#I definitely have the softer version of this prepared too if you want to switch it out!

[aerospectrum]

starter for @protectxthem

The bullet wound feels like it’s festering and there’s sticky warm blood soaking the shirt he’s wearing. His left arm feels numb and on fire at the same time and it feels like someone’s shoved a pitchfork through his chest and spun his lungs around like spaghetti. His hair’s disheveled and a mess, his tie is loose from his incessant yanking on it for air and his cheeks are bright red from either the cold or just being breathless- he hates the feeling of not being able to breathe but none of it matters. 

All that matters is he’s not willing to just let things linger in passing glances and subtle gestures anymore. He doesn’t want this to be one of those… those things where they both knew there was something there but never said anything, never tried and just ended up fading from each other’s lives. 

“Sometimes I can find peace with you leaving, accepting that this wasn't meant for me. Other nights I'm bargaining with God, asking him what I have to do or give up for him to bring you back…” Jamie looks up at Lucifer with a grimace, suddenly feeling much smaller than he’s ever felt. “I burned so long— so quiet you must have wondered if I loved you back. I did, I did, I do."

[imtryingmybeskar]

So I'm sure we have all seen Pedro in the overalls today and my beautiful friend suggested a farmboy fic and I couldn't rest until I made it a reality.

*Disclaimers* I know nothing about farming, nor am I from the US. I imagined him as having a softer version of the Whiskey accent.

18+ only! You know the drill. 3.9k words.

The first time you saw him he was striding along the dusty road to your farmhouse, the sun at his back, his shadow stretching long ahead of him. Only someone looking for work and out of luck with it would be approaching at this late hour. From your perch at your bedroom window, you could look down and see the fatigue in the set of his shoulders, the dejection in the bow of his head. As he neared he stopped and dropped his pack to the ground before attempting to make himself presentable - raking his hand through his dark hair before setting his cap back on, dusting the legs of his overalls free of as much of the dirt of the road as he could, and finally straightening his back, righting his posture to make himself look strong, tall, not as hard up as he was. His rap at the door came as you were nearly at the bottom of the stairs and your dog, who had been peacefully sleeping at his approach finally woke and defended in a storm of paws and tail and barking.

"Hey! No!" you told her, and she quietened down and stayed where you told her to, in the line of sight from the doorway but no immediate threat to anyone on the other side. Opening the door you were greeted by the sight of a not-so-young-anymore man. Despite his efforts to clean himself up, his arms were streaked with grime and sweat and you could see the stains of his exertion under his arms and at his neck. His head remained bowed as he began to speak and you got the feeling he had replayed this spiel many times recently.

"Ma'am, I'm very sorry to trouble you. I'm here to see if you are lookin' to take on anyone at the farm at this time?" His voice was deep and rich with an enticing southern twang, sweet as honey whiskey.

"What kind of work can you do?" His eyes raised to your face and the hope you saw in their soft, dark depths almost melted you. As if he hadn't even gotten this far along with anyone for a very long time.

"Just about anything," he answered. "I can drive - harvesters, tractors. I can take care of all kinds of animals, muck 'em out, feed 'em. I've helped birth 'em too, though I know that time is passed for this year. I can sow and harvest by hand too if that's needed. And I can mend things, fences, roofs, you name it." Looking at him appraisingly, your curiosity got the better of you.

"Why are you on foot? Must have travelled an awful long way to get all the way out here." He looked down again, presenting you with the brim of his cap to look at instead and shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"I uh...I lost my own farm. Not too long ago. Sold everything I had to try and keep it afloat. Even my car."

"So, if I were to take you on-" his head snapped up eagerly again. "IF" you emphasised, "Would you be needing a place to stay as well?"

"If you had anywhere that could accommodate me, I would be most grateful for that, yes Ma'am."

"I want you to know that I've been out here on my own for a time. I know how to take care of myself. And I'm sure you heard and can see Tank behind me there." He was nodding as you spoke.

"I don't want no trouble. Just a job and a roof over my head." You eyed him for a few seconds more before stepping back from the door to let him in. He entered gingerly, staring around wide eyed as if he hadn't been inside a house for a long time.

"You hungry?"

"No...I mean, I don't wanna impose-"

"No imposition. If you're gonna work for me, you need feeding. Come with me." The dog whined a little as you approached, and you stroked her head. "Come!" you commanded the dog and she raced away ahead of you. Checking to see the man was following, you led him past the stairs and through the living area to the back. Here you had a small extension set up, with a bathroom and shower and a small room with a sofa which opened out into a bed, ostensibly for guests, though you hadn't had any for years. "You can get yourself cleaned up here. Any clothes you want to wash, you can do in the morning. There's no door to this room, so the only privacy you'll get is in the bathroom I'm afraid."

"This is...fantastic," he said in a low tone. "I've slept outside for a week or more, so this is just...Thank you ma'am," he finished, humbly. You left him to it and went to prepare him a plate of leftovers. When he finally emerged, scrubbed and fresh half an hour later, you bid him sit at the table and presented him with it. Without all that dirt streaking him and without his cap on you could finally see how good he looked and you had to tear your eyes away from the fullness of his lips before you went too far down that rabbit hole. The man was clearly desperate, hanging on to the shreds of the dignity of his old life by his fingertips. There was no way you were going to make him feel like he owed you anything by taking him in. You left him be until you heard him hum with satiated pleasure about ten minutes later.

"Better?" you asked.

"Better," he smiled.

"I see you've made a friend," you said wryly, gesturing to the large hairy head currently resting on one of his feet. You trusted your gut about this man, you didn't imagine him to be anything than he had said he was. But you had to be cautious for obvious reasons. The dog, however, had proved to be a truly excellent judge of character in the past and it warmed you to see her take to him so readily.

"I think I may have bribed my way into her affections. Chicken," he clarified.

"That'll do it," you smiled. He insisted on washing his own plate and then there was an awkward silence between you for a time as he stood in your living room, not really knowing what to do with himself. "Hey, you can sit and watch TV with me, or you can hit your bed if you want. I won't be offended either way."

"I...I think I will go to bed. I'm kinda lookin' forward to it."

"I can understand that," you said as you handed him pillows, blankets and fresh sheets to make it up with. "Just so you know, the dog sleeps down here too. She shouldn't wake you. And help yourself to water in the night, coffee in the morning. Whatever you want."

"Thank you," he said again, his eyes catching yours and looking happier than you had seen them thus far. "Goodnight."

The man worked like a machine. Having lived this life for many years, you were accustomed to being up before dawn, but he beat you to it the next morning, greeting you with a soft "Good morning," and handing you a cup of coffee that he had prepared. He kept up a pace all day, and you moved around each other around the farm, lifting your hands or voices in greeting when you passed. You couldn't help but notice how the soft cotton of his shirt creaked at the seams when he moved his broad shoulders, nor how deft his hands were at every task he set them to. The dog had begun to follow him everywhere and you found yourself liking that too, despite the mild sting of betrayal. He came in to help with lunch and after he washed up, set to chopping salad and buttering bread.

"This is gonna sound weird, but erm...your dog...she ain't partly deaf or anything is she?"

"No, why?"

"Its just, she comes when I whistle, but not when I call."

"Ohhh," you said, realisation hitting you like a wave. "Yeah, well, last night I might not have told you her proper name. I er...I wanted to make her seem a little more intimidating than she is. Just in case, you know. Hence Tank. Though she ruined that when she drooled all over your shoes." He gave a small chuckle, his eyes sparkling.

"So what is her name?"

"Cookie." At this, you heard the tell tale sound of Cookie's claws on the kitchen tiles. "Good girl," you threw over your shoulder at her.

"Well, that suits her a lot better'n Tank. She's so friendly."

"Only to the good ones. You should have seen her with the last man that came in here. She knew he was a wrong 'un. Took me a while to catch on, but I get there in the end." You turned your head to find him looking at you with sympathy and a touch of anger. "Like I said, I can take care of myself," you added and moved on with your day. In his first week staying with you he managed to do most of the little jobs that had been irritating, but not bad enough to address. The tap in the kitchen no longer dripped. All of the fencing was entirely without holes for the first time in forever. The roof of the chicken coop was renewed. You decided to celebrate by breaking out some beers in the evening and sat with him on your porch, watching the sky slowly turn from gold to apricot to scarlet. Once he had started to feel less awkward around you, you found him to be good company - intelligent and curious and with a good sense of humour and even your silences were now companionable, especially a few beers in.

"Need to plant some more things in the garden," he grunted, slurring a little. "Maybe some beets and some radishes?"

"That sounds good," you agreed, "but for tonight, just switch off a bit. Enjoy the beer and the view. You've more than earned it."

"Oh, I'm enjoyin' the view alright," he said. There was something low and sinful in his voice that made you turn your head to him in astonishment and definite interest, but as you did, his eyes grew wide and he started to splutter. "Oh God, I apologise. I haven't had a beer in months and I guess my tolerance ain't what it was. I...I didn't mean to offend. I didn't mean to say that."

"Didn't you?"

"No, I-I'm sorry." Putting your beer down, you came to stand in front of him, placing your hands on his knees and running them up his thighs.

"Are you sure you didn't mean it?" And suddenly the realisation of your own drunkenness came crashing around you. What were you thinking? You couldn't take advantage of him like this. He had nowhere else to go and he had said he wasn't interested. You straightened abruptly. "No, I'm sorry. This is wrong. I'm...I'm going to bed." And you did so, walking swiftly away before he could see the redness of your face.

The next morning, your coffee lay on the counter and you could see him outside the house pottering around. Berating yourself for an idiot for ruining the good feelings you had built up between you, you went about your own tasks in a crotchety mood. He didn't come in for lunch either, and you began to get a little worried about him. Deciding to tackle the problem head on, you brought him out a Tupperware with some food and some water. Eventually you found him in the barn, measuring some of the beams. He hadn't noticed you come in and you stood and openly stared for a moment at the sight of him with no shirt on under his overalls. It was pretty warm in here - you were starting to feel the effects yourself. His back was broad and muscular and his shoulder muscles rolled as you watched him reach up to measure something above him.

"Er...hi," you ventured, a little shyly. He whirled to face you, looking as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. "I'm sorry to bother you, I just thought you might want some lunch." You deposited it on the hay bale closest to you and carried on, keeping your voice light, "And to say that I'm sorry about yesterday. You said no and I shouldn't have pushed it. I don't want you thinking you have to do anything like that to stay here!"

"Thank you," he said softly as he made his way over to you. "But..I said no because we had both been drinkin' and because I didn't wanna take advantage of anythin' I wasn't bein' offered freely and honestly." His eyes raked over your face, black and piercing in the half light inside the barn. He was so close to you, you could smell the lemon scent of his soap and the musky smell of him underneath. There was a sheen of sweat across his chest and before you could stop yourself or think too deeply about what you were doing, your hands were upon him, feeling the taut, strong muscles of his pectorals. You bit your lip a little as you raised your eyes to his.

"You're not taking advantage," you whispered. "I want this." That was all the invitation he needed to crash his lips upon yours with a fervent desire. His big hands circled your waist and roved your back as his tongue begged entrance at your mouth. Your own hand moved down his overalls to where he was starting to bulge, massaging his length and making him moan into your mouth.

"Christ, I...I've not been with anyone for so long. That feels so good, don't stop." You heeded him, but also brought one of his hands from around your back to your breast where he began to knead it intensely and he groaned again, in between peppering your mouth and neck with kisses. "Fuck, you're so pretty. I thought so from th' first moment I saw you. I didn't know how to say..." For someone usually so reticent, he was on a roll now he had your tit in his hand and you were palming him through his overalls.

You snaked your hands up his body again and undid his overalls, letting them fall and pool around his feet where they landed. His body was gorgeous, broad and muscular with a little fuzz over his chest and running down his stomach. You ran your hands all over it, feeling the slickness of the sweat beading through his hair under your hands and feeling your own body begin to heat and respond in earnest, your clit throbbing a little between your legs. He kicked off his boots, and took off his socks and overalls in one swoop before taking you back in his arms and kissing you ardently again. His hand slid up your shirt and hiked it up, the sweat at your back making it stick to you a little. You broke the kiss to hurl it from your head and away, closely followed by your bra.

"Oh fuck baby, your tits are so beautiful. Lemmie taste you." He got on his knees in front of you and did just that, taking your nipple in his mouth and sucking on it harshly whilst rubbing your other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Exhaling a moan of pleasure, you tangled your fingers into his dark waves and pulled him even closer, feeling his smile against your chest as his free hand undid the buttons on your jeans. You could feel the wetness in your underwear now, the telltale stripe of moisture under your cunt as he coaxed that sweet feeling all through your veins with his tongue and fingers on your nipple.

"I want you to fuck me," you gasped. "Need you to fuck me hard."

"Oh don't you worry, baby, I'm gonna take good care of you," he murmured against your skin as he pulled the material down your legs. "Fuck, you're so wet already. I can see it on your panties. I wanna taste you there too. Can I?" His big dark eyes looked up at you with pleading and what you would have called innocence had he not already been flicking his tongue back over your nipple, making you squirm and huff with the pleasurable tickle of it. In reply you pulled the rest of your clothes away from you, but before he could reach his prize you took his jaw in your hand and brought his head up to look at you. He was instantly attentive and alert, looking slightly worried, as If you might have changed your mind in the few seconds it had taken for you to remove your clothes.

"You can taste me, if I can taste you afterwards," you offered.

"Hell yeah you can," he muttered appreciatively as he got to his feet and lifted you on to a haybale. The straw poked you roughly and mercilessly, but you forgot about that when he leaned over you and kissed you deeply again. "Gonna make you feel real good, honey," he promised again before kissing a path downward. He hooked your legs over his biceps and ran his forearms up to your breasts, teasing your nipples again before diving right in to lick warm, wide stripes from your cunt to your clit. It had been so long since anyone had been intimate with you, your head felt dizzy and overwhelmed, but he took it to another level with the enthusiasm he brought to the task. He lapped at you and what you were leaking as if he were a man starved, pushing his face into you, so you could feel his patchy stubble rub against your inner thighs, and sucking gently on your clit. It took an embarrassingly short time before your breaths came stunted and your voice rose in a wail of pleasure as he drove you to your peak, the red hot lava of it flowing from your core throughout your body. He ripped a second from you when he pushed two thick fingers inside and curled them wonderfully to strike against that part inside you that you yourself could never reach. His eyes glittered with lust as you came down from your high and you swore you could come again just from the look he was giving you from between your legs. He kissed your inner thighs and wiped his mouth as he came in for another kiss, your taste all over his tongue and lips.

"Your turn." you announced breathlessly, as you got down from the bale on shaky legs. Not breaking eye contact, you knelt in front of him, the straw on the floor not much of a cushion for your knees. He moaned loudly as you raked your nails down his side, catching them on the waistband of his underwear and pulling them down, allowing his cock to spring free and bob up toward his stomach. You had felt that he was well endowed, but seeing him was something else entirely and you couldn't help the hum of appreciation that escaped you before you leaned forward kissed the reddened tip, his precum brushing over your lips. You looked up at him as you licked it off and could see his breaths coming heavy and wild, his shoulders and chest heaving in anticipation. His hands came around to tangle in your hair as you licked a swirl over his tip before taking it in your mouth and sucking gently whilst moving down his shaft.

"Fuck, baby. You're so good. C-can I move?" You brought your hands around to the firmness of his ass and moved him forward a little to give him permission and saw his head roll back in pleasure. He seemed to not want to hurt you and fucked your mouth much more gently than you thought he would. Your head bobbed further and further down his shaft until he was striking the back of it, making you gag a little. Raising yourself back off, you pumped him with your hand while swirling your tongue over his tender head. When you brought your other hand to cradle his balls he trembled a little under your touch. "Honey, I do not want you to stop, but if you don't I won't be able to fuck you before I come." You removed your mouth from him slowly, hollowing your cheeks and sucking hard as you progressed.

He helped you to your feet and reached down to stroke your clit again while he kissed your lips, the taste of you both mingling in your mouths. Turning your back to him you bent over the hay bale, presenting yourself to him and you heard a guttural sound of arousal behind you before the head of his cock was notching at your entrance and pushing in all at once, stretching you and making you whimper as he bent over your back and kissed your shoulder. "Are you ok, baby?" he muttered. "Does this feel good?"

"Yes," you whispered. "Now fuck me hard."

He bit down a little on the meat of your shoulder and whispered a low "Yes, Ma'am," before standing fully and beginning to piston his hips into you with forceful, firm strokes, his cock pushing further within you each time. It was overwhelming and even more so when he pushed down on your back further so that he was fucking down into you and sliding over your spot with each thrust. The change in pitch of your gasping moans and the wetness that you could suddenly feel around the tops of your thighs encouraged him to fuck you even harder, his cock swelling as he got close to his release and filling you up beautifully. "Like that, honey? Right there?" he grunted as you started to feel yourself lose control around him.

"Yes, there, please, don't stop, please," you begged. He captured your arms and pulled you further back toward him, and suddenly he was striking something white hot and golden inside and you were gone, your cunt pulsating around him and flooding him with you. Your head was so dizzied that you only noticed he had pulled you flush against his sweat-sticky chest when his arms were around you, grasping greedily at your breasts and the hot breath of his rich, deep voice was beside your ear.

"Where-"

"inside." He drove into you half a dozen more times before he cried your name aloud and you felt him pulsate strongly within you, jettisoning his spend into you with groans muffled against your shoulder. As he withdrew, he held you up gently before turning you and lying you on the bale he had just taken you over, coming to lie down beside you with his big eyes searching your face and his big calloused hands stroking the soft skin of your belly. The sweet summer sun was slanting over his face, turning his black eyes amber in its glow and you felt a welcome twinge in your heart as you took his face in your hand and kissed him.

[werealljustwinginit]

Tell us about what skincare ingredients and products you love!

Okay, so I LOVE TALKING SKINCARE. This is a huge topic for me and I often write up a blog post once a year where i recommend skin care products. So here is this year’s recommendation! An insanelyyyyy long and detailed post nobody asked for!! HERE WE GO: 

I am a long time skincare advocate...before it really blew up and people started really getting to know more about their products and ingredients. I’ve just always had very acne-prone skin so I’ve had to pay attention to what products and ingredients I was using and how their formulas worked for me. As a result, over the years I tried A SHIT TON of products. Many expensive, fancy, high end, etc. But now I have my skincare routine down to a much more manageable and quality ingredient list. Obviously everyone’s skin is different...but this is what I use on a regular basis these days:

Serums:

- Krave Beauty’s Great Barrier Relief Serum: Honestly, this is THE SHIT. My favorite moisturizing serum to really help balance your skins hydration barrier and stay hydrated. It’s thicker and almost feels like a moisturizer. It’s so great.  - The Ordinary’s Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Drops: Niacinamide is an amazing ingredient for your skin and can help a tremendous amount with clearing the skin, resurfacing, fading scars, and more. This really does a good job helping with my acne, so i really recommend to anyone. And I am pretty sure it’s like $5 cause it’s from the ordinary.

Moisturizers:

- CeraVe Moisturizing Cream: It’s a very cheap drug store moisturizer that has good, clean ingredients. After using fancy moisturizers for years, I finally gave into my dermatologist’s recommended lotion. LOL. They do have a lotion that is lighter, but my skin tends to be dryer, especially in the winter so I use the cream not the lotion. It’s thicker. (For high end junkies--it’s like comparing Drunk Elephant’s LaLa Retro to their Protini cream). I also sometimes throw in drops of a marula oil into this cream if I am really dry. Make myself a little face smoothie. 

Eye/Lip Creams:

- Mario Badescu Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream: Now honestly, I still haven’t found my perfect eye cream yet...but I have used this one for a few years now. It moisturizes well and is cheap to buy. It’s probs not the most effective but at least I am moisturizing my eye area. One day I will take on more eye creams that target certain things, but that is one day when I have money to spend lmao. -Glossier Bubblewrap Lip/Eye Cream: This is a very unique moisturizing product that is meant for sensitive skin like your eye area and lips. It does say it plumps a bit, which I don’t ever feel a plumping effect, but I do love to use it on my lips. It’s so moisturizing and is kind of like using a primer before you apply chapstick or lipstick. 

Exfoliators:

- Glossier Solution: The OG chemical exfoliant I tried and loved. These types of products aren’t great for everyone, and may have to be used less or more depending on skin type, but as an acne-prone human, I love a chemical exfoliant. This works and lasts a long while.

- Krave Beauty’s Kale-Lalu_AHA: Another chemical exfoliant. I recently tried this one because I do believe Krave Beauty uses better ingredients than Glossier Skin typically does (no shade tho). They were close in price, so I made the switch and have enjoyed the results so far. The packaging is also beautiful.

- Dr. Brant Microdermabrasion Exfoliant: This is NOT a chemical peel, this has aluminum oxyde crystals in it to polish the skin like a normal exfoliant would. It also has a lot of ingredients that help renew and refresh the skin while exfoliating. Now this product is HELLA expensive...I only have it because I once bought it for way cheaper when I had a subscription box. I don’t know if I would spend the full $80 bucks on it, but your skin does feel smooth.

- Tatcha The Deep Polish: This is an enzyme powder that you mix with water and exfoliate fro there. It is from when I used to buy the highest end products in hopes it would help my skin. It is pricey, but again does leave your skin feeling soft. So I rotate it in from time to time.

Masks: 

- The Ordinary’s AHA 30% BHA 2% Peeling Solution: AKA THE BLOOD MASK. Now hugely popular on social media, the “blood mask” is a chemical mask that peels off dead skin and essentially works to eliminate the top layers of your skin and begin rejuvenating a fresher layer for softer, healthier, plumper skin. I do this once a week and it is way cheap. I can compare it to Drunk Elephant’s Sukari Babyfacial and it definitely beats that expensive version.

- Glow Recipe’s Avocado Melt Sleeping Mask: This is an overnight moisturizing mask that you simply wash off in the morning. It really helps lock in moisture and feels nice on the skin. I use this when I am feeling really dry. 

- Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask: This one you have to mix the dry clay mixture with water and apple cider vinegar to create a goo that you can then let dry on your face. It may be intense for some, but I find it really helps dry out my acne spots and reduce redness in my skin. It’s always a fun one to do with other people too because you do have to prepare it. Good sleepover activity. 

- GlamGlow Bubble Sheet Mask:  This one is honestly more so used for when I am traveling and want to keep a mask on hand or when I am having a fun girls night or something. It’s a bubble mask--so to me that just means fun. I typically avoid sheet masks (unless I am traveling) because I think you end up throwing a way a lot of product you are paying for. But this one is fun, it’s cute, it’s different. I don’t notice a huge change in my skin tbh, but it is a fun activity for girls night. 

Honorable Mention/Random Products:

- Youth to the People’s Kale and Green Tea Superfood Cleanser: I stayed away from this one for a long time because it’s expensive and I could rationalize buying such an expensive cleanser, but I got a gift card to Sephora and finally decided to try it. And ya know what?? I guess I am fancy now because I really love it. It does not overly strip your skin at all, and for the first time in my life I really know what that means. It’s so great, it smells so good. Ugh. Can’t get enough of this bougie bitch of a face wash.

- The Inkey List Retinol Cream: A recent purchase, but I have enjoyed seeing the results. Everyone imo should be using an eye cream and a retinol. This is a nice introduction to retinol, so I recommend to those looking for one.

- Glossier Mint Balm Dot Com Chapstick: THIS AGAIN--IS THE SHIT. Many will say they would never spend more than two bucks but one tube of their’s is seven bucks and it is WORTH IT. I buy the three pack once a year and i’m good. This is the best chapstick you will literally ever use. Fucking buy it. If I could tell you only three products that are a must from this list this would be one of them. (the other two would be great barrier relief and the kale cleanser)

- Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: I like this lip mask, it’s not needed everynight, but I do like to use a lip exfoliant (made or buy one, whatever) and then use this to really retextures my lips. 

- Bag Balm: Now this is a very unusual product to recommend lmaooo. Originally, bag balm is used for chapped cow udders on farms--which is how I discovered it. Farmers eventually noticed that it helped your skin retain moisture and repair cracked skin in their hands. So now it is known as a good thick ass cream for hands and feet. Now this shit is again--used on cows originally, so the formula feels thick and greasy. I like putting it on at night and letting it soak in for a while as I lay on my phone. It really works--I swear to you. 

- Sagely CBD Cream: I use their relief and recovery crea which smells like lavender and has a cooling effect when applied to the skin (kinda like biofreeze or icyhot would). This is only a 50mg CBD lotion, but I do like it. 

- Mad Ritual CBD Muscle Recovery Balm: Now this is thick and definitely a balm, not a cream. It is much higher strength though, so I break it out when needed and a little goes a long way. This one is 200mg of CBD. 

- Mario Badescu Drying Lotion: This drying lotion is now so popular but has been a staple of mine for at least a decade now. You leave it on over night and it really does dry up and reduce zit size. Helps a lot. There must be a reason why super models are told to use this shit before a runway show. 

- Tatcha The Essence: Essences are a new and kind of weird thing, kinda like priming the skin to allow for better absorption of a product. Now this product I received as a Christmas gift one year, but I am pretty sure it’s like $100...breaking the bank as always, tatcha. Anyway, it does allow for better absorption of products and feels light and refreshing on the skin. One bottle has lasted me two years now. I don’t know if I would recommend it, but I do use it somewhat regularly and it does make you feel like a bougie bitch. 

AND THAT IS THE END. Sorry that was soooo long. But like I said, I do a write up once a year of my skincare products anyway. So there you guys have it!! If you have any questions at all about your skin or skincare routine , honestly hit me up. Over the years I have slowly has friends come to me. Once I collect all of the I will have all of the infinity stones lmao. 

[neshabeingchildish]

That Alien Persona

@kiddangers ​ @sunbeameyes ​ Davenpage Oneshot of a Spike Introduction

Something was wrong. She could feel it. Sure, Chase’s eyes lit up the moment he saw her face in the morning and when he pressed his forehead to hers and strummed his fingers through her curls, it was no more intimate than the hundreds of times he did so before. But, the temperature was a few degrees off, the scent in the air wasn’t exactly as it typically was, and the sounds of the house were different. If she noticed these things, Chase definitely had. He had heightened senses. “I’ll make breakfast, since you have a mission alert,” she said. And there! His face. There was something in it for a split second before he smiled and thanked her. Now, she was worried. What was wrong and why wasn’t he telling her? “Are you okay?” She asked, straight up.

He returned to her arms and held her tightly. That was surely a ‘no,’ though he didn’t answer. He didn’t actually have to, because in a moment, she heard a loud, “That will NEVER not be weird to see!” Chase’s entire body tensed up around her whenever his older brother came into the room and she turned her head to see Adam laughing, next to Bree. “You sure you aren’t a robot that he built to be loyal to him?” He asked and winked at her. Chase’s fists clenched her clothes and she gently took his hands and squeezed them, earning her eye contact. 

Now, she understood. She had heard in passing about how obnoxious his brother could be, but from his reaction, she was thinking that maybe she had heard a censored version. 

“She’s definitely real, but… I honestly don’t get it either,” Bree said.

Charlotte told them, “Okay. The next person that insults my man like this, I’m gonna swing on.” Chase felt a little more relaxed at that declaration, and tentatively sat at the island. He began to look over the details of the mission and Charlotte started on breakfast.

Adam taunted, “Awwww. He finally bought himself a tiny little bodyguard!” And Charlotte set the eggs down, marched over and punched him in the chest. “OUCH!” How did such a tiny hand actually hurt?” 

“I took it easy. Next time, I’m gonna hurt you. Leave him alone, Dude,” Charlotte warned, pointing at Adam. She threw Bree a look to let her know that went for her, too. 

After breakfast, Charlotte headed for mobile command, which was a state of the art surveillance van with everything that she needed to run tech and keep up with the teams. “Henry and Jasper just picked up Leo. I’ve sent them coordinates for the showdown,” she said, tapping on her forearm.

Chase took a deep breath, stressed out, “I think I should be in the command station with you.”

“They’ll need you out there,” she said.

“No, we won’t!” Adam cheered. She glared at him and he ducked behind Bree. 

Quiter, Charlotte told him, “Don’t let him get to you. If you want, I’ll switch you and Henry.”

“We can’t do that. There’s no way that in a mission this dangerous Jasper, Leo and I make a better team than I do with them, or even than Henry and Jasper are. Leo was a nice touch to that dynamic, by the way. You’re so smart.”

“Leo is the new me of that dynamic, and I feel really bad for doing it to him,” she said. “For good luck on my first mission without Davenport in my ear,” she tiptoed slightly and Chase met her kiss. She cupped his face. “I’ll make you proud.”

“You always do,” he said, smiling.

.

“How are there so many of them?” Charlotte heard Henry ask. 

“I’m zapping every one that I can from command, but they keep coming from that jet. Leo, strike it from the east, Adam, strike it from the west. If we can take out that jet, AT LEAST, more of these robots won’t come out of it.”

“Mr. Davenport wants to try to salvage the jet,” Chase reminded her.

“Mr. Davenport isn’t here watching that robot factory beat the living hell out of all of you.”

“Yeah, CHASE! Your girlfriend is in charge this time, not you!” Adam said. 

Softer, she told them, “If it’s possible to incapacitate the jet and keep it intact, try. But, not at the expense of the team, or anyone on it. Chase, if you have to, override Adam and hit it in the right spot, with his plasma grenades. Leo… I trust you.”

Chase turned to Adam and asked, “Think you can do it?”

Adam rolled his eyes and elbowed him aside. Chase activated a forcefield for the west battlefield team and Henry activated one on the east. Charlotte pinpointed exactly where Adam and Leo needed to launch their weapons at the jet for minimal damage, but to cease the robot production for now. They struck and she held her breath until she clarified, “Good job, Gentlemen. That jet will not be producing robots. Now, take the others down so that we can bring it in…” 

Weapons came from the sides of the jet while the others were beginning to fight the robots, and Charlotte prepared her lasers to fire at the barrels of those, but they launched before she could take them out (she did), but not before a rocket fired upon mobile command. The team heard her scream and saw an explosion hit the van and set it on fire, as it repeatedly flipped over and crash landed on it's side. 

“CHAR!” Henry screamed over the comm. Chase scanned to try to figure out if she was okay. His brain was on high alert. He had already been anxious about her doing this on her own, and now, he wasn’t finding her and she didn’t answer Henry over the comm. He was going to rush over, but Adam grabbed him and told him, “You can’t go check on her right now. I know that you feel like shit for telling us not to destroy the jet that probably just killed her, but…” Adam felt his hand removed from Chase’s shoulder and the next thing he knew, he’d flown across the field. 

Bree had rushed to the van and helped pull Charlotte out, but Chase was unaware. Spike was in full effect. “Are you okay?” Bree asked Charlotte, while Spike ravaged through the robots on the battlefield. Charlotte held herself in pain and she knew that she had some injuries that would need medical attention; but, she would live. She nodded and activated manual control through her forearm to put out the fire and turn her bracelet into the gauntlet that would allow her enhancements. Bree rushed back to the fight while Charlotte turned the van upright and exhaustedly climbed back inside to try to see what was happening over there.

“Has anybody been able to see about Charlotte?” she heard Henry ask.

“I’m okay,” she answered, sounding like death. 

Leo commented, “I’m gonna destroy that jet.”

“NO! I already took out the weapons. After this disaster, the only thing that will keep Davenport for making sure I never work in this place again will be retrieving that jet,” Charlotte said. Leo kept forgetting that she wasn’t one of “his kids.”

“Chase, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked, looking at his vitals in confusion.

Bree answered, “Oh, yeah… About that… That’s actually… Spike. When the van got hit, Chase kinda lost it…” 

Charlotte took a deep breath, nodded her head and instructed everyone, “Help clear out all of the robots until the threat is eliminated. Maybe that’ll help to get Chase back.”

“Gotcha!” “On it!” “¡Comprendo!” 

Whenever the robots were cleared, Spike didn’t seem to really have calmed down much. He looked around the grounds at the others, clearing away the robots. He generally recognized everyone. He knew them. Not in the same way that their person did, but very similar. So, he wasn’t going to bulldoze them like he had done the robots. In fact, he was about to head over to that van. There was something very important there that he needed to go see about, though he wasn’t completely sure what. 

Then, he felt the big, stupid one clap him on the shoulder and announce, “At least he turned out to be good for something!” He laughed joyously. Bree laughed, a little, more relieved that this was over than anything else, but once again, Spike took Adam’s hand off of his shoulder and prepared to throw him. 

Adam’s eyes widened as he realized that Spike was still there. He intended to fight back! “Adam!” Bree yelled. 

Charlotte zoomed in on the fight and asked, “What the hell is going on?”

“Spike is gonna kill Adam!”

“My research says that Spike doesn’t cause fatal harm to anyone important to Chase!” Charlotte said, already getting out of the van.

“But he ragged on him while he’s already in Commando mode and I don’t know if Spike knows the difference right now! We could all be perceived as a threat.”

“Everybody clear the area. Leave Adam. He’ll be fine,” Charlotte ordered. They began to follow the order, but then noticed her heading towards the fight.

“Charlotte, what are you doing?” Henry wondered.

“Just retreat. I know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t believe that you really do,” Leo said. 

“I do. I told Adam to stop picking on my man…” She said before taking off into a sprint, jumping into the air and punching Adam in exactly the right spot in his head to knock him out. Spike turned around and aggressively closed in on her. 

She let out a tiny yelp of surprise, because… God, he looked different. She didn’t even know that Chase’s face had those features. The scowl was furious. His teeth were bared. She lifted both of her hands in the air and kneeled. “The threat has been neutralized,” she said. She wanted her breathing to be steadier, but she was already injured, upset that Chase was going through this and terrified that she might have honestly just really hurt Adam. He fell like a ton of bricks!

“You seem to be a threat yourself. You just bagged him. He’s not an easy foe to take down,” he said. 

“Well… He had been fighting you for a few minutes and you’re the ultimate fighter. The only reason he lasted so long with you is because you had fought an army of robots, almost single handedly… But, they’re gone, he’s down, and I’m not gonna hurt you.”She looked up at him and promised, “I would never hurt you.” 

He squatted to look at her face to face. Her brown eyes bore into his and they were there for a while. She had forgotten her injuries and her exhaustion, and her breath as she remained on her knees with her hands lifted and her head bowed. But, her body didn’t. She toppled over and fell forward onto him. “Hey!” She heard his raspy voice cry out out and he shifted her, picked her up and looked at her. She was dizzy and felt like she would pass out, but she needed to see Chase. He scanned over her and whenever she leaned her head against his chest and touched his cheek, she saw him blinking and then coming to. 

“Chase?” She said softly.

“Charlotte!” He said and examined her. She had multiple injuries and needed immediate medical attention. “Did… did Spike do this to you?” He asked in a horrified whisper. 

“No. He tried to help me…” she said and her head fell back when she went unconscious. 

.

“Yo…” Charlotte’s voice croaked. Chase gasped and took her hand, quickly. Henry, Jasper and Leo were in the room, but trying not to hover around the bed. 

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” Chase said, holding on to her hand as though he couldn’t bear to part with it. 

She nodded, then gasped, “How is Adam?” 

“Have you met Adam?” Leo asked. “He was awake and getting on my nerves before we even got you back to the lab.”

“And… How are you?” She asked Chase, looking at him, curiously. Henry patted Chase on the shoulder and gestured to the others to leave the room with him.

Whenever the door closed, Chase asked, “Are you sure? Are you sure I didn’t hurt you when my Commando App was activated?”

“I’m positive,” she said, sitting up. “If anything, he was curious or confused as to why I was there.”

“You know… I think we have at least that one thing in common,” Chase said, a little more sternly than he had been speaking before now. “Why would you go towards that kind of danger, Charlotte?”

She furrowed her eyebrows and scoffed, “There’s no kind of danger that I’m worried about more than your safety. You could have killed Adam. He’s an idiot. He was going to keep fighting you until one of you was down or until Spike left and Spike wasn’t going to leave while the threat was still present, was he? Not from everything that I’ve researched and studied about him. Somebody had to try to bring you back and who else could have?”

“Leo? Bree? One of your lasers could have knocked me out…”

“Bree thought that you were too far gone. Leo was on the other side of the…” She laughed, “Chase… I made a decision and it worked out. Are you upset about what I did or about the situation itself?”

“Everything. I’m upset about everything. He hasn’t shown up as long as you and I have been together, and the first time he does, you rush up to him and look him in the face? You… I never wanted you to see that part of me. That alien persona that I can’t stop or control. He’s a raging beast and you could have been killed.” 

She gathered both of his hands and held them close to her chest. “Not to be corny and cheesy, but… There’s no part of you that I would ever not want to know. There’s no part of you that I would ever be afraid of or presume would hurt me. I know that you hate the fact that he’s a part of you and after seeing what happened, I even understand you feeling that way. But, as long as he’s a part of you… He’s something that I’ll just love you through. I could have been killed in the van. Being in front of Spike was one of the safest spots I was in all night. Being around you, I’ll always feel safe. Even when you feel like you’re at your lowest.” She pulled his hands to make him come forward and gave him a hug. 

“I haven’t felt like myself the whole time we’ve been here.”

“I know. I knew something was wrong.”

“I’m glad that you’ll love me no matter what, but I want him gone. I don’t want to lose time, not knowing what happened and then have to wake up with you crumbling in my arms. I was so scared. I was so scared that I…”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not!” 

She rubbed her fingers through his hair. “Sorry. You’re right. It’s not… but, between the two of us, we’ll make it okay, right?” She leaned back enough to look at his face, but not enough to move her head off of his body. His eyes were warm and soft on her as he nodded. “All we can do is our best, to get through the things that happen when we’re our worst.” She snuggled back into him and her nose was on his neck. 

“Oh… hey… also… There was something else. Whenever I assessed you for damages…”

“I’ve already gotten all the treatment I need, right?”

“Yes, but you’ve got something else, too…” She sat up and stared at him, concerned. He touched her belly gently and said, “Or, I guess, I should say “someone.” He smiled and his eyes moved to her face to see how she was going to take that news. She smiled back and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Do not scare me like that! I thought you were going to say something bad!” Her hands covered his and they both looked at their hands. Right now, nothing was wrong. She could feel it.

[fostersffff]

Trials of Mana Demo Impressions

The Bad

Hoo boy, this voice acting is something. I’ve become a lot softer on criticizing voice acting over time, accrediting the majority of bad performances to bad direction, but in this case I really think it’s a mix of lackluster direction and performance. I think Kevin is the prime example, where the actor is attempting to do the stilted caveman speak, but isn’t committing all the way. Reisz’s voice actress also has a handful of lines that sound like they were her reading the script for the first time and wasn’t sure how to inflect. The Japanese audio sounds a little better in terms of “feel”, but considering Square-Enix’s track record with good voice acting, this is slightly disappointing.

The new soundtrack is hit or miss. Some of the songs got the love and attention they deserve, like Where Angels Fear to Tread and Powell, but Left-Handed Wolf and Nuclear Fusion use some really crappy sounding electric guitar samples. I don’t feel compelled to switch over to the original soundtrack, but I’m glad the option is there.

I’ve done a lot of bitching about FE3H since its release for lackluster animations, but Trials of Mana is right up there with it. It’s a problem I notice in a lot of anime styled games where the way the characters move just doesn’t match up with the way they look, and that’s certainly the case here. What’s most confounding is how little facial emoting there is, but so many close ups on characters faces, highlighting exactly how little facial emoting there is.

All of these complaints are tied to the fact that this is definitely a medium budget game. It probably had more money to play with than the last few Tokyo RPG Factory games, but less than something like Octopath Traveler. I can’t really even be too mad about this considering the way the Secret of Mana remake turned out, because I was utterly convinced the options for a Seiken Densetsu 3 remake were something like that or nothing at all, but it is noticeable. But I can tell you where they probably spent the bulk of that money:

The Good

Combat is REALLY good!

All characters share a universal combo system. You have a weak and a strong attack, and they can be combined to either perform a repel attack (knock away a single enemy and interrupt them from attacking) or an area attack (self-explanatory). You can also string together three weak attacks, or charge up a single strong attack, and you even have some basic air combos. It’s simple, but it feels very good.

Because there’s now a proper combat system in place, your class skills are now essentially Super Moves. In the original, three/four hits would charge your meter enough so that you could do a slightly stronger attack. In the remake, you have a minor risk/reward system where using power attacks that require a little more commitment (especially charged power attacks) will reward you with more meter, but they also leave you prone to taking more damage. It’s terrifically implemented.

One of the biggest and best things about the combat system is the integration of MMO-style warning indicators. When an enemy is preparing to use a special ability or spell, a bright red indicator appears on the ground. They come in different shapes and sizes, and they gradually fill themselves in. Once full, the attack happens and if you’re still standing in it when it does, it’ll deal a ton of damage. This is where your dodge comes in: as far as I can tell, the dodge in Trials of Mana doesn’t have any invincibility frames like other action games, because the dodge is literally just to help you quickly evacuate from standing in bad. I’m thrilled to see MMO-style warning indicators make their way into something other than MMOs, and an action RPG feels like the perfect fit. Like, as much as I enjoyed the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo, it really feels like it could use something like this.

Not sure if this is limited to Hard Mode, but some enemies will be shielded, requiring you to use charged power attacks to break the shield before you can actually start dealing damage. I’m hoping it’s featured in at least Normal Mode, because it forces the player to not just mash weak attacks.

Now that I’m done gushing about combat: the character designs and general aesthetic of the game is also great. The main character designs all look great in 3D, and I’m glad a lot of minor characters have had their designs tweaked to make them stand out more, like the Beast King, Ludgar, and Bil & Ben. The environments are designed to match the characters in terms of color saturation, which makes every feel right.

The addition of a jump button has expanded out exploration to include some very light platforming. You’re incentivized to explore every nook and cranny not just of the wilderness but towns and cities to find treasure chests and loose items. The jump is a teensy bit floaty, but considering you don’t go very high and air combos don’t require precision positioning it all works perfectly well.

The map and objective markers are really welcome additions to the game, especially since multiple areas are considerably larger by virtue of being combined into one. However, if you’re a masochist, the game also includes the option to turn both of those off, so if you want to fumble around in the dark like the Super Nintendo original, you’re more than welcome to.

Finally, I love what they’ve done with the level up and skill system. You get exp bonuses in combat for fulfilling certain goals, like beating all the enemies within a certain timeframe, not taking damage, or using your class skill, which is another incentive for skillful play. Leveling up earns you points you can allocate towards your stat of choice, just like the original, but now hitting certain point totals will give you actual bonuses. The bonuses are either character specific- Charlotte gets one that causes her to gain meter whenever she uses a healing spell, for example- or “chain” bonuses, which you equip to one character but apply to the entire party. None of these (at least for the base classes) are tremendous and game changing, but I imagine these are going to be substantial for class changes.

The Rest

As expected, the Switch version runs worse than the PS4 and PC versions. I’m not an expert at distinguishing resolutions, but since the art style isn’t super photorealistic, the game looks quite good on the Switch outside of a handful of instances where textures popped in late. More importantly, the game is locked to 30 frames per second, compared to 60 on PS4 and up to 120 on PC. This isn’t as huge a deal as it could be since the game isn’t super reflex based the way other action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta are- even on hard mode you have adequate time to respond to enemy attacks- and I didn’t notice any severe framerate drops even during crowded battles or the boss fight, but the game definitely feels better at 60 FPS+.

The default movement speed feels a little slow, but you do have a dash. I get the impression that the game’s speed was designed around the combat first, which was probably the right decision.

I expressed a little concern after watching one of the gameplay demonstrations about the voice clips, and I hoped there wouldn’t be a voice clip after every combat encounter. Thankfully that appears to be the case. There are also different possible voice clips, and divided amongst three characters it seems like it won’t be grating, or at least not immediately.

Another thing I was worried about was the length/amount of disruptive animations, but in addition to only occurring on class skills and summons, there’s an option to disable animations entirely.

Some enemies will still explode into a pile of bones, which is just terrific.

You’re given the option to actually play through the unique opening segments of your chosen party members, as opposed to just seeing them in a brief flashback scene.

Speaking of the introductory segments, I love that they altered Kevin’s journey to Jadd so that instead of taking a boat he tries to swim across the ocean.

With the exception of some inter-party banter during gameplay, the script is exactly the same as the original version included in Collection of Mana, confirming my suspicion that the only reason we finally got CoM was because they were bringing this script over anyway. I’m ultimately glad that’s the case because I’m glad to have CoM, but there are certainly moments I wish they would have massaged out the script to accommodate for the fact that they can do much more with the story than on the Super Nintendo. It’s got me really curious about whether or not that newly announced post-game story is going to stick out like a sore thumb against the rest of the game.

If the opening credits are anything to go by, it looks like this game is being developed for Square-Enix by a company called “Xeen”. I can find literally no information on them whatsoever, so if they are a brand new studio, fucking big kudos to them.

[tokidokifish]

i’ve been reading a lot of ace attorney fanfiction and this morning i woke up with a pun in mind.

“Edgeworth?”

“Mm?” Edgeworth’s eyes are closed and his voice is relaxed. They’ve spent the evening camped out in his living room, working on separate cases, bouncing ideas off one another, until they finally agreed that it was time to call it quits. Now they were just relaxing, having a nightcap, before Edgeworth retired to bed and Phoenix caught a Lyft back to his place.

It seemed like as good a time as any. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Usually worrisome,” Edgeworth notes, with a little curl of a smile.

“You have no idea,” Phoenix mutters, and takes a moment. “I guess I’ve been wondering why nothing ever… happened, with you and I. I mean, I, uh… kind of wanted. For a while. And I thought something was going to happen, that time we were in France, but it just… didn’t.”

He tries to keep his voice light and casual, like he hasn’t been working up the courage to talk about this for weeks. (Months? Possibly years?) Like he hadn’t spent ages trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever reaction Edgeworth might have, arguing back and forth with himself about whether risking what they had was worth what could be.

It had been kind of like having a trial in his head, and if he’s being honest he still hadn’t known come to a definite conclusion before he looked at Edgeworth, relaxed on the couch and looking almost soft around the edges, and couldn’t keep it in a second longer.

Edgeworth tenses, then, eyes opening and finding Phoenix’s. In the thousands of times Phoenix had gone over this scenario in his mind, he had imagined a lot of responses, good and bad. On the negative end of things, he mostly expected to be brushed off with a practiced excuse; in the worst case scenario, he had feared Edgeworth would be defensive and angry. But he hadn’t expected the look on Edgeworth’s face, the way he looks caught out and… a little afraid?

It’s enough to make Phoenix open his mouth, ready to take the question back, but Edgeworth shakes his head before anything comes out.

“No, I,” Edgeworth starts, and then stops, and then he pushes himself up from his recline against the couch. He turns his body toward Phoenix, lifts his eyes and straightens his shoulders. “I would be lying to say it had never crossed my mind, either. Especially, yes, that time in France, but.”

“Edgeworth,” Phoenix says, quietly. And then even softer: “Miles.”

“At first I told myself it was because I was focused on my career,” Edgeworth says. “That it was just a distraction that I didn’t let myself think about. For quite a while… afterward, I assumed it was the fault of what I’ve since accepted was a fair amount of serious depression and not-insignificant trauma, that it had… impacted my ability to feel things the way I should.”

Phoenix opens his mouth again at that, but this time Edgeworth actually holds up a hand to forestall what he’s going to say, and almost smiles. “It’s alright. I know. It’s been… some time since I approached my emotions that way. And a lot of that has been, well, thanks to my therapist. And she was the one that told me that…” He puts his hands in his lap, and looks away. “That could be part of it. The… depression, and everything else, I mean. But there was another possibility, and that was that it was simply the way I am, and of course that there’s nothing wrong with that, but most importantly nothing to fix. Nothing that could be ‘fixed’.”

Edgeworth looks up again, even though Phoenix can tell how difficult that is. “I am attracted to you, Wright. I want to - be with you, romantically. But I don’t want to have sex with you, and I probably never will. And so I’ve never said anything because it wouldn’t be fair. To you.”

Phoenix stares, feeling like all of the air has been punched out of him. He never expected any of this, and that’s probably why, before he can think better of it, he says: “That’s it?”  

“‘That’s it?’” Edgeworth echoes, features twisting, but Phoenix is already shaking his head, reaching out to take one of Edgeworth’s hands.

“No, no, I’m sorry, that’s - God, I can’t even imagine how it’s been for you to have to question that on top of dealing with everything else,” Phoenix says, squeezing Edgeworth’s hand gently and, not for the first time, cursing von Karma’s fucked up revenge-fueled version of fatherhood. “But it’s also - it’s fine. I mean, I’m only like… passingly interested in that stuff, anyhow. I can totally take sex or leave it. And even if that wasn’t true, I love you, Miles. I’ve loved you for years. Being with you is so much more important than sex.”

Edgeworth - Miles - stares back, looking a little like Phoenix had felt just a few minutes ago. When he finally speaks again, his voice is small, but Phoenix can still hear the hope there. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” Phoenix breaths, and he lets go of Miles’ hands to wrap him up in a hug instead. Miles is stiff in his arms for a moment, and then it’s like a switch is flipped and he presses closer instead, burying his face against Phoenix’s shoulder and clinging tightly.

“I love you, too,” Miles says, voice muffled but steady. “Thank you so much.”

Phoenix can’t help it - he barks out a laugh, and gently pulls back. “I’d say I should thank you, but I think we’d just get into our first argument as a… couple?” he tries, glancing at Miles for confirmation.

“The first of many, let’s be honest,” Miles responds, and Phoenix’s grin couldn’t be wider. He reaches up a hand to cup Miles’ cheek, feeling a little trill at the fact that’s just something he can do, now.

“Would a kiss be alright?” Phoenix asks, and Miles is nodding before he’s even finished asking the question. 

“Yes,” he says, immediately, and then, “Please.”

The kiss is soft, and sweet, and it feels like a beginning. 

[winterverses]

Walking Wounded - Chapter Sixty-Three

Before noon Anne had already received the summons to court and reviewed the charges against her. In summation, the accusations were that she had participated with Loche of her own free will and even taken the lead in some of his torturous pastimes. The thought of it was chilling. She’d had to remind herself, very firmly, that there was no way this could stand up in court. Even a cursory examination of the evidence would show that it was impossible for her to have been in collusion with Loche.

Wouldn’t it?

Her accusers weren’t named, but Loche had to be behind it. And he wasn’t stupid by any means. Was it only a last chance to hurt her before he lost power over her completely? She didn’t think he was given to that sort of idiocy the way Tarenn was.

When Jim woke, she tried to put on a smile, but it didn’t fool him. He came out into the kitchen, saw her hands shaking as she set up breakfast, and just said, “Show me.” With a flour-smutched hand, Anne tapped out her access code on the padd on the table, and then left him to read. Mason would kill her for letting Jim have free access to her personal profile, but she couldn’t care just then. She busied herself with breakfast.

When she heard him set the padd down and stand, she tried to laugh. “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about getting bored,” she said.

A kiss on her shoulder stilled her, Jim’s hands sliding around her waist and pulling her back against him. “Can I send that on to a few of the crew? I’d like them to be aware so that they can prepare to testify on your behalf.”

“Do you think they will?” Anne asked. Nyota would. Spock might. The rest…

To his credit as a human being, he didn’t react as if it was a silly question. “They will.” Jim kissed the top of her head. “Even if they didn’t know you, they would still do it. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Let’s not mention this in the same breath as the party,” Anne murmured, feeling a little better. “I’d rather not feel like one or the other was pity.”

“No one who knows you pities you,” Jim said.

She pressed back against him for a moment, and then pulled away. “Breakfast will be ready in a few moments. Would you like to eat out on the balcony?”

“Sure,” Jim said, backing off. She heard him picking up the pad, the soft thump of his fingers on the screen as he sent off messages, and concentrated hard on making sure the oil didn’t get too hot, even though it didn’t need that much concentration.

By the time she brought out the beignets, topped with a snowy mound of icing sugar, he had finished with the padd and was wandering outside, looking at her garden. Anne was fairly sure he didn’t know quite what he was looking at, except for the few plants that were self-explanatory like the potted orange tree and the tomatoes. “Come and eat,” she said, setting down the tray. When he looked questioningly at her, she said, “You’ve had these before, but you don’t know it.”

“Well, I know what coffee is,” he said, picking up the mug as he sat down. When he sipped at it, his eyebrows rose at the unusual bitterness. “What’s in this?”

“It’s New Orleans style, café chicorée. Let me know if you don’t like it, and I’ll make you some regular coffee.”

“Huh.” Jim sipped it again, testing it. “No, it’s good. Nice for a change. Did that make it onto the synth database?”

“Yes, of course, along with my teas. I can’t imagine why Chun Mee had been missed. I know you don’t usually take cream and sugar, but please, let me add some. You’ll want it this time.” She picked up the small pitcher of cream.

He pushed his cup toward her. “You’re the boss when it comes to food. If you say you prefer something, I know there’s a reason.”

Anne poured in the cream, using far more than she would under any other circumstances. The coffee paled to the shade of a muddy river, and Anne added sugar, mixing her own mug the same way. “I’m not as good as the Café du Monde, but then, it’s survived hundreds of years just being a coffee and doughnut place. Mine aren’t as good, but I try.”

Jim scoffed at her and took a bite of a beignet, icing sugar falling everywhere. He evidently came to the conclusion that it was delicious. “I should have guessed you were French,” he said, looking up at her. “Paris. New Orleans. Tahiti. Vietnam. All historically influenced by France. Let me guess, you lived in Quebec too, or on Martinique?”

“Caught,” Anne said, grinning. “If it ever comes up, I can tell you where the most perfect beach on any world is, and when to go to have it all to yourself. I got such a sunburn. Black sand that looked like stars, and angelfish that played around my ankles.” She paused, then added, “Bring a rebreather. You’ll want to look under the water.”

“Being planetside does have its advantages,” Kirk said. “I’d love to visit the ocean again. Maybe I will, once I--”

The padd chimed, indicating a videocall. It was probably Nyota. Anne waited for Jim’s nod, and then answered it.

She nearly dropped the padd. There, on the screen, was a face she hadn’t seen in more than half her life. She felt the blood drain from her cheeks. “Maman,” she said weakly.

“Ne penses-tu pas qu’il est temps pour toi de rentrer à la maison?” That same, sharp-featured face looked out at her, framed by crow-black waves.

Jim knew something was wrong. Before he could say anything, Anne waved him off. “Je ne veux plus jamais te revoir, ni parler. Laisse-moi tranquille. Adieu.” She blanked the screen of the padd so hard that it shook in her hands, and set it on the table, far from her.

“Why don’t I watch your calls today?” Jim asked, having caught the gist of the exchange. “I’ll bounce any I don’t like.”

“S'il te plaît,” Anne said, her voice still unsteady, and then realized she hadn’t spoken English. “Please do. You know my login, yes?”

He made a little embarrassed face, meant to cheer her. “It’s not like I meant to learn it…”

Anne laughed, feeling her steadiness flowing back. “It’s not a problem. I’ll have to change my comm code now that she knows. This is the first time I’ve spoken to her since I was a child.”

“Then you’re good at hiding. It’s kind of unnerving that she hasn’t given up.”

“You don’t know her. She won’t give up.” Shaking off the chill she’d gotten, Anne stood. “I think this coffee needs some rum. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Once inside, she set out the rum, then walked to the washroom to cry, just a little, before she had to go back out.

As he’d expected, Kirk heard the padd chime again. He glanced inside. Anne had walked off somewhere. Hopefully she would take a while. He answered the message and found himself looking at an older, softer version of Anne. Coal-black hair, not swept into one of the smooth twists Anne preferred, but stylishly framing her face. Color of her eyes indistinguishable, beyond that they were dark. As he watched they flicked instantly from a hard sternness to friendly and open. Kirk returned her gaze evenly, having seen that sort of facile switch far too often.

The woman said something in French, smiling at him, and Kirk shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t speak it.” He did, a little, but he wasn’t about to give anything away. The softening of those sharp features should have made her seem more approachable than Anne, but something about her would have made him wary even if he hadn’t known anything about her. An air of severity, despite her prettiness. Maybe just that what few wrinkles she had were all in the wrong places for smiling.

“How embarrassing,” the woman said. British accent. Mellow, pleasant voice, not as low as Anne’s. “Anne has not introduced us. Please forgive her rudeness. I’m Marie Sauvageot.”

Kirk purposely took a beat too long to respond, a beat during which he saw a flicker of impatience in her eyes. That decided his course of action. “I’m afraid I’ve heard more than enough about you, ma’am. I’ve no interest in a conversation except to say that you won’t be speaking to Anne, and this comm code will be canceled today. Now, if you’ll excuse me--”

It was a mistake to be polite; the woman interrupted him immediately. “I know you must feel you are trying to protect her, but I’m her mother. Whatever happened in the past, it’s unfair not to give me a chance to make it right, unfair of her and unfair of you.”

“Fine. If you have something to say, you can say it to me. If you choose not to say it to me, you won’t get to say it at all.” Kirk sat back in his chair, waiting to see whether the woman would attempt to prove him to be bluffing.

“I’m not going to air our family grievances to a stranger. Please let me speak to my daughter; this is none of your concern,” the woman said, looking stung. Different tactics than he remembered from his stepfather, but they had the same goals: persuasion, isolation, control of the terms of engagement. He idly decided that he would rather have a shark for a mother in law. No wonder Anne’s file wasn't quite accurate, if she had to deal with this following her around.

“I’m not going to stoop to arguing about it. If you need to know who I am, you can look up my record with Starfleet-- Kirk, James T., serial number SC 937-0176 CEC. In fact, I encourage you to do so. I also encourage you to remember that harassment is a crime and I am a Starfleet officer. Now, Anne’s made her wishes clear, and I’ve witnessed it. I’ll be logging this with UFPJ immediately. If you have any questions, you can request further information from Justice.” He paused, looking her over. She only seemed even more hurt, and for a moment he wondered if he had been too harsh-- but immediately reminded himself that the first thing she’d done was insult Anne, and the second had been to dismiss Anne’s wishes. Definitely not a great start, especially when the woman presumably didn’t know anything about him or his relationship to Anne. “Have I made myself clear?”

Her frown deepened fractionally, her words coming slowly. “If you insist, there is very little I can do regarding it, though I worry for my daughter's happiness with someone so heartless toward her family.”

She didn’t believe him. Well, that was her prerogative. He shifted back in his chair, deliberately letting the viewscreen catch a glimpse of his bare shoulder. “Goodbye, belle-maman. I hope we don’t hear from you again.” He was careful not to let his tone become insulting.

That broke her composure. She scowled at him, blanking the screen herself. Kirk set down the padd and sipped his coffee. Disturbing. If he hadn’t already been so protective of Anne, would he have tried to avoid the issue? If he hadn’t understood what Anne had lived with on some level, would he have tried to argue her mother’s case? And, perhaps even more unsettling, if they hadn’t been caught up in this pattern of rescuing and being rescued, would he have implied that their relationship was more permanent than it actually was? What did that say about his motivations? What did it say about what he wanted?

Maybe Claudia was right. But did it matter?

Kirk realized he was staring blankly at the padd, and shook his head. He was still logged into Anne’s civilian profile; might as well press on. He searched up Mason’s code, noting the man’s full name and address of residence as a matter of habit, and gave Mason a wide, insolent grin when the man answered. “Hi there. Anne’s comm code needs changing, and it needs to be forwarded on to UFPJ and Starfleet, as well as whatever contacts she needs to keep in touch with.”

Mason answered stiffly, “I’m not sure what you expect me to do without her verbal or signatory authorization.”

Good man. No beating around the bush, just a pretty straightforward British go-fuck-yourself that Kirk recognized from his time in London. “No need to get your back hair up. She’s just bringing out breakfast, she’ll talk to you in a sec.” Maybe now wasn’t the time to mention that she had gone to get a drink; Mason seemed like the type who might object on the grounds of her potential inebriation even if she hadn’t touched the rum yet. “I just thought I might also ask, though I’ll understand if you don’t answer, if anyone could plausibly have gotten access to her comm code. Starfleet wouldn’t have given it out. It’s not a matter of public record. That leaves me, you, and her personal friends as potential leaks.”

Mason froze, his expression turning to an uncomfortable mixture of anger and guilt, his scowl thunderous. “La bête sauvage called, didn’t she? That bloody cunt. I’m aware of how she obtained Ms. Hardesty’s comm code; I passed it on to her myself in desperation, when I was making my inquiries into Ms. Hardesty’s disappearance. That woman has a talent for chasing Anne down, and I thought--”

Kirk nodded. As a desperation move, that was plausible enough now that he’d seen Anne’s mother firsthand. “No need to explain. I’m just glad you know the source of her information.” He heard the door slide open then and looked up-- Anne was carrying the rum in one hand and two glasses of ice with the other. Her eyes looked a little red. “Hey. I hope I didn’t overstep, but I’ve got Mason on the comm here regarding the two calls we just received.”

“She called again, huh?” Anne asked, and Kirk was relieved to hear that her voice was steady. She set the rum and glasses down on the table. “I thought she would. Did she leave a message?”

“Not... as such,” Kirk answered. “I let her know that she could contact Justice if she was unclear on laws about harassment.”

Ambiguous emotions tugged at Anne’s expression until it finally settled into humor. Bending down, she brushed a kiss on his temple. “You’re such a dragon, cher.” He knew that wasn’t a wholehearted endorsement of his actions, but she didn’t seem upset; he held up the padd and she took it from him with a little smile, then spoke to Mason. “I would imagine Jim’s told you about the situation.”

“I am fully aware of the details. You have no need for concern on this front,” Mason said stiffly.

“Good. Please take care of it by whatever means you feel necessary. If you have any questions, you know where I am.” Mason signed off, and Anne sighed, then poured a slug of rum into each glass and sat down. Handing one to Kirk, she said, “It’s all right, but I do wish you hadn’t spoken to her.”

Why had he answered the call? It hadn’t been necessary. “It’s not an excuse, but it’s frustrating to keep on slamming headfirst into situations where I can’t just… react.”

“I know. You still have to be so careful of me, even though I’ve come so far already. I can’t imagine how much it must chafe.” Anne shook her head, laughing abruptly. “I hope it was satisfying to take some of that out on her.”

And there she went, being perceptive again. “If I say yes, does that mean I can do it again? Because I could definitely blow off some steam.”

To his surprise, her laugh became more heartfelt. “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer working on that case of champagne? Dodging flying shards of glass has so much more potential for enjoyment.”

“You’re not wrong,” he answered. “I should see whether Bones ever got back to me.” After a moment, he decided he couldn’t quite let the topic rest, however; he added, “In case it ever becomes an issue, I… may have implied that we were married at some point during that conversation.”

She was quiet for a long moment, and he worried a little until he realized that she was biting back her amusement. “You are… incredible, James Tiberius Kirk. I can’t believe your nerve. Of all the things you could have said, you picked that?”

“It seemed like the most direct way to--”

“I get it, I get it. I’m just not sure how you knew I wouldn’t rip your face off for that, because trust me, if anyone else had ever done that, I would.” Snickering, she clinked her glass against his and tossed back some rum. “I should find some way to tell your friends. They would stage an intervention, and it would serve you right.”

“Nah, they’d close frequencies. Too weird for them, even Bones.” He considered briefly. “Spock would get it. He can be surprisingly good at letting people jump to conclusions when he wants to be.”

“I had gotten that impression, yes. I’m glad he’s your friend, otherwise I’d worry for you.” Nudging his rum toward him, Anne took a deep breath, then flashed him a smile. “All right. Well, let’s just forget about all this. Let’s get drunk and fuck.”

He couldn’t argue. That was infinitely better than any alternative he could think of. “Sounds fantastic.”

“These violent delights have violent ends,” Anne mused, staring at the ceiling of their bedroom as Jim made his way over to the bed, kicking aside shards of green glass as he walked. The case of champagne had shown up shortly after that phone call; they'd spent the rest of that day and part of this one amusing themselves with it, and other things.

“No more Shakespeare,” he sighed as he collapsed onto the bed. “Spock quotes Shakespeare too often for me to be okay with that.” He dropped a beignet from the day before onto her stomach. “Eat something.”

Anne sighed and picked up the beignet, throwing it across the room. “It’s cold. I’m not a barbarian.”

As she had known, he didn’t take offense. “What, are we ordering in? I don’t know where the powerwall is in here.”

“Somewhere,” Anne said, waving vaguely and letting her hand fall back above her head. “This is going to hurt. Eventually.”

“We’re too drunk for it to hurt,” he said.

“And not drunk enough. Yet.” Abruptly, she pushed herself up on one elbow, looking down at him. “I did used to know a guy--”

“Save it. If you really want to find him, we’ll look for him when we sober up.” Even when denying her, he was too beautiful.

“I could be in rehabilitation by then,” Anne muttered, but after a moment of thought, she relented, dropping back to the bed.

“Not gonna happen,” Jim said.

There was a short silence while Anne contemplated this, and then she waved at one of the walls. The viewscreen appeared. “Music. Classical Pop. Sugary horseshit.” The apartment began to play something terrible.

“Your categories are great,” Jim observed.

“Thank Dr. McCoy.” Rolling over, Anne threw her leg over Jim’s waist and pushed herself up, looking down at him with her hands planted on his chest. “We have four bottles of champagne left. Are we going to drink them, or are we going to find somewhere else to explode them?”

Frowning up at her in pretended offense, Jim answered, “I haven’t exploded one since the third bottle.”

“I was getting so good at ducking too,” Anne said, leaning down, letting her hair fall around his face, her lips brushing his.

His body arched beneath her. “We have days. We can do whatever we want.”

He had to go to Command. He’d have to testify. She’d have to be present for her investigation. There were the trials to think of. They didn't have days. “Yes,” she said, giving in to the fiction.

If it was something they both wished was true, did that mean it wasn’t a lie?

Three or four eternities later, Anne lay on Jim’s chest, still breathing hard, his arm thrown over her, and a deliciously hazy afterglow suffusing her body. In a moment, she knew she would have to get up and get them painkillers, water, vitamin supplements, or they would pay for it when they sobered up. In a moment, she’d have to start the laundry and arrange the cleaning service to take care of their mess. In a moment. Without thinking about it, she said, “I’m going to go see Claudia tomorrow.”

His reply was neither surprised nor disapproving. “Better tell her now.” After a moment, he amended his statement. “Message her, I mean. She’ll have your hide if you drunk-dial her.”

[gendertrader]

Physical

279 lbs / 5’9” / 24 / Spiro: 1/1/19 | E: TBD

All right, y’all. I know I’ve been away for some time now, but there haven’t really been many changes to report. Until now.

I’ve set a date. Well, an approximate date, but a date nonetheless. My birthday is coming up (February 10) and I figured now is as good a time as ever. I’ve been on Spiro for a year now and I’ve been happy with all the changes. Of course, there have been mental issues arise since I’ve started, but I like to think of it as unlocking a new level – it’s harder because I’m further in the journey. I originally looked into going to a Planned Parenthood (because they’re informed consent and offer payment options for those without insurance) but there aren’t any near me that offer HRT, merely service referrals. Now I’m shopping around but still plan on setting the appointment for early February. Anyway, let’s get into the data.

Skin

N/A

Hair (body/head)

My hair is a little softer and a little easier to tame than it used to be. Of course, I’m working to improve my haircare routine, but it’s been visibly less crazy even on days when I use the same routine as previous years. It’s not quite as full, but I think that’s due to the hair-loss I experienced a couple weeks ago. I also recently cut my hair (from a lob to a bob) and even though it’s shorter than I wanted, it’s still a cute cut and has gotten me “ma’am”ed a couple times so I’m not unhappy.

My body hair has been growing a little slower for sure, but since I’m on biotin, some of it is growing at regular speeds but is easier to maintain. Chest and armpit hair has been growing slower for sure. I don’t believe anything has gotten thinner or finer, though.

Face

Not much cheekbone growth since my previous mention. I wish there were more, which I guess is why I will be (hopefully?!?) starting E soon.

I finally got my eyebrows thin enough for the look I’m going for! There’s still a little trimming to be done, but I think I finally found what I’ve been looking for.

I experienced a slight increase in facial acne around the chin and forehead, but I imagine this is normal.

Body

Not much here, either. I’ve seen very minor breast growth, but still in a gynecomastia kind of way, and not a breasts kind of way. Which is fine. But I’m starting to doubt (surprise surprise asksdkgskd) my decision in an “I’m just using gender dysphoria as a cover for my desire to be thin” way, which is problematic but a very real worry I’m having. I keep telling myself that I’m actually happier with my fatter body because it feels closer to my desired shape, but there’s no denying that the idealized version of myself that I’m trying to build is thinner, and I’m not sure that I’m appropriately disassociating weight and happiness from transness. Am I falsely assuming that transitioning will help with my weight problems and happiness problems inherently, or do I believe that transitioning will increase my happiness, which will in turn affect my compulsive need to overeat to substitute for the organic happiness I’m not receiving, which will result in my being thinner? Who knows! It is kind of helpful to get it all typed out (thanks for the help lmao) but still doesn’t clarify anything. I’ll have to wait and see.

Ummmmm I’ve been literally so horny recently. Like wtf horny. Like masturbate twice a day as opposed to once a week horny. I guess it’s fine, it just makes me concerned that my Spiro isn’t as strong as it used to be, or that there’s a ���spillover’ (if you will) of T since Spiro blocks the reception but not the production. I’d like to speak with an endo sometime after I start E to discuss switching to something safer (like bicalutamide or cypro).

I noticed a distinct scent change probably like two or three months ago, I’m not sure if I’ve recorded that, but my shower schedule has had to change because it’s more difficult to hide if I’ve not cleaned in a week. Good for depression or something.

Mental/Emotional

Depression: Definitely getting worse. It could be the SAD or that I’m changing jobs or that I’m hitting a new trans milestone that’s got me all fucked up, but I’m tired of it. I was told that there’s a free clinic near me that would prescribe meds, and I’m seriously considering it. I’m not sure if I want to go before or after my E appointment but I imagine executive dysfunction will cause it to be after. Speaking of which...

I’m p sure I have ADHD: inattentive. Like symptoms and coping mechanisms are lining up interestingly close to those with diagnosed ADHD and some other things are clicking into place. I’m not sure if this means anything, but thoughts are happening for sure.

Anxiety: Not as bad, though I switched the weed strain I’ve been smoking last month, so that could be playing in. I’m definitely smoking more (or for different reasons?) than I used to so I’m trying to keep an eye on that, make sure that I’m not withdrawing too much. This world is a shithole and I sometimes despise being forced to exist here, but it’s the only one we got.

I keep catching myself nervous beyond belief to actually start E, despite having wanted this since high school. I know this is a normal reaction with many valid points, but I can’t help but worry that mine are one of the few that are unfounded (#narcissism). I’m going to have to detransition because I was experiencing mental traumas that made existing as a woman-aligned person easier that confronting my relationship with masculinity and my body. In reality, I think my grasp on masculinity and its role in my personality will become clearer with HRT and I will have an easier time displaying it when “masculine” is no longer the default seen by the people around me.

Finally, I wish to share this with the parents. I think. Probably.

I know I want to share the decision to start E with my Facebook friends, as they’ll likely realize something is up via my posts and pictures, but I can’t do that until I’ve explained this to my family, which will be...interesting. I’ll have to prepare some resources for understanding nonbinary identities and answers to all those pesky questions nobody wants to have to answer, and I’m sure it’ll be a while before they get it, but...this coming out will be different from my first. I guess mainly because I’ve mostly socially transitioned at this point so few people should be surprised, but also because I have more power in how I decide to exist and am a stronger person now who has weathered this before. I think this is where some of my anxieties stem, that I’ve forgotten how to be that person, but I’m working on remembering that I’m stronger than I think, and that I’ve been through much worse.

[halekingsourwolf]

so i just discovered your fic list and oh gawd u don't know how happy i am with this discovery. thank u for this. anyway i just finished reading ur alternate meets canon fic and. i want to roll and jump and. oh my gawd i really wanna know what happened next?? do u have some other headcanons/ideas for this? is it ok with u to divulge them? no pressure if u don't want to though! just really wanted to thank u for it! i adore alternates meeting with canons so it was really a joy to read. thank u!

[FIC LINK] [Additional ask]

Oh anon, thank you loved the idea for that fic, had plans for it floating in my head for months before the ask got me to write it down. It was going to be this huge epic, like 100k words probably, switching between Derek and alt!Stiles in the canon universe and Stiles trying to make sense of the warped landscape of the alternate world he’d been thrown into. 

Derek’s just standing there in his bedroom doorway, looking softer than Stiles has ever seen him: his hair loose and ungelled, hanging over his forehead.

“Hey Derek,” he says, trying to blink his way back from the visual. “You look…”

“What?” He seems totally lost on what’s making Stiles stare, and after a few seconds Stiles decides not to even try explaining it. You look nice keeps running through his head, but that’s not close enough. It’s not that Derek never looks nice. (Hell, Derek always looks nice, but that’s a whole other issue.) He looks happy sometimes too, and that’s the only other word Stiles can pull up that edges close to accurate. You’re in my bedroom is the third, half-formed option, but that’s happened before too. It’s just something about the combination of those things right now, and the comfortable way he’s standing in the space  –– hands not in his pockets, shoulders not slumping in like he’s offended by the general pressure of someone else’s air –– that’s catching Stiles up. And there’s no way to fit any of that into words.

“You’ve got flour on your shirt,” he says instead, and Derek glances down with a soft laugh. Brushes the powder off so it wafts out in a soft cloud between them. The open smile he’s wearing when he looks up again is enough to make Stiles heart tug with how devastatingly dreamlike this all is.

“I was making breakfast,” he answers, and Stiles blinks. Ok, yeah. So, definitely a dream.

I had an entire timeline listed out for the alternate universe –– how things had all gone differently, in a chain reaction starting with Laura surviving Peter’s attack (link to that scene, if you’re interested) and just cascading outward, through the fracturing of Scott and Stiles’ friendship when a very human Scott was lured into the Argent side of the divide (via his interest in Allison and, ironically, concern for Stiles and the dangers of “vicious werewolves”) and Stiles sided with Laura and Derek. 

“Wait… I still got with Allison, even if I wasn’t…”

“You two are so together it’s disgusting, alright? Apparently she hit a dog with her car and you guys got to know each other at the animal clinic and right after that you two were like, destined. A week in I could see like… wedding bells and white picket fences going on in your head. It was obnoxious and I was thrilled for you, dude. And then all the hunter crap happened.”

How Laura being alive kept Derek from being quite as dark and broken as he was in the first few seasons, how she made the executive decision to bring the Sheriff in early to earn his trust and support against hunters and supernatural threats alike, and how the town more or less broke down into a cold war zone between the werewolf and hunter sides of the conflict.

The tragedy is that somewhere in all that planning and preparation my detailed notes and timeline completely vanished. I have no idea how. Pages of details and alt!character development and plot planning… and all I have left is a page or so of scenes and stray quote segments, and I just don’t remember enough about the details to make it the way it originally would have. I can tell you a few details, though, and maybe throw in a few of the excerpts too.

I know that it still took a long time for Stiles and Derek to come together. Stiles had sided with the werewolves mainly because Laura had come to the Sheriff (and the Sheriff, remembering the fire and the lost kids the Hales had been when he’d told them the news, and appreciating finally being handed answers to all the mysteries that don’t quite add up in this town, agreed to work with them at least to stop Peter… and then the bond just built from there), and because it had been the right thing to do. And Derek wasn’t shattered the way he was in canon season one maybe, but he was still Derek. Laura’s skeptical, snarky, and untrusting little brother, the cynic to her careful optimism. And Stiles is sarcastic and blunt and, in this version of reality, also hurt and bitter from losing his best friend to the enemy, so he wasn’t exactly super open to bonding with one of the reasons Scott wasn’t around anymore. (It was easier to forgive Laura, who was more sympathetic, but Derek’s general if he sided with hunters he’s not worth having around anyway attitude did not help relations early on.) Stiles and Derek butted heads and snarked constantly at first but their alliance against Peter and the hunters, various life-or-death situations, and Laura’s friendship with the Sheriff (especially when he took her on as a deputy), kept them close, and eventually they fell together just like they’re always going to.

Beacon Hills is a constant danger zone, though, because the hunter threat still hasn’t died. Scott reaches out to Stiles from time to time, earnestly believing every Argent lie that wolves are dangerous monsters and that Stiles is going to get himself killed for being with them. But he’s basically a hunter at this point, believes their philosophy because he’s been on the Argents’ side in every showdown, and honestly thinks Stiles and the Sheriff have been seduced by the Hales’ supernatural wiles (Kate has indoctrinated Scott and Allison with a very different version of her history with Derek) and he needs to do whatever he can to save his former best friend from them.

“Scott’s not a werewolf?”

“What?” Stiles starts to laugh, before his brows arch sharply. “Oh my god, you’re serious. No. No, Scott’s practically married in with the Argents; he’d probably kill himself if he got the bite.” Bitterness floods his features; he fights and fails to smooth it away.

And Stiles is wounded and bitter and cuts off any attempt at contact from his old friend because they’ve both chosen their sides, there’s too much bad blood, and thinking about Scott as anything more than the enemy or the creep who’s allied with killers is too painful at this point.

Lydia’s also in with the Argents, from virtue of being Allison’s best friend and having been smart enough to catch on after a couple months that something decidedly supernatural was going on. She’s a very different Lydia, though, having never had her banshee powers awakened (she was never bitten by Alpha!Peter because… well, there was no Alpha!Peter) and is likely still more similar to her pre-Peter-possession self. I had a lot more details about all of the side characters and how they fit into the developing arc, but most of it’s sadly lost now.

[edc-creations-blog]

Tradition by AlTonya Washington

New Island has been quiet for a long time-too long. Now, the time has come to return to a place where a tradition was born. Some will return to honor it. Others will return to destroy it.

Off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina New Island was home to many things-among them stories of resilience and rebirth. New had been home to Frayzer Guthrie before the depraved events of a night 16 years prior removed him from his home and the girl that he loved. When business motivates his return, Fray finds that the girl is now a woman and that his feelings for her have remained unchanged.

Ellia Taylor was still very much in love with the boy-now man-she’d dreamed of spending the rest of her life with, but how could they ever go back to what they were? Things had changed and that fact was about more than the passage of time. New Island was a place of resilience, rebirth… and revelations that would scandalize the names of many powerful families. New Island’s dark tradition was an ugly story that was at last ready to be told.

Watch the “Tradition” Book Trailer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IxOTvLX2XYc

Review Written by Edwina Putney   |   5.0 out of 5 stars

Tradition by AlTonya Washington is an amazing story that shows how family traditions of horrific acts and the ensuing cover-ups can destroy lives in those and future times. The destruction of the teen love and lives of Frayzer Guthrie and Ellia Taylor, as well as the relationships and lives of his cousins, Warwick and Zyon, and her cousins (their girlfriends) Seela and Moira. Hideous, secretive acts, reminiscent of those perpetrated by slaveowners against slaves, were performed on Ellia and her cousins, which caused hatred of and estrangement from Frayzer (Fray), Warwick (War), and Zyon (Zy).

But sixteen years later, the guys have never stopped seeking revenge against those responsible for the dark legacy handed down and perpetuated in an updated, yet still despicable, version. And then there is knife-toting Ellia, who nurses the anger and betrayal, yet knows deep down that her love for Fray never truly died. When he returns to New Island, apologizes and romances her, then gets her help in uncovering buried evidence, we see the truth in ‘a thin line between love and hate’. It’s not an easy path to recover from feelings of guilt on his part and betrayal on hers. So the question is, can they?

AlTonya Washington does an amazing job with fusing the historical and present-day, showing the cycle of romance, and the depths to which people are willing to sink to preserve their ill-gotten gains. Then, even after resolving the mystery, Ms. Washington ends the story with a “wow” moment from the past which will definitely affect Fray, War, and Zy in books two and three of the trilogy. I can’t wait! Kudos to AlTonya Washington for a good beginning to another promising series.

  Excerpt from Tradition by AlTonya Washington

Fray judged he’d gotten about three hours of sleep the night before. Not bad, considering 4 was usually all he needed.

Besides, he didn’t think he was in the mood to hear anyone tell him everything would be alright. He couldn’t believe that-not after last night. The way El looked at him when she’d pulled away- it hadn’t been fear.

Well…it had, but not fear toward him, he surmised. What he saw in her eyes last night was something deeper, closer to despair. More than anything he’d wanted to stay with her- to refuse to leave until she told him what had put that look in her eyes.

Of course it could’ve only been one thing. Memories of the branding ritual had taken their toll on his concentration more than a few times over the years. He’d trained himself to get by on little sleep because when his mind was at rest, all he could see was El’s face. Her lovely face terror-stricken. He could feel her bracing against his hold and hear her shrieking his name- begging him to help her- to make it stop before she’d gone silent and refused to beg anymore.

Fray rubbed his fingers over his head and kicked the tangle of covers from his feet. He wanted a shower and was stalking naked into the bath when his room door came alive with the sounds of impatient knocking. Frowning, he switched courses and went to peer through the privacy window. Finding El on the other side, cleared his mind of everything including the state of his dress-or undress as it were. He whipped open the door.

“Are you okay?” His rough voice had turned softer in the wake of concern. The gray-flecked depths of his eyes mirrored that concern as they fixed on her face. He spared a moment to appraise the cut of her dress, but he forbid himself to think about what he’d give to see her out of it.

Ellia didn’t notice his reaction to her clothes. Her eyes had already drifted below his waist. “Are you alright Elli?” He caught her wrist and pulled her into the room.

El intended to respond with the obligatory ‘I’m fine’, but no sound emerged. She managed to drag her eyes to his staggering face for a few brief seconds before they were helplessly sliding below his waist.

Fray finally understood what had his unexpected guest so preoccupied. “I’m sorry,” with an adorable wince he shook his head and released her wrist. “I was going to shower, I’ll um- I’ll go put somethin’ on.”

“No I-” she caught his wrist, released him quickly. “It’s alright I…” Again, she was preoccupied by the picture that was hers alone to survey.

She had already noticed how changed he was from the boy she’d known. That fact was never more obvious than in that moment. The flawless pitch of his skin accentuated his perfect build in striking fashion. More lean than massive, the ropey muscles, long arms, legs and torso gave him the appearance of a living weapon.

Fray took Ellia’s incessant staring to be anything other than feminine arousal. Again, he winced while observing himself. “I’m sorry about this, El. I’ll go get dressed-”

“Please don’t.”

Fray blinked then as the hint of awareness began to filter his eyes. He swallowed noticeably, watching her hand ease beneath her arm where she found the zipper tab to the killer dress she wore. She eased the tab down.

Fray heard a groan and knew it had come from him when the dress pooled around the stunning pumps that adorned her feet. He saw that she’d come to him wearing nothing else and was bracing to push off the door and go to her, when he blinked. Sleek brows met as his head inclined a fraction.

“Elli?” His voice was hollow, barely a whisper.

She forced her eyes to remain fixed on his face. She didn’t want to, but needed to see his reaction to what had become of her. His reaction wasn’t what she’d expected. She’d been prepared to see shame, regret, even repulsion.

Once his initial shock had eased though, it gave way to distinct rage that had his hands curling into fists. His eyes met hers again and El wasn’t sure what to make of the rage that was still ignited there. The emotion caused the gray flecks in his stare to glint like silver shards against an onyx backdrop.

She held her ground as he advanced. Shock flooded her eyes when he took a knee before her and pressed his forehead to her thigh- to his family’s brand marking her skin.

“I’m never going to get you back, am I?” He asked after a weighty moment.

Confusion had El too stunned to respond at first. “Why? Why would you want that?”

The question brought Fray to his feet and then he was pressing his forehead to hers. “Elli, how could I not?”

She shook her head against his. “But this,” she eased back to look down at herself. “This changes things.”

His eyes were on hers again. The rage melded with a determination that made the gray flecks glint vividly. “Not one bit,” he said.

( Continued… )

Purchase Tradition by AlTonya Washington Genre: Family Saga, Romance https://www.amazon.com/Tradition-AlTonya-Washington-ebook/dp/B076HW5V26  

Intimate Conversation with AlTonya Washington

AlTonya Washington has been a romance novelist for 15 years. She’s traditionally published with Harlequin’s Kimani Romance imprint, winner of the Romance Slam Jam EMMA Award and two time winner of The Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice Award. AlTonya is a mom and works as a Librarian.

In 2015, she received scholarly publication for her article An Indie Author in a Library World . She enjoys a successful indie author career and is best known for her Ramsey/Tesano romantic suspense series. Check out her reader website: https://alsreaders.weebly.com.

BPM: Was there anyone early in your career that recognized your talent and help cultivate it? I actually like to credit friends/classmates who always told me that I should be a writer or that I should change my major from Mass Communications to English. They recognized that writing desire long before I did. I often wished I’d listened to them, but wonder if I’d be loving it (writing) the way I do if I’d taken a different route in getting there.

BPM: How do you stay on top of your game professionally in the publishing industry? I can’t stress this enough I READ!!! READ A VARIETY OF GENRES!! Sorry to sound preachy, but it really does bring a wealth of benefits to the work. For one thing, it gives a writer the distance we sometimes need from our projects and can’t bring ourselves to take without a good reason. Reading is the BEST reason. Sometimes it helps to bring a fresh perspective to your work. It always benefits the vocabulary-way more fun than reaching for a thesaurus.

BPM: Tell us about your most recent work. Available on Nook and Kindle? Tradition is available on Nook, Kindle and a host of other reading platforms. Tradition is a contemporary family saga romance and it focuses on what the title implies-a tradition that originated on New Island, a private -unincorporated- spot off the coast of Charleston, SC centuries earlier. The ‘tradition’ was one that was outlawed by many on the island, while others worked to keep it alive. That tug of war had consequences on the main characters that pulled them apart for many years. A sequence of events will bring them back into each other’s lives, along with the unrest that continued to brew amid desires for revenge and atonement.

Download Tradition by AlTonya Washington Amazon Link: http://a.co/aqKp1gX

BPM: Give us some insight into your main characters. What makes each one so special? Our hero, Frayzer Guthrie and heroine, Ellia Taylor are two lovely people inside and out but both are deeply wounded by the events that took place and subsequently tore apart their budding romance years earlier. For Fray the wounds are more on the emotional end of things. He blames himself for what happened, for not doing more to change the outcome of the terrible night that changed everything. What makes him so special is his potential to be lethal and yet that quality is tempered by intelligence, compassion and an unwavering devotion to the only woman he’s ever loved. What makes Ellia so special is the quiet strength that she wears like an accessory. Her wounds have taken a different kind of toll that have changed her greatly from the person she once was. What hasn’t changed, however, is her love for Fray.

BPM: Is there a specific place/space that you find inspiration in? I find inspiration in the time I have to write. Space rarely matters, but give me a relatively quiet place with a nice large table where I can spread out all my stuff and I’m in heaven. When I have the chance though, I do enjoy writing in libraries and restaurants that have good atmosphere.

BPM: What did you enjoy most about writing this book? As a librarian and an author I enjoy research most of all. The history of New Island is woven through this book and required more study than I’m used to putting in when working on a contemporary title, so that was a refreshing change. Although New Island is a fictional place, there were aspects to crafting the place and the drama surrounding it that required me to put my serious researcher’s cap on.

BPM: How much planning goes into writing a book? How long does it take to complete one of your books? I always enjoy this question because the answer usually varies. The time it takes on a book is relative. I used to say it depends on how long or involved the story is, but I’ve found that’s not even a great way for me to calculate time to write. I’ve written some of my lengthiest titles in as little as 2 months (that’s right…and those have been some of my most successful works…go figure…) I think it depends on the story and how the characters grip me. That’s not to say that all my characters don’t grip me, but there are moments when I know how I want the story to play out and I want to finish it before the idea evaporates. Now when life intervenes or there’s extensive research involved or when we get to the typing part…that’s where things can change.

BPM: Talk us through your experiences as a self-published author. Why did you go down this route? My first self-published titles were done out of a sincere need to have more freedom with my work. If a story-line called to me, I wanted the freedom to explore it without later being told that I needed to change it because it didn’t follow certain guidelines. Finding that freedom in self-publishing has allowed me to bring more enjoyment into the more structured realm of my traditional work.

BPM: What advice would you give aspiring writers that would help them finish a project? I understand how important it is to stick to schedules-to commit to writing a certain amount of chapters or words a day. I don’t work that way, but realize that everyone’s writing style varies. I would suggest to a writer who is challenged in this area, to yes, make the effort to write each day. Rather than adhere to demands for specified wordage, however, listen to yourself. Understand when the work is going flat, when what you’re writing has lost its zing. You may still be a few hundred words off from your goal, but you’ll be more confident that your efforts for the day yielded better results. Writing in order to make your word quota may mean you’ll spend more of the next day in rewrites instead of moving into fresh territory.

BPM: Was there an early experience where you learned that the written word had power? I believe that I’ve always been aware of this, but didn’t feel the true impact of it until I started writing. I’ve felt that impact so many times during the course of my writing career. Writing has done everything from allowing me to please my readers, to keeping me sane when life gets crazy and I need an escape. For me, that’s been my greatest education on seeing the power of words.

BPM: How has writing impacted your life? It has impacted the size of my world-the amount of wonderful people I’ve met during the course of my career. I’ve made connections that I’m sure I’d have never made had writing not been at the heart of those meetings. I believe having an outlet that’s all mine is especially important being that I’m a mom with a child approaching adulthood. After God, my son is first and foremost in my life. My son, however, will go on to have his own life one day and not need me quite so much. Writing is something that is all mine and perhaps the only thing I’m able to control and let go of when I’m ready.

BPM: What does literary success look like to you? Writing the stories I wish to tell, the way I wish to tell them. Finding that my readers feel entertained and believe that their money has been well spent when they invest in my books. Being inspired to tell new and more fascinating stories that challenge me and allow me to take my readers into places that encourage them to expand their reading interests. I’d say that’s what literary success looks like to me.

BPM: What are the 3 most effective tools for sharing your books with the world? A healthy social media presence. A robust blog site. An email list filled with engaged readers.

BPM: Share some of your writing goals. What projects are you working on at the present? I’ve got so much going on! I think this is the busiest I’ve ever been! I began the year by releasing Chef’s Reunion the second installment of The Caterer’s Wife mystery novella series (FYI- a full length will be coming soon). In March I’m releasing Feast of Fantasy-this novel is a Tesano tie-in for those of you familiar with the Ramsey/Tesano series.

For my T. Onyx erotica fans, Pleasure’s Possession is on the way as is Book of Scandal-The Tesano Elders and A Lover’s Redemption, also of the Ramsey Tesano series. Lots in store! These titles have been in production for a while, so it’s exciting to have them finally ready for release.

BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work? Website: http://www.alsreaders.weebly.com AND http://www.lovealtonya.com Blog: http://www.altonyasblog.wordpress.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/altonyaw Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ramseysgirl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novelally/?hl=en Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/337210.AlTonya_Washington  

Tradition by AlTonya Washington Tradition by AlTonya Washington New Island has been quiet for a long time-too long. Now, the time has come to return to a place where a tradition was born.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus This Is What Android Was Meant To Be

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/buying-a-top-android-telephone-is-a-superb-decision/

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus This Is What Android Was Meant To Be

After months of waiting for Verizon to launch the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it finally landed last week (after a few delays). The internet hype for the Galaxy Nexus had basically made this device out to be the unicorn of Android, it would do and be everything that everyone could have ever wanted in a phone. Then when it launched, Verizon had staff that was not prepared, not enough inventory, and a few service hiccups to make things more difficult. But even with all of the challenges the device has made its way into the hands of eager buyers, and bloggers and the reviews are starting to come in and everyone has their opinion. Some of those opinions are based on what buyers expected the device to be, some are based on what buyers wanted the device to be. After two weeks with the Galaxy Nexus as our daily driver, we felt that it was finally time to throw our hat into the ring and let you know definitively what we our impression of the pure Google Galaxy Nexus phone is.

Unboxing: The Verizon Galaxy Nexus comes in a plain white box (vanilla even). Inside the box itself is simple red lining, and of course the device itself. Accompanying the device is an 1850 batter, standard micro-USB charger, headphones, and of course instruction manual.

Initial Impressions: Upon opening the box you see what you’ve been waiting for all these many months. The Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Just looking at the device your initial impression is WOW that screen is HUGE. You take it out of the box and feel it in your hands and just can’t wait to see what’s lurking underneath its curved exterior.

Once you turn the device on you’re greeted with a new boot sequence, that takes some of the queues from the Honeycomb boot sequence. The boot sequence itself shows off the capabilities of the Super Amoled Screen. The blacks are black, the colors are bright and vibrant. After the booting is completed you get your first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich and how the Android OS is going to handle your experience from now on.

Hardware: After you get passed the screen size, and colors, the first thing you notice is just how light the Galaxy Nexus is in your hands. It’s not light in a cheap feeling way, but in an, I can’t believe how light this is in my hands. The phone also fits in your hand better than you would expect, knowing that it has a 4.65″ screen I was expecting it to feel large and awkward but, without having to have space for hard keys the phone isn’t bigger than it needs to be and the curved design makes it feel just right in the hand.

The screen and weight of the phone are just two aspects of the phone that make up a device that feels like Samsungs designers went above and beyond to deliver a hardware experience that hasn’t been seen or felt before. The Frame:

There are two simple hard buttons on the sides of the device, on the left side the standard volume rocker, and the right has the power/standby button. The bottom of the device has the Micro-USB port and the headphone jack, other than that the device is clean lines all around the lining of the device. The Back:

The back panel is something of a bit of debate right now. It’s not a traditional hard plastic (or kevlar) shield piece, it’s a flexible snap-in piece that off the device feels almost flimsy. Once the SIM card and battery are in place and you snap the back in place, it feels more solid than you could imagine on its own. Also, the back has slight diamond ridges in it that keep it from feeling slippery or week. Against the palm of your hand you know it’s there, and in your fingers you know it’s not going to slip or slide out like some of the “smooth” backs on phones like the Thunderbolt or the original Droid.

You also have the 5MP rear facing camera with LED flash, we’ll do a full camera write up separately but suffice to say that coming from the 8MP shooter in the HTC Thunderbolt I was initially concerned with what my shots were going to look like, after a week with the phone, I have no reason to carry around a point and shoot camera anymore. The Front:

The front of the Galaxy Nexus is dominated by its 4.65″ curved glass screen. At the top of the device is the in call speaker (which is the only break in the smooth surface) the proximity sensor (below the glass) and the front facing camera. At the bottom of the face, hidden below the glass is a notification LED, which takes a bit of getting used to as it is a departure from the standard top right notification indicator. Right now it lights up white when you get any notification (e-mail, text, missed a call, etc) but I can see developers trying their notifications to the led and hopefully change the color, or the blink rate.

Overall the front just looks sleek and stylish and just showing it to people makes them stop and pay attention. The Guts:

The Galaxy Nexus is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz, with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. It does not feature an SD or Micro-SD card slot so there is no option for expandable memory. Google is betting that users will utilize cloud storage for a lot of their needs, and since the Galaxy Nexus syncs nicely with Google Music, Google Docs, and Picasa, most of your high volume needs are covered.

The processor is snappy and performs tasks with seemingly little effort, switching through apps, screens, multitasking all function without any hiccups. Even running games like the newly released Modern Combat 3 doesn’t take a toll on the performance of the device.

One hardware feature in the device that has been getting a lot of press is the NFC chip. This is only the second phone in the US to have an NFC chip built in (the Sprint Galaxy S being the first). Unfortunately, Google Wallet is not enabled on the device and other than Google Beam there isn’t anything available to take advantage of this new addition. It is going to be some time before developers start building apps that make use of NFC due to the lack of devices supporting it right now but the possibilities for it are endless.

Software:

This is where the real beauty of the device starts to shine, with the first taste of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). Everything feels like this is what Google intended when the initially launched Android. Gone are the greens that have accompanied Android since launch and income the new softer blue that just makes it feel more inviting. The responsiveness of the software is unbelievable, some if this is thanks to the dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, but the software itself just feels more solid and more worked out than previous versions of Android even Honeycomb.

ICS has made the feel and use of Android more intuitive and cleaner, without taking away any of the abilities or “power” that users have had from the beginning. Switching through screens and apps are done by swiping. Moving and uninstalling apps works the same as on other Android versions, but now you can group apps together into folders by simply dropping them on top of one another. Within folders, you can re-arrange apps as you would like and interact with apps, but the folder floats over the home screen, you still know where you are and you don’t feel like you’re diving too deep to get to anything.

Individual apps open quickly and you can manage the apps that you have running at any time by clicking on the menu button. This pulls up a sidebar that shows all of your recent and running applications similar to the experience on Honeycomb. From this sidebar, you can switch between apps easily or close them by simply swiping them. The ability to close apps from within this sidebar is a new and very welcome addition to ICS, I can’t tell you how many times on Honeycomb I saw an app and just wanted to close it, but couldn’t.

Also knowing that your device is going to be pushed updates from Google so you’re going to be on the latest and greatest builds for at least 12 months makes it that much sweeter.

Real World Usage:

What most people want to know is “should I buy the Verizon Galaxy Nexus” and one of the main questions they have is “what about the battery life” well I’ve been using the device as my daily driver for a week now and felt I could comfortably answer these questions. First and foremost if you’re in the market for a new phone or upgrade eligible I recommend that you buy the Galaxy Nexus without even hesitating. This device is everything I was expecting and more, it has made me stop worrying if I was going to run out of battery life, or if I needed to uninstall apps or root my device to make it run smoother and faster.

Day 1: Day 1 usage was pretty much standard for any new device, initial set up, downloading most used apps (Facebook, Social Scope, Reader etc.), setting up syncing and normal scheduled events. Like all new devices, the battery came with a roughly 40% charge to get started, and you can see from the screenshots below how it performed.

Day 2: Day 2 usage got a little more intense, a lot more app use, web browsing, basically putting the device through the paces to see what it could do. Battery usage was better than Day 1 but it still wasn’t phenomenal.

Day 3: Day 3 was more of standard usage, calls, emails, browsing, app use, downloading apps and more tweaks to settings. Battery use with the device switching automatically between 3G/4G and utilizing WiFi when needed was pretty impressive especially considering the screen and the processor.

Day 4: Day 4 continued with standard use and no real changes to settings. Again utilizing standard 3G/4G setting with the device automatically detecting the strongest signal and utilizing WiFi when needed.

Day 5: Day 5 we ran into a bit of a hiccup with Google Currents, it was constantly running and constantly trying to sync and stay active, it used a lot of battery and put a big drain on the device. Once Currents was un-installed everything turned back to normal and we feel comfortable with the battery life. We’re seeing 14 hours of battery life on a regular basis with standard d usage.

Overall Impressions: My overall impression of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is that this is everything that Google intended Android to be. The hardware is great, light, and responsive. The OS, Ice Cream Sandwich is fluid and smooth it’s intuitive and user-friendly more consumer-facing than any other version of Android to date and definitely takes the fight to Apple in terms of simplicity and “just working.”

There are a few bugs to iron out and we’ll get into some of those in other posts but this device is a definite buy if you’re in the market for a new smartphone. Even if you weren’t on Android before this is a device that you should seriously consider switching for. Besides the bells and whistles of it being a pure Google experience device, you get the benefit of Verizon 4G network (where available) which is faster than anything on the market and makes living mobile an actual reality.

Ryan Carroll is a technology enthusiast interested who shares his opinions and insights of technology through his blog. He founded his blog after seeing other technology blogs and feeling that they did not provide the insight that he was looking for when it came to technology, video games, and phones.