#I know the correct answer is keyboard. I still prefer a controller

[cynicaldesire]

Dragon Age: Veilguard - The imprint of the correct answer still visible on the page if turned in the light

"In my most flattering recommendation I can compare it to a time when one of my students erased their correct answer and turned it in blank, preferring to be wrong by omission than the possibility of being wrong on accident. The imprint of the correct answer still visible on the page if turned in the light."

I beat Veilguard last night. I was more than a little displeased. I prefer Inquisition for a lot of reasons. I put about 73 hours into this playthrough, completed all the sidequests I could. There were treasure chests I didn't loot and Dread Wolf statues I didn't follow and Evanuris shrines I didn't tap and all my factions were at 3 stars but not 3200 strength, but I cleaned out my quest log between conversations with Solas.

My husband wants to be more favorable, respecting Bioware and their work, but also not wanting to reward them for a less-than-stellar entry into their catalog. He wanted to give it a 7.

Thoughts below the cut. Mostly neutral to negative, but I'll still give the game like a 6.5.

My husband wanted to play it but he has a lot of work and other games to play, so I bit the bullet and started playing it for him to watch to save him the time. He ended up playing the Dragon Quest 2 HD remake and scored that lower than the original as well.

My first major issue with Veilguard was that it's not designed for spinning hard drives. Nor is it designed for keyboards. It's a console game. Thankfully, I was able to connect a PS5 controller to the PC and that made it a lot more comfortable to deal with. The spinning disk issue manifested as massive load times and texture pop-in. Most of the time this was kinda funny, easily mitigated by faffing about on my phone. It warned me that the game was designed and optimized for an SSD, which is my OS drive, but HDDs are so much cheaper, that's what I have for my games. Apparently that isn't optimal anymore. The speed of technology has caught up to me, I suppose.

Before we played this, my husband played Yakuza 8. That game not as good as Yakuza 7, suffering from spending too much time with a previous protagonist and trying to weave together two stories that needed their own games to breathe in properly. Characters were lambasted or just felt wrong. There was way too much content. It was generally an unpleasant experience. But one of the major failings is that it relies on the players having been in the series, it doesn't explain much. The game expects you to know Kiryu and his reputation, overshadowing the protagonist of Ichiban and his story.

DA:V does something similar in that it doesn't spend a lot of time explaining the world of Dragon Age/Thedas to you. If you're playing Veilguard, you are here because you're a fan of the series. I mean, Inquisition has been GOTY and out for long enough and gone cheap enough that you should've, at some point, played it, right? Veilguard is a direct sequel after all.

The story goes on for a very long time, your companions all have quests with multiple parts, but I don't feel like I got to know any of them. The one guy I chose to romance, I chose because of the very first outing you have with him and then it was all downhill from there. The performances for a lot of the other companions are all over the place. Some of them are really great, some are flat, some are only good for certain lines. The stories are middling to bad, and we don't get enough of it to make it any better.

The romance scene I got right before the big suicide mission at the end, my partner had to stay up all the time to avoid a demon taking over his body, so the big romance scene was him almost falling asleep, some flirty banter, and then a massive load screen because I don't have an SSD.

There were a lot of times when I would go in to talk to a companion, there would be a brief back and forth, maybe some approval, and then load screen because I was done.

"What a quest" became my shorthand for my disappointment.

There was also one thing that left a bad taste in my mouth, re: romance. The companion I chose to romance had flirty banter with another, and their performance was so much better with each other than anything thrown my way. "Stop flirting!" I yelled as I took them into the last mission, having already romanced one of them. It felt like it was canon for them to get together, which made me feel like a fifth wheel.

The gameplay was fine. There's a jump button and jumping puzzles, but the game is very forgiving. "Thanks, Sticky" was my way of acknowledging those moments I should've missed and didn't. But, the killboxes for falling were whack because sometimes I would try to drop off a ledge onto another one, but I'm not supposed to so instead, massive load screen. Though you don't die if you fall into deep water (can't swim) or fall off a ledge, you just get a load screen and appear back in a safe spot near where you fell.

Combat was fine. I played an orb and dagger mage. Either I suck or the staff was just too slow. And you only get 2 companions to go out with you, so I had to choose wisely. I ended up choosing a warrior and a rogue to maximize my detonation potential. Which is another thing. Each party member can apply a debuff and other party members can detonate those. Each companion can apply and detonate so there's basically a triangle. You don't have to, of course, but it is nice to be able to utilize the triangle.

Max level is 50. I reached that real easy. Got the factions to 3 stars (max) as long as I did all the sidequests. One of my companions, I had to make a decision early on in the game that they didn't like, so I was punished by them never reaching max "bond" (level), but whatevs.

My husband described the bulk of the game that I played for him to watch (I played while he was at work from time to time) as a Mass Effect. I'd agree with that. He was very disappointed in the romance scene. "The sex scene just failed to load," he joked. Bioware got real infamous for the first Mass Effect because of "a blue titty" I reminded him, and he agreed that he didn't understand why Bioware would shy away from it now. Especially after Baldur's Gate 3.

Anyway. This just makes me wanna play Inquisition. Go back to my Cullen romance. Maybe romance Solas, since he's such an important part of this game.

Speaking of which, the story was shoddy and weird and full of holes. There were so many points that didn't make sense, choices made that I didn't fully understand. The twist near the end was pretty rad, but it felt like a lot of hours of dialogue and quests to not say much.

Anyway, 6.5/10, would not recommend.

[jenoismydad]

hello, can i request nct dream reaction to s/o kissing their neck a lot? tysm 🧡

A/N: adding jisung but nothing sexual for his part okay :) reaction is under the read more

NCT DREAM’S REACTION TO YOU KISSING THEIR NECK

mark

he’s just playing his guitar

when you come up behind him and rest your head on his shoulder

he smiles to himself but doesn’t stop strumming

your arms wrap around his waist and start pressing light and warm kisses onto his shoulder

he doesn’t react to your actions and continues playing

eventually, your kisses start trailing up his neck

and soon enough your sucking small marks into it

he absentmindedly tilts his head to give you more access

the melodies he plays become simpler and quieter

which tells you that you he’s focusing on you now

when you halt your kisses, the music stops

he turns to look at you

so you use it as an opportunity to crash your lips onto his

he pulls away and stares at you knowingly

“you’re horny aren’t you?”

you don’t even need to answer him because he knows he’s correct

he smirks and places his guitar to the side, pulling you onto his lap instead so that he can give you what you want

renjun

he’s sound asleep, peacefully napping in the middle of the day

you’re bored and you have nothing to do

plus, you might just be craving his cock after the wonderful night you spent with him

so after minutes of contemplating, you peel the blanket off his body and straddle him, careful not to wake him up

staring at his face as he rests, you can’t deny how breathtakingly beautiful he looks

so you press a soft kiss to his temple

then to his cheek

next his jaw and after that, his neck

he’d marked you up pretty well last night so you figured the least you could do was return the favour

and hence you softly suck on his exposed skin, running your tongue over the faint bruises your created

it makes him stir in his sleep

that doesn’t matter to you though and you continue doing what you’re doing

finally, he wakes up, hands flying to grip your waist as he assess what’s going on

he sits up, bringing you with him and cups your jaw

“i guess last night wasn’t enough for you huh?”, he says in amusement

he then pushes you down on the bed, fingers hooking straight into your shorts which he peels off with ease

content to see that you’re not wearing anything else underneath, he shares one last look with you before diving in between your legs and making you scream

jeno

he’s playing video games

well he has been for the past 4 hours

and you’re having serious separation anxiety even though you’ve been in the same room as him for so long

he leans back, yawning tiredly while stretching his body

you take that as an opportunity to come up behind him and give him a hug

he smiles and pulls you onto his lap where you return to hugging him again

his game resumes, fingers aggressively clicking away at the keyboard

you kinda want him to stop playing and more attention to you

so you decide to distract him by kissing his neck

he doesn’t react and so you keep kissing him

eventually small pecks turn to wet open mouth kisses

before you know it, you’re sucking dark marks into his skin while your hips roll over his

his breaths start getting deeper so you know you’re having quite the affect on him

soon enough, he switches the computer off and pushes his chair back, unable to control himself any longer

“get on your knees”, he speaks, voice low and raspy

you don’t hesitate to confide, doing as he says without wasting a second

he stands up from the chair, freeing his cock from its restraints

“keep your mouth open and take me like a good girl.”

haechan

you both are cuddling in bed

you’re laying on top of him, face snuggled comfortable between his neck and shoulder

he’s telling to you about what happened when he’d gone to visit his family

but you stopped paying attention ages ago

his skin is warm against your lips and you can feel the faint beating of his heart

the sensation is transfixing

and you just can’t resist any longer

so you kiss his neck

he pauses

his fingers that were drumming on your back too come to a halt

“aren’t you gonna do it again?”, he asks

you push yourself up and look at him with a happy smile

“did you like it?”, you ask, leaning down to kiss his lips

just as your about to pull away, he cups your jaw, bringing your mouth back on his

“it was fine, but i prefer getting kissed here.”, he says, puckering his lips dramatically

the action makes you both burst out into a fit of laughter

pecking his lips one last time, you lay your head on his chest, smiling to yourself

jaemin

you asked him to help you organize your closet

so now he’s busy hanging up your coats and jackets

meanwhile your hugging him, humming random tunes into his neck and giving him a few kisses here and there

you might even have marked him up just a bit

he pays you no mind and continues about his task as if you aren’t clinging onto him

that is, until you softly sink your teeth into his skin

he freezes and looks down at you cautiously

“did you just bite me?”

instead of answering him, you stand up on your toes and kiss him, biting his bottom lip as you pull away

something just flips in him when you do that

letting go of the clothing hanger in his hand, he narrows his eyes and holds you close

“what are you up to?”, he asks, voice low and demanding

you don’t say anything, enjoying his demeanor more than you’d ever like to admit

“come on, say something. if you don’t i’ll just have to suck it out of you.”

the suggestiveness in his voice is exciting and so you decide not to give in

nothing needs to be said further and he picks you up, throwing you on the bed

he tugs his shirt off before hovering over you and leans down so that his lips ghost over your ear

“since you don’t feel like talking, i don’t want to hear a word from you. if you make a single noise, then i’m sure you’re smart enough to know what to expect.”

chenle

you both are playing a game where you kiss each other somewhere and the person who reacts first is the loser

the penalty is that the loser gets a hickey from the winner

for your turn, you decide that you’ll attack his neck

cause you know he’s the most ticklish and sensitive there

you also know the exact spot where he’s the most sensitive

using this knowledge to your advantage, you press a long kiss on his skin

his hands ball into fists on either side of him and you know he’s trying hard not to give in

but the way you’re kissing his neck is so tantalizing and he can’t help but let out a shaky breath

you draw back and point at him, beaming excitedly

you’d won the game

he groans defeatedly and falls to the ground

“now sir, where would you like to be marked.”, you ask giddly, dancing about

he tugs his shirt down and looks at you with a smirk

“here please.”, he says pointing to his collar bone

you return his smirk and sit down next to him, licking your lips as you prepare to deliver your token of victory

“scandalous, i like it.”, you giggle, leaning down and sucking a dark bruise on his skin

let’s just say that he didn’t mind returning the favour

jisung

while you’re busy finishing your homework, he’s laying on your bed with his nose stuffed in the game he’s playing on his phone

once you feel like you’ve done enough for the day, you come and sit down next to him

he’s still very much occupied in the game so he pays you no mind

you decide to be cheeky and lay down next to him, cuddling into his side

he doesn’t react to your proximity and so, you snuggle your face into his neck

he freezes for a moment, but once he gets accustomed to the ticklish feeling of your breath on his skin, he resumes his game

that’s when you stick your tongue out and subtly lick his neck

the action makes him jolt and he looks down at you with wide eyes

you only smile at him and reach up to quickly kiss his lips

which makes him go red in the face because you caught him off guard

he gets back to his game and you start dotting kissing on the space of his neck

he keeps flinching because it tickles but he doesn’t complain

he actually likes it very much and would like for you to continue

eventually, you get tired of his unresponsiveness

so you begin peppering kissing on his jaw, his cheeks and his nose

soon enough, your straddling him, staring into his eyes with a knowing grin

he tosses his phone to the side and cups your cheek, pulling your lips down on his and simply kisses you for hours on end

[tindogowner]

I know I’ve been inactive for longer than I’d prefer, but I’m still kicking around. Have a drabble I wrote nine years ago as some kind of entertainment.

Paradoxically Transcendent: A Fourth Doctor Story On the far outer reaches of the Milky Way galaxy, the Tardis hurtled through the emptiness, spinning on its own axis, the light on its top flashing rhythmically. In the secondary control room, the Doctor stood before the viewing screen next to Leela, lecturing her on the laws of gravity. "And that, dear Leela, is how a planet can orbit a star without falling in and burning up!" exclaimed the Doctor, beaming at her. "Do you have any questions?" Leela looked a bit confused, but had her thoughts together. "Well, yes. But it really has nothing to do with gravity." The Doctor looked at her, curious about what she was thinking. "Well, go ahead and ask. Knowledge is a formidable weapon." "Well, it's about your explanation about how the inside of the Tardis can fit, well… Inside the Tardis. You said that it needs to be both here, and there. If here is inside the blue box, where is there?" She looked at him, head slightly tilted, awaiting his response. The Doctor's face broke into a wide grin, as he began to explain. "Well, you see, the interior is indeed both here and there, and the there is…" The Doctor trailed off in mid-sentence, thinking about what he was to answer. "You know, Leela, I don't quite know. I don't recall ever learning where exactly the interior of a Tardis is kept. I must have skipped that day at the Academy." "So then we'll never know?" Leela looked forlorn at the thought of an unanswered question. The Doctor smiled, and walking to the control panel said, "Now who said anything about that?" He pulled back the small door covering an unmarked keyboard. Flipping one switch, he closed the cover over the view screen, before starting to push many of the other buttons. "Doctor, where are we going? To your home world?" "Heavens no!" he exclaimed. "Humans aren't allowed on Gallifrey anyway. No, what I'm doing is setting a beacon. One we can track to find out where the inside of the Tardis really is." "Where will you put the beacon then? If it's inside, or outside, what good will that do? We could just walk there… I don't see how this will help!" The Doctor looked at her for a moment, before returning his gaze to the buttons before him. "Why Leela, you're absolutely correct! And that is why I'm placing the beacon between the interior and exterior of the Tardis! Put it there, follow it, and viola, we have our answer!" Leela's face lit up upon hearing they would get their answer. "Oh, Doctor, that's brilliant!" "Well of course it is. I'm the one who thought of it, after all." With one last grin, he pushed the last button, and set the Tardis in flight. The sound of the engines filled the room, and a small shaking confirmed what their ears told them. "Oh, I cannot wait to see what strange wor-," Leela's sentence was cut short as the normal bumps and jitters of the Tardis' flight suddenly became much more manic, with the whole capsule flipping end over end. The coat stand in the corner fell, the covers of the remaining panels of the console flipped open and banged shut. The Doctor and Leela both were thrown to the ground, which was the wall, the ceiling, the proper floor, and each repeating, until the Tardis landed with a resounding thud. Once the shaking had quit, Leela grabbed the center console and dragged herself to her feet. "Five in ten times my animal skins! Every time you take me somewhere, we either don't get there, land someplace far away, or wind up in trouble before we get outside!" The Doctor stood up and straightened his scarf, before walking into the corner and standing the coat stand back up. "Now now, Leela, I assure you we've arrived where we meant. The, erm, rough flight could only be caused by the Tardis passing through its own transduction barriers." He moved to the center console, and began picking up the few objects that had fallen from their cupboards, and replaced them. He opened up the cover to the scanner, and turned on the external camera. Leela watched the screen for some twenty seconds before turning to the Doctor. "Oh, some great joke. Tell me we'll find out, then show me the inside of the Tardis. I should go back to the Sever Teem." The Doctor couldn't keep the exasperation from his face. "Leela, why would I do such a thing!? I'm as baffled as you as to why the camera shows inside my ship! Now here, have a jelly baby, and calm down until I figure out what happened." He fished the little paper sack from his pocket, and placed it onto the console top. "Doctor, you can stay in here, fiddle with your machine, and eat your candy. I'm going out there."  She strode to the door leading to the exterior doors, drew her knife, and grasped the handle. "Oh, very well very well…. I'll be with you in a moment," he said, paying her no mind, until she opened the door, and he heard not just that door open, but the one behind him as well. Leela yanked the door open, and strode through, seeing what she least expected. The secondary control room. The one she had just left, minus the Doctor at the console. As she stepped into the room, she absently pushed the door shut behind her, and walked to the console. She noted it was covered in a thick layer of dust. "Oh, very funny Doctor! I'm sick of your joking!" When the Doctor heard the door open behind him, as well as off to his side, he looked to see Leela walking into the hall, and a black rectangle in the frame of the door behind him. "Odd…. That door leads to some of the bedrooms… So why can't I see the hall way…?" He walked to the side door, pulled it open, and stuck his head through to call for Leela. "Leela, don't go too far…" Noticing where he had just put his head, he stepped through the door and up to Leela. "How did you manage that?" "Manage what? This was your doing, not mine!" "Oh, that's impossible! I couldn't have had time to move the rooms in the Tardis around like this! And look at all this dust! It looks as though no one has been in this room for a few centuries… When we just left it…" "Well, if you didn't do it, and I certainly didn't do it, then how did it happen?" The Doctor was still amused with her intellect. "There you go again, Leela, asking all the right questions. Come, let's try to reach the main console, maybe then we'll get some answers." He strode to the same door they both previously left the room from, pulled it open, and stepped through. His amusement faded quickly, however, seeing as he had just entered the same room again, from the rear door, like last time. As Leela joined him, however, he noted that the room wasn't just dusty this time. It was older. Damaged. Several of the stained glass roundels were cracked, two were shattered outright. The console's paneling was warped and eroded. Neither of them could have done all that. "Doctor… It looks as though we're walking through the history of this room…" "Yes… But you rather mean it's future… I wonder what could have cause all of this damage… Perhaps going forward again will give us a clue. Or get us out of here." He strode to the side door, pulled it open, and was greeted by a wall of water rushing through the doorway. Leela reacted instantly to the sound of rushing water, running through the flooding room, and helping the Doctor to push the door shut. "Doctor, what on earth just happened? Where did all of that water come from?" "Oh, I daresay it came from the one of the pools you enjoy swimming in so much, Leela. The Tardis interior must reconfigure itself sometime far in the future… We'll have to go back and hope we can find a different way out of the control room." He removed his coat and began trying to shake the water out, following suit with his scarf. "Let's see… This was the third version of this room we entered since leaving our own… So back to ours we go." As he pulled the room's back door open, he noted that it wasn't just black beyond the frame, like he had seen in the first room. He strode through the door, leaving it open for Leela, and repeated this until back in the original room. Leela quickly followed him, closing all the doors behind her, until she rejoined the Doctor in the first room. As she shut the door behind her, the room's rear door stayed open, still leading to darkness. "So… Our answers are beyond that door?" "Well, it certainly looks that way. But honestly, there's no telling what lies through that door. It could be anything. A black hole, a starless night, the inside of some massive organism… Only one way to find out." He hung his still dripping coat and scarf on the coat stand in the corner, checked his pocket for his sonic screwdriver, and stepped through the doorway, through the blackness. Leela stood back, staring at where the Doctor had disappeared. She couldn't hear anything from the other side, least of all anything the Doctor might have said. So, knowing what she must do, she readied her knife, and patted the little bag she carried her Janis thorn in, and stepped through the doorway. The door slowly swung shut, and clicked closed behind her. The Doctor stood in a hallway, much like any other in the Tardis, but darker, dimmer, and the sound of the engines hummed deeply around him, telling him he was close to the service areas, very deep inside the Tardis. In an area he rarely ventured. When he materialized in the corridor, he looked behind him for the doorway, and didn't see it, not that he expected to find it. It was with no surprise that he watched Leela materialize in front of him, knife in hand. "I wish you would get rid of that thing. Sooner or later you'll hurt yourself with it." Leela put her knife away at the sound of the Doctor's voice, and whirled around to face him. "Doctor, you're okay! I couldn't hear a thing through that door!" "Yes… I would assume not. It seems that it was a wormhole within the Tardis, bringing us here." He continued to glance around, looking at the doors placed every so often along the walls. "So, where are we then? You've never shown me this part of the Tardis before. It's very noisy down here," she said as she looked all around the hall, looking for any signs of danger. She slowly put her knife away when she couldn't see any threat. "Well, if the noise, and my own intuition is right, we're somewhere near the engines… And the main housing for other vital systems as well. Come on, let's have a look around!" He bounded to the nearest door, which looked to be hollow glass filled with smoke. Leela moved behind him, peering over his shoulder. "Now, beyond this door is a mystery… To both you and I! Exciting, isn't it?" He couldn't help but break into his wide grin. "Every time you say something is exciting, we get attacked, or caught in a trap, or nearly die in some other way. I wish you'd stop it." "Nonsense! Where's all the fun in a safe adventure?" He placed his hand on the knob, grinning his widest, turned it, and eased the door open. Smoke poured out of the door on the floor, flooding around their ankles before continuing down the hall a bit and dissipating into invisible vapor. The Doctor swung the door open completely, then stepped through, into the unknown. As he stepped in, the room's lights turned on, giving a glimpse of a room the size of his boot cupboard, but this was impossible to tell for either of the adventurers, due to the foggy smoke. Leela readied her knife once more, and stepped through behind him. She was being very careful to step right behind him. She continually scanned the room, but to no avail. She did, however notice something floating at about eye level a few feet away from her. "Doctor? I think I see something. It's just… Floating there." The Doctor was eager to find anything in this room, and whirled to face the same direction as Leela. "What? That? Well, let's see what it is!" He quickly stepped so the object was right in front of his nose, and stared at it, hardly daring to believe it. Leela stood on his left, looking at the object as well. "Oh, what is it? It looks like some sort of weapon, but nothing I've ever seen with the Sevateem." "Well of course not! It is a weapon. Sometimes. On occasion. It's my sonic screwdriver. But what is it doing in here? I know I put it into my pocket last I used it!" So saying, he reached into his pocket, and grabbed the very object he was staring at. As he pulled it from his pocket, the screwdriver in front of him rocketed upwards, and out of sight in the smoke. His eyes grew wide and bulged from their sockets. He pushed his screwdriver back down into his pocket, and the one that was already in the room floated down, back to it's original position. "Doctor, what does that mean? Is it a trap? Has someone stolen your belongings?" "No, Leela, of course not! But now I know exactly where we are! We're in my pocket!" So saying, he pulled his bag of jelly babies from his coat, took one from the bag, and threw it straight up with all his might, watching it disappear, only to reappear, flying up and out of his coat pocket, before coming to rest beside the screwdriver, at about eye level. "So, we're in your pocket, in the Tardis? I don't understand, Doctor." She walked about, mindful not to disturb any of the objects floating around. "Well, it's simple. Like the Tardis, my pockets are bigger inside than out. And it appears that this room is the inside. Although… The wormhole we passed through earlier must have breached time as well… Likely the start of a gravity bubble. Though I wonder, can a Tardis make a gravity bubble if it's inside itself, or does that only happen with two separate Tardises?" He continued off on this tangent, thinking aloud as always, watching some of the objects floating around. As he stopped to examine a small wallet and silver pen with a blue cap, a giant hand, by his perspective, show down from above and grabbed the wallet. The Doctor leaped back, stumbling into Leela, who drew her knife, perceiving the hand as a threat. "Calm down, Leela…. Those are likely just the belongings of the present me… So long as we stay clear, we're safe." They continued to back away from the place the hand had appeared, now standing near a recorder. The Doctor stopped to look at it once more. "Ah… Yes, my recorder. My second incarnation was fond of it. Someday I shall have to tell you about how it saved the universe and imploded the anti-matter universe. It was an unique experience, one in which I discovered myself…" As he stood and recalled years gone past, the hand of the recorder's owner dived from the ceiling and snatched it up, pulling it back up into the fog. The Doctor stood and stared, eyes even wider in disbelief, locked onto the empty air. He glanced around and saw a few more hands reach down for a few more objects, each hand giving a short glimpse of the clothing of it's owner. "Leela…. I think it would be a VERY good idea to make our way back out into the hall…" He started slowly stepping towards the door, giving any object a wide berth, Leela right behind him. The door was in sight, only ten feet away, when a handkerchief floated in front of it, causing both of them to freeze. "Oh no…" "Doctor? What is it? Some kind of hostile alien?" As always, Leela was armed when facing anything she thought might be hostile. "Oh, if only it were that simple. I recognize that… It's my old handkerchief… From my first incarnation, and I used it quite often." Simply saying so proved his point, the old man's hand dipped in, taking the cloth and returning it within a minute. "It won't be easy getting past… Being dragged out would cause a nightmare of a paradox." "Then we simply wait for him to take it again, and as soon as it is returned, we run for the door." She sheathed her knife, and tensed up, watching the air above the item. Once more, the hand dipped, grabbed and pulled it out. Once more it returned, released the overused rag, and disappeared. The two broke into a run, skirting the handkerchief as best as possible, and diving through the door. The Doctor and Leela tumbled back into the hall, panting, and slumped to the floor, laughing at the narrow escape. "I don't think I've ever worried so much about you getting hold of me, Doctor." "Well, it would have been interesting, to say the least. I'd rather it stay unknown." He hopped to his feet, pulled his coat tight around his shoulders, and adjusted his scarf. He pulled Leela to her feet, grinning. "Well then, shall we see what else is in store for us?" He strode off around the corner, coat and scarf whipping around behind him. She watched down the hall, opposite the way the Doctor went, wary as ever. She thought to herself, I don't see why we must keep exploring the Tardis. I wish we could just leave wherever we are. It all feels wrong… She then decided to turn and follow after him, finding him looking up and down another door, one that appeared to be covered in little trinkets, all appearing to be old and tattered, except for a bow tie, which was the eleventh in the line of objects. "Well, what's in that one?" "I haven't a clue. Could be anything. Could be the Heart of the Tardis. Could be spare parts." He grabbed the handle, and shoved the door open, striding in. Leela followed him in, glancing about the wide room, her eyes resting on the 14 pedestals. 13 of them had outfits on them, one of which she recognized as the one the Doctor was wearing. The other two just had mannequins on them, nude and blank. She walked up beside the Doctor and asked him about the room. "Well, it appears to be a showcase of my looks. See, these first three are what I used to wear, in my previous incarnations." He pointed at the respective outfits before moving to the copy of his current one. "And this is me now. Or a copy of my clothes, anyway. I don't remember bringing any outfit down here yet." He moved one pedestal down the line, observing a red version of his coat and scarf. "This must be in my current incarnation. It's made for my size." "Doctor, what do you mean your incarnations? I don't understand," she said, as she looked over a blue suit wrapped in a brown trench coat. "Well, Leela, you see, when I die, I don't really die, I just change my face, and my personality a bit. Then I decide I don't like the clothes I was wearing, and change them. So, each major change is a different incarnation," he said, moving in front of a brightly colored patchwork coat. "Thought it seems none of me has good fashion sense… This blue copy is an improvement though." "Doctor, I really don't think this is the time for examining such things. You did say we needed to hurry." "Oh, yes, alright. Let's get going then." He turned on his heel, and walked through the door. By the time Leela managed to follow him, he was already turning the corner. He seemed oblivious to a major change however, the walls having changed from their grey color, now looking like a thin sheet of copper. She rushed around the corner after him, grabbing the back of his coat and pulling him to a stop. "Doctor! Doctor stop! Don't you see this? What's happening?" The sudden halt brought the Doctor out of his own thoughts. He looked around, examining the change in wall color and texture. "We've jumped the Tardis' time track again. Its in the future, though how far I can't say. My 11th incarnation, at a guess, by the number of costume we saw in the last room." From deep within the Tardis, a great gonging began to echo through the halls. Leela jumped against the wall, knife in her hand once more, eyes constantly shifting between left and right, ready for an attacker. "Doctor!? What is that noise?" The Doctor was frozen in place. His gaze burning a hole in the wall at the end of the hall. "It's a signal. A call to arms. It means disaster. That the universe or the Tardis is in great danger. Come on!" He took off running, clearing the hall, and rounding the corner, scarf swinging about behind him. They ran through what seemed to be endless halls, at least from Leela's perspective. Lefts, rights, up stairs, down stairs. Through great cavernous rooms, and odd doorways. It seemed they went through the same room and hall at least seven times, but she had no choice but to trust the Doctor's sense of direction. The worst parts of it all though, were when time itself seemed to stretch out, and her movements felt sluggish. Eventually they reached the end of the halls, and stepped onto the highest landing in the Tardis' current console room. The Doctor had stopped at the top of the short flight of stairs, since the hall was above the console platform. Leela nearly ran right into him, and he wavered at the top of the stairs for a second, before regaining his balance and dashing down them. He ran around the console, hands lightly running over all the controls, his eyes locked on the glass column in the center, the time column, and in its center, the time rotor. He turned his attention to the controls themselves, eyes wide in shock, mouth slightly agape. The console in front of him was a far cry from what he was used to. Instead of the stock buttons, switches, and levers, he saw a menagerie of common household items, artfully integrated into the machine, seamlessly replacing the standard Galifreyan parts. "My word… What have you been through…?" he muttered, moving to a different panel, and activating the scanner. "Doctor? Is this really the Tardis?" Leela questioned, standing down beside the doors. Instead of the large, heavy white doors, with jagged sides and roundels, she ran her hand down a thin piece of wood, almost exactly what you would expect to see from inside of a real police box. As the giant round screen came to life beside her, the Doctor solemnly replied. "Oh, yes, I do believe so. Sometime quite far in her own future…. At least 600 years… Maybe 800. And this isn't just a change of theme… Almost like a… Regeneration of its own…"  He turned his eyes to the scanner screen, and was appalled at what he saw. Another Tardis console room. The specifics wavered, due to the effects produced by nesting TT capsules. But the view did show the small scanner screen of this second Tardis. It looked like a repeated image, but slightly…. Darker, perhaps. The decision was immediate. "Leela, stay right by the doors. As soon as I open them, we need to run out! I've found the fast return switch on this console. It seems a later incarnation of myself put it back in, luckily. Once I hit this button, we'll have mere seconds to escape. Now, let me find the door control." Leela was a rare step ahead of the Doctor on this matter. She had already turned the tiny knob on the door's latch, and pulled it in, opening the door to the next console room. "Come on, Doctor! You said yourself, we've no time to linger!" Not waiting for him, she rushed through, stepping onto a gently sloping ramp, made of steel, full of small holes. At first she was a bit thrown by it, but she quickly turned around, and saw the outside of the Tardis she just exited. Just then, the Doctor pressed the switch, and practically flew out the doors, pulling them shut behind him. It was just enough time for her to glimpse the glass bauble begin to pulse up and down in its glass tube. The air was filled with a very loud thud, as the Tardis' brakes disengaged. This was followed by a great grinding and heaving sound, accompanied by the Tardis vanishing into thin air. The sounds that came after floated through her mind, the image of the brand new looking blue box fading soon after. The last detail she recalled was the round emblem on the door. As she turned back to the Doctor, she noticed the green glowing column in the center of the domed room. The light from the hexagonal indents in the walls met the green somewhere around the center platform's railing, mingling casually. Before she could examine the room any further, the Doctor started shouting once more. He hadn't looked at the coral pillars, or the metal grate floor. He ignored the out of place three person yellow chair. The only thing he was looking at or paying any attention to was the console itself. That and it's lack of official parts, much like the last console. "Oh dear oh dear…. This Tardis is in even worse shape than the last…" He moved about, running his hands over the mis-matched parts. He took his scarf  off, and looped it around a lever on the mechanical panel. He tossed the end out onto the ramp, and started prepping the Tardis for flight. Once he had finished, he walked over to the end of his scarf, and looked back at the console. "Poor old thing… She'll manage though. Right, Leela, get to that door." Once more, however, Leela was ahead of him, through the door and into the next version of the Tardis. The Doctor saw her through the door, and gave a swift yank on his scarf, which he had tied to the hand brake. The knot on the handle slid right off the top once the brake was disengaged, and he dashed out the door. He stopped and sighed in relief, tugging on his scarf so he could gather it to put it back on. It was stuck. It had caught in the door of the Tardis he was attempting to set in motion. He tried tugging at it more, but it wouldn't budge. The blue box began to disappear from this area of reality, and not even the Doctor could predict what would happen if it was allowed to leave with his scarf stuck in the door. Leela came to his rescue again, drawing her knife and quickly cutting clean through the Doctor's scarf near the end. The Doctor pulled up the remains of his scarf, and examined the hacked off end. No more than a foot of the lengthy knitting was gone, but it was a loss all the same. "Oh, my scarf… I suppose I'll have to go see Madam Nostradamus about getting it fixed… Later, of course…" With that minor crisis averted, the Doctor moved on to examine the area of this version of the Tardis. Along the various oddly numbered walls he saw shelves of books, on a rug off to the side of a console was a large reading chair with a foot stool and a light. Off through a crooked path of books a small stand could be seen with some melted candles and various nick-nacks stacked up on it. In the center of all of this sat a Gallifreyan ash chest, broken in half. A record player sat near the chair, unwound. Leela was currently examining the console. It was surrounded by six pillars that looked like steel supports. A very dated monitor hung on a criss-crossing, stretching pull down hanger. The display currently read the planet was Earthifrey, in the Rassimanian Era. If Leela actually knew what either of this figures meant, she would know that the display was glitched, due to the Tardis itself being confused as to it's timespace location. The controls for the year, a set of four spinning dials numbered zero through 9 rapidly spun both forward in back alternatively. The Doctor step up to the console and smacked the panel with the dials, getting them stuck. He dashed around to the other side of the console, tapping a few more of the controls, and programming the Tardis to return to its previous destination. He pushed Leela out through the giant gothic doors and shut the blue police box doors behind him. The vessel slowly faded from inside the next. This Tardis was set to the standard desktop. The console version the Doctor was most familiar with. Or close to it, anyway. One upgrade or so, but close enough. The Doctor and Leela set that Tardis in motion as well. They repeated this procedure with the next two Tardises as well, passing up a rainbow colored umbrella and a stalk of celery, before stepping back into the Tardis they had arrived in. Leela noticed the yo-yo and cubes sitting on the floor and realized the same. "So, Doctor, we can finally leave, right? We've made it back!" She stood by the console, smiling at him. "I'm afraid not, Leela. While we've made it back into the Tardis we've arrived in, there's no telling if there are more Tardises outside this one." He steps up to the console, and activates the scanner, revealing the worst. Their Tardis is inside of another.  "Now this is the real problem… If I'm right, there are still four Tardises stacked. Ours, and three more stacked around us. But setting those ones in motion will simply take the one inside with it…" "Couldn't we… Move our Tardis into the one on the outside, then simply do what we've been doing? Setting them off and running out?" The Doctor thought this over, wondering if it was possible to do. "It could be done, yes, but it's much too dangerous to do. It could make things ten times worse. Or we could completely overshoot the first Tardis, and wind up someplace different, with no clue how to get back. No, I think our best chance is to set the other three on a timer, or to just release the holding mechanism on them, and let them drift off on their own." Leela looked a bit puzzled, but opened the door for them to get the crisis resolved quickly anyway. "What exactly is the 'holding mechanism,' Doctor?" She stepped through the doors into another Tardis, looking much like the one they had just come from, yet everything looked much newer, albeit not as advanced as the Tardis just left. The Doctor walked through after her, looking around a bit. "The holding mechanism… It holds the Tardis in it's current time and space location, much like a care is held in place by its brakes. Set it loose, and the Tardis will soon venture off on it's own, winding up somewhere and when else. Very likely to wherever it was drawn from before coming here." He stepped to the console, and opened the door, and went out, not wasting anymore time. Leela followed him into yet another Tardis, hoping for an end to this repeating madness. She stood and looked around this new console room. It appeared to be much larger than previous rooms, though much of the space was empty. Looking at the console itself, she noticed that it had many more controls on it than she was used to seeing. The standard triangular light pattern inside the time rotor was replaced by a bellows like device with a whirling dual paddled top inside the column. Having no clue which control would open the door, she simply stood beside it until the Doctor opened it, and went through. Inside this next Tardis, which also happened to be the last, all the empty space seen in the last room was filled. Large computer banks covered in rapidly blinking red lights stood against the walls. The Doctor walked past them all, looking at the various numberings and markings on the panels. Leela noticed one thing had stopped. "Doctor, that ringing has gone… I think it was gone from the last two Tardises as well." The Doctor walked to the console, and began looking for the release for the holding mechanism. "That's because these Tardises haven't been set to use the cloister bell yet, they rely on other warning systems built into the console or console room. Aha!" He slid a knob across one of the panels of the console, and grabbed Leela's arm, dragging her back into the previous box, and shutting the door. "No telling where we really are, and I've a feeling it's best not to know, if it messes with the instruments so much…" Leela looked a little disturbed at this thought, and shook herself. "Doctor, I think I'll go wait in our Tardis… You can handle this, right?" The Doctor nodded, and fiddled with the controls as she walked into the next Tardis. He found the control and released the hold, running into the next Tardis and again shutting the door behind him. The sound of the cloister bell ringing incredibly loudly wafting through the open doors of his own Tardis. His curiosity was building, and the temptation to open the scanner and look out into whatever void they were in. He grabbed the slider for the holding mechanism, and turned to ready himself to run into his ship. But the scanner caught his eyes. "Well, I suppose one itsy peek couldn't hurt anything…" He let go of the slider, and turned the knob to open the cover over the scanner. What was shown by that screen was something not even Time Lords see commonly. The screen showed static upon activation, and then showed what could only be described as the time vortex inside of a rainbow kaleidoscope. He closed the scanner, set the Tardis adrift, and walked back into his own ship, closing the door behind him. He walked to the console, and stared down at it. Leela walked up behind him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Doctor? Are you alright? You seem a bit scared… Doctor? Doctor?" The Doctor jumped a bit, before starting to move around the console, adjusting various settings. "Say, Leela, how would you like to learn how humans lived before moving into the stars? Say, late nineteenth century, London? We'll go to the theater!" Leela shook her head and stepped back from the console, sighing. "Doctor, I'm afraid I'll never understand you…"

[wackpainterkid]

the path (that we walk together)(1/2)

a/n: Manon’s Monday turned into wackpainterkid’s wednesday, which then became Too late Thursdays because i’ve had a life lately so great for me, less great for you but okay. The last few weeks you’ve gotten fluffy fics and it’s time to change that and for me to return to my roots: angst. Noah tells Liv something that will heavily influence their future and Liv doubts whether she truly wants that future. Also really hate the title but eh i had to find something

rating: T

2000 words

also on ao3

“I have some news,” Noah says to her. 

 They’re sitting in his living room, almost cuddling but not really in the comfortable sofa that is placed there. They’re busy with being with each other, with talking, with listening, but besides that, they’re not actually doing anything. Nothing besides lounging, relaxing, breathing.

 “Do you?” Liv replies but it’s an absentminded reflex, her question, meant as a sign that she’s listening when in reality her mind is currently focused on quickly finishing her message to the girls. Her fingers race across the keyboard as she types and form a message that confirms her presence at Isa’s place later today. The text gets sent and her phone ends up on the coffee table. She looks up, a small smile on her face that promises him he now has her undivided attention. “Do tell.” 

 “Remember those portfolios I sent out to some more art schools?”

 Her eyes widen as she gasps. She doesn’t need him to continue.

“Did you get in somewhere?” And for a question, it’s a very loud one. A soft chuckle escapes out of Noah’s mouth before he nods, which earns him an even louder response. “Noah!” she yells. “Oh my god, that’s great news. Told you you’d make it happen.” She playfully hits him in the shoulders.

 Once the first rejection had trickled in, Noah had gotten down, demotivated. He began doubting all of his art, began doubting the idea to pursue an education in art altogether. She was the one that encouraged him to keep going, that told him to apply to more schools in the area. And it wasn't to just keep his hopes up or to keep him busy; it was because she genuinely believed in him, in his art, in what he stood for and what he created.

 She still does.

 “I know,” Noah says and all of that doubt that previously lingered in his eyes, in his words dissipates with the smile and dimples that appear.

 “A proper art school,” Liv muses as she combs through his hair. “Maybe we shouldn’t call you wack painter kid anymore.” 

 Of all the things she could say, he probably didn’t expect that because he laughs in response and decides to flip her off. He pulls her closer, though, off of her half of the couch onto his in a moment that is more tender and loving than the one that just transpired.

 “What about... wack painter dude?” she proposes with a gleam in her eye. Her arms wrap around his neck.

 “I think I prefer the first one.” His hands settle on her waist and bring her even closer.

 “Me too,” she has to concur after thinking about it for a second.

 Their faces are so close she can see the golden circle inside the blue of his irises. Untangling her arms, she places her hand on his cheek and her thumb brushes his skin. “Well done, wack painter kid.” Liv kisses him and he kisses back, and it feels like her heart sighs in happiness.

 They spend the next moments just staring at one another, taking in every detail of each other’s face, every up and every down and every curve and every angle. They smile at each other, make faces at each other. Noah plays with a stray curl of her hair before he asks her if she wants something to drink. He kisses her again before Liv has to basically climb off of him to give him the room to move.

 As she waits, she picks her phone up from the table and reads Engels’s excited response to their girls’ night later today. The text– there are about six exclamation marks involved– makes her chuckle and shake her head before she puts her phone back down.

 Noah returns to the couch with some drinks for the both of them. He sets them on the table and plops down next to her again. Liv turns her head slightly to face him. “Oh. I forgot to ask. Which one did you get in? The one in Amsterdam?”

 “Not exactly…” And it’s a weirdly evasive answer on a question that should be anything but.

 “Okay... where did you get in then?” she asks and for some reason, a kernel of worry settles into her body.

 Like her gut already knows something is wrong.

 “The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp,” Noah tells her and the way he says it is void of any emotion.

 Gone is the joy, and the amusement, and the playfulness.

 It’s neutral, and if Liv has to guess why she would say it’s most likely because he doesn’t know how she is going to react.

 She doesn’t know how she should react either.

 “Antwerp as in Antwerp, the city in Belgium?” she asks, her words slow and clear as she repeats, silently hoping he’ll stop her, correct her, laugh with the fact that she really thought he would go to Belgium. Anything really.

 “Yes.”

 Anything but that.

 Her brow furrows. Antwerp surely doesn’t belong to the category “schools in the area” and it isn’t something that can be blamed on a misunderstanding or even semantics. Another country equals far away, even if they live in Europe and everything is close by.

 “When was that ever an option?”

 “It’s a renowned school,” he says as if it has always been an option. But if it was, why wasn’t she aware of it?

 “And you didn’t think to tell me this?”

 She straightens her back, the distance between them grows, it’s no longer the nearness from before. Their separation has now become great enough for Liv to see the tension in his shoulders, the slight tap on his foot on the floor.

 “I didn’t think I would get in.” There is a blasé tone to his voice and that is definitely not what she needs right now, not what would do him, nor them good in the position that they’re in.

 “That’s not an explanation, Noah.” She sounds consternated and it is because she thoroughly is. About this entire situation. “You did get in.”

 “Liv, I know.” A hint of apology shines through. “But do remember that it’s only two hours from here.”

 She knows that isn’t a lot. If it happened earlier, she wouldn’t have minded.

 But then came Berlin.

 And she missed him more than she could fathom, more than she could think she could miss someone before him.

 It didn’t come in surges; it was just a constant thing, buzzing in the back of her mind. Often it got drowned out by the laughter of her friends, by the bass at a concert, by Skype’s dial tone she knew by heart by now.

 It was in the evenings, however, when she missed his warmth next to her, in the mornings that she woke up without him that it engulfed her.

 Noah had this whole new life in Berlin, and she caught glimpses of it in the pictures he sent her, in the stories he told her. A life with places he frequented that she had never been, with people he cared about that she had never met. He had a life and it was one she wasn’t part of. 

 And that was difficult for her.

 It wasn’t like she was so possessive or controlling that he couldn’t have a life of his own; it wasn’t even about that. It was about the possibility of that new life making him forget about his old one, about the one he had here with her in it. It was about the risk of that life becoming better, becoming so good that he decided to stay. That he decided to not come back.

 That he decided to leave her.

 And now thinking that she’ll have to go through that again makes her feel like she can’t properly breathe, like someone has a tight grip on her lungs and won’t let go.

 “So, what now?” she asks and it’s a genuine question. She doesn’t know where they go from here, doesn’t know what the next step is.

 “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t go,” he promises, and Liv knows he’s being sincere but still she nearly scoffs.

 As if that’s an option.

 As if there’s a reality where he doesn’t go and things stay the same.

 She doesn’t know if she admires his optimism or despises his naiveté.

 “So, you’ll grow to resent me for forcing you to stay?” she asks.

 “I could never resent you.” It’s his turn to be hit with consternation now, consternation and earnestness. He takes her hand and squeezes it. She knows it’s another reassurance for her and that the tiny shake of his head is one for himself, but it doesn’t work, at least not on her.

 She gently removes her hand out of his hold again.

 “You say that now.”

 He says that now but when things don’t go his way, he’ll always think “what if?” What if he had gone? What if he had chosen art, his first love, over her? What if he had made a mistake?

 And it would break her heart if he’d think that.

 “I say that now and I will continue to say that because it’s the truth.”

 She stands up, leaves his proximity and rakes her fingers through her hair. Breathing out, her chest deflates, and she takes a big breath again. Her fingertips end on her temples and she watches her feet, before her eyes jump to Noah still sitting down, his own eyes trained on her, watching her with a focused gaze.

 “I don’t want it,” she says, and she isn’t entirely sure about what she’s talking.

 She doesn’t want him to leave, true.

 She doesn’t want to go through what she went through when he was in Berlin, also true.

 “Then I stay.” Noah stands up and they’re back on equal footing. As he approaches her, her look slowly travels upwards.

 “No.” It’s out before she can truly think about it but once the word leaves her lips, there’s a shift that happens. Inside her brain, inside her body.

 No resonates in soundwaves through her thoughts, it vibrates through her bones. It muffles anything else.

 “Liv, what are you saying?”

 “I’m saying that you should go but we should break up.”

 It isn’t to make him abandon his dream, to force him to pick her. She’s giving him an out. An easy and clean one. 

 She loves him, that’s why.

 “You don’t mean that.”

 “What if I do?”

 She doesn’t even blink. 

 “Liv,” he says and there’s a hurriedness in his voice. His hands end up on her face, brushing her hair behind her ear and then bringing it back, tangling it in the process His movements are almost erratic. “Liv, I don’t have to go,” he repeats.

 She can see the pleading his eyes are doing but she ignores it, doesn’t acknowledge it.

 She can’t. Because if she does, she’ll break. And she doesn’t know if she can recover from that.

 “You should,” she contradicts him. “You said it yourself: it’s a renowned school. And it’s your dream to study art. I’m not going to stand in your way of achieving your dream.”

 He lets go of her face and she misses his touch, his warmth immediately. She misses it but she doesn’t ask for it back. Dazed, Noah shakes his head. 

 Liv can see the underlying anger building up inside of him. It’s accompanied by disappointment, but it isn’t necessarily directed towards her. Or at least, that’s what she thinks. What she tells herself.

  He clears his throat.

 “If that’s what you want,” he says, making sure she knows it isn’t what he wants.

 She doesn’t tell him that it isn’t what she wants either.

 Their drinks remain untouched on the coffee table, forgotten because all of the discourse, neglected because all of the turmoil.

 a/n: Hahahahah I'm evil I know. Part two coming on Monday (hopefully). Eternal gratitude to @whatadaze (even if she distracts me with way too entertaining conversations)

[avengerofyourheart]

Flour Girl {6} (Bucky x reader AU)

Characters: reader, Bucky (Jimmy), Wanda.

Summary: Discovering the cute guy you just flirted with is the heir of a rival bakery, you suddenly find yourself running into him all over the city. Can your small boutique bakery compete? And how do you deal with the guy who seems determined to make your life a living hell? Luckily you’re distracted by a secret admirer…But who is he? (Inspired by “You’ve Got Mail”, Enemies to Lovers)

Warnings: none! Mild swearing?

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: She’s ready to fight!!! Are you ready? ;) There’s a bit more about the actual baking process in this part. I’m toying with the idea of sharing recipes or maybe doing short videos while making some of the yummy things I’ve mentioned. Let me know if that is of interest! And I’d love to hear your thoughts on this part, all feedback is appreciated and adored! Thank you alll for your love and support. I love you.<3

<<Part 5   Part 6   Part 7>> 

Flour Girl Series Masterlist

Full Masterlist

______________________________________________________

(**gif is not a representation of the reader, only the act of kneading dough**)

Recipe development was always one of your favorite parts of the job. Inventing some new product that no one else had thought of, testing it out, and then tasting the end result was a satisfying process. Baking was a science and in order for it all to come together, you had to have the right ingredients in the correct amounts. Some people struggled with baking because it required more attention to detail and a lot of patience. You loved it though, every bit of it. Ever since you started making cookies in your mother’s kitchen as a young girl, you felt at home.

In order to avoid wasting time and ingredients, you grabbed a few of your current recipes and took them back to your desk to formulate a plan. After about 20 minutes, you decided to modify a scone recipe and a filled croissant. Having written down your adjustments, you grabbed your bag and told Wanda you’d be back shortly before walking down the street to the market.

Stepping inside the store, you felt your stomach clench at the memory of the last time you were there, that night when you’d run into Jimmy. It was mid-morning, though, and the chances of having a repeat interaction were slim to none. Fetching a basket, you walked down the aisle and selected the ingredients you had in mind before stopping at the cheese department and then checking out.

Back at the bakery, you set out your savory ingredients and got to work. You already had a sweet scone that was selling well in your pastry case. The flavor pairing of tart, zesty orange and rich dark chocolate pieces filling the scone and then drizzled with an orange glaze after baking made for a tantalizing treat.

English scones were much like a crumpet or a buttermilk biscuit, but a little more complex. For the savory version you had in mind, you weighed out your dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, and salt, but reducing the amount of sugar so the other flavors would be more prominent. Cutting up the butter into small cubes, you mixed them into the flour until the butter pieces were the size of peas. Next you slowly added the heavy cream and egg mixed together until it became a dough. Last came the sun-dried tomatoes and cubes of Havarti cheese that would bubble and melt to perfection in the oven. The thought of it made your mouth water.

You turned out the dough onto a floured surface and kneaded it with your hands a few times before patting it into a circle and then cutting that into triangles. You placed each one on a baking sheet, brushed them with cream and sprinkled coarse salt on top before sliding them into the oven. Washing your hands, you cleaned up the table and checked in on Wanda before starting your next project.

The filled croissant combination seemed a little odd, but if it worked out, the taste would be divine. Plucking the pears from your grocery bag, you peeled one of them, halved it, removed the seeds, and then began to slice it thinly. After rolling out a piece of croissant dough and cutting it into long triangles, you spread a small amount of spicy mustard on the wider side, placed a slice of smoked gouda cheese over that, and then layered the thin slices of pear on top. Carefully, you rolled up the croissant and placed it on a baking sheet.

It was easier to adjust and experiment with the croissants, since they were rolled individually. You put more cheese in some, more pears in others and then did a few without the mustard, in case the taste was too overwhelming. You wrote the contents of each one on a piece of parchment in black marker and then brushed them with an egg wash before baking. As the timer went off for the scones, the croissants were ready to go in.

You waited a few minutes before trying the scones and as you glanced at the clock, you were surprised so much time had passed. Caught up in your new experiments, it was a shock to realize it was almost lunchtime. Your internal clock was out of whack anyway, given your extra early wake up call this morning. Just then, your phone chimed so you pulled it out and woke up the screen.

A text from “B”. Seeing the initial pop up on your phone made you smile, and just like this morning, there was an attachment. He seemed to be respecting your desire to keep your interactions anonymous, so you weren’t expecting a selfie or anything. However, you also weren’t expecting a picture of a slice of pizza with the sign for Ruby Rosa’s Pizza. The caption read “Best slice in the city.”

Grinning with a bite of your lip, you pulled up the keyboard to respond.

FG: I might have to fight you on that. Their sauce is much too sweet. I prefer Capizzi’s.

“B” replied with an emoji of a shocked expression with a hand on each cheek.

B: You can’t be serious. Their crust is all wrong! I really thought we could still be friends after the whole Beatles/Stones debacle but this might be the last straw…

Letting out a chuckle you, rested your hip against the table and replied.

FG: If that’s how it is, then so be it. I stand by my pizza. You and your sugary sauce deserve each other. I should have known you’d love it, considering your THREE SUGARS in your coffee.

Those three dots appeared and lingered for a few minutes, so you took that time to taste one of your scones. They were delicious and just as you had hoped, the melted cheese had created delectable little pockets of gooey-ness in the scone, but the sun-dried tomato flavor was much too subtle. It would take at least one more adjusted batch to get it right. You weren’t surprised; sometimes you had to re-make something five times before the recipe was perfect.

B’s response finally arrived.

B: Whew. Alright, alright. We’ll drop the subject for now. I’ll definitely convert you one of these days, though. So how’s your day been?

You felt a flip in your stomach first of all, because it meant that he wanted this…whatever it was…to continue. And honestly, so did you. It had only been a short time, but hearing from him had become the highlight of your day. It didn’t matter that you didn’t know his name or what he looked like, in fact it was part of the fun at this point. Pecking out a reply, you sent it and then made notes on your scone recipe as you awaited his reply.

FG: Day started earlier than I’d like, and ran into that insufferable person but it’s been all uphill since then. :) How about you?

B: Man, can’t that jerk take a hint? Franny doesn’t need any of your dickhead-ed behavior. Especially running on less sleep. ;) I’m sorry that happened again. Need any more distractions? I’m available.

Your heart skipped a beat at that last phrase. He probably didn’t mean it in the way you might have interpreted. Maybe? In fact, since you knew almost nothing about him, it was possible that you were conversing with someone who might be…involved? Married? It was a ridiculous notion, since all you were doing was texting, but there was definitely a flirty tone in your conversations. Or you thought so. It was difficult to tell through text.

Just as you were about to respond, you got a phone call and the name on the screen made your face light up as you answered.

“Hi, dad,” you said with a smile.

“Hey, how’s my little Flour Girl? The big city still treating you alright?” you heard your father’s voice through the phone. You spoke at least twice a week and he always asked how you were getting by in the city, even after living there over a year and half. You loved that he still worried, though, so you just smiled and shook your head.

“The city is fine, dad. The shop is still doing great. How are you?” you asked, peeking in the oven at your croissants at the same time.

“Oh, I’m just fine. Not much changes around here, not like in the city.”

You grinned, knowing how much your dad preferred the quiet, small town life. You told him all about your new savory pastries and everything about the shop, but you held back the information about Barnes Bakery and this new “competition” with Jimmy, or whatever it was. That information would only make your father worry and besides, you had it under control.

Your parents had always been supportive of your career choice, never failing to taste your latest cookies or cake experiments growing up. Some of your first memories were of spending time with your mom in the kitchen. Whenever your dad came home from work, most nights he found you in the kitchen covered in flour. Thus, you became his little Flour Girl. A play on words that also rang true.

When your mom got sick during your senior year of high school, you became obsessed with finding new recipes that would sound good to her and that the doctors would approve. Her passing the following summer left an everlasting hole in your life and heart, but she wanted your dreams to come true, no matter what. She even set aside some money for your bakery in her will, making you even more determined to succeed in her honor. Since then, it had just been you and your dad against the world.

“Well, pumpkin, I better sign off. The boss is giving me the eye,” your father told you after a wonderful, lengthy conversation that you definitely needed.

“Yeah, I better get back to work, too. I love you, dad,” you said, trying to hide the emotion in your voice. His phone calls never failed to make you a little homesick, no matter how much you loved living in the city.

“Love you, too, Y/N. You be careful.”

“I will. Bye.”

Lost in your thoughts after hanging up, you jumped a little when the oven timer went off. Pulling out the croissants, you waited for them to cool before tasting a little bit of each one. Confident that you had found a winning combination, you also had Wanda taste them and select her favorite, which also happened to be the same as yours. Never hurt to have a second opinion. One last test batch of your Sun-dried Tomato and Havarti scones and you felt good about the recipes. Clint was going to be blown away and you’d get your spot back in their pastry case. You were sure of it.

Preparing both the croissants and scones to be baked fresh in the morning, you cleaned up your mess and checked what was needed up front. A few more trays of cookies in the oven and you finally pulled out your phone to respond to B’s text.

FG: Sorry, got interrupted by a phone call and work. But I’ll take a rain check on that distraction.

You read it over one more time, hoping it sounded just a little suggestive but not over the top, and hit send.

B: No problem. Offer still stands. :)

Smiling from ear to ear, you left the conversation there and went about your day with a little more pep in your step.

_____________

Part 7>> 

_____________________________________________________

OooOOOooohh!!!! Don’t those croissants and scones sound delicious?? *heart eyes* I actually do create recipes and change the flavors of baked good as part of my job. It’s pretty fun. :D And now he find out the origin of the “flour girl” nickname!! That’s pretty sweet, right? And a bit of background about why the reader loves to bake. Whether you sympathize or not, I hope you enjoy those little tidbits. Ooh, a distraction?? B just gets more adorable every day. ;) I’d love to hear your thoughts on this part, any feedback is appreciated. I adore every one of you!! Thank you. <3

Permanent tag list and FG tag list are CLOSED. 

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@yallneedtrek @lexie-mo  @flowercrownsandmetallicarms  @kingcarterprince @snuggleducky @acunningstargazer @zadyalyss @satans-knitting-club   @honey-bee-holly  @just-add-butter @captainradicalpassion @chook007 @peekingsunshine @odinhson @chrisevans1fan @fangirlwithasweettooth @angryteapot @srhls @jurassicbarnes @livingoffsavvyillusions @ahufflepuffbitch @sebbystanlover-vk @thisismyfriend-tree @susmita121 @fandom-addict-aesthetics @lowkeybuckyb @jitterbuck @lunacajun @aligatorinavest @isnt-the-blog-youre-looking-for @lilyblack78910 @uservalkyrie @hawaiiantozier

[madamebaggio]

Notes: Hello there, my good people! I’m truly sorry for all the delay, but here I am again!  Thank you so much for the likes and the lovely comments! You guys make writing this much more fun.  I have just finished this, and it hasn’t been beta-read. I’m almost sleeping on top of my keyboard, so there are probably a lot of mistakes. Let me know if you see anything too terrible and/or in desperate need of correcting.  Let’s see what happens next?

Chapter 6

The Mage knew Arthur was coming. Not because she heard it in the wind, or because the spirits told her; she knew it because his steps were loud, like a horse’s.

“You don’t want to kill the girl.” She spoke before he could open his mouth.

“Not if I can prevent it.” He admitted.

The Mage turned to look directly at him. “Because you care about her?” She challenged.

Arthur scoffed. “I don’t even know her.”

“That is not an answer.” The Mage indicated.

“I would prefer if we didn’t have to sacrifice people.” He finally spoke. “If one of us decide to go down, sword raised, screaming at the Heavens, it’s their business. I won’t kill someone just because she’s in the wrong place, with the wrong person.”

She arched a brow. “And you think you are the right person for her to be with?”

“Well, I am not planning on killing her, am I?” He threw back dryly.

“I thought we were just discussing that.” The Mage offered candidly.

“Can you not…” He groaned. “Will you help or not?”

“We can’t invade the castle to take her. We barely got you out alive the last time.” She reminded him.

“We can’t get in.” He agreed. “It doesn’t mean she can’t get out.”

The Mage seemed interested. “What are you thinking about?”

“How obedient are your furry friends?” 

XxX 

Sansa’s nerves were frayed. Between Arthur’s and Maggie’s warnings she didn’t know what to think anymore. She’d started questioning everything she thought she knew, and all the conversations she’d ever had with Vortigern.

Now, every time she was on his presence, she felt a visceral fear. It was nothing like she felt when Joffrey called her to the Throne Room. As much as Joffrey loved to act as this all-powerful king, he was nothing but a child playing pretend. Of course, the idea of being beaten and humiliated in front of a laughing crowd always made her fearful; she had to be constantly prepared for whatever way Joffrey would create to bring her down. Joffrey was a small boy with cruel ways, and he made her life a living hell.

But Vortigern was no boy.

He wasn’t playing at anything; he’d been controlling England with an iron fist for a long time now. Vortigern was a man of great power. Joffrey was nothing next to him.

Joffrey had scared Sansa, he’d made her live in fear for a long time, but it was nothing compared to the deep sense of dread she was feeling anytime she came next to Vortigern now.

Prey.

That was what the voice in her head kept saying.

Sansa didn’t know what to do. She had nowhere to go, everyone in England was too scared of Vortigern to give her any protection. At least in Westeros she’d been the heiress of a powerful House; someone might have helped her. Here…

She didn’t dare counting with the Impostor’s help. And no, she was not calling that… That man by his name. How dare he? Who he thought he was to invade her room and talk to her as if he knew all about her? How dare he invade her thoughts like he had with threats?

Sansa sunk in the tub, uncaring of how hot the water was.

“Would you like me to wash your hair, Lady Sansa?” Ruth asked.

Sansa sighed. “Please do.”

Ruth was much quieter than Jane; the other girl talked and talked, but Ruth was a bit older, and knew when to keep her silence. Lately she’d noticed that Sansa was different; she was quieter, just like she’d been when she’d arrived at Camelot.

“My Lady…” Ruth called softly. “I’m done with your hair. Would you like me to help you wash?”

Sansa was quiet for so long, that Ruth thought she’d fallen asleep; but then she opened her eyes and sighed once again.

“It’s not necessary, Ruth. I’ll finish alone. You can have the rest of the night for yourself.” She said.

“My Lady… I…”

“It is alright, Ruth.” Sansa insisted. “I’ll be fine alone.”

Ruth wanted to say something, but it wasn’t her place to question a lady. “Good night, my lady.” She curtsied and left.

Sansa waited until she heard the sound of the door closing, then she let her shoulders sag. She was always alert recently, and it was taking its toll on her. She didn’t feel like she could trust anyone, and it made her miss Shae terribly.

Normally, the Stark avoided thinking about Westeros at all; there was only pain left there. But sometimes… Sometimes she wondered. Was Arya truly gone? How about Jon? Had the Hound found some peace to himself? Where was Shae? Had Joffrey destroyed the land? Was Margaery the Queen now?

Vortigern claimed they had no news of Westeros, but if she insisted, he could dispatch a ship just to get her some information. Of course, the offer was always made in a polite way, but the way it was worded, it made it sound like it’d be terribly difficult, and she’d be a spoiled child if she pushed it. Sansa always declined, and then just stopped asking.

But sometimes she wondered…

Could she cross the sea and just go back to Westeros? Would it be better? At least nobody was trying to sacrifice her there. How the tables had turned…

Sansa pulled her legs closer and hugged them against her chest. “It’s not my fight.” She whispered to herself.

Something was shimmering under the water and it caught her eyes. Hands came out of the it and grabbed her arms; Sansa didn’t have the chance to scream before she was pulled under the water.

Sansa thought she was hallucinating; as soon as she went under, she wasn’t in a tub anymore, she was in what looked like a deep dark lake, looking in the face of a woman dressed as a lady. She tried to scream and fight, but it was useless.

Then she heard the voice.

“Sansa Stark. This is not your land, but this is your fight. You are here for a reason.”

Suddenly she saw herself in the middle of Londinium, but the city was in flames, destroyed. There were bodies everywhere.

“When he gets the power in your blood, this is what he will do.” The woman told her. “And soon, he will move to Westeros.”

She was back in the water, looking at the woman.

“Go to the Born King. Fight alongside him. Porcelain, to ivory, to steel, Sansa Stark. You are a wolf, not prey.”

Sansa pulled her head out of the water, gasping desperately.

What had just happened to her?

There was a ribbon floating on the water, just like the one the woman had worn. Sansa grabbed it and pressed it against her mouth.

“The New and the Old Gods help me…”

XxX

The Mage organized her things meticulously; magic was no child’s play. Everything had to be done with extreme care, if they wanted the proper results.

She knew Arthur hadn’t told anyone else about this. He’d asked for her help, and her help alone. She was only doing it because it wouldn’t risk them, and she wanted Sansa Stark there as well. It was better to have her near.

Once everything was set, she turned to Arthur. “Are you certain about what you’re asking me?”

Arthur wasn’t sure about anything at this point. He didn’t know what he was doing, not like he used to pretend he did. But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Right now, he only knew one thing.

“Bring her to me.” He ordered.

The Mage closed her eyes and started to chant.

XxX

It was the insistent tapping that woke her up.

Sansa was confused at first. When she opened her eyes, the room was still dark, so it was probably the middle of the night; only the fire in the fireplace lit the room a bit.

She looked around, trying to find the source of the noise, her eyes still adjusting to the lack of proper light. That was when she saw the raven on the windowsill.

“Oh my…” She gasped, clutching her blankets.

The bird was big, and it seemed as it’d been pecking the stone of the window to call her attention, and now that it had it, it was looking directly at her, with its black eyes.

It was a chilling sight, and Sansa wondered if it was a nightmare.

“Sansa.” The bird croaked, making her jump.

It had to be a dream. How would it know her name? She knew that ravens sometimes could learn some words if they were around humans for too long, but where would it have learned her name?

“Sansa.” It repeated, opening its wings. “Leave.”

Oh no. This was too odd, pure madness. She was sleeping, this was a nightmare.

“Sansa.” The bird insisted. “Leave.” It flapped its wings again, then flew the short distance to her door, pacing in front of it. “Leave.”

Sansa had seen things she couldn’t explain at Camelot, but this… This was something else.

“Leave.” The bird continued its pacing, getting more agitated the longer she took to act.

Not knowing exactly what she was doing, Sansa got up, grabbed a candle and lit it. Her feet touched the cold floor, making her think this couldn’t possibly be a dream, because she felt the chill all the way up her spine.

She approached the door, and the raven gave her space. Still thinking herself a fool -or at least truly mad -Sansa pulled it open.

Only to find a mouse sitting just outside, like it had been waiting for her.

Sansa gasped in shock at the sight of the animal, but managed to not scream. A fortunate thing, or she might have brought guards there.

For a moment she stood there, with a raven and a mouse looking at her face, like they were waiting for her to do something.

“Leave.” The raven spoke again.

She needed to know how far this insanity went.

Sansa hurried back to the side of her bed and put her slippers on, and grabbed a warm coat, since the corridors of the castle were cold this time of the night.

Once she got back to the door, the mouse started down the corridor, then stopped to see if she was following it. Sansa couldn’t believe she was about to do exactly that.

When she finally stepped out in the corridor, the raven flew to the window, then out to the night, and Sansa was left to go after the mouse alone.

She closed her door, and started to do so.

Why was she following the mouse?

Maybe because she still wasn’t sure she was awake. Maybe because she was still unsettled by the vision she had. There was this thing inside her, telling that she should go, that she should follow the little creature.

It guided her down the corridors, and Sansa had to hide behind columns and tapestries to avoid being seen, but it seemed as the mouse always knew, and stopped and waited for her.

It started leading her down a dark path, where she noticed she wasn’t exactly in the castle anymore. This was some kind of underground cave, beneath the castle, where the walls were made of actual carved stone.

Sansa felt like she’d been walking forever when the mouse took a narrow corridor. There was no more natural light coming from anywhere, and she could only hear the sound of water dripping somewhere and the mouse scuttling ahead of her.

After a few meters, it found a passage in the wall and it took it. Sansa hesitated; she could see it would be a tight fit; she’d be able to pass, but it wouldn’t be comfortable.

And why would she even try? She was following a mouse, for Seven’s sake! Had she lost her mind?

When she didn’t immediately follow, the mouse stopped, then came back, looking at her from the ground, like it was asking “what is your problem now?”.

Sansa kept following it.

It was a tight fit. In some places she had to lower her head or twist her body to pass. It clearly hadn’t been a passage made for people. Perhaps it was just a natural tunnel, something nature had put there way before men claimed the spot.

She felt like it was difficult to breathe, because it was so confined; she wasn’t sure the candle was helping or hindering her -her clothes certainly were giving her trouble -when she finally saw the natural light of the moon entering from somewhere ahead.

She pressed forward, leaving the candle behind in her hurry to finally breathe again. She could see the exit and once she crossed it…

She was outside.

Sansa could see the moon, she was at the foot of the cliff over which Camelot was built. She wasn’t in the castle anymore and nobody had seen her.

She was… Free.

“Sansa.”

It was the raven again, calling her name, and it had a new friend. A horse, on whose head the raven was perched.

“I suppose now you want me to ride the horse.” Sansa spoke to the raven, feeling extremely silly for doing so.

“Leave.” The raven replied.

“I know.” She sighed, then looked at the mouse, who was still by her feet, like it was waiting for her to go on. “Will you come too?” She decided to ask, because -at this point -why not?

She lowered herself and offered her open hand for the mouse to climb on. It did, and she carried it carefully, as she went to the horse.

It didn’t have a saddle, only the reins. Sansa wasn’t good at horse-riding even with a saddle, she could hardly imagine how she was going to do it without one. She didn’t even know how she would get on it.

“I need help.” She told the horse, even though she didn’t expect an answer.

The raven flew away once again, and the horse lowered itself to the ground, laying down for her.

“Thank you.” Sansa whispered, then mounted the horse, mindful of the mouse still on her hand.

She grabbed the reins and the horse got up, then started moving without any encouragement from her. Sansa still couldn’t believe this was happening and that it would be this simple.

As the horse moved, she looked over her shoulder, seeing the intimidating wall of stone, tilting her head up until she could see the shadow of the castle looming over her.

Camelot was getting farther and farther away.

She expected to hear an alarm at any moment, guards to come looking for her; but nothing happened. They kept moving alongside the river, putting more and more distance between themselves and the castle.

For a moment, Sansa felt sad. Who would keep Katia company now?

XxX

The horse didn’t require any direction from her. It knew where it was going, and just kept moving in that direction at a regular pace; not too fast, but not too slow either. Sansa trusted it to take her where she was supposed to be going, even though she didn’t know where it was or what she should do once she got there.

It was colder than she’d expected, and she was shivering even under her coat; probably because she was only wearing her nightgown beneath it. She was also extremely tired but was trying to stay awake.

They must have ridden for hours, because the sky was a little grey, like it got just before the sunrise. They’d entered a forest a while back, but now she was almost sure the horse was slowing down. Maybe it was tired.

They turned on a bend on the rustic trail, when she finally saw people. There two people there, and one of them had a face she knew quite well.

“Good morning, Lady Stark.” The so-called Born King waved at her. “We’ve been waiting all night long. What took you so long?”

She should have expected that.

Notes: So... A few things about this chapter.

I thought long and hard about how I was going to get Sansa out of Camelot. I had an original plan that involved Arthur going in and all, but if he was going there, he might as well face Vortigern at once, right? So I had to scrap this idea, because he's not ready to face his uncle and I want Arthur and Sansa together, flirting, being awesome and all of that. So I needed to get her out and that was the plan I came up with.

I decided to throw the Lady of the Lake there for a few reasons: one, to make Sansa more inclined to the idea of magical things happening (she did have to follow a mouse to get out of the castle); and two, because I wanted her to hear from someone else she was necessary here. I’m admitting it was a plot device, but I don’t think it turned out too bad… At least, I hope so.

I used the idea that the Mage could control animals like she did in different moments of the actual movie, with the dogs and the eagle during Arthur’s escape, and later on with the eagle and snake when they attack the castle. I also heard that ravens can learn a few words, if they live around humans for too long. Since this is kind of magic raven, he can say Sansa’s name as well. I mean, why not? Hahaha

Be nice to mice, sometimes they can lead you out of terrible places. I’m not sure if it is okay to mount horses that are laying down, I just saw it was possible. I checked a few videos to be sure, but my understanding of horses isn’t that great. So, technically possible, but I’m not sure it’s recommended.

Anyway… That was long… hahaha Let me know your feelings!

Next chapter: Arthur is his natural charming self, Sansa is not impressed, and Vortigern goes ballistic!

Cheers

[thecorpulentbeagle]

P5 Shipping Round Robin: Day 10

I am going to be honest – this slot was technically for Ann x Goro, but we have had two stories with Goro in a row (technically three if you count the PolyThieves one told from his perspective), so I replaced it with Ann x Futaba so readers don’t overdose on Goro Akechi. Also, this story technically has one of the characters from the original pairing, plus we haven’t heard from Futaba in a while!

This was very fun to write, so I hope you all think it’s fun to read!

Here is the fanfiction.net link.

Please enjoy this next part of the P5 Shipping Round Robin Challenge!

P5 Shipping Round Robin Challenge:

Truth and Lies:

Ann x Futaba

-Futaba-

“Hey, Futaba!” Ann exclaimed, standing up suddenly. She had been sitting beside the younger girl, who was feverishly working at her computer. She had some work to do unrelated to the Phantom Thieves, but work to be done nonetheless.

She had gotten pretty far along. Until a certain blonde beauty had entered her world – more specifically, her room.

Apparently, Ann wanted to spend quality time with every member of the Phantom Thieves, and, as she had put it, she was saving the best for last.

Futaba had jokingly suggested that she was merely her last choice, to which Ann strongly denied. Futaba wasn’t quite sure if she believed her, but it made her feel happy regardless.

When the hacker had told Ann her plans for the day, she figured that would either scare the model off, or would cause her to drag Futaba away to do something more “fun”.

Surprisingly, Ann had nodded her acceptance, and had then proceeded to plop herself down on Futaba’s bed, declaring that she would watch the girl work her magic. Heck, maybe she would even learn a thing or two.

It had been quiet, save for the click-clacking of Futaba’s keyboard, for almost an hour. She was making decent progress, and was firmly in the zone.

When Ann had suddenly moved into Futaba’s field of vision, the hacker had jumped, which caused her to input a bit of code incorrectly.

Grumbling slightly as she fixed her error, Futaba mumbled, “Yes, Ann?”

Ann was either ignoring or not noticing the irritation in her voice. She smiled. “We should play a game!”

Futaba quickly saved her work and switched off her screen, sensing that whatever Ann had in mind was something she would not be able to get out off. Raising an eyebrow, she replied, “What kind of game?”

Ann brightened at Futaba’s willingness to go along with what she wanted. “It’s called Two Truths and a Lie. I used to play it with Shiho all the time!” Her expression faltered slightly at the mention of her best friend.

Futaba reached out and brushed her hand against the older girl’s. She knew how Ann felt – it was similar to how she felt about Kana. It was hard to have a best friend that had to suddenly leave your life due to events out of either person’s control.

Ann’s expression shifted back to what it had been. She excitedly grabbed hold of Futaba’s hand and pulled her up so that she was standing in front of the model. Standing inches from the taller, and admittedly, stunning girl made Futaba blush slightly. She cleared her throat and stepped back a little.

“Anyway. What you do is tell someone two things about yourself that are true, and one thing that’s a lie. The other person has to figure out which is a lie!”

Futaba smirked. “Interesting that you thought I’d need an explanation.”

Ann stuttered. “Oh, s-sorry. Did you already know the rules?”

“Nope!”

Ann gasped. “Why you…” Grinning, she raised her hands up to Futaba’s collar and began tickling the other girl.

Futaba couldn’t help it. She was extremely ticklish after all.

She burst out laughing, squirming around as she tried to move her body away from Ann’s hands. Pretty soon, the older girl was laughing as well.

“E-enough!” Futaba grabbed Ann’s wrists and held them down at her sides, breathing heavily. While fun, she couldn’t afford to have Ann take her breath away in more ways than one – she’d asphyxiate that way.

Ann giggled. Sliding her hands down so that Futaba was now holding onto them instead of her wrists, she led the girl over to the bed. She plopped back down, causing Futaba to fall down onto it with a huff.

“So why don’t you start, since you seem to know the rules?” Ann teased, watching with mirth as Futaba sat up and started fixing her hair, which had gone askew during the tickling and subsequent tumble onto the bed.

“Even though I just admitted I’d never played before, it sounds simple enough. So yeah!” Futaba bounced on the bed. “Let’s see…” Futaba thought. What truths should she tell? The Phantom Thieves had already seen deep within her heart, so it was hard to think of anything that the older girl didn’t already know.

Conversely, what lie would Ann believe? Many thought that Ann was a typical ditzy blonde model, but that was far from true. First of all, why did people automatically assume that blonde people (or models for that matter) were stupid? Secondly, Ann was surprisingly sharp.

Of course, she could always say that she had a crush on Ann, and if things didn’t work out, she could say that was the lie. It was tempting, but Futaba didn’t want to play around with her feelings. They were serious, and this was just a harmless little game between friends.

Eventually, Futaba nodded her head. “Okay. I got a couple for ya.” Futaba folded her hands together. “First, I prefer home-cooked meals to instant stir-fry noodles.” She waited for Ann to process this. When the other girl nodded, Futaba continued. “Second, sometimes I sneak extra spices into Akira’s curry while he’s making it.” Futaba grinned at the belly-laugh from Ann. “Finally, I don’t actually need my glasses to see. I just like to wear them for aesthetics.”

Ann nodded her head sagely. “Okay. Let me think about this for a second.” The girl tapped her fingers, her eyes wandering around the room as if it could provide her with clues.

Futaba wasn’t sure if Ann was aware, but since she had not let go of the hacker’s hands the entire time, she was currently tapping her fingers on her hand. Futaba blushed slightly at the contact.

She was genuinely curious if the model would be able to figure out which was the lie, as they all seemed somewhat plausible.

“Alright! I think I’ve got it.” Ann stopped tapping and returned to squeezing the other girl’s hand. Futaba said nothing.

“I think… the last one is a lie.”

Futaba blinked. “Are you sure? Is that your final answer?”

Ann nodded. “Yep!”

Futaba smiled. “Correct.”

“Yes!” Ann fist pumped the air, which caused the mattress to sway.

“How did you figure it out? Curious minds must know!” Futaba demanded, since she was truly wondering how Ann had reasoned it out.

“Well then, I’ll tell you.” Ann wrapped an arm around Futaba’s shoulders. Futaba assumed it was a friendly gesture, but that still didn’t prevent her face from turning the shade of Panther’s outfit.

“I knew the first was true because I’ve seen the way your eyes light up with the Boss’ or Akira’s homemade curry. You like instant food, of course, but you always look really happy when you can eat their cooking.”

Futaba smiled and nodded, but said nothing. Had Ann really been looking at her that closely to notice these things?

Ann squeezed the girl’s shoulders. “The second one was true because I can totally imagine you spiking said curry with all kinds of stuff just to mess with him.” She winked. “I mean, why would some of Akira’s curry be absolutely divine, but others would be horrible? There was some kind of mischief behind the counter if you ask me.”

Futaba giggled.

“Finally,” Ann lifted both of her hands and placed them on either side of Futaba’s glasses frames, which startled the girl. Ever so gently, Ann lifted them off of her face, folded them up, and carefully placed them on Futaba’s desk. “I know that you can’t see well without your glasses. Whenever you don’t have them on, you always squint.” Ann had said all of this in a soothing murmur, and Futaba felt mesmerized by her voice. But then, Ann exclaimed much more loudly, “I mean, I think all these years of staring at a computer monitor really screwed up your sight, Futaba!”

Futaba shook her head, the stupor that had she had been trapped in suddenly vanishing. She reached over and picked up her glasses, sliding them back into place. “I guess that all makes sense. There’s no fooling you, Ann!”

“Of course! I am the master at this game.” Ann flipped one of her pigtails back behind her shoulder in a jokingly-obnoxious manner. “Now I’ll go and see if you can detect the lie.”

Futaba grinned. “I’m all ears.”

Ann cleared her throat. “Okay. First, I dislike carbonated drinks. Second, I’ve kissed a girl.” Futaba openly spluttered at this one. Ann noticed and smiled slyly at her. “Finally, I’ve kissed Ryuji.”

“W-what?” Futaba practically fell off the bed. “Why are two of yours related to kissing?”

“Why were two of yours related to food?”

“Touché. But still… wow…”

Futaba was having a hard time believing this. So the first one was obviously true – it was the most normal option. But the latter options were outrageous, and one of them was true! Unless they were both true, and Ann had thrown them in to startle Futaba from not picking the first one. Her brain felt like it was overheating.

“Huh. I’m gonna need some time to process this one.”

Ann smiled gently. “Take all the time you need.”

Futaba thought. She was going to go with her original assumption that Ann disliked carbonated drinks. Thinking back, she could never recall the older girl drinking one.

That left the kissing options. Ann seemed like the kind of girl who could swing both ways (though in all honesty, all of the members from the Phantom Thieves seemed like they could), so the girl one was not completely off the table. But maybe Futaba just secretly hoped for that one to be real.

The last one seemed… odd. The two were close… but were they close in that way? Futaba got more of a “best friends since childhood” vibe from them rather than romance. It seemed that this was her best bet.

“I have made my decision!” Futaba announced.

“Then let’s get on with it!” Ann prodded.

“I choose… option number three!”

Ann chuckled. “I figured. But you’d be wrong.”

“What? You’ve kissed Ryuji?” Futaba’s eyes bugged out of her head.

Ann nodded. “I sure have. It was for a dare, though, not because I like him like that. I couldn’t pass up the bet though. He was gonna buy me a super deluxe crepe if he lost!”

Futaba briefly wondered what the bet was. But she found that she couldn’t care less at the moment. “So then… you’ve never kissed a girl?”

“Bingo.”

“B-but… um… have you ever wanted to?” Futaba couldn’t help herself. It seemed like the question rose up out of her body before her mouth or brain could filter it.

Ann smiled. “Yes.”

Futaba raised her eyebrows. “R-really? That’s interesting, A—”

Before she could get Ann’s name out of her mouth, she noticed that something was on hers.

Namely, Ann’s mouth.

If Futaba had blushed before, it was nothing compared to what was going on now. She suddenly pushed Ann away by her shoulders, her own heaving with deep breaths.

Ann looked at Futaba with a hurt expression. Unable to meet the younger girl’s eyes, Ann mumbled, “W-was that not okay? I thought that… ya know… maybe… you liked me like that. I-I wasn’t sure, but I went for it and now I feel really bad and now you’re not saying anything and it’s freaking me out and –”

Now it was Futaba’s chance to return the favor. Once she had gotten over the shock of her crush not only liking her back but kissing her, Futaba was able to do what she had always wanted. Placing her lips onto Ann’s, the other girl made a surprised sound, but ultimately fell silent. She kissed the other girl back, wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her closer.

The two pulled apart after a few moments, both breathing heavily and blushing furiously.

Futaba wasn’t able to say anything just yet, but she moved forward to rest her forehead on Ann’s. She looked into the other girl’s eyes, conveying just how strongly she felt.

Ann smiled, looking right back at her. “Well,” she murmured, pecking Futaba on the nose, “Looks like everything I said was true after all.”

Bam! This story practically typed itself. I wish all of them were this easy to write. Sorry RyuAnn fans for that tease – you will get your chance! See you tomorrow!

[anthonyguidetti]

Pros and Cons After One Day with iPhone

I’ve switched from the Samsung Galaxy S10e to iPhone 11. It’s been almost five years since I’ve daily driven iOS, and here’s a few things I like and don’t like.

Pros:

Silent switch on the side, I’ve missed that for some time.

Lightning fast Face ID (still would like a fingerprint reader especially when masked).

System-wide dark mode.

Great Bluetooth settings, I like that I can easily see the battery on a Bluetooth device with the battery widget.

Better third-party app support: apps just seem to work better on iOS.

Cons:

Notifications are weird: I have no idea that I have notifications until I pull down the notification tray, and then when I do, there doesn’t seem to be a great organization in place, and when I try to clear it, instead of just swiping, I have to swipe and then click clear.

UI oddities: On Android, the home button stays in the same spot no matter what orientation the phone is in. Not true with iOS, which moves the gesture bar to wherever the bottom of of the phone is. I prefer the former because no matter where you are, the gesture remains consistent. Plus, when the phone is on, the left top corner has the time, and the right corner has the cell and WiFi signal strength graphs, and the battery symbol. Then when the user pulls down the Mission Control tray, the signal information moves to the left, and the battery expands to show percentage and if an alarm is set, and there’s no time. That’s just strange, but it’s all the fault of the gigantic, ugly...

Notch: Phone companies are attempting to make screens as border-less as possible, but no one has the answer for the front-facing camera, sensors, and earpiece location. Apple chose a notch, which I find tremendously ugly. Now the notch may be the best option in terms of function (not to mention it gives the iPhone an unmistakable face), but the form is just off-putting.

Keyboard: On Android, I had a number row, a period and comma button on both sides of the keyboard, and a persistent dictionary area at the top of the keyboard, always waiting to auto-correct. Without these features on iOS, I’m far slower at typing.

Waiting for Animations to Complete: iOS has smoother animations than Android, like when opening or closing an app, but iOS forces you to wait through that transition before anything can begin. Sure, iOS is prettier, but everything else is just annoying to sit through.

Custom ringtones: With Android, I can download the custom ringtones I’ve made, go through the file manager, and place them where they need to be. On iOS, I either need to buy them or download iTunes... ugh I shudder to think of that nightmare.

I know it sounds like I’m nit-picking, or perhaps overly critical, but believe me I could write up a good list of cons for Android as well. Overall, I’m pleased with iOS, honest. I’m basically using the same apps I did on Android, the phone is just a different color and brand, and for some reason, I feel like I’m better than everyone.

[coleymari-blog]

Cyber Space is Always Sweeter : Chapter 14

SUMMARY: LUCY IS A DOWN TO EARTH, STUDIOUS, RESPONSIBLE RUNAWAY ATTENDING MAGNOLIA COLLEGE. NATSU IS A RAMBUNCTIOUS, INTELLIGENT, PYROPHILIC FRATERNITY BOY GOING TO THE SAME SCHOOL.

THEY DON’T EXACTLY RUN IN THE SAME CIRCLES AND THEY HAVE ONE HELL OF A HISTORY. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE NAMES AND FACADES DISAPPEAR AND ALL THAT’S LEFT ARE WORDS BLINKING ON A SCREEN? MODERN DAY, COLLEGE/PEN PALS AU. I’M SORRY I SUCK AT INTROS. RATED M FOR LANGUAGE, ADULT SITUATIONS, AND FUTURE SEXUAL SITUATIONS. CHAPTERS 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

The second Lucy walked in, Natsu knew he was in trouble.

The second the door shut behind her, it was like the grad student became physically unable to focus on anything but her. His mind eviscerated any useful thoughts on covalent bonding and instead replaced them with her. A short, pink ruffled skirt hung midway down her thighs and a plain white tank top clung to her curves deliciously. She’d left her golden locks down, allowing them to hang loosely across her pale shoulders. Her makeup was casual, accenting her chocolate brown eyes just enough to make Natsu feel like she was staring right through him.

With slightly flushed cheeks, Lucy made her way to the seat around the corner of the table from Natsu. Honestly, he was surprised by her choice, expecting her to sit across from him like she tended to do the past few weeks. Being alone and in such close proximity to the girl that had been on his mind for weeks didn’t seem like the best of ideas but what was he supposed to do? Move to another seat and make it painfully awkward? Cancel the session entirely under the guise of ‘too little attendance’? Shaking his head briefly, the TA came to his senses. It was like going into a fight, he couldn’t let his opponent catch onto his weaknesses or hear his racing heart.

“And here I was thinking I’d been completely stood up,” Natsu teased cooly with a chuckle, leaning back in his chair in an attempt at appearing casual and unbothered. Any more ‘casual’ and he probably would have fallen over like a complete dumbass. Real smooth, Dragneel.

Lucy’s cheeks blushed even harder (if that were even possible), tinging her face, neck, and shoulders in a color rivaling her wardrobe. He honestly thought it was one of the most intriguing things about her. Even when she’d stood up to him at the Greek Row party at the beginning of the semester, she had this subtle flush to her cheeks, like they were desperately trying to give away some major secret that the blonde freshman was too stubborn to share. The more basic side of him, however, simply wanted to believe that his presence was what had that sort of effect on her.

“Hard to forget when it’s a weekly thing,” Lucy replied, a playful undertone hiding in her voice. She bent down to her right in order to place her bag on the floor underneath the table, causing Natsu to hold back a feral growl when her top rode up her waist, exposing her hip and lower back. Her voice was what brought him back from the edge of depravity. “Guess everyone is too busy partying before the game tomorrow.”

The Frat boy wanted to slap himself. How could he have forgotten?! The following day was the college’s Homecoming, the Football team’s first home game of the season. No wonder the session was dead, the other students were probably too busy getting drunk and making complete fools of themselves. Granted, the year prior, he and Gray had almost gotten ‘detained’ by Campus Police for streaking across the college grounds with nothing but the school flag after the team had won, but it looked like this year was going to be incident (and fun) free. “With everything going on, the game completely skipped my mind,” Natsu explained, frowning slightly. At least he still had the next day to drink to his heart’s content.

Bringing them back to reality, the Teacher’s Assistant quickly logged into his laptop and began the tutoring session. Once they were on the subject of Chemistry, and Natsu was able to think with the correct head, the two of them worked in perfect sync. He was so proud of Lucy when she solved problems that he knew had been more difficult for her in the past and the small celebrations she made when she was right made all their combined effort worthwhile. That worksheet he had “found” and emailed her? Yeah, he spent four hours making the damn thing for her but it seemed to do the trick. That bright smile and victorious giggle were the best rewards he could have ever hoped for.

After about an hour, Lucy excused herself to get a drink from the vending machine, leaving Natsu alone to figure out how to survive the remaining hour. Being so close to her spiked his adrenaline like being on the edge of a cliff. Part of him wanted to make a move, to dive right off head first into the unknown waters below. The other part of him desperately wanted to respect her and her boundaries. She was technically his student for Gods’ sake. If Makarov knew about his “special showers”, the professor would have his head.

Then he thought about Starfire. Natsu’s stomach fell when he thought about the faceless girl somewhere out in Earthland. Why couldn’t she have been a student at M.C.? Why couldn’t he have met her through a Frat party or inter-college mixer? At least then she would be real. Lucy was right in front of him, regardless of how she felt about him. It was normal for him to think/dream/fantasize about someone he actually knew right? Before he could figure out an answer, Lucy was back and setting a can down on the table in front of him.

“Got you your favorite energy drink,” Lucy said calmly with a sweet smile, smoothing down her skirt before regaining her seat. He couldn’t even remember telling her which brand he preferred.  In that moment, something snapped inside of Natsu and suddenly making a decision was so much easier. Diving off the cliff was the only suitable option.

“Thanks, Lucy,” he replied, cracking it open and taking a sip in order to buy him some time while he plotted his next move. Reading women was like reading an enemy on the mat, one needed to be quiet and observant in order to truly anticipate the other’s actions. He watched as she brushed strands of her golden hair behind her ear before getting back to work on Natsu’s worksheet. She was breezing through it much to his chagrin, meaning at that rate, she’d finish before the last hour was up.  He knew it was greedy, but he wanted to keep her there with him as long as possible.

Shifting his upper body, Natsu leaned his arm on the tabletop as he continued to watch Lucy work, closing the gap between them slightly. While talking to women wasn’t exactly his best skill, he normally wasn’t that nervous. He was afraid that if he so much as said the wrong thing, she’d run like some kind of frightened woodland creature. “So…” he muttered, looking down at his laptop in order to give some semblance of control. “Are you going to the game tomorrow with your friends?” Regardless of how many clicks he made on the keyboard, he stayed on the same web page, focusing on her and her response.

“Levy and her boyfriend are going tailgating with Fairy Tail,” Lucy explained, jotting down her scratch work for one of the formulas. Her teeth trapped her bottom lip as she figured it out, causing that carnal side of Natsu to want to do the same. “Figured I would just sit in the student section and watch.”

“Your first college Homecoming and you’re not gonna tailgate?” Natsu replied, unable to hide the shock in his voice. He couldn’t imagine going to the football games without spending the day partying and hanging out with his brothers and friends. It made the experience all that much better. No way could Lucy miss out on such a rite of passage. “Why don’t you come too? Fairy Tail always has plenty of booze to share and more than enough tent space.” They always sent the pledges to the Student Lot super early to settle the best spot possible. He grinned brightly at the young freshman. “What do you say?”

Lucy pondered the idea for a moment before answering, her smile saying everything Natsu needed to hear. “That sounds fun!” she answered excitedly, causing the pinket’s grin to grow. A day spent drinking, playing games, and spending time with Lucy sounded more than perfect to him. She blushed softly once more before turning her attention to solely focus on Natsu. “Thank you for inviting me.”

The tutoring session continued in the normal fashion, Lucy asking questions with Natsu explaining them a million different way so she would fully understand. She was working on a particular problem while he was scouring his student email for something about Rush Week before he decided to take another chance. Slowly and gently, Natsu brushed his knee against Lucy’s, never taking his gaze away from his screen but watching her from his peripheral vision. The blushing returned with fervor but what happened next was completely unexpected. Coughing, Lucy shifted and crossed her legs, running her shin against his thigh.

Did she think she was smooth?

Surprisingly, Lucy left her leg right where it landed, her knee resting against his. Even though it was through his jeans, Natsu felt like he’d been struck by lightning and he was suddenly more aware of her presence. The smell of vanilla and jasmine overtook him, the sound of her tapping her pencil against the desktop, everything made Natsu feel like he was on fire. Her next question shattered him into a million pieces.

“So how’s that Lisanna girl?” Natsu noted a hint of something like jealousy in her voice but it still pained him.

“Wouldn’t really know, she’s with one of my brothers now,” he replied, making sure to sound as apathetic as possible. If he was being honest, Natsu had barely even thought about her since meeting Lucy, except when it was something negative. “Don’t hang out much with Lily Heart girls anyway.” For multiple reasons.

Lucy giggled at his response. The sound was almost angelic. “I hope I don’t run into them much during Rush next week,” she said softly. Natsu was confused almost immediately. Was she going through Rush again? That took bravery, something that the grad student admired immensely.

Natsu grinned, puffing out his chest playfully. “Well, if they give you any trouble, you come to me and I’ll handle it. Sound good?” The look in her eyes said it all, gratitude, respect, appreciation, and just a flicker of romantic intent (okay, maybe he was dreaming up that last one). But there was one thing he knew, he’d defend her from the world if it meant her looking at him like that...

[passionatefanfictionbka]

Chrianna Interlude: Trending

“Robs, come on. What is taking so long?” Noella exclaimed.

“I’m coming. Relax!”

  Rihanna scoffed as she turned to her laptop, “Babe, they in here trippin’”

Chris chuckled, “where y’all going, the parade isn’t until tomorrow right?”

“They wanna go shopping for some other stuff. I don’t even know why they rushing, it ain’t like the damn store is gonna close in ten minutes.”

Chris laughed, “you so rude.”

Rihanna shrugged her shoulders as she pulled a fitted over her blue hair. Chris squinted hard, “Baby Girl?”

“Yes?”

“Is that my hat?”

Rihanna took the hat off and stared at it for a few moments before placing it back on her head, “Nah, I don’t think so.”

“Robyn, look at me.”

Rihanna looked at the screen as she bit down on her lip, “huh?’

“Robyn Rihanna Brown, is that my hat?”

“Babe….”

“No. No. No. Why you keep doing this to me?”

“What?”

“Stealing all my shit. Every time I see you, you got something else of mine on. I’m surprised you haven’t stole my boxers.”

“Well...I wouldn’t exactly say-”

“Robyn….come on Baby Girl.”

“Chris, you got a million of these. It’s not like you’re gonna miss it.”

“That’s not the point.”

“So what is the point?”

“Stop stealing all my shit. It’d be different if you actually brought it back to my house.”

“Well if I do that then I can’t wear it again. Duh.”

“You know what? I can’t with you.”

Rihanna giggled, “besides it serves you right for being mean to me.”

“How was I mean to you?”

“You didn’t come to Barbados with me.”

“Baby Girl, you know why I didn’t.”

“Uh no I don’t.”

“Robyn, yes you do and we are not doing this.”

She stuck her tongue out at Chris and turned to face her vanity mirror, “ you always wanna be so serious, Christopher. Besides, as much as I think your reason for not coming is stupid, I respect it because I know where it’s coming from.”

“Why does it have to be stupid?”

“Because I don’t like it therefore it’s stupid.”

“Baby Girl what?”

“You heard what I said.”

“But if you were to give the same reason and I called it stupid, you’d call me an asshole.”

“No. A spoiled brat maybe but not an asshole.”

“So does that mean I can call you a spoiled brat?”

“I never said I wasn’t one. Doesn’t make your reason any less stupid.”

“I’m gonna pull a Rihanna and hang up on you, seriously.”

“You could but you won’t.”

“And why is that?”

“Then you won’t get a peek at my Grand Kadooment outfit.”

“The outfit you sent me a thousand fabric and stone choices to look at?”

“Yup”

“You think that’s enough for me not to hang up?”

“If you knew what it looked like, it’d be more than enough.”

Chris scoffed, “I’ll take my chances. I love you and be safe.”

“Chris, I’m serious. I’ma block you and everything.”

“No you won’t.”

“Ok, I won’t but still don’t hang up.”

“Baby Girl, I wanna take a nap and I’m tired of you calling my reasoning stupid.”

“But it is,” she whined.

 *Beep Beep*

 “This muthafucka really hung up on me,” she said to herself in disbelief.

Yellow Nigga: So…. you just gonna go outside like that without me?

Baby Girl: Yup. Should've been there 😜

Yellow Nigga: Don’t play with me, Robyn

Baby Girl: I’m not. I invited you but you decided not to come. Would’ve been worth your while as you can see

 Rihanna closed out her messaging app just as her phone started ringing with a FaceTime request. He was so predictable. She brushed some hair out of her eyes and slid over the answer bar, “Yes Christopher?”

‘Why you play so much?”

“What did I do?”

‘You know what you did.”

“Chris, I invited you to Crop Over. You didn’t think it was a good idea, I wasn’t about to force you.”

“But you knew you were wearing that.”

“So did you. You helped me pick it out.”

“All I saw were the fabrics and the stones and you know it.”

Rihanna laughed, “You mad?”

“No. Jealous a little but not mad.”

“What you jealous for? It’s yours.”

“But I didn’t get to see it firsthand.”

“Maybe next time you’ll come somewhere when I invite you.”

“All that attitude, you must want me to fly down there and correct it.”

“I don’t have an attitude. Just stating a fact. So what you doing?”

“About to have your notifications blowing up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re about to see.”

“Chris, I swear to God, you better not do something ignorant.”

“It’s not ignorant. You just about to have a comment section full of novels.”

“Babe….”

“What? I swear it’s not a big deal at least not to us.”

“Is it nasty?”

“Nope. I’ll save that for our text messages.”

Rihanna laughed, “so what are you about to do?”

“Comment on your picture.”

“Seriously? That is not gonna do anything.”

“Wanna bet?”

“How much?”

“200 and you gotta wear that outfit without the tights underneath when you get home.”

“Oooh you real confident.”

“You taking the bet or what?”

“I’ll take it and if I’m right, you also gotta get me a new purse.”

“Ok. Bet.”

“Bet.”

Chris scrolled through his timeline and clicked comment under the full body photo of Rihanna’s Kadooment outfit. Placing nothing but the eye emoji, he pressed send and left her page. A couple of minutes later, his phone rang and he slid over the answer bar. Two crisp hundred dollar bills were placed directly in the camera and he laughed, “Told you so.”

Rihanna groaned as her face filled his phone screen, “I really gotta give you this money?”

“Yup. Don’t worry, I’ll still buy you another purse. Just because I love you.”

“Babe, why are people like this?”

“Like you don’t know why.”

“Chris…but come on. Seriously, this is ridiculous.”

“Who you telling? I can’t do shit without people losing they damn minds and as funny as it is, it’s really pathetic.”

“I just- I really thought you were exaggerating. These muthafuckas are really writing paragraphs in my comments over a damn eye emoji.”

Chris laughed and shrugged his shoulders, “I’m used to it. They did the same thing when I told Mama Fenty Happy Birthday, like she ain’t my second mama. If you think your comments are bad, imagine all those blogs that were lurking as soon as I posted.”

“Ch...I ain’t bothering with their bullshit. Like I really wanna turn my comments off but that’ll just make it worse.”

“Yup. Damned if you, damned if you don’t.”

“Babe, this is crazy.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I know this has to be hard for you.”

“Hard for me? Why? I’m with you, this shit doesn’t phase me. It’s harder for them than it is for me. Hell they the ones carrying around all that anger and gotta sit at home banging on their keyboards complaining about something that’s completely out of their control. I laugh at it, it doesn’t do shit to me. “

“I guess you’re right.”

“Robyn, I know you worry about me especially when people bring up old shit every time I fucking breathe but I’m fine. What do I always tell you?”

“That you can handle it.”

“Exactly so let me handle it, Baby Girl. I got this. I’m good.”

“Ok. I guess.”

  They fell silent for a few moments before Chris burst out laughing, “Baby Girl, check your texts. I just sent a screenshot. This shit is wild.”

Rihanna furrowed her brow as she went to her text messages, “Baby, you have got to be kidding me.”

“I told you, this shit bothers them way more than bothers me.”

“Baby, this is beyond bothered. Sometimes I think I need new fans seriously because this is ridiculous.”

Chris chuckled, “Baby Girl, they aren’t worth the headache or the energy to be honest. What you up to later?”

“Family shit.”

“When you coming home?”

“Probably in a few days. Not sure. I know you wanna change the subject but this is still blowing my mind.”

“Want me to give you something else to focus on?”

“Depends. Does it involve a dick pic?”

“Do you want it to?”

“I’d prefer to see it in person but I can make due with a picture.”

“You know you nasty right?”

“You asked. I’m horny and slightly drunk. You should’ve know better.”

Chris laughed, “All jokes aside, you looked beautiful and I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

“I did. Next time, I really want you to come though.”

“You know I don’t like making promises so I will try and come next time. Good enough?”

“Are you gonna give me another answer?”

“Probably not.”

Rihanna pouted, “I guess it’ll have to do.”

“You know I love you right?”

“Yea.”

“Baby Girl, don’t look so sad. You making me feel bad.”

“I’m not trying to, it’s just- you know.”

“What’ll make you feel better right now?”

“Can you sing to me?”

“What you wanna hear?”

“I’m scared to say this but you pick.”

Chris laughed, “why you scared?”

“Because you be coming out of left field with stuff sometimes.”

“You have nothing to worry about. I’ll keep it clean.”

Rihanna giggled, “don’t be mad if I fall asleep though.”

“My voice is soothing, I know.”

“Uh...more like I’m drunk so…”

“Now I’m not singing for you.”

“No. Wait, I was just playing.”

Chris chuckled, “relax, I was joking. You good?”

“I’m great.”

“You love me?”

“With all my heart. Now sing me to sleep please.”

Chris smiled, “this normally goes better when you’re physically here.”

“That’s just because you like touching me.”

“True.”

Rihanna giggled, “Babe…”

“Ok, ok.”

[imaginedsoldier]

Tag 11

I was tagged by @cosmicmoves

1. How do you feel about using public restrooms?

I have complained on this blog about the restroom situation at my old job where every urinal was empty and every stall had a dude standing up to pee in it several times. The actual act doesn’t bother me, its all the nonsense that comes with being around grown adults who bring their terrible home habits to a public space.

2. What is one thing you accomplished recently that you’re proud of?

I put time into a video game, FFXV. Whenever I play games I usually feel ashamed, like I am wasting time and not utilizing my potential properly. I put time into FFXV and I didn’t feel bad about it at all! I’m making progress.

3. What is something you want to accomplish soon?

Self-forgiveness. Its a constant act, not a state, I think. Some days are easier than others, but I’m deserving of it.

4. What is your favorite meme?

Wholesome memes of any kind. Denial of expectation is my favorite kind of humor, and wholesome memes completely invert the tenor of memes in their structure and make me giggle a lot.

5. What’s the weirdest food combo you’ve eaten and enjoyed?

This is the hardest question on this whole thing, because I feel like weird is regional, and I don’t know what y’all will think is weird. I can’t answer this, too much pressure.

6. What is your go-to coping habit / if you don’t have anything to cope with, what’s your go-to relaxing activity?

I used to just exercise, and that is still a prevalent urge whenever I feel frustration or sadness setting in, which is couched in the idea of controlling my body to control my circumstances. Now I play with my dogs. Its still physical, so its comfortable for me in that sense, but its about joy and enjoyment, not achievement.

7. Dancing in the mirror or singing in the shower?

Dancing in the mirror. I’ve been practicing waacking more and I like the feedback.

8. Do you believe in aliens? Ghosts? Demons?

Yes, no, no. Aliens are just a numbers game, and by a loose metric, bacteria on mars should count as alien life. Ghosts and demons are not something I’ve *personally* experienced in my life and don’t attribute any mental energy to, but don’t ever really discuss because I know they are important to other people’s worldviews who *have* had experiences with them.

9. If you could have one skill or talent that you could master without working for it, what would it be?

Selfless empathy. Whenever I display empathetic behavior there is always a twinge of self-centered pride or desire for that to be recognized. I feel like I have a good ability to develop tangible skills, but selfless empathy is a lifelong project.

10. What do you think of when you think of me?

Libraries, the clicking of a keyboard, sheets pulled past your neck, conspiratorial glances when someone says something dumb, a full inbox.

11. What is your 2017 Mood™?

My idols are dead and my enemies are in power, so love and forgiveness for my friends, no mercy for those who hurt them.

My Questions

1. 3 songs you’ve got on repeat right now- 2. Current aesthetic goals? 3. Preferred method of Nazi destruction? 4. Favorite fast food joint? 5. Something you’d associate with the two of us- 6. Netflix or YouTube? 7. Character you associate with yourself- 8. You’ve been given the ability to rewind time 15 seconds, but not within your 15 second interval. What do you end up correcting most often with your quarter of a minute redo time? 9. Food item you’d erase from existence if possible- 10. Use this space for a self-compliment. Say something nice about yourself. 11. Put on “Hey Ya!” By OutKast. This isn’t a question, just do it.

I’m tagging @acheronia, @diothesuccbrando, @laciiguapa, @twisted-and-tangled, @electric-fur, @rubarb, @island-delver-go, @powerdad5000, @speckledsnail, @hardcoremagicalgirl, @malcolmxfanclub

[michellelewis7162]

Esports IMG as well as Are Actually E-Sports Definitely Sports?eSports Manual for New Players

Esports IMG as well as Are Actually E-Sports Definitely Sports?eSports Manual for New Players

 eSports Gaming Information

If you are actually unclear of what Esports IMG pc gaming even is, at that point let's obtain you competent. Basically, eSports is actually a competition in which players combat it bent on the league or even dining table when playing internet video games. These organised competitions are actually taking the pc gaming planet by hurricane right now and it was actually even determined that in 2013 a staggering 71.5 thousand people tuned in to view the game. That amount has actually simply increased ever since as well as it is actually secure to mention that eSports are here to stay. Lol Esports Photos

 Worldwide in 2014, the esports photos video gaming field create a massive $325 million, as well as due to the end of this particular year this is actually put to cheer $493 thousand, while its viewers is roughly 225 million!

 eSports Games Available

There are considerable amounts of eSports activities available to delight in, but there are actually a few that have actually been particularly popular among players in recent times as a result of their excellent quality graphics and also wonderful game play! Several of the big titles that you are actually probably to find across when looking for eSports games to participate in are Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm which is actually a strategy game from Blizzard, Super Smash Bros Melee from Warner coming from Nintendo, Injustice: Gods Among Us coming from Warner Brothers, Killer Instinct coming from Microsoft, as well as ultimately from Activision comes our experts will mention one of the most preferred each one of these video games and also is actually Call of Duty: Ghosts.

 Unless you have actually observed some of these activities in activity, then it may be quite tough to describe what is thus outstanding concerning them. When participating in an eSports video game the principal objective of the activity is to often kill or even defeat the various other gamer and also these activities are remarkably prompt which may create them pretty complicated to stay on top of.

 There are additionally many International tournaments offered to participate in also. A few of the tournaments that you may possess become aware of are actually from the video game publisher Vale, who manage The International Tournament which just features one of its very own video games Dota 2. To get this event project started, the firm utilized crowdfunding to make a huge award pool of a tremendous $10 million! Other companies additionally run their own events consisting of Blizzard and also their tournaments consist of eSports games including Starcraft. Ultimately, one of the largest tournaments that you will view within the eSports business is actually the League of Legends Championship Series which is actually managed by Riot Games. This event is actually so exciting that it also sold out the popular Staples Centre in only 1 hr!

 The level of popularity of eSports has actually obtained a bunch of drive over the last married couple of years. What familiar with be actually thought about an interest as well as for kids has ended up being a fully functional field at the professional degree. Simply like the greats professional athletes of the NFL, NBA as well as MLB, steady hrs of practice and competitors will create their spot on the gamer as well as can easily restrict the quantity of opportunity devoted executing in the sport.

 Normal specialist players will definitely play a minimum of 10-12 hours per time. Discomfort along with gaming athletes may be actually important given that the ache is probably in an area of the body system that has to be actually made use of in order to participate in. Player arm pain can gravely confine the quantity of hours a player can easily invest practicing and also completing, which are going to result in a loss of certainly not simply a competitors yet may have a dire influence on the player's or even crew's financial payouts.

 Playing by means of the discomfort is certainly not an effective answer either. Due to the time a esports player injury is strong sufficient to become noticed there's a powerful indicator the problem has been developing for pretty a long time.

 eSport injury symptoms you must concentrate consisting of the following:

 Hand pain - pins and needles or even tickling in the palm or fingertips, weakness in grip strength and standard soreness

Reduced neck and back pain - pins and needles or even prickling right into the shoes, legs or even buttocks. General pain in the back that raises after resting lengthy time frames.

Upper neck and back pain - tightness and also standard aching near the shoulders and at the base of the neck.

eSport injury options include taking notice of tiredness that changes your posture while participating in and any kind of discomfort that happens while participating in. If you were an athlete executing on the area or even on a courtroom, the absolute best remedy is actually to take breathers while you are actually participating in and carry out extents merely as. A suitable flexing regimen is actually obligatory for any sort of professional eSport athlete.

 With the expanding recognition of reasonable video gaming, some have actually examined the validity of esports. Lots of people, including professional athletes and also late-night talk series hosts have examined whether a term featuring words "sporting activities" may really be made use of to illustrate something like video activities. Is it reasonable to consider a person who rests at a computer or even games console all the time a professional athlete? While the majority of gamers would most likely agree that a person that plays a game like Halo or even Call of Duty professionally is actually certainly not a professional athlete in the very same way that somebody who plays in the NFL is actually a professional athlete, but is it truly that different?

 A lot of gamers claim to have actually been actually participating in video recording games given that they were actually young little ones, a lot of beginning to work at the competitive side of pc gaming in their very early teenagers. They've operated their technique up from staffs that are usually comprised of neighborhood good friends or individuals they've met playing online, to far better groups hoping that they'll be actually observed through one of the top players as well as be actually provided the opportunity to prove themselves. While thousands of folks all over the world play video recording games in some capability, simply a tiny amount of those possess the skill and also devotion needed to be actually thought about a specialist.

 Apart from a couple of singular player esports names, the majority of video games that are actually participated in on the affordable level are actually team-based. Ring of Duty, Halo, Counter Strike, League of Legends, Dota, Overwatch, etc. are actually all played by staffs of at minimum four gamers. Just how a person plays as component of a staff can easily create or break their job.

 Some of the important points individuals will definitely argue is actually that sportsmens in conventional sporting activities experience a considerably better risk of accident than specialist gamers. While sportsmens are at a better danger for injuries like busted bones, torn tendons, concussions, and so on, esports may not be fully jeopardize free. When you devote ten hours or additional of your time looking at a video gaming screen and also swiftly tapping switches on a controller or pushing secrets on a computer system keyboard, there is actually a danger for traits like eye stress as well as carpal passage if the correct measures aren't taken. While it might not be actually completely fair to compare these apparently minor accidents to those gone through by traditional sportsmens, they can easily still impact an individual both basics of game and also might likely be actually career ending.

 Unlike the majority of professional athletes, numerous professional gamers additionally have various other duties like university and also work. Gamers in the smaller esports aren't usually under compensation, so must commonly rely upon event earnings. Although going far for your own self on platforms including YouTube and also Twitch may most definitely assist supplement that profit, many qualified players must hold various other tasks outside of video gaming. This indicates that they should know to balance pc gaming along with job as well as may must compromise time along with household and friends to make sure they fall to hasten along with the competitors.

 Is it feasible that one day there certainly will be Little League pc gaming staffs or even that children will claim they desire to be the upcoming Walshy or Ogre 2 instead than desiring to be actually the following Peyton Manning or even Michael Jordan? Recently I would certainly have mentioned no, yet along with esports carrying on to acquire recognition and also becoming recognized as a more legitimate industry, I am actually certainly not therefore certain, particularly along with universities such as the University of California in Irvine delivering esports scholarships. Irrespective of whether esports will ever be looked at in the very same space as additional standard sports, the potential absolutely appears brilliant.

 Very competitive pc gaming has actually been around a lengthy opportunity on the COMPUTER along with qualified Starcraft organizations or even competitions for video games like Quake as well as Counter-Strike. The Xbox 360 has made affordable video gaming far more preferred in recent times with the pro-gaming console organization Major League Gaming, or even MLG for brief, as well as has begun to become categorized as a sporting activity through a lot of gamers. Also sporting activities news insurance coverage, like ESPN, have invested this brand-new trend gotten in touch with E-Sports (electronic sporting activities) and right now deals with MLG games on their website and also occasionally mentions it on Sportscenter. Yet is this interest justified? Are actually E-Sports definitely sporting activities? The solution is no as well as listed here are actually reasons why this is so.

 Lack of broad intrinsic skill space

When I made use of to participate in SOCOM II, a buddy of mine had over 2,000 hrs logged onto the activity online. I possess a 2.5 K/D proportion on Halo 3, yet I hardly ever play the game as well as do certainly not take it truly. I have an emotion, though, that if I participated in 8 hrs a time or even more with the intent to take it extremely seriously, I can possibly compete at the MLG level.

 This is not therefore along with sports like hockey, basketball, baseball, even golf or even tennis. I utilized to participate in hockey as a little one however despite the amount of I played, there is actually a 99.999% odds I would never ever make it right into the NHL. I assume the same could be mentioned for 1000s, perhaps also countless sportsmens in primary sporting activities. However not video gaming. You possess an excellent odds of having the ability to complete in the area of gaming merely through instruction and remaining committed to it.

 Perhaps I could possibly certainly never beat TSquared but given that gaming carries out certainly not involve physicality, the variation between our company would certainly be simply dedication. He is actually a lot a lot more committed than I am actually, and has actually been for a quite long time. The professional gaming participates in computer game as his life. I chose a different career pathway. Merely like I wouldn't be actually as excellent a forensic private detective as a person who has 20 years knowledge, I definitely would not be actually as really good a gamer as TSquared if I competed against him today.

 There is no hunting integrate

In a lot of significant sporting activities organizations like the NBA, NHL, NFL, as well as MLB, there are minors or even college amount play. This is actually just how gamers make it approximately the majors, they participate in through college and afterwards obtain composed to a crew or play in the minors, prove on their own, as well as are contacted. In E-Sports, there is actually no smalls. You don't must prove yourself to complete, you just spend to get in a celebration. I can't tell you the lot of opportunities I have actually viewed a sporting activities game on TV to hear a reporter mention something along free throw lines of 'You're in the Majors, you should manage to create that play' or one thing comparable. There's no status being an MLG player, it is actually meaningless. Anyone can easily become one at anytime. Right now, you might obtain terribly defeated if you're no excellent, yet it's given that you're completing at an amount you should not be. There is actually an explanation when primary category players in MLB are actually sent down to the minors on a rehab project or one thing that they dominate or that a gamer that may control at triple An or even the AHL for hockey could suck in the NHL or MLB, it is actually a totally various degree of play.

 E-Sports do not possess amounts of play enjoy this (certain there is actually the CAL as well as CPL yet it doesn't operate the exact same means). Either you are competing or you're not. I believe to be taken into consideration a sporting activity, MLG needs to solve this by integrating a minor game where gamers are actually farmed coming from to completing in the majors. This would certainly be the only technique to obtain into the majors is actually to be welcomed, not just sign up and paying out a cost.

[the-fitsquad]

Workstation Vs Desktop Computer

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has contracted with Dell to acquire Windows-Intel computer systems for institutional use. Great workstation computer systems can tremendously boost your workplace efficiency. We supply workstation laptop models of all configurations to meet your precise wants now—but with an eye for the future of your organization and your business. We can aid you locate the cost-powerful workstation desktop that will not be obsolete when it is time to upgrade. Our experts are prepared to take you by means of our workstation models and mobile applications, as nicely as answering your queries about the direction that company technology is going.

We know that energy customers have exclusive needs to run effectively and we take the feedback we hear seriously. Significantly of that beneficial feedback comes by way of the Windows Insider System Nowadays we are really excited to announce a new edition of Windows 10 Pro designed to meet the demands of our sophisticated users deploying their Workstation PCs in demanding and mission-vital scenarios. Windows 10 Pro for Workstations will be delivered as component of our Fall Creators Update, available this fall.

A couple of hours later I get a telephone contact back from the guy (Indian) who says that I need to confirm that I am a true person. I give him my delivery address details and e mail address. He has an concern with my hotmail address (which is 1 that I’ve had for over 15 years and utilised to buy all of my computers in the previous). Apparently considering that everybody can sign up for a hotmail account it is not good enough to verify that I’m a actual particular person. He wants me to send an e-mail from my work address. I dispute this since I am buying this laptop for private use. At some point I give up and inform him that I will do this in the subsequent five minutes. I get an instant “out of workplace” reply back from the e-mail address. No indication of no matter whether my order has been moved out of the holding pattern it was presently in.

Would you like a clever, powerful & silent Workstation Computer to run a lot of displays in crowded workplaces like banks, site visitors manage and headquarters of any type? Airtop is also hugely advocate as CAD for 3D design and video editing. The pc Desk have a CPU shelf and a Slideout Keyboard shelf. Bottom shelves to place books, printer, and so forth. 1 x Personal computer Desk. ★ Mixture of fashionable style and excellent seat characteristics. Characteristics: Workstation PCs have distinct features that give them their title. These typically contain: ECC RAM, several processor cores, RAID, SSD and optimized GPU. All of these parts and components make a CAD workstation Pc a lot more trustworthy and dependable. For instance, ECC RAM fixes memory errors just before they affect your system, which prevents crashes and downtime. SSD cards are much more dependable simply because they do not have moving components and are more quickly.

If you are lucky enough to be creating your personal workstation, has a quantity of furnishings options for your house, office, or computer space. From straightforward models to higher end command desks, we have options that can be customized for your individual requirements. Get efficiency above and beyond what you’d expect from your custom workstation personal computer with AVADirect. You are going to get a high-high quality program, as each detail is regarded as when assembling your develop. Our seasoned technicians give the utmost attention to every single piece, using top high quality handle procedures and a number of quality checks throughout the entire approach.

Get pleasure from vivid picture high quality by connecting your desktop computers to monitors created to meet the demands of your house or company. LCD displays use liquid crystal technologies to provide high-quality graphics at a reduce price tag point, and LED monitors function backlighting that aids picture high quality and gives exceptional HD viewing. These slim and lightweight monitors never take up considerably space on desktops, producing them simple to integrate into your workspace. A laptop pc is lightweight and designed to be a transportable computing resolution. Unlike a desktop personal computer, a laptop has a develop in monitor, keyboard and rechargeable energy supply. There are numerous distinct manufacturers of laptops so just before you purchase, be confident to research a couple of various tends to make to make certain you get the correct one for your computing requirements.

To determine the variety of workstation computer your organization demands, you should first assess your information management specifications. Will you be keeping your information in private servers or in the cloud? Do you require global communications and guaranteed click to find out more uptime? We carry top-of-the-line workstation laptop brand names such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Inside our comprehensive inventory of workstation computers you’ll discover the appropriate brand and model to meet your computing wants.

As opposed to the installation of industrial panel PCs, which can cause significant upheaval and disruption to provide chains, personal computer workstations for use in industrial settings do not require drastic alterations to software, processes and infrastructure. In reality, you can customise Industrial Computer Workstations to suit any industrial provide chain. The Application Licensing Service reported that the pc is missing a essential OEM license. LIRA workstations are located in the Engineering & Computer Science Library (Room 2402). There are four LIRA workstations (ENW025, ENW026, ENW027, and ENW030), closest to the public printer, near the Details Desk.

Out of interest for such issues, you might want to take into account hunting at the Dell Mini 9 or comparable, as the information controller. This low powered laptop is ideal for at least my requirements. It has quite low power consumption when in full use and next to absolutely nothing when idle. It only has a 1.6GHz CPU and 8GB SSD with 1GB RAM. But for my use at least, it is well sufficient for my serving purposes. I discover it much better than most costly committed NAS boxes, when utilized with a modest Windows 7 footprint. The SSD is tiny, but is great with the modest OS footprint and the few apps that I need to have it to run. Plus it has keyboard, trackpad and monitor, for when you need to do something with it. It only has a 100Mbit lan interface, but this is fine for my serving purposes as my served content’s bandwidth is much less than the bus speed of 100Mbit LAN and USB for the drives.

From basic workstations to higher finish command desks, we’ve got a lot of furniture possibilities for your workplace, house, or personal computer space, several with built-in cable management systems and a number of configurations to customize to your liking. We’ve also got workbenches, media carts, storage cabinets, shelving units, chairs, and even a desk with a built-in server rack. We have solutions for your IT labs, classrooms, warehouses, training facilities – wherever a comfortable, organized workspace is desired.

This Workstation Pc functions ample expansion slots, USB three.1, and VGA video capabilties correct from the board (DP, HDMI, and DVI-D from the board when paired with a E3 v5 CPU featuring Intel® HD Graphics P530). Walking towards the 3 computers close to the escalators, the rightmost (ROW302) is a LIRA workstations. A wide assortment of Modular Personal computer Workstations is offered by us to clients in bulk at most reasonable prices. The offered Modular Laptop Workstations are made by us as per the needs of the clients. Modular Laptop Workstations are mainly recognized for their longer shelf life.

Our workstation assistance consultants provide totally free assist with installations and problem solving for Macintosh or Windows Computer desktop and laptop computer systems, application, and peripherals such as printers and individual digital assistants. Principal coverage goes to the major systems of faculty and staff and the School’s pc clusters. Secondary coverage extends to other Stanford owned computers in labs and student offices. Only minimal aid associated to network connectivity, safety, and program crashes is obtainable for personally owned computer systems.

Titan Workstation Computers is proud of its unique and exceptional client service encounter. The consumer is at the heart of our company model and we strive to develop relationships more than and above merely promoting goods. As normal, all Titan Computers come with a two-year warranty on elements,with the selection to extend this to 4 years. Our support however, is a special lifetime service. Even after the warranty on your elements have come to an finish, you still take pleasure in access to support and labor from Titan Computer systems, for life. Our business is serious about buyer service. A representative is designated to you especially, which signifies that you will deal with the very same particular person every single time.

People who use computers for extended periods of time may knowledge discomfort or discomfort as a result of poor posture, improper adjustment or use of workstation elements or other variables. In most situations, there are comparatively straightforward and affordable corrective measures which can be employed to minimize the likelihood of discomfort or injury. We are your trusted supplier of new and factory refurbished computer systems and laptops, all for sale at clearance rates. As a preferred Dell companion we specialise in a particularly wide variety of Dell laptops and desktops such as the Latitude , Precision and OptiPlex ranges.

Filed under: Tagged: computer, desktop, personal, workstation from KelsusIT.com – Refurbished laptops, desktop computers , servers http://bit.ly/2jSRUds via IFTTT

[lbcybersecurity]

Using DNS to Clean Your Pipes

I really despise ads, they completely ruin my browsing experience. Auto-playing videos, popup and overlay ads, and Forbes begging me to buy a subscription or “turn off your adblocker.” It‘s all a drag, and although an browser-based ad-blocker will take care of most of them, ad-blockers work when you can actually install them in the browser Many of us have more than just desktops and laptops on our home networks. Gaming consoles, smart-phones, tablets, E-Readers, and more. How do you block ads on those devices if you can’t install ad-blockers on them?

To take it a step beyond just ads and focusing on security as well, many ad-blockers don’t block malware domains, browser-based bitcoin miners, and phishing sites. Even if you could configure your ad-blocker to handle these security issues, it still wouldn’t apply to your devices in which you have no control over the browser. The only way to really ensure what sites your devices can ‘talk’ to is to control the answers it gets from the server to their DNS queries.

The Power of DNS

If you’re not familiar with DNS, think of it like a phonebook. Wait, come to think of it, I haven’t owned a phonebook in over a decade. Instead, think of DNS like the contacts list in your phone, except instead of just the folks you know, it contains the names and phone numbers of everyone on Earth. That way, when I want to call Last Days of Autumn to see what beers they have on tap, I simply search my contacts for Last Days of Autumn and my phone dials the correct number (865–202–4298). DNS works much in the same way. When you want to visit savagesec.com, your machine asks its assigned DNS server “What is the IP address that savagesec.com is assigned?” and then your browser takes you there (198.49.23.144). DNS ensures you don’t need to memorize or keep a record book of all the IP addresses for your favorite sites, much like your contact book keeps the phone numbers of your favorite people.

Because your network queries DNS for almost every connection, it can be a very powerful network control. For example, if we can tell our devices that the drive-by malware site, supermaliciousdomain.com, resolves to 0.0.0.0, when we attempt to browse to the site, it goes nowhere, thus saving us from an infection. It doesn’t affect direct IP address connections, which we’ve seen in some malware, but for the most part advertisers and malactors use DNS names to communicate instead of directly contacting IP addresses.

Building a Pi-hole

To build a Pi-Hole, you’ll first need to build a Raspberry Pi. CanaKit makes some pretty solid kits that include everything you need. At a minimum you’ll need:

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

2.5A Micro-USB Power Supply

A MicroSD Card (I used 32GB)

A case for your Pi (optional, but a good idea. You could also build one out of Legos.)

To make it easy, I recommend buying this kit from CanaKit and tossing in a MicroSD card to your cart. This will bring your total investment to ~$63.

About the size of a credit card, just much thicker.

Once you’ve purchased your RasPi, download Raspbian. I recommend the Lite version because we aren’t going to need a GUI, so why introduce the overhead?

Once you’ve downloaded the image, follow these directions specific to your Operating System. I use Linux as a my daily driver, so the following is what I did. Your steps may be different depending on your OS.

After downloading and extracting the Raspbian Lite image, I plugged in my MicroSD to my machine and wiped it out using gparted. Next, we need to write the Raspbian image to the SD card. I did this using the dd command.

First, determine what device is your microSD card/target. You can do this on Linux with sudo fdisk -l. I know my SD card is showing itself to the OS as 29.7 GB, so I just look for that device.

Disk /dev/sde: 29.7GB. That’s my MicroSD.

Next, we are going to take the Raspbian image and use dd to write it to the SD card as follows. Remember, when using dd, if=input file and of=output file. In my case, the command is as follows:

sudo dd if=2017–11–29-raspbian-stretch-lite.img of=/dev/sde bs=1M conv=fsync

Now it’s time to eject the microSD and insert it into our Raspberry Pi to boot for the first time. You will need a source of power, a keyboard, an HDMI hookup for a display, and a network connection (I went with a wired connection).

Upon initial login, your username/password will be pi/raspberry. I advise you change this as soon as you login. You can change your password by simply typing passwd and pressing Enter.

Next, make sure you have an IP address with the ifconfig command and then update the system with the following commands:

sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade

Next, let’s download and execute the Pi-Hole install script:

curl -sSL https://install.pihole.net>install.sh chmod +x install.sh sudo bash install.sh

At this point, you’ll walk through the setup. When you get to the page that asks if you are OK with the IP settings, say no so you can assign a static address. If you opt to use a DHCP address, make sure you set a DHCP reservation in your router.

After install is complete, it’s a good idea to set your admin console password to something you can remember. Do this with the following command:

sudo pihole -a -p

After you’ve set everything up, it’s time to shut it down:

sudo shutdown -P now

After it’s shut down, take your Raspberry Pi and plug it in to an empty Ethernet port on your router, then plug in the power.

Logging In to the Pi-Hole

Go to another machine on your network and ping the IP address of the Pi-Hole to make sure it’s on the network. After it reports back, connect to it in a browser by navigating to http://<pihole-ip-address>/admin. Log in with the username ‘admin’ and the password you specified.

Configuring your Router

After you’ve confirmed that your Pi-Hole is up, running, and you can log in to the admin interface, it’s time to configure all DNS requests to flow through your Pi-Hole for maximum DNS blockage!

We need to configure preferred DNS settigns, so log into your router (typically 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and find the DNS settings. Set the primary DNS server to the IP address of your Pi-Hole and the secondary to whatever you’d like (I chose 8.8.8.8, one of Google’s DNS servers).

After setting your DNS servers, your router will likely need to reboot.

Confirming it’s Working

To confirm it’s working, log back into your Pi-Hole console and go to the Query Log. You should see it being populated by the domains you and anyone else on your network has been visiting.

After a day of using it, it’s already blocked 8% of my traffic:

How Does This Help Me?

Pi-hole was initially developed to block ads for all devices on your network without the need of a browser plug-in. This not only helps decrease the amount of bandwidth you’re using, but also gets rid of all of those annoying ads (including malvertising). Because the blocking ability of Pi-hole is based on DNS, the content you choose to block is completely up to you. To get a better idea of what is being blocked, log in to your Pi-hole admin console and navigate to Settings. You can see what lists the Pi-hole is using to generate it’s Gravity file (the master blockage file, if you will).

We can look at the exact domains by clicking on any of the files in the list. Looking at the first file in the list, Steven Black’s unified hosts lists, we can see that in addition to blocking ads, it’s also blocking trackers, analytics engines, browser-based cryptocurrency mining sites, as well as thousands malware domains. In addition to those categories, it’s also blocking shock sites, spyware domains, and scam sites. As you can see, it’s not just cleaning up ads.

You can also customize what you are blocking by adding or removing lists. For example, Steven Black has additional lists you can add to your Pi-hole configuration that include the blocking of fakenews, gambling, porn, and social media sites.

Block to your heart’s desire.

Wrapping Up

Using DNS to ‘clean your pipes’ is very powerful, in that it affects all devices on your network without having to install plugins, agents, or additional software. Having the ability to block known malicious sites, whether they be phishing domains, malvertising, drive-by malware, or malware beaconing domains, is something most organizations would pay a considerable amount of money for because it’s such a powerful tool to reduce risk. It can also be a valuable troubleshooting and investigative tool when trying to determine what hosts are being queried and at what time.

Although Pi-hole doesn’t scale to large enterprise (simply because of the amount of DNS requests), the block lists absolutely do. If you have the ability to sinkhole domains in your organization, I recommend utilizing some of the mentioned blocklists in this post. If you don’t currently have at tool to sinkhole DNS requests, you can build one using PowerShell!

If you do build a Pi-hole, I highly recommend donating to their project.

Using DNS to Clean Your Pipes was originally published in Savage Security Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The post Using DNS to Clean Your Pipes appeared first on Security Boulevard.

from Using DNS to Clean Your Pipes

[pajama-nerd]

Part Eight

This could probably have been posted yesterday, or even the day before, but I, uh... I learned about FNAF world...so, uh...yeah, that’s what I did for the last two days.

anyway...

Night 3

**

“Welcome back to another pivotal night of your thriving new career,” HU greeted Jess as the elevator began its descent. She gave a nod and a wave, stifling a yawn as he continued. “Where you get to really ask yourself, what am I doing with my life? What would my friends say, and most importantly, will I ever see my family again?”

Jess snorted, leaning against the side of the elevator.

“We understand the stresses of a new job, and we’re here for you. To help you reach a more stable and relaxing frame of mind, we offer several musical selections to help make this elevator ride as relaxing and therapeutic as possible. We offer contemporary jazz, classical rainforest ambiance as well as a wide selection of other choices,” HU said. She arched an eyebrow as the glitchy keyboard once more appeared, mouth quirking as she wondered what random-ness she might be subjected to tonight. “Using the keypad below, please type the first few letters of the musical selection you would prefer,” HU instructed.

“This should be good,” she muttered, aiming for the ‘H’.

She only typed in one letter when the glitchy keypad deactivated and folded back down into the floor.

“It seems that you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will auto-correct it for you. Thank you for selecting: Casual Bongos.”

Beach music filtered down from the speakers and Jess smiled a little as she rubbed her eyes. Lord she was tired.

“Now that your elevator experience has been customized to your needs, and you are thoroughly relaxed, it’s worth mentioning that due to your lackluster performance yesterday, your pay has been decreased by a substantial amount,” HU said. Jess scoffed.

“Really, HU?” she asked.

“Please enjoy the rest of your descent,” HU said without acknowledging her. She shook her head and stared at the floor, hooking her thumbs on the straps of the backpack she’d brought with her. She needed to figure out how she was going to proceed once she was down in the facility.

Her first thought was to talk directly to Ballora, but given that the ballerina had attempted to maul her the night before, that was probably inadvisable. She didn’t want to deal with Fun-time Freddy, given that there was nowhere for her to go if he came after her, and talking to him directly kind of defeated the entire purpose of that tape-deck someone had obviously found very necessary to make. She hadn’t dealt with Fun-Time Foxy yet, so best not to tempt fate.

Somehow, she would have to gain entry to Circus Baby’s Auditorium.

After all, Baby was the only one who’d spoken to her so far.

Well, aside from HU, but that hardly counted.

Eventually the elevator stopped and she hit the button with her left hand before getting down and crawling through the entryway vent.

“Due to unforeseen malfunctions from today’s shows, your nightly duties will require you to perform maintenance that you may or may not be skilled enough to perform,” HU said when she emerged in the Primary Control Module. She dusted herself off disinterestedly and smirked wryly at the bag of cleaning supplies she’d left there the night before.

“Is that so,” she said, not really expecting a reply.

“It became necessary for technicians to attempt to disconnect Funtime Freddy’s power module. However, they were unsuccessful. Allowing them to try again would be an inefficient path forward, as we would need to allow six to eight weeks for recovery and physical therapy,” HU informed her. Jess slowly shook her head and regretted a lot about her life.

“Seems perfectly reasonable,” she muttered.

“You will need to reach the Parts and Service room on the other side of Funtime Auditorium to perform the procedure yourself. Let’s check on Ballora first, and make sure she’s on her stage,” HU instructed.

Jess hit the light, blinking at but not really reacting to the sight of pieces of Ballora being held aloft by the Minireenas she performed with.

“Huh,” she mused.

“Great. It looks like everything is as it should be in Ballora Gallery,” HU said, and she gave a single laugh, eyes sliding closed as she shook her head. This guy, she thought to herself. “Let’s check on Funtime Foxy. It’s important to make sure she’s on her stage before entering,” HU added.

“Sure, sure. Wouldn’t want to interrupt anything,” Jess muttered, wiping a hand over her face before reaching for the light. She was looking at the glass when she reached for the button, so she had time to register the shape of two shadows before the light came on to reveal that Fun-Time Foxy was right up against the glass, staring in at her, and right alongside her was a mangled mess of wires and endoskeleton with an almost identical head.

She made weary eye-contact with both of them.

She waved.

They watched.

The light went out.

“Great,” HU said cheerfully. “It looks like everything is as it should be in Fun-Time Auditorium,” he told her.

“Yeah, nothing out of order there,” Jess muttered.

“There is no need to check on Baby tonight. Please refrain from entering unauthorized areas. Proceed directly to Fun-Time Auditorium,” HU said.

Jess’ heart began to sink as the vent to Fun-Time Auditorium opened, but there was a sound to her left, and when she looked, the vent to the Circus Gallery Control Module was open too. She looked back at the glass. The shadows were still there.

“Be with you ladies in a minute,” she said, turning and crawling through the Circus Gallery Vent.

It was completely dark in the Circus Gallery Control Module, and Jess looked up and around for a moment, unslinging her backpack and dropping it by the vent before turning to face the glass.

“Hey,” she said, glancing back at the vent and then up at the ceiling. “Circus Baby, can you hear me?” she asked.

There was no response. Jess took a breath and rubbed her face, stifling a yawn before sighing.

“Real talk, Baby. I found out why you guys were created. It’s awful, and it has to stop, so I’m gonna get you guys out of here. I just...need you to talk to me so we can hash out the details,” she said, leaning closer to the glass and trying to see inside. She considered using the light, but the little panel wasn’t lit, and anyway the light in the Auditorium had never been that helpful.

She stiffened at the sound of a noise coming from the vent and stifled a curse as she knelt down and tucked herself hurriedly into the space under the desk, pulling the metal plate over the opening. Eventually the noise stopped, and she eyed the holes in the plate warily, wondering if this was yet another visit from the freaky plastic babies – what her research had revealed to be called ‘Bidybab’.

“Did you know I was on stage once?”

Jess blinked at the sound of Baby’s voice.

“It wasn’t for very long; only one day. What a wonderful day, though,” Baby said wistfully. “I was in a small room with balloons and a few tables. No one sat at the tables, but children would run in and out. Some were afraid of me; others enjoyed my songs. Music was always coming from somewhere else...down the hall,” Baby went on.

Jess listened very carefully, thinking about the article of the premature closure of Circus Baby’s Pizza World.

“I would always count the children. I’m not sure why. I was always acutely aware of how many there were in the room with me: two, then three, then two, then three, then four, then two, then none,” Baby said.

Individual Entity Tracking, Jess thought, swallowing hard.

“They usually played in groups of two or three. I was covered in glitter. I smelled like birthday cake,” Baby went on happily, before growing more serious. “There were two, then three, then five, then four.”

There was a pause.

“I can do something special. Did you know that? I can make ice cream – although I only did it once...There were four, then three, then two...then one. Something happened when there was one,” Baby said, sounding distant and sad. “A little girl, standing by herself. I was no longer…myself. And I stopped singing. My stomach opened, and there was ice cream,” Baby said. Jess gritted her teeth, closing her eyes with a quiet sigh.

“I couldn’t move; at least, not until she stepped closer,” Baby said.

Because of the ice cream, because what child doesn’t like ice cream? Jess thought, a tiny ember of fury and disgust roiling in her gut.

“There was screaming for a moment – but only for a moment. Then other children rushed in again, but they couldn’t hear her over the sound of their own excitement. I still hear her, sometimes,” Baby said. If she were human, Jess would say she sounded on the verge of tears.

“Why did that happen?” Baby asked, and then fell silent.

Because your creator’s a sick fuck, Baby, that’s why, Jess thought before swallowing to clear the lump from her throat.

“Did she say anything to you?” she asked in the dark. “The girl you...made ice cream for?”

There was silence for a long moment, and Jess stayed still, worried that she might have driven Baby away with the question. But then there was a new voice, younger.

“Don’t tell Daddy I’m here,” the new voice said, and Jess’ stomach dropped. She put a hand over her mouth. “I’ve been wanting to watch the show too. I don’t know why he won’t let me come see you; you’re wonderful! Where did the other children go?” The little girl’s words sent a wave of horror and disgust through Jess. These were the last words of a child whose trust was about to be grossly betrayed. And the truly disgusting part was that it wasn’t just any child. The horror subsided, leaving only rage in its wake.

“Do you know who that was?” she asked, fists clenching despite the pain it caused. There was no answer, but she hadn’t expected one. “Well, I do. I know exactly who that was. Let me lay it out for you,” she said. She turned her body so her back was braced against the back of the console and kicked the metal panel out so that it clattered across the darkened room. She pulled herself out and faced the glass, jaw set in a furious grimace. “William Afton – that’s the guy who created you. He built you. He built you in his house. He built you in the place where his kids lived. And he didn’t say, ‘hey, kiddos, look what daddy’s building: murder-bots! Cool, right?’ No. His kids grew up in a house where their dad made ‘toys’—” Her hands came off the hips they were planted on and made lop-sided, sarcastic finger quotations. “—that they weren’t allowed to play with. They probably asked. They probably asked a lot. ‘Dad’s making toys, but I don’t get to play with them? How come daddy makes toys for other kids but not for me’—I am so fucking mad, right now,” she broke off, taking a deep breath and holding it until the red seeped out of her vision.

“So, Clara – that’s William’s daughter – Clara’s pretty smart. She probably thought to herself, ‘well, daddy’s new toy is going to be at the big party down the block. I’ll just sneak in and see her real quick – no one will know’. That’s why it happened, Baby. Because William Afton was a sick fuck who made you to kidnap and kill kids,” she said, stopping to rub a hand over her face. “This guy – this asshole – made you specifically to kidnap and kill kids and didn’t once think ‘well, hey, maybe I should program in a safety feature to make sure they don’t kidnap and kill my kids’,” she ranted, putting on a pretentious asshole voice before sneering into the dark. ‘What a piece of – I was already going to bust you out of here, but holy shit, I am fucking committed to it now,” she said. She’d begun restlessly pacing side to side in front of the glass, responding to the primal urge to do something. What she would really like to have done is find William Afton and beat his face to a thin red smear, but since that wasn’t an option, pacing would have to suffice.

Except it wasn’t doing much, because the Control Module was tiny width-wise, so she turned to pace length-wise instead and froze.

She wasn’t alone.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7  Part 8 (this one)

[ibloggingkits-blog]

New Post has been published on Blogging kits

New Post has been published on https://bloggingkits.org/10-apple-macbook-pro-touchbar-recommendations/

10+ Apple MacBook Pro Touchbar recommendations

I’ve been the usage of a MacBook Pro with Touchbar for a few months, and that I’ve end up quite acquainted with its new user interface functions – to the extent that I experience Laptop magazine changed into rather unfair in its latest grievance of the PC.

Why Computer was given it wrong

You could use the Touchbar to accomplish that tons extra, and while I bet Laptop hasn’t but without a doubt tried to apply their Mac in any significant feel, I’ve, and that I discover the Touchbar a fluid way to reach nested application instructions. It’s far especially beneficial while using Seasoned apps.

I’ll take one second to throw a little complaint at Pc’s records. How can the publication cast off key records factors (audio and software) inside the last two years and declare to be constant?

I additionally notion the criticisms: shade, no longer being a Floor, the move to Thunderbolt and other complaints were exaggerated in evaluation to criticisms leveled against competing products. I idea hacking a point from Apple’s Assist rating because it doesn’t offer Help through Fb became ridiculous. What number of “contact factors” do others offer?

tips You can use

Allow’s circulate on. Right here are some reachable guidelines I’ve to prepare throughout the previous few months that I suppose will assist you to get more out of your Touchbar (I’ll anticipate you already know how to personalize those buttons).

Shushing up Siri

I additionally reported this tip someplace else. I discovered a trouble when operating in that I stored tapping the Siri button by way of mistake. My solution? Essentially I customized the strip, positioned an Undertaking Manage button in which Siri typically is and shifted the assistant to the left of the extent controls. It labored. If you have this trouble, you might want to attempt it.

Rapidly Siri

Faucet the button to invoke Siri, or Faucet it, hold protecting it down, ask your question and release it and your assistant will fetch the solution for you. You’ll keep seconds!

5 is the magic variety

The contact Id sensor at the right of the Touchbar can Aid up to Five prints. This matters as if you want to soundly proportion the Mac You can assign one print to each consumer, given you 5 users (and guests).

Function

Do you locate you operate the Function keys frequently in some apps? You may get to them through pressing the ‘fn’ individual, however You could also set that precise app up just so it Usually shows those keys. To try this, open Keyboard Gadget Alternatives, choose Function Keys, and faucet +, You could then choose the app. One more issue, while the use of that app You could get to the ‘ordinary’ Control Strip tools by tapping the ‘Fn’ key.

at the slides

Transfer extent or brightness speedy simply by way of tapping the button, urgent it for a second, the slider will seem and You can move it to wherein you want it. (You may additionally boom/lower in tiny increments simply through protecting down the option button while the use of the slider).

Car Complete

While you are filling in a shape the Touchbar will provide up autocomplete guidelines, letting you select distinct emails, or addresses, or some thing different alternatives you have in your contact card.

Each fingers

You could use Touchbar and the touchpad collectively. One manner to see that is whilst searching for Finder documents in Carousel view – you pick out the view inside the bar, and scrub via files the use of the pad. Another region you’ll see that is when the use of edit tools in Photos, the Rotation device is specifically cool.

Calculator

From the small but useful dept.: Apple’s Calculator app is optimized for Touchbar. Open it and also you get preferred controls, but open the customize Touchbar object in Calculator’s View menu and I think you’ll be pleased at what you find. You need to explore the customization alternatives inner every app.

Name

Touchbar provides a variety of buttons when the usage of Facetime, along with Answer and Decline; check Caller Id, mute the call or set a video Call up to complete display screen.

The missing feature

some Mac customers need to put the Dock interior their touchbar. The bad news is: You could’t. The good information is: two apps, TouchSwitcher and Rocket can do this, even though they aren’t to be had thru the App Shop. (Here is a neat selection of other indie apps to feature greater to touchbar).

Google+? in case you use social media and take place to be a Google+ person, why no longer be a part of AppleHolic’s Kool Useful resource Corner network and be a part of the communique as we pursue the spirit of the brand new Version Apple?

were given a story? Drop me a line through Twitter or in remarks beneath and Permit me know. I’d adore it in case you chose to observe me on Twitter so I’m able to let you realize when sparkling gadgets are posted Right here first on Computerworld.

Apple MacBook Air 13″ – Closing Ultraportable Alternative? For the reason that unique Macbook Air, Apple has introduced a few improvements to the ultraportable variety. The state-of-the-art portfolio (from 2d 1/2 of 2011) consists of eleven and thirteen inch variations with Intel Core i5 and Intel Middle i7 processors, SSD drives have long past large with 128GB and 256GB available. The frame had gone through slight facelift and is now slicker, sockets on the aspect look excellent and are machined-out of solid aluminum body. Shows are beautiful and of high first-class with resolutions as much as 1440×900 pixels. Apple in the end made backlit keyboard a preferred trouble previously handiest found in Macbook Pro models. Macbook Air as entire feels amazingly strong, I don’t assume another examined ultrabook feels this manner, also may be very light though now not as mild as a number of the ultrabooks.

Apples touchpad is a masterpiece and have become my benchmark. The touchpad feels extremely good, could be very correct and all of the new iOS like gestures work simply properly, to the factor that when couple of days the use of it I am not able to apply the usual Laptop touchpad from different makers anymore. Touchpad is definitely biggest I have reviewed and to be I’m attempting simply difficult to find any faults with it and apart from single click which for my part I might now not grievance approximately and that is sort of Apple’s iconic characteristic this may experience a little bizarre for Windows Laptop customers, however believe me you will get used to it, and in case you want a “proper-click on” you sincerely click on with arms to acquire the identical effect! Sure, it knows whilst you use multiple palms.

Keyboard is as true, choice to have a backlit keyboard changed into a have to, this become lacking from the original Macbook Air and if every person used a Macbook Seasoned or Alienware Computer before, then you realize what I’m speakme about. Keys are properly spaced and of desirable size and just about deep enough, the manner you operate shortcuts may seem a bit hard for a daily Windows customers (recall Macs Command key which basically does quite a few what Ctrl- Control key would do) So once more other than a idea and function of the keyboard being unique to what you will be used to with Home windows Pc I can not genuinely locate any faults with it.

Performance is typically a totally robust aspect of Apple’s Macbook variety and Macbook Air is no distinction. The Middle i7 model with 256GB SSD 4GB of RAM I’m reviewing is certainly exceptional, and collectively with Apple’s state-of-the-art OSX Lion everything is sort of instantaneous. You can without problems run more than one programs with out a single choke. with the aid of a couple of applications I imply: Photoshop CS6, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, TextWrangler. Skype, iTunes, Mail, Facetime, RDP connection to my Windows servers at work and I will begin Xcode, Pages and watch a film and It’s far still going!

In previous few days of trying to test its limits, I’ve heard fan noise (if You could Call it a noise) kicking in once or twice whilst I used to be streaming a HD movie and that point I determined to show all packages above and flicking between them. 99% of time Macbook Air is noiseless that is a precise bonus for ultraportable Pc and Macbook Air is staying fairly cool most of the time so your lap will now not get burnt.