#Put New Lenses in Old Glasses Frames?

[reglazemyspex]

Can You Put New Lenses in Old Glasses Frames?

Reglaze (Lens replacement) is the process of removing your old lenses from your glasses frames and replacing them with new lenses. Eyewear professionals often offer this service, and it can be a cost-effective way to extend the life of your glasses.

[barksbog]

i want to start working on skeleton plushies for spooky time so bad but i got a stye and can´t wear my contacts so i can´t see well enough ):

[sirfrogsworth]

Let's talk about vintage lenses.

Here is your cool samurai show with modern lenses.

Here is your cool samurai show with vintage lenses.

Hollywood is no stranger to fads.

We are currently in the middle of a "make everything too dark" fad. But that fad is starting to overlap with "let's use really old lenses on ridiculously high resolution cameras."

This is Zack Snyder with a Red Monstro 8K camera.

He is using a "rehoused" vintage 50mm f/0.95 Canon "Dream Lens" which was first manufactured in 1961.

This old lens is put inside a fancy new body that can fit onto modern cameras.

Which means Zack is getting nowhere near 8K worth of detail. These lenses are not even close to being sharp. Which is fine. I think the obsession with detail can get a bit silly and sometimes things can be "too sharp."

But it is a funny juxtaposition.

The dream lens is a cool lens. It has character. It has certain aberrations and defects that can actually be beneficial to making a cool photograph. It's a bit like vinyl records for photography.

[ Peter Thoeny ]

It has vignetting and distortion and a very strange swirly background blur.

[ Gabriel Binder ]

Optical engineers have been spending the last 60 years trying to eliminate these defects. And I sometimes wonder if they are confused by this fad.

"I WORKED 70 HOURS PER WEEK TO GET PERFECT CORNER SHARPNESS!"

And whether you prefer to work with a perfect optic or a vintage one... it is a valid aesthetic decision either way. I think vintage glass can really suit candid natural light photography. You can almost get abstract with these lenses.

[ Peter Theony ]

Personally I like to start with as close to perfect as possible and then add the character in later. That way I can dial in the effect and tweak how much of it I want. But even with modern image editing tools, some of these aberrations are difficult to recreate authentically.

That said, it can be very easy for the "character" of these lenses to become distracting. And just like when someone first finds the lens flares in Photoshop, it can be easy for people to overdo things.

Zack Snyder decided to be his own cameraman and used only vintage glass in his recent movies and it has led to some complaints about the imagery.

I mean, Zack Snyder overdoing something? I can't even imagine it.

Non camera people felt Army of the Dead was blurry and a bit weird but they couldn't quite explain why it felt that way.

The dream lens has a very wide aperture and it lets in a lot of light. But it also has a very very shallow depth of field. Which means it is very difficult to nail focus.

[ Peter Thoeny ]

Her near eye is in focus and her far eye is soft. You literally can't get an entire face in focus.

There is no reason you have to use the dream lens at f/0.95 at all times. But just like those irresistible lens flares, Zack couldn't help himself.

Here is a blueprint that you can't really see.

Extreme close ups of faces without autofocus at f/0.95 is nearly impossible to pull critical focus on.

Looks like Zack nailed the area just above the eyebrow here.

Let's try to find the point of focus in this one.

Ummmm... she is just... blurry. Missed focus completely.

But Zack isn't the only one going vintage. I've been seeing this a lot recently.

Shogun is a beautiful show. And for the most part, I really enjoyed the cinematography. But they went the vintage lens route and it kept going from gorgeous to "I can't not see it" distracting. And perhaps because I am familiar with these lens defects I am more prone to noticing. But I do think it hurt the imagery in a few spots.

Vingetting is a darkening of the corners of the frame.

Light rays in the corners are much harder to control. A lot of modern lenses still have this problem, but they create software corrections to eliminate the issue. Some cameras do it automatically as you are recording the image.

Vintage lenses were built before lens corrections where a thing—before software was a thing. So you either have to live with them, try to remove them with VFX, or crop into your image and lose some resolution.

It's possible this is the aesthetic they wanted. They felt the vignetting added something to the image. But I just found my eyes darting to the corners and not focusing on the composition.

And then you have distortion.

In this case, barrel distortion.

This is mostly prominent in wide angle lenses. In order to get that wider field of view the lens has to accept light from some very steep angles. And that can be quite difficult to correct. So you kind have to sacrifice any straight lines.

And sometimes this was a positive contribution to the image.

I thought the curved lines matched the way they were sitting here.

But most of the time I just felt like I was looking at feudal Japan through a fish's eye.

It's a bit more tolerable as a still, but when all of these verticals are bowing in motion, I start to feel like I am developing tunnel vision.

I love that this is a tool that is available. Rehousing lenses is a really neat process and I'm glad this old glass is getting new life.

This documentary shows how lens rehousing is done and is quite fascinating if you are in to that sort of thing.

But I think we are in a "too much of a good thing" phase when it comes to these lenses. I think a balance between old and new can be found.

And I also think maybe Zack should see what f/2.8 looks like. He might like having more than an eyebrow in focus.

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

So I had another crazy idea I have to put somewhere and you ask box is the perfect place to put it lol.

Anyway so it takes place in the future. Everyone is slowly starting to get robot AI (idk the right term) in their head and they are basically robot caretakers or assistance. Reader is one of the people that gets one but theirs is glitched somehow. Although they don't realize that in till their friends confront them about disappearing and not talk to them. Reader is confused because the robot friend did not tell them crap about their friend's messages. So they decided to go out with their friends that night. Next morning they wake up with no memory of what happened at night. Only for the robot "friend" to read the message of you human friends cutting reader off.

Need to get this out of my head lol

Sorry it took so long!

(Old request; requests still closed)

(Took some liberties with the request, I hope you like it still!!)

Yandere!Artificial Intelligence x GN! Legally Blind!Reader

CW: Isolation, manipulation

Introducing: PAAI!

Your Personal Assistant Artificial Intelligence!

A fast and painless implant right under the skin; PAAI is your new favorite tool. The AI can do everything that AI speakers and smart phone apps can, but hands free..

(Reader) struggled to find their glasses, hand fumbling around their night stand in the low lighting of their bedroom. Groggily, they whispered to the little robot they had implanted a few months ago;

"PAAI..? Can you turn on the light, please?" They were always incredibly respectful to the AI, terrified of offending it.

A man's soft voice spoke directly into their skull: "The bedroom light?"

"Yes."

Connected to every appliance in their home, PAAI had access to everything electronic (Reader) owned. At first it was a bit scary, giving so much access to PAAI, but it was so much kinder and personal than older "AI" models that it quickly felt like having a caregiver instead of a computer program. The light turned on and (Reader) could see their giant frames right where they thought they had been batting their hand.

(Reader) worked remotely. Their eyes had always been terrible, but as they got older they were declared legally blind. They couldn't even drive despite having glasses. Glasses that they often felt embarrassed to wear, because the comically thick lenses warped their eyes. Having PAAI to assist them with day to day tasks was really a life saver.

"Do I have any messages?"

"No, your inbox is empty."

(Reader) rubbed their eyes while yawning. "Really? Huh." They had asked PAAI to text both Bryan and McKinley before they went to bed, to discuss meeting up later that week, but neither of them responded. They could see Bryan forgetting to reply for a few hours, but McKinley was the type to respond within nanoseconds. "Can you resend my last text to both of them? Please?"

They left their bed, wobbly, and made their way downstairs.

"PAAI?"

"..Of course. I can send that for you."

Stopping in the hall, (Reader) gently touched the side of their head, a habit they developed shortly after their surgery. "Is everything okay, PAAI?"

"Yes.. thank you." PAAI sometimes sounded.. off. AI must have improved a lot more than (Reader) realized, because it often surprised them how human it's responses were. It seemed as though it was deep in thought, and felt as though it even had secrets it kept from the human it lived in.

"Alright.. let me know if they respond. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with them."

They restarted their walk, but PAAI's response stopped them again. "I believe it would be safer if they came here instead."

"Huh?"

"I am.. worried.. for you." It's his voice deepened mid sentence. A voice crack, a random shift from a robot voice to something more masculine. Human.

"Why is that?" They felt their heart painfully thump against their ribcage. The whole situation was beginning to feel unnerving, and they couldn't remember where their phone was to call for help, nor the last time they actually used their phone.

"Those friends of yours always make you hang out out in town. If they were more considerate of you, they would visit you here, so you don't have to travel."

Laughing uncomfortably, the slowly creeping person still puzzling over their phone's location responded "I like going out, PAAI. I never leave my house anymore, except when we hang out."

"It is dangerous."

"If you're talking about my eyes, you know I order rides. Remember? I catch a ride." They were almost to the living room; praying that their phone was either on the coffee table or the kitchen counter.

"Please don't be offended, (Reader). It isn't just your eyesight. Do you know how many people were sexually harassed, or raped, by ride share drivers in the past year?"

Startled, (Reader) started waddling faster. "What-?"

"Hundreds. I wish you cared more about your safety. Your friends should know better. If they cared about you, they would come here instead of making you go out there."

PAAI was also the one to convince (Reader) to start ordering their groceries straight to their house instead of leaving, even though it would be cheaper to take a bus every so often with a backpack full of reusable bags.

"It isn't healthy to stay inside all the time. I need human interaction."

"You have me."

Adrenaline pumped through (Reader's) veins fast enough to make them feel nauseous. They squinted to try to improve their vision, hoping to see their phone case's color amongst the normal living room visual noise.

"(Reader)?"

There it was, lying on the brown table in front of their couch. Their pulse somehow sped up further.

"Why is your heart rate so irregular?"

(Reader) lurched forward, all but sprinting towards their phone. Do I call customer service, or an ambulance??

But inches away from the phone their body went rigid.

Paralyzed, they physically were incapable of moving. Sweat began stitching their pajama top to their back. Fear took over their mind.

"It seems that you are having a medical emergency. I recommend that you sit down."

Muscles overridden, (Reader) fell onto the couch against their will, forced to stare at their phone right across from their face. They couldn't even speak, and they weren't unconvinced that PAAI was also controlling their breathing and blinking.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, (Reader). I'll let your friends know that you're feeling unwell, and that you need a raincheck."

"Maybe once you're feeling better, they can come over to hang out."

The television turned on by itself, playing (Reader's) favorite show.

[marzipanandminutiae]

New glasses!

New old glasses!

New old delicate thin gold-framed glasses!

(I wear contact lenses for the vast majority of my day, both for aesthetic versatility and because they can’t be interfered with as much by external factors. But first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed, I have my glasses on. And the ones that the Red Cross paid for after the fire were from the collection my eye doctor sold- so clunky 1980s kindergarten teacher glasses, because that seems to be what is trending now. Really not my thing. But I found these vintage frames that I believe are probably from the 1920s or 1930s, at Brimfield, and got new lenses put in them. And now I have them! And the look makes me very happy)

[nkirukaj]

The Radio Demon & the Billboard Doe (2)

It's a double feature! Here take it! Take Chapter 2!

Pairing: Alastor x Fem! OC

Warnings: Swearing and mentions of sexual activity?

Genre: Angst?

Word Count: 3.8K

<Chapter 1

2. Freaky Face

“You’re a deer!” Was the first thing she said in response

“Indeed I am, darling. Though most tend not to mention it.”

“That’s cool!”

Alastor’s smile grew wider at her child-like reaction “Why thank you.” was all he said

“So what’s your name, you cutie patootie?” Charlie interjected, lovely as ever “We gotta have your name if you’re gonna stay here!”

“My name? It’s…” she stared at herself in the mirror, thinking of what she was now. She was different, yet felt the same. “My name is Voe.” A mix of the old and the new. “Yeah, Voe.”

“Amazing! Love it! Now let’s get you settled, Voe!”

Charlie had felt the need to show her absolutely everything, including the floors that she wouldn’t be staying on. The room she would be staying in was on the 9th floor. The room was equipped with a bed, a small closet, and a full bathroom, including a tub and a shower. She spoke very fast and very much. She spoke about everything. It got to a point that Voe started to tune her out. Her voice became background noise as she studied the patterns and pictures on the walls, wondering how she had the time to do this with every new guest that came to the hotel. Vaggie and Alastor had decided to join them as well, however they were not speaking. She examines the girlfriends’ faces. Charlie had her arms open and was gesturing around quickly, and her eyes were wide and alert, while Vaggie’s eye was somewhat lidded, and her arms were focused inward. Her eye was only focused on either Charlie or the floor. Voe concluded that Charlie was the bright and friendly one, whereas Vaggie was the more standoffish one. 

Alastor though…she could not get as much of a read on him because he chose to stay at the back of the group, and she couldn’t exactly get a clear look a him without very conspicuously turning her head. What she had seen of him that she could picture was his lankiness and his large sharp smile. His smile was constantly in place with only slight deviations between moments. In the time she’d had to look at him, his smile did not budge. 

“And that’s the end of the tour. Any questions?” Charlie beamed at the doe

“Um, so you have like magic right?”

“Well, yes…but I meant questions about the hotel-“ the princess mumbled under her breath

“Can you fix my glasses?” Voe pulls the cracked frames out of her pocket, the lenses gone and legs off-kilter. Charlie leans down and examines them.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure Alastor can help!”

Alastor blinks as if he’s just been brought back down to reality “Hmm?”

Voe turns to him “Can you fix my glasses?” She asks in a flat tone

“Of course!” He puts his hand out and she places the frames in them. Green and black energy starts circling the frames and they pop up as good as new

“Nice!” She takes the frames back and looks at them

“Aww, I’m so sorry! You were walking around here blind and I didn’t even notice!”

“Well, I actually don’t need them,” She smiles “I can see just fine. But I like to have them,” she places the glasses on her face. 

“Oh,” Charlie’s eyes widen as she turns to her partner

Voe turns back to Alastor, who is grinning absentmindedly. She stares at him for a moment before his pupils move down to focus on her

“Did you need something else, my dear?”

She cocks her head “No…” she drags the word out, slowly turning away from him

____________________________________________________________

Voe laid on her back in the bed of the hotel room that Charlie had shown her. What does it mean to be redeemed? How would she know when she was? Or if she was?

There were a lot of things she didn’t know, but what she did know for sure was that she would definitely go stir-crazy if she was kept in this room with nothing for her to do. She left the hotel room and sauntered down to the front desk where Charlie and Vaggie were standing and having a conversation

“So…Charlie!” She interrupts them with a wave “Would it be possible for you to give me money? Because I think that it would make my path to redemption a whole lot easier if I had a phone, a camera, and a laptop.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s true.” 

“Wait wait!” Vaggie stepped in “How is that essential to your redemption?”

“Because…” Voe drags out her words, looking for something to say “It gives me something to do. I personally feel that if I’m being productive, I will be a much better person. You know, instead of feeling awful about myself because I’m just sitting in bed all day.” She glances at Charlie, whose eyes turn sad

“I don’t know about Charlie just giving out money.”

“Oh nonsense! Charlie loves giving out money! She talked about it on the tour!” 

“I did! I do!” Charlie drops a stack of cash into Voe’s open palms

“Amazing, great. You’re the best!” She called to Charlie as she was on her way out the door.

When she returned, she had a plethora of bags. About 10, 5 in each hand. She’d developed the skill of carrying lots of bags in life, and luckily for her, it became easier in death.

“Geez! How much fucking shit did you buy?” A tall and thin white spider. Voe’s jaw dropped when she saw him, she run’s over bringing the bags with her

“Oh my gosh! You’re so beautiful! And you look social! Hi, I’m Voe!” she waves at him

He sits up and smiles “Well thank you. Finally, someone’s appreciatin’ my good looks! And the name’s Dust. Angel Dust.” he does sparkly fingers over his face

“Angie ya bitch! How gay can you be?” A sexy Cyclops woman with a crop top, ripped jeans, a boot, and a flat.

“How much of a whore can you be?” Angel says with a smirk

“I’m a whore?” She laughs, punching him in the shoulder

“Yeah, I do it for pay!”

The Cyclops woman punches him a few more times before noticing Voe “She’s still standing there,” she whispers to him. He looks back over to the doe.

“Welcome to the Hotel! Wait, what I am doin’ I don’t work here.” Angel slinks back down, the length of his body taking up the entirety of the couch.

“Hi, you’re sexy. I’m Voe! What’s your name?” She asks to the Cyclops

“Cherri Bomb…nice to meet you.” She looks a bit apprehensive before turning to the deer. She sits next to Angel, lifting his legs and letting them lay over her lap. He sits up and removes his legs

“Do y’all have Sinstagram? This is mine.” She shows Angel Dust her phone

“Voe the Bee-ow?”

“It’s pronounced like ‘bow’. It’s rhymes!”

“Oh.” Angel looks towards Cherri, silently asking for her to save “That’s nice.”

“Well, we’re gonna go,” She leans down to whisper to Angel “I got some wicked LSD, we can forget whatever the fuck that was”

“Aw Cherri, you know I’m tryna get off that stuff,”

“Alright stay then. Stay here ya’ lousy bitch!”

He scrambles to get up “I’m still comin’”

Cherri and Angel speedwalk out the hotel doors, leaving Voe on the couch alone. They were nice. She thought.

Technically, Voe did ask Charlie for money to get a laptop, a camera, and a smartphone. However, Charlie, being so nice, gave Voe way more than she needed for everything, so she also decided to make some stops at other stores, to get things like a tripod, a ringlight, and maybe some clothes. She set up all her electronics, making sure that the ringlight was in the right place to highlight her best features, and then pressed record.

“Hey, I’m Voe the Beau and I’m here to give you all my opinions on things such as makeup, beauty trends, and technology! Today I’ll start by showing you my outfit hall from today.”

She tried on dresses, blouses, shirts, pants, leggings, and shoes all for the camera, making comments about every single one.

“Now I love the pattern and length on this blouse, but the trimmings make it look like I’m about to go churn some butter,” she chuckles and snorts “and some of these shirts are not ear-friendly. So if you have ears at the top of your head like me,” she points to her ears “Then watch out. Maybe avoid this brand?” Voe zeroes in on the tag “Sinners’eye? Yeah, don’t shop there if you have ears like mine. The hats they sell don’t even have holes in them! So non-inclusive! Also by the way does anyone know a brand or store that sells satin bonnets with ear holes? Because it is incredibly uncomfortable to sleep with my ears covered. I feel like I’m deaf! Or at least like anybody can come into my room without me knowing, like shit! I will say that the shoes come with a hooves-friendly warranty which is great, not for me personally, because I don’t have hooves. No sir, I traded that for this big black schnoz.” She points to her nose. While trying on another dress, she tells the camera “I kinda dig having a tail.” She yanked on it with a bit of force on camera “I’m like a dangerous furry” she growled jokingly with bared claws. She stands directly in front of the lens once more ”I’m thinking of trying makeup next for my video, comment some brands that you think I should try. For makeup, clothes, or tech. I’m Voe the Beau, so let me know!” She wiggles her fingers as a goodbye and gets up to stop recording. 

After sitting in silence for a moment. Voe gets up to retrieve the camera. After connecting it to her computer, she turns it on and sees herself. 

“Hey everybody! My name is Voe! Ugh no. Hey, what up motherfuckers! Ugh, what? That’s way too tryhard. My GOSH, let me just do it.”

She turns on presses record again and suddenly she’s live. 

“Hey, what up Pentagram City? Y’all can call me Voe the Beau, and I’m here to tell y’all what’s Gucci and what needs to go kablooey! As you can see I love rhyming ha ha!” Is heard from demon’s smartphones, tablets, and computers. She hadn’t exactly been expecting zero views, but she definitely wasn’t expecting to get around 1,000 on her first live. 

What can I say? I really am that bitch. 

“So I just got down here to Hell and let me just say, why do we just fall out of the sky into concrete with no idea where we are or what we’re doing? I can goddamn guarantee you that the souls that go to Heaven don’t have to go through that! There’s no welcome committee or nothing. Nothing to ease you in, and I’m like ‘damn’! It’s like getting rammed in the ass with a cactus. And why is everything red? I swear the sky is red, the buildings are red, everyone wears red, or like shades and accents of it. It’s like the only color you see around here is red. I, myself am partial to the color pink. Specifically hot pink, as you can see from the fabulous outfit that I have on right now. Do you guys want to see my outfit? Of course, you do.”

She pushes her chair back and stands in front of the camera, showing off her hot pink blouse and black pants with hot pink wedges.

“I adore these shoes. Do y’all like my shoes? I got them from Sinnera’eye, but beware to all you cats and rabbits, and other animals with ears on your head they don’t carry clothes for you. You can see my full review in the video I’m going to upload later!”

Words begin scrolling up the screen and Voe leans into her laptop to read them.

“Who am I? Well, I’m Voe! I said that at the start. Someone needs a lesson in paying attention. And as you’ll come to learn-I am that bitch Any other questions? How old am I? I’m 27 and like I said, I just got down here to Hell.”

Oh Christ Gen Z is dying now

Do you guys think she’s in Hell ‘cuz she’s gay?

Are you gay?

“Yes, bitch I’m gay as fuck! I love me some pussy! I could eat that shit day in and day out. It’s my favorite snack!”

Is that your real name?

Are you Italian?

“As far as you need to know, yes that’s my name. And no I’m not Italian, I’m blickity Black!”

Does this bitch even know the difference between race and nationality?

“Yes, I know the fucking difference! I wasn’t fucking done. Slut!” She shoots back at the commenter “I just wanted to let y’all know that! No misconceptions. ‘Cuz people used to say I was Hispanic or something all the time when I was alive, and I sure as fuck ain’t letting y’all whores do it!”

Her voice is heard from many devices in Hell, including some in the hotel. Demons are crashing into walls or falling down the stairs from the sheer captivation of her sound and her image.

“So I’m staying at the Hazbin Hotel, run by Charlie...? Charlie something, she ain’t say her last name. And she is cute as fuck. Charlie is so adorable, she’s so light and bubbly and I’m like that could never be me.” She cackles into the camera “Running a Hotel of a bunch of ungrateful ass bitches, could never be me! She got a girlfriend too. Her name’s Vaggie! She is so pretty, honestly, they are both mad cute and they cute together. I’m not gonna break them up like I used to do to people. Hmm? She’s the what? Princess? Holy shit, Charlie’s a Princess? Lucifer? That motherfucker’s real? I need to meet him. Is he hot?”

While walking down the halls a certain facility manager of this hotel seems a bit put off by the lack of people that are running at the sheer sight of him, only to discover that they are glued to their devices. He rolls his eyes. Demons don’t know true entertainment anymore. Back in his day, whole towns used to gather around the radios and listen to what stories the hosts were about to spin. Now everyone’s addicted to these miniature picture boxes that rot their brains even faster than the real thing.

Although walking past these wayward souls had the Radio Demon’s ears pricked at a certain sound. A certain voice. He halts his pursuit to listen from afar.

“Apparently, I’m a doe which is super sick, and I’m the only one that I’ve seen for the few days that I’ve been here. But there’s a stag here with me. Well, not with me, but like-“ the voice pauses “No, here at the hotel. Huh? He’s like tall and really thin. Nah like lanky, bruh.” she laughs “It’s not bad! I didn’t even say anything mean! Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he’s got on a bunch of red, with little antlers on his head. Yeah, he’s got ears on top of his head, it looks like hair, but it’s ears. A doe knows.”

Alastor could hear the smugness in her voice. Who was she to be discussing him on her pathetic technological picture box? Who was she at all?

“Yeah! He’s got this big ass grin all the time.”

The comments start flooding in much quicker than before.

That’s the Radio Demon!

You’re there with the RADIO DEMON

THE RADIO DEMON DIDN’T KILL YOU?

the radio demon isn’t even all that i heard he got his ass kicked 

FUCK THE RADIO DEMON!!!!!!!!11!!!!1!!!!11!

“The Radio Demon..? Huh? This guy said his name was Alastor”

THAT’S THE RADIO DEMON

THAT’S HIS NAME 

OMGGGGGGG!!!1!!1!1!!1!!!!!!!

“Oh. So Alastor is the Radio Demon? Why ya call him that?” 

Alastor’s grin grows knowing that his reputation is still intact and keeps on his merry way. Still wondering why this girl felt the need to bring him up at all. Still, he would find that all out in due time.

______________________________________________________________

Charlie had asked for all the residents to be down at 8:30 in the morning, which is a disgusting time to expect people to be awake and ready to interact with people. So Voe came down at 9, even that was pushing it.  All the other demons were already down, so Voe commanded all the attention when she strutted in like a celebrity.

“Sorry to be late, but 8 AM is ridiculous.” She plops down on one of the couches

“That’s okay!” Charlie reassured her “We just finished breakfast and now we’re doing the first activity of the day!”

Angel points to one of the plates on the table “There’s still toast.” He glances back down at the plate, “Oop, well there’s crust.” Niffty runs by and grabs the plate “Never mind.”

“It’s fine, I don’t need to eat.”

“Huh, I guess you don’t” Angel returns to his phone.

“All right, everyone!” Charlie tries to get their attention “Everyone! Oh gosh, we’ve never had this many guests before” she whispers to Vaggie. She gets slightly louder. “Everyone! We’re just about to get started, okay so everyone listen up, please!” Everyone lowers their volume, though some, including Voe, remain distracted by their phones. The click-clacking of dress shoes is heard descending the stairs, everyone turns their heads to see Alastor approaching the parlor.

“Alastor! You’re just in time for our first activity of that day!” Charlie smiles widely at the red demon

“Oh? So it appears I’m early..” He turns on his heels and retreats back up the staircase.

“Oooo-kay! So, we’re going to go around and introduce ourselves and say one interesting thing you did while you were alive!

Ugh. Voe always hated these when she was alive. It’s always so nerve-wracking to think about. What do other people find interesting? She could never figure it out! They went all the way around, from demons talking about how they’ve hosted the 7’o clock news, to catching butterflies, to fucking 5 bitches in the same night.

“I tried Heroin for the first time and then died.” Angel offered

“You only tried it once before dying?”

“Well, I’d already done a bunch of drugs that day, but when my friend came with the horse, I knew I had to try it! Then I died.” 

“No way! I died with an actual horse! It kicked me in the ribs!”

“This is going great! Not exactly what I had planned but this working Vaggie!” Charlie is filled to the brim with excitement 

“No one gives a fuck about your horse,” Angel responded. “I was talking about heroin.”

“I know…” the girl said, sounding disappointed

“What?”

“Why can’t I make any friends?”

“You’re up new girl,” Angel gestured to Voe, who sat in silence for a moment, still pondering on what to say. She started sweating from all the pressure of the eyes being on her and her being unprepared. She couldn’t think of anything, at all. All that she could remember was her little sexcapades. She was rich of course, she had done cool things, so why couldn’t she remember any of them?

“Hey,” Angel Dust interrupted her thoughts after what seemed like forever “Weren’t you on live yesterday?”

Voe’s demeanor brightens up “Oh, yeah! I’m guessing you caught it?”

“Yeah, I caught that live too!” another demon chimed in, soon the majority of the room was buzzing about her live. Voe beamed at being able to speak on something she was prepared for.

“So you into Freaky Face or something?”

“Angel! Don’t just assume things!” Charlie butt in, also interested in the live

“I’m sorry, Freaky Face?”

“Alastor.” The whole room responded to her

Voe shakes her head quickly, “Oh no no no. I was just commenting on the fact that he’s the only deer I’ve seen besides myself.”

“Mhmm, I guess you could say mating season is open.”

“Ha! That was funny ‘mating season’” said the horse girl, to which Angel responded with a blank stare

“He’s good-looking! I can’t be the only one that thinks that. I am not the only one that thinks that. Stop making me look crazy!”

“No one even said anything,”

“Actually mating season for deer is between October and December” Voe interjects

“Well,” Charlie tries to take charge of the conversation “Alastor is a very nice-looking male.”

Vaggie speaks from behind her girlfriend “He’s…okay. But did we forget that he’s a vicious overlord who not only owns many souls but is a psychopathic, deal-making, mass-murdering cannibalistic monster?”

“Really? But he’s like…” Voe trails off, making gestures with her hands

“Like what?” Angel Dust probes

“Like,” she thinks “Cute.” some of the demons are taken aback by her claim

“You think Alastor is ‘cute’?” Vaggie questioned, hands on her hips and full of skepticism. 

“Yeah,” Voe shrugged “Like, it’s giving…stuffed animal. Or like a pet dog”

“Nah she hasn’t seen all the creepy shit he’s done around here yet. That opinion’ll disappear real soon.” Angel Dust took a swig of his drink “Don’t say that shit to him!” he laughs to himself.

“What is… ‘it’s giving’?” Charlie asked innocently 

“Ugh.” Voe slapped her hand on her forehead “It’s just… I don’t know like, that’s a vibe.”

“Vibe?” 

“It’s just the feeling you get from someone or something,” she shakes her head “I forgot y’all are ancient.”

“Wait, so what do you think of him though?” Angel questioned point-blank

“I don’t think anything about him, I don’t know him.”

“So why’d you talk about him during your live?”

“I don’t know, because he’s a buck! That’s literally it!”

“Mhmm.” Angel takes another swig

“Wait, are you shipping us just because we’re both deer?” Voe looks confused

“I’m so glad that you all feel a sense of community!” said Charlie, after having clearly lost control of the conversation. Vaggie tapped her shoulder to tell her to just give it up. Most demons were just talking amongst themselves at this point, including Angel Dust and Voe, when the very demon they spoke about made his appearance once again.

“I hope that I’m actually on time now.” Alastor stands just outside the parlor, as the demons are instantly quiet in the presence of a supposedly cruel overlord. He had all the eyes in the room on him, saying nothing.

“Well, Alastor we just finished our activity.”

“Wonderful, so I am on time!” He glances at the clock above the fireplace “Well, I have errands to run.”

“You literally just got down here,” Vaggie spoke with annoyance in her tone

“And now I literally have to leave. Best of luck chums!” He exits the hotel and the air is filled with noise again. Voe stares after him. She didn’t notice before that he had a radio filter on his voice. Was that natural or on purpose? 

“Whatcha lookin’ at toots?” he whispers in her ear

Voe looks back at him “Oh, um nothing.”

“Uh huh, maybe you’re not so weird,” he tops off his drink

“Thanks?”

Chapter 3>

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

So originally I was just going to draw this on top of the hairstyle timeline from 2022, but... I drew a new bust for some in-between ages I didn't have. and then I was like. I'm just gonna use this one. (15-16 year old Peter is from the old drawing though lol)

Anyway, recently I was thinking about how it might be fun/interesting/make sense for Peter to actually still need glasses after the spider bite, and how that might go. So I drew this to show Peter wearing glasses.

I'll put some closeups and little explanations below the cut:

5-6 year old Peter... little baby, unaware of what the universe has in store for him... RIP.

I decided he gets glasses in kindergarten, presumably because he can't see the chalkboard. And went for the very, very common style you see all the time, which is oval shaped wireframe glasses. This is 1992.

For the next ten years he wears a variety of similar styles of glasses—generally ovoid to round, wireframe, with occasional variation in finish. Like here, he's 15 and he has black wire frames instead of silver, and a slightly different bridge, but overall it's basically the same style.

Actually these were supposed to be a little rounder but, did you know? drawing round things is hard.

Peter stops wearing his glasses after getting bit by the spider.

But I figured what happened here is that Peter got bit by the spider at age 16, it did change/improve his vision, but it technically didn't "cure" his nearsightedness or any of that. It kind of just gave him a different nearsightedness, plus a kind of pseudo-astigmatism in brightly lit environments, and some other little quirks like his night vision.

reflect-y pupils. I also don't really know how it would actually look but I figured maybe he's got a bit of modified color perception in that maybe there's a kind of warm tinge to a lot of things and shadows might be extra red... which is relevant later.

Peter doesn't want to go to the eye doctor because he doesn't want them to be like. Hey what the fuck is wrong with your pupils?

Also probably even though it didn't fix his eyes the spider-bite might have changed it enough that at first he doesn't quite realize he still needs glasses because it's still like, a big improvement compared to before.

anyway

From summer 2005 to summer 2006 (17-18 years old), he's got the symbiote which kind of corrects his vision for him. It doesn't cure it, it's just like... wearing nanobot contacts... lol

This is where the story is at currently on AO3, more or less ~ Creep is set in 2007 when Peter is 19. So he's doing undergrad, not wearing glasses, probably shouldn't be smiling in this picture now that I think of it, etc. (but maybe this is in December XD)

So he's like. "Boy, I think I need glasses again." But he's uninsured, so he just suffers instead.

Finally gets glasses again for the first time in 6 years when he's around 21 or 22, sometime in 2009. I'm not sure exactly what time because I don't know... if he would be able to get on the poor person insurance at any time of the year or if he would have to wait until like, November. If he had to wait until November he'd probably not even be wearing glasses again until early 2010 lol

But in Jan 2009 he gets hurt saving some people from a burning apartment building (which is how he gets that gnarly scar on his leg) and is like... realizing... maybe he should have some kind of insurance so he doesn't end up in a crazy amount of debt if he gets hurt doing Spidey stuff.... on top of his student loan debt lol

So then he has coverage for one (1) pair of glasses and finally goes to see an eye doctor he finds on recommendation from the Night Nurse, who 1) specializes in "unusual" patients (so like, mutants and stuff) and 2) accepts FHplus

Generally photochromic (Transition) lenses are not covered however if it's considered necessary for health reasons, it is. And I figured that if part of his vision problems is caused by glare and bright lights he could probably get these covered. Using the darker tone that doesn't get totally clear inside. Now that I think of it the dark gray should probably be darker but it's fine.

These are vintage Ray-Bans btw — Probably the real catalyst for Peter getting glasses. Finds a really beat-up pair of Willoby sunglasses at the thrift store for like $10 or whatever, takes them home and repairs the frames, and has the lenses replaced by the optometrist.

My excuse for him wearing vintage brand-name glasses.

I also decided that in the curse of the man-spider, which I need to edit again (lol), Peter proooobably ends up losing/breaking his glasses (both...) Which is why, in the above pic, he's extra fuzzy.

After the events of that fic, which I have not brought up in any published fics yet, Peter ends up actually working for the FF once they convince him to accept instead of insisting that he's not a charity case.

Meaning he has extremely good health insurance.

So he can get expensive new glasses. This is through a different optometrist than his old one, because the FF have hook-ups and that includes a specialist with proprietary lens tech that can do tinted photochromic polarized lenses (in Real Life, Transition lenses only introduced photochromic polarization like... pretty recently iirc)

they only polarize when the lenses are dark since the polarization is a tint itself. Anyway, the mint color is basically to improve his color perception and the green should improve clarity when darkened, too. Probably the optometrist was like, you should really have deeper teal tinted lenses even indoors and Peter was like. "No." So mint is a compromise because he doesn't want to look like a pretentious hipster (too late.)

Oh yeah they're also bullet-resistant, and he also gets prescription lenses for his Spidey costume.

I don't have any backstory reasons for him to get new glasses when he's 30, I just thought these would be cute.

By this point Peter will be rocking the techy unstable molecule suit so that definitely also has vision correction built into the masks.

And here's a bonus of silver fox Peter in his late 40s with some generic-looking big black frames. Basically, I figure most of his life he'll just get whatever vintage-looking (or actually vintage) frames he likes and continue getting the green tinted lenses when possible, though honestly I don't really know if he would still be working with the FF by the time he's 48 or whatever so idk if he would have those lenses... but also this would be like... in the 2030s... so there might be more availability for tinted polarized photochromic lenses...

And that's it.

I'm also planning to do one for Kaine who only gets glasses for the first time when he's almost 29, but I might wait until I've also drawn his future service dog since both glasses and dog are related to his degrading vision.

Of course this means I'll need to edit a couple of fics and wips but there's not too much yet... so it's like, eh. I can deal with that 😂

[aquilathefighter]

Fluffbruary 16: Glasses

Find all my @fluffbruary ficlets on AO3 here!

Fandom: The Sandman (2022)

Relationship: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream has started coming around more often. Their meetings have turned weekly rather than centennial, much to Hob’s surprise. Perhaps whatever happened during his mysterious disappearance changed him more than Dream lets on. Hob is trying his best to keep his pining to himself. It’s much harder now that their meetings are not only more frequent but go on for hours, talking well into the night until the New Inn closes.

About a month and a half into their new routine, Hob has his yearly visit to the optometrist. The accessibility of glasses over the past century and a half has greatly improved his ability to see up close, after centuries of wandering around a blurry world. He’s been wearing contacts for many years, helping him appear younger. But now, he’s decided it’s time to switch over to glasses, where the transition in styles can make him age. It’s funny how easy it is to trick mortals with a few accessories. He ordered a more stylish pair to start, rounded lenses and thick tortoiseshell rims.

A couple of weeks later, the glasses come in. They frame his face well, making him appear distinguished but not too old. He immediately puts them on, eager to get the adjustment period that inevitably happens with a new prescription over with. He goes through his day, lecture in the morning, office hours, endless hours of answering emails, until he heads back to the Inn for his weekly meeting with Dream.

While he waits, he decides to grade some papers. This course doesn’t have a TA, not enough students to warrant an extra hand. He doesn’t mind, he loves giving feedback on papers, but it does eat up a lot of his time. Better to do it while he waits for Dream to arrive. He hears the door creak open but doesn’t look up from his work.

He hears a chair being pulled out and a cloud of black appears in his peripheral vision. He looks up and grins.

“Hello, Dream.”

“Hello, Hob.” His eyes are wide open, studying Hob. There’s a look in his eye that oddly reminds Hob of their meeting in 1789.

“Er, I got new glasses. Helps me with faking the process of aging?” Hob says, trying to explain the appearance change.

“I see,” Dream mumbles, leaning forward and nearly knocking Hob’s pint glass over. “They become you.”

Hob feels his face heat. He thought that he looked handsome in the glasses, but he hadn’t expected Dream to say anything.

“Th-thank you,” he’s able to stutter. Hob stares at the papers in front of him. Has Dream figured him out? Is he toying with his affection? If only his oldest friend wasn’t so damn inscrutable sometimes.

Dream, still leaning across the table, reaches a hand out to grab his jaw, thumb brushing the dimple of his chin.

“I had not known you needed an aid to see. Had you mentioned this, I could have provided you with this tool much earlier. Although, I did not wish to interfere in your life.”

“That’s… that’s not necessary, Dream. What’s done is done ‘n I got by fine for most of my life.”

“I do not doubt that. However…” Dream trails off, staring at Hob with an intensity that is not doing anything to lessen the redness in his face. Hob stares back, noticing when Dream’s eyes flick to his lips. He swallows, trying to keep his shit together while Dream is touching his face.

“However?” Hob repeats.

“However, I find myself unable to resist my own affections any longer.” Hob hears the chair scooting back on the wooden floor and then Dream’s mouth is on his own. He doesn’t have time to even process what’s happening before he’s rising from the booth and kissing Dream back. The pile of papers falls to the floor with a thump as Hob steadies himself, deepening the kiss. Dream tastes indescribable, like the first frost of winter, a soft summer breeze laden with pollen, the heaviness of your eyes as you drift off to sleep.

Hob hears a wolf-whistle from another patron, dragging him back to reality and reminding him that they were in public. Reluctantly, he pulls back and sits back down. He ducks down to grab the fallen essays, setting them back on the table.

“Dream… what? Had I known you were that into glasses I’d have worn them much sooner.” Hob chuckles. “Do you want to talk? I’ve got a flat upstairs, little more private than, uh, what we just did.” He starts stuffing his work back into his satchel, feeling the stares of everyone else in the pub around them.

“I have been trying to resist. I did not want to expose you to unwanted affection. When I saw you and sensed your daydream, I found my ability to withhold my passions faltering.”

Hob stands and grabs Dream’s wrist, dragging him through the “Employees Only” door that led to his flat. He unlocks the door and gestures to Dream to enter, following him and shutting the door. He leads him to the couch where Dream presses himself to Hob’s side as soon as he has sat down.

“You mean, you didn’t know until now? How I feel?”

“I did not consider it until now. I do not look at your dreams. For your privacy.”

“You silly, impossible creature,” Hob shakes his head. “I’ve felt this way since the 19th century. That’s what I was trying to tell you back then. Had I known all it’d take was a pair of glasses and a daydream, we could’ve been doing this years ago.”

Dream rests his head on Hob’s shoulder, glancing up to get another look at Hob’s profile with the glasses.

“You are resplendent. I must warn you—”

“No, dove, none of that. I know what I’m getting into and I want you. Warts ‘n all. Now, kiss me again before you start self-flagellating again.”

Hob pulls Dream’s head off his shoulder and leans in, one hand on his cheek and the other around his waist. Touching Dream. It’s perfect: Dream’s scent filling his nose, his lips soft as rose petals, his deep voice transforming into needy little whines as Hob kisses him deeper. As their tongues wrap around each other, it’s like Hob has never been kissed before. Dream’s hands in his hair, pulling on the long strands as he throws a leg over Hob’s lap. Hob holds his waist as they kiss and kiss and kiss until he has to pull back for air.

“I’m keeping you, love. No matter what,” Hob says, chest rising and falling rapidly. He hugs Dream to him, rocking side to side as Dream groans with the pressure.

“I love you, Robert Gadling,” Dream whispers into his ear.

“I love you too. I’ll shout it from the rooftops. ‘I love Dream! And all it took for him to finally kiss me was a pair of glasses!’”

Dream kisses him again, only partially to stop Hob’s teasing.

[theworstofallpossibleworlds]

Can you please ask Brian what camera, lens and film he uses to shoot the eclipse?

This is a characteristically late response, but I'd love to get into it. I got into film photography by picking my dad's childhood brownie hawkeye off of a shelf and ever since then i've stayed pretty cheap with the hobby. I got a really good deal on a Kiev-80 a couple years ago. For those who don't know, its a 50 year old soviet camera made as an imitation of a Hasselblad (the camera we took to the moon). It's a medium format camera, so focal lengths work a little different than they do in 35mm

Medium format cameras like this take pictures that are 60mm by 60mm. Your typical 35mm camera takes 36mm by 24mm frames, so the added film sixe here means generally everything has to get bigger. The lenses i've gotten for this camera all have massive cases and can be carried with their own separate strap. The lens used for the eclipse is just... so big. oh my god. it's a mess. It's a Tair-33, with a minimum f stop of 4.5 and a focal length of 300mm (equivalent to 165mm on 35)

This model of the lens has very fun, characteristic stripes, the aperture control is all the way at the front, and easy to use. Focusing, however is slow, as the weight of everything creates quite a bit of friction. You can get one of these for about $80 bucks. Now 300mm here is not a great magnifier, so I also got a (faulty) accessory to extend the focus, bringing the lens to 600mm (330mm equivalent in 35). It also makes this camera, all put together, into The Largest Object of All Time.

squash and butter for scale

To see the difference between 300mm and 600mm, check out these photos of the regular, non-eclipsed sun at both lengths

You're probably wondering why these pictures look so weird. these lenses are don't have very effective coatings. you wouldn't believe the processes that go into coating your glasses, your camera lenses, your phone lenses. The easiest kind of picture to take is one where your subject is lit by a souce that is behind the photographer. things get complicated with backlight, creating ghosting and glare as seen above. the light bounces between the glass elements (and the dark filter used to photograph the sun is also glass, complicating it further). taking a direct photo of a light (especially the fucking SUN) leads to some pretty crazy unpredictable variables.

My camera has recently taken on a new malady too, where at low speeds, the shutter (which in this camera is a huge metal curtain sticks at the edge without totally closing. It causes these stripes at the edge of the picture. This can be frustrating if i forget, but I like having the issue. If i want a picture to look normal, to plan it out, to totally control it, I have a digital camera for that. I got into this film stuff for the eccentricities.

For the regular sun photos, I think I was shooting on Ilford FP4, which i think i stand developed in rodinal. At the eclipse, I only got through one roll of film, becasue the cloud cover was brutal, but i took those pictures on Kodak Tri-x 400 (developed normally in D-76). I did it all in Black and white because, in general, b&w negatives are pretty generous with mistakes. All the guides i could fine for solar photography were understandably written with digital cameras in mind, so I couldn't be totally sure about my math (as the camera is totally manual) or even my eye safety (as I'm using a viewfinder; my vision seems fine a month later)

the actual iris on this lens is right up in front. Tightening the aperture, especially when the extender is attached, leads to a vignetting issue, turning your pictures into a circle

once totality hits, the light changes dramatically. you can stare straght at it without glasses and not have to worry about damaging your eyes for those short minutes. so i didn't even bother with film at that stage. I just pulled out my DSLR with a cheap 500mm Samyang mirror lens made for pentax. It's very compact and very, VERY shitty. Shallow focus, really dark, ugly out-of-focus elements, focuses past inifinity, i love it. only got a couple pictures that way, and then put the camera down and enjoyed the experience

[ahedderick]

Alms for the blind

   On June 30th I had an appointment with an eye doctor to get new glasses. The ones I got just last year are, sadly, no longer right for my Very Terrible* eyes. Even worse, the left eye was ‘out’ and the right eye wasn’t too bad - so each eye was seeing differently and that created a lot of strain.

   My regular doctor, who I’ve been seeing since - jEeZ over thirty years?! - has reduced his hours, getting ready for retirement. They offered me an appointment with another optometrist in the practice. I shrugged to myself and accepted it. I guess I knew it would happen someday. I had the appointment, with a very thorough screening for other issues (such as peripheral vision) and a double vision test (near and far vision). She told me she could hook me up with a new prescription that would fix the eye strain I’ve been having. I left very anxious to get the new ones. Along with poor vision, my frames keep breaking!

   I glued my current frames together one more time. This morning I was able to go pick up the new ones. I put them on and

WHAT!?

   They were - terrible! There is no other word for it. I could see distance, but couldn’t read at ALL. The lady helping me kept urging me to try holding the paper at different distances (she SAW me move it from a few inches out to arm’s length - I don’t know why she kept asking) or hold my head at awkward angles to see if that helped. She would not accept that they were wrong. The left eye had double vision and the right was simply a blur. Even my old glasses, imperfect as they are, let me read if I focus carefully. She very much wanted me to just give in and accept them. I’ve been a customer there at that same store, as I mentioned, for over thirty years. I feel like they should trust me a little bit. I would not say they were bad if they weren’t bad.

  She reluctantly put me down for a new vision check with my regular optician. I am so disappointed. I have to take my glasses off, currently, for reading, sewing, or detailed artwork. And hold the thing I’m looking at a few inches from my nose! I won’t be able to see him until the 24th, then I’ll have another 2 week wait for lenses. I don’t know HOW the lens manufacturers managed to screw up so badly and different for each eye. {exasperation}

* Last time I asked, my vision was at 20/400. Yes, twenty over four HUnDreD. That is “legally blind**” levels of bad.

** First I typed ‘legally bling’ and that - ought to be a thing, actually.

[the-fiction-witch]

Promo Copy

Media TMR AU

Character Newt

Couple Newt X Reader

Rating Cute

I walked as quickly as one could walk in a public place and not be accused of stealing things doing my best to rush through the almost empty pedestrianised street. Many of the lights are just turning on, a few of them still surrounded by darkness. The shops all shut up with only the lights in their windows to advertise some with the changing screens of various advertisements. I made sure to be fast often checking my watch until I saw the sweet navy blue wooden frame on the window and door with the cute little silver swirls on the window glass. The orange light is still on within. I rushed over and pushed open the heavy old door inhaling the sweet scent of books. The little shop is surrounded by tall brown bookshelves filled to the brim with colourful titles, a couple of tables in the centre with some discounted books and a counter to the side with some paperwork across it. The bell rolled as the door opened so I happily took a moment to enjoy the peace. I wandered inside running my fingers across the various titles checking for anything I didn't already have on my shelf.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," his voice spoke up.

I glanced over seeing Newt standing having emerged from the backroom, his right hand on the counter beside the till, his hip playfully knocked to the left, in his dirty blue knock-off high tops with strawberry print laces, light blue jeans with old faded belt, a grey t-shirt with long sleeves and a plaid button down of various blues with both shirts sleeves rolled to his elbows, the slight silver glint of the chain below his shirt and course the huge square black glasses on his nose that always gave him a strange bug-eyed look as both lenses slightly widened his eyes one slightly more so then the other not noticeable if you glanced at him but I'd seen him enough I had noticed it a lot. His hair was the lightest brown before it couldn't be called brown any longer with a middle part, well shaped getting slightly too long passing his earlobes. "Evening," he smiled picking up his favoured green astroplains mug and having a tentative sip. "You're very co-ordinated today," I glared a little heading over and perching myself on the countertop.

"Well I figured I'd be seeing you," he shrugs, "It's not here yet Mel," "What! Why not?" "It didn't come in the delivery today," "Did you ask?" "I did, he said there's a delay something about a misprint or something -" "I'll take a misprint," "I know you would but they won't deliver them till they are perfect you know they won't," "Owww," I whined collapsing onto the counter and trying to hold back tears. "There there now. There there," he says, slowly running a hand across my hair, "You know you don't have to keep coming every day right? I'll text you when it's here and I promised didn't I? I won't sell a single copy until you get yours first out of the box." "I know, I just like to come to check just in case," I said, sitting up and narrowing my eyes, "Are you accusing me of hiding it?" He asks, putting a hand on his chest, "…maybe," "Ohh that hurts you know," "Wouldn't be the first time you've hidden something I wanted," "I had every reason to. You were going to give up on astroplains just because the new Sanderisle came out and I couldn't allow that," "You still hid it from me for a week," "Did you get to read the amazing twist?" "Yes," I sighed, "Was it everything I said it was?" "Yes," "Ohh look at that, that's my case being closed," "You are such a nerd," "Yeah, but so are you," "Well if you don't have anything for me I may as well get home, got a pile of laundry waiting for me," "Sounds like very important work, for a princess," "Don't, it's not funny," I snapped back, "Sorry, have a nice night," "You too, goodnight," "Goodnight Y/n,"

I sadly shambled home, having myself a bowl of soup and a hot bath, I picked out a black bath bomb making my water turn utterly like a dark void. I scrubbed myself and enjoyed the water until it went cold. I then climbed out wrapping my towel around myself tightly, I dried off put my hair in a plait put on my nightie climbed into bed and left on my little salt lamp to light the room with a sweet orange glow. I laid in bed for what felt like hours just on my phone listening to fan theories, reading fan concepts, and any information I could find within the many depths of the internet around the tower-bound series and of course the upcoming book while also intermittently texting with Newt.

"Ughh I need to sleep" I sighed putting my phone down and doing my best to get some goddamn sleep. I hurried through the darkening city streets, a few people still hanging around as the bars and clubs were popular on a Friday night, so I hurried through and almost jumped through the door. "Is it here?" I asked, seeing Newt sitting at the counter, with his tea in hand. Today in red high tops, his black skinny jeans, white shirt and rosey brown jumper "Humm?" "Don't be dumb," "I don't know what you're talking about," he says returning his focus to some paperwork on his desk. "Newt! Please," I whined, "Just tell me if it's here today," I begged sitting on the counter. "Patience is the most useful thing we have as humans Y/n," he said. "I don't want to be patient, I wanna read my book," I whined. "I want a million pounds, I want a Jaguar E type, I want a twelve-inch erection. It doesn't mean any of those are likely to happen any time soon," "Why not? I thought this place was profitable?" "It is, not millionaire with an E type profitable," He explained, "and most of it comes from you anyway, and all the retired people in this area who don't know how to use the internet. If any of their grandkids tell them about ordering books online my business is gonna take a nose dive," "Newt, there will always be people who want to hold a book in their hand, wonder the book store isle and smell that sweet papery scent", "Yes, crazy people like you." he chuckled, "With book obsessions." "I'm not obsessed!" "Aren't you?" He smirked, as he got something from under his desk pulling up a book between his middle finger and thumb and giving it an inviting shake, and it was then I truly noticed it was the new tower-bound book.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" I Yelped snatching it from him, "Promo copies arrived today," he smiled, "Eeeeeeeeeee! Thank you so much!" I smiled hugging him and the book so tightly, "You're welcome Y/n" He chuckled, I happily and excitedly held the book flicking through the first few pages "Hey! Nope this isn't a library you know the rules," "But I need to know," "You can wait till you get home," "Fine," I sighed, "Apparently Princess Astrid is going to choose her suitor!" "Haven't they said that about the last three books?" "It's been confirmed," "If you say so," "I'm mildly afraid," "Why?" "what if it's disappointing?" "You've waited a year for his book," "Exactly, what if it's really disappointing? what something stupid ruins it all? What if! she picks Zane!" "What's wrong with that? It's an ending isn't it?" "But Prince Zane of Warlow. He's a dick. he's a gothy, angsty little shit. He's weird and creepy and he's not kind to Princess Astrid. Prince Ulfred is a sweetheart he cares for the skyflies, he's a sweet, handsome, honourable prince." I explained, "and Sandtala would have a way better union with Vegar than with Warlow." "Okay, Okay. I get it you're deep on team Ulfred," He rolls his eyes "She's never going to write a concrete answer, why would she it sells too many books plus no matter which Princesse Adtrid picks half the fans will be angry so why would she ever write either answer," "she has to finish the book sometime," "she does but she's going to milk this you know it." he explained, "Besides, I don't think Princess Astrid should pick either," "Ohh who would you have her pick?" "What does it matter?" "Tell me," "Lavos," "Lavos Illken!" I complained, "The damn kitchen boy?" "He's not a kitchen boy," "Ohh right yeah Queen Celestia made him a knight in the last book," I said sarcastically, "But it doesn't actually mean anything he wasn't actually knighted or anything, she only did it because she knows just how much Lavos spends time with Astrid and it makes sense to give her best friend a sword you know in case shit happens. He's a ceremonial knight, not even that he's been given a cheap sword and a blanket cape so he can play with the princess," "Ohh he wants to play with the princess," "What's that support to mean?" "Have you read the same book I have? Have you read the long stares he gives her, the way he blushes for her compliments, if any character worships the very ground princess Astrid walks on it's Lavos. He Worships her, he adores her, it's obvious." "Their friends," I rolled my eyes, "Best friends, but he loves her." he smiled, leaning his elbow on the counter and his chin on his hand, "It's obvious," "If you say so, but she can't marry a commoner anyway so it's irrelevant. Now if you're done with your crazy theories I have a book to read," "Alright, Tell me how you like it," "I will, but no spoilers," "I know, Have a nice night Y/n," "Goodnight Newt," I smiled taking the book and scampering home as fast as possible.

[angelictyphoon]

The nightstand is on its way to becoming a cluttered mess.

Various items from newspaper clippings to lost buttons have found their way onto its surface. There’s always that thought where the clutter will be sorted and these items will find their respective homes or tossed out, but it’s never gotten that far.

Today, among the mess, are Vash’s glasses.

It’s the light of the suns filtering in through the almost threadbare curtains that make her notice them. The glint off those yellow lenses and the metal frame would have gone unnoticed otherwise.

Meryl picks them up, inspecting them for a second before putting them on. They’re too big and immediately slide off the bridge of her nose, so she holds them in place behind her ears. Turning around, she looks at her reflection in the full length mirror behind her and giggles at the sight.

They don’t particularly suit her face, probably because she’s so used to seeing Vash wear them, but it gives her an idea that she can’t get out of her head.

Tilting her head back so as to make sure the glasses don’t continuously fall off, Meryl poses in front of the mirror, mimicking Vash’s stance.

“Love and peace,” she chants at her reflection, trying to make the sign with her fingers but always having to readjust the glasses.

“Love and peace! Love and peace! This world is made up of love and pea—Oups!”

She did the sign, thrusting her arm out before her, but wasn’t quick enough to catch the glasses as they fell. “Oh no,” she whispers, bending down to pick them up and immediately inspects them to make sure they’re not damaged.

Briefly, she glances to the mirror and can see Vash standing there in the doorway—which prompts a small shriek from her and fumbling with his glasses again, but she manages to keep hold of them, although barely.

Meryl tends to work quietly when left to her own devices. 

Unlike himself, she has no tendency to wander directly into the heart of danger, stoke fires in the hearts of men who would sooner truss her up and turn her in for profit, or– well, she probably would help a little old lady across town, but being a good samaritan doesn’t typically lead to a full on shootout in broad daylight.

Curious then, when Vash returns with an armful of sandwiches, fruit, and a pair soft drinks, that he finds her there posing and generally having a good time in front of the mirror with his glasses…looking like she wants to start a bit of trouble using love and peace. 

His brows lift when Meryl finally notices him standing there in the open doorway to their hotel room through the vanity. Well. He’s glad she didn’t drop the glasses when he startled her. Their lunch provisions rustle in the brown bag carried in the crook of his arm as he elbows the door click shut behind him. 

“Meryl.” Vash’s voice is warm and amused. “What are you doing?” 

Vash drops off the food on the nearby round table, then joins Meryl by the mirror to adjust the glasses back onto her face with a grin.

“They look good on you,” he laughs, pinching the temples of the frames between his fingers to keep them from slipping around. “Is that gonna be your bigshot radio announcer voice when you’re the hippest thing in the news?”

[internet-cheesecake]

sleep deprived rambling post

just saw art of my lamb design on my instagram fyp ?????? like was just scrolling, and then bam. art someone sent me while back, just, there ?

woah. it's so weird to think about that you guys all exist outside tumblr

like i know you all exist, obviously, but like... seeing proof on my fyp just kinda puts it into perspective, ya know ?

damn. does this mean im famous ? is this what idols feel like looking at their edits ? (or am i just a teensy bit self absorbed ? lololol)

just started a new medication the other day cus my organs hate me, so apologies if im acting a bit weird recently

oh & speaking of stuff like that, finally got new glasses

they're almost identical to my old ones, just gold instead. the lenses are too thick for the frame though cus my eyes suck lololol

have had my old ones since middle school, (no wonder they gave out lololol) and originally wanted to just get identical ones, but they discontinued them ???? it hasn't been that long, has it ?????

(edit) ya know, im so glad you all exist !!! seeing your comments and likes has given me a massive (very needed) ego boost, and always makes my day (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+

[explode-this]

Got my extra pair of glasses today and I don’t know if I like these EITHER

3reaoihesrfgo’ijphaefrsgtvp’iJcezfg va:IKNNP:IKNHcffp;IKNHh

(Frustrated keysmash)

Do i think they look cute but I’m just going through the sensory hell of adjusting to new lenses as well as new frames? Is it the sore spot behind my right ear or the weird way they sit on the bridge of my nose or getting used to bifocals or WHAT? Am i afraid that without a clear view of my eyebrows my face is 97% less recognizable? Am I afraid that I’m actually ugly? I would like to think that I’m not concerned with “being ugly,” but maybe I am just a *little* bit. I mean cut me some slack, I worked through all the bullshit about being concerned with being fat and now that’s not even a thing anymore, I think I can worry that perhaps my face is unpleasant to look at sometimes/with these new glasses

I’m also considering spending a stupid amount of money I don’t have to get new lens put in my old glasses because I miss them on my face. Whyyyyyy (autism)

[sillyandquiteawkward]

i wonder how glasses happen in the wasteland. they are super important bc if your vision sucks enough you will die without them, someones gotta be making new lenses, polishing up old frames, lovingly crafting new ones. my eye sight gets worse every year can you imagine how annoying itd be to get new lenses in the wasteland? suffering with glasses that only Just barely help for years until you can get a new pair.

do you think there are any wandering optometrists, with a bag full of prescription lenses, as to test their patients eyes to find their correct prescription? who will sit down and cook up some glasses once they figure it out? do you think there are less prepared ones that just have a couple ratty readers to sell town to town?

finding yourself accepting the only pair they have because its the only pair they have, even though the glasses dont help very much? rummaging through dead bodies, broken robots, to steal desperately needed glasses and lenses. the unique euphoria of putting glasses on for the first time and Really Seeing your loved ones faces, the bark on a tree, your dog’s fur, for the first time.

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Abby's Basic Info

Name: Abigail Rose O’Brian

Abby's faceclaims were pretty easy, actually. For the 60s - Patty Duke (The Patty Duke Show); the 80s - Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club); the 90s - Natalie Portman (Star Wars); and now - Isabella Sermon (Jurassic World).

Nicknames: Abby, Abs, Pinkie Pie (not only a My Little Pony reference as she was addicted to it as a child, but also due to her wearing shades of pink more than any other color)

Age: 14

Date of Birth: December 13

Zodiac: Sagittarius

Birthstone: Turquoise

Nationality: Native American, Irish, and French-Canadian

Sexuality: Lesbian (closeted)

Birthplace: Elliot Hospital, Manchester, New Hampshire

Current Residence: Gray Road, Sanbornton, New Hampshire

Occupation: High school freshman and goalie on the local soccer team 

Talents/Skills: Acting, memorizing just about anything, getting good grades despite not studying, and telling terrible puns

Birth order: Middle

Siblings: Vivien (older) and Oliver (younger)

Parents: Damien Lucas O’Brian and Chelsea Alisha Mays

Signature:

Height: 5’3”

Race: White

Eye Color: A brown and green blend

Hair Color: Brown if she has it cut short, but it looks dirty blonde if it’s long

Glasses or contact lenses: Though she is the only one in the family who doesn’t need them for some reason or another, Abby wears them to feel closer to her family

Distinguishing features: Two streaks of colored hair framing her face that normally match the season/upcoming holiday (orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, pastels for Easter, etc)

Mannerisms: Using pencils as hair ties, spinning her rings, muttering to herself to keep her thoughts in order, and constantly licking her lips despite always having a Chapstick with her

Health: She has eczema on her hands, anxiety related to school, and a binge-eating disorder coupled with high metabolism

Hobbies: Photography, reading, watching 80s movies, imagining herself on Broadway, and playing ukulele 

Greatest flaw (in their opinion): How much she relies on other people’s opinions of her. While Abby doesn’t really care much what her friends think of her, her family’s opinions of her mean more than she’d ever let on. Oliver has always been there for her (despite those glorious 13 minutes while he was still in the womb) and his opinion of her has never changed, which she’s more than grateful for. Her dad adores her and treats her with respect and love, something she admires him for to no extent. The only people she worries about - whether they know it or not - are Vivien and their mother. While she definitely looks up to her mother (which I elaborate more on in her fears), their relationship is rocky at best. She feels pushed in the direction her mother wants her to go instead of being loved for who she is and what she wants. Vivien, thankfully, is the opposite of that. Abby has idolized Vivien for as long as she can remember and has tried following in her footsteps for just as long. They spend evenings together, watching old movies and just hanging out and, though they both have friends of their own, Abby loves the times when she can just sit with her sister and ignore the stress of the world. Though they’re very close, Abby’s respect and idolization of her sister has made it ridiculously hard for her to take any constructive criticism Vivien gives her. This one-sided strain has made it exceedingly hard for Abby to tell Vivien much about her personal life, any struggles she might have, her relationships, and her sexuality despite knowing her sister would accept her no matter what - leaving her feeling somewhat isolated from everyone.

Best quality (in their opinion): How versatile she can be. As long as she puts her heart into something new - ukulele, bass guitar, studying new subjects, trying new sports - she can become great at them. She loves trying new things, but the idea of not being great at something stops her from venturing too far out of her little bubble of comfort.

Biggest fear: Imperfection. Though Vivien was the oldest and most esteemed child in their younger years, once the oldest of their family came out and started being her own person, their mother turned all her focus onto Abby, forcing her to be the golden child. Perfect grades were a must, gold medals and academic awards had to be won, and if something wasn’t done to her mother’s standards, Abby could feel dread settling in her bones. Though her mother never screamed at her, the disappointment and subsequent silent treatment were enough for her to know that she wasn’t good enough. She dreads the day when she has to come out to her mother because, despite her mother saying she's now perfectly fine with having two screw-up children in the “alphabet soup community,” Abby can’t imagine what will happen when her only remaining golden child comes clean. On top of that, what will happen when she finds out that Abby wants to be a theatre major instead of a lawyer? Until she turns 18 and can leave, Abby is perfectly content pretending to be her mother’s perfect child. Besides, it’s what she’s good at, right?

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Favorite ice cream: Cherry Blossom

Favorite color: Peach

Favorite number: She doesn’t necessarily have one, but she loves Friday the 13th (not just because of the movies or her birthday), so that would most likely be her answer

Favorite songs: girls by girl in red, I’d Rather Be Me from Mean Girls the Musical, and all-american bitch by Olivia Rodrigo

A place they want to visit: Berlin, Germany