#Computer Science Degree Is Different

[rigelmejo]

learning to code!

When I was 9 years old, I learned enough html to code neopets pages, my own geocities websites, and I even made forums on my own sites so my friends could all roleplay together or rant together lol. And then? I forgot so much. I no longer no how to make a forum, or even a 'next page' button - so even the dream of just making a simple blog or webnovel site feels like a huge hurdle now. (9 year old me could probably figure it out in 2 hours).

So I'm relearning! I figured this would be a fun post to place resources I find for coding, since there's coding languages, and I figure maybe if you like running you're blog then you also might be interested in tools for making blogs!

First, for those of you who miss the old geocities and angelfire type of sites to make your own free site on: neocities.org

You can make free sites you can code yourself, the way 9 year old me did. A lot of people have made SUCH amazing sites, it's baffling my mind trying to figure out how they did, I definitely wish I could make an art portfolio site even a fourth as cool as some of the sites people have made on here.

And for those pressed for time, who aren't about to learn coding right now: wix.com is the place I recommend for building a site, it requires no coding skill and is fairly straightforward about adding pages or features by clicking buttons. I used it to make my art portfolio site, I am testing out using it for my webnovel - the alternative is Wordpress, but wix.com is letting me basically make a wordpress blog Inside my own site. It's very beginner friendly in terms of "how the fuck do I set up a 'sign up for updates' message and have my site actually email these people my novel updates?" and "I need a 4x20 grid of my art down the page, that lets people click the art to see it's information and make it bigger."

I did neocities.org's little html tutorial today, it's the part of html I DID remember (links, paragraphs, headers).

My next step is to go through htmldog.com's tutorials. They go from beginner, to intermediate, to CSS. Unlike many a coding tutorial I've seen, they explain what program on your computer you need to WRITE the code in and then how to save it and how to open it. (You'd think this isn't a big deal but I've been looking into how to learn Python for months and I can't find a tutorial explaining what fucking program to write my python in... notepad? do I need something else? I don't fucking know!! My dad finally gave me a printed textbook which supposedly tells you what to download to start... I learned C++ in college and for that you needed Visual Basic to code C++, so I figured I needed Something to Write the fucking python IN.)

[orcelito]

I do find it so funny that I will graduate college days away from my birthday. Like my birthday is literally in between the end of the semester ("graduation") and commencement

It really will be like a joint graduation & birthday party for me lmao

[blumenherzen]

Very nice to feel actually motivated to finish my degree. I guess the overworking burn out has passed. Going to lectures tomorrow after two years of not having the time to do so and studying this afternoon. How much of this has to do with me being medicated? I don't know but maybe it's the being three years late and fear of paying too many taxes next year.

Wish me luck, I only have 7 exams and they are all programming/algorithmics/security related. I can do this!

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @camberdraws

Hello! My name is Camber (any pronouns), and I’m a mixed media illustrator located in the southwestern United States. I love drawing everything, but I have a special interest in depicting strange creatures and environments, often accompanied by abstract imagery and mark-making. Professionally, I’ve worked creating concept art and 2D assets for museum exhibits, but currently, I am engaged full-time as a software developer and make standalone illustrations in my free time. I’ve been posting art on Tumblr since I was a teenager, and the site has been very welcoming towards my work to this very day!

Check out Camber’s interview below!

Did you originally have a background in art? If not, how did you start?

I’ve had an interest in drawing since I was barely sentient, but at thirteen years old I decided to become “serious” about art. I was all about reading tutorials and doing a ton of studies. I would tote my heavy instructional art books to school every single day (my poor back!) Despite all this, I decided to forgo art school in favor of a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at my local college. Alongside my major, I received a minor in Art Studio with a specialization in fine art, which totally changed my views on creating artwork and drastically changed my style.

How has your style developed over the years?

As mentioned previously, my style did a 180 after I studied under some very skilled fine art professors! As a kid, my drawings were very realism-heavy and inspired by video game concept art. I mostly worked digitally, too. During college, I was thrown for a loop when we were instructed to do strange things like, for example, make a bunch of marks on paper using pastel, WITHOUT looking, and then turn said marks into a finished piece of art! I quickly and deeply fell in love with abstract work, and especially appreciated images that are not easily parsed by the viewer. Since then, I’ve made it my goal to combine abstract mark-making with more representational subject matter.

What is one habit you find yourself doing a lot as an artist?

Hmmm, one habit I really enjoy as an artist is strictly tracking the amount of time I spend drawing! I currently work a full-time job wholly unrelated to art, so I have to be careful with my time if I want to spend enough hours drawing each week. I created a spreadsheet that allows you to enter the amount of minutes you’ve drawn each day and calculate how much drawing time you still need to reach your weekly goal (I aim for 20 hours a week.) Having such a clear, numbers-based objective keeps me motivated to work like nothing else!

Over the years as an artist, what were your biggest inspirations behind your creativity?

I know this is a common inspiration, but Hayao Miyazaki’s work has been rewiring my neurons since I was a child. Seemingly all of my artistic interests can be summed up by the movie Princess Mononoke: it has strange/abstract creature designs, a strong focus on nature and environmental storytelling, and a mix of dark and hopeful themes. Additionally, I’ve been deeply inspired by video game series such as Zelda, Okami, Pikmin, and Dark Souls. But arguably, none of these have influenced me more than Pokemon! I’ve been drawing Pokemon since I could barely hold a pencil, and I haven’t stopped since! I believe my love of designing creatures originated with my endless deluge of Pokemon fanart during my childhood.

What is a medium that you have always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

I’ve always been fascinated by 3D mediums and am so tempted to try them out! Whether that’s 3D models created digitally or sculptures made from clay, I profoundly admire artists who have this skill. Oftentimes, it feels like I don’t have time to delve into a totally different artistic paradigm. However, I feel very strongly that learning new skills can enrich your current work. I should take that advice and someday give 3D mediums a shot!

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

I am in the process of creating an art book (a dream of mine!) and have been executing smaller drawings of concepts I find interesting from both a visual and storytelling standpoint. A recent drawing for said book is that of a snail made of ink with an ink bottle as a shell, and it went absolutely viral! I’ve never had an experience like this as an artist before and it has been spectacular! I was able to open a shop using my newly acquired art printer and sell many prints of my snail. Creating something original, directly stemming from my interests, and having that resonate with so many people has been unreal. I couldn’t ask for more as an artist!

What advice would you give to younger you about making art that’s personal or truthful to your own experiences?

I would tell my younger self to chill out and experiment more! I was so caught up in the idea that I needed to have a realistic style to be considered “good.” I also believed that technical skill was the only measure of how worthy my art was. That’s not to say technical skill doesn’t matter, but I now firmly believe the creativity and voice of your ideas far outweigh the skill of execution in terms of importance. Technical skills should elevate ideas, not the other way around. Once I began to revel in strange ideas and stories for my work, depicted oftentimes in odd styles or mediums, I truly found my voice as an artist.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

My peers here on Tumblr inspire me more than anything! Sharing my work with contemporaries and giving each other support brings me joy like no other, and keeps me motivated to continue creating. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them! @beetlestench, @theogm-art, @trustyalt, @ratwednesday, @phantom-nisnow, @svltart, @mintsdraws, @mothhh-hh, @jupiterweathers, @thesewispsofsmoke, @picoffee, @fetchiko, @kaisei-ink, and @pine-niidles just to name only a few!

Thanks for stopping by, Camber! If you haven’t seen their Meet the Artist piece, check it out here. For more of Camber’s work, follow their Tumblr, @camberdraws!

[polarmoon]

🪐 oasis springs aerospace is hiring!

OASIS SPRINGS AEROSPACE (OSA) is an aerospace startup located in oasis springs, arizona. we are seeking to form a small, diverse team of new graduates with backgrounds in physics, biology, and computer science. if you are interested in aerospace mechanics, astrobiology, or astrophysics, apply today!

this is a public call for sims to join my occult legacy save!

i'm looking for 7 sims to become christopher's coworkers + more sims to populate oasis springs.

submissions will be open until june 15th.

🌴 more info under the cut!

📝 guidelines

young adult human sims only!

i am looking for sims that are engineers, biologists, and computer programmers that would be interested in working in aerospace. you can get creative, but try to stay within those niches!

please write a small biography about your sim! it will help me select who i think will be best for the job. you don't have go super in depth, but their bio will help me select the final sims :)

you don't need to set your sim up with degrees or skills or anything if you don't want to! i can do all of that in game myself.

💌 how to apply

simply make a post introducing your sim and tag me in the post! feel free to send me an ask telling me you posted one, just in case tumblr eats the notification.

i will contact you via askbox after the post goes up and we'll organize a private download, so make sure your ask is open! i will be downloading every sim that is submitted.

i will reblog every submission under the tag #deanOSA

⭐ selection process

the deadline for submissions is june 15th, 2025. sorry for the short window - i'm really excited to play asap lol. i'll be selecting the sims and posting about them sometime before june 21st, 2025!

i will be selecting 7 sims to be christopher's coworkers for the duration of the generation. using the club feature, these sims will act as his coworkers, and will ultimately become his and percy's primary social circle.

i am ideally looking for at least two sims from each category (engineering, biology, computer science). i want to create a well balanced team for this project, but if i don't get enough submissions for each category, i'll just cope :P

the sims will be chosen based on... vibes? i might rng if i'm stuck between who to pick. ultimately though i want to pick whoever fits best with christopher and the vibe i have for the team.

don't worry though! all sims submitted will be added to my save and live in oasis springs for the whole generation! because i use kuttoe's home regions mod, they will be the only sims populating the town, and so they'll be the sims interacting with my sims most often. they will also essentially be re-populating my save since i recently culled a bunch of random townies lol

i will absolutely be posting updates if anything interesting happens with submitted sims :) and who knows, maybe a future dean will marry a descendent or something!

🧬 sim creation info

i have all packs, so there's no pack restrictions on what you can use to dress up your sims!

your sims should have one outfit per category. don't worry about their main outfit being work appropriate - i'll be giving each sim an additional work outfit. if i need to add or change anything, i'll make sure to keep their aesthetic consistent!

cc is okay, but keep it to a moderate amount. mm preferred, hair + clothes are okay, but don't go buckwild on accessories or anything like that (unless it's important for their backstory or identity, like necessary scars, medical equipment, identifying features, etc)

if i choose not to use any of the cc given with the sim, i will change the item to something consistent in style that i already have in my game. (for example, a green t-shirt will be swapped out for a different green t-shirt)

please don't use custom body presets! custom face presets and sliders are okay, but just know that they might get messed up if i ever need to make tweaks.

feel free to use skin details and makeup, but the sims will have my defaults, and i might change up some skin details and makeup to fit in with my game better. i'll still retain their general look though! i might just go with stuff i have in my game instead of new stuff that i wouldn't normally use.

you can either link the cc they use in the post, or include them in the dl with their tray files. i don't mind either way.

that should be everything!! if you have any questions feel free to ask me. no judgements if you need clarification on anything i mentioned here :) i know it's a lot lol!

🚀🌴☄️👽🛰️🌻

taglist of people who replied to my initial interest check: @nervousgnome @girlwithnojobcom @peachiyuu @simbugge @cozylattesims @simswoon @thecutestgf @panicsimss @gerbits @moontaart @iliketodissectsims @pixelblooming @spectermansion @alxandergoth (if you no longer have interest in applying, no worries! just wanted to tag everyone that replied to my interest check just in case they didn't catch this post in time for the deadline. <3)

(the lot in these pictures that i will be using this generation is "astronaut eco pod" by teaboat on the gallery, edited a bit!)

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

You Need Only Ask [professor!Marcus Pike x librarian!reader]

Read on Ao3

Pairing: History of Art professor Marcus Pike x art library reader/you (cishet female)

Tags/Warnings: Kind of pining idiots but only one is pining, everyone is being professional but it's clear that Marcus is a pining idiot, implied coworkers to lovers.

Summary: Professor Marcus Pike is one of those cliché absent-minded professors - or so you think, but maybe there's another reason why this brilliant academic is acting a dumb fool around you?

Words: 3,534

A/N: This was inspired by an ask sent to me by @just-here-for-the-moment for a fic ask game thingy. Here's the original ask and my reply. I didn't write it exactly like that (main difference is my fic is set in modern times), but I hope y'all still like it!

”Good morning.”

Your customer service smile in place, you look over your shoulder.

”Morning, Professor. Just give me a second and I will be right with you.”

He hums, and you turn back to the bookcase where you were just about to finish re-shelving returns. Once done, you join Marcus Pike, Professor of Art History, at the desk. He’s tapping his fingers, almost impercievably, against the surface of the old solid wood desk, and you stifle a sigh. He didn’t have to wait that long.

”What can I do for you?” you ask politely. Professor Pike is never rude, but he is the typical professor type: absent-minded, a little awkward, his research always the number one priority.

“I looked for this book in the online catalog, but as I suspected, you don’t have it. It’s probably sold out, too.” He gives you a piece of paper before both his hands disappear into his pockets.

“Another inter-library loan, then?” you state, looking at the title. It’s in French, and you know immediately that your library doesn’t have it. Professor Pike is not the most computer-skilled person, so you usually double-check every book he asks for in the database, but this one you know you don’t have.

“Might have to go international for this one,” you tell him. “Canada or Europe. That’s coming out of your department’s budget, you know that.”

“I’ll make room,” he shrugs, looking towards the door, like he can’t wait to get back to the comfort of his own office. “And could you please give me more time with the last one you got for me? I need it for a bit longer.”

“I’ll contact the lending library,” you nod. “I’ll let you know.”

“Great. Thank you.”

The “Sure thing” has barely left your mouth before Pike is out the door, the sound of his steps against the stone floor quickly disappearing down the hall. You shake your head before sitting down to look up the book for him.

As you work, you once again wonder how people like Marcus Pike get jobs at all. Someone as introverted as that would never have a real shot at getting a library job, which requires people skills, patience, and the ability to stand in front of people. But when it comes to academia, it seems like all you need is credentials and a good research profile, and you’re hired. Unlike you, who had to fight tooth and nail for this position. You have Master’s degrees in art and library science, educational and language studies, job experience, and it was still almost impossible to get this job. People who have these jobs never seem to retire but just sit there, year after year, until they eventually sprout roots that fasten them to their chairs.

But you’re here now, since five years, and while Pike’s predecessor never showed his face in the library but sometimes sent you cryptical emails requests that took you half a day to decipher, it’s nice to see that the much younger professor actually frequents the university’s special arts library.

Finally locating Pike’s book in a university library in France, you quickly find the instructions for ILL’s, and send a loan request. After that, you apply for more time for Pike’s previous book, and by afternoon, you have confirmation for both books: one will be mailed out later during the day in Europe, the other has been renewed. You let Pike know through an email, before performing closing duties in the library. Your computer pings just as you’re about to turn it off, and you see that it’s a reply from Pike. Clicking it up, you see the very unlikely response:

>>Amazing, what a service. Just bill the department, I’ve got it covered. Thank you so much 😊 <<

Shaking your head in disbelief at the informal tone, you turn off the computer, clock out, and go home.

Professor Pike is back two days later, now asking for a book that’s available. When you tell him so, he clears his throat, gaze flickering away from you.

“Could you maybe show me where it is?”

“Sure.” You’re curt, because this isn’t the first time. It’s an easy enough book to find, and every item in the library is labeled, and the database even has an interactive feature where you can click on the item’s call number to open up a layout of the stacks, showing the correct shelf in red. It has freed you up a lot now that most patrons can easily find their literature themselves, but some people just want you to do everything for them.

“You know, Professor, you could maybe my start of term library tour useful,” you dare to tease him as you walk before him to the right case. “Most freshmen find it very helpful, and they can usually manage their own information retrieval after.”

“I think maybe a little touch-up course would do me good,” he replies, voice a little tight. “But I like personal service.”

You find the book, pull it out, and hand it to him.

“That’s what I’m here for,” you tell him easily. “Anything else I can do for you?”

He swallows visibly.

“No, thank you.”

He uses the self check-out this time, and leaves quickly without saying goodbye. You shake your head, and catch the eye of Mandy, a Master’s student who works on her thesis in the library almost every day.

“Strange fellow, that one, isn’t he?”

She gives you a peculiar look. “I guess so.”

One thing that you appreciate a lot about your job is the building itself. The campus was built in Collegiate Gothic style in the middle of the 19th century, and compared to the nearby city library with its white surfaces, glass walls, and modern design furniture, the much quieter arts library still seems more alive. The library houses more books than one would think when first seeing it, and it has the charming nooks and crannies that are so common for old houses.

You’re standing in one of those nooks one day; an alcove that houses folios, a cart of tall books parked next to the step stool that you’re standing on. You hear someone enter the library, shout out a “Hello!” as you usually do to let patrons know that you’re in the stacks, and receive a low answer. Mindful not to hurt your wrists, you pick up another folio from the cart, and put it back in its place.

The sound of footsteps stops at the desk, and you pick up the next book.

“Be right with you!”

The patron moves again, slowly walking towards the corner where you are, as if looking for you. You turn your head just as you see Professor Pike come around the corner of a bookcase.

“Oh,” he clears his throat. “There you are.”

“Here I am,” you nod, picking up the next book. “Almost done.”

“I got your email about the book from France. They sent it rather fast.”

“I was surprised, too,” you admit. There’s one book left, and you really should get down from the stool, move it, and get up again, but you’re lazy. You reach, getting up on your toes, just barely getting the book into place when you feel the stool slip from under you. You gasp, a thousand thoughts rushing through your head during the split second you’re in free fall, and then you land softly, not on the floor, but against a corduroy chest, strong arms holding you.

“Shit, that was close!”

You’re tongue-tied, wide-eyed with shock, heart in your throat and going a mile a minute to make up for the missed beats.

“Are you okay?”

You slowly start to realize that you’re in the arms of Marcus Pike, who caught you when you fell from the stool. And he’s still holding you.

“Yeah, I, yeah, fine, I’m good.” You babble, moving uncomfortably to let him know to let you down, which he does with the utmost care. Your legs are wobbly, and Pike keeps a hand on your waist to make sure you won’t fall.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” you now giggle, embarrassed but simultaneously exhilarated by the rush of adrenaline. “That wasn’t stupid at all, was it? I’ve been thinking about having that stool replaced, but I never got around to it, haha. I guess it takes an accident for me to get my thumb out of my a-, I mean, to get it done.”

Your cheeks are heating up, your hands are shaking as you grab the handles of the cart, kicking the accursed stool to the side.

“That was really scary, though,” Pike tells you in a low voice. “You could’ve really injured yourself.”

“Yeah, thanks, I mean, thanks for catching me.” You bite your lower lip and force yourself to look at him. “I’m so embarrassed. I should’ve been more careful.”

“Just glad I was here,” he shrugs, slowly following you as you march to the desk. “Although one could argue that had I not been here, you wouldn’t have tried to restack that heavy book without moving your stool. Sorry if I stressed you.”

“You didn’t,” you tell him lightly. “I sometimes cut corners like that. It’s fine, no harm done.”

You park the cart in its spot behind the desk, and turn to the shelf of reserved books.

“Here’s your inter-library loan. Due date four weeks from now, if you need it for longer, you know the drill.”

“I do,” he replies quietly and accepts the book from you. Holding it in one hand, he carefully opens it with the other, and thoughtfully browses through it. You sit down, flustered and still a little shaky, hoping that he’ll leave so that you can nurse your wounded pride, and maybe have a drink of water.

“It’s about these eighteenth-century art frauds in Europe – “

“I know. I read the title,” you cut him off, more curt than you meant to. Pike closes the book and nervously fingers the paper slip in it.

“You read French?”

“I even speak it.”

A smile breaks out on his face. “Of course you do.”

You stare at him, frowning as you try to understand what his deal is, and why he’s suddenly smiling like that. It’s never happened before.

And you’ve never noticed what a charming smile he has. It reveals a dimple in his right cheek that makes him look younger than he is – not that he’s old in any way, he must be around your age, somewhere between forty and fifty. The smile makes you even more shaky, and you can’t stop staring at him. He eventually notices, the smile dies down, and he lowers his eyes.

“Well, thanks,” he mumbles, turning around and walking away briskly, leaving you to stare after him, wondering what the hell happened.

Mandy comes in from her lunch break, waves a hello, then stops when she sees you.

“Is everything okay?”

You nod dismissively. “I’m fine, Mandy. I just… almost fell from a stool. But no harm done.”

She expresses her sympathies before going to the study area. You take a deep breath, and disappear into the back room for a glass of water.

There’s tittling in the stacks, but you don’t pay it any mind: it’s part of library life, especially on a campus filled with hormonal young adults. It’s not until your hear Professor Pike’s name mentioned that you stop writing on your keyboard, and strain to hear better.

“He’s the best lecturer here.”

“And he’s so fucking hot, don’t you think?”

“Cara! He’s a million years old!”

“No, he’s not, he’s like the youngest of the faculty, except for Langley, but she’s a woman.”

“Well, I’m bi, and she’s fine too.”

Shameless giggling ensues, and you have to stifle one as well.

“Wouldn’t mind doing some extra credit for Professor Pike…”

“That’s so tacky, Mindy.”

“Come on, like you haven’t thought about it.”

The girls appear from the stacks, carrying literature over to the self service check-out.

“I just think that his lectures are amazing. He can explain literally anything so that I get it. And he knows so much.”

You stare at your screen, but you’re listening to the students.

“He should lecture more, why doesn’t he have any classes?”

“Duh, because he’s a professor, he has other things to do.”

“I’d give him something to do…”

More giggling.

“I’m serious! I ended upw atching that Youtube lecture twice just because he’s so good!”

The girls borrow their books while talking, then nod good-bye to you as they leave. You nod back, then hit up Youtube, and type in Professor Marcus Pike.

You find a video of him giving a lecture on the history of art, and open it. And your jaw drops.

The man in the video is confident without being cocky, talkative, engaging, contact-seeking. He speaks clearly, even drops a couple of jokes, and he walks around the podium in the auditorium. If it wasn’t for that corduroy jacket with the leather patches at the shoulders, the one that you had enveloped around yourself last week, you wouldn’t have recognized the man.

You close the video and chew your lower lip. You always thought Pike was this nutty professor who didn’t know how to behave around people and preferred books to socializing. But the man in the video is nothing like that. So what is his problem when talking to you?

Navigating to Facebook, you search his name, finding him easily enough. He doesn’t seem to be very active, but his professional profile is listed.

His status is set to “single”, which surprises you, but you think no further of it. You click on to photos, finding only a few, most of them outdated.

“Good afternoon.”

You look up, startled at the familiar voice. Seeing Marcus Pike’s face, you close the browser window quickly.

“Sorry,” he quickly apologizes. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No worries, I was just… working.”

He clears his throat. “I’d like to return this.”

You accept the book from him, recognizing it as one of his previous ILL’s.

“Thank you.”

A couple of students come in, saying hello to both of you before disappearing into the stacks, phones in hand, library catalog probably open in their mobile browsers. Marcus looks after them, moving his weight from one foot to the other. You put the book to the side.

“Anything else I can do for you, Professor?”

He almost jumps at the sound of your voice.

“Um, no, thank you, I have to get back to work, grad student coming to see me, um, thanks, I’ll let your know if I need anything.”

He leaves the library, and you’re almost laughing. What the hell was that?

As soon as the students have found and borrowed their books, and you’re alone in the library with Mandy, she gets up and comes over to the desk. You smile your mild customer service smile at her, but she returns it with a wry grin.

“You know that he likes you right?”

You blink, not understanding. “Excuse me?”

“Professor Pike. He likes you.”

You shake your head to show her that you have no idea what she’s talking about, and she laughs.

“Oh, come on! The way he stutters and stumbles when he’s here. And he talks about you all the time, every chance he gets.”

“He what?” Your voice goes up, and you clamp your mouth shut. Mandy nods.

“He always tells us to use the library, and ask you for help. The librarian there is really competent, we’re lucky to have such a professional at our service, that sort of thing.”

“Why do you think that means he likes me?” you ask, cheeks heating up. This is stupid, this girl is half your age, and you’re talking like both of you are in middle school.

“Because he’s super confident in class, in meetings, whenever he talks to anyone, except you.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Hello!” Mandy rolls her eyes. “Earth to librarian lady! He’s like a flustered cinnamon bun whenever he’s around you – “

“Cinnamon bun?” you interrupt her, incredulously.

“Cutie patootie in old folk speech,” Mandy smirks at you, and you scoff.

“I know what a cinnamon bun is.”

“Whatever. He comes here constantly, doesn’t he? I sit here most days, and no other faculty member visits as much. He’s here practically every day, asking you the simplest questions. He’s into you.”

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about, Mandy,” you mumble, hands fidgeting in your lap.

“Alright, if you say so,” she smirks. “But I know what I’d do if I were you.”

Later, when she leaves the library, wishing you a good weekend, you open up the browser window again, Pike smiling charmingly at you from his profile picture. You look at it for a long time before logging out, and getting up to reshelf returns.

Friday afternoon in the library makes for slow hours. It���s usually empty – even Mandy has left – and while it gives you the opportunity to prepare for next week, there are Fridays when you’d rather just close up, if you could, and go home early.

A quarter to four, when you’re impatiently tapping your foot for closing time, Marcus Pike shows up again. Mandy’s words echo in your head, making you nervous for the first time, but you manage to suppress that, instead turning on your professional persona.

“Back so soon?” you ask him lightly

“Yeah, I need a book.” He seems to understand himself how stupid that sounded.

“You’ve come to the right place.”

He tells you the title, and you look it up.

“It’s in, call number N5198-5299,” you inform him, then looking up at his hesitant expression. “It’s in the corner over there.”

“Um, could you show me? I’m not good at this.”

“Okay.” You get up and walk around the desk. “But it’s a class that you use a lot, Professor, you should be accustomed to it by now.”

“Marcus.”

“What’s that?”

“Call me Marcus. I don’t much like titles anyway.”

“Uh-huh.”

You take him to the right stacks, walking in between the heavy cases. It’s a tight squeeze, this one, and the book is located further in. You pick it out, and turn around, only to find Marcus standing right behind you.

You’ve been in this situation before, many times even. Worst times were when you worked in the city library, and creeps would crowd you between the stacks, not trying anything but coming closer than necessary.

Your heart misses a beat, but you’re not uncomfortable. Instead, you smell something familiar and comforting, something besides old paper, leather covers, and ink. It takes you a moment to realize that it’s Marcus’s cologne, the corduroy, his shampoo: earthy but fresh, a little like the forest after rain, but with an undertone of old leather armchair.

You wet your lips, and hold up the book he asked for.

“Your book.”

“Thank you.” He doesn’t take it, so you lower your hand. He clears his throat, but this time, he doesn’t look away, but straight into your eyes.

“I was wondering…”

“Yeah?” you breathe.

“There’s this classic movie festival this weekend, and I was wondering…”

“If I wanted to go with you?” you finish his sentence for him, as he takes too long for you to wait. He blinks, then smiles that sweet smile again.

“Exactly. Yes. Would you?”

“I’d like that.”

“Really?” The smile seems to broaden even more.

“Sure. Tomorrow?”

“Perfect. I can pick you up, if you want to. At six?”

“Perfect,” you echo, now smiling widely yourself. He exhales, like he’s been holding his breath this entirely time.

“Perfect.”

The desk phone rings, startling both of you. The book falls from your hand, and you look down at it, then up at Marcus.

“I need to get that.”

“Of course,” he nods. You make a little movement with your head.

“I need to get past you, Marcus?”

“Oh, yes, of course, sorry.”

He backs out from between the cases, letting you out as well. His cologne seems to rub off on your arm when you brush past him, hurrying to the desk. You answer the phone and try to focus on the person calling, take a couple of notes, and end the call just as Marcus comes walking to the desk, book in hand. You check it out for him, give him your number, and he smiles again as he thanks you. You follow him to the door so that you can close up after him.

“I’ll call,” he promises as he steps out. You nod, hand on the door handle.

“Looking forward to it.”

He raises the book as a farewell, then starts walking down the corridor. You’re about to close the door when you suddenly step out, calling his name.

“Marcus!”

He turns around immediately, and now that he’s standing with his back straight, instead of hunched over, you notice how tall and broad-shouldered he is.

“Yes?”

“For the record… you’re into me, right?”

He chuckles, his ears turning pink. “Yeah, I’m into you.”

“Just checking,” you grin. “See you tomorrow.”

[mtcloudsworld]

Olay!

Imagine Jason (who ever dawg idk it’s your page) and like a reader who everyone thinks (batfam) is SUPER STUPID BUTTTTT actually she’s a huge science teacher and got her masters degree young

Don’t forget to DRINK WATER AND EAT FOOD AND GO TO BED

- Olay!

Naw wait because imagine! You are smart right? You just be on some goofy goober type shit is all.

Jason never really mind it. He loved you regardless.

However, stupidity aside, when you really get down to the nitty gritty, you can really talk your shit, almost as if you were speaking a different language -- you know what you know and you don't back down from it.

Went through 4+ years to get that masters, put your blood sweat and tears into earning that degree and got an occupation as a science teacher, only to be perceived as stupid by others 💀💀💀

When you meet the rest of the bat family they just honestly believed you were stupid.

Ouch, I know, but could you really blame them?

The things you say and the things you do just don't really add up. Lol you just be on some dumb shit, can't never be taken seriously.

But let somebody ask you a chemistry, physics, computer science, astronomy or biology related question... you're on it, ASAP.

I'm talkin' standing on business.

It's crazy to hear such words fly right out of your mouth.

The bat family were collectively working on a very hard case, one that even Bruce or Gordon couldn't even crack themselves.

Freeze, Bane, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy were all obviously involved and none of them would tell Bruce what's in this newly improved toxin they've created.

"How are we supposed to crack this shit if none of them wanna tell us the code?" Tim groan, running his fingers through his hair, wanting nothing more than to yank it out of frustration. "Ivy said this could wipe all of Gotham with just a single touch."

"Even the bat computer can't crack it." Barbara states frowning in disbelief.

Everyone huffs and groans as the screen blinked error and access denied.

Kate grumbles, "Well then who else can crack it? Cause just standing here doing nothing is starting to piss me off. We only have two more hours till this shit disburse over all of Gotham."

After five minutes still huddled up in the bat cave, tired and annoyed, in came Jason strolling in with a chili dog in one hand and soda in the other hand.

"I might know somebody who may be able to solve it." Jason states placing himself on the leather chair by the computer.

"What? Who?" Kate asks standing up straighter to approach him.

"Y/n" he says it so causally before stuffing his face with the chili dog and downing it with a soda.

When I tell you...the silence was so loud...

Everyone looked at him as if he was stupid.

But he just sat there, all nonchalant and shit, acting as if what he just said made perfect sense.

"..."

"That dumby?"

"Damian!" Barbara scolds smacking him upside the head.

"What?! Y'all know she's not the smartest. What? Don't act like you all don't think it! It's pretty obvious!"

Dick sighs, "Jason, now's not the time to be funny alright? Can you be serious for once in your life?"

"...I am." He eyes all of them with a straight face, "they have a master's degree in science."

Now they're all confused. Very, very, very confused.

"The fuck you mean they have a masters in science?!" Kate quizzes.

"How can a person so stupid have a masters in science?" Dick asks.

"That seems very questionable." Tim murmurs and Damian scoffs, "More like impossible."

Jason huffs with a roll of his eyes, "y'know what? Let me just-- hold on." He says standing from his seat to walk off somewhere private for a moment.

Luckily you answered, it's midnight on a Friday and normally you'd be in bed by now but you were sat criss cross applesauce on the couch with your pajamas on watching a movie with a bag of popcorn settled in the middle.

Although you were happy to see your baby you were slightly annoyed he called you on the best part of the movie. And so when he debrief with you what's going on, you being the loving partner that you are willingly hopped in your car and drove all the way to Wayne Manor to help them crack this case.

Like I said before, when you talk about science related questions, it's like you're speaking a WHOOOLE different language. So when you tell them what they're dealing with, everyone is confused and astonished. astonished because you knew what the fuck you're talking about. It was as simple as 1 2 3.

So, putting in lamest terms made everything make more sense. They honestly couldn't believe you cracked the code and that you figured out what components to use to reverse the toxin.

And after saving Gotham with the help of your genius ass, let's just say they kept you in touch in case of any other emergencies.

Now look you may have some stupidity in you but you're really chill. Everyone doesn't understand it but they vibe with you nonetheless.You can't help it, it's just you being you.

Now, anon, I can ask the same for you. Make sure you eat good okay? I want my anon to be fed well, drink some water I know your body is dying from dehydration, get as much rest as you can yeah? 😊

OLAY!

- ☁️

[echoes-of-hee]

— Hundred Broken Hearts LHS

PAIRING ; heeseung x fem!reader

GENRE ;  enemies to lovers (one sided), angst warning ahead, fluff

SUMMARY ; If there is one constant in Y/n's life, it would be the hate she harbours for most men. Things worsened when her younger sister, Lia, kept on falling for the wrong guys.

wc; 5k for now

notes. exam is almost finished and I need to write something to release my stress asap.

Reply or send an ask to be added to the taglist !!

                   PROLOGUE BELOW

THROUGHOUT Y/n's twenty-one years of living, she had never once dated. Not once.

She did have crushes on guys and had even involved herself with a few situationships before, but it was nothing serious. To her, getting a boyfriend-a real one was a different ball altogether.

She had always viewed being in a relationship with men as "3C: creepy, claustrophobic and cringy!" for as long as she could remember. That was how y/n had always described it. Interacting or maintaining close relationships with the opposite sex was already too much for her, let alone having a real boyfriend. y/n could already picture how stressful it would be.

Sure, she talked and made a few connections here and there with guys she deemed tolerable, but that was simply the base of it: connections. They drifted apart, and she'd ring them once or twice to ask them particular questions and recommendations for the best university in town and what courses they'd recommend to major in. Everything was just for the sake of getting diverse and objective opinions.

Truth be told, y/n could care less about their mouly misogynistic opinions. she'd never forgotten their flustered faces and the changes in their voices every time she told them she was planning to apply for a Computer Science bachelor's degree at Whitsburg University, one of the top universities in Cardiff.

But for someone who has never been genuinely in love, that's a very courageous thing to say the '3C principle in general. Well, not so much if you're from Kim's household.

Growing up, she and her younger sister, Lia, had witnessed their supposed-to-be-loving mother and father fight through their teenage years. Until they got divorced (with the cons of having to eat together with her father and the new wife twice a month) to maintain the non-existent perfect father-and- daughter relationship.

The absurdity of it appalled y/n so much that she once questioned her mom. Still, after being scrambled out of the house, y/n learned the hard way never to defy her mom's orders anymore, as ludicrous as it seemed.

That's how you get a glimpse of why y/n would do this despite never dating anyone else. The only man who had ever broken her heart was her father.

That is until she stumbled upon a handsome and cute psychology major hottie who kept hitting on her after almost hooking up at karina's party.

[spoiled-oatmeal]

Modern! Mhin Headcanons

Hiya! I keep imagining Modern College Mhin, so I decided I’d write some headcanons with a small fic in the middle. I just got done with all of my finals, so I figured I’d try to keep writing for Mhin. If I were better at writing, I would try to write for the other characters, but Mhin’s the only one that keeps infiltrating my brain. Maybe in the future I’ll be brave and try, but for now, I will continue to feed the Mhin fans. Enjoy!

~~

<0> next

Since we don’t know how old Mhin is in the game right now, I'm saying that they give off the vibes of a tired master’s student.

I think they would most likely be a biomedical science major or something similar.

They got in shape throughout their undergraduate degree, they picked up odd jobs to pay for their tuition, and the jobs would occasionally end with someone getting upset at them, so they have experience with fighting.

 They decided to continue working out even after they got a better job as a teacher's assistant on campus, because it gave them something to do besides study, go to class, and work.

I haven’t decided if it makes more sense for them to be a TA for Kuras or just a random professor.

Mhin took the time to figure out both when they have free time and when the gym is the least busy to avoid running into people.

They wouldn’t be a part of many clubs in college, preferring to just get home quickly after class, but they would join an astrology club that only meets occasionally for various space phenomena.

The club would only have a few people in it, and they would just provide refreshments while the club's academic sponsor describes the different phenomena.

Since they’ve never really gotten close to many people in the club, Mhin decided to take MC to one of the meetings to keep Mhin company.

Okay, but like imagine there’s a meteor shower that's visible on campus and Mhin decides to invite you on a date and they bring like a cute blanket with a cat pattern on it and make like small little snacks and warm drinks 🤭.

Mhin’s first meeting with you is similar to their canon introduction, by saving you ♥️… with less killing.

Mhin just got done with a long study session, eager to get home and try to steal some sleep before their morning classes. They live close to campus, so they quickly pack up their computer and study guides and prepare for the walk home. Just as they leave the campus library, they hear a commotion in an alleyway in the direction of their home. They decide to keep their head down and walk past without getting involved, that is, until they hear a cry for help while walking past, and they make eye contact with you. You’re being cornered by two drunk-looking college students, trying to excuse yourself and build some distance. Your yelling for help resulted in them getting more insistent and aggressive. Mhin takes a deep breath and, despite wanting to avoid getting involved, they know they couldn’t sleep well knowing they left someone in that situation.

“Hey, leave them alone,” Mhin yells into the alley.

“What’d you care?” the guy furthest from you replies, “We’re their friends, just makin’ sure they get home safe.”

The look in your eyes told Mhin that that was nowhere near the truth. It had been a while since they had a reason to fight, but they figured a gentle breeze would knock these drunk guys over, so Mhin started to approach. The fight… wasn’t a fight at all, one shove and a punch was all it took. Mhin expected you to run off the moment there was an opening, and they’d never have to talk to you. Imagine their surprise when they turn around, dusting themself off, and see you gaping at them.

“Shouldn’t you know better than to walk alone at night?” Mhin chastises, “You won’t always be lucky enough to have a stranger walking by.”

“I stayed around to thank you, but if all you’re going to do is yell at me, then I’ll just leave.” You turn around with a huff, voice dripping in sarcasm, “Thank you again, my knight in shining armor.”

“Wait!” Mhin grabs your wrist before you can get far, “Just wait, this part of town is dangerous in the daytime, worst at night…” They flush, averting their gaze, “If you're going in the same direction, I can walk you at least part of the way to your home.”

You agree and start walking in silence, every once in a while stealing a few glances at them. Their platinum white hair and the silver accents on their navy hoodie catch the moonlight and make them look almost sparkling. They looked annoyed and bored, and it seemed like the last thing they wanted to do was make small talk, but you refused to have them save you and walk you home without learning anything about them.

“My name’s _____.”

“Mhin.”

Great. This is a very good conversation, and Mhin is a great conversation partner.

“Are you a college student?”

 “Yeah.”

It feels almost cruel that they would save you from that situation just to try and kill you with this horrible conversation.

“What do you study?”

 “Biomedical science…” There are several moments of silence and they glance at you and sigh, “What’s your major?”

“Oh my god, thank you so much for asking!” you respond filled with sarcasm, and you see them roll their eyes, “I’m a ___ major.”

“Well, this is my place,” you say, stopping at your front door. You turn around and see Mhin tearing off a piece of scrap paper from one of their notebooks in their bookbag and scribbling something down. 

“If you insist on putting yourself in danger, then here,” they hand you the paper with a number written down, “It’s my number, I stay late on campus pretty often, and I only live a block away from here, send me a text and I can walk you home.”

“Thank you, and again thank you for helping me, I couldn’t have wished for a better knight to be walking by,” you say, slipping the paper into your pocket.

“Whatever, I just happened to be there,” Mhin says, quickly turning around and heading to their own home.

Mhin’s apartment is a small 1-bed 1-bath with minimal decor and a small front porch.

They don’t like to keep a lot of clutter around, but do have a few knick-knacks that have sentimental value.

The one thing they have an overabundance of in their apartment is soft blankets, especially ones with nice patterns.

Mhin also has a cat that lives with them; it’s a small white cat that they found living under their porch.

The kitten was extremely malnourished and seemed to be abandoned.

 Mhin had just finished the last of their undergraduate finals when they found it and decided to take it in.

[rs-hawk]

My Brother’s Hot Friend: Week One

FtM Reader x Dragon

Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four

Your brother got a new best friend when he was in high school. You always had a bit of a crush on him, but he was older and cold. When your friends were over at the same time as him, you’d all joke about him being reptilian. As the years went on, your brother and him stayed close. Even after they both went off to different colleges. Even after you ended up going to college.

One summer, your brother and you had come back to visit your parents. Staying in your old childhood rooms reminded you of what high school was like. Especially when he came back to visit his parents as well, so your brother and him ended up hanging out a lot. You couldn’t help but notice how tall he was-had he always been so tall? Had he always been towering man with eyes that cut through you?

Your brother was invited to a party, and to your surprise, he invited you along too.

“You’re too uptight. Every time we talk, you’re always studying. Do you even have any friends on campus? I mean, come on Y/N. You have a single dorm and you don’t even have a boyfriend to have over. It’s kind of a waste,” he teased you right after he invited you.

“You don’t have to try to pressure me. I was going to say yes anyways,” you muttered. “I’m gonna to get ready.”

“Good! You’ll have a lot of fun, and I’m bringing Drake,” he announced before running off like a little kid to his room.

You don’t know why the idea of Drake being there made you so nervous. It took you longer than you thought to get ready because of the way your hand was trembling. By the time you’re done, your brother was impatiently in the car, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

“Finally dude. Come on. We’re already late. All the hot girls are gonna be taken and all the good punch is gonna be drank. I’m going to be pissed if I’m stuck drinking beer all night,” he told you, speeding out of the driveway before you were even buckled up.

When you got to the party, you recognized the house as one of your brother’s old friend’s house. You’d gone for a birthday party a couple times when you were younger. So, you slipped to the bathroom to double check your appearance before you ran into Drake.

Your hair was slicked back and pulled into a tight braid that snaked down your back. The black button up you’d gone with was fully buttoned, so you took a second to unbutton the first two. It wasn’t a job interview. You knew you shouldn’t look like such a prude. Your plain jeans and boots you knew were fine, so after hyping yourself up for a moment in the mirror, you rejoined the party.

Drinks were pushed into your hand, and you got pulled into random conversations. You didn’t see Drake, but the more you drank, the less you cared. It wasn’t until some guy was chatting to you about how hard his Computer Science degree was to get that you finally spotted Drake, glaring at you from across the living room.

A laugh escaped your lips. Even when everyone else was having fun, he was cold and unmoving. The guy you’d been chatting with you acted offended, but you didn’t care all that much. Your body was warm from the alcohol, and you had a confidence you’d never had before. You apologized and slipped away from him so you could make your way to Drake.

“Hey loner,” you said with a smirk as you plopped next to him.

“What do you want?” he muttered, folding his arms over his chest and turning away.

His annoyance only made you more insistent on talking to him. You touched his arm at one point, making him reel back as if you burned him. It hurt a little bit, but you swallowed it down. Eventually, your brother came to find you, and was surprised to find you red faced and slurring drunk.

“Man, I really wanted to run Y/N home real quick so I could go home with this girl, but getting him anywhere is going to take forever,” he groaned.

“I’ll take him home,” Drake offered, though you could tell from his tone of voice he was still annoyed.

You yawned, resting your head on Drake’s shoulder. “I’m good. Seriously. Drake’s such a buzz kill that it’s not like I’m putting a damper on his night. You should go have fun though.”

Your brother laughed, ruffling your hair and fist bumping Drake. Drake muttered something you didn’t catch through the blood pounding in your ears. A few minutes after your brother left, Drake pushed you off of him.

“Come on Y/N. You can stay over with me for tonight. I don’t want to wake your folks up this late and there’s no getting you to bed quietly,” he said as he grabbed your hand, tugging you to your feet.

“Okay,” you said in a tight voice, your skin tingling where he was touching you. Your entire body was on fire.

He led you through the party, his fingers interlocked with yours to make sure you didn’t get lost. Once outside, he tugged you closer to him, wrapping his arm around your waist to keep you pressed against his side. You took the opportunity to nuzzle against his arm, almost burrowing there. You felt like you were on cloud nine.

Drake groaned and you were worried he was going to push you away, but he didn’t. Instead, he clung tighter to you, his nails feeling almost like… claws.

[welcometogrouchland]

Controversial Steph take: I don't actually know that she'd want to be a nurse as a career. In main canon anyway

The point of evidence people use for this is usually Convergence: Batgirl (where a retired Steph becomes a nurse in the domed Gotham. Specifically she has midwife training), along with her time spent in Africa with Leslie helping people, and that's fair.

(Convergence: Batgirl #1 & Robin/Spoiler special)

I don't think canon has ever actually gives us an indication of what career Steph would like (her major in Batgirl (2009) is undeclared/never discussed iirc, and I can't think of any reference to the topic in Robin '93 or elsewhere) so it makes sense that readers would latch onto these moments as an indication of what a potential civilian career might look like for Steph.

It works fine but there is some interesting arguments to be made against it: namely this panel from Robin #82 (1993):

(Robin (1993) #82)

People often mention how Steph's mom was a nurse and how this might make her partial towards the career path but this panel implies the opposite- Steph's mom works long hours that put distance between her and Steph (Steph says more than once that Crystal works nights and sleeps days) and to, Steph at least, the job seems miserable.

Obviously this is a direct contradiction of Convergence: Batgirl, and while that simply comes down to different writers having different interpretations (and personally I don't think Dixon's takes precedent even if he is Stephanie's creator) it's interesting to me to think about what else Stephanie may actually want to do with her life.

We know her hobbies from a smattering of comics (sports like softball and gymnastics, piano, generally more on the creative side than the technical side but did do a lot of computer science during college) but none really coalesce into a career path. Personally I think if Steph were to work in the medical field she'd make a great EMT/first responder (adrenaline rush AND she's helping people!). I also think her pursuing something really difficult like a law degree just to spite people who doubt her would be in character (social work might be more up her alley in that scenario though).

Idk, just food for thought. Let me know if anyone has any alternate ideas for Steph careers

[gatorbites-imagines]

Oh i get to offer Swatch to my favourite writer??? Excellent!!!

Please consider i'm so gay for that charming bird and i want to kiss him so hard his glasses tilt sideways.

If you ever write anything about him i will give you my life

Swatch x Human male reader 

Headcanons 

I love Swatch, I love so many of the characters from Deltarune and Undertale. Like, Rudy? Asgore? Spamton? Sweet Capn Cakes? Come on man, they should be happy theres a screen holding me back. 

I was the fucking worst when it came to being in love with Sans and Papyrus back in the day. All the AUs? Yeah, I knew them like the back of my hand. I even made my own AU, back in the day. 

No spoilers for chapter 3 or 4. 

You were the only other human living in Hometown. You had been adopted by Cat family when you were a baby. Apparently, your human mother, and your cat mother, had been friends in college. 

Being the only other human had resulted in Kris clinging to you when they were younger, especially when they were hit with the “I'm not a monster like my family” phase, one you had gone through too. 

You used to babysit Kris and Asriel when they were younger too, even if Asriel always claimed he was too old to be babysat. Instead, you guys just called it “hanging out”. 

After high school, you moved out of Hometown and to the bigger city, starting a degree in coding and computer science. You still came home at least one weekend a month though. 

You met Swatch on one of the lucky weeks where all your classes had been cancelled, for days even, so you took the chance and drove home. Of course, you spent the first while with your parents, then your sisters, even visiting Catti at the diner where she worked. 

But you felt a need to find your little buddy, even if Kris wasn't that little anymore. Call it your human alliance, but Kris had always felt like a little sibling to you. 

Jockington told you that she had seen Kris head towards the library after school, so you went there, assuming they were farting about in the computer lab playing games like always. 

How you end up in the Dark World is lost to you, it just... kinda happened. You couldn't really figure out what Class you were supposed to be, or if this world even had those kinds of things. 

It just reminded you a lot of the few sessions of Dungeons & Dungeons (because Dungeons & Dragons wouldn't be fantasy in a world with dragons) you had played with your art club back at college. 

But hey, you had magic. Something you didn't have back on the surface, or whatever you should call it, being human and all. 

You end up just kinda wandering around, talking to some different monsters, and you figure out that Kris is supposed to be down here and is wanted? By the Queen? 

Anyways, one way or another you end up at the Queens mansion, and feeling tired from all the walking you saddle up in the Color Cafe. It helps that the shopkeeper is so handsome too. 

Dess always giggled about your love for butler characters in media, so what if you loved Otome games and anime, she and Asriel were big nerds too. 

You end up spending the rest of the day, just sitting in the cafe and talking to Swatch. Hes all professional and sharp edges in the beginning, but you start to wear him down and you get to see the real him. 

You even pump a fist on the inside when you get him to blush. It hadn't even been on purpose, you just touched his hand, wanting to show him your cool new magic. 

It wasn't like you were good at it, you hadn't even figured out what your magic really did yet, but Swatch got all red in the face, and his feathers started puffing up. 

It was so cute you wanted to bite your plate hard enough to break it. It ends with Swatch clearing his throat, adjusting his glasses like an anime character (you had to contain your “Kyaah” at that one), and offering to teach you. 

And so, you guys spend a good hour, maybe two, working on your magic. There were no costumers during this time, so you get a feeling Swatch might have flipped the door sign to CLOSED. 

Especially because, he starts pulling the good ol “let me adjust your arm for you” move, getting up behind you and supporting your arms with his own. 

All was good and dandy until this purple monster girl you have only seen in passing barge in, complaining about the shop being closed. 

Imagine you, Swatch, and the group of heroes- and hey, there's Kris, all freezing. Kris is stoic as always, but you swear you see their eyes widen and mouth open in shock, and the other two just look equally shocked at the sight of you. 

Both you and Swatch cough and sputter, the shopkeeper fluttering back to his spot and brushing down his puffy feathers. Seeing him immediately snap into his butler-sona almost makes you crack up. 

It takes a bit, but you get yourself introduced, completely ignoring the situation they had walked in on, and you figure out their mission too. 

Kris seems to struggle against... something... for a bit, before they leave. Its a bit scary, honestly, but they free themselves from whatever is holding them back, and hurry over to give you a tense hug. You'll have to ask them what that's about later. 

But, you stay in the cafe as Kris, Susie and Ralsei, rush off to be the heroes the prophecy wants them to be. And you? You have a hot butler to keep flirting with. 

In the end, you do appear in the battle against the Queen, cuz nobody gets to kick your human pal's ass, other than you in Super Smashing Fighters. 

When Queen is defeated, and the Dark Fountain is shut down, you are heartbroken at the thought that your new boo would cease to exist.  

Imagine your joy when Kris and Susie bring you with them to Castle Town, where your pretty bird is now manning the bar? Restaurant? Cafe? 

Learning that Darkners can't leave the Dark World does mess you up, especially after you and Swatch get closer. You swear to find a way to make it possible, because you promised him a date in the big city. 

You do feel your face flush a little when the Swatchlings appear, all so big, sharp and ready to serve.  

Swatch lets out a barely hidden huff, his neck feathers puffing up differently to when he's flustered. You would never pick the Swatchlings over him, obviously, but they are really cute... 

Being one of the Lightners also means Ralsei makes you a room of your own too, the cute Darkner princess having been so observant during your conversations that he fits it right to your tastes 

And... it means you can bring Swatch there so you guys can be alone. Up until that point you guys would have mostly spoken in the cafe and the bar he runs in Castle Town.  

Here, you two can be completely yourselves and learn all the small things about each other. 

And here you guys can kiss, because by god you have been starving to do so since you guys meet. Swatch is so cute when he kisses, as his glasses get all skewed up, and he starts tittering. 

Hes so polite and careful, and admits he doesn't have much, if any, experience, because hes always been serving and doing other things. 

And you, you are ready to help him figure out everything he doesn't know. At least for the while you are still in Hometown, after that, you have to find a way to bring him with you... 

[gil-estel]

a poll for the aging tumblr user base

**edit: forgot to add a "no, because I didn't go to college" option....pls consider yourself included in the last one.....and if you wish you *had*, share it in the tags!!

[ayeforscotland]

What is Dataflow? Part 2: Diagrams

This is the second part of a couple of posts about Dataflow, particularly why it's important for the world going forward and relating to the Crowd Strike IT disaster.

Read the first part here.

Before I get into this one today, I wanted to address a couple of things.

Firstly, Dataflow is something that nearly every single person can understand. You do NOT:

Need to have a degree in Computing Science

Need to work in IT

Need to be a data analyst / Spreadsheet master

If any of you see the word 'Data' and feel your eyes glazing over, try and snap out of it because, if you're anything like me, Dataflow is much more approachable as a concept.

Secondly, what do I mean by IT?

Traditionally in most of our media the all-encompassing 'IT department' handles everything to do with technology. But every business works differently and there are many job titles with lots of crossover.

For example, you can be an infrastructure engineer where your focus is on building and maintaining the IT infrastructure that connects your organisation internally and externally. This is a completely different role from an Application Portfolio Manager who is tasked with looking after the Applications used in business processes.

Both are technical people and come under the banner of 'IT' - but their roles are focused in different areas. So just bear that in mind!

Now that's out of the way, let's begin! This one will be a little bit deeper, and questions welcome!

An Intro to Diagrams

You probably do not need a history of why pictures are important to the human race but to cover our bases, ever since we put traced our hands on a cave wall we have been using pictures to communicate.

Jump forward in time and you have engineers like Leonardo Da Vinci drafting engineering schematics.

You get the idea, humans have been creating diagrams (Pictures) for thousands of years. Centuries of refinement and we have much more modern variations.

And there's one main reason why diagrams are important: They are a Common Language.

In this context, a Common Language helps bridge a language gap between disciplines as well as a linguistic gap. A Spanish electrician and a German electrician should be able to refer to the same diagram and understand each other, even if they don't know each other's language.

The reason they can do this is because they're are international standards which govern how electrical diagrams are created.

A Common Language for Digital?

Here's an image I've shown to clients from governments and institutions to global organisations.

Everything around us, from the products we use to the bridges we drive over and the buildings we live, work, enjoy and shop in had diagrams backing them.

You would not build a skyscraper without a structural engineering diagram, you would not build an extension on your house if an architect couldn't produce a blueprint.

Why is there not an equivalent for the Digital World and for Dataflow?

Where is the Digital Common Language?

This is the bit where the lightbulb goes on in a lot of people's heads. Because, as I mentioned in Part 1, the flow of data is the flow of information and knowledge. And the common mistake is that people think of dataflow, and only ever think about the technology.

Dataflow is the flow of information between People, Business Processes *and* Technology Assets.

It is not reserved to Technology specialists. When you look at the flow of data, you need to understand the People (Stakeholders) at the top, the processes that they perform (and the processes which use the data) and the technology assets that support that data.

The reason why this is important is because it puts the entire organisation in context.

It is something that modern businesses fail to do. They might have flow charts and network diagrams, and these are 'alright' in specific contexts, but they fall to pieces when they lack the context of the full organisation.

For example, here is a Network Diagram. It is probably of *some* value to technical personnel who work in infrastructure. Worth bearing in mind, some organisations don't even have something like this.

To be absolutely clear, this diagram will hold some value for some people within the organisation. I'm not saying it's completely useless. But for almost everyone else, it is entirely out of context, especially for any non-technical people.

So it doesn't help non-technical people understand why all of these assets are important, and it doesn't help infrastructure teams articulate the importance of any of these assets.

What happens if one of those switches or routers fails? What's the impact on the organisation? Who is affected? The diagram above does not answer those questions.

On the other side of the business we have process diagrams (aka workflow diagrams) which look like this.

Again we run into the same problem - This is maybe useful for some people working up at the process layer, but even then it doesn't provide context for the stakeholders involved (Are there multiple people/departments involved throughout) and it doesn't provide any context for technical personnel who are responsible for maintaining the technology that supports this process.

In short, nobody has the big picture because there is not a common language between Business & IT.

Conclusion

So what do we do? Well we need to have a Common Language between Business & IT. While we need people with cross-functional knowledge, we also need a common language (or common framework) for both sides of the organisation to actually understand each other.

Otherwise you get massively siloed departments completely winging their disaster recovery strategies when things like Crowd Strike goes down.

Senior Management will be asked questions about what needs to be prioritised and they won't have answers because they aren't thinking in terms of Dataflow.

It's not just 'We need to turn on everything again' - It's a question of priorities.

Thing is, there's a relatively simple way to do it, in a way that looking at any engineering diagram feels simple but actually has had decades/centuries of thought behind it. It almost feels like complete common sense.

I'll save it for Part 3 if you're interested in me continuing and I'll make a diagram of my blog.

The important thing is mapping out all the connections and dependencies, and there's not some magic button you press that does it all.

But rigorous engineering work is exactly that, you can't fudge it with a half-arsed attempt. You need to be proactive, instead of reacting whenever disaster strikes.

[escapedaudios]

Alfonso canonically has the equivalent of like a 9th grade education by Corriente (people who don't know about the supernatural) standards. He knows a lot about monsters, ritual magic, the use and technical function of "obsolete" pre-electronic technology, foreign language, and battle strategy against supernatural enemies, but he knows fuckall about basically everything else.

His only experience with computers is the bare minimum of using booking software at hotels when he's working his secret identity jobs. He saw MySpace once in 2006 and thought it was the most confusing thing in the world.

Modern pop culture (from 2007-2009, when Alfonso's story takes place) is a mystery to him too. He might read modern books (as confusing as they are) but TV and any post-vinyl era music are like legends from another world to him. This is why the Fall Out Boy band T-Shirt he got from a Corriente is like a mystical artifact to him. He's seen a few movies in cinemas, and can't believe that it's normal for Corrientes to have watched hundreds of movies in their life.

Now and then his fiance will just answer questions for him because he learned about a job or a field of study from the outside world because it was mentioned briefly in a book. It's a cute bonding activity for them. He'll just be like "ok so what does an IT worker do" and they'll talk for hours about mundane things that are fascinating to him.

Contrast this with Crow, who's from the Wasteland but integrated into society. Danny taught him what a credit score was. He understood the concept quickly and it just pissed him off. He found out about property deeds and titles and thought it was the stupidest shit ever. From his point of view, land belongs to whoever fights for it the hardest. The idea that you can buy land with money instead of sweat and blood pissed him off and the fact that a government body needs to agree that you own something to actually own it made him want to kill a motherfucker and the fact that you can't kill the abstract concept of title recording made him absolutely furious.

Jäger has an actual high school diploma accredited by the Connecticut state board of education + an actual bachelor's degree in Political Science with an emphasis on foreign policy, plus a crash-course version of Alfonso's education in the supernatural and pre-electronic technology. He's way more in touch with modern society and informed, and he takes advantage to cooperate with institutions in the Corriente world while maintaining some secrecy. He knows the ins and outs of international law, but he mostly uses it to exploit gaps and loopholes to disobey the law, fabricate identities, cross borders with unregistered weapons, and continue the hunt regardless of where it takes him. He's very aware of the intricacies of modern (1963 to him) society and politics, but he doesn't have much of an opinion on any of it. He sees the politics of the normal world more like a force of nature that he has to adapt to, rather than something he has a stake in. His point of view was formed by having to grow up sneaking in and out of Germany during Nazi rule and WWII, the wild political swings of German politics during the East/West Germany split, and living in three different countries all going through wild political turmoil by the time he was 21. Being a participant in a secret, supernatural war while Corrientes were fighting their own war made him disconnect any personal stake he had in political and national identity. He simply believes that things are constantly changing and there's nothing you can do to stop them from changing, you can only adapt and follow your own purpose with or without cooperation from the outside world. Staying informed is only valuable as a strategic move to learn when and how you must break the rules. Werewolves think the same way, and he kind of admires them for it despite being their enemy.

[greensagephase]

More Mafia Miguel Art I wanted to show you 🫶🥺

I hope you’re doing well, pooks!🌷💕

Hiii, pooks! 🥰

This ask has been in my inbox for about 2 weeks (I'm sorry 🥲), but the way the first drawing has been on my mind since I received it! I've been unable to stop thinking about it, fr. Like... My heart is unwell with Miguel’s line, "You'll be ok. You'll be ok... Y-You'll be ok."

The way Miguel's voice breaks at the end, the worry and shock on his face, and the way he cradles Kira's head and holds her body in his arms, against him -- my freaking heart, Lara!! You can see how much he cares for Kira! 🥺 The vulnerability in this single drawing is killing me. 😭 I want to ask, what is the reason Kira gets hurt? It looks like Kira is wearing her suit here, so is this from her activities as Lady Spider? Asking for a friend… 😌

Ok, but let's talk about the other drawing in the first pic. I am SCREAMING over how Miguel is grabbing her face and the way Kira is also gripping Miguel’s top, giving him that look of defiance (it's actually reminding me of FBOW now🤭).

His line in this drawing, though.🥺 "I'm not the villain in your story, Kira." I'm gonna go cry rn brb. 🥲🤚🏼 I suddenly can't help but think about Miguel's feelings regarding this topic. If he's saying that, he's aware that Kira doesn't have a good impression of him, thinking of him as the villain in her life. To some degree he must believe Kira, the woman he loves, hates him.

And to think about how he eventually discovers the existence of another Miguel (Spider-Man Miguel), which probably causes him not only jealously as you've shared with me through your writing request, but possibly a deep sadness, too, when he sees how different Kira treats him compared to the other Miguel. That leads me to imagine Miguel laying awake at night and thinking about this, his heart aching because he genuinely believes that Kira despises him (and maybe she truly does since you've mentioned she thinks he's responsible for some of her pain and loss) when he feels so differently for her, and also because he notes how she seems to be so smitten with another man who isn't just any guy, but a variant of himself, which makes it worse for mafia Miguel (😭😭). I'm gonna stop here for my sake and continue on.

I love the second pic because I feel like we get to see their personalities, like Miguel's smirk and the more serious expression on Kira. Also, we learn more about their backgrounds. I didn't know Kira studied mathematics and computer science, so that was really fun to find out! And of course, we find out that Miguel discovered rapture, which we've already talked about along with his background before becoming a mafia don (I'm still sad about that btw).

The last drawing, AAAAAAAA!! I LOVE HOW THEY'RE HUGGING 🥹🥹 Look at how their arms are tightly wrapped around each other (Kira is doing her best to hug Miguel, hehe 🥹)! Kira smiling? I LOVE SEEING HER HAPPY! And Miguel - omg. The furrowed eyebrows! That's a man that doesn't want to let go of his person, you can't change my mind! 💕🥺 Augh, thinking of them being all happy and in love right now!! 🥹🥹 Is this Miguel a romantic? I need to know! 😌

But Lara, thank you for sharing your amazing art with us!! I hope you have a great start to your week!!💖💕🫶🏼

Alondra❤️