#blocker of blank blogs

[cinamun]

Named after one of my favorite books and albums, Things Fall Apart is an epic tale of lust, greed, betrayal, vengeance and, above all else, growth.

This story never started as a legacy nor was it intended to be anything other than gameplay.  However, these characters evolved and, as such, so did their stories; each intertwined and forever impacted by the others. 

Written, played and photographed by me circa 2015. This story is best read/viewed on a laptop, tablet or PC.

Should you choose to continue, please note that this story is rated MA for Mature Audiences and contains strong language, violence, adult themes, strong sexual content, nudity and a variety of triggers appropriately tagged for depression and abuse in all of its forms. This story is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18 (DNI).

Pictured above is the original cast, from left to right:

Elise Farrow ~ Juan Rivera ~ Darren Drake ~ Indya Williams ~ Jerrilee Coleman ~ Dr. Jules Carter

As you make your way through their lives, names will change and you'll find that new characters emerge for either good or sinister reasons.

Shall we begin?

Act One

Chapter 1: Understanding Indya | Chapter 2: The Horsemen | Chapter 3: Toxic | Chapter 4: Demons | Chapter 5: Vengeance | Chapter 6: The Aftermath | Chapter 7: Chances | Chapter 8: Restart | Chapter 9: Moving Forward | Chapter 10: Several Steps Back | Chapter 11: Unfinished Business

Act Two

Chapter 12: The Trial of the Century | Chapter 13: The Demon's Return | Chapter 14: I Do | Chapter 15: Conception at the Summit | Chapter 16: Hopeful | Chapter 17: Milestones | Chapter 18: Growth | Chapter 19: Growing Pains | Chapter 20: The Fear of Letting Go | Chapter 21: A New Journey

Act Three

Chapter 22: A Thin Line Between Life and Death | Chapter 23: And Then There Were Four | Chapter 24: Illusions of Independence

Current

Pictured above is the current (2023) cast from left to right

Elliot Mahajan* ~ Darren Drake Jr. ~ Indira Dior Drake ~ Jayce Carruthers ~ Hope Diamond Carruthers (Drake) ~ Indya Drake ~ Darren Drake Sr. ~ Jerri Coleman

*Deceased

Bonus Content

Story Commentary | Story Extras

In case you need a palate cleanser at any time, check out my Globetrotter Challenge or The Greenwoods for a little Rated E for Everyone fun!

Buy me a coffee?

Posting Schedule

I typically post story updates/episodes on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I post in the mornings (US CST) and reblog in the evenings.

Author's Note:

This story has been a labor of love, writing is a hobby and so is gaming. Combining the two has helped me in ways I cannot put into words. I am thankful to you for enjoying this hobby with me. Writing urban fiction using the sims, for me, will forever be inspired by mochasims, rest in paradise, dear friend. Mocha created a community for Black storytellers where one didn't exist anywhere in the Sims Community and paved the way for other Black writers to follow with her epic tale of Men and Stilettos and of course Kasim's adventures!

I will be forever grateful for the safe space she created to tell real, Black ass stories. Much love sis.

Reactions to Mocha's passing:

1 | 2

[theloveinc]

I am returning the favor 😘 4 and 25 for the violence asks

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

this is so funny bc i almost asked you this one, ace!! but then i thought someone (me) might get their feelings hurt so i didn't LMFAOOO, but honestly, i'm not really sure?

i'm not really a blocker because (i'm a baby and) i don't really dislike anyone that strongly? even people i'm not exactly a fan of, it's not like i don't... wanna see them? if that makes sense?

but hmmmmmmmmmmmm, the last straw for someone........? honestly i have not blocked anyone in AGES i don't even know. but i have unfollowed people for breaking moots before and there is someone on here i'm really sad abt not being moots with (bc i love them and they followed ihb right before i left and never figured out why they never came back?) so i had to unfollow bc i just starting thinking mean things for no reason lol.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

oh my god. so many. so, sooooo many. not even because i disagree w the complaint but because it's gotten to the point where i think its so useless to complain when nothing is gonna change no matter what u say!!!

i guess a non-typical one i'm sick of (cuz i was really referring to the blank blog problem w/ that comment)... is...... how do i say...................... complaining abt how readers ask too much of writers.

idk. it's hard to express because on one hand, no one should be overworked or feel obligated to produce writing. But on the other hand, i think readers do a lot more for this site than is really appreciated, and even the dumb requests that get sent... do mean the person appreciates you in a lot of ways? and just don't deserve to be entirely tormented?

it's also kinda grating to me atp because ik other fandom insert communities work differently... so it often could be someone just isn't used to doing something a certain way, and therefore get confused when they transfer over to a new community where the norms are different (such as no requests, or reading news rules).

PLUS, most vocal readers are really kind and respectful! there's just always going to be a certain handful of people who break the boundaries, and shouldn't get lumped in with the people here who actually make this place great. which is why sometimes i think all the salt is unnecessary.

it's actually a huge dilemma for me, LOL. but I love u, ace! and thank u for returning the favor<3

-

(choose violence ask game!)

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

a question for you (and Vin, if theyd like to answer this as well. i wasnt sure which blog to send this to, since you both co write a lot of stories.) ive been in a certain fandom for many years. ive made fanarts, done oneshots, but recently, ive been wanting to do multi chapter stories. half because i like to torture myself, and half because i fell in love with the stories you two write (my fav being Leech in the Rain/Bleach on the Brain, just because of how every chapter guts me like a fish). my question being: how do you accurately portray media characters, and how do you even make story plots? one fear that i have while writing is making characters flat, only giving them basic characteristics that would just boil them down. i dont want them to be obnoxious in personality, but i also want to convey the personality shown in their og media. another, more of a blank than a fear, is not knowing how to make a plot in the first place. do you use an outline for your stories/chapters? how do you even create conflict? very sorry if this isnt the usual type of ask you receive on your blog. as ive stated before, i take a lot of inspiration in yours and Vins stories (and i have no one better to ask). i greatly appreciate whatever advice you two can give.

Well, I'm very flattered, thank you.

General Advice

Most of my writing advice is stashed in this post.

This one, specifically, written by @therealvinelle addresses most of the questions you have here.

My main advice though, and I think what your blocker is based on what you're saying, is to stop thinking about what can go wrong.

You always have to start somewhere and with something, if you follow the linked post and plot out what your story should look like/what you want to do the only thing that remains in your way is sitting down to do it.

The first draft may not be what you're looking for but it will be something on a page that you can then work with to make into what you need it to be.

The hardest part, I think, is knowing where you're going and knowing your characters well enough that you know how they'll react to whatever happening to them. That last bit is the key to a character, in my opinion, not having a sheet or template but being able to confidently say "X happens, they'll do Y" or at least being able to sit down and figure it out based on what you know about them. Let the characters drive the plot and the story and they'll never be unrealistic.

Otherwise, personally, I write for myself. I write things I want to read that I know others won't give me or things I want to try my hand at. It's nice if other people like it, but I can't be here for them and at the end of the day it has to be what I'm happy with.

Ultimately what matters for your multi-chapter fic is if you're happy with it and if you feel it's portraying what you wish to portray. If other people like it, wunderbar, well done, but they shouldn't be the ones you're doing it for.

The Fuck is Conflict?!

The only thing I think not previously addressed is how to create conflict. That's thinking about it a little backwards, the conflict in a way, should arise naturally.

But let's break it down.

Conflict ultimately arises from the desires and motivations of the various characters.

You have an evil emperor who wants to be an evil emperor and you have the peasants who don't want an evil emperor: conflict. Edward despises vampirism and Bella wants to be a vampire: conflict. The Cullens all want to be a happy family but ultimately they have very different values from one another that are incompatible: conflict.

The conflict should already exist among your cast of characters. They have different ways of viewing the world, different things they want, or there's some obstacle in their way preventing them from getting what they want.

What you need then is a catalyst. Something happens that shakes up the status quo. It's revealed that an item thought unattainable is suddenly attainable, the evil emperor makes his first big move, a stranger arrives who highlights the existing issues within the family.

Something happens that causes the character desires, motivations, etc. to either clash or be set into motion.

For me, the conflict is the story. It's both what happens to set off anything, the problem(s) to be resolved or otherwise wrapped up, and what will drive the characters forward in the story.

Without the conflict, you have a tumblr post, not a story.

In that sense, then, conflict is almost as easy as "what do I want to even happen in this multi-chapter fic". If you have something, anything, happening that's going to cause issues for the characters, you probably have your conflict right there.

@therealvinelle, you got anything to add?

[spoocys-funhouse]

The porn bots appear to be evolving again. Allow me to show an example of one of these changes.

Last night I got a follow from what I assumed to be a blank slate blog. all that appeared was the default Tumblr Icon and it had a plain background and a default banner. However...

It had the same blog description theme as the porn bots that had been recently hitting my blog.

Notice how the text is different color? it's actually a link. A link that was immediately blocked by my firefox and my virus blockers. I had clicked it by mistake when I was trying to highlight the name for blocking purposes. This confirms that this is at least illicit.

I've also got a follow from another Porn blog that had the typical "hot Babe" icon but a default tumblr banner.

I wanted to make this post since the normal things we have been warned to keep an eye out for is now being changed by these bots.

Thank you and Stay Safe out there.

[jay-wasreblogging]

If you're:

LGBTQIA+ PHOBIC (includes Terfs and those not respectful of pronouns) • Pro-Life • Anti-vax • Against nonreligious or religious people - any religions • Ableist • Pro-monarchy • A nationalist • Against refugees/asylum seekers • Pro-israel • Anti-union • Anti-sex work/ers • Anti-feminist or 'mens rights' activist

Bigoted. Ignorant. Rude. Right-wing/conservative.

Fuck off, go away. Main Blog Here.

For donation boosting I reblog only if vetted but if unvetted then the GoFundMe must have protected donos AND clean Reverse Search Imaging (RIS). I personally do RIS with TinEye. I have an influx of asks so please be patience. I am NOT a verifier, but you may @ me if you want me to scout and do RIS.

IF YOU CAN'T DONATE $$ YOU CAN STILL HELP BY JUST CLICKING EVERY 24 HOURS!!

It's not just for palestine, you can click for women, children, refugees, poverty and the environment. Follow @remindertoclick for reminders. (ad revenue from clicks goes to causes, tracking + proof included on receipt/website also make sure to turn off your ad blocker).

What I'm posting/reblogging on this SIDE blog:

I reblog and post whatever here that wouldn't fit my main blog, this can include NSFW material like fics and art. Sometimes what's going on in the media too. I'm too lazy to tag sometimes so this is your caution for that!

If you're wondering what Ambiamorous is, here's some more info! (Check out related terms where it tells you the difference for better understanding)

Direct Messages + Ask Inbox

Open for whatever, really idm at all. I really like questions and discussions about fandoms so there's that, always down to ramble!

If you message and you're rude or a blank blog? Blocked and reported.

[pisiospindle]

animation or pay attention to some audio

They do nothing but clutter the persons screen unnecessarily. The knowledge which is presented within just a meta tag will allow search engines like google to index your webpage making sure that people utilizing the lookup engine to search for your distinct data may possibly have the option to discover it on your page more very easily. Avoid Mystery Meat Navigation. Certainly not underestimate meta tags Meta tags really are a group of exclusive essential phrases which are accustomed to describe some aspects with the content material of the site. In short, meta tags when correctly selected will help your webpage attain a lot more publicity and superior listings on search engines like google. Tables - Split them up Previously been to some web site whereby you find yourself staring at a blank screen for any specific time frame prior to finally as if by magic the whole web site just pops out of no the place? Which is due to the fact the designer of that site most likely place the whole word wide web sheet within just a solitary table.

Like a rule of thumb I recommend you hold your image dimensions to less then 30k in which doable. Tables are utilized in web style to assist align photos in a web page as well as to create a structure on the layout of the web page. An image no doubt enhances the all round feel and look of ones web page. Restrict the usage of such fanciful fonts to your graphical designs only. Navigability functionality appear before artistic excellence Its completely of no use to produce a web site that is a masterpiece from an artistic stage of view but a finish failure about the web! Why? Simply because the end users simply dont know how to obtain around the internet site! You ought to often bear in head what auto manufacturers constantly emphasize, ease of accessibility to capabilities. Ill show you the best way to use tables as part of the design and style later on but for now satisfy acquire note that the individual will be far superior off in the event you split a single desk with a webpage into scaled-down tables as necessary. 4. You might be surprise to learn that I am in fact discouraging you from by using this sort of fanciful fonts. It allows the consumer to organize with the long wait around in a way because the smaller sized tables with their contents and pictures is going to be downloading very first so consumers can anticipate instead of abandon your site in frustration.

It is best if all inbound links open within just precisely the same window. It helps make every thing neater too as enables the designer to build abstract layouts quickly. However, like the quote over an image document is fairly huge in dimension and an excessive amount of of it could make your website seem to be like a drag to obtain. Stick towards the excellent ancient combo of Arial, Verdana and Tahoma. It truly is only when they mouse click and hold the Deep Groove Ball Bearings Suppliers mouse through the image that they can see the precise backlink.. Perhaps you have at any time noticed websites like Yahoo! Search engines or Lycos? You are going to discover they dont have plug-ins whatsoever. As an example, if you would love to use animation on your web page you can use Macromedia Flash and you may develop a link out of your website to permit users to obtain its plug in via Macromedia&39;s website so they could view your web blogs Flash articles. Your webpage should be capable of load inside of five seconds. This sort of navigation requires the user to mouse above an image in order to navigate to a backlink with out truly getting any thought exactly where they may be heading.

Make certain your navigation is clear and absolutely idiot evidence (no offence to those of you out there who usually get misplaced inside a website no matter how very good it is.Furthermore, operating techniques like Microsoft Windows XP are actually equipped with Pop-Up Blocker (this tells you how welcome pop ups are to end users). Most webpage generation plans like Macromedias DreamWeaver assist you to this easily. An image, they say, is well worth a thousand text. Use Simple Vanilla Fonts Have you ever before heard of fonts such as Neuropolitical? No? Very well it exists and its a fanciful font which has a futuristic typography to it. Nobody likes to wait for an excess minute or two to let computer software to download on their personal computer only to view some senseless animation or pay attention to some audio which has no importance for the websites core function. It is 1 from the greatest faults a web page can make at the same time as a person in the most frustrating experience for end users. They think that this fanciful plug-ins would impress the user having said that much more generally then not the reverse happens. No revolutionary plug-ins For all those who&39;ve certainly not heard in the term plug - in , usually do not be alarmed it can be simply a executable for example a system or animation or audio/video stream that demands an external application being installed or plugged in (therefore the brand) into your pc to run. 6. It truly is widely utilized in HTML based sites. Satisfy don&39;t overlook about consumers who can not see the photographs on your site by offering alternate texts as description towards the images. It draws readers away from your site. Nevertheless like a basic rule stay away from working with pop up windows they make your existence likewise because the end user&39;s less difficult.

[saltminerising]

I used to go on this site where blocked users/being blocked would be known, because most recent poster would be a blank, and ppl would be talking to blank posts and @ username to respond to them, users would cyberstalk each others accounts and dig through the blockers account history to find out why they were blocked and gossip in drama blogs and private chats. Coming from that, FR's blocking model is honestly way better since it doesn't draw attention of the blocked to the blocker so easily

[lhaewiel]

Title: Lost and found pt. 1

Author: @lhaewiel

Fandom: The Untamed

Rating: Teen and up

Genre: drama, angst

Notes: This is part of my "The Untamed Atla AU", you can check the related tag on my blog for more info. This is unbeta-d, I hope I have not made horrible mistakes. I hope you all enjoy :) THe plan is to have ficlets and drawings, we'll see what happens.

Lost and found pt. 1

The attack to Lotus Pier had been violent, rash and sudden. No matter how much Jiang Fenmiang had expected it, the Wens had been one step ahead.

It all had started over some petty question over borders - at the beginning the Jiang leader had tried to bargain and negotiate, however Wen Ruohan, the Firelord, had been unmovable. The leader of the Waterbending tribe had been foced to rethink his strategy.

And yes, his wife, Madam Yu, had gone on a long speech about how this could have been prevented if more action had been taken initially, whilst the three children, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, were watching them argue without any idea on where to stand.

They were all young and the idea that neither their parents could agree on what to do just threw them into doubt.

The Jiangs barely had had the time to gather information when Wen Chao invaded the Yunmeng accompanied by an army of Firebenders and Wen Zhuliu – a skilled qi blocker and warrior who had a huge debt towards the Firelord.

It had not been fast, it had not been painless. Madam Yu first dragged Jiang Cheng, Yanli and Wei Ying to the farthest pier. The three were crying, they were reluctant in leaving Lotus Pier.

In one of their last moments Madam Yu had hugged tightly Jiang Cheng, whilst Jiang Fenmiang consoled Yanli and they both entrusted their hopes and children to Wei Wuxian. At that point Madam Yu had passed her zidian to her son and tied up the trio, thus forsaking her weapon. Then Jiang Fenmiang had waterbended the boat as far as he possibly could, until Lotus Pier was just a tiny little dot and a far memory.

The boat had finally stopped, the zidian finally got loose enough for the three to free themselves.

And they discovered that actually they did not have the strength to just look back.

Yanli was leaning on her knees, weeping softly and sorrowfully, mourning the permanent loss of her parents.

Jiang Cheng was crying in anger, frustration and desperation, wanting with every fibre of his self to just go back and avenge his parents and gain back Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian wept silently, his gaze was empty. He had been burdened with a heavy task, but he would comply if not for the Jiangs' request for the bond he had towards Jiang Cheng and Yanli.

Several precious hours passed whilst the siblings rested – and wept and cried and exhausted themselves.

At that point Wei Wuxian, still sorrowful, still with bloodshot eyes for the tears and the tiredness, stood up. He gently picked up his beloved shijie, who was nearly passed out, and then took the limp hand of his dearest shidi, who had a blank expression and seemed to have lost any willingness to even live.

Wei Wuxian felt his heart, or whatever was left of it, break once more.

Lotus Pier was lost. Their childhood was lost.

They were alive, the only living proof that the Jiangs had ever existed. They were alive, but at what cost.

By the time Wei Wuxian had stood up, it was night and they needed to move. If there were any Firebenders around, they had to seek shelter soon.

He gently tugged Jiang Cheng who stubbornly was refusing to move whispering a soft "come on, let's go".

He established a direction – they were on the way to Gusu, the Airbending temple. Wei Wuxian took a deep breath, then slowly started walking and walking, till the tiredness and sleepness took over him.

***

When Wei Wuxian woke up, he found himself on a clean bed – his first reaction was to panick and attack, but a gentle hand held him down.

A young man with a kind expression was speaking softly. "My name is Lan Xichen. Welcome to the Air temple. We found you on the verge of death itself."

Wei Wuxian looked at him confused. "My brother and sister... Are they fine?"

"Worry not, they are being treated. Now sleep. We will speak once you are all feeling better."

Lan Xichen left the room, leaving the Waterbender alone. At that point Wei Wuxian felt overwhelmed, too many tragedies had happened in such a short time. At least they had been found by the Airbender monks and they were all there, but at what cost.

It was then that he heard a soft music coming from outside – a melancholic music, soothing, gentle, as if it wanted to ease the pain, as if it was saying that everything would be alright.

How could anything be alright, he thought, whilst drifting back into a dreamless sleep.

There would be another day, another one where the three of them would have to face more troubles, but now they had to rest and figure out the next step.

[haikyuu-philia]

Can we have a Tsukki scenario where the reader is just as sarcastic as him? I mostly see the reader being overly sensitive and stuff. Also, I'm new here and look forward to reading your works

This ended up being longer than it was supposed to, but now it’s too late anyways XD

As in introverted and overly polite person, I had my struggles writing two sarcastic people at the same time. Yet, here we are, with this piece filled with not-so classical romance!

Also a very late welcome to the blog - I’m happy to have you here :3

Another Love Language | A Tsukishima x fem! Reader Scenario

Words: 1336

-----

People were gathered all over the place. Even though this hall had been reserved for participating teams only, there was nearly no empty spot to be found. Boys and girls wearing jerseys in all colours of the rainbow had taken over, creating a noise by simply talking to each other that could be compared to an earthquake. 

As most of his own teammates had been awake way too early this morning, Tsukishima was now able to call himself one of the few lucky ones with an actual corner to sit at. He taped his fingers in advance while Yamaguchi tried not to stare at the crowd, which would sent his heart rate up to unknown heights.

Nishinoya and Tanaka had left several minutes ago to meet some friend from a girls’ team. With every announcement Asahi seemed more pale, Kageyama fiddled with his fingers to properly stretch them. The trio of Daichi, Sugawara and Ennoshita was casually chatting with each other. And Hinata was absolutely nowhere to be seen, probably causing a ruckus at the toilettes as usual. 

What a time to be a member of Karasuno.

A glance at his phone told Tsukishima that the first match would start in an hour. So the warm-up would be due in about thirty minutes. Actually he had been checking his messages, but nothing new popped up in his inbox. 

Positively speaking this meant that Akiteru had found his way to Tokyo without any issues and was most likely sitting at his assigned seat by now. Tsukishima rested his back against the wall as he starred at his feet. 

The room might be crowded and loud, but he still managed to understand many parts of different conversations. Some people were standing pretty close to the area of his team anyways, closer than he appreciated. He rolled his eyes at their behaviour. 

„Aren’t these boys from Karasuno? The team that was known as the fallen crows?“ He heard a boy whisper from a few meters away.

Not only had this guy attracted Tsukishima’s attention, seemingly the rest of his teammates was listening as well. No one made eye contact as the stranger continued to speak without noticing that the victims of his theories were already planning their comeback. 

„Do you really think that they are strong enough to beat someone here?“

In absolute sync all member of Karasuno present were looking up to stare at the culprit with a blank expression on their faces. Once he had understood that their eyes were directed towards him, he froze immediately. He broke out of his paralysis by jumping when another person approached him from behind.

„Yeah, because I would totally think of the team that kicked Shiratorizawa, the current champion, out off the competition as weak," a female voice commented on his question from earlier. 

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima changed their mimics by the time the sarcastic remarks had reached their ears. The latter couldn’t decide whether to sigh or to hold his breath, though a smirk appeared on his face nevertheless. Of course he would recognise the voice of his own girlfriend from miles away or in the middle of a thousand people. 

Supporting his upper body with his hand he rose from his place, becoming the target of his team members’ curiosity.

In the meantime the boy, who had been called out by you, had retreated into the ocean of unknown faces. Obviously yours stood out even more to him. On the contrary spotting a tall blond guy in a black-orange jersey hadn’t been the hardest task for you to fulfil either.

When Tsukishima and you walked towards each other, the eyes of the other Karasuno players were practically pinned to your boyfriend’s back. Only Yamaguchi happened to know what exactly they were witnessing. For the rest it looked like the first-year approached a random girl who had just roasted someone for them.

„I thought I told you that you didn’t have to come,“ he said with one of his eyebrows raised. „What are you doing here?“

„Playing soccer, of course,“ you shot back with a grin wrinkling your cheeks.

So far you had only seen him in his volleyball attire on pictures, not in reality. On the ride to the stadium his older brother Akiteru had shown you plenty of them and had been blabbering endlessly about Kei’s career as a middle blocker. 

But nothing could have prepared you for the moment when you actually got to see him in his jersey. Number 11 of Karasuno, a regular. 

„Hellooooooo Tsukishima! Would you mind to introduce us to this lovely girl you are talking to?“

Suddenly Sugawara had popped up next to the two of you, starling your boyfriend for the minority of a second. Not much to Tsukishima’s surprise Daichi stood right behind the setter, eyeing you with an innocent smile. 

„Ah, you must be Kei's teammates. Nice to meet you! I won’t occupy him for long, just making sure that he is in usually high spirits.“ You proceeded with telling them your name, school and grade. 

After that you looked at your boyfriend to finish your introduction as you certainly didn’t know how much his team was involved in his love life. 

„She is my stalker in disguise of a fan," he responded to your nonverbal plea.

A chuckle left your mouth while you crossed your arms in front of your chest and leaned onto your lamppost of a significant other. Even with your body putting weight on him, he didn’t move in inch. So you stood securely.

„Nah, I am more of his personal reminder that his heart of stone is able to feel love.“

Sugawara and Daichi introduced themselves, exchanging glances with one another in between sending approving looks your way. Together with you Tsukishima returned to his former resting spot where Yamaguchi greeted you as well. Out of the Karasuno bunch he had been the only person to officially have been told about the change of his best friend’s relationship status.

Though, Sugawara had to admit that he had indeed had a suspicions until today. 

Sitting next to each other with your backs facing the wall, you more or less leaning onto him again, the missing boys of the team returned one by one.

At first Nishinoya and Tanaka did not believe their eyes that a third girl had found their way to them before Tsukishima clicked his tongue at them. They went on with jumping up and down, probably attracting Hinata in the end. 

Not less excited, the orange-haired boy had sparkles in his eyes as he cooed, „I didn’t know you had a girlfriend, Tsukishima! Please teach me your methods, please, PLEASE!“ 

Time went by in the speed of a spiked volleyball, so the announcement to prepare for the first match came faster than expected. Several parts of the crowd inside the room started moving, gathering or walking out to the gym already. 

Tsukishima put on his sports glasses, you did your best to distract Yamaguchi from the upcoming adrenaline. Not that it really worked, but internally he was glad to have someone that was talking to him about something else than facing strong teams. In this case how your boyfriend would look stunning in glasses with a pink frame.

„You should go back to your seat. Akiteru is probably waiting for you,“ he advised you once Coach Ukai had told the team to get together. 

Now was your moment to leave - In the battles he was about to fight on court you couldn’t do anything but watch from afar. For sure you were intending to clap and scream until your hands and throat would be sore, maybe annoying a specific middle blocker of Karasuno in the process.

One last time Tsukishima turned around to send you off.

„Break a finger, Kei!“

He gave you a thumbs up, the corners of his lips slightly poking towards the ceiling. Then he switched back to his serious mode in order to crush their opponents. 

-----

Posted: April 9th 2020 | Requests: Open | Match-ups: Closed

[attract-mode-collective]

Not An April Fools Gag; That’s A Game Boy Advance With A GameCube Stick Affixed For Reals

What you're seeing is a modded GBA that I spotted on eBay. It's a real thing! Though it doesn't magically grant analogue control to all the digital input only games on the system, which is all of them for the record (sorry). Then again, it could be argued that the controls in WarioWare Twisted is technically analogue...

That aside aside, welcome to yet another recap of stuff posted over at the Attract Mode Twitter! Though this time it's gonna be a bit on the short side, relatively speaking; even I know covering two entire whole weeks has led to hard to handle Tumblr posts, so I'm going to try concentrating on just one week at a time/attempt weekly updates.

Let's see how well that goes...

Hey, it's SF2 IRL thanks to ARKit (via prostheticknowledge)...

At the time, when I first tweeted about it, there were only three left of Amanda Visell’s Player One Mario; no idea how many there are now...

When you can make a decision regarding lunch (via @Mechazawa)....

If you appreciate both the ease of slip-on sneakers and the taste of ghosts, then Games Glorious has something for you (via miki800.com)...

As a connoisseur of video games on the printed page, it is my goal to one day own a copy of Namco's newsletter that was distributed in game centers during the 80s & 90s, NG (via miki800)...

Remember that time Namco got someone from Yellow Magic Orchestra to hawk their wares (via namcomuseum)...

Both in print and on TV…

The YMO member in question, Haruomi Hosono, also did a Xevious remix album, which longtime readers of the blog will hopefully recall.

Sticking with Namco CMs, there’s a pair of longtime faves that I could have sworn I’ve already posted as well, yet cannot find. Though as noted, many times already, the search functionality here is broken.

So here’s a boy playing with his Famicom in the middle of the woods...

And here’s a girl playing with his Famicom in the middle of the woods...

Back to the subject of print, can’t seem to find any info on the Futabasha Fantasy Novel Series, which (I think) was a line of video game novelizations; this one appears to be written by the creator of Xevious himself (via shmups)...

The focus here is supposed to be the Lawson’s reward card with Kirby on it, but I am all about that Space Invaders whatever the heck it is (via miki800)...

Spent MANY hours at Japanese bookstores during my college years, flipping through Sega Saturn Magazine; seeing these VF Kids ads again makes me feel all warm & fuzzy (via thesegasource)...

This (what I believe to be a) farewell image of the face of the Saturn from the very first issue of Dreamcast Magazine, also gives me the feels (via oldgamemags)...

BTW, everyone knows the identity of Saturn's pitchman (Segata Sanshiro), but what about the Mega Drive's? (via yokosuka87)...

Back to the Saturn; I love how Sega want from Segata Sanshiro to Hidekazu Yukawa for the Dreamcast. This launch edition of the console, btw, was spotted at VideoGamesNewYork...

It's also where they Kira Kira Star Night DX for twice the asking price, as @gamespite)...

Speaking of music, to fully enjoy this animated gif of Eggman running…

… you need to have this song playing (via lunaticobscurity).

And to fully enjoy this image of Eggman on the sax…

... you need to have this song playing (via very-territorial-oak).

@ondoruragitan sez: "whoever designed that clown lady in ace attorney is probably the most horny artist to ever exist" (it's funny cuz it's true)...

So the big news these past few weeks, especially among video game folk my age, has been the end of the Toys R Us. Many have been sharing artifacts from the glory days, with my fave example being these old flyers, with the obvious highlight seeing all the original MSRP prices (via retrogamerblog)...

Oh, and don’t forget the gifs (via nintendroid)...

The following are more appropriate for my way, way overdue batch of game culture snapshots, but since we're on the subject of retail anyway; I recently stumbled across Nintendo's collab with Bloomingdale's that I had no idea even existed...

Took a bunch of pics, but unfortunately, due to the harsh lighting at the SoHo store, it was impossible to capture the women’s section, hence the abundance of men’s wear...

These women's sweatshirts are the best example of the line's overall design sensibilities, or lack thereof; it’s just a bunch of random Nintendo sprites on attire that is available at Bloomingdale's, period. That's all it aspires to be, nothing more...

... And that's a real shame, cuz aside from the quality of the clothing itself being high, some of the ho-hum looking designs could be really engaging with a few minor tweaks, like this b&w women's jacket with a very random assortment of b&w Super Mario World sprites...

In addition to clothing, you had accessories, like iPhone cases...

Plus sunglasses, which revealed Super Mario World playing on what appears to the naked eye to be a blank, white screen....

Speaking of Super Mario World, here's a hamster enjoying the game (via @kousuke_teppei)...

The lil guy also owns an original Famicom, and here we is playing Solomon's Key (thanks to @Topherocious for helping me to identify the game)...

Being that friend who is REALLY into video games means I'm asked a wide variety of questions from folks who are not, like why @beesmygod  is "freaking out" over a Sonic & Garfield two pack for the PC...

... I'll be honest, I don't really understand why either.

Here we have a mockup for an ad blocker that replaces banners with GBA screenshots, which I really want to see happen (via @tinycartridge)...

I also really want to see this happen too (via @truongasm)...

Back to Tiny Cart; that's where I found out that you no longer have to play emulated Tiger handheld games sans backgrounds...

Nothing beats a pic of a dimly lit arcade, especially when it's shot on ACTUAL film (via mendelpalace)...

As for this particular arcade show, @kappuru theorizes "it looks like cinestill film, or a filter designed to mimic it." (via parkerwoods)...

"WHO IS THIS NUN?! WHY DOES SHE LOOK SO SINISTER?" is a great KOF related question (via vice-s-assistant)...

And "BOWL BEFORE ME" is a great KOF related gag (via brondeef)...

"this is the best cosplay i’ve ever seen" is a a great costume play related observation made by lunaticobscurity...

"how to get away with playing super mario odyssey in class" is the caption given by retrogamerblog...

"Stardew Valley gave me 500 characters to use as my farm name, so I put down an entire 1-star amazon review for an Independence Day DVD" is the explanation given by @NoahHafford...

Hey, you never know, maybe one day a homebrew dev might make “Shinjuku-Nichome Gay District Serial Murders” a reality? (via mendelpalace)

When you’ve got one copy of Melee with two boxes, and one copy of Air Ride with zero boxes… just gotta improvise (via stellatuna)...

When you’ve got a killer Game Genie code but no paper to write it down on... and then you discover the code does something totally different (via theassortment)...

And when I asked what this 4koma featuring a Dreamcast VMU was all about, @JonahD was kind enough to explain: "VMUs are playing hide and seek, Black is seeking. One VMU thinks hiding in the controller would be good but it makes a bunch of noise and they’re found immediately" (via posthumanwanderings)...

Whereas I have yet to find out what all these Sonics are doing at a German airport (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

I normally don’t let the weather get to me, yet the constant cold weather in NYC over the past few weeks began taking its toll, to the point that I’m starting to resemble an upside down Super Famicom/European SNES (via sixteen-bit)...

I also really wish I could have checked out Sakura-Con, and not just cuz the weather is so much nicer in Seattle, but to pick up @alexisparade's Monster Factory zine...

I stared at gif illustrating the wacky perspective-related behavior of Super Mario 64’s trees for an entire day, no joke (via suppermariobroth)...

Here we have the rarely seen alternate angle of the internet famous "LAN party gamer duct-taped to the ceiling" photo (via reddit.com)...

Turning the clock back even further, here's yet another kind of party, one that doesn’t involve first person shooters but shoot ‘em ups; it’s the 1986 Hudson Caravan (via videogamesdensetsu)...

Recently, a modded NES Max controller showed up on Kotaku, in which the cycloid nub has been replaced with an analogue stick...

... Which actually appeared the day after I spotted that modded GBA at the very top of this page. I am also willing to admit the disappointment over my tweet not catching on as expected/hoped it would, hence why I'm sharing another pic...

At any rate, I was also reminded of my buddy Nick Santaniello's modded Jaguar controller, which allows for arcade perfect Tempest 2000 controls...

... Which in turned led to me republishing the post from which it hails from originally, my recap of Nick's Shmup Appreciation Night, for Medium (and also sharing additional pics on Twitter)...

BTW, for those wondering, based upon the last round of tweets; the kitchen isn’t just for playing old Mega Drive & PC Engine shmups… you can also play old Naomi fighting games (via internetflexin)...

Guess that's it for now? Sorry, but it finally feels like spring in NYC, and I feel the need to step away from the computer & enjoy weather! Just like Mega Man (via arcadequartermaster)...

[donnerpartyofone]

also boring

i dunno if this is totally common knowledge, but for anybody as ignorant as i am, a pal did some tests with me yesterday so we could understand what happens a little better when you get blocked. there are a few extra things i wish i had thought to try, but we at least confirmed that:

- on the mobile app, if the blockee tries to navigate to the blocker’s blog, tumblr just says “there’s nothing here” as if the blocker had never made a post. also, the blockee can’t see the blocker’s posts in their dash. ok, that’s to be expected. - in a browser, the blockee can’t see the blocker’s posts in their dash. HOWEVER, if the blockee goes directly to the blocker’s URL in a separate tab, they see the blocker’s entire blog, EVEN IF the blockee is logged in in that browser, they are not prevented from seeing the content in the way that they are on mobile. the blockee will see all the usual action buttons across the top of the page, as if nothing is wrong. - in a browser, if the blockee opens one of the blocker’s posts, they see the content with all the action buttons. the blockee CAN click the like button, and the heart will turn red. however, if the blockee refreshes the page, they will see the blank heart again, with no note from themselves. throughout this process, the blocker will never see a note count change. - the blockee can always see the blocker’s content in their dash if it is reblogged by someone else. (i’ve noticed i also see reblogs from people i have blocked, which i totally hate) the blockee can “like” these reblogged posts. however, as with the URL example, it doesn’t take--if the blockee thinks to refresh their dash and look again, they’ll see the blank heart. - if the blockee likes or comments on a post before being blocked, then after being blocked, the blockee’s activity will be removed from the notes list, but the notes count remains the same. sure, why not. 

so, that latter point explains how you can have a higher number of notes than you can see in the note list--IF you block someone after they leave you notes. we were not able to find an explanation for events where you get a total brand new mystery note out of nowhere. i always worry that this is from someone i’ve blocked for an especially good reason, but i’m not sure how the note is being left. i’ve used statcounter to confirm that a mystery note is from a real person who loaded the page, it’s not just something that tumblr is making up. it’s unnerving, though. i’m probably just being paranoid, because it’s extremely likely that tumblr doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to because everything is so poorly thought out and neglectful. but, sometimes i think that tumblr actually set things up in this inconsistent way on purpose because they don’t want to alienate people who get blocked. therefore, blocked users can still see content on the web, and it looks like they can happily like stuff, and they see your reblogs everywhere, just as always. partly i think this because it still bothers me that the original iteration of the “ignore” function was just that the BLOCKER can’t see anything the blockee does. i always thought that was so incredibly tone deaf, it just assumes that no one would ever want to preserve their own privacy, no one would ever want to be more separated from another individual than they are by facebook’s “mute” function which is designed specifically for like annoying relatives you have to keep peace with. it’s crazy that it took tumblr until 2015 to rollout something that prevents someone you blocked from seeing your shit, at least in some ways. tumblr behaves as if it has no idea what kind of dark shit often happens on their platform, and if you’ve ever tried to report something like actual evidence of a felony that you’ve seen around here, you get a pretty good idea that they don’t even want to know.

anyway, the point is, it sucks that tumblr refuses to shore up their blocking functionality, and if anybody knows where those mystery notes come from, i’d love to hear about it.

[dmcritchie]

Paywall circumvention (MIT Tech Review, NYTimes, Wired, Washington Post among others)

I just subscribed to  (https://www.technologyreview.com/) hoping it would get me unrestricted access to at least the current and previous issue.  It did not, so will have to continue to use "Cookie Deleter" extension to continue to read more articles after limit of 3 is exceeded. So I was probably already subscribed from another browser or computer because I have already been receiving notifications of some articles.

I knew subscription wouldn't make it completely free because they say subscription will offer discounts.   (these are current articles at MIT Tech Review as of Jun 23, 2020)

Covid-19 could accelerate the robot takeover of human jobs | MIT Technology Review

The Trump 2020 app is a voter surveillance tool of extraordinary power | MIT Technology Review  

Why venture capital doesn’t build the things we really need | MIT Technology Review  

The innovation issue | MIT Technology Review  

Excerpt from Bookmarklets, history, exported bookmarks, extensions for Chrome  Ad Blocking extensions: (#abp) See my answer in "Is there a Chrome extension that blocks the messages that tell you to turn off the ad-blocker? - Quora, where I tell you what extensions to install and how to customize them.  Adblocking extensions basically all use the same filters such as used in both Adblock Plus and uBlock.

Adblock Plus - free ad blocker

must install filters, same with other adblockers (number tells how many links blocked)

BehindTheOverlay

sometimes an overlay tries to get you to subscribe but you just want to view content for now as in collections of instagram.com images found in google

Cookie Deleter

delete cookies on a site, use on paywall sites that limit number of free articles per month

History Blocker by Site domains you don't want to appear in your History (Ctrl+H)

Paywall [$$] supposed to be showing $$$ for paywall site links (symbol is blank on extensions toolbar area)

uBlock - free ad blocker

similar ABP if you have to disable to read a site you probably have to do same for both

uBlacklist

tell Google Search to block future references to domain by clicking on "Block this site", if you accidentally click on on the words, you can still cancel out of the blocking request.

Unpaywall click on padlock at right edge of screen to view for free

Video Adblocker for Youtube™ Extension

completely different from ABP, will delete third party ads inserted into the video.

For an article on what newspapers and magazines have paywalls and how to deal with them, see How To Get Around Newspaper Paywalls In 2020 Read Article For Free in a blog by Aamir Kamal (medium.com is a paywall site).

In memory of Aaron Swartz

 Aaron Swartz's Brilliant Life and Tragic Death - Rolling Stone

 Aaron Swartz - Wikipedia (cofounder of Wikipedia and of Reddit, and worked on Markup used in Wikipedia)

[dothewrite]

Hai hai~ I requested this on another blogged and really liked it and wanted to see it in your writing style as well! Could I please get a jealous Tsukki trying to get his fem S/o away from Tendou, who has a major crush on her, but she is completely oblivious and just finds Tendou so funny and friendly until he tries to kiss her? Maybe end it with some fluff? Or even some jealous NSFW with Tsukki? (Tsukki is my ultimate fav, but Tendou is my ultimate trash husband 😭😭 I love them both so much)

I’m so sorry this took like, six years to finish, but I swear it’s here. I did it. Take my firstborn if need be. I chose to end it with fluff instead of nsfw, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! (Alternatively titled: nobody has any concept of boundaries.)

“Hey.”Tsukishima flips close his textbook and turns his head in his palm to stare athis brother. “How do you kiss a girl?”

Akiterualmost chokes to death on a misplaced gulp of air, and slaps at the tableseveral times. Tsukishima waits for him to finish dying and answer.

“Do-do you have a girlfriend?!”

Tsukishimarolls his eyes. “Who doesn’t by now?”

Hisbrother flushes violently and looks a bit mutinous at the comment, but doesn’tcomment. “I- I just can’t believe you’re finally asking me this question. Kei,I can’t get over how you’re growing so fast these days.”

“Ihave always been growing at the same speed. And who are you? Mom?”

“Doyou want me to answer you or not?!”

Tsukishimasighs a world-weary sigh and nods his head. His eyes are bored, half-lidded,but the slight tapping of his index finger against his cheek betrays what wouldotherwise be a perfect disguise of indifference.

Akiterulooks mollified, and clears his throat. “Well. First, of course, you have to besure of their consent. I think you should place your hands somewhere slightlyabove the hips-”

“That’snot what I meant,” Tsukishima interrupts, “I meant, how do you kiss.Your girlfriend. Boyfriend. Whatever.” He pauses, and peers at his brother.“You have had one, haven’t you?”

“Ohmy God.” Akiteru’s face is now several degrees hotter and he feels like hewould rather evaporate into the stratosphere than admit to being lessexperienced than his baby brother. “Yes, yes I’ve had one. I don’t have one atthis very moment, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a reliable source ofinformation!”

“Alright.”Tsukishima grins. “Go on, then.”

“I-Okay. Right. There’s the, uh, lips first. The key is to keep the rightatmosphere- make it palpable, so it doesn’t just flop like some goodnight kissfrom Mr. Teddy. Then- then you, ahem,you know. Go for it. Not too firm or anything, you don’t want to crush theirteeth-”

“Doyou move your tongue quickly, or slowly?”

“Oh my God. U-uh, it’s usually… slowly…”

“Notever in a rush, eh?”

“Howcan I rush something as intimate as a kiss?!”

Tsukishimaeyes his brother, now steaming from the top of his head, and just shakes hishead. “Guess you’ve never been in a closet in the middle of class, then.”

“TsukishimaKei. Don’t let me hear of you skipping class to make out with your girlfriend!Education is important for your future-”

“Okay.Thanks for the info.” Tsukishima spins his head the other direction and tunesout his brother’s confuddled spluttering.

Itwasn’t particularly informative, but there is definitely something that he’smissing that Akiteru’s got. Thoughtfully, he twirls his tongue slowly in hismouth in as many patterns he can think of.

He spiesher haunting a small spot behind the volleyball gym the next day. A bitcurious, he wonders if Coach Ukai would let him off lightly if he was a fewminutes late to practice, and considers jogging up to meet her.

Hiscuriousity, however, is quickly satisfied when a splash of red hair suddenlymakes an unwelcome appearance behind a medium selection of bushes and runs overmerrily to where she’s standing. It’s clearly who she’s waiting for in thebeating sunlight.

A record-breakingwave of irrational yet completely justified irritation hits him like an uppercut.

Hemoves quietly a few steps to the side, behind a metal pillar, and observes. Heresents that he’s too far to catch any of the dialogue.

Of all people, hefumes silently behind flashing glasses, ithas to be that piece-of-shit blocker.

To befair, he’s probably as much as a pain in the ass to Tendou Satori as TendouSatori is to him, but she’s Tsukishima’sgirlfriend, and he really, really hates how warmly she’s smiling at another guy.

It’sall tolerable for now. Except, they’re a polite distance from each other, andthen suddenly, they’re not. Tsukishima’s a quick, intelligent jumper, but hisknees are locked into stone pillars as he watches Tendou lean in, his fingershovering ‘somewhere above her hips’, and press a kiss against her startled lips.

Damn right she’s startled. IfTsukishima had a gun, he’d fire at least four rounds into the imbecile’s head,but he doesn’t and all movement from his neck down has temporarily suspendedservice.

Shetakes a surprised step back, anchoring her heel into the soft ground and pushesTendou off her gently. He tips back into his original space, looking a bitsheepish, and she smiles embarrassedly at him. Tsukishima watches with hawkeyes, still mildly furious at the fact that she’s still capable of smiling, andshe shakes her head whilst saying something to him that makes him shrug.

It’snot a proud shrug, it’s an apologetic, regretful shrug that good humour stillruns through that keeps it light. Tendou grins wolfishly at her, most of thebravado gone, before nodding, and heading back the way he came. He throws up acalm wave over his shoulder, and Tsukishima’s girlfriend smiles fondly.

Tsukishimacannot say he is feeling quite so fond.

Withconsiderable effort, he props his stiff joints back into their positions andmarches over with ease that he definitely doesn’t feel.

She turnswhen she hears his footsteps, and his pace falters when something in her smilesets itself in place. There’s less searing brightness as it had been before,less of an innocent cluelessness that had tickled the edges of her cheeks.Instead it softens and melds into place, fitting her sweet countenance with agentle heat that powers the way she opens herself up to welcome him.

Hissteps grow gradually slower and slower as he nears, and against his will, hisknuckles loosen their grip around his fingers.

“Hello,”she greets him almost shyly. “I thought I’d be too late to catch you before youwent in for practice.”

“Hello,”he echoes. The word falls almost alien from his lips, and his breathing mellows.She takes a step closer into his space and reaches out for his hand with herown; he laces his fingers through hers instinctively, feeling the cool padsunderneath her nails nudge into the back of his hand. “I noticed you, so I hungback.”

Hersmile flickers into an apologetic grimace.

“I’msorry that happened.”

Tsukishimawas mad, he really was. But somehow the emotion is slipping away from his mindlike liquid, and each drop drips onto dry floor, lost and forgotten.

“Iwas pretty pissed off,” he says anyway, without heat. “It’s not the greatestthing to see after school.”

Shenods, slightly ashamed. “I got a message from Tendou, so I thought why not killtwo birds with one stone, and see what he wanted whilst I waited for you tofinish changing.” She clears her throat awkwardly. “It was just amisunderstanding. I let him know I didn’t see him that way, and that I wasn’tavailable.”

“Sohe came to confess,” Tsukishima mutters. “Well, at least we know now that you’repopular when I’m otherwise occupied.”

“It’syour face. It scares them away when you’re around.”

Hescowls at her, and she laughs in return. “We’re still good friends. He was agood sport, and I was flattered.” She looks at him expectantly from underneathher fringe. “I hope you don’t mind that too much.”

Sincethis is his only chance, Tsukishima takes advantage of it and heaves the heaviestsigh he can manage.

“Hewouldn’t exactly be my choice offriend, but yeah. I don’t mind. You’ve the right to be friends with whoever youwant to be.”

“Youdon’t like him because he reminds you too much of yourself.” She grins.

Tsukishimashoots her a look that questions her sanity. “Definitely not. We’re polaropposites, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Butyou’re both so- it’s the same type of intensity, you know? But in differentways. You’re both slightly unhinged.”

“Whateven.” Tsukishima tugs his hand out from her grip and crosses it over hischest. “Are you trying to set me up with him?”

Sheshrugs, but her shoulders are shaking with laughter. “I can always call himback, you know.”

“He’snot kissing me,” Tsukishima warns.

“Itreally wasn’t much, Kei.” Her soothing voice is back, and Tsukishima lets hisarms slowly relax back to his sides. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll giveyou one. That way we’re all kissed by the end of the day.”

Forthe longest time, Tsukishima had completely forgotten the purpose for hisactively seeking her out after their final period. He’d been the one to suggestmeeting up, after all, but the business with Tendou had completely pushedanything rational out of his mind.

Now,it all comes back to him. His slightly random purpose, and his conversation thenight before with Akiteru.

“Alright,”he says. “Let’s bet on it.”

She rollsher eyes ever so slightly, but she’s smiling. “Terms.”

“Whoeverblushes first, loses. You win, I’ll skip practice and I’ll treat you to thewaffle ice-cream set. If I win, you take a picture of us kissing, and you textSatori that I’m the better kisser.”

“Kei,you really are unbelievably petty over the most insignificant things, aren’tyou?”

“Humourme,” he suggests, with a face as blank as the new moon.

“Whata big baby,” she laughs. “You’re on.”

Tsukishimatugs her by the waist, without warning, and they crash into each other chestsfirst. A gasp of air is forced out from her lungs and it leaves her slightlywinded, and that’s when Tsukishima swoops in with his upper hand.

Hestarts it off, as Akiteru advised, with the utmost patience. It’s a slow brushof lips, and he shifts them ever so softly against each other and his tonguewets the space between them with firm, slick brushes. Her face remains cool tothe touch, and he presses closer. They can no longer feel their own lips uponeach other’s, only the diagonal warm that heats the both of them from theirfaces downwards. Tsukishima taps the tip of his tongue briefly along the seamof her mouth, asking for permission, and when she weakens, he drags his handsup to cup the sides of her face as he slides his tongue against hers. Searing,slow strokes, as he had pointlessly practiced last night, in sudden circles andtwisting patterns, he pushes against her own tongue, leading her heartbeat in amerry dance around the lack of space that’s left between them both. He brusheshis fingers lightly against the arch of her cheekbones, before drawing them tothe curve of her ear. She whimpers against him, a delicious sound that he divesinto and presses it back into her mouth with a harsh lick and a sudden suck.

Hecan feel her begin to shiver against his frame, and he lets one of his handsfall against her curvature to rest gently on the small dip behind her back.

Tsukishimapresses her into him one last time, and nips her bottom lip with enoughpressure that it leaves it a bubbling red. He pulls back, and doesn’t botherhiding his satisfied and equally lascivious smirk at her red face, dazed andtrying her best to focus on his eyes again.

Hedips her slightly to the left, and soothes her bruised lips with a soft finale.

“Youblushed,” he finally manages after two attempts to clear his throat from thehoarseness. “I believe I’m still quite bloodless. I win.”

Herfollowing laugh is exasperated, and impossibly fond. She can barely stand up toher full height anymore, but Tsukishima doesn’t mind propping her up againsthis side.

“Ican’t believe you practiced that,” she remarks after catching her breath. “Youcan’t have come up with that on the spot.”

“Iwin,” Tsukishima repeats, slightly ruffled at being caught out. “Let’s take apicture, and you’re sending that message.”

“Toprove to a man I rejected that my boyfriend is a petty guy.” She nods. “Got it.”

Hemakes sure that she’s tapping the message into her chat before he finally hightails it into the gym.

WhenCoach Ukai, and possibly the rest of the team, stare at his definitelydebauched volleyball outfit, they decide that it’s safer for everyone’simagination to not ask at all.

CoachTakeda, however, sums up enough courage to tap him on the shoulder before hegets into position.

“Tsukishima,”he asks in his kindly tone, “I hope nothing was the matter. You’re half an hourlate to practice.”

“I’msorry,” Tsukishima answers, “I caught my girlfriend kissing another guy.” Hecan’t help but grin ever so slightly when Takeda falls back, shocked. “There’snothing to worry about. It turned to be quite entertaining.”

Minutesbefore he falls asleep that night, Tsukishima blinks at the sudden screenshothe receives from her at two in the morning.

It’s apicture of Tendou, sticking out his tongue with a cherry stem tied up in three separateknots.

I’d like to see him defend his title. Hisanswer reads. Three-way challenge. Youin?

[itslikethatfrenchthing]

TO DO LIST TEMPLATE: HOW I EFFECTIVELY ORGANISE MY TASKS

  If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I am the time blocking QUEEN. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need a to do list template as part of my strategy.

In this blog post, I’m going to share how I use a to do list template, why I use it and how I use it as a part of my time blocking process. 

The aim? To make sure I get everything done.

Want to use this exercise to the best of your ability? I’ve got an even quicker version for you so you can get started right away! Download my FREE personalised exercise below to increase your productivity in less than 5 minutes.

WHY IS A TO DO LIST TEMPLATE SO IMPORTANT?

It’s just good practice to put everything you need to do on a list. You need to be able to put it somewhere and get it out of your head so you don’t forget anything.

But you also don’t want to have a to do list that is SO daunting that it stalls any movement from you. You don’t want it to negatively affect how you weight your priorities or schedule your time.

This just means you’ll be paralysed into getting nothing done. And nobody needs that.

I believe a task isn’t worth anything unless it’s been allocated time to get done. So when I know I have to do something, I make an appointment for it on my calendar to be able to follow through for that.

When this is an effective strategy, it can also get carried away. To do lists are not the most effective thing when you’re just brain dumping onto a blank to do list or a to do app. You need to be able to find a solution to organise all of it and prioritise what needs to happen.

What needs to happen by YOU.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF MY STRATEGY

I’m going to walk you through an age-old strategy to help with this. It’s called the Ivy Lee Method.

I’m going to show you how I use it so I keep my calendar focused on the most important things possible.

HOW I ORGANISE MY TO DO LIST

If you’re not already familiar, I am a big fan of Asana and this is where my brain dump for tasks go.

I do use a notebook to make one big list and get it all out of my head, but Asana is my main hub. I use it as a major brain dump for stuff to do that needs to get done.

In Asana, I have different projects but I also have a list of tasks that need to get done every day. Most of my tasks in Asana also have a due date, so I can see when I need to get them done.

In the first instance with my braindump, anything I think of gets written down. A daily braindump is always happening so I don’t forget anything.

Sometimes, things will become a big priority or I’ll realise they need to be reverse-engineered because they’re a big project that needs to happen. That’s when I’ll use my to do list template to start scheduling accordingly.

This is something I pretty much know from the top of my brain. I know this has to get done, this has to happen, this has to get done by me, and so that needs to get scheduled.

When something is a priority and I know I need to do it, it gets a deadline in Asana and goes straight to the calendar.

But like I said before, that can sometimes get out of control. So my list in Asana of things I’m either not going to do or I don’t have time to do, still needs to be catered to.

There are a couple of ways I organise this, so let’s break it down.

A Weekly Review

I always do a weekly review where I go over a lot of things. But one of the main things I cover is what’s on my calendar for the next week.

This means I can get an idea of what’s going on, making sure I’m batching my time well. So if I notice I have a lot of coaching calls I think, what else can I do that day that falls under that bucket.

Use the Ivy Lee Method Daily

From there, I use the Ivy Lee Method daily. What this allows me to do is make those game-time decisions the day before where:

Things that need to happen need to be fit in

Things that don’t need to happen can be removed completely

This is how the Ivy Lee Method works and how I integrate it into my daily planning process.

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HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE IVY LEE TO DO LIST METHOD

I do this at the end of every workday, either my quiet time in bed or when I’m wrapping up for the day before I walk my dog and make dinner.

It’s up to you when you do this. A lot of people do it at the end of their workday so they can get ready for the next day.

Here’s how the Ivy Lee Method looks in a to do list template.

#1 | List 6 Most Important Tasks For Tomorrow

First, you’re going to make a list of the 6 things that are the most important to get done tomorrow.

You may find there’s some sort of urgency in these important tasks. You may find these are just important because you know they need to be chipped away at.

Regardless of what your reasoning is, write down 6 things.

Try to limit it. You may decide there’s a better number that works for you, maybe it’s 3 or 7. But try to stay in that realm and don’t go over that amount.

When you think about it, 6 is a lot. If you have six things that take an hour, that’s six hours.

#2 | Order Your List By Importance

Now you’ve got your six items, you’re going to prioritise them by importance.

The reason we’re doing this is the “eat the frog” strategy. You want to get the things done that are the hardest to do as early on in your workday as possible. This means you won’t procrastinate and you also won’t think about doing these tasks during your 3 pm slump (you know that time!)

We want to get them ranked in order of importance so there is no mistaking what you’re going to do tomorrow. 

When I do this I’m also looking at my calendar to make sure it’s reflecting what I have on my list. Ideally, they’re very similar and also, some of the most important stuff is going to happen first thing in the morning.

Sometimes the most important thing I do in a day is record a few videos, sitting at my desk with my camera. And honestly? That’s not happening at 6 or 7 am.

Although that might be the most important thing I’m doing, it’s probably not going to happen until I’ve done my hair and make-up, had some cups of tea and finally set up my filming space ready to go.

That takes TIME! And my schedule will reflect that.

But as long as it’s on the to-do list template and it’s on the calendar, I know I’m in good shape.

You may find this happens to you - but I want you to be careful of excuses. Sometimes I will bump my filming and I’ll go, “oops, oops, oops, oops, oh no, I can’t film until 5 pm.”

No. I want to be close to finishing work at 5 pm, not sitting making videos. You can’t let it get too far away from you.

#3 | Start Completing Tasks On Your List (In Order)

Time blocking is my approach to it and hopefully, that works for you too. Because the next day you’re going to go after that list.

If you’re not a time blocker that’s fine, you’ve got that list of six things in order of importance. Your job is to just start with the first one. Do it first, get it done.

For the rest of us, we’re looking at the same list but we’re looking at it in a chronological state, in batches of time and how much blocked off time we need to get the thing done.

The game I like to play is, how fast can I get this done? Even though I’ve blocked a lot of time for it and I need to do the best possible job - I’d love to save myself some time.

So if I blocked out an hour for something, can I get it done in 45 minutes? That means 15 bonus minutes (for me, that usually means 15 bonus minutes of playtime with Lola).

#4 | Move Incomplete Tasks To The Next Day’s List

Let’s say you get to the end of your day and you haven’t finished everything.

Shocker! It happens to the best of us. We never finish our to do lists, do we? 😉

Any leftover items from your Ivy Lee list go to the next day. 

When you’re going over your six priorities for the next day, you’re now adding those to the list. The more often you keep passing something off that doesn’t get done, it’s always last priority, it keeps getting moved to the next day - you need to ask yourself some questions.

Why is this on my to do list template?

Am I procrastinating on something I need to get ahead on or is this even something I have to touch?

Why does this have to happen and why does it have to be me?

That’s more of a bonus. But if you just have your 6 things every day and you go after the hardest ones first, you’re going to be in good shape and that’s how the Ivy Lee method can help you.

MY OTHER PROCESSES

Of course, I have a million processes! I’ve got:

The Ivy Lee Method

Asana: to do list template

Time blocking

Time batching

And I think I’m still coping 😉

If you love tips like this and want to work more on your productivity this is something we can dive deeper into as a private client because we work on methods that are best suited to you, your personality and your business. Apply here to get started.

A FINAL NOTE

Here’s a quote to sum up everything we just went over.

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I want to hear from you: what challenges are you having with your to do list template? Leave that in the comments below.

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[stimtoybox]

A curious question; what is the purpose of image descriptions?

I hope you’ll forgive me, anon, that I answer with some links. My hands aren’t too bad, but my head isn’t altogether present.

(I spent most of yesterday dissociating, had a bigger-than-my-normal partial seizure during the night and I’ve already had one meltdown today; I still don’t feel my usual normal.)

This post answers a very similar question, and this post is what I look for and try to provide in image descriptions on this blog.

The very short answer is this: to give the most amount of people access to information.

There’s a variety of disabled people who might not be able to access a photo or video. For example, blind people, people with vision disabilities/low vision, folks who struggle to process images or videos, folks who can’t watch videos (because moving image, risk of seizure or sensory overwhelm) and folks who can’t watch GIF images (because moving image, flickering, risk of seizure or sensory overwhelm). For example, I navigate the internet with a GIF blocker as an add-on to my browser (Firefox) because the flickering in GIF images can trigger sensory overwhelm, headaches or seizures. A description means I still know something of what’s going on; it means I am included.

You know all those reaction and response GIFs folks like to use here on Tumblr? I don’t get to join in on that joke: because not enough people tag moving GIFs, in order to keep myself safe, I block all of them. I don’t follow GIF-heavy posters and I still scroll past something like twenty blank images a day where my blocker shows a blank white image. A description lets me join in on the joke. Descriptions here let more stimmers get meaningful information from a resource blog.

I want to exclude as few people as possible, so, descriptions.

- Mod K.A.