that was/is the Harry Potter franchise.

“Got even the slightest bit of magic in ye, even if ye aren’t a story centered around it and true darkness comes from our own twisted hears? Come ‘ere! Here’s a subpar trailer that’ll make you look more exciting and goofy than your tale really is!”

Not sure where that came from.

I loved these first two books. I devoured them both in a day.

The Grace family has just moved out of the city, escaping a messy divorce and troubled times at school. Jared, one half of a group of twins, is having trouble adjusting while his fencing enthusiastic older sister and animal obsessed twin brother don’t seem to mind. He thinks he’s discovered some kind of book revealing the existence of magical creatures.

Fae.

Now, that’s much different than “fairies,” and both DiTerlizzi and Black hold no punches when it comes to the fae’s representation. There’s a darker edge here as the Grace children try to figure out how to live in this new world they’ve tripped into. While their mother is blind to a lot of the shenanigans wrecking their old house, only Jared and his siblings know what’s going on and will do whatever they can to stop it.

The darker edge instilled in this story by killing and the fear of death doesn’t dampen the tale of three siblings who do not get along needing to come together to survive. There’s no fairy-tale ending, where they all realize they need each other and are totally fine. On the contrary. By story’s end all of them still have a general dislike for one another, but realize they need each other to survive.

Not sure how the movie didn’t get that. Just watch the preview of the film on Netflix when you leave the screen stationary on the thumbnail and see that it’s NOT the vibe they were going for.

Ignore the movie.

Read the books.

Found this in old blog of mine. Decided to re-share to kick-start the week:

The thing that clicked for me was the number, just a number. One page edited, two pages edited, then three, then eight. Sheets were piling up and I felt better and better, and suddenly, the new mantra took hold. The second one I’ll keep telling myself as I keep working on finishing my manuscript to submit to agents:

“Filling up notebooks and emptying pens is more important than if my writing is ‘good.’”

Telling yourself either of these mantras is hard, as that is the inherent nature of mantras. But I’m gonna keep repeating them to myself, over and over again, as I keep working towards my dreams.

Join me.

My favorite author is me.

Filling up notebooks and emptying pens is more important than if my writing is “good.”

And that’s it.

I’m out. Expect Sunday to be the day from now on when Weeknotes goes live. It’s definitely a lot easier and soul-cleansing than doing it on a Monday.

Don’t find the time.

Make the time.

I’ll see you next week.

Thanks for reading,

Follow me:

Twitter: @robacosta

Instagram: @robacosta

Contact: [email protected]

NEW BLOG POST | Weeknotes 27 What I learned, read, and did for the week of July 6-13. +++ #amwriting #writingcommunity #weeknotes Another week is done and we still have no rain here in Phoenix. I guess Tucson just south of us received some showery blessing but that's still a big "No" from us here in the valley.

#Book Review #Project: BIANCA

[teotoffee]

tagged by @buono-romano ! sorry if i was a bit late

anyway’s so here are the rules

1ST RULE: tag 9 people you want to get to know better 2ND RULE: BOLD the statements that are true 

APPEARANCE: I am 5'7" or taller :’) I wear glasses I have at least one tattoo I have at least one piercing I have blonde hair I have brown eyes I have short hair My abs are at least somewhat defined I have or have had braces (i yearn for the day i can take them off) PERSONALITY: I love meeting new people ish?? People tell me that I’m funny Helping others with their problems is a big priority for me I enjoy physical challenges I enjoy mental challenges I’m playfully rude with people I know well I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it (i once used :3 ironically then whoops) ABILITY: I can sing well  (nope lol) I can play an instrument currently learning piano I can do over 30 pushups without stopping (the max i did is 3) I’m a fast runner (in short distances yes) I can draw well (i guess??) I have a good memory (depends on what it is tho) I’m good at doing math in my head I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute I have beaten at least 2 people in arm wrestling I know how to cook at least 3 meals from scratch I know how to throw a proper punch HOBBIES: I enjoy playing sports I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else I have learned a new song in the past week I work out at least once a week I’ve gone for runs at least once a week in the warmer months I have drawn something in the past month I enjoy writing (ish?? like just for fun lang) FANDOMS ARE MY #1 PASSION (intense sweating) I do or have done martial arts ( i once tried taekwondo when i was younfer) EXPERIENCES: I have had my first kiss I have had alcohol I have scored the winning goal in a sports game I have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting I have been at an overnight event I have been in a taxi I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year I have beaten a video game in one day I have visited another country I have been to one of my favorite band’s concerts RELATIONSHIPS: I’m in a relationship I have a crush on a celebrity I have a crush on someone I know I have been in at least 3 relationships I have never been in a relationship I have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them I get crushes easily I have had a crush on someone for over a year I have been in a relationship for at least a year I have had feelings for a friend MY LIFE: I have at least one person I consider a “best friend” I live close to my school (i wake up at 4:30 for this)) My parents are still together I have at least one sibling I live in the United States There is snow right now where I live I have hung out with a friend in the past month I have a smartphone I have at least 15 CDs I share my room with someone RANDOM SHIT: I have breakdanced I have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce I have dyed my hair I’m listening to one song on repeat right now I have punched someone in the past week I know someone who has gone to jail I have broken a bone I have eaten a waffle today I know what I want to do with my life I speak at least 2 languages (i’m kinda rusty in tagalog even tho?? it’s my native language?? damn i should embrace my heritage more) I have made a new friend in the past year

tagging: (you don’t need to if you don’t want to)

@classica-mozartling @hetaliamatsu @misspeggy-longleggy @starfishies123 @kaiser-author-san-iii @kimmiseed @tastygoldentaters @sxlver-feathxrs @piiess

#tag meme #buono-romano

[anthonystopscom]

How to Maintain Muscle While Dieting

How to Maintain Muscle While Dieting

I think most people realize that diet alone won’t create the best version of their physique.

Calorie deficits created by dieting, ALWAYS lead to weight loss.

BUT

If the weight loss is a combo of muscle and body fat?

The result is a mediocre transformation.

Calorie Deficit + Resistance Training = Magical Transformation

Resistance training sends a signal to the body.

This signal is an instruction for the body to keep muscle tissue.

Without this signal the body will draw from both muscle tissue and body fat when dieting creates a calorie deficit.

When you see Weight Watchers style transformations, it is mainly weight loss through diet alone.

I think Weight Watchers is awesome by the way.

It has helped countless people.

BUT

To reach exceptional levels of health and fitness you can’t leave out resistance training.

Any form of resistance can work.

I like commercial gym equipment, but there are a bunch of other options that can work as well.

How much resistance training do you need?

It doesn’t take much.

We will discuss that in a sec…

…but first a music video break.

The music theme for this post will be pop music cover tunes with a twist.

BBC Radio 1 in London has a feature they call “Live Lounge”.

Musicians come in and play their own hits, then perform 1-2 current popular songs by other artists.

It’s all recorded live…

…and they typically go all-out with these cover songs and play them as if they are their own hit song.

Kings of Leon performing a little Selena Gomez.

“Cause all of the downs and the uppers. Keep making love to each other. And I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying… but I… Can’t keep my hands to myself.” – Selena Gomez Kings of Leon

When you are dieting you wind up taking in fewer calories.

Which means fewer nutrients for recovery.

Because of this, you need to reduce lifting volume.

How much can you cut back on volume?

“The 2/3 Rule”

The general idea?

You can maintain fitness by cutting out 2/3 of what it took to get there.

It would be less confusing to call this the 1/3 rule.

You can maintain with 1/3 of the actions it took to improve.

This rule applies to strength, muscle mass, and VO2 Max.

It takes a lot less effort to maintain than it does to improve.

Here’s the important part.

Volume can be cut by 2/3, but INTENSITY must be maintained.

No need to increase the intensity…

Just lift using the same weights it took to reach your current strength levels (increasing the intensity is just as bad as lowering it).

Note: I don’t think you can maintain muscle forever off of super low volume, I have seen it work well for 2-3 months. More long-term studies need to be conducted.

Craig David improving upon a Justin Bieber hit.

A little work goes a long way once it comes to muscle maintenance.

I still recommend getting in daily exercise (when possible).

Muscle size and strength is just one element of health.

Long-term health requires daily movement.

The majority of us simply don’t get enough exercise…

…and technology is making it worse.

This doesn’t have to be an official gym workout.

I like to hit the gym Mon-Fri.

…even when I’m in maintenance mode.

What does this look like?

Here’s a template that works well.

Mon: Back, Chest & Cardio

Tue: Shoulders, Legs & Cardio

Wed: Abs & Cardio

Thu: Back, Chest & Cardio

Fri: Shoulders, Legs & Cardio

Sets and Reps: Only one exercise per muscle group using 4-5 sets per exercise. Use similar rep ranges and intensity levels it took leading up to maintenance.

No direct arm work? Biceps and triceps get worked hard enough working back, shoulders and chest. If you are paranoid of muscle loss throw in 2-3 sets for bi’s and tri’s.

Cardio every workout? The resistance training in this example is so brief that it is super easy to fit in 20-45 minutes of cardio. Intensity levels vary from walking to intense HIIT style intervals.

What type of diet setup helps maintain muscle?

I’ll cover that in a sec.

Right after Bastille covers a Miley Cyrus tune.

“Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere. Hands in the air like we don’t care. Cause we came to have so much fun now. Got somebody here… might get some now. ” – Miley Cyrus Bastille

I like to keep diet as simple as possible.

Keep calories low enough to get into a deficit.

Try to get around 100 grams of protein per day.

Eat mainly unprocessed foods.

Does 100 grams of protein per day sound WAY too low?

Studies have shown people GAINING muscle on less than .3 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

(That is around 50-60 grams per day for a 180 pound man.)

Brad Pilon has a good article about this:

How Much Protein Do We Really Need to Eat?

Obviously, an elite bodybuilder would need more than that.

…but my articles and courses aren’t aimed at bodybuilders.

My courses help people become slim with muscle definition.

How many calories per day should you aim for?

If fat loss is your goal…

A good starting point is to AVERAGE 12 calories per pound of bodyweight per day.

If you know that you are going to go above this on the weekends?

…simply eat less Mon-Fri.

This is just a starting point.

If you aren’t losing weight, reduce your calories a bit more.

Final thoughts:

Based on all of the studies I’ve read it seems that even a small dose of resistance training maintains muscle.

…even when calorie intake is low.

…even when protein is low.

Resistance training sends a powerful signal for the body to keep muscle it has.

As long as nutrition minimums are met…

Your body will hold onto muscle with a bit of resistance training.

So go lift something!

Cheers,

-Rusty Moore

The post How to Maintain Muscle While Dieting appeared first on Visual Impact Fitness.

source https://visualimpactfitness.com/how-to-maintain-muscle-while-dieting/ source https://visualimpactfitnessco.tumblr.com/post/182530032862

[visualimpactfitnessco]

How to Maintain Muscle While Dieting

How to Maintain Muscle While Dieting

I think most people realize that diet alone won’t create the best version of their physique.

Calorie deficits created by dieting, ALWAYS lead to weight loss.

BUT

If the weight loss is a combo of muscle and body fat?

The result is a mediocre transformation.

Calorie Deficit + Resistance Training = Magical Transformation

Resistance training sends a signal to the body.

This signal is an instruction for the body to keep muscle tissue.

Without this signal the body will draw from both muscle tissue and body fat when dieting creates a calorie deficit.

When you see Weight Watchers style transformations, it is mainly weight loss through diet alone.

I think Weight Watchers is awesome by the way.

It has helped countless people.

BUT

To reach exceptional levels of health and fitness you can’t leave out resistance training.

Any form of resistance can work.

I like commercial gym equipment, but there are a bunch of other options that can work as well.

How much resistance training do you need?

It doesn’t take much.

We will discuss that in a sec…

…but first a music video break.

The music theme for this post will be pop music cover tunes with a twist.

BBC Radio 1 in London has a feature they call “Live Lounge”.

Musicians come in and play their own hits, then perform 1-2 current popular songs by other artists.

It’s all recorded live…

…and they typically go all-out with these cover songs and play them as if they are their own hit song.

Kings of Leon performing a little Selena Gomez.

“Cause all of the downs and the uppers. Keep making love to each other. And I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying… but I… Can’t keep my hands to myself.” – Selena Gomez Kings of Leon

When you are dieting you wind up taking in fewer calories.

Which means fewer nutrients for recovery.

Because of this, you need to reduce lifting volume.

How much can you cut back on volume?

“The 2/3 Rule”

  The general idea?

You can maintain fitness by cutting out 2/3 of what it took to get there.

It would be less confusing to call this the 1/3 rule.

You can maintain with 1/3 of the actions it took to improve.

This rule applies to strength, muscle mass, and VO2 Max.

It takes a lot less effort to maintain than it does to improve.

Here’s the important part.

Volume can be cut by 2/3, but INTENSITY must be maintained.

No need to increase the intensity…

Just lift using the same weights it took to reach your current strength levels (increasing the intensity is just as bad as lowering it).

Note: I don’t think you can maintain muscle forever off of super low volume, I have seen it work well for 2-3 months. More long-term studies need to be conducted.

Craig David improving upon a Justin Bieber hit.

A little work goes a long way once it comes to muscle maintenance.

I still recommend getting in daily exercise (when possible).

Muscle size and strength is just one element of health.

Long-term health requires daily movement.

The majority of us simply don’t get enough exercise…

…and technology is making it worse.

This doesn’t have to be an official gym workout.

I like to hit the gym Mon-Fri.

…even when I’m in maintenance mode.

What does this look like?

Here’s a template that works well.

Mon: Back, Chest & Cardio

Tue: Shoulders, Legs & Cardio

Wed: Abs & Cardio

Thu: Back, Chest & Cardio

Fri: Shoulders, Legs & Cardio

Sets and Reps: Only one exercise per muscle group using 4-5 sets per exercise. Use similar rep ranges and intensity levels it took leading up to maintenance.

No direct arm work? Biceps and triceps get worked hard enough working back, shoulders and chest. If you are paranoid of muscle loss throw in 2-3 sets for bi’s and tri’s.

Cardio every workout? The resistance training in this example is so brief that it is super easy to fit in 20-45 minutes of cardio. Intensity levels vary from walking to intense HIIT style intervals.

What type of diet setup helps maintain muscle?

I’ll cover that in a sec.

Right after Bastille covers a Miley Cyrus tune.

“Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere. Hands in the air like we don’t care. Cause we came to have so much fun now. Got somebody here… might get some now. ” – Miley Cyrus Bastille

I like to keep diet as simple as possible.

Keep calories low enough to get into a deficit.

Try to get around 100 grams of protein per day.

Eat mainly unprocessed foods.

Does 100 grams of protein per day sound WAY too low?

Studies have shown people GAINING muscle on less than .3 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

(That is around 50-60 grams per day for a 180 pound man.)

Brad Pilon has a good article about this:

How Much Protein Do We Really Need to Eat?

Obviously, an elite bodybuilder would need more than that.

…but my articles and courses aren’t aimed at bodybuilders.

My courses help people become slim with muscle definition.

How many calories per day should you aim for?

If fat loss is your goal…

A good starting point is to AVERAGE 12 calories per pound of bodyweight per day.

If you know that you are going to go above this on the weekends?

…simply eat less Mon-Fri.

This is just a starting point.

If you aren’t losing weight, reduce your calories a bit more.

Final thoughts:

Based on all of the studies I’ve read it seems that even a small dose of resistance training maintains muscle.

…even when calorie intake is low.

…even when protein is low.

Resistance training sends a powerful signal for the body to keep muscle it has.

As long as nutrition minimums are met…

Your body will hold onto muscle with a bit of resistance training.

So go lift something!

Cheers,

-Rusty Moore

The post How to Maintain Muscle While Dieting appeared first on Visual Impact Fitness.

source https://visualimpactfitness.com/how-to-maintain-muscle-while-dieting/

[serendipitous-magic]

⭐️

(For the “Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines.  Or, send in a ⭐star⭐  to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!” post)

Okay, okay, okay - so this is in Ch 1 of TRS3, and I’m gonna chatter a tad about a section near the beginning, in Dustin’s POV. 

-_-_-_-

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun, maybe they just...” She wiggled her shoulders with a tilt of her head. “Forgot.”

She didn’t mean him. Of course she didn’t mean that they forgot him. She meant the radios; she meant they forgot what channel they’re supposed to be on. Or that they forgot what day he was coming home. She didn’t mean that they forgot about Dustin himself.

It’s just, it’s not exactly reassuring, you know? It’s the middle of summer already. All the roads are lined with tall, dark weeds. In a few days, everything will smell like sparkler smoke and kettle corn from the annual 4th of July fair. When he left it was barely June, and the weeds along the roadside were little more than sprouts. What else has happened since he left? What else has changed?

Okay so this is the first time I’ve written from Dustin’s POV, so this opening scene with him was a bit of a trial run. I had to establish several things, specifically for Dustin’s character in this story and where his arc starts out.

In this story, Dustin is starting out his arc in a place where he’s a little uncertain of his worth. Here, that specifically means within the Party. As we’ve seen, the Party in general has kind of started drifting apart this summer. Oh, they still hang out all the time, but they’re starting to push more towards “teenage” activities, most of them in a hurry to grow up and leave behind what happened to them as kids (except for Will, who’s clinging to the childhood that was stolen from him, but that’s another discussion). This push to “move on,” combined with the fact that Dustin has been away at summer camp for a whole month, leaves him a little worried that they may have moved on without him. 

Lately - probably ever since the Snow Ball, actually - it’s felt like everything has been changing, and not necessarily in a good way. So when Dustin goes away for a month and comes back and it’s like the whole summer has been going on without him (which... it has, really), he’s not feeling great about it.

Secondly: this scene is lifted nearly straight from the trailer we got (since for this fic I’m considering most S3 trailer/promo material “canon,” and then picking and choosing from the show). So, it’s not exactly how the scene in the show went down, but it’s pretty close to how I expected it to go down based on that one trailer we got. So that was fun to kind of re-imagine a little bit (although I think it ended up fairly close to the Netflix version, thus far).

A muffled little tink draws his attention to the vivarium on his left, where Yurtle is bumping against the side, stumpy little legs flailing as he fails to comprehend glass. Dustin grins at him.

“At least someone’s happy to see me.”

Yurtle continues his mission to pass through the solid glass wall, unperturbed by his complete lack of success. Determined little guy. Never gets very far, but he tries.

I love Yurtle. 

Dustin isn’t worried about it - the Party, that is. Honestly, he’s not. It’s not like they’ve all been acting weird for the past few months anyway. It’s not like ever since El reappeared Mike has been MIA more often than not, visiting her at the cabin for as long as Hopper will allow. It’s not like Max and Lucas have developed their own little language and routine together - not just boyfriend and girlfriend, but best friends. It’s not like Will has been a slightly different person since... well, since everything. It’s not like he misses how the Party used to be.

And here’s more of Dustin feeling a little insecure about the Party moving on without him - but more than that, I also needed to establish, in this first chapter, where the Party starts out in this story. Recap style. “Last time on: Hawkins, December through June.” What do we need to know to jump right into the story and have all the information we need? Mike has been hanging with El constantly. The Party is being a little weird (as discussed above). Everyone is kind of paired off except for Will and Dustin (until Suzie). Will is having Struggles (TM). Boom, boom, boom. We know what we need to; now on to the plot.

But Dustin doesn’t like to mope. He slaps his thighs and stands up, reaching into the vivarium to turn Yurtle around. Yurtle lumbers off towards his pool, apparently assured that his ability to move is due to his own success, and Dustin hums along with the radio as he unzips his duffel bag with a flourish. Who is he to complain? He just got back from possibly the most amazing summer camp ever. He’s got the whole rest of the summer ahead of him. He’s got things to do. Places to go. Popsicles to eat. (You know what they don’t have at Camp Know Where? Otter pops. Unbelievable, right? Three hundred acres, over five hundred campers and dozens of counselors, and not a single person could produce even one pack of sugary, brightly colored frozen goodness.)

He’s got plans. Specifically, an invention to get up and running - and he has the perfect place in mind. He bets he can get the gang to help him set it up - if they’d just answer.

Dustin is a fairly optimistic and resourceful person. We’ve seen that in seasons 1 and 2. He’s often underestimated, because he seems a little goofy at first glance - which he is, to be fair. But he’s also a problem-solver. He’s smart, and he doesn’t like to just sit and watch a problem get worse. He takes action. He’ll go to the library before school to check out extra books against the rules so he can identify the creature he found in his garbage. He’ll send his mom out of the house by having a fake one-person conversation on the phone, and then armor up in sports gear and single-handedly lure a baby demogorgon into the cellar. He’s not one to laze around and mope about his problems. 

So this ^ here is an example of me trying to feel out how this character thinks and acts, and portray it accurately (because, again, I’ve never written Dustin’s POV before.)

Okay, maybe he’s a little unsettled. The Party doesn’t just go radio silent on each other, okay? Because when a Party member goes radio-silent, it usually means that something is wrong. Really wrong.

His eyes slide over the stain in his carpet. It’s a barely-perceptible rusty brown, now, blending in with the striped carpet unless you know just where to look. He had to tell his mom it was spaghetti sauce.

Will wasn’t the only member of the Party who was scarred by what happened last fall. Everyone in the Party went through some shit, to varying degrees. Maybe Dustin wasn’t possessed by a shadow monster, but he did witness his cat being disemboweled and eaten by a baby demogorgon, and then he had to face said baby demogorgon, and scrub cat blood out of his carpet, and all the while make sure his mom wasn’t gonna be around to get hurt, and that would be pretty rough to go through for an adult - and Dustin was thirteen. (And that’s not even to mention the whole fighting-demodogs-with-Steve and infiltrating-the-Mind-Flayer’s-tunnels business.) 

His toy robot starts marching out of the corner just as Dustin turns away, chattering unintelligibly in its perpetual-low-battery fizzle, red eyes glowing.

Wait.

What.

Dustin turns back, slowly, and this time the robot is joined by a toy tank and R2D2.

Now, he’s no expert, but in Dustin’s fourteen years of experience on earth, toys don’t come alive.

I just love that little bit. 

Also, I REALLY REALLY WANTED TO FIND A WORD THAT MEANT “TOY EXPERT” BUT I COULDN’T FIND ONE. Like, the same way you might say, “Now, I’m no  podiatrist, but in my experience that’s too many toes for one foot.” That kind of tone. But apparently there’s not a word for “toy expert,” at least not that I could find. Everything google gave me when I typed that in was sex toy related lol. Not what I was going for. 

-_-_-_-

And that’s that little bit! It was fun doing Dustin’s POV, and this fic will be a fun challenge in that I usually write (at least in this fandom) nearly exclusively from Mike or Will’s POV, and in TRS3 we’re gonna get Dustin, Joyce, Nancy, Hop, Billy, the Mind Flayer... So, that’ll be a fresh challenge for me!

Thanks for the ask! I am also working on the others, I just completely forgot what the stars meant because I’m dumb lol

#asks #anon #trs3 #writing memes #writing commentary