#small desktop diffuser

[olfey-scenting-spaces]

Why you should use an Essential Oil Diffuser?

Using the best essential oil diffuser can significantly enhance your daily life and well-being. Firstly, investing in the best essential oil diffuser allows you to harness the therapeutic benefits of pure essential oils. These oils, extracted from plants, carry potent aromatic compounds known for their various health benefits. Diffusing essential oils into the air can help purify the air in your home, alleviate stress, promote relaxation, and even boost your mood. With the right diffuser, you can create a calming atmosphere that supports your overall health and wellness.

Moreover, essential oil diffusers offer a natural and safe alternative to synthetic air fresheners and candles. Many commercial air fresheners contain harmful chemicals and artificial fragrances that can be detrimental to your health and the environment. In contrast, using an essential oil diffuser allows you to enjoy the natural scents of essential oils without exposing yourself to potentially harmful toxins. Plus, diffusers are easy to use and require minimal maintenance, making them a convenient and eco-friendly option for enhancing the ambiance of your living space.

Lastly, the versatility of essential oil diffusers makes them a valuable addition to any home. Whether you're looking to create a calming environment for relaxation, boost your energy levels, or improve focus and concentration, there's an essential oil blend to suit your needs. With a wide range of essential oils available, from soothing lavender to invigorating citrus, you can easily customize the aroma in your space to align with your preferences and mood. Investing in the best essential oil diffuser can truly transform your living environment, promoting a healthier and more enjoyable lifestyle.

[magicclam]

Recently my son has gotten more interested in music. A month or two ago, I helped him research and buy a small headphone amplifier for his desktop PC setup.

However, in addition to the amp, he wanted a vacuum tube preamp since he's seen the one I have for my PC (you can see part of it in the last pic) and wanted a similar configuration. :)

So I set about gathering some parts I had on hand to put one together for him. He selected the wood for the case from my stash, and the white aesthetic to match the rest of his PC setup. I used 2 6C4 tubes because I had them and they seemed like a fun choice for this.

Most of the work came in constructing the enclosure. I used my chop saw to cut pieces to length, then resawed them on my bandsaw so they were thinner. I then glued up the wooden box with some support blocks to increase the strength and give me somewhere to mount the metal plate that will hold the parts.

I'd recently scored a bunch of aluminum and steel sheet, so I used one of the aluminum plates to mount all the parts. The thicker plate was really nice to work and drill and allowed me to chamfor the holes so the wires won't scrape. Then I painted it up and mounted in the components.

This project involved a lot of 3D printing as well, all the transformer covers and the capacitor brackets were printed on my FlashForge 3. Boiled Linseed Oil was used on the wood for a natural finish, and the power light enclosure is an old glass bottle that I 3D printed a diffusion cap for.

Overall I'm really happy with this project, and so is my son who's been using it constantly over the Thanksgiving break. :)

Stay tuned for more fun with tubes!

[atplblog]

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[awaissstore]

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[deepdreamnights]

You know how furbies worked?

They had a timer. If you talked to them long enough, they'd unlock more words. The AI capabilities did not exist at all outside of some cleverly worded marketing. They simulated the existence of an AI.

And at the time, people freaked out about them because they believed a toy commercial and extrapolated a worst case scenario. They were banned from government facilities. Parents were concerned they were spying or could pick up bad behaviors. And then there was that time everyone thought the devil was in them.

Boy howdy does that sound familiar. There's a reason I use Furbies as a metaphor for ChatGPT.

Good to see the Copyright Alliance's talking points making the rounds still (/s).

CrAIyon is using the power of a small city? Seriously? Think over the logistics there.

That's a whole lot of operating cost for a service that's paid entry level is $10 and which provides the vast, vast, vast majority of its services for free users.

Stable Diffusion runs local on a desktop or laptop with a decent graphics card. It doesn't require an internet connection to run and is around a 6 gigabyte installation. How does that work if the power demands are so potent?

I mean, you can bring up investors as an explanation. But Midjourney doesn't have those. It is funded by its paid user base. So however much power they're using, they pay for it and their storage and operating costs with a user base of around 30 mil.

In terms of power use, the truth is that generative AI is roughly on par with streaming or high-end gaming, and the numbers indicating vast increases of power use thanks to AI were rolling all increases in all data center use under the AI banner when it was data storage, crypto (an intentional exponential power hog), streaming, gaming, and everything else.

Other reports use the one-time training process numbers and applied them to general use. The actual numbers for image generation are between 0.000086–0.00029 kWh per image. Or .086-.29 kWh per 1000.

Boiling a kettle of water takes about .1 kwh., 30 minutes of Fortnite is about .038 kwh. streaming one hour of 4K video on 4g is going to cost you about .15 kilowatt hours.

Now, I can't speak to anyone else, but I can't typically generate 1000 images in a two-hour long period, nor very close to it. And that's what I'd have to be doing, at high-end settings, to equal streaming a movie.

This post is long already and the arguments about IP have been addressed a hojillion times on this blog and others, but as always, I direct to the Electronic Frontier Foundation's position.

"Yeah, I used AI to help make this"

"NON-GENERATIVE AI"

[raymondkingperfume]

Unleashing the Potential: Unconventional Ways to Use Fragrance Beyond Personal Perfuming

Fragrance has a captivating power to evoke emotions, set the mood, and create an atmosphere. While we often associate fragrance with personal perfuming, its potential extends far beyond that. In this article, we will explore unconventional and creative ways to use fragrance in various aspects of our lives, from enhancing our surroundings to adding a touch of luxury to everyday experiences. Get ready to unleash the full potential of fragrance in ways you may not have imagined before.

Fragrant Home Décor

Fragrance can transform your living space into a sensory oasis. Instead of relying solely on scented candles or reed diffusers, think outside the box. Consider infusing your home décor with fragrance by incorporating scented elements such as potpourri, scented sachets, or fragrance-infused decorative items. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to your vacuum cleaner bag or mix it with baking soda to create a DIY carpet freshener.

Scented Linens and Fabrics

Elevate your everyday routines by introducing fragrance to your linens and fabrics. Spritz a scented linen spray on your bedsheets, curtains, or upholstery to infuse them with a delightful scent. You can also add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to unscented laundry detergent during the wash cycle to impart a subtle fragrance to your clothes and towels.

Fragrance as a Mood Enhancer

Raymond King mentioned that fragrances has the power to influence our moods and emotions. Take advantage of this by using fragrance strategically to create desired atmospheres. For a relaxing ambiance, opt for calming scents such as lavender or chamomile. To energize and uplift, choose invigorating scents like citrus or peppermint. Experiment with different fragrances to set the mood that aligns with your intentions and activities.

Perfume Your Stationery

Infuse your letters, cards, and stationery with a personal touch of fragrance. Spritz a light mist of perfume onto your paper or envelope before writing a heartfelt message. As the recipient opens the correspondence, they will be greeted with a delightful scent that enhances the overall experience.

Fragrance in the Workplace

Raymond King said you can enhance your productivity and create a pleasant work environment by incorporating fragrance into your workspace. Opt for subtle scents that are not overpowering and consider using a small desktop diffuser or an essential oil diffuser. Scents like rosemary, lemon, or peppermint are known for their invigorating and focus-enhancing properties.

Fragrance for Special Events

Make your special events truly memorable by incorporating fragrance into the experience. Consider using scented candles, diffusers, or fragrance sprays that complement the theme or mood of the occasion. For example, a romantic dinner can be enhanced with the soft glow and captivating scent of scented candles, while a garden party can benefit from floral or greenery-inspired fragrances.

Scented Bathing Rituals

ScentForMe noted that you can transform your bathing rituals into luxurious sensory experiences by incorporating fragrance. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to your bathwater or use scented bath salts or bath bombs. The aromatic steam and water will envelop you, creating a spa-like experience in the comfort of your own bathroom.

Fragrance in Culinary Delights

let's talk about a little thing that can seriously jazz up your taste adventure – fragrance! Yep, we're not just talking about smelling good; we're diving into the world of culinary magic.

Imagine this: your food isn't just about taste and texture; it's about a whole symphony of aromas. So, here's the plan – we're turning everyday oils, vinegars, and syrups into scent superheroes by infusing them with goodies like herbs, spices, or flowers. It's like giving your food a backstage pass to a flavour party!

And guess what? These fragrant wonders can transform into dressings that'll make your salads sing, marinades that'll take your BBQ game up a notch, and cocktails that'll seriously level up your mixology cred. Oh, and let's not forget homemade flavoured sugars – your desserts are about to get a whole lot fancier!

So, there you have it, culinary adventurers. Get ready to explore this flavour galaxy and unlock a whole new level of deliciousness. Time to infuse some pizzazz into your plates and glasses!

Fragrance for Meditation and Mindfulness

Create a serene and harmonious space for meditation or mindfulness practices by incorporating fragrance. Essential oils like frankincense, sandalwood, or lavender are known for their calming and grounding properties. Use a diffuser, apply a few drops to your wrists, or create a homemade meditation mist to enhance your practice.

Fragrant Gifting

Delight your loved ones by incorporating fragrance into your gifts. Alongside traditional presents, consider adding a scented candle, a personalized fragrance sampler set, or a handmade scented soap. The fragrance will not only add an extra touch of luxury but also create a memorable sensory experience for the recipient.

Fragrance for Art and Creativity

Tap into the artistic potential of fragrance by incorporating it into your creative pursuits. Use fragrance as inspiration for painting, writing, or other artistic endeavors. Experiment with different scents and explore how they evoke emotions and shape your creative process. You can also explore fragrance-themed art exhibitions or collaborate with perfumers to create unique sensory experiences that combine fragrance and visual art.

Fragrance in Yoga and Mind-Body Practices

Enhance your yoga or mind-body practices with the power of fragrance. Incorporate essential oils into your pre-practice rituals by applying them to your pulse points or diffusing them in the practice space. Certain scents like eucalyptus, peppermint, or lemongrass can enhance focus and deepen your connection with the present moment during these practices.

Fragrance in Sleep and Relaxation

Create a tranquil environment for sleep and relaxation by incorporating fragrance into your bedtime routine. Use a linen spray with soothing scents like lavender or chamomile on your pillowcases and sheets. Diffuse calming essential oils in your bedroom to promote relaxation and a restful sleep. Allow fragrance to lull you into a state of serenity and rejuvenation.

Fragrance in Personal Care Products

Expand your fragrance experience by exploring scented personal care products beyond perfumes and colognes. Look for scented body lotions, shower gels, or hair mists that complement your favorite fragrances. Layering scents through these products can enhance their longevity and create a more personalized and long-lasting fragrance experience.

Fragrance in Memory and Nostalgia

Harness the evocative power of fragrance to evoke cherished memories and moments of nostalgia. Explore scents that remind you of specific places, people, or experiences from your past. Incorporate these fragrances into your daily life to transport yourself back to those special moments, allowing fragrance to serve as a bridge between past and present.

By exploring fragrance beyond personal perfuming, we unlock a world of possibilities and discover new ways to enrich our lives. Whether it's incorporating fragrance into our creative pursuits, enhancing our wellness practices, or evoking nostalgia, fragrance has the ability to elevate our experiences and connect us with our senses. Embrace the unconventional and let fragrance be a source of inspiration, joy, and transformation in your life.

Incorporating fragrance into various aspects of our lives allows us to tap into its vast potential beyond personal perfuming. From transforming our homes to enhancing special occasions, fragrance has the power to elevate our everyday experiences. Embrace your creativity, explore different scents, and unleash the full potential of fragrance in unconventional and exciting ways. Let fragrance be a constant reminder of the beauty and joy that surrounds us.

[jtr-taonaw]

Thoughts about AI and art

We sat across each other at a local bar with good beer, good sandwiches and good spirits. I wanted to talk to Nat about AI and how I use it in my more creative endeavors, where I have a choice to matter.

Nat hates AI with passion and “out of principle” (he draws by hand and writes fan fiction) like many other folks out there, but unlike them, he can separate me as a person from what I do and how I do it. Also, his opinion is way more important to me, naturally.

The big argument is that AI destroys the planet (because of the power the servers of big companies have to draw) and that it rips artists off because it creates work like they do without them getting a dime or even credit. Those are true facts and I don’t have answers to those.

Most people who use AI tools today use the Cloud and the big tech that comes with it. The more they use it, the more the big tech behind it grows and draws even more power from the grid, creating more emissions. As well, most AI for imagery creation is based on scraped information from thousands of people and artists, and it’s impossible to give them credit even if we want to, let alone compensation.

In general, AI takes an existing problem we have as a society and puts it on steroids. Many companies not only use AI as a tool, they’re starting to force its usage, directly or indirectly, by preferring it over hiring more human help instead.

These problems are not going away.

Meanwhile, there are good uses for this technology. In my case, it enhances my photos (which I took, meaning they’re my original work) and makes them better.

For example, in one of my recent “doors” photos, one of the doors had a big ugly sign on it. Removing it with Adobe’s AI took me a few seconds, and the picture looks better. The door part in the photo now has a small part (say roughly 10% of it) that is fake, but the work as a whole is still mine. Further, Adobe’s auto-fill uses my photo to “rebuild” the door, so in theory, there’s no theft here since the pixels it uses come from my photo, not someone else’s (at least not the way I understand how this particular tool is used).

In my opinion, this is an ethically acceptable use of AI. I would do it on my own without AI, but because it would take more time and effort, I wouldn’t bother with it every time. So, in this case, AI is an enabler, something that enhances my original work. I still contribute to Adobe’s AI though, and the first two problems I raised are still there.

I can’t make this argument when I create “original” art from scratch using AI. In that case, there’s very little - if at all - of my own work involved. And while I use my own desktop for it (Stable Diffusion is not based on a cloud server), as Nat pointed out, it doesn’t mean that those inspired by what I created will follow suit and use the same tools I use. While this makes it “less” of my problem (I can’t be held responsible for what other people do with their tech), I am part of it because I’m part of a movement that inspires people to do more AI-related work, not less.

This bothers me, so I picked up a “how to draw” book yesterday. It’s not my first attempt to learn to draw, and it probably won’t be the last.

I suck at drawing. I can’t even sketch. AI gave me the option to express what’s on my mind in a way that has been impossible for me before. But perhaps now that I’ve seen what I can create with help, I may have more motivation to bridge this gap, or at least attempt to.

Maybe I can learn to draw the same way I use AI in some of my photos: in small fixes. The drawing as a whole would still be AI, but something like a facial expression or something in the background would be something I draw myself—at least for starters. Approaching it like this in small steps might slowly help. After all, no one knows how to draw at birth; it’s something you got to learn.

Well, we’ll see what happens.

[obeythedemons]

His Office [Obey Me! Headcanons]

I got my own cubicle today with my promotion. I may or may not have bought cat-themed office supplies. They’re not masculine in any way, but they’re cute and I play Obey Me! do you think I’m worried about my masculinity and also I don’t care for gender norms

Obey Me! Masterlist

--

Lucifer

Everything has its place

If something is moved even a centimeter he’ll know

Both as a way to ensure Mammon doesn’t steal something, but also to ensure he’s as efficient as possible when it comes to his work

Splurged on some very nice pens that write smoothly and doesn’t smudge

Everything is clean, he has a hand vacuum that he uses every day on his desk

Has a very high-end computer - he cannot deal with IT issues, not today

Mammon

Paperwork is everywhere

Not because he gets a lot, he just refuses to ever do it and it piles up

Has no idea where anything in his office is

Has a framed picture of Goldie on his desk

That picture changes to MC after a couple of days of knowing them

After that picture changes to MC, he starts to actually do his work and the pile of paperwork decreases and becomes more organized

Leviathan

Anime stationery, especially Ruri-chan themed!

Brings in a gamer chair to be his office chair, otherwise, he’s not comfortable

Has a bunch of sticky notes around his desk with anime doodles from when he’s in a meeting

Got rid of the phone to his office, if people want to talk to him they can IM him or email him

Set up RGB lights for his office and uses that as a light source

His desktop is whatever anime or video game he's obsessed with

Satan

Has binders that are clearly labeled and organized - he likes to read their contents when he's bored

Also has a binder that has whatever book he's reading in it - that way he can read and look like he's working

Knows everyone that works there, so he knows exactly who to contact when a problem comes up - meaning his workload is minimal

Also keeps a chair in his office for anyone that wants to visit with him

His desktop changes every five minutes to a new picture of a cat - it seems to never repeat itself

Asmodeus

Rose gold décor everywhere

Has a couple of mirrors in his office so he can look at himself when he's bored or fix his appearance

Has a cup for pens and a cup for makeup brushes

In fact, his desk has more beauty products than actual office supplies

Is the perfect person to go to if they need a breath mint, some lotion, chocolate, or menstrual hygiene product

Beelzebub

His desk is filled with snacks and like two pens

Has a minifridge under his desk for cold snacks and drinks

There are crumbs everywhere - Lucifer comes in once a week to clean up for him, but it's still not enough

There's a trophy he won for playing Fangol on a corner, it's not front and center

What's front and center are pictures of his family and MC, he got a digital frame so he can have a lot of photos of them

Belphegor

Has a blanket hanging off the back of his chair

His chair also has a cushion on it so he can sit on it and be comfortable - also uses it as a pillow for his desk

Has wrist supports for his keyboard and mouse - they're squishy

Has an essential oil diffuser where he regularly uses lavender

Uses a single lamp for light, but usually keeps it off so he can sleep

Diavolo

Has a very large desk, it's ridiculously large and he only uses a small portion of it

Though, what he doesn't use starts to fill up with knickknacks from the human realm after he meets MC - he likes to show MC them to try and make them laugh or smile

Keeps personal items to a minimum, he doesn't want business rivals to visit his office and try to blackmail him

He does have a couple of chairs for when people visit him - he likes it when it's just to visit and not for a business meeting

Tries to not be in his office too much, he'd rather go to other peoples' offices and see what they're up to

Barbatos

Has an electric tea kettle on his desk with a couple of mugs

One of his drawers is completely filled with different teas

The drawer below that has snacks that pair perfectly with the different teas

The top of his desk is completely clean and organized - has little to no paperwork as he completes it faster than anyone else

Is usually away from his office to meet with Diavolo

His desktop background is rarely seen as he always locks his computer when someone enters or when he leaves - it's a picture of Lord Diavolo, MC, and himself

Simeon

Has the oldest computer that he doesn't know how to work - he wouldn't know how to work a new one on either

Does all of his work on paper - much to the annoyance of some of his co-workers

Has so many binders, folders, and notebooks on his desk - they're unlabeled, but he knows exactly what is in each of them

He uses a Rolodex - no one knows where he found it or that they even made them anymore

Is the person people go to to rant about their job while he patiently listens and offers the best advice

Solomon

His office is off in a weird corner that people didn't know existed until they had to go find him

He looks young, but it seems like he knows everything that has ever happened in the office - that should be impossible

Has all of the old, archive documents that seem to be irrelevant and should be tossed

He has his own microwave in his office after the incident in the communal area

Has polaroid photos of Simeon, Luke, MC, and himself posted along a wall

Luke

People walk into his office and then back out thinking they have the wrong spot - who brought this child here? He works here? Is this legal?

Has a lot of HR forms at the ready that show he does work there!

Still not sure if it's legal

Is always bringing in baked goods for the whole office to try - is always nervous when Barbatos tries his baked good, but lights up when Barbatos praises him

Has a cushion on his chair to help him reach his computer, his legs dangle off the edge

Is in charge of converting Simeon's forms to a digital format

[xeunoais]

You’re All I Need

(A/N: i know i haven’t been active for a while, i had a lot of stuff going on at the time but i think i’m officially back now. and i’ve had this in my drafts for the longest time and i finally got some inspiration to finish it, so here it is! enjoy!)

Summary: You have a really bad day and then Shawn comes home from the studio and make you feel better.

-

-

You sat there completely blank. Fingers resting on the keyboard and eyes staring at what was supposed to be a word document showing hours of work, instead, it was your desktop wallpaper.

You shut your eyes, swallowing the golf ball-sized lump in your throat and counted to three. When every breath didn't feel like a heavy truck pushing down onto your chest, you set aside all the work littered across the kitchen counter and shifted focus to stop yourself from screaming out of frustration. And the perfect way to do just that - cleaning.

Cleaning always made stressful moments feel less of a weight. When you were young, probably in like middle school, your mother found you in the middle of a full clean mode of your room.

Back then it was all because of Toby, your first-ever crush, who broke your heart by declaring his own crush to your best friend. And ever since then, cleaning was your go to for diffusing pressure building moments from life's road bumps.

After the first three plates, two bowls and several cutlery pieces, the urge to scream had subsided. Rinsing off the soapy water from the last remaining glass you went to put it on the drying rack when it slipped from your grasp smashing to several pieces; big and small, all over the kitchen floor.

Clutching the counter, you counted to three once again before carefully grabbing the pieces and throwing them in the trash. But, of course, nothing had been going right today. So when the corner of the glass cut your index finger, the desire to scream or even cry became completely non-existent. Instead, all that was left was a sense of numbness.

**

You weren't sure how long you had been sitting on the floor staring at your bloody finger, but you gathered it was a while given that Shawn had gotten home from the studio. He called out your name, stopping in his tracks as he saw you in the kitchen on the floor.

"Baby, what happened?” He asked, rushing over.

You didn't answer. He asked again, this time in a more calmer tone. But still, no response. He rushed out of the kitchen down the hallway.

And in the blink of an eye Shawn returned with the first-aid kit. He silently took care of the cut, but you could see in his eyes he was struggling with not pushing for answers. The only thing he knew was his girlfriend of two years was on the floor nursing a medium-sized cut on her finger, all while looking like she was about to break down at any second. You couldn't imagine how many thoughts he had running through his mind.

As Shawn left to put away the kit, you slowly brought yourself to your knees, recollecting what little composure you could after a miserable day. However, when your eyes glanced toward the right kitchen cabinet it blew up the last piece of composure left to collect.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Shawn asked, his voice sounding like an echo from miles away, even though he was standing right beside you. "I'm cleaning. I accidentally got blood on your cabinets.”

Shawn knelt down, "I can do it".

He tried taking away the wet towel dipped in cleaning product from your hands, but you clutched it tighter, scrubbing even harder against the door until your knuckles turned white.

"It's okay. I'll clean it later. Let's just go sit down on the couch, yeah.” He softly said, offering his hand to help you up.

The lump in your throat had doubled in size; feeling now more like a basketball, by the time you made it to the couch. Shawn sat opposite on the coffee table looking more worried than ever as you avoided his gaze and placed your head in your hands.

"Hey, look at me. Tell me what happened".

Shaking your head, Shawn reached for your hand and you could feel your lip tremble once contact was made. Looking up as your eyes met his own, your eyes glistened with tears. It was at that moment when you finally broke. You couldn’t hold back your tears anymore.

"It's just been a really shitty day. I lost all my work, hours of research gone. The heel on my favourite black heels broke as I was getting out of the car. I had the worst cup of coffee in my life. And before I broke a glass and cut my finger I got a notification reminding me it's our anniversary today which I completely forgot about, and I didn't even get you anything and now I feel like the worst girlfriend ever.”

Shawn pulled you into a hug, holding you close as you cried.

"You're far from a terrible girlfriend, and if it makes you feel any better I forgot a gift too.”

You looked up at him, completely falling in love with him all over again as he tried to make you feel better.

"Listen, we've still got a few hours left to turn this day around. So how about you go and take a nice, long hot bath. Then after changing into something more comfortable meet me back in the living room.”

You nodded, slowly making your way to the bathroom for a bath that helped soothe aching muscles and hopefully silencing a few more tears.

**

Venturing back into the living room, Shawn had moved the coffee table to the side, creating more space for a mountain of blankets and pillows which all pointed towards the TV.

"I see I won't be getting that back anytime soon.” Shawn smiled, taking in how his YOUTH hoodie shallowed you in the cutest way.

"It's my favorite, plus you did say to change into something more comfortable.”

"That I did.” He kissed your forehead, whispering.

"It looks better on you, anyway.” His voice along with the combination of bare skin and cool air sent a sonic wave of shivers throughout your body, which you choose to ignore, for now at least.

"What's all this?" You said, pointing to the scene in front.

He grinned, gently clapping his hands and leading you to the blanket and pillow sanctuary.

"I thought we could just relax and turn a bad day into something good. We can put your favorite movie on. And I ordered some takeout with a side of your favourite dessert, which should be here any minute".

"Shawn, you didn't-".

"Yes, I did. I know you've been stretching yourself thin lately, and I can tell you still feel guilty about forgetting our anniversary. But the only thing I need is you,” He moved a piece of hair from your eyes.

"Nothing else matters.”

"So you're not mad at me?” He smiled, thumb caressing your cheek.

"I have nothing to be mad about, so I want you to stop worrying. Because tonight is all about relaxing, junk food and lots of cuddles from your very handsome boyfriend".

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pulled him closer. The kiss, like always, sparked a rainbow of fireworks. And there was nothing better than the way Shawn tasted or leaving each other breathless. Leaning your head against his chest, you exhaled, taking in the peace of having him hold you close.

-

The end

(A/N: I hope you enjoy this. feedback is highly appreciated! and btw i know its not much but i think its cute lol and i am currently working on something else at the moment, but i needed to get this out of the way first!)

[king-finnigan]

Play With Fire - part 10

Warning! Torture. Still blueballing you with the actual murder but we’re getting there! That is not a sentence I ever thought I’d write, and yet, here we are.

Masterlist!

***

They make it to the prison without running into any police officers, and Geralt parks his car at the back of the building, leaving his keys in the lock. After all, they should probably steal a car after this to make sure they don’t get tracked as easily.

Surprisingly, his badge still works on the back door to the prison, and he and Jaskier slip inside. 

It’s quiet in the prison - it’s dinner time, by now, so the inmates are all in the dining room, with most of the guards. He’s confident they won’t run into any of his ex-coworkers in the hallways, either, since it’s only a short distance from the back of the prison to the director’s office. 

Well enough, they make it there without seeing another living soul - except for the one cockroach that scurried up the wall as they passed. It’s dark in the office, De Vries probably having gone home for the day an hour or so ago. 

He’s about to sit down in front of the desktop when Jaskier beats him to it. “Let me, love. Only my fingerprints, remember?” He wiggles his fingers in front of Geralt’s face in demonstration and Geralt chuckles, kissing them softly before Jaskier pulls his hands back, laughing as well. “Just tell me what to do, exactly.”

“Well, first you gotta turn it on.” 

Jaskier nods, frowning. “Right, yeah, right. Makes sense.”

He does as he’s told - for once - and turns the computer on, staring blankly at the screen for a few minutes as it loads. “It says I have to log in.”

Geralt frowns. “Hmm.” He opens the top drawer of the desk, digging through the papers. “It’s likely they haven’t changed the system yet, so soon, so she probably-” he smiles triumphantly as he pulls out a tiny piece of paper from the bottom of the drawer with Palmer’s login and password “-aha! She wrote the old one down.”

“Love, you’re a goddamn genius.” Jaskier smiles at him as Geralt scoffs, handing the paper to the younger man.

His face then contorts in horror as Jaskier starts typing with his two index fingers. “You look like a grandma.”

Jaskier shrugs, tongue poking out between his lips as he continues typing with two fingers. “I’m not good with technology.”

“My gods, how did you ever escape from prison?”

Jaskier shrugs again, beaming up at him as he smashes his finger down on the ‘Enter’ key. “By the power of my love for you.”

Geralt sighs, shaking his head lightly, smiling anyways, as he goes to stand behind Jaskier, laying his chin on his love’s shoulder to see the screen. He points at a particular icon. “Click that. Twice, dear. Twice quickly, now you’re just changing the name. Yes, like that. Now, click on ‘History’, then click ‘Clear’, ‘Clear all,’ yes.” He pecks a small kiss underneath Jaskier’s ear. “Well done. Now close it. Use the X, dear. Now, the other icon, that one. No, not that one, the one I’m pointing to. The one I’m pointing to, dear. No, not that one, the one I’m pointing to. Yes, that one. Again, ‘History’, ‘Clear’, ‘Clear all’, then ‘Disable Cameras’. That’s it. Now, ‘Employees’, yes that one, click on it. Twice, Jaskier. Hmm.” He frowns, committing De Vries and Stregobor’s adresses to his memory. “Now, turn the computer off. Right.”

He stands up straight again, smiling as Jaskier saunters through the office door, following the younger man into the hall, taking his hand. “Now we get the hell out of here.”

“And steal a car?”

“Yes, and steal a car.” He rolls his eyes at the smile Jaskier gives him, all sparkly eyes and rosy cheeks and sharp teeth. “And maybe murder some people, what the hell.”

And, by the gods, Geralt shouldn’t be fond of the excited look Jaskier throws his way at the mention of murder, but he does anyways.

---

Stealing a car isn’t difficult. Finding Stregobor’s house, a few blocks away, isn’t, either. Willing himself to actually let go of the steering wheel and opening the door, however, is.

He sits there, tensed up under the light of the streetlamps, darkness beginning to fall, hands clenched around the steering wheel. Jaskier’s hand is rubbing his shoulder in soothing, circulair motions, as he presses soft kisses to Geralt’s jaw and neck. “It’s okay, love, it’s okay. If you don’t want to go, then you don’t have to go. It’s okay. I can handle this on my own.”

Geralt knows Jaskier’s right, knows the younger man can just saunter into the house, pull the trigger or use a knife, and walk right back out without as much as a second thought. And he knows that Jaskier can stand his ground, if Stregobor were to fight back.

But he also doesn’t want to let his love do this alone. Doesn’t want to sit here in the car in deafening silence, waiting for the bang of a gunshot or the slam of the front door. He can’t just sit here and do nothing and wait and listen.

But he also doesn’t know if he can go in there, if he can watch someone being murdered - no matter how much that person is standing in his way. And that’s assuming that he’ll just be watching. That’s assuming he, himself, won’t be the one holding the knife or the gun or the sides of Stregobor’s head before he snaps his neck.

He doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know what to say, and even if he did, he feels like he can’t - can’t move, can’t talk, can’t let go of the steering wheel as his knuckles slowly turn white.

“Love,” Jaskier whispers to him, “it’s time, alright? I’m going in there, with or without you. I know that sounds harsh, but we don’t have much time left, we can’t sit here all night.”

Geralt exhales a deep, shuddering breath, then nods, once. 

He finally releases the steering wheel from his death grip, taking the gun Jaskier offers to him, tucking it into his waistband. He tries not to slam the door of the car when he gets out, but Jaskier seems to slam it extra hard, making Geralt cringe.

“Just to give ‘em a little heads-up.” Jaskier winks at him, diffusing the tenseness in Geralt’s shoulder, as he chuckles.

They walk to the front door, and Jaskier knocks. And somehow, that’s the thing that surprises Geralt the most.

He’s never imagined what it would be like to kill somebody. He has imagined Jaskier killing someone, though, but he’s never tried to think about the moments leading up to it, or the ones afterwards. He’s never thought he would be by Jaskier’s side, about to murder someone.

And even if he had, he never would’ve guessed that they would knock first. But then again, it’s as good a start to a murder as any. At least they don’t have to break in, at least they don’t have to try not to leave fingerprints everywhere.

Jaskier leans back a bit as they wait. “How do you want to do this, love? Just shoot him when he opens? Force our ways inside, tie him down, make him suffer a bit first? Your choice, love, I want you to be comfortable.”

Geralt nearly snorts at that. Yes, like he could ever be comfortable murdering someone. 

Maybe one day, a small voice at the back of his mind whispers, and he pushes it away.

He contemplates his options for a second. “Maybe tie him down and make him suffer a bit, and give De Vries a merciful death. She seemed alright. Stregobor is just a douchebag.”

Jaskier smiles at him, wiggling his shoulders a bit. “Ooh. Best of both worlds, I see. Bold move.”

Geralt opens his mouth to answer when the door opens, revealing a tired-looking Stregobor in a bathrobe and slippers. His greyish eyes widen in surprise at the sight in front of him. “Wh-”

Geralt pulls the gun out from his jeans, pointing it at the man. “One wrong move and you’re dead.”

Jaskier looks at him, mouth slightly agape in shock and wonder. “You’re so hot when you say things like that.”

Geralt scoffs, shaking his head slightly. He turns his gaze back to Stregobor, whose hands are up in the air by now. He motions with the gun. “Move back.”

Stregobor does as he’s told, stepping back a few feet, and Geralt follows him inside, gun still trained on the man, as Jaskier closes the door behind them, locking it.

Stregobor’s face contorts in anger, hands balling into fists next to his head as Jaskier grabs a dining room chair, dragging it into the middle of the living room-kitchen space. “You fucking traitor! I should’ve known, should’ve seen this coming. You motherf-” 

Stregobor’s sentence is cut short as Jaskier elbows him into the side of his head. The man falls down into the chair, groaning as Jaskier takes his hands, cuffing them behind the chair. “Nobody talks to my boyfriend like that, asshole,” Jaskier mutters, spitting in Stregobor’s face before taking the ribbon from the bathrobe, stuffing it into the man’s mouth.

The bathrobe falls open, and Geralt takes in the sight of Stregobor, a man who prides himself in his well-put-together appearance, sitting in the chair, hands cuffed behind the back, clad in only an open bathrobe, underwear, and slippers. And, strangely enough, it brings him joy - brings him an unbridled pleasure to see a man who looks down on others - on Geralt - humiliated and reduced to nothing in the span of a few short minutes.

He takes the knife Jaskier hands to him, kneeling in front of Stregobor, dragging the tip across the man’s cheek. “You’ll have to forgive me,” he mutters, eyes trained on Stregobor’s face, contorted in rage and fear, “this is my first time so I might be a little clumsy.”

Stregobor’s scream is muffled through ribbon of the bathrobe when the tip of the knife pushes clean through the skin and muscle of his cheek, into the fabric.

***

Tag list babey! (if you want to be added, just send me a DM or an ask, or put it in the comments, whatever suits you):

@just-a-himbo-and-his-feral-bard, @dandelionslute, @weakforjaskier, @the-blondey, @shipwrecked-nawtali, @bygodstillam, @rum-cream, @random-nerd-3, @allthethingshappening, @agentlewomanandascholar, @tschulijulesjulie, @noobtiedoo, @foddle-the-fiddler, @thenameislion-dandelion, @skai6, @thesmileyplant, @hysteria347, @pensandknittingneedles, @freak-fee-blog, @whenrainbowsend, @flustratedcas, @negatjazzy, @bridgehampton, @lookinforsomeabsinth, @dandelion-and-the-wolf, @sweetieplum

[saturn-mp4]

The Aesthetic Tag

Rules: Bold the aesthetics you relate to and add twenty of your own aesthetic qualities for others to bold.

(soft!) baby pink | iridescent | glitter is always a good option | no bra | minimalistic tattoos | cherry patterns | sweet scented perfumes | wearing generous amounts of blush | doodling hearts | getting excited to pet an animal| fun nails | rewatching old barbie movies | hair sticking to glossed lips | heart shaped sunglasses | taking pictures of the sunset or sunrise | stuffed animals | protecting nature | stickers everywhere | teen movies | the light rain that falls from a clear sky at the beginning of the night |

(dark academia!) neutral tones | masculine outfits | studying languages | worn down copy of books | grey skies | turtleneck sweaters | loose fitting pants | hair tied with a silk ribbon | trying to remember a cool difficult word you read somewhere to use in a convo | thick belts | minimal makeup | windows fogged by rain | vintage jewelry | blouses with cuffed sleeves | reading a murder mystery and trying to solve it | oxford style shoes | sweater vests | subtitled old movies in a language you don’t speak | leaves crackling as you walk | annotating books to express your emotions about the story |

(edgy!) closet full of dark clothes | fishnet tights | makeup sweating off | neon signs | searching for unknown songs | chokers | band tees | doodling on old converses | finding smoking aesthetically pleasing but not doing it | weird humor | accidentally very dramatic | dim lights | layered outfits | chain belts | chipped nail polish | messy hair | low quality pics | piercings | combat boots | scribbling on desks |

(seventies!) colorful wardrobe | doodling flowers | wearing short shorts | using a bikini top or bra as a normal top | listening to ABBA | flowers in your hair | DIYing everything | jamming to songs alone in your room | drunkenly telling your friends you love them | patterned bandanas | mid heeled shoes | messy braids | flared sleeves | walking barefoot on grass or sand | bold sunglasses | the good kind of tired you get after doing something you enjoy for hours | feeding stray animals | fun patterned socks | room decorated with succulents and other plants | likes to go roller skating or skateboarding |

(preppy casual!) collared clothes | drinking juice out of a champagne glass | getting excited to see the met gala looks | thick headbands | small pastel cardigans | making your friends take your ootd pics | plaid mini skirts | tweed two pieces | watching reality tv to pass time| frilly tops | watching old hollywood movies | academically driven | long manicured nails | new year’s eve fireworks | colorful tights | layered golden jewelry | yearns for luxury brand items | decorating your room with fairy-lights | cursive and neat handwriting | lace details

@thelivebookproject endless summer sunny days | reading book after book after book | singing in the car | braids on wet hair | visiting ancient buildings and imagining life there | going berry picking | bullet journaling | making list after list after list | wanting to be sociable but too solitaire to make it work | having too many blankets on the bed | being fascinated by languages| shouting at TV debate shows | long silent winter evenings | playing classical piano | bad puns | wishing for change but being scared of it | dainty jewelery | foggy glasses over a cup of tea

@psychedaboutstudying warming your feet to a bonfire late summer evenings | writing in the sand to let the waves wash it away | oversized woolen socks | two messy buns | getting lost in music played through big headphones | reading twelve books at the same time | office job during the week punk rock on the weekends | imagining you’re in a music video when in the car | wooden decor pieces | planning as a hobby | women in suits | animal printed everything | colour-coded annotated research papers | fluffy sweaters and steaming hot tea in the winter | karaoke night at your friends’ home | guilty pleasures spotify lists | self-education | long high-waisted skirts | endless curiosity | sitting on the floor

@booknerdphd messy buns | baggy sweaters | black leggings | constant background lo-fi music | multiple downloads of the same paper in multiple folders | drinking all beverages from a mug (even alcohol) | cloudy days and heavy rains | the smell of air before it rains | diligent at work lazy at home | visiting art and history museums | 16 oz thermos flask to fill with coffee at any given time | sneakers and ankle length socks | denim jackets | sad song playlists forever | consumes entertainment in 4 (or just multiple) different languages | singing in the apartment like you’re singing in the shower

@phdead high heel boots | flannel | messy bun | wearing the same piece of jewelry | asymmetric earrings | speed walks everywhere | but refuses to jog/run | long colourful nails | space buns | motivated by challenges | cherries | doesn’t like flowers | summer rain | chocolate covered strawberries | scared of heights | ties | shifts between aesthetics | cozy blankets and campfires |  thrifting | cleans to procrastinate

@evenrosespeaks french press coffee in the mornings | pj pants constantly at home | a “to-read” stack of books | story-rich video games | dried flowers | endless houseplants | floral dresses | fancy pens | hand-written to-do lists | scared of failure | chain drinking tea | lavender scented rooms and clothes | inbox zero| tries to resist clutter but ultimately fails | cardboard boxes instead of a bookshelf | lots of windows | dragging out things that I don’t want to end | wool coats | muted/dusty colors |  watching the rain from indoors.

@schleiereule94 eating too much chocolate | owls | the scent of cake/cookies in the oven | blasting loud music to destress | a clean desktop with only one folder named “documents” | “report_final_Version_final_current_really_final_version_7″ | hair ties in every corner of the house | leather leggings | long evening walks | watching the dogs in the park | heavy wind before a thunderstorm | the scent of the warming river in spring | overexcitement about travelling somewhere new | jumping around when happy or excited | going on your sibling(s) nerves but in a cute way | hugging trees | broken phone screen | colourful mandalas | aching muscles after workout | language confusion when switching from one to the other

@biomedstudyblr14 being tired but not going to bed til 2am | drinking 3 cups of tea in a row | listening to obscure artists | liking music at totally different ends of the spectrum | unbrushed hair | odd socks | loud | drama queen | could eat pizza every day | studies too much | hates children | does exercise but stays skinny | loves reed diffusers in their room | favourite scent is coconut | Wears trainers with every outfit | Watched youtube to understand lectures better | Can’t drive | Has ears pierced but never wears earrings | No makeup | Stationary hoarder

@saturn-mp4  flannels thrown over chairs | rainbow books | candles lighting up a room | iced coffees | wanting to play instruments but never learning | having the urge to go on walks at 2 am | uncontrolled laughing | being a dork but also having an old soul | multiple journals on the go at the same time | dancing around your room blasting music | hugs | endless ambition | a sea breeze | studying until 3 am in summer | running into the sea | slang | puppy energy |

[atplblog]

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[jameswalkerphotographer]

Today’s task was to optimise an image using software. I chose Lightroom as I have some experience of using it and to be honest the Bridge and Camera Raw software as demonstrated does not appear in my apps package on the iPad. I seem to have some issues with running the software on the desktop which would undoubtedly offer more control than on the iPad version.

I adjusted the white balance using the eye dropper method on the white of Jamie’s eye then warmed it a little with the slider. I used the healing tool to remove a few skin blemishes, not that she had many.I used a radial filter to lessen contrast in the background and diffuse a strong shadow. I then reduced the exposure on the background to concentrate attention on Jamie’s face.

I have to admit I struggled a bit with the brush work on her neck as I tried to emulate what Heather had shown in class. Using a finger on the iPad screen was not the most elegant but size adjustment helped. The real struggle was selecting the colour of the mask on a small screen with a large finger. I may have had better result using the Apple Pencil. I would also use a smaller area of mask and repeat the process on different areas for a better result next time. I am quite happy with this image now though.

[fen-ha-fuck-you]

Hello!!! I really love your gifs!! If I may ask, what program do you use and how do you manage to have such great quality?

Hi! Thank you!

I use Photoshop. Quality is a mixture of HD source video, creative use of blending modes, custom sharpening, the right export settings, and tumblr formatting. Beyond what I’ve outlined below, you’ll have to be more specific.

Blending Modes: When you’re coloring a gif, sometimes adjustment layers can really emphasize image compression (those squares that show up, usually in darker areas of the frame) or make things look unnatural in a way that’s hard to determine unless you’re looking for it. Changing the blending mode of any given layer from Normal to Color or Hue can help with that.

For example: This is an image I quickly edited with the Hue/Saturation and Vibrance layers’ blending modes set to normal.

This is the same image with Hue/Saturation and Vibrance set to Color.

It’s subtle, but there’s a difference, most visible in the petals. Look at these back to back, if you can.

Export Settings: First of all, you want to turn Web Snap down to 0%. Web Snap refers to the colors that your HTML5 browser of choice loads by default, which is great if you’re making clip art, but not so much for the sort of gifs you’re asking about. Web Snap will restrict your export palette from the beautiful range of the images above, to this:

Not ideal. Turn that shit off completely.

Secondly, dithering. Dithering plays a huge role in the visual consistency of the gif you’re exporting. Gifs can only hold up to 256 different colors, which means that any colors in your gif outside of that number are going to be lost.

Exporting a gif without dithering means that Photoshop is just going to guesstimate and group similar colors into the pre-existing 256 color palette without doing anything to try and smooth the borders of the splotches it creates. No dithering means you’ll end up with this. Pay attention to the clouds and mountain in the background, especially.

Dithering, on the other hand, tells Photoshop to smooth that shit out a little to trick the eye into thinking those color borders don’t exist. Your options for this are Diffusion, Noise, and Pattern. You’ve seen these in gifs before, even if you didn’t know what they were called. They add texture. 

Diffusion and Noise are very similar and both consist of a series of small dots across the image. I’ve found that Diffusion tends to be more visually pleasing than Noise, but that’s just me. Pattern is more of a small grid laid across the image that looks like very small plus signs or squares, depending on the area of the image you’re looking at. Pattern is the one that I usually go with. These options work equally well and are really a matter of personal preference. Again, pay attention to the clouds/mountain.

Diffusion:

Pattern:

Tumblr Formatting: This is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of creating a visually pleasing gifset on this site, and it’s weird that it matters, but it does.

Always post from desktop if you have the means to. The mobile app is garbage at the best of times, but especially for gif-makers.

Also incredibly important: Post your gifsets as a photo post. Not a text post. A photo post. Arranging the gifset you just spent x amount of hours creating in a text post is actual hell and it fucks up the dimensions I’m going to mention below because text posts don’t adhere to the same margins.

For the gif itself, I cannot stress the correct cropping sizes enough. Individual site themes are one thing, but the vast majority of the way you see gifsets on this site is on your dashboard, and the Tumblr dashboard has very specific dimensions that it’s willing to work with.

Width is the most important thing to pay attention to. A full-size gif (one column) needs to be 540px wide if you want it to show up here the way you made it. Full stop. This number used to be 500px, which is how you’ll see a lot of older sets, but anything smaller (or larger!) than the width dimensions noted in the post linked to this text is going to be blurry.

If you’re making gifs that are going to be side by side in two columns, they should be 268px wide. If you’re making a three column set, the gifs on the end should be 177px wide and the one in the middle should be 178px. Again, any difference in width here means that the gif is going to blur. The margins between gifs in a photo post will always be 4px (until tumblr changes dimensions again).

This was probably far more technical garbage than you were expecting, but I hope it helps at least a little.

[appletreeisland]

Life Reset Plan

Okay, things are shit now. But they don’t want to stay like that. You know how to make it better, you just got to do it. So, as always, let’s write it down and get to it, yeah?

Step 1: Life Cleanse

Start by cleaning your room. Open all the windows. Light a candle, start an oil diffuser, just make the air breathable. Strip your bed and wash everything. Sheets, blankets, pillowcases, everything. Throw them all into the wash. Maybe use some extra soap. Some essential oils. Whatever makes you feel good. Then take everything you own and put it on your bare bed. Alright, now you got until the washer and dryer are done to go through all your shit and decide if it stays or goes. (For me, that’s about 1 hour and 15 minutes) Don’t spend to much time on things, you don’t got a lot of time to spare. Most things should be decided instantly. Pick it up. Do you want it? Not an immediate yes. Get rid of it. Donate it. Sell it. Trash it. Just get it out of your life somehow. Now that you know what you want to keep, give them a home. Put them away in a place that makes you feel good and where it could stay forever. Good. Now brush off or vacuum your bed and make the bed. Tuck in your sheets. Fold your throw blankets. Make it look comfy like those beds of Instagram girls and people who have their lives together. Wipe down any and all surfaces. Desktops, windowsill, bedside tables. Make them fresh and clean. Sweep and mop or vacuum your floor. Make it a space that you feel good walking around barefoot on.

Move onto the rest of your space. Repeat everything here in each area of your pace. Bathroom? Throw the towels in the wash, put everything on the floor or counter, go throw it all, clean your surfaces, put everything away, sweep and mop. Kitchen? Empty cabinets and fridge, get rid of old/outdated foods, things you’re not actually ever going to use, consolidate herbs and spices (looking at you, four things of cinnamon), wipe out the inside of cabinets and fridge, put everything away, wipe down counters and stovetop, sweep, mop. Etc, etc.

Lastly, cleanse your technology. No, don’t just wipe down screens. Delete everything that doesn't make you happy. Apps, files, photos, songs, accounts, contacts, etc. Be aggressive with this too. Anything that doesn’t immediately make you feel good, get rid of it. Unfollow accounts that make you feel bad about yourself, that waste your time, that doesn’t inspire you and bring you joy. Yeah, that paper you wrote in school and got an A, delete it. Unless you feel like you’ll use it for another class or research your doing. This is nuanced advice. Adapt it to your current situation. If anything, put it in the cloud. 

Step 2: Personal Cleanse

We’re going to start physical and work our way inwards.

Take your old clothes off. Take a shower or a bath. A good long one. Spend at least twice as long as you normally do (unless you normally take hour-long showers, you know, be reasonable), wash your hair, condition it, wash your body, use a sugar scrub, wash your face, exfoliate, hell even brush your teeth. Do whatever you need to do to make yourself feel clean and rejuvenated. Don’t do something just because I said to or someone else said to. Do it because you feel good doing it. Don’t shave if it’s not your thing. Don’t put a face mask on if it’s not your thing. Again, nuance. Dry yourself off, put lotion on, put on your favorite outfit, do your hair, do your makeup, make yourself feel good by looking good. But looking good in a way that makes you feel good. Don’t like makeup, don’t wear it. Your favorite outfit could be sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Could be a suit and tie. A dress, a romper, whatever. Even a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Now, find a way to simplify this routine. Make it a daily thing. Shower every day if it makes you feel good. Use a sugar scrub three times a week if you want. Make a personal hygiene routine that makes you feel your best. You can use mine as an example but definitely take everything you want and nothing you don’t.

Okay, now look inward a bit. At your habits. Do you like them? Do they make you feel good? Do they depress you? Make you feel like a failure? Try to think about everything you tend to do, no matter how small. Write them down if you need to. Make a list and go through each one by one with an overly critical eye. Really consider the place of that habit in your life. Take the ones you want to quit doing and make a plan to quit them. (Maybe read ahead a bit in case they are similar to the ones I’m changing in my own life so you don’t spend all this time on it just for me to go over it again more in-depth) Now, think about the habits you want to have. Do you want to be a runner? Do you want to wake up at 6am every day? Read before bed? Draw daily? Write them all down. Then think about why you want to do them. Because they make you happy? Because someone else does them? Because you were told they were good for you? Again, be overly critical. Only accept the ones that are purely for yourself. Don’t wake up at 5am because someone once told you that that’s how you have a productive day. Do it because you love the quiet stillness of waking up before others. Or because you need that time to do other things that purely make you happy.

Lastly, look at your emotional health. How have you been feeling recently? Good? Bad? Depressed? Really ask yourself some personal questions and be honest with yourself. Again write it down. In whatever way is best for you. Maybe that’s a brain dump or a Level 10 Life approach. Whatever works for you. Now, think about why you’ve been feeling that way. Is it other people in your life? Could you remove them from your life or sit down and discuss with them how they have been impacting your life or find ways to healthily deal with them? Look at all your relationships. You never know where draining and/or toxic people may be when you don’t look at them critically. Is it your habits? Well, we’re already working on that so good job! Is it where you live or work? What can you do about those? Move furniture around? Buy new art? Move? Change jobs? Ask for a promotion? Find out what you need and go get it. Ask for help, build a support network, find the people who truly care and want to help you and utilize them. You’re not a burden or bothering them. fAnd if you are either understand that they may also be going through some tough shit and need to take care of themselves first and that’s okay or maybe they weren’t as good of a relationship as you thought. 

Step 3: Social Cleanse

I know we just talked about this, but I want to go into it a bit more.

Look at all your relationships, Family, friends, love interests, coworkers, etc. How do you feel about these relationships? Can you discard them if necessary? Or reinvent them? Analyze all of them and make a conscious decision to keep them in your life.

Want more relationships? Find out how you personally make new ones. Do you go out places and strike up a conversation? Go to a cafe or store and find someone to talk to. Even a brief compliment or something you notice. See where it goes. If it doesn’t have the effect you wanted, try again. Not everyone is going to be your friend and that’s okay. We’re here for true friends, not superficial ones. Do you meet someone online? Download some apps. Be active on forums. Talk to people. State your intentions upfront if it may otherwise be ambiguous. Or do you prefer meeting people through others? Talk to your friends. Ask them about friends they have told you about. See if you all could do something together. Express interest in the people in their life and they’ll maybe introduce you to them. But they definitely won’t if they don’t know you’re interested.

How about yourself? Do you like yourself? How you treat yourself and others? Are there mannerisms you don’t like that you have? That you wish you did have? List them out. Really think about how you react to certain stimuli. If someone compliments you, how do you handle it? If they demean you, how do you respond? You don’t need to go through every little reaction right now, but stay mindful of them. If you notice that there’s something you don’t like, make a mental note of it and come back to it later. Why did you not like it? And, again, make sure you don’t make decisions based on others. Really think about it and decide if you want to make a change truly for yourself or for someone else.

Step 4: Building Your Life

So you got all your stuff figured out. A super clean space. A group of good friends. An understanding of your own feeling towards different aspects of your life. Now that you know these things, change the things you don’t like. 

Start with routines. Make them as strict or leisurely as you want. Set a time to wake up, a time to go to sleep. Figure out what you need to do every morning to have a good day, every night to have a good sleep and/or morning. You can look at mine for some ideas. Are there other things you want to do every day? Maybe you want to talk a walk during your lunch break or pick up your space every evening after dinner. Decide on things that you want to do every day and make them a routine. Put them in your schedule. Commit to them. Do them every day. Make weekly routines too. Every Thursday you do laundry. Every Wednesday you go grocery shopping. Every Monday you plan your week. Make as many or as few routines as you need to be happy with your life. Eventually, they will just be another part of your life and you won’t need to think about them anymore.

Then, focus on your habits. You’ve decided which ones you want to get rid of and which ones you want to start. Make plans for each and every one of them. Make a plan to quit smoking or spending less time on social media. Maybe that’s setting a limit. And that limit can be just as many/much as you’ve been doing. But now you’re limited to that. Then reduce it by a small bit. Instead of three cigarettes a day, limit yourself to 2. Instead of 2 hours on social media, spend 1.5 hours. Continue reducing the limit little by little until you’re at a point you are happy with and isn’t interfering with other things you want in life. Want to start a habit? Do the inverse. Start small and work up to your goal. Want to wake up earlier? Wake up five minutes earlier? Or even just work on getting out of bed right as your alarm goes off and then work on getting up earlier. 

Step 5: Living Your Life

It’s a process. Creating yourself is a process. You’re not going to have it all figured out in an afternoon. A lot of this is things that will slowly develop over time. You can do your initial overhaul but always come back to things. Review how you’re feeling and how things are going and make more changes as you need to.

So go out, live your life, continue to grow and work towards being the person you feel most happy as, and never let anything stop you. 

[curtisandlewis]

Recently, I read 2K to 10K by Rachel Aaron and 5,000 Words Per Hour by Chris Fox. To paraphrase, these books claim that by using their techniques to get into a flow state you could conceivably have word counts of up to 10,000 in a single day. Guess what? I believe them. The flow state they both described is what I used to feel every single time I sat down to write. I could get 5,000 words in a single session and have the time of my life while doing it.

After 2015, anxiety and OCD got in the way of me getting into that flow state and I figure it’s worth the try to get back to it. I had already planned for March to be the month I write most of the fanfiction I post here throughout the year. So, what better time than to follow the techniques while I do each phase of writing and document the process all right here in this post. 

Zero Draft: A draft that isn’t structured enough to be a full first draft. I write it very fast and it’s the best way to get the story out. I write this using only Google Docs on my Ipad.

I know it’s only been two days but this turned out to be a real success. The process I followed was to meditate in the morning and spend the first ten minutes thinking about the fic and letting the scene play out like it would in a movie. This is how I applied their technique of visualization. I then give myself 5 or 10 minutes to prepare for my writing session. 

I play music by Troye Sivan because that matches the mood of the scene the best for me. 

The next thing I do is my own creation. I open a separate document (usually create a new note in Google Keep) and manifest what I want my writing session to be. I believe in the power of your thoughts to dictate your behavior and ultimate success if that’s not your thing feel free to skip that step. 

The last thing I do before actually opening my writing document is open Google Sheets on my Ipad and fill out my Word Sprint Tracker. Tracking your progress is essential in both these books. It’s been pretty fun watching my word count speed go up with each session. 

I have three apps open on my Ipad: Google Docs, Google Keep, and Google Sheets. Docs and Keep are in a split screen so I can write while seeing my outline or I can look at my manifesting note when my motivation starts to get down (I also put random ideas on there if I don’t want them cluttering my document)

The next step has helped me the most HANDS DOWN. I take five or so minutes and describe the scene. What is it about, what are the emotions I want to convey, what does it mean to the characters, and ultimately what is the freaking point!

That five minutes has increased my word count from 125 in a half-hour session to a solid 500 in every session and no more staring at the screen hating life because the words will just not come.

Start Date: 3/1 End Date: 3/2  Word Count: 2,076

First Draft: The typical first draft. All the gaps have been filled in and I’ve decided where I want the story to go. I will be writing on my laptop for this draft using only the writing program Scrivener. 

First, my process

Review outline 

Have a split-screen view of Google docs (Zero Draft) and Scrivener.

Copy zero draft to Scrivener by typing word for word

I love typing up the document over again. The zero draft serves as a map for when I get stuck and I’m free to expand or cut as I go. As for the laptop, I have pros and cons. 

PROS

I have my desktop free to play music, videos, or serve as a mood board for inspiration as I write. 

The screen is bigger than my Ipad and the keyboard is a lot easier to type on

CONS

It may be portable but it’s still heavy-ish. I can’t exactly wake up and start typing away.

The battery life doesn’t last very long so I have to keep it plugged in most of the time.

I’m leaning towards using the desktop for projects that are 20K+ words but shorter than that I think the laptop would be fine. I really enjoyed working at night with the lights turned off and my diffuser running. It created a nice mood, especially when writing the romantic/ sexy parts. I don’t think I would have the same experience writing on my desktop. Also, I’m totally hyped it only took me two days to write the first draft!

Start Date: 3/4 End Date: 3/7 (A total of 2 working days) Word Count: 2,501

Second Draft-Developmental Edit: For this draft and all the way up to posting I will be working only on my desktop. Since I use my desktop for everything not related to writing I thought it would be good to limit it to revision. It’s the idea if you use your bed for activities other than sleep than you’ll have a hard time sleeping. During revision, I can take my time and not have to worry about word count. Also if I inevitably get distracted by the internet it’s not as disastrous as if I was drafting. This is the first edit and I’ll be trying out a new process for this referencing 2k to 10k. 

Update the small outline I made before writing

Read the fic in Scrivener and make a comment for each thing I want to change (it’s similar to comment feature in google docs) this will be my to-do list (mentioned in 2K to 10K)  

Open my second writing program Liquid Story Binder and start with the biggest problem on my to-do list

I’ll take the section of text that I want to change from scrivener and copy it to Liquid Story Binder where I will make the change and paste it back into Scrivener. Focusing on a small section of text at a time helps with my anxiety.  

It only took about an hour or so to do this so I can’t say how I feel yet about using the desktop. I do think it was helpful having Liquid Story Binder to focus on a specific text, especially when working on pacing.

Start Date: 3/8 End Date: 3/8 Word Count: 2,553  

Grammar Edit: This phase is pretty much how it sounds. Same as before I copy and paste small sections of text into the Hemingway editor and make the changes there. 

This may be my least favorite phase of the writing process. It’s very tedious and I don’t like being reminded how much I abuse the word “just.” As for working only on the desktop, I feel the extra screen real estate helps a lot.

Here’s the resulting document

Start Date:3/8 End Date:3/8 Word Count: 2,628  

 Last full Developmental Edit: Working only in Scrivener I’ll read the whole story from beginning to end, make my to-do list and make all the changes directly in Scrivener.

This serves mostly as another read. Usually, if something is giving me anxiety I’ll take this time to see if I can change it while still being true to the characters and the story I want to tell. This time I just took twenty minutes and read through it, marking up a couple of more typos.

Start Date: 3/9 End Date: 3/9 Word Count: 2,647

Prepare for posting: This is the most tedious part of the process. 

Write the summary

Hopefully, I can name the damn fic at that point

Add all the general information about the fic (Pairings, Warnings, notes, etc...)

 Read the fic and list Somethings to Look Foward To

All the tags...      

Start Date: 3/13 End Date: 3/13  

Last line edit: I read through again going line by line fixing any typos or grammatical errors and really paying attention to how the words flow. 

Working on the desktop probably works the best for this phase. I’m depressed and had to force myself to finish this fic. I’m not writing anymore in March or April. Luckily this experiment was only for one fic and I do have a better understanding of what process works for me. However, I won’t be able to test it out until May.

Start Date: 3/13 End Date: 3/13 Word Count: 2,392

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